The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1889-04-10
ON THE RIVER SHANNON.
AN OLD IRISH TOWN WHERE THE
WOMEN ARE BEAUTIFUL.

The Legend of St. REary's Bells, Whose
Little Scene at the Station-Popularity
of English Novels.
After Skibbereen and many of the West
Cork towns it is delightful, indeed, to find
ones self in pleasant Limerick To the lover
of the ancient and the modern the city offers
equal attractions. In the English town,
which is the oldest portion, the narrow
streets are as quaint as any one could meet
in Normandy. At one time this was tho
choicest residence quarter and here, defend
| ed by high walls, the freemen of the city
lived, and did all its business in dignifed So
clusion, apart from the more ''Irishry," their
neighbors, who, being neither Protestant nor
'loyal," were religiously kept from all
chances of money making in the unprosper-
Gus Irish town. Here all the wholesome
bounds and restrictions which hedged in the
| Celtic inhabitants were devised, and from
here at the outbreak of the American war
three volunteer corps started TO aid King
Georges army.
Now both sections are alike decayed
Fashion and business have forsailen them
for Newton-Pery, modern addition to the
/ city, built within the last ninety years. It
would be hard to find anywhere finer street
than its principal thoroughfare, Georges
street Fixed out by Patrick street and the
Crescent it extends for about mile one long
line Of handsome buildings and well stocked,
attractive shops. The women of Limerick
are famous for their beauty, and in the
crowded street we saw many in the rustic
| garb, as well as in fashionable attire, who
bore testimony to the truth OF that reputa-
ton.
| THE SWEET GINNING BELLS
Wellesley bridge and Thomond bridge
| across the Shannon are noble structures,
well worthy of the river they span and be-
sides these four other bridges connect various
| portions of the city divided by the Abbey
| stream Tohn's castle, st. Marys
church ana the treaty stone are the princi-
| pal historical lions of Limerick, and very in
| teresting they all are
OF St Mary's bells the lovely old legend is
| told that their maker, an italian, because of
| the surprising sweetness of their Tone had a
love approaching worship for them Being
in need of money he was obliged to sell them
| to convent, which in troubled time was
sacked and its inmates and belongings scat
tered. In his old age the maker of the bells,
broken in fortune and health and only longing
once more TO hear the beloved bells for which
he had long and fruitlessly sought, found him
self on the broad bosom of the Shannon in
the vessel that had conveyed him from the
south. 1t was evening; Limericks towers
rose before him in the sunset light, and the
| evening peace was on all things. Suddenly
from ST. Mary's belfry the evening chimes
rang out, chimes that made his heart leap to
hear-they we're his long sought darling bellsl
Up the broad stream went tho boat, the
chimes still playing with tender music, the
old man lying back with folded hands and a
look of unutterable happiness ON his face
dead
Alta little station outside Limerick young
lady got into our compartment. An affec-
tionate party of friends were there to see her
Off, and while wo remained beside the plat
| form she and they were consumed with grief
One old lady interrupted her sohs every -cncs-
| In while to remind the traveller of various
articles in the shawl strap and lunch basket,
| which would be essential to her comfort dur
/ ing her iourney-the shepherds plaid shawl,
| the thick veil, the sandwiches and the sherry
1ask--but the girl sobbed on behind her
| handkerchief as If meat and drink would
/ evermore be odious to her. The young man
staring ruefully at her with his heart in his
| eyes, as they say here, was, | think, COM
| forted by this last, and l was rather glad
| when all tho good-bys being over and the
| train well out Of tho station, he was not
there to see how promptly she flung grief to
| the winds and settled herself comfortably for
the journey with a novel of Ouida for be-
| guilement up TO Dublin
HASTE TO THE WEDDING.
Tho sun was shining over a smiling country,
already we'll awakened out of its winter sleep
On the wayside banks the glory OF tho ftirze
| bloom was like another sunshine the brown
/ OF the plowed fields was in rich contrast with
the deep green headlands, and here and there
| In the hollows there was tho delicious fairy
gold of tender primroses and the glow Of dog
violets. More than once we caught sight of
| gay procession of ''weddingersn dashing in
the long procession of the "hauling home" up
to the village church, where a curious crowd
| awaited them.
In the perfect spring day the sight Of the
| gayly dressed merry makers headed by
tuneful piper, playing Haste to the We'd
| dingn in his liveliest style, was cliarmingly
idyllic, and one willingly forgot for the time
that after the wedding bells and the music
it would BIO the same old round of scraping
and delving and warning against overwhelm-
ing odds for those for whom the piper played
| SO cheerily.
1t had not escaped mo up to this that in the
book shops and at the railway stalls the fic-
tional literature offered is almost entirely
English, Ouida, Willxie Collins, George Mere
dith, Miss Braddon, John Strange Winter,
Rhoda Broughton, within substantial Eng
lish dress. Tolstoi and lola himself are the
guides, philosophers, and friends of the Irish
novel reading public just now. Women
everywhere are the chief novel readers, and
remembering how much of the morality of a
race depends on the mothers the array of
names just given cannot fail to strike an OBJ
server rather painfully.
'sBut what are we to DOR queried my COM
panion, to whom / said something like this
''rhere is no Irish authors, male or female,
writing novels now, and the old writers,
Banim, Lever, Carleton and Lover, besides
being vulgar, wero not true.n
sBut, Griffin" ! said, hotly, eager TO de-
fend him whose beautiful story and songs arc
of tho very essence Of the land that lost him
all too soon.
"Oh, Grifiinlp she cried, ''but who wants
to read whole lot of old fashioned brogue
and things when there are lovely modern
novels, perfect in English, to DO had in
plentyp
And SO we left our young friend, with her
Folle Farine and her flask of strong sherry
as refreshments for her six hours journey
Limerick Letter in Chicago Times.
Franklin and the Convention.
xUI,,, 4 iil.,vfr.is.s,o T-a.,llix. s,,oo L., HE