The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1903-12-19


with Margaret standing in the door, 1t was with
many blessings and good wishes tor my safe Jour,
ney: and / thought how insincere ana professlonai
are the attentions of diamond d-adorned DANES Oe-
hind hotel registers, compared with the SIMPLE nat
ural honesty of mine hostess, Margaret OF hesh.
-Four miles of steady climbing took me to the
top of the hills above Ederny, from where had an
easy run into Castlederg. 1t IS cold, cloudy,
windy day; and l am shivering III heavy clothes IN
July | can believe the old man crippled with rheu-
matism who said "it was herdln COWS on these hills
in heat and cold that drew the pains into his bones
But every Tyrone man meet gives his head lit
tie ierb-half salutation and half apology-whIch
brings out "a graund day, sir" One lad who SAID,
Its blowin' day, sir" told half the truth. As
slid silently down toward Blacktown L was making
up fine story to write about the picturesque olo
town of Tyrone which bore my own name, and hap
ing ii had CASTLE and stirring traditions OF black
deeds of DID, SO l might stir up the enevy OF some
whose names are not on the may OF Ireland. But
"a naughty spirit goeth before fall, which came
to me when | stopped at poor, lone pubic mouse
far up on the hills, like sparrow on the house
top, and asked how far it was to Blacktown, and
was told that | was in, at Blacktown. Sure,
there is no town at ALL said the old woman. slid
away down to Castlederg before | stopped.
Castefn, one time an O'Donne stronghold,
stands north of the River Finn, and IS approached
long, narrow, uneven stone bridge, which IS
very old and exceedingly picturesque. The town it
self is of the usual type. few miles north of Cas-
tlefn came out on the rim of a great bowl-shaped
valley whose sides were decorated with hundreds of
little irregular-shaped farms and fields, above
the other to the very hilltop, separated by darker
lines of hedge and ditch, forming great mosaic
of green, with here and there yellow bit, lately
plowed, and here and there plantin as they call
the wooded spots, and hundreds of little cottages
and groups of cottages. 1t is such scenes as this,
said l. that get printed on Irishmens minds so that
they never can forget the Emerald Isle.
A rather steep, winding road lifts me up into
Raphoe, very old town, an important place.
The cathedral its bishopric taken from it, deserted,
neglected, going to ruin, stands apart in field,
like an old mother turned out to perish-a pitiful
picture of misfortune and mans ingratitude. st.
COLUMBIA founded monastery here; and older yet
is the stone circle the hills above the town, where
the Druid priests used to light the sacred fires in
pagan times.
A shiver or two got me an invitation to sit by
the kitchen fire in the hotel and here I spent the
evening. Instead of four or sixhole range, there
is an open CRATE of Goals between and
water tank. On this little patch of Goals the cook
ing is done, which explains the long wait between
your order and the appearance of the dinner.
The hill road past the stone circle to Pluck Is
TOO hard so / take the one around the foot of the
hills, between meadows and fields of corn. 1t is
fine warm day. No sound do hear except the hum
and throb of life in air and earth and water, and
here and there the swish of the keen-edged scythe
the noisy disenchanterl-as ride along between
the hedges and bitches, all gay with crowfoot and
daisies and here and there bit of whin. Every
body looked happy except the lad whom the old man
breaking stone greeted with, II heerd you look
in for Clergyman to tax the pldge the mornin',
James," and James had his turn at being happy
last night.
/ am on familiar ground now; [ have gone
along these roads and through these villages, with
my father and the rest of the Donegal group III
their reside travels before the blazing logs whose
glowing heat always drew out the "ould country"
talk. Errigle and Mucksh, those two shaggy kings
of the north rearing their heads high in the clear
air over yonder, familiar to the eyes of
my fathers as the peast stack in the yard; and to
some of them their lofty heads the last sight
of dear old Donegal they ever had as they watched
them from the outgoing ship. Up yonder just un-
der that bit of white feece-a detached fragment
of yesterdays clouds, becalmed in the stiffness of
this glorious day--is the spot where they lived;
where some of us live now. | leave my wheel in
the plain below and go up by iauntng car.
welcome to Ireland; "and how well you're
mended since two year ago. "and how the
wans 2" "a we're al rightly thus the greeting
goes on. And then the "chat" begins over the tea,
and goes on till time to "come down to your sup
per" of stir-about which satisfies the body and
soothes the mind the talk grows lower as the turf
burns out, and the pauses longer, till am reused
by; You're sleepy man! Come alang to your restw
And while L sleep the wee folk" spirit me away
over land and sea, and hurry back again to
let me wake up under the thatch in "Oould Done
gal"
From here Iexplored the hill country to the
north, visiting Gartan, the birthplace of ST. Co
lumba; Glen Veagh Castle, Kimacrenan, and Doom
Well.
A dap on a jounting these lovely noun
tain roads In upper Donegal was among my most
enjoyable experiences. Far up these silent hills
among the turf cutters, seemed like another world
to me; and when we stopped to speak to one, it
seemed if we were converslng across great
gulf" such spell had this vase voiceess desoa-
ton worked upon me.
As | stand up here in Donegal and look away
to the south and east and west, all Ireland lies be-
fore me-a goodly land and fair to look upon. What
broad, rich plainsi What green hills and valleys!
What noble mountains! What beautiful lakes and
rivers! And how these long-sufering, oftdespoiled
people have waited, more than they that watch
for the morning. for the day when they might
again possess this, their own, their native land!
"The night is far spent: the day is at hand"
And what if some should look for another day,
when these people should not only possess their
land but themselves ALSO and be free, and con-
tented and rich There before me lies island by
nature Glowing with milk and honey" inhabited
by people by nature highly endowed. On these
two premises / build the prophecy of Ireland's
greatness in that day-the day of emancipation;
and the gates of no power shall prevail against it
Before | go down from Donegal let me acknowl-
edge my Indebtedness to long line of Irish men
and o,,d crirlc ctratohino and down