say my say, as boldly as Rogers, as eloquently as Young. But in leaving the head of your board, where you have allowed my crude ruling to pass for a year, I must say to one and all, from my heart, Thank you for your kindness and courtesy. The more I learn of parliamentary law, the deeper becomes my affection for those who sat silent and heard my wonderful rulings. To Towle, and Crocker, and Scaife, especially, this consideration is doubly endearing. What they must have suffered I shall only know when I study Hoyle.
The only consolation I draw from my year of office is this—the Papyrus has not declined in vigor or promise. Its face is full to the front. For this, I earnestly thank, and ask you to thank, the gentlemen who compose the executive committee.
And now I retire to a private station—at the end of the table, left side from the president, near Joyce and Harris, and those who, with kindred blood, rejoice in anarchy.
Farewell my official distinction! Henceforward I carry a musket, at the end of the table, left side, near Joyce. Good night, and a Happy New Year to the Papyrus!
Faithfully and affectionately,
John Boyle O'Reilly.In the summer of 1879, O'Reilly bought the house in Hull, Boston Harbor, which was to be thenceforth his summer residence, and in which he died. It was a very old house, perhaps the oldest in Massachusetts. It was built in 1644 by Rev. Marmaduke Matthews, the pastor of Nantasket, and was used as a parsonage by some of his successors. An English revenue officer. Lieutenant William Haswell, occupied it prior to the Revolution. His claim to remembrance rests on the fact that he was the father of Susanna Haswell, afterward Mrs. Rowson, well known in England and America, as actress, author, and editor, and best known by her novel of "Charlotte Temple." O'Reilly bought the property from Amos A. Lawrence, it being then known as the Hunt estate. In 1889, the old house became uninhabitable by reason of general debility and decay, and he had the falling structure demolished, and set about building a new and handsome house on the old site. The plans were made by his wife and carried out under their joint supervision, with careful attention to every detail. In the front yard stood an old cannon rescued from some
