The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1896-09-12
STRUGGLES or TAY PAf
Continued from first page

of the struggle as at hand, and the Home
Rule cause as at last victorious. Multi
tudes crowded all our meetings; subscrip
ti0ns poured in at rate that was almost
dumbfounding. Sometimes we held two
meetings in the same day, as at Boston,
for instance; and two great theaters were
unequal to the demand there was for
seats. Things eliminated In a great
mass meeting In New York. Something
like wave Of almost frantic enthusiasm
passed over the meeting. Man after
man rose to announce q subscription of
81, 900 (f200), until within the space Of an
hour there was the extraordinary spec
tacle Of, nearly $1,000 being promised to
the Irish cause. ] have. no doubt that IL
the split had not occurred, and If the tour
had proceeded, the Irish Representatives
would have come back with a fund Of
100000 to fight the battle of Ireland.
Before we started we knew, OF course
that the divorce was coming on. We
had hoped against hope that it would
not have turned out disastrousIy; and
Parnell's attitude had encouraged this
hope. / never saw him gayer,7 easier in
his mind, more self-confident, than dur
ing the months which interviewed be-
tween the filing and the trial of the d.
'vOrec case. He came down to the House
of Commons, after his usual fashion;
did not betray by a look, by even the hint
of heightened color or EN- barrassed man
ner-that he noticed the rumors and the
conjectures which were rife; and even
Captain O'Shea-not in flattering terms,
cial resentment or passion, and: with
thu 90 1Y,or1 oo - ha.
ing some other persons affairs. ~
The Gladstone letter was the first in:
dications of the coming of the storm. It
was not letter which produced good
impression upon me, nor, indeed, I be-
livee, on any of my colleagues; and for
few hours some of us felt that Parnell
and Ireland had been attacked in way
which was no to be endured But Mr..
Parnell undid the impression favorable
to him which had been made by Mr.
GlaGstone's letter. It is curious how IT.
tie even clever men are able to appre-
ciate the efforts of their own acts, when
their own passions and interests are in
volved. Parnell was so full of the idea
that his manifesto was going to rally
all Ireland at home and abroad to his
side that he telegraphed to Mr.. Dillon
and Mr.. O'Brien to ask them to suspend
judgment until they had seen his mani
festo. All the Irish delegates-s;x in
assembled by agreement at
Cincinnati on their way to Chicago for
the purpose of having Joint consulta-'
ton. remember very well the dark.
and dreary morning on which we left
Cincinnati. The papers were full of the
manifesto, and we eagerly began to read
it as we took our places in the carriages
that were taking us to Chicago 1t pro-
duced the same effect an all who read
read it, except Mr.. Harrington-the idea.
that Parnell could no longer be sup,
ported. We sent brief announcement
to that effect at he first railway station
where we stopped.
We had that same evening to face an
audience of many thousands in Chicago,
and already there were signs of that
universal and fierce difference of opinion
which this struggle was to bring forth.
However we got through the meeting
without any allusion to the Parnell Incl
dent; and the next day, three of us sat
down to draft the address In which we
presented our views: We knew at once
that our mission In American was at al
END, so we cancelled Immediately all our
engagements; the beginning Of the strug-
gle had already come. Four months af-
ter my arrival in America I landed at
Southampton on my return journey. I
had tried to think that things might be
improved when arrived; but there was
a reporter of the Freeman's Journal on.
the tender that came to meet my boat,
and felt at once that was in the midst
of the .desolate and saddening struggle
which has been going on since. And
thus on two occasions my return from
America was amid circumstances Of sad
ness and gloom. - ~.