The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1895-08-14

cOpdl cnuTcneS III SuleIeu SeNeIely dJ Ille
hands of Cromwell, who used it as bar
rack for his soldiers and the fOunt for a
feed box for his horses. A tablet in the
wall commentaries Dean Swift, long
time dean of this cathedral, and another
beside it tells of his Vanessa.
In the Conservatives Of the royal bO-
tanical gardens, we found one of our
richest treats, the ferns and flowers, par
ticularly the orchids, excclling in vari-
ETY. and beauty any collection we had
hitherto seen.
In the adjoining cemetery, Glasnevin,
are the tOmbs of two of Ireland'S great
est heroes, 0'COnnell and Parnell. A
noble monument marks the resting place
of the former, and about the grave of the
latter | counted 120 floral tributes under
glass, bearing enthusiastic inscriptions
from societies and individuals from every
part Of the kingdom. Many fresh flow.
ers also bore witness to the constant af-
fectiOn of these warm Irish hearts for
their dead champion.
Dublin has several breathing places;
the finest of which is Phoenix park, 1,750
acres in extent, dotted with groves of
hawthorn, and Of fine old forest trees
among which herds of deer are feeding;
its level stretches breaking into gentle
slopes, pretty valleys, and wooded ia,
vines on the northern and western sides,
while on the south it commands pleas
ant view of the River Liffey. 1t was
in this park that Lord Cavendish was
assassinated during the trOublOus times
Of the Irish eviction riots. A fine large
flower garden near the main entrance
contains very handsome monument to
the duke of Wellington. This city con-
tends with Killarney for the honor Of
being the place where st. Patrick ban
ished snakes from Ireland. OF the hill
Of HOrOth in the suburbs an old song
says,
'"Twas on the top of this high hill,
st. Patrick preached his sarmint;
He drove the frogs into the bogs,
And banished all the varmint,"
snakes included. | had asked one of
our drivers at Killarney if it were
true that there were no snakes in Ire
land, and he replied, "Yis, my lady, st.
Patrick banished all but one, and him
he shut up in an iron box in the bot
tom of LOugh Black" "a little tarn neal
the head of the Upper lake of Killarney
He's ixpictin' livery Monday mOrnin
to be let out, but" with knowing
shake of the head, 'he won't be-" lean
not disprOye his statement as far as
snakes are concerned for l did not see
one while in the country, but did see
baby frogs, not in the bOgs to which
they had been banished, either, but hop.
ping cheerfully in the grass by the road
side. And now for the "serpent's trail'
suggested at the beginning of this chap
ter. Poverty, filth, with the resulting
evils, vices, and disease; ignorance, sup
erstitiOn, and degradation the causes
of all these are not far to seek. Every
city and village has its poor quarter
containing huts, in comparison with
which the tenements in the slums of New
York and Boston are not only clean and
comfortable, but high-grade dwellings.
While among the peasants in the farm
ing districts one finds novels yet more
crowded and filthy, owing to the addi-
tiOn of pigs, goats, and chickens to the
family circle. Imagine hut fifteen by
twenty feet in size, often smaller, and
four feet high, perhaps, at the caves; one
very small window and a door so low that
one must stoOp to enter are the only
means of ventilation, fOi all these huts
are of thick stone walls; the roof is Of
straw and the floor bare earth. On one
side is fireplace and opposite dresser
with a few dishes which are only used at
long intervals, on some great occasion.
Another side is occupied by a huge chest
containing the rags which are spread up
on the floor at night to sleep upon, and
which also serves as table and chair by
day; the fourth side contains the chick
en-rOOst. In this single room dwells a
family of perhaps three or more children
besides two or more grown people, to say
nothing of the ever-present goat and Oc-
casiOnal pig which are always welcome
to their share Of the space, be it great or
small. Combine with such conditions
of life, the lack of nOurishing food, and
reflect that similar conditions have ex-
listed for generations past, transmitted in
long succession from father to son and
can you wonder at the result in the social
and moral degradation Of the poorest
classes of Irish peasants to-day?
There is much good natured joking at
the expense Of the Irish when the potato
crop chances to be failure, and it is a
fact, and a grave one, that the living of
a large proportion of the poorer classes
is principally potatoes; herring, in limit
ed quantities, being added whenever they
are able to buy them. An intelligent
and well-tOdO gentleman commenting
on the hard lot Of the peasants, particu,
larly with regard to food, told me that