The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1902-11-08

and supplied with books. Though the
foreign scholars, in most years, num-
bered from 10000 to $4,000 or more,
everything was free to them. They
were the guests of the nation.
But the generosity Of the Irish did
not end here. Hundreds of thousands
of men and women left their native
land, and spread themselves all over
Europe, teaching and evangelizing
everywhere. A series of hostile inva-
sions stopped this blessed and holy
work, at home and abroad for one
thousand years, but the spirit of it
lived in the hearts of the people.
Hence, in the penal days, and since.
while education was against the law
of the land, and while the people We're
few and superlatively poor in the
goods of this world, the old time
generosity was ever shown to the
student of books. The persons. known
as poor scholars wandered from
place to place, and were made men,
bers of any household they saw fit to
join. l myself have seen some of
these poor scholars when I was Il
child. The people, almost as poor as
they, We're only too glad to keep them
gratis, while they prosecuted their
studies and equipped themselves for
the battle of life.
But more remarkable trait of the
people of our race, is patient hope.
Let their sorrow be ever so deep, or
their cross ever so heavy, they knew
that God was ever near to console and
strengthen them. When their fields
were drenched in the red blood of
their defenders; when their country
became graveyard for their stricken
dead; when, in the famine years,
the wall of their starving children be-
came a low moan, and then was hush
ed in death, oh! when our broken
hearted motherland, unsightly in rags,
and covered with sores, was sitting,
like Job, in the agony of desolation
and death, then. even then, the godly
people of my native land, looked up
to Jesus on the cross and rested Sc
cure in the conviction that, as God
knew what was best. He would not
fail to bring to them, and their dying
country, peace. consolation, reward
and salvation. In the famine years,
when the pail of death hung over
that devoted country, and when fam
inc, fever and exile had carried away
three millions Of the population; then
these heroes and heroines Of the faith
were anchored securely in the love
of God, by virtue of the hope that
was in them. A touching incident
of these dreadful days is sometimes
told by the old people.
Who has not heard of the sad fate
of the Widow Burns Of County Glare
and of her five sons? They were
slowly starving. The oldest son took
the famine fever and died The
neighbors dug his grave and buried
him in Gods acre. SO many were
dying then that funerals were few,
and as Il rule each family was COM
PEELED to bury their own dead. The
second son of the widow soon took
the fever and died. The mother car
ried his body on her back to the GEM
etery, removed the fresh clay from
his brothers grave and placed his
CONN over that of his dead brother.
The third and fourth and the fifth
sons died of fever, and the mother
carried them a!ro, and placed their
bodies, one over the other in that
same grave, and covered them With
the clay that made Il mound above
them. Then the lone widowed mother
died, and two women carried her
body, and placed il by the grave of
her five sons.
When the Danish prince, Turgesius,
found himself firmly established in
Ireland he resolved to destroy faith
in Christ Thor. not Jesus, was to be
the God of Ireland. rh sacrilcgious
tyrant threw down thE tabernacle,
and made the high altar his chair OF
state. Horror seized on the people.
Wives and mothers coniured their
husbands and sons 70 so forth to
battle for the honor of the Lord
King Malachy of Meath led on the
gallant clansmcn, crushed the power
Tough Dwell. Woricn wept for theil
dead in battle, but they praised tho
God, to >ndicatc whose honor, thcil
dear ones died. History informs us
that the Danes and Mortimer tried
for 300 years to conquer Ireland. and
plant IL kingdom there as they had
done already in England, France, and
elsewhere. In 1913 they resolved by
one great effort, to destroy the re
li@ion and the autonomy Of ireland
Word was sent to all friends, allies
and dependents. to make preparation
and send all available nsSista nee, il
ships and men ut arms. Norway
Sweden. England, Normandy. thu
Orkney islands. and all the other 1Oi
inhabited islands under Danish con
troll, rs we'll as Danish Dublin and
other parts OF ireland, were busy il
preparation. The Mortimer, in thcil