Kentucky Irish American. (Louisville, Ky.) 1898-1968, 1899-09-23
SUNSET SCENES
Observed from a Ship on the
North Coast of the Emer-
aid Isle.

The following grand description of
sunset on the north coast of Ireland is
given by Josephine L. Tabour in the
Minneapolis Progress:
All through the afternoon we had been
sailing along the north coast of Ireland.
The gray clouds that had been hanging
over us for days gave place to sunshine,
that lent a greater charm to the sea and
the dark distant hills.
The haze surrounding the far away
Scottish mountains and hills changed
from gray to blue, while the nearer hills
and ragged rocks of Ireland were thrown
into holder relief by the soft light. The
air grew warm and soft. Everybody
gathered on the decks to watch the
changing outlines of the rocks. hills and
point of land About O'Clock we passed
the Giants Causeway," with its strange
ly huted pillars of basaltic rock. Strange
old sentinel of the sea, washed by the
waves for centuries, and for centuries the
rains have beaten down OH those cold
brown rocks. Seasons have come and
gone, people have lived and died, ships
passed and repassed, some of them never
to return, but the great columns of rocks
still stand grim, silent and unchanged.
From the Giants Causeway" it is but
fourteen miles across the channel to the
Null of Kintyre on the coast of Scotland.
Having fair day and smooth sea we
sailed much nearer the Irish coast than
we could otherwise have done, and passed
between the mainland and the Island of
Rathlin, where for a time Robert Bruce
found shelter. This little island is rem
dered beautiful only by the surrounding
sea, the white surf beating always against
its granite sides, and green verdure COW
ering its rocky surface. Over on the
mainland was spread far-reaching pict-
ure of beauty, the distant hillsides check
cred with the fields of ripening grain the
long dark hedge rows and the blue smoke
curling upward from the chimnies of the
group of tiny cottages so lazily sleeping
at the foot of the hills. Here and there a
little cottage stood in some sheltered
nook among the rocks near the sea, or
found Judgment high up ON the side of
the hills. Regretfully we left so fair
scene to go down to the evening dinner
But on coming up again all regret van
ished on beholding the glorious effect of
the setting sun. Behind one of the dock
hills the sun had dropped into the sea,
leaving a sheet of FURNISHED gold as
background for the dark hills. Across
the gold was spread a zigzag cloud of
dark gray, almost black, while Just over
head large line of white clouds were
drifting across the blue sky. And as they
floated slowly on these delicate clouds
were edged with highest gold, until
gradually some unseen hand laid fine |
tracings of gold all over the snowy mass,
and off against the horizon, beyond the
white and gold and blue, could be seen
the tall masts of coming or going ships,
one or two but speck against the dist ant
ky. The golden light grew dim and
melted into changing colors of pink, blue
and faint shades of copper, gray and
The hills and rocky shores
grew darker under the changing lights of
the growing sky. To the eastward faint
touches of pink and gold, blue and red,
streaked the soft gray of the evening and
touched the waters of the bay with rosy
glow. little boat with all sails set was
gliding toward the Scottish shore, where
/ little village lay set round by hills and
rocks and craggy points of land and
where the rim of the sea touched the
shore was long line of white sand.
A sleeping mist was closing round the
asst receding hills. The. silence of the
night was broken only by the sounds in
'ur own ship. The gold in the west had
AIDED into palest rose. The tall masts of
he invisible ships still lay against the
clouds and beyond, those strange ships,
hose rosy clouds, those distant purple
shadows, is country, friends, love and the
hining sun, while round us nothing but
strange, silen. shores, clouds. mist and
ga and unknown ships sailing away into
he shadows of the night.