Ireland Under Coercion: The Diary of an American (1 of 2): (2nd ed.) (1888)Hurlbert, William Henry
History
Ireland Under Coercion: The Diary of an American (1 of 2): (2nd ed.) (1888)
Hurlbert, William Henry
Ireland -- Description and travel; Ireland -- Politics and government -- 1837-1901
An energetic man, certainly, Mr. Sweeney, and not likely, I should
think, to allow the National League, to push matters here to the point
of nationalising the land of Donegal, if he can prevent it. In the
highway we met, two or three miles out of Dungloe, a very trim dainty
little lady, in a long, well-fitting London waterproof ulster, with a
natty little umbrella in her hand, walking merrily towards the town. How
weatherwise she was soon appeared, the rain coming up suddenly, and
coming down sharply, in the whirling way it has among the hills
everywhere. The scenery was desolate, but grand. Countless little lochs
give sparkle and life to it. Everywhere the granite. About Doocharry, a
romantic little spot, where Lord Cloncurry has a fishing-box in the
heart of a glorious landscape, masses crop out of a rich red granite,
finer in colour than any we had previously seen. In that neighbourhood
the wastes of Donegal take on an aspect which recalls, though upon quite
a different key in colour, the inimitable beauty of those treeless
North-western highlands of Scotland, upon which Nature has lavished all
the wealth of her palette. Vast spaces of brown and red and gold shimmer
away under the softly luminous mountain atmosphere to the dark blues and
purples of the hills. We passed Glen Veagh again, but from quite a
different point of view, which gave us a beautiful picture of Lough
Veagh in its length, and of the smiling pastoral landscape upon its
further shore.
As we drew near the eastern boundary of Donegal, hedges and civilised
agriculture reappeared. With these we came upon mud cottages, such as I
had not seen in Donegal, being the huts provided for their labourers by
the tenant-farmers, whose comfortable stone-houses and out-buildings
stood well back under the long ranges of the hills.
We passed through much striking scenery, perhaps the finest point being
a magnificent Gap in the hills, guarded and defined by three colossal
headlands, one of them a vast long rampart, the other two gigantic
counterscarps. The immediate approach to Letterkenny, too, from the west
is charming, passing in full view of the extensive and beautiful park
and the large mansion of Colonel Stewart of the Guards, and skirting the
well-kept estate of Mr. Boyd, the owner of the ivy-clad cottages which
so took my fancy the other day.
In the Ulster settlement under King James I. a patent for Letterkenny
was issued to one of the Crawfords. Then, as the records tell us, "Sir
George Marburie dwelt there, and there were forty houses all inhabited
by British tenants. A great market town, and standeth well for the
King's service."
Again we found a fair going on--this time attended by swarms of peddlers
vending old clothes and all sorts of small wares, bread-cartmen, and
tea-vendors. These latter aver that it is easier to sell tea in the
"congested" districts at 4s. 6d. than at 2s. 6d. The people have no test
of its quality but its price!
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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