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.