The Irish standard., 1903-03-14

tics. The lecturer instanced a bow of
twelve who, when coming over to
Canada in sailing vessel i'm 1925,
| made all the navigation calculations
for the captain who was i'll. Sir Will
liam Rowan Hamilton, Kt., of Dublin
hot Sir William Hamilton, Bart. of
GlaSgOW-made the greatest mathe-
NAUTICAL discovery of the nineteenth
century when he invented the calculus
of quaternions.
The Irish intellect is not less strong
i'll metaphysics, as many subtle and
deep thinkers witness, from Duns
Scotus-who is claimed by England,
Scotland and Ireland, hut whom we
may put down as an lriShman-to
Berkeley, the father of modern Ideal
lists. The Irish peasant has ALWAYS
manifested Il great thirst for knowl-
edge. In the sad days of the penal
laws, when schools and schoolmastcrs
were forbidden to the Catholic Irish
under the direst penalties, the suppos-
edly ignorant peasants carried their
literary studies into the silent fields
under the shadow of the hedges. and
studied Homer, Virgil and Euclid.
This was the origin of the famous
hedge schools"
The Irish imagination has IL wider
range than that of almost any other
race. Their whole history is rcdolent
of Il better past, and thus there runs
through their poetry and music
minor vein of melancholy. AS an on
ample of the melody of Irish verse,
Father Drummond read ID. II. McCar-
thy's pillar Towers of Ireland" en-
phasizing especially this stanza:
Here WAS placed the holy claicc that
held the sacred wine.
And the gold cross from the altar, and
the relies from the shrine,
And the mitre shining brighter with
it's diamonds than the east,
And the crosicr of the pontiff, and the
vestments of the Priest!
10 show that Irisllmen were also
! capable of that tllought-provokins
style which condenses truth into Il
tcrse epigram, the lecturer quoted
many gems from the writings of John
Boyle OReilly, who an escaped con-
vict, captured the culture of Boston,
which thinks itself Il little better than
heaven.
OF Irish humor. Father Drummond
gave several amusing instances. some
of which he had himself heard at first
hand. 10 show the IriShman's love of
his native land. and how he preferred
its genial poverty to the stiff respccta-
hility of England, he read MORA o.
Ncill's "Corrymeela," in which occurs
this StanZa:-
1.-The people that's in England is richer
nor the Jews,
There's not the smallest young gossoon
but tllravelS in his shoes!
La give the pipe between me teeth TO
see a barcfut child,
Och! CorrymecIa, an the low south
Wind
we have seen lately in the papers
that brighter days are in store for Irc-
land. II Englishmcn will only under
Standard they are learning the les
son more and more every day-thnt
the Irish temperament cannot bc made
regular and metlodical like tho Eng
lish, they will let them rule themselves.
Allowance must he made for national
characteristics. The 1rishman has
many faults, but no mean ones. He is
Il born idcaliSt, Imaginative and ycncr-
Gus. But he must have leaders that
know him we'll
1t has been said that the Irish could
not govern themselves. How is it,
then, that so many of them are leaders
of their fellows all over the world?
Governors like Lord Dufferin, Gcncr-
ais like Lord Roberts. Irishmen are
splendid fighters; their bravery is pro-
verbal. We know what it was in the
late South African war, we have heard |
what it was in the American Civil
war, especially at the battle of Fred
cricksburg, where one thousand out of
twelve hundred Irish soldiers were cut
down but did not retreat Nor is it |
even necessary for lrishmen to join |
some well disciplined army in order to |
learn obedience. Count Peter Lacy, |
entering the Russian service as sub
altern. recognized the savage llOrdcs |
Of the then undisciplined Muscovitcs
and Transformed them into cOnqucrOrs
of the hitherto invincible Swedish |
king, Charles MI.
The Irish are often accused of lack
ing perseverance and constancy of will. |
TO prove the contrary the lecturer
dwelt at some length on the life and
marvellous deeds of John Nicholson,
born in Dublin, who died heroic death |
at the siege of Delhi. He was a man |
cast in Il giant mould, with lustrOus,
menacing eyes. Thoroughly vcrscd in
all the habits of the natives of India,
he eHrted over them more than
kfngly influence. A brotherhood Of |
Fakirs renowned all other creeds and |
devoted themselves to the worship of |
"Nikkul-Seyn," When they heard of |