Sweet Innisfallen, long shall dwell
In memory's dream that sunny smile
Which o'er thee on that evening fell,

When first I saw thy fairy isle.'"

Mr. Cartmell pointed out that the beauty of this spot was largely owing to the alternating hill and dale of its surface,

the attractiveness of the small rivers and harbors, the loveliness of the vegetation, and the grandeur of the surrounding mountains. "The Irish speak," continued Mr. Cartmell, "of this part of the lake as a diamond set in emeralds.'"

Not far from the scenes of all this loveliness in nature, Miss Gray and the boys, in their evening strolls, discovered many poor cottages, occupied by those whose riches were largely a few pigs and chickens and many children.

LESSON IV

NORTHERN IRELAND

THE next day the Cartmell party bade adieu to lovely Killarney, and proceeded by train to Dublin. Mr. Cartmell secured a compartment in a first-class carriage, and found it very secluded and comfortable. The children were greatly interested in the remarkable difference between the English

Cottage at Killarney.

system of steam-car
travelling and our own.
"The Irish railways,"
said Mr. Cartmell
after they started, "are
very different from
those in the United
States. The stations
here may
be rather

poor, but in England.
and Scotland we may
expect to find many
of them very charming

and beautiful, with flowers and plants about them. The peasantry are too poor to travel here very much, and the rival railroad companies are always quarrelling."

Florence noticed that the cars were divided into several cross sections, usually called compartments, containing six or eight seats, arranged so that half the passengers ride backwards. Mr. Cartmell told her that many English people prefer the seats facing the rear. These compartments were not connected, but the officials passed along the outside

of the carriages and examined tickets before reaching the important stations. In the small places the tickets were collected at the stations as the passengers went out into the

street.

"Why, papa," exclaimed Fred, "there seems to be no way in which to warm the cars! There is no ice-water to drink, no water-closet, no newspaper boy. What do they do?"

"This is not a first-class train, and hence has not the comforts and advantages which we may reasonably expect in other parts of Great Britain. In England there are now trains called corridor trains, with dining-cars, after the Amercan pattern of vestibule trains, and they are quite common. Wonderful improvements have been made in the railway system within a few years. On only a few lines have the English yet introduced our admirable system of checking baggage; but they send one car in a train to a certain part of the country, and another car to a different section, as is so commonly done in the United States."

"Mr. Cartmell, are you going to Limerick?" Miss Gray inquired.

"No; we cannot spend the time. I am sorry, as I wished you all to see the Shannon River, the longest river in Ireland, where they catch the famous Irish salmon. Look on this map, children, and notice that the river descends so moderately it spreads out into several large lakes. After the third lake, it narrows for a few miles, and then joins the sea by a noble estuary sixty miles long, and in some places ten miles wide."

"For what is Limerick noted?"

"For the making of thread lace in the houses, and fishhooks from steel wire. I have been told that most of the people in that town have dark complexions and dark hair, showing that they are largely descended from the

Spaniards who were rescued from the wreck of the Armada, and who settled there afterwards."

As they journeyed on towards Dublin, Miss Gray read to the children about the beautiful Vale of Adare, which is situated not far from the town of Limerick. Four lines were:

"How shall I tell the thousand charms
Within thy verdant bosom swelling,
When, lulled in Nature's fostering arms,

Soft peace abides, and joy excelling!"

Then Mr. Cartmell told Nellie and Fred that the western part of Ireland consisted largely of mountain ranges, barren and rocky hills, wild moorlands, and broken river valleys. The part, however, along the Shannon River was quite fertile. These mountains (he explained, pointing to the map) extended to the very coast; and the shore was very steep, many of the western cliffs being 1,000 feet high. The coast was worn, and consequently very irregular; caves were abundant, and the islands off the shore were the homes of countless sea-fowl. Only a few small fishing-towns were to be found on this coast, with the exception of Galway, which was the principal western seaport. Even this place contained only 15,000 people. Many of these folk were so poor they felt obliged to go over to England every summer to work on the harvest, and thus earn money enough to pay their rent.

Beside the track the children saw many cabins made of rough stones fastened together by mud or sea-sand, with a door to enter by, and a hole in the roof for the smoke to go out.

"In one of these," said Mrs. Cartmell, "I suppose the pig and the fowls and the family will all herd together at night." They noticed from the train a good deal of wet, low, swampy, or morass land. This led George to remark,

"How much worthless land there is in Ireland."

"Would you consider land containing coal worthless?"

"By no means."

"Well, in many of these marshes, or bogs, is found a kind

of soil containing so much decayed vegetable matter that when it is dried it will readily burn. It is called peat, and, in the absence of wood and coal, is quite generally used for fuel."