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CHAPTER XIII. The English mails—Irish agitation— Two administration — How far applicable in Kingston — Government House— Dinner Majuba Hill —Mountain station—Kingston in the Blue Mountains.
kinds of colonies — Indian the West Indies —Land at party—Interesting officer— curiosities — Tobacco —Valley
I AM reminded as I write of an adventure which befell Archbishop Whately soon after his promotion to the see of Dublin. On arriving in Ireland he saw that the people were miserable. The cause, in his mind, was their ignor ance of political economy, of which he had himself written what he regarded as an excellent manual. An Irish translation of this manual he conceived would be the best possible medicine, and he commissioned a native Scripture reader to make one. To insure correctness he required the reader to retranslate to him what he had written line by line. He observed that the man as he read turned sometimes two pages at a time. The text went on cor rectly, but his quick eye perceived that something was written on the intervening leaves. He insisted on know ing what it was, and at last extorted an explanation, ‘Your Grace, me and my comrade conceived that it was mighty dry reading, so we have just interposed now and then a bit of a pawem, to help it forward, your Grace.’ I am myself imitating the translators, and making sand wiches out of politics and local descriptions. We had brought the English mails with us. There were letters to read which had been in the ship with us, though out of our reach. There were the newspapers to read.