What struck him and his fellow-traveller in a special manner was
the effects of famine on the children; their faces were so wan and
haggard that they looked like old men and women; their sprightliness was
all gone; they sat in groups at their cabin doors, making no attempt to
play. Another indication of the Famine noticed by them was, that the
pigs and poultry had entirely disappeared. To numberless testimonies, as
to the spirit in which the poor people bore their unexampled privations,
this good man adds his: "To do the poor justice," he writes, "they are
bearing their privations with a remarkable degree of patience and
fortitude, and very little clamorous begging is to be met with upon the
roads--at least, not more than has been the case in Ireland for many
years. William Forster," (his fellow-traveller), he adds, "has
completely formed the opinion that the statements in the public
newspapers are by no means exaggerated."[232]
Although Donegal is in the Ulster division of the kingdom, in the famine
time it partook more of the character of a Connaught than an Ulster
county. A gentleman was deputed by the Society of Friends to explore it,
who has given his views upon the Irish Famine with a spirit and feeling
which do him honour as a man and a Christian.
Pages:
624
625
626
627
628
629
630
631
632
633
634
635
636
637
638
639
640
641
642
643
644
645
646
647
648