, I believe, not quite
settled how this large sum of money and valuable land is to be
divided, if at all. The landowners base their claim on various grants
and charters and the Crown opposes them on public grounds, while the
Court of Chancery takes care of the money. Contending against
"landlordism" and other difficulties Mr. Drinkwater pushed vigorously
on, almost, as it has turned out, a little too vigorously for his own
interest. The English public is aware that the Government has at
various times encouraged Irish landlords to improve their property by
offering to lend, at different rates of interest, two-thirds of the
money to be spent, always with the proviso that the Government
engineer approves of the plan and sees the work well and duly
performed. Under the old Act of William IV., passed in 1835, the rate
of interest was fixed at 5 per cent. Under this statute Mr. Drinkwater
applied for 45,000l. and thanks to his ill-timed energy in urging his
application, obtained his loan at 5 per cent., just before the Act of
1879 was brought in for affording somewhat similar help at 1 per cent.

Mr. Drinkwater has thus the satisfaction of knowing that his
neighbour, Lord Inchiquin, who has commenced improvements on his own
account, has obtained 8,000l. at 1 per cent., while he pays 5 upon the
large sum employed on the Clare Slob Reclamation; a state of things
greatly enjoyed here as turning the laugh against "the Saxon."

Being sceptical about the "slob," I went to see it. When I started the
moon was shining so brightly that it would have been impossible to
miss a landlord at forty yards. The sky was as blue and clear as that
of Como or Lugano; but the wind which swept over Ballyala's sapphire
lake was of a "nipping and an eager" quality, not commonly encountered
in Italy. The ground was as hard as steel and as slippery as glass,
and the first half-mile convinced us that the best thing to be done
was to get off the car, catch hold of the mare's head, and try to hold
her on her legs while struggling to keep on our own. It was three
miles to the nearest blacksmith's, but there was nothing for it but to
walk to Ennis as well as might be along the slippery road.

This mode of progression was very slow, and it was nearly half-past
eight when we reached that centre of political and alcoholic
existence. Leaving the mare to be "sharpened" we strolled through the
town in contemplative mood. Not a shop was open. Not a blind was
dra