Radiant, free with an ordered law,
Rich, but with mind-gold beyond the material,
Powerful, merciful, just without flaw,
Thrift-strong and gentle-voiced, rippling with laughter,
Song-filled, and thrilled with the triumphs of art,
Poverty banished, and now and hereafter,
Peace in my bosom, joy in my heart.
IRISH STARS IN THE ARCHIVES OF NEW YORK PROVINCE.
BY HON. HUGH HASTINGS, FORMER STATE HISTORIAN OF NEW YORK.
The Irish have never been known as explorers or as discoverers. Their forte is recognized as establishing success where others have tried and failed. Stranded as they were on their desert habitat, we can easily understand why the early annals of our country are not more frequently embellished by Irish names. As early as October 12, 1605, Sir Arthur Chichester wrote from Ireland to the English prime minister, Robert Cecil, Earl of Salisbury, that it “was absurd folly to run over the world in search of colonies in Virginia or Guiana, whilst Ireland was lying desolate.” The first expedition that left England—almost three years before Henry Hudson discovered the river that bears his name—brought over the first Irishman to America, Francis Maguire, who arrived at Jamestown Virginia, with Captain Christopher Newport, May 6, new style, 1607. Maguire remained in the new country for nearly a year and returned to England with Newport. He wrote an account of his voyage to Virginia and submitted it to the Privy Council of Spain.