The Northwestern standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1885-1886, 1886-03-27

lists, the Irish are, one and all, the
strangest people on the face OF the
earth. They never do anything, we
are told, like other people. w hat Y l7t,l :
they put their hands to, from peeling a
potato to shooting a landlord, they
have their own peculiar way of doing
it. Whether they eat or drink, walk or
sleep, tie their shoes or pick their teeth,
they are noted for their Wonderfnl orig
lnality. And it is not the people only.
but, strange to say, the very COWS and az q
horses in that remarkable country bel
low and neigh quite differently from
those of other nations-the tone and
style being quite unique. OF, IN otll p-:I
words, peculiarly Irish. /" It's but q
few weeks ago since a certain Mr.. Gus
tayus Theodore Simpkings, Of Boston,
returned from Ireland with the start
ling discovery that hens laid their eggs
there in a manner quite different from
that adopted by the hens Of other conr n
tries. We may be allowed also to add,
by way Of appendix to the fact, that IN
consequence Of the important nature
of the discovery, a board OF commission
ers will shortly be sent over to lnvestl-
gate the matter, in order that the
poultry fanciers Of New England may
take measures accordingly to promote
the interests of their excellent associa-
tions. Whether the country at large,
however, will approve this new method
is stilla disputed question. Our own
opinion is, the New Englanders will
reject it, not solely because it's Irish,
though that indeed would seem reason
sufficient, but rather on account OF the
danger Of propagating Popery in that
peculiar way. Wehave heard OF Urea
son" eggs (Mr. O'Connell and Marcus
Costello were arrested over two pair
of them in Horne's Coffee Room, Dub
lin, five and twenty years ago, avoWing
their guilty, and if treason could be
propagated in that fashion, we ask,
why not Popery?
Now, after all nicely to which certain
things are carried, simply because they
are Irish, it is quite needless to say
that the national peculiarities Of that
people are all but exhausted, and con-
sequently the young tourist fresh from
the counting-room can expect little
there to requite him for the fatigue aud
expense Of such journey.
But, dear reader mine, if your heart
be in the right place and above the
reach of paltry prejudice,if you be man
enough to think for yourself, and in
stead Of viewing Ireland in print shop
and pantomine, look at her face to face
with your own honest eyes,--if you be
determined to see things in their true
eolors and to avoid the vulgar blunder
of mistaking the Irish brogue for In
yeterate barbarism, and gold watch
chains for genuine civilization, IF you
be one of that stamp, then in Heaven
name step aboard as soon as possible,
for a crime it would be against your
conscience to turn back within sight of
tho green old isle where Moore and
Griffin s.wept and sang
Once there, pass not hnrriedly over
it, for every inch is classic ground. Not
mountain or valley from Cape Clear
to the Giants Causeway but has It's old
tradition. Ell you ever read Banim or
Morgan, Callinan or Griffin, ask the
guide at your elbow to point out. as
you ride along, the scenes they describe
and the monuments they chronicle. If
you ever listened to the songs Of Moore,
and felt the sadness they inspire, stop
for moment and gaze on the veneer
able ruins to which they are conse-
Grated. and they viii seem to you more
sad and plaintive than ever. You may
not weep over those Wondering walls
and ruined shrines, like the returning
exile reyisiting once more the haunts
Of his boyhood, but still, stranger as
you are, the very sight OF them will do
you good: the tottering tower, and the
crumbling wall. and the holy well, and
the broken cross, will bring you salu-
tary reflections will teach you that
every country, to deserve place in the
record of nations, must have past,
and that, aourishing as the republic of
Washington is now, its whole history
up to this hour would hardly cover
single page in the future annals of the
world.
But, dear reader, whenever you
ramble through the old place. forget
not to visit the scene Of our story. IT
may not be SO grand as the Alleghanies,
nor so picturesque as the Hudson; but
it will repay you well, nevertheless, for
your trouble. Moreover, it lies direct
" in your way from the mountains Of
the west to the famous Giants Cause
way--a wild. solitary spot to the east
of those blue hills that shelter the fer
tile valleys os Donegal from the storms
of the Northern ocean.
CHAPTER II
rs IN SLIGHT DEGREE Ill us-