AN IRISH POOR SCHOLAR

From Irish Ideas by William O'Brien, 1893

Page 138

AN IRISH POOR SCHOLAR

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first sittings may be devoted to hearing him on the floor of the House in defence of the eternal truth of his theories of the New Motive Force and the Trisection of the Obtuse Angle. Alas! even if the House of Lords were to throw down their arms, I doubt whether poor old Tom Duffy's all but extinguished eyes will be there to see ' the appointed day' named in the Bill for the Better Government of Ireland. Be that as it may, there is refreshment for the human heart in turning from the hideous caricatures of the Irish race painted by controversialists of the Mr. T. W. Russell school to the realities of life in a country which can produce an enthusiasm for learning such as Master Duffy's in its remotest glens, and a population who, through unadulterated respect for genius, provide Master Duffy's old days with a sort of national pension out of their poverty. … next page »

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