BOOS — MULLINGAE FAIK. 5 



such as we consider in Scotland most improvable, and situ- 

 ated at a very moderate elevation above sea-level. They 

 are usually the lowest parts of the country, yet generally 

 susceptible of drainage ; the gravelly land surrounding 

 them sloping gently up, and affording abundance of 

 limestone sand, and gravel, for mixing with and reclaim- 

 ing them. Where traversed by this line of railway, they 

 might be turned to good account, as they possess great 

 natural facilities for reclamation, and ready access to 

 market at Dublin, which may be reached in an hour or 

 two. The country all along presents a continuous 

 slightly undulating surface, but no elevation of any con- 

 sequence, and little wood except in the demesnes of the 

 gentry. 



At Mullingar it was market-day, and the streets 

 were crowded with country people, all of whom seem 

 to have a natural taste for dealing and attending fairs. 

 Donkeys, and small, ill-fed horses, yoked to very primi- 

 tive low-set carts, or simply with panniers, seemed the 

 general mode of conveyance. Poultry, of which geese 

 formed a large proportion, occupied the panniers. 

 Garden vegetables, pigs, sometimes a kit of butter, and 

 frequently the mistress of the household, occupied the 

 cart. A strapping "boy" led the horse, and the father 

 of the establishment stood behind, ready to transact 

 business with a purchaser. The streets were dirty, and 

 there was no sign of much comfort about the houses or 

 inhabitants of Mullingar. 



A few miles farther west the land is very fine ; and 

 nearly all the way to Athlone, thirty-one miles, you pass 

 continuous fields of the finest feeding land. On all sides, 



