Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-05-05

ct and a long fast is easy as kiss your
hand. Every child is nowadays kept at
school till he is well able to figure. read
write and fight. although the latter Is an
accomplishment not formally provided for
in the school program. and not paid for by
the parents. Nevertheless. at every Donegal
school it is one of the first branches mas
tered
They All Have to Work.
Properly speaking. there are two school
terms in each year viz. from May l till
August D. and from the middle of Novem-
Der till the middle of March. Outside these
dates very few. except the mere infants
attend or can afford to attend school-be-
cause at the ware (spring) work, and the
harvest all their help is very much re-
ouired at home. After school hours. in the
summer too they must work by the
fathers side till night-or herd cattle or
sheep upon the hill The wrestle with the
soil in their efforts to force subsistence
from II is so continuous that the head OF
every little household must impress the alu
of all his children. The smallest OF them
can manure the potato ridges, plant seed
break the soil, weed the crops, make nay,
and gather the potatoes, while the more
fully grown can spade foot for foot with
himself. carry loads, NOV the grass anu
shear the corn
The flock of sheep upon the hills must
he gone after once a day. seen. counted
and turned back from neighborlng nnarcheS.
This task generally fails TO the Wen grown
of hungry grass, his mother puts IN MS
pocket fedge Of stout oat bread petore
his setting out Where some greedy per
son sat and ate. and did not leave por-
tinp for some poor person who should come
that way or for the fairies, the latter cast
spells on the spot, so that any one WHO
walks on afterward is suddenly overcome
with hunger weakness c'feur gortach' we
call III and sinks exhausted. SUCH spots
are not uncommon in the Donegal noun
tafns I know well, from experience. that
H. q ,rnrith NrIf
ne something eatable. Often have known
people to be overcome by the feur gortach'
although minute before they fet DO
hunger. As the cause OF TINS nave sd-
yanced our theory; / leave wiser heads 10
End another.
Over the Hills.
On the hills the boy has often to tramp
many miles and climb many mountains IN
pearch of a strayed sheep; he meets on the
mountain tops the young men who come
from distant valleys. each on his own quest
and he swaps with them Information
about strays; and his lungs are 50 good and
the silence OF the hills so great. and the air
20 rare. that he can hail friend upon an
3Iher mountain top some miles away. put
hing his hands to his mouth and crying,
'A-hoy; Mike Doherty. Alloy Alloy.
A-hula-hulla-hpy" and hear Mikes reply,
from his mountain. "A-hoyI Brian Car
rabin Alloy, A-hulla- hula hoy"
This mountaineering is not entirely with
out its risks. for in some states of the
weather when the clouds come down on
the mountains they often have caught
him. even though he be fleet of foot. Then
IL is best 10 sit down resigneJly and suffer
the penetrating mist. and. perhaps. the
treuching rain: for il he attempts to travel
off the mountain he may hazard u step
where. when it is too late. he fnds the
mountain is not and his body may be
picked up at the foot of a sphinx. Or. If
he escapes a bad fall. he is most likely to
lose his bearings in few minutes and go
wandering deeper into the hills, till the
mist rises and discloses to him unknown
country. People have been by the mist
kept wandering the hills for days together
crawling the hills rather
Cutting the winters Fire.
In the early days of May Brian shoulders
his turf spade and with a "meachal' of
men (helping neighborsD goes to the peat
bog to cut his winters firing The turf Is
dug Though we call It cuD twelve inches
deep. by four and by four, out of the black
soft peat. Layer after layer Is cut off the
turf bank. as far as eight. twelve or in
good boys even twenty feet deep Each
succeeding layer is blacker and denser and
makes d better turf than the previous layer
With one thrust of the double-bladed spade
tthe blades set at right angies) he cuts
clean turf anu throws IL over his shoulder
on to the bank above There a man with a
turf barrow adds 1t to his load and wheels
the fresh turfs of to free ground, where
they are laid singly to dry-for at least two
thirds OF the weight of the new turf is wa
ter.
In the middle of the day. when all hands
stop work. they unite the wrappers in
which they carried with them their but
tered bread and bottles Of milk. ana sit
ong around in a circle, they make a merry
meal.
A couple of DAYS after bein0 On, and