...
"Noble patriots like John Dillon and William O'Brien fight for them
in the House of Commons, and they are good fighters everywhere,
from the glass-covered room in Westminster Abbey (!) to the
prize-ring, where a Sullivan, of pure Irish blood, forbids any man
to stand three rounds before him.
"The English whipped the Irish at the battle of the Boyne--true.
But the English on that occasion had the good luck to be led by a
Dutchman, and the Irish--sorra the day--had an English King for a
leader. The English King was running fast while the Irish were
still fighting the Dutchman.
"Wellington, of Irish blood, beat Napoleon; Sheridan, of Irish
blood, fought here most delightfully.
"Here's to the Irish!"
This spirited performance no doubt represents fairly enough the
political philosophy of the thousands composing the league-long
procession which filed stolidly up Fifth Avenue on the day of its
appearance.
But even among unhyphenated Americans--Americans pure and simple--the
tendency to regard England as a hereditary foe, though sensibly weakened
by recent events, remains very strong. A good example of this frame of
mind and habit of speech is afforded by the following passage from an
address delivered by Judge Van Wyck at the Democratic Club's Jefferson
Dinner in New York on April 13 last.
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