Tralee

Tralee—Public-house honesty—A "Gentleman"—Mr. Walpole's Honorable Dealings—Christianity at Dingle—"They always Stand"—One Bright Spot—The Converts—Education of the Lower Order—Nancy Brown's Parlor—Coquetry and Gallantry—Peasant Girl's Poetry—Learned Priest—Sybil Head—Look! Look!—Fearless Children—Disappointment and Vexation—Candid Hotel-keeper—Banks of the Shannon

Thursday, at four o'clock, I took the car for Tralee. The ride was through a somewhat dreary part of the country, with little that was interesting; but the adventures at Tralee were comical, if not tragical.

Arriving at the town, a bevy of applicants from Walpole's hotel poured upon me, to take me to his inn, and to Dingle on his car the next day. I told them I did not choose an inn, but private lodgings. This did not shake them off, till, jumping from the car, I begged some one to show me suitable lodgings. One was pointed out to me across the way; I escaped into the house, and the troop in pursuit. I had but just seated myself in a chamber, when a civil young man stepped after me, and inquired if I wished a conveyance to Dingle. Saying that I did, he then said, "To-morrow at eleven I will give you a seat on my car for three shillings." The distance to Dingle was little more than thirty miles. I made the engagement, gave him my luggage, and as he passed out he said, "You won't disappoint me, I hope." "Certainly not," was the answer. When he had gone, I found that his was an opposition car, that Mr. Walpole had occupied the road for years, had made money by it, and charged more for the fare. More of this to-morrow.

Ireland’s Welome to the Stranger is one of the best accounts of Irish social conditions, customs, quirks and habits that you could wish for. The author, Mrs Asenath Nicholson, was an American widow who travelled extensively in Ireland on the eve of the Great Famine and meticulously observed the Irish peasantry at work and play, as well as noting their living conditions and diet. The book is also available from Kindle.