VOL. XXXII.

THE BLUEBIRD.

The pearls of the morn on the red roses glisten,
The sunlight of summer is flooding the fell:
Hark, hark! to the lark of the wildwood, O listen!
O list to the bluebird that sings in the dell !

He sits on a sassafras spray, by the river,

A violet, all vibrant with life and with love:

And he sings like a lute when the silver strings quiver
To the touch of the seraphim fingers above.

O sweeter than honey, than syrup his singing;
And O how exultant and merry his note !
It is like the glad tones of a wedding-bell ringing,
Or fairy-bell, swinging in elfland remote.

At first a low bubble, a gurgle so golden,

And then, like a rainfall of silver, his song.
The love-song he sang in the sunny days olden,
When I listened, a child, to him all the day long.
Now rising, now falling, now fluting, now trilling,
His silvery tremolant floats on the breeze,
With music delicious the echo-dell filling,

And thrilling my soul with his sweet melodies.

O love, and O life! what a song of red roses!
What a rill of rich magical music outflows!

I listen, entranced, till the canzonet closes,
And my heart is brimmed o'er, like the heart of the rose.
The poet of the poppy, the field, and the wildwood-

No bard like this sweet, vocal bluebell has sung;
Bringing back the poor heart to the days of our childhood,
And soothing our grief with his silver-tipped tongue.
O God of the rainbow, the rose and the lily,

Who hast made of the earth a bright garden of flowers, We thank Thee for all, in our inner hearts stilly, But mostly, O Lord, for this bird of the bowers!

Robert Emmet.

J. E. F. J.

S we draw aside the curtain which has concealed from us the history of down-trodden Ireland we see disclosed to us an open book, on whose pages are indelibly inscribed the names of many illustrious and renowned men. Men whose names and acts are dear to us, and who have distinguished themselves on many a bloody field of battle. There pass before our vision those who have waged wars and dyed the mother earth with their heart's blood; men who were fearless in their enthusiastic endeavor to free their fellow-men from the cruel and relentless shackles of tyrannical rule which bound them hand and foot; men who sacrificed their lives that their country might live. Glancing along the list of numerous names which are presented to our view we see the name of one who has made a lasting impression

No. 12.

upon every mind; a name which stands pre-eminent among the names of Ireland's martyrs, patriots and warriors-the name of Robert Emmet.

Robert Emmet was born on March 4, 1778. His father, Dr. Thomas Emmet, was a man of noted intellectual ability and well known for his amiability and integrity. Of the early youth of Emmet but little is known. By his birth, and the precocious intellect he displayed, he might have aspired to the greatest honors. He entered Trinity College in the year 1793, where he cultivated a taste for literature and the sciences, and applied himself most earnestly to these studies. His spare moments were devoted to the study of his country's history.

He first came before the notice of the public in 1798. At this time he was the acknowledged champion in the intellectual field, and stood unequalled in the mastery of oratory within the spacious halls of Trinity College. His straightforwardness, purity of heart and amiability won for him the esteem of his fellow-students. He was so enthused with patriotic sentiments that he disseminated the seeds of rebellion within the minds of his companions, who were in sympathy with the United Irishmen in the insurrection of '98. Emmet was so masterly in his eloquence for the cause that, on a visit of Lord Chancellor Clare, he, together with nineteen others, was expelled.

He now spent some time on the continent. In the meantime he obtained an interview with Napoleon and Talleyrand, who promised to assist him in carrying out his plans. Emmet, aspiring to free his beloved Ireland from the hated English rule, returned home and, in the spring of 1803, began his preparations for an insurrection, by means of which he hoped to gain the independence of Ireland. Associated with him in his enterprise were the leading men of the various counties; men who essayed with one powerful stroke to crush the rule of the nation which had given them the poisonous cup of which they had so long drunk. Depots for the distribution of arms were appointed in various places in Dublin and the adjoining counties. Everything was now in readiness, and the arrival of the French forces was awaited with much anxiety. Alas! over-confident, judging his coadjutors as himself, the thought of a traitor in camp never entered his mind.

The 23d of July was the time set for the execution of his plans. In the early morning Lord Kilmarden, while passing through Dublin, was killed. When news of the disaster was brought to Emmet he resolved to strike at once. Rockets were set off to inform the other counties that Dublin was at work. With drawn sword Emmet, at the head of a number of armed men, started for Dublin Castle. But as the militia were pouring into Dublin his party disbanded and fled to

safety. Everything which a few moments before had been so serene now became confusion. Martial law was proclaimed throughout Dublin. A reign of terror, such as the rebellion of '98 alone can tell of, now held sway. The people were subjected to the insults of the English soldiery. Life in general was made a miserable burden. Having no means by which to repel the tyrants, they were forced to submit to the outrageous atrocities which were heaped upon them

Thus came to an unhappy end the long-sought-for struggle for freedom. Napoleon had not come to their assistance, as he had promised, and thus were balked the well laid plans of Emmet. His attempt was foolhardy, some say, yet, had he been successful in bringing his plans to an issue, he would have been lauded by those who now decry his act. Emmet might have escaped but for his remaining to take a last farewell of the lady who occupied a place in his heart. However, he was captured, hastily tried, and sentenced to be hanged. His eloquent denunciation of England's policy towards Ireland, the heroic bearing with which he uttered that famous speech when on the brink of eternity, mark the crowning act of Emmet's life.

On Sept. 20th of that eventful year another victim of England's hate, still in the morning of life, passed into eternity. For as the sun, setting in the west of that little isle, glinted its rays upon the pallid features of a man whose life had ebbed away, a cry of anguish rent the hearts of Ireland's sons and daughters, for their hero and idol, Robert Emmet, was no more. But so long as the sun shines from out the vaulted dome of heaven, so long as Ireland's shores are washed by the waves of the ocean, so long as the trees are kissed by the winds that rustle the leaves, the name of Robert Emmet will be sung in peons of praise by all true children of Erin, and will forever occupy a place in the hearts of his countrymen.

B

F. E. D. (3d Rhet.)

Correct Thoughts-Ideals.

UT recently, while perusing one of our scholarly magazines, I was not only impressed by the variety of subject, but was as well astonished by the versatility with which the several authors treated their respective themes. One, emanating from the pen of a polished humorist, depicted the light and vivacious character of the writer; another, a treatise on a recent discovery, breathed in its every line the care and exactitude of the inventor; while a third, dealing with one of our social problems, betrayed the all-absorbing spirit of the age, the pursuit of the almighty dollar." Here and there, scattered indiscriminately, as it were, devotees of the muse chanted their melodious strains, a circumstance which served as spice to the heavier and more practical articles. It was with a view to fathom this sea of enigmas, to explain how men, educated, perhaps, together, living under the same institutions, and sharing the same customs, could transcribe their thoughts to posterity in a manner so strikingly peculiar to each, that this article has been written.

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Man, by his very nature, possesses a variety of talents. God generously lit up his intellect with a spark of celestial brightness, and this one gift is commonly

known as thought. Thought is rooted in the soul, which is the informing principle of the body. To search further would be but to wade beyond our depth, and, therefore, leaving the more intricate questions concerning thought to the psychologist, we shall reconcile ourselves in examining to what extent thought influences our daily life.

We fully perceive that correct th ught does not mean that we shall hold opinions and theories because other men hold them; neither does it force us to repeat or remember them, nor wish us to shout for the latest innovation, or condemn that which we do not understand. But into such channels is the present generation sadly drifting. There are nowadays few Bacons who would manfully question the empty philosophy so common to our age. Bacon saw in his college chunis men, like "becalmed ships, that never move but by the wind of other men's breath, and have oars of ther own withal." He noticed their obsequious bows to absurd and spurious teaching, and he severed himself from such flatterers and denounced what he deemed rank and inconsistent.

Brother Azarius, in treating of "Correctness of Thought," presents to us a succinct definition of right thinking, when he says: "Above all, it is to arrive at that condition of mind in which one can determine how and when one can express what one knows, and in which one performs the more difficult feat of abstaining from that about which one knows nothing." But for us who anticipate a profession, correct thought is as much a necessity as flush and odor are to the rose, as piety and virtue are conducive to soul culture. All the universities on the planet, supplied as they are with men the most capab'e, would amount to nothing did they make it the burden of their duties to teach and inculcate anything but logical thinking for education is good inasmuch as it makes us fit to act and think properly.

Fortune rarely condescends to smile on literary genius, while qualities less precious "discover a hundred inroads to her palace.' Socrates, with his intelligence and probity, came to a very unhappy end in trying to make the Greeks live better lives. Aristotle met as unhappy a fate. Washington, with all his integrity and purity of intention, was not free from poisonous censure. And thus it is, those who have labored for man's advancement have experienced "the slings and arrows" of ignorance, even in their own day. For students, young men who desire to drink long and deep at the Pierian spring, these facts may help them to bear the insults and persecutions of ignorance, and, consequently teach them to ignore the stings of inappreciation and look to higher things. In the not very distant future we who now struggle with Greek, Latin and mathematics in all their intricacies, may of necessity be forced to take up the sceptre of instruction, to dispel with this correct thought the uncertainties and doubts of God's beloved--the poor. Our success will be the fruit of our clearness and purity of thought, and in success we will rejoice in having worked diligently at college.

As we have seen whence thought springs, and the end for which students should especially cultivate it, we will now try to discover how we can learn to think correctly. Correct thinking is a habit, and, like all