SALMON ANQLINO IN IRELAND. 109 



these waters are without a Church Island, where roofless cells, soli- 

 tary and cnimbling, set us thinking of the dark days which made 

 Buch situations necessary. These lonely spots are singularly inte- 

 resting and suggestive, and without wandering into dreamland the 

 Btranger will be apt to draw two conclusions : from their number 

 that prodigious efforts must have been made to introduce the only 

 true civiliser ; from their situation that the state of society was 

 considerably woi*se than that which existed in New Zealand forty 

 years ago, where the amiable natives did nothing worse than cook 

 a curate occasionally. I do not say that these deductions will be 

 accepted, nor have I any authority for asserting that they are 

 correct ; but if a man locks and bolts his door, puts up iron 

 shutters, fills the moat, and hauls up the drawbridge, it looks as if 

 he rather mistrusted the character of his neighbours, and leads to 

 the belief, that his exhortations to "do as he would be done by ' 

 fell on the wayside. The lot of these poor preachers of peace and 

 goodwill seems to have been cast in evil times ; doubtless, they 

 sowed diligently and reaped a scanty harvest attempted much, but 

 effected little, save to themselves. 



A writer whose wisdom has stood the test of centuries, and will 

 last whilst the world endures, says : " There is nothing new under 

 the sun." Our application of electricity to a few lines of wire is 

 that new ? 'Tis as old as the hills, ay, and a good deal older than 

 any hills with which we are acquainted. Why, the day when the 

 blessed sun first shone on Eden he managed more miles of telegraphic 

 communication than man ever made or will make. Each morning 

 he sent a message to Adam and Eve to rise and be thankful ; every 

 moment he forwarded orders beyond the most advanced pupil 

 teacher's power of numeration, to flower and tree to put forth bud, 

 blossom, and fruit. Well, perhaps, there is nothing new, and we 

 lead a sort of horse-in-the-mill life ; but these animals, being popu- 

 larly supposed blind, fancy perhaps that they are always going 

 straight on. Some of us, too, may be blind and fall into a similar 

 error. We have quitted Mullingar, and are now in Boyle. We have 

 left one set of lakes where we sat all day in the sun and wind. 



