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The
benevolence of the minority could not counterbalance these odious
offences, and deadly hatred was sown, which has since borne an abundant
harvest.
The state of the country grew worse from day to day. It is difficult now
to realize the condition of the western population in the autumn of
1847; but a witness of unexceptionable impartiality has painted it in
permanent colors. A young Englishman representing the Society of
Friends, who in that tragic time did work worthy of the Good Samaritan,
reported what he saw in Mayo and Galway in language which for plain
vigor rivals the narratives of Defoe. This is what he saw in Westport:
"The town of Westport was in itself a strange and fearful sight, like
what we read of in beleaguered cities; its streets crowded with gaunt
wanderers, sauntering to and fro with hopeless air and hunger-stricken
look; a mob of starved, almost naked women around the poorhouse
clamoring for soup tickets; our inn, the headquarters of the
road-engineer and pay-clerks, beset by a crowd begging for work.


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