Poems: Patriotic, Religious, Miscellaneous | Page 4

dreams"]?Sunless Days?A Reverie ["Did I dream of a song? or sing in a dream?"]?St. Mary's?De Profundis?When? (Death)?The Conquered Banner?A Christmas Chant?"Far Away"?Listen?Wrecked?Dreaming?A Thought?"Yesterdays"?"To-Days"?"To-Morrows"?Inevitable?Sorrow and the Flowers?Hope?Farewells?Song of the River?Dreamland?Lines ["Sometimes, from the far-away,"]?A Song?Parting?St. Stephen?A Flower's Song?The Star's Song?Death of the Flower?Singing-Bird?Now?M * * *?God in the Night?Poets?A Legend?Thoughts?Lines ["The world is sweet, and fair, and bright,"]?C.S.A.?The Seen and The Unseen?Passing Away?The Pilgrim (A Christmas Legend for Children)?A Reverie ["Those hearts of ours -- how strange! how strange!"] ---- Their Story Runneth Thus?Night After the Picnic?Lines ["The death of men is not the death"]?Death of the Prince Imperial?In Memoriam (Father Keeler)?Mobile Mystic Societies?Rest?Follow Me?The Poet's Child?Mother's Way?Feast of the Presentation of Mary in the Temple?St. Bridget?New Year?Zeila (A Story from a Star)?Better than Gold?Sea Dreamings?Sea Rest?Sea Reverie?The Immaculate Conception?Fifty Years at the Altar?Song of the Deathless Voice?To Mr. and Mrs. A. M. T.?To Virginia (on Her Birthday)?Epilogue
Posthumous Poems
In Remembrance?A Reverie [`"O Songs!" I said:']?Only a Dream?The Poet?The Child of the Poet?The Poet Priest?Wilt Pray for Me?
Memoir of Father Ryan
By John Moran
It is regretted that the materials at hand at this writing?are not sufficient to warrant as extended a notice as the publishers of the present enlarged volume of Father Ryan's poems would wish, and as the many friends and admirers of the dead priest and poet desire. So distinguished a character and so brilliant a man?cannot be passed over lightly, or dealt with sparingly,?if the demand of his friends and the public generally would be satisfied even in a moderate degree; for Father Ryan's fame is the inheritance of a great and enlightened nation, and his writings have passed into history to emblazon its pages and enrich the literature of the present and succeeding ages, since it is confidently believed that, with the lapse of time, his fame and his merits will grow brighter and more enduring. With this appreciation of his merits,?and a realizing sense of what is due to his memory,?and with an equal consciousness of his own want of ability?to do justice to the subject, the writer bespeaks the indulgent criticism of those who may read the following remarks -- admittedly far short of what are due to the illustrious dead.
The exact date and place of Father Ryan's birth are not yet definitely settled. Some assert that he was born at Norfolk, Va.; others claim Hagerstown, Md., as the place of his birth;?whilst there is some ground to believe that in Limerick, Ireland, he first saw the light. The same uncertainty exists as to time. Some claim to know that he was born in 1834, whilst others fix with equal certainty, the year 1836 as the time. In the midst of these conflicting statements, the writer prefers to leave the questions at issue for future determination, when it is hoped that final and conclusive proof will be obtained to place them outside the realms of dispute. Meanwhile, he will present what may be regarded as of primary importance in forming a correct estimate of the character of the deceased, and the value of his life-work, which, after all, are the chief ends sought to be accomplished.
From the most reliable information that can be obtained,?it is learned that Father Ryan went to St. Louis with his parents when a lad of some seven or eight years. There he received his early training under the Brothers of the Christian Schools. Even at that early date young Ryan showed signs of mental activity which gave promise of one day producing substantial and lasting results.?He evinced rare aptitude for knowledge, and made rapid progress in its attainment. His thoughtful mien and modest look soon won for him the respect and friendship of his teachers and the esteem and affection of his companions. It was noticed that he had an instinctive reverence for sacred things and places, and a rich and ardent nature which bespoke deep spirituality. Discerning eyes soon recognized in the mild youth the germs of a future vocation to the priesthood. It was, therefore, prudently resolved to throw around him every possible safeguard in order to protect and cherish so rare and precious a gift. The youth himself corresponded to this design, and bent all his energies towards acquiring the necessary education to fit him?for entering upon the still higher and more extended studies required for the exalted vocation to which he aspired. In due time he had made the necessary preparatory studies, and was deemed fitted to enter the ecclesiastical seminary at Niagara, N.Y., whither he went, having bid an affectionate farewell to his relatives and numerous friends, who fervently invoked heaven's blessing upon the pious youth who, they hoped, would return one day to their midst to offer up the "Clean Oblation" which is offered up "from the rising of the sun until the going down thereof."
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