The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1906-07-07

INC WIlole Sulllut ol palIluS, CoHN'uE.
farce, l often thought that * 80 has:
only got the advantage of carly anu
deep literary training he might Laws
made Il name for himself in literature.
He had very distinct dramatic gifts.
And he loved writing: I never knew
Il man who wrote So constantly
mean without any necessary compul-
sion to do SO. When men were SPEAK
ing in the House of Commons on any
subject in which he WAS Interested. Da-
witt would be seen taking almoA. 80
full II note of speech as if he were
Il reporter who had to reproduce ~ IT.
his newspaper. When he had to make
Il speech he wrote out every single
word of it, He wrote several books.
and all in Il very short time. The
least occasion tempted him to IL letter
in the newspapers. l believe there will
be found volumes of manuscripts
among his papers, and. il l mistake no:.
an Irish drama. I have not seen it.
considerable merit. If Davitt could
write as dramatically as he talked, amy
dramatic production of his would be
good.
In the gallery of his Jail acuuuint
ances there We're all kinds Of types, ana
Davitt in Il way loved them all. He
III n, nh
with laughter some piece of doggcrel
that Il pickpocket or burglar had re-
cited to him during those furtive con-
vcrSations which even the stern RUE
of silence in convict prison do not
succeed in entirely preventing. And
then he would so ON to tell some talc
command of dramatic presentation.
The fault i'm his writing and in his
speeches was the common fault of those
whose education has come late in life.
He was inclined to be ponderOuS and
to prefer the big to the little wore
when he took q pen in his hand: but he
could write very we'll when he let him
self CO. He moderated his powers in
this as in many other respects. He re-
manned to the end an essentially mOn-
est and even self-deprecatory mtn.
The end of his life is a tragedy. For
some years he was in very depressed
spirits because he had been unable I"
make amy provision for his wife ana
children. He was the most unralcu-
, lating of men, ,leSpised money. ana
would have been quite happy, he often
told mo. if he had an assured income of
G"00 tSl.5OW year But need
scarcely say that his people. if lie
had allowed them would have willingly
guaranteed him that amount. Bu,
he never would accept II penny, and
in all money matters he was orderly,
thrifty ana srrupul"us to almost llr-
dishncss.
II" found it hard tn make an i'll
come. He waS shut out from most En-
glish newspapers by his opinions. and
= he would not compromise in amy Way.
| whatever his needs. His earnings:
were therefore precnrinus. He worked
/ hard To keep the wolf from the dh"r.
/ You know something of his w:.ndcrings
tun, he travrrscd the whole continent
II Australia In the drcadrully hare:
work of lecturing. I'ut money thus.
earned went fast he was haunted ana
tortured by the vision "f wife and chil
,lrrm left to the cold and uncertain
charity nf the world. For some year,.
even tn his best friends he seemed fret =
! full. irritable and depressed.
/ And then all at once and quite un-
exprctcdIy cam. sunshine. His wifi,
had an aunt "f considerable means;
and when she died It was found that
she had left iu her niece IL compctcl-
! ry--sonc three or four thousand ,lOi-
lars Il year. Dnvitt was transformed.
all his old gaicty and h"pcfulncss re-
turnrl and he came To London I" scr
his friends. and WAS always in high
spirits. He was much concerned by
recent political events in Ireland. and
wrote aud spoke with asperty ;;ppi
iheiu. i:ut he was ~ changed man;
SETTER. swcctcr kinder than he hat
even been before. And then came til,
general election. He rackcd himself
almost to death with nycrwork, speak.
ing wherever there was an lndcpcnd
, cnt Labor candidate. and thus prcpar
Ing the Way for the inroadS of dis
| ease.
But tile tragedy of his death is tina
, many think 1t might have been pre-
G. vented. II II had hot been for JOIN
E Dillon il would have come sooner. Dii
4 Ion. hearing from Dlvitt that he wa
III. wen, down to his little house Il
s l'alkcy. seaside suburb of Dublin
$ and WAS shocked I" tiud how bad Da
t witt was. He :ltd had some teeth eX
o tractcd: this led to blood pniSonin,
Il an one of the puinfu symptoms c
II that disease as ii form OF lockjav
= John Dillon found poor Davitt Sittin
= in IL chair which he never had left tl;l
Il and night for some days, quite uncor
It sciuuS that there was peril and salts
e fled with small remedies. Dillon, VII