Page:A Memorial of John Boyle O'Reilly from the City of Boston.djvu/35

Rh journal that would wield a powerful influence in shaping the future of Ireland and contributing to her prosperity.

I am proud to be numbered among his friends, and much pleased to assist at this memorial meeting.

I am glad of the privilege of being allowed to pay this slight tribute to his worth, and to do honor to his memory. Now that he is lost to us, we begin more fully to realize what a space he filled in our lives and in the community, and what a valuable treasure he was. His influence will long remain among us active for good. The charitable institutions he helped to found or foster will remain memorials of his goodness of heart and his love of humanity.

As a man we esteemed him; as a fellow-Catholic we are proud of him; as a patriot we applaud him; as a poet we admire him; but as a friend we love him.

Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen: I have come here to-night as a journalist to pay my tribute to the memory of one who was a strong man in my profession in the good old city of Boston. I wish that I had the eloquence possessed by so many men of his race, that, with all the grace and dignity and fire of oratory, I might say what I feel and tell what I knew and appreciated in John Boyle O'Reilly. As orators, however, are born and not made, and I am