Waterbury evening Democrat., 1907-08-31
ATTORNEY M,MAHON'S
 TRIP TO IRELAND
Fro, His Observation He Says Looks as Though Lish
 men Would Be Their Own Landlords.

be so handicapped by adverse legisla' tion as to make production unprofit- able.
 | We also visited the renowned Vale of Avoca and found the Meet. I ing of the Waters" about as Moore described them, tranquil and peace ful. The large tree under which the great poet wrote 80 many of his poems, has at last gone the way of all things earthly, and is hut bar. ren trunk, lifeless and decaying. Of course we visited Killarney. Nothing that I might say would add to the charms of that place. There is but one Killarney, and the visitors from every country agree that nature has lavished upon it's hills and valleys more grace and beauty than upon any other spot on earth. The sail through the lakes is simply delightful--tower. ing above the water is the massive mountain covered with heath of many colors, and when the sun fairly strikes the side of the mountain the effect produced is dazzling beyond de- scription. After sailing through the lakes, in company with number of other tourists, we passed on to the Gap of Dunloe en route to Kate Kearney's cottage. The Gap is sup posed to be five Irish miles long, but it seemed at least twenty-five before the end was reached. The top of the Gap is something like one thousand feet above the level of the lakes, and the path up the mountain is both rugged and uneven. Most of our party rode the ponies as means of con. veyance; others walked the entire distance; but having captured the only low-back car in the neighbor- hood, whose owner would risk a passage through the Gap, Mrs Mcs Mahon and myself rode in state. Near to Killarney is Muckross Abbey, and the Tore Cascade, both of which were well worth going many miles to see.
 "The last place visited before reaching Queenstown was Cork, which city we found both progressive and up-to-date, and after the style ot most American cities. St Finbar's cathedral and the Queens college were both worthy of note and build- ings to be proud of.
 But the dearest thing in Cork, to my mind, was the old church of st Anne, which Father Prout immortal. ized in his famous song, "The Bells of Shandon."
 After patiently climbing wind. ing and uneven stairway, we at last reached the belfry loft and there for at least half hour sat charmed and enraptured as the old gray-haired sexton manipulated the ropes and the bells pealed forth melody after mel ody of Irish airs As the bells chimed somehow or other one could almost feel the spirit of Father Prout when he said:
 With deep affection
 And recollection
 I often think
 Of those Shandon bells.
 Whose sounds 60 wild would
 In the days of childhood
 Fling round my cradle
 Their magic spells.
 On these I ponder
 Whereer I wander,
 And thus grow fonder,
 Sweet Cork, of thee;
 With thy bells of Shandon.
 That sound SO grand on
 The pleasant waters
 Of the river Lee.
 ''It looked as though the bells did not play for so long time very often, as, when the last note died away, ths' streets below were we'll filled yirff people, all anxious to know what the matter was.
 From St Anne's we set out for Blarney Castle. and there sure enough found the Blarney stone as fascinat- ing as ever and just as much sought after.
 What we enjoyed most during our visit to Ireland, and what we shall longest remember, was a real old Irish welcome which we received at the home of an old friend in little vil- lage near Dublin. called Malahide. Irish hospitality Is proverbial and hereafter we will swear by the proverb.
 "uitc ny uciu Ol ouscINdtlOu was very limited, feel that there is a very material change for the better in the condition of the people as a whole. True, there still are many unemployed and many very poor but fin nearly every district visited, majority of the farmers had con- tracts for the purchase of their hold ings. and, as time goes along, the contracts mature, and the property becomes that of the tenant absolutely. This means that hereafter the pro-, ducts of the farmers labor belongs to him; hence. the greater skill and industry displayed, the greater his profits.
 Another change very noticeable fin the country district was the grad ual disappearance of the matched roof mud cabins and the substitution therefor of cosy little cottages of stone or brick. with slate roofs.
 "0f the political situation. I could learn little. and little was needed to show that unity was not considered a cardinal virtue"
 
 Woman's "Accurin' codllness."
 Tt takes a smart man to outdo his