Washington sentinel., 1898-02-12
as badly as this Government does the
Empires business, he would be dis
missed at an hours notice.
THE DISCOVERY OF IRELAND.
TO-IL0ygOaO.

THE DISCOVERY OF IRELAND.
To-ANoyrOw.
Ireland is, and has been for centuries,
a land Of contrasts Incongruities
abound in our institutions, as inconse-
quences do in our speech, and strangers
have told us so often that such things
are products OF our nature that we,
lisping their language, have repeated
their words until we halt believe them
true closing our eyes to the fact that
what is absurd in our customs is caused
by our having but halt assimilated the
manners ofthe alien people who dom.
mated US; and that what is ridiculous in
our speech comes from our clumsy use Of
the Idiom which has suppIanted our
Cther tongue, la truth, neither mis-
government nor mispronunciation are
indigenous to Celtic soil Perhaps pow
ertY aud misfortune might have been as
unknown in Ireland had the Saxon not
planted his foot in the land, as Irish
bulls would have been if we had retained
our language, but speculations on the
AAaA" fPNhNA hdoA dAC AhlNH IL - lONk
since the Saxon came, and it has long
been clear that he came to stay When
he swept the country as a conqueror,
none could blame us for resisting him:
while he remained an oppressor, none
could expect us to do other than hate
and thwart him; but now, when our
foreign governor seems disposed to
change his T0Le, and inclined 10 attempt
our subjugation by Kindness, refusal Of
his prohered aid may seem mere per-
verse spite, and one can imagine the
whole English press chorusing forth
cries { o gods and men to witness that we
are the most impossible people on the
face OF the earth, # we reject the penan.
ces found for US.
Years OF storm and stress, OF famine
and cruel partings, have torn from us
much OF poetry, the gaiety, and the old
time simplicity which once were ours.
The woodman has not spared our forests,
the baillf has destroyed our homes, but
Ireland is still land OF restful peace and
OF beauty. If the last OF our traditions
must vanish: il the fairy ring is to be trod-
den under loot Of the hurrying crowd,
can it not be for some worthy end2 The
playground OF Europe, Ireland can never
be. The storm vexed Atlantic which
lashes our shore, the rain clouds hlch
roll down our mountain sides. save us
from that; but as long as we have the
good sense and the good taste to remain
as we are, our country shall always be
a pleasure ground of these whose pleas
ure IS worth ministering to, Cheap
fares, vulgar pastimes, good cooking
even, Will not draw a thousand more
tourists in the year to our island and It
would be we'll for them If hotel keepers
and development associations realized
this fact. Dublin is a charming city,
but the tripper who delights in restau.
rants and music halls prefers Brussels,
and il would be as unavailIDg for the
dwellers by the Anna Liffy to attempt
to outrival the Belgian capital, as lit
would be for Kngstown to vie with
Dieppe, or Bay with Eastb0urne. On
the other hand, if we preserve what we
have, neither restoring nor improving,
but keeping fast hold OF it, we may hope
for an influx of strangers who while
adding to our scanty boards OF gold, will
bring us treasure as welcome IN honest
friendship,