The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1901-03-17

Emerald Isle. and the smoke Of ruine'
homes and conquered cities filled the welkil
with lurid flames and weird. fantastic
shapes.
1.-The fanes of Odin threw their shadow:
Grated the temples of the Nazarene witt
their werd and savaKe rites. and bards SAM
in Runic rhyme. the sages of their land
through valhalla's CORY halls. The raver
Of the North f1oated over many a field OF
carnage. tapped her wings in triumph above
Kings III s'' ane w ar ersn c t9n CT. sepr the c ianS
of their birth and the graves of their
sires with bloody hecatombs. and the purple
the Danish hosts were conquered on the
plains of Clontarf, and the emblem of Niord
vanished before theysymbol Of the Cali
THE last echo of the war steed,s martha
tramp had scarcely faded from the distant
mountain heads when the Saxon thane at
and battleax. and for the last seven CEN
turtles the Isle of Erin has been a dark and
bloody field of battle. Though the Irish peo-
PIE have been prescribed and prosecuted,
though they have been dragooned and mas
sacred, though they have been pursued by
the. sleuth. hounds of British domination.
and forced into dreary exile by the mar
! dates of British Law. yet their patriotism
las J ever been subdued. and their national
spirit Is as uncOnquered and as unconquer-
able as the mighty mountain ribs Of stone.
Love OF freedom is the most prominent
characteristic of the Celtic race. The spirit
of independence will never wax cold in the
Irish heart till the Goddess of Liberty shall
weep over. the ashes of fallen Empires and
the ruins of conquered nations, and the
Ety. ,a'e u d s''eA' "0f'0 anu d ''S' human
The Norman knight landed on the
shores of Erin In 116s. and for 400 years
of the tempest and the dirge of the deep,
and the Widows wall, and the orphans cry
responded to the signs of the woods and the
with the shadows of the dead and the
voices of the grave. The best blood of Eng
land had dyed the hills of Erin in vermii-
land II had. been sacrificed on the al,ar i' Of
patriotism; and yet only three counties
acknowledged the sovereignty of the Brit
ish rcalm.l The indcmitable courage Of the
Celtic warrior in defense Of his home and
his firestde is displayed on every page of
his country's history.
Hugh. o'Neill. with a force of 5000 men.
routed the Saxon legions of nearly twice
Yellow Ford; and Owen O'Neil, with a loss
of seventy soldiers. ha!lowed the field of
victims. The lovers of chivalry will ever
read with enthusiastic admiration the
record of Irish valor at Augrim, Athlone,
G%harlemont. carrickturs4s; Enniskillen:
heroic deeds and sacred memories. The
siege of Limerick was conducted by men
who had won laurelS on the field Of car
r; ge, aDG had achieved tr;umphs that hal
made them famous throughout Europe.
They were supported by the power of the
British Government. and armed with ample
munitions of war and the deadliest engines
of destruction. Again and again they
poured out witherirg fusiIlades on the vail
ant defenders of the city: and again and
again they were repulsed and hurled back
from the walls Of Limerick by Patrick
sarsdeld and his gallant comrades.
"Such has been the story of con-
persion of his kinsn,en and the desecrati.,n
of their temple. Since the day that The
Roman eagles screamed above the burning
walls of Jerusalem. the children Of .Abra-
ham nave filled the world Nth the lamcn-
tations of their renowned prophet. that
clad hills of Israel. and ofeI sac.fce in
the Temple of Solomon. Go with me, then.
into the darkest periods CT Irish history
to study the character OF Irish patriotism. |
mo country on the globe has produced
a brighter galaxy of illustrious heroes than
met. William Orr, John and Henry sheares,
Thomas Russell, Robert Emmett, Mitchell. |
Meagher, Duffy, McManus: William Smith
O'Brien and that long catalogue of Political
martyrs of '9S. ''48 and '66. whose lives will |
ever glorify the temple Of freedom. When
to his lips. and exclaimed: "For the |
which I have embraced, / feel proud |
er to wear these chains than Il I were dec |
grated with the Star and Garter of Eng |
land"
1.-THE human tongue has never uttered a |
sentiment. There was life, liberty. |
honor, wealth. distinction, renown on enc !
side: and death and legal infamy on the
other; and the culprit turned his face from !
all that the world could give. bore all its