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Show llldral mnilly In Ureal llrllaln. F L. O Ilrlen, of Dublin, In speaking ot tho antiquity of tomo ot tho Irish families, told tho following story "Thcro lives In the North of Ireland," said Mr. O'llrlen, "a family named O'Ncll Their greatest claim to prominence promi-nence lies In tho fact that they are the oldest family In tho United Kingdom. When Plntitagcnet Tudor or (luelph was not. Ilia O'Noll was Tlmr rulod as klngt before ever William looked with covetous eyo across tho Ilngllth Channel toward the whlto cliffs of Albion Al-bion Thlt long lino ot descent his bred In tho family n revcrenca for their ancestry tint approaches Idol-ntry Idol-ntry The mainspring of their life and action, tho prldo of their being, Is that a long lino ot dead and long slnco forgotten for-gotten O Nells carry them back In tho direct lino to the Dark Ages. At may bo Imagined their family treo It colossal colos-sal In Its proportions. It has n length of something llko eighteen or nineteen feet, nnd when It It unrolled at the cattlo a holy hush faltt over all. To a visitor thcro tomo )cnrt ago wat, In due course ot tlmo and ns a special mark of favor, shown this nmrvo'ous pedigree Stretched on tho enormous billiard table. It lapped threo feet at either end The visitor's eye ran back over that leigthy lino cf O'Neill, long since turned to dust, and ho wondered won-dered why they took to Insnno a pride In their descent. Just then he bcamo conscious that that thought hud occurred oc-curred to other ullent, who had before-timet before-timet teen the O'Nell family treo. A penciled note In tho margin, about half way down tho tree, caught bis eye It read! 'Just hero camo Adam.' "New York Tribune |
