The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1896-09-12
.SlRUGGJES OF TAY PAY
He Tells IN a Racy Way Of the
M Men and Women He Has Met
in His Career.
Delightful Descriptions of Hi
Visits to America on Lectur-
s.y ing Tours.

al y. =
e6srvi1g the Conditions
Over Here.
B4. Continued from last week.
q i should not leave my American expert
I ences without telling something OF my
4 second visit to that country; and some
thing also of the impressions which were
made upon me on my return to this coun-
try I have already told the bitter news
u which reached me before | landed at
Queenstown. The poignancy OF the I'M
preston which this news made upon me
was increased by the experiences through
I which had passed in America. l have
learnt by this time to know something OF
4 the seamy side Of American life; but some
Of the evils which are SO plain today were
not 90 well known, and had neth perhaps,
reached SO aggravated arpesitio1 Wha2 I
was firsl In the eQAptffvN14 years ago; afsl!
besides was g9od deal younger, observed
less closely, and was. altogether more dis
posed to look at things eau couleur de-
rose'' than I am today. And what saw in
America then were vast masses of my own
country people, we'll clothed, well fed, pros
pering, contented, and Independent In
speech, spirit and bearing. can recall to
this day the sight of two Irish girls whom
b met in a train as I was travelling back
one. morning from Boston to one OF the
small towns where 4 was delivering
speeches nightly. They had been at the
meeting and were glad to have talk with
4 one from the old country. could scarcely
believe that they were factory hands. They
were dressed in clothes which would have
been considered good, if not opu'ent, on
lady in Dublin. Their manners were
delightful. They spoke nicely, grammatical
!. " and with easy self-confldence, and while
4 their faces retained the soft beauty OF Their
race, they had an air or refinement OF self
confidence, and of prosperity, such as were
asdelight to one who had seen so much as
II have of the squalid, hopeless and abject
side Of Irish life. ! saw similar scenes
throughout the country wherever l went.
OF course was not brought into contact
ssiitth the sdarker;side Of things: for the men
w4ascontroll lied my meetings We're usually
OF tie prosperous trading or professional
/ classes, and they had all the same story to
B tell of prosperity, advance, freedom-all
( the blessings in which the great republic
is SO rich. And then speaking, as did,
as messenger from Ireland, with great
party and movement behind me, 1 saw peo-
pie In their kindliest moods: in short. l
had very gratifying time so far as my re-
ceptiOn and impressions were concerned
though must admit that Mad many dark
and lonely and tired hours in the wh:rl,
the excitement and the constant travelling.
Nobody who has not gone on lecturing
tour can fully understand all it means Of
fatigue, ennui, and sometimes of despair.
i have often been asked since to go on
Recurring tour On my own account to the
United States, but have always refused.
though the offers were often sufficiently
tempting, because of my keen and painful
recollection Of all suffered from fatigue
during my seven months Of lecturing on
my first visit to that country. When you
read that men have made what appear to
be fabulous sums on lecturins tours coll-
sole yourself with the thought that they
i have earned their. money in about as hard
q kind of work as ever tried the nerves
of the human frame One OF the feelings,
by he way, remember from that period,
was q perfect horror Of crowds, that some
times came over me, and an almost insane
desire to be by myself. I remember once
going over early to a town where had to
speak, so that might be unknown, and,
shy being unknown, might have few hours
q of perfect solitude-the charming solitude
to q public man, who has been accustomed
Y to be stared at and to be always surrounded
; by people, of walking through the streets
unknown and unohserved. My respite was
brief. AS was walking along the streets
a man stopped me. He was one Of those
who had been in the neighboring town
the night before and had heard me. re-.
call still the feelings of disappointment
4 with which found my journey incognito
thus interrupted. Another source of the
\ feeling of loneliness that sometimes be-
comes overwhelming on a lecturing tour
b Il that you stop SO short a time at each
place Wherever went met kind, gen
8 elous friends, who spared themselves no
trouble to make my journey agreeable.
1 sBut then, these friends were lost in the
Z course of a day or two, and then one had to
astar ont again on a long, fatiguing and
sslcnely journey, and go among people who,
i however kind, were at first sight new faces
s ana new names.
f3nt tn spite OF these drawbacks brought
back from the United States the most
I pleasant and sunny Impressions Of the
country. It Is true that now and again I
RG$tI0 gn0 Al0t lo14lt NC1lySS "a LudC5 uISGOu.
\ tent and new gospel OF socialism and the
!. Ike which have since startled the world.
But was not very patient with such
things, filled as was with the constantly
srecurrent scenes Of my own country people
sprospering so well-sso contented 80 loyal
ft, America so proud Of her Institutions
and Of the chance those institutions had
wen them. have been a day dramersall
but my day reamss have never,
5s Ken the: shape OF imp ossible political
ldeals. had put these people down as
Eesel Y dfsc0nt Tented, ,or irrational Oh futile,
aIoers and they had IN no way blurred
ma genera inapr ression Of well being, con
aajttents ~ hopef fu1ness which L took back
rom the United States. s5
lasa landed at Que enstown, and j found
! id q new, and what had 9beco1nei
aost strange, sci N III. he houses
A st to me squa squalor
they never wore bef Gre the cnn.B
pns liiI1tt the
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n q
Z NV sis 1lla