The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1877-06-06
Ny First Impression Of Ireland.
BY Il. +. II.
L,7;for p,.oes 1nH P0nnpr ..

ItlSl ltII Dl SGCSNlllS ! ~ 'SoiAN AhyShi
q passenger aboard the splendid ocean-
steamer "City of Baltimore" tound
for the "Emerald Islc," the home of
my %forefathers, the shamrock and
furze. | was then some nineteen
years of age and with my opportuni-
ties and facilities for obtaining a cor
rect idea of the geography and gencr-
al appearance of the country Of Ire
land and of the true character Of its
inhabitants, | shOHdd have been better
posted, vet | was like the great major
ity of the American people to-day
grossly ignorant upon these points.
i had somehow formed al idea, | sup
pose from having often heard of the
''boys Of Ireland" that it was q low,
flat, marshy couuEy something like
portions of Florida, end that the
great majority of It's inhabitants were
represented by the Paddys and Bed
dys, with whom had met in Ameri-
ca. Entertaining such ideas AS these
the reader CAN well imagine my sur
prise and the delightful sensation pro-
duced upon my feelings when i'll go.
ing upon deck, after dressing myself
on the morning in question, there was
presented for my admiration and to
my astonished vision II of the most
magnificent landscape views which
is to be had anywhere within the con-
fines of Europe. This was the estua-
ry and adjacent country leading from
the city of Queenstown up to the city
of Cork-conceeded by travellers to be
one of the finest scene anywhere to
be met with in the OLD country.
The sun was Just peering over the
tops of the distant hills and guiding
with his early rays the bosom of the
placid waters, which, as # to cOntri-
butte something to the fairy scene, had
of a sudden Gained down and were
now scarcely moved by Il ripple. The
mighty steamship had reeled her sails
and was gliding swiftly along like a
thing Of life. apparently without an
effort. Away to the east and imme-
diatcly in our front could be seen the
beautiful little city of Queenstown
resting, as it seemed, on the very
waters-so abrupt is the bluff upon
which it is built and SO closely does it
line the margin Of the sea. Still fur
ther on could be discerned the arm of
the sea at whose extremely, a distance
of some six miles is located the splen-
did city Of Cork, a city noted for its in
situations of learning and the unsur-
passed erudition of many distinguish
ed scholars and scientific MEL who re-
side there.
This beautiful stream Of water
threads its silvcry way through fer
tile fields and from whose shcll-bOund
banks, dotted here and there by state
ly residences Of the wealthy, rise in
gentle ascent Oh either hand a sue
cession ofhills the one above the other
until they kiss the clouds. Thus
was presented at one view q vast
tent of country and being the most
fertile and most highly cultivated Of
any portion of Ireland, if not of all
Europe, and the crops, which consist
ed of almost every variety of forage.
root and cerial known 10 civilized
man, being yet answered from The
land, the scene was indeed q variega-
ted and cheering one.
We reached the city of Queenstown
about seven o'clock in the morning
and the huge steamer anchored off in
order to transfer to a hartor steamer
those of her passengers bound for
Ireland who preferred disembarkinS
here and going by railway TO their
several destinations, t" going on to
Liverpool and thence back across the
channel to Ireland.
In Il little while those of us who
were to go by this route were speed
ing u way up to the city of Cork,
aboard the little steamer-amid scenes
so charming so eXhilirating and so
reiuveuating as to cause n OF our
number, pn old lady of some sixty
years, of evident responsibility, refine
ment and wealth, who was revisiting
the home of her childhood, from
Which she had no doubt long been
absent, to so far forget herself and
surroundings as to skip about, dance
and sing like a ten year old child
completely carried away in al; ccstacy
of delight.
A farmer in ireland who cult
Yates Il farm of fifty acres is consid-
cred an ayriculturist OF no mean pro-
portions, and we'll may he be as upon
this he will produce more actual
moneys worth annually than is pro-
duced upon five or six times that
number of acres Of our average lands.
lie will have this farm divided into
six or eight fields containing each from
three to ten, acres and separated from
each other by beautiful hedges made
OF thorn which is indigenous to that
country and which is admirably
adopted to the purposes for which it
is used. These hedGcsare kept nicely
trimmed in order to prevent tier ell
croacNment upon the farmers land,
and at the distance at which J. first
beheld them, reminded me of the
hedges Of privit or uonymous to be
found in many of our flower gardens.
Some of these fields, or patches, as we
would call them, even were in wheat
almost ready for the sickle, others i'll
clover waist high and in bloom, Others
in oats just beginning to head out and
again others in barley, buckwheat,
turnips, manglewortzle--and many
in the Irishman's staff of life
the Irish potato. All of these
being presented a. they were,
owing to the peculiar confoTma-
ton of the country at this point,
in one grand prospect. and appearing
in the distance much smaller than
they really were and icing distinctly
separated by the hedges before alluded
to, made the whole 10 appear as II
extensive flower garden whose out
lines were only the more distinctly
defined the nearer one approached
nor was this pleasing picture marred
a.. A.. $3.50 -. - ,I.rrn 1lnI( lao.