The Irish standard., 1895-09-14

either fleslhi blood ID so .n any
years WAS firtual hbish hop vt 81
Eng land I1nag then, great
annazeI1eht on ent ering the pal ac ace at
Thurles to And m yself cor fronted by SGaa
STOUT sta man, abotlt feet ,, in
height, who mil ht NOT have been more
than sixty years Of age Ind Who was sstii
lin the possession OF sllnimp paired physique
Iand rejoicing in thew and sineWs which
might safely, be bac ked to down any
mem Der Of the Irish pa iamentary par
Ity, Parnellite Or Nice arth lite, who ven
tured to try conclusions with him at a
bout Of fsticuffs. Here, indeed, was no
pale ascetie, no emaciated enthusiast.
The Cardinal S. saint was an Irish saint
OF the true breed Of ST. Patrick. full Of
Evitality, keenly interested in the world
and all its affairs. An eccleciastic, In
deed to his finger tips, but intensely
human man, with a genial sympathy
with the sports and pastimes Of mankind.
Measured by the almanac, DIR. Croke has
has passed the three score years and ten,
butin his heart he is still as much a boy
as ever, full Of interest in sports and
athletics, delighaing to recall the mem
cries of the earlier days when he wa the
champion athlete Of the Irish race, swift
of foot and stout of heart, with the proud
exultation of one who, whether at hook
ey of football, in leaping and jumping,
or in combats which were waged with
fists or blackthorn, never came off sec
end best.
We talked Of many things in the long
and pleasant conversations which we had
At Thhrles but first and before anything
else we talked of sport Of Cardinal Man
ming, of course. there was much to be
said, but one Of his first expressions Of en-
thusiastic approval referred not to Man
ming, but to his successor. The archbish-
OPP had noted the letter which Cardinal
Vaughan had written, sending his sub
scription to the Grace Testimonial, and re-
ioicing exceedingly that the Cardinal
Archbishop had shown SO true and keen
an appreciation of the cricket king.
From this it was an easy transition to
talk about the days when DR.. Croke was
a boy. It is a theme upon which vol
llme might be written, and I was serious
II upbraided by some residents at Thurles
for not having devoted more time to fill
ing my budget with stories of the Arch
bishops prowess as an athlete. He Is
still president Of the Gaelic Athletic Asso-
citation, and recently took an opportunity
which local circumstances rendered both
natural and fitting to publicly testify his
patronage of the association, which a
brother bishop had just banned with bell
book and candle as secret society almost
as reasonable as the Fenian brotherhood.
Traditions of famous long jump Of his
when bathing in the Loire, without train
ing or any preparation, he jumped 19 feet
six inches forward and backward. On
another occasion he made wager at the
dinner table that on leaving the room he
would run mile in four minutes, then,
without stopping to take breath would
walk three miles in 20 minutes coming
back over the four miles in "a minutes
and entering the drawing room after he
had covered four miles out and four miles
back in 4S minutes. The wager was ac-
cepted. Young Croke there and then
started, and in less than 4S minutes re-
turned, winning the wager with a minute
or two still in hand
One of the conspicuous ornaments on
the walls of the spacious and airy library
in ST. Patrick's College, is an illuminated
address, recording the meeting ct the
League of the Cross of Thurles. The archr
bishop. as becomes an athlete. Is a strong
and sturdy advocate of temperance. lie
confirms no child in the diocese of Cashel
who does not take solemn pledge not to
touch. taste or handle the accused thing
in the shape Of alcohol. But although In
this respect his grace is a temperance
man after Cardinal Manning's own heart,
he is too much of an lrishman OF the old
school to frown at the mixing of glass
of hot punch after dinner, or to enforce
the strict teetctalism which Cardinal Man
ming regarded as one of the Christian viz
tues A genial man he is, charming In
society, a delightful host, q teller of good
stories, and one who on occasion, does not
shrink from singing a song after dinner.
when that is the mood of the moment and
his guests are mellow with music and
good fellowship. Y.
Canon Hidden used sometimes to Ia
ment that he had been too late In the cen
fury to have an opportunity of learning to
ride the bicycle DIR. Croke, in spite OF
his three score years and ten, is quite cap
able of taking to cycling with the zeal and
zest of young man. At present, how
ever, his cycling experience dates back
nearly 30 or 40 years. In the very early
days Of the wheel he enjoyed run on
tricycle. in the Bois de Bologne. He IS
more at home, however, In the saddle
than on the wheel. He is not given to
hunting, although, like every Irishman,
he has ridden to hounds, but most OF his
riding has been done in the discharge Of
his episcopal duties. When appointed
bishop of New Zealand he almost lived on
horseback, and to this day he praises with.
delight the easy-going lope of his New
zealand steeds On one occasion he rode
N miles in 10 hours on one horse, without
stopping to bait his horse on the way.
An occasional drink of water and a snack
of grass was all the creature had between
start and finish. When he reached his
journeys end the stablernan simply re-
moved the saddle and bride, and, giving
the horse a kick in the ribs, sent 1t out
to feed itself in an adjacent pasture.
Concluded Next Week.
sss The Virgin in rlexico. ..s..
TIA dispatch from the City Of Mexico
says: ". {,
There is some fear least the recent cir
cular OF Protestant missionaries attack
ing the popular belief in the Virgin OF