Waterbury evening Democrat., 1908-10-26

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 felt keenly for the land Of his fore
 fathers and was outspoken in his de-
 nuciation of the system that pau
 perized Ireland. And that outspoken
 ness once came near getting him in-
 to trouble. It was while sojourning
 In Dublin. at time when the whole
 country was prescribed. Accepting
 an invitation to banquet. he was
 asked to speak on the then prevalent
 question of land tenure. His speech
 forceful and energetic, was, as may
 De supposed, not over complimentary
 to the English government. At the f end of the banquet he went to his
 hotel and enjoyed a good nights
 sleep. happy no doubt that he had
 given the Hons tail a twist. But
 early the next morning he was met
 by a number of the society that had
 given the banquet and told to make
 himself scarce in Dublin as he would
 certainly be persona non grata"~ to
 the officials. The hint was taken as the monsignor had no desire to make
 the acquaintance of Her Majestys | prisons.
 It might bc expressed that Mon signor Slocum's knowledge of Eng
 fish history was extensive, and indeed
 1t was, though scarcely more SO than
 his knowledge of French history. Of
 Napoleon as military genius he was
 an ardent admirer In his library
 was life size portrait of the emperor
 and, a marble bust of the little gen.
 eral," both of which he prized very
 highly. Back in the eighties when
 our former minister to Paris, MT
 Washburne, was writing a series of
 articles on the French commune, the
 conversation turned one day at table
 on the famous battle of Waterloo. The
 monsignor had made detailed study
 of the famous field and with several
 bits of paper outlined the whole of
 the battle and showed how Butcher
 intercepted Grouchy and prevented his
 alliance with Bonaparte and for three
 quarters of an hour and gave gra-
 phic description of the battle that
 was very instructive and highly inter-
 esting and at the same time showed the mans mental grasp of details.
 But in the realms of history Mon signor Slocum was never more at home than with dialogue with the history of his native land. To him the United States was the greatest coun- try on Gods footstool. He felt the full force of Scott's work:
 "Breathes there a man with soul so dead Who h hfpoca1f cosI
 This is my own, my native land"
 Especially strong was he in his knowledge fthe civil war. It may seem like dealing in exaggeration but it Is, however, but truth to say that there were few men who had as intimate and as detailed a knowledge of that internecine struggle as had Monsignor Slocum. He read what came his way and was familiar with most writers on books pertaining to the war. And his admiration for Grant and Sheridan was but little, If any. greater than that he had for Lee and Stonewall Jackson. For hours could he relate incidents of the civil war and, as he more than once proved had more precise knowledge of the battlefield than some of the army off1cers Scarcely Decoration day when his services were not in de- mand by some Grand Army post, a service that he gladly rendered for he loved and venerated the old vet of '61 and '65. ''The story of the armless sleeve" was one that always inspired him with an eloquent theme and drew from him all that was best in his repertory of orator, and in Con- necticut at least his name is house. hold word wherever dwells survivor of the civil war. He made it a point | to visit nearly all the principal bat tie fields and one had to be in his company to realize how Interestingly he could talk of Bull Run and Antie. tam, of Shenandoah and the Wilder ness, of Fair Oaks and of Gettysburg, of Vicksburg and New Orleans. To- gether with the purely historical | knowledge he had an almost inex- haustible fund of anecdotes with | which he interspersed his familiar 1 conversations on war topics. Of bluff | old Ben Butler he could spin yarns innumerable and it was veritable literary treat to hear him tell of the days when old Ben was the autocrat- ic ruler of the Crescent city.
 Perhaps the battle that called l forth all his sympathies and that he | could never speak of without visible emotion was the battle of Cold Har- bor, where so many Connecticut men | and so many of his own native town of Winsted, yielded up their lives in defense of the union. Had Monsig- nor Slocum been a writer and given a history of the civil war 1t is safe to say that scarcely one issued had | been more interesting.
 That Monsignor Slocum, a youth at | the commencement of hostilities, did | not take an active part in the civil war. was due to no lack of juvenile but rather to the parental | that nipped his boyish l schemes in the bud. About to board | the train at Winsted with the enlist ed men, the parental hand somewhat | unceremoniously yanked him back. It was a case of unconditional surren- der and in ignominious captivity was he led home, where for brief time the base of bellicose operations was transferred in favor of Slocum pater, who. so says the monsignor, gained decidedly forcible, If not brilliant victory.
 Much more might be written of Monsignor Slocum and yet do only a tithe of justice to his character. But one more fact needs recalling and that is that he was an up-to-date