Morning appeal. [volume] (Carson City, Nev.) 1877-1906, 1879-06-01
FORTNIGHT IN IRELAND. ,"
ErMBRR s11.

which were established before my time and
are still in full blast. They are not very well
| systematized, and cannot be compared to the
public schools in any of our States, bat they
were intended to meet a serious want, in Civ
ing at least the rudlments of an education to
the poor. They had two drawbacks; first, they
had the odor of charity schools, an abomina-
ton to the people of the north, and secondly,
the Bible was not only read, but was daily
text book, and therefore the people of the
south would not send their children, and stuck
instead to their old I" hedge schools, where
some old broken down scholar held his poor
class under some protecting hawthorn hedge,
where his ragged group of urchins rolled on
the green sward, learned nothing and were
happy. The National schools were supported
in part by the Government, but each child
was taxed penny week, and compelled In
winter to bring two "peats " each day for
fuel which, the fire being made on hearth
at the masters end of the room, helped to
keep him warm, while the poor barefooted
urchin had only the brick floor, and the I'M
comfortable deal form without any back to re-
lieve it's aching SPINE Each school was fur
nished with small library of condensed his
tory, voyages and travels, and short biogra-
plies. From one of those libraries | procured
a short life of George Washington, which l
read fifty years ago, and all of which have
forgotten, save the account of the immense
quantities of corn and tobacco he raised, and
the number of slaves ON his plantation; all of
which to a subject of wonder, if not
of doubt. Poor as these schools were, and are
still, they were the nurseries from which grew
good many men who have since made their
mark here, and who have formed no inconsid-
cradle portion of the moral Stamina which
marks the genuine manhood of our older
States There exists among the Irish tenantry
an innate ambition to bring at least one son
forward in the world, and to see him in the
pulpit, or the medical profession. There are
hardly any others open to them. Business is
out of the question, so is the army, so is land
they require capital, the former mostly
brains and perseverance, To attain this,
family will pinch, and labor and almost starve
This spirit supported good many priva tie
schools, where poorly paid clergymen eked
ont living, by bringing forward, and prepar-
ing for college the sons of poor farmers, who
not unfrequently attended those schools at all
seasons, barefooted, and poorly clad in every
way But they were usually of the stuff of
which men are made, and | could tell the
history of some of them to-day as strange
romance. | met one of the class of which |
speak, not many years ago, while he was IN
the States on an important mission, whom |
knew as g bobbin winder," and who used
to come two long Irish miles, after our school
hours, to receive from few of us, who taught
him in town, his lessons in Latin Grammar
How he attained his degree, | never knew,
but certain it is, the ungainly half naked boy
| had helped to teach, as mere matter of
boyish sport, for | fear we worried the poor
awkward fellow by our pranks, l met forty
years later, distinguishedD. D. and Ishould
not have known him but for his ugliness He
had changed his name to hide his low origin,
for which Idespised him; for in Ireland a
mans lineageis as readily traced by his name
as a blooded horse is known by his points.
This, however, is a fearful DEPRESSION, and |
as have gone SO far l must switch off, and |
like Sterne, come back to my point in my
next BLUCHER.