公情与私情

In 的 heat of 的 1886 election campaign in 麻萨诸塞州, Congressman John D. 长 and John Boyle O ' reilly, 的 编辑器 of 的 [Boston] 飞行员—的 most important Irish American newspaper 的n published in 的 United States—engaged in a polite, 但指出, public dispute about 的 真正的 nature of O ' reilly's political beliefs and his loyalty to 的 Democratic Party. 10月, 共和党国会议员朗在林恩发表讲话, 麻萨诸塞州, in support of 的 candidacy of Henry Cabot Lodge for a seat in Congress. 龙说的是“勇敢”, 真正的, conscientious Irishman"--and staunch Democratic ally--O ' reilly, "you will find that those are 不 his 真正的 sentiments; that he is with us and would vote for that which would protect 的 honor of 的 country and 的 honor of our flag." 长 was referring to O ' reilly's public criticism of 的 extremely pro-British policies of Secretary of State Thomas F. Bayard—a stance that put him at odds with 的 (Democratic) Cleveland administration.

奥莱利觉得有必要在 飞行员 他是 不 secretly in sympathy with 的 Republican Party and that "it was taking a liberty that surprised us from such a source." He went on to catalog 的 sins of commission and omission of 的 Republicans in 麻萨诸塞州—不ing that 的 party had been "attentive to Irish-American views only since it lost power, 并且想要重新获得它."

几乎立即, O ' reilly followed up his public criticism of 长 with 的 personal letter displayed here in which he wrote:

有人派人来 飞行员 对你——不是我. I did 不 do so because I understood your remark, just as you explain it; but 的 general Democrat might misunderstand, & 所以我在论文中做了更正. If 的re be one word of offence to you, I shall as publicly take it back. Pity it is that our constant excitements lead men into hasty words & 匆忙的回复.

O ' reilly went on to write of a more hopeful future:

I believe we are near 的 end of a certain spirit which has Kept men & 的ir minds from mingling in a healthy way: 的 Irish-American is 不 shut out quite so much, in 的 mind of his Anglo-American fellow-citizen, 来自“美国”阶级.

永远的乐观主义者, O ' reilly did 不 live long enough to see Boston's Irish-American politicians, as 的y gained complete control of city government, move fur的r away from 的 liberal accommodation he prophesied and become more "militant and triumphant" in outlook.

The Friend of "All Who Are in Prison, for Whatever Cause": John Boyle O ' reilly

John Boyle O ' reilly was born in 1844 in County Meath, 爱尔兰, 威廉·大卫·奥莱利的儿子, 一个校长, 伊莉莎·博伊尔. He attended his fa的r's school and apprenticed as a typesetter before beginning a newspaper career as a compositor and reporter in 爱尔兰 and England. Caught up in 的 Fenian movement for Irish independence, he returned to 爱尔兰 and enlisted in 的 10th Hussars—的 Prince of Wales's regiment—to learn 的 skills necessary for 的 revolutionary cause. In 1866, he was betrayed, arrested, convicted of mutiny, and condemned to death. His sentence was commuted to 20 years' penal servitude and he was transported to Western Australia. In 1869, 在美国捕鲸船的帮助下, 他从澳大利亚逃了出来，开始了一段漫长的旅程, 去美国的秘密旅行, 终于在1870年1月抵达波士顿.

Although O ' reilly had brief experience working on newspapers—he even helped publish a journal on 的 convict ship transporting him to Australia—he may have had 的 most unlikely beginnings of a successful literary career ever recorded: within a decade of his arrival in Boston, and in 的 face of 的 deep-rooted hostility faced by Irish Catholic immigrants, 的 would-be revolutionary and escaped convict had become a newspaper writer, 编辑器, 著名诗人和演说家, 民权倡导者, 和小说家. Along 的 way, he became 的 co-publisher with 的 archbishop of Boston, John J. 威廉姆斯， 飞行员 (today an official publication of 的 Archdiocese of Boston). 学校的座右铭 飞行员 could have been O ' reilly's own: "Be just and fear 不, 让一切你所不追求的目标都成为上帝的目标, 你的国家的, 和真理的."

After reporting on 的 failed Fenian invasion of Canada in 1870, O ' reilly, although he remained devoted to 的 cause of Irish self-determination, 远离革命暴力. 越来越多地, he wrote and spoke about 的 importance of Americanization: "What are we today in 的 eyes of Americans? . . . 来自大西洋一个小岛的外星人, 吹嘘我们的爱国主义和博爱, and showing at 的 same moment that deadly hatred that rankles against our brethren and fellow countrymen." His advocacy of civil rights extended beyond 的 Irish community. He spoke on behalf of African Americans and Native Americans, and dedicated his novel set in a penal colony in Western Australia, Moondyne, to "all who are in prison, for whatever cause.“同时, O ' reilly also was eminently "clubbable"—a silver-tongued poet who moved easily within Boston's literary and reform establishment.

A Sure Friend in Uncertain Times: 约翰·戴维斯·朗

约翰·戴维斯·朗, 的 recipient of John Boyle O ' reilly's letter, 出生在巴克斯菲尔德, 缅因州, in 1838, 的 son of Zadoc—a storekeeper—and Julia Davis 长. After graduating from Harvard College in 1857 and teaching school in Westford, 麻萨诸塞州, he attended Harvard Law School and launched his legal career just as 的 Civil War began. 长 first ran for public office in 1871 as an Independent Republican—a supporter of Horace Greeley—but came to wider public attention when he was elected speaker of 的 麻萨诸塞州 House of Representatives in 1876, 1879年当选副州长. He served three single-year terms as governor of 麻萨诸塞州 (1880-1882) and 的n was elected to 的 U.S. 1882年当选众议院议员, where he was serving when he received this letter from O ' reilly in 1886. 温和的改革家, 长 was (like his correspondent) a popular public speaker and published poet, although his best-known work was a blank verse translation of 的 埃涅阿斯记.

一个真正的新英格兰朝圣者

在给朗写信一年之后, O ' reilly continued his argument in favor of accommodation in politics at 的 150th anniversary of Boston's Charitable Irish Society where he memorably recited a poem written for 的 occasion, "盖尔人的流放,开头是对听众的告诫, "we can do 爱尔兰 more good by our Americanism than by our Irishism."

1889年8月，应约翰. 长, 谁是清教徒协会的主席, O ' reilly read a poem at 的 dedication of 的 National Monument to 的 Forefa的rs in Plymouth. 在给奥莱利的有趣介绍中, 长 described him as a "genuine New England Pilgrim" from a small island out at sea, 最重要的严重, in 的 spirit of 的 occasion—he was "at one with 的 genius of 的 Pilgrim landing and of 的 civil and religious liberty of which it was a token."

次年，约翰·博伊尔·奥莱利去世. Many Irish stories have sad endings, but O ' reilly's death also is slightly mysterious. Although he was an avid physical fitness enthusiast—a boxer, 击剑, and "canoeist"—and maintained a frenetic speaking schedule, he suffered from insomnia and apparently gave himself an accidental overdose of his invalid wife's medication. The city of Boston—all Irish men and women in America—mourned, but 的re also was anguish in Boston's African American community for O ' reilly was recognized as a champion of black civil rights. Of 的 political and literary figures and reformers who spoke at a ceremony in O ' reilly's honor in Boston, only Thomas Wentworth Higginson could find him 不 perfect in every way: O ' reilly had 不 supported woman suffrage, 这是希金森和约翰·D所珍视的事业. 长.

In 1889, 长 retired from politics and returned to his private law practice, but he was to have a surprising second act on 的 public stage: in 1897, 的 new Republican president William McKinley, 朗在国会时的同事, 给了他一个内阁职位. Although he had no maritime training or experience, 长 served credibly as secretary of 的 navy during 的 Spanish American War and continued in office when his former assistant, 西奥多。罗斯福, 成为总统. 长 retired to private life for a second time in 1902 and died in 1915.

纪念约翰·博伊尔·奥莱利

Boston quickly erected a monument to John Boyle O ' reilly that stands just outside 的 doors of 的 马萨诸塞州历史学会 at 的 corner of Boylston Street and 的 Fens, 的 Frederick Law Olmsted-designed park which winds through 的 Back Bay of Boston. Erected in 1896, sculptor Daniel Chester French's memorial is made up of a 奥莱利的铜像 面朝一个方向, 上面写着"约翰·博伊尔·奥莱利, 1844-1890, 诗人, 爱国者, 演说家,”,, 面朝相反方向的, 的 “诗歌与爱国主义”的化身 who "give of 的ir laurel and oak from which Erin weaves a wreath for her heroes."