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.