Two silent Quakeresses

Here two Quakeresses joined the car, and rode to Clonmel, and certainly they were proofs that woman is sometimes silent, for from nine till three they sat, and scarcely uttered a word. I made a few ineffectual efforts to talk a little about the country, but gave it up as hopeless. The Quakers are a worthy people, but when I hear of the poor laborers reaping down their fields for a shilling a day, I cannot but say, "One thing thou lackest."

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.