Free State or Republic? Pen Pictures of the Historic Treaty Session of Dáil Eireann (Classic Reprint)

Shortly after uthe Deputies filed in. They seated themselves quietly. One T.D. was in the uniform of an officer. Most of them were dressed in black, or in grey tweed. Dr. White, of Waterford, wore a frock coat. All eyes turned involuntarily to the leaders in front of the Speaker schair. On the left-hand side sat Eamon de Valera. With him were Austin Stack and Cathal Brugha. From a medium-sized attache case Eamon de Valera took a bundle of papers and laid them on the half-moon table at which he sat. Then he conversed for some minutes with Austin Stack. The latters face was grim, fixed and stern. On the other hand, de Valera, though he looked grave, did not seem preoccupied, nor did he present an unbending appearance. Three slips of paper, bound with a fastener, he held loosely. On the right-hand side of the Speaker sat Arthur Griffith, and next to him Michael Collins. Ordinarily pale, Griffith now looked a little flushed. Otherwise he wore that impassive, reflective, unshakeable look of his that those of us who knew him in the old days used to remark so minutely. Michael Collins and he chatted together, but not animatedly. All stood. The Chaplain said prayers in I rish. Roll-call in Gaelic followed. The next business was the Private Session motion. Before it was mentioned Eamon de Valera was on his feet. He spoke in I rish. Then slowly, and almost conversationally, he drifted into English. His voice seemed almost casual there was absolutely no effort at tense and emotional eloquence. His left hand lay by his side. His right hand held the three typewritten slips of paper. He was speaking of the instructions given to the Plenipotentiaries.
(Typographical errors above are due to OCR software and don't occur in the book.)

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