The sun., 1908-08-23
AMErHYsrs OF ACHILL.
A nare Day fer Tourists VINO seught
Them.

Vnems
When We heard there was an ansthyst
mine In Achtll-that island Of purple noun
tain and blue lake. green bog and brown
trout stream. Oh the coast Of Connemara--
we were naturally anxious to explore 1t.
We drove to Donagh. the nearest village
to the mine. in jaunting car.
At Donagh the village turned out to meet
US. Our expedition was godsend to that
little community OF picturesque loafers,
and II we violated their privacy by peep
ing into the reeklng interiors OF their white
washed cabins they violated ours by frankly
closing In around us as We stood In the
road, listening In polite but genial inter-
est while We discussed our plans, their
barefooted women In the background.
shy Of speech but generous Of smiles; the
men at our elbows. brown and well fea atured.
spare but tall. wearing In their features
the signs Of o long lineage and on their
persons rags that an English tramp would
kick oontemptuously into ditch.
Michael o'Malley. direct descendant OF
an ancient line Of kings. In caved In billy
cock and trousers. secured by pieces Of
string, constituted himself as the leader
Of our party. principally because he had q
pony which the ladies could ride In turn.
which had slso had the honor. he told us
10 his soft. polished way. Of carrying Lady
Roberts and the late Sir Henry Campbell
Bannerman on similar occasions. Michael
was 72-this fact he announced not once
but many times--and his wife. q beautiful
barefooted old lady. sat at her spinning
wheel by their cabin door. Gays q writer In
the London Epening Standard. He admit
ted her good looks. but naively impaired
the information that his daughter was q
much nicer woman.
It was part Of our i'll luck that day that
one OF our party who never moved without
his rods mentioned fishing, and we i'm
mediately learned from the sort spoken
fairly stiff with pollock at Keem Bay, which
was practically on our way to the mine,
and our number was thereupon increased
by five tattered Donagh men who yolun-
teered as fishing experts. AS Il this was was
about rumored ,chough's nest on Crow
horn Cliffs, expressing a desire to secure
an egg or II too late for that q young bird.
His suggestion met with the same ready
and indulgent assent. The nest was as
that only q roped expert could get at 1t.
This necessitated FIVE more men and rope.
and by the time We started on foot up the
steep road stretching before us like white
ribbon Sn the sheer side o. the s1ess sTs
our original party Of six had increased In
numbers to sixteen.
But when we stopped half way and un-
packed the lunch basket the Donagh men.
with their inimitable manners. discreetly
hungry, but We couldn't feed them all;
however, we gave Michael O'Malley the
packet OF jam sandwiches left over to dis
tribute II he thought ft and the charming
dignity with which he dispensed them and
the grave courteous thanks with which
each man received jam sandwich from
his hand made us think very highly of the
innate refinement Of the Irish character.
We were less enthusiastic however. when
we arrived at keem Bay and found there
knew perfectly well before they started
but kindly forbore to disappoint US earlier
than necessary. Fishing was on. 90 we
turned to the Bird nesting as the next item
on the programme and walked two miles
waited full hour while the men tested
the rope and the boulders and talked softly
and necessarily to each other. At last.
however. Patsie. a pale red haired man
r sb sss ps ss s %as
four others holding on to 1t. crawled out Of
sight down the clin. They reappeared In q
surprisingly short space OF time with the
news that the nest was there bot had been
that a fortnight ago the old birds had been
noticed on another cliff some miles away.
By this time We began to feel helpless in
face OF a superior power. but even then we
should have insisted on going TO the mine
In spite OF the persuasive arguments that
IL was now too late II It had not been for
the rain, turned on. / feel sure. by St. Bren-
dan himself, Ireland's commercial saint. for
as we returned by road to Donagh each
man selected his victim and drew an ame-
thyst from his pocket.