New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1880-03-19

| very poorest of the poor could get assistance that
week Every hearerwas asked oreport any one who
| tried to get relief when he did not need It,
VISIT TO AN IRISH CABIN.
After the services were over the Sunday-schoO
met and brace of babies were christened. Mean
while walked down the road with one of the men
to see an Irish cabin. pointed out long low cot
taQe and asked him to take me into It. 1t
filthy hovel--the foulest and dreariest human habi-
| tatiOn had ever seen. Alas only five DAYS have
passed since saw IL and already remember it as
| tOlerably decent cabin There no floor save the
cold earth a calf had its share of the 1t
n stable, q kitchen. a nursery and q sitting
room all in one. AS in most, of these Irish
| novels there Is n large niche IN the wall
| near the fire, Just large enough to hold a
| rude bed. There, covered with horrible rags,
lay an aged woman CHASTITY, yellow and gasp
| Ing There she had lain for month or two, diving
| of slow decline" No American family would have
suffered such rags as covered this dying woman TO
stay in their ash barrels for single day. The
mother sat the open FIREPLACE young woman
with a strong aud cOmely face and the head OF
Roman matrOn. Her infant. in its homemade
wooden cradle, was beside her. There was a little
dark room back-the room where the children
slept. SIX children lived here-a family of nine
| persons The mother and children were III rags
| but the woman wore her rags with dignity.
| DISTRIBUTING MEAL.
| had no wish to see any other cabins, so | went
back to the church. Most of the men had gone
home. but there was crowd of about fifty women
and a score of old men around the vestry-door. 1t
| was raining; but no one stirred. Tho tickets for
| Indian meal had to be distributed as soon as the
priest was at leisure and for this mea0re help from
the charity of the world these poor mothers waited
| with patient anxiety. There were few young
| women, and fewer girls among them. They
| were mostly women If from thirty to sixty years of
| age. At least a third of them were bareloOted.
| Not one of them had "a bonnet on her head. They
| covered their heads with the hoods of their old
| cloaKs, or with little faded wOOllen shawls. Not
| smoothed faced woman among then all! Not
| otra1 al Icon URN
| kles aud sad faces everywhere-not the fine noble
| lines that the old artist Thought had chseIed,
but the sharp cutters made bya orient of calamity,
| the dark shadows cast by mean care ami grovelInG
want. They were the sign manuals aud sgnets-
| Hunger ana Despair.
| Tho priest came out, and, one by one, read the
names on The hide handfu OF orders for two stones,
or tweni weight pounds, Of Indian meal This was
tee permitted to be given To families of from i've to
| niue persons per week One by one wretched
| women from the crowd came MP and took the order
that bore hcr name, aud courtesled ana thanked the
| donors and God They were soon distributed: A
| babel If appeasl "Sure and have five children
and not a inouthful for them" This was one of the
! cries; ard 10 the truth. Again and again the
! priest told them that lie could do nO more.
! But" he added, " ] have one blank ORDER IL
must be given 20 the very poorest family here.
| Now tell me who ~ the poorest"
Only one man named himself. but he was thrown
! back by dozen indignant voices Not another one
OF the Gag voices that spoke named her own wants.
IL was noble tribute to these poor IRISH starvelngs
! every one seemed ANXIOUS 10 point out some one
more wretched than herself. And when one man
and hi, needs were stated" sure, he IS the worst
/ On " shouted chorus OF women. Whatever cen
! turies of misruc and hunger may have made these
! people, j, has not qIeuched ito hottest hight that
MORE wRrrcuEDNTss.
We drove back TO Murri-k, that we had passed on
orr way 10 Ihornhl Il Is q cluster OF novels built
hrgeidy-pggclcy along the shore and mp the sides
of the little hill near one of the arms of the bay.
There q rough barrier OF stone across the wafer.
winch was built 10 keep the tide from Overlooking
tie sweet winter III the little pond thai cnptic milo
the bay Without u the peop.a could not drink tac
water and there age no springs or wells near Nv 10
was badly constructed aud has been partly dcuOl-
ished by tho high winds AMI tie tides It's danger
Gus crossing w4ru Tie IS nd is high II required the
utmost caro- for no to kGp our Ieet ~ walking
over IT,
woman lev diving IN one Of these novels. Father
LSnskry entered o. administer tho last sacrament.
As ! avn not % Catholic, the priest advised me to
VISIT the other cabius while he sought the diving
woman. / went into one OF them. shall have to
grow half ward or so before can truthiully be
called tail man, and vet had TO bend nearly
double before could get through the door. There
no fireplace Iaere was only hole iu the roof at
one end az thc room. ont OF which the smoke made
IT. way at its leisure. ittlo peat Ire was burn
ing on lc hearth, or ratnrr ocned'h tr hoe III Tue
roof. There WAS no ceiling. Of course. for none of
these cabins have "a ceiling There WAS no floor
bur the grouud-f'w col them have even few fiat
stones here or there. There was mo- window. the
raftcrs and the furze sticks on which the thatch
rests, and the walls. ana every ihius in the Wreched
]
dresser for the plates ana cups. There were no
| chairs. There was uuY one mean Tckcty
hitle homemade table. There were only
Two low rude stools Tor sitting on.
pig was eating ont of kettle on The ii0Dr Two or
three hens were pic@iG up feW grams OF meal
Near tc fire there was rude bed covered with two
l filthy blankets There was an inner room. /
entered It. IL Was tho chllJIcn,s bedroom. Its
furniture consisted al three l1ttlc heaps of rag.
There were SIX persons IN Tins family. lne
children were ragged and cold. As ! took
notes In tins lush home, the neghhOrs
throngcd IN until the pla lace was full, and before
could complete NV notes had 20 ask them TO stand
away from The hiflc door, for there was no other
way Of getting light. The woman of the house was
clad III hithy rags Sho was baItlo"tcd. NEr
plalniivciy told me that She could not 90 10 mass
now for she had not decent dress to cover her
rags.
smallcI and moic wretchcd, both he and at SIM
liar cluster of hoycs called KienacoH But II
Is useless 20 describe hnm one bv one. Everywhere
saw cows, calves pigs. horses, asses ana hens ly-
ing in the same room with young mothers and chill
drcn-u the same camp dirH, slippery, SMOKY
hovcis half stable ana malt home; everywhere !
saw old men and old women ragged and barclooted,
and hungry aud cold and despalrlng.
EAGER FOR WORK.
At Killenacon the good priest offered to eXpend
sum that had been sent for the y-iour families
of that hamlet to him, III paying them wages at the
rate of shilling day to build road for their own
use go that they might earn their scanty meals,
and save their self respect. They gladly accepted
the offer Ii IL 10 the credit OF these starving peo
pie that they do not want relief, but work; that
they anxious 10 be employed. and only accept
aims because their families would perish from hum
ger Vi hout it,
shall tell of only one more visit. As we crossed
the barrier Father Lynskey was some distance
behind nj the timr-I saw two htle children with
bare red feet and blue lips sitting at the roadside
what seemed 10 be the ROOF OF pig-sty or Iittl9
stable. Tor the roof was flush with the road. |
noticed that they rather more tastciuiy cIad
albeit in rags and that they seemed of finer or,
ganizatun than most OF the children that had
seen. Their faces were clean. slim blonde
woman thirty or moe. whose face showed traces
of early beauty, stood with detected countenauce
near them. a. looked a second time AT the niue
creatures the woman sp Ike 10 NE ana SAID thht she
had not been able to get any relief, and that her