SCARCITY OF RAILWAY BOOKSTALLS IN IRELAND.
[To THE EDITOR OF THE "SPTCTATOR."]
SIR,—The extraordinary scarcity of railway bookstalls in Ireland has not, as far as I know, provoked any comment from tourists. I tried in vain to buy a book at the railway-station in Galway some time ago ; none could be had ; no bookstall was to be seen, with its many-coloured prints and shilling shockers. The same story is to be told at Tralee, Wicklow, and Wexford, all assize-towns of some importance. At Mullingar Junction, also, a bookstall was conspicuous from its absence. There are none west of Athlone, I was informed ; "they wouldn't pay." This seems strange in a country that boasts the names of Goldsmith and Burke, to say nothing of Charles Lever and Samuel Lover, whose works adorn most of the bookstalls in the sister-island. Evercreech has its book- stall, and Galway, the city of the tribes, has none, or had not
a few months ago.—I am, Sir, ttc., C. J. HAMILTON.
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