he night's catch. This flag
was, so "men seyn," hung out often by the Bodkins, the ancient owners
of Omey Island, but how long it is since it was last done is hardly
worth while to inquire. Far more interesting is the much talked of
"survival" of feudalism in the shape of what is called "duty work."
Something analogous to the _corvee_ existed, I believe, in Hungary
till a comparatively recent period, when it was commuted for rent.
Within the limits of the English Kingdom, however, stories about "duty
work" clash oddly on the ear, and yet I am assured that in the lesser
island of Turk such work has been insisted on and "processed" for
within twelve or eighteen months. Vexatious processes are not
undertaken just now for very obvious reasons.

"Duty work," so far as I can gather, is, or was--for no such work will
be done again in Ireland--a modified, form of the _corvee_. Here and
there it was enforced in various shapes. At Omey, in Aughrisbeg, at
Fountainhill, and at the lesser isle of Turk, the conditions varied
greatly. The general principle appears to have been that besides rent
in money, fine on entry, and dues analogous to tithes on stock of pigs
and poultry, a certain number of days in the year were the property
of the landlord. The usual term was about a week in spring and a week
at harvest-time. In some places five days only were exacted; in others
three. In the case concerning which I am best instructed, five days in
spring and five in harvest-time were demanded, together with any one
day in the year on which the tenant might be wanted, at a wage of
sixpence. If the tenant refuse "duty work" he may be sued in
court--the damage incurred by his default being generally assessed at
five pounds.

Now it does not require any very clear perception to discover that
among agriculturists or fishermen "duty work" is an improper mode of
levying tax. In spring and autumn, and especially in the latter, the
tenant requires for getting in his own crop precisely the week that
the landlord is entitled to claim. Yet he must leave his own to assist
his landlord. On one of the little islands, let to a middleman, all
the evil features of the _corvee_ are brought into prominence. The
island produces three kinds of sea-weed, the so-called "red weed," cut
off the rocks and used for kelp; the "black weed" on the shore, used
for manure for potato-fields--often the only manure to be got; and the
drift, or mixed weed.

After spring tides