Notre Dame Scholastic, Vol. 24, No. 37
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4^ H 3j SplSCEQMSI.S^HPER^lHCTTmTrS • YIITE. QU55I • CB3S -HOHinmUsr. VOL. XXIV. NOTRE DAME, INDIANA, MAY 30, 1891. No. 37. In every social crisis remarkable men arise. An Etude in Cit. In the struggles of Irish independence many great men have arisen. One of these was John "He took the cake,—but not the cake."—NEW PLAY. MacHale, Archbishop of Tuam in the western 'Twas the fragrance of Araby greeted his nose; part of Ireland. Born in 1791, he appeared in There was promise of sweets in the odors that rose, As he passed by the kitchen, and suddenly grew one of the most important epochs of the world's A wild longing to test, as the bee tests the dew, history. The teachings of Jefferson and Franklin The "idyls" in pastry that fairies might make. found their way into many hearts across the And known unto fame as the " Graduates' cake." Atlantic. The French Revolution soon followed So at supper that night, " Ah what bliss to the taste the American and changed the face of Europe. Is this cakeli" he exclaimed. Then he thought, "I will haste The success of Washington and the fervid elo To my friend, tried and true, for I'd like him as well quence of Mirabeau created in Ireland an ardent To enjoy the rare treat, and together we'll dwell hope of civil and religious liberty. The yoke of On the gifts fortune sends; so I think I will take serfdom had pressed the people for centuries; What is surely a piece of the ' Graduates' cake.'" their ancestral faith had been proscribed, and He was guiltless, indeed, of all evil designs; now the hope of national independence roused For he, too, was beguiled by the fair outward signs. the people to a state of frenzy. Nowhere in This delusion has called us to pity your lot; You were caught in the snares of a deeply laid plot; Ireland was this excitement more keenly felt You were victims, indeed, of a grievous mistake than at Tubbernavine, the birth-place of Mac In supposing you ate of the " Graduates' cake." Hale—a hamlet on the eastern slope of Mount And if horrors ensued from the morceau petite, Nevin in the most picturesque part of Conne- (Will you pardon the French?) notour cake did you eat. mara. The place of his nativity, encircled with But the feast we have offered for death holds no charm. scenery grand and romantic, with hills and And the hamper that reached you need cause no alarm. lakes and woodland, made sacred with classic Then, oh kneel, and revoke your rash vow for the sake Of the only original " Graduates' cake." legends, historical recollections and the glories Q. LiNARY. of Milesian valor, inspired the child of genius with that love of faith and fatherland which John MacHale, Archbishop of Tuam. makes his name imperishable. His mother tongue was Gaelic. He knew English, Latin, "Tlie Lion of the Fold of Judah."—O'CONNELL. Greek, French, German and Italian. He is one of the very few men who have left masterpieces The "Life of Archbishop MacHale," by Dr. in two languages. One of his best works is Bernard O'Reilly, in two volumes, is a work which "Evidence and Doctrine ofthe Catholic Church," bears in every line the stamp of intellectual written in English and Irish. It has been trans power. The style is lucid, the philosophy deep, lated into all the modern languages. and the estimate of the great prelate's character just. The coloring is rich without exaggeration; John of Tuam is not only illustrious as a the landscape painting true to nature, and the prelate, a prose writer, a polished speaker, he historical sketches of political parties in Ireland is also eminent as a poet. He translated since the Revolution of 1798 drawn with a "Homer's Illiad" into heroic Gaelic metre.and master's pen. Moore's Melodies into Gaelic, using the same S82 NOTRE DAME SCHOLASTIC metre as Moore employed. He was the great it he always used the best means. His voice est scholar in the Gaelic tongue. was ever raised against the hereditary foes of He came before the public as a writer in 1820, his country, and ever ready to plead the cause under the assumed name of " Heriophilos." of suffering Erin at the bar of public opinion. His letters appeared regularly for twenty-seven His zeal and love were unchangeable. He years, and rank with those of Junius and Dr. was as true to the client for which he plead Doyle. His style is strong and dignified, show- as the needle to the pole. His judgment never . ing the influence of Burke and Shakspere. His failed him; no English statesman could deceive public career covers a period of more than sixty- him, and no British intrigue could delude him. seven years, during which he never made a Calm and majestic as the grand old mountains single mistake. In the fierce arena of polemics of his native Connemara, he kept the enemy at and politics MacHale had to deal with men of bay; and for more than half a century filled a acknowledged ability—Lord John Russell, Lord place in Irish history second in importance only Palmerson, Lord Derby, Sir Robert Peel and to that of O'Connell, And well does he deserve Mr. Gladstone. It was he alone that saved that place. Who showed more love for the land Ireland in the Sadlier-Keogh conspiracy; and of his birth; more zeal in the press, in the pul saved Ireland from the effects of the plot pit, on the platform, in the cause of mankind; entered into by English demagogues and states more steady resolution to keep clear of the men to ruin her cause on continental Europe, snares of English statesmen, in order to be able and especially at the Vatican. to serve his country at all times; more courage In this trying crisis of Irish history the Arch in asserting the rights of civil liberty and the bishop had to contend with troubles at home principles of eternal justice? and abroad. Cardinal Cullen, misled by British HUGH O'NEILL {^Lazv 'gi). promises, became the tool of the "English gar rison." O'Connell died, leaving his son John to. take his place with nothing to recommend him To the Graduates' Cake. but the name of his father. The "Young Ire- landers," driven to revolution by despair, were "Gratitude is a lively sense of favors to come." now in prison, or in the penal colonies of Eng —^DE I-A ROCHEFOUCAULD. land. The "Lion of the Fold" became the Is it a snowflake or a lily fair? leader of a nation. He led that nation, poor Or mass of cherry petals in a gleam and down-trodden, not without success, against Of April sunlight; or a golden dream Of the ambrosia that the high gods dare the strongest and the proudest in Europe. Isaac To taste with reverence, but yet never share Butt, owed his influences to MacHale; and the With Philistines who only human seem? present Irish Party is indebted not a little to And scorn this cake, of all earth's cakes the cream, the Archbishop of Tuam. As a modern writer A symphony in cooking, rich and rare! puts it: "MacHale was the bridge connecting Thy icing, like froze music, he has scorned. the Repeal Movement of O'Connell and the Thy feathery lightness, like a summer cloud Irish Party of to-day." In ambient air—unto the poet's eye, The ideal of the Archbishop was the resto A moment's bliss!—and then forever mourned!— And he has scorned thee, he of that vile crowd ration of his country, which had been paralyzed That wallows in pig's feet and rhubarb pie! by the Act of Union. This ideal was embodied in I. M. N. DlGNANT. his " Repeal Programme," and is the foundation •*•*• of Gladstone's .Home Rule policy. From the beginning of his public career it was the main Napoleon Bonaparte. spring of his acts, his words and his movements. He defended his convictions with the fearless On the shores of the picturesque Island of ness of a Hampden, the patriotism of a Pym, Corsica, washed by the placid waves of the deep, the coolness of a Jefferson and the fluency of a blue Mediterranean, stands the quaint little town Mitchell. History has accorded to him the of Ajaccio." In this obscure spot was born, on character of a statesman whose diplomatic abil August 15,1769, just two months after the con ities in many respects resemble those of Wolsey quest of Corsica by the French, one who was des and of Richelieu. He had the capacity to grasp tined in after years to astonish the whole world broad principles, and the power to distinguish by his military genius and glorious achievements. between means and ends. His end was the This was Napoleon Bonaparte. His ances freedom of Ireland and the happiness of man-. tors were Italians, and had he been born two kind. This end he never changed; and to attain months sooner his fortunes would have been NOTRE DAMIE SCHOLASTIC. 583 those of a son of Italy. The future emperor In 1792 he was commissioned captain, and on of the French was reared among the hardy June 20 of that year witnessed the horrors com islanders, while they were making their last mitted by the mob at the Tuilleries. Although efforts for liberty in striving to throw off for disgusted with the cruelty and barbarity of the ever the odious yoke imposed upon them by the revolutionists, he recognized their immense French.