The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1895-08-14
BY SEA and LAND.
IRELAND, WALES, AND ENGLAND
AS SEEN BY AN AMERICAN.
The Condition of the Poorer Class in Ire
Iand-Why They come to America
Some of the Beautiful Scenery
of Wales Described.

'But the trail of the serpent is over
them ALL" Our journey from Cork TO
Dublin was rather interesting; kilcol-
man Castle, where Spenser wrote the
"Faerie Queene," and Holy Cross abbey
were noted on the way, and at Kildare
renowned for saints, we saw one OF the
curious, old round towers OccasiOnlly
met with in Ireland, dating from pre-
historic times, and supposed to have been
used as watch and signal towers in the
days when these wild Irish kings and
chieftains were not peaceful, neighbor-
ly set. but must be continually on their
guard against surprise from each other,
and when every clansman must needs be
ready at any moment to obey the sum-
mons of the beacon light and rally to the
aid ofhis chief for defensive or aggressive
battle.
As we journeyed through Kerry, Tip
perary, and Queen county toward Dub
lin, we found a greater diversity OF
country. The garden-ltke fields, and the
rich, almost tropical luXuriance OF the
yerdure which had characterized County
Cork and the lake district of Killarney
was broken by occasional stretches OF
moor and fen land, peat bogs, and bare,
rocky hills; but these less pleasing feat
ures were not 50 frequent OF extensive as
to greatly mar the beauty Of the land
scape, and the peat bOgs were very inter-
esting. Several men were at work in
them cutting the black earth into blocks
a few inches square, which are piled up
in cords, after being thoroughly dried,
and make very good fuel, if one does not
mind the slight earthly OdOr, though the
heat is not as intense as that Of coal.
Arrived in Dublin, and refreshed by a
good nights rest, we proceeded, on the
first day of our SOj0urn, to make our only
excursion outside of the city, which was
to the vale of AoOca, OF which Tom Moore
wrote,
There is not in the wide world Il valley so
sweet.
As that vale in whose bosom the bright waters
meet
Perhaps my spirit was out of tune with
nature on this particular occasion, or
may be the circumstances, which GER
tainly were not inspiring, for the bright
ness of the morning had changed to rain,
had something to do with my lack of ap-
probation, but of one thing | am very
sure, would not again waste whole
day of precious time, and silver pound
besides, to see the extremely ordinary
view which greeted our expectant eyes
when we reached the spot. Either the
place has greatly changed since MOOre's
day or else he was away off, on scenery.
An aged and rather sickly looking tree
beneath which he is said to have written
the poem, still stands beside the meet
ing of the waters" and the hundreds of
names carved in it bear witness to the
extent to which the travelling public have
been illusioned, as well as the loyal adj
miration which even those whOhaye been
lured to so commonplace spot by the
beauty and enthusiasm of the pOem still
seem to feel for its author. For myself
to whom the vale of AoOca had been a
bright, poetic vision from early child
hood, could only ask with Holmes,
Where! Oh where are the visions of morn
ing?"
And with him reply
Gone like tenants that quit without warning
Down the back entry OF time
Dublin, with its population Of 420, 900,
surprised me by the elegance Of its shops
and public buildings; its fine statuary
and monuments; in streets and parks;
and the regal majesty and magnifcence
of some of its oldest institutions, nOta-
bly, the old bank Of ireland Of classic ar
chitecture, in which the ancient house of
lords remains just as occupied by them
in their sessions. The rich tapestries,
160 years upon the walls; the wood cary
ing, and the furniture, are well pre-
served, though the chairs surrounding
the long mahogany table in the center of
the room are somewhat worn. A statue
of George the third fills the space for
merly occupied by the throne.
Directly opposite is Trinity College,
founded in the time of Pope John XVII,
one of the Oldest seats of learning in the
kingdom. 1t is open to all creedS, has
about 400 students, and registers in its
alumni some of the most renowned men
Of modern times. Its campus gives one
the impression of great forest in the
heart Of the city, and like Harvard, Yale,
and 0berlin, the number of its buildings
and Of its faculty is so great that you
might ask fifty of its students, even in
the upper classes before you would find
one who could tell you how many there
are Of either. In its library among rare
old manuscripts, ancient volumes, and
other interesting relics, we found
"The harp that once through Tara's halls
The soul of music she'd"
which belonged to Brian BOroimhe, or
Bornu, 'the cOnquerOr who makes them
paytribute" A. D. 976- -1014, the last Dam