What the hot-hearted O’Reilly said that happy night of exclusive and scholarly Boston may as truthfully be said now of the whole state from the Cape to the Berkshires. Men who most love the Bay state’s white flag, with its protecting shield and uplifted arm, are saying it is a glory in Massachusetts to-night to be an Irishman or an Irishman’s son; and they find their reason for this in the heroic showing of her citizen soldiers, who went out from a people that had not enervated under more than thirty years of softening peace, right into the zone of flame and blood at El Caney, San Juan, and Santiago, and bore themselves so gallantly there, and in the other fact that more than every second man in the Massachusetts contingent had the heart within him warmed by the red blood of the fighting Gael. The Ninth Massachusetts Volunteers, though not entirely as is usually supposed of Irish blood, is yet so nearly so, that at home our people commonly speak of the splendid command, as “the Irish Ninth;” while the Second, which has won imperishable renown in Cuba, and has awakened the honest pride of every patriotic heart at home, in the valley of the Connecticut, upon the Berkshire hills, and along the quiet Quinsigamond, is spoken of by press and people as the ideal Massachusetts regiment, and as made up from the best blood of liberty-loving New England. This is true; and it is the best blood because most of it is Irish blood. Many men appear to think that a man to be of Irish stock must be an O’Sullivan, an O’Brien, a McCarthy or an O’Neill. Five young men of my near neighborhood went to the war. Their names were Tobin, Nesbett, McCullough, Braziel and Judd. Three, Tobin, Braziel and Judd, were of Irish parents, but American born, and a few months before were boys in my parish school. The two others, McCullough and Nesbitt, were Protestant boys born in Ireland. Only one of the names would ordinarily be recognized as Irish. Thinking that what was true in this case might be in others, and that many of the men of the regiment might be of Irish blood, I sought for the facts, believing that the facts when known would make for the credit of our people. I sought the rosters of the companies, and asked the officers to mark the names of men of Irish blood, and from this excellent source have I the word which I say to-night. In answer to a letter sent to the captains of companies, I received replies giving me the following figures: Company A has 11, known to be of Irish blood, and then such names as Allison, Fay, Cardin and Young have not been counted in. Company B has 33 men of Irish blood, and does not count Devine or Young. Company C has 9 men. Company D has 14 men. Company E has 6, and still we find such names as Doane, Leonard and Blake outside the count. Company F has 14 men. Company G has 40 Irish Catholics, 2 Irish Protestants, 2 Italians, 3 Germans, 3 Scots, 2 Swedes, 1 Nova Scotian, 7 French-Canadians, and 17 of old Yankee stock.