masses, the most influential element in their character, is the religious

element. It is as instinctive and elemental as the law of self-preservation. It

informs the whole intellect and personality of the people. And he who would

greatly influence the people by uttering their unformed thoughts must have this

great and unanalyzable bond of sympathy with them."

 

When the men of Ulster armed themselves to oppose the passage of the Home Rule

Act, one of the present writers assigned to a hundred men "Home Rule" as the

topic for an address to be prepared by each. Among this group were some

brilliant speakers, several of them experienced lawyers and political

campaigners. Some of their addresses showed a remarkable knowledge and grasp of

the subject; others were clothed in the most attractive phrases. But a clerk,

without a great deal of education and experience, arose and told how he spent

his boyhood days in Ulster, how his mother while holding him on her lap had

pictured to him Ulster's deeds of valor. He spoke of a picture in his uncle's

home that showed the men of Ulster conquering a tyrant and marching on to

victory. His voice quivered, and with a hand pointing upward he declared that if

the men of Ulster went to war they would not go alone--a great God would go with

them.

 

The speech thrilled and electrified the audience. It thrills yet as we recall

it. The high-sounding phrases, the historical knowledge, the philosophical

treatment, of the other speakers largely failed to arouse any deep interest,

while the genuine conviction and feeling of the modest clerk, speaking on a

subject that lay deep in his heart, not only electrified his audience but won