"Oh, Paddy, dear, an' did ye hear the news that's goin' round? The Shamrock is by law forbid to grow on Irish ground: No more St. Pathrick's Day we'll keep, his color can't be seen, For there's a bloody law agin' the wearing of the green. I met with Napper Tandy and he tuk me by the hand And he said, 'How's poor ould Ireland and how does she stand? She's the most disthressful counthry ever yet was seen, For they're hangin' men and women there for wearing of the green.' "Oh, if the color we must wear is England's cruel red, Let it remind us of the blood that Ireland has shed. Then pull the shamrock from your hat and throw it on the sod, Ah, never fear, 'twill take root there, though under foot 'tis trod. When the laws can stop the blades of grass from growin' as they grow. And when the leaves in summer time their color dare not show, Then I will change the color, too, that I wear in my caubeen; But till that day, plaze God, I'll stick to wearing of the green." The Earl of Lismore is the Lord of Tipperary, and the head of the O'Callaghan family, who were formerly kings of Munster and are descended from a famous Milesian prince. The various generations have taken an active part in the affairs of Ireland since history began. They have been bishops, statesmen, lawyers, soldiers, sailors, and priests; they have married the daughters of the most prominent houses in the kingdom and their sisters have been the wives and mothers of dukes. They live at Clogheen, in the famous Sharbally Castle, and occupy land which has been in the family for many centuries. XXII THE IRISH HORSE AND HIS OWNER We attended the races at Leopardstown, about forty minutes south of Dublin by rail toward the picturesque Wicklow hills. The gate is at the railway station and the embankment upon which it stands gives an opportunity to see the entire panorama, and a beautiful one it is. One could not easily imagine a more peaceful, yet picturesque landscape, the race course being in the center of an amphitheater surrounded by wooded hills of lustrous green. I have said several times and will be apt to keep on saying--for it is the most interesting and the truest thing in Ireland--that the fields are greener and the foliage has a deeper tint than anywhere else I have been. And although it rains half the time and showers are more plentiful than sunshine, they make the grass and the leaves and the flowers more beautiful and rich in color and give old Mother Earth a brighter robe.