The Tomahawk., 1919-11-27

:s]ss'ssis'I
.->:.> ->:. 8. Looking Tow.
- NE would not, Of. course, de-
scribe the Kerry r0nds as
There still exist mo-
torists who visit a district not
for the sake of rushing through it as
fast as possible-they do not welcome
positively bad roads, but, given roads
which can be driven over, they are less
keen ON the goodness Of the roads than
the goodness. of the views seen there
from. Such, at all events, was the
temperament of our party, says a
writer In Country Life. Some one had
said: If you" don't do the coast
route from Killorglfn through Cahirci-
veen and Waterville to ,Parknasilla
you will miss the finest thing in Ire
land-perhapsrin the British 1sles;" so
we turned aside: at~thts tempting pros
pect. And we did not regret our de-
tour. :,
r Soon after leaving Klllorglin. where
the Caragh lake lies, Sstilf' and black
in its opening in the hills, we began to
have some foretaste Of the glories be-
fore us. The road mounted In to barren
wilnernesses,, and 'on our right sud-
denly the vast blue expanse Of Dlngle
bay was outspread, a dream in the SUM-
shine. Grander and grander grew the
vistas across that splendid inlet Of the
Atlantic, wilder and wilder, the ranges
on our left. At Mountain Stage, where
there is a little railway station (though
heaven alone knows what the trafhc
can bel, the scenery was as noble as
anything. I have witnessed In Great
Britain. -
intervals curling this part. OF the Jour
ney; but. it is very unobtrusive rail-
way, and appears to boast about a
couple e-~ef" tFa4ne per .dlte1n.ttn each
direction. Its final objective, of course,
Is the ferry for Valencia island: And
It. is for, Valencia. that another of our
companions was bound-the telegraph
line. For Valencia is one of the cable
stations; and those ordinary looking
wires, nine Of them only, which pass
from pole to pole along the hedge, side,
are throbbing, maybe, with messages
for New York. A curious thought, in
this solitude! Cut Kerry is sophisti-
Gated, In spots as it were. 1t contains
three cable stations-the Valencia is
land one, the one at Ballinskelligs, and
the one at Waterville. The result Is
that you suddenly come on queer
cases. Of civilization neat rows of vii
las, spiek' and, span gardens, and
evidences-1 will not say Of wealth. but
at any rate of more comfort than IL
discerni6le in the thatch-rOofed and
generally povefty-strickeh farms. A
cable terminal, You learn with sur
pfise, employs hundred or more per-
sons-skilled persons, too; the kind
IF persons who have to be paid a sal
aFy which sounds like untold wealth
in this nsighborhood. IT, d..
Happy Valencia Island.
It was interesting to come to the
Valencia island ferry and look across
at a little town as neat as some nice
French coast resort. But Valencia is
land, as we found is by way Of being
both rich and happy; and even If It's
cable station did not bring unusual
comforts; the Knight Of Kerry is one
of those landlords who see to It that
their property, and the tenants there
on, are seemly to behold. Valencia
We ALI liked; it was, to be candid,
rather a contrast to the nearby Cahir-
civeen-of which q small pupil had
written Gin one of the schools which
we visited) in her essay: "Cahirciveen
is a town with great many houses,
and most Of them are public houses"
For all that, Cahircfveen is very
Characteristic and picturesque. Be-
yond 1t the road was, alas, pretty
rough; army lorries, we were told, had
ploughed II up, and there had been no
time, as yet, to put It under proper
repair. An easy pace was not undesir.
able, all the same, for there was plenty
to look at. On either hand the hedges,
we saw with delight, were fuchsia-
a testimony to the climates softness.
Everywhere we went In this part Of
Kerry we were astonished at the vege-
,tatien. Fuchsias grew astonishingly.
On vafencfa island there Is one colos-
sal tree of fuchsia, and here also we
saw glorious pink geraniums positively
smothering a cottage wall. Arum llies
fourished like weeds In the poorest
gardens. Along the bog sides, and right
down to the seashore. there were ofteo
acres Of yellow irises. -