The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1892-01-15
DUBLIN, SEPT. II, 1891.


1t is matter of three-quarters of
an hour by fast train from Belfast to
tide water at Greenock and it is a
matter of five hours by fast steamer
from GreenOck across the channel to
Belfast. Those interested in ship
building and those who like to investi-
gate the manufacture of fine linen
will find plenty of entertainment in
Belfast. But outside of these two in
dustrieS the town has few attractions.
1t has a beautiful park with flower
beds and fine old trees, and winding
roads and miniature lakes; but there
are no monuments worth mentioning
and no fine public buildings. The
city is for the most part made up of
red brick houses, two and three stor-
les high, of the plainest possible vari-
ETY., and the streets are rough and
dirty. 1t is not a place to visit twice.
Leaving Belfast the same afternoon
of my arrival there, | went up to the
north coast to see the Giants Cause
way, the greatest natural curiosity in
the world, perhaps. The road lay
through very interesting country,
green and fertile, with plenty of trees
and running streams. Most of it
seemed well kept, too, and there was
an air of comfort and plenty about
the white-walled, thatched cottages
of the farmers. This part of the island
is certainly not the "pOor ould Ire
land' of the agitatOr. Port Rush,
village of 1900 population, six miles
from the Causeway, is the end of the
railroad, and we spent the night
there. After dinner in the evening 1
walked out past the village to the
point of high, narrow
that reaches out into the
sea. And as | stood there in the
gathering darkness, looking out over
that vast silent, sea, stretching away
beyond my utmost vision, it seemed |
to me as if had come TO the ''iump-
ing-off7' place, as if ! stood face to face 4
with all the immensities of time and /
space. | stood there an hour, watch .
ing the changing lights in sea and /
sky, feeling farther away from home .
than | had felt anywhere on the jour ,
ney. But as walked back through
the streets Of the village l came upon
a squad of the Salvation Army hold
ng an open air meeting and singing
What Shall the Harvest Be?'-and
-he world didn't seem so wide nor
home so far away after all
Imagine 10000 piles, from II to Is
inches thick at the top, some five.
some six, some eight, some nine sided,
lriven into the ground so close togeth-
~ that knife blade could not be put
between any adjoining two of them.
imagine the ground into which they
ire driven to be tongue of land
eaching out into the sea, and flank
ID on either side by high, black cliffs.
imagine the piles TO be of black, ba-
attic rock and TO be cut Off at differ
nj lengths 50 that those in the front
Ow are on level with the water
While those in the rear, after grad
al ascent, are 81 feet above it. I'm
CINE these things and you may have
ONE faint idea of the appearance of
he Giants Causeway. 1t is most ;
ingular formation and the scientists
ave never yet been able to account I
II ii on any theory that was satisfac-
Dry even TO themselves. Tradition
els that it was built by famous
liant, Fin McCoul by name, in order ,
nat he might go across to Scotland /;
nd wipe the earth with clustering {
aledonian giant who was always
that he would thrash Fin
-ithin an inch Of his life, if he could
My get at him. And | guess that
as prObablythe way Of it. Of course
hen the giants died there was no t