Waterbury evening Democrat., 1904-09-30

AhG oChSdl1OlS Il1dI lu0 GAllG upon his return to his native land af- ter an absence of a quarter or half country can hardly be described in the hastily written columns of a newspa- per. Of all things positive it is the most prominent. He is impatient to feel the impulse of his native land un- der his feet. He is watching every landmark on the passing coast, pro vided he can stiIR recall them. He judges the speed of the ship by that of the passing fishing smack, and he challenges the veracity of his watch. He makes no secret of 1t that he will stay up all night in order that he may catch the first glimpse of his country with the first ray of dawn His iln- patience to see land, the country of his birth, Gods own country, Ireland,
 First flower of the earth
 And first gem of the sea-
 Is matter of surprise, even to him. self, later on. His heart throbs as it never throbbed before. His pulse quickens when the information goes around that breakfast will be ready an hour or two earlier than the usual hour The emotions of the returning exile at that time are all his own.
 He is perhaps returning to take last glimpse of his country and no power on earth can transfer his feel ings then to the breast of stranger. He gazes forever forward. He scans each passing cloud and watches the thousands of sea birds that gather and careen over the ship and dive into it's turbulent wake for the morsels that playful hands cast at them These birds are a certain sign that the shore is near, and the exile scans the hori- zon to see if land, the land of his birth, the land of tse patriot and the /saint, the land ~s Emmet and the Sheares, Fitzgerald and Tone and the Manchester martyrs died for; the land that caused the llntimely end of poor Parnell; the land of O'Connell, Flood and Charlemont. is in sight.
 It was early morn, or 5 o'clock, when it was our luck to see 1t, when the first glimpse of Ireland came into view It was a mere speck on the northern horizon and but for the af- firmation of the sailors one would in sist it was mere cloud. But after an hour or two it becomes more distinct, and the weary exile burning with anx- ety to tread once more the old land, feels a pang of disappointment run through him at the sight presented along the horizon. Up to this time he had no faith in the stories that the Irish coast line is one of the dreariest in the world But the sight that meets his anxious and scrutinizing eye is a confirmation of them.
 Speaking on the subject the night before landing, we supposed it was prejudice that prompted the steward s opinion in this matter, but we found this could hardly be, for the coast is certainly dreary and monotonous in the extreme. All through his voyage the exile has pictures in his mind of his old home, the shady boreen that led to the school house, the sweet 4smelling briars that decked the road way. the ever green trees that sur rounded the house, the blackthorn bushes and the lowing cattle that called him to take them home when evenings shadows fell, but all these | memories are banished by the scene that meets his eye. The temperature of the morn, too, must necessarily in fuence that feeling to a great extent, for 1t chills him to the marrow. All l that he sees are barren fields, noun tainous crags that run down into the water below and over which focks of sea birds careen unceasingly. Under the beetIing brows of the dark and rugged cliffs fishing smacks by the dozen stand at anchor. Not house, not tree, not living thing is seen save the fiocks of sea gulls that met the ship way out at sea and accom- pany her far up the dreary coast. Will the awful monotony of this rugged and barren shore ever end the impatient exile asks himself a hundred times. The news the pre- ceding evening was that after seeing land the passengers would disembark on the tender for Queenstown few hours later But the anxious exile has been four or five hours on, deck watching the land fly by to the accom- paniment of the ear piercing screams of the sea birds.
 But suddenly a great and magnifl- cent change takes place. The sun breaks through the clouds of mist. Ev- erything takes on a brighter look. Far off over the bow of the ship the exile sees a huge white pedestal, apparent ly standing out in the sea, and on either side is high hill. While he Is straining his eyes to define more clearly. the objects in the distance, a pennant is run up at the masthead of the ship bearing the. letters 1sU. s, M.," meaning United States Mail," and the blood red flag of England, the Union Jack, is run up at the stern.
 The spirits of the exiles are light ened, and the view takes on a still brighter aspect The fields are green corn, cattle move slowly over the land. Y7bea o11.o11f nf fho ooyuha nor1as faipf-