The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1901-08-17
be read with interest in connection
with the foregoing sketch of Blenner-

hassett and his family:
Who is Blennerhassett? A native of
Ireland, man of letters, who fled
from the storms of his own country to
find quiet in ours. His history shows
that war is not the natural element of
his mind. If it had been, he never
would have exchanged Ireland for
America. So far is an army from fur
nishing the society natural and proper
to Mr.. Blennerhassett's character, that
on his arrival in America, he retired
even from the population of the Allan
tic States, and sought quiet and soil
tude in the bosom of our western for
ests. But he carried with him taste,
and science, and wealth; and 10, the
desert smiled! Possessing himself of
beautiful island in the Ohio he rears
upon it q palace, and decorates it with
every romantic establishment Of fam
cy. A shrubbery that Shenstone might
have envied blooms around him. N[u-
sic, that might have charmed Calypso
and her nymphs, is his. An extensive
library spreads it's treasures before
him. A philosophical apparatus Of
fers to him all the secret mysteries
of nature. Peace, tranquility and inno-
cence shed their mingled delights
around him. And to crown the en-
chantment of the scene, wife, who is
said to be lovely even beyond her sex,
and graced with every accomplish
had blest him with her love and made
him the father of several children. The
evidence would convince you that this
is but faint picture of the real life.
In the midst of all this peace, this in
nocent simplicity, this tranquility, this
feast Of mind, this pure banquet Of the
heart, the destroyer comes; he comes
to change this paradise into hell.
Yet the flowers do not wither at his
approach. No monitory shuddering
through the bosom Of their unfortu-
nate possessor warns him of the ruin
that is coming upon him. n stranger
presents himself Introduced to their
civilties by the high rank which he
had lately held in his country, he soon
finds his way into their hearts by the
dignity and elegance of his demcanor,
the light and beauty Of his conversa
tion and the seductive and fascinating
power of his address. The conquest
Of II S1y11f s,
simple and credulous. Conscious of no
design itself, it suspects none in 9TH
ers. 1t wears no guard before it's
breast. Every door and portal and
every avenue Of the heart is open, and
all who choose it enter. Such was the
state Of Eden when the serpent ell
tered it's bowers. The prisoner, in
move engaging form, vending himself
into the open and Impractical heart
Of the unfortunate Blennerhassett.
found but little difficulty in changing
the native character of that heart and
the object of it's affections. BY de-
grees lie infuses into it the poison of
his own ambition. He breathes into
it the fire of it's own courage; Il daring
and desperate thirst for glory: an ardor
painting for great enterprises, for all
the storm and hustle and hurricane OF
life. In a short time the whole man
is changed, and every object of his
former delight is relinquished. No
more he enjoys the tranquil scene; it
has become fiat and insipid to his
taste. His books are abandoned. His
retOrt and crucible arc thrown aside.
His 'shrubbery blooms and brcathcs it's
fragrance upon the air in vain; he
likes 1T not. His ear no longer drinks
the rich melody of music; it longs for
the trumpets clangor and the lannon's
roar. Even the prattle of his babes,
once so sweet, no longer affects him;
and the angel smile of his wife, which
hitherto touched his bosom with an
ecstacy so unspcakable, is now unseen
and unfelt. Greater objects have TAX
en- possession Of his soul. His magma
ton has been dazzled by visions Of dia-
dems, Of stars and garters, and titles
of nobility. He has been taught to
burn with restless emulation of the
names of great heroes and conqucrors
His enchanted island is destined soon
to relapse into Wilderness; and in Il
few months we find the peaceful and
tender partner Of his bosom. In whom
he lately permitted not the winds Of
summer to visit too roughly" shivering
at midnight OH the winter banks of the
Ohio and mngling her tears with the
torrents that froze as they fell. Yet,
this unfortunate man, thus deluded
from his interest and his happiness,
thus seduced from the paths of inno-
cence and peace, thus COMPOUNDED in
the tolls that deliberately spread for
him, and overwhelmed by the master.
ing spirit and genius of another--thls
man, thus ruined and undone, and
made to play subordinate part in this
grand drama of guilt and treason, this
man Is to be called the principal Of
fender, while he by whom he was thus
plunged in misery is comparatively in
nocent, a mere accessory! Is this rea
son? Is it law? Is it humanity? Sir
neither the human understanding will
bear a perversion so monstrous ant