New-York tribune., 1905-12-13
An Irish Leaders Story of His
Life and Adventures.

This is the story of brilliant, erratic Irish
man. who has the sincere admiration Of some of
his bitterest political opponents and it is told IN
4sscinatingly simple manner. It has the flavor
Of autobiography. romance and history. The
author begins with the picture Of an ideal boy
hood home and the portrait which he draws of
his mother makes her stand out as a woman Of
rare gifts Of mind and heart. William O'Brien
was always sickly. Born In an atmosphere in
+enseIy hostile to English rule. It was not un-
natural that he should be one Of the most active
spirits OF the old Land League. At the inception
Of that movement he reporter the
Dublin ''Freeman's Journal" and the agrarian
war had not advanced far before he became Par
neIPs most intimate friend and confident. Scat
4ered through the pages are keen sketches OF
Parnen Archbishop Croke. Dillon. Biggar, JUS
TN Mccarthy Davitt, Sexton. Healy, Redmond
T P. o'Connor and the other men who figured
so conspicuously in the Land League war.
The authors share in all that turbulence is
lated Inodestly enough, yet withal it bears the
marks OF the trained reporter. who misses none
Of the essentials in telling a good story. His
part in 1t was small one. On Parnells direct
and insistent order he founded United Ireland"
g weekly newspaper, as the organ Of the league.
II was truly q remarkable production. Week
after week it sent broadcast column on column
Of revolutionary sentiments and doctrine. There
vas no n1incing Of words. no qualification Of
language That Mr.. O'Brien repeatedly laid him
self open to prosecution for sedition is unques-
1ionable Indeed. his chief protection was the
knowledge among the officials OF Dublin Castle
that he had no fear of consequences, and rather
invited than evaded the martyTdom Of place
IN the dock
One Of the most amusing sections of the book
Is that in which he describes the efforts of the
Chief Secretary for Ireland. William E. Forster,
10 suppress United Ireland Mr.. O'Brien was
imprisoned in Kflmafnf1arn Jail with ParnelI and
the other suspects but the newspaper came
out on time as usual Policemen attacked the
Office arrested the whole staff, and seized copies
Of the paper wherever found. Still United Ire
land" was issued regularly. and every issue was
more audacious and defiant than its predecessor.
one week it was published in London. and the
next IN Liverpool, and all over Great
Britain, until finally the police chase became too
warm and the publication Office moved to
Paris. The joke of the situation that the
whole paper was practically written and edited
IN Kimainham Jail, right under the eye Of the
keeper. This is Mr.. O'Brien's comment:
It was another Of the sngulaTities Of the Forste-
10 Rent movement to supply the Journalistic slim
ulus and direction of the movement weekly from
While he was pursuing United 1reIand' in fever
from city TO city OF Ireland and of Great Britain.
the writer almost the whole of the perilous stuff
~ 9 b5 SO own Mg eustody upon nited % Ireiand was now
the only visible emblem, the flag. of the outlaWed
ways of making upon it-ether by a prosecu-
fer the publication, or by the strong hand, smash
Ing the types and locking up the concern. Mr.
Fosters method had neither the legality Of the
one course the vtriie tyranny Of the other TO
M m 6 sef GPef WITH tRr6@g into
prison everybody he suspected, either or writing
It's types or te8ding its machines. or furnishing
fts accounts and he kept q regiment or policemen
or-a5f fort 1rna
the shops Of the agents who exposed IT'S pIacaTqs
snail bows who sold it It was the reductio ad alb
surdun of squalid uneonsttutiona Mr. I WIliam
and brother Of the scarcely less famous war corre-
EDITOR after nv arrest Before fortnight he was
warned bv friend in the secret police that the
1oye the C2afIe gosbsvks made +her sWoop A fort
night afterward. Mr.. J. Brce Bilen. barrister, Who
succeeded him was carried off Dundalk Jail The
The sub-editor toined me in Kilnanham. Mr.. Arthur
oKeefe, the assistant sub-editor, who next stepped
Next. the commercial manager was arrested. and
FOR the foreman printer his sub-foren1an and one
Of his compositors and finally the very machinist;
reasonable practices, and sent to swell the ranks
Of the prisoners in Kilmainham-
It seems never to have occurred to the Chief Sec
-etary that the enemy against whom he was wildly
his work from his own Jail Ny brother prisoners
included representatives from every county In the
south. east and west of Ireland They were all
allowed tn receive their local newspapers. AS THE
came matter Of prime importance to encourage
Information as TO the extent and vlgor or the ma,
each Of the Suspects his Iocs! paper together with
their private letters, received by subterranean
agencies. giving particulars not otherwise attain
able. In this way my cell was converted into an
Information bureau from which was able weekly
10 dispatch many columns Of exciting details, ana
many columns OF pungent comments, so that
the paper amidst all the crash and chaos IN us
erv room. became more formidable foe. and the
object Of q stronger public interest than ever
Mr.. OBrien makes dramatic feature Of his
first election to Parliament as Member for
&alIow. It was in Mallow that he first saw the
light Of DAY. He had been away from it for
years and was almost unknown but the Oldest
.nIab;tants remembered with respect his father
ard mother, especially the latter. When ParnelI
ordered O'Brien to make the fight for MaIlow
against the Irish Attorney General the fighting
journalist almost collapsed. Here was a rotten
borough" in which the voting franchise was
held by a few hundred persons most Of whom
mad hitherto regarded the privilege as some
thing marketable. O'Brien pleaded to be re-
leased from the duty, but Parnell was inexorable.
There was no thought Of victory, but. as the
leader cynicalIy said, OBrien would be less
badly beaten than anybody else VINO could be
drafted to make the fight. In fear and trem-
bling the former MaIlow boy set out for what
he believed TO be the scene of inevitable defeat
if not Illumination. On his way he visited Dr.
Crcke, Archbishop of Cashel. who gave him
comfort advice and check for f1oo- Parting
from Dr. Croke, the story continues thus;
AS I vas starting for the train his farewell, as
knelt kiss his ring. was: Well God bless your
mothers son" That was the bIesslng tnaI nat oHg, .
sLrew the Castle power IN aoW' 1S i ~ 6hy gy
mothers son. and not the son sell VINO proushC
naughf ] am afraid my heart was beating very
icly somewhere lar down sp3o my 7,yP RE sense