Page:A Memorial of John Boyle O'Reilly from the City of Boston.djvu/36

30 not of them, I can but do my part in this magnificent demonstration by a brief, simple talk, none the less heartfelt because I cannot express myself as the occasion demands. I hope to be able, however, to contribute a thought or two to this grand testimonial to a citizen of Boston, for it is one which has rarely been equalled, and never surpassed in my recollection.

As you are well aware, men go forward in groups in a community, and twenty years ago I was among a large number of ambitious and industrious young men who were just beginning the battle of life in this city. Some of these young men were in the ministry, some in law, some in medicine, some in journalism, some in business, some in mechanics—all endeavoring to get on in life as best they could.

Most of them were sons of workingmen. They were proud of that fact then, and those of them especially who have had any success are prouder still of it to-night. I say this emphatically; for if there is a proud moment in the life of a man who starts from a humble home and makes a winning fight, it is when he lays his laurels at the feet of his dear old father; or, better yet, in the lap of his dear old mother, whose care and prayers were perhaps all she had to give him, if perchance, before success is fully assured, the forget-me-nots are blossoming above that mother's grave, the hope that perhaps in the