Page:Annalsoffaminein00nich.djvu/10

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INTRODUCTION.

workings of her character; and those who are best acquainted with her wonder neither at her courage nor at her adventurous and untiring charity.

Her first work on Ireland—"The Stranger's Welcome," narrates her travels and observations prior to the Great Famine of 1847. It was republished in this city some years ago. The present work recites some of the scenes which she witnessed during that calamitous season. Her heart was in a continual agony, and her limbs wearied by incessant toils to relieve if it could be only a small part of the misery she witnessed. In answer to appeals on her behalf, some funds were placed at her disposal from this country, by friends who knew how effectively they would be employed in her hands. The tale of woe should be read by the whole American people; it will have a salutary effect upon their minds, to appreciate more fully the depth of oppression and wretchedness from which the Irish poor escape in coming to this land of plenty.

For the sake of giving a wider circulation to the material facts of the Famine and its effects, the American publisher has thought it advisable to omit some chapters which were contained in the English edition,