The San Francisco call., 1905-08-24
Beside Killarney.
Lake.
GLENGARRIFF, ireland, Aug. 10.
BT DOROTHY FENInoRE

GLENGARRIFF, ireland, Aug. 10.
tlvr OW far is this from the town
r. of Killarney" 1 asked Of the
i i stage driver as we entered tho
grounds of the big hotel which is just
stones throw from Muckross Abbey,
on the border of the famous lake.
Two English miles, miss" said he
politely, touching his hat
What other kind of mile is thereT
l asked. interested
There isn't any other kind" said he.
II sounded SO much like~a piece out
of Alice in Wonderland. that was
tempted to try 1t again, but an i'm
penetrable reserve had fallen over the
man beside me, and I was obliged TO
save up my curiosity for some occasion
more propitious, which, as luck hao
1t, / soon found, when the waiter at the
hotel brought me my afternoon tea.
This picturesque person assured me
that the stage driver was wrong, that
there once had existed such thing as
an Irish mile, but that 1t was no more
in use, and ordinary people didn't know
how long it was.
My questioning proved this time. 10
my great satisfaction, to be the enter
ing wedge to an acquaintance which l
found as profitable as amusing, for my
waiter knew many things about the
neighborhood which were not In the
guidebook; so whenever he was sery-
ing me l encoura ged him to speak~his
knowledge freely in that sepulchral
undertone of his which was like the
echo of a hollow vault.
You have fine old ruin In front OF
the hotel.'' 1 commented.
His long, thin face lit up with long,
thin smile that was as cheerful as a
streak of sunshine cleaning between
the boards of a fence It's the castle
of the O'Connors, ma'am And my name
is OConnor, too. SO probably they was
my DESCENDANTS" he confided. But. II
so, 1t amt done me any good so far as
l can see," he went on disconsolateiy.
I'm that poor, I am. though / may be
the son of a king"
To cheer him up I spoke of the hand
some carvings in bog oak that l had
seen displayed for sale that afternoon
at Kate Kearney's cottage, up by Dun
loe Gap.
My effort was successful. He beamed
with pride.
You wouldn't think. now, would ye."
he queried, that peat-bog Irfshmen
could do such work as that?"
"Oh, we have a high opinion OF Irish
men in America 1 protested. Some
cf our very smartest men come from
here"
Yes, that's So, agreed OConnor. /
wint to America myself"
why didn't you stay there?" asked
him, and from the expression that came
into his eyes 1 realized that had
stumbled upon one of the deep expert
ences of his life. The story that he told.
me is, think, one that portrays a,
characteristic trait of his warm-heart-
ed race.
He had left good place in New
York, where he was earning, tips in
cluded, 50 SO a day. to return to his
native country to work which was
harder and less congenial and for
which he received 1915 a week. And
this he had done solely for the sake of
his aged mother, who had longed for
sight of him, but who had not had the
courage to go to him across the sea.
Now she was very feeble. and SO long
as she lived he would not leave her
side.
"She had twelve children. said
O'Connor, simply, but 1 was her baby.
and it seems like she loves me most of
all; and it did the old ladys heart good
to see me come back. You can see
just how it would be yourself. ma'am,
If your baby had been away from you
for thirteen years"
The last that 1 saw of O'Connor tears
were in his sad blue eyes. He looked
up from the gold piece in his hand to
say feelingly, in that melancholy, sub
terranean tone of voice he had: Sure,
ma am, you're the first rale lady that
I've met since I came here