The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1898-02-19
THE BRILLIANT AND TMGIiLY.GIFuT.
ED EUGENE DAVIS.
ASSUMED The NAME OF "owEx ROE. "
WHEN IN COLLEGE HE sLAsHED
AWAY AT ENGLAND.
IN THE COLUMNS OF The IRISH PRESS.
THE GOVERNMENT FAILED TO
BRIDE THE PATRIOT.

THE
The following sketch of the late Eu-
gene Davis, the Irish literateur, an
pears In the Weekly Bouquet" from
the pen Of William D. Kelly:
All 1nadequately noticed by that por-
ton of the press to which for years his
graceful and versatile pen had been a
frequent and welcome contributor,
there passed away from earth last
Thanksgiving Day, at his residence,
SAT Manhattan avenue, Brooklyn, a
brilliant and highly-gifted young lit
terateur. whose name had long been a
familiar one to his countrymen and
their children the whole world over;
who had won himself an enviable place
In the world of letters, and whose gen.
ial personality will long be missed
by those who were honored with his
acquaintance and friendship.
Born at Baltimore in the Irish county
OF Cork, March "a, 1857, Eugent Davis
had the happy fortune of beginning his
studies under his fathers loving eve
and direction, for the senior Davis was
man Of excellent abilities and fine
education, who for years conducted a
classical school, wherein many Irish
priests made their preliminary courses,
at Baltimore. 1t was Eugene's original
intention to follow in the footsteps Of
his elder brother, Rev. Charles Davis,
who will be remembered as the patriotic
parish priest Of his native town who,
In conjunction with the Baroness Bur-
dett-Coutts, accomplished so much good
for the needy fishermen of the south
west Irish coast few years ago. After
his classical course had been completed'
IN Ireland, Eugene went over to France
and commenced his philosophical stud
les, under the direction of the Sulpician
Fathers, at Issy-sur-Seine, where he re-
mained for two years. Then he went
to the Grand Seminary of Paris, an
other Sulpician school, and took up his
theology. Hailing from one of the poor
est Irish dioceses, that of Ross, young
Davis was obliged to provide himself a
portion Of his tuition fees and in orde.
to do that, he contributed articles in
prose and verse to various Dublin pub
lications which paid him for his labor.
AS 1t was contrary more or less, how
ever, to the seminary regulations for
any student to employ his time other
wise than in study meditation and the
acquisition of the ecclesiastical spirit.
Davis was Obliged to resort to many in
nocent subterfuges to get his "copy"
mailed; and had his articles, which then
appeared over his now well-known
pseudonym Of "Owen Roe" been less
intensely patriotic than they uniformly
were, he might have escaped detection
at the seminary and been in due time
promoted to the priesthood.
But gentle and mild Of character az
Eugene Davis ever showed himself, he
had inherited more than an ordinary
amount of that hatred which every
lrishman entertains for English mis-
rule, and that animosity naturally made
itself felt in the productions of his pen.
ments of his native lands misgovern.
ment that they attracted the notice OF
the British authorities, who at once
set Investigations afoot in order to
1o1r ,1,.>,
littlo difficulty in ascertaining that
"Owen Roc was none other than Eli
gene Davis, and then, In the customary
British fashion, an effort was made to
bribe him over to Englands side That,
Of course, ignominiously failed, for E,,-
gene Davis was never professional
patriot" and his devotion to Ireland
was beyond the power of gold to buy
Foiled III that move, the plotters against
the young patriot caused complaint to
be lodged with the directors Of the
seminary that one Of their ecclesiastics
was writing and publishing revolution
airy articles of sedltious character
against the British government. An
investigation followed with the result
that Davis acknowledged the author
ship of the "Owen Roe" papers, and
forthwith he quilted the seminary.
Instead Of going back to Ireland, after
doffing the soutane. Eugene Davis de-
termined to stay In Paris and earn his
own livelihood with his pen. That
was no small undertaking, for although
he wrote and spoke French AS luently
as he did English. openings were not
waiting in the Partisan journalistic
fields for men to come along and I'LL
them. What made matters worse for
the whilom seminarian, was the fact
that the Irish publications to which he
had hitherto contributed had become
financially embarrassed ana unable.
consequently, to pay for further articles.
The beginning of the Land League
agitation which Mr.. Parnell started in
1879, caused the Parisian press, how
ever, to pay more attention than it had
formerly given to Irish affairs, and