The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-06-18

bearded, showing under the low caps
the enthusiastic eyes of the men of Ire
land. l met the general on this occa-
sion AIT the residence of Mr.. Coyle, the
former proprietor of the National In
telligencer. As handsome as ever eyes
as brilliant and persuasive as when |
first saw him. His voice was more free
and full and the English accent which
he had acquired at college in England
was gone.
Meagher was a capital anecdote tel
Ter Here are two that he told with a
rollicking humor and imitation of The
parties concerned In his day Judge
Monahan was notorious for his conviv-
ial habits, his sprees and his frequent
crowsiness upon the bench. He had a
brother Stephen who was register of his
court and in addition to his incorporate
habits was very profane and absent
minded The judge would often repri-
mand him for his drunkenness Blast
you, Stephen, drunk again" On one
occasion Stephen handed the Bible to a
witness. saying loudly, Take the
book!' The witness moved not a mus
Gle. Take the book" screamed Ste
phen. The witness was silent, but
finally said, gently, Il am Friend.
'D-n you, you are no friend of mine;
take the book,' At length the judge
reused himself from his drowsiness in
time to say. BLOW you, Stephen, don't
you see the fellow is a Quaker?"
He was full of anecdotes of his ia
nous brigade. One story is too good to
be lost. He said he was leading his
men to the front in one of the Seven
Days battles when an aide rode by and
announced the news that our army had
carried a certain strategic point and
several colors. Dye hear that, boys"
shouted Meagher, our men have won
the day and captured the enemy's col
ors!" Just as l said that" remarked
the general, "a private who was plung-
ing along out Of one muddy hole into
another, looked up at me and said, "Ah,
ginral, I'd rather hev pint of Dinnis
McGuire's whiskey now than all the
colors of the rainbow.
The oratory of Thomas Francis
Meagher stands alone-unique, unap-
preached and unapproachable. More
than a hundred critics, European and
American, have all endeavored to find
out the secret of his marvellous power
Even Lecky, the conservative historian,
is compelled to confess that he was the
first orator of his age, and he quotes
samples of Meaghers speeches to prove
his convictions. He had all the essen
tials of true oratory-including a splen-
uiu anu anu
possessed a full knowledge of the En-
glish language. All its vast resources
We're at his command. He studied it in
all its various derivations. He had no
fault to find with it. Neither had Mil
ton when he wrote his Paradise Lost"
nor Locke when he produced his great
work upon the Understanding" nor
Chatham when he Numbered in the
house of commons. He carefully pre-
pared his speeches and lectures in the
seclusion of his study; there he would
spend hours over one sentence--he was
a splendid sentence maker; hence there
are no drunken metaphors and no driv-
cling statistics in his lectures and ora
lions to mar their beauty and impair
their strength.
Action was another of his attributes;
there was no start. no friction, no ex-
carnations of wonder. Every gesture
was a picture; you saw the scenes he
described He never raved, never tossed
his arms. never tore a passion ITO very
rags and split the ears of the ground
hogs" / have said that the nearer saw
his personages. Read his lecture upon
Grattan-there you behold the volun-
teers in their uniforms-beauty in
wreaths, and chains of crusted gold,
and the spires and people Of Dublin, in