Matterhorn of Ireland. Castlebar is always dotted with soldiers, The
Buffs are now marching through the town, on their way to the exercise
ground, but the sight is so familiar that the street urchins hardly
turn their heads. The Protestant Church, square-towered, fills a
corner of The Mall, and there stands a statue of General O'Malley,
with a drawn sword of white marble. Lord Lucan, of the Balaklava
Charge, hailed from Castlebar. The town and its precincts belong to
the Lucans. There is a convent with a big statue of the Virgin Mary,
and the usual high wall. The shops are better than those of Westport,
and the streets are far above the Irish average in order and
cleanliness. The country around is rich in antiquities. Burrishoole
Abbey and Aughnagower Tower, with the splendid Round Tower of
Turlough, are within easy distance, the last a brisk hour's walk from
Castlebar. There in the graveyard I met a Catholic priest of more than
average breadth and culture, who discussed Home Rule with apparent
sincerity, and with a keener insight than is possessed by most of his
profession. He said:--

"When the last explosion took place at Dublin, the first to apprise me
of the affair was the Bishop of my diocese, whose comment was summed
up in the two words 'Castle job!' Now that riled me. I am tired of
that kind of criticism."

Here I may interpolate the critique of Colonel Nolan, who was the
first to apprise me of the occurrence.--"I do not say that the Irish
Government officials are responsible for the explosion. That would not
be fair, as there is no evidence against them. But I do say that if
they did arrange the blow-up they could not have selected a better
time, and if some mistaken Irish Nationalist be the guilty person he
could not have selected a worse time from a patriotic point of view."
Thus spake the Colonel, who has an excellent reputation in his own
district. The stoutest Conservatives of Tuam speak well of him. "All
the Nolans are good," said a staunch Unionist; and another said, "The
Nolans are a good breed. The Colonel is good, and Sebastian Nolan is
just as good. Nobody can find fault with the Nolans apart from
politics." The Colonel is one of the nine Parnellites accursed of the
priests. Perhaps he was present at the Parnellite meeting at Athenry,
regarding which Canon Canton, parish priest of Athenry, declared from
the altar that every person attending it would be guilty of mortal
sin. English readers will n