Omaha daily bee., 1900-02-11

greater practice. | supposed yet more elo-
quent. II you want an i%mpromptu speech at
any time on any subject under the sun, a
speech that will deceive the listener into the
idea that il Is a really fine one and that the
| speaker knows what he is talking about, call
upon an Irishman. someone has said to me,
adding. and the less he knows about the
subject the more eloquent he will be- That,
despite the hard facts Of life which he Is
continually knocking against in America, he
never loses the poetry OF nature, which is in
him in ireland, is seen at once when one
touches the reminiscent chord in the breast
Of the American. .
satire of n Tramp.
He has, / think, no less Wit than his
brother In Ireland; the simpler and more
naive humor is less apparent, l admit, but,
on the other hand, his caustic quality has
gained more point and force, and hc can
make it score like a rapier. When an Irish
man retains the naive and combines 1t with
the caustic he has an effective weapon in
deed. Not "A few OF our people here are
possessed Of this. A lady told me of an Irish
tramp Il would like to think that the genus
is rnre) who, having been helped at her
house, went on to the next. whose mistress,
though wealthy and lavish, habituaily re-
fused to encourage aims seekers, schooling
the maid to inform all such that they had
not anything eatable in the house. The
broken lrishman, getting refusal, plodded
his way back to the house at which be had
been helped, and he said: "Ma'am. you'll
excuse me for troubling We a second time for
help. | never do such a thing, but this poor
family over the way is in sore need, l think,
and if We wouldn't mind givin' me a hunk Of
bread or piece OF pie to fetch to them, good
ness will not forget We II las God forbid)
you should ever happen to fall into the same
disthress.''
The old faction spirit still clings to our
people abroad as well as at home, and our
i'll wishers are fond of saying that you can
not leave two Irishmen in a room alone or
one would kill the other in vindication of his
method of freeing Ireland. And so they tell
us that this want of cohesion, of agreement,
of unity is one of the big defects of our
nature In America as well as at home. The
people who call 1t a fault because we do not
always agree regarding ways and means are
superficial thinkers. Some one has said that
the curse of our Irish nature is accumulated
individuality. That this is the key to the
problem | admit, but that Individuality ac-
centuated is a curse l deny. Other nation
alities there are, and successful ones, who
let one man or two men think for them and
crowd like a flock of sheep wheresoever the
driver drives them. They are successful.
Contented sheep will grow fat. But every
freshman sets a value-too high a value, If
you like-on his own intellect, and thinks
for himself. and thinks that he can think as
well as his neighbor, If not better. And
though, collectively, this is a misfortune, 1t
is an admirable trait individually.
From the ordinary worldly-what you call
the practical-point of view, then, lrishnen
may be unfortunate in their natures, but
looked at from the moral level, as good men
should look at such, they are especially
blessed. Once two of my countrymen dis
agreed about the right and the wrong of a
subject, and at length came to blows. When
one of them knocked out" the other df you
will permit me borrowing from the language
OF your ring) he bent over his fallen friend
and asked: Have We got enough" PLENTY,
Lord knows" Who's right, then" You're
right. of course-though the divil take me II
| believe it," Then give us a shake of your
fist. ard we're free to believe what We choose,
so long as We don't want to shove it down
nv throat That was an 9ptly illustrative
combination of assertive individuality and
moral tolerance.
Tolerance n Trait.
For, though the Irish-American does not
get proper credit for 1t, he is a very tolerant
northumberland more tolerant now than
before he quilted home. Even the North OF
ireland Orangeman, who, with the posi-
BILE exception Of Mohammeds henchman, is
the most intolerant individual that ever
stalked over the earth, grows broad, liberal
and Irish in America. Yet among us north
ern Irish the old feeling of party animosity
takes long killing, | admit. On one st.
Patrick's day an ungracious mayor refused
the right of having the green fioated over
w.. a Z 100 thnrn tic
man was, to an American group, rating the
contemplate mayor at a grand pace. One
of the Americans interposed, But, Charlie
if he granted you Irishmen such a privilege
on this day the Dutch would ask to have
their flag hoisted on a day of their celebra-
ton Certainly, an why shouldn't they?
said the Just Charlie holly, oh, but Their
the French would ask to have their flag
too, hoisted on their day AN, of course
so it should" Charlie assented. and ther
the Swedes would look for the same privi-
lege.' Certainly, why not?" And you'o
let the Dagos have theirs, too Justice is
justice, even if a man is a Dago,' anc
Charlie looked about him with a bold, chal'
longing air. and you'd give the Greek anC
the Jew the same right The Greek, the
Jew and the Turk" assented Charlie. "Anc
on the Twelfth of July, of course, the
OrdnpeLnen WOulu NY Hdb vi - ~
stantly Charlie placed a fearful INST under
his questioner's nose and said, Il would
br'ak the neck of the man who would pro
pose it,
The partial distrust and dislike with
which, at one time, the southern Irish and
the northern Irish in America viewed each
other are much mitigated in these days.
think it was principally because of the non
Celtic element, or, at least, non-lrish, fol
which the north was noted, that the south
erners detested us. the fardowns. 1t vii
be remembered how, when the greenhorr
tumbled down a dark sewer and the Kerry
, man hailed him 10 know II he was far down
| the poor fellow f~earfully replied: NO, no
thank God, I'm only from Limerick Ever
between the purely Celtic and irish north
ern and the southern there is an interesting
difference of characteristics. Whether OF
not it is from his long association with th'
I Scot know not, but our northern lrlsf
) Celt represses his emotions and Is distrust'
l full of strangers. whereas the southern irish
. man is a jolly comrade, and has told yo'
the history of himself and all his kin on a!
7 hours acquaintance. The northern is slowel
, IN friendship, and, | think, truer. He Is no
l nearly So brilliant as his southern cousin