194 UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO STUDIES 



What seas of tears and blood, what sufferings and what sorrows pass before me 



But the men of Ireland have resolved not to die the dog's death of starvation; they have 

 resolved to die as the descendants of a brave race should die with the flag of Irish liberty 

 in their hands. The Fenian Brotherhood, like true engineers, have surveyed the paths 

 which they must traverse and they have discovered that they will have to tread the same 

 bloody paths their fathers trod before them. They know that liberty is not a gift — that 

 it must be wooed and won by virgin steel in the hands of free men, and they have resolved 

 to win it — planting the standards of Ireland, a free land, upon the mounds where lie those 

 foes who have been feeding upon the hearts' blood of her people for ages. 1 



The convention gave a great impetus to the growth of the Brother- 

 hood. Pamphlets, containing the constitution, the resolutions, and 

 addresses of the convention, were distributed 2 among all the Circles. 

 The Brotherhood grew rapidly from now on. The enthusiasm spread 

 to Ireland. Within a month Stephens 3 started in Dublin, not a stone's 

 throw from the Lord Lieutenant's castle, the Irish People 4 ' for the sole 

 purpose of disseminating Fenian doctrines. Through its columns he 

 preached nationalism and insurrection. 5 Secret meetings had been held 

 in Ireland since 1862. Now emissaries from the United States organized 

 Circles, enlisted volunteers, and perfected the military organization. 6 

 Armories were established and the volunteers were schooled in the manual 

 of arms. The campaign was carried into England itself and soon 

 every English town, with an Irish element, had its confederacy 7 of shoe- 

 makers, tailors, clerks, and hodmen. In Ireland and England this had 

 to be. done with the greatest secrecy, but in the United States all this, 

 and much more, was being done openly. A lively campaign was carried 

 on for members and for funds. In March, a bazaar held in Chicago 

 netted, it was said, $55,000. The annual congress of 1864, held in 

 Chicago, was widely attended. 



With the year 1865, the Brotherhood assumed a decidedly belligerent 

 attitude. It was now evident that the Civil War would soon be over. 

 The society would then have trained soldiers and experienced com- 

 manders. The feeling of bitterness toward Great Britain was still 

 very strong in the United States and many people were looking forward 



1 Proceedings of the First Fenian National Convention, p. 17. 



3 Twenty thousand of them were ordered printed for this purpose. 



3 One of the "Young Irelanders" of 1848. 6 Laloe, Vol. II, p. 172. 



■« Contemporary Review, Vol. 19, p. 305. ' Edinburg Review, p. 270, April, 1868. 



s Contemporary Review, Vol. 43, p. 456. 



