*- 
 
LETTERS 
 
 v. cTtui 
 
 IRELAND. 
 
 MDCCCXXXVII. 
 
 BY 
 
 CHARLOTTE ELIZABETH. 
 
 BOSTON COLLEGE LIBRARY 
 CHESTNUT HILL, MASS. 
 
 NEW YORK: 
 BAKER & SCRIBNER, 
 
 145 Nassau. Street, and 36 Park Eow 
 
 184S, 
 

 vv 
 
 3 <¥ 
 
 MJh- 
 

 d 4 £ 
 
 PREFACE 
 
 The following pages would have appeared six months earlier, but 
 for various hindrances which delayed the work of filling up what 
 was but a brief outline. That they should appear at all may be 
 deemed by some readers matter of apology also; but at a period when 
 such strenuous efforts are made to place in different and opposing 
 lights the country and the people referred to, it seemed desirable 
 to add to the collection even such a sketch as this, taken recently 
 from the life. Facts, rather than inferences, are adduced : and if 
 it be objected, that too much of a private and personal nature is 
 interspersed with what concerns the public, it may be pleaded in 
 excuse that not a small portion of English readers are still misled 
 by prejudice or mistake, in their calculations regarding the Irish 
 character. The writer has had many discussions with friends who, 
 desirous of seeing and judging for themselves of this most debate- 
 able land, were deterred from gratifying that laudable wish by a 
 degree of bodily fear. Their imagination represented a succes- 
 sion of perilous obstacles, of which the least formidable menaced 
 highway robbery, or submersion in an unfathomable bog. Not a 
 few really pathetic remonstrances were used to dissuade her from 
 so daring an undertaking as that of traversing from south to north 
 the dreaded country : exacting at the same time a distinct pro- 
 mise that, if permitted to return with life, she would publish a full 
 
IV PREFACE. 
 
 and true account of every hair-breadth 'scape; together with a 
 correct transcript of the impression made on her mind by an 
 attentive view of existing circumstances. That promise is now 
 redeemed ; and happy will she be if these familiar " Letters" tend 
 to remove an unfounded apprehension, or unjust suspicion, as to 
 this lovely country and its interesting inhabitants; or to arouse a 
 spirit of more impartial inquiry, where the judgment may have 
 been prematurely biassed in matters deserving of the most serious, 
 most patient, and most scrutinizing investigation. When English- 
 men learn to view Ireland as she is, the first great step will be 
 achieved towards making Ireland what she ought to be. 
 
 July, 1838. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 LETTER I. 
 COUNTY WEXFORD. 
 
 Departure from Bristol — Passage — Waterford Harbor — Set- 
 ting off for New Ross — Irish Landscape — New Ross — 
 Anecdote of the Rebellion of 1798 — Lower orders of Irish 
 — Blackstairs Mountain — Unpleasant Situation, - - 9 
 
 LETTER II. 
 
 COUNTY WEXFORD, 
 
 Travellers in Ireland — Political and Religious Creed — Origin 
 of Irish Evils — Extraordinary Influence of the Priests — 
 Actual Condition of the People — Early Marriages — Land 
 lord and Tenant — Opposition of the Priesthood to a Scrip- 
 tural System of Education — Abandonment of the plan — 
 Efforts of the Church of Rome to obtain her former supre- 
 macy — Breaking out of the Rebellion in Wexford — Solemn 
 Oath — Atrocities — Execution of a Rebel — The priest 
 equally with his congregation a slave to the system, - - 29 
 
 LETTER III. 
 COUNTY WEXFORD. 
 Irish Hospitality — Scriptural Schools — Importance of main- 
 taining them — Ministers of the Church — Vinegar Hill— 
 
VI CONTENTS. 
 
 School-room — Proficiency of the Scholars — Excursion down 
 the river Slaney — Vicinity of Wexford — Ancient Temple — 
 Accident — The Disorders among the lower classes caused 
 not by poverty, but by designing men, - - - - 53 
 
 LETTER IV. 
 WICKLOW DUBLIN. 
 
 Wicklow — Anecdote of the Rebellion — Vale of Avoca — Glen 
 of the Downs — Mr. Inglis and Mr. Noel — Mistakes in their 
 works on Ireland — Arrival at Dublin — Architectural fea- 
 tures — .Religious Tract and Book Society's Depot — Other 
 Religious Associations — Irish Society — The Romish Church 
 planted in Ireland by the Sword — Duty of restoring the 
 Gospel to the People — Quibbles of the Priests — The Irish 
 Language — Dublin Deaf and Dumb Asylum — Major Sirr, 76 
 
 L E T T E II V. 
 
 COUNTY WESTMEATH. 
 
 Journey to Mullingar — Catholic Priests — Maynooth — Evils of 
 Popery — Elegant Demesne — Happiness of the Tenants — 
 Lough Ouel — Painful Reminiscences — Church-yard at Mul- 
 lingar — Lough Belvidere — Belvidere and Rochfort, - - 109 
 
 LETTER VI. 
 WESTMEATH TO DOWN. 
 Farewell to Friends — Irish Beggars — Military Precautions — 
 The Boyne — Trim and Trim Castle — Navan — Attempt at 
 Imposition — Wretched Roads — Arrival at Drogheda — Un- 
 expected Meeting — Reminiscences of the past — Touching 
 Incident — Aspect of the town — Journey to Castle Belling- 
 ham— Stay at Newry 3 - - - - - - -129 
 
 LETTER VII. 
 COUNTY DOWN. 
 Ireland's master evil — Catholic Church — Beautiful Sermon — 
 Girl's School — National Education System— Underhand Ef- 
 
CONTENTS. Vll 
 
 forts of the Catholics — Lord Stanley's plan — Corruptions of 
 the text of the Bible — Danger to Young Protestants — The 
 Government distrust of the Protestant party, - 156 
 
 LETTER "VI II. 
 
 COUNTY DOWN. 
 
 Potato Fields — Mourne Mountains — Approach to Lord Ro~ 
 den's seat — Tollymore Park — Description of the house and 
 grounds — Schools on the estate — O'Connell and the Orange- 
 men — Dissolution of the Orange lodges — Efforts of the 
 Irish Society — Sunday Schools, ------ 183 
 
 LE TTE P. IX. 
 COUNTY DOWN. 
 Ascent of Slieve Donard — Arrival of Lord Roden — Two 
 Classes of Resident Landlords — Lord Roden — Visit to a 
 Cottager — A Catholic Bishop's Pastoral Instruction, - 215 
 
 LETTER X. 
 COUNTY ARMAGH. 
 
 Departure from Tollymore Park — Tandragee — Lord Farn- 
 ham's System — Lord Mandeville's System — Shebeen houses 
 — Clothing Store — Loan Fund — Sunday School — Infant 
 School, ~ - - - 240 
 
 LETTER XI 
 COUNTY DOWN. 
 
 Ramble over the Lower Demesne of Tandragee Castle — The 
 Protestant and Popish Coach — Approach to Belfast — Con- 
 tested Election — Deaf and Dumb Institution — Success at- 
 tending the Irish Scripture Readers' labors — Mistake with 
 respect to the Presbyterians rectified, .... 262 
 
Vlll CONTENTS'. 
 
 LETTER XII. 
 
 LONDONDERRY. 
 Lough Neagh — Coleraine — Lough Foyle — Dialogue on Reli- 
 gious Topics — Arrival at Derry — Sketch of the town within 
 the walls — Picturesque Vicinity — The Cathedral — Remi- 
 niscences of the Siege — Columbkill — Relics of 1688, - 278 
 
 LETTER XIII. 
 
 COUNTY DONEGAL. 
 
 Apprentice Boys of Derry — Features of Donegal — Lough 
 Swilly — Sligo — Letterkenny — Ascent of Mount Muckish — 
 Magnificent Scenery — Visit to Lough Salt — Mulroy Bay — 
 British Protestants responsible for the present state of 
 Ireland, 305 
 
 LETTER XIV. 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 Farewell Visit to Derry — Embarkation in the Robert Napier — 
 Scenery of the coast — Giants' Causeway — Distant View of 
 the Mourne Mountains — Saluting at Sea — Reflections on 
 Leaving Ireland, -..-.... 328 
 
 Appendix, . ......... 341 
 
LETTERS FROM IRELAND. 
 
 LETTER I. 
 
 COUNTY WEXFORD. 
 
 June, 1837. 
 You will not be much surprised at the date of this 
 letter, knowing- how anxiously I have been seeking an 
 opportunity to take flight westward. That I have 
 been permitted so to do, is a matter of thankfulness 
 and joy. A long absence from Ireland, with a watch- 
 ful eye constantly turned towards it, has prepared me 
 to make the most of the short period allowed for this 
 visit : and here I am, all alive to the delight so ear 
 nesthr coveted. 
 
 It would be a grave speculation, wortriy of some 
 calculating English head, to ascertain how far the 
 public health has been affected by the locomotive im- 
 provements of the age. I do not refer to the impreg- 
 nation of our atmosphere with gas and steam, but to 
 the serious increase of maladies requiring change of 
 place. Formerly, and within our recollection, the 
 privilege of being too delicate to stay at home was 
 reserved for those whose abundant wealth and super- 
 abundant leisure enabled them to encounter a cost of 
 money and time, far beyond the means of their neigh 
 
10 LETTER I. 
 
 bors. Now it is astonishing what an indispensable 
 necessity has fallen upon the bulk of our countrymen, 
 and still more of our countrywomen, to migrate. 
 How our grandsires and grandames contrived to attain 
 the robust old age that we have admired to see, with- 
 out an annual flitting to other climes, is a problem 
 indeed. I can shrewdly guess at some of the attrac- 
 tions which irresistibly impelled you towards the far 
 north : but I will not excite your tender sympathy by 
 recapitulating the ailments that rendered my journey 
 almost a matter of life and death. I believe they 
 might, however, be summed up in the Swiss disorder, 
 Malade-du-pays. Ireland, to be sure, is not my native 
 country; but if all her children loved her as I do, the 
 migratory propensity would here be little known. 
 The rich would stay at home, and the poor would 
 be fed. 
 
 My route hither was from London, via Bristol and 
 Waterford : my travelling companions two blithesome 
 boys, in all the exuberance of joyous freedom from 
 school restraints. One delighted to conduct a guest 
 to his paternal dwelling — his own loved Irish home ; 
 the other all expectation of what he was to see and 
 to hear and to enjoy in the land for which he is led to 
 pray as constantly as the morning breaks upon his 
 English abode. I think habit of statedly, and by 
 name, praying for Ireland in the family worship, tends 
 more than anything else to keep alive the flame of 
 Christian love, which, I bless God, does not waver or 
 fail in my bosom towards her. 
 
 We had been advised to take our passage on board 
 the Nora Creina, Waterford steamer ; but while wait- 
 ing her arrival from Bristol, we were attracted by the 
 
COUNTY WEXFORD. 11 
 
 handsome, spacious appearance of a rival vessel, the 
 St. Patrick, lying just below us. We strolled on 
 board, and finding everything within answerable to 
 the exterior, with the prospect of a rapid passage, 
 and the unconscionably low fare of half-a-guinea each, 
 instead oftheJEl. 17s. that was demanded before a lively 
 competition reduced it, we shipped, our luggage, se- 
 cured our berths, and became the staunch partisans 
 of St. Patrick against all the world. It is marvellous 
 how the selfish principle operates in these matters ; 
 and I think peculiarly so in naval concerns. What- 
 ever vessel you may make choice of for a trip, where 
 choice is allowed, becomes immediately the safest, 
 the fleetest, the best navigated in the service. Nay, 
 should the kindness of a friend bring you into close 
 acquaintance with a man-of-war, allowing you to walk 
 the decks, to number the guns, to inspect the wonder- 
 ful machinery of that mighty " home upon the deep," 
 you become identified with it ; you are personally glo- 
 rified m all the victories achieved by the gallant ship ; 
 and you are ready to maintain that for the skill and 
 bravery of her officers, and seamanship of her crew, 
 she has no competitor in the royal navy. What mar- 
 vel then that we, being fairly established on board the 
 St. Patrick, laughed to scorn the idea of the Nora 
 Creina or any other boat bound to Waterford coming 
 within the influence of the mighty swell that we 
 should leave in our track 1 It really was an exceed- 
 ingly fine vessel ; and as I sat upon deck, luxuriating 
 in the consciousness that I was fairly embarked for 
 Ireland, I know not with whom 1 would have exchanged 
 situations. 
 
 An amusing scene passed before us : the agent was 
 
12 LETTER I. 
 
 receiving passage-money and distributing tickets ; and 
 when the steeraje passengers advanced in their turn, 
 it was quite a foretaste of Ireland. The lounging gait, 
 the easy unembarrassed air, the arch expression of 
 countenance, and rich nationality of phrase and accent* 
 all gave such a zest to the humorous remark and quick 
 retort, bandied between the parties engaged, that my 
 English youth was quite amazed at the freedom of 
 the poor peopie, and playfulness of their superiors 5 
 while the naturally high spirits of his Irish friend 
 were wound to a pitch of enjoyment that enhanced 
 my own. At length all was settled, and we cleared 
 away in capital style from the land, holding our ma- 
 jestic course towards the mouth of the Avon, not for- 
 getting to bestow a few farewell jokes on the Nora 
 Creina, whose bright red chimney-top was peeping 
 from the other side of the lock, and of whom we had 
 got the start so completely as to leave her no reason- 
 able chance of enjoying more than a distant sight of 
 us- during the voyage. 
 
 But alas for all sublunary glory ! In our anxiety 
 to anticipate Nora, we had also a little anticipated the 
 tide; and though no boat could be better worked, yet 
 as we were obliged to leave sea room for the numerous 
 vessels passing inwards to the basin, we brought our 
 gallant steamer too near shore for the present depth 
 of water ; and with one bold plunge the mighty St. 
 Patrick stuck so fast in the mud that all the machin- 
 ery on board would not effect its extrication. Noth- 
 ing could be more interesting, more animated, more 
 picturesque, or more provoking, than our situation. 
 Not a shadow of danger, to rouse any deeper feeling ; 
 and only for one circumstance it would have been 
 
COUNTY WEXFORD. 13 
 
 delightful. Here rose perpendicularly above us the 
 splendid rocks of St. Vincent exactly at the foot of 
 which, in their loftiest and most magnificent point of 
 view, we lay : across the water, dancing and spark- 
 ling from the continual agitation of passing ships, 
 were spread the beautiful wooded heights of Leigh. 
 I do not think that any river can afford a more strik- 
 ingly imposing coup d'ceil than we had then full leis- 
 ure to contemplate : but that annoying red chimney- 
 top marred all our gratification. The Nora Creina 
 had cleared the lock, had put on her steam ; and 
 while our men were straining every nerve in ineffect- 
 ual efforts to float St. Patrick, his fair rival paddled 
 by in triumph, bestowing on us a merry cheer — whe- 
 ther of condolence or exultation is best known to 
 those who uttered it. 
 
 By means of a rope we were at length hauled into 
 deep water again, and had the satisfaction of follow 
 mg Nora, but at as respectful a distance in the rear 
 as we had intended her to keep. We passed into the 
 Bristol channel, and without further adventure held 
 on our way. An excellent dinner was provided, and 
 the afternoon passed pleasantly on deck, a bright sky 
 above, and a wide outspread of tranquil water around 
 us. Towards evening, as I watched the sun's west- 
 ward progress, that splendid reflexion which renders 
 a sunset' at sea so glorious, suddenly appeared ; a 
 stream of light seemed to descend perpendicularly 
 from the flaming orb, still high above the horizon, 
 and to settle on the wave beneath in a body of efful- 
 gence — it was like a carpet of silver tissue inter- 
 spersed with diamonds, a little larger than the sun's 
 apparent diameter. At that moment my young Hi- 
 2 
 
14 LETTER I. 
 
 bernian friend approached, "Do you see that, Robert V' 
 I asked, pointing to the brilliant object before us. 
 *' Yes," he replied ,* a and Ireland is just under it." 
 
 Oh ! what a multitude of mixed feelings came 
 crowding to oppress my mind at that moment ! I 
 knew that the morrow must dawn before I could catch 
 a glimpse of that distant shore ; but here its location 
 was unexpectedly pointed out to me, and that too 
 with an association of the sublime and beautiful not 
 often occurring together. Ireland is called the land 
 of song ; and I think it is the experience of all who 
 have deeply pondered on her history, and looked 
 upon her glorious landscapes, that the feelings excit- 
 ed on her behalf always partake of something which, 
 for want of a better term, I suppose I must call ro- 
 mance. That mixture of the wild, the terrible, the 
 joyous and pathetic peculiar to the Irish character, 
 which is stamped on the natural scenery of the land, 
 marks the pages of her changeful story, and thrills in 
 her national melodies, rouses in those who are con- 
 versant with it a species of enthusiasm incomprehen- 
 sible to such as have never felt it. The anxious bus- 
 tle of preparatory arrangements, the shifting scenery 
 of a rapid journey, the events of our outset, and the 
 many new faces appearing around me, amid the lively 
 quarter-deck concomitants of a fine day, had almost 
 lulled to sleep a chord long strung in my bosom. It 
 was now touched — struck with a force that sent the 
 vibration through its entire length and breadth ; and 
 from that moment I was dead to all else but the ab- 
 sorbing theme of our loved, unhappy Ireland. Often, 
 very often, during a long absence of many years, had 
 
30UNTY WEXFORD. . 15 
 
 I breathed the language adapted to one of the Irish 
 
 melodies. 
 
 How dear to me the hour when daylight dies, 
 And sunbeams melt along the silent sea : 
 
 For then sweet dreams of other days arise, 
 And memory breathes her vesper sigh to thee. 
 
 Can you not imagine with what a rush of gratified 
 feeling they recurred to me now that I was pursuing 
 a swift and steady course towards the land 1 The 
 silver speck enlarged, it lengthened, it approached 
 us, assuming every moment a deeper glow : and 
 there it lay, stretched from the furthest horizon to 
 the very keel below me, and kindling into diamond 
 brilliancy the gushes of foam from our paddle wheels. 
 How exquisitely expressive of my sensations was the 
 next verse— 
 
 And as I mark the line of light that strays 
 Along the cool wave tow'rd the burning west, 
 
 I long to tread that golden path of rays, 
 
 And think 'twould lead to some bright ilse of rest. 
 
 "Rest!" that word presented too painful a contrast 
 to the reality of what is, and has been, and too pro- 
 bably will yet be the lot of Ireland. You will not 
 be surprised to hear that I did not withdraw my eyes 
 from that quarter so long as the faintest lingering 
 blush continued to mark the spot ; and that by five 
 o'clock the next morning I was at my post, in eager 
 expectation of the first glimpse of Erin. It appeared 
 at last ; and after swallowing a hasty breakfast from 
 the abundance of good cheer provided on board the 
 St. Patrick, we again seated ourselves on deck, to 
 
16 LETTER I. 
 
 mark the bold outline of the Wexford mountains, and 
 the fine approach to Waterford. 
 
 On a jutting point of land, conspicuous alike for 
 size and situation, stands the tower of Hook, a round 
 white building ; and several other martello towers are 
 seen along the coast where it stretches off to the 
 north east, forming the bay of Ballyteig. Hook being 
 rounded we had fairly entered the harbor's mouth j 
 and shall I try to tell you what I felt when beholding 
 on either side the sweet green shores, like arms out- 
 spread to receive, with the national " cead-mille-failte,' , 
 the "hundred thousand welcomes" of Irish hospitality, 
 a returning friend \ No, I will not attempt it : you 
 know the many touching circumstances that must 
 have combined to render it an hour of trying emotion 
 to me; you know that, since last I beheld her, Ireland 
 has become the grave of that " dear lost companion," 
 who, from earliest babyhood was to me, 
 
 Dear as ihe light that visits these sad eyes, 
 Dear as the ruddy drops that ■warm my heart; 
 
 and you know that a pilgrimage of sorrowing affec- 
 tion to that spot had been for years the object of my 
 daily wish and nightly dream. The circumstance 
 threw a shade of indescribable sadness over my mind : 
 the heart knew its own bitterness ; and the tears that 
 for an hour would not cease to fall, as I looked upon 
 the soft and beautiful scenery around me, were indeed 
 tears of love and grief, sacred alike to the memory of 
 the dead and the doom of the living. I could at once 
 take up the language of David and of Jeremiah j I 
 could say with the former, "I am distressed for thee, 
 mv brother," and with the latter, " Oh that my head 
 
COUNTY WEXFORD. 17 
 
 were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I 
 might weep day and night for the slain of the daugh- 
 ters of my people !" 
 
 Nothing could be more lovely than the gradually 
 narrowing banks of Waterford harbor. There is no 
 striking object — no grandeur of any kind, — but a 
 character of simple beauty and repose. A gentle 
 acclivity leads the eye to prospects diversified indeed, 
 yet varying without a break upon the uniform pla- 
 cidity of the scene. Here, a nobleman's or gentle- 
 man's seat, with its fine background of wooded hills, 
 and a spacious lawn in front 5 there, a less con- 
 spicuous abode, or cluster of modest dwellings, with 
 the slight spire of a village church peeping out beyond 
 -them. Again, where the shore flattens, a busy tribe 
 of fishermen, launching or unlading their boats, with 
 their lowly cabins scattered or congregated a little 
 farther inland. The houses in Ireland are, as you 
 know, almost universally white; and you could not 
 but admire the picturesque effect thereby produced, 
 when they are thinly scattered on rising grounds clad 
 with that delicious verdure, the just boast of the 
 Emerald isle, and relieved by a sufficiency of trees 
 and hedgerows, which is not always the case, though 
 Waterford harbor can display as much as the eye 
 of taste would desire. We passed along, under a 
 glorious sunshine ; and the necessary demand on my 
 attention, when the marvellously moderate charges 
 for cabin fare and attendance were presented and the 
 selection of luggage commenced, gave a turn to the 
 tide of feeling, better suited to the realities of the 
 moment. 
 
18 LETTER I. 
 
 What changeable beings we are I No sooner were 
 those tears dried, than a flow of cheerfulness, pre- 
 sently amounting to the most mirthful glee, succeeded. 
 We found ourselves near our friend Nora, whose red 
 chimney-top had discarded its long black pennon of 
 smoke, and whose passengers were already dispersed 
 to their several destinations. St. Patrick was laid 
 alongside his rival, who formed a bridge for us to the 
 pier 5 and Robert having recommended that, as we had 
 not to seek a public conveyance, and were under no 
 obligation to hasten ashore, we should remain quiet 
 until all the rest were landed, we collected our trunks 
 about us, and sat still, delighted spectators of the 
 lively scene. 
 
 For, whatever else an Irish scene may lack, there is 
 never a deficiency of liveliness in it. There is some 
 thing in the national character always on the qui vive 
 for amusement ; and an unsophisticated set of Irish 
 porters, at home, are very different from any frater- 
 nity whom you have probably seen exercising that 
 calling. I never was more amused by the contrast 
 than now, that I had so recently experienced the 
 sturdy demands, and witnessed the angry competition, 
 of the London and Bristol professionals. As I sate 
 guarding my little stores, many a polite offer of 
 service was tendered, more with the air of a gentle- 
 man who wishes to oblige you, than of a hungry 
 fellow whose dinner, and supper too, depend on 
 what he may gain by it. " I'm just going over there," 
 pointing across the Nora ; " may -be, I'd carry your 
 luggage with me," said a fine, broad-faced Paddy, who 
 had strolled up, and stood before us with great com- 
 posure. " Thank you j but I'm not going ashore yet, 
 
COUNTY WEXFORD. 19 
 
 and there's a gentleman managing 1 the luggage for 
 me." 1 Paddy responded to the smile with which this 
 was spoken, touched his fragment of a hat, and, 
 wheeling off, saw a large telescope, fixed in its rest, 
 with the broad end about eight inches from an upright 
 board. Not heeding the latter obstruction, Paddy 
 immediately placed himself at the eyeglass, and apply- 
 ing his hands to his knees squatted down till he 
 brought himself, as he thought, in the right line of 
 vision to enjoy an excellent view of the harbor and 
 distant shipping. A long pry convinced him, I sup- 
 pose, that the glass was a bad one; for he walked 
 away in search of some other amusement. This, 
 trifling as it was, delighted me beyond measure : I 
 felt myself in Ireland ;. and when at last permitted to 
 spring ashore, my very feet seemed to rejoice in the 
 privilege of kissing the beloved soil again. 
 
 Waterford has a most noble quay 7 little less than a 
 mile in length, broad, and at the point where we 
 landed exhibiting some fine buildings. The most 
 conspicuous of these is a very ancient tower of Dan* 
 ish origin, round, massive, and once no doubt of pro* 
 digious strength. It is said to have been erected in 
 1003; and among the purposes to which it has been 
 applied, was that of a fortress, by Earl Strongbow ; a 
 state prison, too, wherein were confined his captives, 
 Reginald, prince of the Danes in Waterford, Malachi 
 O'Fealan, prince of the Deeies, with other conquered 
 opposers ; and a mint, by Edward IV. It is now the 
 head-quarters of the police establishment in Water- 
 ford. In, occasionally naming the police, I must 
 guard you against the mistake of identifying them 
 with those peaceable-looking gentry, who, with blue 
 
20 LETTER I. 
 
 coats well buttoned up, and respectable round hats, 
 perambulate the streets of London, apparently not 
 only inoffensive but defenceless too ; and whose chief 
 business, as a casual observer would surmise, is to 
 answer the frequent queries of bewildered pedes- 
 trians, at a^oss whether the right turning or the left 
 will sooner bring them to their destination. The 
 police force of Ireland present a far different aspect : 
 their uniform is dark green, altogether of military 
 fashion, with regimental cap, broad black belt, short 
 musket, cartouche-box, and bayonet. The officers, 
 or chief and deputy chief constables as they are 
 called, wear swords. This is one of the saddening 
 characteristics of poor Ireland. The sword of the 
 Spirit has been withheld from her children ; therefore 
 the carnal weapon is become indispensable to control 
 the excitable and misguided populace. 
 
 All around us, however, was peace and good 
 humor when w T e trod the broad and weli-placed flag- 
 stones that separate, with a delightful promenade, the 
 water's edge from the carriage-way ; and crossing the 
 latter, proceeded on another excellent pavement, 
 along a line of handsome shops, which spoke well for 
 Waterford's trading prosperity. Our plan was to 
 engage a private conveyance to New Ross, where we 
 meant to dine ; and I had little difficulty in persuading 
 my guide to order an outside car, that we might be 
 as Irish as possible. We were shown into a hand- 
 some drawing-room at the proprietor's office; and 
 while waiting, I had leisure to admire the beauty of 
 the splendid river, with its rising hanks on the oppo- 
 site side, and regretted my inability to take a survey 
 of the town. Our starting scene was amusing 
 
COUNTY WEXFORD. 21 
 
 enough : the car was of very ordinary materials, and 
 the driver presented as grotesque an object as could 
 well be imagined. The very slender remains of what 
 had once been a hat caught the master's eye, and an 
 order was given to find him a better. " Can none of 
 you lend Barney the trifle of a hat !" resounded 
 through the establishment. Several were produced ; 
 but Barney's phrenological developments set at defi- 
 ance all attempts to force a covering on them At 
 length one shouted out from the hall, " Here's 
 Pether's hat ; it'ill just fit." " Pether's out," responded 
 the official man, " and can't want it. Clap it on, 
 Barney." This was done ; and just as we hoped our 
 delays were ended, a difference appeared in our 
 respective computations of the fare, which required 
 no less than a committee of the whole house, all talk- 
 ing together, to settle. We began to regret having 
 declined places on the mail car, which had long since 
 rattled merrily away loaded with our fellow-passen- 
 gers ; but the difficulty was overcome, and we stepped 
 across the threshold. Alas ! we were arrested by a 
 storm of indignant eloquence, directed against poor 
 Barney, who, it seemed, had taken the master's own 
 particular bridle for our use ; and many were the 
 exclamations, while he in the most leisurely way 
 removed the handsome bridle, replacing it with an 
 article that would scarcely hold together. At last we 
 fairly mounted our vehicle, Barney in the driver's seat, 
 my Irish friend occupying one side with me, and on 
 the other our English youth with his hat-box, and a 
 mountain of luggage piled up between. 
 
 Away we went, at a tolerably equal pace, so long 
 as the fine level pavement of the quay lay beneath us ; 
 
22 LETTER I 
 
 but, Oh! the jolting that ensued, when, after crossing 
 the river, we began to ascend and descend the abrupt 
 little hills ! My spirits rose to the highest pitch of 
 joyousness, while the vehicle danced along, as if in 
 sympathy with my bounding heart. The road was 
 narrow and wild, the banks low ; and our position of 
 course commanded only a view of one side of the 
 country ; but that was a highly Irish one. If you ask 
 what is the distinctive mark of an Irish landscape, 
 where the country has no particular feature of moun- 
 tain, valley, or wood, I must reply, that it consists 
 chiefly in a gradual easy swell of ground, from the 
 road upwards, divided into portions much smaller 
 than we usually see in England, fenced by very low 
 boundaries of a few stones, or a bank of earth, but 
 rarely displaying a quickset hedge or row of trees. 
 This method of laying out the ground gives you a full 
 view of each separate patch ; and these again, being 
 variously cultivated, present a picture altogether dis- 
 similar from English scenery. The background, in 
 this part of Ireland, is almost invariably a fine moun- 
 tain peak, or chain of gigantic hills rearing their dark 
 summits against the sky. Add to this the frequent 
 glimpse obtained, new of some venerable ruin, stand- 
 ing alone in its little surrounding sanctuary of grass 
 and shrubs ; then, perhaps, a light playful stream 
 murmuring over the bright pebbles ; and anon, a noble 
 plantation, holding in its bosom the family mansion, 
 the glebe house, and often the village church. And 
 at this season you may fill up the canvas with every 
 variety of rich and glowing tint the whole family of 
 wild flowers can supply. Although quite the end of 
 June, we were regaled with the choicest beauties of 
 
COUNTS WEXFORD. 23 
 
 spring, mingled with those of midsummer. Shrabs 
 and trees of the hawthorn, presenting literally one 
 mass of rich and fragrant blossoms, adorned the road- 
 side ; and these, as we advanced farther into Wex 
 ford, were richly interspersed with tall bushes of 
 furze, not yet entirely stripped of their golden buds. 
 It was not until we had left New Ross considerably 
 behind us, that we found ourselves thus hedged in : 
 but never did we miss the glorious profusion of flow- 
 ers, among which the foxglove, larger and more beau- 
 tiful than I have usually seen it in our gardens, con- 
 tinually reared its head, waving above the little rude 
 fence of stones that often constituted the only barrier 
 between us and the corn or potatoe-field. 
 
 But you will expect to hear something of New 
 Ross, the antiquity of which I greatly longed to ex- 
 plore ; for, although still called ' New,' it was char- 
 tered by Richard II., and was at a very early period 
 a place of great strength. A more recent and painful 
 interest also attaches to it, from its having been the 
 scene of a sanguinary battle in the rebellion of 1798, 
 when thirty thousand Roman Catholics attacked the 
 town, defended by about twelve hundred effective 
 troops, and a hundred and fifty yeomen. The assail- 
 ants were fully armed with muskets and pikes, and 
 had four large guns, besides swivels. A number of 
 Romish priests, robed, and bearing crucifixes in their 
 hands, moved through the lines, kindling the wildest 
 enthusiasm in the bosoms of their unhappy victims. 
 As we crossed the bridge above the noble river Bar- 
 row, and ascended the exceedingly steep streets, 
 I could not but shudder at the recollections excited : 
 for, within the memory of some who then surrounded 
 
2-i LETTER 1. 
 
 us, those streets had actually been choked up and the 
 passage impeded by heaps of mangled bodies, the 
 victims of civil war. I saw the spot where a sergeant 
 of the Donegal militia, with sixteen men and two 
 badly mounted ship guns, defended his post against 
 six hundred furious assailants, whom he repulsed 
 with tremendous slaughter. The bare fact that six 
 carts, with a great number of men, were employed 
 throughout the whole of two long summer days in 
 collecting the dead bodies, and shooting them into 
 the river hard by, gives an appalling view of the 
 scene. It was here, too, that the circumstance really 
 took place, which I have seen in the form of a jest, 
 and of course considered an absurd fabrication. One 
 of the infatuated rebels, relying no doubt on some 
 imaginary charm conferred by his priest, rushed up 
 to a cannon, just as the gunner was about to apply 
 his match, and thrusting his hat and wig into it, cried 
 out, " Come on, boys, her mouth is stopped!" In an 
 instant he was blown to pieces. 
 
 I could not, however, take more than a hasty sur- 
 vey of the corner of the town through which we 
 passed ; time only allowing us to regale on a dish of 
 mutton chops and exquisite potatoes j which, toge- 
 ther with the assiduous attention of the waiter, re- 
 minded me again that I was in Ireland. The genuine 
 courtesy with which this class of people here fulfil 
 their duties, and solicitously strive to anticipate your 
 wishes, with their thankful acknowledgment of a small 
 gratuity at parting, is remarkable : it belongs to that 
 national hospitality which, go where you will, delights 
 to cherish you. This I will say of the lower orders 
 oi liish neonle, that a smile and a kind speech ad- 
 
COUNTY WEXFORD. 25 
 
 diessed to them, an avoidance of contemptuous looks 
 or disparaging remarks on what is before you, and a 
 fair word of commendation with regard to anything 
 Irish, when you can utter it in their presence, will, in 
 ninety-nine cases out of a hundred, win their warm 
 hearts, and render them for the time being your 
 attached, devoted servants. I envy not the person 
 who would derive no pleasure from this return for 
 pleasure conferred. Sunshiny looks enliven the 
 dreariest scene ; and why should we not elicit them] 
 At New Ross we parted from Barney, after making 
 him as happy as we could ; first by chatting on the 
 road, asking him numerous questions, and letting him 
 hear our exclamations of delight at revisiting his 
 loved country. The only cloud that passed over his 
 countenance arose from my asking if he could speak 
 Irish. "Spake it •!" he replied, with some warmth : 
 "Why shouldn't I spake it, and I an Irishman V But 
 when he heard us extolling its antiquity, and heartily 
 wishing we knew as much of it as he did, his coun- 
 tenance shone with smiles ; and he opened the store- 
 house of his knowledge, both local and traditional, 
 with liberal hand. If ever you travel in this country, 
 particularly in the more retired quarters of it, I recom- 
 mend you to pursue a similar plan : for it is astonishing 
 what a mine of original thought and curious informa- 
 tion, conveyed in language the most quaint and ex- 
 pressive, you will frequently open. I have not to re- 
 proach myself with merely jesting and chattering 
 luring our short ride ; for when the poor man pointed 
 out the spot where a cruel murder had recently been 
 committed, and gave us the particulars, I spoke freely 
 to him of the blessed effects which would result from 
 3 
 
26 LETTER I. 
 
 a knowledge of God's love in giving his own Son to 
 die for sinners; and strove to lead his mind to the 
 great propitiation offered for our transgressions. He 
 not only listened, but gave a cordial and feeling assent 
 to what was said. 
 
 After leaving New Ross we were engaged in an 
 adventure that threatened serious consequences. De- 
 scending a narrow, broken road, we were to pass a 
 line of small cars laden with stones, the leaders of 
 which either had some party feud with our driver, or 
 were exceedingly ill-disposed. When desired to let 
 us pass, they returned a volley of irritating language, 
 addressed to him : and one man seized our horse's 
 head, endeavoring to drag us into a dry ditch by the 
 road side. He reeled, however, so much from intoxi- 
 cation, that he twice lost his hold ; and on the third 
 unsuccessful attempt, our driver managed to slip by 
 him, and to clear the whole line. Had the man lost 
 his temper, or the horse been restive, or had we exhi- 
 bited any signs either of fear or resentment, I know 
 not what might have occurred ; but through the 
 mercy of God all parties were restrained, and we pro- 
 ceeded in safety. 
 
 Barney's successor was not so interesting as he, but 
 possessed a fund of humor and drollery, delivered in 
 a dry, quaint way, that kept the boys in a continual 
 roar of merriment. We introduced the youngest of 
 our party as an Englishman : no one could have 
 mistaken the other for aught but what he is — in- 
 tensely Irish — and I am proud to say, that among the 
 natives of this land I am universally greeted as a 
 countrywoman, and never betray myself unnecessarily. 
 So Pat thought he had the majority in his favor f j»- 
 
COUNTY WEXFORD. 27 
 
 tirely ; and the broadsides of sly wit that he dis- 
 charged at the solitary John Bull were irresistible. 
 On my making some passing remark expressive of 
 warm attachment to Ireland, he said nothing, but 
 leaping down from his elevated seat went to the haw- 
 thorn hedge-row, and cut the most beautiful plume- 
 like spray of its delicate blossoms that ever I beheld. 
 Of the look and gesture with which he presented it 
 I can only say, that if I were to carry a costly tribute 
 of loyalty to the foot of a throne, I would try to imi- 
 tate the carman of New Ross. These people are all 
 heart ; all glowing warmth and devotion of feeling. 
 Oh that we studied them aright for their own profit 5 
 and strove to lead in bands of love those who cannot, 
 will not be driven by the goad of stern authority. 
 
 The mountain range, behind which the sun had dis- 
 appeared, now rose in grander altitude and more de- 
 fined outline, as we approached the foot of its fine 
 termination. Blackstairs and Mount Leinster, consti- 
 tuting in appearance a single mountain, soon engross- 
 ed the landscape of which they had formed the back 
 ground j and most majestically do they rise before 
 my window in this delightful mansion, where all the 
 graces of polished elegance were combined with the 
 ardor of Irish hospitality, to welcome us at the 
 threshold. Late as it was, we found the family din- 
 ner table awaiting the expected completion of its joy- 
 ous circle ; and though I had not been in bed for i,wo 
 nights, and was pretty well fatigued with such a day's 
 jaunt over roads of indescribable ruggedness, I lin- 
 gered long to trace under the soft twilight of this 
 summer midnight, the wavy line of Blackstairs moun- 
 tain j and rose, almost with the sun, to explore the am- 
 
28 LETTER I. 
 
 phitheatre that seemed to shut me in. Indeed, I was 
 rather too early; for a tremendously fine watch dog, 
 seeing a stranger in the grounds at that hour, thought 
 it right to arrest my steps, which he did by taking up 
 a position at about four feet distance, and sustaining 
 one continuous bark, that would have shaken stronger 
 nerves. I dared not advance or retreat ; so stood 
 perfectly still, neither speaking nor shrinking, nor 
 menacing; but looking as innocent and unconcerned 
 as the circumstances would admit of: well knowing 
 the dog to be a shrewd physiognomist. Great was my 
 relief when some one from the house called him ofF. 
 I record the event for the benefit of early risers in 
 strange places ; and shall henceforth take especial 
 care to procure an immediate introduction to all the 
 dogs in the family, wherever I go. Happily for me, 
 this was a civil Newfoundlander : he has a comrade of 
 prodigious size, a mastiff, who, had I crossed his path 
 while ranging on guard, would probably have torn me 
 in pieces. The house would not, humanly speaking, 
 be safe for a moment, from nightfall to sunrise, with- 
 out these faithful sentinels, whose w r ell-known fero- 
 city in defence of their charge holds many a midnight 
 foe at bay. They are indeed a noble gift to man from 
 his all-bountiful Creator. 
 
LETTER II. 
 
 COUNTY WEXFORD. 
 
 July, 1837. 
 My last was a sketch of our transit to this place : I 
 now proceed to matters of deeper interest. To visit 
 Ireland with no purpose of promoting in any way the 
 good of her people, would be criminal indeed ; and I 
 know no way of promoting it so effectually, as by 
 bringing their actual state fairly before the public eye 
 in England. I write, of course, with that view, and 
 will relate nothing which cannot be substantiated. 
 Books are perpetually coming out on Irish subjects, 
 but none that meet the case. One travels with a view 
 of ascertaining the existing relationship between land- 
 lord and tenant, scanning with a sharp judicious eye 
 what bears on that point ; but caring for none of those 
 things which stand in the same relative position to the 
 other as the soul does to the body. A second makes 
 a tour in search of the picturesque j anxious to be 
 himself pleased, and to please his readers, he care- 
 fully screens off from view whatever would mar the 
 beauty of his picture, and introduces immortal beings 
 as he does the stocks and stones, to heighten the land- 
 scape. Or else, with a cynical supercilious discon- 
 tent, finds fault with everything, without attempting 
 either to ascertain the disease or to suggest a remedy. 
 3* 
 
30 LETTER II. 
 
 Another comes over, fully awake to the supreme im- 
 portance of the moral and spiritual branch of the sub- 
 ject ; but having received a wrong bias at home, he 
 visits Ireland much in the spirit with which some good 
 people open their Bibles, anxious to discover some- 
 what in favor of his preconceived notions, instead of 
 being willing to model them by what he shall find 
 there. They who know the vast influence of first im- 
 pressions, particularly where the individual is prone 
 to jump to hasty conclusions, may, if they have an 
 interest in the matter, give the desired coloring- to all 
 that he shall see, by commending him at the outset to 
 a clever misrepresenter of facts; a character by no 
 means hard to find among the divided and deeply-pre- 
 judiced parties of this unhappy land, and so the result 
 shall be a heavy blow unconsciously dealt to his 
 friends, and a chuckling triumph secured to their foes. 
 Now I am not going to set myself up as an oracle, 
 where so many have failed ; far from it. My purpose 
 is, simply, to read Ireland as I read an important book : 
 to receive no text without a careful examination of 
 the context ; and on every occasion to recur to first 
 principles. Or, if you prefer a plainer expression, to 
 judge of the tree by its fruit. 
 
 Shall I recite my political creed, that prominent 
 consideration in these troublous days'? I believe 
 that God is the supreme and only source of all human 
 authority: that His revealed will in the Holy Scrip- 
 tures is the plummet line whereby the whole work of 
 government must be directed ; the foundation being 
 that w r hich God has laid, and beside which "other 
 foundation can no man lay," even Christ Jesus, King 
 of kings, and Lord of lords, I know him to be ; and 
 
COUNTY WEXFORD. 31 
 
 whatsoever rebels against his authority, or waives the 
 consideration of it for any purpose whatever, is a step 
 from legitimate rule to anarchical revolution ; its ob- 
 ject being to unseat the king from the holy hill where- 
 on he is enthroned, and wherefrom he looks down, 
 principalities and powers being made subject to him. 
 With me, the question is not, what says Mr. O'Connell, 
 or what say the priests, or what says the Earl of Ro- 
 den, but what says the Lord % I ask not, Is this or 
 that measure, or is it not, recommended by its expe- 
 diency, its aptitude to meet present emergencies, its 
 concurrence in the flowing tide of popular opinion, 
 and passing events; but, is it consistent with the un- 
 changeable decrees promulgated by divine authority 1 
 Does it " render unto God the things that are God's," 
 and show those who act it out to be ruling in the fear 
 of the Lord 1 If not, then I appeal to effects, in proof 
 that a contrary course is not to be pursued with even 
 the semblance of present success; for as godliness 
 has promise, as w T ell of the life that now is as of that 
 which is to come, so does ungodliness bring its pro- 
 moters to shame and confusion of face amono- men, 
 while they treasure up for themselves wrath against 
 the great and terrible day. 
 
 If it can be shown by incontestible proof, that there 
 is one system exceedingly abhorrent to all that God 
 enjoins, opposing and exalting itself above Christ, 
 usurping his exclusive prerogative of a priest upon 
 his throne, teaching for doctrines the commandments 
 of men, and those too stamped in the Holy Scriptures 
 with that awful character, " Doctrines of devils ;" if 
 there be a power that reckons among the staple com- 
 modities of its merchandize, " souls of men j" de* 
 
3'2 LETTEU II. 
 
 stroying them by assuming to dispense at its own 
 sovereign pleasure what none can receive but as the 
 free gift of Him who bought both it and them at the 
 costly price of His own blood ; — if this usurping and 
 malignant power be clearly defined in God's word, 
 branded with a name that expresses a direct and total 
 contrariety to Christ and his gospel, and expressly 
 marked for a final destruction distinct from all other 
 visitations of the Divine vengeance, while the only 
 way of escape from that impending doom is opened 
 to its subjects in a proclamation from heaven, " Come 
 out of her, my people ; be ye not partakers of her 
 sins, that ye receive not of her plagues ; then I say, 
 that whatsoever tends to strengthen the position of 
 this adversary, to extend, confirm, or even to sane 
 tion the authority already usurped over any part of 
 God's heritage, or to shade off the broad black line 
 of demarcation laid down by the inspired penmen, 
 who spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost, — 
 I say that it is an act of deliberate rebellion against 
 the Most High ; an open attempt to prevent the king- 
 doms of this world from becoming the kingdoms of 
 our God and of his Christ. These are my principles, 
 this is my faith, not acquired by associating with any 
 particular set of men, but built on the immutable word 
 of God. Politics and religion! what an idle distinc- 
 tion. It is as though on meeting you, instead of the 
 simple salutation of " I am glad to see you," I were 
 to say, "I am glad to see your body and soul." To 
 be sure the thing is understood ; for I should grieve 
 to see your body without the soul, well knowing that 
 it must then be rapidly approaching the loathsome 
 corruption of the grave 5 but while I behold it living 
 
COUNTY WEXFORD. 33 
 
 and thriving, I know that the soul is there, and the 
 union complete. That soul will outlive the body, as 
 spiritual religion will outlive the body politic : but as 
 well might your mortal frame perform the functions 
 of an animated and intelligent being, while your soul 
 was carried away into Abraham's bosom, as the gov- 
 erning organs of a people on whom the light of reve- 
 lation has shone, can act and prosper in the absence 
 of that great main-spring of vitality — Christian prin- 
 ciple. 
 
 And the Lord, in pity to the blindness and unbelief 
 of our hearts, has vouchsafed a perpetual witness to 
 the truth of his word. My purpose, therefore, is not 
 in the course of this tour to declaim upon causes, but 
 to trace effects. The inference will make itself un- 
 derstood. I put spiritual things first, because revela- 
 tion and reason alike give the pre-eminence to that 
 which is enduring : but faith is of all thirig-s the most 
 practical : and if there be a statute book that even to 
 the minutest particular takes thought for the tempo- 
 ral interest and personal comfort of the poor of the 
 land, that book is the Bible. Political economists 
 enter upon a mazy track, dark, full of obstacles, 
 indented with pits, overgrown with entanglements: 
 and then, having carefully extinguished or buried their 
 torches, they blunder on, now lodging their feet in a 
 quagmire, now fracturing their skulls against a branch, 
 now finishing: a breathless and exulting- course at the 
 precise point whence they started. Each cries out to 
 his neighbor, " Your road is impassable ;" each in 
 turn makes the same discovery respecting his own ; 
 yet sure I am, that if they had light unto their feet 
 they would find a safe and pleasant path, pr^n-" - *^ 1 v ~ 
 
34 LETTER II. 
 
 Him who is not the author of confusion, but of 
 peace. 
 
 I have looked around me with an earnest desire to 
 obtain clear views on that stiffly-contested point, the 
 origin of Irish evils. Their existence is not disputed, 
 neither can any person actually on the spot, who has 
 had previous opportunities of investigation, deny that 
 they have alarmingly increased. I have no hesi- 
 tation in declaring that, trunk and branch, they spring 
 and thrive from one plain root, culpable neglect of the 
 poor ; and that one remedy alone can reach the seat 
 of disease, a competent provision for that neglected 
 class. You will not suppose that in these words I 
 include only bodily relief: I do indeed believe, and 
 am perfectly certain, that without a permanent, legal- 
 ized, sufficient provision, on the plan of a poor-law 
 enactment, nothing whatever will be done to improve 
 the state of Ireland ; but I am equally sure that the 
 most ample supply of all their temporal need will be 
 alike inefficacious, while their minds remain under 
 the baneful influence of Popery. It is idle to argue 
 the contrary, from the fact of some continental na- 
 tions presenting a picture of tranquil industry and 
 comparative prosperity, while still in bondage to the 
 See of Rome: they are not subjects of an essentially 
 Protestant State : nor is it the interest of their priests 
 to encourage disaffection to their respective govern- 
 ments. If it were so, the history of the world, from 
 the first rise of the Papal kingdom to this time, fur- 
 nishes proof that they would speedily find a pretext 
 for exciting the people. The cruel, shameful neglect, 
 that allows the Irish peasant to perish in utter desti- 
 tiiticr:, is indeed a powerful weapon in the hands of 
 
COUNTY WEXFORD. 35 
 
 his misleaders ; but, were that removed, so long as 
 the high places in the State, the revenues of the 
 Church, the magisterial and military power, are not 
 lodged exclusively with themselves, so long will those 
 whose influence governs the popular mass, both of mind 
 and matter, in this country, be movers of sedition- 
 Trust me, while Mordecai sits in the gate, his ancient 
 enemy, Haman, who abhors his race, will disregard 
 with sullen unthankfulness all the favors, all the privi- 
 leges that can be heaped upon him, and go to his 
 house heavy and displeased. 
 
 I am in Wexford : in a place where blood cries 
 from the ground with a mighty and terrible voice. If 
 I never proceed further on my journey, the spots that 
 within a day's excursion I have looked on would fur- 
 nish proof sufficient for my purpose. Travellers seem, 
 by general consent, to pass by the appalling recollec- 
 tions inseparable from these places ; considering it a 
 breach of charity openly to revive them. But charity 
 calls for a different line of conduct where the past 
 affords an important lesson for present use, and offers 
 a safeguard against the future recurrence of those 
 terrible incidents. 
 
 The question forcing itself upon the mind is this : 
 do the same elements now exist in an equally formida- 
 ble state, and with the same combining and directing 
 power at hand to wield them, as when, in ninety-eigh^ 
 the beautiful landscape that lies before me in soft, 
 unbroken repose, was transformed into a wild battle- 
 field, reddened with blood and flame. I am forced to 
 reply, they do : they exist in the consciousness of 
 union and strength, with an object more defined, in a 
 position incalculably more advantageous : successor 
 
36 LETTER II. 
 
 gained, at least in their opinion, through intimidation, 
 at once improve their ground, and inspire them with 
 confidence. The authority to which they implicitly 
 bow has been recognized, honored, advanced, by the 
 legislature; its demands as yet meet no repulse; 
 therefore the act that would in a moment once more 
 array the mass of the population against the govern- 
 ment, is suspended. But how may the palpable dan- 
 ger be averted 1 That is a query the importance of 
 which you may partially feel, at the safe distance of 
 your quiet home : to comprehend its thrilling interest 
 aright, you must be domesticated awhile under a Pro- 
 testant roof, in the south or west of Ireland. The 
 only alternative is to be sought either in the forcible 
 suppression of an insurrectionary tendency, by hold- 
 ing the sword suspended over a whole people, or in 
 the dissolution of a confederacy that gives life and mo- 
 tion to the hostile body. So long as the Romish 
 hierarchy and priesthood retain the essential charac- 
 ter of their class, they will stand prepared to wield 
 the whole moral and physical force of their boasted 
 millions against us : so long as the Irish peasant con- 
 tinues to suffer under the grinding oppression, to 
 endure the helpless, hopeless wretchedness of his 
 unspeakably destitute state, he will be a weapon ready 
 whetted for the work of destruction. The miseries 
 that he endures, and which he knows must thicken 
 upon him as his years increase, render him at once 
 desperate as to his present conduct and fate, and 
 doubly solicitous to insure a happier lot in the world 
 to come. This, he is taught, can be done, and done 
 only, by the most perfect submission to his spiritual 
 guides ; and whither such guidance may lead — has 
 
COUNTY WEXFORD. 37 
 
 led — every spot of ground about me bears awful wit- 
 ness ; for, I am in Wexford! 
 
 The original plotters of the rebellion m 1798, as 
 far as it can be traced, were nominal Protestants, in- 
 fected by the revolutionary mania of France, and 
 blindly expecting to find in their Romish country- 
 men, not only ready instruments for their murderous 
 work, but fellow-helpers in abolishing all systems of 
 religion together. The latter, on the other hand, 
 practised what their republican allies had projected, 
 and made efficient tools of the men who thought to 
 do the same by them, 'i his was speedily discovered, 
 only too late for the wretched dupes thus taken in 
 their own snare. The insurrectionary war, com- 
 menced on political ground, quickly assumed its natu- 
 ral character of a religious contest: and no victims 
 were more readily sacrificed to the bigotry of the 
 priest-led troops, than the nominal Protestants who 
 had incited them to rebellion. Bagenal Harvey, the 
 nominee of the Dublin Directory, whom they affected 
 to recognize as genera!-in-chief in this his native 
 county, possessed not half the real authority or influ- 
 ence that any private Romanist in the ranks could 
 boast : while Father Murphy, Father Roche, Father 
 Redmond, Father Kavenagh, and the rest of the 
 priests, numbers of whom personally led their flock 
 to combat, held the power of life and death so despot- 
 ically that a written line or a spoken word from any 
 one of them was a safeguard through the whole san- 
 guinary host ; while a frown, or an averted look, 
 delivered up the hapless suppliant to a terrible death. 
 That the same absolute authority is enjoyed by the 
 Romish priesthood at this day, no one can venture to 
 4 
 
38 LETTER II. 
 
 doubt : and that it is now directed to the looseninc 
 of all other bonds, as regards their poor victims, 1 
 have already beheld a proof. I have passed some 
 years in the south of Ireland, and that too in very 
 troublous times, yet I never witnessed a lack of res- 
 pectful courtesy on the part of the poor peasant to- 
 wards the gentry. It seems, however, that an order 
 has lately been issued by their priests in some of 
 these districts, forbidding the usual recognition of a 
 superior, should he happen to be a Protestant, and 
 this of course is obeyed : but at what expense of feel- 
 ing to many of the poor people, their looks betray, as 
 they steal past with a mortified air, or strut by with 
 one of assumed bravado. The present policy of 
 their leaders is to superadd contempt to their long- 
 cherished hatred of the Saxons ; while flattering them 
 that the land will, ere long, be again their own, and 
 their cherished superstition the established, the exclu- 
 sive religion. 
 
 And now let me give you some insight into the 
 actual condition of the people, on whose vivid imagi- 
 nation and poverty-stricken spirits these golden 
 dreams are brought to bear. The Irish peasant is a 
 being so totally dissimilar from the same class in 
 England, that your knowledge of the latter can only 
 assist in obtaining a right view of the former, by the 
 force of contrast. Our rural laborer takes a small 
 cottage, cultivates the piece of ground attached to it, 
 and by his earnings in husbandry, or whatever branch 
 of industry he may have embraced, pays his rent and 
 provides for his family. Should sickness, or the 
 failure of work, or any other real calamity reduce the 
 latter to actual want, a measure of relief is granted 
 
COUNTY WEXFORD. 39 
 
 by the parochial authorities ; and should he become 
 disabled, or utterly destitute of subsistence, the 
 work-house affords an asylum to him and to his help- 
 less dependents. The possession of land is an object 
 of secondary importance to the English laborer: 
 settled employment being easily obtained in his own 
 neighborhood. Bread is his staff of life, and the 
 day's work that gives him means to purchase a loaf 
 in the evening is more productive than he could ren- 
 der it, by raising a crop on his own ground. Among 
 our peasantry, no one would think of taking land for 
 cultivation, unless he held some little capital that 
 would admit of a present outlay, in the prospect of a 
 distant market for its subsequent produce. He pays, 
 perhaps, some thirty shillings or two pounds per an- 
 num, for a small but substantial cottage, well glazed 
 and weather-proof, with its little slip of garden, and 
 outhouse. He has his tenement at a fair valuation : 
 so long as his rent is forthcoming he may safely cal- 
 culate on the continuance of these comforts ; and 
 when all fails, a resource is left, and he is under no 
 apprehension of perishing by the road side. 
 
 But the poor Irish cottier, or laborer, knows noth- 
 ing of this independence. You must imagine, first, a 
 state of society where the individual past work has no 
 public asylum, no gratuitous provision of any sort 
 whatever in store : the only prospect is that of hav- 
 ing children grown up, who, through the powerful 
 influence of natural feelings, cherished as most sacred 
 among these people, will be constrained to shelter 
 and sustain an infirm parent. Go where you will 
 among the Irish poor, you may hear this motive 
 expressly assigned for the very early marriages that 
 
40 LETTER II. 
 
 they contract. If they deferred the engagement 
 until they might have realized some little matter to 
 begin the world with, their children would not be 
 sufficiently grown to take charge of them, on the 
 approach of the prematare old age induced by their 
 severe privations and over- work. Accordingly, they 
 hasten to torm an alliance. The mere boy, anticipat- 
 ing the period when he shall no longer be able to. 
 labor for himself, determines to provide betimes 
 against the evil day, and looks about for a girl to suit 
 him, when, in all probability, the connexions of both 
 parties can scarcely muster among them the means 
 for paying the exorbitant marriage fee which the 
 priest never omits to demand. They must have a 
 habitation, and the youthful settler is not long in 
 finding a cabin with its single apartment, mud walls, 
 ceiling of thatch, and floor of earth. Chimney h has 
 probably none ; the window is merely an aperture in 
 the side ; the door a few broken boards patched 
 together, and the fire-place a stone laid on the bare 
 ground. For furniture, there is a straw palliasse, or 
 very likely only a litter of straw shaken down in one 
 corner, to form the bed, and perhaps a blanket or so. 
 A thick block, hewed from a tree, serves as the table; 
 the householder, if ingenious, may have fashioned out a 
 couple of stools ; or some wealthy friend may present 
 him with a wooden chair. An iron pot to boil pota- 
 toes, and a mug of any material, complete the neces- 
 sary furniture of this abode. Plates, knives, and 
 such appendages, are unthought of. Whatever sur- 
 plus may remain after satisfying the priest, must go 
 towards treating the friends of the family. 
 
 But the rent : — -such a cabin is rated as higdi as the 
 
Englishman's cottage. I do not remember to 
 known less than thirty shillings charged on any one in 
 a long street of these dwellings, where I was inti- 
 mately conversant with all the details. How is the 
 young tenant to pay this rent, entering on the he 
 as he does, pennyless, and with the hopeful pros, ect 
 of a growing family to enliven it 1 As the 
 cottager does I Xo : there is no parallel he. 
 Irish cottier, or laborer, knows nothing of bread i 
 article of food: his sc: res would not pur-: e 
 
 enough of it to satisfy the cravings of his own 
 ger, much less would they extend to the f bis 
 
 family, and the payment of his rent. The pota: 
 his only dependence, and the first peces&E .feis 
 
 to procure a plot 01 ground for the cultivation of the 
 root. Two alternatives alone appear : either he must 
 agree with his landlord to work out in day labor the 
 amount of his holding, or else he must make the ground 
 attached to it yield a sufficiency for ail demands. 
 The latter he can rarely, if ever, do: for grown 
 be at all productive demands frequent di . 
 this again requires an outlay of money, and mo. / 
 he has none. If he reserves to himself so much of 
 the produce as will feed bis household, the remainder 
 will never for any time suffice to cover the landlord's 
 claim. On the other hand, if he undertakes to work 
 out the value of his possession, a rate of wages is in- 
 variably fixed that leaves him far behindhand : and 
 the arrear accumulating as he goes od, increases his 
 difficulties, depresses his mind, and paralyses the 
 main-spring of industry — honest independence. Chil- 
 dren are born, unavoidable expenses are incurred, and 
 for the supply of all these pressing wants he has the 
 4* 
 
42 LETTER II. 
 
 little potatoe plot, which, in a bad season, will not fur- 
 nish his own family with a daily meal throughout the 
 year. Some of them must beg : it is a sore trial to 
 his feelings, but how can he help it ! The utmost 
 that he earns will barely satisfy the landlord, and 
 avert an ejectment, and those whom he cannot feed 
 must cater for themselves, by appealing to casual 
 charity. 
 
 But when this bargain is not struck between land- 
 lord and tenant, the matter usually becomes worse. 
 Labor is uncertain, and dependent on seasons at the 
 best ; the earnings of an able-bodied, industrious man, 
 rarely exceed sixpence a day, when he can find work ; 
 and many a day must he stand idle, through the dis- 
 proportionate amount of employment and of the num- 
 bers seeking it. In the summer he crosses the chan- 
 nel, leaving his wife and children to subsist by begging, 
 while he traverses England and Scotland in search of 
 work. Hay-making, harvesting, and hop-picking, 
 afford him a little profit, and he returns to pay up part 
 of his arrear, and to purchase seed potatoes for the 
 ensuing crop — a valuable store, which the poor crea- 
 tures are frequently driven to consume for the support 
 of nature before the season arrives for committing it 
 to the earth. 
 
 But is not this an extreme easel Would it were ! 
 It is the simple, unadorned story of the population in 
 more than three-fourths of Ireland — a story that I 
 could relate on my own personal observation, but 
 which is placed beyond a question by the heart-rend- 
 ing report of the Poor-Law Commissioners, who visit- 
 ed every part of the island, and investigated the mat- 
 ter to the bottom. To that report I refer you, and 
 
COUNTY WEXFORD. 43 
 
 after thus slightly sketching the outlines of a picture, 
 over the details of which my heart has often bled as 
 it lay — not the description, but the very reality — be- 
 neath my eye, I must ask you to decide, whether the 
 ingenuity of man, or of Satan himself, could contrive 
 a piece of machinery more admirably adapted to be 
 set in motion by a designing, crafty hand, than this 
 impoverished, harassed people, endowed as they all 
 are with fiery spirits, quick apprehension, daring 
 hearts, and powerful frames. Add to this, that 
 through the whole mass is infused the most unlimit- 
 ed confidence in, and devotion to, the very system that 
 looks to them for its advancement on the ruins of 
 what they are taught to believe is the weight that 
 bears them down, and you have an appalling, but a 
 correct, view of Ireland, in her present state and 
 seeming prospect. 
 
 Forty years ago the attempt was made and baffled. 
 A lesson of wisdom was derivable from the event, 
 which has been read backwards and transformed into 
 a lesson of fatuity. The vital principle of that re- 
 bellion has been nourished, and fostered, and nursed 
 into more portentous growth and energy 5 the means 
 of our former deliverance have been rejected, broken, 
 scattered to the winds. At best the hope was faint and 
 the probabilities of success doubtful and contracted, 
 as regarded the infusion of a better spirit into the 
 adult race of Irish Romanists ; but a noble field lay 
 before us in the rising generation ; while the anxiety 
 of the poor parents to see their children taught open- 
 ed a vista of brightness and beauty, to fill the Chris- 
 tian heart with joy. We approached them with the 
 boon, of all gifts most prized by them — a fair system 
 
44< LETTER II. 
 
 of education, combining useful knowledge in the 
 affairs of this life with the far more precious instruc- 
 tion that maketh wise unto salvation. The priest- 
 hood of Home would necessarily array themselves in 
 opposition to the latter, because it was letting in >ight 
 where their interests made the prevalence of itter 
 darkness indispensable ; but experience had shown 
 that in the breast of an Irish peasant one fee-ling could, 
 prevail over the otherwise insurmountable 'habit of 
 subjection to the priest. Despite of all that the latter 
 could do, wherever a scriptural school was opened^ 
 thither the children flocked ; and if by the force of 
 intimidation, or, as it often happened, by the vigorous 
 application of a stout horsewhip, the little ones were 
 for a time arrested in their path, an instance was 
 never known where they did not soon contri' e to 
 surmount the barrier, and to return — flying like doves 
 to their windows. By this means, a tie the most en- 
 dearing was gradually forming between the poor Ro- 
 manist population and their Protestant landlord- and 
 neighbors. That precious book, the message of which 
 is, " Glory to God in the highest ; on earth peace, 
 good-will towards men," was prevailing where nothing 
 else could prevail, to remove the mists of prejudice* 
 and to cement a band, indissoluble by all the craft 
 and subtlety of the devil or man. The Irish are a 
 most affectionate people ; win their hearts and they 
 are wholly yours. What sight so calculate i to 
 awaken the strongest emotions of grateful attach- 
 ment as that of their children carefully tended and 
 taught under the direction of their more affluent 
 neighbors, receiving at their hands the reward of dili- 
 gence and ob^ 7 'ence, while the fruits of those habits 
 
COUNTY WEXFORD. 45 
 
 and of the higher principle instilled through God's 
 holy word, shed a light and a comfort at home 
 to which the miserable cabin had before been a 
 stranger. 
 
 Neitner was this a mere theory ; the experiment; 
 had been on trial for some years, and the effects we r © 
 beorinninsf to manifest themselves in a wav calculated 
 to make the kingdom of darkness tremble for the 
 foundations of its throne. Dear friend, my heart 
 sickens over the sad reverse presented to my view. 
 Many a delightful hour have I passed in schools con- 
 ducted under the different plans that, however varying 
 in detail, all met in one common centre — and that 
 centre the Holy Bible. Now> if I see a Romish 
 chapel, I look in its immediate vicinity — within the 
 very precincts of its boundary — for some new, spruce 
 building, bearing the inscription "National School;" 
 and what is the system of instruction adopted there 1 
 The Bible is excluded ; a mutilated extract, unfaithful 
 even in its mutilations, is substituted nominally ; but 
 even that is scarcely ever used ; while all the debas- 
 ing fables of monkish superstition, all the contami- 
 nating licentiousness of the lowest classes of immoral 
 and indecent publications, are placed in the hands of 
 the poor children ; and in a multitude of instances the 
 person appointed to the office of master, is a furious 
 zealot in popery and sedition. These, you will say, 
 are strong statements: challenge me to the proof; 
 and proofs you shall have, too conclusive as to the 
 fact.* 1 
 
 Thus by an act of infatuation for which the history 
 
 ■■■■™ -•- ■ ■ ■ ■ — — ■ « ■ . ■ ■ . . . ■■ . ■■■■ i i, ,, i, ,,— _ MMW * 
 
 • Vide Appendix A. 
 
46 LETTER II 
 
 even of Ireland affords no parallel, the only feasible 
 plan for ameliorating the physical, and correcting the 
 moral evils of this people, has been worse than aban- 
 doned ; it has been adapted to the aggravation of 
 both. Whatever tends to rivet the fetter of papal 
 domination on the necks of the Irish poor, builds a 
 barrier against every species of improvement. No 
 man in his senses can affect blindness to the fact that 
 the Church of Rome is straining everjr nerve to reco- 
 ver her former footing in this country; that is, to 
 reign as she did for some centuries previous to the 
 Reformation, to enjoy unreservedly the ancient church 
 lands and revenues, and to replace the forfeited estates 
 in the hands of her most devoted lay members. You 
 may question this in England; but in Ireland you 
 cannot. The thing stares you in the face through all 
 gradations of proof; you see it in the ostentatious 
 magnificence of the costly mass-house, far outvying 
 the Protestant cathedrals, while the pompous insignia 
 of men openly assuming the title of Bishops, glit- 
 ters in the noon-day sun ; in the lofty gait, the 
 vaunting air, the spruce attire, and the side-long 
 glance of contemptuous defiance, that prove the man 
 who crosses your path to be a priest of Rome ; and 
 in its lowest demonstration, in the insolent stare, or 
 slinking avoidance of the poor laborer who dares not 
 touch the hat, or utter the respectful salutation that 
 he would have formerly crossed the road to tender, 
 with all the profuse courtesy of his race. That the 
 priesthood of the Romish church, instructed by the 
 hierarchy, are training the people to even more than 
 their former subserviency is evident beyond contra- 
 
COUNTY WEXFORD. 47 
 
 diction ; and unless the leopaid has changed his spots, 
 the past holds forth a dark augury for the future. 
 
 It was on the morning of Whitsunday, the 27th of 
 May, 1798, that the rebellion broke out here, in Wex- 
 ford. Dangerous indications had been perceived, and 
 the magistrates were on the alert, until suspicion was 
 lulled by an address sent from the different parishes 
 to Lord Moimtriorris, remonstrating on the injustice 
 of having their loyalty doubted, and demanding to be 
 sworn at their respefctire chapels, to their perfect 
 freedom from ail insurrectionary designs. Lord 
 Mountnorris, accordingly, with several others, attend- 
 ed at the altars of twenty-eight Somish chapels, where, 
 in the presence of their priests, the congregations all 
 took the oath — it is awful to contemplate that solemn 
 declaration. It contains an engagement to be true to 
 the king and his successors, to support the existing 
 constitution, and to prevent or suppress all treason 
 or conspiracy; it disclaims all present or future con- 
 nection with the United Irishmen ; engages to give 
 up all secreted arms, and to inform of such as maybe 
 known to be secreted-— cone! uding in these words: 
 "All the above I i^o most solemnly swear, in the pre- 
 sence of the Almighty, and as I hope to be saved 
 through the merits arid mediation of my blessed Lord 
 and Saviour Jesus Christ, without any equivocation or 
 mental reservction whatsoever. So help me God." 
 
 These declaration?, made some months before, were 
 repeated on the vefy eve of the outbreak. More effect- 
 ually to blind the magistrates, a good many of the peo- 
 ple were brought to them by the priests to make a 
 surrender of arms, which they confessed, with every 
 appearance of penitence, having formerly concealed. 
 
48 
 
 LETTER II. 
 
 A vast number of pike-heads were thus given up, with 
 other weapons, mostly unserviceable, the owners 
 craving- forgiveness for their past illegal conduct, and 
 requesting protections on this evidence of their good 
 feeling, which were granted, together with certificates 
 of their loyalty and peaceableness, signed by Protes- 
 tant magistrates, clergymen, churchwardens, and 
 principal parishioners. By these devices, in which 
 the priest always sanctioned them by his presence 
 and acted as spokesman, they averted the proclama- 
 tion of the different baronies, and the stationing of a 
 military force among them. The yeomanry were con- 
 sidered sufficient for the maintenance of tranquillity 5 
 of these a large proportion were members of the 
 Romish Church ; and they not only deserted, with, 
 horses, arms, and accoutrements, to the rebels, but 
 were eager to turn their weapons upon their former 
 commanders^ comrades, and the Protestant gentry 
 whose houses they were appointed to guard. 
 
 One circumstance, among many, brings the crime 
 home to the priests with fearful aggravation. During 
 the whole week preceding the massacre, a magistrate, 
 Mr. Pounden, sat here, at Enniscorthy, receiving the 
 oaths, and the surrendered arms of the people. Three 
 priests, anxious to give the greatest apparent force to 
 the obligation, suggested that they should be sworn 
 on a Romish manual ; this w r as done j protections 
 were given ; and were found in the pockets of those 
 who were slain in their sanguinary attack on Ennis- 
 corthy the following Monday, to which the priests led 
 them on. 
 
 Mr. Turner, the rector of Edermine, was employed 
 during the Saturday in administering this oath to the 
 
COUNTY WEXFORD. 49 
 
 crowds who pressed to take it ; and on the following- 
 morning they murdered him, with five of his parish- 
 ioners, and consumed the bodies in the flames of the 
 parsonage, which they burned to the ground! 
 
 But I am not about to detail the horrors so vividly 
 brought to my recollection by beholding for the first 
 time the place where they occurred ; I merely wish 
 to make good the assertion, that in the frightful atro- 
 cities perpetrated, the wretched people acted as 
 troops of the Romish see, regularly employed by their 
 spiritual directors to extirpate Protestantism. Their 
 leader was a priest, John Murphy, who personally 
 headed them, and commenced the crusade by lighting 
 a beacon on the hill of Corrigua, as a general signal, 
 on the Saturday evening ; and before day-break on 
 the morning of Whitsunday he and his flock were 
 steeped to the lips in slaughter. With the exception 
 of one poor woman, whose husband was butchered 
 before her eyes on Vinegar Hill, and whose heart- 
 rending story I received from herself, I find none who 
 will speak of those events, although very many are 
 now living on the spot where they saw their dearest 
 connexions barbarously murdered. I, also, shun the 
 theme ; for it is better to avoid recalling those terrific 
 scenes, calculated as they must also be to increase 
 the feeling of insecurity resulting from the exposed, 
 the humanly defenceless state of the handful of Protes- 
 tants who are thinly scattered up and down among 
 the multitudes of the adverse population. You will 
 say, Why then introduce them here ? For the pur- 
 pose I have before named, to show that not to indivi- 
 dual hatred, or to political republicanism, or to the 
 destitution of the lower classes, are those horrors to 
 5 
 
50 
 
 LETTER II. 
 
 be traced, but to the working- of a system, the life- 
 spring- of which is exterminating enmity to the Pro- 
 testant faith and name, and which would produce to- 
 morrow the self-same effects, if occasion required and 
 opportunity admitted it. 
 
 A wretched man, named James Meag-han, executed 
 for his deeds of blood on Vinegar Hill, made a depo- 
 sition, fixing the guilt where it chiefly lay, stating 
 many circumstances in confirmation thereof, and con- 
 cluding in these words — " Now, gentlemen, remem- 
 ber what I tell }^ou ; if you and the Protestants are 
 ever in the power of the Catholics again, as they are 
 now in yours, they will not leave one of you alive ; 
 you will all go smack smooth. Even those who cam- 
 paigned with them, if things had gone well with them, 
 would in the end have been killed. I have heard 
 them say so many times." When he was brought to 
 the place of execution, the officer in command took 
 him aside and read to him the confession above men- 
 tioned, and asked him if it was correctly taken down. 
 He answered affirmatively, and just when about to be 
 turned off he desired the executioner to stop, lifted 
 up the cap, and in a very loud voice said, " Captain B., 
 you have taken down my confession perfectly cor- 
 rect ; if it was not for the priests, I never would have 
 been guilty of murder, nor have dragged five unfortu- 
 nate persons out of the windmill to be murdered." 
 With these words he was sent into eternity. 
 
 I am far from intending to fix the charge of such 
 tremendous guilt on the present race of Romish 
 priests in Ireland : the crime was that of individuals : 
 its root is the system, which, holding the arrogant 
 doctrine of supremacy and infallibility, condemns ti» 
 
COUNTY WEXFORD. 51 
 
 bodily destruction and eternal perdition all who 
 oppose those claims, or dare to question their divine 
 authority. We know from the recent revelations of 
 Dens' theology, the adopted text-book of the Romish 
 clergy in Ireland, that the assumed right and duty to 
 slaughter heretics is waived when the church lacks 
 temporal power to carry it into effect : but we must 
 remember that the pious inclination and the power to 
 fulfil it naturally promote each other. Individually 
 a Romish priest may be as humane a man, as averse 
 from bloodshed, violence, and every species of 
 cruelty, as any man can be : he may shudder at the 
 contemplation of such scenes, and repel, with honest 
 indignation, the clfarge against his order, because he 
 feels within himself no desire, no ability in factj to 
 cry havoc, and to carry flame and sword into the 
 bosom of a peaceful, confiding neighborhood. But is 
 not the priest himself the slave of the system % Can 
 he dispense with the vows that bind him in the most 
 helpless subjection to the governing powers of his 
 church 1 Dare he dispute a mandate from the Vati- 
 can, or will he place his natural repugnance in oppo- 
 sition to the declared interests of the church which he 
 is so deeply sworn to uphold I He cannot — he knows 
 that i a man comes to the confessional, and reveals 
 a murder committed or intended, neither his sense of 
 justice in the first instance, nor the strong pleading 
 of nature and duty in the latter, can prevail to loosen 
 the iron band that holds him a guilty, perhaps a loath- 
 ing a- -. eomplice in the Crime. Should the same terri* 
 ble authority be brought to bear upon the slaughter 
 of a whole community* what can he do 1 If he 
 believe the lie that he is bound to teach, he dares not 
 
52 LETTER II. 
 
 for his soul's safetye exrcise a will, or cherish even 
 an opinion contrary to what his superiors enjoin : if 
 he believe it not, the searing process of a continuous 
 deception sustained towards others, will so indurate 
 his conscience as to leave hitn destitute of moral power, 
 given over to a reprobate mind, and a ready instru 
 merit for any evil. I have made out a case for the 
 priests, sufficient to inspire any Christian bosom with 
 the deepest pity for their share in the galling bond- 
 age :* but it cannot be forgotten that they form the 
 links of that chain by which, connecting as it does the 
 more palpable works with the hidden spring that acts 
 upon them, all the mischief is perpetrated. We are 
 bound to commiserate the priests; we are bound to 
 seek every means of enlightening them ; but till that 
 be effected, we are also imperatively bound to disarm 
 them. 
 
 * See Appendix B, 
 
LETTER III. 
 
 COUNTY Y/SXFOED. 
 
 July, 
 Great and varied have been the enjoyments of one 
 short week, the first of my sojourn here, and, I grieve 
 to say, the last. For a long track lies before me, 
 even to the opposite corner of Donegal, and Wexford 
 with all its enchanting beauties, its thrilling recollec- 
 tions, and its endearing hospitality, must be left. 
 You have often smilingly asked me to define Irish 
 hospitality— I cannot. It would be like painting a 
 sunbeam on canvas for one who never felt its influ- 
 ence. In an Irish house you are emphatically at 
 home. Its inmates do not put themselves out of their 
 way, Or tease you with attentions and arrangements 
 that make you feel you are a supernumerary, how- 
 ever Welcome. Here the guest is at once installed in 
 all the immunities of a settled resident : the good 
 folks having the tact to impress you with the convic- 
 tion that you make no other difference in their estab- 
 lishment than is occasioned by the increase of social 
 enjoyment. In reality, every soul is plotting for your 
 comfort and gratification all day long ; but they do it 
 so cunningly, and make all their propositions of 
 agreeable parties with such an easy ofT-hand air of 
 every-day custom, that it seems merely accidental 
 5* 
 
54" LETTER III. 
 
 that everything you could best like happens to be 
 done while you happen to be with them. In spite of 
 your secret misgivings, they make you believe that 
 your departure will occasion a serious blank, where 
 no blank existed before you dropped in, a perfect 
 stranger : and the vagrant propensity must be strong 
 indeed that could enable a person, without a painful 
 struofjjle, to disen^ag-e himself from all the ties that 
 have imperceptibly entangled him during even a very 
 short sojourn in an Irish house. This is all the defi- 
 nition you will get from me : I am too happy to be 
 able to sit down and analyse my enjoyments. 
 
 I have just been feasting on that most cheering of 
 all spectacles, a scriptural school. The history of this 
 may furnish a specimen of what might be done, if 
 Protestants would act up to their obligations, in regard 
 to the children of their poor neighbors. Some years 
 ago, the boy's school here was built and established 
 on Erasmus Smith's foundation ; and Mr. E. anxious 
 to extend the blessing, at his own private cost added 
 to the building one for girls. The support that he 
 might naturally have looked for in such an undertak- 
 ing, was not given ; and with the exception of eight 
 pounds a year afforded for the mistress's salary by 
 the London Ladies Hibernian School Society, and 
 a small allowance paid by the Dublin Foundling 
 Hospital,* for each foundling admitted, the whole 
 burden of expense falls on the clergyman, who has not 
 for years received a shilling of tithe from those whom 
 he is thus benefiting. The trifle granted to the mistress 
 
 * This is one of the noble Protestant Institutions lately crushed 
 by the liberal system. 
 
COUNTY WEXFORD. 55 
 
 of course, will scarcely find her in clothing, and she 
 is maintained at the glebe. A very large proportion 
 of the children in both schools are Romanists. They 
 have frequently been forbidden to attend, and for a 
 time prevented ; but so fully alive are the poor of this 
 country to the value of education, that in every case 
 they have returned to their teachers. Opposition in 
 some form is invariably offered to the good work: but 
 its adversaries cannot prevail. He who when on 
 earth said, " Suffer little children to come unto me, 
 and forbid them not," has power to enforce his own 
 command. If we be willing, he will open a door for 
 us which no man can shut. 
 
 But what a humbling spectacle is this to us! We 
 are living at ease, and enjoying a thousand superflui- 
 ties, while the public purse amply provides for 
 general education, and wealthy societies unite in sup- 
 plying spiritual aid. Here is a clergyman, the incum- 
 bent of a large parish, defrauded by an unprincipled 
 conspiracy of the income assigned to him by the laws 
 of the land ; himself the father of a numerous family, 
 thrown entirely on his private resources for their 
 support and education ; and maintaining that ungrudg- 
 ing hospitality which Scripture and his own benevo- 
 lent mind alike direct him to use : yet voluntarily 
 adding to all other burdens the heavy expenses of a 
 school, established almost exclusively for the advan- 
 tage of children whose parents are taught to regard 
 him with animosity, to harass, annoy, and if they may, 
 to injure him. Such an instance of patient conti- 
 nuance in well doing, in returning good for evil, and 
 blessing, yea multiplying blessings where the " curse 
 causeless" perpetually assails him, speaks eloquently. 
 
56 LETTEK in. 
 
 Would that it might speak effectively, and bring for- 
 ward some who can not only commend his work but 
 substantially aid in it. Eight pounds a year towards 
 such an outlay, in such a place, and for such a purpose, 
 is all that England can give, and that too by the hand 
 of private beneficence. If Mr; E. would apply to the 
 Board, admit the priest, banish the Bible, lay the 
 " Extracts" on a shelf, and put into the children's 
 hands the legends, the catechisms, the inflammatory 
 denunciations of Rome, he might command any mea- 
 sure of government patronage : but no, Mr. E. is a 
 Protestant clergyman, he desires to feed the poor 
 lambs of his flock with the sincere milk of the word ; 
 and so he may, provided he does it at his own cost, 
 and that of his own family. 
 
 The spectacle was indeed most interesting, of the 
 poor children assembled in their respective rooms, 
 and diligently engaged in learning from anxious 
 teachers. The situation of the schoolhouse is quite 
 a contrast to the flaunting publicity of those under 
 the " Board." The latter are sure to stare you in the 
 face by the road-side, in naked newness of stone and 
 mortar, man's work all. This is shaded by trees, 
 which also overshadow the approach to the church, 
 the hallowed fold of a small and scattered flock 
 standing in the rustic grave-yard, with a fringe of 
 trees, and an occasional yew or hawthorn marking 
 some endeared resting-place of mortality. Roses and 
 other sweet climbers embower the modest school- 
 house ; and for a back-ground the noble mountains 
 rise in dark magnificence* A little garden parts it 
 from the narrow, rugged road, which separates both it 
 and the church from the glebe. There is something 
 
COTJNTY WEXFORD. 57 
 
 very touching in the retired loneliness of the place ; 
 surrounded, as it is well known to be, by a most 
 formidably hostile neighborhood ; banded against 
 tithes, and tainted by an hereditary enmity that only 
 the healing stream of gospel love can ever wash 
 away. Oh, what a field is this fair, ruined land ! 
 White to the harvest, but where are the laborers to 
 gather it in 1 Yv r e are mocked, befooled by projects 
 of amelioration ; one man proposing to regenerate 
 Ireland by building workhouses — another by establisj^ 
 ing temperance societies-^ third by giving up all 
 political and local authority to the demagogues who 
 clamor'lfor it — and carrying on the spiritual work 
 without visible means. All are alike futile. The first 
 indispensable step is, indeed, to relieve the wretched 
 poor from their intolerable destitution : therefore 
 build workhouses. The evils of wide-spread intem- 
 perance must be checked ; therefore declare war 
 against the whisky-shops ; but unless you unloose 
 the fetters of bigotry by means of religious instruc- 
 tion, your very workhouses will become barracks for 
 a rebel army, and all the money saved, all the energy 
 redeemed from the debasing- habits of intoxication, 
 will be devoted to the manufacture and the application 
 of pikes. As to the political remedy — the Justice-to- 
 ireland municipal plan — it may very well be adopted 
 if the resolution is come to of colonizing some dis- 
 tant settlement with the exiled Protestants of Ireland ; 
 and making over the other portion of her inhabitants 
 to the powers of darkness for ever. 
 
 It is in contemplating the scene presented within 
 the walls of a scriptural school, that the mind, oppress- 
 ed and grieved, by what passes without, can recover 
 
58 LETER III. 
 
 its elasticity, and rejoice in the dawnings of a better 
 hope. Here, as I have before remarked, is the con- 
 necting- link forged that alone on a large scale will 
 bring into harmonious junction the divided portions 
 of society. Nor is this the only^ nor the most 
 essential point to be gained ; for the children of 
 different persuasions, conning from the page of the 
 same volume the same inspired lessons of love to 
 God and to each other, will not, even humanly speak- 
 ing, grow up in that state of estrangement naturally 
 ripening into enmity, that must result from the one 
 being- taught to shun and to dread what to the other 
 is a supreme rule of faith and of practice. This is so 
 indisputable that no one attempts to deny it — the 
 objection started is that the spiritual guides of one 
 portion of the community, dreading such a result^ will 
 not permit it. But here I have ocular demonstration 
 that with or without such permission the children will 
 avail themselves of the advantage offered, even in the 
 most hostile part of the country. It is only when the 
 temptation is held out to them of receiving instruction 
 in this world's lore^ not at the expense of abandoning, 
 but with every facility for strengthening the bonds of 
 spiritual error, and the virulence of party animosity, 
 that they are drawn off from those green pastures, to 
 a barren and envenomed track. 
 
 The children whom I have here seen have not, in 
 general, the lively, intelligent look that usually cha- 
 racterizes the Irish poor. Indeed, a glance into the 
 wretched hovels that sprinkle the road-side will not 
 only account for the heavy aspect of those who bur- 
 row within their dark recesses, but must render it a 
 matter of surprise that the faculties should be capable 
 
COUNTY WEXFORD. 59 
 
 of such development as I have witnessed, under the 
 hand of their kind teachers. Some admirable answer- 
 ing in the Scripture classes, with the progress made 
 by others towards it, and the orderly, clean, content- 
 ed appearance of the little learners, all gave promise, 
 that if the benevolent efforts of my kind friend were 
 seconded as they ought to be, and his hands strength- 
 ened by the help which it is disgraceful to withhold, 
 the same means, applied co-extensively with the 
 wants of the population, would ensure an abundant, 
 an unspeakably precious harvest. On Sunday the 
 school was attended by some pupils of more advanced 
 age, and among them I found a knowledge of Scrip- 
 ture, an evident delight in its study, truly heart- 
 cheering. One of the best answerers in the Bible class 
 that I took, was a Romanist ; and I am assured it is 
 generally the case here. From this we passed to the 
 church, which, being under repair, presented a 
 wretched and desolate aspect, not properly belonging 
 to it ; but the pastor knows his duty too well to 
 allow the presence of bricks and mortar, beams and 
 scaffolding, to interrupt the regular course of paro- 
 chial ministrations. 
 
 The congregation was numerous, adapted to the 
 size of the edifice, which is not large. This was my 
 first Sabbath in Ireland, for thirteen years ; and when 
 I reflected through what a fiery ordeal her persecuted 
 Church had recently passed, and how fiercely it is 
 still assailed by those whose incessant cry is, " Down 
 with it ! Down with it !" mine eye affected my heart 
 in no small degree. The clergyman here has been 
 exempt from the cruel privations undergone by many 
 of his brethren, not from the prevalence of a better 
 
60 LETTER III. 
 
 spirit among the people, for a worse can nowhere be 
 found, but by the possession of private means which 
 rendered him independent of his clerical income for 
 the comforts of life. I speak of external comforts , 
 no one has more largely participated in the other 
 ingredients of the general cup. All that factious 
 malignity and unprovoked enmity could do, to dis- 
 tress, to insult, and, if they could, to intimidate, has 
 been put in force : insomuch that at one time it wag 
 a matter of extreme personal danger to cross from 
 the glebe-house to the church, for the purpose of the 
 accustomed ministrations ; but my friend was not to 
 be daunted in the discharge of his sacred duties, and 
 he can thankfully repeat, " By the help of my God, I 
 continue to this day." 
 
 The curate of the parish preached a most splendid 
 sermon, suited to the occasion, which was the read- 
 ing of the queen's proclamation : for it was on this 
 spot, so replete with overpowering recollections and 
 associations, that I first received the official call to 
 allegiance on the part of my youthful sovereign. Oh, 
 how earnestly did I pray, within the bounds of that 
 little fold, surrounded by and exposed to the grievous 
 wolf of Rome, that God would so dispose and turn 
 the heart of the royal maiden, as to make her a nurs- 
 ing mother to the afflicted Church of Ireland ! This 
 was the second proclamation of the kind that had met 
 me in this country : I was residing in it when good 
 old George the Third exchanged his earthly for a 
 heavenly crown. Then the nation lay basking in 
 honor and security ; we enjoyed the ripened fruits 
 of a long reign of Christian truth and uprightness ; 
 and the blessings of a grateful people encircled the 
 
COUNTY WEXFORD. 61 
 
 head of the monarch who had declared he would 
 sooner lay that head upon the block than violate his 
 solemn engagements to uphold the British constitu- 
 tion in the integrity of its Protestant character. 
 Dark, sad, heart-rending were the reverses over 
 which my mind rapidly glanced, since the Lord took 
 from us " the chariot of Israel and the horsemen 
 thereof 5" and never shall I forget the suitableness of 
 the discourse addressed to us by the pious and highly- 
 gifted young minister, who, in opening the nature of 
 that sin which caused a terrible judgment to swallow 
 up and consume the rebellious murmurers against the 
 delegated authority of Moses and Aaron, impressed 
 on us a lesson of loyal submission to our queen, of 
 devoted attachment to our Church, for which I hope 
 often topless the God who sent that message by the 
 mouth of his servant. 
 
 Hereto do these devoted men both labor and suf- 
 fer affliction. The Church that has been shorn of 
 her bishopries, defrauded of her dues, and in every 
 possible way discouraged, curtailed and oppressed by 
 legislative enactments, is pre-eminently the Church 
 that most rigidly enforces on every one of her mem- 
 bers, not the mere letter alone, but the pure pervad- 
 ing spirit of obedience to rulers, and respect for the 
 laws. 1 could not look around on the disfiguring 
 appendages that made the place appear so forlorn 7 
 without deriving some satisfaction from the thought 
 that the Church was so defaced in order to repair the 
 fabric and enlarge its accommodations. Thus may 
 it prove with the Establishment of which it forms a 
 part ! So long as her teachers remain at their posts, 
 and her congregations assemble to worship the Lord 
 6 
 
62 LETTER III. 
 
 in the beauty of holiness, undeterred by the forbid- 
 ding aspect of the times, we need not fear : dilapi- 
 dated, she will yet attain to greater perfection and 
 beauty ; consumed, she will arise with phoenix life 
 and lustre from her ashes. So be it ! 
 
 To the hospitable glebe of Templeshanbo I bade a 
 reluctant farewell, and proceeded to the town of 
 Enniscorthy, of which I had before only a transient 
 view. This spot, so fearfully memorable in the page 
 of modern history, was attacked by the rebels, but so 
 gallantly defended by the garrison, that they were 
 beaten off after a dreadful conflict carried on in every 
 street. The royalists were, however, compelled to 
 retreat afterwards, by the disaffected inhabitants 
 igniting their own dwellings, and firing on them from 
 amid the flames. When this important post "was car- 
 ried, the rebels, to the number of ten thousand men, 
 encamped on Vinegar Hill. They were commanded 
 by a priest, as was usual ; and from ten to twenty of 
 their clergy daily said mass among them, exhorting 
 them to more strenuous efforts for the extirpation of 
 heresy. 
 
 Vinegar Hill is in fact a mountain, which rises 
 above the town with a very gradual slope, until you 
 approach the summit, when it becomes so abrupt as 
 to require considerable effort in ascending. The 
 lower part is covered with a short coarse grass, hea- 
 ther, and such vegetation as generally bespeaks a 
 harsh, dry soil : the crest, however, is remarkable, 
 being a perfect ridge of rock, diversified only with a 
 variety of mosses, that, springing up in irregular 
 crossed lines, give it the appearance of being paved. 
 The footing is slippery and uncomfortable j but the 
 
COUNTY WEXFORD. 63 
 
 thrilling interest attached to the scene, and the strik- 
 ing- view stretching below, would have riveted me 
 there while daylight lasted. To the right of this 
 long ridge, which, facing the town, afforded a cover 
 for the rebel battery, the hill rises to a conical form, 
 the rocks and moss giving place to a ranker species 
 of vegetation than elsewhere. The heart sickens 
 while imagination traces the origin of this fertility, 
 for here stands the shell of the old windmill, a strong 
 brick building, used as a prison for the victims cap- 
 tured in the town, who were daily dragged forth, as 
 vengeance, policy, or caprice directed, and within a 
 few yards of the windmill piked or shot. Their 
 offence was Protestantism. Here, in the space of 
 three weeks, upwards of five hundred individuals — ■ 
 men of property, clergymen, merchants, farmers, 
 laborers, and mechanics — were deliberately massa- 
 cred in cold blood, and the greater number of their 
 mangled remains buried where 1 then stood to trace 
 the lines of march by which General Lake's army- 
 advanced on the rebel camp, and in a desperate bat- 
 tle routed them. With that action terminated the 
 rebellion of 1798. 
 
 Not a man, scarcely, of the wretched people would 
 have escaped ; but General Needham, either from a 
 real oversight, mishap, or, as some think, from a 
 desire to spa :e the farther effusion of blood in this 
 unnatural warfare, omitted to rendezvous by the path 
 assigned to him in sufficient time to intercept the 
 fugitives, who thus escaped by that unoccupied road. 
 No one, at all accustomed to take an interest in 
 military operations, could look out from the crown of 
 Vinegar Hill, and fail to comprehend the different 
 
84 LETTER IH. 
 
 movements, as described by my companions. I was 
 well versed in the details, from a long and intimate 
 acquaintance with Musgrave's History, from which 
 I have drawn information that I would not have sought 
 on the spot. For, while opening these painful wounds, 
 never yet properly healed, in the hope of attracting 
 the notice of some who, not being aware of the par 
 tient's actual state, will not look for or accept an ade- 
 quate remedy, I am most careful not to rekindle in 
 the bosoms of those around me feelings and resent* 
 ments that must, in this locality, partake too much of 
 individual wrong to be safely awakened.* If I did 
 not believe that rebellion was at this moment spread- 
 ing <and ripening for a more terrible outbreak than be- 
 fore — if I did not know that past experience alone 
 can yield a lesson for the probable future,T=— I would 
 never stain my paper with a recurrence to that terri- 
 ble lesson so deeply imprinted, so soon obliterated 
 from the minds of our rulers. 
 
 Nearly at the foot of the hill stands the glebe, re- 
 built from its ruins. On the occasion referred to it 
 was burnt, and the Rev. Mr. Burrowes, the incum- 
 bent, barbarously murdered. It has now come into 
 the possession of one whose heart's desire it is to 
 pour the oil and wine of Christian love into the gashes 
 of his poor country. With him I visited the schools 
 under his immediate superintendence ; and a more re- 
 freshing cordial could not have been afforded to the 
 minds, so painfully excited by contemplating the me- 
 morials of civil war — or rather of religfious war, for so 
 in the strictest sense it was. Just where the first swell 
 of the ground warns you that you are upon the ascent 
 
 to Vinegar Hill, stands a most substantial new build 
 • See. Appendix C. 
 
COUNTY WEXFORD. 6& 
 
 ing, shaded off from the road, and surrounded with a 
 garden. This comprises two school-rooms, large, 
 airy, and pleasant in no ordinary degree : such an 
 array of sprightly, shrewd, intellectual-looking child- 
 ren, I had not seen, I know not for how long. The 
 master and the mistress were two of the most prepos- 
 sessing persons imaginable, and not a countenance was 
 there among their young charges that did not bespeak 
 some promise of a return for their diligent labor. 
 The best of the girls were absent just then j though 
 from the answering of those who were, on the spur 
 of the moment, called up^ I readily conceived what 
 the elite of the little community could do. But the 
 boys ! — I speak advisedly, and apart from all excited 
 feeling, when I say that no class formed of picked in- 
 dividuals from any number of scriptural schools h 
 England could have shamed or surpassed those boys. 
 I was soon obliged to give up altogether the task Of 
 questioning ; for, to say truth, I could not speak for 
 weeping j but they were tears of most unmingled 
 gladness. I was allowed to choose the subject, and 
 to direct the line of examination ; but never should 
 I have dreamed of going into such depths of spiritual 
 knowledge with the half-clad, volatile-looking crea- 
 tures before me, as they proved themselves capable 
 of exploring. The passage selected was in the Pen- 
 tateuch ; its chief matter, the types: and light, suc- 
 cessive flashes of light, did the poor boys throw, by 
 their answers, on texts that had always been obscure 
 to me. They had studied God's Word j and the hap- 
 py expression beaming on their countenances, soften- 
 ed into seriousness as they stood round the desk, be- 
 spoke the delight they took in the exercise. One 
 6* 
 
66 LETTER III. 
 
 little child, actually in petticoats, soon made his way 
 from the bottom to the top of the line by his extraor- 
 dinary answering; and if anything were wanted to 
 complete the picture, it was supplied by the smiles of 
 gratulation with which the superseded lads greeted 
 their little comrade as he gained the highest place. 
 I afterwards asked the dear pastor, who stood quietly 
 by, rejoicing in heart over his interesting young flock, 
 how he had brought them to such a pitch of attain- 
 ment in biblical knowledge. He replied that his plan, 
 which seemed to succeed remarkably well, was to 
 make the study of the Scriptures a reward for good 
 conduct. Every child who could produce a testimony 
 of diligence and obedience through the week, was 
 allowed to pass some hours on the Saturday in the 
 way I had seen: such as failed of giving satisfaction, 
 by gross misconduct, were sent away at that time. 
 He assured me he had seen little Romanists in ago- 
 nies of weeping because they had thus forfeited the 
 privilege. I never heard of this plan before : in theo- 
 ry, I know not that it would please me : but after 
 what I witnessed of its effects, I could not doubt. 
 I should have told you, in extenuation of my weak- 
 ness, that from the large open window I had a full 
 view of the frowning ridge of Vinegar Hill ; and that 
 the children who surrounded me, closely linked in 
 the holiest, sweetest, most enduring bonds of brother- 
 ly love, were nearly all of them the children, per- 
 haps not beyond the second generation, of actors 
 or sufferers in that fearful scene of bloodshed. I 
 know not, my dear friend, if ever the precious word 
 of salvation appeared so trebly precious in my sight 
 as when I saw it in the hands of those children at the 
 foot of Vinegar Hill. 
 
COTTNTr WKXFORD. 67 
 
 An excursion of many miles was before us, and the 
 bright noontide hour was past: yet I could scarcely 
 tear myself from the school. What marvel if the 
 enemy puts in practice every possible device to hin- 
 der a work so subversive of his power, whether the 
 deadly superstitions of popery, the vain arrogance of 
 natural reason, or the debasing bonds of total igno- 
 rance, be the prop of his throne. Of course, the 
 locality, with its dark and terrible associations, caused 
 this lovely picture to stand out in most brilliant re- 
 lief; arrayed as it was in the light of heaven, it shone 
 more divinely fair from its proximity to the deepest 
 shadows of hell : but strip it of all these advantageous 
 contrasts, and place it where you would, its effect 
 must be glorious. Placed where it was, it embodied 
 before my eye what my heart had long believed, and 
 my spirit had yearned to realize. My lip never 
 breathed a blessing more fervent than that which I 
 left with the children of Enniscorthy. 
 
 Seated in an open landau, for my partiality to the 
 Irish car is by no means a general sentiment here, 
 we now commenced a trip, the extent of gratification 
 prepared for me being, as usual, concealed under the 
 appearance of an every day affair. " Mr. S. is going 
 to visit some endeared members of his former flock ; 
 we thought you would like to see a little of the coun- 
 try." And I did see a little, and a good deal, of the 
 most beautiful country on earth's surface. We first 
 drove along the banks of the Slaney, a little playful 
 stream, rippling on through green meadows, and giv- 
 ing no promise of the mighty swell that it very soon 
 takes into a noble river. After passing through 
 scenery that continually extorted exclamations of de- 
 
68 LETTER III. 
 
 light from us all, particularly while driving under a 
 natural arch of luxuriant trees, intermingling high 
 above a winding road, affording at every opening 
 some landscape view of exquisite richness, we again 
 met the Slaney in the form of a magnificent river 
 considerably wider than the Thames at Westminster: 
 and her we also met a party deeply engaged in the 
 plot of the day. Twin sisters, sweet and simple, and 
 blooming, too, as ever twin rosebuds, were on one 
 stalk ; with two manly youths their brothers, attired 
 in the loose light habit of sailors, with broad straw 
 hats 5 and a very handsome capacious boat, their own 
 property, waiting our arrival. I then found that we 
 were to row to the town of Wexford ; and to partake 
 in the hospitality of our young friends not far distant 
 from it. 
 
 We entered the boat and pushed off to the middle 
 stream. Nothing could surpass the beauty of the 
 day ; the river rolled along in quiet majesty, often 
 widening to a lake, and diversified with such scenery 
 on its rising banks, such a succession of wooded hills, 
 noble mansions, and picturesque points of land, that 
 the eye could never tire of gazing on them. At length 
 we approached a resting place, and moored our boat 
 under the most imposing scene I had yet beheld, 
 while our kind rowers sought some refreshment. 
 The place is called Carrig^ferry ; but now a wooden 
 bridge is thrown across this narrowing part of the 
 liver. Directly from the shore where we lay rose a 
 very steep rock, decked with abundance of wild 
 flowers, yet palpably a rock, as the word Carrig im- 
 ports. Beyond the bridge, but still quite close to it, 
 and at the same end, another portion of the rock forms 
 
COUNTY WEXFORD. 69 
 
 a regular conical hill, abruptly from which ascends 
 the most remarkable relic of ancient strength and 
 stability that I have yet met with. It is a fortress 
 built in 1169 by Robert Fitzstephen, who erected a 
 line of these mighty towers to defend the ground as 
 he proceeded in the arduous task £>f conquest. This 
 being a very important point of the Slaney, he seems 
 to have fortified it accordingly ; and it is astonishing 
 with what an aspect of frowning defiance the stately 
 ruin overlooks the stream, at the distance of nearly 
 seven centuries from its erection. All that remains 
 of this famous fortress exhibits a square tower, of 
 which the sharp though broken outline, the lofty, 
 compact, and enduring character, as it shoots up 
 from its rocky base, conveys the idea of something 
 so independent, so warlike, so full of pride and 
 menace, that visions of feudal days occupied my. 
 fancy as long as I could trace the varying profiles it 
 presented while we glided away. Castle Carrig is a 
 rare gem of antiquity, and remarkable, too, as the 
 first military edifice built by the invaders. 
 
 On we rowed, and the Slaney expanded into a sea; 
 throwing off an arm here, scooping out a bay there, 
 and increasing in beauty at every advance. At length 
 we left a very extensive curve of shore to the left, 
 and made for an object bearing to our right. It was 
 Wexford bridge — not the very bridge of 1798 — that 
 was destroyed ; but another built on the same spot, 
 arid of similar aspect. We were yet at a considera- 
 ble distance, when, rowing through shoals of seaweed, 
 we made the interesting discovery that the water be- 
 neath us was about one foot in depth ; and the sensa- 
 tion of scratching our way upon obbles, then making 
 
70 LETTER III. 
 
 a dead stop, added the information that we were 
 aground in the middle of the river, many hundred 
 yards from either shore. Much merriment was ex- 
 cited by our situation, and many a vigorous effort 
 was made before the boat could be worked into a 
 floating depth. We then ascertained that too much 
 time had been lost to allow of our making the bridge ; 
 and our ultimate destination being on the left bank ot 
 the river, we put about to gain it. Nor did I regret 
 the disappointment : the horrifying recollections that 
 would have prevailed in my mind over every other 
 consideration had we neared the place, were too much 
 at variance with the train of thought lately called up 
 I had no desire to approach Wexford ; and had I 
 known the delight in store for me at Artramont, I 
 should have grudged every moment's detention 
 from it. 
 
 This handsome mansion stands on elevated ground, 
 the lower part of the demesne being washed by the 
 Slaney, which after sweeping round Lord Arran's 
 wooded lands, makes here a capricious, irregular ex- 
 cursion along the eastern line of its boundary, and 
 then returns to narrow into a channel over which the 
 bridge of Wexford stretches. Beyond, it forms a 
 noble bay and harbor. The view across this sheet 
 of water, terminated by the town of Wexford at a 
 softening distance, is most beautiful. Very near the 
 landing-place stands another specimen of Henry's 
 fortresses, from whence, for the trouble of climbing 
 some ruined stairs in the tower, I enjoyed a nice pros 
 pect down the river; but of the grounds more imme 
 diately surrounding the house I am at a loss to convey 
 an adequate idea. Picture to yourself a very largr 
 
COUNTY WEXFORD. 71 
 
 ext<mt of the finest land imaginable, laid out in groves 
 and gardens, of which the whole plan and the growth, 
 of vegetation combine to impress you with the notion 
 that man's puny hand had no part in the work. The 
 trees are gigantic : they looked down with a patron- 
 izing air upon our pigmy forms, and waved in stately 
 pride at an immense height above us. The trunks, 
 shooting up to an unusual elevation, impart this cha- 
 racter ; while, in the open spaces, choice specimens 
 of flowering shrubs, in the very wantonness of luxu- 
 riant profusion, seem to have taken forcible posses- 
 sion of the soil, and to be resolved on engrossing it. 
 Roses of every variety, intermingled with jessamine, 
 woodbine, clematis, and all the family of climbers, 
 overtop the high walls ; not trimmed, and stretched, 
 as it were, on the rack, with a modicum of leaves 
 sprinkling the formal, straggling twigs, but clustering 
 and intermingling, and waving in such masses of j 
 flower and foliage as I suppose never met the eye of 
 our English villa denizens. Beneath these, and many 
 noble standard shrubs, the earth was heaped with 
 every variety of glowing tint, and the atmosphere 
 around impregnated with odors. To complete the 
 charm, there was an intricacy in the grounds that re- 
 quired some knowledge of the place to arrive at any 
 given point : so you wandered through grove, garden, 
 shrubbery — now finding yourself completely enclosed 
 among dark pines and venerable oaks, now suddenly 
 emerging into light, with a noble conservatory before 
 you, where the magnolia displayed its enormous 
 pearls, the lime its lively gold, and the orange its 
 deep rich blush, beneath a dome of glass — the treasury 
 of a thousand costly exotics. To one so devotedly 
 
72 LETTEK 1H, 
 
 fond of flowers and trees, it was almost an intoxicat- 
 ing delight to wander through these grounds, while 
 the total absence of everything that could tend to re- 
 mind I was a stranger, the warmly, artlessly affection- 
 ate attentions of those who desired no greater happiness 
 than to minister to the enjoyment of an humble 
 guest, my only claim on them an ardent love of their 
 native isle — all rendered k a season of such sunshine 
 as does not often burst upon my path. 
 
 Here, in this abode of love, peace, and piety, I could 
 have learned a terrible story of those times so often 
 alluded to : for the house was visited and almost 
 wrecked j its master a prisoner, and his agonized 
 partner a spectator of the scene on Wexford Bridge. 
 But no word escaped the placid survivor in reference 
 to the past ; and the paramount object of all the party 
 was evidently the extension of temporal and spiritual 
 good throughout the land* They spoke with joy of 
 the progress made in their schools, and of the efforts 
 of neighboring gentry to ameliorate the condition of 
 their poor countrymen. My evening trip to the 
 boundaries of the place was most interesting ; it actu- 
 ally outrivalled the flowers, and the stately groves 
 that surrounded them. 
 
 The spot to which, with my twin companions and 
 my friend Robert, I wandered, was a very ancient 
 fragment of what had been a church, I should think 
 even of an earlier date than Strongbow's castles, a 
 vestige of these early temples, where pure worship 
 was offered, before the iniquitous project for subduing 
 Ireland to the Romish See had been conceived — at 
 least before the arms of Henry carried it into effect. 
 To the venerable rum the poor people attach so muck 
 sanctity that to this day they covet a grave beneath 
 
COUNTY WEXFORD. 73 
 
 its shadow: and very numerous were the mounds, 
 with their grey headstones, or plain wooden crucifixes, 
 alike almost hidden beneath the luxuriance of the 
 grass and wild flowers. The stem of a very aged 
 tree was near, with a few boughs still shooting forth, 
 and some rich specimens of the hawthorn and moun- 
 tain ash, with other thicket plants, gave a peculiar 
 character to the wild secluded scene. Of the ruin, 
 only a small angle remained, but heaps of stone lay 
 scattered on the unequal ground ; and the whole was 
 closed in by lofty trees on every side. There we lin- 
 gered long, examining the various attempts at fortifying 
 every grave with something in the form of a cross, and 
 lamenting over the abuse, alike of that sacred symbol 
 and of the ardent minds so cruelly fettered by super- 
 stitious bigotry. We spoke of early times, of Ire- 
 land's former blessedness, her subsequent degradation, 
 and the dawning of a hope too often overcast with 
 clouds of doubt and despondency respecting the 
 future. Again reverting to the high antiquity of her 
 monumental relics, I fell into a strain calculated to 
 quicken the nationality of my young companions, 
 which in truth needed no stimulus; and suddenly re- 
 collecting one special immunity enjoyed by the green 
 isle, I exclaimed, " Oh, Robert, Ireland is the only 
 country where at this sultry season one may plunge 
 into such grass, in the midst of ruins, and fear no bite 
 from venomous reptiles." And in illustration of the 
 fact, I stepped forthwith into the thickest part of the 
 vegetation : but I was presently reminded of John 
 Gilpin's experience, 
 
 Ah, luckless speech and bootless boast, 
 For which he paid full dear, 
 7 
 
74* LETTER III. 
 
 for as I vauntingly proceeded, I found that the high 
 grass reaching to my knees, though it harbored nei- 
 ther toad nor snake, concealed some very large slip- 
 pery stones, on one of which I unwittingly trod, and 
 slid down with my foot doubled under me. The 
 sprain was so severe as to render my return to the 
 house rather difficult, and after a most lovely drive 
 back to Enniscorthy, I found myself unable to stand 
 without assistance ; and what was worse, unable to 
 rist from my bed in the night, to take a view at that 
 solemn hour of Vinegar-hill from the glebe-house 
 which stands, as I have said, on the ascent of that 
 memorable ground. Imagination, however, was busy, 
 and never did my spirit yearn with more affectionate 
 longings for the ingathering of the lost sheep of Erin 
 to the safe and happy fold, than while resting in the 
 spot that bears so fearful a testimony to the blood- 
 guiltiness in which their alienation from the faith of 
 the gospel has involved them. 
 
 I am about to leave Wexford, probably no more to 
 revisit it ; and the consciousness that one stage of my 
 journey is completed, induces a natural anxiety to 
 review the short period now passed, with a reference 
 to the great object of my visit. I am confirmed in 
 the persuasion that poverty, even in the extent to 
 which it exists here, is not the cause of that turbu- 
 lence which we deplore ; at the same time I cannot 
 doubt that it furnishes the most potent auxiliary to 
 the movers of sedition, insomuch that an extensive 
 amelioration of the people's condition is indispensa- 
 ble, as an ingredient in any plan that can rationally be 
 formed for their improvement. Individual conver- 
 sions may and will take place, where God is pleased 
 
COUNTY WEXFORD. 75 
 
 to bless the means used for enlightening the mind ; 
 but wherever the heart is not spiritually renewed, and 
 this we cannot look for on a general scale, we have 
 that to contend with which will bid defiance to our 
 efforts, so long as the native race are left to grovel in 
 such depths of poverty, while those whom they are 
 taught to regard as hostile intruders into their coun- 
 try live in comparative affluence, eating the fat of the 
 land. At a period of the world like this, when in 
 every place evil men and seducers wax worse and 
 worse, there will not be wanting a party actively en- 
 gaged in stirring up discontent among the lower 
 classes, whose success will be commensurate with the 
 miseries of those to whom they address themselves. 
 Education, or as some are content to call it, useful 
 knowledge, imparted without any reference to reli- 
 gious principle, will aggravate the evil. The nearer 
 the poor man approximates to his rich neighbor in 
 mental acquirements, the more intolerably galling will 
 be the degradation of his bodily wretchedness. I re- 
 peat, this misery is not the origin of outrage, for the 
 fact is notorious that persons in the enjoyment of 
 competence are the prime movers in such transac- 
 tions ; but the destitution of the lowest order keeps 
 them constantly prepared to act as powerful instru- 
 ments in their hands. We are on the eve of a gene- 
 ral election, the events of which, passing before my 
 view, will prove whether or no the priests exert their 
 influence as of old, in exciting a political ferment 
 among their flocks ; or whether the erroneous conces- 
 sions made have produced that healing effect so large- 
 ly promised by them. Hitherto, I have seen nothing 
 to hold out so cheering a prospect for the government 
 and the people. 
 
LETTER IV 
 
 WICKLOW- DUBLIN. 
 
 Dublin, July. 
 It was with feelings unusually depressed that I bade 
 farewell to my hospitable friends in the south, to pro- 
 ceed hither unaccompanied by my lively young Irish 
 companion, who, from the moment of our quitting my 
 English home to that of my entering the Dublin stage 
 at Enniscorthy, had seemed to consider me his guest, 
 and performed all the offices of hospitality in a truly 
 national spirit. The continued effect of my sprain 
 seconded the warm entreaties of our kind entertain- 
 ers to rest a while longer under their roof, and incli- 
 nation was eloquent on the same side ; but I had pro- 
 mised to meet an old friend in Dublin, to arrange the 
 future line of a route, that is to terminate in Donegal' ; 
 and with a heavy heart I quitted them all. You know 
 this trip was relinquished, after long anticipation, and 
 excuses forwarded to the many kind friends who had 
 engaged me to visit them. Circumstances led me to 
 resume my original design, only a ^@w days before 
 starting; and one inconvenience resulting from this 
 vacillation has been the departure of several for Eng- 
 land or the coast, who, had I not changed my first 
 plan, would have confined themselves at home to re- 
 ceive us. This will hinder a projected excursion into 
 Galway, disappoint my hope of seeing Edgworths- 
 
COUNTY WICKLOW. 77 
 
 town, and materially circumscribe our movements; 
 but the certainty of a dissolution of parliament recon- 
 ciles me greatly — not that I have any personal fear, 
 for strangers are never molested ; but I do not wish 
 to expose to my young fellow-traveller the scene that 
 will too surely be presented in some parts of Ireland, 
 at this time. 
 
 How different was the journey in a close stage, 
 from our delightful drives about the country during 
 the past week S The scenery presented little to inte- 
 rest, or else L was not in a mood to be interested by 
 it. Yet one thing is always striking in Ireland — the 
 courteous kindness of all classes where they see it 
 will not be coldly repelled. No sooner was the fact 
 of my having a painful ancle discovered, than all man- 
 ner of considerate contrivances were adopted by our 
 fellow-travellers to afford it an easy position ; and by 
 the time we reached Gorey I had become a little more 
 alive to the surrounding objects. We had passed into 
 Wicklow, but sad recollections continued to attach 
 themselves to the locality. A dreadful and disas- 
 trous battle was fought here during the rebellion ; one 
 incident of which you must have, because I am per- 
 suaded that the touching anecdote gave rise to a song 
 that we have both admired. You remember, 
 
 The minstrel boy to the wars is gone, 
 
 but I doubt whether you have heard its probable 
 origin. 
 
 In the engagement that here took place between 
 the King's troops and the rebels, the latter were victo- 
 rious. Among their prisoners was a little drummer, 
 named Hunter, twelve years of age, who fell into their 
 7* 
 
78 LETTER IV. 
 
 bands. They told him he should still carry his drum and 
 beat it for them on the march ; hut the intrepid child, 
 filled with loyal devotion, exclaimed, "Never! the 
 drum that has sounded in the King's service shall 
 never be beaten for rebels ;" and instantly leaping 
 upon it, he burst it completely through. Must I add 
 the sequel 1 the heroic little fellow was directly put 
 to death; perforated with pikes. 
 
 Mr. Moore visited this spot ; he could not but know 
 the tale, which is recorded in the annals of the rebel- 
 lion. It was worthy of the author of ** Captain 
 Rock" to steal this trophy from the brow of loyalty, 
 and with a little of his own brilliant coloring super- 
 added, to place it on that of something very different. 
 The minstrel boy, who to prevent the desecration of 
 his harp, "tore its chords asunder," was evidently 
 fighting on the other side. Poor little Hunter lost the 
 wreath of poetic fame by being true to his King ; 
 but we, at least, shall not again fall in with " The 
 minstrel boy" without recollecting the youthful drum* 
 mer at Gorey. 
 
 We now approached the far-famed vale of Avoca, 
 and my curiosity, sharpened by the assurances of my 
 fellow-travellers that the scenery would surpass my 
 expectation, led to the achievement of an exploit 
 which, considering all things, you would hardly expect. 
 I was prevailed on to try for an outside place during 
 one stage ; and by the extreme kindness of some very 
 Tespectable females who sat behind the coachman, 
 warmly seconded by that functionary, room for me 
 and my young friend was made on the opposite ex- 
 tremes of their seat. All their good-natured endur- 
 ance of a squeeze, however, scarcely afforded space, 
 
COUNTY WICKLOW. 79 
 
 and my situation was not very enviable, perched on 
 three inches of board, nothing to rest my foot upon, 
 and while the vehicle thundered on at the full speed 
 of four fine horses down a steep road, I was indebted 
 for support to nothing but a strap passed across the 
 luggage on the roof of the coach, of which I contrived 
 to take a firm hold, at the length of my outstretched 
 arm. Repent I certainly did, and heartily wished 
 myself imprisoned again ; but as the beauty of the 
 vale opened on us, all thought both of danger and 
 uneasiness vanished. It appears like a dream, when 
 I recall our rapid flight through that enchanting region. 
 Our road was a continued sweep downwards, a per- 
 petual curve, every gradual turn of which revealed 
 some new feature ; but all in the same style of magni- 
 ficence. The bank on the left is a mountain, abrupt, 
 and so richly wooded, that the trees which continu- 
 ally struck our heads with their luxuriant boughs 
 seemed to rise into the sky. Occasionally an open space 
 occurred, and then we saw the naked mountains where 
 the copper-mines are worked, with all their gigantic 
 and varied machinery displayed. To the right, we were 
 sometimes enclosed as on the other side ; but frequent 
 openings leading the eye downwards into a dell, gave 
 such a succession of delicious views that I was trans- 
 ported almost beyond taking due care to preserve my 
 delicate equilibrium. A stream, so rich, so full, so 
 wildly playful, seemed to race us on the other side of 
 a beautiful hedge-row, above which rose at short inter- 
 vals a line of noble trees ; then the lovely stream 
 wound away, encircling a level sward of green — real 
 Irish emerald green, in the deepest, softest, coolest 
 excess of that refreshing hue. It strolled past one of 
 
80 LETTER IV. 
 
 those ancient round towers, the sight of which 
 brought home to my very soul the fact of my being ir 
 Ireland ; for I had not seen one since I quitted it thir- 
 teen years ago. Again the road became a close vista 
 of lofty trees ; and when they next opened, the pic- 
 ture to the right was changed into a strand of clear 
 © © 
 
 pebbles, upon which meandered most irregularly some 
 shallow rivulets crossing each other's path, a pictur- 
 esque bridge being thrown over near the spot. This 
 was the Meeting of the Waters, as I learned from the 
 coachman, who seemed to enjoy my delight almost as 
 much as I enjoyed the scenery that called it forth. It 
 was impossible to restrain the exclamation, " First 
 flower of the earth, first gem of the sea," which 
 always awakens a response in the bosoms of these 
 ardent people. Oh, why will we allow them to hate 
 us as a nation, while we hold the gift that would 
 attach them in the closest bonds of love and peace for 
 ever ! 
 
 After admiring the pretty little fishing town of Ark- 
 low, and sending some home-bound thoughts over the 
 fine expanse of sea that unexpectedly appeared, stud- 
 ded with many a tawny sail and slender boat, I resigned 
 my elevated seat, with abundance of hearty and sin- 
 cere acknowledgments to the accommodating party, 
 and thenceforward from the interior of the coach the 
 prospect was nothing, until we arrived at the Glen of 
 the Downs, a spot that would again have tempted me 
 outside but for the discovery that one of the leaders was 
 so restive as to endanger an overset, in which case the 
 situation I should have occupied would be one of ex- 
 treme peril. I did not feel justified m encountering 
 it. You will not, therefore, hear any more about 
 
COUNTY WICKLOW. 8 1 
 
 Wicklow, save that I can' bear witness to the great 
 beauty of some mountains that rose on the northern 
 verge of the country. On pointing one of them out 
 to my English comrade, I received' this characteris- 
 tic reply: "It is very fine; but just now I would 
 rather see a pudding of the same size." In fact, we 
 had been travelling eight hours on the strength of a 
 light breakfast ; and though 1 had forgotten to be 
 hungry, the young gentleman had not. By this time 
 I had formed a travelling acquaintanceship with a fel- 
 low passenger. He had seen me deposit my Bible in 
 a pocket of the coach, previous to mounting the out- 
 side ; and when after expressing great admiration at 
 the glimpse afforded us of the Glen of the Downs, I 
 proceeded to deplore the contrast between Ireland's 
 natural beauty and the moral deformity overspreading 
 her neglected population, he pointed to that pocket, 
 emphatically remarking, "The cure for all this sin 
 and wretchedness is there." This of course led to 
 a very animated conversation in which he gave the 
 fullest confirmation, the result of his own experience, 
 to all that I have advanced, and much more that I hope 
 yet to state on the subject. In fact, the surprising 
 beauty of this land, together with the noble monu- 
 ments of a very high antiquity that perpetually cross 
 your path, aided by the recollection that it is just off 
 the coast of England, and has for seven centuries been 
 considered an integral part of her kingdom, will force 
 upon your mind the consideration of a problem that 
 admits but of one solution — the actual stale of those 
 who form the mass of Ireland's population. If the 
 theme is wearisome in its constant recurrence on 
 paper, what must it be in the exhibition of its living 
 
82 LETTER IV. 
 
 reality — in the wretched hovel, the squalid rags, the 
 care-worn, poverty-stricken aspects that cast a blight- 
 ing shadow upon the gorgeousness of even Wicklow 
 scenery. Tourists in general avoid the subject, or 
 advert to it only in the way of commiserating regret 
 that so it should be : they cannot avoid seeing how 
 grievously wounded is their poor brother, and robbed 
 too ; but they pass by on the other side, anxious to bd 
 delivered from so painful a sight. Few are the Sama- 
 ritans who will pause to examine the hurt, for the 
 purpose of administering a remedy, or apprising others 
 of the case to the end that a fitting remedy may be 
 applied. Mr. Inglis went into many details, with a 
 most laudable desire to discover and make known the 
 origin of this acknowledged misery. He judged 
 rightly and spoke truly as to the neglect of landlords, 
 with its attendant evils of unjust, oppressive agency, 
 and a tenantry debarred the common rights of man- 
 kind j but he discerned not the hand employed by 
 night to unravel the work of daylight benevolence ; 
 he entered not into the chambers of that secret con- 
 spiracy which prevails to render the best efforts of 
 the best landlords abortive, because the interests of 
 those veiled magicians require a distressed, a discon 
 tented peasantry to carry forward their own nefarious 
 designs. Inglis was a very clever man, and a kind- 
 hearted one ; but he was altogether a man of the 
 world, who never carried his inquiries or anticipations 
 beyond what he could look upon with the bodily e\es 
 of a philanthropist. Had he pursued the same route 
 some five-and-thirty years sooner, he would have pos- 
 sessed a clue to the grand secret of what pained and 
 perplexed him so much in " Ireland, in 183^." The 
 
COUx\TY WICKLOW. 83 
 
 aeuteness would presently have directed him to that 
 quarter unsuspected because unknown to his expe- 
 rience, whence emanated the former horrors that, at 
 different periods, have disfigured the land with blood: 
 and he would have been tempted to inquire whether 
 the unchanged aspect of the population, their unal- 
 tered ignorance, bigotry and hatred of anything Eng- 
 lish, might not be traceable to the unchangeableness of 
 a system that, whoever or whatever may ostensibly 
 bear rule, is notoriously the governing power among 
 that class of people. 
 
 On the other hand, Mr. Noel experienced the force 
 of first impressions. His observations, it seems, 
 commenced at Drogheda, where he took for his guide 
 and informant, " a civil and intelligent tradesman," of 
 the Romish creed. Whether this worthy citizen con- 
 sulted with his spiritual directors as to the best plan 
 of meeting the case — to them rather a startling one — 
 of a pious, literary, influential English clergyman 
 avowedly come over to investigate that delicate point, 
 the origin of Irish evils, we cannot do more than 
 surmise ; but it is sufficiently clear that with admira- 
 ble tact the individual gave an adroit turn to the 
 course of his visitor's inquiries, and slipped the 
 whisky-shop so effectually between his penetrating 
 eye and the masshouse, that it engrossed thenceforth 
 the traveller's attention almost exclusively. I have 
 not yet seen Drogheda, nor do I know anything of its 
 size ; but I hope to take it in my route, and to judge 
 whether it be of sufficient bulk or importance to ac- 
 count for the extraordinary fact stated by Mr. Noel's 
 informant : viz. that he, the tradesman aforesaid, 
 failed in his praiseworthy attempt at reforming the 
 
84 LETTER IV. 
 
 whole population by becoming in his own person a 
 member of a Temperance Society, and giving- the 
 weight of his influence to a canvass for signatures to 
 the pledge. It seems indeed that many, with the good 
 nature that renders it difficult for an Irishman to say 
 no, did relent and sign : but the evil habit had obtained 
 too £reat an ascendency to be easily laid aside, and 
 they relapsed. The worthy tradesman " saw it to be 
 useless, and accordingly withdrew." The people of 
 Drogheda continued intemperate : the usual charac- 
 teristics of the lower classes remained unchanged, they 
 were still idle, dissolute, dirty, lawless, impoverished. 
 All this was clearly shown, no doubt, to be solely 
 attributable to the failure of the Temperance Society 
 plan : had that succeeded, the people would have 
 become moral, industrious, peaceable, loyal: would 
 have eschewed Ribbonism, and built pig-sties. This 
 was held out as an epitome of all Ireland : and by a 
 deduction as incontrovertible as the premises were 
 just, all Ireland's ills would vanish along with the last 
 exhalation of the last tumbler of whiskypunch that 
 should taint her atmosphere with its noxious fumes. 
 
 Such was the beautiful theory sketched out by the 
 patriotic man of Drogheda. Alas, that anything so 
 goodly should exhibit but the baseless fabric of a 
 vision. Independent of the fact that, fetter as you 
 will a member of that church with oaths, not to say 
 mere nominal pledges, a nod in the confessional leaves 
 him free and fearless to smile at the broken fragments 
 of his bonds ; I never yet found that lopping away the 
 topmost branches of a vigorous tree, would reach the 
 vitality of its root. Drunkenness is the most wide- 
 spread, the most conspicuous, most debasing fruit of 
 
COUNTY WICKLOW. 85 
 
 the national upas here ; bat the root lies below, hidden 
 deep beneath the surface ; and he who would per- 
 manently smite the branches, must dig into its dark 
 abode, bare the accursed fibres; and with a strong arm 
 rend therri forth from their lurking-place, no more to 
 pollute the soil that they usurp, transforming its 
 healthful juices into deadly poison, and circulating 
 them through the boughs whose goodly shadow 
 murders where it falls. The palpable device practised 
 on an unsuspicious, because an honorable, an upright^ 
 and a most benevolent and. pious man, succeeded so 
 far as to inspire the operator with some hope of con- 
 vincing him that, as whisky was the sole origin of 
 Irish misery and sin, so the church of Rome was the 
 Catholic church, the great spiritual Temperance 
 Society, the panacea for all present error and future 
 wo! 
 
 Here, ftowever, ne could not succeed : he had a 
 Christian to deal with, who, though throughout his 
 book he by some oversight concedes to the Eomish 
 church that term to which she has no claim whatever 
 still knows her to be the mother and mistress of all 
 abominations, the destroyer of man, and the enemy 
 of God. In this part of his undertaking, therefore^ 
 the Drogheda tradesman utterly failed. 
 
 Our travelling friend was evidently a gentleman of 
 high intelligence, who had seen much, and reflected 
 not a little on the subject that engrossed my mind. 
 He, too, had taken both history and prophecy to aid 
 him in reading the mysterious pages of the present 
 day ; and strongly expressed his conviction, that our 
 only help must come from the name of the Lord, 
 proclaimed according to his appointed way throughout. 
 8 
 
86 LETTER IV. 
 
 the land The congregated swarm of beggars who 
 
 DO O O 
 
 besieged the coach at the commencement of our last 
 stage, led us also to the topic of an equitable provision 
 for the outcast poor ; and here, too, I was much 
 gratified to find a coincidence of opinion. We 
 entered Dublin at last, and I found myself once more 
 among familiar scenes. Hitherto my journey had 
 been on ground untrod before Waterford, Wexford, 
 Wicklow, were perfectly new to me : not so Dublin. 
 Personal feeling became so strong, as I looked upon its 
 weil-remembered outlines, that even the theme on 
 which I had been conversing lost its absorbing inter- 
 est and self predominated. We crossed Stephen's 
 Green, thrown open into a more visible expanse by 
 the removal of the noble trees that once shaded its 
 ample inclosure ; but no improvement thoroughly 
 reconciles me to the loss of an old tree, much less of 
 a long and stately line like that which has been 
 levelled here. We passed the hotel whence with an 
 aching heart I last took my departure for England, 
 and after leaving the coach, and vainly inquiring for 
 a covered conveyance, I once more mounted the 
 national car to present myself, an unexpected guest, 
 at the house of a dear old friend. Of course you will 
 again denounce as an instance of blind partiality my 
 oft-repeated assertion, that London can show nothing 
 to equal the line of street stretching from College 
 Green to Rutland Square. At all hazards I reiterate 
 it j although the English metropolis has added to her 
 architectural displays the striking features of Regent 
 Street, and Park, Belgrave Square, and the Carlton 
 Place buildings, since last I saw Dublin. I cannot 
 yield the palm : I cannot find a competitor for the 
 
COUNTY WICKLOW. 87 
 
 coup (Tml that appears, when emerging from Grafton 
 Street, you behold on your right the massive, com- 
 pact, severe looking old University, with its advanced 
 ground, a lofty wall of a most frowning aspect, with 
 here and there a tree flinging its patriarchal arm over 
 the rampart ; on your left the fine opening of the so- 
 called green, which is an exceedingly wide street 
 stretching away in perspective, while in the most 
 central point William of Orange bestrides his horse, 
 apparently but little hurt by his recent fall from the 
 very high pedestal that supports him. The corner of 
 this street is occupied by the magnificent bank for- 
 merly the parliament house of Ireland. You h;ive 
 seen good prints of this extraordinary building, and 
 have allowed it to be beautiful : but unless you beheld 
 the thing itself, contrasted in the lightsomeness of 
 its noble aspect with the unadorned solidity of the 
 grave college ; unless you saw with what exquisite 
 gracefulness it sweeps round, transforming that angu- 
 lar corner of two streets into a gentle curve ; unless 
 you could witness the effect of its grove of Ionic and 
 Corinthian columns, clustering over an extent of one 
 hundred and forty-seven feet in length, with the 
 elegant cornices, the sculptured frieze, the li<rht 
 balustrade, the majestic porticoes, the combination of 
 all that is rich, grand, and chaste, which entirely 
 covers an acre and a half of ground, — unless ynu 
 could really look upon all this, my good friend, I 
 deny your capability for forming any opinion on the 
 subject. 
 
 But this is only the foreground, right and left. 
 Straight on you look through Westmoreland Street, 
 a short but very wide thoroughfare, worthy of its 
 
88 LETTER IV. 
 
 entrance, and terminating" in Carlisle bridge, the 
 easternmost of the elegant structures thrown across 
 the LifTey, up to the pier of which extends the forest 
 of masts, like that of our own Thames at London 
 Bridge, though of course not so numerous, nor is the 
 river of such a mighty width. Hence the unwavering 
 line, direct as an arrow's flight, is still carried on 
 through the long, broad noble avenue of Sackville 
 Street, terminating in the Lying-in-hospital, the 
 Rotunda, and the rising gardens of Rutland Square, 
 which, standing on a sudden ascent, throws its luxuri- 
 ant vegetation hisfh and wide, giving* - a finish to the 
 picture that nothing else could have bestowed. In 
 the centre of Sackville Street, not far from the bridge, 
 stands the fluted column, upwards of 120 feet high, 
 which bears a colossal statue of Lord Nelson ; and to 
 the left of this the General Post Office, worthy, for 
 the chaste grandeur of its design and nobleness of 
 execution, to stand so near the Bank. This street 
 was formerly the abode of the Irish aristocracy, when 
 Ireland was a nation, and had a senate of her own. 
 Privileges that she might still enjoy, but for the dia- 
 bolical spirit of that system which, calling itself a 
 religion, recks not to what it may expose its votaries, 
 so that their guilty tumults and throes of agony assist 
 to heave it into political supremacy. Striking in beauty 
 and magnificence as is the scene I am thus lingering 
 upon, even these fade before the awful interest that 
 clings around it. Those dark college bulwarks 
 frowned defiance on James Stuart's efforts to force an 
 unprincipled man, his fellow-tool in the hands of 
 popery, upon their Protestant establishment. They 
 lifted no hostile hand against the fugitive prince, who 
 
COUNTY WICKLOW. 89 
 
 came to regain in Ireland the throne that in England 
 he had abdicated : but they firmly resisted the inva- 
 sion of their rights, and sooner than compromise 
 those rights, or tarnish their Protestant faith, they 
 permitted their house to be assaulted by armed 
 troops, their treasures to be seized, themselves impri- 
 soned or thrust out, and the peaceful chambers of 
 science and divinity to become a barrack for licentious 
 troops. Then the Bank — I should never get beyond 
 it, if I were once to let loose mjr pen on the subject. 
 The extinction of the Irish parliament, which had for 
 sixty years occupied that building, would lead me 
 back beyond the limit of six hundred if I ventured 
 into the track — I must turn from it. Sad enough it 
 is, in passing on, to realize the fact that the stately 
 abodes of Ireland's aristocracy know their former 
 possessors no longer. Lines of noble houses, con- 
 verted into hotels, shops, and public institutions, 
 announce what Dublin has been, and too vividly 
 declare what Ireland is. A resident, wealthy, enlight- 
 ened aristocracy, attached to their country, and 
 rightly informed as to their true interests — a repre- 
 sentation purged of the old leaven of malice and 
 wickedness that wrought destruction here, and is now 
 fulfilling the same work in Westminster, — a church, 
 built up and strengthened by the hand of righteous 
 authority, with those very men for her ministers who 
 now in persecution and affliction maintain their posts 
 among her ruins — Oh, might I but live to see such a 
 day for poor Ireland ! But it is a vision flitting by, 
 like the summer clouds that have passed over me while 
 I penned the thought; beautiful, unsubstantial, and 
 gone for ever. 
 
 8* 
 
90 LETTER IV. 
 
 By the way, I have been advised to say as li'.tle as 
 possible to mark the distinction between nominal and 
 vital Christianity. I am told that other books have 
 been received and read far more extensively, by 
 means of a little prudent reserve on the part of their 
 writers, who kept back what might excite the scorn 
 of carnal minds, and thus prevent their well-meaning 
 representations from being attended to in high quar- 
 ters. This is well adapted to the master-spirit of the 
 day — expediency i but until L find in my Bible some 
 sanction for it, I dare not either in lip or pen be a 
 dissembler. Let such as doubt the reality of the 
 truths which they profess to believe, disguise or con- 
 ceal them : I believe — therefore do I speak. God will 
 never put honor upon any other course than that 
 which, proceeding from an open acknowledgment of 
 Christ crucified, has for the avowed end of all its 
 efforts, Christ glorified. 
 
 One of my first movements here was to visit again 
 that rich magazine of spiritual stores, the Religious 
 Tract and Book Society's depot, in Upper Sackville- 
 street. Many and sweet are the recollections that 
 endear it to me : it was there that I first learned to 
 wield an humble weapon in the Lord's service, and. to 
 experience how events in themselves painful and unto- 
 ward could be made to work together for good to 
 myself and others. In the hour of affliction, depres- 
 sion, I may almost say of destitution, there it was 
 that I found not only Christian sympathy for the then 
 present, but cheering encouragement to enter upon a 
 path of honest industry, with the prospect of indepen- 
 dence, and, as the Lord might vouchsafe to bless the 
 labor, usefulness to his cause, and to the dear people 
 
DUBLIN. 91 
 
 of this land, yet sitting in darkness and the shadow of 
 death. I could not without strong emotion re-enter 
 the open doors, and look round upon the accumulated 
 treasures of spiritual knowledge ranged about me. 
 Truly that house is to me somewhat of the nature of 
 Jacob's pillar ; and to the God of Jacob, the Angel 
 who redeemed him from all evil, the Guide who led 
 him all his life long, my heart ascended in thankful 
 acknowledgment that, as with him, so it had been 
 with me. The institution has wrought an immense 
 amount of solid good in the land, not only among the 
 poor, but peculiarly in the higher ranks of society. 
 Its publications, restrained as they are within the 
 bounds of an excellent code of printed rules, and sub- 
 jected to the searching scrutiny of a most able com- 
 mittee, cannot but be select : the numerous reprints 
 of standard old writings, or rather the concentrated 
 forms in which their spirit is exhibited, have done 
 much towards raising the tone of religious principle 
 and practice ; while their tracts, carefully adapted to 
 the spiritual wants of the mingled population, Romish 
 or nominally Protestant, carry the purest scriptural 
 doctrine, like good seed, to many a spot of rich but 
 neglected soil. The Tract and Book Society is a val- 
 uable instrument in promoting the knowledge of the 
 truth, and its utility in following up the work of the 
 various schools is incalculable. 
 
 To many a sharp trial has the faith of its conduct 
 ors been exposed ; and often does the menace of an 
 entire stoppage overhang the machinery, through the 
 failure of funds ; resulting partly from the lukewarm 
 ness of public support, and partly from the multiplici- 
 ty of demands on the purse of Christian beneficence 
 
92 LETTER IV. 
 
 Ireland is very poor, view her how you will, except 
 in natural beauty, and in the good works of her 
 believing children : and if those in England who, 
 without the stimulus of personal observation, stretch 
 forth a helping hand to her, could see all that I have 
 seen, and learn all that I have learned, both of the 
 need for and the value of their generous aid, they 
 would thank God, and take courage, and abound 
 more and more. 
 
 From this establishment, after enjoying a delight- 
 ful interview with one of mine and Ireland's best 
 friends, whom I found where I left him thirteen years 
 ago, at his post, voluntarily and indefatigably 
 employed in promoting the welfare of the society to 
 which he has long devoted himself and all that he 
 has — I proceeded to the neighboring house appropri- 
 ated to the offices of different religious associations. 
 In one of these I met and conversed with a fine intel- 
 ligent youth, the son of an Irish clergyman, who has 
 been admitted into the school at Edgeworthtown. 
 It is a great disappointment to me to find that indis- 
 pensable business still detains the dean of Ardagh in 
 England ; for I was to have been his guest, and to 
 have gone into all the details, and examined all the 
 operations of that important institution. This I must 
 now abandon ; but it is a pleasure to have received 
 from the lips of a pupil a full confirmation of all that 
 I believed and hoped respecting it. You are aware 
 that when the recent desperate effort was made to 
 crush the Church of Ireland by starving her ministers 
 at their posts, it was overruled, among other good 
 things, to the establishment of a school where, for a 
 sum little more than nominal, a number of the sons 
 
DUBLIN. 93 
 
 of these oppressed clergymen proportioned to the 
 amount of its funds, are received, boarded, and most 
 liberally educated, with a view to mercantile, literary, 
 or scientific pursuits, according' to the bent of their 
 own or parents' inclinations. A large class is set 
 apart for entrance into college ; such of them as lo )k 
 forward to the sacred ministry being carefully in- 
 structed in the Irish language, that key to all useful- 
 ness among the native population throughout a great 
 extent of territory, and that in the darkest quarters 
 of the land. Thus has the rude shaking of the parent 
 plant occasioned a deposit of much precious seed 
 upon a soil where it promises to yield fruit a hundred 
 fold. Sanctified afflictions have always produced 
 signal blessings to the church of Christ ; the indi- 
 vidual sufferings of Joseph, and the general persecu- 
 tion that followed Stephen's martyrdom, were alike 
 glorious in their results ; and is it not cheering to 
 trace the same untiring hand of providential love 
 still overruling for good the troubles of his people, 
 and compelling the wrath of their enemies to praisp 
 him 1 
 
 I have named the Irish language, and you are 
 doubtless prepared to hear a great deal on the subject 
 of «he Irish Society, now that I am at the central 
 point of their operations. Strictly speaking, that 
 distinction belongs not to Dublin, but to Kingscourt; 
 and one of the greatest disappointments I have en- 
 countered results from the lamented indisposition of 
 a dear friend, which has laid her fast by the sea-side, 
 when I had hoped to visit with her that scene of 
 her assiduous labors. Neither Kincscourt, Edge- 
 worthtown nor Achill, can now be included in my 
 
94 LETTER IV. 
 
 route ; and the absence from town, at this sultry sea« 
 son, of all who can escape to the country, while the 
 inland inhabitants have hastened to the coast, leaves 
 me to make what I can of a contracted sphere of ob* 
 servation. A miniature Kingscourt I have, however, 
 enjoyed : for on going to the house of the Rev. Mr. 
 Pendleton, the secretary and devoted helper of that 
 society, J found him, though confined by illness to 
 his study, busily engaged in encouraging to the work 
 three interesting peasants, delivered from the thral- 
 dom of Popery, and preparing to go forth with that 
 polished weapon, the Irish Scriptures, to assail the 
 strongholds from which they had escaped. My 
 heart overflowed with contentment as I looked on 
 these men : their simple, yet sparkling countenances, 
 the earnestness of their attention while listening to 
 their instructor, the fervent response that lightened 
 every feature of their faces into joyous animation, 
 when I spoke my thankfulness on their behalf, and 
 implored them to labor without ceasing for the 
 souls of their brethren after the flesh, — all fell like a 
 refreshing shower on my spirit, wrought as it was 
 into feverish excitement by contemplating the im- 
 mensity of the demand, the paucity of means to meet 
 it. Sweetly did the passage recur to mind, " There 
 is no restraint with the Lord, to save by many or by 
 few." A single individual, endowed with the Pente- 
 costian gift of tongues, was the means of converting 
 three thousand in one day ; and here was the same 
 gift, not indeed conferred miraculously, but gracious- 
 ly consecrated to the same end, of making known to 
 the people, in their own language, wherein they were 
 born, the wonderful works of God. Two of the con- 
 
DUBLIN. 95 
 
 verts were young men, recently brought out of bon- 
 dage ; the third was a veteran in the service, rejoic- 
 ing anew in his own deliverance, while he blessed 
 the Lord for theirs. 
 
 And from what were they delivered 1 Glance 
 back on the fearful scenes from which I have ventured 
 partially to lift the veil, while writing on Wexford. 
 Had I withdrawn it farther, you could hardly have 
 endured the exhibition. It was from a liability to be 
 called on for such services as were there performed 
 by the wretched peasantry, that the men before me 
 were delivered. From the secret oath that bound 
 them to murder ; from the midnight rendezvous of 
 hardening preparations for that task ; from the mut- 
 terings of rebellious discontent, the groanings of un- 
 mitigated distress, the execrations of unrestrained 
 rage, the incoherent ribaldry of habitual drunkenness, 
 — from all these they were delivered ; and they were 
 brought to rejoice in a bond of universal love to God 
 and man, to meet their assembled countrymen with a 
 message of mercy and peace, to receive with thank- 
 fulness at the Lord's hand whatever portion he might 
 see good to mete out to them, and to use their 
 tongues as instruments to show forth his glory and 
 praise, in a walk of sobriety, charity, and holiness. 
 In this transition from the power of Satan to the 
 kingdom of God, they well knew that they were to 
 become a mark for persecution, violence, personal 
 injury, and perhaps a cruel death ; for it is a fact, 
 that there are few among these devoted missionary 
 peasants who do not bear in their bodies the marks 
 of the Lord Jesus, in visible scars from the fierce 
 attacks to which their undertaking exposes themj 
 
86 LETTER IV. 
 
 and several have been barbarously murdered — a noble 
 little army of martyrs, of small account with men, 
 but Oh ! how precious in the sight of Him for whose 1 
 sake they are willing- to die, not counting their lives 
 dear unto them, so that they may declare unto their 
 deluded brethren the unsearchable riches of Christ! 
 
 From Mr. Pendleton I received most delightful re- 
 ports of the progress made in this work. It is be- 
 yond all others a debt, for the non-payment of which 
 we shall have to yield up a tremendous account, if we 
 see not to it while yet there is time. You are aware 
 of the terms on which Henry II. undertook the con- 
 quest of this country. A church, planted by the 
 hands either of an apostle or his immediate successor', 
 existed in Ireland for centuries before the apostacy of 
 the Romish see revealed " that wicked" who has for 
 upwards of twelve hundred years usurped it, and made 
 war upon the saints.* Patrick was a Roman Briton^ 
 a member of the pure scriptural church in which Al- 
 ban was the protomartyr ; and the doctrine which he 
 proclaimed in Ireland, not later than the fourth cen fc 
 tury, was that of the undefiled gospel. To the peo- 
 ple of this country he became exceedingly dear, and 
 his memory Was held in such veneration among them, 
 that when the Romish apostacy resolved to direct one 
 of its poisoned streams through Ireland, their emis- 
 sary Paliadius adopted the name of Patrick, and com- 
 menced his mission in 430, professing to hold the 
 same truths with that eminent teacher of righteousness, 
 and thus laying the foundation for a confusion of the 
 two individuals which involves the early history of the 
 Irish church in such darkness and perplexity. Still 
 
 * See Appendix D. 
 
DUBLIN. 97 
 
 the corrupting process, aided by continual machina- 
 tions on the part of the Vatican, was so impeded by 
 the attachment of the Irish to their pure ancient 
 church, and by the independent spirit of the clergy, 
 that so late as 1156 Pope Adrian was obliged to avail 
 himself of the filial piety of our second Henry, to pro- 
 pagate with fire and sword the holy doctrines of his 
 apostolic see.* Artramont, Castle Cairrig, and the 
 other stately ruins that frowned on us in solitary gran* 
 deur from amid the groves and gardens of those beau- 
 tiful banks of Slaney, marked the advancing steps of 
 popish aggression ; and many more of like character 
 I am probably to meet in the course of my rambles. 
 Wherever the British sword prevailed, the Romish 
 crucifix was planted ; the voice of Gospel truth, al- 
 ready much weakened, and giving forth an uncertain 
 sound, was totally silenced ; and the man of sin, with 
 his hosts of cowled monks, begging friars, and tyran- 
 nical priests, over-ran the soil, like the Egyptian 
 plague of frogs — 
 
 'Till the land stank, so numerous was the fry. 
 
 Retribution — what thinking mind can term it other- 
 wise'? has overtaken us. Our fathers invaded Ireland 
 for the avowed purpose of fettering the people to the 
 chariot wheel of Popery. They succeeded ; Ireland 
 became the very hot-bed of that evil, her children its 
 most assiduous cultivators and propagators. Centu- 
 ries rolled on ; England, awakened from her fatal 
 dream, burst her own bonds, but neglected to remove 
 the manacles with which she had loaded her poor sis- 
 ter. This her sin has found her out, in a manner cal- 
 
 * See Appendix E. 
 
98 LETTER IV. 
 
 culated to make the earth tremble and fear before the 
 just God. The Popery that she fastened upon Ire- 
 land makes the latter a continual thorn in her side, 
 yea, an adder in her path, and that of her race who* 
 have settled in it. The Protestantism that she rooted 
 out is now the object of their implacable hatred, whose 
 fathers were despoiled of the blessing. It is nothing 
 else than trifling with the Most High, and making light 
 of his eternal attributes, to devise schemes for restor- 
 ing peace to this country while her population remain 
 in the attitude of w r ar against the Lamb, thirsting for 
 the blood of his saints. As to the notion of dispelling 
 this tenfold night by letting the twinkling glimmer of 
 rationality play upon it through the chinks of " useful 
 knowledge" contrivances, apart from spiritual instruc* 
 tion, I can only account for it by remembering how 
 invariably men professing to be wise have become 
 fools, whenever they took upon themselves to discover 
 a more excellent way than the Lord himself has ap- 
 pointed, for carrying into effect his divine plans of 
 government. 
 
 The debt of duty which we owe to the Irish people 
 is to break the shackles that our fathers imposed on 
 them: all the political projects, and expedient con- 
 trivances ever broached, merely tend to gild those 
 shackles. Still dragged at the chariot wheel of impi- 
 ous Rome, the poor victims must go wheresoever she 
 will, and execute whatsoever she commands. Clad 
 or naked, housed or shelterless, fed or famished, sober 
 or drunk, they must do her bidding. In the lowest 
 debasement of ignorance, or replenished to the lips 
 with unsanctified " useful knowledge," their mental 
 and moral subjugation is perfect j their conscience 
 
DUBLIN. 99 
 
 enthralled, their actions, their words, their very 
 thoughts under the despotic control of those who as- 
 sume to overrule the decrees of the Eternal, as well 
 they may, when they affect to create his substance out 
 of a piece of dough, and compel their wretched slaves 
 to worship the work of their hands. Can a fraction 
 of our awful debt he paid while such a state of things 
 is allowed to continue ? Nothing short of judicial 
 blindness can lead to so futile a hope. No — a 
 quenched Gospel was the origin of all these calami- 
 ties, this Egyptian darkness ; and a rekindled Gospel, 
 casting its glorious beams far and wide over the isle, 
 can alone restore light, alone bring peace, and induce 
 prosperity. 
 
 This leads us to the point where I delight to rest, 
 and to look abroad upon a brightening prospect. 
 * l How shall they believe in him of whom they have 
 not heard 1 asks the apostle of the Gentiles ; " and 
 how shall they hear without a preacher 1" Again, the 
 same inspired messenger declares, " If I know not the 
 meaning of the voice, I shall be unto him that speak- 
 eth, a barbarian, and he that speaketh shall be a bar- 
 barian unto me." These two short passages, taken 
 in their obvious connection with each other and with 
 the subject before me, are worth a volume of human 
 reasoning. Our work is to restore the gospel to these 
 people in the tongue that they understand ; and to 
 accomplish this object the Irish Society was institut- 
 ed. The only question therefore is, How far has suc- 
 cess crowned its operations 1 The answer is, Just as 
 far as those operations have been carried. 
 
 With a large map of Ireland spread on the table 
 before us, we traced the extent of the society's quiet 
 
100 LETTER IV. 
 
 work, its schools and districts, and delightful was the 
 account given of each attempt, with its accompanying 
 Ebenezer. The ladies' auxiliary, for supporting and 
 supplying teachers, is rendering important service j 
 and the little islands so long neglected off the western 
 coast, are beginning to send forth the voice of praise 
 The Achill mission, like a noble plant wholly of a 
 right seed, strikes deep root, and gathers strength from 
 the storms that assail it ; while the hitherto wild, law- 
 less and discouraging region of Kerry is the scene of 
 a work that will ere long astonish and shame such 
 faint-hearted doubters as the boldest of us yet are. 
 In fact we are addressed as of old, " Only believe." 
 No believing effort proves abortive ; and bold as the 
 assertion may appear I make it deliberately, that if the 
 Irish society had means to extend its labors wherever 
 the language is spoken, the most superstitious, bigot- 
 ed and hostile portion of the native population would 
 stand foremost in exhibiting the reverse of these cha- 
 racteristics. It is remarkable that a far richer and 
 more extensive blessing attends the preaching of the 
 gospel in Irish among the Irish-speaking Romanists, 
 than the same thing in English among those who 
 speak the latter. The fact may be difficult to account 
 for ; but it is undeniable. I will give you here two 
 instances where the priests artfully endeavored to 
 bring English scripture to support their false system, 
 but were defeated by a reference to the Irish. 
 
 One of these false prophets, arguing with an Irish 
 reader, maintained that the word "mass" was to be 
 found in the New Testament, and in proof adduced 
 the passage, "the whole mass is leavened." This 
 would have puzzled one who had no learning of his 
 
DUBLIN. 10 1 
 
 own, and no other language to refer. to ; but the Irish 
 Bible was consulted, and at once gave tne clear signi- 
 fication of the term. Another poor teacher was harder 
 pressed ; the priest said to him, " You ought not to 
 withdraw from the Roman church, the mother of all 
 the churches. These Protestant churches are quite 
 modern ; they cannot apply to themselves some of the 
 most important passages in the Bible." The teacher 
 inquired which of the promises the Protestant church 
 could not claim ; to which the cunning priest replied, 
 "'The Lord of hosts is with us' — the Protestant 
 churches cannot apply that." " Why not, sir 1" 
 " Why, because they do not worship or know any- 
 thing about the host ; and therefore they have no right 
 to apply to themselves that promise, ' the Lord of hosts 
 is with us.'" Here, again, the simple unlettered 
 countryman had an answer provided ; his Irish scrip- 
 tures informed him that host had another meaning 
 besides the conjured wafer. You or I might laugh at 
 such an absurd play of words ; but when we consider 
 how wholly uninformed, and how beyond the reach of 
 such common information these poor peasants are, the 
 wicked perversions of the priests assume a formida- 
 ble character ; and the safeguard provided against 
 them a very important one. 
 
 Do you remember the volumes in brickdust-colored 
 boarding, that you saw me so busily pondering on, 
 not long ago — Sir W. Bentham's Irish antiquarian 
 researches, with the fac-simile of those elaborately 
 illuminated MSS., which you rashly pronounced 
 unreadable by mortal man or woman 1 These were 
 accurate representations of copies of the gospels, in 
 the Latin language and the Irish character, preserved 
 
102 LETTER IV. 
 
 through successive generations in some of the first 
 among Irish families in point of rank and respecta- 
 bility. Of their authentic antiquity there cannot exist 
 a rational doubt ; and by them is the fact placed 
 beyond dispute, that Ireland possessed and cherished 
 the word of God long, very long before the corrup- 
 tions of Popery had begun to taint even Rome itself. 
 Is it not marvellous that in spite of the continued 
 endeavors to root it out, the same language in which 
 the word of salvation was first preached to these inte- 
 resting people, at the very latest, fifteen hundred years 
 ago, should still so prevail and be so cherished among 
 them, as to render even priestly influence unavailing to 
 bar its access to their ear and heart, when proclaimed 
 again in the same loved tongue. Truly I think we 
 may say of the native Irish language what we are 
 constrained to say of the Irish Protestant church — 
 that in the face of all assailants it seems to bear this 
 protecting warrant, " Destroy it not ; for a blessing is 
 in it.'* 
 
 Do not imagine that I have been moved from my 
 former position, as to the primary importance of scrip- 
 tural schools, and the absolute necessity for a legal 
 provision, to rescue the people from their present 
 degraded and desperate state. A new-born child 
 requires three things, air, nourishment, and clothing. 
 If I say the infant cannot live, unless you allow it 
 breath and covering ; it does not follow that I sup- 
 pose they will suffice, without the addition of proper 
 nutriment. One grand error in scheming for poor 
 Ireland, is the niggardly hand with which necessaries 
 of different descriptions are dealt out. One projector 
 Tecommends one thing, and his neighbor another, 
 
DUBLIN. 103 
 
 when both are alike necessary. See what a goodly 
 company of kindred charities harmoniously unite to 
 render the English peasantry what they are. Fair 
 wages ; good public instruction, perfectly intelligible 
 to him ; equal laws, which while they protect the 
 poor man from oppression, also withhold him from 
 outrage ; schools for his children, hospitals for his 
 sick, alms-houses for his aged, and a fair field, of honest 
 competition in every branch of industry. Concern- 
 ing each of these it may be said, " This ought ye to 
 do, and not to leave the others undone," with regard 
 to the Irish poor. Give them with one hand the lamp 
 of truth, while with the other you open to them a 
 path of tolerable comfort and respectability — you will 
 soon learn the efficacy of such a proceeding. It has 
 been tried individually, and in communities too, with 
 complete success. I am told that in the north I shall 
 see farther proof of this. 
 
 Another admirable institution for which I feel 
 warmly interested, is prospering also : — the Claremont 
 establishment for the deaf and dumb. When I say it 
 is prospering, I do not mean that its finances equal 
 the demand on its philanthropic efforts ; but that, so 
 far as they can be carried, ample success crowns them. 
 Did you ever hear the rise of the Dublin Deaf and 
 Dumb Asylum 1 I have been enjoying a pleasant day 
 with my old friend the benevolent originator ; and 
 had the farther gratification of meeting at his house 
 the object of his single and prolific attempt. The 
 young man was rejoiced at again seeing me, and his 
 conversation, very rapidly carried on by means of the 
 finger alphabet, satisfied me that the labor of our 
 excellent friend had not been in vain in the Lord. 
 
104 LETTER IV. 
 
 Years ago, Dr. Orpen, in the course of his profes- 
 sional attendance on a charitable institution in Dublin, 
 frequently remarked a most forlorn looking little 
 creature, sad and abstracted, huddled up in the chim- 
 ney corner ; inquiring who he was, he learned from 
 the women around that the boy was deaf and dumb, a 
 friendless, helpless little outcast. The Christian com- 
 passion of the doctor was deeply moved : he longed to 
 relieve the child's wretchedness, but howl No institu- 
 tion existed in Ireland for the relief of that dreadfully 
 afflicted class ; and to impose on himself such a bur- 
 den, such a task, with the mere possibility of succeed- 
 ing, was not clearly his duty. Still he attended the 
 infirmary, and still the cheerless apparition of poor 
 little Collins haunted him on his return home. He 
 took courage, asked a blessing from on high, and 
 removed the child to his residence. Long and perse- 
 veringly did this good man labor in secret for the im- 
 provement of his charge, nor did he fail in his efforts. 
 At the end of a year, whether of one or two I am not 
 quite certain, he assembled a party of gentlemen at 
 the Kotunda, related the circumstance, and exhibited 
 his pupil. The progress made by the little lad was 
 extraordinary ; and when Dr. Orpen, taking advan- 
 tage of the emotion excited by the boy's appearance 
 and attainments, pathetically pleaded the cause of his 
 partners in affliction, with a powerful appeal to their 
 compassionate sympathy, a contribution was raised, 
 and a society formed on the spot, which so prospered 
 as to be soon enabled to purchase the spacious dwell- 
 ing and grounds at Claremont, and there have many 
 deaf mutes received instruction ; the number of 
 admissions being of course regulated by the state of 
 
DUBLIN. 105 
 
 their funds. I regret extremely not being able to 
 visit it again now ; many delightful hours I passed 
 there formerly, conversing with the children, and 
 their worthy, able, benevolent master, Mr. Humfreys. 
 Collins was then head boy in the school ; for Dr. Or- 
 pen placed him there as a pattern and encouragement 
 for the rest. He is now a journeyman printer, and 
 doing very well in his business. It was most touch- 
 ing to witness his look and manner, when I asked him, 
 did he not love Dr. Orpen 1 A rapid glance took in 
 the whole domestic circle, the doctor, his partner, and 
 their eight fine boys — all being additions to a bache- 
 lor's establishment since we met, — then an upturned 
 look and clasped hands prefaced the short reply, "1 
 do j" imparting to it an eloquence that mere words 
 could not have boasted. It brought most vividly to 
 my recollection one who was with me when last! saw 
 Collins; a deaf mute, now hearing and joining in the 
 hallelujahs of heaven. 
 
 Perhaps you will inquire of me whether the Clare- 
 mont institution is a proselyte-making establish- 
 ment. I cannot say that it is, in itself ; but the Bible 
 is freely studied there, and it rarely, if ever, happens 
 that a pupil who has been at Claremont will consent 
 to attend mass after leaving it. Nothing but the 
 notable plan of mutilation will prevent that book from 
 enlightening the youthful mind. Despite of all the 
 wisdom of this prodigiously wise age, the entrance of 
 God's word will give light and understanding to the 
 simple. "Extracts," such as the National Board use, 
 may very well leave the ignorant soul where they 
 find it, or wrapped in a deeper delusion. The devil 
 knew how to wield such a weapon : he took extracts, 
 
106 LETTER TV, 
 
 and made a slight verbal alteration or two, as the 
 worthy translators have done in their class-book ; and 
 then used it to oppose the work, and to grieve the 
 spirit of Christ; but a whole Bible he never would 
 venture to bring forward ; nor do his agents at all 
 approve the Claremont plan. If they did, I should be 
 tempted to doubt very much its efficacy. 
 
 Another pleasant evening we passed at the Castle 
 —not, I assure you, with Lords Mulgrave or Morpeth, 
 but with that loyal old Protestant soldier, Major Sirr, 
 whose fine museum of antiquities and every descrip? 
 tion of rarities 3 far exceeded my expectation, highly 
 as it was raised. Among the most interesting natural 
 curiosities, were some exquisite specimens of the 
 rocks in Achill, transparent amethysts they seemed, 
 of some feet in circumference. It was sweet to think 
 that the island which had long been spiritually 
 afflicted, tossed with tempests and not comforted, 
 was now having her stones laid with fair colors, and 
 her foundations with sapphires. (Isai. liv. 11.) Many 
 relics I saw of the earliest days of Ireland's history 
 both martial and regal, some exquisitely wrought^ 
 others remarkable only for the weight of the precious 
 metal that composed them. Nothing, however, led 
 me back so completely to those olden days as the 
 frame of an Irish war-harp, such as the minstrels 
 bore to the battle-field. This was of oak, almost 
 black with age, rude, but perfect in form, and about 
 two or three feet high. I should have liked to have 
 borrowed it for a day, to muse over the recollections 
 that it could not fail to excite. It was to me very 
 touching to see the owner of these treasures, in the 
 enjoyment of a healthful and vigorous ripeness of 
 
DUBLIN. 107 
 
 years, moving tranquilly among his stores, pointing 
 out and explaining, with all the bland courtesy of a 
 better era of manners, what was worthy of remark j 
 and to remember through what fearful sruggies he 
 had passed, manfully braving the forefront of danger, 
 in defence of that very castle, and of the Protestant 
 faith and name, forty years ago. I found the Major 
 keenly alive to the importance of the Irish language, 
 as a means Of achieving what the sword can nevei 4 
 effect among this people ; and I left the vice-regal 
 edifice, more than ever convinced that Ireland has 
 never yet been conquered, never will be, till the sword 
 of the Spirit be deeply buried in her bosom. 
 
 At Bethesda, on a Sunday morning, we had a 
 Valuable discourse from the Eev. John Gregg ) in 
 return for which, I must ungratefully give him a 
 scolding in the vestry. I never before saw him 
 exercising his gifts anywhere but among the native 
 Irish, hundreds of whom I have assisted to collect 
 about him in the suburbs of London, to hear the 
 " story o'paace" in their own tongue. It made me 
 jealous on behalf of the perishing Irish, that one so 
 surpassingly eloquent in that language should even 
 for a day wrap his talent in a napkin, and preach to an 
 English-speaking congregation. I told him so; and 
 obtained the only redress I could get, a promise that 
 in his circuits on the home mission he would always 
 select the most Irish district, and devote himself as 
 much as possible to the native race. I cannot bear 
 to see any servant of God, possessed of that incal 
 culably precious gift — the power of addressing these 
 lost sheep of an ancient fold, and calling them to 
 return to the good Shepherd — employed in any other 
 
108 LETTER IV. 
 
 work; and little as the congregation of Bethesda 
 might thank me, I would silence for ever, if I could, 
 their dear pastor's English tongue, and lay him under 
 a bond to speak Irish only to the end of his days. 
 
 The afternoon was devoted to indulging my young 
 companion with a visit to St. Patrick's cathedral, of 
 which I speedily repented : for though the excellent 
 dean takes care to compel its frequenters to hear the 
 gospel, by giving the sermon before the anthem, 
 which is the principal attraction to that service, no 
 power of man can force such an assemblage as I there 
 beheld, to assume even the outward semblance of 
 devotion. It was painful ; and I know not what 
 would tempt me there again, while any other Protes- 
 tant church is open for public worship. 
 
 Our next destination is Westmeath 
 
LETTER V. 
 
 COUNTY WESTMEATH. 
 
 Near Mullingdr, Juh 
 ThiS almost central spot of Ireland, a centre of 
 mournful attraction to me, was a principal object of 
 my summer tour. After leaving Dublin, all that lay 
 before me was unexplored ground, and every indivi- 
 dual I could expect to meet, for some time, a stranger. 
 With heartfelt regret I bade adieu to my hospitable 
 friends in Dublin, and commenced the journey towards 
 a beautifully retired spot in the heart of Westmeath, 
 warmly invited where I was personally unknown. 
 The canal was chosen, as offering a speedier and much 
 more refreshing line of transit than the dusty roads. 
 Accordingly, at nine in the morning, we English 
 wanderers stepped into the boat, with a promise of 
 being met, a stage short of Mullingar, and conveyed 
 to the dwelling of our considerate entertainer. Many 
 things concurred to render the moment of embarkation 
 very depressing. You may judge whether my spirits 
 received a cheering impulse when I discovered that, 
 with the exception of the corner which I occupied, 
 and one over against me, the long narrow cabin was 
 entirely filled with priests, bound, as it appeared, for 
 Maynooth. Some especial work had called them to 
 Dublin, I suppose ; and this goodly freight of eleven 
 10 
 
1 10 LETTER V. 
 
 was returning' to college. None of them had the ap- 
 pearance of students ; all were evidently men of some 
 standing in their vocation; and, prejudice of every 
 kind apart, I regretted that habit of studying counte- 
 nances which has from childhood made me a physiog- 
 nomist, in spite of myself. Whether some untoward 
 occurrence had called the darker passions into exer- 
 cise, or whether an instinctive dislike of their com- 
 pany occasioned it, I know not j but looks more 
 ominous of ill I never encountered, than from under 
 the slouched hats and bent brows of my fellow- 
 voyagers, during the three hours that I was pent up in 
 their society. W., preferring the pleasant look-out 
 from the open boat, soon left me to enjoy alone my 
 singular privilege — singular in several respects, for 1 
 had in the portmanteau at my feet a great folio of 
 Foxe's Acts and Monuments, in my pocket Dr. New- 
 land's cutting expose of the antiscriptural Education 
 Board, and on my lap the plants that I had brought 
 from the top of Vinegar Hill. 
 
 Fancying myself in the Holy Inquisition, I could 
 not but think how it would fare with me had 
 all these silent witnesses been produced, and 
 their testimony received ; nor did it require any 
 great stretch of imagination to suppose such a junc- 
 ture. Had I been a man, openly observing them and 
 their country, asking information or taking notes, 
 I can readily imagine how bland, how courteous, ho\* 
 frank and agreeable the gentlemen around me would 
 have become ; but a female plainly attired, accompanied 
 only by a school-boy, and giving no token of reveren 
 tial homage to " the clergy," was not calculated to 
 induce any disguise on their part. Glances of stem 
 
COUNTY WESTMEATH 111 
 
 displeasure, quite unprovoked, frequently crossed my 
 view, as I took a peep towards the opposite windows. 
 The conversation was low, and much of it in Irish, as 
 W., who knows a little of the language, informed me. 
 l cannot say that, with the exception of one elderly 
 man, who looked mild and thoughtful, and said very 
 little, there was a face that I could have wished to 
 see again. Yet some of them were very handsome 
 men, and all had a most gentlemanly manner and de- 
 meanour. Each was habited in black — good broad- 
 cloth it appeared, with a fresh gloss on it ; each had 
 the distinguishing badge of a Romish priest, the broad- 
 hemmed collar of white lawn turned down, about two 
 inches in depth, over the upper edge of his black stock. 
 Two had clerical slouched hats, and one of these wore 
 the habit of some monastic order, a coat rather loose, 
 with exceedingly wide sleeves, the cuffs of which 
 folded one over another as he sat with closed hands. 
 
 I felt as if under the influence of an uneasy dream : 
 I strove to pray, and did pray for these destroyers of 
 their own souls, and of the souls of the poor. I 
 thought of our blessed Reformers, every one of whom 
 l]ad been as they, before the Hoi} 7 Spirit enlightened 
 their darkness ; I thought of Nolan and others, actually 
 brought up among those very individuals, yet now 
 preaching the faith which once they destroyed. These 
 recollections encouraged the secret prayer, but no 
 effort would dispel the gloom that overhung me as 
 1 realized the presence of the very priests of Rome ; 
 contrasting as I could not help doing, their expensive 
 attire, and the look alike of high feeding and high- 
 mindedness, with the penury, the privations, the deep 
 depression, to which their wicked machinations 
 
112 LETTER V. 
 
 * 
 
 tions had reduced the dear servants of Christ, the 
 faithful, devoted ministers of the Irish Church. Had 
 they assumed an aspect less dark and haughty, I 
 might not have felt these impressions with equal 
 force ; but the reality of the case could not have been, 
 affected by any externals ; and miserably uncomfort- 
 able as it made me, I rejoiced that it was not my lot 
 to be imposed on by the lamb's face, so easily assumed 
 at the dragon's will. Knowing as I do what Popery 
 is, why should I desire to behold her masked 1 
 
 When the boat approached Maynooth, a general 
 preparation for paying the fares was made. Each 
 drew forth his money, to be in readiness for the ex- 
 pected demand. The silver counted out, and gathered 
 together on the narrow table, was far from diverting 
 my thoughts into a pleasanter channel : they sickened 
 with two-fold pain, as I involuntarily reverted to the 
 source of that income. Oh, what a tissue of abomi- 
 nations had been spread before those men in the con- 
 fessional ! How slightly, how treacherously, had the 
 desperate hurt of the daughter of their people been 
 healed by the deceptive " Go in peace."* I thought 
 of the poor, despised immortals, for whose soul no 
 man cares — of the poverty-stricken creature who, % 
 having with difficulty contrived to scrape together the 
 stipulated sum, though but of a few pence, goes and 
 barters it for a lie that leaves his former sins unatoned 
 for, unrepented of, while it encourages him to the 
 commission of more. I seemed more distinctly than 
 
 * The words with which the Romish priest dismisses the so- 
 called penitent, who has confessed his sins, paid his dues, and de- 
 parts to commence a new score. 
 
COUNTY WESTMEATH. 113 
 
 I 
 
 ever to see that fearful item in the catalogue of great 
 Babylor^s merchandize (Rev. xviii. 13), "and souls 
 of men j' 1 and yet again I prayed that I never might 
 fee permitted to fall into the snare of seeming to con- 
 sent to, or to connive at, or to tolerate, any scheme 
 whatever that would in its operation leave a single 
 soul for a single day under the power of that mystery 
 of iniquity whereof the men around me were the 
 sworn, the ucttve agents. 
 
 A smart Mr, as we touched the pier, gave the wel- 
 come F.iguai of release. 1 sat next the entrance, and 
 as they severally brushed past me, and stooped to 
 avail t/iewyy elves of the low, narrow doorway, I did 
 indeed b/fithe over each a prayer from my inmost 
 !ieari T that God would convert him from the deadly 
 irro: A his way. I felt a pang, too, of remorse for 
 not living attempted to win them to converse on a 
 Mi'dV»t that might have laid the foundation of an an- 
 swer to that prayer; but, all things considered, it was 
 really not possible. At the same time the problem 
 appeared more inexplicable than ever, how men of 
 learning both human and divine, and in other instances 
 evidently desiring to advance the Redeemer's king- 
 dom, could pass hours on the road, yea, within the 
 very walls of that Maynooth, and carefully avoid say- 
 ing a word that might tend to the salvation of its de- 
 luded, guilty inmates ; and even bargain with a more 
 zealous companion for a silence that was pain, grief, 
 and conscious guilt to his spirit. From all false cha- 
 rity and expediency-loving unfaithfulness, good Lord 
 deliver me ! 
 
 Disburdened of our priestly freight, the boat sped 
 lightly on. I just sent a parting glance after them, 
 10* 
 
114t LETTER V. 
 
 as they wound, a long black line, upon the innocent 
 green sod towards the great curse of Ireland, the foul 
 blot of England's unrighteous legislation — Maynooth : 
 then, without being tempted even to look upon its 
 outline, I turned to the opposite bank, and breathed 
 freely. We were passing through a flat country, an 
 extent of bog frequently enclosing us on either hand, 
 no otherwise diversified than by the clamps, or as 
 you would call them, stacks of black turf, carefully 
 piled up to dry and harden in the sun ; and by the 
 abodes of the turf-cutters, which being more of exca- 
 vations than buildings, and roofed over with luxuriant 
 vegetation, presented the appearance of hillocks, ra- 
 ther than of human habitations. I was not, however, 
 travelling in search of the picturesque, though, had 1 
 been so, there was a charm in the novelty, the lone- 
 someness, the interminable extent, to reconcile me to 
 that ocean of swarthy moor, whence in the far dis- 
 tance, the peak of some lofty mountain seemed to 
 rise, like a rock amid the waves. But other associa- 
 tions occupied my mind : to me, the dark desert was 
 a white field under the harvest. I knew that, unat- 
 tractive as is its aspect, peat soil is one of the richest 
 loams ; for the most luxuriant garden I had ever pos- 
 sessed was a reclaimed acre of that very bog. Yet 
 had a stranger totally unacquainted with its properties 
 been told that the dreary monotonous waste around 
 him would afford a more promising field for agricultural 
 enterprise than any other land that we had yet looked 
 upon, he would probably have returned an incredu- 
 lous smile. Even so, I thought, it is with regard to 
 the forlorn, the squalid, the half-civilized objects 
 now moving upon its surface. Prejudice, building on 
 
COUNTY WESTMEATH. 115 
 
 mere externals of character and condition, repels the 
 plea that would encourage to a nobler experiment 
 than that of reclaiming bog-land. Not only among 
 the gentry of England, but among those of Ireland 
 too, does this erroneous impression prevail. The 
 attempt has never been fairly made ; therefore it is 
 concluded to be hopeless. The person who, twenty 
 years ago, should have asserted that it was practica- 
 ble to lay down an iron road from London to Liver- 
 pool, and to travel the distance in eight hours, without 
 animal assistance, would not have been regarded as a 
 more chimerical projector than he is who says that 
 the turbulent Irish papist, employed in cutting turf 
 from a bog, may himself be as effectually reclaimed, 
 improved, and rendered fruitful in all good things as 
 the bog itself frequently is. Yet the transit to Liver- 
 pool, under the circumstances mentioned, is no longer 
 matter of conjecture or experiment. Alas, that such 
 daring enterprise, such unwearied labor, such a pro- 
 digality of outlay should be eagerly brought to bear 
 on a matter of commercial improvement and indivi< 
 dual convenience, while all are withheld from the 
 nobler essay of conferring present happiness and open* 
 ing the gate of eternal life to the vast population of 
 this distracted, guilty land ! To drain away the black 
 stagnations of error and bigotry, to break up the stub- 
 born spirit beneath the gospel plough, to sow the 
 seed of divine truth, and lay down the enclosures of 
 equitable restraint, and build the shelter that poverty 
 and feebleness require — is all this more impracticable 
 than it was to bid yonder little village where they are 
 waiting with fresh horses for our boat, rise and flour 
 ish on a tract of this extensive bog ] It is alike a 
 
11G LETTER V. 
 
 libel on human nature and an insult to the most high 
 God to assert it. 
 
 Such were my imaginings as I leaned upon the 
 open window, and met the smiles of innumerable 
 lovely flowers that overhung 1 either edge of the canal. 
 Occasionally a party of children whose bright merry 
 looks contrasted strangely with the filthy tatters that 
 scarcely veiled their light forms, would start off in a 
 race along the side, encouraged by the halfpence that 
 we flung in their path. One little fellow, apparently 
 not five years old, exhibited a striking specimen of 
 Irish energy and resolution, and reaped a proportion- 
 able reward. It was pleasant to think that the few 
 pence so sportively earned by the poor children 
 would help to eke out the wretched family meal. I 
 longed to build a school on the boo-, though it had 
 
 D CD 7 O 
 
 been but by hollowing out a clamp of turf, and to 
 gather these dear little lambs, and lead them to Jesus. 
 My heart perhaps expanded more widely from the 
 painful contraction that it had suffered during the 
 earlier part of the day, retaining too the vivid im- 
 pression of those hours. Certes, whatever else my 
 plan of improvement might leave on the bog, May- 
 nooth should be fairly drained out of it. 
 
 We were, of course, ascending from the level of 
 the sea, and at every lock we had to rise. I was in 
 the mood to take everything in the way of an illus- 
 tration, and the beautiful, imposing process by which 
 the water obtains its level, under such circumstances 
 furnished another type. The partition which sepa- 
 rates the two classes in this country is altogether an 
 artificial, an unnatural one. It raises the one too 
 high, and depresses the other too low. Remove the 
 
COUNTY WESTMEATH. ] 17 
 
 foreign influence, by first breaking its compact force 
 and then fairly turning it away, and though you may 
 provoke a terrible splashing, with no small noise and 
 commotion, and a few thumps, perhaps, against the 
 wall, you will soon be overpaid for your trouble and 
 annoyance by the delightfully calm and united flow 
 of the level stream. This, this is the true " meeting 
 of the waters." 
 
 When the storms that we feel in this rude world should cease, 
 And our hearts like these waters flow mingled in peace. 
 
 God grant it ! I will never cease praying for it while 
 I live ; nor ever cease hoping while I can pray. 
 Take away Popery, and Ireland as she ought to be 
 will stand out in all the beauty that is now shrouded 
 in corruption ; all the capabilities that are now per- 
 verted to the very worst purposes. Bring to the 
 Lord the offering of this rescued people: and see 
 whether he would not open the windows of heaven 
 and pour us out a blessing that there should not be 
 room enough to receive it.* 
 
 The higher we advanced, the more striking was 
 the aspect of the water. I looked down, and traced 
 to their very roots the long green stalks of the 
 aquatic plants that gave to its surface the appearance 
 of a field rather than that of a stream, except where 
 the constant passage of the boats kept a clear track 
 open. The water was not merely transparent, it 
 possessed a gleam resembling that of topaz. The 
 sunshine glanced back from its bed with a softened 
 lustre ; and the tinge must have been from that re- 
 flection, since the liquid itself is colorless as th© 
 
 ♦Malachi lii. 10. 
 
118 LETTER V. 
 
 purest crystal. Do you know whence that water 
 comes ] From Lough Ouel, the spot that I so long-, 
 yet dread, to visit ; the scene of the heaviest calamity 
 that ever wrung my bosom ; where the sun that glad- 
 dened my early years, and brightened a darker period 
 of existence, went down at noon. The hundred 
 springs of Lough Ouel supply the waters that cover 
 1600 acres where they rise, forming the lake ; and 
 from them alone is derived the fine stream that car- 
 ries the traffic of Westmeath to Dublin. 
 
 The bridge of Downs, where we found the carriage 
 waiting for us, is only a landing-place. Our way 
 then lay across a tract of bog, sufficiently dreary, 
 whence it issued on pretty cross roads; and these 
 led us to one of the finest demesnes possible. Lands 
 reclaimed, planted, cultivated, and sprinkled with 
 decent cabins, told well for the proprietor of the soil; 
 a yet fairer testimony was afforded when on ap- 
 proaching the park-gate a whole swarm of healthy, 
 well-clad children issued from the grounds. The 
 school-house I did not see ; but the happy intelligent 
 looks of the little ones, among whom were mere 
 infants, gave promise of a rich treat in store for me, 
 — nor was I disappointed. The mansion is spacious ; 
 a fine entrance hall always impresses me in favor of 
 a house ; and this was further beautified by the inex 
 pressible charm of an Irish welcome. Even just 
 within the door I was met by the lady of this fine 
 estate, who with all the buoyancy of manner that be- 
 speaks the active energy of a mind for many years 
 devoted to works of benevolent usefulness, and all 
 the graceful cordiality that wins at once affection 
 and respect, received me not with the formal courtesy 
 
COUNTY WESTMEATH. 119 
 
 due to a stranger guest, but with the warm embrace 
 of maternal affection best calculated to soothe a spirit 
 at that time unavoidably wounded. For I ought to 
 tell you, as an instance of the feeling so honorable to 
 the Irish character, that I was invited to make a stay 
 in this house expressly because of its proximity to 
 Mullingar, and the facilities enjoyed by its kind owner 
 for gratifying my wish to explore the neighborhood. 
 If any person does not love the Irish as I do, it is 
 simply and solely because he does not know the Irish 
 as I do. 
 
 Mrs. S. has taken care to fortify her htfuse, living 
 as she does in the heart of a very disturbed country. 
 If you ask for a sketch of her fortifications, it is soon 
 given, without the aid of pencil or compasses. Her 
 body-guard is composed of a large number of those 
 same turbulent Paddies, constantly engaged by day 
 in various kinds of labor, on fair wages, whose cab- 
 ins are often brightened and their hearts cheered by 
 her benevolent attentions. Near the entrance by 
 which an assailing party would probably approach, 
 are three fortresses in the shape of exceedingly ele- 
 gant little cottages, mantled with roses and honey- 
 suckle, and garrisoned with a formidable troop in 
 three divisions, of which, the most effective, I should 
 think, comprises warriors and amazons between the 
 ages of three and eight years. Nothing could exceed 
 the spirit and celerity with which this respectable 
 corps went through their exercises, under the com- 
 mand of their smiling captain, Miss S., and the war- 
 song which they lustily chanted at the pitch of their 
 voices, from the pages of Watts, would at least have 
 daunted their fathers and elder brothers from prose- 
 
120 LETTER V. 
 
 r.uting any hostile design. The other detachments 
 were formed of older boys and girls, most of them 
 promoted in course of service from the light infantry 
 battalion. 
 
 These schools were of many years standing ; see 
 ing the Bible in general and evidently constant use, I 
 asked Mrs. S. how the priest liked her plan. She 
 replied, smiling^ Not much she believed,* but so long 
 as the parents and children were agreed as to their 
 coming, she made no. further inquiry. Jn fact, the 
 greater number of active young laborers on the pro- 
 perty were educated by her • and the bare idea of any 
 advantage being taken of the lonely situation of the 
 house, and the very small proportion of male inhabit- 
 ants now occupying it, excites a laugh of playful 
 derision. Mindful of my adventure at Templeshanbo, 
 I requested to be introduced to the watch dogs ; and 
 was gratified by being allowed to pat a most venerable 
 specimen of a superanuated Dane, toothless, and just 
 able to obey the kind summons that called him to the 
 hall door. "But surely you have others," said I, 
 after duly noticing the good-tempered animal. " No," 
 replied Miss S. " Mamma is not fond of pet dogs." 
 "But for protection" — "Against what? we have 
 nothing to be afraid of here." In fact, when crossing 
 a long corridor late that night, to leave a message 
 with W., I found the windows entirely unfastened, no 
 shutters closed, nor even a sash bolted down, in a 
 place where I could myself have scaled them, without 
 the help of a ladder, by means of the portico. The 
 circumstance brought home to my mind the peculi- 
 arities of my dear Wexford friends' situation. As 
 yet, open war is not declared against the landlords 
 
COUNTY WESTMEATH. 121 
 
 but the Protestant clergy are doomed to destruction. 
 No extent of benevolence, no claim on the gratitude 
 of their priest-led neighbors, can obtain for them 
 remission of that deadly sin, the preaching of the gos- 
 pel of Christ. A restraining hand is indeed laid on 
 the fierceness of man's wrath, and the blessed work 
 of giving scriptural instruction to the children is no 
 doubt a powerful means, overruled for their defence : 
 but the rrienace is perpetually conveyed, the sanguin- 
 ary intimation given, and hostile demonstrations 
 made, for the avowed purpose of silencing and expel- 
 ling all preachers of righteousness. 
 
 I must not here say too much of what is exclusively 
 personal. I have visited the two spots, the lake and 
 the church-yard, and have gathered from many 
 sources all the sad particulars that I was in quest of. 
 I could not have believed that after a lapse of nine 
 years, an event so unhappily common as a drowning 
 on that most fatal, most lovely lake could be remem- 
 bered, and spoken of with such vivid interest, by all 
 classes. Yet so it is. I have, as an unconcerned 
 stranger, introduced the subject while purchasing 
 articles in the shops of the neat little town, and have 
 invariably been told some touching incidents con- 
 nected with the tale, or witnessed some burst of feel- 
 ing, some simple but eloquent testimony to the love 
 that he never failed to attract during his life, and the 
 heart-felt sorrow excited by the sad spectacle, that in 
 all the solemn pomp of military magnificence wound 
 its way through these streets to yonder burying 
 ground. It seems as though the parting shot still 
 reverberated through their habitations ; so very dis- 
 tinct is their recollection of it all. And when the fact 
 11 
 
122 LETTER V. 
 
 was betrayed, that no uninterested stranger was before 
 them, the sympathy expressed assumed a character 
 of tenderness that did not surprise, though it sweetly 
 soothed me : for they are Irish. 
 
 Here I must give you an instance illustrative of the 
 spontaneous expression of real, practical sympathy, 
 which occurred at the time. When the event was 
 witnessed from the shore, when the little boat upset, 
 and the suffocating waters received their prey, a boy 
 was dispatched for instant medical succor. On the 
 road he was met by a gentleman driving a gig, who 
 demanded the cause of his frantic haste, to expedite 
 which he had thrown off his jacket. " Dont stop 
 me," cried the lad, "an officer is drowning in the lake, 
 I am going for a doctor." The gentleman sprang 
 from his gig, released the horse in a moment from 
 the heavier part of the harness, and seizing the boy, 
 threw him across the animal, exclaiming, " Mount, 
 mount and gallop." He was obeyed, and remained 
 by his gig in the road until the return of the stranger 
 to whom he had thus nobly entrusted a valuable horse, 
 in the pure impulse of a benevolent and compassionate 
 heart. 
 
 Lough Ouel is a lovely murderer. The golden 
 gleam that struck me in the canal, is here in double 
 beauty: and such is the exquisite purity of the water, 
 such the pavement of pebbles beneath, that I was 
 assured the depth often feet made no perceptible dif- 
 ference from that of two, where I stood. Even the 
 disturbance of the conflict with the king of terrors 
 did not obscure the crystal beauty of the element : 
 the man who, alas too late ! drew him to the surface, 
 told me this: and many a corroborative voice con- 
 
COUNTY WESTMEATH. 123 
 
 firmed it. Strange, that from so many dreadful bat- 
 tle-fields he should have come forth, a conqueror and 
 unhurt, to fall at last under the destroying power of 
 an element so soft and sweet as is the water of this 
 lake, surrounded by all that convey to the mind an 
 image of perfect tranquillity and repose. Lough Ouel 
 is three miles in length, and in breadth about one. 
 Its gently undulating outline leads the eye to banks 
 that rise with a gradual swell, slightly wooded. There 
 are several little islands rising from the water of an 
 emerald green, and crested with tall feathery young 
 trees. I marked them well : for by their bearings I 
 was directed to trace the precise spot. A young pea- 
 sant, who as a boy had witnessed the event, most 
 kindly offered to row me to it ; but I could not have 
 borne that. It was enough to stand upon the very- 
 place where the dear lifeless body was landed, and to 
 look out and to bless God for his restraining grace. 
 I had always dreaded the prevalence of bitterly rebel- 
 lious feelings, whenever I should be permitted to visit 
 that scene ; but never was my spirit more completely 
 bowed in resignation, submission, and a soothing 
 conviction that it was well. The beautiful Lough, 
 against which I had cherished so deep an enmity, 
 looked like a friend that had gently conveyed him to 
 his Father's house : it reflected the face of heaven on 
 its bosom, and spoke sweet peace to my mind. Before 
 leaving it, I dipped my hand, and tasted its waters ; 
 they were sweet and refreshing as the purest springs 
 could make them. It was a token of reconciliation : 
 I felt it so, and departed in peace. 
 
 The church-yard was a sorer trial; and it was 
 encountered first. Yet there, too, alleviations were 
 
124 LETTER V. 
 
 found singularly chiming in with the peculiar trains 
 of thought that belong to his memory. 
 
 He had been a soldier from his boyhood, and died 
 jn the midst of his routine of military duty. It hap- 
 pened that on the morning of my sorrowful visit, a 
 soldier's wedding occasioned the church to be opened, 
 and while struggling with the first intolerable agony 
 that almost prostrated me on the grave, I was joined 
 by the good clergyman who buried him, and after- 
 wards by the sexton. The latter told me that being 
 himself an old soldier, he had taken care to lay all the 
 military whom he had buried in a close file; so that 
 no others but officers and their families were there; 
 and what touched my feelings more nearly, the graves 
 could not be broken up while the church stood where 
 it does. Another circumstance you will understand, 
 if you remember how peculiarly I have from infancy 
 associated the sweet flower of May with hirn, who 
 was born in the middle of that month. The church- 
 yard of Mullingar is, in one part, a thicket of haw- 
 thorn trees ; and every summer gust during their 
 show, must strew his resting-place with the blossoms. 
 These are trifling matters, but they had their effect ; 
 and I am not afraid to bless God for all that helped 
 me to trace a drop of honey in that very hitter cup. 
 I spoke long and earnestly to all who had any hand in 
 the closing scenes, particularly to the old sexton, and 
 to those whose fruitless efforts on the lake I could so 
 well appreciate. God grant that none of those words 
 may ever rise up in the judgment against them! 
 
 With the true delicacy that enhances every act of 
 kindness here conferred, I was allowed to enjoy the 
 sad satisfaction of this visit unaccompanied, save by 
 
COILNTY WESTMEATH. 125 
 
 one who had no difficulty in recalling and pointing out 
 to me many things that had made a deeper impression 
 on his then infant mind, from the awful close of his 
 sojourn here, the sudden departure of the widow and 
 the fatherless from a place where they had passed so 
 many joyous hours, and anticipated many more. A 
 carriage was placed at my command for the day, and 
 it was with no small thankfulness that I had to ac- 
 knowledge the refreshment afforded by visits to the 
 families of a truly pious officer, and a devoted clergy- 
 man, both personally strangers until then: both eager 
 to pour the sweetest balm of Christian sympathy into 
 the re-opened wounds that will never fully close until 
 the spirit be unclothed of its earthly tabernacle. 
 How precious are such palm-trees and wells in the 
 desert ! 
 
 Returning to my dear kind friends at G , I 
 
 was told that the next morning must see us on an ex- 
 cursion to the banks of Lough Belvidere ; and thither 
 we went in the phaeton, through shady little cross- 
 roads, terminating at length in a most noble demesne, 
 through which we drove to one of those stately old- 
 fashioned mansions, which, particularly when, as in 
 this instance, they are in a disfurnished dilapidated 
 state, irresistibly lead back the mind to the olden 
 times, and throw around it a sort of spell dissimilar 
 from every other charm. Ascending a wide flight of 
 steps, we found ourselves in a spacious hall, with lib- 
 erty to wander into the rooms that on all sides lay 
 open to our view. The estate has recently been pur- 
 chased by a wealthy and titled gentleman, who is about 
 to do ample justice to its long neglected beauties. A 
 man of business-like appearance was taking a survey 
 11* 
 
126 LETTER V. 
 
 of the dwelling; and at his elbow was a Romish 
 priest of most rough and unprepossessing aspect. Go 
 where we would, we were sure to find these two en- 
 gaged in earnest conversation ; and there seemed 
 some fatality in our continually blundering into what 
 ever apartment they had taken possession of. It was 
 as though I had been doomed never to enjoy anything 
 Irish, without having Ireland's evil genius perpetu- 
 ally before me, to throvy a darkening shadow on what 
 is so lovely and fair. 
 
 Our object in entering the house was to survey the 
 beautiful prospect from the various windows. This is 
 a splendid lake, much larger than Lough Ouel, and is 
 remarkable for the constant swell that even in the 
 calmest weather appears upon its waters. The banks 
 in most parts are steep, richly wooded, and in some 
 places even presenting headlands and promontories of 
 rock. It is indeed a magnificent piece of water, and 
 the neglected state of the extensive grounds and 
 house long uninhabited, adds a charm to what is in 
 itself so lovely. The recommendation of wildness, 
 however, will soon give place to that of improved 
 culture, under the direction of its present proprietor; 
 leaving me to rejoice that I beheld it as it now is. 
 
 Quitting this enchanting spot, we proceeded to the 
 adjoining territory. Here a noble gateway excluded 
 instead of admitting us. We were obliged to leave 
 the carriage outside, and to scramble over heaps of 
 stones, the fragments of its original decorations, and 
 to make our way through a thicket, overtopped by 
 huo-e trees, until we reached a smaller, but more im- 
 posingly situated house. It stands perched on the 
 crest of a hill, which, even from the hall door, sweeps 
 
COUNTY WESTMEATH. 127 
 
 down by a most rapid descent to the water's edge. 
 This intervening declivity presents the appearance of 
 a very fine lawn ; and on the right hand side lies a 
 garden at a great depth below. If these two seats, 
 Belvidere and Rochefort, lay open to each other's 
 view, as naturally they would do, the prospect from 
 either would rival anything I have yet seen of pictu- 
 resque and varied beauty ; but alas ! a barrier exists, 
 not so displeasing to the eye as distressing to the 
 mind. Two brothers, it seems, owned the estates, I 
 know not how long since ; who in the unnatural war- 
 fare of a fierce litigious contest, became so hardened 
 in enmity that each impaired the beauty of his own 
 portion by endeavoring as much as possible to inter- 
 rupt and mar the other's view. A range of stabling, 
 so built as to present the aspect of a venerable ruin 
 on the owner's side, formed a great eye-sore to the 
 brother : and the various schemes of retaliation de- 
 vised by these unhappy combatants, for mutual annoy- 
 ance, have effected all that man can do to impair the 
 work of God. The property is now in other hands j 
 and we may hope to see these humiliating monuments 
 of wrath and strife removed. Of all the strange things 
 in this perplexing world nothing appears to me more 
 unaccountable than that there should be a lack of love 
 between brothers and sisters. My thoughts hovered 
 more fondly than ever around the scene of yester- 
 day's pilgrimage ; and once more I blessed the Lord 
 that from the cradle to that grave no root of bitter- 
 ness had sprung up to alloy the sweets of fraternal 
 affection and confidence, or that oneness of interest 
 and feeling that could enjoy no unshared prosperity, 
 or allow any unparticipated grief. 
 
128 LETTER V. 
 
 Our homeward drive showed me to greater advan- 
 tage the fine grounds encompassing this mansion. 
 Fifty-two acres of rich land are laid out in groves, 
 gardens, lawns, and a miniature lake, fringed with 
 stately trees. The most singular feature 01 the place, 
 and to me perhaps the most attractive, is what they 
 call the grass garden. It is a long slip of land, lying 
 beside the pretty stream that supplies the afore- 
 said pretty lake, covered with that rich verdure 
 in which the emerald isle proudly defies competition: 
 saving that a multitude of little beds are cut out 
 in various directions, and so arranged that the choic- 
 est, loveliest, most fragrant flowers seem to grow up 
 from the very grass itself ; with a perfect grove of 
 dark trees and aromatic shrubs overhanging it on 
 one side, while on the other ripples the stream, be- 
 yond which rises another grove; the grass garden is 
 a bewitching spot. These Irish are sad voluptuaries ; 
 give them but a plot of ground and time, they will 
 make such a paradise of sweets, and that with so little 
 of the artificial about it, that you are tempted, when 
 once within its precincts, to forget your cares, your 
 very duties in the bustling world, and to imagine you 
 were invested with the privilege of our first father, 
 ere his sin had changed the beauty of this world and 
 his own into corruption. You are in a garden where 
 the creature's hand has but followed the track of cre- 
 ative magnificence; and you feel as though all your 
 business with this earth was now only to dress and to 
 keep it, and to enjoy its enchanting beauties. 
 
LETTER VI. 
 
 WESTMEATH TO DOWN. 
 
 Newry, July. 
 In spite of all remonstrances, our dear hospitable 
 entertainer would rise at an unconscionably early hour 
 to dispense with her own kind hands the plentiful 
 breakfast prepared ; and then, freighting her carriage 
 with abundance of provision for our day's journey, 
 dismissed us with a farewell even more tenderly 
 affectionate than her first welcome had been, to Mul- 
 lingar, whence I had resolved to cross the country by 
 private roads, instead of retracing my way to Dublin, 
 there to take a northern stage. Private travelling is 
 infinitely more agreeable, particularly when you can 
 choose both route and vehicle, and take your own 
 time ; and my Westmeath friends, heartily approving 
 my contempt for the fears that beset some tourists in 
 this country, commended the choice. Four days had 
 so endeared to me the place and its inmates, that 1 left it 
 with the reluctant regret of one who had long been 
 attached to both. A more painful farewell, however, 
 remained to be taken : had I known the excess of its 
 bitterness, I should scarcely have allowed myself that 
 second visit to the spot. To find him there was indeed 
 a searching trial of feeling : but to leave him there 
 
130 LETTER VI. 
 
 seemed to rend every fibre of the heart. Rebellion 
 did surely for some moments prevail ; but the two 
 concluding lines of the inscription over which my eye 
 wandered almost unconsciously, came at that moment 
 with the effect that they feebly describe. 
 
 Hush, rising griefs : submit, rebellious will ; 
 Faith looks to Jesus, and the storm is still. 
 
 It was indeed His gentle voice that alone could 
 calm the internal workings of a mind more excited 
 than the tempestuous waves. I walked among the 
 hawthorn trees until power was given to bid a quiet and 
 almost a contented farewell. Little prospect, there is 
 of revisiting the scene : but no matter ! There was a 
 word of promise hidden in my heart from which I 
 had often drawn sweet solace : and now it spoke to 
 me with an application as personal as ever it carried 
 to the bosom of the mourner of Bethany — " Thy 
 brother shall rise again." 
 
 At the hotel I had ordered an open car to Trim ; 
 but a deluge of rain coming on obliged us to change 
 it for a post-chaise. Once more, and for the last time, 
 as I supposed, I reaped the fruit of the universal love 
 and admiration in which he had been held, and the 
 deep sympathy excited by his fate ; for when the 
 master ascertained our relationship, the usual civility 
 shown by his class in Ireland became heightened into an 
 assiduous kindness and respectful attention, the origin 
 of which made them doubly welcome. Even here, I 
 was constrained to smile at the deportment of a group 
 of beggars. Knowing as I do how entirely this class 
 of the poor Irish are driven to subsist on charity, I 
 never like to refuse a trifle : however, to rid myself 
 
WESTMEATH TO DOWN. 131 
 
 of much superfluous importunity, 1 addressed the 
 eager applicants on my first alighting in the easy way 
 that always takes with them. " Now mind, I am going 
 to stay an hour or two in Mullingar : I shall start from 
 this hotel : and if you will be quiet and not follow me 
 about, I will give each of you something before I go." 
 This assurance was received with a chorus of bless- 
 ings pronounced in every imaginable variety of lan- 
 guage | and down they squatted on the ground, about 
 the door, with looks so full of glee, that you who are 
 accustomed to the aspect, real or assumed, of the 
 same class in England, would never have guessed at 
 their profession. 
 
 I had, or fancied that I had, numerous wants to be 
 supplied at the various shops which stud the opposite 
 side of the single, very lengthy street of Mullingar. 
 On returning from the church-yard, I commenced this 
 course of shopping, and my poor women watched 
 every movement from their station. At last the most 
 wheedling old creature you ever saw crossed over to 
 me, and began with, u Darling lady, I have looked 
 after your blessed steps all the morning: won't I get 
 the halfpenny. no wl" " No, for you know we agreed 
 to wait till I should set off." Just then, the reason of 
 her appeal became apparent ; a famished looking 
 creature whom I ha*l not seen before presented herself 
 with two pale babes, and began — u 8he has no family 
 to care for, and 1" — (i Oh," I interrupted, "you must 
 not be jealous of each other ; you don't know my 
 promise," which I repeated, including her in it. The 
 poor woman fell back directly, with a still sad, but 
 very thankful countenance. I went to two more 
 shops, and finding the body of claimants likely to 
 
132 LETTER VI* 
 
 increase greatly, and also seeing the near approach 
 of heavy rain, I supplied myself with change, beckon- 
 ed to the party opposite, and immediately had the 
 most motley assemblage pressing round me that could 
 be conceived. I was resolved to put their subordina- 
 tion, that is to say, the civilisation of Irish savages, still 
 farther to the test; so said, u You must not crowd 
 me, you know: just stand out in a proper line." It 
 was done immediately; and none had reason to regret 
 their good conduct ; on which, by the by, 1 compli- 
 mented them greatly. Such a scene would not have 
 done in a more public place ; but the hour Was so 
 early, and all around so quiet, that there was nothing 
 to prevent it. One remark I must add — when the 
 long delay occasioned by the rain had fairly laid me 
 open to afresh application from another party, not a 
 creature appeared to ask alms: the former group 
 remained at a distance, others being with them ; all 
 had their eyes fixed on us; many raised their voices 
 to send a blessing with us ; but some feeling appeared 
 to withhold the approach of every individual. Now, 
 have I not added one more to the many instances that 
 I have in conversation related to you, justifying my 
 assertion that the poorest, the most uncivilized of 
 these despised Irish, are, under proper management, 
 the most tractable people in the world 1 The smile to 
 which I alluded was not one of merriment, but that 
 expression of affectionate good-humor without which 
 all the rest had been in vain : at least, though under 
 different treatment a sense of their helpless depend- 
 ence might have forced them to wait, like hungry but 
 well-kicked dogs for a bone, the pleased and gratified 
 feeling that gave such a peculiar alacrity to their 
 
WESTMEATH TO DOWN. 133 
 
 obedience would have been wanting. My first object 
 was merely selfish — the anxiety of a harassed mind 
 to escape a teasing annoyance at such a time. By 
 degrees it assumed a better character, and ended in a 
 train of thought well calculated to soften the agoniz- 
 ing severity of feelings and regrets purely my own. 
 Some tourists jest with the beggars in Ireland ; others 
 execrate, or bitterly complain of them. I don't 
 know whether any are in the habit of trying how far 
 a little relief and plenty of civility combined will go 
 to neutralize their troubles. Five shillings will carry 
 any one, on this plan, a hundred miles in good-humor 
 with himself, and in high favor with the objects of his 
 bounty. 
 
 Of the scenery north-east of Mullingar, I can tell 
 you very little. Sheets of water continued to 
 descend, making the windows as opaque as though 
 their material had been ground glass. Whenever a 
 temporary cessation of the torrent allowed us to take 
 a glimpse, pure unsophisticated bog was the sum- 
 total of the amount on either side: but to me, who 
 know somewhat of the mysteries of turf-buying, it 
 appeared of a truly valuable kind, black, compact, and 
 heavy. I believe the soil here is peculiarly rich. 
 We struck at last into a very pretty road, well hung 
 on both sides with foliage, and exhibiting some hand- 
 some plantations and gardens. By this time, too, 
 the sun had broken forth with renovated splendor 5 
 and the glorious bow of promise spanned the scene, 
 so delictously fresh after those abundant showers. 
 Few things are more impressively typical of divine 
 influence on the heart of man, softened by some afflic- 
 tive dispensation, than the aspect of this earth when 
 12 
 
134 LETTER VI. 
 
 the sunshine falls upon foliage moist with summer 
 rain. In this instance the glow was so vivid, that 
 before we reached our halting-place, at the end of 
 the first eight or nine miles, scarcely any dampness 
 remained on the road; and while our horses were 
 refreshed, we indulged ourselves with a stroll into 
 what appeared a singular church-yard ; for the sacred 
 edifice was built in the very midst of an ornamental 
 plantation, surrounded by a handsome fence of stone, 
 which obliged us to commit somewhat of a trespass, 
 in availing ourselves of a partial gap to scale the for- 
 tifications. We did, however, obtain entrance this 
 way, and satisfied ourselves that the church was 
 really built on a private and very handsome demesne. 
 And a mile or two beyond this I came in contact, 
 for the first time, with what, I confess, roused some- 
 thing in my bosom not quite amicable to the vicere- 
 gency of the land. The newspapers have no doubt 
 informed you, that, in his zeal for the preservation of 
 this country, Lord Mulgrave had dispatched an army, 
 or something very much like it, to what Mr. O'Con- 
 nell calls the " black north." The occasion of this 
 military investment of the most devotedly loyal por- 
 tion of her Majesty's dominions, was the recurrence 
 of the 12th of July, the anniversary of the battle of 
 the Boyne, in 1690. Fears were entertained, or, if 
 not, they were pretended — which, you know, on state 
 occasions, comes to the same thing — fears lest the 
 loyalty of the northern men should issue in acts of 
 treason There was, indeed, ground for very serious 
 apprehension, lest the Protestants of those notoriously 
 disaffected counties, Armagh, Down, Londonderry, 
 Donegal, &c, might arm themselves with orange 
 
WESTMEATH TO DOWN. 135 
 
 lilies, to the great terror and annoyance of her Majes- 
 ty's peaceable Ribbon-men. To avert this formidable 
 display, and to coerce the incorrigible upholders of 
 the principles that placed the house of Brunswick on 
 the throne, his Excellency marched all the disposable 
 military forces in that direction, and arranged such a 
 concentration of the armed police as would suffice to 
 mark the paternal solicitude that throbs in the vice- 
 regal bosom for the encouragement of loyal and con- 
 stitutional predilections throughout the land. Pro- 
 ceeding towards Trim, I was surprised to meet so 
 many straggling parties^ by twos and threes, of the 
 green-jackets, each with his bayonet^ blunderbuss, 
 and cartouch-box. The truth of the matter presently 
 flashed on my mind : and I must confess that indig- 
 nation the most glowing took possession of me for a 
 few moments. The poor policemen were, however, 
 quite innocent ; and I was angry with myself for hav- 
 ing felt angry with them. Towards the higher party, 
 I acknowledge, my sentiments underwent little, if 
 any change. Presently, I found we were travelling 
 beside a very narrow stream, playfully rippling along 
 through an immense field of rushes. Again it appear- 
 ed, winding capriciously, expanding and narrowing, 
 until it abruptly turned, and crossed our road in a 
 wide sheet of water, over which abridge was thrown. 
 I then asked the postillion what river it was. He 
 hesitated, looked rather dark, and finally answered in 
 an under tone, " I don't know : I believe they call it 
 the Boyne." 
 
 I shall not trouble you by recounting any of the 
 long train of thoughts that marched successively 
 through my mind, investing it more completely and 
 
136 LETTER VI. 
 
 effectually than the north had been invested a week 
 before. Private feeling" had absorbed what was more 
 public, during several days ; but here I found the 
 link again caught up, and riveted alike to the past 
 and the future. Some fragments of fine old edifices, 
 occasionally appearing on the rising grounds, served 
 as landmarks to direct my mental view to periods 
 antecedent to that so irresistibly brought before me ; 
 and in this state of feeling I entered perhaps the rich? 
 est spot that Ireland boasts, in point of material ruins. 
 Moral and spiritual ruins, alas ! abound in every 
 inhabited corner of her noble territory. 
 
 Of Trim I had thought very little, except as a mid- 
 way stage on the road to Drogheda, where I hoped tp 
 arrive that night, Judge then of my surprise and 
 gratification, when I saw on either side, and particul- 
 arly in advance of us, the most majestic remnants of 
 splendid architecture, steeples, towers, walls, battler 
 ments — some mantled with ivy and gay with wild 
 flowers, others frowning in sombre nakedness; some 
 looking down from an imposing elevation, others 
 again embosomed in valleys, or reposing on plains of 
 the richest verdure, while amid the magnificent relics 
 of former greatness, the Boyne rolled a broad tran- 
 quil stream, in that depth of blue that only the reflec- 
 tion of such a summer sky as then over-arched us 
 could impart to the bosom of a river. It was alto- 
 gether a glorious scene : the more so for having been 
 so little anticipated ; and when we alighted at the 
 small neat posting-house, we agreed to brave the 
 consequences of a little delay, and to allow ourselves 
 an hour's investigation of some of these winders of 
 the olden time. The first few steps we took were 
 
WESTMEATH TO DOWN. 137 
 
 along the broken wall of a very large monastic build- 
 ing, until we descried a notice that it was a trespass 
 to intrude there ; and the next turn placed us at the 
 entrance of a Romish chapel built, as it seemed, upon 
 a part of the ruin. From this of course I turned ; 
 and the castle then looked so inviting, that we 
 inquired how to obtain access to it. A respectable 
 shop was named, where, on presenting our request, a 
 person was directed to conduct us to the rear of the 
 house, thence across several yards, and then through 
 a pretty garden, which opened upon a very abrupt 
 though not extensive ascent. Here the guide left usj 
 with directions to return by the same path : we trod 
 lightly up the steep to the enormous central mass of 
 ruin, and looked with amazement on the surrounding 
 scene. Imagine an area, comprising four acres of 
 ground, finely situated on an eminence overhanging 
 the river, enclosed by a massive curtain, large frag- 
 ments of which remain, together with distinct frame- 
 work of the flanking towers that must have rendered 
 it a most formidable fortress. The principal of these, 
 the grand entrance, with the traces of its portcullis 
 and drawbridge, is wonderfully perfect, although the 
 date of this building is not much less than seven cen- 
 turies back; A stronger position could not have 
 been chosen, nor a finer specimen of durable archi- 
 tecture erected on it. We climbed in at some of the 
 gaps, and mounting broken stairs, traced with delight 
 the proportions of lofty rooms, the immense fire-pla- 
 ces, and tiers of windows deeply cut in walls of pro- 
 digious thickness. The history of this noble ruin is 
 also remarkable. Here Henry V., when very young, 
 was detained in captivity, by order of Richard II. A 
 
138 LETTER VI. 
 
 royal mint was established here, and parliaments hold- 
 en. Important events connected with the castle also 
 occurred during the civil wars, when Cromwell be- 
 came its master. A long summer's day would not 
 have sufficed for a cursory examination of what is 
 really worth exploring on this ground, and it was not 
 possible to avoid dividing our attention between the 
 castle and the scene that presented itself on every 
 side from our elevated station. A wall, buried in ivy ? 
 an original outwork of the rampart, descended on one 
 side to a meadow of the purest verdure, which, I am 
 told, is at times overflowed by the Boyne, whose wa- 
 ters probably once washed the wall. On another 
 side, the stones had fallen thickly, rolling down the 
 slope, and forming a seeming, but quite impracticable 
 descent to the rows of cabins below. Turn where we 
 would, vestiges of ancient buildings presented them- 
 selves ; and it was impossible to doubt that the extent 
 of this town must once have been considerable, its 
 importance very great. Indeed, few posts were more 
 hotly contested during the wars of the pale, when L)e 
 Lacy was its lord, and Roderic O'Connor, king of 
 Connaught, led his forces against it, or the Earl of 
 Pembroke laid close siege to harass his rival, De 
 Lacy. With unspeakable reluctance, I finished this 
 hasty glimpse of Trim castle, and slowly descended 
 the knoll by which we had entered, passing again the 
 corner of that pretty garden which basks so content- 
 edly at the foot of the old grey ruins. Here another 
 instance of the national courtesy was displayed. A 
 poor gardener, at work among the shrubs, had culled 
 and bound a most lovely and fragrant boquet during 
 our stay in the regions above him ; and now, with a 
 
WESTMEATH TO DOWN, 139 
 
 grace that enhanced the gift, he approached to pre- 
 sent it. When I say a grace, I mean nothing stu- 
 died ; but that inherent capability of performing kind 
 things in the kindest manner that seems to engrave 
 the cead-mille failthe on all their sayings and doings. 
 The native Irishman, a fine, athletic, healthy, hardy- 
 looking man, in very dilapidated habiliments, was so 
 in keeping with the scene, with the ruined castle and 
 the cheerful flowers, that I could not have dispensed 
 with that little incident to crown the adventure. The 
 trifling acknowledgment tendered in return was ac- 
 companied with a coin that never passes as valueless 
 jn the sight of these people t courteous words, and 
 expressions of the warmest admiration at the beauties 
 we had been viewing. He then told me that he had 
 at home a little book with some particulars of the 
 place, and readily ran to fetch it. I purchased the 
 greasy pamphlet, whieh contained merely a plan of 
 the grounds and some chronological notes ; but it 
 served to amuse me on the more monotonous part of 
 the subsequent journey. 
 
 Time had slipped away so imperceptibly during our 
 visit to these interesting ruins, that we found it would 
 he impossible to enjoy even a passing glimpse of the 
 yellow tower, or any of the rugged but noble frag- 
 ments of former greatness that on every side invited 
 our gaze. We took an open car, and after jaunting 
 pleasantly through a rich country, arrived at Navan 
 at 5 o'clock. This was the most disagreeable halt I 
 had yet made, affording the only instance of an at- 
 tempt at imposition. On ordering another car, one 
 was brought to the door, which, to say nothing of 
 its appearancej would not have held together under 
 
14*0 LETTER VI. 
 
 us and our luggage for an hour. I declined using it, 
 and was told I could have no other j but when the peo- 
 ple heard me quietly ordering the driver from Trim 
 to replace the things on his own, and take us to a 
 different posting-house, the tone was changed, and 
 a very decent vehicle made its appearance. During 
 the delay, I was shocked and disgusted by the spec- 
 tacles of intoxication presented on every side ; while 
 the activity of a numerous party of policemen ap- 
 peared to be the only means of preventing greater 
 turbulence among some who assuredly did not belong 
 to the " Orange faction." This prevented my going 
 out to look at the place ; and when at last we were 
 xeady to start, the original demand was increased, 
 with a protestation that the same sum had been named 
 from the first. A boy of not more than fourteen years, 
 who was to drive us, voluntarily corroborated my 
 assurance to the contrary, and for this offence he was 
 unseated, struck, and supplanted by a brother con- 
 siderably older, whom I presently perceived to be in 
 no fit state to manage either the horse or himself. 
 
 Here was an agreeable predicament to be placed in ! 
 I had paid the overcharge, which made but two 
 shillings difference, and which was persisted in with 
 the most profound and courteous respect, accom- 
 panied by so maiay fine speeches, that it was impossi- 
 ble to be more politely robbed. I, on the other hand, 
 was equally civil, while lecturing them for giving 
 strangers any cause of complaint against the Irish 
 people. We started off; but the poor boy, whose 
 veracity had deprived him of an expected perquisite, 
 was not to be appeased ; he ran alongside the car, 
 most bitterly lamenting, and reproaching his unkind 
 
WESTMEaTH to down. HI 
 
 brother, who, in return, repeatedly cut him with the 
 whip. We were now at the head of a very steep little 
 road, thickly strewn with large stones ; and the horse, 
 perplexed by the random pulls at the rein given by 
 his drunken driver, was running up against a broken 
 wall. I began to be seriously alarmed, and at a loss 
 what plan to pursue, when a portion of the army of 
 occupation already alluded to, came up, bestowed on 
 the driver a severe reprimand, and hinting that he 
 was a fitter subject for their superintendence than to 
 conduct our ear to Brogheda, they compelled him to 
 dismount, giving the seat to his little brother, who, 
 smiling through his tears, sprang into it, and drove off. 
 The country along which we now passed, was rich, 
 fertile, arid exceedingly pleasant. So long a level, 
 shaded with fine trees, I think we had not travers- 
 ed ; and the beauty of a summer evening, the mel- 
 low rays falling on verdure freshened by the morning 
 rain, added a further charm to the scenery. The boy 
 was not very communicative nor very well informed, 
 so that we got but little help in ascertaining the 
 names of several fine parks, dwellings, and ruins that 
 lay in our route. All other interest, however, was 
 soon absorbed in that of personal security j for, long 
 before approaching Drogheda we found ourselves on a 
 road unequalled by the very worst I ever was doomed 
 to cross even in the most rugged North American 
 districts. The peculiarity of this most delectable 
 track consisted in its having, to all appearance, been 
 scooped out at the distance of two or three yards, in 
 every direction, and the soil carried away to the 
 amount of some shovel-fulls in each place. Descrip- 
 tion cacnot do justice to it, no • 21'fection of springs 
 
142 LETTER VI. 
 
 would have rendered the motion of any carriage 
 tolerable ; and you may picture to yourself the delights 
 of a clumsy jaunting car, destitute of springs, drawn 
 by a huge cart-horse, whose experience teaching him 
 that the stage was about to terminate, induced a more 
 sprightly progress towards the place of refreshment 
 and repose. What between the imminent peril of being 
 pitched forward sideways (the only method of falling 
 from an Irish car) and the tremendous blows received 
 from the wood and iron forming the frame-work 
 behind and on either side, against which every jolt 
 sent us with unerring effect, a less enviable situation 
 cannot well be imagined. Certainly we had neither 
 suffered so much nor laughed so much since com- 
 mencinor this tour. The latter was unavoidable 
 through the ludicrous appearance that each presented 
 in the other's sight, when baffled in some scheme for 
 averting the consequences of an impending jolt ; 
 while the boy, seated on the opposite side, and 
 preserving a most praiseworthy steadiness of counte- 
 nance, increased our mirth by his evident struggle to 
 avoid betraying how greatly he enjoyed our mishaps. 
 It was very provoking to be engrossed in self, while 
 passing so near the famous spot where William of 
 Orange secured the civil and religious liberties of 
 three kingdoms; The site of the battle, indeed, was 
 at some distance to the left ; but I might have formed 
 a tolerably accurate notion of the exact locality had 
 it been possible to withdraw my attention from the 
 broken road and its concomitants. The entrance to 
 Drogheda, for a mile or so, is one of the last places I 
 should select- to give a stranger a favorable im- 
 pression of Ireland* The town itself, as we advanced^ 
 
WESTMEATH TO DOWN. 143 
 
 astonished me by its evident size and importance ; but 
 the lines of wretched hovels through which we had to 
 pass, and the squalid appearance of their inmates, 
 afforded a painful contrast to the massive buildings 
 that rose obscurely against the sky, now again over- 
 cast with heavy clouds. Nothing looked thriving in 
 this suburb except the pigs ; and it struck me that I 
 had never in any other place, seen them so petted as 
 here. A woman seated at a cabin door, was actually 
 nursing one of the swinish multitude ; and in every 
 direction the sagacious animals, conscious of supper 
 time, were to be seen, each hastening with unerring 
 precision to his own domicile. This spectacle won- 
 derfully diverted my English companion, who had no 
 idea to what privileges the grunting race are admitted 
 in some parts of Ireland. 
 
 At length, after splashing through one of the dirtiest 
 and narrowest lanes I had yet passed, we emerged 
 into the town itself, and crossed the Boyne where it 
 flows under a respectable bridge, and then widens into 
 quite a spacious port. The farther we advanced, the 
 greater was my surprise, to find Drogheda a city so 
 extensive, and adorned with such buildings. A turn 
 to the left led us round the court-house, a very hand- 
 some edifice ; and into a street which for extent and 
 appearance would not have disgraced the capital. 
 Here were several first-rate shops, and hotels of con- 
 siderable size. I had directed our young driver to 
 take us to the best in the place ; not I confess, with- 
 out secret misgivings, after the description afforded 
 by a late honorable and reverend traveller, of broken 
 windows and uncarpeted rooms. I was therefore 
 agreeably disappointed, on ascending a handsome flight 
 
144 LETTER VI. 
 
 of stairs, to find the accommodations answerable to the 
 exterior appearance of the house, which is the very 
 same where Mr. Noel stayed — the White Horse. From 
 a spacious balcony, the street looked so inviting 
 that we resolved to make a tour of inspection while 
 our dinner, or rather supper, was in course of prepara 
 tion j and were rewarded by presently finding- our- 
 selves in front of a fine old gateway, the most perfect 
 specimen remaining of the memorable fortifications 
 of Drogheda. A heavy fall of rain sent us back, 
 before we could gratify our curiosity with a full 
 survey of this noble relic ; and instead of discomforts 
 of any kind, I found in the hotel all that could ren- 
 der our short sojourn agreeable j together with the 
 unexpected incident of discovering that a dear English 
 friend was resting, with her children, under the same 
 roof, on their route from Dublin to Belfast. The 
 surprise was mutual ; and not even the effects of that 
 unmerciful jolting prevented my enjoying what is 
 perhaps one of the most agreeable surprises that can 
 brighten a traveller's way — the conversation of an 
 endeared friend, who, all unlooked for, crosses a path 
 otherwise lying through a region of strange faces j 
 and whan the place of meeting is, moreover, an inn. 
 Mrs. W. finding I was bound to Lord Roden's, kindly 
 pressed me to avail myself of her carriage to within 
 a few miles of Tollymore Park ; but she was to start 
 at five in the morning, and as I wished to see a little 
 of Drogheda, and had been most absurdly but unin- 
 tentionally misled by the waiter as to the facilities for 
 reaching my destination, of which more anon, I 
 declined the proposal, and we parted. 
 
 The blunder above-mentioned consisted in the 
 
WESTBIEATH TO DOWN. H5 
 
 waiter's positive assurance that they would post me 
 from the hotel to Tollymore Park. In vain did I 
 assure him that the distance was too great to admit 
 of it: he still replied, "We constantly post Lord 
 Roden and Lord Powerscourt, both going: and return- 
 ing, and make it but one stage. We shall undertake 
 to send you to his lordship's house ; and if the distance 
 is greater than we charge for, the loss will fall on us, not 
 on you." This was all very fair; and as he satisfied 
 me of the fact of that posting, I could not gainsay it. 
 Had I but brought a road-book, or consulted any one 
 else, or even properly recollected the probable direc- 
 tion we must take, all would have been explained. 
 However, with very unpardonable heedlessness, I 
 gave up the point, countermanded the order for 
 securing places in the northern coach, which would 
 arrive from Dublin at eleven in the forenoon, and 
 resolved to take three hours longer for my Drogheda 
 rambles. You will by this time have guessed that 
 the waiter's promised easy stage was to my noble 
 friend's house nt Dundalk ; while my object was to 
 reach that at Castlewellan. I give you leave to laugh ; 
 but annoyed as I was on making the discovery, by 
 cross-questioning the postillion when we had left 
 Drogheda some miles behind us, I do not now regret 
 the circumstance ; as it has opened another and an 
 important field of observation to my view. 
 
 With the pleasant prospect of dining at Tollymore 
 Park the same evening, we set out, after an early 
 breakfast, to explore the town. Our first ramble was 
 to the round fort, the imposing appearance of which 
 had struck me greatly on entering Drogheda. This 
 is a modern building, comparatively, placed on a most 
 13 
 
146 LETTER VI. 
 
 commanding eminence, overlooking both town and 
 harbor. At its base are some barracks ; and perhaps 
 you will not wonder at my preferring that spot, when 
 I tell you that in the company of soldiers quartered 
 there were some of the individuals who had paid the 
 last sad military honors, nine years before, at Mullin- 
 gar. They were, indeed, a detachment of my bro- 
 ther's regiment; and long and deeply interesting was 
 the tale that they had to tell, of what I little expected 
 so soon to hear more of. One circumstance I am 
 here tempted to narrate, leaving you to account for 
 it j — I cannot. It so far surpasses the natural sagaci- 
 ty of the dog, that although I had the story from at 
 least ten persons, in every variety of rank in and 
 about Mullingar, including two eye-witnesses of the 
 event, who, though not on terms of common civility 
 with each other, exactly agreed in their relation of it, 
 still I could not give credence to the thing, until 
 these three intelligent soldiers spontaneously repeated 
 and vouched for its accuracy. 
 
 He had a favorite dog, a pointer, so attached to 
 him that, even on his frequent aquatic excursions, 
 the faithful animal would be his companion, and inva 
 riably entered the boat. On that fatal day, this dog 
 and another followed him to the lake ; but when in 
 vited, as usual, to embark, the pointer refused, setting 
 up at the same time the most dismal howlings imagina- 
 ble. Accustomed to exact implicit obedience from all, 
 though in the kindest manner, his master persisted — 
 coaxed, encouraged, commanded, threatened ; but all 
 in vain. The dog evaded every effort to seize him, and 
 ran from the water ; but when the boat had put off, he 
 returned to its brink, and continued to fill the air with 
 
WESTMEATH TO DOWN. 147 
 
 such yells as were never forgotten by those who 
 heard them. In a few minutes the awful event took 
 place : the boat overset ; in a few minutes more he 
 was drawn from the bottom, a corpse. During this 
 period, the cries of the dog were terrific ; and his 
 movements, as he rushed to and fro, even then divided 
 the attention of the many individuals present. The 
 soldiers told me that, from this circumstance, he was 
 regarded as a sort of bequest by the affectionate pri- 
 vates of the company, whose devotion to their cap- 
 tain knew no bounds. The dog was tended with the 
 utmost care, made a companion of, and taken with 
 them on the march that immediately followed the 
 funeral : but he drooped and pined, and at last disap- 
 peared — no one could tell how. I make no comment 
 on this: I cannot refuse to receive such unanimous 
 testimony ; but it is passing strange. 
 
 From the top of the tower, to which we were kind- 
 ly conducted by the old English artilleryman in charge 
 of it, a view was afforded replete with more interest 
 than I had anticipated. Far to the right, as we stood 
 facing the town, the Boyne widened, and assumed a 
 grander character, towards the point to which large 
 vessels can approach. A little behind, in the same 
 direction, still stands the vestry of the church, whence 
 Cromwell issued his orders previous to the horrible 
 massacre that for five days rendered the town a scene 
 of carnage. We beheld the first breach made in ihe 
 walls by this unflinching man-slayer, who cared not 
 through what excess of slaughter he waded to more 
 than kingly power. A bend in the river, with the 
 swell of its banks and the thick mass of lofty trees 
 that heightened them still more, concealed the place 
 
148 LETTER VI* 
 
 where, within ]ess than half a century afterwards, the 
 battle was fought and the deliverance effected which 
 we are now exhorted to remember to forget. The 
 old soldier, who appeared indifferent enough to the 
 several causes in which all this fighting took place, 
 was nevertheless Well acquainted with the details of 
 Cromwell's movements, and described them ; at the 
 same time pointing out the various spots referred to v 
 and adding some historical data. Turning then to- 
 the town, we had a better view of its extent and I'm- 
 portance ; and I no longer marvelled that an individ- 
 ual tradesman, however respectable and intelligent, 
 had failed in his laudable attempt at bringing so large 
 a body of people to act in concert., 
 
 A touching interest belongs to the parish church 
 of St. Peter's, the spire of which rose before us. 
 In the year J 64*3, Lord Viscount Moore, whose family 
 take the title of their Marquisate from this town, was 
 gallantly battling against the formidable forces of the 
 rebel O'Neil, when a cannon ball put a period to his 
 mortal existence. He was interred in that church,, 
 where many of hi.s noble house are entombed. Six 
 years after this event, the widow of this brave soldier 
 and most tender husband, came to Drogheda. She. 
 was on horseback,, when a sudden view of St. Peter'a 
 church so overcame her that she fainted, and fell 
 from her saddle. Her I'enf was broken at the ancle, 
 and in three day/s, mortification, having ensued, she 
 was a corpse. It is not often, in this cold forgetful 
 world, that we meet with such instances of enduring 
 attachment. Had time permitted, I should have 
 visited the resting-place, where this fair victim of 
 constant affection moulders beside her lord \ but mj 
 
WESTMEATH TO H OWN. 14-9 
 
 transit is provokingly hurried ; I can but glance on 
 the externals of what I should like to investigate ; and 
 as to the main object of my search, I must defer all 
 remarks on that head, until I become domesticated 
 once more in a private dwelling. 
 
 Leaving the fort, we resolved to try whether, by 
 rounding the projection of the bank, we could not 
 obtain a view up the river, as far as Old Bridge ; but 
 finding ourselves baffled by another turn at some dis- 
 tance, we just filled our little bottle, and retraced 
 our steps to the town, again passing along the most 
 miserable suburban alleys imaginable, with an extra 
 allowance of pet pigs, to assist in dispensing those 
 abundant splashes of mud that must inevitably fall to 
 the lot of the passenger. Crossing again the bridge, 
 and attracted by groups of country people, we peram- 
 bulated some of the high slopes that form the most 
 antique looking streets of this most interesting town, 
 enjoying the alternation of old buildings and walls, 
 over which hung the venerable boughs of trees, that, 
 did they possess the power of treating us w 7 ith a vol- 
 ume of auto-biography, would doubtless have many a 
 thrilling tale to record. The streets were perfectly 
 clean ; so were the very pretty peasant girls and 
 women, who, each with a basket on her arm, displayed 
 the merchandise of butter, eggs, or poultry ; all simi- 
 larly packed in a profusion of fresh green leaves 5 
 many of the fowls were alive, and peeping from 
 beneath the verdant covering. 1 know not when I 
 have witnessed a scene where rural traffic wore so 
 characteristic an appearance in the neart of a busy 
 town. An air and step of sorightiy independence, a 
 frank, unflinching^ but by no means bold or forward 
 13* 
 
150 LETTER VI. 
 
 look, struck me as peculiarly belonging to these mar* 
 ket women ; perhaps the refreshing appearance of 
 their baskets, after our morning annoyances of fierce 
 sunbeams and mud, tinted the picture a little- Cer- 
 tainly I considered the butter market of Drogheda as 
 one of the most agreeable that I had beheld ; and its 
 attendants as affording a highly favorable specimen of 
 the peasantry. 
 
 I cannot say so much for the other markets ; there 
 we saw, in passing through on our egress from the 
 town, much of the repulsive. Early as it was, intoxi- 
 cation prevailed to a frightful extent, with noise, dirt, 
 confusion, and discord in proportion. The High 
 Street, where my hotel was situated, became crowded 
 with purchasers thronging to the various shops. The 
 frieze coat, and blue cloak with its hood flung over 
 the unbonneted head, seemed universally to prevail ; 
 and in point of stature, muscle, and hardiness of 
 aspect, I think the country people here excelled their 
 southern neighbors. After a leisurely tour in the 
 shopping way, we returned to the hotel, where I pru- 
 dently dressed for dinner, previously to stepping into 
 the post-chaise which was to leave us at Tollymore 
 Park. A more careful computation of distances, 
 however, led us to question the postillion, whose first 
 answer unravelled the mystery. He should, he said, 
 quit us at Castle Bellingham, the half-way stage, 
 whence another pair of horses would convey us to 
 Dundalk. "But we have nothing to do with Dun- 
 dalk." O yes, he understood we were going to Lord 
 Roden's ; and sure Dundalk was his Lordship's place. 
 But how far I asked, in no small consternation, were 
 we from Castlewellan '/ He could not exactly say : 
 
WESTMEATH TO DOWN* 15! 
 
 but from Dundalk it was nine or ten miles to Newry, 
 and Casilewellan was beyond the Mourne mountains, 
 a long- stage, if not two, from Newry. 
 
 It was Saturday afternoon ; I was tired, and full of 
 happy anticipations of a Sabbath day's repose, after 
 such a week of excitement. Judge of my mortifica- 
 tion on discovering the consequences of my thought- 
 less reliance on the civil and communicative waiter 
 of Drogheda. A place of note for hoodwinking Eng- 
 lish travellers I knew it to be ; but little thought of 
 such an experimental insight into the process. My 
 pocket, too, was involved beyond my computation, and 
 i sighed to think how far the Belfast coach, and how 
 much farther the carriage of Mrs. W., had proceeded 
 beyond the destination that I now despaired of reach- 
 ing before night. Such horses, too, I had not seen in 
 harness : they were callous to the lash, through feeble- 
 ness and exhaustion, and it was not until I protested 
 that I would not give the postillion a penny unless he 
 desisted, that I could abate the unmerciful floggings 
 bestowed on the poor creatures at every second step. 
 We reached Castle Bellingham at a walking pace ; 
 and so uncomfortably interested were my personal 
 feelings, that I could scarcely spare a look to the 
 exceedingly beautiful scenery around me. Trans- 
 ferred, after provoking delays, to a dilapidated post- 
 chaise, with two spirited horses that nearly shook it 
 to pieces, one of which was ridden by a boy appa- 
 rently not more than twelve years old, whose childish 
 aspect startled as much as his admirable horseman- 
 ship subsequently delighted me, we rattled away for 
 Dundalk, concerning which I had only one defined 
 idea 3 that of its having sent our friend Gordon to 
 
152 LETTER VI. 
 
 Parliament in 1S31. A near approach, however, put 
 to flight all gloomy feelings, so exquisitely beautiful 
 was the bold sweep of that splendid bay, scooped as it 
 seemed beneath a mountain, while the sunlight of a 
 glorious evening fell brightly on the snow-white 
 buildings that appeared nestled among trees in the 
 distance. At each succeeding point of view some 
 new beauty developed itself; and my spirits had reco- 
 vered their buoyancy, before we entered the hand 
 some town, and drove up to the gateway of Lord 
 Roden's dwelling — not without a vague hope of find- 
 ing some of the family there. 
 
 Disappointment, however awaited us ; not even 
 the agent's household were at home ; and 1 asked 
 counsel respecting our further proceedings of a fine 
 old porter, whose large sturdy figure well beseemed 
 the livery that he wore. This consists of a dark blue 
 coat, with waistcoat and accompaniments of a bril- 
 liant orange velvet, which I, not having before seen 
 so fully displayed, innocently took for the uniform 
 of that formidable body whose apparitions had of late 
 so troubled the repose of a viceregal pillow. It is, 
 however, the family livery; and was so long before 
 Lord Roden connected himself with the obnoxious 
 tints of royalty and Nassau. The old porter had the 
 cause deeply at heart ; he told me with a swell of in- 
 dignation that seemed to distend his whole person, 
 how grievously he had been insulted. "A man has 
 been here to-day," said he, "a stranger from Con- 
 naught, a fisherman 1 believe, and had the audacity to 
 ask me for my vote. Me," he repeated, standing at 
 full stretch, and throwing his coat as far back as pos- 
 sible, "and with this waistcoat upon me, he actually 
 
WESTMEAi'H TO DOWN. 153 
 
 asked me to give my vote to him, a radical from Con- 
 naught ! n It was. some time even befare the sweets, 
 of sympathy could prevail to calm the old man's 
 honest indignation ; for he regarded it as an un- 
 heard-of affront. At length I bethought myself of 
 the little vial which I carried in my hand for security, 
 and laughingly said, "Here is Mr. CTConnelPs favorite 
 beverage — Boyne water.* I took it out of the river 
 this morning." His eyes sparkled, his brow relaxed, 
 and with a look of enthusiasm he said, u I know the 
 place ; I am proud to say it was by the Boyne my 
 family, who are Scotch, entered Ireland two hundred 
 years ago ; and myself swam over, at the very spot 
 where poor Billy crossed. n I did not immediately 
 understand that the affectionate and familiar abbrevi- 
 ation was applied to his Majesty King William the 
 Third. 
 
 After this explosion of feeling, the porter, whose 
 appearance and whole deportment led me back to the 
 olden times, entered very earnestly into a computa- 
 tion of the possibilities that I might reach Tollymore 
 Park before night. He had already ordered a pair of 
 the freshest horses ; and charged me with an especial 
 message to the master of the principal hotel at Newry, 
 requiring that he would instantly post me to the Park ; 
 but when I looked at the twilight sky, all hope seemed 
 to vanish. In a short |ime we were again prepared 
 to start, the ancient serving-man, who seemed to 
 
 * When this worthy was endeavoring to beguile the loyalists 
 into his repeal project, a few years since, he quaffed off in their 
 presence at Navan, a bumpei of Boyne water to the toast of the 
 « pious, glorious, and immortal mer-ory." Tbey have not forgoU 
 ten it ; neither has he. 
 
 A 
 
154 LETTER V* 
 
 bear undisputed rule over all the officials of the post- 
 ing deoartments, continuing his zealous and respect- 
 ful assiduities with a heartiness that rendered them 
 invaluable ; while not a gossoon in the street but 
 seemed anxious to contribute his quota of attention, 
 though it were but in brushing a grain of dust from 
 the wheel. My heart swelled with delight as I traced 
 all this to its obvious source ; I was bound for Tolly 
 more Park ; and even to be deemed worthy of sharing 
 the hospitality of that most beloved family, gave me 
 a sort of claim on every one of them. Lord Koden 
 is idolized in Dundalk : his very name seemed to re- 
 fresh the faithful old porter as he uttered it.* 
 
 It was near nine o'clock when we entered Newry: 
 I could not tell what to make of it in the gloom of a 
 cloudy evening ; particularly of one building, a church, 
 standing on what seemed to be an inaccessible height. 
 We drove through handsome streets, and I lost no 
 time in delivering the porter's message at the very 
 elegant hotel where we stopped. All was in commo- 
 tion, a chaise was ready, and our luggage safely 
 stowed in it, before I supposed it could be ordered ; 
 but to startle the household, perhaps at midnight, I 
 could not bear ; Sunday travelling was out of the 
 question 5 and here we are, to remain till Monday. 
 Mr. Ellis, a new conservative candidate, is haranguing 
 a party under the roof of this hotel, in an out-office j 
 the maid says, five thousand gentlemen. To judge 
 from a peep that I have taken, I should think a de- 
 duction of four thousand seven hundred would bring 
 
 * My poor friend at the lodge is since dead ; or he would not 
 be so distinctly introduced here. 
 
WESTMEATH TO DOWN. 155 
 
 us nearer the mark. However, there is prodigious 
 clapping and shouting ; and I feel myself affected 
 something like my orange friend at Dundalk — ex- 
 ceedingly indisposed to forward the views of the op- 
 posite party. But I must close this long letter; and 
 reserve for another what I may have to say respecting 
 Newry, which seems worth a day's investigation. 
 
LETTER VII. 
 
 COUNTY DOWN. 
 
 JVewry^ July. 
 Once again I am brought into contact with Ireland's 
 master evil : the very root of all that poisons her 
 atmosphere — the enemy with whom to grapple is to 
 fight for her; and to expel whom, would be to shed 
 light and glory upon her land. I say, to expel, not 
 to transform into a different shape. Satan will not 
 cast out Satan ; man cannot. It is for the finger of 
 God alone to achieve such a victory; and as he does 
 nothing in vain or imperfectly, I confidently say that 
 to expel Popery from Ireland would be to diffuse light 
 and glory where the blackness of darkness now reigns. 
 My spirit has not been so stirred within me since I 
 set foot on these green shores, as on the morning fol- 
 lowing my arrival in Newry. The Sabbath broke in 
 unclouded splendor, and I arose refreshed, with no 
 other anxiety on my mind than to insure the privilege 
 of a gospel ministry during the day. Requesting an 
 interview with the very gentlemanly master of the 
 establishment, whose kind efforts to forward me on 
 my way the preceding evening I had duly appreciated, 
 I inquired, as the safest guide, what church Lord Ro- 
 den attended, when in Newry. Mr. Davis answered 
 
COUNTY DOWN. 157 
 
 that he was not sure ; but added, that if I would ac- 
 cept a share in his pew at St. Patrick's church, he 
 thought I should be well pleased with Mr. Bagot's 
 successor. In Ireland, morning service commences 
 at mid-day ; a practice that I do not at all approve, 
 unless an opportunity was given to such as chose it, of 
 attending early prayers some hours previous. W — 
 being anxious to enjoy a walk in the interval, I agreed 
 to set out at eleven, and we made a tour through 
 streets as quiet as could be wished, broad, handsome^ 
 clean, well-paved streets, intersected by a fine canal, 
 and wearing, notwithstanding the season of perfect 
 rest, such an aspect as assured me that it is a place 
 of thriving activity, trade, and commerce, through the 
 week. The water is banked in with very solid stone- 
 work, everything indicating that neither cost nor 
 skill have been spared to distinguish the place by su- 
 perior advantages. The suburbs appeared most beau- 
 tiful ; noble hills, rich gardens, and fine mansions 
 seemed to embellish it on all sides ; and a more pleas- 
 ing impression could not be made by a town of the 
 same size. It wants, indeed, the air of antiquity that 
 spreads a halo round Dreghedaj tinged with the va- 
 rious hues of many stirring recollections $ but there 
 is a freshness of atmosphere, no less than of architec- 
 ture, in Newry, very delightful to the sense. Neither 
 are you to suppose that it is altogether of recent 
 growth ; its foundation is very ancient, Maurice 
 McLaughlin, king of all Ireland, having established a 
 religious institution here a hundred years previous to 
 the English invasion ; but in 1689, the Duke of Ber- 
 wick burned the town, to facilitate his retreat before 
 Duke Schomberg, and Newry arose from its ashes 
 U 
 
158 LETTER VII. 
 
 after the happy settlement of the country in 1691, 
 since which it has been constantly improving. 
 
 The spire of a handsome church attracted us to 
 walk past it ; and there, just opposite, we saw a strik- 
 ing proof of the retrograde movements which are 
 rapidly undoing that work, accomplished at the cost 
 of so much blood and suffering 1 . An edifice of most 
 imposing character faced, truly I may say outfaced, 
 the parish church : its use could not be mistaken : it 
 is the Romish temple, justly called a cathedral. A 
 costly piece of architecture, grand, tasteful, and, alas! 
 most spacious, yet not enough so to contain the thou* 
 sands who throng that scene of false worship, as is 
 clear from the numbers who remain excluded, and 
 whose prostrations in the open street, at the elevation 
 of an idol which they cannot see, vex the eyes and 
 grieve the hearts of all who love God, and who know 
 what denunciations of wrath must overhang a land 
 where the woman Jezebel is so suffered, yea, encou- 
 raged, to teach and seduce his people. The doors 
 were open, and no service at that time going on ; and 
 could I have permitted the " lust of the eye" so far 
 to draw me aside from the path of Christian con- 
 sistency, I should have entered, to behold with what 
 sumptuous decorations the deceivers and deceived do 
 honor to them that be no gods : but I would not thus 
 defile my conscience. If we have reason to hope that 
 we, according to the apostle's language, are the tem- 
 ples of God, then it becomes a solemn question, how 
 we can enter a place of idolatrous worship without a 
 breach of the rule laid down in the latter part of the 
 sixth chapter of the second Epistle to the Corinthians. 
 I have been told that my scruple is new and singular : 
 
COtfNTY DOWN. 159 
 
 but although it Was first suggested to my mind by 
 Scripture alone, I find it was held, and practised too, 
 by the confessors and martyrs of Mary's days. Brad- 
 ford's writings, in particular, abound with admonitions 
 on this subject : and I constantly pray to be kept 
 stedfast in my resolution, never in any mode or in any 
 sense, to touch the unclean thing, excepting as it may 
 be needful for the prosecution of an incessant warfare 
 against it. As to the splendors of Popish worship, I 
 look for them, not within the precincts of their idola- 
 trous sanctuary, but in the inspired pages. The cata- 
 logue contained in the eighteenth chapter of Revela- 
 tion, is sufficient for me ; and in that portion of Scrip- 
 ture, I likewise find a conclusive reply to the query, 
 may not increasing wealth and splendor, aided by 
 intellectual cultivation, work the downfall of this 
 blighting superstition! No; for the word of God, 
 which has so exactly predicted the rise and prospect 
 of the papal Antichrist, is no less distinct in describ- 
 ing the particulars of the final doom prepared for the 
 usurper. We read not of a gradual transformation, or 
 of any process by which the work is to be effected, 
 save that God's people will obey the loud authorita- 
 tive summons to come out of her ; to be no longer 
 " partakers of her sins, that they receive not of her 
 plagues ;" and this obedience to the gospel call is the 
 consuming by the breath of the Lord's mouth, of 
 which the apostle speaks, a gradual falling away from 
 the doomed body, of such as shall be saved. The end 
 is to be a sudden and violent destruction, overtaking 
 the mystic Babylon in the midst of that pride of mag- 
 nificence described in the former chapter, which was 
 ever her characteristic in the times of her former 
 
160 LETTER VII. 
 
 prosperity, and a restoration to which will be the pre.r 
 lade of her final fall. But while we lay this fact to 
 heart, let us not forget the striking passages that also 
 represent the last attitude of this destroyer — not only 
 as sitting in restored supremacy of elevation, but 
 drunken again with the blood of martyrs. I can bear 
 to look upon such ostentatious indications of reviving 
 splendor, as these newly-built mass-houses supply, 
 because 1 know from the word of God, that this 
 haughty spirit cometh before a fall ; but I cannot look 
 for a result that Scripture affords me not the slightest 
 warrant to expect ; and which history, the great un- 
 raveller of prophecy, proves to have never yet followed 
 the means in question. 
 
 When the Jewish nation forsook their idolatrous 
 practices, what did they become 1 Let the judgment 
 hall of Pilate, and the darkened mountains of Calvary 
 answer : let the cup of unmitigated wrath poured out 
 on their temple and city, and the unrevoked curse of 
 eighteen centuries resting; on their nation, bear wit- 
 ness. When France, the very den of Popish super- 
 stition, and the throne of Popish authority, and the 
 murderous right hand of Popish persecution, under- 
 went the identical process recommended in our day; 
 when the "useful knowledge" system deluged her 
 land with Cyclopaedias, and reason took arms against 
 bigotry, and the consummation followed that her phi- 
 losophizing teachers so devoutly wished, what was the 
 nature of the change — was it from darkness to light % 
 Nay ; the natural, the inevitable transition from Popery 
 to Atheism, deluged first France, then all Europe, in 
 the blood of its inhabitants ;— all Europe, save one 
 small portion of its territory, where the citadel of 
 
C0Ui\T5f DOWN. 161 
 
 Protestantism remained, and where, consequently, the 
 sword of Infidelity, drawn to smite Popery, had nz 
 commission to strike. 
 
 It was then that the great enemy, baffled in his 
 scheme of universal desolation, contrived to intro- 
 duce the wedge that should, by repeated blows, be 
 driven through the keystone of our arcn, and cause 
 the towers to fall. We all know the successive mea- 
 sures that followed, until the fatal stroke of 18*29 : 
 and now we behold a worse symptom than had ever 
 before been manilested, — a spirit of delusion spread- 
 ing among enlightened minds, even extending to some 
 who have been enlightened by divine knowledge, 
 which prompts them to look on the most appalling 
 monuments of their national backsliding as so many 
 helps to a future national prosperity, based on what is 
 neither more nor less than investing: Satan with the 
 character and office of a missionary ; expecting that, 
 by means of the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, 
 and the pride of life, he will be able — and it seems to 
 be taken for granted that he is also willing — to con- 
 vert sinners from the error of their way, and to extend 
 the bounds of the Redeemer's kingdom. 
 
 With an aching heart I looked upon the edifice 
 where thousands of my fellow-creatures were doomed 
 during the Sabbath to receive, in blind submission, the 
 false doctrine of their blind teachers. I felt that, 
 without a fearful dereliction of duty in some quarters > 
 such a spectacle could not be permitted to present 
 itself in the British dominions three hundred years 
 after the blessed Reformation — a century and a half 
 after the defeat of James Stuart, and the establish 
 ment of Protestant ascendency on this very soil. M 
 14* 
 
J 62 LETTER VII. 
 
 the same time I fully anticipated, in the just judgment 
 of God, an extensive visitation on our native shores 
 of the pestilence that we had neglected to eradicate 
 from those of our sister island. Sad, and deeply 
 humbled in spirit for the sin of my own country, I 
 returned to the hotel, and, accompanied by some of 
 the kind family, proceeded to St. Patrick's church. 
 
 The way was laborious, being for the most part a 
 continued ascent ; and I found that we were approach- 
 ing the structure perched on a hill, the elevated posi- 
 tion of which had arrested my attention on the pre- 
 vious evening. This, they told me, was the first 
 church built or used, in Ireland, for the pure worship 
 of the Protestant faith ; though I well knew that 
 what is considered the introduction was but the restor- 
 ation of the true Church in this country. St. Pat- 
 rick's is a simple, unadorned edifice, of moderate 
 size; the congregation numerous, highly respectable, 
 and seemingly devout. The whole service was per- 
 formed by one minister, who also preached ; and, privi- 
 leged as I have been in that way, I was unusually 
 struck by the powerful eloquence which the young 
 divine addressed to us from that beautiful passage, 
 " Come from the four winds, Breath 5 and breathe 
 upon these slain, that they may Jive." His object 
 was, to enforce the necessity of Divine agency in giv- 
 ing spiritual life to a being naturally and judicially 
 dead in trespasses and sins : and this he did in a strain 
 of singular force and conclusiveness, clothed in ele- 
 gant language. I was delighted, refreshed, and so far 
 emboldened as to venture upon a proceeding that you 
 will perhaps think required no small share of assur- 
 ance to accomplish it. I went into the vestry, ac- 
 
COUNTY DOWN. 163 
 
 costed the clergyman, and stating that I wished to 
 improve my involuntary delay in Newry by examining 
 some of the scriptural schools, I asked his permission to 
 visit those of his parish. With much courtesy, accompa- 
 nied with commendable reserve, he gave me a reply that 
 seemed to invite a more explanatory rejoinder ; and I 
 felt myself in an awkward predicament, as having no 
 sort of introduction or certificate of character to war- 
 rant such an application. I might be some envoy from 
 Rome, or some experimentalizing political economist, 
 seeking occasion to introduce maxims of false philo- 
 sophy, or " useful knowledge" systems of anti-hiblical 
 expediency. I therefore was obliged to advance a 
 plea of extenuation for my curiosity, by alluding to 
 suntlry penny books with which I had from time to 
 time burdened the shelves of Ireland's schools. Oh 
 what a sunbeam of benevolent pleasure enlightened 
 his animated countenance ! These dear ministers of 
 God do not despise the humblest vine-dresser in their 
 Master's service. Regretting that an indispensable 
 engagement prevented his accompanying me, Mr. P 
 directed the clerk to attend me to the school, and, 
 cordially extending the right hand of fellowship, took 
 a most friendly leave. You cannot imagine how 
 cheering this little incident was to me: for it seemed 
 strange to be so cast adrift for long days together, with- 
 out seeing the face of a friend, in my beloved Ireland. 
 The girl's school was large, well attended, and 
 beautifully managed ; but I could not remain long 
 enough to investigate the plan of teaching, as we 
 were to dine between the services. I therefore left 
 the ladies, whose kindness was unbounded, and re- 
 paired to my hotel. Shall I confess to you, that be- 
 
164? LETTER VII. 
 
 fore we reached it every other feeling had given place 
 to one of powerful indignation! Our way was imped- 
 ed by the march of a large body of troops, dragoons, 
 fully armed, and altogether in battle array, on their 
 return from the more northern stations where they 
 had been sent, gratuitously to insult the feelings of 
 a loyal Protestant population, and to afford a v/anton 
 triumph to the real movers of sedition in this wretch- 
 edly misgoverned land. At any time, under any cir- 
 cumstances, such a parade of armed troops would 
 have appeared unseemly on the Lord's day : but when 
 I considered the purpose for which they had been 
 marched, the expedition from which they were re- 
 turning, the place where we met — for I have already 
 noticed that Newry was formerly destroyed by the 
 Popish forces, rebuilt, and elevated to its present im- 
 portance by Protestant capital, enterprise, and integ- 
 rity, — it recalled with double poignancy my morning 
 reflections beneath the walls of that vaunting mass- 
 house. I felt that to encourage Romanism was not 
 deemed sufficient, unless insult was superadded to the 
 injuries systematically inflicted on the Protestants: 
 and while anticipating the disastrous results to be ex- 
 pected from so erroneous, so ungrateful, so unscriptu- 
 ral a plan of government, I could not but secretly ac- 
 quiesce in the retributive justice of what I foresaw 
 and deprecated. Irish Protestants will not become 
 rebels ; but wo to the rulers who alienate their hon- 
 est, unbought, high-principled attachment! 
 
 The early afternoon service drew us speedily back 
 to St. Patrick's ; and very sweet was the smile of in- 
 vitation with which pew-doors were silently thrown 
 open as we passed along. They alone who are en- 
 
COUNTY DOWN. 165 
 
 camped in the midst of a hostile force can compre- 
 hend the strength of the tie which unites the indivi- 
 duals, who, marshalled under one Captain, desire to be 
 found faithful in the glorious cause. Among my fel- 
 low-worshippers there was not one whose face I had 
 ever seen before that day, or was likely ever to see 
 again in the flesh ; yet my heart acknowledged them 
 all, as brethren and sisters in the profession, many in 
 the reality, of a faith that has before been frequently 
 tried as by fire, and will yet be in the furnace again 
 ere long. Another fine discourse from Mr. P., on the 
 treachery of Judas, closed the day's services ; and 
 then ensued an Irish scene. Between the church- 
 door and the outer gate, we were assailed with invi- 
 tations to accompany the kind individuals to their 
 homes ; and all given with a courtesy so graceful, so 
 gentle, so dignified in the midst of its cordiality, that 
 it was downright painful to say no to any of them ; 
 but one of my fair acquaintances among the lady ma- 
 nagers of the girls' Sunday-school had been before- 
 hand with her frank offer of a seat at her mother's tea- 
 table ; and I was more pleased than surprised to find 
 the invitation extended to the other hospitable inviters, 
 including my first acquaintance, the young pastor 
 himself. 
 
 ] could find in my heart to give you a description 
 of the scene — the pretty cottage in its retired nook, 
 nestling beneath a high wall, in a sweet little garden ; 
 the very long, narrow, and not very lofty apartment, 
 its row of old-fashioned windows, square and de^ p- 
 set, each containing some flowering-plant or freshly- 
 culled boquet ; the elders of the family looking the 
 heart-warm welcome even more eloquently than they 
 
16b* LETTER VII. 
 
 spoke it ; the pleasant, unceremonious tea-table ; with 
 an accession of smiling - faces perpetually dropping in, 
 I knew not how nor whence, much less could I per- 
 suade myself that any among them were strange faces 
 tome. The clergyman of the church that is fronted 
 by the gorgeous temple of Romanism was among 
 these ; and very rarely have I so enjoyed a party as 
 1 did that unexpected assemblage in the place where, 
 but a few hours before, I had felt absolutely forlorn— 
 unowned, and uncared for. My more recent clerical 
 acquaintance engaged us for the morrow's breakfast; 
 and when a kind and numerous escort finally left us at 
 the King's Arms, it was no easy matter to close the 
 animating theme that engrossed my young compa- 
 nion's mind equally with my own. 
 
 But, alas ! the bright picture of Christian zeal and 
 diligence inNewry is deeply shadowed with that omi- 
 nous, unwelcome appendage, — the new National Edu- 
 cation system. I have not, as yet, fallen in with a 
 single individual of either sex, from Waterford to 
 Newry, who does not denounce it as a curse to the 
 land. In Dublin I saw the immense building, or rather 
 palace, that they are preparing for the Central Board ; 
 but I had neither leisure nor inclination to turn my 
 attention from better things to that mischievous insti- 
 tution. In Newry the plan is vigorously pursued, un- 
 der the special patronage of priests and nuns : and a 
 few plain facts in reference to this place may give you 
 an idea of the reasonableness of the hope indulged by 
 some, that Popery will be undermined by such a sys- 
 tem. You know the ostensible purpose of these 
 schools is to provide a strict neutral ground, on which 
 the children of both parties can meet, without any 
 
COUNTY DOWN. 167 
 
 danger of either being influenced in away contrary to 
 the wishes of their parents. The necessity for such 
 a plan is stated to have arisen from the objections 
 raised by the poor people against having their little 
 ones taught to read the word of God ; and the nota- 
 ble device agreed upon was, that religious instruction 
 of all descriptions should be excluded from the 
 schools, except at particular hours, on a stated day in 
 the week, when a separation was to be carefully made, 
 the children of the Romanists to be taught according 
 to the doctrines of Popery by their peculiar guides, 
 and those of Protestants allowed to receive scriptural 
 instruction from any clergyman who might choose to 
 give it. Well, this looked plausible in the eyes of 
 that class called liberal, and even deceived some really 
 good people. How do you suppose it is carried into 
 effect here ? The National School for girls adjoins 
 the convent, — the usual entrance being through that 
 building, with another door on a line with the nunnery 
 hall-door, and within its precincts. The teachers are 
 all nuns, habited in the most remarkable and extreme 
 dress of a monastic order, robes, rosaries, and all the 
 awful paraphernalia of the black sisters. No Protest- 
 ant visitor can enter this " public school," without be- 
 ing previously examined, and kept waiting sufficiently 
 long to put aside objectionable books j but in spite of 
 every precaution it has been ascertained, and proved 
 too upon oath, that at all hours bigoted catechisms 
 of the Romish church are in use, being regularly 
 taught by the nuns ; and books of the most pernicious 
 tendency have been found in the hands of the chil- 
 dren.* Attempts are continually made to induce the 
 
 * See Appendix E. 
 
168 LETTER VII. 
 
 Protestant pupils to join in these exercises, by intro- 
 ducing them during- the period avowedly set apart for 
 secular study : and the consequence is that all their 
 parents who do not value a little paltry and most mi- 
 serably inferior education for their children before the 
 salvation of their souls, are obliged to withdraw them 
 Consequently the national grant, with all the vast and 
 costly machinery of this deceitful system, is employ- 
 ed in riveting the fetters of spiritual bondage on these 
 poor little creatures, by the hands of male and female 
 ecclesiastics of the Romish creed. What renders the 
 whole thing most inexcusable is, that by a rule of the 
 board the regular daily teachers must belong to the 
 laity, while here, as in Galway, and innumerable other 
 places, professed nuns are the sole and exclusive con- 
 ductors of the whole business of the girls' schools ; 
 as monks, regularly habited, and belonging to the va- 
 rious orders, Dominican, Franciscan, Carmelite, black, 
 grey, and so forth, are of the boys. It is common to 
 have a small sliding panel in the doors, which are kept 
 locked : when a visitor knocks, the master partially 
 withdraws the slide, takes a survey, asks questions, 
 then refastens his panel, and puts away whatever 
 books he does not wish to expose to the prying gaze 
 of a heretic, before the door is opened. I will give 
 you an extract from a book studied by the children in 
 the nun's National School here in Newry, that you 
 may duly appreciate the "useful knowledge," instilled 
 into the minds of the pupils, and admire the strict ad- 
 herence of the Board to its first great principles of 
 total abstinence from all that can offend the conscien- 
 ces of any class. Here it is — the work is entitled 
 "Indulgences granted by the sovereign Pontiffs to the 
 
COUNTY DOWN. 169 
 
 faithful who perform the devotions and pious works 
 prescribed." Printed by and for "the Catholic Book 
 Society ;" and. it was found among the books for 
 united instruction — that is, for instruction totally un- 
 connected with anything religious, during the hours 
 when, on the faith of this exclusion of all that could 
 bias the minds of the children either way, all are min-^ 
 gled together. As a specimen of the valuable infor- 
 mation contained in the volume, and its freedom from 
 all obnoxious subjects, take the following: " By a ple- 
 nary indulgence we gain the remission of all the pun- 
 ishment which remains due to sins forgiven, provided 
 we have the proper dispositions, and comply with the 
 conditions required." These conditions are thus ex- 
 plained : "It is enjoined to visit a church, and pray 
 according to the pious intentions of the sovereign 
 Pontiff." These intentions are again described a little 
 farther on : " The intentions of the Pope are generally 
 these ; the exaltation of the Catholic church, the pro- 
 pagation of our holy faith, peace and concord among 
 Christian kings and princes, and the extirpation of 
 heresy." Now, not to mention the importance of 
 communicating such knowledge to the Protestant 
 children ; what think you of a plan that supplies the 
 monks and nuns with means to diffuse it among the 
 little ones of their own flock 1 The concluding- ex- 
 pression, too, conveys an early lesson of fearful im- 
 port : the lower order of the Irish know of no other 
 mode of extirpating heresy than by draining it out 
 with the life-blood from Protestant veins. It was the 
 war-cry of the sacerdotal warriors, who in 1798 led 
 their people to the attack ; and whatever spiritual 
 meaning it may be intended to convey to the minds 
 15 
 
170 LETTER VII. 
 
 of the pupils, the idea with which they are certain 
 to connect it is that of slaughtering their fellow- 
 creatures. 
 
 Another instance of the power enjoyed and exer- 
 cised by the inferior officials of this Board appears in 
 the fact that, although the exclusion of religious in- 
 struction except on the appointed day is publicly 
 boasted of by its advocates as the one all-sufficient 
 guarantee against the communication of anything to 
 the children which their parents would not approve, 
 in this very school the nuns possess a distinct per- 
 mission in the Inspector's hand-writing, for imparting 
 religious instruction every day. The excuse offered 
 for this is, that no Protestant children attend the school ; 
 which again proves that the public money is with- 
 drawn from scriptural institutions, when all denomina- 
 tions alike drank at the pure fountain of truth, 
 unadulterated by man's inventions, to be placed at the 
 disposal of those whose existence as a church and 
 community depends on their keeping the people in 
 ignorance and error : and who do actually employ it 
 for that purpose, to the exclusion of the offspring of 
 a loyal Protestant population. Do you not suppose it 
 must be a startling thing to those who have had such 
 fearful experience of the temper of Popery towards 
 themselves, to send their little ones within the very 
 walls of a convent, to be taught exclusively by females 
 habited in so strangely imposing a manner, who 
 firmly believe that all must be eternally lost who do 
 not embrace the delusions of popery. I have alluded 
 to the dress — we are all influenced by externals, chil- 
 dren especially so, and you may imagine the effect 
 likely to be produced on the mind of a little ignorant 
 
COUNTY DOWN. 171 
 
 timid creature by the appearance of a teacher, whose 
 sedate severe aspect, and stiff practised solemnity of 
 manner are further enhanced by the following garb. 
 A loose robe, with a flowing train, formed of the 
 blackest serge ; the bust being enveloped in a peculiar 
 wrapper of white cotton, somewhat between a &hawl 
 and a tippet. A cap or hood close, and so drawn 
 down on the sides as to perform the same office as 
 blinkers to a horse ; while the small portion of face 
 thus left open to view is farther curtailed by an 
 enormous neckcloth, covering the chin, and meeting 
 the aforesaid wrapper. In fact, nothing can approach 
 nearer to the grim effect of old-fashiohed grave- 
 clothes. Several of these apparitions, each with an 
 hour-glass in her hand, a black rosary and crucifix 
 depending from the leathern girdle that confines her 
 waist, and a black riband beside it, with an image of 
 the virgin and child, are to be seen daily in the school- 
 house, the sole teachers and managers, moving up 
 and down among the awe-stricken little ones, and 
 bringing all these striking externals to bear upon the 
 doctrines which they inculcate, and of which you 
 have a sample in the foregoing extract.* Such is my 
 solicitude for the deliverance of those poor Irish 
 children of the Romish persuasion from the deep and 
 fatal darkness surounding them, that I would cheer- 
 fully relinquish every shilling of the national grant to 
 their service alone, trusting to private liberality for 
 
 * All this was being given in evidence on oath, before the Com- 
 mittee of the House of Lords, at the very time I was in Newry. 
 It is now published, and may be seen in the report of the exam- 
 ination of Hon. Capt. Wellesley and Rev. L. H. Robinson. 
 
172 LETTER VII. 
 
 for the means of educating the Protestant class. But 
 is it not frightful to see the latter deluded, except sa 
 far as the watchfulness of their parents may keep 
 them from these schools, into sharing the deadly 
 poison thus administered to the minds of the poor 
 little Romanists % It will be a terrible thing for Eng- 
 land when in her skirts is found the blood of the souls 
 of these poor innocents. What a strikingly applica- 
 ble passage is that to which 1 allude, Jer. ii. 34 — "I 
 have not found it by secret search but upon all these." 
 This national Board plan is not a sin of mere passive 
 connivance, where abuses may creep in unprovided 
 against, because unexpected : it is a sin of which the 
 government vaunts, an offence in which the perpetra- 
 tors glory, a confederacy deliberately entered into 
 with Popery and Infidelity, to secure their present 
 possessions against the intrusive claims of the Lord 
 Jesus Christ. He comes to seek and to save his lost 
 sheep : they build an enclosure, shut in the poor 
 victims, and place a guard of wolves to watch their 
 fold. I could not bear the spectacle, had I not that 
 glorious promise ever before me, given by him who 
 most assuredly will fulfil every tittle of his own word 
 Let earth and hell combine ; let all the enemies of 
 Christ unite their efforts, and some of his friends 
 abandon their Master's cause, to bless that which he 
 has cursed, and to build up that which he has sworn 
 shall fall ; yet can they not avert the coming hour, when 
 he who has spoken will also make it good. " I will 
 seek that which was lost, and bring again that which 
 was driven away, and will bind up that which was 
 broken, and will strengthen that which was sick, but 
 I will destroy the fat and the strong ; I will feed 
 
COUNTY DOWN. 173 
 
 them with judgment. " That thirty-fourth chapter of 
 Ezekiel will yet be felt in all its awful applicability, 
 by those who so justly incur the rebuke. " Seemeth 
 it a small thing unto you, to have eaten up the good 
 pasture, but ye must tread down with your feet the 
 residue of your pastures'? and to have drunk of the 
 deep waters, but you must foul the residue with your 
 feetV' 
 
 It is a common device to throw the whole blame of 
 this ruinous system upon Lord Stanley. He is so far 
 blameable, in that he rashly adopted a plan without 
 properly acquainting himself with the peculiarities of 
 the place where, and the people on whom it was 
 to be tried. Seated in Dublin Castle, and beguiled 
 with a beautiful vision of liberality, he listened with 
 the heart of a philanthropist to the representations 
 of others, who knew what they were about far better 
 than he did. The result was a sketch of a general 
 system of education, to unite all classes, which might 
 have suited the exigencies of a case where the inha- 
 bitants were squabbling about church discipline, and 
 mere external forms, although the exclusion of the 
 Bible at any time, or under any circumstances, would 
 have been unjustifiable — in such a case quite needless 
 too : but Lord Stanley never studied Popery, as de- 
 veloped in the word of God, nor priestly influence as 
 exhibited in Romish chapels, in the confessional, and 
 in the treasonable outbreaks amonor the lower orders 
 of laity that invariably follow any particular stir in 
 the superior ecclesiastical departments.* Lord Stan- 
 ley thought he had found a remedy for evils that he 
 
 * See Appendix F. 
 15* 
 
174 LETTER VII. 
 
 sincerely deplored, and with benevolent zeal he has- 
 tened to apply it, still declaring that it was but an 
 experimental attempt. He ought to have tried it on 
 a small scale, to a limited extent, but that would not 
 have answered the purposes of the artful suggesters. 
 They hailed his proposition with what seemed a gen- 
 eral burst of grateful acclaim from every corner of 
 the land ; and having thus availed themselves of his 
 united advantages, his benevolence, talent, prompti- 
 tude, and authority, they persuaded him to launch 
 their vessel, then hoisted piratical colors, stood out 
 to sea, and threw upon him the blame of all the mis- 
 chief they intended to do. 
 
 Besides, exceptionable as was Lord Stanley*s plan, 
 they rendered it ten times worse than he had any 
 suspicion of its being possible to make it. Every 
 latent germ of mischief they have forced forward into 
 the most luxuriant fructification of evil : every sup- 
 posed safeguard against abuse they have set at naught, 
 and openly done away with. They have made it so 
 wholly and hopelessly pernicious, that scarcely a 
 Protestant clergyman can be found willing to com- 
 promise his principles by attending at the permitted 
 seasons to instruct those of his own flock : preferring 
 to squeeze from a diminished income, and to solicit 
 from Christian friends, the means of providing them 
 with scriptural instruction, apart from these poisoned 
 streams. I have named only the Girls' School in 
 Newry, nestled as it is under the fostering wing of 
 the nunnery, and wholly monopolized by the veiled 
 sisters of the order therein secluded. The Boys' 
 School contains twenty Protestants ; and there the 
 absence of ecclesiastical teachers is compensated for 
 
COUiNTY DOWN. 
 
 175 
 
 Mi a singular way. The spelling-book used by the 
 children has the usual columns on one page, and on 
 the opposite page the catechism of the Romish Church. 
 This is studied of course, during the hours of general 
 instruction, and it affords one of the most remarkable 
 specimens of Jesuitical ingenuity on the one side, on 
 the other of criminal negligence, if not of more cri- 
 minal connivance, and on both of utter contempt for 
 the pledge given to the public, that ever I met with. 
 In fact, the sole object in these schools is wholly to 
 fill the minds of the poor little Romanists with the 
 most fearful errors, and darkest prejudices of the 
 apostate church, while the snare is set to take as 
 many Protestants within its deadly hold as may wan- 
 der unwittingly into the paths of destruction. There 
 is not, in the entire plan, as now developed, one re- 
 deeming point. The teaching ordinarily afforded is 
 rarely if ever equal to what the old hedge-schools of 
 the land supplied ; and the book of extracts, given in 
 lieu of the whole word of God, is not only a mutila- 
 tion of Scripture, but an unfaithful translation — not 
 only unfaithful to the inspired original, but in all the 
 cases of its variation from the authorized version it 
 openly and grossly favors popery, by adopting that 
 of the Douay or Rhemish, and often inculcating its 
 worst dogmas. I promised to make no vague unsup- 
 ported charges ; take then the following specimens. 
 You will probably have heard much of the famous 
 note, Ipsa, but may not exactly know what it is : the 
 passage occurs in Genesis iii.* 15, where our version 
 thus gives it — " And I will put enmity between thee 
 and the woman, and between thy seed and her seepV-r- 
 it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his 
 
176 LETTER VII. 
 
 heel." The Douay translates it — " she shall crush 
 thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for his heel :" 
 avowedly applying it to Mary. This was going too 
 far ; so the Lesson-book or Extracts has it — " It shall 
 crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for hi3 
 heel." But at the same time this note taken from the 
 Douay version is appended to the page. "It shall 
 crush, &c, ipsa, she, the woman ; so divers of the 
 fathers read this place conformably to the Latin. 
 Others read ipsum, viz. the seed. The sense is the 
 same, for it is by her seed, Jesus Christ, that the wo- 
 man crushes the serpent's head." In further illustra 
 tion of the meaning attached to this note, you must 
 observe that a print Very common among the numer- 
 ous representations of the Virgin Mary, and known 
 to almost every child in the Romish church, shows 
 her with her foot placed on the head of the serpent. 
 The wicked dishonesty Of this note, as introduced 
 here, is manifold. Not only is full countenance 
 given to the idolatrous worship of the Virgin Mary, 
 by recognizing her as the conqueror of hell while her 
 Son is made a mere agent in the work : there is a 
 farther treachery in admitting what every scholar 
 must know is a false translation, as being sanctioned 
 by " divers of the fathers." Everybody knows that 
 Hebrew is the original tongue of the Pentateuch : and 
 in that the verb being masculine cannot agree with a 
 feminine pronoun ; neither does the Septuagint, the 
 Chaldee, the Samaritan, or the Syriac admit it. The 
 commissioners, therefore, have gone needlessly and 
 altogether out of the way, to place this Latin author 
 ity, false as it is, in the hands of the Romish teachers 
 
COUNTY DOWN. 177 
 
 to whom the office of explaining the lessons is usually 
 committed. 
 
 But there is another more flagrant instance of 
 direct encouragement to the practice of antichristian 
 adoration of Mary. You are aware that the most 
 indispensable part of every office performed in that 
 church is the "Ave" or "Hail Mary." It forms, 
 with the creed and the paternoster, a component part 
 even of the shortest service of devotion ; and where 
 time will admit but of one, the Hail Mary is always 
 selected. It is the first act of worship that the child 
 learns to lisp ; the last aspiration that falters on the 
 dying lip. By the addition of a few words to the 
 angel's salutation, it forms an express, unequivocal 
 prayer to the woman. How do you think the com- 
 missioners have contrived to give the Eomish children 
 an opportunity of reciting, and the Protestants of 
 hearing, if not of joining in this purely idolatrous 
 supplication 1 Pray mark it well. The plan of the 
 " extracts" is to give chapters for reading ; and at the 
 end of each a string of printed questions, to be put 
 by the master, and answered by the children. With 
 that sort of ingenuousness and veracity which shine 
 throughout the work, the preface informs us that the 
 whole gospel of St. Luke is contained in this number; 
 whereas in the first chapter, ten consecutive verses 
 are omitted, and a short paraphrase supplies their 
 place. Among these ten verses is the salutation of 
 the angel to Mary. 
 
 Now, observe. In the list of questions printed at 
 the end of this lesson, the following occurs — " How 
 did the angel address her ?" The child has not been 
 allowed to see the actual address: it is omitted. He 
 
178 LETTER VII. 
 
 has no access to the unmutilated word of God : he 
 cannot answer, " Hail Mary, thou that art highly- 
 favored ; the Lord is with thee : blessed art thou 
 among women." But his memory immediately sup- 
 plies him with what hi is taught to recite daily, at 
 home and in chapel, under the title of the angelical 
 salutation, and he promptly repeats, " Hail Mary, full 
 of grace, our Lord is with thee : blessed art thou 
 among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, 
 Jesus : Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us 
 sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. * 
 
 I will not go beyond this ; I solemnly declare my 
 conviction that if this be intentionally done, it ought 
 to be regarded as one of the deadliest sins ever com- 
 mitted against the majesty of the God of truth. f fo 
 avoid giving offence to the poor deluded Romanist, a 
 passage is omitted which would at once and plainly 
 show him the testimony of the Holy Ghost against 
 his most habitual act of idolatrous worship; and he is 
 encouraged to believe that the Bible sanctions it. 
 Not only is the blind led further out of his way, but 
 he is taught to consider that his leader into the paths 
 of destruction is the infallible word of God Popery 
 advances her false doctrines by haughtily setting the 
 scriptures altogether aside ; but give her the aid of 
 Socinian craft and Liberal recklessness, they will 
 devise a plan among them that shall make the whole 
 fraternity of Jesuits wonder at their own simplicity 
 and straight-forwardness. I have guarded these 
 remarks by the clause, // this be intentional : if it be 
 not, we shall see very shortly the impression called in, 
 and another issued, from which the foregoing, and 
 the various passages that favor purgatory, transub- 
 
COUNTY DOWN. 179 
 
 stantiation, and justification by man's meritorious 
 works — all fully exposed by Dr. Newland and others 
 — will be altered or omitted ; otherwise the stigma 
 must remain, and the guilt rest on the heads of those 
 who have to answer for it. A Romanist, officiating as 
 teacher, would not, if he could, explain to the chil- 
 dren the mistakes into which this treacherous book of 
 extracts must lead them ; a Protestant dares not. 
 The priest would immediately discover it, and inform 
 against the offender. Besides, the masters are re- 
 stricted to the very miserable, unmeaning categories 
 appended to the lessons : they may not overstep their 
 commission. At least, an honest man would not do it ; 
 and a dishonest one has little temptation, seeing the 
 mischief ably done to his hand, so far as the lesson 
 book is concerned ; but in the other points, the pub- 
 lished rules of the Board, which afford a seeming 
 protection against undue preponderance on either 
 side, are so much waste paper. The master is para- 
 mount in the school, doing, undoing, evading, alter- 
 ing, and reversing, with an impunity controlled only 
 by one superior authority — the priest. 
 
 Yet the open, unveiled violation of rules in favor of 
 the reigning superstition is striking ; in England it 
 would not be tolerated. I have remarked on the 
 close juxta-positionin which the national schools that 
 I have seen stand to the Romish edifice. I now find 
 that out of seventy-three schools in Protestant Ulster, 
 sixty are built actually within the enclosed precincts 
 of chapels, nunneries, or monasteries ; in Leinster, ouc 
 of one hundred schools, there is not one but what is 
 similarly situated. Among these, one school entirely 
 occupies the basement story of a large Romish chape 
 
180 LETTER VII. 
 
 in Dublin. Minister has sixty-eight schools ; two only 
 of which are exceptions to the practical rule that, in 
 defiance of the nominal rule, placesthem on the holy 
 ground of Romanism ; and Connaught with its twenty 
 schcols exhibits no exception whatever! 
 
 One more remark, and I quit this humiliating sub- 
 ject : for what to an English Protestant can be more 
 painfully humiliating than to see the name, the 
 authority, the wealth of England thus prostituted to 
 aid the designs of God's enemy against the souls of 
 her own subjects 1 If help had been given to intro* 
 duce, under such high sanction, this plan among 
 others already in operation, it would have been an evil 
 application of government influence: but we must 
 remember that an excellent system of scriptural 
 education, supported by a public grant, was set aside ; 
 and so far as the withdrawal of that grant could accom- 
 plish it, extinguished, in order to substitute for it this 
 unhappy device, by which 90,595 poor children, nursed 
 in the soul-destroying errors of Popery, are further 
 confirmed in them, and placed more entirely under 
 the despotism of the priesthood, while 15,633 young 
 Protestants are exposed to the perils of contamination, 
 from that with which they are brought into daily con- 
 tact.* I may, however, make a few exceptions : in 
 this obstinately Protestant part of Ireland, some few 
 schools set the priests at defiance ; and in one which 
 I could name, the grant of books from the board was 
 found unopened, just as it had been packed in Dublin : 
 the master alleging, that if he once produced those 
 books, every Protestant would immediately leave the 
 
 • These were the numerical returns in April, 1837. 
 
COUNTY DOWN. 181 
 
 school. But even on this there is a sad drawback. 
 The heresy falsely called Unitarianism, as Popery is 
 falsely called Catholicity, prevails to an awful extent 
 among the Presbyterian congregations : it has been 
 indignantly cast out by the sound orthodox body of 
 the true church of Scotland, who have purged the 
 synol of Ulster of that unholy leaven ; but they can- 
 not banish it from the professing body there, any more 
 than we can extirpate it in England ; and to give error 
 in every possible shape all practicable advantage, a 
 Socinian sits at the Board in Dublin, to watch over that 
 branch of the antichristian interest. Thus some who 
 are sturdily resolved not to deify the Virgin or St. 
 Peter, are no less fixedly bent on undeifying our Lord 
 Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost. Alas for the cause 
 of truth, when such an alliance is sanctioned and 
 upheld by the constituted authorities of the land ! 
 
 While breakfasting with my more recent min- 
 isterial acquaintance, admiring his delightful home and 
 lovely children, and enjoying the converse of a cheer- 
 ful, intellectual, and enlightened assemblage of friends, 
 we were regaled with the sight of another division of 
 cavalry returning from their northern campaign. I 
 almost wonder at the cool contempt with which the 
 loyal Protestants endure this degrading insult, de- 
 grading, not to its objects, but its perpetrators. The 
 former feel this ; and I really think that pity for their 
 governors is the reigning sentiment whenever they 
 contemplate this ridiculous exhibition of affected 
 panic, and concern for the public peace. No such, 
 demonstrations are made in the south, to intimidate 
 the midnight murderer, or day-light assassin, from his 
 meditated crime. Protestantism is now the only 
 16 
 
182 LETTER VII. 
 
 offence deserving viceregal visitation in this country ; 
 and happily for them, it is a case where punishment 
 may be inflicted with impunity, which is more than 
 could be said, if treason and rebellion were laid under 
 the scourge. I am now about to quit Newry, and I 
 shall part with regret from many with whose existence 
 I was unacquainted twenty-four hours ago. Pressing 
 invitations to stay, hospitable offers of all that their 
 homes could afford, have assailed us to the last ; and 
 if I were not longing to reach TolJymore Park, and 
 limited as to time, I could hardly manage to es-cape 
 from these persuasive Newry friends. I leave them 
 calculating on a triumph in the approaching election. 
 Mr. Ellis comes forward in broad and open opposition 
 to the party who have hitherto contrived to maintain 
 a majority. His politics are conservative ; his pro- 
 fessions altogether those of Protestantism ; and the 
 late gratuitous affront having roused many lukewarm 
 spirits, and united some who before were kept apart 
 by minor considerations, I am mistaken if the osten- 
 tatious parade of her Majesty's troops among a loyal 
 and peaceable people, does not facilitate the send- 
 ing to parliament of an additional opponent of her 
 Majesty's very incompetent administration. It is not 
 that 1 care for whig or tory : little confidence I have 
 in one or the other, actuated as both too generally 
 are, by the hollow principle of seeming expediency, 
 without a reference to the only rule of right ; but with 
 my own eyes I see the daily proofs of a fixed deter- 
 mination to conciliate the destroyers of God's heritage, 
 at the expense of all which they are bound to uphold : 
 and therefore I wish the country a happy deliverance 
 feom their mischievous rule. 
 
LETTER VIII. 
 
 COUNTY DOWN. 
 
 Tolly more Park,, July, 
 You desire me to give you a minute description of all 
 that I should see here : in how many volumes 1 A 
 plan so well worthy describing, I never before saw ; 
 but when I take up the pen and would transfer to 
 paper the bare outline of what the eye and the 
 mind, even at this moment, can take in together, I am 
 lost in a labyrinth of ideas. We left Newry in a post- 
 chaise, and advanced into a region of grandeur, 
 surpassing all that I had conceived from the expres- 
 sions of my friends. The road winds at first through 
 unequal grounds, ascending and descending con- 
 siderable swells ; then the banks on the right hand 
 rise to what you would call mountains, did not the 
 distance present you with towering forms, which 
 leave you doubtful whether your near neighbors can. 
 be termed anything more than moderate hills. Pic- 
 turesque, however, they are in the highest <Xegr*e : 
 a succession of almost perpendicular sweeps, often 
 wooded, always gay with wild flowers, and, whenever 
 the slope will admit of it, fine ridges of potatoes, the 
 white and purple blossoms always appearing in dis- 
 tinct plantations, and wearing the fashionable aspect 
 of flowers en masse. With us a potato field is 
 
184? LETTER VIII. 
 
 a very homely affair : our straggling ridges, the single 
 rows of plants placed length-wise, and the flat con- 
 fusion of the whole thing defy all idea of the ornamen- 
 tal. But Paddy knows better : he separates a rising 
 ground into parcels of about two or three yards in 
 width: digging between them a very deep trench, say 
 two feet over, running in as straight a line as the eye 
 of mathematical precision could, desire. Across the 
 beds thus divided, he sets the root j so that the 
 ridges do not appear on a front view ; and thus along, 
 wide, highly raised bed of very rich plants stretches 
 from the road-side up the hill, well defined by the 
 separating trenches, and the^e again supplying a 
 singular ornament to the scene : for the prevailing 
 weed, which bears a bright flower of the deepest 
 yellow, is carefully eradicated from the beds, but 
 allowed to grow on either edge, which it does most 
 thickly ; and so beautiful is this belt of rich gold 
 exactly bordering the spacious slips of emerald green, 
 with its uniform tufts of pure white, or else of pure 
 purple, that I am in doubt whether it is not the effect 
 of design. In short, I must take leave to repeat the 
 assertion which has more than once offended your 
 nationality, that an Englishman knows neither how to 
 grow, how to boil, nor how to relish a potato. 
 
 After this merited eulogium on the staff of life in 
 Ireland, I return to the distant landscape, the dark 
 mass of mountains that rose and looked forth, as if 
 watching to bestow the universal greeting, the hun- 
 dred thousand welcomes of the land on a friendly 
 guest. Just as their bold outlines became more de- 
 fined, we encountered one of those untoward events 
 to which all travellers are exposed — a regular fall of 
 
COUNTY DOWN. 185 
 
 rain. Not one of those little pattering concerns that 
 you are accustomed to, but a real energetic Irish 
 torrent, coming down in sincere earnest. The poor 
 postillion, with his broken hat and thin linen jacket, 
 became an object of much sympathy to us ; and as I 
 have always experienced the truth of the homely 
 adage — " Where there is a will there is a way," our 
 concern proved of some avail to him. Opening a 
 front window sufficiently far for our purpose, we 
 managed to hold a large umbrella over his head, so as 
 neither to impede his view of the horses and road, 
 nor to direct a dripping stream upon his ill-clad per- 
 son. Frequent practice has rendered us very expert 
 at this operation ; and to judge by the earnestness of 
 the poor people's acknowledgments, I should suppose 
 that it is not a common attention. I canuot, however, 
 persuade myself that any person possessed of a tole- 
 rable share of humanity would sit with a folded um- 
 brella in a weather-proof carriage, while a fellow- 
 creature endured the pelting of a storm from which 
 he might be screened at so very trifling an expense of 
 trouble and condescension. Our Irishman repaid to 
 the best of his power the little kindness conferred, 
 by taxing his memory for every particle of informa- 
 tion there stored : and I think where that failed, he 
 sometimes drew upon his invention, particularly in 
 burnishing a name for every hill we passed. 
 
 The rain, though violent, was not very persevering • 
 two or three discharges from the frowning sky seemed 
 to expend its liquid ammunition, and the remaining 
 clouds rolled off, just as we fairly reached the foot of 
 that magnificent chain, the Mourne mountains. Bare 
 and undiversified as regards their surface, which is of 
 16* 
 
186 LETTER VIII. 
 
 a brownish green, or rather a greenish brown, and 
 exceedingly rocky, imagination could not picture a 
 finer variety of outline than they in their changing 
 positions exhibited as we wound along. You must 
 imagine, on your right hand a good black bog, some- 
 times interspersed with a patch of cultivation, and on 
 its farther edge, seldom removed beyond the distance 
 of a moderate sized field, a crowd of mountain tops, 
 sometimes precipitous, more generally descending 
 with a rapid sweep, now intersecting each other, 
 anon forming a sort of defile, quickly terminated by 
 an obstructing individual, with its round, conical, or 
 angular crest fully displayed as we drove past the 
 opening : then again a long unbroken though finely 
 undulating line accompanying you at an equal dis- 
 tance. Turning the last point of this gigantic ram- 
 part, you seem to bid farewell to your stupendous 
 companions, and are half wearied with the compara- 
 tively flat, and rather sterile aspect of the right hand 
 scenery ; while on your left the tall hedge gives place 
 to a stone enclosure, with a plantation within, and 
 you find that you have entered on Lord Roden's es- 
 tate. 
 
 It then became a matter of trifling consideration to 
 me that the mountains had withdrawn ; my heart 
 and eyes were both full, overpowered with the con- 
 sciousness of having at length reached a spot the very 
 name of which had for many years been precious to 
 my thought. For many a long day I had been tra- 
 versing the land, from Waterford hither, lamenting 
 the evils for which I know there is a radical cure, but 
 not as yet permitted to see extensive power heartily 
 applied to administer that remedy. A calm, firm, un- 
 
COUNTY DOWN. 187 
 
 compromising resistance against the spirit and genius 
 of popery, a vigorous repression of its external 
 risings, a healing process for the alleviation of the 
 miseries that inevitably result from its secret workings, 
 a persevering proclamation of gospel truth, uncon- 
 taminated with any neutralizing admixture, and carried 
 out bv all the means that active benevolence and un- 
 tiring zeal can discover, by schools for all ages and all 
 classes, most judiciously apportioned and sustained; 
 all this and much more 1 knew marked the presiding 
 influence where I was at length privileged to come as 
 a guest ; and when, over the door of a sweet little 
 cottage that broke the regularity of the left hand 
 fence, I beheld an inscription in the Irish character, 
 indicating that it was a school, my feelings were more 
 delicious than even they had been at Vinegar Hill. 
 There a dark and dreadful recollection mingled with 
 every gladsome thought : here was a wilderness of 
 natural grandeur that seemed to shut out the stormy 
 world ; moral destitution yet prevailing indeed, but 
 with a sweet budding promise upon the desert, that 
 it should yet rejoice and blossom as the rose. 
 
 On the right, the ground swelled more and more, 
 but cultivation was carried to its farthest point. The 
 whole hill side being portioned off, divided with banks 
 of loose stones, and each little estate having its cot- 
 tage, each cottage its small hedge row enclosure, 
 with a tree or two bending over it, you cannot imagine 
 how interesting was the picture. Much of turf bog 
 lay intermingled, giving a sombre cast to the scene ; 
 and the remaining soil was evidently rough, much en- 
 cumbered with stone : but those cottage allotments, 
 scattered very widely and irregularly about, some ap- 
 
188 LETTER VIII, 
 
 preaching the road, others perched high on the emi 
 nence, were a perfect contrast to the wretched cabins 
 that I had seen huddled together in other parts of the 
 country. While watching the varieties of this land- 
 scape, we were almost startled by a sudden ren- 
 contre with our giant friends : again they flung them- 
 selves before us in unveiled magnificence ; and pre- 
 sently a scene more enchanting than I had dreamed 
 of appeared : for the onward road descended, and evi- 
 dently led through a low ground, beyond which in 
 broad and brilliant loveliness lay the sea. I shall not 
 forget the smile with which the poor driver turned 
 his head to look at me, when a rapturous exclamation 
 burst from my lips; and while we proceeded along a 
 beautiful road, edged with handGome cottages, he 
 remarked, " Lord Roden's village :" the^n, passing a 
 most respectable dwelling, with its range of stabling, 
 he added, '• Lord Roden's inn ;" and wheeling his 
 horses to the right, where a very fine gateway and 
 picturesque lodge marked the entrance, he almost 
 triumphantly concluded, u Lord Roden's park!" 
 
 The iron gates w6re thrown open by a porter clad 
 in the same garb with my friend at Dundalk, whose 
 military bearing well accorded with the Waterloo 
 medal that glittered on his breast. A fine carriage 
 way bordered by flower-beds, overhung with stately 
 trees, forming one of the noblest and most graceful 
 avenues possible, swept along, first rising, then with a 
 Wide curve descending again, and opening such a 
 view ! I shall not attempt to describe it yet : I must 
 first take you to the house, still sweeping round to 
 the right, an expanse of grass enclosed within a light 
 fence occupying the foreground of the mansion, until 
 
COUNTY DOWN. 189 
 
 we alighted at the foot of a noble flight of steps, snd 
 entered the building. The first step you take is 
 into a spacious lofty apartment, floored with oak, and 
 hung round with fine portraits and maps ; crossing 
 this, you turn to the left, and find yourself in a very 
 long and high but not so very wide hall, with a suc- 
 cession of archways, which produce a beautiful effect. 
 Over the first of these on a broad scroll, in large let- 
 ters of gold, and in the rich Celtic cha acter, you read 
 the greeting, the dear Irish greeting, Cead mille 
 Failthe. It is impossible to conceive the effect of 
 th^se few words displayed in suph a place. Lord Roden 
 I knew was still in England; and the Countess was 
 then on some of her daily visits of mercy to the 
 neighboring poor ; so that for a short time we must be 
 alone : but a welcome, an immediate, a glowing wel- 
 come, the noble proprietors have provided, whether pre- 
 sent or absent, for the humblest guest who can tread 
 that truly baronial hail. I stood for a moment, 
 arrested by the suddenness of the salutation j and my 
 inmost heart yielded the response, " Yes, I know I am 
 welcome here ; for I love Ireland, and my heart's de- 
 sire and prayer is to serve God in the Gospel of his 
 Son. Therefore I am welcome." 
 
 I must linger a little in this enchanting hall : it is 
 lighted on the left by a row of high and richly stained 
 windows, which cast a most beautiful mellow lustre 
 on the opposite wall, hung with a series of family por- 
 traits. Rare cabinets, displaying many costly articles 
 of foreign workmanship, stand at intervals on either 
 side, and in the central part a very fine double stair- 
 case admits a large opening between the two flights, 
 over which a broad lantern pours down the silver 
 
190 LETTER VII 1. 
 
 light of day. This spot again detained me; for it* 
 chivalrous character struck an old chord in my heart 
 Four complete suits of mail, so placed as to give you 
 the entire figure of an armed man on each pedestal^ 
 are ranged on the left ; opposite, in the square open- 
 ing between the staircases, are two stands, each con- 
 taining twenty muskets, with their bayonets ranged 
 beside them, excellently kept. A large drum hangs 
 near ; and over the whole, depending from the balus- 
 trades, float five bright banners of various descrip- 
 tions ; w T hile pikes, halberts, pistols, and a great va- 
 riety of curious arms, are tastefully disposed around. 
 You may understand from this, that the walls of the 
 staircase and landing-place form three sides of a hol- 
 low square ; these are occupied above by a very valu- 
 able series of five paintings, of great size, represent- 
 ing the different hairbreadth 'scapes of Charles II. 
 The figures are all large as life ; and the portraits 
 and costume excellent. They were painted by Fuller 
 shortly after the Restoration, and are seen to great 
 advantage among so many tokens of devoted loyalty 
 as abound in this spot. Proceeding onward and pass- 
 ing a farther line of painted windows, portraits, and 
 antiques, two doors to the left lead into the elegant 
 suite of apartments that form the dining and ante- 
 rooms, and the splendid library at present used as a 
 drawing-room. At the farther extremity of this hall 
 is another apartment recently added to the building, 
 of which more anon. 
 
 You will believe that by the time we had traversed 
 this space, I was sufficiently excited to be thankful for 
 a little leisure to compose my spirits before the noble 
 lady of this noble mansion returned to confirm the 
 
COUNTY DOWN. 191 
 
 greeting of the Irish scroll, and to lead us into the 
 delicious grounds, that, all sparkling with sunlit drops 
 of recent rain, looked more like a gorgeous imagin- 
 ing than a reality of this defiled earth. I could not if 
 I labored for a week at the task, convey an adequate 
 idea of the beauties of this place: nor could you 
 name an appendage capable of ornamenting a spot 
 that is wanting here. Would you have sublimity 1 
 A mountain, planted to its summit with trees of the 
 richest and most luxuriant character, rises close to the 
 house ; above it appears the long waving line of a no- 
 ble ridge, called the black mountain; and looking 
 over that, yea looking down with a most patronizing 
 air upon this fairy scene, towers the conical point of 
 Slieve Donard. When this was first pointed out to 
 me, I felt, though I did not say it, that Slieve Donard 
 ought to lift his head a little higher, for the sake of a 
 more marked pre-eminence, above his giant neighbor. 
 Yet I was really astonished when, half an hour after- 
 wards, while I was looking up, a thick cloud rolled 
 away, which I had never suspected to lie between me 
 and the object of my curiosity, and showed such an 
 altitude as I certainly had never pictured to myself. 
 The most striking appearance is the seeming proximity 
 of this splendid peak : you fancy that, if permitted to 
 climb over the tree-tops to the termination of the 
 Avooded height, you could pass by a single step to the 
 black mountain, and thence, by as easy a transition, to 
 the ascent of Slieve Donard's crest. You may judge 
 of the grandeur of such a comoination ; but you can 
 form no idea of the enchanting loveliness of the gar- 
 den round that separates the house from its magnifi- 
 cent guardian heights. The gently swelling lawn is 
 
192 LETTER VIII. 
 
 diversified with every possible variety of ornamental 
 trees and shrubs, arranged in clumps and clusters with 
 faultless taste, or allowed to rise alone, and show their 
 elegant outline. Flower-beds, stored with the choic- 
 est aromatic and brilliant specimens, are cut in the 
 soft grass ; while here and there you see an enormous 
 basket, formed of wreathed twigs, adorned with fir- 
 apples, and bearing on the mould that fills them all the 
 delicate creeping and other flowers that can be 
 thought of. These are trophies of the industrious 
 ingenuity of the youthful and noble heir, delighting 
 to add another charm to this region of delights. The 
 famous rhododendrons, averaging from thirty to fifty 
 feet in circumference, form a distinguished feature, 
 though not now in flower : their lower branches rest on 
 the lawn, and each plant naturally assumes a very 
 graceful pyramidical shape. At proper intervals sheep 
 of a handsome breed are tethered, but seemingly at 
 large, browsing fearlessly on the velvet sod beneath 
 them. Turn from this, and go towards the front of 
 the house — your eye following the gradual descent of 
 the wooded hill as it slopes away, rests on the ocean. 
 From the window of my sleeping apartment I see dis- 
 tinctly, without a glass, the Isle of Man, reposing in 
 mid-sea ; and with an ordinary telescope, the shipping 
 in its port is clearly discernible. What would you 
 add to this combination of attractions 1 Rocks, 
 woods, and a mountain-torrent might improve it. 
 Well, I challenge the^world to outdo the demesne of 
 Tollymore Park in these particulars. 
 
 Leaving the house in the rear, and the exquisite 
 lawn on your right, you cross a slip of pasturage, and 
 enter the covert of a dark grove, which leads you by 
 
COUNTY DOWN. 193 
 
 a descending path, just wide enough to walk on be- 
 tween the trees and brushwood, until you emerge on 
 the edge of the most romantic stream that ever burst its 
 way through a channel of rock. The latter lies in 
 masses, sometimes to a depth of twenty feet or more, 
 but never for that length unbroken. Huge blocks, 
 hurled, as it would seem, by some gigantic arm, lie in 
 the wildest confusion in the bed of the river ; while 
 the fantastic shapes assumed by those which line the 
 banks, the variety of lichens and suckers that spring 
 from every fissure, the darkness of the narrow chasm, 
 enlightened by the foam of those dancing, dashing, 
 whirling waters, and the grotesque positions into 
 which the overhanging- trees have twisted their trunks, 
 generally mantled in ivy, — altogether form such a 
 scene of witchery, that I only wonder how I dare dis- 
 honor it by any attempt at a description. This wild 
 stream, rushing from the Mourne Mountains, winds its 
 eccentric course through the length of the domain, 
 keeping close below the wooded hill, and so perfectly- 
 concealed that you must be on its banks to know any- 
 thing of its existence. At different turns w T here the 
 ground abruptly descends, or the channel suddenly 
 deepens, fine falls are produced ; but it is a succes- 
 sion of cascades, sometimes presenting half a dozen 
 at a view, falling from different parts of the same 
 fragment of rock. Man could do nothing here, ex- 
 cept to preserve the banks in as perfect accordance as 
 might be with the torrent ; and this has very success- 
 fully been done. Now a grotto, then a bridge most 
 rustically appropriate, and occasionally a spot of 
 green-sward, with chairs and tables en suite, embower- 
 ed in the trees, vary the walk ; but still you tread 
 17 
 
194 LETTER VIII. 
 
 upon the edge, and cannot avoid beholding, at every 
 step, the wonders of the rocky depth beneath, with 
 its ever-varying stream of pure water, sometimes black 
 with the masses of rock and wood that close it in : 
 then transparent as crystal, while it lightly leaps some 
 barrier, and plays awhile around its base. 
 
 In a level part of this enchanted glen, Lord Roden 
 has pressed his wiid river into the service to which 
 he devotes himself, and all that he is, and all that he 
 has, — the service of his poor countrymen. Here, 
 with that constant attention to the elegant and pictur- 
 esque which enhances the useful, he has erected a 
 saw-mill ; and very delightful it is to see the mountain 
 river, subdued into quiet force, steadily wending its 
 way for a space, to work by its impetus an extensive 
 machinery. The dense forest supplies trees, without 
 their being missed ; and the stream which fed them 
 enables a few workmen to execute the whole process 
 of sawing, planing, turning, and finishing off every 
 useful article, from the solid timbers that support a 
 substantial house, to the little pegs that unite the 
 fences around it. This spectacle of busy operation, 
 the cottagers coming Avith their. carts for a valuable 
 freight of timber, and the young children to gather 
 chips in their pinafores ; the solitude, the loveliness 
 of the woods, the occasional glimpse of those tower- 
 ing mountains, the tranquil grace of the river at this 
 useful stage of its progress, and the peaceable, con- 
 tented aspect of the poor tenantry who avail them- 
 selves of the boon, — all impart such a charm, that 
 when to it you add the crowning glory of the whole, 
 the assured truth that love to God is the moving prin- 
 ciple of all this active benevolence, that nothing here 
 
COUNTY DOWN. 195 
 
 is undertaken, nothing planned, nothing desired, but 
 what has been brought before the Lord in fervent be- 
 lieving prayer, and nothing sought but as a means to 
 glorify Him, and to benefit his creatures for his sake, 
 — you must say with me that sea and land may be 
 compassed without finding a spot where the heart can 
 so rest, so expand, so expatiate^ as in this abode of 
 natural beauty, moral elevation, and spiritual peace. 
 
 But I must lead you back to the house, for you 
 have not seen the chapel. Fancy a choice collection 
 of all that the sculptor, the painter, and engraver can 
 accomplish to render the oratory of a nobleman's 
 house costly and imposing : — you will then have fan- 
 cied the exact reverse of Lord Roden's chapel. A 
 plainer apartment I have not seen : it is an oblong 
 square, of a good size and height, the windows just 
 under the ceiling, white walls, &nd benches with good 
 backs ranged transversely throughout. On the right 
 hand side, as you enter, stands a desk, simply to sup- 
 port a book ; with a low stool for all but the stately 
 master, who stands, you know, four inches above men 
 of six feet high ; on the opposite side is a chair for 
 Lady Roden^ with a space for the family and guests, 
 no otherwise differing from the rest than as having 
 cushions. At the farther end, a door leads into the 
 park, always open to admit all comers. We are 
 called by beat of drum, the butler striking the great 
 drum in the hall at nine o'clock, morning and even- 
 ing, to this modest place of prayer ; and while the 
 inmates of the house enter from the hall, there is not 
 a begirar on the road who is not equally free to ap- 
 proach by the other entrance. A hymn is sung, a 
 portion read and commented on, and prayer offered j 
 
196 LETTER VHI. 
 
 after which the kindest notice is taken of those poor 
 who have any occasion for particular attention- Se- 
 veral families residing near also come to avail them- 
 selves of this privilege, — among them one to whom I 
 have already become quite attached, that of Lord Ro- 
 den's agent and valuable fellow-helper in every good 
 work among his people. Captain Hill officiates dur- 
 ing his lordship's absence ; but we hope to see this 
 delightful household with its head in his own place 
 before long,. Meanwhile, I am getting all the inform- 
 ation that I can respecting the system pursued : but 
 I am forced to confess that the attractions here are 
 so numerous and so powerful as to make me almost 
 forget my proper business in the enjoyment of plea- 
 sure, such as I have rarely partaken in before. This 
 bewitching garden — this romantic stream — this ba- 
 ronial hall with its ancestral trophies, and its many 
 reminiscences of former times — above all, the privi 
 lege of watching the beloved partner and help-meet 
 for this exemplary Christian patriot in her quiet, un- 
 ostentatious, daily rounds of mercy among the poor 
 cottagers, with the elevated tone of conversation and 
 pursuits, all tending to the highest object of man's 
 mortal existence, make me shrink from remembering 
 what lies beyond the range of this little kingdom of 
 peace and love, and try to persuade myself that poor 
 Ireland and her native race are cared for in every 
 district as they are at Bryansford. 
 
 You will remember that in first alluding to the sub- 
 ject of Irish misery and its proper relief, I mentioned 
 a twofold remedy, either branch of which, separated 
 from the other, must be inadequate to the emergency 
 that calls it forth. Here, the very beau ideal of what 
 
COUNTY DOWN. 197 
 
 I want is presented to view ; and with a success that 
 would be triumphantly conclusive, did not the blight- 
 ing influence so kindly fostered by the present gov- 
 ernment interpose to a degree that would be imprac- 
 ticable without such fostering aid. Lord Roden 
 allows no competition for land j he encourages no 
 outbiddings, he drives no hard bargains, he leaves his 
 lenants no pretext for sinking into abject poverty. 
 Every indulgence compatible with the encouragement 
 of industry is afforded 5 arrears of rent are unknown, 
 because he takes care to require no more than what 
 a reasonable share of attention to his proper calling 
 will enable each tenant to pay. If the man be dili- 
 gent and industrious, he is under no apprehension of 
 being taxed beyond his means 5 if idle and disorderly, 
 he must make way for a more deserving person. 
 Neither does it require any superior measure of 
 worldly wealth to put this benevolent plan into daily 
 practice 5 the landlord's interests are as much promot- 
 ed by it as those of the tenant. I do not believe 
 that any mortal ever yet suffered even in his temporal 
 possessions by being liberal on a sound Christian 
 principle j but men of the world do not comprehend 
 this part of the mystery of godliness any more than 
 the other parts ; they find no bank-notes in their Bi- 
 bles; and a divine promise will not circulate on 
 'change. Therefore you rarely if ever find such men 
 stepping out of the beaten track, though common 
 sense should tell them the same tale on the credit of 
 actual experience. 
 
 Did you ever amuse yourself as I have often done, 
 by looking over the mottoes of the peerage 1 Some 
 are singularly apposite to the character of their pre* 
 17* 
 
198 LETTER VIII- 
 
 sent bearers ; others strikingly opposed to them. 
 Lord Roden's is " Faire mon devoir" and never do I 
 lift my eyes to the scroll that exhibits it over one of 
 the archways in his hall, without thanking God for 
 having engraven it on his heart in a far brighter bla- 
 zonry than ever adorned a shield. The principle of 
 this motto lies at the root of all his actions ; and be 
 cause, by the grace of God, he seeks his rule of prac 
 tice no less than of faith in the inspired volume, and 
 the power to act it out from Him who inspired it, 
 =" Look, whatsoever he doeth, it shall prosper." 
 
 I have, however, only noticed the temporal part of 
 his plan, in the relationship of landlord to his tenants: 
 the other branch is attended to with a zeal that noth- 
 ing can damp : a perseverance that nothing can dis- 
 hearten. Up, on the mountain top, as high as a cabin 
 can be pitched, down in the loneliest glen, afar on the 
 distant verge of his broad lands, and close to the home 
 of his heart, the voice of instruction resounds. The 
 hoary-headed man, whose dull ear is doubly closed 
 to any other accent, listens to it in his own sweet na- 
 tive tongue, from the lips of some fellow-peasant who 
 has been made to receive and to love, and is now 
 commissioned to declare, the truth as it is in Jesus. 
 The smiling infant, invited to some school, of which 
 there are many on the estate, drinks in with the pretty 
 jingling rhymes that arrest his giddy little mind, the 
 name of Jesus, unmixed with the creature-worship of 
 Rome ; and learning to rest his babyish cares and 
 hopes on the Saviour's compassionate bosom, feels no 
 after need of supernumerary helpers. For every 
 stage of human existence between these extremes 
 there is suitable instruction provided j and rapidly 
 
COUNTY DOWN. 199 
 
 was the work proceeding, gathering- around this be- 
 loved nobleman the little ones of his poor tenantry, 
 daily strengthening a bond that should have endured 
 through time and extended into eternity, when this 
 curse of Ireland — I use not the word lightly nor has- 
 tily, but with solemn deliberation I repeat it — this 
 dire curse of Ireland, the National Board of Educa- 
 tion sent its emissaries here, opened its pest-house 
 of bigotry and error, and by means of priestly influ- 
 ence forced the poor lambs from under the paternal 
 care of a true shepherd, to fold them in the wolf's 
 den. " Shall I not visit for these things ] saith the 
 Lord." 
 
 The principal schools, those immediately under th^ 
 eye of Lord and Lady Roden, are just outside the 
 Park-gate. The girls' and infants' schools are under 
 one roof, opposite the gate ; the boys' farther down 
 the road leading to Newcastle, the pretty little town 
 that stands on the edge of the bay. In the infants' 
 room a card is very conspicuously hung over the fire- 
 place, requesting that nothing may be said or done to 
 excite vanity in the minds of the babes ; a very 
 wholesome and needful precaution, for it is exceed- 
 ingly difficult to refrain from expressing admiration, 
 which, even at that tender age, children know how to 
 appropriate, and to abuse too. Indeed, the singleness 
 of purpose that characterizes every public act of the 
 Earl, with his simple desire that God may be glorir 
 fced, and his fellow-creatures permanently benefited, 
 is traceable at every step of this delightful investigar 
 tion. If ever these pages get into print I shall not 
 escape a reprimand for saying so much: but in this I 
 have a duty to fulfil. " Faire mon devoir" requires 
 
200 LETTER Vllt 
 
 that I should hold up to such questioners as you i 
 living proof of the practicability of what all seem „o 
 think desirable, but few will own to be feasible. I 
 maintain that if the cloven hoof of pro-popery legisla- 
 tion had not intruded here, I should have been able to 
 show an unclouded illustration of my favorite theory t 
 as it is, I can bear witness that Lord and Lady Roden 
 live in the hearts of their people ; and I do not believe 
 that there is one among them who, unless personally 
 overlooked by some reverend Roman, would mali- 
 ciously crush, I won't say his house, but a leaf of the 
 orange lilies that gaily laugh in my face wherever I 
 turn. 
 
 But what, you will ask, have I to say about that 
 formidable attack on the mansion, of which we heard 
 so much as having resulted from his Lordship's 
 orangeism \ It is not for me to correct the mis- 
 takes of my predecessors : I can only state two facts. 
 One is, that the reported assault consisted in a few 
 stones thrown, and random shots fired, as an infuriat- 
 ed body of insurgents hastened past the gate, on their 
 way to an expected fight j the other is; that the affair 
 took place, as nearly as I can calculate, some time 
 before Lord Roden announced himself a convert to the 
 orange system; His principles ever were, are now, 
 and I trust ever will bej essentially thoge which placed 
 the house of Orange Nassau upon the throne, and 
 which are thence called Orange j but he did not con- 
 nect himself with the Association, until convinced by 
 close personal inspection that its original constitution 
 was as unexceptionable as the critical position of the 
 Irish Protestants rendered it expedient 5 and his ob- 
 ject was to restore to its pristine purity what, in dif* 
 
COUNTY DOWN. 201 
 
 ferent hands, had undeniably been greatly perverted. 
 Since I have strayed upon this groupd, and inspected 
 on the spot that most terrific monster who lurks among 
 the lilies, as Love is said tjo do among the roses, I 
 will enlighten your opacity a little further on the 
 topic. 
 
 In the first place, then, the Orange institution took 
 its rise, not from the noble, the wealthy, the powerful, 
 the ambitious of the land, who might calculate on the 
 value of such an instrument in pursuing their own 
 projects; but among the humbler classes, who finding 
 each his little property, his children and his life, at 
 the mercy of surrounding enemies, the poor blind 
 tools of persecuting Rome, banded in a purely defen- 
 sive league, to uphold the Protestant church and 
 government, and to rally round their menaced fire- 
 sides, with united purpose of heart, and combined 
 strength of hand. By degrees, as the fatal spirit of 
 JProtestant concession fed the inflated hopes, and 
 nerved the destroying hand of Popery, the spreading 
 danger occasioned an extension of the protecting sys- 
 tem ; and loyal men of all ranks repaired to it, as to 
 a common centre of union. The ancient badge of 
 Nassau, to this day cherished as the national emblem 
 in the kingdom of Holland, was chosen as an appro- 
 priate remembrancer of the Protestant prince who in- 
 strumentally delivered us all from the yoke of spirit- 
 ual and temporal despotism. This society extended 
 itself on all sides ; and at this hour the term Orange- 
 man is synonymous with that of Protestant, through- 
 put the length and breadth of the Romish population. 
 Rebellion could not prosper, dismemberment was 
 hopeless the integrity of the British constitution 
 
202 LETTER VIII. 
 
 withstood all shocks, and the blame of this was freely, 
 I will not say undeservedly, cast upon the obstinate 
 Orange faction. O'Connell, despairing of success, 
 either by intimidation or force, against such a host of 
 true hearts and strong hands, bethought himself of a 
 notable expedient. The government, secretly influ- 
 enced by him, were beginning to look very cold on 
 their best friends, when O'Connell was seized with a 
 violent fit of sympathy, bewailed their wrongs, burn- 
 ed with brotherly resentment against an ungrateful 
 state, and assured the Orangemen that if they would 
 only unite with him^ he would speedily effect a repeal 
 of the union, and faithfully share with them the spoils 
 of their recovered isle. With a degree of cool 
 waggery, the Orangemen kept silence until he had 
 made himself ridiculous to the utmost of his versatile 
 ability. No language was sufficiently laudatory or 
 adulatory, to be applied to that noble, gallant, devoted, 
 exalted body, the Orangemen of Ireland.' On a great 
 public occasion, he seized an orange flag, tore open 
 his waistcoat, and pressed the honored colors to his 
 patriotic heart, the medal of the society to his truth- 
 ful lips ; — nay, in the enthusiasm of his newly awaken- 
 ed devotion, he plunged a glass into the Boyne, at 
 Navan, and quaffed the beverage to the famous toast, 
 "The glorious, pious, and immortal memory of the 
 great and good King William, who saved us from 
 Popery, slavery, arbitrary power, brass money, and 
 wooden shoes ! 
 
 This was the climax : the diverted Orangemen 
 could expect nothing beyond it. So they very com- 
 posedly gave him to understand that his eloquence 
 and his antics had been alike vain. Instead of sinking 
 
COUNTY DOWN. 203 
 
 imo their hearts, his persuasive words had glided off, 
 to adopt a favorite Irish trope, " like drops of rain 
 from the back of a duck." Hence the burst of 
 vituperation, the tempest of compound epithets of 
 execration and abhorrence, that thundered over the 
 heads of the never-enough-to-be-abominated, treach- 
 erous, bloody-minded Orange faction. Vengeance on 
 the Orangemen became the subject of his daily device 
 and his nightly vision ; and having once obtained the 
 mastery of the Commons' house, by means of his 
 floating majority — that righteous retribution on faith- 
 less England, who had provoked it by forsakino- her 
 6acred protest — he proceeded to demand, at the hands 
 of a quaking cabinet, the sacrifice for which he pant- 
 ed. You know the enormous, the utterly incredible 
 falsehood on which the charge was grounded — an 
 imputed design to alter the succession, to set aside 
 her present Majesty, and to place the Duke of Cum- 
 berland on the throne ! Depend upon it, if O'Connell 
 thought such a thing might be agreeable to the 
 Orangemen, he would have proposed it to them over 
 his bumper of Boyne water ; but no, he knew better; 
 neither did he dare to leave that stigma to be investi- 
 gated. He just caused a false representation of some 
 kind to be made to the aged and harassed monarch, 
 who permitted his royal name to be used, in the 
 language rather of entreaty than command ; and well 
 did the traitors who prompted him know that a word 
 cf appeal from their oppressed sovereign would do 
 more than an embattled army could do towards the 
 accomplishment of their wily project. And so it did ; 
 it disarmed and disbanded the Orangemen of Ireland. 
 All this I knew at the time j not a sentence has 
 
204 LETTER Vttl. 
 
 been spoken here' upon the subject, except that, when 
 asking an account of the meeting" under this roof, at 
 which Lord Roden dissolved his lodge, and all laid 
 aside their badges, I was entreated by one of the gen- 
 tlemen to drop the subject ; for the scene was too 
 agonizing to be recalled without greater emotion than 
 they liked to exhibit; I desisted immediately : my 
 own heart beat too much in unison with theirs to 
 doubt what must have been the bitter anguish of re- 
 ceiving such a requital for their devoted loyalty and 
 unflinching fidelity to the sacred cause. As for the 
 wretched pretence that the people — i meaning the 
 poor slaves of the priesthood — were irritated by the 
 name and symbols of the association, it is as notori- 
 ous as the noonday sun that the oath so generally 
 taken by them to wade knee-deep in Orange blood 
 simply means Protestant blood ; and that, if question- 
 ed, they would probably tell you that Martin Luther 
 was the first Orangeman, and Grand Master of all the 
 lodges. 
 
 I saw to-day a young English lady, who told me 
 she had been visiting the National School just by, and 
 that the master had been absolutely raving against 
 Luther, in presence of the children ; and when she 
 attempted to moderate his violence, he seemed dis- 
 posed to expel her by force. This excited no sur- 
 prise in me, having heard so many similar testimonies 
 to the fidelity of these Popish instructors ; but, con- 
 sidered in connection with the beautiful mode of 
 teaching, and with the very high degree of scriptural 
 attainment in the schools from which these poor 
 children were so cruelly drawn away, it thrilled me 
 with mingled sorrow and indignation. To return 
 
 
COUNTY DOWN. 205 
 
 once more to the Orange, — there is not a slip of gar- 
 den belonging to a house, cottage, or cabin, inhabited 
 by a Protestant, Which the lilies do not almost exclu- 
 sively occupy. Positively I have seen more of them 
 within the last week than ever I did in my life before ; 
 and the question naturally presents itself, If the sym- 
 bol was so obnoxious to the Romanists, would they 
 leave it thus unmolested by the road-side, where they 
 miglit destroy the flowers by hundreds without fear 
 of detection 1 But it is useless to dwell on the mock- 
 ing fallacy of all that has been urged to blind the 
 honorable and high-minded people of England to the 
 glaring wickedness of the general persecution now 
 raging against Irish Protestants, and Irish Protestant- 
 ism, and of which this is only a branch. I have the 
 consolation of knowing that, as yet, the real bond of 
 union is strengthened by the means basely used to 
 annihilate it. The devotion of these people to the 
 church and the throne is increased by the peril to 
 which both are exposed. The Orangeman's principle 
 does not reside in his riband, his pass-word, or his 
 sign. Had he been mildly and reasonably requested 
 to relinquish these, or to suspend their use, as a mat- 
 ter of sound expediency and good example, no ques- 
 tion can arise as to its having been cheerfully done. 
 What renders the matter so deeply disgraceful to 
 those in authority under the king, is this : that, instead 
 of giving the Irish Protestants an opportunity of 
 manifesting their willing obedience where Scripture 
 has commanded them to obey, the public document 
 which, indirectly, called upon them to annihilate 
 themselves as an associated brotherhood, proceeded 
 on the assumption of the most atrocious, baseless 
 18 
 
206 LETTER VIII. 
 
 calumny that ever was devised. Not content with 
 slaying their victim, these refiners on treachery con- 
 trived to blacken his character while they took his 
 life. I suppose you remember the story of Hunne, in 
 the Martyrology : he was imprisoned for his faith j 
 and not daring to bring him to public trial, the perse- 
 cutors entered his dungeon in the dead of night, 
 strangled him, laid him out very nicely, and then sus- 
 pended him to a nail. The object, of course, was to 
 make it appear that, under the terrors of a guilty con- 
 science, he had hanged himself : but, unhappily for 
 them, the placid features, closed eyes, well straight- 
 ened limbs, and general tout ensemble^ gave such 
 unquestionable testimony to his having been a cold 
 corpse before he was suspended, that even a Popish 
 inquest in Mary's days could not gainsay the matter. 
 Now, as to who contrived to make the unjust death 
 of this pious man a seeming evidence of his guilt, 
 everybody knew, though nobody could bring the vil- 
 lains to justice. Perhaps it may be the same in this 
 case. Everybody may know who, in the malignity of 
 mortification, resulting from an unsuccessful attempt 
 on the integrity and fidelity of the victim, conceived 
 the plan of destroying at one blow his life and his 
 good name j and most people, as in the affair of 
 Hunne's murder, may have a pretty clear inkling of 
 the parties who effected the extinction of the former, 
 and anxiously tried to annihilate the latter j but they 
 are all out of the reach of human jurisdiction: 
 Hunne's murderers have long since been cited to a 
 higher tribunal, and the conspirators against Irish 
 Protestantism are safe in the consciousness that 
 nobody who has the will has also the power to uphold 
 
COUNTY DOWN. 207 
 
 • 
 
 its cause ; and vice versa. Still, when I took the well- 
 worn folio of Old Foxe out of my portmanteau, and 
 pondered over its venerable pages to-day in the 
 Orange lodge, I drew an involuntary parallel; and I 
 never again shall look at the quaint picture of John 
 Hunne hanging in his prison, without viewing the two 
 events in connection* 
 
 " The Orange lodge ! What treason shall we hear 
 of now 1 Are not all these lodges dissolved V Yes, 
 except a few intractable spirits, who are not to be 
 convinced by any logic that loyalty is misprision of 
 treason. They are discountenanced, reprehended, 
 and everyway discouraged, by the Grand Lodge, 
 which fully, sincerely, and without any mental reserv- 
 ation, yielded to the loyal suggestion, — I was going 
 to say the royal wish ; but that I am certain it never 
 was. The apartment to which I allude is not so 
 called by any one but myself. It is a noble room, an 
 addition to the original mansion, situated at the fur- 
 ther end of the long hall, and opening upon the most 
 richly beautiful part of the flower-besprinkled lawn 
 and shrubbery 5 all the sweets of which are laid open 
 to it by means of the windows actually touching the 
 floor. It was formerly fitted up as a lodge, elegantly 
 hung, and festooned with fine cloth, in pannelled Com- 
 partments, alternately dark blue and orange ; the 
 seats and cushions being of the same. It is now 
 nearly dismantled, ano\ frorii its delightfully retired 
 situation and close proximity with the exquisite gar- 
 den, preferred in summer by Lord Itoden as a study, 
 and to transact the multiplied business of his large 
 estate with Captain Hill. In his lordship's absence I 
 have obtained the privilege of writing in it. Many a 
 
208 LETTER VIII. 
 
 solemn, many a spirit-stirring thought is excited when 
 I look around upon the disordered fragments, soon to 
 be entirely swept away, of what for a lopg series of 
 years formed the outer badge of that within which 
 passeth show,— that which will survive despite the 
 puny efforts made to destroy it, or to transform it into 
 the opposite of its nature. 
 
 It was in this apartment that the sacrifice was 
 made, so costly to those who offered it on the shrine 
 of loyalty — a sacrifice that may appear trivial to per- 
 sons at a distance, whether of place or of feeling, 
 from the men who were called on to make it ; but 
 which wrung the honest, affectionate hearts that no 
 peril could drive, no bribe allure, no injustice alienate 
 from their allegiance. Here they met in immense 
 numbers ; while the beloved Grand Master of the 
 lodge used his powerful influence to calm their 
 agitated feelings, and to reconcile them to the act of 
 more than self-immolation, the severing of a bond, the 
 distinguishing feature of which was that it united the 
 poor cotter with his wealthy landlord, the laboring 
 peasant with his lordly employer, and inspired every 
 descending link of the chain, reaching- from the 
 highest ranks of aristocracy to the lowest grade of 
 obscurity, with the sweet consciousness that they 
 were one in the same common cause. The noble 
 holding his loyal Protestantism as the proudest among 
 many distinctions, the poor man cherishing it as his 
 all — and each prepared to make good his pledge even 
 to the shedding of his dearest blood in its defence. 
 Here, in this room it was, that the badges were laid 
 aside — the orange scarfs, or sashes, under which 
 throbbed some of the truest hearts that ever rallied 
 
COTiNtV DOWtt. 209 
 
 fOund ati endangered church and throne — the hlue 
 ribands, to which were appended the small silver 
 ornaments that distinguished the different officers j 
 the' secretary having a pen, the treasurer a key, the 
 chaplain a bible, all in silver. Here it was that each 
 man despoiled himself of what no open enemy had 
 ever yet been permitted to despoil him, and struggled 
 for submission under the infamous wrong inflicted on 
 his character^ and the irritating taunts that assailed 
 his order, from an exulting class of wilful defamers, 
 who hated because they could neither conquer no* 
 corrupt them. All that I can learn of the scene is, 
 that the lodge^ the grand hall, the entrance, and the 
 broad avenue, were thronged with the brave men and 
 their weeping families. Why, there was hardly a 
 Protestant child in the country who did not feel the" 
 insult and the injury. As to the poor Romanists, I do 
 liot believe they took ariy pleasure in the proceedings 
 except as their guides pointed it but to them as a 
 great step towards crushing Protestantism, and expel- 
 ling from the land those whom they are taught to look 
 upon as alien usurpers of the soil. The Orangemen 
 Were bound to credit the solemn assurance 5 that all 
 rebellious societies should be effectually put down if 
 they would set the example by dissolving their loyal 
 association. I never believed it, as you well know 5 
 and at this moment every treasonable fraternity 
 throughout the land is in the full vigor of life and 
 activity, unchecked by the hand of power j undis- 
 guised in its objects and effects. You will say I am 
 dwelling too long on this painful topic j but consider 
 how recently I have sojourned in Wexford, and the 
 view that has been forced upon me, during my short 
 18* 
 
210 JJETTER. VIIT. 
 
 progress, of the rampant position of Popery, and the 
 depressed state of Protestantism on all sides. Gulli- 
 bility has been often imputed to the English people ; 
 in fact, the open honesty of their own character unfits 
 them for the reception of suspicions misgivings con- 
 cerning others. In this case they are abused beyond 
 all that can be conceived without thoroughly investi- 
 gating the matter, and sure I am that they will pay 
 dearly for being so grossly misled with regard to the 
 Protestants of Ireland. 
 
 The native language prevails here to a greater 
 extent than I supposed ; for I thought it hardly exist- 
 ed in the north. Lord Roden is a strenuous supporter 
 pf the Irish Society, alike in word and in deed. You 
 have already heard of the school, with its Irish in- 
 scription, by the road-side : up in the mountains there 
 is no lack of similar advantages for the poor Irish- 
 speaking tenantry ; and I have conversed with a very 
 intelligent, sensible master, himself a convert from 
 Popery, who finds much encouragement in his work. In 
 fact, there is not an individual engaged in it who does 
 not acknowledge that a blessing attends him. Go 
 where I will, and into whatever company, this truth is 
 elicited, often from unconscious, sometimes from un- 
 willing witnesses, that wherever the Irish Bible finds 
 admittance, there God manifests himself to be the 
 author, not of confusion, but of peace. I do not mean 
 to say that the worst passions of men are not stirred 
 up to resist the message, and often most dreadfully to 
 maltreat, yea, to murder the messenger ; but this is 
 overr u led to the wider spread of the yvo rk ; and many of 
 the fiercest opposers become in turn devoted teachers 
 of what they have vainly labored to destroy. The 
 
COUNTY DOWN. 21 J 
 
 plan of the society is to find in any district an intelli- 
 gent man, always a Romanist you may be sure, who 
 well understands the language. They give him an 
 Irish Testament, and a few primers ; promising him a 
 small gratuity for each person whom he shall have 
 taught to read, and be able to produce to the inspector 
 at his next visitation. By this means, both masters 
 and pupils are brought into direct contact with the 
 inspired word ; its flood of light bursts upon their 
 darkness — its pure and sublime truths conveyed in a 
 language so familiar, so fondly endeared to them, 
 stand out in all their majestic proportions, and the 
 black, deformed, withered brood of anti-christian 
 inventions are put to flight ; they cannot endure the 
 presence of the Holy One, revealed in his word. This, 
 this is the object of that desperate enmity displayed 
 by Satan and his instruments. Here is the point at 
 which they drive, in the whole system of anti-protest- 
 ant contrivance. 
 
 The Bible is the mark to be aimed at, whether 
 through the badge of an Orangeman, the funds of a 
 school, the temporalities of a parish, or the heart of a 
 minister. It is by Protestant effort that the dreaded 
 book has free course, and is glorified, even where Sa- 
 tan's seat is ; and by crushing Protestantism, they 
 vainly hope to say to the word of salvation, " Hither 
 shalt thou go and no further." They cannot succeed: 
 no, they may gnaw their very tongues for pain, but 
 succeed they cannot. I do not believe that any tri- 
 umph obtained over the Protestants, as a body, will in 
 the slightest degree impede the wide- spreading con- 
 quests of Protestantism. Quite the reverse : they do 
 but provoke the Lord to jealousy, setting the briars 
 
212 LETTER vni. 
 
 and thorns in battle array against him, and so hasten 
 the swift destruction that awaits their doomed church 
 and cause. My feelings, as I look from the window 
 of this dilapidated Orange lodge, to where Lord Ko-* 
 den's Irish teacher crosses the park, with his Bible 
 under his arm, are those of exultation and joy. It is 
 for my own country I grieve 5 for Protestant England 
 thus beguiled and befooled, and betrayed into an alli- 
 ance against the Lord and against his Christ,- by 
 stretching out one hand to snatch the blessed book 
 from the little ones of poor Popish Ireland, and thrust 
 them by thousands into the nunneries and monkeries 
 that defile the land which they darken : and the other 
 to deal a blow upon the very hearts of those to whose 
 faithful adherence, under God, she is alone indebted 
 for the continuance of her empire over this distracted 
 part of our island domain. 
 
 I must now tell you something of the Sunday 
 schools, in which I passed some very delightful hours; 
 In the morning I sat by, to learn the method pursued 
 in Lord Roden's own class, w T hich is taught in his ab- 
 sence by Captain Hill. Parts of th£ Scriptures are 
 taken in regular order ; and on this occasion, some 
 verses of a Psalm came in course, which enabled me 
 to remark the great attainment made in scriptural 
 knowledge by the young men and boys before me 
 We then attended the pretty village church of Bry- 
 ansford, where sound doctrine was set forth, and very 
 earnestly enforced by the young curate of the parish. 
 Very soon after the service, weadjourned again to the 
 schools, and I took courage to occupy the honored 
 place of the absent master, and became interested 
 beyond measure in the work. There were four young 
 
COUNTY DOWN. 213 
 
 men — a gardener and a groom of Lord Roden's, and 
 two Romanists from the neighborhood — whose an- 
 swering showed not only what culture they had enjoy- 
 ed, but on what a soil that culture was bestowed. For 
 the two latter, who sat at the head of the class, my 
 very soul was moved in fervent, importunate, though 
 secret prayer to God for their deliverance from the 
 yoke which as yet they had not shaken off. The 
 chapter, in the Book of Kings, did not afford me the 
 opportunity of getting in all that I wanted, but at 
 length I was able to revert, naturally, to Kebekah's 
 mode of procuring the promised blessing for Jacob; 
 and so managed, that the question should come in 
 course to the most intellectual, and, as I secretly knew, 
 the most bigoted of tjie Romanists, Whether it was 
 lawful to do evil that good might ensue 1 He main- 
 tained that it was ; and we fairly contested that 
 point; while his arch smiles and increasing animation 
 showed that he fully understood my object, and knew 
 I was aware of his creed. He was left without an 
 answer at last ; and the workings of earnest thought 
 in his lively expressive countenance, showed, that 
 without even a shade of anger or ill-humor he took a 
 very deep interest in the matter. It was such a joy to 
 me to see with what alacrity these men kneeled down, 
 and with what sober devotion they seemed to join in 
 the closing prayer. God grant that they be found on 
 the light hand of the throne on the great day, seals 
 among many others, to the faithful ministry of this 
 noble and just steward ! 
 
 There is no second service at the church, so the 
 domestic chapel was fairly crowded in the evening; 
 when a pastor from the mountai 3 some way off, the 
 
214 LETTER VIII. 
 
 very beau-ideal of a Flavel or a Baxter, led the devo- 
 tions, and preached at considerable length on that rich 
 passage, Exod. xxxiii. 12, &c. It afforded quite a 
 taste of old divinity, as the after conversation of the 
 good man did of the zeal, love and simple devotedness 
 of former times. I cannot tell exactly in what con- 
 sists the charm that appears to hang over this place, 
 but I seem to realize here a state of being of which I 
 had only dreamed before : yet, they tell me, it is a 
 very melancholy time, for Lord Roden is away. I am 
 going to attempt a gallant enterprise, at which every- 
 body smiles, no less than that of scaling Slieve Donard. 
 A party is formed, chiefly of buoyant young people, 
 who kindly promise to leave a basket of provisions 
 for my benefit, some half or one third of the way up, 
 that I may not be starved or stupified during their long 
 absence. I take it all very kindly^ but fully intend to 
 eat my share of the good things within the circle of 
 stones that looks from this house like a common mile- 
 stone) but which they tell me is the size of a church 
 at least in circumference. I never succeeded in 
 mounting even an ordinary-sized eminence without 
 difficulty, through giddiness of head. Vinegar Hill, 
 which would be a microscopic object beside these 
 Mourne mountains, almost baffled me j but my heart 
 is set on this exploit, and I fully expect to achieve it. 
 There is a prospect of unequalled magnificence, I am 
 told, from the summit of Donard, embracing, besides 
 an immense tract of Irish scenery, the mountains of 
 Scotland, Cumberland, and Wales : and as the weather 
 is brilliant we expect a noble view. At all events, 
 there will be more to brag of in having attempted 
 Slieve Donard, than in walking over the crown of any 
 heisrht I have elsewhere beheld* 
 
LETTER IX. 
 
 COUNTY DOWN. 
 
 Tollymore Park, 
 The period of my happy sojourn here is now well 
 nigh expired ; and I must give you the particulars of 
 our excursion while yet I may raise my eye from the 
 paper to the lofty subject of the tale. There he rises, 
 with his head just unveiled from a dense cloud, the 
 sunshine striking brilliantly upon its nicely-rounded 
 point, and imparting a smile that seems to add another 
 to the many joyous looks which have brightened the 
 whole district for the last two or three days. I mighty 
 to be sure, have told you all this in four words — Lord 
 Roden is here. But though you have witnessed, aye, 
 and ardently joined in the burst of welcoming plaudits 
 that greet him in Exeter Hall, you can form no idea 
 of the quiet yet brilliant sunniness that is shed on his 
 own family, his own household, his own tenants and 
 poor neighbors, by the presence of one whom t v 
 Lord has given to be a blessing wherever he goes 
 Oh that every mountain in dear Ireland had a Toll} 
 more Park at its foot ; and every cabin a Roden t . 
 care for its poor inmates ! I have long appreciated 
 his character, nay, venerated it : but one must see his 
 very face reflected in the sparkling eyes of his own 
 
216 LETTER IX. 
 
 people to know how they prize him. And whose testi- 
 mony shall be taken before fchat of the poor creatures 
 who are taught by their spiritual guides that to love 
 such a heretic is a sin : to hate and to injure him, a 
 step heavenwards : yet who would give their lives for 
 him any day or hour ? 
 
 This digression was occasioned by a glimpse of my 
 noble host, passing down to his favorite saw-mill. 
 And now for Slieve Doriard in earnest. Our party, as 
 I told you, was very youthful : my own particular 
 beau, Mr. Hill, being somewhat under twelve years, 
 his sister not much older, and only one besides my- 
 self come to years of grave discretion — an English 
 lady, who had before accomplished the ascent, as had 
 Lady Maria, and all but W. and myself. We started 
 most merrily, some on a car and the rest in a phaeton, 
 and dashed quickly through the pretty little town of 
 Newcastle. Here we found ourselves with the sea 
 spreading broadly on our right, and on the left the 
 beginning of an ascent that it really seemed chi- 
 merical to attempt achieving, We had wound along 
 the foot of the Black Mountain, and arrived where 
 nothing but Slieve Doriard appeared, heaving a broad 
 shoulder towards the sea, and raising his tonsured 
 head above it at a most forbidding altitude. Nothing 
 daunted, however, we made our arrangements, bur- 
 dened our guide with an enormous basket of provi- 
 sions, and wheedled a little bare-headed, oare-footed 
 gossoon to carry our cloaks and shawls. The first 
 stage was very unpleasant : an iron rail-road formed 
 to conduct heavy loads of stone from a quarry above, 
 tried both patience and shoe-leather in no ordinary 
 degree. I quite longed to reach the heathery region 
 
COU.NTY DOWN 217 
 
 above ; and was not a little encouraged by a very 
 common deception occasioned by the disappearance of 
 the actual crown of the hill behind that which rose so 
 steeply before us. Laborious it certainly must be, 
 but not so unattainable as at first it had seemed ; and 
 after protracted efforts, with frequent applications to 
 the reviving waters of a most lovely rill that fell, 
 rather than ran down the mountain side, we seemed 
 to near the object oi our anticipations. The pre- 
 vailing impression on my mind was that I had at 
 length discovered the full meaning of two words — 
 fatigue and hunger: for the freshening air, which by 
 means of our drapery impeded our progress not a 
 little, gave such an edge to the appetite, that I think 
 the prospect of Mike's basket as he trudged in the 
 van, that is, over our heads, drew me onward with 
 attractive force. Certainly I would not then have 
 bartered my expected share of its contents for the 
 fee-simple of all the hills of Mourne. When next 
 you are troubled with a failure of appetite, do not 
 apply to the doctor until you have tried the effect of 
 an altitude of fifteen hundred feet, attained by your 
 own exertions on a blowing day, just over the sea. 
 
 But the top was so near] Mike shortly disappeared 
 over it, and after a rest of a few minutes w T e followed. 
 It was one of the most startling discoveries that ever 
 poor worn-out traveller made. We had indeed gained 
 the highest point, not of Slieve Donard's head, but of 
 his shoulder ; and there rose the formidable dome, 
 for such it exactly appeared and probably is in shape, 
 its sides presenting seemingly a surface of rude rock, 
 a little interspersed with vegetation. -' You had better 
 remain here while we go forward," was the kind 
 19 
 
218 LETTER IX. 
 
 suggestion ; and one at least offered to stay with me 5 
 but the downward view convinced me that we had 
 reached an immense height ; and as the clouds 
 gathered quickly over us, I thought it better to bide a 
 mountain storm under the shelter of the stone walls 
 that peeped over the highest point. Besides, it would 
 be too mortifying to be condoled with on the failure 
 of such an enterprise : so with renewed resolution the 
 toil was resumed, and proved lighter than appearances 
 led me to expect ; for those rocky protuberances 
 furnished excellent stepping-stones, being generally 
 flat on the upper surface, with abundance of tough 
 fern and heather to afford a safe hold in climbing ; 
 while every fresh pause for breath opened a more 
 splendid view than the preceding, as I turned to lean 
 against the hill, and gazed upon the beautiful bay 
 below, with the increasing range of coast on either 
 hand. 
 
 Four hours were passed in struggling against the 
 difficulties of the ascent ; and when at length we 
 actually stood on the highest pinnacle of this magnifi- 
 cent steep, the prospect, marred and circumscribed 
 as it was by a drizzling rain, would have overpaid 
 twice the effort. If nothing else had been visible but 
 the house and park of Tollymore I should not have 
 complained ; diminished to a very toy, they yet look- 
 ed so lovely, so securely nestled at the foot of that 
 tremendous sweep, that I shall carry the picture in 
 my mind's eye while I live. The sensation of stand- 
 ing at such a height above the abodes of men was 
 very strange to me : it was also very delightful j and 
 while all were lamenting my disappointment in not 
 having a clear day and extensive view, I did not even 
 
COUNTY DOWN. 219 
 
 wish for them. Nothing could be more striking than 
 the spectacle of the whole gigantic range of Mourne 
 Mountains, — visible from the further side of the bay 
 of Dublin, and from points yet more remote — spread 
 like so many hillocks beneath us. But though dimin- 
 ished to the eye, in grandeur of effect they lost noth- 
 ing ; for the alternate swell and depression, the fre- 
 quent gully and ravine, the grouping, or if I may 
 speak, the massing together of these " everlasting 
 hills," and the sober mantling of their giant forms in 
 a vestment of dark brownish green, deepened almost 
 into purple by the sprinkling of small heather bells in 
 every part, all combiued to furnish such a foreground 
 that. 1 should have had little notice to spare for any- 
 thing that might lie beyond it, had the state of the 
 atmosphere revealed it all. It was only by walking 
 to the very verge of the mountain's scalp that I could 
 obtain a sight of Tollymore Park and house ; the for- 
 mer in its emerald green, the latter of the purest 
 white, gave the idea which of all others best accords 
 with the reality of the thing j that of a milk-white 
 dove nestled in the boughs of a noble tree: and ear- 
 nestly did I pray that such might ever be the charac- 
 ter of that sanctified abode of peace and love. There 
 was, however, much of pain mingled with the hour's 
 enjoyment. The heap o£ stones furnish a melancholy 
 evidence of that zeal for God which is not according 
 to knowledge; those strenuous efforts of man to es- 
 tablish his own righteousness that must end in ever- 
 lasting disappointment. The stones are of various 
 sizes; many so large that my utmostefforts could not 
 Jiave moved one of them > yet all have been brought 
 ap this laborious ascent, either as a matter of atoning 
 
220 LETTER. IX. 
 
 or meritorious work, by the poor Romanists of a for- 
 mer age. They are arranged, or rather rudely heaped 
 in an imperfect circle, with some appearance of a di- 
 vision into two or more apartments. Inclosed within 
 the range is a well which the guide told us was holy ; 
 and the little boy who carried cur cloaks added that 
 the water would heal any sick person who was dipped 
 in that well. Near it was a broad slab supported on 
 uneven blocks, and which, from the vegetation that 
 crept round it, must have been there a toug time — 
 this was used as an altar. Thepktceis now forsaken, 
 so far as its supposed sanctity is concerned ; but the 
 delusion, alas ! still spreads from shore to- shore of 
 this lovely, ill-fated land, and to whatever point the 
 eye can turn, Rome is exalted, God is dishonored, 
 and man betrayed. 
 
 The exact elevation of SHeve^ Donard above the sea> 
 is matter of dispute > some rate.it at 3200 feet : none 
 calculate it at less than 2S90. The great abruptness 
 of its rise, and the narrow dome in which it termi- 
 nates, add much to the effect of its real altitude. It 
 is a princely mountain, and until I meet a nobler, I 
 must call it king of its race. Nothing can be finer 
 than to see its lofty head emerge from a cloud, as it 
 has done more than once since I began this letter: 
 and I am told we were wrapped in one during great 
 part of the time that we trod its majestic heights. 
 An hour was allowed for rest and refreshment, during 
 which Mike's basket was lightened to his heart's con- 
 tent : and then commenced the delicate task of de- 
 scending from our high station to the level of ordinary 
 mortals. Among- my many debts of gratitude in this 
 place, I shall not forget what I owe to Lady Marians 
 
COUNTY DOWN. 221 
 
 iuw garden-spud, which she recommended as an 
 alpenstock, and without which I should, I verily 
 think, have had the less agreeable memento of sprains 
 and broken bones to freshen my recollections oi* 
 Slieve Donard. Many an adventurous leap was taken 
 in reliance on its slender point, and I will not deny 
 that I measured sundry parts of the mountain's side 
 by my own length j consoled, however, by seeing 
 others occasionally do the same. Nothing damped 
 the merriment of the party, now widely dispersed, as 
 each undertook to explore the very best path for an 
 involuntary race. 
 
 The descent was very rapid, and altogether exceed- 
 ingly pleasant; the sea spreading out broadly in our 
 front, and the delicious breeze bringing perpetual 
 refreshment, even when we no longer felt the keen 
 bracing air of the higher mountain. The weather had 
 varied ; little rain falling, and that only in a slight 
 drizzle, until we were fairly within reach of our um- 
 brellas, which had been left below; then it came down 
 in torrents, and ihe " cead-mille failthe" in the hall 
 saluted a dripping party, well able to appreciate its 
 value. It must have been owing to the wonderful 
 ascendency of mind over matter, that, after changing 
 my dress for drier materials, I felt no more fatigue 
 than if I had been strolling for an hour along the 
 margin of the mountain-river below. 1 cannot other- 
 wise account for it ; the four hours' upward toil, dur- 
 ing which I frequently threw myself down on the 
 slope to gain a little breath, and power to proceed, 
 while every bone and sinew protested against such 
 cruel taxation ; the jolts, jars, and falls in descending, 
 with the intolerable annoyance of the slippery rail- 
 19* 
 
222 LETTER IX. 
 
 way, which induced some of the party to take off 
 their shoes for a more secure footing, and which all 
 allowed to be the worst part of the day's work, left 
 with me no sensation of bodily fatigue, but an exhila- 
 ration of spirits, equally visible on each of our party, 
 which, if I had not experienced its reality in my own 
 case, I might have fancied to be assumed for a vaunt. 
 Yet, looking, at tea-time, from the windows of the 
 library to the very spot where we had stood a few 
 hours before, it did appear very much like a dream 
 to have actually achieved such a feat since breakfast ; 
 and I will confess that nothing would tempt me to a 
 similar exploit anywhere but in this bewitching Ire- 
 land. They tell me there is rougher work in prospect 
 among the mountains of Donegal, but you may ex- 
 pect to hear that we have accomplished it also. 
 
 The following day was a season of jubilee: I had 
 just finished a most interesting and truly gratifying 
 examination of Lady Roden's Scripture class in the 
 Girls' School — had just made every eye among them 
 sparkle and glisten, by introducing as an illustration 
 of " love fulfilling the law," the pain it would give 
 them to be tempted to do anything injurious to the 
 interests, or contrary to the wishes of their noble 
 landlord, benefactor and friend, when, as we left the 
 door of the sweet pretty school-house, a shout of joy 
 made Lady Roden start, and the next moment her 
 son, who was not expected from school in England 
 for a week or more, threw himself from his horse into 
 his mother's arms; with the joyous intelligence of 
 having ridden forward to announce that his dear 
 father would be here in ten minutes. Cannot you 
 fancy how the faces looked, in every feature of which 
 
COUNTY DOWN. 223 
 
 a warm Irish heart was eloquently speaking its glad- 
 ness 1 The very trees seemed to wave more play- 
 fully, the flowers to shine in gayer colors ; and the 
 " cead-mille failthe" to stand out in stronger relief, 
 and deeper gilding than before. There was a deep 
 quiet happiness seated in the looks of the domestics, 
 as they stood on the look-out, or passed through the 
 apartments with a rapid glance, to see that all was as 
 the master would wish to find it. I met Captain Hill 
 in the hall ; we could only look each other in the 
 face, and shake hands, for many a word have we 
 spoken of mutual encouragement to pray for the pre- 
 servation of him whom we both view, in his high cha- 
 racter of a Christian patriot, as one of the richest 
 gifts conferred by the Lord our God on this dear, 
 desolated, misunderstood, and misgoverned country. 
 At that moment our hearts were too full for speech. 
 
 A great deal is said of the mischiefs of absentee- 
 ism : it is indeed a crying evil ; but residence alone 
 will do little real good. A man may live on his pro- 
 perty, maintain a large establishment, keep open 
 house, give a stimulus to trade, and have his eye 
 upon his tenantry, yet do less good than harm. There 
 are two classes of resident landlords very common in 
 Ireland and very injurious to it. One profess en- 
 larged liberality of feeling ; they invite the priest to 
 their table, make light of all difference of opinion — 
 with them it is indeed nothing- more — subscribe to 
 his chapel, patronise the national board schools, and 
 leave them under his superintendence. They consi- 
 der it equally the duty of a Romanist to go to mass 
 and confession, to be idle on holidays, and to observe 
 black lent if enjoined, as it is that of a Protestant to 
 
224< LETTER IX. 
 
 go to church, pay his tithes, and keep his promises 
 These gentlemen are the chief foster-nurses of Popery 
 without knowing- or intending it; their influence and 
 example alike assist to rivet the chains of error, and 
 to heap up fuel for the beacon-fires of rebellion. They 
 may in their hearts wish the country a fair riddance of 
 every Romish priest within its circuit ; but they ex- 
 pect to purchase an exemption from the general rule 
 of enmity against Protestants, by abstaining from all 
 that savors of a protest : and even should they send 
 a stout conservative to Parliament, or go there them- 
 selves in that character, the political bias is kept care- 
 fully distinct from the religious peculiarity ; and they 
 are always ready to bear witness how loyal, how 
 peaceable, how well disposed are their own " catholic" 
 neighbors and dependents. 
 
 The other body is composed of men whose preju- 
 dices blend in one confused object of reprobation the 
 sin and the sinner, Popery and the Papist — the curse 
 of Ireland, and her native race who wither beneath 
 that curse. They abhor the priest, abominate the 
 mass-house, abjure the national schools, and firmly 
 believe that nothing but the fullest establishment of 
 Protestant ascendency can save this island. They 
 are perfectly right, so far; but in their detestation of 
 what the aborigines of the land have become, they 
 lose all sense, or nearly so, of what is due to them as 
 brothers of the same nature, heirs of a like immor- 
 tality of being, whether for happiness or misery. 
 Fully aware of the desperate craft of Popery, and the 
 iron grasp which it fixes on the human mind, and the 
 dreadful perversion of intellect and faculty that it in- 
 duces, they hold the case to be hopeless : the native 
 
COUNTY DOWN. 225 
 
 race, t^ey say, are too savage, too barbarous, too 
 treacherous, too blood-thirsty to be reclaimed ; and 
 the only p'an is to tra i port them, fettered as they 
 are in ignorance and sin, to some distant shore, anci 
 to colonize the land with Scotch and English Protest- 
 ants. 1 his is their real opinion, however it may be 
 softened either by prudence or the natural benevolence 
 of their hears. They feel as though, like the Israel- 
 ites of old, they had a commission to destroy or drive 
 out the original inhabitants of the land because of 
 their si is. Yet they are often among the most kind 
 and ju-t of landlords: they extend their bounty to 
 the bodies of the poor Irish, and deeply regret the 
 state of their souls; but if you suggest any attempt 
 at convincing them of their errors and converting 
 them to God by means of the Bible, you are told, it 
 is impossible: that the Irish race are beyond your 
 reach : that they will either reject your attempt 
 with insult, or else from mercenary motives pretend 
 to be impressed, affect a reformation, and then take 
 the first favorable opportunity of cutting your throat. 
 Can it be wondered at if country gentlemen hold sueh 
 sentiments, when even clergymen have been known 
 to utter them, and at public meetings too — bringing 
 as deep and as undeserved disgrace on the Orange 
 badge which they usurped, as they did on the church 
 whose professed ministers they were. 
 
 Now I say, these two classes had better be absentees 
 than not. The former give materials to form the 
 rebel's pike: the latter sharpen its point: both over- 
 look the origin of the disease, and both despise the 
 cure. 1 here is another class — oh that the Lord may 
 increase it ! I will take Lord Roden as a specimen, 
 and in simply stating what he holds, and what he 
 
226 LETTER IX. 
 
 does, I go as far as I conceive it possible to go in 
 portraying the remedy for Irish ills. Like the first- 
 named body of men, he shows all courtesy and kind- 
 ness, without distinction of creed or party ; but he 
 gives no countenance to priestly influence by making 
 a guest of the man who exercises it 5 his purse is 
 open to build a cabin for any poor Romanist, but 
 not a fraction of the smallest coin that ever it held 
 would he dare to contribute to any purpose connected 
 with the antichristian worship of Rome 5 neither does 
 he, by counsel or by silence, sanction the soul-destroy- 
 ing practices of the people. Conservative in the 
 highest degree, he takes his station in the senate, 
 and there maintains an open undisguised protest 
 against Popery, in all its ramifications, theoretical 
 and practical, general and local, ecclesiastical, politi- 
 cal, and moral : surrounded as he really is by an 
 attached and grateful tenantry, their personal regard 
 for himself does not blind him to the fact, that if com- 
 manded by their priesthood, they must, at the peril 
 of their souls, set fire to his house, and massacre his 
 family; therefore he advances on their behalf no plea 
 of exemption from the universal blot. Lord Roden 
 believes, with the other class enumerated, yea, he 
 knows, that without the firm establishment of Pro- 
 testant ascendency in every department, prosperity in 
 any shape cannot visit this people: but while rigidly 
 enforcing its necessity in external matters, he bears 
 in mind that Protestantism is, in fact, a distinguishing 
 name for true Christianity ; and the ascendency for. 
 which he chiefly labors, is that of divine truth over 
 the heart and conscience of man. He wars against 
 the priest, the mass-house, and the national board, by 
 
COUNTY DOWN. 227 
 
 upholding the authority of God's word, pure, free, 
 and unmutilated, against all systems of human or dia- 
 bolical contrivance. He assumed the Orange badge 
 as an open pledge to each poor Protestant, that in 
 him he should find a helper in the common cause; as 
 a token to each deluded Romanist that he was neither 
 afraid nor ashamed to avow in the bosom of his re- 
 tired home, or among thousands of opposers, the 
 same principles that he maintains within the safe 
 walls of the British Parliament ; and as a public 
 manifesto that those principles are identically what 
 called the house of Orange to the throne of these 
 realms. At the same time, his wish was to revive in 
 the order its originally spiritual and patriotic charac- 
 ter, which had been much weakened since its first 
 institution. By the way, this elevation of its charac- 
 ter was the chief inducement for putting it down ; 
 just as Hunne was murdered for openly confessing the 
 truth, and adorning it with his life. Once more, Lord 
 Roden is fully aware of the depth of debasement into 
 which the native race have fallen ; but he well knows 
 what cast them down, and diligently works the lever 
 that alone can raise them up again. Gladly would 
 he see Popery banished, totally and for ever from his 
 estate, and from the land ; still, looking to Him who 
 li willeth not the death of a sinner, but rather that he 
 should be converted and live," he strives to accom- 
 plish the gracious purpose of his Master, by saving, 
 not destroying ; by enclosing within the fold, not by 
 driving yet further from its boundaries the poor lost 
 sheep of the house that once was God's Israel in this 
 land. Lord Roden tenderly and widely cares for the 
 personal comfort, the well-being and well-doing of 
 
228 LETTER IX. 
 
 every individual on his property, and he uses the in- 
 fluence thus acquired over their better feelings as a 
 means of doin^ croodto their souls. He is not ashamed 
 to bear the contemptible reproach of trying to .pro- 
 selytize, by introducing the word of God where it 
 would not be received from any hand, save that of a 
 kind, munificent landlord ; on the contrary, he feels 
 that he could not otherwise be a faithful steVvard of 
 the worldly gifts entrusted to him by his Master who, 
 in holy writ, often pleads as a testimony of His wil- 
 lingness to save men's souls, the liberality with which 
 he giveth them richly all temporal things to enjoy, 
 filling their hearts with food and gladness. It is 
 strange how entirely some Christian people seem to 
 forget that they must follow Christ through evil as 
 well as through good report ; and I remember the 
 time when I felt disposed rather to beg and to work for 
 the cause of missions to the heathen abroad, than to 
 speak to the heathen at home, that they might be 
 saved. The reason of this lurking preference I was 
 not long in detecting : the former would bring on me 
 a good report — the latter, perhaps, an evil one, with 
 much present disappointment, vexation, and mortifi- 
 cation. You know, I got resolution given me to take 
 up the cross and to unfold the banner at my very 
 door j and I am no stranger to the various contri- 
 vances of Satan to obstruct such a work, sometimes 
 with the unconscious help of pious friends, damping 
 by their cold maxims of regard to the world's good 
 opinion a flame that they ought to have fanned and 
 fed. To be sure they never did really damp it, thanks 
 be to God ; and I feel now enabled to defy all dis- 
 couragement in my own little narrow sphere of hos- 
 
COUNTY DOWN. 229 
 
 tilities against Great Babylon, since witnessing what 
 my noble friends — and I am prouder to call them my 
 friends than I should be to call Europe my dominions 
 ■ — persevere in doing for the cause of Christ among 
 their poor neighbors. 
 
 Lord Roden, being obliged to go to Newry, sent mo 
 on an excursion up the Green mountain — that is, 
 the richly, beautifully planted height over which the 
 Black mountain and SlieveDonard look down upon us 
 — to visit some of his cottagers: one scene affected 
 me greatly. The exquisite beauty of the winding track 
 by which Lady Maria drove me in the little pony 
 phaeton, now crossing the romantic river by a bridge 
 as wildly picturesque as itself, now following its 
 course, where the most lovely cascades were pro- 
 duced by the downward slope of its channel ; then 
 completely closed in, and embowered by the luxuriant 
 foliage that overhung the path ; and again looking 
 from the hill-side, through a casual vista, upon the 
 sparkling waters of the deep blue sea ; all this had 
 almost driven from my thoughts the ultimate object 
 of the delicious drive, until we came to a rude gate, 
 outside of which we left the quiet, petted little 
 pony to take care of himself and the carriage, and 
 proceeded to a pretty-looking cottage a short way 
 beyond it. 
 
 The woman to whom I was first introduced, sat close 
 beside her bed, aged, and evidently feeble, and more- 
 over totally blind. When told that a strange lady was by 
 her, she bowed, and gave a courteous welcome, but 
 with that tremulous timidity which usually attends utter 
 blindness under such circumstances. I then said, " It 
 was by dear Lord Roden's desire that I came to visit 
 
230 t LETTER IX. 
 
 you ; he could not accompany us to-day," and was going 
 on to deliver his Lordship's kind message, but she, 
 judging I suppose by the tone that the expression 
 came from my heart, repeated, " Dear Lord Roden, — 
 anybody who loves Lord Roden is welcome indeed I" 
 and groping with both her trembling hands till she 
 found my arm, she grasped it with a fervency suited 
 to her looks. I asked, playfully, " Do you then know 
 anybody who does not love Lord Roden 1" and many 
 laughing faces came about me to join in the blind 
 woman's eager negative. She then told, with tears 
 of gladness, what a blessing her soul had received 
 through the ministry of her honored master ; and 
 dwelt on all the privileges connected with the recep- 
 tion of Christ crucified into her heart. Her dress had 
 caught fire just before, without her being conscious 
 of it ; and while her daughter carefully pinned up the 
 scorched rents to improve her appearance, she dwelt 
 with glowing joy on the security of the Lord's poor 
 iittle flock, let what may betide their bodies. The 
 sorest of her trials was that of being now prevented 
 Dy increasing infirmities from attending the chapel, so 
 far below the site of her mountain abode; but with 
 this too she had learned to be content. Before leav- 
 ing the apartment, I was asked to look into the neigh- 
 boring bed, and see the fine little baby just added to 
 the family party, consisting of three generations. 
 Such a bright, smiling, intelligent face as the mother 
 lifted up to greet us ; and such a glow of pleasure 
 overspread it, when she heard the remark that his 
 lordship would be delighted to hear that he had an- 
 other tenant in that cottage ! I could not lose the 
 image of the dear old disciple, with her cheerful 
 
COUNTY DOWN. 231 
 
 resignation to a very heavy infliction: I could not 
 cease to think of her prayerful exclamations of grati- 
 tude to him who had been the appointed instrument 
 of conveying to her this rich blessing: and 1 saw at 
 once by what means Lord Roden's hands are held up, 
 in his sustained, protracted conflict in the cause of 
 his country. It is the poor man's prayer that upholds 
 the nobleman's course ; it is the fruitful return of an 
 imparted blessing, that refreshes him on his way. 
 Every individual whom he is the means of bringing to 
 Christ, pleads a Christian's privilege on his behalf ; 
 and the help that so many are agreed in asking for 
 him is multiplied from day to day. Oh, that all our 
 men of rank, of wealth, of ability, of influence, knew 
 how to avail themselves of this rate of exchange! 
 The true patriot has now a most difficult part to per- 
 form, in his public, senatorial capacity, and often when 
 he takes his arduous post in the heated atmosphere^ 
 and mingles in the uncertain debate, the evening 
 prayer of some poor cottage family on the remote 
 mountain-side, or deep in the distant glen, tracing to 
 his faithful superintendence the peace, the comfort 
 that is theirs, would rise before the Lord, an accepta- 
 ble sacrifice, and the answer be sent by a swift mes- 
 senger, to cheer its object when, perhaps, no man 
 stands by him. 
 
 You have asked me, Is it true that Lord Roden, 
 while professing to rely on the arm of God, still 
 " keeps his powder dry 1" In return I would also 
 inquire of you, which act manifests more of Christian 
 charity, the punishment of a crime or its prevention 1 
 It is perfectly true that the powder is kept dry, and 
 that the injunction to keep it so appears on the stand 
 
232 LETTER IX. 
 
 of arms in the hall : it is likewise true that hard by, in 
 very large letters, is the text, " If God be for us, who 
 can be against us 1" and the two are just as reconcil- 
 able as, in any other case, is the use of means with, 
 an entire dependence on him who has appointed them. 
 You know that, in this country, outrages are rarely 
 committed by those who dwell on the spot : bodies of 
 men from a distant place are summoned, and employ- 
 ed in the work of destruction. If a hostile attack 
 were planned against Tollymore Park, it is not the 
 County Down that would supply the murderous gang. 
 Tipperary, or Galway, or some other remote district 
 must afford them. Is it not an act of positive mercy 
 to the wretched perpetrators, and the more wretched 
 instigators of such horrors, to present such a front as 
 shall deter them from crime 1 I know what a clamor 
 has been raised by that song, the burden of which is 
 Cromwell's advice to his troops on crossing a river. 
 " Put your trust in God, and mind you keep your pow- 
 der dry." Cromwell was a heartless, ruthless, hypo- 
 critical aggressor ; but it does not follow that his 
 advice abstractedly was wrong. Ahitophel gave 
 excellent counsel, though from a bad motive, and for 
 a bad purpose. The song in question* has nothing 
 to do with the point at issue, whether a Christian 
 should needlessly lay a temptation in the way of sin- 
 ners to dye themselves yet deeper in guilt by destroy- 
 ing his body, because he knows his soul to be safe in 
 the Lord's keeping, or whether he should restrain 
 them by showing that, as a conservator of the public 
 peace, and a magistrate too, he beareth not the sword 
 in vain. You know that I can go as far as the Qua- 
 
 * See Appendix G- 
 
COUNTY DOWN 233 
 
 Lers do in reprehending and denouncing even de^ 
 fensive warfare ; but with all these feelings unchangedj 
 and desiring rather to fall beneath the hand of an 
 assassin than to send his unprepared soul before the 
 judgment seat, I heartily concur in the propriety of 
 presenting such an aspect as shall, humanly speaking, 
 preserve us both unharmed. " Except the Lord keep the 
 city, the watchman waketh but in vain." Most true : 
 but it does not follow that the watchman is to sleep on 
 his post. Rivers of blood have flowed in this unhap- 
 py country, through the neglect of means which God, 
 as we have every reason to hope, would have blessed 
 to its preservation. 
 
 I have now to give you a precious document which 
 was brought to me from Newry, in the shape of a 
 hand-bill. At first I vainly thought it an electidn 
 squib : but the gentlemen assure me it is authen- 
 tic ; posted* and distributed by thousands among the 
 Romanists. This Michael Burke is the titular bishop 
 of the diocese, and, of Course, holding sway over the 
 minds and consciences of his miserable followers. Ydu 
 may now see how faithfully the mitred priests of Rome 
 abstain from political interference, and how admirably 
 they fulfil their promises which we, or rather the 
 English nation in general, so complacently swallowed 
 in 1S29 Mr. Ellis is prosecuting a most successful 
 canvass in Newry : the high priest in question had a 
 turbulent assemblage last Sunday, whom he stimulated 
 by every possible means to resist, even by brute force, 
 the return of the popular candidate. You will here 
 see the allusion to this mode of keeping holy one 
 Sabbath-day, with the promise of a similar desecration 
 on the next. Here is the hand-bill just as it is before me. 
 20* 
 
234 LETTER IX. 
 
 PASTORAL INSTRUCTION 
 
 OF THE RIGHT REV. DR. BLAKE, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP, TO THE 
 CATHOLICS OF NEWRY. 
 
 "Dearly beloved Christians : 
 
 "It is at all times strictly obligatory on a Christian 
 bishop to watch, with unwearied solicitude, over the 
 flock which the Holy Ghost, with an especial intima- 
 tion of the most awful responsibility, committed to his 
 care ; but most particularly is he obliged to do so in all 
 emergencies of extraordinary moment, when duties of 
 the utmost importance and of incalculable magnitude 
 are to be performed by those whom he is bound to 
 instruct, and when he beholds them surrounded by 
 temptations of the most dangerous nature, artfully 
 perpared either to prevent them from doing what is 
 right, or, what is worse, to make themselves instru- 
 ments for the degradation of their country and of 
 their own characters in this world, and for the des- 
 truction of the happiness of their immortal souls for all 
 eternity. And, if it be the indispensable duty of 
 your bishop to enlighten, to exhort, and to warn you 
 upon such occasions, so it is equally your's to hearken 
 with docility, and to regulate your conduct by the 
 principles of sound doctrine. ' Obey your prelates? 
 says the apostle, (Heb. xiii. 17.) -and be subject to 
 them. For they watch, as being to render an account of 
 your souls, that they may do this with joy and not with 
 grief : for this is not expedient for you.'' 
 
 "You are called upon at present, dearly beloved 
 
COUNTY DOWN. 235 
 
 Christians, to exercise your right of voting for the 
 appointment of a member of parliament, who is to 
 stand as your representative in the august senate of 
 the British empire, to make known your grievances 
 and wants, to defend your interests, to claim your 
 rights, to co-operate in making salutary laws for the 
 nation, and thus to correct all public abuses, and to 
 Tedress whatever is amiss in the management of public 
 affairs. The right of voting for such an appointment 
 has been communicated to you, not for your indivi- 
 dual benefit, nor to pay a compliment to your private 
 friend, but entirely for the general welfare ; and should 
 be conscientiously used, only for the good of the 
 entire community, including all its classes and sub- 
 divisions. We beseech you, therefore, to consider 
 the nature and importance of the trust with which you 
 are honored, the magnitude and wonderful extent of 
 the powers which belong to a British House of Com- 
 mons, and the frightful responsibility which is attach- 
 ed to your trusty unless you fulfil your duty as you 
 ought, in selecting no other person as your represen- 
 tative in that grand assembly, but one whom you 
 perfectly know to be honest, and governed by 
 liberal and truly philanthropic principles ; whose ob- 
 ject in offering himself is to promote the welfare, not 
 of a section of the people, but of the entire com- 
 munity; who has already proved himself not merely 
 by professions, but by a long series of facts, and by the 
 whole tenor of his life, worthy of public confidence ; 
 one who would have an identity of interests with his 
 constituents ; one, in short, whose sentiments would be 
 in exact accordance with those so admirably expressed 
 in the speech from the throne, by our already 
 
236 LETTER IX. 
 
 renowned and glorious Queen^ and with those mea* 
 sures which her enlightened ministers have pledged 
 themselves to carry, and the success of which nothing 1 
 can now prevent, if those who have the right of voting 
 will, at the coming election, only do their duty to 
 their long-afflicted, long-oppressed, and misgoverned 
 country. 
 
 " On this day week, we shall have something morei 
 to say on this most important subject. In the mean- 
 time, we beg you to turn it often in your minds, and 
 may the Father of lights, and God of all consolation, 
 enlighten, sustain, and direct your virtue, that your 
 example, on this trying occasion, may shine forth as 
 it did at the last election, that you may show your- 
 selves even still more worthy of your country, and of 
 your divine religion : and may ' the Lord of peace 
 himself give you everlasting peace in every place. The 
 Lord be with you. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ 
 be with till? Amen. 
 
 "t Michael Blake, 
 
 " Newry, July 23, 1837." 
 
 You will observe that the date of this " pastoral" is 
 Sunday last ; and that for Sunday next the attention 
 of the faithful is bespoken for the farther instructions 
 in store. To explain the force of Dr. Blake's injunc- 
 tion as to letting their light shine forth as it did at the 
 last election, I must tell you how his " dearly-beloved 
 Christians" then conducted themselves. On the Sun- 
 day and for several days before and after it, they were 
 collected in immense parties by the agents of the 
 "liberal" candidate into large open spaces, where 
 they were kept by the attractions of music, dancing, 
 
COUNTY DOWN. 237 
 
 whisky, gambling, and sti'l greater outrages than 
 these on public morals, until they had been moulded 
 into every purpose required ; thence taken to the 
 hustings, and polled against their interests, their pro- 
 mises, their consciences, and even their wishes. 
 Under the influence of this brutifying and exciting 
 process, they kept the town in a fearful state for some 
 time after ; and bloodshed and the gaol completed 
 the work. Some of the poor people eluded the dead- 
 ly snare laid for them, and remained within their 
 homes. What was the consequence 1 Their right 
 to be numbered among the " dearly-beloved Chris- 
 tians" became suspected; strong parties burst into 
 their dwellings in the dead of night, and, dragged 
 from their beds, they were forcibly conveyed to dis- 
 tant places, and there locked up until the election was 
 over. It is to the perpetrators of these deeds of de- 
 pravity and outrage that Dr. Blake addresses his pas- 
 toral, inviting them by a repetition of their conduct 
 at the last election to " show themselves men even 
 still more worthy of their country and of their divine 
 religion." 
 
 But the point to which I mainly wish to draw your 
 attention is the declaration thus openly made by an 
 authority which they deem infallible, that the Roman- 
 ists of Newry will not only ensure "the degradation 
 of their characters in this world ;" that is, utter tem- 
 pi ral ruin, and the imminent peril of their lives ; but 
 also incur " the destruction of the happiness of their 
 immortal souls for all eternity," if they do not sup- 
 port Mr. Brady, the staunch advocate of repeal. In 
 England you cannot conceive the tremendous force 
 of such expressions from such a quarter. Dr. Blake 
 
238 LETTER IX. • 
 
 has only to speak a word privately, and from their 
 respective altars each priest will denounce the indi- 
 viduals in his congregation who have disobeyed the 
 mandate, and sinned against their country and their 
 own souls, by daring to act independently at the polh 
 They will then become the victims of an unceasing 
 persecution : if in trade, none will thenceforth dea 
 with them : if in the laboring class, none will employ 
 them. Should the Protestants befriend them in these 
 particulars, interposing between their families and 
 starvation, their persons will be insulted, their dwell- 
 ings attacked, and their lives menaced on all sides ; 
 while the terrors of everlasting perdition will be kept 
 before their eyes, by the stern denial of those rites 
 on which the poor deceived creatures verily believe 
 that their salvation depends. 
 
 Now, consider in what way this plan is likely to 
 operate throughout Ireland. The franchise is so ex- 
 tended that the great bulk of voters, in three provin- 
 ces, consists of those whom the priests can drive like 
 a herd of cattle, by means of such arguments, pri- 
 vately administered, as Dr. Blake, with more zeal than 
 judgment, has openly promulgated. Mr. Brady is a 
 fair specimen of the men patronized by the priests- 
 hood : a legitimate joint of what is expressively 
 termed "the Tail," pledged to follow O'Connell, and 
 to move but in accordance with his volition. The 
 destruction of the Protestant church and dismember- 
 ment of the empire, is what these men openly, avow- 
 edly aim at : their numbers must increase with the 
 increasing boldness, decision, and activity of the Ro* 
 niish priesthood, whose delegates they are : that num- 
 ber in the Commons House is even now able, as a 
 
COUNTY DOWN. 239 
 
 floating majority, to decide any question brought for- 
 ward, where the regular parties that compose the 
 British representation are divided : and thus are we 
 already prostrated beneath the paw of the Apocalyp- 
 tic Beast, who having imposed on our wise legislators 
 by exhibiting his lamb's face, was, on the strength of 
 it, courteously admitted among them ; and now with 
 his dragon's voice prevails to lead captive the British 
 government, and to trample upon the British consti- 
 tution. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 COUNTY ARMAGH. 
 
 Tandragee Castle. 
 
 I shall not attempt to tell you with what feelings I 
 quitted Tollymore Park. The morning was very 
 cloudy, and made even the chapel look dark : but 
 there was light within. I think Lord Roden's exposi- 
 tion of the eighteenth Psalm will be one of the last 
 things that I shall forget, if that can be forgotten 
 which belongs not to the things of time. No man 
 living is surrounded with richer blessings than Lord 
 Roden : it is enough to say that what God in nature 
 has done to beautify the spot where he dwells, that 
 God by grace has surpassed in the beloved circle who 
 inhabit it : the outward being but a type of the inward 
 gifts. All this he sees, feels, and devoutly acknow- 
 ledges : yet Lord Roden bears as heavy a cross as any 
 man I know. Patriotism of the highest and purest 
 kind is his ruling passion : and who that loves poor 
 Ireland but must go mourning for her every dayl 
 Who that desires to see his Lord and Saviour glorified 
 among his own people, his brethren after the flesh, 
 but must take up Paul's keen complaint of continual 
 sorrow and heaviness at his heart 1 Lord Roden is 
 
 
COUNTY ARB1AGH. 241 
 
 not one of those deceived good men who think it in- 
 consistent to view politics and religion in that con- 
 nection wherein I really think the Holy Bible presents 
 them to us: he does not wrap himself up in spiritual 
 abstraction, caring nothing for them that are without ; 
 or, with a refined sort of fatalism, consoling himself 
 with the idea that since what must be, must be, he 
 may look on and say amen to all the doings of Satan, 
 secure that God will bruise him under our feet shortly. 
 No — the heavenward language of his soul is, "Ami 
 not grieved with them that rise up against thee V 
 and this grief throws him in an especial manner on 
 the promises of God in the Gospel of his Son. My 
 heart is too sore to write much of Tollymore since 
 I have left it. May the dove of peace ever find her 
 tranquil nest among its beautiful bowers! As the 
 mountains are round about it, so may the Lord be 
 round about his dear people there ! As the shining 
 ocean spreads before it, so may a bright eternity of 
 blessedness ever form their prospect ! And for the 
 kindness shown to me, and many another humble 
 guest, received in the name of a disciple, may the 
 promised recompense be returned a thousand fold 
 into their generous, affectionate, and hospitable bo- 
 soms ! 
 
 Preferring the car to all conveyances, I accepted 
 that at the hands of my noble entertainers as far as 
 Kate's Bridge, where Lord Mandeville's car was to 
 meet us. His lordship and family are abroad ; but a 
 very cordial invitation from my old friend Mr. Porter, 
 in whose hands everything is left, was too tempting 
 to be declined ; particularly as Lady Roden had, just 
 before it came, been expressing her anxious wish that 
 21 
 
242 LETTER X. 
 
 I could see " that beautifully managed estate." I 
 knew that the plan adopted here was modelled on that 
 by which Lord Farnham's property became so con- 
 spicuously superior to the generality of Irish estates ; 
 Mr. Porter having enjoyed the office of his lordship's 
 private secretary at Farnham, before he came to Tan- 
 dragee. I therefore determined to take this place on 
 my way to Donegal, making my desire for information 
 subservient to the pleasure of seeing a valuable and 
 valued friend, after many years' absence. The first 
 two or three miles of our journey were through what 
 is still a terra incognita to me ; for instead of remark- 
 ing the peculiarities of the road, I kept an immovable 
 gaze turned in the direction of the Mourne Mountains, 
 soon totally hidden by the intervention of very infe- 
 rior but much nearer heights. In a short time the 
 rain began to descend heavily ; and before reaching 
 Kate's Bridge, where we stopped at the respectable 
 house of a staunch northern Presbyterian, whose little 
 general shop supplied the neighborhood, I was more 
 completely soaked than I remember to have been for 
 years. A huge turf fire, in the back kitchen, where a 
 grand wash was going on, afforded a partial drying ; 
 and then we mounted Lord Mandeville's car, driven 
 by the smartest little fellow imaginable, and rattled 
 on under such a driving deluge of rain that I was 
 obliged to shut out it and the scenery together, by 
 holding an umbrella before my face. All I know of 
 the country is, that potatoes and orange lilies 
 appeared the staple commodities, with an increase of 
 corn-fields as we approached our destination j indeed, 
 the landscape became exceedingly rich, after leaving 
 the mountain track. 
 
 
COUNTY ARMAGH. 24-3 
 
 Tandragee possesses a feature peculiar to itself, 
 and very picturesque. The town consists of one very 
 long and exceedingly broad street, the ascent of which 
 is formidable. At the top stands the castle ; a large, 
 dark, ponderous-looking gate facing you, with rather 
 a frowning aspect, overhung by trees of immense 
 growth ; and among them the church steeple looks 
 out, from the besom of the enclosure. The gates 
 passed, you proceed by a short drive into a quadran- 
 gle, the four sides of which are formed by the castel- 
 lated building, which is singularly antique in appear- 
 ance, though, in fact, rebuilt within the last few years. 
 The inner gates are fortified, after the old fashion of 
 defensive warfare ; the material is grey stone, and the 
 tout ensemble very feudal. The square, deep-set win- 
 dows, with much frame-work and little glass, and the 
 whole contour of the building that completely sur- 
 rounded us, the paved court-yard without the least 
 mixture of vegetation, and the gallery by which we 
 had to enter — all formed a strange contrast to the 
 lightsomeness of sweet Tollymore; and not being in 
 the mood to fancy anything unlike that favored spot 
 I did not, at first, do justice to the Castle. A most 
 cordially Irish reception, however, from my old friend, 
 with the unexpected pleasure of meeting the Dean of 
 Tuam at the door, prepared me to enjoy with high zest 
 the treat which was in store j for, passing through the 
 library, we were led into one of the finest conserva- 
 tories possible, with gigantic fuchsias and other mag- 
 nificent plants rising tG the very lofty glass dome ; 
 and in the centre, upon a high table, stood what they 
 were pleased to call my garland — a beautiful fabric, 
 four feet high, and of proportionate dimensions, formed 
 
244 LETTER X. 
 
 entirely of flowers. Each column is the thickness 
 of your arm — a plump onej and you never could be- 
 lieve so elegant and superb a thing to be the contri- 
 vance as well as the execution of a poor gardener. 
 Yet so it is : the gardener and his men, unasked, pro- 
 duced this lovely piece of architecture to express the 
 value that they entertained for certain pennyworths 
 of knowledge, circulated in the shape of little books, 
 through the lending libraries of Tandraeree. It must, 
 
 DO O 7 
 
 however, be confessed that the orange lily was un- 
 sparingly displayed, with a liberal admixture of purple 
 tints, and the Sweet Wil/iam, a naughty political 
 flower much cultivated in the " black north," and 
 which ought to be put hors de combat the next time a 
 military investment takes place. My well^soaked dra- 
 pery had time to dry upon me before I had sufficiently 
 admired my garland ; and then our friend took us on 
 the lawn, in front of the castle, the situation of which 
 is more splendid than I suspected. It stands on the 
 very edge of a descent so steep, that the tops of the 
 highest trees, growing below, are very far beneath 
 your feet when standing on it. Had not the rain pre- 
 vented, we should have enjoyed a sight of the castle 
 to great advantage from the road, it is perched on 
 such a commanding eminence. From it the prospect 
 is beautiful. A lofty turret, very hard to ascend, by 
 a ladder placed perpendicularly, and fastened to the 
 wall inside, commands a magnificent look-out, em- 
 bracing Lough Neagh, and a circuit of almost bound- 
 less extent. But what pleased me beyond all the rest, 
 was a distinct view not only of Slieve Donard, but of 
 Tollymore Park, the house alone being concealed by 
 the line of an intersecting mountain. The distance is 
 
County Armagh. 245 
 
 full twenty English miies, so you may judge how ele- 
 vated must be the one, and how conspicuous the other 
 spot j for we used no glass. 
 
 I shall now give yOu a sketch of the plan by which 
 Lord Mandeville's property is managed ; and in so 
 doing, I hope to embrace the main points of that great 
 question, How can Ireland be rendered prosperous, 
 and her people tranquil and happy 1 To afford a clear 
 insight into the improved plan, I will sketch that 
 which generally prevails on large estates. The land- 
 lord appoints an agent, to whom he pays a percent- 
 age on the rents which it is his business to collect, 
 as well as to regulate the division and distribution 
 of farms, and in all respects to act as a medium of 
 communication between the tenants and their land- 
 lord. The agent's duties on an extensive property 
 are so various and so difficult, that much of the prac- 
 tical detail must be left to others, the under-agents^ 
 persons much inferior to the agent ; arid drivers, on 
 whom the actual Collection of rents virtually devolves, 
 for thejr are sent out at regular periods to urge the" 
 payment, and receive from the tenants a fee on each 
 visit. They are empowered to drive the cattle of de- 
 faulters to the pound, whereby the distressed tenantry 
 are subjected to heavy expenses in fees to the pound- 
 keeper, besides an additional demand from the driver. 
 It is a common observation among those who have 
 experience in the collection of any description of 
 dues from the lower classes, that in proportion as 
 compulsory means are resorted to, voluntary pay- 
 ments diminish. The system is a demoralizing one ; 
 the feelings of the peasantry being blunted by the fre- 
 quent demands and rude threats of these subordinates, 
 21* 
 
246 LETTER X. 
 
 armed as they are with summary powers, become 
 hardened by repeated exposure ; and those who pos- 
 sess the means of making up their rents, or discharg- 
 ing their arrears, are often induced to withhold pay- 
 ment, because it is not the general practice to pay on 
 the first application. The result of this plan is harass- 
 ing to all parties, prejudicial to the tenant, and 
 inconsistent with the duties of a conscientious land- 
 lord. I believe Lord Farnham was the first who ven- 
 tured upon a total change of system, abolishing alto- 
 gether that which I have described, and substituting 
 in its place a mode of moral management, which super- 
 seding the ruder methods of compulsion, might at 
 once promote the prosperity and happiness of his 
 tenantry, and secure to himself a due and punctual 
 return of the proceeds of his property. What do you 
 suppose was the result, when he fairly reduced to 
 practice a scheme that most people considered as 
 beautiful, but visionary 1 Why, at the end of seven 
 years, on an estate of upwards of twenty-five thou- 
 sand acres, the arrears of rent did not exceed one 
 hundred pounds. 
 
 The base which Lord Farnham took, whereon to 
 erect his moral edifice, and the rule by which he 
 fashioned the work, were the Holy Bible. Every part 
 of his plan had reference to it ; and of course educa- 
 tion was primarily alluded to. Twelve school-houses 
 were built in different parts of his estate, where the 
 children of his tenantry, without any regard to reli- 
 gious distinction, all received scriptural education j 
 and this has been successfully persevered in for four- 
 teen years. He did away with the drivers, and in 
 their stead appointed five inspectors of districts, who 
 
COUNTY ARMAGH. 24<7 
 
 were forbidden to receive fees from the tenants, and 
 could therefore have no personal interest in either 
 pressing or relaxing; neither had they power to en- 
 force payment by distraining or distressing the poor 
 people : they were selected, as being each by constant 
 residence and intercourse best acquainted with the 
 families and feelings, the wants and circumstances of 
 the tenantry in his respective district. The law of 
 kindness was that by which they were enjoined to 
 regulate their proceedings ; their duties w T ere executed 
 with mildness \ and thus armed with no terror, but 
 possessed of the high moral influence that such bonds 
 of connection and such a mutual good understanding 
 could not fail to invest them with in the sight of the 
 people, they acquired an ascendency never enjoyed by 
 the most arbitrary and despotic manager under the old 
 system. The rules privately printed for the guidance 
 of these inspectors are beautiful ; the link which they 
 form between the landlord, or his agent, and the hum- 
 blest of the laboring classes, are, in my mind, the pre- 
 cise desideratum, for the absence of which both have so 
 long and so dearly paid. They are placed under the 
 immediate direction of the moral agent, to whom their 
 reports are regularly made, but with orders to obey also 
 the land agent, and to render him every assistance that 
 he may require. 
 
 This is a very brief outline of Lord Farnham's ad- 
 mirable plan, and fully convinced by his own observa- 
 tion of its practical excellence, thoroughly versed m 
 all its details, my friend Mr. Porter obeyed the sum- 
 mons of Lord Mandeville, to assume on his very large 
 estate the office of moral agent, and to introduce the 
 improved system, to the total exclusion of all others. 
 
j&48 LETTER X. 
 
 You must know that in this part of the country, land 
 is at such a premium, that if a farm of five or ten 
 acres is to be disposed of, a ready purchaser is to oe 
 found who will give fifty or a hundred pounds for the 
 good-will, as it is called, of the tenant in possession, 
 being at the rate of £\Q an acre, the yearly rerft 
 averaging from twenty to twenty-five shillings per 
 acre, and this land, perhaps, out of lease at the time. 
 The feeling of security against dispossession, added 
 to the anxiety which I noticed in a former letter to 
 become the holder of land, induces this ; but many 
 evils result from the competition. The man who freely 
 offers fifty pounds, does not perhaps possess twenty; 
 he runs in debt for the balance, probably at high usury,* 
 and all to enter upon a farm requiring great improve- 
 ments, Which he has no capital to expend on. Besides, 
 fees are, in such cases, frequently paid on the mere 
 promise of the agent, and invariably demanded by him 
 on each lease actually granted. This furnishes a 
 strong temptation to subdivide the land most injurious- 
 ly; and one of the many evils brought on themselves 
 by the anxious bidders,- Was that of being put into pos- 
 session of an acre or acre and a half, on the mere pro- 
 mise of paying the agent's fees ; and then when they 
 first appeared with a half year's rent, the sum was 
 taken and placed to the credit of the aforesaid fees ; 
 tvhile a heavy arrear of rent was allowed to accumu- 
 late on the head of the perplexed and helpless occu- 
 pier. Such was the state of affairs here, and you may 
 perceive in it a striking confirmation of what I told 
 you when writing from Wexford. Lord Mandeville, 
 however, appointed a land agent, who was alike com- 
 petent and disposed to carry out every plan of judi- 
 
COUNTY ARMAGH. 249 
 
 cious improvement, and who is a most valuable helper 
 in the good work now prospering. On placing this 
 gentleman over the tenantry, Lord Mandeville also ad- 
 dressed them in a circular, which set forth, first, 
 his anxious desire to fulfil his responsibilities in a 
 manner that should conduce to their mutual benefit 
 and happiness, being convinced that the real interest of 
 landlord and tenant could not be separated ; and that 
 making the discharge of their relative duties accord- 
 ing to the will of God their object, he trusted they 
 might all seek and receive God's blessing on their en- 
 deavors. Mark, my friend, these truly wise men do 
 not build on the sand ; openly acknowledging the Lord 
 in all their ways, how can they but find him directing 
 their paths % Lord Mandeville's circular goes on to 
 abolish the usual fees, to establish inspectors, to pro 
 hibit high rents for the prevention of any just excuse 
 for arrears, to forbid the subdivision of farms, to do 
 away with fees or leases ; refusing also to give leases 
 on lives, and substituting for that uncertain calculation 
 a definite term of years ; to guard against the mischief 
 and injustice of the cottier system, and the oppression 
 too often practised on the lower classes of tenants at 
 will ; to promise a nursery of fruit trees for the benefit 
 of such tenants as may enclose orchards, and exhibit 
 neatness and industry in their farms; to arrange the 
 schools under the superintendence of Mr. Porter, who 
 has also the care of a lending library in each school, of 
 which all his tenants may enjoy the advantage, on ap- 
 plication to the schoolmaster ; to announce the regu- 
 lations under which persons inconvenienced by loss or 
 sickness may receive aid from the loan fund, instead 
 of borrowing money at an exc bitant interest ; to 
 
250 LETTEB X. 
 
 assure them that medical advice arid medicine have 
 been provided in a way that will secure proper attend- 
 ance on the sick poor throughout all the estate. Lastly, 
 to direct how communications are to be made to his 
 lordship, who sets apart a day in each month for 
 the purpose of replying to them ; and so he concludes 
 with a desire that these endeavors and regulations 
 may be blessed with mutual advantage. It makes my 
 heart glow with joy to see the name of an English 
 nobleman, the heir to an English Dukedom, appended 
 to this valuable document. 
 
 I now proceed to tell you what I have learned from 
 Mr. Porter of his doings, as moral agent here, and of 
 the results that he has witnessed. His first anxiety 
 was to make the schools more efficient than, under the 
 general class of teachers which he found, they could 
 become ; Lord and Lady Mandeville kindly seconding 
 his wishes by a liberal advance of salary to these im- 
 portant functionaries, he was able by degrees to bring 
 about a change, alike advantagous to the children, and 
 satisfactory to their employers 5 and he says he can 
 challenge any district in Ireland, to show him on one 
 property thirty teachers to surpass them in respecta- 
 bility and efficiency. A great reform was at the same 
 time introduced among the girls in the branch of 
 needlework. Mr. Porter justly observes, that teach- 
 ing children in their rank embroidery, is calculated to 
 give them a taste for dress, unsuited to their circum- 
 stances ; he was vexed to see girls able to work a fine 
 collar, cap, or gown, who could not make a commos 
 article of apparel for their brothers or themselves. 
 Accordingly he commenced by setting- all the girls ts 
 work oti some strong coarse shirts, suited to the wants 
 
 
COUNTY AKMAGH. 251 
 
 of the laboring classes ; and the increasing demand 
 for these and for school-knit stockings, led to a more 
 extensive manufacture than had been dreamed of: bu$ 
 this I must reserve until I come to describe the 
 clothing store. The number of schools augmented 
 rapidly : for one Infant School there are now five 
 flourishing on the estate ; and the others in propor- 
 tion. Twenty-two school-rooms are now regularly 
 attended by two thousand three hundred and thirty- 
 four children da/ly ; in addition to whom there are six 
 hundred and sixty-seven constant in attending the 
 Sunday Schools, making a total of three thousand and 
 one under scriptural instruction on Lord Mandeville*s 
 property. Does not this gladden your heart to read, 
 as it does mine to write it % 
 
 But the great practical evil against which these no- 
 ble reformers, Lord Mandeville and his two agents, 
 had to fight, was the sale of unlicensed whisky. I 
 must give you, as nearly as possible in the very words 
 of my friend, the amusing history of this part of the 
 campaign. The Shebeen houses, as they are called, 
 are to be found in every neighborhood 5 and though no 
 outward sign denotes the business carried on within, 
 everybody knows that the occupier " keeps a bottle." 
 " I required," said Mr. Porter, " through the inspectpr, 
 a return of all such persons on the estate, and by 
 means of friendly warning and advice, succeeded in 
 many cases in stopping the practice. Some, however, 
 notwithstanding their fair promises, continued to sup- 
 ply ' a little drop' to any who called in ; but even this 
 could not escape the vigilance which the system of 
 inspection ensures, and due ' notice to quit' was served 
 on the offenders. Six months passed over 5 the day 
 
252 LETTER X. 
 
 arrived for taking possession, and instructions were 
 given to dispossess a woman of doubtful character, 
 living about a mile from this town, who still persever- 
 ed in the sale of ardent spirits without a license. Her 
 furniture was removed, the door locked, and she was 
 turned adrift. On that night an armed party came to 
 the house of a widow adjoining the premises, and as 
 this widow was supposed to have informed against the 
 culprit through a covetous desire to obtain her garden, 
 the most tremendous threats were held out towards, 
 not only herself and family, but also towards Lord 
 Mandeville, Hunt, Porter, and company, if the woman 
 was not forthwith replaced in full possession of her 
 house and premises. 
 
 " In this quarter of Ireland^ the lawless party call 
 themselves * Tommy Downshire's men,' and another 
 visit from them was promised if their demands were 
 mot presently complied with. This was a case of 
 emergency ; now was the time of trial, whether Lord 
 Mandeville was to possess his rights, and to wield the 
 power which he held in support of the laws and of mo- 
 rality, or make up his mind to retreat before Tommy 
 Downshire whenever he chose to appear. I held a 
 consultation with my excellent fellow-laborer, Mr. 
 Hunt the agent, and we agreed to write to his Lord- 
 ship for permission to level the house with the ground,. 
 Lord Mandeville's parliamentary duties at that time 
 detaining him in London, we could not immediately 
 ascertain his mind on the subject; and Tommy Down- 
 shire's men, thinking us too tardy in obeying their or- 
 ders, paid a second visit to the poor innocent widow, 
 who really had no more to do in the business than you 
 bad, breaking into her house at night, and smashing 
 
COUNTY ARMAGH. 253 
 
 to pieces her dresser with its plentiful store of delf, 
 and otner things. They demolished every window in 
 the cottage, and departed with the assurance that the 
 lives of the inmates would be the next sacrifice. Just 
 as the report of this outrage was delivered to Mr. 
 Hunt and myself the next morning, came also a letter 
 from Lord Mandeville, giving us full permission to 
 level the house. This was most opportune : we sum- 
 moned all the workmen under the steward, repaired to 
 the spot, and in twelve hours after the visit of the 
 armed party$ there was not a vestige of the Shebeen 
 house remaining." 
 
 "And what followed]" 
 
 " Oh ! the effect was immense 5 these determined 
 proceedings showed the country that we were not to 
 be intimidated, but had resolved with at least as much 
 spirit and courage as they cOuld boast of, to restrain 
 vice by all the lawful means in our power. The ene* 
 my never again appeared, and we heard no more of 
 the matter: but I think we had within a very short 
 period to rejoice in the suppression of about twenty 
 such establishments 5 while many of the women who 
 used to put ' the bottle' to their neighbors' mouths, 
 are now amongst the most regular customers at the 
 clothing store, respectable in conduct, and comforta- 
 ble in their circumstances." 
 
 " Does not a great deal of the mischief perpetrated 
 in Ireland, originate in meetings at these Shebeen 
 houses 1" 
 
 "Nearly all of it," my friend replied. "Many a 
 respectable female dates her ruin and disgrace from 
 them ; and here political offences are plotted and 
 ripened for execution; The profit netted by the own 
 22 
 
254- LETTER X. 
 
 ers of such unlicensed places is very great ; I have 
 known frequent instances, especially in Meath, and on 
 the borders of Cavan, where a man having made his 
 corn into whisky, appoints a night, and issues regular 
 cards of invitation, to this effect — ' A ball will take 
 pluce at Pat Lavery's on Sunday evening, the — day 
 
 of .' This is a signal for a gathering of all ages ; 
 
 lads, lasses, and old folks who come to get a sup of the 
 ' drink.' The lads treat the maidens, nothing being 
 provided by the person giving the ball but music and 
 lights ; the liquor is paid for ; the night is spent in ca- 
 rousing and all manner of revelry ; and next morning, 
 Pat Lavery has realized a sum to pay his rent, satisfy 
 his priest, and do many other things beside." 
 
 Do you not agree with me that the razing of the 
 Shebeen house was both a gallant and a most philan- 
 thropic exploit 1 In their hearts these people love a 
 resolute man whom they cannot frighten ; and this 
 admixture of unshaken firmness with benevolence and 
 sympathy, is the secret that so few can discover in all 
 their attempts to find a method of governing the Irish. 
 It is by these means that such an improvement has been 
 wrought in the circumstances of the tenantry on this 
 and on Lord Roden's estate, who, with all his overflow- 
 ing tenderness of feeling, is as firm as the base of Slieve 
 Donard in all that relates to moral restraint. You 
 know, he banished the system by allowing the large 
 fine for an illegal still to be levied on the district, re- 
 fusing either to intercede for, or to assist the people, 
 who were all cognizant of the offence, and declined to 
 give information after his fair warning. It requires a 
 strong share of moral and personal courage to act 
 thus $ but where those in authority rightly use it for 
 
COUNTY ARMAGH. 255 
 
 the punishment of evil doers, they always find them- 
 selves upheld by Him whose delegated ministers they 
 are. The kindness afforded by medicine, medical ad- 
 vice gratuitously supplied, loans of seeds, looms, 
 wheels, clothing, and money, produce a powerful 
 effect on the minds of the peasantry ; but these are 
 all withheld, and every token of favor withdrawn, if 
 they neglect the orders to whitewash their houses, and 
 to remove the heaps of litter and manure from before 
 them — those unsightly and unhealthy appendages to 
 the poor man's cabin, without the aid of which he 
 could not cultivate the little patch of potatoes; but 
 which it often requires something more powerful than 
 argument to induce him to place anywhere but just 
 at the entrance of his abode. The only benefit that 
 the contumacious tenant never forfeits is the educa- 
 tion of his children. That blessing is conferred on 
 all, irrespective of merit or demerit ; the excellent 
 landlords considering that the more degraded the pa- 
 rents and their dwellings may be, the greater is the 
 need for training up the poor children in better ways; 
 and for striving to approach the incorrigible people by 
 means of their well-taught little ones. 
 
 I hope you are not yet tired of Tandragee ; for I 
 have much to say. My stay is so limited — not quite 
 three days — and the weather so hostile to out-door 
 investigations, that I am glad to sit even at this sea- 
 son, over a good turf-fire, and glean information from 
 one so admirably qualified to bestow it. The cloth- 
 ing store is a curious apartment, and it is quite amus- 
 ing to see a gentleman so au-fait in all that concerns 
 the details of a country shop, and the economy both, 
 of male and female attire. The plan of banishing 
 
256 LETTER X. 
 
 useless embroidery from the g-irls' schools led to this 
 capital institution ; and here, in a room under the roof 
 of the castle, you may see as regular an outfit of cot? 
 tage habiliments, and such furniture as the loom or 
 needle may supply, as the best in London could boast. 
 Every Wednesday the Poor-Shop is opened, and the 
 customers press in from all quarters, none being ad- 
 mitted but the tenants, cotters, and day-laborers of the 
 Tandra^ee estate. The former pay the fourth part of 
 their bill for clothing quarterly ; the latter, when the 
 steward hands them their weekly wages, leave two 
 shillings with him, which he pays into the loan fund 
 once a month. Tailors are employed who are enabled 
 to furnish articles at a slight cost to the fund, yet with 
 a fair profit to themselves ; and they are obliged, under 
 a fine, to deliver the goods on the day week after they 
 are ordered. What the children earn is divided into 
 four parts ; one of which goes to the little workwo- 
 man, a second to the mistress, a third for the purchase 
 of threads, &c, and by a further improvement, the 
 children are paid, not in money, but by tickets, value 
 from one penny to a shilling, which entitle the bearer 
 to articles of clothing at the shop, equivalent to the 
 amount of tickets presented. I have some of these 
 pretty bank notes, which are not transferable ; and I 
 have also a beautiful specimen of patchwork to exhibit, 
 in the shape of a large counterpane, all made by the 
 dear active little Irish fingers 5 with a dozen of hand- 
 kerchiefs that might pass for fine French cambric, all 
 grown, spun, woven, and admirably made up, by the 
 tenantry of this favored nobleman. Oh, surely the 
 Englishman is a favored man, and surely he may bless 
 God every hour of his life for it, who comes to poor 
 
 
COUNTY ARMAGH. 257 
 
 Ireland, and settles on her soil, alike minded and ena- 
 bled to be a blessing to her children! It is a peculiar 
 sort of delight that I feel at Tandragee ; because its 
 truly noble owner is my own countryman, laboring to 
 heal the wounds that our fathers have made, to uproot 
 the curse that our fathers planted, and to scatter all 
 around him the glorious gospel-light which England 
 has never yet fully imparted to her poor sister. 
 
 Before leaving the shop, i must teM you something 
 of the expense at which poor Paddy may make him- 
 self, and the wife and the children, decent. I will name 
 the lowest prices : A man's shirt is 2s. ; a suit of 
 clothes 15s. j great coat 18s. ; pair of stockings Is. — 
 making a complete outfit for £1. 16s. A woman's 
 entire apparel, including bonnet and cloak, maybe had 
 for £1. Os. 6d. A girl's for 5s. 5d. and a boy's for 9s. 
 lOd. A bedstead and bedding complete, with blan- 
 kets, sheets, and rug, for .£1. Is. lOd. A beautiful 
 patchwork quilt, like mine, fetches from ten to eight- 
 een shillings. Altogether it is a delightful contempla- 
 tion, and gives rise to feelings of bitter grief that so 
 few, so very few should be found thus paying back to 
 the Lord, in the persons of his poor, a portion of the 
 wealth which they derive from their possessions in 
 Ireland. I must just give you a glimpse of the medi- 
 cal department ; it is, like everything else, judiciously 
 ordered, and so as to do the most possible good. A 
 clever professional man is retained to attend three 
 times in the week, once in each district, at the several 
 dispensaries, and to visit those at home who are too ill 
 to come for advice ; Lord Mandeville supplying the 
 means for this noble work entirely out of his own 
 purse. The returns of one year may afford you some 
 22 
 
258 LETTER X. 
 
 idea of the comfort and benefit derived by the\poor 
 from this source. Out of 5209 patients, the number 
 of deaths is 4-4, including eight from fever. The num- 
 ber of separate visits at their own homes was 1705 > 
 and the prescriptions 11,248. 
 
 With respect to the loan fund, the amount lent m 
 1836 was £1540. 18s., and the instalments repaid 
 within the year, amounted to .£1162. 16s. 5d., while 
 the quantity of clothing sold in the poor shop in the 
 same year was <£555. 15s. 8d. Can you not imagine 
 what the judicious circulation of such a sum among 
 the poor Irish tenantry must do towards improving 
 their condition, and softening down the harsher fea- 
 tures of a character sorely deteriorated, and severely 
 judged'*. There is no place in Ireland where the 
 Romish priesthood have less power over the people 
 of their communion, or where the power is more 
 effectually crippled ; while gratitude to their noble 
 benefactor is manifested by the tenantry in various 
 ways, alike pleasing and encouraging. This fine pro- 
 perty includes 10,654 acres, with a population of 9,206 
 individuals. 
 
 You will perhaps say that, excepting in regard to 
 his schools, I have not shown Lord Mandeville as do* 
 ing much in the way of spiritual instruction. That is 
 the crowning work. He has appointed a very zealous 
 clergyman to the office of his chaplain, who preaches 
 in each of the country school-houses once a fortnight 
 and in the two school-houses in Tandragee and Porta- 
 down once a week, thus proclaiming the gospel of 
 Christ twenty-four times a month to congregations 
 that daily increase. These sermons being in the eve- 
 nings do not interfere with the parochial clergy, but act 
 
COUNTY ARMAGH. 259 
 
 as auxiliary to their exertions. Until his lordship met 
 with this valuable minister to aid his work, he made it 
 his own business to instruct his tenantry, and might 
 be seen in a school-house, overflowing with delighted 
 auditors, who listened gladly to his declarations of the 
 blessed gospel. Temperance societies are encouraged ; 
 a free choice being afforded to all to take or refuse the 
 pledge, and if the former, to determine between the 
 moderation and the total abstinence plan. Care is 
 taken to place the matter on a truly Christian basis, so 
 as to exclude boasting, and to guard against the peril 
 of that self-applauding error which is apt, in some 
 cases, when it has nipped off a bud to congratulate 
 itself as though it had laid an axe to the root of the 
 evil. 
 
 One striking instance of a marked and total reforma- 
 tion I must give you. In the year 1789, a Sunday- 
 school was opened at a place called Blue-stone, on this 
 estate. A rock, or immense stone, formerly stood 
 at a place where three lanes met, and was dreadfully 
 famous as the rendezvous of Caravats, Shanavests, and 
 other lawless bands, who preceded the Whitefeet, 
 Rockites, Ribbonmen, &c, of our day. On this blue 
 stone illegal notices were posted, and it was remarka- 
 ble for everything that was bad. At length some 
 murderers being seized, tried, and convicted, were 
 executed and interred at the three lanes' ends, at the 
 blue stone, which, as the legend says, was buried with 
 them by the officers of justice, deep beneath the sur- 
 face of the ground where it had stood. The place, 
 however, has retained its name, a memorial of what 
 it once was. The founder of the Sunday school here 
 was Joseph Malcolmson, who yet lives to rejoice in 
 
$60 Letter x 
 
 the abundance of blessing that has crowned his work 
 He is a devoted old man, still keeping his little grocer's 
 shop, where the Home Missionary, and every preacher 
 of righteousnessj always finds a heartwarm welcome 
 to the hospitable board of the patriarchal man, spread 
 by the hands of his aged partner, ever seeking the pri- 
 vilege of entertaining: such as come in the Lord's name* 
 Blue-stone, from being a by-name to designate all that 
 was evil, is become the most orderly, peaceable, and 
 respectable neighborhood in the county ! the Sunday- 
 school numbers from three to four hundred pupils j 
 the teachers have all been brought up in it ; and to this 
 school is attributed, under God, the marvellous change 
 wrought in the character of the people. Old Josey 
 Malcolmson, whose heart glows with the fire of true 
 Christian zeal and love, is looked up to as a common, 
 parent by all around him j and the general hope is that 
 he may be spared to take part in the jubilee which 
 Lord Mandeville purposes holding, if God permit, in 
 the year 1839, to celebrate the half century that will 
 then have elapsed since the little one which has become 
 a thousand was first established at Blue-stone. 
 
 I must leave you to ponder over these long, but I 
 trust not uninteresting details, of what I could easily 
 extend to the bulk of a volume by merely doing just- 
 ice to the subject. I have much still to see, before 
 leaving the castle, if the weather proves a little more 
 favorable ; and as it is now settled thatlgO by Belfast 
 to Derry, I may write to you from the former place 
 with some further account of my present interesting 
 residence. I will, however, just add that having got 
 as far as the infant school, more than half way dow r n 
 the long hilly street, I have been exceedingly delight- 
 
COUNTY ARMAGH. 261 
 
 ed by the spectacle. A very spacious room, remark-* 
 ably lofty and airy, holds the liveliest, most intelli- 
 gent and comical set of little creatures, admirably 
 taught. They were kept considerably beyond the 
 regular hour, for our inspection, and their own amuse- 
 ment, as it proved ; for we afterward? engaged them in 
 a regular game at play, to the infinite delight of their 
 parents, and elder brothers and sisters, who, coming 
 to fetch the babes home, were provided with seats near 
 the door, and greatly enjoyed the sport which respect 
 prevented their attempting to join in. The frolic con- 
 sisted in our building a very high pyramid of wooden 
 bricks, and then allowing the little creatures, all pro- 
 perly ranged, to let off a volley of the same harmless 
 missiles at the word of command. Nothing could 
 have better elicited the national characteristics of 
 drollery, energy, and shall I add, mischief? They had 
 gone through ail their exercises with wonderful pre- 
 cision, and had well earned the little effort we made 
 to repay them. It was delightful to observe the decent 
 appearance, contented air, and affectionate looks of 
 the elder spectators ; and the heartfelt interest with 
 ■which they listened to hymns and prayers, in which 
 the little creatures lifted up their tender voices. Yes, 
 this indeed is a link between parties too long and too 
 sternly severed ; and if a cloud passes over my mind 
 while contemplating such a scene, it is in the shape of 
 a sudden recollection of that hateful National School 
 plan. It has started up like Siitan in paradise, to blight 
 the work which God himself had smiled upon, and 
 pronounced very good. 
 
LETTER XI. 
 
 COUNTY DOV/N. 
 
 Belfast, Jlugust 
 Little prospect appearing of a change in the weather, 
 a plan was devised to show me the lower demesne, as 
 it is called, of Tandragee castle. I was seated in a 
 small carriage, or rather a garden chairj with one 
 good-humored young Irishman between the shafts, an* 
 other at the back, Mr. Porter and W. well cloaked, on 
 foot beside me, two fine dogs to complete the cortege, 
 and in this fashion was actually paraded not only 
 through the grounds, but also along the endless street 
 of the town. Think what a gaping train would have 
 followed such a show in our country! In Ireland, let 
 your situation be what it may, you have only to laugh, 
 and everybody laughs with, nobody at you. The de- 
 scent, however, into the lower demesne was no laugh- 
 ing matter: the united strength of three men could 
 scarcely prevent my carriage from running full speed 
 down the bank> at the bottom of which rushed a most 
 formidably rapid little torrent, with a level bridge just 
 sufficient for a safe passage; had I missed it but by an 
 inch there is no saying what would have been the 
 consequence. This is the strangest place I ever be- 
 held ; and certainly it must be magnificent when the 
 
COUNTY DOWN. 263 
 
 weather allows it to be fairly seen : but what with the 
 thick rain-drops incessantly falling from immense 
 trees over head, the double gloom shed around by 
 cloudy weather and the nervous trepidation excited, I 
 could scarcely discern the features of the scene. The 
 most remarkable were the height, size, and number of 
 its venerable trees, and the violent speed of a river 
 that went hurrying on between smooth banks, and with 
 no visible cause for such extraordinary rapidity. It 
 is much wider than the mountain stream at Tollymore, 
 but the waters, at least on that day, were so yellow 
 and turbid that they reminded me of the Douro, as 
 described by some of my peninsular friends. Just as 
 I reached a fine prospect on its borders, the rain came 
 down in such torrents that it was absolutely necessary 
 to retreat ; and I can only say that from a very slight 
 view under very unfavorable circumstances, I think 
 Tandragee a most noble place. We took shelter in a 
 boys' school-house, where I was much pleased with 
 the method of teaching pursued, and the progress 
 made by the lads : afterwards we paid a short visit to 
 a family of whom I should have liked to see more j 
 and returned in state to the castle, dripping at every 
 thread. We were to have dined with the Dean of 
 Tuam, whose handsome place looked most inviting 
 from the library window, but to reach it was impossi- 
 ble : I had taken cold already, and dared not run any 
 further hazards. 
 
 Sunday morning proved bright, and we walked to 
 the boys' school across the grounds, where I chose a 
 very young class, and tried hard for an hour to im- 
 press on their tender minds the import of that com- 
 prehensive verse, " As Moses lifted up the serpent in 
 
264? LETTER XI- 
 
 the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted 
 up; that whosoever believeth in him should not per- 
 ish, but have everlasting- life." My dear little boys 
 were very attentive, and the period being elapsed, I 
 enjoyed a specimen of the uncompromising spirit 
 which I so dearly love. The children being drawn 
 up on each side the long room,- the teachers at the 
 bottom, Mr. Porter at the head, all joined in singing 
 those fine stanzas of Watts — 
 
 In Gabriel's hand a mighty stone 
 Lies, a fair type of Babylon. 
 
 After this, we repaired to the church, and then I 
 had another class of another school, a Scripture class, 
 who answered admirably on whatever point they were 
 questioned. Being too soon for afternoon service, 
 we walked up to the top of the steeple, and thence 1 
 took a lono- earnest survey of the Mourne mountains, 
 and sent my heart into the midst of the beloved dwell- 
 ers at the foot of Slieve Donard. There was a 
 shocking deed perpetrated here not long ago : who 
 were the culprits has not been discovered: but these 
 wild Irish will stick at nothing, however treasonable. 
 You have not, of course, forgotten the memorable 
 campaign in which Lord Mulgrave sent his troops to 
 gather laurels among the lilies. Tandragee is an 
 awfully bad place : there was no knowing what might 
 happen if the town was not strongly garrisoned before 
 the 12th of July. It was even said that a garland of 
 the obnoxious flowers was to be stretched across the 
 street; but if any such enormity was in contempla- 
 tion the presence of the troops happily prevented the 
 outrage. They marched in, took up their quarters to 
 
county Down. 265 
 
 the best advantage, furbished their arms, primed, 
 loaded, and went to bed. Instead of following their 
 praiseworthy example, some wight was hardened 
 enough in wickedness to provide himself with a long 
 pole and a rope, and in the dead of night ascended 
 the church steeple, which, as I told you, crowns the 
 hill, and is visible to the whole town. In short, when 
 the military looked out from their cantonments "at 
 the top of the morning" they beheld, to their inex- 
 pressible dismay, the complete frustration of all their 
 labors in the preventive service ; for there, in auda- 
 cious defiance of the allied powers in Dublin, a flag, 
 hoisted on the steeple, danced right merrily in the 
 breeze, just as though it had done nothing to be 
 ashamed of. You may suppose what a cry there was 
 for scaling ladders to take it down — -no such thing: 
 the soldiers looked at it, and went to breakfast. No 
 notice was taken — it might have been rather a deli- 
 cate step to invade Lord Mandeville's territory, and 
 the church is within his castle-wall. His lordship 
 was not there, it is true \ but, somehow, the flag was 
 left to float, and formed a very pretty object in the 
 sight of the people, who have too much sense to quar- 
 rel with an orange lily, and who wondered from what 
 the troops came to protect them. 
 
 The flag-staff, which seemed to be neither more nor 
 less than the slender trunk of a tall young tree, was 
 still lying on the steeple, where I lingered to enjoy 
 the luxuriant prospect. It was indeed indescribably 
 grand, and gave me an idea of what I lost through the 
 misty atmosphere on Slieve Donard, which is about 
 ten or fifteen times as high as the point where I then 
 stood, Lough Neagh was very distinctly seen, as a 
 23 
 
266 LETTER XI. 
 
 glittering silver speck in the far north ; and when 1 
 thought of the blessings shed around on the many 
 thousands of tenantry here and under Lord Roden, I 
 really felt an elation of spirit that almost realized by 
 faith the fond wish of my heart to see the circle of 
 peace and happiness gradually enlarging, until it 
 should, like the sunbeam then emerging from a pass- 
 ing cloud, spread its mantle of joyous light over the 
 whole territory of dear Erin. This feeling attended 
 me throughout the succeeding hours of divine wor? 
 ship ; and I prayed for my adopted country, that those 
 who love her may be commissioned to take up the 
 prophet's strain and say, " Fear not, O land ; rejoice 
 and be glad, for the Lord will do great things." 
 
 It was arranged that we should start by six o'clock 
 the next morning for Portadown, to meet the Belfast 
 early coach. Our kind friend purposed accompany- 
 ing us, but I forbad it, rinding how severely he was 
 suffering from a cold taken in our service. A warm 
 invitation to Rostrevor was reluctantly declined ; and 
 after taking a last, long, admiring look at my garland, 
 which had retained its beauty unimpaired for three 
 days, I bade farewell to a spot which it will always 
 cheer me to think upon, and rattled off, under the 
 superior coachmanship of the sharp little fellow who 
 had driven us to the castle. The horse was in high 
 condition and higher spirits ; the lad was proud of his 
 mettle 5 the elegant car was light as a feather, the 
 road downhill, and W — says, that of all his Irish ad- 
 ventures, he shall the longest remember our flight 
 from Tandragee. It was, indeed, at a rail-road pace 
 we started ; and in the freshness of a lovely morning 
 after so much rain the sensation was altogether deli- 
 
COUNTY DOWN. 267 
 
 cious. When the horse was pleased to slacken his 
 pace a little, we could better distinguish the features 
 of the country, which presents a noble specimen of 
 justice done to the rich soil of Ireland. Portadown 
 is a neat little town, belonging also to Lord Mande- 
 ville, who is building a handsome school-house near 
 the church. Here we anticipated the coach by half 
 an hour ; and here I forfeited my hard-earned Protes- 
 tant reputation, in the sight at least of some zealous 
 partizans. As an impartial narrator, I am bound to 
 give you the facts of the case. 
 
 Two coaches pass from Armagh to Belfast, nearly 
 at the same time > Mr. Porter had advised me to take 
 advantage of the first, if possible, lest there might be 
 no vacancies in the other. We learned from our lit- 
 tle driver, that one of these was a Protestant coach, 
 and the other a Roman one ; and it was evident which 
 way his predilection lay, by his frequent assurance 
 that there was every prospect of the Protestant coach 
 coming up first. At last a vehicle approached ; we 
 had left the car, and were walking past a house, at 
 the door of which stood a stout pugnacious-looking 
 man, who, in reply to our hasty inquiry, whether that 
 was the Armagh and Belfast coach, said, "Not at all : 
 but the coach will be here just now." However, a 
 few doors onward they drew up, and commenced 
 chano-ino- horses, and [ sent W — to ask the coachman 
 where they were going : " From Armagh to Belfast.. ,, 
 " How soon 1 " " Directly : we shall be there before 
 ten." On this, I bade W — secure forthwith two 
 places, and get the luggage mounted. But how shall 
 I describe the indignation of my mis-informer! he 
 shouted out, " That is the Popish coach; you won't 
 
268 LETTER XI. 
 
 get into Belfast in any time. The Protestant coach 
 is just coming up. Sure you won*t go in that !"' and 
 finding- me resolved, he at last exclaimed, " Mr. Por- 
 ter would not go in that coach for ten pounds." J 
 could not help laughing, although indignant at the 
 untruths so freely told, evidently by an interested 
 individual on the watch to. benefit his own establish- 
 ment. ; and the sly humor that played on the features 
 of the adverse party, the quiet drollery of both coach- 
 man and guard, suppressed by personal respect, as 
 they most courteously answered my inquiries and in-. 
 stalled us in the empty vehicle, formed a favorable 
 contrast to the angry professor of orthodoxy. Lord 
 Mandeville's livery on the one hand, and on the other 
 an order to be set down at the Downshire Arms in 
 Belfast, afforded a or-uarantee for our Protestantism J 
 and I was really glad to prove my dislike of such nar- 
 rowness, real or assumed, by an extra measure of 
 civility and of liberality towards the "Popish coach.'* 
 It is not by making 1 their religion a reproach, and a 
 bar to their success in fair trading or honest labor, 
 that we shall detach the people from it : far other- 
 wise. I feel it a most important duty to avoid such 
 needless and injurious collision with their feelings, 
 and on this principle I do most cordially concur in 
 the abolishing of processions, party tunes, and the 
 parade of badges, where they would be construed into 
 an insult against the poor people. Moreover I am 
 certain that the Orangemen would cheerfully have 
 laid aside all outward signs, if requested so to do, for 
 the sake of peace and good-will : but this does not 
 excuse, it exceedingly aggravates the wrong inflicted 
 on these loyal men ', and the insult offered by dis- 
 
 
COUNTY DOWN. 269 
 
 patching troops, under an affected apprehension of 
 what nobody really supposed would occur. Such 
 treatment is directly calculated, and I firmly believe 
 as far as the real governors of this country are con- 
 cerned, deliberately planned, to produce what it is os- 
 tensibly done to discourage. Both parties know it to 
 be so. 
 
 You would be surprised at the close, the perfect 
 resemblance that the road to Belfast from Armagh 
 bears to England. I could hardly persuade myself 
 that Lisburn was west of St. George's Channel : there 
 is nothing Irish about it. The immediate approach to 
 Belfast is splendid : a fine road, high cultivation, 
 beautiful villas, substantial brick houses surrounded 
 by bleaching grounds, the look of prosperity, and 
 total absence of everything opposed to it, might have 
 prepared me for the aspect of the town itself, which, 
 nevertheless, struck me with astonishment. The 
 streets are wide, straight, and admirably paved ; the 
 buildings capacious, uniform, and equal to some of 
 the best commercial parts of London ; particularly 
 the High street, with its broad flagstones, its lofty 
 houses, spacious hotels and very handsome shops. 
 The situation of this noble city is enchanting : it 
 stands on a broad lough, with a mountainous back" 
 ground, plentifully interspersed with gardens about 
 the environs, and altogether it rejoiced my heart to 
 find such a spot in Ireland ; so free from the distress- 
 inc drawbacks that abound even in Dublin. But this is 
 the north, the " black north," the protestant north ! 
 
 My privileges here are very great, as you will ac- 
 knowledge when I tell you that our hospitable wel- 
 come was prepared at the breakfast-table of that truly 
 23* 
 
270 LETTER XI. 
 
 Christian soldier, whose touching narrative of the 
 " Loss of the Kent East Indiaman" has so often in- 
 structed and delighted us. He commands the garrison 
 here; his Highland regiment, distinguished by the 
 singular title of " The Happy," is a splendid one ; and 
 I have seen them to advantage under the animating 
 circumstances of a contested election, just about to 
 take place, where the peace and security of this noble 
 mart mainly depended on their temper and firmness. 
 Parties run very high in Belfast ; the Protestants being 
 divided among themselves, while the Romish enemy, 
 or rather enmity, is strong in bitterness, though weak 
 in comparative numbers. Such life and bustle as the 
 broad thoroughfares present would be highly amusing, 
 did not some bodings of a violent conflict damp that 
 feeling. Here you might behold a knot of gentlemen, 
 most earnestly discussing the merits of respective 
 cases, and balancing the probabilities of success} 
 there a group of peasants, just arrived, receiving 
 information from their city friends, and with looks 
 of stern resolve, or fiery impatience, venting in 
 their own language the sentiments of their hearts. 
 Carelessly lounging by, you see now and then a 
 Highland officer, his air of good-humored unconcern 
 neutralized by the keen quick glance that ever and 
 anon takes in the general aspect of things around him ; 
 while at the windows of a large building, and probably 
 at others which I did not observe, parties of private 
 soldiers are to be seen, with the same quiet yet watch- 
 ful expression of countenance. To complete the pic- 
 ture, numerous bodies of the armed police, in their 
 dark-green uniform, are scattered in every direction, 
 mingling among the people, conversing with some, 
 
COUNTY DOWN. 271 
 
 admonishing others, menacing not a few, and evidently- 
 operating as a powerful check where such is greatly 
 needed. It was through this assemblage that we 
 wound our way, never impeded, nor falling in with 
 anything like a crowd, to visit the institution where 
 those afflicted classes, the blind, and the deaf and 
 dumb, receive instruction. A day's sojourn would not 
 allow of my seeing more than this of the interesting 
 objects with which Belfast abounds ; and I did not 
 regret the selection. The number of pupils is small: 
 they appear as one family, united to each other and to 
 their teacher by no ordinary bonds. Never did I be- 
 hold looks more unequivocally expressive of love and 
 confidence than those which the deaf mutes bent on 
 their master ; while the mild, sad countenances of the 
 blind were lighted up at the sound of his voice. I 
 could really have passed the whole day among them, 
 it was so delightful. The plan pursued with the latter 
 class is that of reading by means of embossed charac- 
 ters ; and this they did with the utmost ease. It was 
 no matter to what page, line, or word you guided the 
 finger : the blind girl or boy proceeded from that 
 point, reading the Holy Scriptures with an evident 
 relish and enjoyment until told to stop. The other 
 class, of course, are instructed by means of slates and 
 the finger language ; and one touching spectacle we 
 had of the value of the latter, when a little girl who 
 was quite dumb took the hand of a little boy perfectly 
 blind, and by forming the letters on it with her own 
 fingers, quickly told him who we were, our number, 
 names, and so forth. A large slate was placed on an 
 easel, round which the deaf mutes arranged them- 
 selves ; and various words and sentences being writ- 
 
272 LETTER XI. 
 
 ten thereon, they gave us, according to their respective 
 rates of progress, their answers, explanations, or ob- 
 servations. All this was done with a glee and glad- 
 ness perfectly enchanting, and equally indescribable. 
 You can scarcely know what the human countenance 
 is capable of, in the way of animated eloquence, since 
 you never saw a group of deaf and dumb Irish child- 
 ren. In explanation of the plan by which they were 
 led to make the most rapid progress I ever witnessed, 
 a lesson was gone through, to the extreme delight of 
 all the children, and our great entertainment. You 
 know what mimics they are — necessarily so, since all 
 their wants must be expressed by signs, previous to 
 education ; and they can only convey their meaning 
 by dramatizing the matter. Well, a chubby-cheeked 
 little fellow, the very beau-ideal of infant drollery, was 
 called forth, and another, not much bigger, was sum- 
 moned to perform the various offices of tailor, shoe- 
 maker, hatter, and barber, for his benefit. Measure 
 was first taken, and particulars noted down, with the 
 rapidity of thought ; then the operator, squatted on 
 the floor, proceeded to cut out, sew, and smoothe the 
 respective articles, which he brought home and put 
 on. All was merely action ; no material present ; but 
 the different things represented being also spelled by 
 the finger language, a complete lesson was learned 
 and communicated amid the merry laughter of the 
 pupils. The operation of shaving was too much for 
 the gravest among us: it was done to the life, from 
 the first setting of the chair to the last wipe of the 
 patient's chin with an imaginary napkin, and the keen 
 examination, ringing, and pocketing of a visionary 
 piece of money. In the midst of their mirth, several 
 
COUNTY DOWN. 273 
 
 of the dear little creatures turned a most compassion-, 
 ate look on the blind, whose case appeared to move 
 them deeply ; while the latter were quietly intent on 
 their own far higher studies ; and one among them 
 was actually teaching W. to print his own name. You 
 may suppose I was in high favor with the deaf and 
 dumb ; even the youngest among them, who could 
 hardly shape a letter, were all full of chat with me, 
 finding that I was so perfectly at home in their 
 untaught signs. I never witnessed a scene of more 
 unclouded happiness, beaming and sparkling in every 
 face ; yet, alas ! there was that in it which drew many 
 a sigh from the pious friends around them: for the 
 difficulty of communicating to them that spiritual 
 knowledge of which their blind companions were 
 freely quaffing, is extreme. Only two or three were 
 sufficiently advanced to comprehend abstract ideas, 
 by means of language ; the rest having been but a 
 few weeks under tuition. There was a splendid little 
 Romanist, a most promising genius, still in petticoats, 
 whose energies appeared to lie very much in his fists, 
 so far as the practical demonstrations went: over him 
 I offered many a secret prayer, and he was on the 
 point of crying when he ran round to repeat his good-? 
 bye. In truth my very heart clung to these children, 
 nor had I to complain of any lack of reciprocity. May 
 the Lord's richest blessing rest on this humane and 
 pious undertaking! I am sure it will. A house where 
 the blind are taught to read God's word, the deaf vir- 
 tually to hear it, and the dumb to spread its joyful 
 sound, is surely most precious in his sight. The most 
 appropriate inscription for such a place would be, "Is 
 there anything too hard for the Lord V 
 
274* LETTER XI. 
 
 The barracks are \ery spacious, finely situated out- 
 side the town; and Colonel Macgregor's house is far- 
 ther on, enjoying a view of the bay, and of a singular 
 mountain, the outline of which is really a colossal 
 representation of the countenance so well known 
 through Europe — Napoleon, the scourge of God 
 Whilst we w T ere at dinner, tidings arrived that the 
 soldiery and people had already come into collision ; 
 but in a trifling degree, and only for a few moments, 
 through the quiet determination and steadiness of the 
 Highlanders. We hope the election will pass over 
 without any serious disturbance. 
 
 The evening has been spent at the mansion of a hos- 
 pitable friend — a friend of a few hours' acquaintance 
 only, yet already united more closely in the most en- 
 during of all bonds, that of Christian fellowship — than 
 the children of this world could be united in many 
 years' intercourse. Here, in addition to the family 
 with whom I spent the day, we had a guest whom you 
 or I would go no small distance to meet: Dr. Cooke, 
 that concentration of Protestantism, that bold cham- 
 pion of our church, and just pride of his own. I need 
 say no more to convince you of my enviable condi- 
 tion, except that Dr. Cooke speaks most exultingly of 
 the success attending the Irish Scripture readers' 
 labors. He considers their work as actually and 
 effectually undermining the foundation of Antichrist 
 in this land ; and looks for such results as you have 
 occasionally rebuked me for anticipating from means 
 so insignificant in man's sight. I am sometimes 
 silenced but never convinced by what is said to the 
 contrary. I am positively certain that the man who 
 assists to proclaim the Gospel among the native Irish 
 
COUNTY DOWN. 275 
 
 in their own tongue does more to heal these embit- 
 tered waters than in any other way he could possibly 
 do. History, reason, observation, and my own actual 
 experience in the work, all combine to strengthen a 
 conviction that for many years has been exposed to 
 every species of trial. I allude, of course, principally 
 to the adult Irish-speaking population ; but even as 
 regards their children it is of paramount importance 
 to enable them to read that blessed book in the lanr 
 guage that sounds so sweet within the poor mud walls 
 of their own cabin. The fact that every individual 
 who acquires the power of reading Irish becomes 
 anxious to learn English, and is enabled so to do by 
 means of the primers circulated by that precious 
 Irish Society, ought in itself to animate every lover of 
 England and of Protestantism to the work. Think of 
 the sum required to salary a regular, teacher among 
 the peasantry — not quite one pound per quarter ! 
 Does not the bare idea of so much good to be achiev- 
 ed by such a trifle make the sovereigns fidget in your 
 purse 1 Let them out : by the aid of a little of the 
 unrighteous mammon committed to your stewardship, 
 the word of God shall run and be glorified through 
 the length and breadth of this isle. I will prefix no 
 epithets; my heart is too full of love and compassion 
 for it to be easily poured out on paper. Some there 
 are who fancy that it is a species of affectation on my 
 part, done for effect, when I do utter somewhat of 
 these feelings. The Lord alone knoweth what is in 
 us; but I think he sees me guiltless in this matter ; 
 for while the apprehension either of injuring the cause 
 or needlessly exposing myself to reproof, often leads 
 me to impose a painful curb on my tongue or pen, by 
 
276 LETTER XI. 
 
 refraining from such language, I solemnly declare that 
 the warmest expressions which ever escaped from 
 either upon the subject, were utterly inadequate to 
 convey the depth, the extent, the all-pervading cha- 
 racter of that love which I do, and by God's grace, 
 ever will cherish for Ireland! 
 
 This is a short letter : our places are taken in the 
 mail which leaves Belfast at eight o'clock, and which 
 will, in twelve hours' time, if all be well, convey lis 
 to the walls, the glorious walls of the maiden city. 
 A word I must add, however, on the subject of Derry. 
 In the humble volume bearing that title, which I ven- 
 tured to publish a few years since, I have inadvertent- 
 ly and most unintentionally wronged the Presbyteri- 
 ans of the north. Dr. Cooke has pointed out the 
 error, which consists in representing them as being 
 all implicated in the reported extravagances of an 
 individual, Hewson ; and also as being about to fight 
 with the Episcopalians in the Diamond, for the use 
 of the cathedral. It seems that Dr. Reid, in a recent 
 work, has strongly protested against me on the score 
 of these mistakes ; supposing that I followed some 
 prejudiced writers of that day. This I did not; hav- 
 ing only Walker's Diary, and (3-raham's History of 
 the Siege, in addition to Leland's history of Ireland j 
 and I was totally ignorant of any dispute on the sub- 
 ject. Dr. Cooke, well knowing that the unity of the 
 true church of Christ is as dear to my heart as to his 
 own, most fully acquits me of intentional error ; and 
 I am anxious to make an amende to our brethren of 
 the north, by cordially correcting the mistake which 
 I am vexed to think has run through the five editions 
 of that little work \ but which, if ever it reaches a 
 
COUNTY DOWN, 277 
 
 sixth, shall be fully rectified. Meanwhile, lend me 
 your assistance in making known this retractation ; 
 for you can bear me witness that out of her own dis- 
 tinct pale the Church of Scotland has not a rribre 
 attached ally than your poor friend. Descended, 
 maternally, from the covenanters of the north, I glory 
 in inheriting a portion of their uncompromising feel- 
 ing, and more than theoretical protest against great 
 Babylon : and I should creep into Derry with some- 
 what of the conscious treachery that oppressed Gov- 
 ernor Lundy when he stole out of it, if I hesitated to 
 avow my regret in this matter ; since Dr. Reid has 
 deemed it worth a passing reproof in his learned and 
 weighty volumes. May it please him who in 1688 
 moved the hearts of the Derry Protestants as the 
 heart of one man, in the cause of his assailed truth, 
 and made them strong, and enabled them to do 
 exploits the very mention of which still cheers us in 
 this day of rebuke and blasphemy — may he cement in 
 the closest bonds of mutual love, confidence, zeal, and 
 holy courage, the members of these sister churches, 
 which have stood together so long, and will yet stand, 
 rejoicing in the triumphs of his truth, and in the over- 
 throw of his enemies ! 
 
LETTER XII. 
 
 LONDONDERRY. 
 
 Derry, August, 1837. 
 Here I am, hemmed in by the maiden walls of Derrj 
 Sundry misgivings had assailed me, lest a disappoint 
 ment in highly raised expectations might cast a darmv 
 where all was disposed to glow with delight. The 
 dread of a modernized town was uppermost ; but how 
 vain were such thoughts ! 1 am revelling in the full- 
 est realization of the vision that has charmed me from 
 childhood : and if I can succeed in giving you but a 
 faint sketch of this most unique, most spirit-stirring 
 spot, you will say there is good reason for so doing. 
 
 But I suppose you will expect to come in regularly 
 by the mail, according to promise : we must therefore 
 return to Belfast. After an early breakfast, our kind 
 friend Mr. M'C. sent us to the coach ; and we rapidly 
 passed through the still tranquil streets, so soon to be 
 thronged with political combatants flocking to the 
 hustings. The road, bordered on the left by high and 
 picturesque hills, commands on the right a continued 
 view of the harbor, or lough, a beautiful piece of 
 water, bearing many a tall vessel on its advancing 
 tide towards the quays. We had one fellow-traveller, 
 a lively, pleasant military officer, whose recent return 
 from foreign duty in a regiment where I have many 
 
LONDONDERRY. 279 
 
 friends, and a still more recent recruiting expedition 
 among the Mourne mountains^ afforded subjects of 
 mutual interest, riot lessened by an equally mutual 
 love for Ireland. The road is,, in some places, emi- 
 nently beautiful, adorned with rich seats, and noble 
 plantations. At Antrim we saw one of the fine old 
 round towers ; and soon after we had some momentary 
 glimpses, through openings of the thick plantations of 
 Shane's Castle, of the famous Lough Neagh, the pride 
 of Irish lakes ; equalled in size only by three others 
 throughout Europe. It is twenty miles in length, 
 fifteen in breadth, receives the streams of six large 
 rivers, and includes an area of 100,000 acres. I longed 
 to pause, and to take a Purvey of this inland sea ; but 
 mail coaches are unfriendly to the indulgence of such 
 hankerings after the picturesque, and had not the 
 prospect of Derry been before my mind's eye, I should 
 have regretted abandoning the more accommodating 
 mode of private travelling. As it was, I could only 
 repeat the well-remembered stanza founded on one of 
 the wild legends of these imaginative people, 
 
 " On Lough Neagh's bank as the fisherman strays 
 
 When the clear cool eve's declining, 
 He sees the round towers of other days 
 
 In the wave beneath him shining : 
 Thus shall memory often in dreams sublime 
 
 Catch a glimpse of the days that are over, 
 Thus, sighing, look through the waves of time 
 
 For the long faded glories they cover." 
 
 And this I had to write down in pencil for my fellow- 
 traveller, so much did it please his fancy. At Bally 
 money, to our sincere regret, this gentleman's jour- 
 ney terminated, his recruiting party being stationed 
 
280 LETTER XII. 
 
 near it ; and we bade him a very reluctant farewell. 
 Independent of the pleasure one always enjoys iq 
 polished, intellectual society, wc had derived so much 
 information from bis exact knowledge of the places 
 through which our route lay, that it was doubly 
 a lqss. But this is Jreland, as I had no reason to for- 
 get ; a very gentlemanly youth, an outside passenger, 
 overhearing me express something of the latter cause 
 of lamentation, without saying a word about it took 
 the vacant place, and most obligingly told us the; 
 name, history, and local associations connected with 
 each spot ; regretting that he was going no farther 
 himself than Coleraine. I love to record these little 
 instances of a courtesy that is absolutely inherent in, 
 these Irishmen. The quiet watchfulness, or whatever, 
 you please to term it, by which they contrive to anti- 
 cipate whatever wish a stranger might form as to an 
 increase of his comforts, and the easy, unaffected, 
 unostentatious manner of showing kindness, which 
 enhances the value while it precludes an oppressive 
 sense of the obligation — this is what throws such ^ 
 charm over Irish society, whether during a lengthened 
 domestication under the hospitable roof, or an hour's 
 casual acquaintance in a stage-coach. When I meet 
 with an English traveller whose experience does not 
 tally with mine, I am sure that he has to thank his 
 own impenetrable reserve, want of frankness, and 
 good-humor, or else an insulting appearance — I may 
 say affectation — of contempt for the people and their 
 country. Not a day has passed since our landing inj 
 Waterford, in the course of which I have not experi- 
 enced some practical illustration of that beautiful 
 injunction, " Brethren, by love serve one another." 
 
LONDONDERRY. 281 
 
 Coleraine is a substantial town, with a very fine 
 sheet of water, the Bann river, flowing through, 
 or rather past it. Here too we found all the bustle 
 and excitement of an election going on, with indica- 
 tions of very turbulent feelings on the part of those 
 whom Dr. Blake would distinguish as " dear Chris- 
 tians j" which in his parlance means^ bibbers of whis- 
 key, and breakers of heads. Newton-Limavady, with 
 its long street, succeeded ; this was one of the garri- 
 soned places that held out against the rebels, in 1641 5 
 and it bore an important relationship to Derry during 
 the memorable epoch of the defence. At this place 
 my young companion chose to mount the outside of 
 the coach, leaving me with an humble fellow-traveller, 
 an elderly domestic of a noble family, who had already 
 exhausted her little stock of information in the details 
 of a death and a marriage, and the present state of 
 her venerable master's gouty foot. I knew enough of 
 the family to take some interest in what it gratified 
 her to tell. 
 
 The region on which we had last entered was wild 
 and barren ; a sort of moorland, swelling and falling 5 
 while now and then the indistinct outline of some 
 object of which I could not decide whether it was a 
 cloud or a mountain, appeared on the horizon, over- 
 topping the irregular hills that skirted our left. To 
 the right, I knew we were not very far from the sea ; 
 in fact we had enjoyed at one point a fine view of it 
 near Coleraine, and were within a few miles of the 
 Giant's Causeway. On that side, I was watching 
 what I thought a very lovely lake, with a mountain 
 barrier, and hoping every minute to obtain a sight of 
 its boundaries, by passing one end ; but in this I was 
 24 * 
 
282 LETTER XII. 
 
 disappointed ; the water still kept us at a distance, it 
 was still to the right, a little in front, and a most pic- 
 turesque crag that abruptly terminated the lofty line 
 of 'hills on our side, and thus left a comparative level 
 between us and the lough, receded more and more as 
 we advanced. This showed that we were in some 
 measure following the course of the water, on which I 
 kept my eyes fixed, wondering when we should pass 
 its southern extremity ; and conceding to it the palm, 
 as far as a noble boundary went, over all the lakes I 
 had yet seen. The long, regular, undulating line of 
 mountain tops on the farther side seemed endless ; 
 and while watching the rippling of its tide, I was 
 startled at seeing a distant sail on their bosom. 
 Could it be 1 I presently thrust my head out at the 
 window, and received from the coach-box a confirm- 
 ation of the half-formed guess — Yes, it was Lough 
 
 FOYLE. 
 
 Just then the coach stopped to change horses, and 
 a minute's interval saw me mounted on its highest 
 seat. None but the coachman, the guard, and W. 
 remained ; and behind the latter^ who sat with the 
 coachman, I chose my station, making little of the 
 shower that impended, while mine eye truly affected 
 my heart as I looked on the grand liquid thoroughfare 
 so passionately coveted by Popish James, as a medium 
 of communication between his Irish adherents and 
 their disaffected brethren in Scotland, so obstinately 
 withheld from him by the heroic defenders of Derry. 
 Yes, there was the Foyle, upon which the dying gaze 
 of many a famished Protestant had been fixed, in vain 
 hope of the supplies cruelly detained by the inhuman 
 Kiike: the Foyle, whose flowing tide had borne the 
 
LONDONDERRY. 283 
 
 Mountjoy upon the boom, and, held in the hand of 
 the Lord, had broken the fetter of Popery from the 
 necks of three kingdoms. Oh, for a pen that could 
 write my feelings as my looks devoured that object, 
 and feasted upon the stately ridge of those Ennis- 
 howen mountains ! At that time, both guard and 
 coachman were below, and the single horse which 
 had been put to appeared a little restive : I happened 
 just then to glance towards it ; and the poor ragged 
 fellow who was holding the bit, catching my eye, 
 exclaimed with a look of most affectionate concern, 
 "Darling lady, don't be at all alarmed — he's as quiet 
 as a lamb." " Darling Paddy," thought I, in return, 
 " may the Lord, who even here wrought so wondrous- 
 ly to deliver your land from the thraldom of Anti- 
 christ, shed the light of his glorious Gospel into your 
 heart, into your cabin, and through every corner of 
 your own sweet isle !" As to being alarmed, in the 
 then state of my feelings, they might have yoked wild 
 horses for me, provided they kept their heads towards 
 Derry. 
 
 The road now had become exceedingly good, the 
 country well cultivated, and numerous vehicles rat- 
 tled past us, the drivers announcing with merry 
 cheers that Sir R. Ferguson was elected. Our coach- 
 man was evidently not elated by the news ; and as I 
 knew Sir Robert to be what is called a liberal, I 
 hoped to find his dissatisfaction arose from the same 
 source as my own. No such thing: Coachee was a 
 staunch Romanist, and one of the most unreserved cha- 
 racter too. He not only communicated to us his 
 religious faith and political creed, but assured me 
 that the events of 1688 consisted in a rebellion of the 
 
284 LETTER xir. 
 
 English settlers, headed by Martin Luther, against 
 King James 5 and that the Irish were defeated by 
 William of Orange bringing a great army over to help 
 the rebels. I, of course, gave no direct contradiction, 
 only remarking that I thought Martin Luther must 
 then have been dead for some time, as he lived in the 
 reign of King Henry VIII. ; and with regard to the 
 siege of Derry, that the French rather than the Irish 
 prosecuted it j and the Derry people had done good 
 service to the country by not giving it over to foreign 
 enemies. No, he assured me, there was hot a 
 Frenchman in Ireland at the time. Yes, I persisted 
 I could show him in history books that it was Conrad 
 de Rosen, a French marshal^ who drove the poor 
 harmless Protestants from the neighboring counties 
 to starve under the walls of Derry ; and that it very 
 much shocked the Irish army, who were treated quite 
 impertinently by their French allies. " Oh," said he, 
 with a most commiserating look, "you have bad me- 
 mories" A very courteous way, you must allow, of 
 taxing my veracity ; but I was not discomfited. 
 " Sure now," I resumed, " it is not my memory I am 
 depending on : how should I, when 1 was not born at 
 the time, nor you, nor our fathers before us 1 We 
 have books printed in that same year, and they tell 
 ns all about it." With a very knowing look cast over 
 his shoulder, he observed, " Them books were writ- 
 ten by Luther and his people ; but St. Patrick gives a 
 different story." "Was St. Patrick there!" He 
 Was, or else St. Columbkill ; I'll show you his chapel 
 presently." " Now," said I, " if St. Patrick and Lu- 
 ther had both been there, I'll engage it was on the 
 one side they stood $ for they taught the same doc- 
 
LONDONDERRY. 285 
 
 trine." This bold assertion seemed to confound him ; 
 but an energetic shake of the head, and another, " Oh, 
 you have bad memories," was all that escaped him. 
 I proceeded to relate that when Patrick came over, 
 he found the ancient Irish quite heathens, worship- 
 ping stocks and stones; that he brought them the 
 blessed Bible, told them that it was there they would 
 find the will of God made known ; and by preaching 
 what was in that book, he brought them to believe on 
 Jesus Christ ; and now those who keep the Bible keep 
 the religion that Patrick brought here. " Oh, it's all 
 wrong !" says coachee, and began to appear sulky. 
 I had kept a sharp look-out right in front, as he told 
 me when I remounted the coach that Derry was 
 straight before us. I now happened to turn to the 
 left, and far away I saw a spire on elevated ground, 
 with one of the sun's last rays resting upon it. 
 " What is that V I asked, pointing to it. " Derry." 
 
 Our road had curved a little, which occasioned this 
 surprise. The broad, beautiful Foyle, grew broader 
 and brighter as we approached, and the sky cleared 
 up. " Now," said the coachman, whose pride or 
 something else was gratified by the tone in which I 
 repeated " Derry !" with some epithet of endearment 
 prefixed — " now I will show you where the boom was 
 put across the water. You see the fellows laid a 
 great bar of wood, as thick as that horse's body, from 
 one side of the Fqyle to the other, to hinder the ships 
 from coming up to the town : but for all that," he 
 added with much glee, " they cracked it in two, and 
 the place was relieved." " Was not that a great 
 exploit V asked I. " Sure it was — you never heard 
 a more wonderful thing." It was evident that his 
 
286 LETTER XII. . 
 
 Derryism was stronger here than even his Popery } 
 and I sighed to think how times were changed m a 
 few years, since the Romish titular himself in his 
 pontificals used to lead his flock in the procession, 
 swell the shout of " No surrender," and toss off a 
 Dumper to the glorious memory. This is a fact* 
 until the baneful spirit of so-called conciliation roused 
 in their bosoms the hope of recovering their ascend- 
 ency, vast numbers of the Romanists voluntarily wore 
 the badge which is now denounced, under pretence 
 of hurting their feelings ! The coachman pointed out 
 the memorable spot, and on a beautiful little island, 
 just in sight, he showed me the ruins of Columbkill's 
 chapel ; then continued his discourse, giving a history 
 of the miracles performed by Columbkill and his suc- 
 cessors ; with a story concerning a false disciple, that 
 equalled, for the extravagant absurdity of its details, 
 the most open burlesque I ever met with. My heart 
 was moved for this poor Irishman : I longed to enter 
 fully on the subject so important to his peace ; but 
 we were almost at the bridge, which lay a perfect 
 level above that noble water ; while before us rose 
 the town, covering a lofty hill, on the apex of which 
 stood the cathedral ; and just on the bank where we 
 were passing was an old grey stone, pointed out with 
 great eagerness by the coachman, as "St. Columb's 
 well.'* He then, with much feeling, suddenly said, 
 " It is a pleasure to talk with ye : many a gentleman 
 have I told these things to, and they always laughed 
 in my face, and treated me like a fool. You have 
 not laughed at me — there are few like you." I was 
 about to make an affectionate reply, but all his atten- 
 tion was demanded to his horses : he wheeled them 
 
LONDONDERRY. 287 
 
 —we were on the bridge — the firm boards lay beneath. 
 us, the noble Lough on the right, the city in front, 
 with the river circling round it, and in a minute I was 
 under the wall — the lofty, dark, impregnable wall of 
 Derry, beneath which we wound for a short space, 
 and then alighted at the Ship Quay, where the vessels 
 landed their welcome stores in 1689. Matters were 
 soon arranged at the office. "Where is Brown's 
 hotel V " Oh, just through the gate : we'll carry 
 your luggage in a moment." So, after thanking the 
 coachman and guard for their civilities — an accom- 
 paniment that in their eyes trebles the value of the 
 money given, — I walked, with as light a heart as 
 ever beat, after the porters, and entered the fortress, 
 passing the Ship Quay gateway, and feeling in every 
 fibre of my frame that at last I was, indeed, really 
 and bodily, within the walls of Derry. 
 
 Brown's hotel is but a little way up the street on 
 the right hand ; fully meriting the good character that 
 Inglis has bestowed on it. Here, instead of the friend 
 whom I expected to meet and to escort me eighteen 
 miles further beyond Letterkenny, I found a note, ap- 
 prising me that he was obliged to start for Dublin, in 
 consequence of the City and University elections, and 
 would not be back for some days : at the same time 
 telling me how to proceed. I bespoke apartments at 
 the hotel, and flew away up the street to the Diamond, 
 but not without encountering on the way a person on 
 the watch, with a warm invitation from the aunt of my 
 truant friend, who lives near it. Thither I promised 
 to repair, but the temptation was irresistible, and 
 before entering her house, I had paced the ramparts 
 half round, and pressed the sod that lies above the 
 
288 LETTER XII. 
 
 heroic defenders in the Cathedral grave-yatd. Strati 
 ger as I was, every turn of the place was so familiar 
 to me, that I confidently led the. way, and named the 
 different objects to my wondering companion, as 
 though I had never been outside the walls. This done, 
 we repaired to the house of the kind old lady, who 
 threw open at once her door and her arms, and even 
 wept a welcome. Oh, these warm-hearted Irish, why 
 cannot I live and die among them ! 
 
 I had literally reckoned without my host, when en- 
 gaging the rooms at a hotel : such a thing was not to 
 be named, not to be thought of. My domicil was 
 prepared at the house of one whom I had not yet seeri, 
 as he was then engaged in an evening lecture ; but he 
 soon arrived, and it did not require much rhetoric to 
 convince me that I must needs remain for four or five 
 days in Derry. You may accordingly look for a jour- 
 nal, for the first day of which this may suffice. We 
 are delightfully housed in the upper part of Ship-quay 
 street, which Inglis truly describes as one of the steep- 
 est in Europe. It runs in a perfectly straight line, 
 from Ship-quay gate to the Diamond ; the ascent is 
 indeed such that the house-tops resemble a flight of 
 stairs, each being necessarily so much elevated above 
 its predecessor. This is not very far from Brown's 
 hotel, yet I should think the ground-floor is at least 
 on a level with his attics. Of the prospect I can say 
 nothing, for it was dark when I came here : but this I 
 know, I am in the walls of the ancient fortress of 
 Protestantism, and with mingled feelings I review the 
 past, contrasting it with the present, and questioning as 
 to the future. My consolation is that still, u The Lord 
 
LONDONDERRY. 289 
 
 roigneth," even Jesus Christ, " the same yesterday, 
 to-day and for ever." 
 
 Wednesday. 
 
 A day to be remembered ; for the Lord's former 
 mercies have been made to pass in review before me, 
 with a vividness that infuses new life into the hope 
 too easily sickened. I rose this morning refreshed in. 
 body and elate in spirits, longing to look around me. 
 On first meeting my kind host, he presented me with 
 a valuable gift, the half of a cannon ball, found fast 
 wedged in the walls of an old house, taken down a 
 few years since, where it had been lodged and broken 
 by coming in contact with some yet harder substance. 
 I could not but think, When contemplating this me- 
 mento, of the promise, " No weapon that is formed 
 against thee shall prosper." It was remarkably ful- 
 filled during the siege, and while I live I shall treasure 
 the broken missile of a baffled foe. Notwithstanding 
 the unfavorable state of the weather, raining oft 
 and heavily, I have enjoyed a vast deal out of doors. 
 At eleven o'clock w T e repaired to the cathedral, where 
 service is celebrated on Wednesday and Friday morn- 
 ings ; and thither I went with joyful feet, carrying the 
 cannon-ball in my handkerchief, that 1 might be the 
 more stirred up to bless the Lord, and not to forget 
 his benefits. 
 
 Before describing the church, I should give you a 
 sketch of the tovvn, by which I understand Derry 
 within the walls. It does, in fact, stretch out to a 
 great extent beyond them ; but the spot so exquisitely 
 interesting to the Protestant is bounded by these 
 venerable bulwarks. You must first imagine a figure 
 nearly resembling that of an arched door, the bottom 
 25 
 
290 LETTER XII. 
 
 or straight line of which lies duly 'north-east, looking 
 down Lough Foyle. The outline is rendered rather 
 angular by the bastions, which you know are projec- 
 tions carried out to admit of guns being so placed as 
 to send their shot externally across the gates, thus 
 covering them from an assailing enemy. A wall, em- 
 bracing the town, inclusive of the bastions, runs quite 
 round without an interval ; this is in most places just 
 high enough to allow a tall man to lay his arms com- 
 fortably at the top, and lean on them : the depth on 
 the outside is twenty-four feet. Parallel with this 
 wall runs another, rising about a foot or two above 
 the rampart, and descending to the street. Thus the 
 rampart or mound of earth is built in by both, and be- 
 ing in no place less than twelve feet wide, beautifully 
 kept like a garden walk, it furnishes the most com- 
 modious and delightful mall imaginable. There is no 
 break in its continuance : it passes over the archway 
 of each gate, and is reached by easy flights of stone 
 steps from the street at short intervals. Each bastion, 
 of course, adds an open space to the ramparts, grass- 
 grown, where the children play, servants beat their 
 carpets, or solitary loungers recline on the walls. The 
 only place where the street does not run along the 
 rampart, is that occupied by the cathedral-ground ; 
 there a handsome iron railing is added to the inner 
 wall, while the outer one rises to a considerable height, 
 screening the sacred edifice from the aim of hostile 
 batteries in that direction. To understand the appear- 
 ance of the town, you must imagine a spacious square 
 very nearly in the centre, the middle of which is oc- 
 cupied by the town-hall, formerly the guard-house 
 whence the Boys snatched the keys on the memora- 
 
LONDONDERRY. 
 
 291 
 
 ble 7th of December ; from this draw four perfectly- 
 straight lines forming a cross, and you have to the 
 north-east Ship-quay street, terminating in the gate of 
 the same name : to the south-west Bishop's street, 
 with Bishop's gate at the end : to the south-east Ferry- 
 quay street, ending at the famous gate which was first 
 shut in the face of Lord Antrim's regiment ; and to the 
 north-west Butcher's street, with its gate, where the 
 Protestants, driven by De Rosen, lay perishing for 
 three days in the sight of the famished garrison. All 
 these are wide handsome streets, with excellent shops 
 and private dwellings. At the bend of the supposed 
 arch between Bishop's and Ferry Gates, is the 
 Cathedral : and on the opposite side the Bishop's 
 house and garden. The main thoroughfares are inter- 
 sected at some points by others, but with such mathe- 
 matical precision, that 1 have not succeeded in detect- 
 ing anything but rigid straight lines within the curve 
 of that which follows the course of the ramparts. 
 The most singular feature, however, is the size of 
 this strong-hold. Its extreme width from gate to gate 
 is considerably less than the length of the wooden 
 bridge that crosses the river below ; and the line from 
 Ship-quay to Bishop's Gate, where the town is longest, 
 does not nearly double the width. It is impossible 
 not to be struck with the justness of William's remark ; 
 speaking the words of worldly wisdom only, he ex- 
 claimed on first beholding it^ that if there had been a 
 single soldier either without or within the walls, it 
 could not have stood a day's siege : so helplessly ex- 
 posed it looks from without, so hopelessly untenable 
 within, and every way so narrow, so confined. De 
 Rosen's burst of angry contempt was equally natural, 
 
292 LETTER XII. 
 
 when, on seeing the mighty fortress, to reduce which 
 he had been sent on a long and difficult march, he 
 swore he would make his soldiers fetch it to him, 
 stone by stone. No perusal of the history, no de- 
 scription, however vivid and minute, can give you an 
 adequate idea of the wonders of that eight months 
 defence, but see the place, and you will be constrained 
 to exclaim, " Surely this was the Lord's doing, and it 
 is marvellous in our eyes." 
 
 The next thing to be noted is the superlative beauty 
 of the situation. The hill rises to an elevation of 1 19 
 feet, and it is impossible to say from what point the 
 most enchanting scenery may be commanded. Ex- 
 cepting where the noble Lough stretches out towards 
 the sea, there is a fine swell of the ground on every 
 side, most richly cultivated in corn-fields, flax, and 
 pasturage, with many extensive pleasure-grounds, ele- 
 gant villas, and plantations sloping to the water's 
 edge. The western bank is fenced, as I told you, by 
 the lofty range of Ennishowen mountains, between 
 which and the Lough are many splendid seats of pri- 
 vate gentlemen. The other side is exceedingly irre- 
 gular and picturesque, being a mixture of island, 
 isthmus, bay, and promontory, all in miniature, with 
 pretty white mansions peeping through a wilderness of 
 shrubs. Beyond the bridge, Foyle, as a majestic 
 river, sweeps gracefully round the hill's base, the op- 
 posite ground being planted by its occupiers, and 
 decorated in all the varieties that taste could plan, 
 and afliuence accomplish. The city without the walls 
 covers a great extent of ground, but I cannot fix my 
 attention upon it at all. Derry as it was of old, is 
 everything to me ; and follow as I may the guidance 
 
LONDONDERRY. 293 
 
 that bids me look on this building and on that, my 
 fancy presently transforms them into batteries, forts, 
 and all the etcetera of a hostile encampment belea- 
 guering the town. 
 
 It is now time to conduct you to the Cathedral, 
 which, notwithstanding sundry trifling appendages, 
 such as turrets, battlements, and a huge cross, with 
 a fine spire of stone replacing the old wooden one, is 
 still the same Cathedral where the little flock, hem- 
 med in by hordes of ravening wolves, while destitute 
 of the meat which perisheth, daily assembled to crave 
 at the hands of their pastors that which nourisheth to 
 eternal life. This is the building where not a pane 
 of glass was left unbroken by the enemy's shot, while 
 the stedfast hearts that were here lifted up in prayer 
 to the God of heaven, derived new strength and reso- 
 lution for the defence of his cause upon earth. His 
 cause it indubitably was : as such they maintained 
 it, and as such he accepted, owned, and crowned, 
 with a marvellous deliverance and ultimate triumph, 
 their self-immolating devotion. The interior of the 
 cathedral is like that of our larger parish churches, 
 to which it is also assimilated in the Protestant sim- 
 plicity and sobriety of its public worship. Here is no 
 chanting of confessions and supplications to musical 
 notes ; no set-out of surpliced boys, to sing mechani- 
 cal praises, and amuse themselves during the rest of 
 the time. The establishment consists of a Rector 
 (the Dean) and three curates, who alternately, through 
 God's grace, "pray the prayers, read the lessons, and 
 preach the sermon. 51 
 
 On entering the church, the first thing that strikes 
 you is the simplicity of the edifice $ lofty and spa- 
 25* 
 
294> LETTER XII. 
 
 cious, well lighted and handsomely fitted up, it still pre- 
 sents an aspect of that sober plainness, the reverse of 
 which would be intolerable in a place so fraught with 
 the most solemn and affecting reminiscences. The 
 pews are of oak, large and well arranged ; on the left, 
 as you proceed up the chancel, is the Mayor's seat, 
 handsomely hung, with the ancient arms of London- 
 derry curiously wrought on the back. The Bishop's 
 seat, or throne, is elegant, covered with purple vel- 
 vet ; and there are pews suitably set apart for the 
 Dean, Corporation, and other public functionaries. 
 The reading-desk stands on the right hand, and the 
 pulpit is centrally placed, facing the door : behind it 
 is the east window of an imposing size, of plain glass, 
 needing no ornament to enhance those which I am 
 about to describe. On the downward slope of the 
 window sill, an inscription is cut, containing a spirited, 
 sketch of the main particulars of the siege, written as 
 it seems immediately after it, and relating on what 
 occasion the accompanying flags were captured by 
 the besieged. These flags are now reduced to the 
 least possible fragments depending from the staffs, 
 still perfect, which are secured to the wall, and made 
 to incline towards the communion table. I must 
 leave it entirely to your imagination, to conceive with 
 what emotions I gazed on these precious memorials 
 of poor Ireland's deliverance : for though the battle 
 of the Boyne struck the decisive blow, yet, humanly 
 speaking, it was to the previous defence of Derry that 
 William owed the opportunity of gaining that or any 
 other battle. The act, too, was purely defensive; 
 which strips it of the revolting unchristian features 
 of aggressive warfare j and I felt as I looked upon 
 
LONDONDERRY. 295 
 
 the trophies, that the house whence the united suppli- 
 cations of his people continually entered into the 
 ear of the Lord God of Sabaoth, was the fittest place 
 for depositing the memorials of his gracious answer. 
 It was not until after the morning service that I 
 allowed myself to examine these things : my first 
 duty, my dearest privilege was to fall low before the 
 Lord, to thank him for past mercies ; and remember- 
 ing the years of the right hand of the Most High, to 
 ask in confident faith for the continued repetition of 
 those mercies. I never prayed with such fervency 
 for the native race of Ireland, the victims of Popery, 
 as when kneeling in Derry Cathedral, with the cannon 
 ball before me which their fathers, under the influence 
 of their church, fired against the fortress of Protes- 
 tantism. I prayed that the day might speedily arrive 
 when, under'that very roof, they should press to hear 
 the glad tidings of salvation by faith alone, through 
 the blood of a crucified Redeemer.* We then took a 
 minute survey of the edifice, inspected the old regis- 
 ters, bearing the memorable date, and finally mounted 
 the church roof, which supported two cannons during 
 the siege ; and thence, by no very easy ascent, up a 
 perpendicular iron ladder to the steeple. 
 
 * This was in August, 1837. During the season of Lent, 1838, 
 the pious and zealous clergyman of Derry cathedral engaged in a 
 course of controversial sermons on the points at issue between 
 the church of Christ and popery. Notwithstanding the prohibi- 
 tion of their priests, and in spite of every effort made to keep them 
 away, by prolonging their chapel service, &c, the poor Romanists 
 every Sabbath evening flocked to the cathedral, and there stood, 
 a dense crowd, filling every part of the building, and with the 
 utmost attention listening to the word of life, preached in direet 
 and avowed refutation of their errors. This hath God wrought ! 
 
296 LETTER XII. 
 
 And here I beheld the fullest confirmation of what 
 I had never doubted, the really miraculous character 
 of the deliverance. We deliberately traced, on the 
 high commanding ground that surrounds the place, 
 the exact position of every corps, battery, and single 
 piece of ordnance, by means of an authentic plan 
 which my kind Derry friend sent down for on pur- 
 pose. Had the spot been selected as that which 
 would prove the most hopelessly untenable of all the 
 fortified towns in Europe under the modes of modern 
 warfare, none would have blamed the choice* Or. 
 every side it is wholly commanded, insomuch that 
 the ground would seem to have been originally shaped 
 for that purpose. The post where the royal standard 
 was disgraced, together with the person of the un- 
 happy monarch, by advancing against the only loyal 
 fend faithful class of his subjects, and then making a 
 precipitate retreat at the first discharge from the walls, 
 stands conspicuously, but not very near, on the bor- 
 ders of the river Foyle, on the same side with the 
 town. Thence to the waters of the Lough a contin- 
 uous line of encampment swept along the hill side, 
 every battery having the full range of the city. On 
 the opposite shore, the line was again taken up, and 
 carried round until it met the river which, at its nar- 
 rowest part, was in fact the only break ; for the 
 Lough was crossed by the boom, formed of the 
 trunks of large trees chained together in a solid mass, 
 and made fast to either bank. I was really awe-struck 
 when this spectacle lay before me ; and when I look* 
 ed down upon the little enclosure below, when 1 con- 
 sidered its exposed situation, the crowds that were 
 pent up in it, the havoc committed by incessant bom- 
 
LONDONDERRY. 297 
 
 bard m en t, those terrible missiles exploding in every 
 street, the wells rendered useless, the stores exhaust- 
 ed, raging thirst, gnawing famine, the devouring; pes- 
 tilence, the number and rage of the foes, the imprac- 
 ticability of summoning friends to succour, or supplies 
 to save them from perishing of want ; when I num- 
 bered the weeks and months during which their long- 
 ing looks were vainly directed towards the mouth of 
 the Lough, conscious that military forces and abun- 
 dant stores were hovering there, with the false pro- 
 mise of an approach ; i know not which prevailed, 
 astonishment at their endurance, or abhorrence of the 
 base ingratitude, the reckless wickedness of the pre- 
 sent race of Protestants — falsely so called— through- 
 out this empire, who have surrendered without a 
 blow, without a struggle, the citadel of our national 
 faith. Surrendered ! Yes, I stood where the crim- 
 son flag had waved by day, and the beacon of distress 
 had blazed by night, and the thousands of dead had 
 been tolled to their graves beneath, while the very 
 breathing of that word surrender was punishable with 
 death ! I stood on the top of Derry cathedral, and 
 felt that the prize for which they struggled even to 
 the latest gasp of agonized mortality, we had surren- 
 dered. 
 
 At this very time, Sir Robert Ferguson was being 
 chaired. I tried to overlook the individual, and the 
 cause which he upholds — the surrender cause^ — and to 
 realize more vividly two things: the diminutive size 
 of the town through every street of which we traced 
 the cavalcade in an exceedingly short time; and the 
 small number of persons who sufficed to crowd it. 
 Both these particulars bore strongly on the subject 
 
298 LETTER XII. 
 
 that engrossed my mind, and two or three smart show- 
 ers of rain were insufficient to drive me from that ex- 
 posed but indescribably interesting spot. My Rev. 
 friend indulged me with a longer stay than I had dream- 
 ed of: alike the place of his birth and of his ministra- 
 tions, Derry is precious in his sight, and as a true, devot- 
 ed Protestant clergyman, mourning over the spiritual 
 desolation of his countrymen, he could fully participate 
 in my feelings, so far as I uttered them : but indeed 
 many of them defied the powers of speech to express. 
 I descended from that hallowed and endeared spot, and 
 with a swelling heart paced among the graves below, 
 the inmost desire and prayer of my soul being for 
 grace to be found always true to that cause in which 
 those whose ashes lay beneath my tread had been 
 faithful unto death. 
 
 Thursday. 
 A day that sets at defiance the services of clogs and 
 umbrellas. A torrent is sweeping down Ship-quay 
 street, and I must remain within, which I contentedly 
 do, seeing that the walls of Derry are still round me ; 
 and many interesting subjects occupy my thoughts. A 
 good man, a scripture reader, has been telling me of 
 his work among the poor people here ; but I found 
 that it was to the nominal Protestants, not the Roman 
 ists, he took his message. The latter he seemed to 
 regard as unapproachable ; and that any attempt at 
 instructing them must necessarily fail. To say truth, 
 there is too much of that impression discernible even 
 among pious people in the higher classes in the ex- 
 treme north ; the national character of the aborigines 
 is often held in great contempt, and an idea seems pre- 
 
LONDONDERRY. 299 
 
 valent that nothing can be clone with them, in the way 
 of reclamation. On inquiry, however, I cannot find 
 one who has been personally rejected in an attempt to 
 give them instruction, though each has heard from 
 somebody else that it would be fruitless. There is a 
 growing interest excited by the reports, and still more 
 by the actual proceedings of the Irish Society, who 
 have agents among the mountains of Donegal ; and I 
 confidently hope to see the work proceeding vigorously 
 ere long, even under the walls of Derry. It is so evi- 
 dently the policy of the priesthood to, make the peo- 
 ple savage, in order to discourage our attempts, that 
 there is no judging fairly of what their natural charac- 
 ters are. Ardent and excitable we know the Irish to 
 be, of whatever rank or creed ; and when on such a 
 soil is carefully sown, from early infancy, the seeds of 
 ail doctrinal and political evil, in addition to the na- 
 tural produce of the unrenewed heart of man, the 
 marvel is, not that they become the dangerous beings 
 we find them, but that a single week passes over with- 
 out some general outbreak of the mischief so sedu- 
 lously formed and fostered within. God's people are 
 now thinking on the scattered stones of this Irish 
 Zion j it pitieth them to see her in the dust ; they are 
 beginning to pray earnestly over the ruin ; on the 
 strength of their prayers they will work also — and we 
 shall see the bright days of Derry-Columbkilla restored, 
 through the seed of divine truth so faithfully preserved 
 by her Protestant children in 1689. 
 
 The first ecclesiastical foundation was laid here by 
 Columbkill, about the year 54-6, before the inventions 
 of Popery had obscured the pure faith taught by pri- 
 mitive Christians. Columb was a native of Donegal, 
 
300 LETTER XII. 
 
 who after years of devotion to his native country, 
 passed over to the Scottish isle of Iona, to spread the 
 knowledge of Christ among- their northern neighbors, 
 accompanied by a party of his disciples, or fellow mis- 
 sionaries. From him the place, origin;illy named Der- 
 ry, from its abound ng in oaks; which that word in 
 Irish expresses, received the additional distinction of 
 her apostolic teacher's name. How the thick cloud 
 wafted hither from Rome obscured her sky, it is need- 
 less to repfeat ; or again to dwell on the agency by 
 which she, with the rest of Ireland; Was brought alto- 
 gether under the yoke of Antichrist. Our business is 
 not to brood over the past, but to seize the present, 
 and to work for the future i and I do long to see this 
 glorious^ this beautiful spot take the lead. 
 
 We have been discussing the project of the Derry 
 and Raphee clergymen, who seem still inclined to 
 hope that by yielding a little to the government plan 
 of education, they may gain important Concessions on 
 the other side. Their object is to obtain such a modi- 
 fication as shall do away with the most pernicious part 
 of the system. But they are prepared to give place 
 by subjection, no, not for an hour, to the lying spirits 
 of Popery and Socinianism ; therefore, when it comes 
 to the final point, they will be disappointed. On these 
 grounds I have been, and still am, wholly opposed to 
 the experiment, because it wears the aspect of a com- 
 promise where none really is thought of; at least, 
 not by any with whom I have conversed. We remain 
 mutually possessed of and strengthened in our former 
 opinions. Time will decide. 
 
 Yesterday I sallied through Butcher's gate, inquest 
 of a relic, but did not go far : that quarter, called tho 
 
LONDONDERRY. 301 
 
 Bog-side, is the counterpart of our London St. Giles', 
 and inhabited by a most uncivilized population. I did. 
 not explore it, but learnt much from others concerning 
 it. Oh, how I longed for time and opportunity to 
 make a regular sally through that gate into the ene- 
 my's camp, after the fashion of 1689, armed with the 
 sword of the Spirit, and seconded by a determined 
 party of Irish-scripture readers ! That is the precise 
 spot where the Protestants perished^ who were driven 
 under the walls by De Rosen, and I certainly will can- 
 vas my English friends when I return, for means to 
 attempt what I allude to. The blood of martyrs has 
 ever been the seed of the Church ; that among the 
 sufferers in those days were many true martyrs, cheer- 
 fully perilling their lives for Christ's sake and the gos- 
 pel, is indubitable ; Colonel Mitchelburn's will gives 
 evidence so far as words can do it, that he was one of 
 that spirit ; and I will not be satisfied until, over the 
 bones of these slain, the blessed gospel is received 
 among the dwellers in the cabins of Bog-side. 
 
 In the court-house I saw some interesting remains 
 of 1688 ; antique metal staves borne by the sheriff's 
 officers as badges of their authority, and an ancient 
 sword of state, used at the same period. It is not a 
 feeling of gratified curiosity that the sight of these 
 things produces. I could weep over every relic of 
 those by-gone days of firm, unyielding Protestantism ; 
 and still they bid me — I cannot help repeating again 
 the text — " Remember the years of the right hand of 
 the Most High ;" furnishing a plea for renewed mer- 
 cies. It is one of the evil signs of our day that men 
 so lightly regard the memorials of their fathers' deli- 
 verances : that such ought not to be the case is evi- 
 26 
 
302 LETTER XII. 
 
 dent from the scripture ; nay, it is distinctly named as 
 provoking a judgment on the forgetful generation. We 
 are lapsing with fearful rapidity into the Laodicean 
 state of lukewarm profession, and unholy self-confi- 
 dence : to remain in it is to disgust the Lord, and 
 insure our rejection. Observe how, throughout the 
 Pentateuch, the Psalms, and the Prophets, the mercies 
 vouchsafed to their fathers are made the main argu- 
 ments in the mouths of God's people, pleading for 
 favor towards themselves; and in how striking a man* 
 ner the Lord himself adduces it as a motive for stay- 
 ing the indignation which the sinful deeds of their 
 descendants provoked. I fear a heavy charge will lie 
 against us on this score, little as it seems to be 
 considered by Christians, either individually or col* 
 lectively. 
 
 Saturday. 
 One of the most interesting gratifications that I 
 have enjoyed was afforded yesterday, in being allowed 
 to examine the communion-plate belonging to the ca- 
 thedral. The very cup that was so often pressed to 
 the pale lip of uncomplaining fortitude — the very 
 salvers that held the morsel of sacramental bread, 
 when none other was left in the grinding famine — the 
 very plate that received their alms, the whole amount 
 of which, however liberal, could but have purchased 
 a moiety of tallow, starch, and dry hides, during the 
 latter part of the siege, — all these I held in my hands, 
 while the scenes that rose before my mental eye were 
 almost too overpowering. Oh, they knew the value 
 of that faith for which they suffered ; they counted 
 the law of the Lord's mouth not only dearer to them 
 
LONDONDERRY. 303 
 
 than thousands of gold and silver* but more precious 
 than the pulse of mortal life that throbbed so feebly, 
 yet so undauntedly within : they knew, by terrible 
 experience, what "a famine of bread and a thirst of 
 water" was ; their flesh was withering like grass, their 
 strength drying up like a potsherd, their tongue cleav- 
 ing to their palates through its blighting intensity ; yet 
 all this they suffered freely, voluntarily, perseveringly, 
 unshrinkingly, rather than that, through their surren- 
 der, we should endure the far more terrible ''famine 
 of hearing the words of the Lord." 
 
 I thought I could never have resigned that battered 
 chalice * the very circumstance of its being the cup — 
 the blessing which Rome, in her profligate audacity, 
 would presume to wrest from us, and replace it by her 
 own loathsome cup of abominations — rendered it the 
 most apt, the most sacred, the most thrilling of all 
 possible mementos. I doubt not that it was so regard- 
 ed by many a lowly follower of Christ in those days ; 
 and I do pity the person who, in any day, can raise 
 that cup to his lip in Derry cathedral, without a secret 
 and solemn act of self-dedication to the cause of 
 Christ, in direct opposition to the work of Antichrist, 
 who dares, concerning the cup of which our Lord 
 commanded, "Drink ye all of this," to say in the name 
 of that Lord, " Touch not, taste not, handle not." 
 How long are these false prophets to teach and seduce 
 God's poor ignorant people, while those to whom he 
 has both given knowledge and committed authority, 
 look on in acquiescence, if they do not even help 
 forward the work ? 
 
 My sojourn terminates to-day. If I were not going 
 to visit friends whom I long to see, and a place to 
 
304 LETTER XII. 
 
 which a seven years- invitation has drawn me, I should 
 not be able to quit Derry. However, it is arranged 
 that we leave Ireland by the Foyle, instead of return- 
 ing to Dublin or Belfast ; so that I shall again see the 
 maiden city. My heart cleaves to her and to her peo- 
 ple ; for I have met with some, of both sexes, whose 
 bosoms crlow with the sacred fire of 1688, and who, if 
 the trial came again, would assemble round the stand- 
 ard of their faith, the Holy Bible, and from their very 
 
 souls breathe out the ancient watchword of thcit 
 
 i 
 
 fortress — nq surrender. 
 
LETTER XIII. 
 
 COUNTY DONEGAL. 
 
 Ballymacool, JlugusU 
 Although I cannot say that I never before knew what 
 grandeur was, having- recently left the mighty hills of 
 Mourne, yet to discover the charm of what may be 
 called savage magnificence, it was necessary to visit 
 Donegal. I have seen wonders within the last few 
 days ; but before proceeding to this, I must take leave 
 of Derry, where my last left us. Shall I relate an 
 event, the repetition of which may be ascribed to in- 
 corrigible vanity, but which I really cannot be content 
 to withhold'? You know the famous brotherhood of 
 the "Apprentice Boys of Derry," an association to 
 which honorary members are admitted, but sparingly, 
 and none who are not considered firm in cherishing 
 and upholding the sacred principles of 1688. Many 
 attempts have been made to put down, by indirect 
 means, this enthusiastically loyal and strictly consti- 
 tutional body, but in vain. By a recent enactment, all 
 party processions were prohibited ; but as the u Boys" 
 could not believe a celebration in which the Romish 
 bishop, priests, and people formerly took an active 
 part could come under this head, they had the teme- 
 rity to disregard it, and walked round their own ram- 
 26* 
 
306 LETTER XIII. 
 
 parts as usual, on the anniversary of the shutting of 
 the gates, two years ago. 
 
 For this daring act, twenty respectable young men, 
 descended from the original defenders of the fortress, 
 were arraigned at the bar; and nine of them, because 
 they would not plead guilty in a matter which they 
 could not understand to be legally punishable, were 
 committed to the common gaol for a fortnight. This, 
 by the way, is not the surest mode of extinguishing a 
 flame 5 but let it pass. The association exists, in all 
 its pristine vigor, no attempt having been made to dis- 
 solve it. The Marquis of Londonderry is an honorary 
 member, as are many of the first gentlemen in Dublin 
 and elsewhere. 
 
 The car that was to convey us from the maiden 
 . city stood at the door, and I was anticipating the pain 
 of a farewell look at the old walls, when some young 
 men of this formidable fraternity made their appear- 
 ance, with a document that, at least, I shall know how 
 to value better than I could ever deserve it — a simple, 
 affectionate, beautifully written address, expressive of 
 that unity of principle which, I bless God, does indeed 
 exist between us, and tendering a welcome to their 
 ancient city, upon grounds that must appear passing 
 strange, considering the awfully illiberal character 
 supposed to belong to the club, as it is called. Their 
 thanks are tendered for what they kindly denominate 
 " exertions on behalf of their benighted countrymen" — 
 those countrymen who are taught that every man 
 wearing an orange riband is inclined, if he could, to 
 put them to the sword ! They are, indeed, so taught; 
 but they are not apt scholars — not one in five hundred 
 believes the calumnious falsehood. Now, as to whe- 
 
COUNTY DONEGAL. 307 
 
 ther the Apprentice Boys have given me their badge — 
 the medal I had years ago, from a dear friend at pre- 
 sent in my sight — you must not expect me to tell : the 
 gaol is outside the walls, and I have no wish to lodge 
 there ; but I am admitted an honorary member of the 
 association, having the high privilege, too, of being 
 actually akin to the heroic Colonel Murray, so famous 
 in the defence ; and, as such, I am entitled henceforth 
 to bear the motto which, by the divine blessing, I will 
 act up to, in its highest, holiest, purest, and most 
 extended import — "No surrender." 
 
 After a most interesting conversation with my kind 
 brother 'Prentices, in which I elicited not a little of 
 the old, and, I will add, sacred fire which our Solons 
 are so clumsily trying to extinguish, ignorant or heed- 
 less of the ruin that must follow to the country and to 
 themselves, I departed, bearing my precious trophy 
 through Bishop's Gate, beyond which a fine street ex- 
 tends to a considerable length, and pursued the road 
 by which King James decamped after his unsuccess- 
 ful demonstration against "the ancient fortress of 
 British freedom," as my new friends justly term it. 
 The scenery here is most enchanting ; the river rolls 
 along, a broad peaceful stream, through a succession 
 of verdant and ever-varying landscapes, rivalling each 
 other in beauty. As we approached a curve in the 
 road, our hospitable friend, who had accompanied us 
 thus far, bade me turn and take a parting look at Der- 
 ry, then emerging from behind a swell of the ground. 
 This was a superb view : the " city on a hill" rose 
 most majestically in a conical form, girt with her dark 
 wall, crowned by her noble spire, and seemingly en- 
 circled by the river, fed by which a thousand luxuriant 
 
308 LETTER XIII. 
 
 trees and shrubs relieved the otherwise stern outline of 
 that embattled town. Make what allowance you will for 
 partiality, and for enthusiasm too, if you please, still 
 Derry is, in situation and general aspect, more beauti- 
 ful than you can imagine from any description of 
 mine. Even Inglis, who was as little troubled with 
 picturesque visions as most men, and whose pages 
 rarely offend in that way, was surprised into the lan- 
 guage of downright eulogy when it burst upon his 
 view. A double farewell was given to the maiden 
 queen, and to the friend whose unremitting attention 
 had rendered our sojourn there doubly gratifying $ and 
 we began to explore the features of Donegal. 
 
 Nothing very striking occurred, except the distant 
 view of most singularly shaped mountains, until we 
 had travelled a few miles, and were met by the light 
 car of our present host ; we then found enough to en- 
 gage attention. The road became rugged and unequal 
 to a degree ; and as we every now and then alighted 
 to walk up some steep ascent, the fine specimens of 
 geology afforded among the stones cut for repairing it 
 surprised us. We selected some beautiful pieces, but 
 having surmounted the hilly path I had no more lei- 
 sure to look down. Scratch upon paper what rough 
 outline you will, something approaching to it might 
 be found among the forms that rose before us, scat- 
 tered at unequal distances, and bearing more the ap- 
 pearance of uncouth villas contrived by a colony of 
 independent giants, each building after his own taste, 
 than anything I had seen before. Two particularly 
 attracted my notice, of which one rose to such a point 
 that I doubted whether the top would afford standing 
 room; and the other presented the correct outline of 
 
COUNTY DONEGAL. 309 
 
 a barn, or a country' church without a steepJe, most 
 exactly fashioned. This last is particularly conspi- 
 cuous, standing, as most of them do, detached, and 
 looking over an extraordinary range of country, as I 
 afterwards found when perched on its summit. The 
 nearest of them must have been more than ten miles 
 distant, others twenty ; some no doubt much farther. 
 Beneath us, on the right, a fine arm of Lough Swilly 
 appeared, rolling its tide through innumerable little 
 channels, and covering, when full, the sands that 
 spread broadly on either side. The fine mountainous 
 region of Ennishowen lay to the right, extending from 
 the Swilly to the Foyle, and forming the northern bar- 
 rier of the isle. All was rude, abrupt, wild, stern, and 
 gigantic, aptly accordant with the tales that every his- 
 tory of Ireland necessarily touches upon, of the fierce 
 chiefs, Hugh Roe O'Donnell, Cahir ODogherty, Phe- 
 lim O'Neil, and their followers, who rendered it the 
 most troublesome part of the British dominions, until 
 James I. colonized Ulster so extensively with his own. 
 countrymen as to transform it, through their perse- 
 vering industry, and the powerful influence of such 
 an example ; and to render his province the pride of 
 the land. Donegal, you know, is the ancient Tyrcon- 
 nel— r-a name of sanguinary notoriety on the historic 
 page. 
 
 JSvpry mile of the road now added something to the 
 grandeur of the view. Lough Swilly has some superb 
 scenery visible even from this point ; while a nearer 
 approach rendered the tapering point of Ariga, and 
 the architectural correctness of Muckish. more strik- 
 ing; besides revealing fresh groups of dusky and 
 fantastic forms in more remote distance. The fore- 
 
310 LETTER XIII. 
 
 ground was one uninterrupted spectacle of fertility, 
 that graceful plant, the flax, spreading in luxuriant 
 crops over the surface, studded with its beautiful little 
 pale blue flowers. Potatoes of vigorous growth and 
 fine healthy blossom, and fields of corn that might 
 rival our best English agricultural counties, diversi* 
 fied the prospect ; while the cabins, in general, ranked 
 with our cottages; an air of neatness and comfort 
 pervading their inhabitants, which was easily account 1 * 
 ed for by the spinning wheels discernible in, I think, 
 every one of them into which I contrived to peep* 
 Here is a specimen of what may be done in Ireland 
 by bringing the land fairly into cultivation, and fur* 
 lushing the people with employment. Hitherto the 
 condition of the north has generally confirmed the 
 theory that, be the religion of the people what it may, 
 they will prosper under such circumstances : but 
 proceedings attendant on these elections have proved 
 the contrary. Sligo, which has hitherto enjoyed a 
 character for tranquillity and good order commen- 
 surate with the best places of the north, is exhibiting 
 a fearful contrast, under the influence of the Romish 
 priesthood, who are bent on returning to parliament 
 such men as shall forward their own views, at what- 
 ever price of outrage and bloodshed it may be done. 
 It is lamentable to find persons, capable in all other 
 subjects of analysing, comparing, and drawing just 
 inferences from what is presented to their view, so 
 completely hoodwinked on this point. They adduce 
 the improved condition of the Romanists keeping pace 
 with that of their Protestant neighbors in these 
 districts as a proof that their religion is no bar to 
 national prosperity, where outward encouragement is 
 
COUNTY DONEGAI*. 311 
 
 afforded, and justice rendered both to the soil and its 
 cultivators ; but the question is not whether the poor 
 Romanist under such circumstances will avail himself 
 of advantages common to all, whether he will build 
 his cabin more substantially, clothe himself and house- 
 hold more comfortably, and present, as others do, a 
 striking contrast to the miserable peasantry of the 
 south: it is whether he be not secretly bound to 
 use all these advantages as weapons of offence against 
 the peace of the country, " forsaking his own mercies, 1 ' 
 and abandoning himself to every lawless, every 
 sanguinary pursuit, when summoned so to do by those 
 whose interest it is to prevent his long enjoying a 
 state of outward prosperity that may in time produce 
 an inward attachment to the government under which 
 he lives. As well might a man argue from the 
 unruffled aspect of the Atlantic on a calm summer's 
 day, that an open boat would be as safe and suitable 
 a conveyance across its bosom as across that of the 
 land-locked lake, half a mile over, as maintain that the 
 country can abidingly prosper whose Protestant gov- 
 ernment has to bear rule o^er a population devoted to 
 the See of Rome. Travellers visit Ireland during an 
 interval of calm, and forget that however the stormy 
 swell of its waters may for the time be hushed, a 
 breath may rouse them in the space of one dark hour 
 into a paroxysm of foaming rage, that shall, ere it 
 subsides, work the destruction of all within its reach. 
 These elections will open a page of information before 
 the eye of England, more legible and far more in- 
 structive than the accumulated folios of her par- 
 liamentary committees, and well-paid commissions, of 
 the past ten years. The only doubt is whether she 
 
312 LETTER XIII. 
 
 will wisely read it, or turn away from unwelcome 
 truths, until the calamity overtakes her which all her 
 wilful or affected blindness cannot avert. 
 
 After a pleasant drive, with as small a proportion of 
 level ground as I had ever yet met with in a similar 
 space, we entered and passed through the neat pros- 
 perous-looking little town of Letterkenny ; but not 
 until we had crossed the Swilly in the form of a 
 rivulet running under a scarcely perceptible bridge. 
 Letterkenny consists of a long street, with, a very 
 rapid descent, beyond which a pretty road led us tb 
 the gate, and a short approach under some fine trees 
 to the house of these expecting friends ; who, flocking 
 down the broad steps, commenced the 'cead-mille 
 failthe' reception before we could even jump from the 
 car. You would delioht in this situation, it is so 
 completely shut in that you need not, unless you 
 choose to think about it, know that there is any visible 
 world beyond its limits. The house, large and com- 
 modious, with an entrance hall spacious enough to 
 please me well, stands closly surrounded on three 
 sides with well-grown treQf, forming a sort of verdant 
 niche for it to rest in. Before it, gradually slopes 
 down a very fine lawn, tastefully planted with clumps 
 and single specimens of the most ornamental species 
 — pine, cedar, beech, oak, and bay, prevail : but many 
 others abound. Beyond, the eye is again lost in 
 shrubberies and minor plantations, over which rises a 
 swelling ground, variously cultivated, with one or two 
 pretty cottages on the ascent ; and to the right, not 
 wholly visible from the dwelling, is a handsome 
 mansion belonging to a branch of the Stewart family. 
 Mr. B. says he will cut away some of his redundant 
 
COUNTY DONEGAL. 313 
 
 wood on that side, and lay the prospect open . I can 
 easily imagine how you would protest against it, but 
 it will probably be done. 
 
 Sunday morning displayed a delightful scene ; I was 
 conducted by our friend to the rear of the dwelling, 
 where no fewer than three rooms were occupied by 
 the children of his tenants, each member of the family 
 taking a class ; the master's being composed of young 
 men and boys who had made some progress in Scrip- 
 ture knowledge. Many an hour have we together 
 devoted to the same work among the poor ragged 
 little outcast Irish children in St. Giles' ; and you 
 may imagine how delightful it was to see my fellow- 
 laborer thus pursuing the same avocation, surrounded 
 by this well-clad, healthy, respectable-looking assem-* 
 blage, to whom the family invariably devote the first 
 hours of each Sabbath morning. Oh that every gen- 
 tleman's house in Ireland could boast of apartments 
 thus furnished ! 
 
 The parish church being under repair, divine 
 worship is held in a large school-house in Letter- 
 kenny ; it is well attended, and the Rector is one who 
 eloquently preaches Christ crucified as the sinner's 
 only hope ; while alas ! crowds are flocking to the 
 mass-house just by, to worship a deified wafer, putting 
 their trust in the arm of flesh, and vainly going about 
 to establish their own righteousness, which can never 
 profit their souls. Nothing is to me so melancholy a 
 spectacle as the deeply devotional appearance of these 
 poor lost sheep, as they go to the poisoned pasture in 
 quest of nutriment. Oh that England would stretch 
 out yet more munificently a helping hand, and pro- 
 vide Scripture readers for every peopled track in this 
 27 
 
314 LETTER XIII. 
 
 inviting country ! I had been told that the Irish lan- 
 guage was very little spoken here ; it is extremely 
 prevalent; and among the crowds of poor destitute 
 creatures who on every Thursday morning assembled 
 at Mr. B's gate to share the bounty which his liberality- 
 deals forth, in meal, potatoes, &c, a great majority 
 spoke the native tongue, though few if any are entirely 
 ignorant of English, — or Scotch as they call it ; for 
 that is the title by which the settlers are generally 
 distinguished. 
 
 It was with no small measure of delighted expecta- 
 tion that I prepared for a trip to the great barn, as I 
 cannot help calling that singular mountain. The car 
 was prepared, in compliance with my obstinate pre- 
 dilection, rejecting gig, phaeton, and coach for that 
 lively vehicle Mr. B. sent forward a relay, for the 
 road is tremendously rugged, and so long that no one 
 believed we seriously meant to make a single day's 
 jaunt of it ; nor was it for lack of the most pressing 
 invitation to pass the night at a beautifully-situated 
 mansion, midway, that we all made up our minds to 
 the exploit. I obtained a fine view of Mr. B's exten- 
 sive property, as we drove between the fields of 
 ripening flax and corn, and at length arrived on the 
 never-to-be-forgotten roads of the wild region. The 
 first remarkable thing we passed was Lough Veagh, 
 one of the most bewitchingly beautiful lakes that the 
 sun shines upon. It lies at the foot of a precipice, so 
 verdant, so richly wooded even there, and on its more 
 eloping bank so exquisitely adorned by the hand of 
 taste, following the guidance of creative skill, that I 
 could have lingered long to gaze upon its loveliness, 
 had not the very minutes been precious. Muckish 
 
COUNTY DONEGAL. 315 
 
 still retained his architectural form, and it was a 
 puzzle to me by what means we were to mount the 
 roof: but after turning and winding with what seemed 
 an interminable road we came to the accessible side, 
 and to confess the truth, Slieve Donard was a staircase 
 compared wiih what lay before us. In height the 
 monarch of Mourne surpasses his brother of Tyrconnel 
 by some 800 feet ; but for abrupt steepness, ag- 
 gravated by the absence of stepping stones and stout 
 fern, which lent so welcome an aid in Down, Muckish 
 was far more impracticable. However, I have a great 
 dislike to being beaten back in an enterprise fairly 
 commenced, and as in the former case resolved to 
 persevere. We left the car at the only cabin within 
 reach which boasted of something called a stable j but 
 the noble animal that had drawn us could by no 
 manoeuvre make himself small enough to enter any 
 door on the premises, and was compelled to stand out- 
 side during five or six hours' absence. 
 
 Fancy me nowj first floundering through a narrow 
 bog, which lay between the road and the mountain, 
 and then commencing such a work, that had not the 
 stout arm of my friendly guide lent continual aid, I 
 never should have reached the first two hundred feet 
 of the ascent, which was just a level to the 2000 that 
 lay beyond. A dozen of times I wished myself on the 
 dullest flat in Europe, rather than to be toiling under 
 a sultry sky up an almost perpendicular wall of 
 smooth grass ; but, after a longer effort than that ex- 
 pended on Slieve Donard, the top was really gained, 
 and with it the dissipation of my delightful dream of 
 repose ; for, in lieu of the greensward on which I 
 resolved to recline the moment we reached the sum- 
 
316 LETTER XIII. 
 
 mit, there was a sort of burlesque on the mystery of 
 Macadamizing — a coating- of small sharp stones, 
 seemingly arranged with the keenest edge uppermost, 
 rendered hot by the powerful rays, and not only- 
 refusing a seat, but scarcely affording a comfortable 
 standing-place. 
 
 Yet all was forgotten — recent fatigue and present 
 discomfort, in contemplating the scenery around. 1 
 despair of describing it. We stood facing the west, 
 and looking down upon such a tumult of rugged mag- 
 nificence as had never entered my imagination. The 
 mountains before us were all rock, scantily clad here 
 and there with mosses, lichens, and rough grass, but 
 still lifting their craggy peaks in naked sternness, and 
 in every variety of form that fancy could devise. 
 Directly in front of us rose four pinnacles, of nearly- 
 equal height, and with a regularity that would beseem 
 the turrets of an old castle ; and what would you sup- 
 pose lay in the cradle thus formed 1 A lake like 
 crystal. Look where you would — wesjt, south, or 
 south-east — you were dazzled by the radiance of a 
 Jiundred sun^, flashed forth by as many glorious lakes, 
 some very small, others of great size — some lying in 
 the bosom of what seemed a soft green meadow, others 
 surrounded by golden sands, but the greatest number 
 at various elevations upon rocks and mountains. It 
 was enchantment ; it cannot, I am persuaded, be 
 paralleled. Turning to the east, there roamed Lough 
 Swilly along the many channels that he has formed 
 for his abundant waters ; and farther yet the long 
 unbroken chain of Innishowen showed the course ot 
 the Foyle ; and if I did not see Derry, my wish was 
 father to the thought ; fori think I did. To the north 
 
COUNTY DONEGAL. 317 
 
 •—but to obtain a full view here it was necessary to 
 cross over to the other side of the ridge ; and after 
 literally cutting my boots to pieces on the sharp 
 stones, I had the consolation of finding so much of 
 grass and wild herbage as sufficed us all for a pleasant 
 seat : — to the north, then, lay outspread in all its 
 majesty the mighty ocean. The island of Torry 
 seemed almost within reach j and oh what an endless 
 variety of exquisitely-formed bays, estuaries, creeks, 
 and graceful indentures, did that northern shore 
 present ! We seemed to overhang the ocean ; it 
 was as though it laved the foot of our gigantic resting- 
 placCj though really at a considerable distance. The 
 perfectly isolated situation of the mountain exceed 
 ingly increased the grandeur of our elevation. There 
 seemed no intermediate step between us and the lower 
 world ,* but how we ascended and how we should again 
 descend, appeared an equal mystery, all sides being, 
 in our then position, alike abrupt and inaccessible. I 
 envied the engineers who, engaged in the ordnance 
 survey, had pitched a tent and lived for a while on that 
 mountain height. We had nothing to secure us from 
 the intensity of the sun's rays j but that only enhan- 
 ced the delicious effect of the cool azure that canopied 
 the deeper, darker, cooler blue of the wide-spread- 
 ing Atlantic, which melted into it in the far horizon, 
 marked perchance by the small white speck of some 
 stately ship, diminished to the size of a pearl, which 
 linked the turquoise and the amethyst. Yet even from 
 this I turned repeatedly to look upon the four sin- 
 gular turrets, with their baby lake so beautifully 
 cradled many hundred feet from earth's level plain. 
 Arrigal looked splendid from this post 5 and Mr. B. 
 27* 
 
318 LETTER XIII. 
 
 told me that I was not mistaken in supposing it a 
 mere point j for that, after climbing it with no small 
 difficulty, he seated himself astride, as on horseback, 
 with one foot on each side of the mountain. 
 
 Can you imagine the sea in the wildest possible 
 state of commotion, with the waves thrown up in all 
 varieties of form ! Magnify them in size, and suppose 
 them suddenly petrified, you will have the nearest 
 idea that I can convey of the rocky wilderness be- 
 neath us. But I shall tire you with this vain attempt 
 to describe what baffles description ; and I must 
 desist. It required all the rhetorical powers of my 
 friends to persuade me that we ought to commence 
 our return ; but the fact was indisputable; and after 
 convincing ourselves that a stone allowed to drop on 
 any part of the edge, save one, would thunder along 
 till it reached the bottom, we bade farewell to this 
 scene of matchless sublimity ; and I found myself, I 
 hardly know by what means, once more ankle-deep in 
 the black bog below. W. says he never had such 
 work in his life ; but would like such a frolic every 
 day. I believe he rolled down the greater part of the 
 mountain, under the direction of Miss B., who stepped 
 the heights like a chamois, smiling in conscious secur- 
 ity at the mischances of us miserable lowlanders. 
 Muckish, in Irish, signifies a pig's back : it is suffici- 
 ently expressive of the sharp, level ridge, but does not 
 describe the general outline of the mountain. 
 
 The * hotel' had provided for us an enormous dish 
 of delicious potatoes ; and we discovered that the 
 hospitable poor creatures had dug up their summer 
 store from the little garden to feast us. These, with 
 our own provisions, appeased the appetite which, as 
 
COUNTY DONEGAL. 319 
 
 you may suppose, was by this time pretty clamorous ; 
 and after a jolting that, despite the excellent springs 
 of the car, strongly reminded me of our approach to 
 Drogheda, we reached home between ten and eleven 
 o'clock, tired, I confess; and with my boots hanging 
 in shreds, which came down scatheless from Slieve 
 Donard. 
 
 Our next excursion was to a different scene. Lough 
 Salt was the name given to a high mountain, the long 
 indented ridge of which attracted my notice j and Mr. 
 B. told me he would thence show me a prospect that 
 would surprise, if it did not delight me, more than 
 Muckish. This I took the liberty of doubting ; but a 
 new exhibition of the romantic features of this glori- 
 ous country was a desirable thing, and we started 
 again in great spirits the following day, with a differ- 
 ent horse, two having been completely knocked up by 
 the former excursion. A long road, less rugged, but 
 also less picturesque than that to Muckish, brought us 
 to the foot of this ridge ; and then an excellent car- 
 riage-way, wide but terribly steep, led us towards the 
 summit. We walked beside the car, chatting ; and 
 but for the pleasant society, I should have thought it 
 rather a heavy affair ; but what was my astonishment 
 when, on rounding the point that terminated this 
 ascent, I found myself in a truly magic circle, enclosed 
 by a lofty precipitous mountain — the very ridge in 
 question — on the right ; on the left, a graceful sweep 
 of high, but more gently sloping hills, under which 
 the road wound, the intermediate space between that 
 and the steeper rampart being occupied by a lough of 
 considerable width, great length, and depth literally 
 unfathomable by any stretch of man's ingenuity. The 
 
320 LETTER Xftl. 
 
 tall crag was slightly curved, rendering that edge of 
 the water which kissed its base equally so ; the other 
 bank was considerably rounded out ; and to enhance 
 the loveliness of this graceful outline, no distinct 
 boundary was perceptible at either end; the lines 
 melting off i as it were, in the distances* After pacing, 
 in the silence of awe-struck admiration^ the margin of 
 this beautiful lake, we came to what seemed the end 
 of it 5 but here a little stream, not a foot across, ran 
 gurgling in pure crystal through the grass, close under 
 the sheltering rock, and fell into a smaller, indeed af 
 very small lake, rendered almost black by the deep 
 shadows cast upon it ; for here the basin was almost 
 entirely surrounded by perpendicular rocks, rising to 
 a gigantic height. 
 
 Seated upon the grass on the pleasant slope that 
 lay betvVeen those two strangely situated pieces of 
 water, I felt as though I had really escaped from all 
 the harassing conflicts, the turmoils and disquietudes 
 of life. So perfect was the seclusion, so profound the 
 tranquillity, so grand yet so lovely the features of the 
 scene, that I could not help thinking of the hiding- 
 place promised to the Lord's people when he arises to 
 shake terribly the earth. Confined within that roman- 
 tic boundary, the character of the water yet resembled 
 anything rather than stagnation : there was a beauti- 
 ful ripple perpetually ruffling its bright surface, adding 
 activity to peace. The finely indented ridge was not 
 bare, but the herbage scanty, short, and brown, inter- 
 mixed with much stone \ and some rough shrubs 
 afforded a few mouthfuls to the lean goats, one or 
 two of which I descried near the top. There was also 
 a pathway for man's footsteps j but : t must require 
 
COUNTY DONEGAL. 321 
 
 great strength of nerve to tread it, suspended over 
 such an awful depth of water. The nearer bank was 
 interspersed with blocks of limestone and granite, 
 sparkling in the sun ; over which gay wild flowers 
 crept, as also they did in great profusion up the bank 
 on the other side of the road. A trifling ascent in 
 that direction threw open a magnificent sea view, with 
 all the mighty headlands and mountains that render 
 this part of Ireland so fine ; but I could not stay to 
 look upon them. I returned to the lonely glen to com- 
 mune with my own heart and be still. I thought how 
 delightful it would be to gather into this natural fold 
 a multitude of the poor wanderers of Erin, and to tell 
 them, what every object around seemed to join in 
 proclaiming, that God is love. What a glorious land 
 is this — 
 
 * Where every prospect pleases, and only man is vile V 
 As in the music of the Irish, and in their national 
 character, so it is in the natural scenery of their coun- 
 try. Some unexpected trait of the softest beauty con- 
 tinually steals upon you in the midst of what is dark, 
 stern, and wild ; something of the latter breaks in, 
 where seemingly it has no business, just to remind 
 you that what you are contemplating is Irish. The 
 grandeur of this mountain tract of Donegal is really 
 savage ; yet I am mistaken if the sky of Italy looks 
 down on anything so softly, so enchantingly lovely, as 
 this Lough Salt. Tollymore is the realization of a 
 fairy dream ; yet there the eataract flashes across your 
 path, foaming impetuously over its rocks ; and Slieve 
 Donard haughtily rears his crest, or rather cairn of 
 rugrred stones, above the delicate verdure of that smil- 
 ing scene. How is it that tourists who use the pencil 
 
322 LETTER XIII. 
 
 rarely select the really characteristic features of this 
 enchanting isle ; and how is it that even less justice 
 is done to the fine traits of natural character percepti- 
 ble through the ferocity and other evil things with 
 which the mother of abominations has inoculated the 
 native race 2 
 
 Not satisfied with having shown us two such speci- 
 mens as Muckish and Lough Salt, these dear friends 
 planned a third expedition, the object of which was 
 Mulroy Bay ; and although we encountered enough of 
 heavy rain to damp our energies, the excursion over- 
 paid all. Mulroy Bay is one of those deep indenta- 
 tions by which the ocean, as though attracted by the 
 picturesque scenery, roves inland. Here the water is 
 girdled in by a belt of crags, not very lofty, but be- 
 yond description beautiful ; being decked with the 
 brightest verdure, and reclining, as it were, on a couch 
 of emerald green, adorned with wild flowers ; while at 
 their feet a little strand of clear pebbles, strewn with 
 every variety of sea-weed, conducts the advancing 
 tide to lave the barrier, or sparkles in the sunbeam 
 during its retreat. Strolling beneath one of these 
 rocks, which was hung like an old castle with a man- 
 tle of ivy, I suddenly met a group of Irish women, 
 two of them bearing infants in their arms. It was im- 
 possible to resist the opportunity ; so, after eliciting 
 by a few questions the various uses to which they 
 could apply the sea-weed so profusely heaped around, 
 I turned the discourse to the bountiful kindness of the 
 Lord, who would not let a little wave roll upon their 
 shore, without bringing them a gift in token of his 
 love. At this they fairly seated themselves on some 
 of the rocky fragments, the better to listen j and then 
 
COUNTY DONEGAL. 323 
 
 I spoke of God's crowning gift, even his own only and 
 well-beloved son, freely bestowed j and of the Son's 
 equal love in freely giving his life for us; and sought 
 to direct them to the source of all true wealth, true 
 happiness and peace, in the midst of their deep 
 poverty and many sorrows. They were but a few 
 words, yet they came from my heart and went to 
 theirs, I think ; and I felt as though I tried to pay a 
 drop of that ocean of debt which my country owes 
 them. Occupying, as we do, the land which God 
 gave to their fathers, we are unquestionably so placed 
 in order that, while reaping their carnal things, we may 
 sow unto them spiritual things ; and the Lord marks 
 every neglected opportunity of inviting these straying 
 sheep back to the fold. 
 
 The road to and from Mulroy Bay is very superi or, 
 in point of population, to the others. But the satis- 
 faction of looking on a neat country town, with its 
 church, its glebe, and its little commercial traffic, was 
 sadly damped by the appearance of that nuisance, the 
 National school, of course closely adjoining the Ro- 
 mish chapel, to which the system will act as a power- 
 ful buttress to stay and to strengthen what would other- 
 wise speedily fall. This is the extreme point of my 
 excursion : I have travelled through thirteen counties, 
 and have freely conversed with all whom I met ; yet 
 can I safely assert that hitherto I have not spoken with 
 one individual who did not deprecate the plan, as 
 fraught with most ruinous consequences to the peopJe 
 of the land, and subversive of the principle of the 
 Union. In candour I must likewise add, that more 
 sorrow and regret have been expressed to me by the 
 Protestants of Ireland, on the occasion of this perni 
 
324 LETTER XIII. 
 
 cious experiment having found an advocate in a truly* 
 pious English clergyman, than at all the dishonor done 
 to them by open enemies. A. slight wound from the 
 hand of a trusted brother is felt more keenly than many 
 stabs from that of an adversary. However, they are 
 not discouraged : their experience may be that of Paul, 
 — "At the first, no man stood by me." But to this 
 they will be able to add, with the tried apostle, " The 
 Lord stood by me and strengthened me." He makes 
 trial of their faith now, that they may make trial of 
 his truth and love. The persecuted people of God y 
 in this country, have a fairer prospect before them 
 than those who, in other lands, as yet, sit secure, dream- 
 ing that they shall see no sorrow ; and all the mad ex- 
 periments wantonly tried upon them and their cause, 
 will only provoke the Lord to show himself strong in 
 their behalf, and to let the philosophizing intruders 
 know that he who toucheth them toucheth the apple 
 of His eye. 
 
 On Monday we must return to Derry, as the steamer 
 starts by nine o'clock on Tuesday morning. I shall 
 leave Donegal,, more than ever impressed with the con- 
 viction that on the heads of bygone generations of 
 British Protestants must rest a heavy share of respon- 
 sibility, as regards the present state of Ireland. By 
 British Protestants I mean those of both countries. 
 England is fearfully guilty, in that, while holding the 
 patronage of the Irish Church, she has sent into this 
 country a succession of men to bear the high office of 
 spiritual pastors, who, with a few bright exceptions, 
 thought of the fleece and the fat, and of nothing more. 
 Ireland, on the part of her Protestants, is guilty, in that 
 they have actually looked upon the miseries of her 
 
COUNTY DONEGAL. 325 
 
 priest-ridden race, without anything that could be 
 called a real effort to break the yoke of bondage from 
 off their necks. The time for making this effort was 
 after the establishment of William on the throne ; but 
 perhaps it was too much to expect that, while yet 
 smarting from the wounds of their bigoted persecutors, 
 the rescued party should at once become their volun- 
 tary teachers. The following age presented no such, 
 barrier: Popery was strictly curbed by severe penal 
 laws in its external manifestation, but the poison was 
 allowed to work within. Bedell, Boyle, and Usher 
 had no successors in the spiritual, neither had that dis- 
 interested patriot, James, Duke of Ormonde, in the po- 
 litical world of poor Ireland. 
 
 It is unavailing as afflicting to trace the progress of 
 fatal mismanagement during prosperous times, issuing 
 as it did in the sanguinary burst of 1798. The Union 
 placed our country in a position of far greater power 
 to confer good, while its accompanying concessions 
 invested the enemy with more abundant opportunities 
 of working evil. Coercion was found to be unavail- 
 ing ; conciliation was then resorted to, and helped 
 forward the mischief j until, instead of bringing f,ur 
 fellow-subjects, by God's appointed means, to a parti- 
 cipation in the blessings of Christianity, we have flang 
 our own national faith as a sop to the fierce Cerberus 
 of the triple crown, only to learn how speedily his ca- 
 pacious jaws could ingulph the gift, and then renew his 
 stunning yell for more. It ill becomes us to recrimi- 
 nate, where all parties are so deeply guilty concerning 
 our brethren ; one path is yet open to us, and that is 
 one which has never been totally closed. Prejudices 
 that stood not in the way of learning to cluck with the 
 
 OS 
 
326 LETTER XIII. 
 
 Hottentot, though they could not abide the barbarous 
 sound of the finest language in the world, daily spok- 
 en in our London streets, and prevalent among three 
 millions of our nearest neighbors, — these prejudices 
 have now been put out of countenance; so that Chris- 
 tian men are at last content to yield the point of oblig- 
 ing a native Irishman to study our grammar before 
 they inform him that Jesus Christ came into the world 
 to save sinners. Yet the obligation is not fully recog- 
 nized : the ministers of this Church do not generally 
 look upon the Romish peasantry as the lost sheen 
 whom it is their duty to seek and to bring back ; and 
 too many of the Protestant laity allow themselves to 
 be hindered in the exercise of an imperative duty, that 
 of rendering their influential position, as to the tem- 
 poral circumstances of the natives, available for their 
 spiritual advantage. We wonder and complain that 
 the Ethiopian does not change his skin : some talk of 
 boring a hole through the island, and keeping it under 
 water for a day or two; others of exporting the whole 
 native race, and re-peopling the land with a different 
 breed ; others, again, are disposed only to confine them 
 to Connaught, with a menace of driving them into the 
 sea on the first provocation: but, alas, how few apply 
 themselves to preparing the bonds of love wherewith 
 to draw this forlorn, this perverted people back to 
 God! 
 
 In fact, the Creator of the world is entirely left out 
 of the various schemes for bettering a country that he 
 has made so rich and so lovely : how to render it a 
 tractable appendage to our own imperial isle, is the 
 grand question : how to make it the kingdom of our 
 God and of his Christ, is another, and it would seem 
 
COUNTY DONEGAL. 327 
 
 a wholly irrelevant matter. ' Establish Popery as the 
 state religion,' says one ; ' Give them useful know- 
 ledge, without any religion at all,' quoth another ; ' Ad- 
 minister the tee-total pledge,' suggests a third ; while 
 a small section, amid the smiles of pity and jeers of 
 scorn that such a proposal must elicit, soberly say, 
 4 Christianize them.' And to this it must come, or a 
 besom of destruction will sweep the land, directed by 
 Him who will not always be insultingly overlooked by 
 his rebellious creatures. The servant who, througrh 
 blameable ignorance, knew not his Lord's will, shall 
 then be beaten with stripes; but what a scourge of 
 briars will be prepared for the back of those, who, un- 
 avoidably knowing their Lord's will, which they can- 
 not help hearing in their houses of worship, through 
 pride, through prejudice, through indolence or unbe- 
 lief, refused to do it 
 
LETTER XIV. 
 
 CONCLUSION 
 
 At Sea, August, 
 Like a pleasant dream, my summer tour is ended, and 
 dear Ireland, with all her touching associations, lies 
 many a long mile to the west. I could not write 
 before starting, and now the resource is welcome. 
 We were brought to Derry by our considerate friends, 
 in the family travelling carriage, after bidding a reluc- 
 tant farewell to their sweet retreat, and its magnifi- 
 cent neighborhood. I preferred the coach-box, not 
 only for the parting view of Swilly and his glorious 
 mountain hosts, but for the first a'nd best sight of 
 Derry and the Foyle. Both were afforded me, under 
 a splendid sky; and with a bounding heart I found 
 myself once more within the walls; and almost imme- 
 diately afterwards perched on the top of the steeple. 
 
 In my former letter I neglected to mention Wal- 
 ker's testimonial ; it is a noble column, and the statue 
 is very line ; but not being part and parcel of the bond 
 JiJe antiquities, it attracted less of my notice than 
 was justly due. The Chapel of Ease I ought likewise 
 to have mentioned ; and to have rescued Derry from 
 an unjust stigma which Inglis, through some miscon- 
 ception, left to rest on her population. He says there 
 
CONCLUSION. 329 
 
 is no reading-room, or public library ■ there are three; 
 and one of them is of great extent, arranged in a 
 handsome building very near Brown's Hotel. Corpo- 
 ration Hall, which occupies the site of the old Guard' 
 house, in the centre of the Diamond, is a noble room, 
 commanding a full view of Lough Foyle, and contain- 
 ing a painting of the town just as it was in 168S — an 
 article that I found it difficult not to covet. 
 
 The evening was lovely ; and so late as between ten 
 and eleven o'clock we all indulged ourselves with a 
 stroll round the ramparts, which we twice encircled 
 without meeting a human bemsf, save two lads who 
 appeared to belong to the shipping. I have already 
 described the relative position of the cathedral, where 
 an iron railing alone separates the grave-yard from 
 the south-eastern corner of the ramparts; against this 
 railing I stood for a long while, until the scene was so 
 impressed on my mind that it cannot be obliterated 
 " while memory holds her seat." There, in the pure 
 light of as brilliant a full moon as ever shone upon 
 it, stood the modest, but noble pile. The building 
 has no transepts ; it consists of two parts only, the 
 plain body of the church, and its spire-crowned 
 steeple : still there is something about it strikingly 
 unique, even if you could separate it from the thril- 
 ling recollections that I should be sorry for one 
 moment to banish. Not only the chaste outline, in 
 fine relief against the sky, but every turn of the archi- 
 tecture, every minutiae of the finishing was distinctly 
 seen ; save where about eight feet of the base lay hid 
 behind the mound formed by unnumbered accessions 
 of that which once lived, and moved, labored and 
 endured, until the spirit departed and dust returned to 
 28* 
 
330 LETTER. XIV. 
 
 dust. Here the moonbeam fell slantingly on the 
 unequal mantle of long rank grass, revealing the few 
 solitary wild-flowers that, heavy with dews of night, 
 drooped their closed petals, as though in melancholy 
 contemplation of what rested beneath. 
 
 And what was it that reposed beneath 1 The poor 
 remains of manly, and lovely, and infantine forms, 
 many rent by mortal wounds, hundreds wasted to 
 death by famine, thousands swept away by pestilence 
 originating in hunger, drought, terror, and the dread- 
 fuHy crowded state of that diminutive town during 
 the burning heat of summer. Mingled with their 
 dust, were grape-shot, cannon balls, and the fragments 
 of those destructive bombs which frequently buried 
 themselves among their victims. By day the scene 
 had been powerfully exciting ; but under that soft, 
 pensive light, it struck a different chord ; and I could 
 have wept over it while a tear remained for me to 
 shed. " Have ye suffered so much in vain 1" was the 
 interrogatory that apostrophized the unconscious mass 
 of mortality ; and then I looked towards Innishowen, 
 so peacefully slumbering in the mellow light, and 
 thought how the native population, deep in the defiles 
 of that wild region, were still sitting in darkness and 
 the shadow of death, at the distance of a century and 
 a half from the achievement of these devoted beings ? 
 which placed Ireland altogether under Protestant 
 ascendency. Close behind, and encircling our left, 
 was the high rugged wall, with its broken watch- 
 tower, port-holes, and unequal outline : while a little 
 to the right a bastion spread its angles, and opened a 
 view to the rising grounds whence a destructive bom- 
 bardment was constantly directed across the river 
 
CONCLUSION, 331 
 
 [f the stillness of a summer night, shedding the pale 
 moonbeams on its surface, can impart such an interest 
 as we know it does to a grey ruin remarkable only for 
 its picturesque effect, what, think you, must it have 
 appeared, when the objects thus illumined, shadowed, 
 and hushed into solemn stillness, were the old barrier 
 walls of Derry, her venerable church, and the graves 
 of her slain — the romantic mountains of Inishowen, 
 and the swelling waters of Lough Foyle ! Envy me 
 what I then enjoyed, but pity me that I enjoy it no 
 longer. The moonlight now, after the lapse of four- 
 and-twenty hours, strikes on the foam around me, 
 showing by the rapidity of its sweep how fast we re- 
 cede from that western isle, which ought to be, and 
 which might be the most precious jewel in England's 
 crown, instead of proving as it does the sharpest 
 thorn in her side. 
 
 Once again, before our friends were stirring, W. 
 and I hastily encircled, the ramparts, and traversed the 
 streets of Derry ; and shortly afterwards I had disen- 
 gaged my foot from the shore with a more painful, 
 though unseen, effort than it would require to separate 
 a mass of iron from the magnet. If one of the neat- 
 est, most commodious vessels that ever breasted the 
 sea, and one of the most courteous, gentlemanly, con- 
 siderate commanders imaginable, could reconcile me 
 to the parting, I might have left Ireland in the Robert 
 Napier, without a pang; but neither this nor a casual 
 meeting with most agreeable society, could do it. 
 We were speedily at large in the Foyle, and from that 
 memorable spot where the Mountjoy broke the boom 
 I looked upon the city, striving to realize Captain 
 Bowring's emotions, when that sight inspired hirr with 
 
332 LETTER XIV. 
 
 resolution for so daring a blow. It was no marvel, 
 for Derry on her hill is most conspicuous, notwith- 
 standing the mass of additions that almost hide the 
 ancient boundary, and as Bowring's family were there 
 I could comprehend his feelings. He succeeded, and 
 fell at the same moment. 
 
 A little beyond, we overtook and passed the St. 
 Columb, a small steamer bound for Glasgow, so 
 densely crowded with passengers that her bulwarks 
 were fringed by their legs hanging over the sides. 
 These were all poor Irishmen going to seek a pre- 
 carious employment in the harvest fields, to earn the 
 rent of their miserable cabin, and the dues of their 
 grasping priest. What a monstrous anomaly, that the 
 labouring class of Ireland should thus be compelled to 
 migrate for a few weeks' employ while her rich bog- 
 lands are unreclaimed, her fine soil half cultivated, 
 and her abundant mines almost altogether unworked ! 
 Certainly the spirit of blindness is poured out upon our 
 rulers ; and is leading all classes equally or at least 
 similarly astray. 
 
 The ancient fort of Culmore, so famous in the 
 siege, stands on a commanding point of land \ and 
 beyond it the Lough widens into a magnificent 
 expanse, again contracting ere it meets the sea. 
 Hitherto the scenery had been of the more cultivated 
 and polished description, presenting a succession of 
 elegant seats and villas ; but now we were to survey 
 the far-famed coast of Antrim, the fine weather allow- 
 ing us to keep close under it. Some of our com- 
 panions being bound for the Giant's Causeway, we 
 "were sure of seeing that extraordinary place. Bearing 
 away to the west of Lough Foyle were the sublime 
 
 
CONCLUSION. 333 
 
 headlands of Donegal, abrupt perpendicular cliffs and 
 mountain projections, the height of which would h ve 
 astonished me had I not lately looked down upon them 
 from Muc.kish. As we rounded the eastern shore, 
 every mile brought an increase of sublimity. Indeed 
 I know not where so many remarkable objects can be 
 found within a similar space. We passed Port 
 Stewart, an exceeding!}' pretty town, romantically 
 situated on the brink of the sea ; and soon found our- 
 selves abreast of the black ruins of Dunluce Castle, 
 occupying a high detached crag, accessible only by a 
 sort of bridge thrown from another rock of equal 
 height. The ruins are very extensive, but not lofty; 
 their effect resulting principally from the singular site, 
 rising as it does immediately from the sea. The 
 Causeway then appeared, and amply fulfilled my 
 expectations, which is not always the case. Never 
 did 1 behold such an accumulation of the grand, the 
 graceful, and the fantastic, as the ever-varying outline 
 which those fluted cliffs presented. Sometimes you 
 might trace a human countenance in a profile of one 
 or two hundred feet; here a gigantic organ, there a 
 gallery, then a stack of chimneys; while advancing 
 from the main land into the sea, fragments of every 
 possible shape, all bearing the same singular char- 
 acter, seemed sporting among the playful waves. I 
 would not have exchanged that passing sea-view for a 
 day's excursion among its inland wonders. Carrick- 
 a-rede next engaged our attention, a huge mass of 
 basaltic rock separated from the coast, and used 
 during the season by those employed in the salmon 
 fishery. It is singular, not only from its extremely 
 picturesque aspect, appearing as though rent away by 
 
33<i LETTER XIV. 
 
 some mighty force and flung into the sea, but more so 
 on account of the slight bridge of rope fearlessly 
 thrown, and vibrating in the breeze at a height of 
 eighty feet above the water. The chasm which it 
 crosses is sixty feet in width ; and along this perilous 
 path a fisherman will tread with a hundred weight of 
 salmon on his back. 
 
 Unhappily I lost the grandest of ail these noble fea- 
 tures on the Antrim coast, for we passed Fair Head 
 while in the cabin at dinner ; and I was not aware of 
 it until too late. Subsequently our course lay directly 
 away from the land, and I had, as I thought^ taken a 
 last look of the narrow dark line skirting the north- 
 western horizon, when suddenly an apparition rose, 
 the very first glimpses of which extorted the exclama 
 tion from my lips — " The Mourne Mountains !" It 
 was indeed that mighty chain$ with Slieve Donard 
 towering high above his fellows. So distinct was the 
 outline, that I could fix my eye upon the precise spot 
 where Tollymore Park lies ; and hour after hour did I 
 gaze on it, until I knew that the neighbors were col- 
 lecting and the family prepared at the beat of the great 
 drum, which suspended beneath the banners served as 
 a gong, to meet them in the dear chapel. All the ex- 
 cited feelings of the day seemed then to find vent in 
 the tears that flowed, while in heart I joined their eve- 
 ning devotions. 
 
 We were upwards of fifty miles distant by the cap- 
 tain's reckoning, who said I might have made that 
 voyage a hundred times without obtaining such a view 
 of the Mourne hills. It was ten o'clock before we 
 lost their magnificent outline, and even then not dis- 
 tance but insufficient light excluded them. A brilliant 
 
CONCLUSION. 335 
 
 beacon fflimmerino; in the horizon still marked the en- 
 trance of Belfast Lough, while the moon broadly rested 
 on the opposite coast of Scotland. At one time, be- 
 fore sunset, Slieve Donard and Ailsa crag appeared 
 equidistant, and of similar height 5 but the latter was 
 much nearer. Repeatedly I was summoned on deck 
 by the kind captain, who declares that he never re- 
 members such a nioht at sea. The moon han^s beneath 
 a canopy of the deepest blue ; so invitingly brilliant 
 that he prepared a powerful glass to gratify me with 
 a telescopic view of that orb, infinitely surpassing any 
 that can be gained on land. Returning to the cabin I 
 was again hastily on called deck to witness a beautiful 
 but tantalizing sight. The Isabella Napier was pro- 
 ceeding home, scarcely discernible in the dim distance. 
 These two elegant packets start at the same time, the 
 Robert from Derry and the Isabella from Liverpool 
 every Tuesday ; and vice versa, on the Friday. We 
 were now about to salute ; and this was done by each 
 ship at some interval first throwing up a large rocket, 
 which cleft the dark clear sky with splendid effect ; 
 then burning a blue light over her side. The result 
 of all these fires gleaming over such a sea was incon- 
 ceivably lovely. I have passed many weeks upon the 
 ocean but never witnessed anything to compare with 
 it. The revolving light-houses were also new to me : 
 they are so colored as to throw across the waves alter- 
 nate tints of blue, crimson, deep yellow, and pure 
 white, each continuing for the space of a minute or 
 two. By this time we were off the Isle of Man, but 
 every local link with Ireland seemed severed when the 
 packet had passed on her way; and I descended to 
 my solitary cabin, being the only female passenger, 
 
335 LETTER XIV. 
 
 not to sleep, but to muse over the remembrance of 
 these eight delightful weeks, and to sum up the result 
 of my observations. 
 
 It is soon told : Ireland as she is, must continue to 
 be a tormenting enigma, baffling the utmost skill of 
 worldly men, and paining the hearts of those who 
 look beyond the passing pageant of time. Ireland as 
 she ought to be, would prove to us a tower of strength, 
 a mine of wealth, and a crown oi" beauty. Bring to 
 bear upon her but a reasonable share of English enter- 
 prise, directed by Christian wisdom, and supported by 
 characteristic liberality, and never did the most fertile 
 field give such promise of repaying an hundred-fold the 
 culture bestowed on it, as she does. I appeal to facts: 
 I recur to the estates of Lord Roden and Lord Man- 
 deville, which I have carefully examined, and to those 
 of Lords Farnham and Lorton, which lay out of my 
 track. Exceptions to the success of their plans do 
 emphatically prove the rule ; because those exceptions 
 can always be traced to the influence of Popery, fos- 
 tered as it is by the legislature, beyond their power to 
 repress it. Ireland is not like a field that has merely 
 lain fallow, and thrown up weeds ; it is like one that has 
 been perverted from its original use, and built upon, 
 and encrusted with stones and gravel. We have a 
 great work to do ; to pull down these buildings, to 
 cast out this rubbish, and by a persevering process to 
 overcome obstacles that must be surmounted, if we 
 would have our fruitful field again to plant vineyards 
 upon, instead of having our eyes offended, and our 
 whole estate poisoned by the mass of pest-houses sur- 
 reptitiously erected. That the thins: is practicable, is 
 certain, for this reason, that it is a plain positive duty f 
 
CONCLUSION, 337 
 
 and as such, both incumbent onus, and sure of receiv- 
 ing a blessing from on high in its honest performance. 
 But if this will not be, if we are too cowardly, too nig- 
 gardly, too unfaithful and unbelieving to choose the 
 right path, these things must goon from bad to worse : 
 nothing is stationary : nobody is neutral. Bind the 
 victim hand and foot, and fling her yet more hopeless- 
 ly into the iron furnace of Rome : deal blow upon 
 blow at the Protestant church, and heap insult upon 
 insult on the Protestant people : banish the Bible from 
 every school, or mutilate according to the most ap- 
 proved Popish and Socinian patterns j leave the native 
 tongue of the most untamed millions amonsr the abo- 
 rigines, to be used by the Romish priesthood as an 
 unfailino" instrument for exciting them to sedition and 
 sanguinary outrage ; do all this, and as much more 
 as you please, under the false colors of liberalism, 
 and the falser cant of " useful knowledge." The 
 result is soon told : you sow the wind, and shall reap 
 the whirlwind. 
 
 Poor Ireland ! who can look upon the loveliness of 
 her scenery — lovely always, even when it assumes so 
 much of the savageness of rude sublimity, as I have 
 vainly attempted to sketch in Donegal — and not de- 
 sire to see it smiling in prosperity, as even in desola- 
 tion it cannot help doing 1 Who can trace the ardent 
 devotion, the fervent attachment, the unhesitating 
 obedience of her native race to that which they erro- 
 neously esteem the truth, their dauntless courage in 
 its defence, and their unwavering fidelity to its inter- 
 ests, without feeling that such a people, illumined by 
 the beams of the everlasting gospel, would indeed 
 shed forth a brilliant light upon surrounding lands ? 
 29 
 
338 LETTER XIV. 
 
 Who can contemplate the spectacle of her Christian 
 clergy, maintaining their arduous post against every 
 discouragement in the midst of persecution, affliction, 
 and distress ; of a Protestant community, continuing 
 stedfast in loyalty under all the varied trials of cen- 
 turies past, and still holding the land for those who 
 give them neither thanks nor support, without the 
 strongest emotions of sympathy, admiration, and 
 respect 1 My heart is too full of these things to part 
 from the country without a pang of unaffected sorrow, 
 deepened by a sense of the kindness, the affectionate 
 kindness that has bound me more strongly than ever 
 to the green isle. These are my parting thoughts, as 
 they occurred on the deck of the Robert Napier. 
 
 5 Tis past, like vision faded — the mountain swells between, 
 
 To shroud thee from my lingering gaze, unconquered maiden 
 
 queen ; 
 The eastern point is rounded of thy Foyle's retiring bay, 
 And Inishowen's giant troop in distance melt away. 
 Wild rocks with crumbling turrets topped are frowning dark and 
 
 high, 
 The headlands bold and beautiful successively sweep by, 
 And onward ploughs our gallant boat, too swiftly through the 
 
 main — 
 Oh when shall I revisit thee, mine own green isle, again ! 
 
 I go where Albion, proudly rich, majestically leads 
 
 Tall lines of waving trees around her broad and fertile meads, 
 
 To see the glory and the wealth, the splendor and increase 
 
 Of ' cities that with commerce shine,' of hamlets robed in peace. 
 
 Not such, thou torn and wearied one, alas ! not such art thou; 
 
 Pain, poverty and shame have pressed their signet on thy brow : 
 
 Yet dearer to my bosom far than Albion's gayest smile, 
 
 Is the saddest sigh that breathes from thee, my own loved isle. 
 
CONCLUSION. 339 
 
 "When shall the joy again be mine to labor up the steep, 
 And from thy mountain's ragged crest look forth upon the deep : 
 Or inland turning number o'er full many a fairy lou^h, 
 Each gleaming from its dark recess, a diamond in the rock ; 
 Tyrconnefs wilderness of crags spread broad beneath mine eye, 
 Rude spire and mimic battlement fantastic piled on high, 
 And the tall ridge that sternly smiles in purple heather drest; 
 And woos a thousand rock-born flowers to sparkle on its breast. 
 
 While o'er the glen the plumy flax waves wild in lightsome grace, 
 And the coy streamlet half revealed pursues its playful race, 
 And Swilly with his hundred arms roams idly on the shore, 
 And Foyle his song o' the olden time still murmurs by Culmore. 
 For he hath rolled his guardian wave round the grey rampart stone. 
 And laved the honored feet of the maiden on her throne : 
 Oh when shall I again kneel down in Derry's hallowed pile, 
 That glory of thy thousand hi!ls, my own bright isle ! 
 
 The summer eve is closing — no more my tearful eye 
 
 Can trace the line of thy dear shore beneath the western sky ; 
 
 Save where the mighty scalps of Mourne in towering grandeur 
 
 swell, 
 And Donard smiles across the wave a tender kind farewell, 
 And let the waves bring back to thee, as peacefully they roll, 
 The fondest greeting of my lip, the blessing of my soul. 
 I cannot stay the rapid keel that bears me on the while, 
 It does not bear my heart from thee, my own sweet isle. 
 
 The moon walks forth in splendor now, and brightly o'er the deep, 
 Rays of revolving beacon-fires in changeful beauty sweep. 
 And yonder comes the home-bound ship, I see her signal light, 
 Oh for that rocket's spring, to bound athwart the brow of night. 
 Right joyously I'd cleave the air, with her retrace my way, 
 And laugh to greet the laughing morn, on Antrim's headlands 
 
 grey, 
 And nerve my very eye to brook the blaze of solar fire, 
 Might but that glory flash on me from Derry's sunlit spire. 
 
34-0 LETTER XIV. 
 
 Ah, vain as fond, I shall not find beneath to-morrow's ray, 
 Aught half so radiant as the looks that shone on me to-day. 
 Through hours of toilsome weariness, long tedious hours and lone, 
 I'll turn to the remembered light that cheered me and is gone. 
 Light of the hearts that love me well, beamed from the speaking 
 
 eye, 
 Alike in welcome's glowing smile, and mid the parting sigh. 
 But mule be the repining thought, and hushed the bosom's swell. 
 My own loved isle, my Inisfail, vein of my heart, farewell ! 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 A. Page 45. 
 
 The subsequent publication of minutes of evidence 
 before the Committees of the House of Lords on the 
 subject of this national system of education has spared 
 me the task of adducing proofs from private informa* 
 tion which are there brought forward on oath. Who- 
 soever will take the trouble of even cursorily perusing 
 those two folios, must rise from them with a convic- 
 tion on his mind that the charges — I. of mutilated un- 
 faithful extracts — II. of the suppression as far as pos- 
 sible even of these — III. of the substitution of most 
 debasingly superstitious and indecent publications — 
 and IV. of the scandalous characters retained in the 
 capacity of masters, are all substantiated. To save 
 any sceptical reader the trouble of searching them 
 out, by giving references under these various heads, 
 for charge I. see the evidence of the Rev. C. Boynton, 
 page 1265 to 1268, that of the Dean of Ardagh, page 
 843 — 5 ; for charge II. that of the Rev. A. B. Rowan, 
 page 813 ; for charge III. that of the Rev. L. H. Ro- 
 binson, p. 1135 — 95, and that of the Rev. G. Dwyer, 
 page 1215 — 7 ; and for charge IV. as a single instance, 
 to the case of O'Donnell, detailed from page 3S2 to 
 418. Mr. Colquhoun's work also, "The System of 
 National Education in Ireland ; its principle and 
 practice," contains many startling - facts. 
 29* 
 
34f2 APPENDIX 
 
 B, Page 52. 
 
 The Rev. L. J. Nolan has recently published a 
 pamphlet which lays open this scene of horror — the 
 frightful slavery of the Romish priesthood themselves 
 to the system which they are sworn to uphold —in a 
 manner calculated to rouse every compassionate feel- 
 ing of the human heart on their behalf. He relates 
 from his own experience two cases, in one of which 
 an inoffensive man was marked for death, and he, 
 though apprised of it in the confessional by the in- 
 tended assassin, was withheld by those bonds of dark- 
 ness from taking any step whatever to avert the crime, 
 or to warn the victim, who was accordingly mur- 
 dered. The other was a yet more awfully revolting 
 case of premeditated parricide, also accomplished. 
 Not only is the woman of the Apocalyse herself 
 drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the 
 blood of the martyrs of Jesus," she makes those who 
 willingly wear her chains also drunk "with the wine 
 of the wrath of her fornication/' 
 
 C. Page 64. 
 
 It cannot surely be denounced as uncharitable for 
 one party to allu'de to what the other is continually 
 harping on : and I should feel less scruple in so doing 
 at the present time than in July, 1837, when it suited 
 the purpose of the arch-agitator to assume an aspect 
 of joyous contentment on the accession of our young 
 Queen ; and to talk as though halcyon days of peace 
 were in store for his oppressed country. I trust in 
 God they are : but not by means of O'Connell's devis- 
 ing or desiring. The continual defeat of his goodly 
 
APPENDIX. 343 
 
 plans for overthrowing the Protestant ehurch and quiet- 
 ly re-establishing Popery on her usurped throne in. 
 Ireland, insures a constant repetition of his kind an- 
 nouncements respecting the rebellion with which he 
 seeks to frighten us into greater concessions. Mr. 
 O'Connell deprecates nothing more than such an event ; 
 he finds it profitable fishing while the waters are mode- 
 rately troubled ; but let an actual storm come, and he 
 will gladly retreat with his tackle into some sheltering 
 nook. Many a true word, however, as the old adage 
 declares, is spoken in jest : and Mr. O'Connell may 
 find his manufactory of squibs a terrible subject for 
 the sparks that he flings about at random. A third 
 party uses him as a tool to ignite the fiery spirit whom 
 they, not he, desire to see in the destructive attitude 
 of 1798; and his vaporing menaces in the British se- 
 nate tell with dreadful effect on those whose mouth- 
 piece he pretends to be, while seeking only the accom- 
 plishment of his own sordid ends. It is not from the 
 blusterings of Derrynane, but from the subtle craft and 
 sterling gold of Italy that real danger is to be appre- 
 hended ; though the former is made subservient to 
 nasten the work to which the latter are applied. It is 
 well to know from what quarter the danger really 
 comes : Mr. O'Connell can no more retard the mis- 
 chief than he can arrest a thunderbolt. He speaks 
 truth, when he tells of plots and meditated insurrec- 
 tions ; but his words are idle, worse than idle breath, 
 when he would represent them as capable of being 
 averted by conceding ' Repeal,' or anything else, 
 however abject the concession may be, so long as a 
 Protestant breathes unmolested the air of Ireland, 
 The union existed not in 1798 : can any rational being 
 hesitate in drawing the inference % In fact it would 
 seriously embarrass the plans of these men to lose the 
 present co-operation of the governm^pt, and to be 
 obliged to meet the oppressed Protestants on equal 
 ground 
 
344 APPENDIX. 
 
 Let the records of the former rebellion, as recorded 
 byMusgrave, once more become the study of English 
 Protestants. It was the event, comparatively, of a 
 former generation. Why should we refuse to profit 
 by the lesson it conveys ? 
 
 D. Page 96. 
 
 A few persons may yet be found hardy enough to 
 question this fact. To them may be recommended a 
 valuable little book entitled, ' Primitive Christianity in 
 Ireland : A Letter to Thomas Moore, Esq.' By Dr. 
 Monck Mason. The Irish, even to the very hum- 
 blest class, are passionately fond of antiquity, and 
 pride themselves on an acquaintance with it, so far as 
 regards their own race and country. It is therefore 
 of importance to the cause of Popery that they should 
 be possessed with the belief of its having, from the first 
 introduction of Christianity, borne sway in Ireland; 
 and he who should succeed in persuading a poor Irish- 
 man that St. Patrick was not a Romanist would break 
 the strongest link in his chain. No one, who desires 
 to promote the welfare of the people, should continue 
 io-norant on these points. They hold with most cling- 
 ino- tenacity what they believe to have been ' the faith 
 of their fathers ;' and if we believe it too, we are utterly 
 unfit to enter the field against their darling delusions. 
 What can be more touchingly encouraging to those 
 who seek the salvation of the native race than to know 
 that they are, generally, the descendants of true be- 
 lievers — members, at least, of a true scripturaL Church, 
 planted in the apostolic age — and that our work is not 
 to rear a new edifice, but to build up one which has 
 been thrustMown by the iron hand of Popery ; not to 
 kindle a light where none has yet dawned, but to unco- 
 ver a lamp that her devices have prevailed to hide. 
 
APPENDIX. 345 
 
 The subject is not a speculative one ; it is deeply and 
 valuably practical. 
 
 E. Page 97. 
 
 Here is the infamous document of that unprincipled 
 pontiff". He was an Englishman, formerly abbot of 
 Lan^ley, in Hertfordshire. I have slept under the very 
 roof where the cells of his monks are still preserved ; 
 and mourned to think that my countrymen — pope, 
 king, and nobles — should have combined to lay these 
 fetters of darkness on poor innocent Ireland. It be- 
 hoves us the more to put forth every energy now in 
 breaking the accursed bonds. 
 
 ( Adrian, Bishop, servant of the servants of God, to 
 his dearest son in Christ, the illustrious kingf of En&- 
 land, greeting, and apostolic benediction. 
 
 4 Full laudably and profitably hath your magnificence 
 conceived the design of propagating your g-lorious 
 renown on earth, and completing your reward of eter- 
 nal happiness in heaven ; while, as a Catholic prince, 
 you are intent on enlarging the borders of the Church, 
 teaching the truth of the Christian faith to the igno- 
 rant and rude, exterminating; the roots of vice from 
 the field of the Lord, and for the more convenient 
 execution of this purpose requiring the counsel and 
 favor of the apostolh? see. In which, the matur'er your 
 deliberation and the greater the discretion of your 
 procedure, by $o much the happier, we trust, will be 
 your progress, with the assistance of the Lord; as all 
 things are used to come to a prosperous end and issue, 
 which take their beorinninsf from the odor of faith and 
 the love of religion. 
 
 ' There is, indeed, no doubt but that Ireland, and all 
 the islands on which Christ the sun of righteousness 
 hath shone, and which have received the doctrines of 
 the Christian faith, do belong to tlifi jurisdiction of St, 
 
34-6 APPENEIX. 
 
 Peter, and of the holy Roman Church, as your excel- 
 lency also doth acknowledge. And therefore we are 
 the more solicitous to propagate the righteous planta- 
 tion of faith, and the branch acceptable to God, as we 
 have the secret conviction of conscience that this is 
 more especially our bounden duty. 
 
 'You then, most dear son : in Christ, have signified 
 to us your desire to enter into the island of Ireland, in 
 order to reduce the people to obedience unto laws, 
 and to extirpate the plants of vice ; and that you are 
 willing to pay from each house a yearly pension of one 
 penny to St. Peter, and that you will preserve the 
 rights of the churches of the land whole and inviolate. 
 We therefore, with that grace and acceptance suited 
 to your pious and laudable design, and favorably assent- 
 ing to your petition, do hold it good and acceptable, 
 that, for extending the borders of the Church, restrain- 
 ing the progress of vice, for the correction of man- 
 ners, the planting of virtue, and the increase of reli- 
 gion, you enter this island and execute therein what- 
 ever shall pertain to the honor of God, and welfare of 
 the land j and that the people of this land receive you 
 honorably, and reverence you as their lord ; the rights 
 of their churches still remaining sacred and inviolate, 
 and saving to St. Peter the annual pension of one pen- 
 ny from every house. 
 
 " If then you be resolved to carry the design you 
 have conceived into effectual execution, study to form 
 this nation to virtuous manners ; and labor by your- 
 self, and others whom you shall judge meet for this 
 work, in faith, word, and life, that the church may be 
 
 there adorned, that the religion of the Christian faith 
 
 -I 
 may be planted and grow up, and that all things per- 
 taining to the honor of God, and the salvation of 
 souls, be so ordered, that you may be entitled to the 
 fulness of eternal reward from God, and obtain a glo- 
 rious renown on earth throughout all ages." 
 
 This atrocious Bull was accompanied with the gift 
 
APPENDIX. 34»7 
 
 of a ring, by way of investiture as Lord of Ireland ; 
 and that the king too faithfully executed his commis- 
 sion we have, alas! seven centuries of blood-stained 
 evidence to prove. It is well to bear these things in 
 mind; and to be enabled also to convince others that, 
 view it how we will, England owes to Ireland a mighty 
 debt of justice, which ought to burden her conscience 
 no longer. 
 
 E. Page 167. 
 
 This is one of the most serious charges brought 
 against the National Schools ; an excuse may be found, 
 or fancied, for the "pious frauds" by which monks 
 and nuns contrive to strengthen the children in what 
 they conceive to be the true faith, by surreptitiously 
 introducing their books on divinity ; but that works 
 of a politically seditious character, and others calcu- 
 lated to corrupt the morals of the poor little pupils, 
 should be found in permitted use, defies the utmost 
 stretch of liberalism to furnish even a palliation of the 
 sin. At Erril school, a copy was actually set in the 
 book, as a heading, which contained a lamentation for 
 four criminals recently hanged at Maryborough, with 
 their names : in another at Cork, a pamphlet was 
 found, the style of which was in the highest degree 
 inflammatory. One passage was, " Let the motto of 
 every county Cork man be, Don't give up the repeal, 
 and we must conquer." This also contained a list of Pro- 
 testant gentry against whom the minds of the people 
 were to be excited. The case of O'Donnell, already 
 referred to, comes fairly under this head. With re- 
 gard to the other point, two books are specified as 
 being given to the children by their ecclesiastical 
 teachers, male and female, of which the language is so 
 gross, that the clergymen and gentlemen examined be- 
 fore the committee of the Lords declined reading it, 
 
348 APPENDIX. 
 
 and begged leave to hand the books in for their 
 Lordships' private examination. Mr. Colquhoun has 
 treated with tremendous effect this part of the sub- 
 ject, in his valuable little volume. 
 
 F. Page Vm 
 
 Two years ago, the Rev. Dr. O'Sullivan published 
 a pamphlet of great importance under the title "Doc- 
 trines of the Church of Rome, and Disorders of Ire- 
 land." He showed by extracts from the printed 
 minutes of Parliamentary Committees, and other 
 documents, the progress of deception and perfidy, 
 already in full march upon us. He also gave the sub- 
 jects as appointed for discussion at the priestly '' con- 
 ferences" of several preceding years ; with the prac- 
 tical comment upon them afforded by succeeding 
 events. The following summary which he gives to- 
 wards the close of the work, is deserving of attention i 
 
 •" 1. In the second, or, perhaps we should call it, the 
 summer conference of 1830, a question respecting the 
 right of the beneficed clergy was proposed. — In the aw- 
 tumn of the same year their claims were systematically 
 resisted. The circumstances of the resistance were 
 very suspicious, but as yet " without blood." 
 
 2. In the concluding, the winter conference of 1830, 
 the priests, who are above law, decided o^ the instruc- 
 tions to be given to men whose profession is military, 
 to judges and jurors. — It became necessary, as we learn 
 from the Parliamentary Committee of the year 1832, 
 in consequence of the harangues delivered by these 
 " absolute" instructors, that a commissioned officer 
 should accompany each party of Roman Catholic sol- 
 diers to their chapels. — As if the people had been en- 
 couraged to hope forbearance from the military, or 
 favor from jurors, they entered upon a course of assas- 
 sination and bloodshed without parallel in our history. 
 
APPENDIX. 349 
 
 —In Clare and in Kilkenny jurors could not be pro- 
 cured to do justice. 
 
 3. In the second conference of 1832, the punish- 
 ments decreed against heretics were the subject of 
 discussion. That year was memorable for — 
 
 1st. The discovery of the ?ieiu constitution of the 
 Whitefeet, and their oath to keep down heresy. 
 
 2d. Frequent and sanguinary assaults upon Protest- 
 ants. 
 
 3d. The signals of the "lighted turf" conveyed at 
 midnight with alarming rapidity to the houses 
 of Roman Catholics throughout all Ireland. 
 
 4th. Extensive emigration of Protestants, caused by 
 incessant persecution and alarms. 
 
 5th. Protestants disguising their faith to obtain an 
 uncertain protection from the priests. 
 
 6th. Romish priests, in their sermons, predicting the 
 speedy destruction of the Protestant religion. 
 
 Such were the signs among and before the people, 
 Vfhen discussions had arisen in the secret conferences 
 as to the punishments decreed against heretics. 
 
 4. In Ib>33, the question, whether clergy are subject 
 to secular laws, was discussed. 
 
 In the year following Dr. M'Hale Vaunted his viola- 
 lion of a statute. 
 
 5. In 1835, questions lespecting title to property 
 were proposed. — In that year resistance to the pay- 
 ment of rents was organised, Mr. O'Connell descanted 
 on the peculiar character of title in Ireland, and priests 
 from the altar, and in public meetings, harangued 
 vehemently to a similar effect. 
 
 It is not rash to affirm, that coincidences so numer- 
 ous and so exact as these, would cause a reflecting 
 man to feel alarm, even though he were able to discern 
 no connecting link between the perilous question and 
 the demonstration of purpose which waited on it. But 
 when a link has been discovered — when it is taken 
 into account, that precisely at the time when Romish 
 30 
 
350 APPENDIX. 
 
 bishops thought England most insecure — when move- 
 ments were progressing abroad, which increased the 
 danger of domestic convulsion — when by the conta- 
 gion of example, Belgian revolt had wrought strongly 
 on the passions of Irish agitators, the intolerant doc- 
 trine of a Belgian professor was declared the guide of 
 the conferences of Irish priests — it cannot be denied 
 that the coincidence is inauspicious ; and, whatever 
 may be the chronology of the secular and the spiritual 
 demonstration — whether Dens called forth Repeal, or 
 Repeal suggested that the days were at hand when 
 Dens would be wanted, — it is impossible not to feel 
 that the politics of Belgium, and its execrable theolo- 
 gy, seen unexpectedly and in conjunction, impart, each 
 to the other, a more menacing character, and cast a 
 malign and threatening light over circumstances which, 
 even when free from their imluence, have been suffi- 
 ciently portentous. 
 
 G. Page 232. 
 
 Nothing could better prove the ludicrously sensi- 
 tive state of certain personages, and their anxious 
 casting: about for a pretence of alarm, than the clamor 
 raised by this little song. It was written by a gentle- 
 man at or near Colerain, in the month of November, 
 previous to the disembodying of the Orangemen ; and 
 of such moment was it considered, that some noble 
 Lord got up in his place, to question Lord Roden as 
 to his connexion with the minstrel who thus " for sor- 
 row sang," or rather with the obnoxious lay of the 
 aforesaid minstrel, with which his Lordship had no 
 more to do than any reader who may peruse these 
 pages. The stanzas possess much beauty and feeling, 
 and I mi^ht give them all here, if I could be guaran- 
 teed against an indictment for misprision of treason. 
 The sentiments at first sight appear too warlike; bat 
 let it be remembered, that they were called forth by 
 
APPENDIX. 351 
 
 the repeated menaces of an open insurrection , while the 
 numbers would be six to one against them, when, 
 surely, the men who instrumentally saved the kingdom 
 in 1798, might be permitted to look towards the very 
 focus of loyal devotion, and to use such expressions 
 as these : — 
 
 The power that nerved the stalwart arms of Gideon's chosen few, 
 The power that led great William, Boyne's red'ning torrent through, 
 t'n his protecting aid confide and every foe defy, 
 Then put your trust in God, my boys, and keep your powder dry. 
 
 Already see the star of hope emit its orient blaze, 
 
 The cheering beacon of relief, it glimmers through the haze; 
 
 It tells of better days to come, it tells of succor nigh, 
 
 Then put your trust in God, my boys, and keep your powder dry. 
 
 See, see along the hills of Down its rising glories spread, 
 But brightest beams its radiance from Bollard's lofty head, 
 ClanbrassiVs vales are kindling wide, and " Roden" is the cry, 
 Then put your trust in God, my boys, and keep your powder dry. 
 
 For happy hours, for altars free, we grasp the ready sword, 
 For freedom, truth, and for our God's unmutilated word, 
 These, these the war-cry of our march, our hope the Lord on high, 
 Then put your trust in God, my boys, and keep your powder dry. 
 
 Whatever those in authority may be led to think by 
 the designing men who mock their credulity, it would 
 be an evil day for themselves, on which they should 
 persuade the Protestants of Ireland to damp their 
 powder. A front of quiet determination, with suffi- 
 cient means at hand to repel an enemy, if called to act 
 on the defensive, is the surest preventive of bloodshed 
 in the absence of that fear of God and respect for the 
 laws which are the only lasting foundations of public 
 tranquillity Rational precaution demands of the Irish 
 loyalists that they keep their powder dry ; and we 
 may hope that through the restraining mercy of Him 
 who loves not to see his people wielding carnal wea- 
 pons in the cause of truth, they will be permitted to 
 keep it cool also. 
 

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BOSTON COLLEGE 
 
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