Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-07-17
TICKLE IRISH SKIES
Joys and Otherwise of Motor
ing in Hibernia.
ROADS BAD, HOTELS WORSE
Country Itself Is Both Beautiful
and Interesting.
TOMBS OF THE ANCIENT KINGS
st. COLUMBIA, the Only Rival to St.
Patrick, and His Home
at Kells.
,0MBS OF THE ANCIENT KINGS
By WILLIAM r. CURTIS.

|: By WILLIAM z. CURTIS
!. Special Correspondence Of The Star and the
!, Chicago Record Herald.
:. TRIM. Ireland, July 11.-There are sew.
( erAl drawbacks to motoring in Ireland the
!. chief of which is that the country is Sc
!. short of good hotels and so long on show
{ ers. The next is the inability of an hon.
!. est American newspaper correspondent to
!. see through or over ten-foot walls of stone
: and hedges that rise twice as high as his
!. head. Nevertheless. wherever there is
: much to see and little time to see it in
:. one has to put up with some annoyances
: and an automobile is no longer a luxury
: CIR a mere convenience. but an actual
:. necessity.
: The Irish climate is like the Irish char
acter. A witty native once said Of his fell
: low-countrymen. They smile aisy and
they cry aisy." and that describes the
!: habits of the heavens also. Clouds as
: semble and do business in quicker time
: over here than any other place I have
ever been. but although 1t will rain cats
and dogs" for fifteen or twenty minutes.
: the sun will be shining again almost in
stant.y if nothing had happened.
Unfortunately the hotel proposition is
not so easily disposed Of. Most of the
inns In the country districts and in the
. small cities are absolutely intolerable. 1t
isn't so much because of lack of luxu-
. ries ana modern conveniences that the
. travellers find on the continent at similar
places as it is the excess of dirt and bad
: smells. In the average country hotel in
! Ireland everything is in disorder and out
of repair. The bells don't work; the fur
niture is crippled and decrepit; the mat
tresses are lumpy and half the springs are
broken or out Of joint; the bedrooms are
seldom swept, the tablecloths are seldom
. washed; sheets and pillow cases are sell
. dom changed, and if guest should call
for clean towel the landlord would be
) likely to ask what is the matter with the
; one he gave him few days ago.
The only alternative to stopping at a
; dirty hotel is to ride on until you come to
a clean one. and that may be as far as
the ends of the earth The more practical
and. indeed, the only way. is to accept the
situation good naturally and get the best
you can out of it. Any person who takes
an interest in this subject can find further
and accurate information in that charm
ing book. "Penelope's Irish Experiences, -
by Kate Douglas Wiggin.
1t is asserted by those who know that
there are only five good hotels in Ire
land. We have thus far found two of
them but haven't kept count of the other
KIND. They are too numerous to mention.
! By Boyne Water.
i The road from Drogheda to Tara, the
ancient capital of Ireland, follows the
valley of the famous Boyne river and
passes through the famous battlefield
where William of Orange with 10000 men
in 1880 overcame James II with 1900
and deprived the latter unfortunate mon
. arch of his dominion and his crown, and
gave the Irish people over into the hands
. of the Protestants for the next two hun
. dred and fifty years. A stately monu-
: ment has been erected upon the field and
. various smaller markers have been placed
. about to show where important historical
: incidents took place. ....-..-
The valley of the Boyne is extremely
. Deautlful The banks are densely wooded
. for miles and the river flows through
many fine estates owned and occupied by
. rich people from London, Dublin and
. other cities. The climate Is agreeable and
healthful for nine or ten months in the
. year. Only February. March and April
are unpleasant because of the winds The
scenery is peaceful and attractive the
: foliage of the groves and forests IS rich
beyond comparison. and it is difficult to
conceive of more desirable surroundings
for summer home for men of wealth
. and leisure. To the antigua rian and the
. archeologist there Is an unlimited field
. for exploration that has only been touch
. ed thus far. ....
Only few miles from Drogheda and on
. the direct road to Tara is a collection
or tumuli which is unsurpass ed In Eu-
, rope or any other part of the world. They
. mark the location of Brugh- Ma Boinne
. the royal cemetery of ancient Ireland, the
. burying ground of the kings of Tara for
centuries before the history of the coun-
. try began. and although they do not show
. the same architectural skill or artistic
. taste or the mechanical mysteries, and
they do not compare in magnitude with
; the pyramids and other tombs of the
kings of Egypt. they nevertheless have
an enhancing interest to those who love
. archaeology and prehistoric lore The
II INV
!. and according to the theories of scientists
. who have explored them once contained
. the bodies of successive royal families of
. Ireland until the invasion of the anes.
. nearly DESTROYED, just as the tombs of
; the kings of Egypt were stripped of many
; of their treasures by the Assyrians and
other invaders
The most remarkable tumulus is at New
! Grange, and has been described at length
. by several eminent antiquarians. II
stands on elevated ground and covers
. about three acres. the main part being
high. 1t is now covered with dense vege-
tation. 1t is vast cairn of loose stones
estimated at 100000 tons, those at the
base being very large-from six to eight
feet high and four and five feet thick
They are arranged in a circle without
masonry: simply laid in place and smaller
stones have been placed inside and on
top Of them until an artificial cavern was
created and 1t was reached by massage
sixty-tw feet long formed of enormous
upright stones from five to eight feet
high and rooted with f1agstones OF great
size. This passage leads to a low dome
rooted chamber nearly circular whose
ceiling is supported by eleven upright pill
lars. The ceiling is nineteen and a half
feet from the ground. There are three
other chambers. measuring eighteen by
ttwenty-ene feet In size. which, at one
time were doubtless filled with the bodies
of the royal families. The Psychologists
compare them with the beehive tombs
at Mycenae, known as the treasury of
Atreus and find many resemblances The
surfaces of some of the stones are rudelv
carved with cryptographs and ornamen-
tai designs
Region Of Tumuli.
There are several other tumuli in the
neighborhood of different dimensions and
of absorbing interest to science, and all of
them, know from that accurate and
comprehensive chronicle known as 1.-THE
Annals of the Four Masters" were plum
dered by the Danes in the year 86l Those
vandals left nothing but bones and ciner-
airy urns they took away or destroyed
everything else.
The tumuli are now in the custody of
the board Of works. which Is taking good
care of them, and is having careful sci
entific excavations and other examina-
tons made by proper authorities.
| There are several other cemeteries in
the neighborhood that are not so old and
/