IRISH PATRIOTS.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume II, Issue 108, 22 May 1875, Page 9

IRISH PATRIOTS.

A document has iust fallen into my hands whicli is'specially interesting at the present juncture, when John Mitchel's election for Tipperary has recalled to the English people the discontent which still reigns in Ireland. During tho stormy times of 1848, tie enthusiasm of the members of the Irish Confederation was raised to such an extraordinary pitch that the following pledge was signed by parties whose names are given below :—": — " We, the undersigned, members of Council of the Irish Confederation, pledge ourselves in face of our country to refrain from the use of all intoxicating drinks from this day till the legislative independence of Ireland is established. — Charles G-avan Duffy, John Mitchel, Charles Taafe, T. Devin, Reilly, John Martin, R. D. Williams, P. J. Smyth, Thomas Dungan, Patrick John Barry, John Byrne, James Dayle (or Doyle), junior, John de Conroy Young, Thomas M. Halpin, secretary ; J. Cartreel, Patrick A. Byrne, James P. Costello, John Brockeldby Watson, Janaes A. Condon, John Williams, John Kavanagh. Wednesday, 6th April, 1818." The preliminary few lines were written by Mr (now Sir) C. Gavan Duffy, who was one of the principal members of the Irish Confederation, and it was first intended to abstain from the use of "all spiritous liquors from this day till the union with England shall cease," but the text was ultimately altered as given above. Mr Patrick John Barry wa3 not content with the declaration, and in tho onthusiasm of the moment he added the words "for ever" after his name. This determination to remain a teetotaler during the whole course of his life he afterwards rescinded, and tie " for ever " was conveniently erased from the original document. It is unnecessary to add that since the above pledge was talcen, Mr Duffy (who left Ireland in 1856) has filled offices of distinction in "Victoria, and was knighted during the Premiership of Mr Gladstone. Mr John Martin and P. J. Smythe are at present members of the House of Commons, and Mr Mitchel has also been elected a member. — Dublin Correspondent of Times.

Tea. Drinking in Russia. — A correspondent of the London ' Daily News ' writing* from Ifijni Novgorod, says " Tea drinking, I have said, is one of the greatest instittitions in Russia ; the out--ward and visible symbol of this institution is the somovar. There jis something almost sacred about the soniovar in Russia. I scarcely like to tali about it amongst profane things. It ranks with, the gilt images of Greek saints -which are found in the corners of every room in Russia, and before which the pious believer is never tired of crossing himself. In the same way, not a household, however poor, is without a somovar. To make tea in the vulgar fashion of pouring boiling wa/ter into the teapot, would be to rob it of all its cheering grace', and to profane the institution. The somovar is essential to the orthodox practice of tea drinking, and as the first word you learn in Russia is ' tchai,' so the first thing which will strike your eye on arriving there is the soniovar. The somevar is a large urn made of bronze or brass, with a tube running throughthe centre, into which charcoal is placed. When the tea-hour arrives (and every hour is tea-hour in Russia) the charcoal is lighted, xather should I say, like the sacred fire of the Zoroastrians, is never quenched- There it burns in its brazen tube, and the water boils audibly, and the little china teapot is placed simmering at the top of the charcoal — although, this last is really a heterodox practice which has crept into the pure religion of tea/ — .and in this way cup after cup of the Russian nectar is supplied."