They do not mend their clothes, so the holes



IRELAND. 125

get larger and larger. Their coats are made
of a grey woollen cloth called "frieze," and
they are worn till they drop off the back : first,
one tail of the coat comes off, then the other,
and then the sleeves disappear^ till at length
nothing but a heap of rags remains. Their
hats oft-en get wet with the rain, and at last the
crown comes out, yet they are worn as long as
they will stick on the head.
Animals. — The pig is the favourite animal.
The Irish treat him as kindly as their children,
give him a comer of the hut, and share their
milk, and potatoes, and bread with him. At
last the day comes when the pig must be taken
to be sold. The master ties a wisp of straw
round piggy^s hind-leg, and so he drives him
along the road till he comes to the ship in
which poor piggy is to sail for Englemd. The
Irishman is very sorry to lose his pet — his pig.
It is very droll to see the pigs put on board
the ships, and to hear their masters bidding
them good-bye, as if they were parting from
their own children.
There are plenty of black cattle in Ireland,
and they make beef for other countries.
There are goats also which give milk, and
the skins of the kids are made into gloves ; but
the foxes and eagles take away many of the
young kids.
There are some animals very common in



126 IRELAND.
England, not to be found in Ireland — animals
whicli no one wishes to see — I mean, snakes
and toads.
