"I felt ashamed for human nature"

"I felt ashamed for human nature"

Lough Derg--Pilgrimage--Description--Negative

"In a short time I arrived at the island, and as stepping out of the boat, I planted my foot on the rocks of this scene of human absurdity..."

Caesar Otway, 1780-1842

Otway, Caesar, Sketches in Ireland: Descriptive of Interesting, and Hitherto Unnoticed Districts, in the North and South, p. 154

W. Curry, jun. and co.; [etc., etc.], Dublin; First published, in part, in the Christian examiner. cf. Pref. A series of letters signed "C. O.", the first four entitled "Sketches in Donegal", the last five "Sketches in the south of Ireland."

1827

Digitised by Google, sponsored by New York Public Library, archived on Hathi Trust digital library

Public domain

1 p., ℓ., iv, vi, 411 p. 19 cm.

English

Description and travel

Text

DD_0036

54.608689,-7.870387

http://hdl.handle.net/2027/nyp.33433066646450

"In a short time I arrived at the island, and as stepping out of the boat, I planted my foot on the rocks of this scene of human absurdity, I felt ashamed for human nature, and looked on myself as one of the millions of fools that have, century after century, degraded their understandings, by coming hither. The island I found to be of an oval shape ; the buildings on it consisted of a slated house for the priests, two chapels, and a long range of cabins on the rocky surface of the island, which may contain about half an acre, there were also certain round walls about two feet high, enclosing broken stone and wooden crosses; these were called saints’ beds, and around these circles on the sharp and stony rocks, the pilgrims go on their naked knees;–altogether I may briefly sum up my view of this place, and say that it was filthy, dreary, and altogether detestable—it was a positive waste of time to visit it, and I hope I shall never behold it again…" (p. 154)

Monograph