Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1875-07-29
THE "ACME SHIRT, /"
DE-. Wards PARTY.
The Interesting Sights They Are See
ing Abroad.

TRINE, CALENDER, n. B., July I, 1915
l am very patriotic, and in the land Of Wal
lace, Bruce, and Burns; the glory of the
rising sun halls the return of my nations
natal day. Now my thoughts have r5-
crossed the ocean and are busy with the
rejOicings in "the land of the free and the
home OF the brave" Is It not meet that ]
celebrate this day by writing 10 friends at
home? We know not how we love friends
| till absence teaches; we know not how deaf
is our native land till on a foreign shore.
Yet Tor a visit, journey, distant countries
have their charms. Tomorrow makes a
week we have been in Europe in busy idle
DeSs, sightseeing. Three Of the clock Mon
day told the conclusion of our ocean voy-
| age, revealing Queenstown to our delight
ed gaze. l confess, when looking at the
picture and reading my school history Of
the lending Of Columbus, could not ap-
preciate the ecstacy into WhiSh he and his
companions were thrown by the sight oil
land. But in the absence of the discovery
of new world and the religious ceremony
attending il, so weary, tedious and mOnOt-
OnOus had became the "briny Deep" that l
felt like STOPPING aud kissing mother earth.
Cork HarbOr, with its sweep Of ten miles,
enclosed with swelling mountains and
fields blooming in highest culture, was in
deed delightful. How placid the waters,
how beautiful the shore. The very motion
of the vessel seemed to forget its monOtOny
and become instinct with new principles Of
happiness. That every inch Of soil here is
valuable, the constant care and attention
bestowed upon it proves. Yet one pecu-
liarity will strike every American. No
fences enclose their fields. The fence rail
is a thing unknown TO this agriculture.
Stone walls and carefully pruned hedges
planted and rising above them form their
enclosures.
20 many sights and varied scenes have
crowded upon me in one short week that il
seems a month, and nature has displayed
so much Of grandeur and sublimity as 70
dwarf my feeble descriptive powers into
utter iusign,fcanCe.
So eager were we to gaze upon Blarney
Castle, whose charm seems to have touched
of Erin's every son and daughter, that on
the evening Of the day we arrived We were
by the side Of its old walls, gray with the
lapse Of four centuries, and saw the green
ivy in wild luXuTiaIce climbing lovingly
about its ruined form.
4 nc Wis eL4ll GLAllE~ 10 tue ais
Ard at each gust the dead leaves fall"
Hurriedly ascending the circular stair
way We expected 70 kiss the famous
Blarney StOue-tke fertile theme Of song
and story. The old adage was verified.
''NO excellence without IabOr,7 and in this
instance without danger. 1t was suspended
under an insecure parapet, and perIOus was
the approach to IL. Discretion became
the better part Of valor,1 and / concluded
to rest content with the limited gifts and
graces which nature had appUrtiOned to my
lot, than by seeking TO Undue my lips with
the soft persuasive elOquence which its O.
culatiOn is tabled to impart, and run the
risk of losing the power to enjoy what too
great courage sought to acquire. The
gallantry Of MT. W. kiBdled into a glow Of
chivalry, when, forgetting the danger, he
struck a fragment from the unfeeling
stone, and presented 10 the company. The
lips Of all were pressed to it. First, the
ladies and then The gentlemen. have been
curious TO observe the effect. The speech
Of all remains the same, save that of the
lawyer, Col W., who now speaks broken
English, and his highest strains of elO-
quence are marked with a beautiful Irish
brOgue.
Like all old castles, Blarney has its inner
and outer cOuTts-its places Of refuge in
times Of danger-itS strong defences-its
towers and its dungeons. Situate upon a
beautiful eIniIlence it OyeTlOOks the silent
groves watered by a chrystal stream. But
its fountains, bridges, grOttOs and statues
are all gone. No cunning hand tends its
grounds, and nature alone is its guardian.
'There not the sounding bees their nectar Gull,
Nor rural swain their genial chaplets pull,
Nor iocks, nor herds, nor mowers haunt the
place,
To crop the flowers, or cut the bushy grass"
Leaving Blarney we took the train FOR
Killarney, and the next day on the backs
of dOnkeys, threading our way though the
Gap of DunlOe, a narrow defile surrounded
by magnificent scenery, we reached the
Black Valley, and thence passed TO the
Upper Lake, the scenery Of which is grand
in the extreme. This lake is more ad-
mired, but a taste subdued prefers winning
sOftness to oppressive granduer, and finds
its ideal in the Lower Lake. Trayersing
the lakes We pass under the arches Of the
famed Weir Bridge, whose age numbers IF
teen hundred and fifty years. How sweet
ly portions Of the lakes recall the touching
fable of Echo. For here reVerbeTatiOn be-
comes perfectly magical; especially OppO-
site Eagles Nest Mountain, it is awaken
ed by the bugle's silyery notes, where a
thousand seem to answer from unexpected
places until the mountain appears vocal
with gentlest harmony.
Having dipped our oars in the upper |
lake we sailed easily Though the lower, !
gathering water lilies and singing, until |
Ross Castle burst in surprising lOvelincss |
1n our sight. Standing on the shore, over
crown with moss and ivy, with hills rising |
in billOWy beauty beyond, it presented . !
scene of sweetest enchantment. This castle |
S eleven hundred years old. We assembled |
is time-WOrn marble stairway, and from /
is summit feasted on the magnificent |
prospect Of lake and mountain beauty, |
which extended in endless perspective be-
ore us.
Places found in legendary lore mee9the
raveleT everywhere; among them the spot
where st. Patrick bar ished the last snake,
Is also the more touching, if not so holy,
tory of the young soldier COOlin. The
tradition is, that this valiant knight every
morning met his lady-lOve on his way to
he Enchanted Spring. which was kept
heltered so that the sun should not shine
lpOn its crystal purity. On one occasion
hey were so charmed, one with the other,
hat they were forgetful Of their duty, and
TODD talking until the sun had risen, and
lis rays silently penetrated the transpa-
ent watsrs-when the fountains imme-
lately burst forth and overlooking the
country, formed these lakes
nd drowned the object of poor COLLINS
owe and admiration.
There we saw also Kate Karney's grand
laughter dispensing "mOuntain dews."
Ne are next in Dublin, seing its sights
st. Patrick's Cathedral, crowned with
,early seven centuries. We there saw the
Marble slab that notes the last resting
lace Of Dean Swift and the Stella of his
,Oetry. From Dublin we proceeded to
Belfast, and on yesterday sat foot on Scot
ish soil. Washington Irving thought that
colts pen had done more than nature for
be scenery of this country. L sea no exag-1
erations in his descriptions, for | have
owhere seen greater lOVelineSs, beauty and
randeur than / beheld on Loeb LomOnd
nd Loeb Katrine. Our hotel is at the