They Had
Very Small Store Of Money Among Them, For Which Reason, Perhaps, They
Doubled And Trebled The Prices Of Every Thing We Bought, In Proportion
To What They Had Been Before Our Arrival.
They have mines of alum, tin,
brass, and iron; and we saw certain natural stones, as clear as crystal,
and naturally squared like diamonds.
That part of the country is full of
great mountains and hills, whence run many pleasant streams of fine
water. The native hardiness of the Irish nation may be conceived from
this, that their young children, even in the midst of winter, run about
the streets with bare legs and feet, and often having no other apparel
than a scanty mantle to cover their nakedness. The chief officer of
their town is called the sovereign, who hath the same office and
authority among them with our mayors in England, having his Serjeants to
attend upon him, and a mace carried before mm as they have. We were
first entertained at the sovereigns house, which was one of the four
that withstood the Earl of Desmond in his rebellion.
They have the same form of common prayer, word for word, that we have,
only that it is in Latin. On Sunday, the sovereign goeth to church
having his Serjeant before him, and accompanied by the sheriff and
others of the town. They there kneel down, every one making his prayers
privately by himself. They then rise up and go out of the church again
to drink.
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