Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1910-03-17

song in the British dominions, and for
years, although it thrilled the heart OF
every Irishman, it was never heard in
public in England.
If Boucicault could have lived un-
til the queen made her last visit to the
Emerald Isle. when she consented to
the wearing of the shamrock, he would
have seen, as the royal party land
ed from her majesty's yacht, the
Dragons, Fusileers and Lancers drawn
up in full uniform to salute their ruler,
a sprig OF shamrock on every breast.
and the queen was greeted by the same
, old song, "The Wearing of the Green"
In those intervening years the air
that seems to hold all the pathos of
Ireland has been sung from the cabins
of Galway to the camps of Irish regi-
ments, fighting England's battles from
the Cape of Afghanistan. Kipling has
told in "Namgay Doola" how it had
reached to the mountains of Thibet.
Lovers of research of this character
have found that there was an old Rev
dictionary street ballad in Ireland in
which a conversation was imagined be-
tween Bonaparte n an Irishman, in
which Bonaparte inquiries: "And how
ould is ireland. n how does she
stand?'' n to this he is given reply:
"'Tis a poor distressed coun-the-ry, oh,
poor I-ar-land."
Mr.. Boucicault. it is said, was given
the idea of rewriting the song by his
mother, but she was only able to re-
member the first four lines. All the
rest is original with Boucicault Nor
is this the only song he adapted in the
same way. The old-time popular song,
Pat Malloy,'' was also written by him
to an old Irish air.
Mr.. Boucicault was born in Dublin
on December 20, 1922. He was educated
partly in that city and partly at the
Londo University, n became con-
nected with the dramatic profession in
the year 1841 as author of London AS
%surance," a play first performed at
Covent Garden Theatre on March 4 of
that year. Mr.. Boucicault did not make
his stage debut until Monday. June IA.
1852, in a play written by himself, en-
titled THE Vampire" In 1858 he came
to America for the first time, and made
his appearance in "The Fox Hunt at
Wallack's Theatre. He returned home
two years later. In 1860 he wrote and
produced in London his famous play,
1.-The Colleen Bawn." He came to
America to reside permanently in 1876,
and took up his residence in New York
city, where he died on September IS,
1890.
James Napier Tandy, the Irish agi-
tator, referred to in the song, was
born in D%ublin'in 1740 and died in that
city in 1903. During the American
Revolution he took an active part in
the effort to prevent the use of English
goods in Ireland; was an enthusiast
in the volunteer movement on May
81, 1882, commanded the corps of artil-
lery that guarded the approaches to
receive the answer of the ministry to
the demand for legislative independ-
ence, and was one of the foremost in
the volunteer convention of November,
1888.
Ten years afterwards when Napier
Tandy was about to be tried for writ
ing a seditious pamphlet called Com
mon Sense" he fled to the United
States. In 1898 he went to Paris and
was put in command of a vessel for an
invasion of Ireland. He remained on
Irish soil, however, but eight hours,
and then went to Bergen and from
there by land to Hamburg. At the lat
ter place he was seized and delivered
to the English, and upon his arrival in
Ireland was condemned to death.
| Bonaparte, however, brought such
pressure to bear in his favor that the
prisoner was released. He soon after
went to France and was made a gen.
eral of division.