Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1880-04-14
The Poor Of Ireland.
THEIR GREAT POVERTY.

THEIR GREAT POVERTY.
We drove back to Murrisk, that we had
passed on our way to Thornhill. 1t is Il
cluster of novels built higgeldy- pig geldy
along the shore and up the sides of the
little hill near one of the arms of the bay
There is a rough barrier of stones across
the water, which was built to keep the
tide from overfiowing the sweet water oi
the little pond that empties into the bay
Without 1t the people could not drink the
water, and there are no springs or wells
near by, 1t was badly constructed, and
has been partly demolished by the high
winds and the tides. 1t is dangerous
crossing when the wind is high. 1t re
quired the utmost care for us to keep our
feet in walking over it.
novels. Father Lynskey entered to ad-
minister the last sacrament As am not
II Catholic. the priest advised me to visit
the ether cabins while he sought the dying
woman. l went into one of them.
shall have to grow half a yard or so before
| can truthfully be called a tall man, and
yet had TO bend nearly double before
could get through the door. There was
no fireplace. There was only hole in
the roof at one end of the room, out OF
which the smoke made its way at its
leisure. A little peat fire was burning on
the hearth, or rather beneath the hole in
the roof. There was no ceiling of course,
for none of these cabins have a ceiling.
There was no floor but the ground-few
of them have even few flat stones here
or there. There was no window. The
rafters and the furze sticks on which the
thatch rests, and the walls, and everything
in the wretched room, were begrimed
with smoke. There was no dresser for
the plates and cups. There were no
chairs. There was one mean, rickety, lit
tie home made table. There were only
two low rude stools for sitting on. A pig
was eating out of Il kettle on the floor.
Two or three hens were picking up II few
grains of meal. Near the fire there was t.
rude bed, covered with two filthy blankets.
There was an inner room. | entered it
1t was the chldren's bed room, Its furn-
ture consisted of three little heaps of rags.
There were six persons in this family.
The children were ragged and cold. AS
took notes in this Irish home, the neigh
uUTS tuEOu2tu III uuOli thO DithCO was run
and before | could complete my notes |
had to ask them to stand away from the
little door, for there was no other way of
getting light. The woman of the house
was clothed in filthy rags. She was bare
footed. She plaintively told me that she
could not 90 to mass now, for she had net
u decent dress to cover her rags.
This was not the worst howell. There
were others smaller and more wretched
both here and at similar cluster of hov
els called Killenacotf. But it is useless to
describe them one by one. Everywhere |
saw cows, calves pigs, horses asses and
hens living in the srme room with young
mothers and children-in the same dark
damp, slippery, smoky novels. half stable
and half home ; everywhere | saw old men
and old women ragged and barefooled
and hungry and cold and desparing.
AT Killenacof the good priest offered tc
expend sum that had been sent for the
twentyfour families of that hamlet to him
in paying them at the rate of shilling a
day 10 build road for their own use, sc
that they might earn their scanly meals
and save their self-respect. They gladly
accepted the offer. 1t is to the credit o
these starving people that they DO no
want relief, but work. that they are
anxious to be employed and only accep
aims because their families would perish
from hunger without it.
shall tell of only one more visit. As
we crossed the " barres Father Lyns
key was some distance behind at the time
i saw two little children, with bare rec
feet and blue lips, sitting at the roadside
near what seemed to be the roof of Il pig
sty or little stable, for the roof was flush
with the road. noticed that they were
rather more tastefully clad (albeit in rags,
and that they seemed of finer organiza-
tion than most of the chidred that hat
seen. Their faces were clean. A slim
blonde woman of thirty or more, who's,
face showed traces of early beauty, stoo(
with detected countenance near them. Al
looked second time at the little crea
turrs the woman spoke to me and sale
that she had not been able to get any re
lief, and that her children had not eaten
mouthful since yesterday. 1t was now ai
ternoon.
Where do you live?" l asked.
Therc!'
She pointed to house that had suppos
ed to be little stable. 1t was built be
tween the barrier and the road. She ha
put it up with her own hands, she said
l turned to the man who was guiding me
" Is that truep" l asked him-out of he
hearing of course"
Yes" he answered, coldly.
made my way down to where the doc
was, followed by the guide and the won
an. l had to bend low to enter the hut
IL was not fifteen feet by ten. There wa
no window; there was no fireplace; ther
was no hole in the roof, even, for tn,
smoke to escape, and only three bits 0
turf burned on the hearth. A little whit
kitten, singed and dirty, and famished
was crouching near the semblance of
hre. AT one end of the hovel was a rnd
bed and two dirty rags for covering. Th
straw OF the roof was half rotten: wbe,
1t rained hard, the woman said The raj,
came through into the cabin. There WA
no furniture save kettle and n table an,
stool. "Where is your husbandpn
asked. +" He is not here" said Tho mn,
quickly. l gave the poor wretched WON
an hall crown to buy food for her chil
dren.-Frem James Redpath's Letter 10 III N
New Yorb Tribune. '''''' " VI