The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1899-08-19

from a state OF things so fatal to our
character and to our independence,
(Applause.)
Mr.. Yeats said DR.. Hyde had told
them how quickly the language was fad
ing, but they must not think that it was
really very difficult thing to revive
language, once a country had made up
its mind to it. Several languages which
had seemed lost had been revived in this
century, and with great rapidity. A
Bohemian scholar had told friend of
the speaker, how, when some forty
years ago group OF Bohemian scholars
were met in certain castle. one of them
pointed to the ceiling and said: "If that
ceiling were to fall it would bring the
Bohemian to an end" And now the
Bohemian language was so powerful
that questions concerning it were threat
ening to break Austria in two, and to
shatter the Triple Alliance. The COM
ing of the Gaelic League and OF DR..
Hyde, who would be remembered by
coming generations as Thomas Davis
was remembered, had begun new
epoch in Ireland; and he himself had
no doubt that the Gaelic language would
be saved where it is now spoken, and
spread into many Of the places where it
has been forgotten. For good or for evil,
he had to write his own books in Eng
lish, and to content himself with fill
ing them with as much Irish thought
and emotion as he could, ior no man
can get literary mastery OF two Ian
guages in one lifetime, but he foresaw
without regret time when what was
the work OF his life would be in for
eign language to great part OF the peo-
pie OF this country. ireland would
some day have living literature in the
Irish language, and then they would be
able to say that they had the longest
literary history of any country in Eu-
rope, except Greece Their lyric poetry
had begun long before Chauccr, who
founded English literature and it had
had an unbroken history right down to
the poet Raftery, who had lived in their
own townland, and been known to many
OF the old people still living there, and
their legends and epic stories we're of an
incalculable age. Was it not better to
sing these lyrics, and tell these legends
and stories to one another, than to sing,
as they were beginning to do, the low
London music hall sor. ~ Could any
English song be as beautiful in their
ears as the song in which Raitery had
prayed that the roads might be made
dry before him, that he might come to
their own Ballylec; and should not the
stories that had once made the hills OF
Ireland holy with romance. and beauti-
iul with heroic memories, be dcarer to
them than all other stories? The ma
tionhood OF Ireland had been commit
ted to their care by the saints and mar
tyrs Of the generations that had gone
before them, and the language OF Ire
land was necessary TO its preservation.
Even those Irishmen who were forced
by the circumstances oi their lives to
talk and think in English, would be the
poorer if their fellows we're not to talk
and think in the language in which the
most that Ireland had OF greatness was
remembered. Irish nationhood was like
some holy sacrifcial fire, and where we
stood watching, O'Ncill and Sarsficld,
and Emmett and Davis, had watched be-
fore. II we allowed the fire to be ex-
tinguished by craft or by apathy, we
would commit the greatest of all sins
against humanity and against the prog
ress Of the world-thc sin against the
dead and against the work OF their
hands. Let us see to it. however little
might be our part in iic, that no man
would ever say that any embcr or any
flame of that holy and sacrificial fire had
been extinguished because of our fault.
A vote OF thanks, which was carried
with enthusiasm, was proposed by the
Venerable Archdeacon DAILY, in speech
in which he warmly supported the Ian
guage movement.