o grand on
The pleasant waters of the river Lee.'"

Lucy read the four stanzas.

"It's fine," agreed Chester; "and I think I can answer your question of
a moment ago. Father Prout, as he says, listened to these bells in
childhood days, those days when 'heaven lies about us' and glorifies
even the most common places, and the impressions he then received
remained with him."

Lucy "guessed" he was right.

Then they drove by St. Fin Barre's cathedral, considered the most
noteworthy and imposing building in Cork. "'It is thought probable the
poet Spenser was married in the church which formerly stood on the
site,'" Lucy read. "'His bride was a Cork lady, but of the country, not
of the city. Spenser provokingly asks:

"'Tell me, ye merchants' daughters, did ye see
So fayre a creature in your town before?
Her goodlie eyes, like sapphyres shining bright;
Her forehead, ivory white,
Her lips like cherries charming men to byte.'"

"Well," remarked Chester as they drove homeward, and he thought he was
brave in doing so. "I don't know about the merchants' daughters of Cork,
but I know a minister's daughter of Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.A., who
tallies exactly with Spenser's description."

"Why, Mr. Lawrence!"

"I might say more," he persisted, "were it not for some foolish promises
I made that same minister a few days ago--but here we are. Where shall
we go after lunch?"

"I thought we were to go to Blarney Castle."

"Sure. I had forgotten. That's where the Blarney Stone is?"

"Sure," repeated the girl mischievously.

So that afternoon they set out. It was but a short distance by train
through an interesting country. Lucy was the guide again.

"Do you have an Irish language?" asked Chester. "I heard some natives
talking something I couldn't understand."

"Of course there's an Irish language," explained his fair instructor.
"Anciently the Irish spoke the Gaelic, a branch of the Celtic. In this
reign of Queen Elizabeth, the Irish language was forbidden. The English
is now universal, but many still speak the Gaelic. In recent years there
has been an awakening of interest in the old tongue. 'One who knows
Irish well,' an Irish historian claims, 'will readily master Latin,
French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian;' and he adds that to the
Irish-speaking people, the Irish language is 'rich, elegant,
soul-stirring, and expressive.'"

"I can well believe the latter statement when I remember the