His Lordship For Once Felt The Power Of A Text Of Scripture, And
Sent Orders That From The Highways And Hedges They Should Be Compelled
To Come In; That His House Should Be Filled To The Entire Exclusion Of
Her Majesty's Representative.
Lord Carlisle did not, like Mr. Goddard
the other day at Charleville, proffer money, or take any steps to try
the lawfulness or unlawfulness of this proceeding, but, having sent a
courier to precede him, hurried on to Cong, and conferred the
distinction of his presence on that hotel.
That the proprietors did
their best to entertain him I have no doubt, speaking from experience.
That he appreciated their efforts he has left on record in a neat
acknowledgement, which hangs above the mantlepiece framed and glazed, as
Uncle Tom desired to do with his letter from Massa George. The Lord
Lieutenant's photo hangs there too, in a nice frame, as a memento of his
having been received at Cong when refused at Maam. Also he consented
that the hotel should be known as the "Carlisle Arms" henceforth. I
wonder very much that there was not at least as much public indignation
felt against Lord Leitrim or the innkeeper whom he influenced when he
refused shelter to Her Majesty's representative here, the head of the
executive, as is now expressed against this hotel-keeper, who refused to
receive Mr. Goddard. I suppose the cases are different someway.
During the famine time a large sum of money was voted, partly by
Government, partly from the county taxes, for Relief Works. It was
determined to make a canal to connect Lough Corrib and Lough Mask. The
canal was made at the expense of much blasting, much building of strong
and costly stone work. If they could only have resurrected the famous
Irish architect _Gobhan Saer_, he would have advised making a well-
cemented bottom for the canal considering that a subterraneous river
runs from one lake to the other under it. They did not do this, however,
and when the grand canal was finished and the water let on the bottom
fell out in places and the waters fell through to their kindred waters.
The next famine they will require to dig and blast downward and still
downward till they find the underground river and the runaway water.
Coming past the costly and well-built bridge which spans the almost dry
stream that pours into the leaky canal somewhere, I saw some women round
a hollow in the stream that retained a little water. They were rinsing
out some woollen stuffs after dying them blue. They had warm petticoats
of madder red, and I was glad to see them look so comfortably clad and
thrifty.
After returning to the hotel I was waited on by an elderly lady of the
peasant class, a woman over eighty years of age. She had for sale some
pillow lace edging of her own manufacture, which she offered at
threepence per yard. This was the way she made her living, paid her rent
and kept herself out of the workhouse.
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