The Irish standard., 1902-08-09

Nm erroneous impression exists that
tho days of the great explorers and
nnvi"aturS are over. and that unless
one adventures the frozen pof2S. tho
opportunities for great discoveries and
spicy exploration have vanished for
over from IL" earth. .ln fact the aver
age man believes that all the earth is
surveyed and mapped: that there is
II, rurnrr of tlr. sphere SO remote but
that the careful and serious invcsti-
gator may find there an empty Amer
lean tomnto-cHn or the tintag of some
ohio plug tobacco concern: fCr the
trail OF no civilization THAT is Splri-
uus bears these indrlihlr evidences of
discovery and the march of true pro-
wrrSS is never without them, writes
Joseph Smith. of Lowell. Mass. IN the
Boston Pilot.
Let the wrrlh talk" heart; the race is
growing neither drr,trnt nor dccrcpit
The old primitive fire still burns lntly
in the veins of men: their energies are
not cxlarstrd: they are simply seek
ing new channels. new fields of on
pnrtion ANA cxploitntion: or. rather.
are turning back ON the old and for
gotten lands TO rrtlscovcr ami rrvivify
them. We are more Ur less familiar
with the Brton of the leisure class,
who. arriving at the nH.' Of in'liS,rc-
tiun. is turned loose on an inlr cent
and imolfrnSivr wrrlh to cXplnrr il and
reduce his impressions tu literature.
This particular genus adds very meas
he is constantly discovering things
thnt he would never have known any
thing about had he stayed at home or
had he neglected to hc born. His fn-
voritr sea of navigation is the Atlantic
Ocean. his fnvOritr scene of rXplnra-
ton and discovery. New York. supple
mrntrl occasionally by Chicago. In
these two brnightcd spots II. finds
things Of which the native has ever
remained in the darkest Ignorance: lie
seeks the gold-lT;'k operator in his ma
tive lair; he examines Tnmnlnny un-
der the microscope: he rul,S elbows
with the marine wonders of Cuncy Is
land, and possibly explores the plr
Iicrs of Fifth avenue. where the plr.
pie pArvrnI Frances fOr the cdiiicn-
ton of the town. The British cxpur-
or of thu Twentieth Century rcncws
the youth Of the world nnd makes
Vascp dc CANA. Columbus. Amcrigo
Nrspucci and Daniel Pratt I"ok like
thirty cents.
Not since the ancient misty days
WHEN Mall of the Nine Hostages spent
his vacations HnnhilHiing Roman To-
vinns ana ST. l:rrn'lnn advcntlIr'ql the
Atlantic and placed the rock in posi-
tion for the later Pilgrim Fathers to
land on--not since those days have the
Irish run to exploration and navign-
tion. They have been birds of pas
sage. wild geese. cmigrnnts. frontiers
men. voyagcrS. ana m>n in the gaps
of civilization all down the ages: they
have hobnoll,cd with Phorncians and
rOllOgucl with CarthrgcniHnS: they
have swappch stories with Prcstar
John anh sung ''romr.nll-y yes i'm Vrnc-
tian galIrys. ana they have gone up
ANA down III" Spanish main in It's
fighting days: but they have made lit
tie prrtrnSiOn to the fame of nHvigat-
Ors ana explorers Not since the mem
mnhr day when Rnrnry O'Rcirdon.
the Navigator. sailed away from the
rlntI,'n@li Hnd ont Of Galway RHv has
Ireland produced Il lrst-cnss. drrp-sca
ndvrnturcr: but at last the tide has
turned and the race is coming into its
own again.
II is the unexpected that is always
happening: ana wly,n out of the busy
mnlts Of New York there bursts ono
who combines the daring Of Barney
OItcilllOn with the fcrvid fancy of
Marco Polo or Tom Walker. then sure
ly has the unexpected happened. We
welcome with open arms into the
roodly company of the navigatcrs and
.discovmrrs. into the gallant fellowship
of Barney O'RcrlOn ana Captain