compensates for all other shortcomings. At Donegal 

 town you again strike the railway — at least there is a 

 station three miles out of the town — the money failed at 

 that stage ! 



A word of advice in conclusion; burden youiself with 

 as little luggage as possible, carry only one rod, avoid 

 talking politics and as you value your peace of mind, 

 never look into an Irish kitchen ! 



The way to see Ireland pro]:)erly is to discar<l railway 

 travellino-, and to drive through the country on an out- 

 side car, stopping whenever objects of interest are found, 

 and holding converse with the people at every opportunity. 



If you expect to beguile the tedium of your journey by 

 listening to the tales and jokes of your car-diiver, you 

 will be grievously disappointed, because the witty Irish 

 coachmon exists only in books. It is ti'ue that a. drunken 

 rascal, who drove me one of the stages round Donegal, 

 said a smart thing. Going down a hill as steep as the 

 side of a house, this reckless Jehu urged his horse into a 

 gallop. Holding on like grim death, I expostulated, in 

 vain. 



"Mike, you villain," said I, "what do you think would 

 become of me if the horse went down?" 



He laughed, as he replied. " 'Tw'ould depend on your 

 past life, your honour !" 



In this way, I have just completed a joTuney of a« 

 hundred and seventy miles, going round the wliole of the 

 north-west coast ; and I am leaving it full of sorrow for 

 the condition of the poor people who inhabit it, and 

 struo'ole ao-ainst the forces of natui'e in their vain effort 

 to extract from this rocky, barren soil the means where- 

 with to eke out a miserable existence. The wlude of this 

 district which I have traversed during the past few weeks 

 is treeless, and the soil, if it can be termed soil, 

 is peat, wet, cold, and boggy, but there is veiy little of 

 this poor stuff available for cultivation, because of the 

 huge S"ocks which bestrew tlie ground and underlie its 

 surface. Some of these poor tenants of plots not more than 

 three or four acres in extent said they had paid no rent 



