PREFACE. 



IN reading the following papers I must ask attention 

 to the dates at which they were written, else it may 

 be thought there are differences between them at 

 some points. The subject-matter of all being the 

 same, the same facts are now and then mentioned in 

 different papers in a somewhat different point of view, 

 suggested by the circumstances. Such repetitions 

 could of course have been omitted, but the small 

 differences seemed to give a reality to the whole, and 

 besides, the points repeated are generally the turning- 

 points of the subject. 



In order to form a sound judgment, there are 

 several matters that must be borne clearly in mind. 



FICTION 1. That all Ireland is alike and in the 

 same hopeless and distressful state. The real diffi- 

 culty to be met is only in part of Connaught and 

 some other remote and mountainous places, perhaps 

 one-fourth of Ireland. In the rest there is no real 



