The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1896-08-29
n OF TAY PAY.
He.TeHs in 4 Racy Way of the
rlen and Women He Has Met
In His Career.
AsCritical and Analytical Descript-
" ion: Of Parnell and Isaac
4. Butt.
The Uncrowned King in His floral
Strength as we'll as in his
Declining Days.
Continued from last week.)

CONTINUED from last week.)
But underneath all that superficial
docility which have marked in Parnel]
haria will. When he had taken up his
position it; was i1npossib BILE to shake him
| from it. 1t is quite true that the posi-
| zion he took up was usually the right
one. He had an instinct as to what the
feelings and point Of view of his own
people would be- which, to certain
extent, was very remarkable; for he
never really belonged to the mass of
them by race or religion, and for the
second half of his political life he rare
| ly went among them. But, like all
| strong men, he had the defects Of his
qualities. The disastrous tactics by
which he lost his great position, and
then his life, all came from that in
dexibility of will and the narrowness of
mind with which ihflexibility of will is
SO often associated He could not be
got 10 see that even il he retired for
! awhile from the leadership OF the Irish
party, he would retain all his power,
and the place would be ready for him
! at any moment when he chose to re-
turn. The fact was that If Parnen had
gone to Timbuctoo or Mecca his word
would still have been omnipotent over
the acts of the Irish party, and over the
| minds of the Irish people, at home and
abroad. 1t was quite true that he had a
| few personal enemies in the party. who
| would never have allowed him to re-
turn to his position if they could have
prevented it; and, unfortunately, some
of these enemies attained such promi-
nence, and employed SUCH bitterness in
the attack upon him, that to him, as
well as to the world generally, they as
sumed an Importance in guiding the
cOunsels of the party TO which they had
no title. But these men would have
been quite powerless against Parnell;
and if they We're numerous-and, as a
| matter Of fact, they were few-nay, I
go further, and say that if every mem
ber of the Irish party had been an en-
emy to Parnell. and had resolved that
he never SHOULD get back his power
once Ne gave it up Pa,neH, il he had
acted wisely al the monlentfof The split;
worlld have been strong enough to have
beaten all these other men down. Is it
not curious study in the psychology OF
| political life that a man so clearsight-
| Cu GlS ACiA oAONlu AdfS IIdhC ITO
| such contradictory mistakes about him
self? On the other hand, he underrated
| the powers which were arrayed against
him in Ireland-which was all exag-
gerat:on of his own strength, and, on
the other hand, he was SO unconscious
of his overwhelming influence that he
| dreaded giving UP for an hour a posi-
ton which not all the powers on earth
could have prevented him from retain
! ing all his life If he had acted judicious-
| ly. It is among the many. singular in
| stances in history in which the very
strength of a MANS personality and pas
| sion become TO him a. weakness and a
| destruction.
| If one desired to have dramatic en-
counter in real life which would have all
| the elements Of contrast and, to some
| extent, of tragedy. it was to be found in
! the struggle between Parnen and Isaac
Butt They were both Protestants; they
were both Of the English race by
origin; but, while the one was Tin
Irish in almost every respect, the other
had almost every virtue and almost
every fault of the Irish character. From
almost his earliest days, Isaac Butt
was, in pecuniary embarrassment, and it
| is quite probable that he would have
remained pecuniarily embarrassed if he
| had obtained the income of a South Afri-
can millionaire One Of my early recol-
lections when was a young Dublin jour-
nalist was Butts arrest or debt-a peri
cdical occurrence, and only to be reTnenl-
! bered in this connection because the i'm
| p1ison1leDt lasted for an unusually long
! tim Eff [ mistake not, FOR q full year.
| He was a lawless. brilliant, weak large
hearted creature, with q very splendid
| intellect, a very weak character. But
Throughout the crapulousness OF his ca
reer he retained strong traces Of the in
| tense religious life in which he had been
brought up in the house of his father,
a rector of the Church cf England. In
deed, there was SO much devotion in his
| character, underneath all its foll;es and
! excesses, hat there was always an ey-
pectation that he would become Catho-
! lie before he died. He was Mirabeall
! without the ferocity and without the
| Atheism. His mind was extraordinarily
| fine in. its range and breadth. And he
| could lie wonderfully Industrious at
times With his own hand be drew up
! in one session every bill that was brought
|. In by the members of his party. He was
| always writing pamphlets or books on
| some public question of the hour and in
addition 10 all this, he was engaged pretty
| constantly In large legal practice; for
| though he had not as much work as other
balristers. owing to his irregularities and
absorption in politics, Butt was always
regarded as the most brilliant lawyer of
his time. q
In appearance he was just what he was
| in character. The figure was heavy,
loose -jointed, but large and strong. The
/ face 7hadsthick lips, a gross and in-shapen
Enose but beautiful soft brown eyes. His
portrait looks down upon me from the
|sWall nt MY study, and there is something
Epat it. even to the trousers, baggy
Fat the knees. The picture, even from the
tTgrave, pleads for. mercy for the gentle
Though erring spirit the man who suf-
cred; much. When Parnsll first appeared
! in public life Butt was delighted. The
Home Rule movement was then in it's del
|icate infancy. There were no funds to
lspeakgof;: L believe that when the general
elect ton, ,pf 1874 was sprung upon the
Icsfntry bY Mr.. Gladsto Butt had to ~
Ito EnS and to escape arrest for debt; ana
he Had lust to pick l1ps every anan who Of
fered stos stand ith eased spr true atts;;
cllu5ents sto eay 3 Home Rule
ii.;sa