Page:A Memorial of John Boyle O'Reilly from the City of Boston.djvu/17



, the Irish patriot, the poet, and humanity's friend, as he may be styled, passed away suddenly at his summer residence in the town of Hull, Mass., on the morning of August 10, 1890.

Seldom has a death occurred in our midst that has more strongly affected our citizens and the community at large, or has excited such wide-spread interest and sympathy, as that of.

Although not a public man in the commonly received sense of the term, he had by his fine character, his brilliant literary talents, and his romantic history made for himself innumerable friends and admirers, and achieved a fame of which any man might well be proud.

His sudden death, without the premonition of disease or serious illness, had, as has been stated, a very marked effect upon the community, and was made the occasion of an expression of sorrow and regret, which for its unanimity and extent was wonderful and almost unprecedented. Societies and associations, the press, and all classes, without distinction of sect or creed, united in testifying to the worth and nobility of character of the dead patriot and poet, and to the extent of the loss which his death had occasioned.

Acting in accord with the sentiment so widely expressed, His Honor Mayor Hart and a large number of our leading