Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-07-29
PAST AND PRESENT
No Beggars in Irish Cities
Today.
OLD CUSTOMS DYING OUT
Irish Christian Brothers and What
They Have Accomplished.
SIGNIFICANCE OF NAMES
Some Quaint Old Irish Customs That
Were in Vogue Long
Ago.
BY WILLIAM E. CURTIS.

| are sent over the channel to feed the enc
mics OF Ireland. The stores and shops
| are upon streets that run at right angles
with the river. The professional men &C.
cupy blocks of what were once residences
in the neighborhood of an ancient court
house which faces a park usually filled
| with babies and blue-eyed children play
| ing on the grass. Back in the city the
ground rises from the river to hill that
was once crowned with a castle. cathe-
dral. monastery and several other insti-
tutions of warfare, charity, learning and
religion. A Home for the Widows of
Deceased Clergymen of the Church of
Ireland" occupies the site of the palace of
King John. When I dropped a penny in
the lap of an old crone who squatted at
| the gate she looked up at me with the
winning smile of her race and said:
May you have a happy life. sir, and
peaceful death and favorable judg-
ment."
No Beggars in Irish Cities Today.
There are no beggars in the Irish cities
today such as you read about in the tales
of travellers who were here twenty or
even ten years ago. There are few In
Dublin hanging around the entrance Of
the hotel. usually with flowers for sale or
something else to offer for your money,
and when one goes into the slums he Is
apt to be approached by drunken men
and drunken women. But outside of Dub
lin we haven't seen single beggar.
Home Of Roberts and Beresford.
Besides being famous for the best bacon
in the United Kingdom. Waterford is the
ancestral home Of Field Marshal Lord
Roberts and also of that intrepid sailor.
Lord Charles Beresford. who was an
nexed to the United States at Gridiron
dinner during his recent visit to Washing
ton. 1t has q population of about thirty
thousand. was founded by the Danish
King Sygtrig Of the silken beard. and for
centuries was the seat of the McIvors,
the Danish kings who arrived In $40 and
ruled here until Strongbow and the other
Norman adventurers came over from
England in 1869. At the principal corner
In the town are the remains of a castle
built by Reginald MacIvor in 1908, which
still bears his name. The city has en-
dured many sieges and attacks. At one
For centuries 1t was the most important
city in Ireland after Dublin, and is now
the fourth seaport. 1t was loyal to the
king when the pretender Perkin Warbeck
we'll was unable to reduce 1t even after a
long siege. 1t was the only city in Ire
land that Old Ironsides did not conquer,
and thereby 1t earned its motto, "Urbs
1ntacta.
Beside Reginald's Tower very few OF
the ancient walls remain, but there are
two old churches Of great interest. One
Of them. the Protestant Cathedral. stands
upon the site Of church built in 1850
and the bishops palace and deanery ad-
join 1t. The present structure was erect
ed In TIA by John Roberts, architect.
the great grandfather Of "Bobs." the hero
OF Kandahar. now Earl Roberts of the
British peerage. He was the architect
M fy~HvH >Sto Asafy4
the city.
Refugee Huguenots.
In 1893 colony of refugee Huguenots
came to Waterford from France. They
were kindly received and the bishop gave
church as a place Of worship. It be-
came known as the French Church" for
that reason. Among the immigrants
was family named Sautelles whose
daughter married John Roberts, a rising
young architect, in 1I44. They had
twenty-four children and both are buried
within the roofiess walls of the chancel
Of the old church. One of the sons. Rev
John Roberts. rector of st. Nicholas
parish. married the daughter of his as
sociate. Rev. Abraham sandys. Sir Abra-
ham Roberts. their son. married Miss
Sleigh. the daughter of family proni-
nent among the gentry of the neighbor-
hood. and died in 1874. leaving issue
Frederick Sleigh Roberts, the present
carl. who spent his happy boyhood in an
old manor house in the suburbs of the
city.
The Old French Church.
All of the Roberts family for severa!
generations have been buried within the
walls Of the old French Church, and it
is still used for the tombs of the pass
ing generation of few old families who
possess that enviable privilege. The
latest monument bears the date 1881, and
"siveral places are bespoke, the Gus
todian told me. The ruin Is kept with
the greatest care. The ivy mantle that
covers the walls is tenderly trimmed
each spring and fall. the turf is cut fire.
every day, and when remarked upon
this popularity not often observed In the
crumbling castles and churches OF long
ago. the custodian exclaimed with pride:
livery wurrd Of it; an it's as dacent
ruin as you'll find In all Ireland
Tombs Of Illustrious Characters.
history are buried In the cathedral
Among them is "Strongbow' and his
son, who was carved in twain by his
amiable father on the field of battle be-
cause he acted as II he was afraid of the
so energetic and comprehensive person
as the first Earl of Pembroke should have
two tombs and no one has any right to
complain. He Is buried in Christ Church
Cathedral in Dublin as we'll as in the
cathedral in Waterford and lies quietly
in both places And only a few days
ago I noticed that Edward VII, King Of
England, was paying q weeks end visit
to his descendant, the present Earl of
Pembroke, at his country seat, Wilton
House, In Wiltshire
High Stone Walls.
Everything in Waterford seems to be In
closed by high stone walls-the bishops
palace as we'll as the poorhouse-and
when ! asked a man met on the street
why It was so he answered:
They're old walls. sir-very old; and
were put up when they were needed
They're not taken down, for they may be
needed again. The poor guardians are
afraid they'll lose q pauper and the bish-
op some Of his prayers
The jarvey who drove our jaunting car
told US that there are 900 people In the
poor house and 900 more in the insane
asy YUM. the latter 'bein' mostly women
who came there from drinkin' too much
tay." The excessive use Of that herb Is
said to be destroying the nerves Of the
feminine population.
Irish Christian Brothers.
The Christian Brothers Educational Or