The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-10-07

rim. ershi misha, with Gods blessing on
| us. say 10"
II was all that. in the pleasant cabin;
Z and then came the problem Of my own
/ housing for the time / should remain
/ among the fishermen Of the region.
The cabin. ike all others Of its class,
/ had but one room below and little loft
3 above. There surely was no place for me
] in these. But i'm a little shed at the END,
/ dry and clean where all the boat and fish
/ ing gear was stored. we soon had fine
/ couch made on a weil-folded seine, and
T though a clearly defined aroma of fish,
I tar and oakum pervaded the place, as one
. window showed some sweet, fern-covered
cliffs behind, and another gave a superb
] view Of Valencia Island the sublime
/ promOntOry Of Bray Head, and Of the
mighty sea beyond, only churlish trav-
I eIer could have found else than gratula-
tion in the sunny and winsome spot
And yet how little served these quaint
folk fully,
There was not a chair within the cabin.
Two stone strangers seats one at
either side Of the chimney, and a few
rude stools answered in good stead. A
bunk against the wall was the bed of the
| fisherman and his wife. The bOucha-
leens and girshas (boys and girls) slept
upon the floor of the loft above. Their
only mirrors were each others eyes. one
table Of heavy deal stood beneath the win
dow. one cupboard, formed by a little
recess in the wall, and another of an
CIcnt Irish oak, easily held all the house
holds scant though precious belongings.
one or two knives, several fish
knives used in cleaning fish and in all sea-
faring work, two or three earthen bowls,
a pewter mug for the rare treat of sugar,
one modern tin pan, a huge pewter basin
and two or three saucers comprised all
the ware for the table the fisher family
possessed.
Besides these, there were a few of those
rare old Irish methers or square drinking
cups carved out of solid wood, precisely
the same as those used in Erin twenty
centuries ago. strong bot, or tub, had
its place beneath the table. A schrahag,
or fat osier basket with narrow sides
always held the boiled potatoes at the
meal And the cooking utensils were the
same, and as few, as have been used by
the peasantry since there were such in
ireland.
There was a great iron pot for the stira-
bout the potatoes and for boiling cab
bage leaves and other delicacies for the
pig; a smaller iron kettle, in which an egg
might be boiled, or the "tay wetted;"
and a great round fat iron griddle in
which black bread, the schrowders and
all extraordinary goodies were baked
either hanging from the crane above the
fire. or set at an angle against it and
turned as necessity required
The sChrowder, next to potatoes being
here the great staff of life, really de-
serves mention. 1t is made of a thick bat
ter Of oaten meal, seasoned with salt
and, on festive occasions, with the drip
pings from fried pork. Strictly speaking
it is only the schrowder when, as the
oaten cake baked on the great hanging
griddle, 1t is additionally toasted or
roasted on the muddha arran before the
greeshaugh or embers.
This muddha arran is the only other
utensil of the fireplace of these fisher
men, or the western peasantry at large
It is an iron forked stick with three legs,
on which the schrowder or fish. and any
bit of meat good luck may send, are
toasted or broiled; it is one of the most
ancient cooking utensils remaining in Ire
| land; and l mention all these simple
things minutely, because without John !.
Shea's real environment the strong,
brave mold in which his fine and humble
nature was cast, could not stand forth so
clear and lofty in its sturdy and noble
worth.
In comparison, wondrously sweet and
/ happy as seemed this little home-nest be-
| side the lovely Kerry shores, within it al
! ready lurked the demon of unrest.
Dumb and voiceless as it might be and
was, a pitiful heart-tragedy was enact
! ing here within one silent breast. To mo,
! its recognition saddened every happy
hour; gave frownng seeming to crag,
headland and lonely islet, dark and bare;
! lent a shuddering dread to the magic of
the sea; and swept a thrill of portent
through all the whisperings of the breezcs
/ along the somber coast.
Not until the first evening did 1 see Ell
! leen. She was the fisherman's eldest
| daughter. She crept into the cabin hest
/ family, demurely, but not without GER
| tain hint of unconquerable determine
| ton and power of her stature, poise and
! movement and with a light of strange in
/ qury in her great blue eyes as they rested
/ upon the stranger difhdently.
| Her father greeted her fondly enough,
| but more like a rough companion and
| sharer of toll than loved child, thought
| and still with a shade of anxiety in his
! honest rugged face.
| She stood for a little leaning against
| the fireplace, drinking in our words and
| particularly all references to foreign
| lands, with almost fiercely hungry eyes:
/ and finally, after partaking of a bit of
! food, disappeared with her brothers and
| sisters to their beds in the loft above
! Whatever subject we spoke upon, we
! somehow always came back to Eileen.
/ In q little time l found that the girl had
! been her fathers constant companion for
| years in the dangerous work of the sea:
! could manage boat with all the skill and
! deXterity of a man; had shared every
| manner of arduous task involved in mac
| kerel and long line-fshing; and knew
! every eddy of the sea, every nook and
( Granny of the coast every rock islet
| shoal and fishing ground, as Familiarity as
| the canniest Kerry fisherman, from Din
/ gle to Knsale.
/ Aside from the few Irish lasses at the
| fair at Cahrsiveen, Eileen was the only
/ maiden grown l had noticed that day
! though l had seen her before in a way
| that now filled me with dread for the
peace of his fishers homeland l asked
her father where the bright-faced girls Of
| Kerry had gone.
Gone is it-gone? Heughw he an
! swered with sudden spirit. "Over tn say
| ENTIRELY"
But surely they could not all go to
| America" l ventured protestlngly.
/ Without word she put in her bosom
some crumpled sheets OF paper he had
handed her and, stepping back among the
/ parted branches, was lost to sight
/ This is what | had seen and heard ,iDop