the John and Mary hoist her sails and head away down Galway Bay and out westwards, bound for America, on our cousin's maiden voyage, with admiration by no means unmixed with envy.

It was in the autumn that he sailed away. There were no Atlantic cables in those days, and the cost of foreign postage was far too great for our cousin to incur the expense of a letter merely to chronicle the safe arrival of his vessel and himself upon the other side of the world. We had no expectation therefore of hearing from him while he was away, but when Christmas was past my grandfather announced to us that the arrival of the John and Mary in Galway Bay might now be looked for any day. We were still waiting eagerly to hear of her return, when on the night of Sunday, the 6th of January, there swept over us and over all the rest of Ireland that terrific hurricane which is still remembered and spoken of there as the Great Storm of '39. If there had been any prognostications of the coming gale, I was too young to be told of them; all that I remember is that we children awoke terrified, to feel the tall, stonebuilt house, at the top of which we slept, rocking beneath us, as the furious blasts swept in from the Atlantic. There came one gust more tremendous than those that had gone before, and with a mighty crash our window, which looked out westwards, was driven

bodily in, covering the floor with splintered wood and glass. It was all my father and two of the gentlemen who chanced to be staying in our house could do with their utmost strength to force the door open against the raging, screaming wind that filled the room, and to rescue us; and though our old home stands some fifteen miles from the Atlantic as the crow flies, with a range of high hills intervening, the floor of our bedroom in the morning was coated with salt and strewn with

was

seaweed. We were carried downstairs to the great vaulted kitchen underground, the one place which thought secure, and where the rest of It the household speedily gathered. was feared every moment that the tall house above us would topple down, and I remember my grandfather consoling the terrified company with the assurance that even if the house should collapse over our heads, the groining of the underground story was strong enough to keep us safe. Нарpily it was not put to the test, and in the early hours of the winter's morning the fury of the gale abated. As we came up from our subterranean retreat into the hall, and reached the foot of the main staircase, we looked up and saw the stars shining clear above us. "Thady, where's the roof?" cried my grandmother in dismay to our general factotum, who was assisting to carry some of the youngest members of the family upstairs. "Troth, I don't know unless it's down by the lake it would be," responded that individual. And down by the lake the twisted and broken remains were accordingly found next morning.

In

We were lucky, however, in having had a good slated roof over our heads, for in the thatched dwellings of our neighbors fire was added to all the other terrors of that night. Matches cost a shilling a box then, and were luxuries attained to but by few. all houses in Galway, of whatever degree, the turf fires in these days were never extinguished, but were left to smoulder on the hearths all night. The wild blasts whirled these embers up the chimneys and set the straw roofs ablaze. In Galway, Loughrea, and the other towns of the West, whole streets were swept away, for the burning thatch was carried through the air, setting roof after roof alight, and in that raging gale it was impossible to make any attempt to extinguish the flames.

A group of cabins that stood not far from our own gate caught fire in this manner. One of the occupants thereof was an old Waterloo pensioner, and when his affrighted womenfolk would have roused him in the earlier hours of the night, he waved them grandiosely away.

"I've been in too many battles to be frightened of a blast o' wind," he declared, and it was only with difficulty that he was induced to leave his bed even when the thatch of his own roof was on fire. When he got outside, however, and saw the row of blazing cabins, he exclaimed, "I've heard of the burning of Moscow, and I was at the battle of Badajos meself, but, dang me, this bates the whoule of them." Then remembering his medal, left in the burning house, the poor old fellow would have rushed back to recover it. He was held by force, and the roof of the cabin falling in a moment later effectually prevented any further effort at rescue.

Waterloo

The light of the winter's morning revealed a scene of widespread desolation. Trees were uprooted, houses blown down or unroofed, haggards and

turf-stacks levelled-as a Connaught newspaper of that day recorded: "Between Galway and Oughterard all is misery and woe." The wages of slaters and masons rose to seven-and-sixpence a day, a sum absolutely unparalleled then, so great was the demand for their services. And one good citizen of Galway understood how to make hay, if not when the sun shone, at any rate when the winds blew, and to turn his fellows' distress to his own profit. Here is his advertisement, culled from the same old newspaper, and preserved through many long years:

Interea magno miseri cœlum
Incipit. . .

Queare agite o Tectis juvenes succedite nostris.

Ye houseless, ye homeless, attend to

my call:

Come here, my poor fellows, I'll shelter you all.

I've store of good mutton, good poultry, and fish,

With cowheel and tripe, that magnificent dish.

I've whisky the heart of a Stoic would warm,

And will make us forget the effect of the storm.

Be with me at five, or at half-past today,

You'll be well entertained, and little to pay.

Paddy Kelly.

We have brought advertising to a science nowadays, but perhaps Paddy Kelly's poetic effusion was as apposite to the occasion as any of our modern puffery; and is it conceivable that any restaurateur of the present day would seek to attract patrons to his establishment by heading his bill of fare with a distich made up of two appropriate lines, ingeniously conjoined from different parts of the Eneid? quotation is not free from blunders, it is true, but perhaps the country printer was responsible for those, not Paddy Kelly.

The

There being neither telegraphs nor special correspondents in those times, it was only gradually that the tale of disaster and wreckage which had taken place elsewhere filtered through to us. Indeed on that fierce night the mail coaches had had the utmost difficulty in accomplishing their journeys, and the Galway mail had been blown bodily off the road, and into the "gripe of the ditch," happily without hurt to man or beast. The coast was strewn with wrecks, and even the ships deemed secure within the harbor at Galway broke from their moorings and were driven ashore. One small craft, with its crew of three, was lifted bodily by an enormous wave and carried right inland, being found high and dry, with

its crew all safe on board, when the storm abated. As each succeeding day brought its additional list of calamities and of loss of life by sea and land, the thoughts of all within our home turned anxiously towards the John and Mary, which should have been nearing the Irish coast upon that disastrous night. We children did not, perhaps, fully realize the fears of our elders, but as day after day went by without bringing tidings of the missing vessel, a deep and increasing gloom settled down upon the house. I cannot now recall how long after the great storm the suspense endured, but I remember as vividly as if it had been yesterday how we all sat silent and depressed round the table after dinner. The cloth, according to universal custom, had been removed, and the decanters in their silver coasters were reflected in the shining mahogany below them. The door opened, and the servant standing in the doorway announced, "The John and Mary is come into Galway, sir. Master George'll be here in the morning."

There was a moment's deep hush, and then a crash, as my grandfather's gray head fell flat upon the table in the sudden revulsion from the anxiety and tension of those last days. Our cousin duly arrived next morning, to be acclaimed by us all as a hero,-and indeed, the experiences which he had had upon his voyage had been sufficiently thrilling. The John and Mary had encountered the full fury of the gale in mid-Atlantic, and one huge wave which swept the decks had washed George overboard. By good fortune he clutched a lifeline as he was swept to what seemed certain death, and the next wave flung him back on the ship's deck again.

Our rejoicings over our cousin's return were destined, however, to be of short duration. The very next night, as we sat once again at dinner, there

came the news that tobacco and other contraband articles had been found on board the John and Mary by the customs officers, and that her captain had been committed to gaol on a charge of smuggling. George started up from the table, declaring with boyish bombast that the honor of his ship was to him as his own, and that he would return to Galway that instant to take his place on board her. My grandfather forbade his doing so, and commanded him to remain where he was. My grandmother, however, had considerable doubts as to whether the prohibition would weigh with him when the constraining influence of my grandfather's presence was withdrawn. George was a special favorite of hers, and she was keenly desirous of keeping him out of further trouble. She took the precaution, therefore, not only of locking his bedroom door at night, but also of removing his boots. All her care was in vain, however, for in the morning it was found that George had climbed out of the window and walked the eleven Irish miles into Galway barefoot in the middle of the night. My grandfather himself drove into Galway next morning and proceeded to the gaol where his captain was confined.

"This is a pretty business, Captain Mitchell," he stormed as he was ushered into that worthy's cell, "and I should like to know what you have to say for yourself for bringing disgrace on my ship and me."

"I've this to say, Mr. Martin," retorted the old sea-dog. "There's a hundred ships and more wrecked round these coasts this last big storm, and I've brought your ship safe into Galway Bay. That's what I have to say for myself, sir."

"And begad you couldn't say better," returned my grandfather, completely mollified and appeased.

The law, however, was not so easily pacified, and as it appeared that Cap

tain Mitchell had converted the ship below hatches into a smuggler's emporium of tobacco, cigars, and other contraband, he was sentenced to pass some time in Galway gaol, and was thus precluded from taking command of the John and Mary upon her next voyage. My grandfather therefore promoted George, who was then aged nineteen and had had no other training than that one adventurous voyage across the Atlantic, to be captain of the vessel. He made two or three highly successful trips backwards and forwards to America, after which, a cadetship in the East India Company's service having been procured for him, he departed to other climes, and sailed the seas no more. It was quite incomprehensible to us children that he should relinquish the command of the John and Mary, to serve John Company or any one else. My grandfather, whose successful trading across the herring-pond had more than recouped him for the bad debt which had been the original cause of his taking over the John and Mary, disposed of the vessel after George's departure. She was cast away upon her very next voyage, and became a total wreck, though the crew were saved.

My grandfather's first nautical venture having proved so successful, he felt emboldened to launch out upon a more ambitious one. An enormous number of trees had been blown down in our woods by the great storm, and he resolved to turn shipbuilder, and to construct a yacht with the fallen timber in which to sail upon Lough Corrib, some five miles distant from our home. My grandfather had no more knowledge of shipbuilding than our cousin had had of navigation, but he never allowed such trifles to stand in the way of any projects he had formed. A retired sailor who had settled at our back gate and married the cook, and whom we styled Admiral Laffy, gave

advice as to the lines of the craft. Her framework was put together in our woods, where a sort of float with huge wheels was also constructed. The giant skeleton was with much difficulty hoisted on to this, and then the work of dragging her across the five miles which separated us from Lough Corrib began. A long team of all the horses procurable, of every size and breedfrom ragged, long-tailed Connemara ponies to ponderous cart-horses-was harnessed to the float, whilst many willing hands tugged at each spoke of the wheels. There were loud shouts and cheers in English and in Irish whenever an obstruction was successfully surmounted or the summit of a hill reached, and the progress of our future yacht filled all who beheld her on her way with awe and admiration. Upon the shore of Lough Corrib my grandfather, Admiral Laffy, and our carpenter, by their joint efforts succeeded in constructing a two-masted vessel, which it would have been an excess of courtesy to have called a schooner. We thought her a beauteous craft, but to those who regarded her with less partial eyes she appeared decidedly clumsy and broad in the beam. One candid friend having observed that her progress through the water was likely to be about as fast as a canal boat's, she was forthwith dubbed the Lord Cloncurry, that nobleman being at that time chairman of the Grand Canal Company. The fishermen and other dwellers upon the shores of Lough Corrib, however, called her by the less high-sounding name of the Moireen-laytha-wadtha, which means the Little Mary with the two sticks. It was somewhat embarrassing when Lord Cloncurry himself paid us a visit not long afterwards and inquired why we had done him the honor of christening our yacht after him. He laughed very heartily, however, when the reason was explained to him.

The clumsiness and breadth of our pleasure-boat were not without their compensating advantages, as they gave us very comfortable accommodation below, where we had quite a spacious ladies' cabin, furnished with large lockers, on which feather-beds from home were laid, forming most luxurious bunks. Indeed our start upon a yachting cruise resembled an emigrant family's departure for the backwoods, for a cart accompanied us, conveying feather-beds, pots and pans, and everything needful for our sojourn on board. Admiral Laffy was, of course, appointed skipper of the Lord Cloncurry. He was much addicted to high-sounding language, and I remember inquiring anxiously of him one morning when I first came up on deck whether we were likely to have a fine day.

"By the upskirting of the morn," he said sententiously as he cast his eyes aloft, "I doubt there'll be desolations before the afternoon."

Unfortunately the Lord Cloncurry required smooth water to sail in. A very small amount of wind caused her to heel over so alarmingly that there seemed imminent danger of her turning turtle. Whenever a squall threatened, therefore, we made haste to seek the shelter of an island and to cast anchor under its lee till the gust had blown Itself out. Happily there are said to be as many islands in Lough Corrib as there are days in a year, so we never had far to run for safety. As we were not the slaves of time, and it did not matter much in which direction we sailed, these frequent stoppages and delays were of little consequence, and many were the happy summer days we spent on board our home-built yacht.

Another favorite holiday resort of ours was a fishing lodge which my father had amongst the mountains that separated us from the Atlantic. Upon the first occasion on which I was per

mitted to form one of the fishing-party my mother drove me to the lodge in a pony basket-chaise, the gentlemen of the party having gone afoot across the mountains. It was her first visit as well as mine, and, without any warning whatever, the road suddenly came to an end, and we found ourselves on the brink of a chasm-a narrow inlet of the sea which ran far inland. Those who had originally taken in hand to construct the road had not sufficiently counted the cost of the undertaking. The money had sufficed to bring the road to the edge of the cliff, but no funds had remained wherewith to build a bridge across the gap, and so the road was left without fence or any other protection to prevent a heedless wayfarer from toppling over to his destruction, whilst a rough track led round by the head of the harbor. My mother remonstrated at some cabins near by at such a perilous state of affairs, pointing out the serious accident which might befall any benighted traveller, but she was answered placcidly,

"Sure, yer honor, God is good, and who'd be thravellin' the road by nights that didn't know it."

Upon one of our arrivals at the fishing lodge we found every one there in much perturbation and alarm because of the nightly apparition of a ghost,a vague white form which flitted about a small neglected graveyard near the river, one of those clusters of graves about a ruined chapel wall which are so frequent throughout Ireland. One of the gentlemen of our party undertook to lay the unquiet spirit, and going out not far from midnight did indeed soon become aware of a white figure looming towards him through the darkness. Our friend, however, held on his way undeterred.

"Ghost," he said in sepulchral tones, when he came near, "could you drink a glass of whiskey?"