THE UNITED IRISH LEAGUE AND THE PEASANTRY.
[To THE EDITOR OW THE " SPECTATOR:9 ST134.'4 heard in Ireland a few days ago from the lips of a tenant farmer a neat summary of the attitude of those justly described by O'Connell as "the finest peasantry in the world" towards the political machine which is crushing out the noble instincts of their class. I had occasion to explain to a group of small farmers that I knew they could not afford to quarrel with the United Irish League. One of them exclaimed : "True for you, Sir ! All we want is an honest living ; but we're like the man that was crossin' a plank and afraid he'd fall off. So he began praying to God to help him, but he stopped in the middle, and, says be, 'if the Divil 'ud help me itself I'd be glad of it.'" The idiomatic use of " itself " as an adverb, almost synonymous with "even," may not be familiar to English readers ; but I feel that of the two possible ways of spoiling this pathetic touch of Irish humour explanation is preferable to Anglicisation.—I am, Sir, &c.,
PATRICK PERTERRAS.
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