The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1906-11-10
The People of Destiny.

Written for the lntermountain Cathoic)
Picture, II YOU can, beautiful young nightin-
gale, endowed with all the qualities of her kinda
voice wonderful that her notes send thrill Of
admiration and awe into the appreciative heart
plumage so gorgeous that one might deem il cum
bersome-yet she Is free to soar untrammeed
through Gods smiling skies. Suddenly snatcbed
by some mhuman hand she is imprisoned behind a
few IRON bars to anguish there, silent. dreaming
miserable IN her pltIless anguish You now have
formed an unpleasant but accurate likeness of the
condition Of that country Isle of Saints and Schol-
airs, which boasts Of every distinction but that one
the most necessary and nvioable tie to the success
OF any nation-freedom
hat land of emerald hilsides and far+ila vol
leys shelters crystal streams teeming with an
abundance of fish: the rich soil has steady and
Wiling hand TO reveal the wondrous hidden secrets:
the dense forests are homes through which the wild
ueef roVes III sportlve freedom; the deep calm seas
boast harborS which afford ineXhaustible sources ,f
commerce; the lofty peaks and crags are grown
gray with history. around which floats an endless
chaln OF myths and sages sacred to the Irish peo-
pie. These are few of the natural advantages
possessed by race noted for that fierce arrogant
Individuality and a generosity which exceeds com
mon hospitality. and to which we may add a racial
affection strong that here friend dies for friend
and HE is held IN hand to be gambled for at the
slightest provocaton; recognition of national
anllty, an incredible fondness for their island
home. and lastly and above all that deep venera-
Tor the heavenly destiny, which has stamped the
race with an lndehble mark and by which they have
proved to be anchored safely as attested by the
countless numbers who have persisted readily and
willingly in that beautiful cause.
In intellectual pursuits we find Ireland eyer
ready stand beside her sister nations if not with
the same equal results at least with similar ear
nesness Of work and labor The question then
confronts what is that grim barrier which
prevents Ireland from being the first nation in the
world. from possessing the brilliant destiny which
should be hers Z"
1t is not lack Of voice which keeps the niehtin-
gale from singing neither is it lack Of character
which keeps Ireland from reaching the highest rung
OF the ladder. She Is not wanting IN perseverance,
stability constancy, ambition, capacity or cour-
age. She has wthstood the ravages and invasions
Of barbarous nations and experienced the fiercest
and bloodIest contests with warlike foes emerging
always with fresh hope and courage and a new de-
sire for supremacy. In the ninth century when the
Danes entered the island and destroyed schools and
monasteries leaving the natives destitute Of every
thing in fact but that indestructible possession
Of Faith She with new yigor commenced again the
difficult task of reconstruction.
And what can we say anew of the heroes Of
Ireland! Prominently amid the spiritual con-
querors stands Saint Patrick. that man still so
honoTed among a multitude of men. the founder of
one OF the most powerful and lasting of Christian
empires, kingly appariton upon the scene of
heltlc society. At a time when the land was bur
one horrible wrecSage. he accomplished far
reaching, bloodess revolution by placing in the
hearts Of these once barbarous people fervor and
zeal which has been reflected on the hearts of all
Christendom. They so ardently co-operated with
hmm that today they hold nothing more sacred than
hs peerless gift of Faith Their gratitude to him ,
is almost reverental, the gratitude that any nation
would feel for one who led them from darkness to
light. from ignorance to knowledge, from barbarism
70 civilization
Ia intellectual development we have Daniel
. Council, he who worked and shaved through a
lifetime TO raise and improve the standard of the
Irish school-that element most necessary after the
spiritual progress of a nation.
And where have we a second Robert Emmett:
ms very life was one long martyrdom. renuncia-
non for his fellow men. a grand effort TO free his
country from the degrading chains Of slavery