The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1874-12-11
Old Ireland.

dwelling in a green, aowery land of
their own, before her forests were in Mr.
Froude's language, "pared to the stump"
and while her soil burst with power to
feed their focks and raise their corn
We can picture to ourselves readily the
poorer sort of peasantry, picturesque, as
they are to this day, in their rough
wooiens and friezes Perhaps "caubeens"
were not quite in character; and the
short black "dudheen" was in the womb
of futnrity nay, will it be believed that
''the native" itself was not born, and
that bad beer was the national beverage?
! But, in all other respects, they might sit
| for portraits by Lever or Lover. They
lolled in little villages around the doom,
or stronghold, of their lord tended his
herds, sowed, reaped, and threshed his
grain (neyer distressing in quantity >
swelled his retinue at the popular as
semblage; raided with him upon his
neighbors; fought for him at need
registered upon his beer, and fed to their
| hearts content upon oatmeal and milk.
Craftsmen of all sorts had free quarters
wherever they went. Wayfarers had
ford-lights and lawn-lights to guide
them. They might turn in for their re-
! freshment to the nearest brWohfer, or
baillie, of a village, whom the law
bound to keep a vat of new milk and a
vat of beer for the rejection of travellers.
| The Bo-dires and CeiEes, the "strong
farmers" of those days, lived in snug
| little thatched cabins on their farms;
they titled and reared stock enough 10
pay rent and to supply their own kitch-
ems. Here ended their care, and for the
rest, they might hunt the wild boar or
the red deer feast upon sirloins and
broths sup upon cream cakes, or honey,
and new milk. They had their prouder
moments, too, when they exhibited in
| full fig at kind of petty sessions, ad-
ministering urrudhds, or customary law,
among the natives or when, like SO ma
ny Warwicks, they strutted into the
provincial DhacI to elect their King.
| As for the Kings themselves, the rosiest
"Home Rule" of the dreamers would
hardly realize their condition, from the
monarch who registered in Tara down
to the kingling who battened on his doz-
en- plowlands in Donegal. Whoever paid
/ the reckoning, beeves and beer, pipe of
wine now and again, venison, pretty
girls, gold ornaments, silken dresses, and
shoals of the very choicest boon comp
anions-phllosophers, saints, lawyers,
poets, and jugglers-forever abounded
in their little courts. Fancy this small
inventory of guests around the table of
one royal banquet-hall. Four provin-
cial Kings, thirteen Bishops, a suite of
mobiles, foreigners, and hostages number
ing sixty three royal jugglers, and quite
a plague of poets, judges, harpers, pipe
players, charioteers, equerries, TESTERS
guardsmen, cooks, and cup bearers. 1t
was happy arrangement that every re-
veler sat at the foot of his own feather
bed though the aspect of the banquet
ing g-hall the next morning, if there was
no soda water on the premises, must
have been sometimes overpowering.
The revelry doubtless ran high for the
women were excluded remorselessly
from the feasts, and immured in a realm
of their own, which Irish gallantay,
however; named the "Chamber of Sun
shine" Yet we have no reason to think
those old Irish Kings drank drop deep
er than many royal tippler of more
fastidious days, or spent less genuine
hours enjoying the wild legendry oftheir
bards or many an august successor, who
hires box at the opera or mumbles
through service in the abbey. Peace
to their ashes, nyhow their hospitali-
ty was no cheat. We are told the doors
open to strangers, though, an irreverent
writer adds, for very good reason-that
there were no doors to be closed. By
the by, it rather CRATES on ones nerves
to find that the "Tara's halls" in which
the immortal harp shed the soul of mus
ic were, after all, only cluster of wick
r-work shanties, quite the image of
great, scooped out, conical bullets-not
to talk of the pig-sty attached to the
palace, and mayhap "the gintleman that
pays the rint" himself ensconced in a
snug corner of the mead-circling hall.
Withal, if their majesties did wash
their faces by dipping their heads into a
tub of water, we see glittering through
their history constantly the rough and
+ ready royalty of the true king. When
we hear King Hugh bid an impudeut
bard, in Gaelic idiom, go to the devil,
who in the arrogance of power, demand
ed the very collar off his neck, we know
, we stand before man whom Cromwell
would have hugged, and Mr.. Carlyle
warmed to- The respect paid to age in
their courts the esteem of learning,
piety and arts; the chivalrous tone of
their legends; the simplicity of their
manners the jealous restrictions with
, which their power wzs-hedged around
all are elements in system which, how
ever ill-adapted to modern wants, fulfills
some of the grandest conditions of king
, ship. Even their wars were not appall-
, ing. If they were victors, it was only a
big herd of cattle transferred from one
/ district to another and defeat could not
, have brought many broken bones, their
l rough swords and blunt hatchets being,
in fact much more innocent playthings
than so many well-wielded blackthorns.
t I Belgravia.
Women in San Francisco are by law
deprived of the right to stand at the bar
and drink.
!. Woman were scarce in California in
1s49 and if it got about that one was not
handsomely treated by her husband, a
J.. miners meeting was called and the case
considered. If the decree was granted
9 it always was-then this was the mode
E Two honest miners were detailed to hold
the broomstick in horizontal position
, | o,,J A. ..-..o, ha emit raou;roJ