Thomas H. Huxley - "Evidence as to Man's Place in Nature"

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Patriotic, Religious, Miscellaneous

F >> Father Abram J. Ryan >> Patriotic, Religious, Miscellaneous



Father Ryan's Poems


By Abram J. Ryan, (Father Ryan)




Introduction:



In preparing this electronic text of Father Ryan's poems,
I was struck by the biased nature of the memoir included.
While I will not gainsay anyone's right to their beliefs,
I believe it is clearly evident from the poems themselves
that Father Ryan believed strongly in the Southern Cause,
and I do not believe his reaction was entirely emotional,
as seems to be implied. The Memoir also makes mention of
Father Ryan's poem "Reunited", as evidence of his support
for the reunification of the States. To be fair to Ryan,
I would note that such stanzas as

"The Northern heart and the Southern heart
May beat in peace again;

"But still till time's last day,
Whatever lips may plight,
The blue is blue, but the gray is gray,
Wrong never accords with Right."

in `Sentinel Songs', are much more common in his poems.

I believe it important to notice this, as it demonstrates
that while Ryan loved Peace, he never forsook the Cause.

Regarding his possible dates of birth, I can do no better
than the Memoir included, but I can at least match places
with dates, to wit: Hagerstown, Md., on 5 February 1838;
or Norfolk, Virginia, sometime in 1838 or 15 August 1839.
His full name was Abram Joseph Ryan, and he was the son
of Matthew and Mary (Coughlin) Ryan. He was ordained in 1856
and he taught at Niagara, N.Y. and Cape Girardeau, Missouri,
before he became a chaplain in the Confederate Army in 1862.
He edited several publications, including the "Pacificator",
the Catholic weekly "The Star" (New Orleans),
and "The Banner of the South" in Augusta, Georgia.
He was the pastor of St. Mary's Church in Mobile, Alabama
from 1870 to 1883. He died at a Franciscan Monastery
at Louisville, Kentucky, on 22 April 1886. He is buried in Mobile.

His most famous poem is "The Conquered Banner",
which had its measure inspired by a Gregorian hymn.


Alan R. Light, May, 1996, Birmingham, Alabama.






[Note on text: Italicized words or phrases are marked by tildes (~).
Some obvious errors have been corrected.]






Poems: Patriotic, Religious, Miscellaneous.

By Abram J. Ryan, (Father Ryan).

Containing his posthumous poems.






"All Rests with those who Read. A work or thought
Is what each makes it to himself, and may
Be full of great dark meanings, like the sea,
With shoals of life rushing; or like the air,
Benighted with the wing of the wild dove,
Sweeping miles broad o'er the far southwestern woods
With mighty glimpses of the central light --
Or may be nothing -- bodiless, spiritless."
-- Festus.






[Based on the 1880 edition, the 1896 edition (New York)
from which this was transcribed also includes Ryan's posthumous poems.]






THESE
SIMPLE RHYMES
ARE LAID AS A GARLAND OF LOVE
AT THE FEET OF HIS MOTHER
BY HER CHILD THE
AUTHOR






Preface



These verses (which some friends call by the higher title of Poems,
to which appellation the author objects) were written at random --
off and on, here, there, anywhere -- just when the mood came,
with little of study and less of art, and always in a hurry.

Hence they are incomplete in finish, as the author is;
tho' he thinks they are true in tone. His feet know more of the humble steps
that lead up to the Altar and its Mysteries than of the steeps
that lead up to Parnassus and the Home of the Muses.
And souls were always more to him than songs. But still,
somehow -- and he could not tell why -- he sometimes tried to sing.
Here are his simple songs. He never dreamed of taking even lowest place
in the rank of authors. But friends persisted; and, finally,
a young lawyer friend, who has entire charge of his business in the book,
forced him to front the world and its critics. There are verses
connected with the war published in this volume, not for harm-sake,
nor for hate-sake, but simply because the author wrote them.
He could write again in the same tone and key, under the same circumstances.
No more need be said, except that these verses mirror the mind of
THE AUTHOR.






Contents



Memoir of Father Ryan

Song of the Mystic
Reverie ["Only a few more years!"]
Lines -- 1875
A Memory
Rhyme
Nocturne ["I sit to-night by the firelight,"]
The Old Year and the New
Erin's Flag
The Sword of Robert Lee
Life
A Laugh -- and A Moan
In Memory of My Brother
"Out of the Depths"
A Thought
March of the Deathless Dead
Reunited
A Memory
At Last
A Land without Ruins
Memories
The Prayer of the South
Feast of the Assumption
Sursum Corda
A Child's Wish
Presentiment
Last of May
"Gone"
Feast of the Sacred Heart
In Memory of Very Rev. J. B. Etienne
Tears
Lines (Two Loves)
The Land We Love
In Memoriam
Reverie ["We laugh when our souls are the saddest,"]
I Often Wonder Why 'Tis So
A Blessing
July 9th, 1872
Wake Me a Song
In Memoriam (David J. Ryan, C.S.A.)
What? (To Ethel)
The Master's Voice
A "Thought-Flower"
A Death
The Rosary of My Tears
Death
What Ails the World?
A Thought
In Rome
After Sickness
Old Trees
After Seeing Pius IX
Sentinel Songs
Fragments from an Epic Poem
Lake Como
"Peace! Be Still"
Good Friday
My Beads
At Night
Nocturne ["Betimes, I seem to see in 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."

The heart of the youth as he started for his future home was all aglow
with the fervor that animated him in the pursuit of his high and holy purpose.
He entered the seminary, leaving no regrets or attachments behind him.
One thing only did he appear to regret -- separation from home
and the loved ones to whom he had bid so affectionate an adieu.
Home and parents are ever dear to the pure of heart; for around them cluster
memories too precious and associations too endearing for utterance.
Father -- mother -- home, "trinity of joys", whose completion and perfection
are to be found only in the Trinity in Heaven -- these must ever remain
bright recollections in the lives of all who cherish ennobling sentiments
which do reverence to God and honor to humanity. But if such be
the effect of these sentiments upon the hearts of men in general,
they have a still deeper and more tender effect upon those who,
in response to the call of the Master, "Follow thou Me,"
have abandoned all things for His sweet sake, that they may find
a home hereafter in heaven, after having spent themselves
in dispensing His riches and benefits to men.

Like nearly all great men, Father Ryan owed much to
the early training and example of his truly Christian mother.
Hence the deep affection he ever manifested towards her.
After the lapse of long years, we find his heart still fresh and loving,
pouring out upon the grave of his mother all the wealth of his rich mind
and the affection of his chaste heart. He tells us that
he had placed his poems upon her grave as a garland of affection.
Oh! what a beautiful offering on the part of a gifted son to a devoted mother!
Nature's richest and best gifts consecrated to nature's purest
and holiest sentiments! May we not suppose that the endearing affection
which he cherished for his mother was the source of the inspiration
which drew forth the "splendid brightness of his songs"?
This filial reverence and tender affection, could nothing more
be said in his favor, would speak volumes in his praise.
But how much more can be said, and said truly, were there pen and lips
eloquent enough to proclaim his praises! Mine are unworthy of the task;
yet mine be the duty of recalling some, at least, of the virtues and qualities
that marked him during life; for virtues and estimable qualities he had,
and they were many and conspicuous. Heaven doth know,
earth doth witness, angels have recorded, that he is worthy of praise.
Therefore, in no cold and measured terms shall the writer speak
of the dear and venerated dead, Abram J. Ryan, priest and poet --
once magic name, still revered and possessed of talismanic power.
If we cannot crown thee, O child of genius, with a wreath of justice,
let us, at least, endeavor to crown thee with a garland of love,
composed of thy own glorious deeds and achievements.

Having passed through the usual course of studies in an ecclesiastical
seminary with distinction, Father Ryan was duly ordained priest,
and soon afterwards entered upon the active duties of missionary life.
But little was heard of him until the breaking out of the late civil war,
when he entered the Confederate army as a chaplain,
and served in that capacity up to the close of the civil war.
He was then stationed at Nashville, afterwards at Clarksville, Tenn.,
and still later at Augusta, Ga., where he founded the ~Banner of the South~,
which exercised great influence over the people of that section,
and continued about five years, when Father Ryan was obliged
to suspend its publication. He then removed to Mobile, Ala.,
where he was appointed pastor of St. Mary's Church in 1870,
and continued in that position until 1883, when he obtained leave of absence
from Bishop Quinlan to make an extended lecture tour of the country to further
a praiseworthy and charitable undertaking of great interest to the South.
Bishop Quinlan having died soon afterwards, Father Ryan's leave was extended
by his successor, Bishop Manucy. It was whilst engaged in this mission
that Father Ryan received his death summons.

During all these changes and journeyings, the busy brain of Father Ryan
was incessantly employed, expending itself in composing
those immortal poems which have won their way to all hearts
and elicited widespread and unmeasured praise from critics
of the highest repute. Like all true poets, Father Ryan touched
the tenderest chords of the human heart, and made them respond
to his own lofty feelings and sublime inspirations.

Of his priestly character but little need be said. His superiors
and those whom he served know best how well and faithfully
he discharged the sometimes severe and always onerous and responsible duties
of his sacred calling. The merit of his life-work is now
the measure of his reward. As he had in view only God's honor and glory,
and the good of his fellow-men, and directed his labors
and employed his talents to promote these ends, may we not hope
that a merciful Judge has given him a recompense in excess of his deserts,
since, in the bountifulness of His liberality, He is wont to bestow a reward
exceeding our merits?

But it is not claimed that Father Ryan was without fault.
This would be attributing to him angelic nature or equivalent perfection,
against which, were he living, he would be the first to protest.
He needs no such fulsome or exaggerated praise. He was a man,
though not cast in the common mould, and as such let us view him.
Doubtless he had his faults, and perhaps not a few;
for "the best of men are only the least sinful." But as far as is known,
he had no serious defects or blemishes that would mar the beauty
or disturb the harmonious grandeur of his character in its entirety.
Had his heart been cold and selfish, or his thoughts defiled
with the sordid cares of earth, he never could have sung so sweetly
or soared so sublimely into those serene and heavenly regions
whither his chaste fancy led him. He delighted to roam
in those far-off regions beyond the skies, whose spheres are ruled
and whose realms are governed by those mysterious laws
which have their fountain source in God, and whose operations
are controlled by the exercise of His infinite power and love.
His defects, then, did not seriously impair the integrity of his virtues,
which were many and solid. Chief amongst his virtues may be named
his zeal for the honor and glory of God, and devotion to the Mother of God --
the latter the necessary outgrowth of the former. The deep and earnest piety
of Father Ryan towards his "Queen and Patroness", as he loved to call her,
bespeaks much in his praise; for, like all truly great men
of the Catholic Church, he saw that it was not only eminently proper,
but also a sublime act of Christian duty, to pay filial reverence and honor
to the Mother of God. Hence Father Ryan crowned Mary with many gems
of rare beauty. Amongst them may be named his beautiful poem "Last of May",
dedicated to the Children of Mary, of the Cathedral of Mobile, Ala.
Few Catholics will read these lines without experiencing feelings
of deep and tender devotion towards their Queen and Mother.

Father Ryan's was an open, manly character, in which there was
no dissimulation. His generous nature and warm heart were ever moved
by kind impulses and influenced by charitable feelings,
as became his priestly calling. We may readily believe him when he tells us
that he never wrote a line for hate's sake. He shrank instinctively
from all that was mean and sordid. Generosity was a marked trait
of his character, an ennobling principle of his nature,
the motive power of his actions, and the mainspring of his life.
Friendship was likewise congenial to his taste, if not a necessity
of his nature; and with him it meant more than a name.
It was a sacred union formed between kindred spirits --
a chain of affection whose binding link was fidelity.
Never was he false to its claims, nor known to have violated its obligations.
Hence he was highly esteemed during life by numerous persons
of all classes and denominations; for his sympathies
were as broad as humanity, and as far-reaching as its wants and its miseries.
Yet he was a man of deep conviction and a strict adherent to principle,
or what he conceived to be principle; for we find him long after the war
still clinging to its memories, and slow to accept its results,
which he believed were fraught with disaster to the people of his section.
A Southerner of the most pronounced kind, he was unwilling
to make any concession to his victorious opponents of the North
which could be withheld from them. Perhaps, upon reflection,
it may not appear wholly strange or inexplicable that he should have so acted.
There was, at least, some foundation for his fears with regard to
the ill fate of those of his section. Though peace had been proclaimed,
the rainbow of hope did not encircle the heavens or cast its peaceful shadow
over the South. Dark clouds loomed up over that fair and sunny land,
portentous of evil; for they were surcharged with the lightning of passion.
The chariot wheel of the conqueror had laid waste and desolate the land.
No one knew precisely what would follow; for passion's dark spirit
was abroad and ruling in high places. To make matters worse
and intensify the sufferings of the people still more, they were debarred
from participating in the political affairs of their own States.
Non-residents, and aliens in sympathy and common interest,
were appointed to rule over them, if not to oppress them.
Is it to be wondered at if some refused to bow and kiss the hands
that were uplifted against them? Among such was Father Ryan.
All honor to the man and those who stood by him! Instead of attempting
to cast obloquy upon their memory, we should do them honor
for having maintained in its integrity the dignity of the manhood
with which heaven had blessed them, when earth had deprived them
of all else that was dear and sacred to brave and honorable men!
But how differently Father Ryan acted when the oppressed people of the South
were restored to their rights, and when the great heart of the North
went out in sympathy towards them in their dire affliction
during the awful visitation of the yellow fever, when death reaped
a rich harvest in Memphis and elsewhere, and a sorrow-stricken land
was once more buried in ruin and desolation! It was then, indeed,
that Father Ryan and all good men beheld the grand spectacle
of the whole North coming to the rescue of the afflicted South
with intense and sublime admiration. He then saw for certain
the rainbow of peace span the heavens; and though his section
was wailing under the hand of affliction, he yet took down his harp,
which for years had hung on the weeping willows of his much-loved South,
and, with renewed vigor and strength of heart, again touched its chords
and drew forth in rich tones and glorious melodies his grand poem, "Reunited".
Then it was that the star of peace shone out in the heavens,
resplendent with the brightness and purity of love,
and dispelled the dark and foul spirit of hate which had poisoned the air
and polluted the soil of free Columbia. Then, too,
the angel of affliction and the angel of charity joined hands together
and pronounced the benediction over a restored Union and a reunited people.

Before proceeding to speak of Father Ryan's poems, a few observations
upon poets and poetry in general may not be deemed inappropriate.
To speak of poets and their merits is by no means an easy matter,
even where one is in every respect fitted to pronounce critical judgment.
It requires rare qualifications for such a task; a wide range of information;
extensive knowledge of the various authors; a keen sense of justice;
a fine sense of appreciation of the merits and demerits of each,
and a rare power of discrimination. These are qualifications seldom combined
in a single person. Hence so few competent critics are to be found.
The writer does not claim to possess all or any one of these powers
in as eminent degree as would fit him for the work of passing
judicious criticism upon the various authors and their works --
or, indeed, any single one of them. What he will venture to say, therefore,
is by way of preface to the remarks which he is called upon to offer
upon the merits of the particular poet whose productions
he is specially called upon to consider.

Of poets it may be said, that they are not like other men,
though invested with similar qualities and characteristics.
They differ in this: That they are not cold and calculating in their speech;
they do not analyze and weigh their words with the same precision;
nor are they always master of their feelings. Possessed of
the subtle power of genius, which no mortal can describe,
though all may experience its potent influence, they cannot be confined
within the narrow limits assigned to others less gifted,
nor subjected to fixed methods or unvarying processes of mental action.
No; poets must roam in broader fields, amidst brighter prospects
and more elevated surroundings. They must be left to themselves,
to go where they choose, and evolve their thoughts according to
their own ways and fancies; for ways and fancies they have
which are peculiar to themselves and must be indulged. Genius is ever wont
to be odd, in the sense that it does not and cannot be made to move
in common ruts and channels. This is especially true of poetic genius,
whose life may be said to depend upon the purity of its inspirations
and the breadth and character of its surroundings.

Much has been said, and deservedly, in favor of the great poets of antiquity.
Unmeasured praise has been bestowed upon the epic grandeur of Homer
and the classical purity of Virgil. They have ever been considered
as foremost amongst the best models of poetic excellence.
Yet there was wanting to them the true sources of poetic inspiration,
whence flow the loftiest conceptions and sublimest emanations of genius.
Homer never rose above the summit of Olympus, nor Virgil above the level of
pagan subjects and surroundings. Therefore they cannot be properly regarded
as the highest and best models, certainly not the safest for Christians,
who can feast their eyes and fill their minds and hearts with more
perfect models and more sublime subjects. The sight of Sinai, where Jehovah,
the God of Israel, is veiled in the awful splendor of His Majesty,
whilst his voice is heard in the loud war and fierce thunderings
amongst the clouds, as the lightnings crown its summit,
is far more grand and imposing, more sublime and inspiring,
than are those subjects presented to us by pagan authors,
however refined and elegant may be the language employed
to convey their thoughts and depict their scenes. Wherefore,
the Biblical narratives furnish the highest and best models
and the richest sources of poetic inspiration; and "all great poets
have had recourse to those ever-living fountains to learn the secret
of elevating our hearts, ennobling our affections, and finding subjects
worthy of their genius."

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