Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1886-11-05

| ing OF the porterS with our luggage, tho
longer baggage and trunks, but luggage
and boxes" the odor Of whIskey and the
demand for shillings-'lor ii was meeself,
your honor, that brought in livery one OF
| yes boxes'-and the lodging to keep from
being skilled in the crush we began to
think that Beecher mightsbe wrong How
ever, alter paying three men for carrying
the same boxes, we were allowed to depart
with our luggage chalked as inspected, aud
made our way to the hotel, when after a
| poor supper we slept our first sleep in a
| foreign land Everything was quaint about
| the hotel, and in our bedrooms was the In
evltab.e petticoatcd dressing table with the
| little separdto mirror on top, Of which we
rarely lost sight until some time after we
crossed the channel, this being the substi-
tute for our bureau or dressing table.
The next morning, after o late breakfast,
no better than the supper, finding there was
but little to see, we took a strollthrongh the
town, and embarked on the little boatDfor.
Cork, going up the river Lee en whose
|sl'FAk&r1AEe many pretty vlne;coyered cot
thetf ono called Passagcy alttie watering
place, and the port from which sailed the
second steamship which ever crossed the
Atlantic. Passing on we came 10 the tower
erected in honor Of Mathew, thcgreat tenn
perance advocate, which bears his name,
and then to Cork, the. principal city OF
Southern Ireland This can scarcely be
called a fine city for it is a mixture of fine
streets and wretched alleys, from the latter
Of which issue tho raggedest and dirtiest hui
man beings We have ever seen, and no mat.
ter what the weather these poor women
and children, though barefoot, arc always
wrapped In heavy shaw or cloak, proba-
bly, upon the principle that what will kape
out the cold, will kapo out the hate toe,
sure" There are several flnc churches here,
and ST. Patrck's Cathedral, built over the
well from which he baptized his converts
and from which we were expected TO take u
drink and leave a shilling. 1t was at Cork
that William Penn was converted 10
Quakersm and imprisoned for short time.
Shandon Tower, too, is point of interest
TO tourists, and rang a tune on the famous
Shandsn bells, In return for which another
shilling hard to be deposited. may as well
tell you here that nothing is free across the
water, anywhere, but the air itself, and that
only because 1t can't be bottled up and sold
at 50 much breath. Foreigners tell us that
it is the fault of Americans, both this and
the incessant begging by which we are an
noyed. Snobs go over, who have more
money than responsibility, and Imagine that
they can buy the latter by the lavish use of
the fOrmer--others following have not the
moral courage TO refuse to do what Is 80 ev
identity expected and so all are ileeced. In
deed we weru told by one Of our Consuls
that the rate Of wages at hotels and other
places isregulated by the opportunities tor
extortiug fees from travellers; / say extort-
ing, because if you do not give you are
asked for II, In some places men pay for
the position, making all their salaries out OF
guests who on their bills arc charged sep
arately for attendance" besides. A thor
oughly Amercanized Englishman who had
been over to visit his relatives living on one
Of those grand old estates, told me that his
fees to buffers, housekeepers, maids, coach.
men, &c, amounted 10 quite as much is n
hotel bill would have been, and yet he felt
obliged TO conform TO custom, US he knew
that the employees had been told when hired,
1--WE give only so much, because we enter
tain great many guests SO II does not
seem 10 me that il is dH the fault Of Amer
leans. Still, we do give a shilling where
foreigners give Il sixpence, and until rcfor
nation Is effected by concerted action on the
part of travellers, Americans on a three
months trip must charge up $50 for fees -
IL takes great deal Of grace, Sue, IT, travel
through Europe ! wish the newspapers
would stir this matter up, for II is an inces-
SAINT irritation 10 feel that you are Gontinu-
ally imposed upon, and you would be amaz.
cd TO see the cL,tss Of men on the Continent
who expect Il shilling-asa "pour boire," ~
they call it. Porters, men whose position Is
that of our hotel clerk, ask for II if it is not
offered. | wonder how long 1t would take
one Of our ilrst-class hotel clerks TO knuckle
down guest who Offered him 20 cents -
Thank Heaven, we are self,respccting.
But | was only 10 tell you about our trip,
and here am branching Off into political
economy, or neral science, or what Is tip
OF course while at Cork we had 10 visit
Barney Castle 10 Timber up our tongues for
the winter campaign. So, taking launt-
ing car, u peculiarly Irish institution, side
Wise little four.seated vehicle in which we
sat back W back, we drove through charm
ing country Of fine estates about five miles
to the old ruin. There is really nothing re-.
niarkable about this place excepting the ia
nous Blarney stone, the kissing Of which IL
supposed 10 confer wonderful powers of eo-
quence To do this the ksser must be held
by the feet over the parapet Of lofty tower
and then kiss upward, so II the feet don't
give way there Is still chance 10 disocate
the neck. 1t was too warm for some TO try
IL, and others were too tired, but our party
was affait-so We shall never have the "gilt
OF gal" agood thing possibly for our friends.
This old castle is about a century old, and
was only brought int prominence by a song
called the Groves Of Barney" written by
Miliken in 1899. The present owner, Sir
George Cothrust, living in a new residence
close by, has given orders W admit ADleTs.
Guns free on any day in the week, although
II Is closed 10 the public excepting on fixed
days,) in recognition Of their courtesy To
him on q recent visit 10 our country. Tho
only Instance while abroad in which il paid
TO be an American! Still even here, there
WIS Lazarus at the gate who called down
the 'blcssings Of the saints" upon us in ex.
change for shilling.
One Of the things which attracted our no.
tice at Cork was the beautiful window gar
dening, and tho profuse bloom as well IA
the large size of the flowers. We were Civ
On several carnation pinks which wero as
large and as full as dahllas. BY the way,
this plant Is not grown, as with US, tied up
10 stick, AZ which IL always rebels, but
falls over tho edge Of the boxes, and hangs
down like the nasturtium, with these Inn
mcnse blooms at the end. The moist air OF
Ireland as well AS Of the whole United
Kingdom, is very conducive 10 the growth
Of plants, and tho windows Of even the
poorest shanties are aglow with geranums
and other blossoms.
Our next visit was 70 KIllafney--which |
must leave for another letter.