The Northwestern standard., 1886-03-27


not venture on details, or we should
never have done, suffice it to say, that
according to all accounts, and partlcu-
lIarly the accounts of American tour
lists, the Irish are, one and all, the
slrangest people on the face OF the
earth They never do anything, we
are told, like other people. Whatever
| they put their hands TO, from peellng a
potato to shooting landlord, they
have their own peculiar way OF doing
| it. Whether they eat or drink, walk OF
sleep, tie their shoes or pick their teeth,
they are noted for their wonderful orig
Inality. And it is not the people only,
but, strange TO say, the very COWS and
horses in that remarkable country bel
/ low and neigh quite differently from
those Of other nations--The tone and
style being quite unique. or, III other
words, peculiarly Irish" Its but a
few weeks ago since a certain NLr. 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 coun-
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 assocla-
tions. Whether the country at large,
however, will approve this new method
is still a 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. We have heard OF 'strea-
SOM eggs fMr. O'Connell and Marcus
Costello were arrested over two pair
Of them in Horne's Coffee Room, Dub
their guilt, 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
In ,II i,,+ tod
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,--f you be
determined TO see things III their true
colors and to avoid the vulgar blunder
of mistaking the Irish brogue for in
yeterats barbarism, and gold watch
chains for genuine civilization, If you
be one of that stamp, then in Heavens
name step aboard as soon as possible,
for a crime it would be against your
to turn back within sight Of
the green old isle where Moore and
Griffin ''wept and sang
Once there, pass not hrrriedly over
it, for every inch is classic ground. Not
a mountain Or valley from Cape Clear
to the Giants Causeway but has it's old
tradition. ii 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. Ii
you ever listened to the songs of Moore,
and felt the sadness they inspire, stop
for a moment and gaze on the vener-
able ruins TO which they are conse-
Grated. and they will seem to you more
sad and plaintiye than ever. You may
not weep over those mouldering walls
and ruined shrines, like the returning
exile revisiting once more The haunts
Of his boyhood. bnt still, stranger as
you are, the very sight OF them viii do
you good: the tottering tower, and the |
crumbling wall. and the holy we'll. and |
the broken cross, will bring you salu- |
lary rehections-Wil teach you that |
every country, TO deserve a place in the
record of nations, must have past, I
md that, tiourishjng as the republic of |
Washington is now, its whole history I
lp 10 this hour would hardly cover a
single page in the future annals of the
world.
But, dear reader, whenever you |
'amble through the old place. forget t
lot to visit the scene of our story. It
nay NOT be SO grand as the Alleghanies,
lor SO picturesque as the Hudson; but I
t will repay you well, nevertheless, for
'our trouble. Moreover, it lies direct
y in your way from the mountains OF
he west to the famous Giants Cause
yaY--a Wild. solitary spot TO the east
# those blue hills that shelter the fer
lie valleys os Donegal from the storms
f the Northern ocean.