The Irish standard., 1896-10-03
STRUGGLES s. ri &c OF l'AY PAY
He Tells in Racy Way of the
Men and Women He Has
Met in His Career.
A Delightful Sketch Of the
O'Gorman Mahon. A Gentleman
OF the Olden School.

His Varied Experience, His node
Of Speech and His Death
/ bed Hour.
(Continued from last weekly
Whenever go through an all-night sit
ting in the House Of Commons there is one
figure I always recall with certain sad
ness. Those who never saw and knew Inc
| O'Gorman Mahon will never be able to re-
alize what the Irishman of the old type
was like. He died only three or four years
| ago; then he was at least ninety years OF
age, so that he came into existance just as
the eighteenth century was dying. The
| O'Gorman, to some extent, was an
| Eighteenth century figure. In looking at
! him one could summon up the figures OF
the men who either fought for or sold the
Old Irish Parliament. In some respects The
| OGorman had all their faults and virtues;
| but he was free from one of their most char
acteristic weaknesses. He could take his
whack--to use the familiar phrase-at DIN
! ner, and have often seen him in the smok-
ing room take a stiff gin-and-soda and
| smoke a very black briar-rOOt when he
must have been upwards of eighty years OF
| age; but he was never-at least, in my time
what could be called a hard drinker-and
the men of the Eighteenth century undoubt-
edly were hard drinkers. But The OGor-
man Mahon was in other respects exactly
Of the same mould. He was Nat1opalist
beyond all doubt; he wanted to see ireland
self f-governed again; but he was Nation
alist Of a somewhat different type from
those with whom he was acting. He had
been a landlord-I fear must add that,
owing probably to the land having passed
! out of his possession into that of others
not very model landlord. He had gone
! through very adventurous career, and at
| one time was the most noted duellist IN
ireland.
It is somewhat hard for us of this gener-
alton to understand the love of duelling
which The O'Gornlan preserved to his dying
| day. But it must be remembered that long
after The O'Gorman was born the leading
politicians of both England and Ireland
We're ready to go out and fight. Yelling
| ton and Canning both fought duels--at
least; I am certain Wellington did; Daniel
TO Connell killed al man in a duel AT one
time, as recently as 1916, Sir Robert Peel
seriously thought of challenging Mr.. Dis
raeli. And in the case of The OGorman
Mahon there was a justification for his
| love of this savage method of settling po-
litical differences. 1t is almost impossible
now to understand the insoience and arrO-
gance of the party-religious and political
which held complete sway in Ireland
when O'Connell and The O'Gorman Mahon
We're prominent figures. It was the func-
tion Of man like The O'Gorman to- meet
| inso]ence with insolence, and to accept
| iryho4 al.
titude might involve And The O'Gorman
was ready for anything. He was extraor
d.nary in his absolute want of the sensation
of fear. That reckless bravery---that alb
solute insensibility to anything like ner-
yous tremor-he preserved to the very end
of his life, as will presently be seen. Some
of the stories he would tell OF his adven-
! lures We're calculated to make ones blood
| run cold and at the same time to excite
hearty laughter. He was not, an articulate
man; and though he was often begged to
| write his memoirs, he never could be got
to put pen to paper. I am not sure that
even if he had been induced to write he
would have produced volume which
would have done anything like Justice to
the intense interest of his career. But
through somewhat confused mass of detail
you sometimes got glimpses OF strange
scenes I do not remember the details
cannot say that I ever really grasped
them-but have a vague recollection OF
one case in which owing first to mis-
understanding between the principals, and
then to misunderstanding between the
| fiery and guick-tempered seconds, The o.
German Mahon found himself involved in
three or four due1s ON the same morning
and in the very same field, at one time being
principal, at another second He told the
story in the most natural way in the world
-as if standing up to be killed three or
| four times in the course of half-an-h0ur
were an occurrence of the most prosaic
and ordinary chara cter; but this absence Of
all sense either Of the horror or the absurd
| ity of the whole business was one of the
things which gave an idea of the vast inter-
space of morals and habits which lay be-
/ tween oa1r day and the days Of The O'Gor-
man Mahon.
The O'Gorman looked what he was.
| don't think ever saw a man who had such
a singular combination Of strength and
Ibeauty. He was upwards of six feet high;
he had, even in advanced old age, very
broad shoulders; the face-long, narrow
surrounded by large white beard and a
white fierce mustache, and surmounted by
| a bushyy thick head of white hair--was rath-
l
man being. The expression, even in his lat
est years, had something about it that was
a little ferocious certainly it was not tram
gull or gentle; and at the same time he
Ehad.that curious mixture Of courtesy and
feroclty which belonged to his times. There
was no man who had such courtly manners.
His fine bearing was instructive, and gave
no idea whatever of affectation or e!abor
ateness; but it was very fine bearing, never
Itheles. He neither bowed nor scraped nor
paid compliments; but he was always full
Of tad, said graceful things. was intensely
good -humored, ready to make a joke, and
4 just as ready to take one. 555..5. Il.
n He was a thoroughly loyal member OF
This party flowing Parne.!, who might
have been his great -grandchild. with just
as much docility as if he were the youngest
member OF the party himself Only on one
Ioccasionfdfd Isee his loyalty fail him; then
lkt was With great pain to himself. Tt may
Ibe remembered that the Irish party OPP.
Eppsad The admission at one period Of Mr..
adlaugh % the House OF Commons. II
lWass not through my strong feelings of hos
lti1ity to- Brad1augh personally but be
cause at that time there was lats fiefce
war l,etg AN epyernii and
lthg tfefaf
1
E6l RI ,sal1 & M D 8 III Il E!