, tempered by
economy, are the equals of any in Europe.

[Illustration: Interior of G. S. & W. R. Dining Carriage.]

The scenery of Ireland surpasses the most roseate expectations. Within a
comparatively small compass her scenic beauties include mountains,
lakes, and seas, and it is the good fortune of the Great Southern and
Western Company to have within its borders the finest scenery in the
country. The "Skies of Erin" have been paid tribute to by artists again
and again. Turner said the sun never seemed to set so beautifully
anywhere as in Ireland, and Lady Butler, the well-known painter, has
expressed the opinion that nowhere, except in the valley of the Nile,
does the firmament put forth such varied changes of beauty as in
Ireland. To the Gulf Stream, which strikes the south-western coast,
scientists attribute the mildness of the climate. From Queenstown to
Leenane the coast-line contains countless health resorts, where invalids
may be recommended winter quarters as salubrious as many of the
continental districts.

The sportsman has always found himself at home here. The fine hunting
counties of Kildare, Tipperary, Kilkenny, and Waterford are familiar to
every son of Nimrod. Shooting and fishing, although the preserves are
not so many or so well kept as in Scotland, may be called the staple
sports of Ireland. Golf has come to stay, and within recent years links
have been laid in the vicinity of most of the tourist districts.

One word for Irish industries will not be out of place. Ireland has no
industries in the sense in which England has. With the exception of
Belfast, there is no place in the country which approaches to a factory
town in the sense in which that phrase is understood across the channel.
Agriculture, of course, is the backbone of Ireland, and in connection
with it the creamery system of the south may be mentioned. Anyone
anxious to find a line of industry in Ireland which has beaten the Dane
in his own market should visit Cleeves' famous factory at Limerick. The
woollen industry in the country has withstood destructive legislature,
and a typical example of modern success is the great tweed factory of
Morroghs, at Douglas, County Cork. The Blarney tweeds have become a
household word, but Douglas is shouldering them in the keen competition
for public recognition. The great bacon-curing houses of Denny, at
Waterford, are well worth seeing, as is also the thriving wholesome
Co-operative Factory at