.*Ca atS4sa* 
 
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 
 
 SJptp Gupitrig^ !f n. 
 
 Shelf. A..1J 
 
 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
OUR TRAVELLING PARTY 
 
 IN 
 
 IRELAND 
 
 HY 
 
 DANIEL C. EDDY. 
 
 r 
 
 ILLUSTRATED. 
 
 
 JW 
 
 BOSTON: 
 D. LOTHROP & COMPANY, 
 
 FRANKLIN ST., CORNER HAWLEY. 
 
COPYRIGHT 
 
 1882, 
 By DANIEL C. EDDY. 
 
 °'CONo REss ' 
 
 PRINTED BY 
 G . W . STIDLET & CO. 
 
 
 ETECTROTYPED AT THE 
 108'1'ON STEREOTYPE FOUNDRY 
 
PREFACE 
 
 f*~ 
 
 This volume commences a series of books for 
 youth, adapted to please, instruct, and benefit. The 
 aim will be to give the youthful reader a clear, accu- 
 rate account of foreign scenes and society. Every 
 effort will be made to make the statements reliable, 
 and the books permanently useful, not merely to the 
 young, but to all persons whose circumstances will 
 not allow them to go abroad. 
 
 The author proposes to follow a travelling party 
 through the principal countries of Europe, into Egypt, 
 Palestine, and Greece. Though the successive vol- 
 umes will be connected in name and style, and will 
 be issued as a serial, a few months intervening be- 
 tween them, each one will be complete in itself. 
 
 These books will be sent out into a field that 
 never can be filled, for the children's department of 
 our literature makes constant demands, and every 
 volume published for young persons only creates a 
 taste that calls for others ; and this series is given 
 to the public with the hope that each successive vol- 
 ume may prove useful, instructive, and entertaining. 
 The next volume, which will soon be issued, will 
 take the traveller through Scotland and England. 
 
 (7) 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAP. PAGE 
 
 I. The Percy Mansion .11 
 
 II. The Atlantic Voyage =,29 
 
 III. Glimpses of Liverpool 53 
 
 IV. A Walk on Chester Walls 77 
 
 V. A Ride through North Wales 101 
 
 VI. Crossing the Channel 112 
 
 VEI. The Irish Capital 119 
 
 VEIL Fancy Trip to Cork US 
 
 IX. Visit to the Lakes of Killarney 176 
 
 X. Maynooth and Drogheda 192 
 
 XI. Glances at Giant's Causeway 206 
 
 XII. Dunluce Castle 218 
 
 XIII. A Day in Belfast 225 
 
 XIV. Farewell to Ireland 239 
 
 (8) 
 
ENGRAVINGS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Golden Cross Abbey <, . . . 2 
 
 The Percy Mansion 10 
 
 Steamer Niagara 47 
 
 "Walter's Time Table 76 
 
 God's Providence House. . . „ 91 
 
 Britannia Bridge 105 
 
 Shandon Steeple 155 
 
 Blarney Castle . 171 
 
 Irish Riding 189 
 
 An Irish Town 197 
 
 Giant's Well and Guide 207 
 
 Giant's Gateway 210 
 
 (9) 
 
THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 Chapter I. 
 
 THE PERCY MANSION. 
 
 IN the beautiful city of Cambridge, near Bos- 
 ton, stands the aristocratic mansion of 
 Peter Percy, Esq., a rich merchant, who has 
 long been engaged in the West India trade, 
 and who has accumulated a vast fortune, by 
 prudence, economy, skill, and sound judgment. 
 The Percy family consists of the father, mother, 
 and three lovely children of the respective ages 
 of eleven, nine, and six. The oldest, Walter, 
 is a thoughtful, sedate, studious boy, who never 
 gave his parents a moment's uneasiness, and who 
 is a patient devotee of books. Intellect is writ- 
 ten on his fair brow, his pale features are 
 stamped with genius, and already he shows the 
 dawnings of that light which will make him a 
 bright example. The second child is Minnie, 
 the antipode of Walter, a mild, beautiful girl, 
 
 (ii) 
 
12 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 whose brown hair falls in wavy ringlets on her 
 shoulders, and. whose sunny smile is the light 
 of the house and the joy of the home circle. 
 Impatient and nervous, she would rather gather 
 buttercups and daisies than pore over books ; 
 healthful and cheerful, she turns every thing 
 upside down, answering the remonstrance of her 
 mother with a merry laugh that is irresistible, 
 and that drives every frown from that look of 
 maternal love. Every body loves Minnie Percy, 
 and she is justly the pride of her parents. 
 Charlie is the youngest, a noble boy,, of good 
 proportions and fair appearance, who has yet 
 to develop himself in order to have his traits of 
 character fully seen. The family, when to- 
 gether, is one of the most happy in the place ; 
 no cloud rests upon their home, which is one 
 of great magnificence. 
 
 Peter Percy himself is a man of intelligence, 
 reading, and business sagacity ; a devout Chris- 
 tian, and a man deeply interested in every good 
 enterprise, and every philanthropic movement, 
 liberal to the poor, just to himself, and grateful 
 to God. 
 
 One evening this merchant returned to his 
 mansion, and, after tea had been served, and the 
 gas lighted, called his family together, and told 
 them that he was about to leave the cares and 
 
THE PERCY MANSION. 13 
 
 anxieties of business for a while, and seek rec- 
 reation and rest in a foreign tour. Walter's 
 large, dreamy eyes were at once fixed on his 
 father's face, and little Minnie clapped her hands 
 for joy. 
 
 tw Will you take me ? " said Walter. 
 
 " I will go," enthusiastically cried Minnie, 
 almost breathless with impetuosity. 
 
 " And me too, pa ! " chimed in Charlie. 
 
 " Stop, children," said Mr. Percy, " and let us 
 talk over this matter. Perhaps mamma will 
 have a word to say about it." 
 
 Mrs. Percy, who had previously been made ac- 
 quainted with her husband's plans, smiled upon 
 her lovely children, as, with one accord, the trio 
 appealed to her. 
 
 " May we go, mamma ? " 
 
 " I cannot spare you all. Who woidd come 
 and kiss mamma in the morning ? " 
 
 " I will stay at home with mamma," said 
 Charlie, half in sorrow. " 1 do not want to go 
 away with papa ; I will stay at home with 
 mamma." 
 
 A kiss was the only answer the mother gave 
 as she touched the brow of her fair child, from 
 which the sunny hair was thrown back. The 
 little fellow looked up as he felt a tear drop on 
 his cheek, and added, — 
 
14 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 " Shall not Charlie have a rocking horse if he 
 stays at home ? " 
 
 The promise having been made that Charlie 
 should have his rocking horse, and that Walter 
 and Minnie should accompany Mr. Percy on his 
 European tour, the evening was spent in making 
 arrangements, and talking over plans for the 
 future, until the time came for sleep, when the 
 whole family, after seeking direction and counsel 
 of God, the great Father, retired to rest. But 
 Walter and Minnie could not sleep much. 
 Their little heads were side by side, and long, in 
 low whispers, did they converse of the things 
 they expected to see on their arrival in Europe ; 
 and it was after midnight when sleep overpow- 
 ered them. 
 
 The sun had scarcely risen the next morn- 
 ing ere the children were all up ; and a more 
 merry family circle one would not desire to see, 
 than that which gathered around Mr. Percy's 
 table that day. The children were happy in the 
 idea of seeing so many different lands, and so 
 many strange scenes. Walter had read of Lon- 
 don and Rome, and Minnie had often heard of 
 Paris, the gay and beautiful metropolis of 
 fashion, and the prospect of seeing those places 
 took away all inclination to study, or even eat. 
 Breakfast being over, the family carriage, a 
 
THE PERCY MANSION. 15 
 
 oo^JOc 
 
 vehicle of more utility than beauty, of more 
 real comfort than elegance of appearance, was 
 brought to the door by the servant, and Mr. 
 Percy, addressing his son, said, — 
 
 " Come, Walter, get ready and we will go into 
 the city and purchase our tickets, and secure our 
 berths for the voyage." 
 
 " What, father, so soon as this ? " 
 
 " Yes, my son ; at this season of the year the 
 steamers are so crowded that passage must be 
 taken several weeks in advance." 
 
 On the way to the city, Mr. Percy explained 
 more fully his plans to his son, and gave him an 
 outline of the route he proposed to take. Wal- 
 ter had studied geography carefully, and had 
 read history somewhat extensively, and was ac- 
 quainted with many of the cities which had been 
 marked down as worthy of a visit, and the con- 
 versation on these places gave evidence that the 
 lad had made much proficiency in his studies, 
 and could appreciate the voyage he was about 
 to make. Many men of means travel, but ac- 
 quire no information, and fail of enlarging their 
 minds, because they are strangers to the histori- 
 cal importance of the places they visit ; and Mr. 
 Percy was well pleased that his son should de- 
 velop so much knowledge of the places of his' 
 toric interest, and sacred to the memory of 
 
16 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 heroes and martyrs. He found that the lad was 
 to be a better travelling companion than somo 
 men of mature years, but of less observation and 
 reading, could possibly be. 
 
 To travel well, a man must be a genius — he 
 must have an aptitude for travelling. Some men 
 may go around the world and never see any 
 thing, or become any wiser for the pains they 
 take to visit distant lands. They have no genius 
 for travelling. They go with their eyes shut, 
 their ears closed, and their hearts sealed. They 
 will ride through an enchanting country, reading 
 some romance, or poring over the last political 
 article in the London Times. They visit cities, 
 but they never get any knowledge of the cus- 
 toms of the people. They are not gifted with 
 the faculty for travelling, and might as well stay 
 at home. 
 
 It was not so with our young hero. He was 
 observant of every thing that passed before him, 
 and before he had secured his passage, he had 
 laid out his plans, and, in imagination, lived over 
 half his journey. 
 
 " Here we are at the booking office," said Mr. 
 Percy, as he reined up his horse in front of a 
 noble edifice on State Street ; and the two went 
 up stairs into the office of the agent, and Mr. 
 Percy inquired of that gentleman, — 
 
THE PERCY MANSION. 17 
 
 " What steamer sails two weeks from to- 
 day?" 
 
 " The Niagara, sir." 
 
 " Who will command her on the passage ? " 
 
 " Captain Wickman, one of the best officers 
 in the service." 
 
 " Is she full ? " 
 
 " Nearly so, but a few state rooms yet remain 
 unengaged." 
 
 " Will you show me the plan ? " 
 
 " Certainly, sir, with the greatest pleasure." 
 
 Mr. Percy looked over the plan, and found 
 that state rooms, with berths, numbered 71 and 
 72, were not taken, and at once engaged them, 
 and having also secured a berth for Minnie, in 
 the state room for ladies, gave his check on the 
 Boylston Bank for the amount. All this time 
 Walter stood looking on, and wondering how 
 large the room could be, and what kind of a 
 berth he should have, and was aroused from his 
 reflections by the question of the agent, — 
 
 " Would you not like to take your son over to 
 the dock at East Boston, and let him see the 
 steamer ? " 
 
 " Well, what say, Walter ? " asked Mr. Percy. 
 
 " 0, by all means, let ns go over," was the 
 reply. 
 
 The agent furnished Mr. Percy with a ticket, 
 vol. J. 2 
 
18 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 and entering the carriage, the father and son 
 drove rapidly to the ferry. The boat was just 
 starting, and they had barely time to get aboard 
 before the bell rang, and the huge, unwieldy float 
 moved out into the channel ; and in a few min- 
 utes a dull, heavy crash announced the arrival 
 at East Boston. Driving to the steamer landing, 
 and showing the ticket to the gate tender, they 
 were allowed to go on deck, and see the vessel 
 which was to bear them across the deep. They 
 found their state room to be a very pleasant one, 
 but in a state of confusion, as the steamer was 
 being cleansed for her trip. The servants, how- 
 ever, were very polite, and the steward asked 
 Mr. Percy if he would not select seats at the 
 table, as it might be too late when he came 
 aboard again. So they went into the magnifi- 
 cent saloon, and found several long tables , and 
 Mr. Percy, turning to his son, said, — 
 
 " Walter, where would you like to sit ? " 
 
 Walter looked along the table, and replied, 
 " I would like to sit near the captain, so that we 
 may have the benefit of his conversation." 
 
 " That," said the steward, pointing to a table 
 near the door, " is the captain's table ; but five 
 seats are already taken there. The next table 
 is not taken." 
 
 So seats were selected at the second table, 
 
THE PERCY MANSION. 19 
 
 and Walter, writing his father's name on one 
 card, and his own on another, handed them 
 to the steward, who said the seats should be 
 reserved. 
 
 After looking about the steamer, going into 
 both cabins, examining the huge engine, — which 
 now was silent and still, like a great dead thing, 
 incapable of motion, — and talking with the offi- 
 cers and men, our friends, whom we have ac- 
 companied to the steamer, took their carriage 
 and leisurely rode back to the city, through 
 Charlcstown, not crossing the ferry as they had 
 done before. They reached the city just as the 
 sun was setting, and stopping for a moment at 
 his counting house, Mr. Percy then drove rapidly 
 to his house in Cambridge. Minnie was waiting 
 for them with the greatest impatience, and before 
 they had time to enter the house, she cried, 
 " Have you got the tickets, Walter ? Did you 
 see the steamer, father ? Will any ladies go 
 over with us ? When shall we start ? " 
 
 " Stop, stop, my clear ; one question at a 
 time, my child," said Mr. Percy, in a tone savor- 
 ing of slight rebuke. " You must learn to be 
 patient ; " and then, with a pleasant smile, 
 added, " I will let Walter answer your questions 
 while I go and see that the carriage is taken 
 care of." 
 
20 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 " I will tell you all about it after tea," said 
 Walter. 
 
 " After tea, indeed ! I must hear about it 
 now." 
 
 "Well, I will tell you all I know." So 
 Walter sat down with his sister, and told her 
 all that had been done, and described the ves- 
 sel, and the state room, and the appearance of the 
 captain, and detailed much of the conversation 
 which had occurred between him and his father, 
 all of which interested the little girl very 
 much. 
 
 " And now, father, what else have we to do 
 before we go ? " said Walter, as the family were 
 seated at the tea table. 
 
 " 0, several things," was the reply. " We 
 have to purchase some nice new trunks and 
 carpet bags ; we have to secure our passports, 
 and mamma has much work to do to get us all 
 ready. We shall want a few letters of introduc- 
 tion to distinguished persons, whom we must try 
 to see, but on whom it would not be courteous 
 to call without an introduction. We must get 
 a letter of credit, so that, when we are in want of 
 money, we can go to the bankers in London, 
 Paris, Vienna, or Rome, and draw as much as 
 we need. And several other little things must 
 be attended to ere we shall be ready to sail." 
 
THE PERCY MANSION. 21 
 
 " What is a letter of credit ? " asked Walter. 
 
 " What is a passport ? " asked Minnie. 
 
 " I will answer Walter's question first, as it 
 was asked first. A letter of credit is a banking 
 document, which is taken from a banker in Bos- 
 ton, who has correspondence with bankers in all 
 the prominent European cities. I deposit with 
 the banker here a sum of money, or my note for 
 a certain amount, and receive the letter in re- 
 turn. When I want money in Paris or Naples, 
 I take the letter to a banker, whose name is on 
 this paper, and lie gives me fifty or a hundred 
 dollars, just as I may want. By this arrange- 
 ment, I am not obliged to carry gold, which 
 would be very heavy, and would be a source of 
 continual anxiety. Do you understand ? " 
 
 " I think I do." 
 
 " Well, I will explain it more fully to you 
 when we draw money in some foreign city." 
 
 " And now my question," said Minnie. 
 " What is a passport ? " 
 
 " A passport, my child, is a document given 
 by the secretary of state, at Washington, show- 
 ing that I am an American citizen. So, when I 
 <40 into any country, the police will know who I 
 am, and not confound me with those who are 
 trying to overthrow the government. In this 
 country and in England, passports are not re- 
 
22 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 quired, but all over the continent they are de- 
 manded." 
 
 " But if you should not have one, what would 
 be the result ? " asked Minnie. 
 
 " Why, when we reached the French frontier, 
 we should be sent back or arrested. " 
 
 " 0, that would be funny." 
 
 " More perplexing than funny, my child." 
 
 " And what should we do ? " 
 
 " Well, we might go to London and get a 
 passport from Mr. Dallas, the American minister, 
 as he has power to give it. But we could not 
 travel without it any where upon the continent." 
 
 Thus conversing, the tea hour passed away, 
 the evening advanced, and the hour for family 
 devotions having arrived, the whole family 
 bowed before the great Father, sought his pro- 
 tection, and separated for the night. 
 
 The next morning Mr. Percy and Walter rode 
 into Boston, and, calling at the Custom House, 
 made an arrangement with a polite official for a 
 passport. Walter and his father were measured, 
 their ages taken, and a general description of 
 them made. This description was sent to Wash- 
 ington, and a few days elapsed before the docu- 
 ment was received. They then went to the 
 banker, and made arrangements with him for a 
 letter of credit, Mr. Percy putting a large sum 
 
THE PERCY MANSION. 23 
 
 of money on deposit, and receiving the necessary 
 document. They then went to a trunk maker, 
 and bought two stont trunks, and two fine car- 
 pet bags. They next repaired to a clothing 
 store, where a nice suit of gray travelling clothes 
 were bought for Walter, a loose drab sack for 
 Mr. Percy, and one or two articles for Minnie. 
 All this, with some business matters not con- 
 nected with the tour, occupied most of the day, 
 and they returned in the afternoon, again to be 
 overwhelmed with questions by Minnie, who in 
 the mean while had been busy with her mother 
 in preparing her clothes, and getting ready for 
 the voyage. 
 
 After a few days Mr. Percy received a large 
 document, bearing the seal of the United States, 
 and on opening it, it was found to be the pass- 
 ports for the travellers ; and as many of our 
 readers may never have seen a passport, we give 
 a copy of one on the next page, as nearly as we 
 can in so small a space. 
 
 Day by day the arrangements progressed, and 
 soon the trio were all ready to start ; and as the 
 time approached, the young folks became more 
 anxious to be on the way. The steamer was to 
 start on the seventh day of April, and the hours 
 and minutes to that time were counted and 
 wished away. However, none of the time was 
 
24 
 
 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 
 &o all to frrljom %se Jwamts sjrall tome, greeting : 
 
 Stature, 5 ft. 8 inch. 
 Age, 35 years. 
 Forehead, high. 
 Eyes, gray. 
 Nose, small. 
 Mouth, medium. 
 Chin, round. 
 Hair, brown. 
 Complexion, light. 
 Face, medium. 
 
 The undersigned, Secretary 
 of State of the T&nitzb States 
 Of America, hereby requests all 
 whom it may concern, to per- 
 mit safely and freely to pass 
 
 a citizen of the United States, 
 and in case of need to give 
 him all useful aid and pro- 
 tection. 
 
 Given under my hand 
 
 Signature of Bearer. 
 
 I U.S. Seal.) 
 
 and the impression of 
 the Seal of the De- 
 partment of State, at 
 the City of Washing- 
 ton, the 29th day of 
 March, A. D. 1858, 
 in the 82<f year of the 
 Independence of the 
 United States. 
 
THE PERCY MANSION. 25 
 
 lost to Walter, who busied himself in reading 
 works of travel, and studying French phrases, 
 and otherwise preparing himself to make the 
 most of his tour. 
 
 On Saturday, before the time for sailing, just 
 as the family were rising from the tea table, Mr. 
 Tenant, one of Mr. Percy's most esteemed 
 neighbors, called in, and, after the usual friendly 
 salutations, said, " Friend Percy, I have come in 
 to see if you want a companion on your tour. 
 I have made up my mind to travel a few months, 
 and should like to go abroad with you." 
 
 Mr. Percy gladly accepted the proposition, for 
 Mr. Tenant was an enterprising business man, 
 who would make a most excellent travelling 
 companion. So it was arranged that Mr. Tenant, 
 who had already engaged his passage, should 
 make one of the party. 
 
 The steamer was to sail on Wednesday, and 
 on the previous evening, Mr. Percy was sitting 
 with his family in his spacious drawing room. 
 There were present, besides the family, two 
 maiden sisters of Mrs. Percy, who were to keep 
 her company during the absence of her hus- 
 band ; and they were discussing, with some tinge 
 of sadness, the events liable and likely to tran- 
 spire during the summer. It was the last even- 
 ing they would be together for a long time — ' 
 
26 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 perhaps it would be the last time they would 
 thus gather 011 earth. While they conversed 
 and committed themselves to the protection of 
 God, the bell rang, and a neighbor was ushered 
 into the room ; soon came another, and then 
 another, and still others, until the rooms were 
 crowded, and the house full of friends and 
 neighbors, who had come in to give the Percys 
 a happy surprise. Among them were professors 
 and students of the college, men of wealth and 
 refinement, and the pastor and deacons of 
 the church with which the family worshipped. 
 The brisk hands of the ladies soon spread a 
 table in the dining room, and, after an hour 
 had been spent in social converse, the whole 
 company were invited to it, and full justice was 
 done to the rich viands beneath which the table 
 groaned. When the repast was nearly finished, 
 and all were in a merry mood, a gentleman 
 approached Mr. Percy, and thus addressed 
 him : — 
 
 " Dear friend : We have come in to-night to 
 wish you a happy voyage and a safe return ; we 
 have often enjoyed your kindness and hospitality, 
 and we wished, in some slight way, to make you 
 the recipient of ours. Will you please accept this 
 cane, [handing Mr. Percy a magnificent cane, 
 gold mounted,] manufactured from wood cut on. 
 
THE PERCY MANSION. 27 
 
 tht grounds of Mount Vernon, and finished with 
 much taste by an artisan of the metropolis ? It 
 will remind you, when in distant lands, of the 
 friends who, at home, will send up their daily 
 prayers to the God of ocean and land for your 
 protection. May your whole tour be pleasant, 
 profitable, and safe ; and may you return to 
 your home, and to your business, with an in- 
 vigorated step and renewed health, and long- 
 live, a blessing to your family and the world." 
 
 Mr. Percy made an appropriate reply, touch- 
 ing gratefully upon the pleasant relations which 
 had always existed between him and his neigh- 
 bors, and the pleasure he felt in seeing them 
 in his drawing room that night, under such cir- 
 cumstances. 
 
 The ladies then placed in the hands of Mrs. 
 Percy a beautiful bouquet, with the delicately 
 expressed hope and wish, that when the flowers 
 had faded, her cheek might bloom more beauti- 
 fully, and that the fragrance of her example 
 might still continue to be a blessing to the 
 world. 
 
 The company remained together until ten 
 o'clock, and then cordially shaking hands with 
 the happy family, they departed, more than one 
 lip uttering the precious sentence, " God bless 
 them ; " while the family soon sought repose, 
 
28 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 to dream, perchance, of the morrow and its 
 scenes. 
 
 And those dreams were sweet, for conscience 
 came with no upbraidings and reproaches to 
 any who were beneath that roof that night. The 
 wicked only dream of retribution ; and they who 
 love God and keep his commandments, rest in 
 peace, as it is written, " He giveth his beloved 
 sleep." 
 
THE ATLANTIC VOYAGE. 29 
 
 Chapter II. 
 
 THE ATLANTIC VOYAGE. 
 
 THE morning sun rose beautifully from its 
 eastern bed ; but long before it was seen, 
 Walter and Minnie had been up, and made all 
 their arrangements to drive into the city. The 
 trunks, which had been packed the evening be- 
 fore, had been strapped by the servant upon the 
 rack of the carriage, and the children were all 
 ready. We need not speak of the sadness which 
 came unbidden as that family sat down to the 
 table ; nor of the tender interview between the 
 husband and wife, which, in the study, followed 
 it ; nor of the warm tears that fell upon the 
 cheeks of the children as their mother folded 
 them to her heart. The holy scene which is 
 witnessed when a mother separates from her 
 children, the pen had better not describe ; for 
 the bleeding heart and the gentle tears cannot 
 be transferred to paper. 
 
 The plan was arranged for Mrs. Percy and 
 Charlie to go into the city, and see the steamer 
 start; and after breakfast the parents in one 
 
30 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 carriage, and the children in another, drove 
 rapidly to Boston, and soon the whole company 
 was assembled on the deck of the noble steam- 
 ship Niagara. There all was orderly confu 
 sion. 
 
 Crowds of people, who had come down to see 
 friends start off, thronged every part of the 
 ship ; baggage was being brought on by hur- 
 rying, driving, shouting porters ; the officers 
 of the ship moved about, giving their orders 
 quietly. Among those assembled were many 
 friends of the Percy family, and one of them, 
 Mr. Cushman, put into the hands of Walter a 
 beautiful spyglass, and handed to Minnie a neat 
 pocket compass, both of which he said would be 
 of service ere the party returned ; and they were 
 found to be so. Mr. Tenant was on hand in sea- 
 son, and at noon the bell warned all who were 
 to land to do so at once ; and Mrs. Percy, 
 bidding her husband and children farewell, was 
 assisted to the wharf by Mr. Cushman. The 
 steamer soon left her moorings, and swung out 
 into the harbor. A mighty cheer went up from 
 the people on the land, answered by one as 
 mighty from those on shipboard ; a waving ol 
 handkerchiefs followed on both sides ; a gun 
 was fired on shipboard, repeated quickly, and 
 in gallant style the noble vessel went down the 
 
THE ATLANTIC VOYAGE. 31 
 
 harbor, and soon the people on land lost sight 
 of her entirely. 
 
 For a long time, Mr. Percy and his children 
 stood on deck, gazing back upon the fading 
 spires and chimneys of the city, happy and yet 
 sad. Walter was silent, noting every thing he 
 saw, watching every object, and laying up in 
 his memory every little circumstance. Minnie's 
 tongue kept moving ; she had a hundred ques- 
 tions to ask, and a hundred things to say. In 
 two hours she had formed a dozen acquaint- 
 ances, and drawn out towards her a dozen 
 loving hearts. Her free, joyous spirit seemed 
 to have lost restraint, and become lawless as 
 the ocean. Thus time passed on, until all were 
 aroused by a new sound. 
 
 " Ding, dong, ding — ding, dong, ding." 
 
 " What is that for, pa ? " said Minnie. 
 
 " Why, dinner, Min — don't you know ? " 
 replied Walter, who wished to have it known 
 that he was posted. 
 
 u Yes, it is dinner hour ; four o'clock ; eight 
 bells, as the sailors say. And see, the passen- 
 gers are going down, and we will go down with 
 them." 
 
 The party went into the beautiful saloon, and 
 our friends found their places at the table with- 
 out difficulty. There were two rows of tables, 
 
32 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 eacli seating eight persons ; and soon all were 
 filled. At the first table was a gentleman, who, 
 with his family, was going abroad to remain 
 some months, and Minnie had already made the 
 acquaintance of the young ladies. At the same 
 table with themselves were two travellers from 
 Iowa, a physician from Alabama, and two gen- 
 tlemen from Boston, who very soon formed a 
 strong mutual attachment. The dinner was 
 highly relished, and Minnie, who ate nothing 
 for breakfast, and had taken no lunch, declared 
 it to be the best meal she had ever tasted. She 
 partook of every thing, from the soup to the 
 dessert, and, like the rest of the people, tarried 
 an hour at the table. To Walter and Minnie, 
 who had seldom been away from home, and 
 who had never dined at a hotel or in a steamer, 
 the whole scene was novel. The crash of table 
 ware, the clatter of knives and forks, the call 
 for wine and other liquors, the pleasant jokes, 
 the general hilarity of the company, were very 
 exciting to our young voyagers. 
 
 " Do you expect to dine with us to-morrow ? " 
 said the doctor to Minnie. 
 
 " Certainly, sir ; why not ? " 
 
 " Perhaps you will ; but I think many who 
 are here now will not be here to-morrow." 
 
 " Why not, sir ; please tell me." 
 
THE ATLANTIC VOYAGE. 33 
 
 " Because to-morrow it will probably be very 
 rough, and many will be seasick. I have 
 crossed the ocean once or twice, and I never 
 knew the tables to be very full on the second 
 day." 
 
 " 0, I shall not be seasick — I don't mean 
 to be. 1 ' 
 
 A merry laugh answered this expression of 
 determination not to be seasick, and the com- 
 pany rose and went up on deck. Then it was 
 found that the wind had changed, the sky was 
 overcast, and a fog was beginning to settle over 
 the vessel's course. 
 
 " A rough night we shall have," said one. 
 
 " If the fog only keeps off, we shall do well 
 enough," added another. 
 
 Just then the vessel pitched so as to send 
 Minnie half way across the deck. She recov- 
 ered her position, but the quick eye of Mr. Percy 
 detected a pallor on her countenance that he 
 knew indicated seasickness, and he advised her to 
 retire to her state room, and lie clown a while. 
 
 " No, father ; Walter would laugh at me." 
 
 " Ah, Min, you are seasick already." 
 
 Minnie rested her head a while on her father's 
 knee, and then said, " I will go down ; please 
 assist me." 
 
 Mr. Percy led her to her room, and calling 
 VOL. I. 3 
 
34 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 the stewardess, bade her attend to the wants of 
 the child, and again started for the deck. But 
 on the way he met Walter staggering down, no 
 better off than Minnie. His father assisted him 
 to his berth, helped him to undress, and left 
 him to himself. The night proved a dark and 
 stormy one ; the following day was rainy, and 
 the east wind blew fiercely. Walter and Min- 
 nie both kept their berths, and Mr. Percy, as 
 the steward said, was somewhat " under the 
 weather." As the doctor had said, few were 
 at the table, and those who were able to be 
 there indulged in pleasantries and jokes at the 
 expense of those who were not. 
 
 On Friday morning the steamer reached 
 Halifax, and the children, feeling better as 
 they neared port, were early on deck. The 
 beautiful scenery drew the attention of all, and 
 the interest increased as the ship neared the 
 wharf, where she was to lie two hours to take 
 in coal and provisions. Mr. Percy took the 
 children, and, accompanied by Mr. Tenant, 
 went up into the city, and after returning to 
 the steamer, told Walter that he might send a 
 line to his mother, if he would write quickly, as 
 he himself was about to write, and could enclose 
 a note from the children. We will give Wal- 
 ter's letter to his mother : — 
 
THE ATLANTIC VOYAGE. 35 
 
 Ever Dear Mother : — 
 
 We are at Halifax, in the dominions of the 
 queen, and resting here for a short time gives 
 me the opportunity of sending a line hack to 
 my dear, dear home, from which it seems a long 
 time that I have been absent. I must be short, 
 and tell you briefly what I have seen and felt 
 thus far. I think it is John Kitto who says, in 
 one of his letters, " To have travelled is a very 
 fine thing, but it is not a very fine thing to 
 travel." With John Kitto I have just. at this 
 time a delightful fellow-feeling. John must 
 have crossed the Atlantic Ocean, been shut up 
 in a little state room in one of the British steam- 
 ers, homesick, seasick, no appetite, no sleep, 
 unable to read, pitching about, not knowing 
 how soon the poor flesh will be the food of his 
 majesty the sea serpent, and the bones lie 
 whitening in the coral caves far down below. 
 This is what men call " being- travelled." And 
 this liquid earthquake, on which we have been 
 reeling and rocking, tumbling and pitching, 
 puffing and paddling, for days, is what poets 
 and orators call 
 
 "The broad and beautiful sea." 
 
 Well, it is beautiful. It is intensely sublime. 
 God marches on the deep ; his form, sublime, 
 
36 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 sweeps along in his misty chariot, and his great, 
 awful voice echoes from land to hind. Even 
 the godless Byron sees a God in the ocean. As 
 he gazes upon the watery deep, it becomes 
 
 " A glorious mirror, where the Almighty's form 
 Glasses itself in tempests." 
 
 We started from Boston, as you know, on a 
 very beautiful day, and had a very fine run out 
 to sea, passing Deer Island, and the frowning 
 fort on George's Island, and leaving the city, 
 with its dear associations, and dearer friends, 
 far behind. But gathering night brought with 
 it an east wind, a dense fog, plenty of sea- 
 sickness, and the usual annoyances of a sea 
 voyage. 
 
 I can stand almost any thing but seasickness. 
 This is the third day I have been out, and not 
 an hour's exemption have I yet had from the 
 gripe of his oceanic majesty. No one gets any 
 sympathy for seasickness ; there is no medicine 
 to cure. Minnie and I have suffered much, and 
 the steward is very kind. I think father has 
 been sick, but he will not admit it. But I know 
 you will smile, and say, " It is nothing but sea- 
 sickness, and they will soon get over that, and 
 be better for it afterwards ;" so it is no use for 
 me to write about that. 
 
THE ATLANTIC VOYAGE. 37 
 
 We arrived at Halifax on Friday morning, 
 and at once drew up to the wharf. Having two 
 hours to stop, we went up into the city. The 
 people were asleep, and all was as silent as a 
 city of the dead. Our own tramp on the hard 
 ground, our own voices ringing on the still air, 
 alone disturbed the general quiet. That part of 
 the city we saw was the worst part of Halifax, 
 the better portions, which are said to be more 
 beautiful, lying back on the hills. Halifax does 
 not seem to have the thrift of a New England 
 town, and that part visited by us, which was 
 near the wharf, seemed to be a century behind 
 the times. No paved thoroughfare, no brick 
 sidewalk, no signs of recent improvement greet- 
 ed the eye in any direction we went. The 
 houses are generally small, built of wood, shin- 
 gled roof and sides, and uncomely in their ap- 
 pearance. On the hill-side overlooking the city 
 frowns a formidable fortification, which looks 
 as if able to pour its deadly fires with murderous 
 effect upon any hostile fleet that might venture 
 into the waters below. 
 
 Father suggests to me that, in landing from 
 the steamer, and walking about for an hour, we 
 should probably see the worst part of Halifax, 
 as that section near the steamer landing is most 
 wretched and unseemly ; and as the people of 
 
38 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 Boston would not wish to have their city judged 
 by a person who should wander about an hour 
 in some of the lower localities, so we should not 
 judge Halifax by what we saw of it. There is 
 said to be refined and cultivated society here, 
 and back on the hill-sides the residences of many 
 wealthy and aristocratic families. 
 
 I have only time to send much love to dear 
 mother and little Charlie boy, and wish you all 
 much prosperity. Father is calling for this 
 note to enclose in his letter, as the steamer is 
 about to start. Good by. Walter. 
 
 Halifax, April 9, 1858. 
 
 The incidents of the voyage, after leaving 
 Halifax, may as well be given in a few ex- 
 tracts from Walter's journal, which became 
 quite bulky before the docks of Liverpool came 
 in view. 
 
 Steamship Niagara, April 12, 1858. 
 
 After a ramble of an hour or two in Halifax, 
 we again embarked. The morning was fine, 
 the wind fair, the ocean clear, and with paddles 
 working, wheels turning, and all sails set, we 
 went crashing, like a city afloat, towards the 
 Old World. I had by this time so overcome 
 sea-sickness as to eat a little, cultivate acquaint- 
 
THE ATLANTIC VOYAGE. 39 
 
 ance with my fellow-voyagers, joke somewhat 
 mournfully with some poor creatures not as for- 
 tunate as myself, and have as good a time as a 
 sea voyage will allow. 
 
 Thus Friday and Saturday passed away, and 
 Sabbath dawned upon the deep. 0, how differ- 
 ent from Sabbath on the land ! The waves 
 gliding underneath, the heavy tramp of multi- 
 tudes on the deck overhead, the wide expanse 
 of waters stretching out in all directions, the 
 moaning of the deep, and the stagnant atmos- 
 phere of the ship, all make Sabbath here a 
 strange day. 
 
 Others call it sublimely grand. But to me it 
 is no Sabbath. I want the holy hush of a quiet 
 home ; the church bell sounding out from city 
 and village ; the sudden outpouring of the 
 people, filling the lately deserted streets ; the 
 sacred front of the house of God ; the swell of 
 the organ ; the anthem of the choir ; and the 
 sacred stillness of the sanctuary. The Catholic 
 wants his crucifix, the Churchman wants his 
 prayer book, the Dissenter wants the associations 
 of plain, simple, Puritan worship ; but on ship- 
 board there is so much noise and confusion that 
 I cannot make it appear like the calm, still, 
 quiet, holy day. 
 
 At the proper hour we all assembled in the 
 
40 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 dining saloon for religions services. There 
 were several ministers on board, and after the 
 ship surgeon had read the beautiful English 
 Church service, one of them preached a dis- 
 course from the words of our Saviour, " And I, 
 if I be lifted up, will draw all men unto mc." 
 The sufferings and death of Christ were de- 
 scribed, and the Saviour presented as the hope 
 of the world. There were present at that ser- 
 vice Jews and infidels, Catholics and Protes- 
 tants, and all joined in singing the sweet songs 
 of praise to a common Lord. The laws of the 
 ship's company require the English service to 
 be read on Sunday, and until recently the de- 
 livery of sermons by any other than an Epis- 
 copal clergyman was strictly prohibited ; but a 
 few years ago a stir was made about it, and the 
 agitation has brought about a change, and now 
 Protestant ministers are invited to preach, what- 
 ever may be their sentiments. 
 
 April 13. 
 
 To-day I went down into the regions occupied 
 by the mammoth engine — a huge mechan- 
 ical Behemoth. It seems like descending into 
 Hades ; the blazing fire crackling and roaring, 
 the intense heat, the coal-black firemen, who 
 seldom come up into sunlight, the ponderous 
 machinery, and the continual rumbling, hissing, 
 
THE ATLANTIC VOYAGE. 41 
 
 steaming, give an idea of the world of bad 
 spirits as described by poets and orators, and 
 make you feel as if you had come into the ves- 
 tibule of Dante's Inferno ; and though no Virgil 
 comes to conduct us through, yet present fancy 
 can do what absent Virgil does not. 
 
 About sixty tons of coal are consumed daily, 
 or seven hundred and twenty tons in a voyage 
 of a dozen days. One hundred and ten men, 
 including officers, cooks, stewards, porters, and 
 sailors, are required to get this immense float- 
 ing hotel across the deep. 
 
 With father, I have been looking at the cook- 
 ing department, and to me it was a matter of 
 surprise how, in such a little cook room, food 
 could be provided for two or three hundred 
 persons with so much regularity and pre- 
 cision. 
 
 Much of our time on board is spent in eating 
 — breakfast at eight o'clock, lunch at twelve, 
 dinner at four, tea at seven, and a late supper 
 between nine and ten, if any wish for it. Father 
 says that all these meals are furnished with a 
 punctuality and promptness that would do credit 
 to the Revere House or St. Nicholas. I think I 
 might imagine I was dining at some great hotel, 
 did not every lurch of the ship make me think 
 of sea monsters and shipwrecks. 
 
42 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 April 14. 
 
 The steamer is ploughing the ocean in noble 
 style, and we shall soon see the coast of Ireland. 
 The chief feature of our voyage thus far has 
 been a view of several icebergs. The first was 
 seen on Saturday evening. It was a huge lump 
 of ice of chalky whiteness, and lay like a mam- 
 moth rock on the bosom of the deep. It was 
 estimated by competent persons to be about 
 one hundred feet long and sixty feet high. It 
 looked cold and cheerless, and had the weather 
 been thick and foggy, would have been a very 
 unpleasant and dangerous neighbor. Father 
 tells me that the great danger in crossing the 
 Atlantic comes from two causes — fire and ice. 
 The former, on board the royal mail steamers, is 
 provided against. The discipline of the crew, 
 the skill of the commander, the means for ex- 
 tinguishing the flames, and the substantial and 
 safe manner in which the vessels are built, form 
 sufficient insurance against fire. 
 
 But there are scarcely any provisions to be 
 made against ice, scarcely any thing to do but 
 to maintain ceaseless vigilance. Should one of 
 these steamships strike an iceberg, with her 
 speed of twelve miles an hour, she would prob- 
 ably be destroyed at once. I was told to-day by 
 an officer of this ship that the ill-fated Pacific was 
 
THE ATLANTIC VOYAGE. 43 
 
 doubtless lost by collision with ice. The iron 
 steamer Persia, which started from New York 
 about the same time, ran into an iceberg, which 
 fortunately had been softened by the action of 
 sea and sun. So great was the speed, and so 
 firm her iron sides, that she drove into the float- 
 ing mass of snow and ice nearly half her length, 
 carrying away her wheel houses, and doing 
 serious mischief. There she was wedged in 
 with the ice. A critical examination took place 
 ere any attempt was made to move her, and for- 
 tunately she was found to be firm, and after 
 some trials was relieved from her perilous po- 
 sition. 
 
 The poor Pacific probably met some huge, 
 hard iceberg, and, running on fearful speed, 
 came in collision with it, and was sunk at once, 
 not a single man returning to tell the awful 
 tale. It is terrible — in a foggy day or night 
 the iceberg cannot be seen one hundred feet 
 ahead, and as speed is scarcely ever slackened, 
 the danger is fearful when the monsters are 
 near. 
 
 On Sunday morning, also, we saw a huge ice- 
 berg, supposed to be about one hundred and 
 seventy feet high, and seven hundred feet long. 
 It had three lofty pinnacles, and wore the same 
 dead, chalky appearance as the one seen the 
 
44 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 previous evening. On the afternoon of the Sab- 
 bath, the cry went through the ship, " An ice- 
 berg, an iceberg ! " and we all rushed on deck 
 to see one directly in our path. It was indeed 
 a most magnificent spectacle. Its proximity to 
 us caused the mercury to fall in the glass sev- 
 eral degrees, and the whole sky assumed a 
 dismal appearance. The sight of this one sea 
 monster was worth all the toils and perils of our 
 ocean voyage thus far, and more than compen- 
 sated for all our sufferings. At first it looked 
 like a huge cliff of chalk. As it came nearer, its 
 position changed, and it looked like an immense 
 headless dromedary. Then it assumed the ap- 
 pearance of a cluster of round towers, thickly 
 set together ; and as we sailed within half a 
 mile of it, and had a full, fair view, it took the 
 shape of a dismantled castle. We could seem 
 to see the huge Gothic windows, the high pin- 
 nacles, the wide doors, the lofty proportions and 
 icy amplitude of an elegant structure. 
 
 I asked Mr. Tenant some questions about the 
 icebergs, and from him derived much valuable 
 information. Floating down from the north, 
 and drifting into warmer water, they are often 
 undermined, and at times roll over with a 
 mighty crash, making the very ocean boil with 
 fury. A large part of the ice is below the sur 
 
THE ATLANTIC VOYAGE. 45 
 
 fctee of the water, and I can easily conceive the 
 danger of collision with such a monster. The 
 line view obtained of this " sea-demon," as I 
 heard father style it, I think I shall never forget ; 
 its outlines are now as vivid in my mind as when 
 I was gazing upon it. We, however, soon left 
 it in the distance — the mighty thing which, 
 perhaps, had been forming for hundreds of 
 years in the cold north seas, now destined to 
 dissolve and glide beneath the keel of the noble 
 ship, and mingle with the waters of all climes. 
 
 On Saturday evening the passengers were 
 greeted with the cry, " Land, land ! " and soon 
 the deck was crowded. Some, who had not been 
 out of their state rooms for days, were anxious to 
 obtain the first glimpse of the coast of Ireland. 
 Among the rest, Walter and Minnie were strain- 
 ing their eyes to see, they knew not what. Walter 
 at length discerned what was said to be land, a 
 bug, low, narrow, cloudy-looking line, which at 
 first seemed to be hardly distinguishable from 
 the clouds about it. 
 
 " What land is that, father ? " asked Walter. 
 
 " It is Tory Island, on the coast of Ireland, 
 We are going in the north passage." 
 
 " What is the north passage ? " 
 
 Mr Percy explained. " You know, my son," 
 
46 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 he said, " that Ireland lies directly in the way ol 
 a vessel from Boston bound to Liverpool, and in 
 order to get into St. George's Channel, which 
 separates England and Wales from Ireland, a 
 vessel must go up around the north, or down 
 around the south coast of Ireland. We are 
 going in through the north passage. Some- 
 times the south passage is taken." 
 
 " What are the advantages of the north 
 channel ? " 
 
 " It saves fifty or sixty miles in the dis- 
 tance. " 
 
 " Then why is it not always taken ? " 
 
 " Because in the winter season it is more 
 dangerous ; and the British steamers in the win- 
 ter generally take the south passage." 
 
 "When shall we arrive, father?" asked 
 Minnie. 
 
 " I cannot tell, but probably some time to- 
 morrow/ ' 
 
 " 0, dear me ! I wish we could get there to- 
 night. We have been cooped up in this steamer 
 so long that I want to go on shore." 
 
 " Be patient, my child ; we shall get there in 
 good season." 
 
 On Sabbath morning, the coast of Scotland 
 was in view, and land was not lost sight of 
 again. The Isle of Man was passed in the fore- 
 
THE ATLANTIC VOYAGE. 49 
 
 noon, and the Niagara entered the River Mersey 
 about noon. The pilot came on board, and 
 Captain Wickman, who, during all the voyage, 
 seemed to be pressed with the great weight of his 
 responsibility, at once became sportive and famil- 
 iar and seemed a new man. The great burden of 
 care was removed from him, for he knew that if 
 any accident befell the steamer now, the blame 
 would not be his. When the houses of Birken- 
 head came in view, and the captain's house could 
 be seen in the distance, he Avent out upon the 
 wheel house, and waved his white pocket hand- 
 kerchief — a signal answered by the beating of 
 some heart that waited for him there. 
 
 All was now confusion below and eager ex- 
 pectation on deck. Below, the porters were 
 getting out the trunks, and preparing for the 
 Custom House officers, who were expected on 
 board. As soon as the ship came to anchor, a 
 steamer came out and took away the mail bags, 
 and some of the officers of the Niagara. Minnie, 
 as she saw the tug about to put off, said to her 
 father, whom she found calmly conversing with 
 Mr. Tenant, " Come, father, come and put our 
 baggage on board, and let us get ashore at once." 
 
 Walter laughed ; he was posted. 
 
 " Not so fast, my child," said Mr. Percy ; " our 
 baggage must be examined first." 
 vol. I. 4 
 
50 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 " Examined ? What ? " 
 
 Again Walter laughed, and this time Mr. 
 Percy joined, and a pout was seen on Minnie's 
 lips. 
 
 "Sis, I'll tell you," said Walter. "When 
 certain goods are brought into this country, as 
 father tells me, they are subject to duties." 
 
 " Duties ! what are duties ? " 
 
 " Why, taxes, which go to support the gov- 
 ernment. And our baggage will all be searched, 
 so that the Custom House officers may be sure 
 we have nothing which is subject to duty." 
 
 The matter was more fully explained to Minnie 
 by her father, and soon she had a practical illus- 
 tration, for the officers came aboard, and thrust 
 their hands down into trunks, overhauling the 
 cigars of the men, and the fancy boxes of the 
 ladies, causing those who had the former to 
 think smoking a costly luxury, and those who 
 owned the other to think Custom House officials 
 very inquisitive men, prying into ladies band- 
 boxes and bundles very unceremoniously. 
 
 But the whole was soon over, and the passen- 
 gers, with their baggage, were taken into a tug, 
 and carried up to the wharf. Here the children 
 were almost bewildered with what they saw 
 and heard. A multitude of cabmen, policemen, 
 porters, and spectators crowded around them, 
 
THE ATLANTIC VOYAGE. 51 
 
 and for a time it seemed difficult for them to 
 retain their footing. But Mr. Percy called a 
 drive r, who brought a carriage, and the, whole 
 company, including Mr. Tenant, were driven to 
 the Waterloo Hotel ; where, after tea, seated 
 in a comfortable room in this tolerable hotel, 
 Walter made the following record in his 
 journal : — 
 
 April 18. 
 
 Here we are, at length, in Liverpool, the 
 greatest commercial city of the world, as I have 
 read. We reached the city at four o'clock on 
 Sunday afternoon, and wont at once to the 
 Waterloo House, where we soon found ourselves 
 quietly entertained. As I landed, I felt as the 
 old crusader did when he reached Palestine, and 
 saw the towers of the city of Jerusalem shining 
 in the sun — prostrated himself on the ground, 
 and kissed the earth. I was almost willing to 
 imitate the example of the old hero, when I 
 first set foot on this soil, after days of sickness 
 and weariness. I was very willing to exchange 
 " life on the ocean wave " for life on the solid 
 land ; where knives and forks would not dance 
 together on the table, and where our bed at 
 night would not, now and then, take a notion to 
 stand on the headboard or footboard, thus re- 
 versing the position of the sleeper to a most 
 
52 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 uncomfortable degree, — but where his head and 
 feet would always be in their proper places, no 
 longer at the mercy of the storm, the winds, and 
 the waves. 
 
 Thus our voyage is ended. We have had the 
 usual events and excitements ; we have seen ice- 
 bergs, steamers, vessels of all descriptions, and 
 have escaped any serious storms. The acquaint- 
 ances formed are about being broken up, and 
 we now wander each his own way. Some press 
 on at once to the great city — London; some, 
 like ourselves, propose making the tour of Ire- 
 land first, and others are scattering in other 
 directions. Our plans are all made for a grand 
 tour of the continent of Europe. 
 
GLIMPSES OP LIVERPOOL. 53 
 
 Chapter III. 
 
 GLIMPSES OF LIVERPOOL. 
 
 ON Monday morning, Walter and Minnie 
 were awake betimes, and ere Mr. Percy 
 had fairly opened his eyes, Walter stood by his 
 bed, with the question, " What shall I do for a 
 journal ? My paper is exhausted." 
 
 " I'll tell you, Walter," said Mr. Percy, after 
 fully waking up — " I'll tell you what to do. In 
 all these European cities there is for sale letter 
 paper with views upon it. I think you will 
 find, on letter paper, of the size you want, many 
 views of Liverpool. You can get these views, 
 and use the paper for your journal, and when 
 we get back to Boston, if you keep the sheets 
 clean and write neatly, I will have them bound 
 up for you, and they will make a capital book." 
 
 " What a notion, father." 
 
 " Yet a good one ! " 
 
 " Who ever did so ? " 
 
 " No matter who ever did so. If the plan is 
 a good one, be the first to adopt it." 
 
 " I will." 
 
54 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 " Our minister, who was in Europe a few 
 years ago, I remember, made a journal in this 
 way, which was very interesting to all who saw 
 it. The paper on which these plates are printed 
 is generally good, and the views illustrate what 
 is written, and fix in the memory the places 
 seen." 
 
 " Yes, sir, I see the plan is a good one, and I 
 will adopt it. There is a bookstore near by, 
 and if you will give me a quarter of a dollar, I 
 will run out and get some, and be back before 
 you are up." 
 
 " A quarter of a dollar ? " 
 
 " 0, I forgot ; we are in Liverpool, and I 
 must have a shilling" 
 
 The money was furnished, and Walter and 
 Minnie went out to make the purchase. At the 
 bookstore the views were found, and the selec> 
 tion made, and before Mr. Percy appeared in the 
 breakfast room Walter had' returned and written 
 nearly half a page. 
 
 " Father, don't you think it most time for the 
 breakfast bell to ring ? " whispered Minnie. 
 
 " They do not ring any bell." 
 
 " Why not ? " 
 
 " Walter some time will tell you that they do 
 not have one long table and a definite hour for 
 dinner, at English hotels, but whoever wishes 
 
GLIMPSES OP LIVERPOOL. 55 
 
 dinner or tea gives the necessary order, and it 
 is brought." 
 
 " Have you ordered breakfast, father ? " 
 
 " No, not yet, but Walter may go and do so." 
 
 " Me, sir ? " queried Walter. 
 
 a Yes, my son ; you might as well learn now 
 to do these things ; so go and sec what you can 
 do about it." 
 
 Walter went to the servant, who stood wait- 
 ing for orders, and said, " I wish to order 
 breakfast." 
 
 " For how many ? " 
 
 " For three." 
 
 " What will you have ? " 
 
 " 0, I don't know." 
 
 " How can I bring it then ? " 
 
 " Let me see ; I'll think." 
 
 The servant smiled, and Mr. Percy looked on, 
 but thought best not to help his son out of the 
 dilemma ; and indeed he did not need to, for 
 Walter spoke out promptly, " We will have co£ 
 fee, eggs, and mutton chop." 
 
 The servant hurried away, and soon the table 
 was covered with food, of which all partook with 
 excellent appetites. While they were eating, Mr. 
 Tenant joined them, and proposed some plans 
 for the day. " We must do our work in Liver- 
 pool very hastily, as we must leave in a short 
 time," he said. 
 
56 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 " Well, where shall we go first ? " asked Mr. 
 Percy. 
 
 " I think we had better see the docks first, 
 as they are the peculiar attraction of this 
 city." 
 
 It was so agreed, and breakfast being con- 
 cluded, a cab was engaged, and the whole com- 
 pany set out to see the docks. These docks are 
 artificial basins built of huge blocks of stone, 
 and the water in them is so enclosed as to float 
 the vessels all the time, whatever may be the 
 depth of the water in the river outside. They 
 are built between the Mersey and the town, 
 guarded from storms, and filled at high tide. 
 Many of them can be entirely drained at low 
 tide, or kept full, as circumstances may require. 
 These docks, built at an immense expense, are 
 capable of protecting a vast number of vessels, 
 and distinguish Liverpool from all other places. 
 As you approach the town, the shipping seems 
 to be in the centre of the thickly-settled place. 
 High walls and toppling warehouses can only be 
 seen, with masts, flags, and pendants rising or 
 moving above them and beyond them. Each 
 dock has its water gate, and when any vessel 
 wishes to go forth, the tide being up, the gate is 
 opened, and she is turned out. 
 
 The extent and magnificence of these docks, 
 
GLIMPSES OF LIVERPOOL. 57 
 
 which are all surrounded with warehouses and 
 stores for the reception or sale of goods, will bo 
 seen when it is stated that the Saltliouse Docks 
 occupy an area of nearly five acres, and cost 
 three million dollars ; the Albert Dock covers 
 an area of nearly eight acres, and cost about 
 four million dollars ; the King's Dock has 
 an area of more than seven acres, and cost 
 nearly four million dollars ; the Queen's Dock 
 covers an area of more than ten acres ; the 
 Coburg Dock covers about five acres ; the 
 Brunswick Dock covers nearly thirteen acres ; 
 and several others nearly as extensive. 
 
 All these docks were visited by the party, and 
 they failed not to mark with admiration the fa- 
 cilities for shipping purposes, and with pleasure 
 the fact that in these vast basins were vessels 
 from almost every clime. Walter and Minnie 
 were much amused at what they saw, especially 
 with the sailors who were hurrying round, and 
 using odd expressions, and with the crowds who 
 were constantly landing at the piers. The Mer- 
 sey was full of vessels, some coming in and 
 some going out ; some with white sails all spread, 
 and some with paddles, funnels, and steampipes 
 in full blast. The scene was exciting, and as 
 the party stood gazing on, Walter recalled a 
 few lines which he remembered to have read 
 
58 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 some time before, and which he thought must 
 have been written with this view in the poet's 
 eye : — 
 
 " A thousand keels the subject wave divide, 
 Float with the flow, or stem the ebbing tide — 
 Winged messengers that haste, with sails unfurled, 
 To barter produce with some distant world. 
 With oar and paddle, sail and thundering steam, 
 They row, they cleave, they plough the Mersey's stream — 
 That stream which, fretted by a thousand prows, 
 No silent rest, no liquid slumber, knows ; 
 Whate'er the hour, whatever winds prevail, 
 Behold the outward and the homeward sail ! " 
 
 " Well done, Walter ; your memory is good, 
 and no description of the scene now before us 
 could be finer," said Mr. Tenant. 
 
 Leaving the docks, the party rode to the 
 Sailor's Home — a large, elegant building de- 
 voted to seamen. This " Home " is the means 
 of saving hundreds of poor sailors every year 
 from destruction. It is a gem of architectural 
 taste and beauty, and is always filled with the 
 sons of the ocean. Walter and Minnie went 
 into the reading room, and conversed with the 
 hardy sailors there, one of whom took the young 
 people through the building, into the neat, tidy 
 sleeping rooms, into the spacious dining hall, 
 and even into the kitchen. As they went from 
 room to room, Walter's usually clear eye began 
 
GLIMPSES OP LIVERPOOL. 59 
 
 to flash with unwonted fire ; and when he re- 
 turned to his father, he said, " 0, how I wish we 
 had such a grand * Home ' for the sailors as this 
 in Boston." 
 
 " We have ' Homes,' my son." 
 
 " Yes, sir, but they are not like this." 
 
 " And still, humble as they are, they may be 
 accomplishing as much good." 
 
 " Ah, Walter, you would make a good curate 
 for Father Taylor," said Mr. Tenant, laugh- 
 ingly. 
 
 " I should like to be," said the lad, his whole 
 face lighting up with noble enthusiasm. 
 
 Leaving the " Home," the party rode away, 
 and in passing the doors of one of the old 
 churches, saw that some service was being held 
 within. The driver reined his horses up at 
 the door, and a large sign on the edifice in- 
 formed the stranger that marriages were cele- 
 brated at that hour on that day of the week. 
 
 " We must go in, father," cried Minnie, " 0, 
 the fun of going to a wedding this morning ! " 
 
 " If we must, we must, Minnie," replied Mr. 
 Percy ; " but I think it will be a loss of time." 
 
 They all entered the church, and witnessed a 
 novel spectacle, which " did pay," as Minnie 
 afterwards declared. Eight couples or pairs 
 were standing at the altar, strangers to each 
 
60 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 other, but all being married in one service. 
 The clergyman hurried through the service, 
 jumbling up his words, and making the whole 
 thing ludicrous. As soon as the service was 
 over, the minister hurried to an anteroom, and 
 the sexton took the couples in one by one to 
 sign the record and pay the fees ; and as Walter 
 passed by the door, he saw the happy bride- 
 grooms making the change, and counting out 
 the shillings, just as regularly as if they had, 
 instead of marrying a wife, been buying a pound 
 of tea or a loaf of bread. 
 
 u Father, father," cried Minnie, " I hope none 
 of these men will make any mistake when they 
 come out of that little room, and take the wrong 
 bride." 
 
 " Hush, hush, my child." 
 
 " It would not matter much," whispered Wal- 
 ter in the ear of his sister ; but a grave look on 
 the face of Mr. Percy hushed their merriment. 
 
 Leaving the church, they again entered the 
 carriage, and when seated Mr. Percy said to 
 Minnie, " What o'clock is it by your watch ? 
 Is it not about time to dine ? " 
 
 Minnie took out her watch, and, in vexation, 
 exclaimed, " This watch, which you gave me for 
 a birthday present, is not good for any thing at 
 all." 
 
GLIMPSES OF LIVERPOOL. 61 
 
 " Not good for any thing ! Why, it cost sixty 
 dollars." 
 
 " Well, yon may see. Here it is about noon, 
 and my watch says that it is only seven o'clock. 
 What do yon make of that ? " 
 
 " Perhaps Walter can tell ns. Is it the fault 
 of the watch or Minnie herself, my son ? " 
 
 " 0, it is Minnie that is out of time." 
 
 " What do you mean ? " 
 
 " Why," said Mr. Percy, in explanation, " the 
 time differs. Your watch would be just right if 
 you were in New York or Boston, but the Lon- 
 don time is about five hours ahead of New York 
 time. It is now five minutes after seven by 
 your watch, which was set before you left home, 
 and, knowing the difference in the time, I am 
 sure it is just twelve o'clock here. I am as con- 
 fident as if I held my watch in my hand, and 
 that, you know, I set this morning by the clock 
 at the hotel." 
 
 " But I would like to know more about it." 
 
 " Walter will explain the whole to you some 
 time, as I fully explained it to him on the 
 voyage." 
 
 " I have a calculation and a drawing which I 
 made while on shipboard, which Minnie can 
 have to look at. It shows the time, relatively, 
 in different places, and the mate of the steamer 
 
62 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 told me it was right. It shows the time in five 
 different places," said Walter. 
 
 Minnie was much pleased witli the drawing, 
 which is found on another page, and expressed 
 the earnest wish that Walter would explain how 
 it is that time diners so much in different 
 places. 
 
 By this time the carriage had reached the 
 hotel, and the whole company were soon enjoy- 
 ing themselves in different ways, while dinner 
 was being prepared for them. Minnie had 
 thrown herself upon the bed ; Walter was filling 
 up his journal ; Mr. Percy was writing a letter 
 to his wife ; while, we regret to say, that Mr. 
 Tenant had his feet on the sill of the open win- 
 dow, and was making his mouth a smoke pipe 
 for the fumes of a cigar, to the use of which he 
 was somewhat devoted. 
 
 " I think," said the latter, holding his cigar 
 between his fingers, " that one would hardly 
 select Liverpool as a place of residence, inde- 
 pendent of business considerations. The streets 
 are irregular, and filled with seamen and dock 
 laborers of the lowest class ; houses, stores, and 
 workshops are strangely mixed together ; and 
 ignorance and poverty are distinctly seen." 
 
 " And yet," replied Mr. Percy, who had fin- 
 ished his letter, and was folding it, " we have 
 
GLIMPSES OF LIVERPOOL. 68 
 
 seen some fine public buildings, among which 
 are the Exchange, the Sailors' Home, St. George's 
 Hall, and several others ; and I am told that 
 there are parks and cemeteries of great beauty." 
 
 " True ; but you see that the city is devoted 
 to commerce, and only those men live here 
 who " 
 
 " Dinner ready, sir," cried a servant, opening 
 and shutting the door ; and our friends repaired 
 to the table, where a fine piece of English roast 
 beef was set before them, which, with sharpened 
 appetites, they discussed with great hilarity. At 
 the table the question was asked, " Well, where 
 shall we go this afternoon, Walter ? " 
 
 Walter had been looking over the guide books, 
 in search of objects of interest, and replied, u I 
 should like to go to St. James's Cemetery, said 
 to be a lovely spot." 
 
 " I have no objection to that," said Mr. Percy. 
 
 " Nor I," added Mr. Tenant. 
 
 But Minnie voted in the minority. " 0, do 
 not go there. Walter is always looking after 
 cemeteries, tombs, and old buildings. Let us 
 go to the Zoological Gardens, for I should much 
 rather see leopards, lions, and monkeys, than 
 tombstones." 
 
 " We can go to both places, my child, so that 
 both of you can be gratified." 
 
54 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 The carriage was called, and away they rode 
 to St. James's Cemetery, situated in a deep deV 
 surrounded by high hills, in which excavations 
 are made for tombs. Almost the first object 
 which meets the eye, on entering, is a Grecian 
 oratory, in which are several monuments to the 
 crumbling memory of the dead. On every side 
 are statues and effigies, the poor memorials of 
 once living, moving men. This burial place is 
 one of much rural beauty, and, from its pic- 
 turesque situation in what was once a stone 
 quarry, in the sides of which are several sculp- 
 tured galleries of catacombs, draws the attention, 
 and claims a visit from every stranger. The 
 great object of interest, however, is the marble 
 statue of the Right Hon. William Huskisson, 
 formerly one of the most distinguished citizens 
 of Liverpool. The statue stands in a circular 
 oratory, and was made in Rome by an English 
 artist. 
 
 It did not take our party long to go through 
 these grounds, and glance at the various objects 
 of interest, as the whole area contains but about 
 forty-four thousand square yards, and, as a mi- 
 nute inspection of such a place was not needed, 
 the visit to this home of the dead was soon con- 
 cluded. In returning, the whole party called 
 on the minister, who lives in a handsome stone 
 
GLIMPSES OF LIVERPOOL. 65 
 
 house near by, who gave them several items of 
 useful information in relation to the grounds. 
 During his conversation, he called the oratory a 
 " Greek Hypaetliral temple," a term which Min- 
 nie could not understand, and which she re- 
 solved to ask Walter to explain, but which she 
 forgot to do, as her mind was not on oratories 
 and temples, but on the elephants and lions she 
 expected soon to see. 
 
 They next drove to the Zoological Gardens, 
 where the remainder of the afternoon was spent. 
 They went from the cage of one animal to anoth- 
 er, from one cage of birds to another, until they 
 had seen the whole — elephant, lion, monkey, 
 and all. One or two amusing things occurred 
 here. There was a huge ostrich closely con- 
 fined, and when Minnie laid her hand on the 
 bars of his prison, he snapped at her, and she 
 was obliged to withdraw her hand. But as the 
 bird stood with his head against the bars, she 
 took out her gold pencil, and tapped him on 
 the bill. 
 
 " You had better let him alone, little girl," 
 said the keeper. 
 
 " 0, he won't hurt me ; " and she continued 
 tapping his beak with her jewelled pencil. The 
 bird watched his opportunity, and seized the 
 pencil in his mouth., and swallowed it. 
 VOL. i. 5 
 
66 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 " Well, I declare," cried Minnie. 
 
 " What is the matter ? " asked her father. 
 
 " Matter enough. This great ugly bird has 
 swallowed my pencil." 
 
 " I told you to be careful," said the keeper. 
 
 " That is just the way with Minnie ; she is al- 
 ways getting into trouble," said Walter. " That 
 is the third new pencil she has had within three 
 months." 
 
 " Well, I didn't know the creature would 
 eat it." 
 
 " Well, let it go now," said Mr. Percy ; " only 
 be more careful another time, my daughter." 
 
 " I think, Minnie, you are growing somewhat 
 extravagant," added Mr. Tenant, " to feed your 
 pet birds on gold pencils, at five dollars each." 
 
 " 0, what plagues men are ! " 
 
 Returning from the gardens, our friends 
 sought rest, for they had had a wearisome day. 
 In the evening Walter and Minnie staid in 
 their rooms, and amused themselves as best they 
 could, while the two gentlemen went out to 
 find some kind of night entertainment. On 
 turning the corner of a street, they saw a pla- 
 card on the wall, informing the public that a 
 mass missionary meeting was to be held that 
 evening at Great George Street Chapel, where 
 the very venerable Dr. Raffles preaches. Ex- 
 
GLIMPSES OF LIVERPOOL. 67 
 
 pecting to hear some of the celebrated men of 
 Liverpool speak, they directed their steps to the 
 church, which is an elegant structure, the prin- 
 cipal elevation of which consists of a semicircu- 
 lar portico of fluted columns, reminding one of 
 the temple of Jupiter Stator, surmounted by a 
 dome, and occupying a most beautiful situation ; 
 being, internally and externally, a most imposing 
 edifice. They entered the church, and were 
 fortunate enough to hear two of the most cele- 
 brated men of Liverpool. One of them was Dr. 
 Raffles himself. Mr. Percy had long known of 
 this eloquent clergyman, the successor and 
 biographer of the lamented Spencer, who, while 
 bathing in the Mersey, was drowned, one of 
 the brightest lights of the English pulpit being 
 extinguished suddenly. On the present occa- 
 sion, Dr. Raffles made a speech — a venerable 
 man, with his head whitening, yet speaking with 
 a mighty power ; speaking until his own soul 
 glows with his theme ; until the perspiration 
 stands in great drops upon his noble brow ; un- 
 til the audience lean forward, as his grand 
 periods roll out ; until each man clutches his 
 purse, ready to pour its contents into the plate 
 when it comes ; until breathing is almost sup- 
 pressed, and the whole assembly is melted, or 
 thrilled to the most intense emotion. 
 
68 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 He was followed by Hugh Stowell Brown, a 
 man as popular as Dr. Raffles, but of a different 
 style entirely. He made a telling speeeh, and 
 the interest with which he was watched, and the 
 enthusiasm with which the sentences, as they fell 
 from his lips, were caught up, showed the esti- 
 mation in which he was held. 
 
 The gentlemen were surprised to find that all 
 the telling things were applauded, even in a re- 
 ligious meeting, which at times was as uproarious 
 as a political convocation in our country could 
 be. The speeches were interrupted with con 
 stant cries of " Hear, hear ; " and the stamping 
 of feet and clapping of hands seemed to Mr. 
 Percy to be quite out of place in the house of 
 God. However, he was very glad to hear these 
 two celebrities of the Liverpool pulpit, the latter 
 of whom has done much good and gained much 
 influence by lecturing to the working men. 
 
 On his return from the meeting, he found 
 Walter writing in his journal, and Minnie asleep 
 on the sofa, the latter of whom was soon sent 
 away to bed, and the former read what he had 
 written in his diary to his father for correction ; 
 and so ended a laborious day in Liverpool, 
 
 There were other objects of interest in the 
 place, which were visited on the following day. 
 And among these is worthy of mention the new 
 
GLIMPSES OF LIVERPOOL. C9 
 
 St. George's Hall, a noble public building erected 
 for musical entertainments, and justly an object 
 of pride to the citizens of the place The floors 
 are marble, set in beautiful, many-colored mo- 
 saics ; the walls and ceilings are profusely and 
 appropriately ornamented ; the decorated pillars 
 and arches create a fine effect, while one of the 
 largest and noblest organs in the world, which cost 
 thirty-five thousand dollars, pours out its rich, 
 liquid music over the people. The children, who 
 had never seen any such hall before, were very 
 much pleased, and Walter rapidly took pencil 
 sketches of the end which contained the organ. 
 
 " Is there any hall in our country so splendid 
 as tliis, father ? " asked Minnie. 
 
 " No, my child, I think not." 
 
 " Why not ? " 
 
 " Because our plain people think that plainer 
 structures best subserve the public good, The 
 price of evening entertainments in such a hall as 
 this would be so great, that few would attend 
 them, and the property would be unprofitable. " 
 
 " Shall we see many halls like this ? " 
 
 " Not many halls like this ; but before you re- 
 turn to Boston, you will see buildings such as 
 you have never imagined." 
 
 Having seen this great hall, it was suggested 
 that a jaunt be taken to Birkenhead, which rises 
 
70 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 from the banks of the Mersey, nearly opposite 
 Liverpool. The suggestion was adopted, and 
 soon in a ferry boat the river had been crossed, 
 and our friends were wandering about in Birk- 
 enhead. 
 
 " This seems to be a new town," said Walter. 
 
 " Yet," replied Mr. Percy, " forty years ago 
 the whole population was less than fifty persons, 
 and now they are numbered by scores of thou- 
 sands," 
 
 As they passed along, they found Birkenhead 
 to resemble less an English than an American 
 city, and it seemed to them to be to Liverpool 
 what Brooklyn is to New York — the sleeping 
 chamber of a metropolis. Many wealthy men 
 who do business in Liverpool reside at Birken- 
 head, which is more quiet than the giant city 
 on the other bank of the Mersey. It is well 
 laid out, has its parks, and churches, and objects 
 of interest, all of which our party visited. None 
 of them were of more interest than the ruins of 
 an ancient abbey founded in the year 1190 by 
 the Baron of Dunham, Hainan Massie, and long 
 occupied by monks, who trod its pavements, and 
 made its walls echo with their songs. Several 
 arches, pillars, and other evidences of the former 
 beauty of the structure which now lies in ruins 
 were seen. An examination of the town occu- 
 
GLIMPSES OP LIVERPOOL. 71 
 
 pied most of the day, and the party concluded to 
 dine before returning ; and as the eating houses 
 were plenty, they found one where they were well 
 accommodated, and dined at a much cheaper 
 rate than they could have done at the hotel. 
 The dinner over, they all repaired to the ferry, 
 just as the shades of evening began to gather. 
 Walter remarked that the ferry arrangements 
 were the most perfect he had ever seen, and in- 
 stead of being built as cheaply as possible, as 
 some of ours are, the piers, and tide walls, and 
 gateways seemed to have been constructed with 
 an eye to elegance, rather than to economy, and 
 indulged in some remarks not highly compli- 
 mentary to American ferries. His father checked 
 him with the remark, that this ferry belongs to 
 the town of Birkenhead, and not to private own- 
 ers or a corporation, and that all the profits are 
 expended in beautifying the surroundings. 
 
 " Yes," added Mr. Tenant, " Walter must re- 
 member that our country is young ; we have 
 less wealth, and cannot expect the perfection in 
 these things which is attained in England." 
 
 Thus conversing, the party crossed the ferry, 
 and walked up to the hotel, where the evening 
 was spent in social intercourse with several 
 American friends who were in town at that time. 
 Some days were occupied in viewing the place 
 
72 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 and becoming acquainted with its people and 
 institutions, and one bright morning the com- 
 pany started for Ireland, going on the way a 
 little into the interior. 
 
 A couple of cabs took the whole party with 
 their luggage to the station house, a magnificent 
 edifice, the front of which, with its thirty-six 
 three-quarter Corinthian columns, and its grand 
 arched doorways, cost thirty-five thousand dol- 
 lars, which, added to the cost of the rest of the 
 structure, with its glass roof and heavy finish, 
 makes the building a very expensive one. 
 
 As here we are to take the cars, it may 
 be well to describe the railroads and rail car- 
 riages, which differ from ours. Minnie made 
 herself quite merry over them, when she saw 
 them, but probably had some reason to think 
 afterwards that all the advantage was not on our 
 side. There are three classes of cars, and for 
 either of them the traveller purchases his ticket, 
 as he may choose. Having secured his ticket, 
 he is generally sent into a separate room, where 
 he finds others who are to ride in the same class 
 cars. If he be a third-class passenger, he does 
 not see those who are to ride in the first and 
 second-class cars. They too are shut up, to 
 await the hour of starting. When this arrives, 
 the first-class passengers are taken from the room 
 
GLIMPSES OF LIVERPOOL. 73 
 
 where they have been held in durance, and 
 seated comfortably in the cars without noise or 
 jostling, and the doors are closed, and, in some 
 instances, locked. Then the second-class pas- 
 sengers arc seated, and at length the third. 
 The cars are short, being only about eight or ten 
 feet long and six wide, and are frequently di- 
 vided by a partition as high as the head of a 
 person sitting ; or, if they are longer, are divided 
 into separate apartments. The first class are 
 well arranged, well fitted, and comfortable; but 
 the fare in them is so high, that few besides the 
 nobility and the wealthy ride in them. The 
 second-class cars are destitute of cushions, and 
 almost every other comfort. On the hard seat, 
 witli the straight back, the passenger is com- 
 pelled to sit, with his feet covered up with boxes 
 and baggage, gazing upon the placards which 
 are pasted up on the sides and ends of the car. 
 Generally these cars have two seats, each hold- 
 ing five persons — one half looking into the faces 
 and trampling upon the feet of the other half. 
 The window, or ventilator, as it should be called, 
 is a small, square aperture in the door, like the 
 window of a coach, and generally has a slide of 
 glass, but sometimes only of wood, to keep out 
 the rain In these cars we do not have the com- 
 forts that we find in our own cars. There is no 
 
74 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 opportunity to walk about, and scarcely any to 
 stand up, some of the cars not being high 
 enough for a tall man. The third-class cars 
 are somewhat longer, and have rough seats, like 
 some of our baggage cars, and are no more 
 comfortable or convenient. The fare is higher 
 for this class than in our country for the best, 
 and more ride in this than in either of the other 
 classes. The distances are generally short, and 
 people sacrifice ease to economy. 
 
 The railroad arrangements are all much safer 
 than among us. The roads are better built, the 
 tracks are better laid, and there is a confidence 
 which one never feels when in the express trains 
 on the American side of the Atlantic. 
 
 But to return to our friends whom w.e left in 
 the station house. Seating themselves in the 
 cars, the train started out through a dark, 
 smutty tunnel, which is a most wonderful arti- 
 ficial excavation beneath the town. This tunnel 
 is six thousand six hundred and ninety feet long, 
 seventy-five feet wide, and fifty-one feet high, and 
 passes directly under the place, while over it 
 rise churches, houses, halls, and places of trade 
 and industry. He who had never rode in a rail 
 car would hardly be willing to begin by riding 
 through this subterranean passage. The op- 
 pressive darkness, which can be felt ; the cold, 
 
GLIMPSES OF LIVERPOOL. 75 
 
 a jmp chill, which pierces to the bones ; the 
 glaring lamp on the engine, and the screaming 
 of the iron horse, — all render the five minutes 
 spent under the streets and temples of the great 
 mart of commerce most unpleasant and dis- 
 agreeable. 
 
 As they went on, Minnie clung to her father, 
 who felt a trembling of her body, as the cars 
 rolled swiftly into increasing darkness, and she 
 hardly dared to breathe, so fearful was the pas- 
 sage through ; and not until they emerged, and 
 began to dash along in open sunlight, did she 
 breathe freely. 
 
 The party arrived at the old town of Chester, 
 after a circuitous ride of some hours, and a stop 
 at one or two places on the way. Chester is 
 but a half hour's ride from Liverpool ; but our 
 friends preferred to take one or two interesting 
 towns in the course, and it was high noon when 
 they found themselves on the way to an inn in 
 this ancient place. 
 
 " Stop," said Walter, when some distance 
 from the station house. 
 
 " What for, my son ? " asked his father. 
 
 " I have left my new gutta percha cane in 
 the cars." 
 
 " How careless ! " said Minnie. 
 
 " Wait, and I will run back," said the lad. 
 
76 
 
 THE PERCY FAMILY 
 
 He had purchased a new gutta percha walk- 
 ing stick, finely mounted with silver, just before 
 starting, and had left it in the car ; and when he 
 reached the station house the train was gone, 
 and he did not find the article, or gain any in- 
 formation as to what had become of it. 
 
 " Never mind, Walter," said his father ; " I 
 will buy you a new one. But you must be 
 more careful in future." 
 
 Walter inwardly resolved that that should be 
 the last thing he would lose if carefulness 
 could do any good ; and on the party went. 
 
 WALTER S TIME TABLE, 
 (See page 62.) 
 
A WALK ON CHESTER WALLS. 77 
 
 Chatter IV. 
 
 A WALK ON CHESTER WALLS. 
 
 AN antique looking inn, of the old style and 
 time, standing in one of the proudest streets 
 of Chester, had a look so inviting that our trav- 
 ellers entered and dined there. In an old wain- 
 scoted room, with dim and venerable pictures 
 on the walls, the table was set, and without 
 much effort of imagination Walter put himself 
 back a hundred or two years, into the old times 
 when every innkeeper was a portly man, rotund 
 and merry, or a bonnie woman, with a pretty 
 daughter ; and every inn had some fancy name, 
 varying from Black Bear to Green Dragon, from 
 White Swan to Black Ea<rle. The hostess was 
 an English lady of forty years, who doubtless 
 could say, — 
 
 " I am an innkeeper, and know my goods, 
 And study them," — 
 
 and who seemed as much at home in her busi- 
 ness as Giles Gosling or old Harry Baillie could 
 be. A hundred years ago the inn was a public 
 
73 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 institution. Men's characters and fortunes were 
 made and lost there ; it was the cradle and the 
 tomb of revolutions ; it controlled alike the par- 
 son and the hangman ; a sort of third estate, of 
 which the keeper was the autocrat. And the 
 " Swan Inn " reminded our travellers of the old 
 times ; and Walter, who had revelled in Eng- 
 lish history, grew enthusiastic in praise of 
 " mine host," as he termed the woman who an- 
 swered his calls. The swan painted on the old 
 swing sign, the old sideboard just as it used to 
 be, the long bench for the people waiting to be 
 served, all helped the illusion. 
 
 " This old room looks as if it might have 
 sliding panels and secret doors," said Walter. 
 
 " It is more likely to have rat holes and mice 
 nests," suggested Minnie. 
 
 " Try the panels, Walter," added Mr. Tenant. 
 
 Walter tried the panels, rapped them with his 
 knuckles, which, though they gave back a hollow 
 sound, did not move, and Minnie only laughed 
 at him for his pains. 
 
 Just then dinner was brought in. It con- 
 sisted of fried ham and eggs, with nice white 
 bread and coffee. The ham was cut in such 
 thin, delicate slices, the eggs looked so fresh 
 and nice, the bread was so white, the cream so 
 rich, the butter so sweet, and the coffee so clear, 
 
A WALK ON CHESTER WALLS. 79 
 
 that all thoughts of sliding panels and secret 
 doors gave place to intense satisfaction with the 
 excellent entertainment provided by the host- 
 ess ; and Walter ate as voraciously and unpoet- 
 ically as if he had not been trying to indulge in 
 romance over an old, dilapidated inn, and an 
 old, wretched room therein. 
 
 Dinner over, the party went out to see the 
 town ; and a quaint old town they found it to 
 be. It gives the traveller a very fine idea of the 
 style of the middle ages ; for enough yet re- 
 mains of the old English fashion, that one seems 
 taken back two or three centuries. The place 
 retains all the peculiar plainness of the English 
 architecture of a dead and buried age, and the 
 times of William the Conqueror seem here to 
 be handed down to us. As they walked along, 
 looking up at the curiously constructed houses, 
 Walter asked his father, " Who founded this 
 place ? " 
 
 " I don't know, indeed. Sir Thomas Elyot, 
 in 1520, declared that Magus, son of Japhet, 
 was its founder." 
 
 " What, almost as old as the flood ? " 
 
 " That would make it so ; but Ranulph Hig- 
 den, a monkish historian of the place, tells us 
 the founder was a giant, Leon Gawr, who began 
 by building mostly under ground." 
 
80 THE PERCY FAMILY 
 
 --*• 
 
 " And which statement can we take ? " 
 
 " Probably neither is correct — but every 
 thing around us indicates that the city is very 
 ancient ; and probably, if you say it is one of 
 the oldest in the world, you will not come far 
 out of the way." 
 
 " When do we have reliable information in 
 relation to its condition ? " 
 
 " About tbe times of Roman power in the 
 island we begin to get positive information, and 
 after that it figures conspicuously on the pages 
 of history." 
 
 By this time the party had arrived at the flight 
 of steps over which they were to reach the top 
 of the old Roman wall that entirely surrounds 
 the town. The ancient Britons had mud walls 
 where these now stand : but when the Romans 
 in their ruthless power rolled over the land, they 
 were swept away, and the massive towers and 
 thick battlements we now see rose in their place. 
 
 There is not a city in England where the 
 walls are so perfect as these. They form a 
 rampart around the town, and furnish one of 
 the most delightful promenades imaginable. 
 The visitor can look down upon the crooked 
 streets, quaint houses, and ruined churches on 
 one side, and out upon the wide, open country 
 ">n the other side. These walls are a little more 
 
A WALK ON CHESTER WALLS. 81 
 
 than one and three fourth miles long, and every 
 foot is rich with historic interest. Britons, 
 Saxons, and Danes have shed their blood upon 
 them ; and they stand to-day, after many cen 
 turies have beat upon them, monuments of hu 
 man passion and the fates of war. No stranger 
 ever goes into Chester without taking a walk 
 upon these walls, and no traveller who has once 
 walked around will ever forget the strange im- 
 pressions made upon his mind. 
 
 Commencing the circuit, under the guidance 
 of an old man, who was born in Chester, and 
 who told Walter he had never been Um miles 
 away from the town, they were pointed to the 
 place where once stood the " Saddler's Tower," 
 which, falling into a dangerous state of decay, 
 was taken down nearly a bundled years ago. 
 It was once the meeting place of a company of 
 saddlers, and derived its name from tin's circum- 
 stance. A few paces on, and a majestic tower 
 rose before them. The old man said, " This is 
 called the Phoenix Tower. Hundreds of years 
 ago, it was known as Newton Tower." 
 
 " Why is it called Phoenix Tower now ? " 
 asked Walter. 
 
 " Because," said the guide, " the figure of a 
 phoenix is over the front of it. Do you see it 
 there ? " 
 
 vol. I. 6 
 
82 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 " Yes, and I see an inscription. What is it ? " 
 Walter read aloud, — 
 
 KING CHARLES 
 
 STOOD ON THIS TOWER 
 
 SEPTEMBER XXIV. MDCXLV . AND SAW 
 
 HIS ARMY DEFEATED 
 
 ON ROWTON MOOR. 
 
 The guide then gave a long description of the 
 battle. Charles had suffered several terrible 
 defeats ; his army had been driven from point to 
 point, and now lie stood gazing upon the battle 
 which was to test his strength, and, perhaps, de- 
 cide the fate of his kingdom. He waited not 
 long ; the contest became more terrible, and 
 soon the shouts of the soldiers of Cromwell an- 
 nounced to him that his cause was lost, and that 
 he must flee. Soon his soldiers came crowding 
 in upon him, followed by the psalm-singing le- 
 gions of the Protector. 
 
 Tli is was the account given by the guide, and 
 Walter said he would remember the statement, 
 and compare it with the facts, and see if it was 
 correct ; which he afterwards did, and found the 
 old gentleman was not wholly right in his de- 
 scription, as the guides are not always expected 
 to be. 
 
 From the top of this tower a fine view was 
 
A WALK ON CHESTER WALLS. 83 
 
 obtained, and tbe gentlemen stood admiring it ; 
 but Minnie and Walter plied the old gentleman 
 with questions about the battle. They were ab 
 sorbed in that, and the guide, seeing their ear- 
 nestness, told them he would answer any ques- 
 tions they might ask about it. 
 
 " What did the king do," said Minnie, " when 
 he saw the men run ? " 
 
 " He walked slowly and sadly down over the 
 steps by which you came in, leaning on the arm 
 of an honorable citizen of the place." 
 
 " How long did he stay here ? " 
 
 " He escaped the next day, and went to an- 
 other part of the kingdom." 
 
 " What became of him ? " 
 
 "He was executed — beheaded within three 
 years afterwards." 
 
 " And what did the opposing army do when 
 the king had gone ? " 
 
 " They staid in front of the city until famine 
 and starvation compelled the governor to 
 surrender ; then the gate was opened, the 
 soldiers marched in, destroyed the fortress, 
 defaced the public works, and did much mis- 
 chief." 
 
 Leaving the tower, they came to the north 
 gate, and the children, on looking over the wall, 
 saw that a street passed under it, and that over 
 
84 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 the street was a noble arched gate, amid the 
 stones of which the humble ivy clung — a gate- 
 way which, in years past, had admitted kings 
 and conquerors to the ancient city. It was 
 curious to look down upon the queer houses be- 
 low, with their peculiar roofs and sides, looking 
 as if they belonged to a dead age. 
 
 Next they reached the watch lower, called 
 Morgan's Mount, on which, in times of war, a 
 battery is placed ; and woe to the enemy that 
 comes within reach of its guns. Walter was 
 anxious to know whence the tower derived its 
 name, but the guide could not tell him. While 
 the rest went on, he ran up the winding stair- 
 case, to an open space on the top, and had 
 another fine view of the country, at which he 
 gazed with so much interest, that he almost for- 
 got that he was alone, and was called to his 
 senses by the shout of his father, who wished to 
 hurry him along. He found the rest of the 
 party in front of the Goblin Tower, a semicircu- 
 lar structure, now called Pemberton's Parlor. 
 
 " What is this ? " said Walter, as he came up 
 to his friends. 
 
 " The Goblin Tower," answered the old 
 guide. 
 
 " Why do they call it so ? " 
 
 The old man then related a long ghost story, 
 
A WALK ON CHESTER WALLS. 85 
 
 from which he said the tower derived its name. 
 But as such foolish stories never should be told, 
 we will not repeat what he said. It is foolish 
 for any one to believe in ghost stories, and 
 little boys have far more reason to be afraid of 
 wicked men, and even of their own wicked 
 hearts, than of ghosts and goblins. 
 
 Next the attention of the party was attracted 
 by some modern baths, which were reached by a 
 flight of stone steps. The day was warm, and 
 Minnie was weary, and so it was agreed that the 
 company should sit a while on the wall, resting 
 and enjoying the prospect, while Walter in- 
 dulged in the luxury of a bath, which was ob- 
 tained for a penny, or two cents. When he re- 
 turned they started on, and soon came to two 
 towers, near each other, one called Bonewal- 
 des-thorne's Tower, and the other the Water 
 Tower. Walter tried to pronounce the name of 
 the first, but made poor work of it, and Minnie 
 asked him if he was talking Dutch or Hindoo. 
 Both of these towers are much shattered. The 
 Puritan cannon was planted on Bruera's Hill, at a 
 little distance, and these riddled towers tell of the 
 mischief done by them. In them are kept many 
 trophies of other days, which Walter and Minnie 
 examined with much care. Here are rusty 
 swords and daggers, with the blood of murder 
 
86 . THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 yet eating in ; here are trophies taken in battle, 
 mingled with the peaceful evidences of better 
 days. 
 
 Thus the party went on, by the infirmary, and 
 the city jail, the remains of Black Friars 
 Monastery, the castle, and many other things 
 which were odd and pleasing to the eye. They 
 made a hasty visit to the armory of the castle, 
 where they saw thirty thousand stands of arms. 
 The children were amazed at this display, and 
 Mr. Percy told them that these arms were kept 
 here in time of peace, but if war should be de- 
 clared, they would be taken to supply the sol- 
 diers who would enlist. 
 
 As they again stood on the wall, the guide 
 said, " Here you see the River Dee flowing along 
 by the town." 
 
 " Where ? " inquired Walter. 
 
 " Why, right before you, my little man." 
 
 " What, this insignificant stream here ? " 
 
 " You must remember, my son," said Mr. 
 Percy, " that the rivers of England are not like 
 those in America. Here a stream which in our 
 country would be too small for a name, is digni- 
 fied with the appellation of ' river,' and is 
 looked upon as an important feature of the 
 country." 
 
 " I have read so much about the ' noble Dee,' 
 
A WALK ON CHESTER WALLS. 8? 
 
 that I thought it would be like the Hudson, or, 
 at least, as large as Charles River." 
 
 " Well, if you don't like the river, look at that 
 bridge, and see how you like that," said the 
 guide, pointing to a bridge thrown across the 
 stream. " It has but one arch, but that is the 
 largest stone arch in the world." 
 
 " How much is the span ? " asked Mr. Percy. 
 
 " Two hundred feet," was the reply. 
 
 " What do you call it ? " 
 
 " Grosvenor's Bridge, and it cost thirty thou- 
 sand pounds." 
 
 Soon they reached a flight of steps, leading 
 down from the wall, and the attention of the 
 children was directed to them. " There," said 
 the guide, " are the Wishing Steps." 
 
 " Wishing Steps ! " said Walter ; " what are 
 they called so for ? " 
 
 " I will tell you, as it was told me long ago. 
 If any person will wish for any thing, though it 
 be a crown or a throne, a kingdom or a fortune, 
 And run up these steps once, and down again, 
 and then up to the top the second time, without 
 taking breath, he will have his wish." 
 
 Walter went to the foot of the steps, and 
 thought over what most he wished, and then 
 started up the steps ; but when he arrived at the 
 top the first time, he found himself out of 
 
88 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 breath, and, with considerable vehemence, de- 
 clared the steps " a cheat, for nobody could go 
 over them twice without taking breath." 
 
 As they went on, laughing at Walter for his 
 pains, they came to the place where they first 
 mounted the wall, and, passing down the long 
 flight of steps, found themselves in the street 
 below. Minnie was amused at the names of 
 the streets. She found them so curious that she 
 wrote some of them down on a paper — such as 
 Watergate Street, Common Hall Street, Linen 
 Hall Street. And then there were many lanes, 
 such as Love Lane, Fleshmongers Lane, (so called 
 because many butchers formerly resided there,) 
 the Old Law Lane, and many others. And then 
 there were roivs, — such as Paradise Row, 
 Brokenshin Row, Pepper Alley Row. There 
 are " places " running in from the street, and 
 one of these Minnie noticed was called " Puppet 
 Show Entry." All these curious names are de- 
 rived from something in the past, which now has 
 no existence ; but the names remain, as curious 
 as the city itself. 
 
 The houses of Chester should be described. 
 Many of them were built centuries ago, and 
 have all the characteristics of the olden times. 
 They are erected so as to protect the sidewalk 
 in front, the second story projecting over the 
 
A WALK ON CHESTER WALLS. 89 
 
 street, and supported on pillars, so that a man 
 may walk the whole length of a street in a 
 rainy day, looking into the windows of the shops, 
 and not be wet. These rude arcades furnish 
 shelter from the storm, and protect from the 
 burning rays of the summer sun. 
 
 In many of these houses the frames are seen, 
 being on the outside, and filled in with plaster 
 or cement. A house thus finished makes a 
 grotesque and lively appearance, the plaster be- 
 ing drab or white, and the beams, posts, braces, 
 and other timbers, being painted red or green. 
 Some of the modern houses are built in this 
 style to conform to the old ones, which are fall- 
 ing to pieces with age. It is not seldom that the 
 fronts of these houses are profusely ornamented. 
 There is an old structure known as Bishop 
 Lloyd's House, which is very old, its history run- 
 ning back many hundreds of years. The whole 
 front is covered with carvings of Scripture 
 scenes, and though ancient and unique, it stands 
 as a wonderful specimen of art ; and the party 
 lingered long before it, gazing on it with admi- 
 ration. 
 
 In passing from spot to spot, they came to 
 the Stanley House, so called because a family 
 of that name built it for a city palace. On its 
 front are carved the figures 1591, indicating the 
 
90 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 date of its erection. It has three elaborately 
 carved gables, and is probably one of the oldest 
 timber houses in the world ; and many go to look 
 at it with interest and pleasure. 
 
 They came to the " Yatch Inn," and as Wal- 
 ter looked upon its venerable walls, he asked his 
 father what there was about the inn that made 
 it seem familiar. 
 
 " I don't know, my son." 
 
 " Well, I have heard of this inn somewhere, 
 and there is some history connected with it 
 which I cannot now recall." 
 
 Mr. Tenant assisted the memory of Walter, 
 and asked him if he had not heard of the anec- 
 dote of Dean Swift, the witty, eccentric, and 
 sacrilegious ecclesiastic, which is found in the 
 hand-books of Chester. 
 
 " No, I never did. What is it ? " 
 
 " Why, it is said that the dean came to Ches- 
 ter, and stopped at the ' Yatch Inn,' and from 
 his rooms sent out for a number of clergymen 
 to come and dine with him. They did not 
 know the dean, or, not caring to make his 
 friendship, did not come. The table was spread, 
 and groaned beneath the luxuries placed upon 
 it, but the dean was the only person to sit down 
 to it. He was chagrined and shamed by the 
 treatment, and scratched upon the window 
 
ODS PROVIDENCE HOU 
 
A WALK ON CHESTER WALLS. 93 
 
 of his room the following couplet, which re- 
 mained for a long time : — 
 
 * Rotten without and mouldering within, 
 This place and its clergy are both near akin.' " 
 
 There was another house in Chester that in- 
 terested the whole party very much ; and even 
 Minnie, who said she hated old buildings and 
 fallen churches, could not but view it with emo- 
 tion. In Watergate Street stands the old timber 
 house on the front of which is a very striking 
 inscription — 
 
 GOD'S PROVIDENCE IS MINE INHERITANCE. 
 
 The house is called " God's Providence 
 House," and the children were very anxious to 
 know its history. The old guide told them the 
 story, which affected them very much. He told 
 them that in the year 1652, a disease called the 
 " Sweating Plague " was prevalent in England, 
 and Chester was dreadfully scourged by it. It 
 appeared mostly among men, but few women 
 being smitten by it. In that dreadful year, about 
 one thousand persons died in this little place of 
 this malignant disease. The city had been 
 ravaged by war, but this new besieger seemed 
 invincible, and the noblest citizens were hurried 
 
94 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 into eternity. Silence reigned in the streets, 
 and the grass grew where, until now, the dust 
 was pressed by the tramp of man and beast. 
 One house, that now before us, was un visited by 
 the King of Terrors. It was occupied by a 
 Quaker family, and was the only one in the whole 
 place where death had not set his fatal signet. 
 This one family alone escaped the pestilence 
 that walked in darkness and wasted at noonday. 
 The house now bears the inscription above men- 
 tioned, and is an affecting illustration of that 
 providence that wrote " passover " on the door- 
 posts of this one single habitation, when all 
 others in that city were scourged with death. 
 
 They found an old lady sitting in the door- 
 way, plying her needle, and Mr. Percy addressed 
 her thus : " Do you have many visitors to see 
 this house ? " 
 
 " Yes, scores every day." 
 
 " Then you make it profitable." 
 
 " 0, no ; they do not come in, but content 
 themselves with gazing on the outside." 
 
 " Do you know who had the inscription carved 
 on the front of your house ? " 
 
 " The good man who lived here when the 
 plague prevailed. He did not do as many others 
 do when spared by Heaven's bounty and be- 
 neficence." 
 
A WALK ON CHESTER WALLS. 95 
 
 " All, what is that ? " 
 " Forgot iti a day God's providence. " 
 " Good woman, yon are quite a preacher." 
 " No ; God's providence preaches from the 
 inscription on this honse ; but there are few 
 that profit by the preaching." 
 
 Mr. Percy put a shilling into Walter's hand, 
 who gave it to the woman, who smiled her 
 thanks, and the party passed on until they came 
 to " the cathedral," which occupies a spot on 
 which the Romans once built a temple to Apol- 
 lo, and where, still later, had stood an object 
 of veneration — a Druid temple. An abbey, in 
 which devout monks chanted and sang, took 
 the place of these, and in 1402 this gorgeous, 
 majestic cathedral rose in massive grandeur and 
 elegant proportions. It is built of red sand, 
 
 stone, and time has been rounding its edges> 
 until they look now like huge, red, round 
 paving stones, set in the wall. The niches, 
 which abound on the outside of the building, 
 are now tcnantless, the images and effigies that 
 once filled them having fallen out ; and the 
 time-worn aspect of the whole makes an im- 
 pression on the beholder which he does not soon 
 forget. 
 
 Within, the huge dimensions, the Tudor 
 arches, the beautiful stained glass windows, 
 
96 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 monuments to the memory of the illustrious 
 dead, — to Dean Swift, John Moore Napier, and 
 many others, — the massive stone screen of the 
 choir, the stairs of heavy oak, the various chap- 
 els, and all the adornments of a cathedral, are 
 grand and impressive as one can imagine. The 
 nave is one hundred and sixty feet long, seventy- 
 four and a half feet wide, and seventy-eight feet 
 high ; and standing in such a place, one can 
 easily transport himself hack to other days, can 
 call up the olden times when abbots ruled and 
 monks sang beneath this immense roof. The 
 furniture of this cathedral is very rich and 
 elegant. The pulpit is of stone, wondrously 
 carved ; the Episcopal throne is composed of 
 relics from the Abbey of St. Werburgh, the 
 pious daughter of Queen Ermenilde, and which 
 are said by the Papal authorities to have per- 
 formed astonishing miracles ; and all the various 
 objects of interest are very attractive to the 
 stranger. 
 
 Walter had never seen a cathedral before, 
 and his admiration was unbounded. He stood 
 looking upon the huge arches, or walked through 
 the transept, or gazed into the cloisters with 
 solemn awe, while Minnie was nervous and im- 
 patient to be gone. 
 
 " Come, Walter," said his father ; " we must 
 €0." 
 
A WALK ON CHESTER WALLS. 97 
 
 " 0, I could stay here a whole day. I never 
 saw any thing so grand as this rich tracery and 
 these beautiful canopies. I would like to stay 
 and study out the intricate designs on these 
 windows, and decipher the characters on the 
 tombs." 
 
 " But we have not time for that ; unless we 
 go now, we shall be obliged to leave some other 
 interesting place unvisited." 
 
 As they passed out, Mr. Percy dropped into 
 the hands of the old sexton a piece of money, 
 that being the fee expected of those for whom 
 he opened the doors. They then repaired to 
 St. John's Church, in a most superb location, 
 and very ancient in its appearance. It was 
 founded by Ethelrcd in 689, in response to a 
 vision which he had, in which God told him to 
 build a church on the spot where, in the first 
 hunt, he should take a white hind. He was not 
 disobedient to what he considered a heavenly 
 communication, and this spot was selected as 
 the result, and the church erected, and conse- 
 crated to St. John the Baptist. In 1057 the 
 edifice was repaired, and strengthened, and 
 made more beautiful. In 1468 the steeple, a 
 huge tower, fell down of its own weight, com- 
 ing through the building to the earth. It was 
 rebuilt, and again in 1572 it came crashing 
 vol. i. 7 
 
98 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 down, and was reerected on the west end of the 
 nave, and stands there to this day, one hundred 
 and fifty feet high. The hands that reared this 
 noble pile were long ago palsied in death, and 
 moulded to dust, but their work endures. The 
 main part of the church still stands, but in so 
 dilapidated a condition that the bells in the 
 tower are seldom, if ever, rung, lest the jar 
 should bring the whole structure down in one 
 promiscuous ruin. The stones which compose 
 the edifice have been rounded at the edges by 
 time, like those in the cathedral, so that they 
 will hardly hold together. And yet wonderful 
 art is seen in this old edifice and the adjoining 
 ruins ; lofty arches, noble pillars, well-turned 
 windows, letting in the " dim religious light," 
 and the steeple towering towards the skies, im- 
 press the mind of the beholder with veneration 
 and awe. 
 
 On the west side of the tower is a niche, in 
 which stands a statue of Ethelred, petting the 
 " white hind " which he saw in his vision. 
 When the tower fell, this statue was uninjured, 
 and now is an object of much interest. 
 
 " Do you suppose that God came to Ethelred 
 in a dream, father ? " asked Minnie. 
 
 "No, my child ; he might have had such a 
 dream, but God does not now communicate with 
 men in that wav." 
 
A WALK ON CHESTER WALLS. 99 
 
 " And do not the people, by keeping this 
 statue here, show that they believe the sto- 
 ry ? " 
 
 " No ; for the inhabitants of Chester are very 
 intelligent, and they only wish to perpetuate 
 what they believe to be a mere fancy of the 
 king." 
 
 The party left the church, it being near time 
 for the cars to start. They walked to the sta- 
 tion house, which is a very fine edifice, where 
 Walter found the cloaks and umbrellas of the 
 party, which he had left at the " Left Baggage 
 Office." Connected with this station, and with 
 almost all on the English railroads, there is a 
 deposit office, where articles may be left until 
 called for. On payment of a penny or two, the 
 article is taken, and a check given for it, and 
 the office is responsible for any loss. This is a 
 great convenience for the stranger who wishes to 
 stop in a town a few hours, but does not wish to 
 go to a hotel. 
 
 In the " Refreshment Room " of this depot, 
 Walter found a long table covered with writing 
 materials — pens, ink, and paper; and having 
 purchased some views of Chester on letter 
 sheets, he sat down to record the events of the 
 day, and we will open the book and read what 
 he sajs. 
 
100 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 Chester, April, 1858. 
 
 A visit to Chester is worth a voyage across 
 the ocean ; and the day I spent there will 
 long be remembered. The old wall, and the 
 churches, God's Providence House, and the 
 funny old streets, have been daguerrotyped 
 upon my memory ; and if this was the only 
 place we had to visit, it would be worth the 
 voyage. I do not like to leave the place ; its 
 memories crowd upon me, and call after me, 
 and I would like to stay long amid these old 
 scenes, the glory of which is in some degree 
 gone. 
 
 " But many a relic still is left 
 To shadow forth the past." 
 
 " Cars coming, Walter," interrupted the writ- 
 ing, and soon the whole party were settled back 
 in one of those luxurious, first-class English 
 cars, where a man can sleep at night almost as 
 well as he can on his quiet bed at home. The 
 door was locked, the train began to move, the 
 old towers of Chester faded away, and soon the 
 mountains of North Wales appeared in view. 
 
RIDE THROUGH NORTH WALES. 101 
 
 Chapter V. 
 
 RIDE THROUGH NORTH WALES. 
 
 " TtT^ nave J ust crosse d tne nne mto Wales," 
 » » said Mr. Tenant, as the train rolled on. 
 
 " How large is Wales, Mr. Tenant ? " asked 
 Walter. 
 
 " About as large as New Jersey." 
 
 " How do the Welsh people differ from the 
 English ? " 
 
 " In several respects. The language differs, 
 the habits and customs of the people differ, and 
 one would hardly suppose he was so near the 
 great heart of England, while journeying in 
 Wales. The Welsh are the descendants of the 
 ancient Britons, and their language has Celtic 
 peculiarities." 
 
 " The oldest son of Queen Victoria is called 
 the Prince of Wales. I have often wondered 
 why — can you tell me ? " 
 
 "0, yes, I can ; and the story is a short one. 
 In 1'27G, Edward I. became involved in a war 
 with Llewellyn, Prince of Wales, and finally, 
 having conquered the Welsh people, annexed the 
 
102 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 territory to his crown, and made his oldest son 
 Prince of Wales. This son was born in Caer- 
 narvon Castle, and afterwards became King of 
 England. And ever since then, the oldest son 
 of the English sovereign has held the title of 
 ' Prince of Wales,' and the distinction is little 
 more than nominal." 
 
 " Suppose the sovereign of England has no 
 son — what then ? " 
 
 " The oldest daughter is created Princess of 
 Wales." 
 
 " I have heard that Wales was a hilly coun- 
 try." 
 
 " Very hilly, as you will see as we go on. It 
 has some very high mountains, among which is 
 Mount Snowdon, which is three thousand five 
 hundred and seventy-one feet high." 
 
 " Is not Wales well supplied with old castles ? " 
 
 " It has some, and we shall see a few of them 
 as we go on, if the night does not set in." 
 
 Thus conversing, they rode on through a very 
 fine and picturesque country, by many very 
 pleasant looking towns, and within sight of many 
 old castles. Walter made acquaintance with 
 an old gentleman who had come into the car, 
 and of him he gained much reliable informa- 
 tion as they progressed. " Did you ever hear 
 of Christmas Evans ? " asked Walter. 
 
RIDE THROUGH NORTH WALES. 103 
 
 " 0, yes, my lad." 
 
 " Did you ever hear him preach ? " 
 
 " Many a time." 
 
 " Was he as eloquent as the few extracts of his 
 discourses which I have seen would indicate ? " 
 
 " He was a very eloquent man, and lived 
 about ten miles from the place where we now 
 are, and his memory is much cherished by the 
 Welsh people, among whom he lived and la- 
 bored." 
 
 Minnie called the attention of Walter to the 
 fact that the farther they went, the poorer the 
 people seemed to be. The cottages along the 
 way had very poor walls, and simple thatched 
 roofs, and in the fields women by scores were at 
 work. 
 
 The party arrived at Menai Straits just as the 
 dark mantles of night were falling on the earth. 
 These straits separate Wales from the Island of 
 Anglesea, and are spanned by two bridges of 
 much note. The Suspension Bridge was the 
 first of the kind built in Europe ; six years were 
 required for its construction, and its total cost 
 was about one million dollars. 
 
 " How does this Suspension Bridge compare 
 with that over Niagara River, below the Falls ? " 
 asked Walter of his father. 
 
 " That cost only four hundred thousand dol- 
 lars." 
 
104 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 »o>8>4oo 
 
 " Did the same architect design them both ? " 
 
 " No, the Niagara Bridge was designed and 
 constructed by Mr. Roebling, an American, and 
 this by Mr. Telford." 
 
 Over the Menai Straits is also thrown the fa- 
 mous Britannia Tubular Bridge, one of the won- 
 ders of the world ; and the cars dashed into its 
 hollow passage, and emerging on the other side, 
 stopped to give the passengers time to go back 
 and see it. 
 
 " What is the Tubular Bridge, father ? " asked 
 Minnie. 
 
 " It is an iron tube, stretched across the straits, 
 for the cars to go through." 
 
 " An iron bridge ? " 
 
 " Yes, it is constructed of plates of iron, about 
 half an inch thick, and two or three feet square." 
 
 " How are they put together ? " 
 
 " They are heavily and closely riveted togeth- 
 er, making a square tube, wide enough for two 
 tracks, on which two trains can meet, and high 
 enough for the smoke pipe of the locomotive. 
 Strong iron knees and braces add to the strength 
 of the structure." 
 
 " Does not the bridge sag some ? " 
 
 " No, when the most heavy-laden freight train 
 rolls over it, it is not even seen to vibrate." 
 
 " How long is the bridge ? " 
 
RIDE THROUGH NORTH WALES. 107 
 
 " I do not know the whole length of the bridge, 
 but the tube is about three hundred feet, and is 
 about one hundred feet above the water, and 
 rests on two substantial piers." 
 
 " How did they manage to get it up into its 
 place ? " 
 
 " By some hydraulic process, I believe." 
 
 They had now reached the bridge, and found 
 it to be indeed a most remarkable structure — 
 an iron tube, of plates riveted in three thick- 
 nesses to appear as one, yet to have the strength 
 of three, resting on its piers as firmly as if the 
 span was but a dozen yards. 
 
 " And where are we now ? " asked Walter. 
 
 " We are on the Island of Anglesea." 
 
 " Is that island a part of Wales ? " 
 
 " It forms one county of Wales." 
 
 " How large is it ? " 
 
 " I think it is about twenty-four miles long, 
 and seventeen broad, and has a population of 
 about thirty-seven thousand souls." 
 
 " And how wide is this strait ? " 
 
 " About half a mile, I should judge." 
 
 Having seen the tube, and finding the night 
 so dark that little else could be distinguished, 
 they entered the cars, where the conversation 
 about bridges was resumed. 
 
 "I remember seeing it stated," remarked 
 
108 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 Mr. Tenant, " that over the River Rhone, near 
 Avignon, in South France, the seat of the popes 
 when they were banished from Rome, and where 
 their old palace, used for a prison, still stands, 
 there is the Bridge of the ' Holy Spirit,' — the 
 somewhat inappropriate and singular title of one 
 of the longest stone bridges in the world, — built 
 six hundred years ago, the first bridge ever 
 thrown across the Rhone. It has twenty-six 
 arches, and is the noblest structure of its kind 
 in France. It was built by a religious society 
 called " The Brethren of the Bridge," and their 
 object was the protection of travellers from the 
 banditti, who, acting as ferrymen, robbed their 
 victims, and threw them into the river." 
 
 " Do you know," asked Walter, " which the 
 oldest bridge in England is ? " 
 
 " That at Croyland, in Lincolnshire, is the 
 oldest." 
 
 " When was it built ? " 
 
 " In the year 860 ; and none but foot passen- 
 gers go over it." 
 
 " Which is the longest bridge ': " asked Minnie. 
 
 " The longest in England ? " 
 
 " Yes, sir," 
 
 " That over the Trent, at Staffordshire, which 
 is built of freestone." 
 
 " How long is that ? " 
 
RIDE THROUGH NORTH WALES. 109 
 
 " It is fifteen hundred and forty-five feet long, 
 lias thirty-four arches, and was built in the 
 twelfth century." 
 
 "How long is the famous London Bridge, of 
 which we havj heard so much ? " 
 
 44 Only nine hundred and ninety-five feet 
 long. 
 
 " You will see," added he, " when you get 
 to London, some of the finest bridges in the 
 world. Those which cross the Thames are very 
 finely built, and you will admire them." 
 
 The ride from Chester had been so pleasant, 
 and the time passed away so quickly, that Walter 
 was sorry when he arrived at Holyhead, where the 
 party were to take steamer for Dublin. Though 
 it was late at night, it was resolved to go on, as 
 a steamer would start in an hour or two. They 
 left the cars, and were standing in the station 
 house, when a voice was heard : — 
 
 " Supper all ready ! hot, hot supper." 
 
 It is strange what a voracious appetite is 
 given one by travelling ; and though Minnie had 
 taken an ample collation a little while before, she 
 now declared she was " hungry as a bear." 
 A.nd Walter said that there was " not food 
 enough in town for him" — a specimen of ex- 
 travagant speaking, on the part of each, which 
 sounds very foolish in people, young or old. 
 
110 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 The party stumbled through darkness and 
 obstacles into a very comfortable restaurant, 
 where they found all the accommodations for 
 supper, which was relished by all. As they sat 
 at the table, Mr. Percy asked his daughter, — 
 
 " What do you think mamma is doing at 
 home, Minnie ? " 
 
 " Why, she is sound asleep, of course." 
 
 " What do you think, Walter ? " 
 
 " I suppose she is taking tea, and thinking 
 of us." 
 
 " Taking tea at this time of night ! That 
 would be funny ! " cried Minnie. " She is asleep, 
 for it is nearly midnight." 
 
 " Do you not remember what we talked about 
 the other day, when you thought your watch 
 was not a good one ? " asked Mr. Percy. 
 
 " 0, yes, yes, I forgot ; well, let me see ; it is 
 just about seven o'clock in Boston." 
 
 " Suppose, Minnie, you could send a tele- 
 gram to your mother," said Mr. Tenant ; " what 
 time would she get it ? " 
 
 " I think, if the ocean telegraph was laid, she 
 would get our message as soon as it started." 
 
 " She would get it some hours before it 
 started," said Walter. 
 
 " Worse and worse, Walter," replied Minnie ; 
 " by and by you will begin to argue that 
 
RIDE THROUGH NORTH WALES. Ill 
 
 we shall get home before we started to come 
 out." 
 
 "I see, sis, that you need light." 
 
 " All I get from you is darkness on this sub- 
 ject. Do sit down some time and explain, for 
 when I meet some one who does not know so 
 much as I do, I wish to appear wise, as my 
 learned brother does," was the sarcastic reply. 
 
 Walter would have replied, but his father 
 checked him with a kind word, which changed 
 the subject of conversation, and the supper ended 
 without any more sharp shooting between the 
 young people. 
 
 Mr. Percy and Mr. Tenant went out to see if 
 they could form any idea of the place they were 
 in, but came back to the children without know- 
 ing whether the town was large or small, for the 
 night was dark, and a drizzly rain and dense 
 fog had set in, and no discoveries could be made. 
 
112 THE PERCY FAMILY 
 
 Chapter VI. 
 
 CROSSING THE CHANNEL. 
 
 " OTEAMER ready ! all aboard ! " called our 
 ^ friends from the shelter of the friendly 
 restaurant ; and they were soon on board a mis- 
 erable steamboat, used for conveying freight and 
 cattle across the Channel. The regular steamer 
 had gone some hours before the arrival of the 
 late train. A glance was sufficient to assure Mr. 
 Percy that the comforts of that night were few, 
 and that the crossing would be tedious. 
 
 The whole party stood a few moments on deck, 
 debating as to the best plans for securing a 
 night's rest ; and as the ponderous wheels began 
 to move, they went below. Here they were in- 
 formed that no berths were provided, but the 
 settees could be used for sleeping purposes. 
 Mr. Percy at once collected two or three cush- 
 ions, and made a comfortable bed for Minnie, 
 who, wrapping her travelling dress close about 
 her, lay down to sleep. A place was next 
 found for Walter, who had his carpet bag for a 
 pillow, and his father's heavy coat as a coverlet. 
 
CROSSING THE CHANNEL. 113 
 
 Two or three men were already stowed away in 
 the cabin, and Mr. Tenant took a settee, one 
 end of which was already occupied, and Mr. 
 Percy found a comfortable sofa, on which he 
 cast himself. But they were destined to have 
 but little sleep. One of the passengers was an 
 old English officer, who, after our friends were 
 well settled, went into the particulars of a story 
 which he was relating when broken in upon by 
 Mr. Percy and his party. The story related to 
 the wonderful escapes and the dreadful dangers 
 of his military life. The fountain from which 
 he drew his facts seemed to be exhaustless ; 
 one thing led into another, and his tale of mili- 
 tary wonders, which would have astonished Na- 
 poleon or Wellington, seemed interminable. 
 He had been in the Crimea, and was present 
 when General McMahon planted the French 
 flag on the very summit of the Malakhoff, 
 while the dying and the dead lay in heaps all 
 around. At one time he was wounded on the 
 field, and left for dead ; at another time he 
 was surrounded with foes, and, with the valor 
 of desperation, cut his way through, and es- 
 caped ; at another time he led a line of soldiers 
 against overwhelming numbers, and came off 
 victorious. The more the old man talked, the 
 VOL. i. 8 
 
114 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 more enthusiastic he became, until the patience 
 of Mr. Tenant was exhausted. 
 
 " Look here, my friend," he cried, at length ; 
 " did they sleep any in the Crimea ? " 
 
 " 0, yes, we slept, but had sentinels out." 
 
 " Well, if you talked as much there as now, 
 I do not see how any body got any sleep." 
 
 " I profess to be a gentleman, and know when 
 to speak and when to stop." 
 
 " I should judge you to be a volcano of words; 
 and if you have any mercy upon us poor fel- 
 lows, who have been travelling all day, do stop, 
 and let us get some sleep." 
 
 And then he added, " I do not mean to be 
 rude, sir, but really we would like to go to 
 sleep." 
 
 The old man drew his head down into his 
 shaggy coat, and said no more ; and soon the 
 whole company gave evidence of being in pro- 
 found slumber. Walter found it to be a tedious, 
 restless night. His hard couch did not do much 
 to rest his weary limbs, and he awoke again and 
 again from a disturbed and unrefreshing sleep, 
 with troublous and exciting dreams. At one 
 time he dreamed that he was at home, and his 
 father was away in Europe, and news came of 
 his death, wringing with sorrow the heart of his 
 
CROSSING THE CHANNEL. 115 
 
 mother. Again he dreamed he was on the 
 ocean, and the vessel came in collision with a 
 dreadful iceberg, and was dashed to pieces, and 
 through a long, dark night, and a cold and 
 dreary day, he floated on a huge lump of ice, 
 that crumbled with every wave that dashed 
 against it. 
 
 At length the whole company were startled 
 with a terrible shriek from one of the sleepers, 
 who, oppressed with nightmare, raised a terrific 
 yell, that brought every man to his feet. The 
 attitude of the company was somewhat ludi- 
 crous. A dim light shone in the cabin, and half 
 a dozen persons, some with their coats thrown 
 off, others with handkerchiefs bound around 
 their heads, stood looking at each other, ;*.nd say- 
 ing, " What is it ? " 
 
 " Father, father, is the steamer sinking c i " cried 
 Minnie. 
 
 " That is too bad ! " was the exclamation of 
 Mr. Tenant. 
 
 " Haw, haw, haw," laughed the old soldier. 
 
 " Come, friend Tenant, no more sleep." said 
 Mr. Percy. 
 
 All this time the unconscious cause of this 
 commotion was lying on the bench, breathing 
 hard, but unmindful of the scene before him. 
 Walter, when he found there was no trovhte, 
 
116 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 lay down again, and tried to sleep, but found tbe 
 tbing impossible ; and soon after, seeing his 
 father go out of the cabin, he followed him on 
 deck. The morning was just appearing in the 
 east ; several large vessels were in sight, the 
 royal mail steamer was just then going by, and 
 in the distance the long, dark coast of hazy Ire- 
 land could be seen. The morning was very fine ; 
 the Channel, which is usually rough and boister- 
 ous, was placid and smooth ; and the view around 
 was charmingly beautiful. Soon Kingston was 
 in view, a town named in honor of George IV., 
 formerly called Ihmleary. It has a most excel- 
 lent harbor, designed to afford a refuge for ves- 
 sels in distress, and is a few miles from the city 
 of Dublin. It occupies a very fine position, and 
 around it are several interesting ruins. The old 
 castle of Monktown, shattered by the assaults of 
 time and war, is near at hand. The remains of 
 Castle Bullock are close to the pier, and are 
 visited by every one who lands at Kingston. 
 The three castles of Dalkey, erected long ago 
 for the defence of the coast, are situated at a 
 little distance away, and the traveller from an- 
 other land will find no want of objects of inter- 
 est even on this rocky promontory of the Irish 
 coast. A railroad is stretched from Kingston to 
 Dublin, and the whole distance is lined with 
 
CROSSING THE CHANNEL. 117 
 
 pretty villas, thatched cottages, and the various 
 indications of Irish life. 
 
 Slowly sweeping by Kingston, the steamer rode 
 into Dublin Bay, a beautiful sheet of water, into 
 which the world-famed LifFey pours its tum- 
 bling waves. The emotions of Walter were pe- 
 culiar as he saw the monuments, steeples, and 
 towers of Dublin in view. He had seen the 
 Irish people as they exist in America, and had 
 judged very wrongly of the Irish nation by these 
 specimens, and was hardly prepared to see the 
 capital of Ireland rising out of the waves, and 
 crowning the shore as beautifully and gayly as his 
 own Boston rises out of the Atlantic, and crowns 
 the bay of Massachusetts. 
 
 " 0, how beautiful ! " was his delighted ex- 
 clamation, as he stood on the steamer's deck, 
 and the successive scenes of interest passed be- 
 fore him : and as the morning sun shone upon 
 the city of O'Connell and the great men of 
 whom he had read, he fairly clapped his hands 
 for joy. 
 
 " father," he cried, " I shall like Ireland ; I 
 know I shall." 
 
 " What makes you think so, my son ? " 
 
 " Why, the hills look so green, and the sun 
 looks so bright, and the morning seems to dawn 
 so beautifully, that I know I shall like it." 
 
118 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 " I suppose you will like it, because you will 
 see old castles and ruins," said Minnie, " I 
 thought so when I heard father telling you of 
 those old castles out there on the headland — 
 Monkey, Bullock, and Duckey castles I believe 
 he called them. As for rne, I shall keep my 
 likes until 1 get to Paris or Brussels." 
 
 " Every one to his taste," said Walter, his face 
 kindling with new enthusiasm, as the steamer 
 came near the city, and the public buildings be- 
 came more distinct. 
 
 Soon the vessel touched the pier, and the 
 whole company, with their carpet bags and bag- 
 gage, leaped on shore, and stood on the soil of 
 Dublin. 
 
THE IRISH CAPITAL. 11§ 
 
 Chapter VII. 
 
 THE IRISH CAPITAL. 
 
 " \/\7^k^' they have ' dumped ' us down in 
 
 » f Dublin, as the natives would say," said 
 Mr. Tenant. 
 
 " Certainly they have ; and where shall we 
 go now ? " 
 
 " Have you any hotel on your memorandum, 
 Walter ? " asked Mr. Percy. 
 
 " Yes, sir, I have the name of the Imperial, 
 that some one has given me as an excellent 
 house." 
 
 Several men, who had been standing about, 
 now appeared, and their purposes were evident 
 at once. 
 
 " Have a cab, sir ? " asked one. 
 
 " Do you wish for a hotel ? " asked another. 
 
 " Shall I carry your bags ? " inquired a third. 
 
 " This way, this way ; I will show you to the 
 best hotel," cried a fourth. 
 
 " Stop, friends, stop ; which hotel is the best 
 one ? " asked Mr. Percy. 
 
 " The Bilton," cried one. 
 
120 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 " The Imperial," cried another. 
 
 " Reynolds," shouted a third. 
 
 " Prince of Wales," cried a fourth. 
 
 And one clutched the baggage, crying, " 1 
 drive to Bilton's ; " and another laid hold of 
 the children, saying, " Get in, get in ; I drive 
 to Gresham." Walter laughed ; Minnie was 
 afraid ; Mr. Tenant, with a smile, said, " Friend 
 Percy, make up your mind, and decide quickly." 
 Mr. Percy, breaking from the crowd which by 
 this time had gathered around, called a modest- 
 looking young man, who stood with his cab at a 
 little distance, and said to him, " Drive us to 
 the Imperial." 
 
 The hungry crowd at once fell back, and the 
 young man, who had lost nothing by his mod- 
 esty, gathered up the baggage, and assisting his 
 passengers into his vehicle, cracked his whip, 
 and they drove rapidly up into the city. Turn- 
 ing into the beautiful Sackville Street, and pass- 
 ing several fine edifices, the carriage drew up 
 before the door of a comfortable-looking, quiet 
 hotel. At once several porters ran out, and 
 seized the baggage, and led the travellers in. 
 
 They were seated in a comfortable parlor for 
 a few minutes, when Mr. Percy was called to 
 select his apartments. He found a suit of 
 high-posted, lofty rooms, all of them somewhat 
 
THE IRISH CAPITAL. 121 
 
 gloomy, but very clean and airy, and at once 
 engaged them at a very moderate sum. 
 
 Breakfast was ordered, and while it was being 
 prepared, the party attended to toilet duties, 
 and in arranging their apartments, so as to 
 make themselves comfortable during their stay. 
 As the time they were to remain in Dublin 
 was quite limited, every moment was to be im- 
 proved ; and no sooner was breakfast finished 
 than the day's work commenced. The land- 
 lord, at the request of Mr. Percy, sent for a 
 j anting car, in which they were to ride through 
 the city. 
 
 With this janting car the children were much 
 pleased. It was a vehicle altogether unlike 
 any they had ever seen. It was a two-wheel 
 carriage, something like an old-fashioned baker's 
 cart, with seats on each side for two persons, 
 and one in front for the driver. These seats 
 are back to back, and the persons occupying 
 them sit with their side to the driver, looking 
 outward. Constructed in a light, easy style, it 
 becomes at once a very useful, convenient, and 
 graceful carriage to ride in. One can mount 
 and dismount with perfect ease, and our travel- 
 lers were charmed with it. In all the places in 
 Ireland visited by them, they found it used by 
 all classes, the high and low, rich and poor. 
 
122 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 Gay ladies and noblemen were seen dashing 
 about from place to place, dresses fluttering in 
 the breeze, and the light, fantastic vehicles 
 rolling over the ground with the greatest ve- 
 locity. 
 
 Walter wondered why such carriages were not 
 used in the suburbs of Boston ; he thought they 
 would be admirable on the macadamized roads 
 in the vicinity of the metropolis for short pleas- 
 ure tours. 
 
 The hotel from which they started was on 
 Sackville Street. This street is one of the most 
 beautiful thoroughfares in the world, and the 
 Dublin people think no other city can present its 
 equal. Long, straight, and wide, it has many 
 beautiful edifices, and is always thronged by the 
 business men of the place. Several of the finest 
 hotels, the General Post Office, and a number of 
 noted public buildings rear their huge fronts on 
 this street. 
 
 About midway between Rutland Square and 
 the River Liffey, in this street, stands the Nel- 
 son Pillar, a fine Doric column one hundred 
 and thirty feet high, surmounted by a life-look- 
 ing statue of that naval hero. There stands 
 Nelson, in his dead eloquence, looking down 
 upon the thousands of people who surge along 
 below, reminding the beholder of one of the 
 
THE IRISH CAPITAL. 123 
 
 bravest men, and one of the most revered of all 
 the naval heroes of Great Britain. 
 
 The top of this pillar is reached by a winding 
 staircase, which is ascended in the dark, the 
 poor traveller striking his head against the 
 stony sides of the pillar at almost every step. 
 
 The view of the city from this monument is 
 \<iiy fine, the streets, houses, and public build- 
 ings, not crowded and confused, like those of 
 London, but regular and orderly, lying like a 
 map before the eye. The old cathedral, Christ's 
 church, the towering monument to Wellington, 
 the custom house, from the dome of which 
 Queen Victoria looks down in her state dress, 
 are all full in view. The winding course of the 
 Liffey, spanned by its fine bridges, can be traced 
 for miles. The people on the pavements below 
 look like pygmies dwindling away, and the whole 
 view of the city, stretching out in all directions, 
 is admirable. 
 
 In the janting car, the party rode out of Sack- 
 ville Street to explore the city. The people 
 looked after them, as they were easily recog- 
 nized as strangers. On they drove to the Bank 
 of Ireland, a very noble structure, which faces 
 College Green. In the days of Ireland's glory, 
 ere the power of England had taken away Irish 
 nationality, the buildings now used by the Bank 
 
124: THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 were the Houses of Parliament. The old hall 
 of the Commons is now the magnificent banking 
 room ; and instead of Irish orators and states- 
 men discussing the duties and perils of the 
 nation, bankers and merchants, tradesmen and 
 artisans, meet here to negotiate loans and trans- 
 act business of a monetary' character. 
 
 The House of Lords remains much the same 
 as when the peers left it. The ancient chair. , 
 the long table, and the various fixtures of such 
 a room, are all here, as in the days of Irish 
 power, and the room is used only once or twice 
 a year, at the meetings of the bank directors. 
 Where once the throne stood now stands a 
 statue of an English king, and the power which 
 of old held empire here is dead, and the elo- 
 quence which once thrilled the souls of listening 
 multitudes has departed forever. 
 
 The building covers an area of two and a half 
 acres, and is one of the finest banking houses in 
 the world, far more imposing in its external as- 
 pects than the Bank of England. The centre 
 of the edifice in front consists of a grand col- 
 onnade, formed of lofty Ionic columns, which 
 rest on noble steps, forming a noble entrance 
 to the building. Over the high doorways are 
 statues of Hibernia, attended by her handmaids 
 Fidelity and Commerce. The whole edifice is a 
 
THE IRISH CAPITAL. 125 
 
 monument of art worthy of any city. The lofty 
 Ionic columns, the massive walls, the gorgeous 
 porticoes, the statues, and emblematic designs, 
 add to the perfecthess of the whole, and give a 
 richness and nobility to the structure which 
 to be appreciated must be seen. 
 
 By the kindness of an official connected with 
 the bank, the party were allowed to go through 
 the building, inspect the private rooms, look 
 into the vaults, and become familiar with the 
 mode of transacting business, which to Walter 
 was quite a novelty. 
 
 The next visit was to the celebrated Trinity 
 College, founded by Queen Elizabeth nearly 
 three hundred years ago, on the site of an old 
 monastery. As they drove up, Walter asked if 
 the buildings about to be inspected would equal 
 the buildings of old Harvard. 
 
 " We will see," said Mr. Percy, who had 
 some idea of the college, and knew its high 
 rank. 
 
 They found the buildings to consist of three 
 quadrangles, and covering an area of some 
 twenty or thirty acres. The front, facing Col- 
 lege Green, is three hundred and eight feet long, 
 elaborately finished in the highest style of Corin- 
 thian taste. A servant conducted the party into 
 the theatre, or exhibition room, hung with por- 
 
126 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 traits of noble personages, and embellished with 
 monuments to the illustrious dead ; into the 
 chapel, a noble building, itself a magnificent 
 church ; into the library, which is a building 
 two hundred and seventy feet long, having sev- 
 eral apartments, and over one hundred thousand 
 volumes ; into the manuscript room, where are 
 large collections of valuable manuscripts ; into 
 the refectory, where is a dining hall larger than 
 many churches, the walls hung with portraits of 
 Ireland's noblest men ; into the provost's house, 
 a miniature palace, and into many other build- 
 ings belonging to the cluster. 
 
 In the main square there is an elegant bell 
 tower ninety-two feet high, which presents to 
 the eye a grand appearance. Walter inquired 
 of the porter how many students were connected 
 with the college, and was told that the number 
 at that time was about seventeen hundred. He 
 gave a low whistle, expressive of his surprise, 
 and as they went out of the gate, leaving the 
 porter's face all covered with smiles, Mr. Percy 
 having put into his hands a crown, the lad 
 turned to his father, and said, — 
 
 " All this in Ireland ! " 
 
 " Yes, Walter, and much more, as you will 
 see when we drive about the city, which will 
 make you go away with better ideas of Ireland 
 than you ever had before." 
 
THE IRISH CAPITAL. 127 
 
 oo'i^Oo 
 
 Minnie was pleased with the students whom 
 she saw. " What nice young men they are, 
 father!" she said ; " see how they touch their 
 caps to us as they pass." 
 
 One of the young men, passing at the moment, 
 and catching the merry twinkle of her eye, 
 turned somewhat abruptly, and said, " You like 
 the college ; do you ? " 
 
 " 0, very much." 
 
 " And would you like a little sketch of it to 
 carry home to your friends in America ? " 
 
 " 0, very much indeed ; but how did you know 
 we were Americans ? " 
 
 " Because your accent told me so ; and the 
 gentlemen, who, I see, are going on without you, 
 look like Americans. Here is the sketch which 
 I have just taken ; it will be a pleasure for me 
 to give it you." 
 
 " You are very kind ; thank you, thank you 
 very much ; but please tell me who I shall say 
 gave it ? " 
 
 " That is another thing, my child ; but you 
 may call me student O'Donnell," and laughing, 
 bade her " good by." 
 
 Minnie ran on looking at her picture, which 
 was a very well taken sketch of the college, the 
 green, and the bank in one view, with the noble 
 equestrian statue of William III. in the fore- 
 ground. 
 
128 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 Another place visited by the party was the 
 Castle, near the centre of the city. This pile of 
 buildings disappointed Walter very much. He 
 had heard of Dublin Castle, and had pictured 
 to his mind a rough tower, on a ledge of rocks, 
 bristling with cannon and waving with flags. 
 But he found only a cluster of buildings in the 
 heart of the city, now occupied as the town resi- 
 dences of the lord lieutenant and the officers 
 of state, and seeming to be a general metropoli- 
 tan police station. His father, however, gave 
 him some historical facts in relation to the 
 Castle which interested him very much, told him 
 that it was founded by King John in 1206, and 
 described the various scenes of which it had 
 been the centre, in the troublous times which 
 Ireland has seen since then. 
 
 The party also went to the Cathedral of St. 
 Patrick. There are two cathedrals in Dublin, 
 and one of them stands on the site of a church 
 once occupied by the patron saint of Ireland him- 
 self, and is a very fine old edifice, three hundred 
 feet long, surmounted by a noble tower and 
 spire two hundred and twenty-one feet high. 
 This old cathedral made a decided impression 
 on the mind of Walter. It seemed as if he 
 would never tire of gazing on the grand ceil- 
 ings, the well-turned arches, the beautiful ar- 
 
THE IRISH CAPITAL. 129 
 
 cades formed by them, and the stalls for the 
 ecclesiastical dignitaries on days of worship. 
 
 " What are these banners for ? " asked Minnie 
 of her father, on observing a large number of 
 flags hung in the nave and choir. 
 
 " These," said her father, " are the banners 
 of the dead and living knights of the order of St. 
 Patrick, a very illustrious organization which 
 exists in Ireland." 
 
 A few questions brought out all Mr. Percy 
 knew of the knights of St. Patrick, and Walter 
 concluded he had obtained a thread which would 
 take him back into the mysteries of the past. 
 Several fine monuments and memorial slabs are 
 found in this cathedral. 
 
 " Here," said Mr. Percy, " is the monument 
 of Dean Swift." 
 
 " I have often read of Dean Swift," said Wal- 
 ter ; " who was he ? " 
 
 " He was an ecclesiastic, who was born in the 
 county of Tipperary about the year 1667. He 
 was a noted wit, a man of eminent abilities, but 
 entirely unfit for the clerical office. His first 
 name was Jonathan." 
 
 " I thought it was Dean." 
 
 " No, i Dean ' was his religious, or ecclesiasti- 
 cal title. He was dean of this cathedral. He 
 wished very much to have an English bishopric, 
 vol. I. 9 
 
130 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 and Queen Anne was about to give him one, but 
 some unfortunate articles written by him, one 
 known as the ' Tale of a Tub,' a piece of hu- 
 mor indecorous and unbecoming a divine, were 
 urged against him, and he never secured the 
 coveted honor. He was bitter in his attacks 
 Upon other writers, among whom was his rela- 
 tive, the excellent Dryden, against whom he 
 aimed some of the most pointed of his satires. 
 But here is the tablet of Hester Johnson." 
 
 " Who was she ? " 
 
 " If you will read the writings of Dean Swift, 
 when you return to America, you will find ref- 
 erences to ' Stella.' She was a lady of great 
 excellence, who was privately united in mar- 
 riage to the dean, but the marriage was never 
 publicly recognized. She died of a broken 
 heart." 
 
 While they were looking at these and other 
 monuments, reading the inscriptions on them, 
 a strain of beautiful music fell on their ears — 
 a strain of music swelling louder, and deeper, 
 and heavier, filling the whole cathedral with the 
 rich, mellow, varied sounds. All turned to 
 where the noble organ stood, from which the 
 unseen player was producing such exquisite 
 melody. 
 
 " This organ," said a bystander to them, " is 
 
THE IRISH CAPITAL. 131 
 
 one of the purest, sweetest-toned instruments in 
 the whole kingdom." 
 
 They listened a while, and then took a look 
 down into St. Patrick's well, a deep, dark well 
 under the church. From this well, it is said, 
 St. Patrick drew the water which he applied to 
 the first Irish convert ; and, as such, is regarded 
 with veneration by the people, and interest by all 
 strangers. As the party left the church, the fine 
 chime of eight bells in the tower, were playing 
 an old familiar tune, which reminded them of 
 " Home, sweet Home." 
 
 They next rode to Christ's Church Cathedral, 
 a plain edifice, of less interest than the other. 
 The church is hung with banners, ornamented, 
 or disfigured, as one's own taste may decide, 
 with monuments of the dead ; on the gallery 
 are carved the arms of all the viceroys of Ire- 
 land, and all about are evidences of the olden 
 times, when were blended with religion, the 
 strifes of politics, and the clamors of war. 
 The church is in sad decay, and broken but- 
 tresses, and disfigured walls, meet the eye in 
 every direction. 
 
 " And now, children, what else have you for 
 us to see ? " asked Mr. Percy, as they drove 
 away from the cathedral. 
 
 " To the barracks," said Walter. 
 
132 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 " What are the barracks ? " asked Minnie. 
 
 " They are the houses where the soldiers live, 
 sis. Do you want to see them ? " 
 
 " 0, yes, any thing is better than these churches 
 that are all ready to tumble down on our heads. 
 Heigh-ho for the red coats ! " 
 
 They were soon at the barracks of the in- 
 fantry, and, after some little trouble, were al- 
 lowed to enter the square. Here they found the 
 regiment practising some drill exercises, in full 
 uniform. The evolutions were so finely gone 
 through, the music was so exhilarating, the red 
 coats of the soldiers, and the shining arms, made 
 so brilliant a display, that the whole party felt 
 richly repaid for coming to the place. They 
 waited until the drill was finished, and the men 
 dismissed to their quarters, and then went into 
 the barracks. 
 
 " Are these real soldiers ? " asked Minnie of 
 Walter. 
 
 " Certainly." 
 
 " Have they ever been in war ? " 
 
 " I suppose some of them have. They may 
 have been at the Crimea." 
 
 " They look finer than our ' play-training-sol- 
 diers ' in Boston, who never saw a battle ; don't 
 they ? " 
 
 " Yes, sis, these are stout and hearty men, 
 
THE IRISH CAPITAL. 133 
 
 who doubtless are ready to go into battle at any 
 time. Our citizen soldiers train for amusement, 
 and are not called on except in case of riot." 
 
 " I remember, Walter, that the companies in 
 Boston were called out when that slave, poor 
 Burns, was carried away." 
 
 They went into some of the rooms where the 
 men sleep, into the rooms where they mess, and 
 saw the general style of life the soldiers live ; 
 and, as they turned away, Walter said, " I should 
 not like to be a soldier." 
 
 " Certainly," replied his father, " this mode 
 of life must be very disgusting ; full of tempta- 
 tions to dissipation, and having little about it to 
 exalt, ennoble, or dignify." 
 
 " Do these men have much pay ? " asked 
 Minnie. 
 
 "No, my child, not as much per diem as a 
 boy in America would have for wheeling in a 
 ton of coal. These soldiers have a mere pit- 
 tance — a few pence." 
 
 They now turned towards the hotel, as the 
 shades of evening were gathering, and they had 
 worked hard all day. The evening was spent in 
 animated, cheerful conversation, in which the 
 children took an active part. At some times Mr. 
 Percy would not have allowed them to be so for- 
 ward in the utterance of their opinions ; but now, 
 
134 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 as his object in travelling was, in part, to benefit 
 them, they were encouraged to talk freely, and 
 express themselves fully in relation to all they 
 saw. 
 
 " I do not find here the wretchedness that I 
 expected," said Walter. 
 
 " You have formed your opinion of the Irish 
 in Ireland from what you see of the Irish in 
 America, forgetting that the better class of Irish 
 people do not leave home." 
 
 " But I have read such dreadful accounts of 
 famine and want, that I expected to see Dublin 
 filled with paupers, and to ride through streets 
 in which misery would stare out upon us from 
 the windows of all the houses." 
 
 " Those accounts are often exaggerated, or 
 they may apply to one particular locality, or 
 they may be true of one season. Doubtless Ire- 
 land has vastly improved within a few years, but 
 I think your impressions of the country never 
 were strictly correct." 
 
 " I think as hard things have been said about 
 our own country," added Mr. Tenant. 
 
 " It can't be, Mr. Tenant," replied Walter. 
 
 " Well, Walter, I can prove what I say. I 
 have in my pocket an old paper which I found 
 among my baggage to-day, from which I wish to 
 read an account." 
 
THE IRISH CAPITAL. 135 
 
 " We will listen with all our ears," said 
 Minnie. 
 
 Mr. Tenant took out his paper, and read in a 
 full, clear, manly tone, as follows : — 
 
 " Last week a single soup house gave out a 
 ton of corn meal, two thousand loaves of bread, 
 and fourteen thousand pints of wholesome soup, 
 thus supplying daily twenty-five hundred per- 
 sons with food. Within gunshot of this soup 
 house are more than twenty cellars in which the 
 destitute victims of the grog-shop seek refuge 
 every night at a penny a head. All colors and 
 both sexes turn in promiscuously at nightfall, lie 
 down in bunks that rise one above the other 
 against the bare walls, and there spend the night 
 in utter darkness, the soft side of a pine board 
 being their only bed. For two cents extra they 
 may have some filthy straw to lie on. Each one 
 pays his penny as he enters, and none are ad- 
 mitted without it. In the confined atmosphere 
 of these vile dungeons the victims of the dram- 
 shop doze the night away. How these unhappy 
 creatures escape suffocation may be left for 
 science to determine. But when morning 
 breaks, though it be cold and crisp, with snow a 
 foot deep upon the pavement, the keepers of 
 these dens throw open the door, and warn the 
 miserable congregation that it is time to get up 
 
136 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 and clear out. Sick and shivering they rise, and 
 hungry and unrefreshed they are driven forth 
 into the street, there to wander off to the friend- 
 ly soup house, or otherwise to pick up, by theft 
 or beggary, subsistence for another day, whose 
 close will be a repetition of the scenes of the 
 preceding one." 
 
 " What part of Ireland was that ? " asked 
 Minnie. 
 
 " Where could that be ? " asked Walter ; " cer- 
 tainly not here." 
 
 " Can you not guess where it was ? " 
 
 " In Cork ? " said Walter. 
 
 " In London ? " said Minnie. 
 
 " No, it was not in Cork, nor in Dublin, nor 
 in London, nor in " 
 
 " Where was it ? " asked the children in one 
 breath. 
 
 " It was in the beautiful city of Philadelphia." 
 
 " Impossible, Mr. Tenant, impossible," ex- 
 claimed Walter ; " why didn't we get it in 
 American papers if it was true ? " 
 
 " That is the way foreign papers talk about 
 our country," said Minnie. 
 
 " No, I did not read from a foreign journal. 
 You must not lay the blame on an exaggerat- 
 ing editor in London or Dublin," replied Mr. 
 Tenant. 
 
THE IRISH CAPITAL. 137 
 
 " Do let me take the paper," said Minnie, all 
 excited. 
 
 " Please tell me what paper yon read from ? " 
 asked Walter. 
 
 " The New York Tribune." 
 
 " Can it be ? " 
 
 " Here it is in black and white, from the pen 
 of a Philadelphia correspondent. Now, chil- 
 dren, what I wish to say is, that such statements 
 are often made in relation to European coun- 
 tries, and we think there is a horrible state of 
 destitution ; we take the single case, and sup- 
 pose the whole land is like it. That is not 
 reasonable, and if you had read in the Dublin 
 Nation, or the London Standard, a similar ac- 
 count of any locality in this country, you 
 would have thought the condition of the people 
 most pitiable." 
 
 Walter acknowledged the justice of Mr. Ten- 
 ant's reasoning, and retired to rest that night 
 with a different idea of Ireland and the Irish 
 than he had ever had before. Indeed, Mr. Ten- 
 ant himself found the city of Dublin to be a 
 much cleaner and more tidy and quiet city than 
 he had anticipated, and felt that the Irishman 
 in the new world might well look back with 
 pride and pleasure to the metropolis of his little 
 sea-girt isle. 
 
138 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 The next morning the children were up be- 
 times, and had ordered breakfast long ere the 
 gentlemen were awake ; and when they, some- 
 what late, entered the breakfast room, they 
 found their morning meal smoking hot upon the 
 table. Having despatched that, they called the 
 driver of a janting car, and went forth to see 
 the objects of interest. During the drive, they 
 came to the city residence of the late Daniel 
 O'Connell, a plain, substantial-looking structure 
 in one of the most fashionable streets. 
 
 " Who was Daniel O'Connell ? " asked Minnie. 
 
 " He was an Irish statesman," answered Mr. 
 Percy, " of great eminence, a true lover of his 
 country, and a man whose name is respected, 
 and whose memory is revered, in every land 
 wherever the Irishman wanders." 
 
 " Was he a soldier ? " 
 
 " No, he was a civilian, and led one of the 
 great parties that exist in Ireland, and became 
 the idol of the whole people." 
 
 The driver of the car, an enthusiastic admirer 
 of the departed statesman, had become intensely 
 interested in the conversation, and breaking in 
 upon Mr. Percy, exclaimed, — 
 
 " And, sure, Ireland will never see his like 
 again." 
 
 " Perhaps she will. God always raises up 
 
THE IRISH CAPITAL. 139 
 
 men for emergencies, and if Ireland wants men 
 to lead her councils or her armies, she will have 
 them." 
 
 The Custom House was an object of interest, 
 and Mr. Percy, who was a practical merchant, 
 wished to see if the inside of that edifice was 
 equal to its exterior ; so they drove in that direc- 
 tion, and in a few minutes they were in front of 
 this magnificent temple of commerce. 
 
 The Custom House stands on the north bank 
 of the Liffey, and is three hundred and seventy- 
 five feet long, and more than two hundred feet 
 deep, and has four highly-ornamented fronts. 
 The river front is finished in Doric order. Huge 
 pillars, bold entablature and cornice, statues of 
 Neptune and Mercury, Industry and Plenty, alto- 
 rilievo emblems, the whole crowned by a noble 
 dome, forms at once an object of decided beauty 
 and imposing majesty. The other fronts are 
 finished in a style of great taste, and the moun- 
 tain granite, of which they are composed, pre- 
 sents a noble specimen of solid masonry. 
 
 The interior is divided into courts, and various 
 offices fill the whole edifice. An immense busi- 
 ness is done here, but in a very quiet way, and 
 no little admiration was expressed by Mr. Percy 
 and his companions of the admirable arrange- 
 ments, and the numerous conveniences for de- 
 
140 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 spatching the business of such a house ; and the 
 party rode away, uttering many expressions of 
 pleasure. 
 
 The next building visited was the " Four 
 Courts," a noble edifice erected for the accom- 
 modation of the law and equity courts. It 
 stands on the river, and has a front of four 
 hundred and fifty feet in length, between Whit- 
 worth and Richmond Bridges. The exterior of 
 this building is covered with emblematic designs, 
 conceived and executed in the best of taste. 
 The centre of the building has a Corinthian 
 portico, supporting an elaborately carved pedi- 
 ment, above which rises a circular lantern, 
 which is lighted by large windows. On each 
 side of the centre are squares, and in them are 
 the law offices. These law offices and court 
 rooms are very spacious, and present to the 
 mind of the stranger a very favorable idea of 
 the people whose taste and genius require these 
 magnificent arrangements. Walter, who was 
 pleased with every thing he saw, could not help 
 contrasting this edifice with many of the court 
 houses he had visited at home ; but some infor- 
 mation given him in relation to the working of 
 the courts, the amount of business centred 
 here, while, in our own country, the law busi- 
 ness is diffused, being transacted very largely in 
 
THE IRISH CAPITAL. 141 
 
 the shire towns of the various counties, led him 
 to see that, though we have few buildings that, in 
 all respects, compare with this, we have, on the 
 whole, more and better accommodations for those 
 who have the most business to do. 
 
 All day was occupied in seeing the fine build- 
 ings, parks, and private houses, and the next 
 day was taken up in riding through the city, 
 along the river, over the bridges, and through 
 the outskirts. The plan was, to go through all 
 the best streets first, to see all the aristocratic 
 residences, and the houses of the men of wealth 
 and fashion. This they did hour after hour ; 
 and when they had seen enough, Mr. Percy said 
 to the driver, " Now take us through some of 
 the worst and most degraded portions of the 
 city. We have seen the best parts ; now we 
 want to go into the places where your poorest 
 people live ; drive through such streets." 
 
 " I will, sir." 
 
 Soon they were rolling along humble, but by 
 no means filthy streets, and Walter asked, " Are 
 these the worst streets ? " 
 
 " They are the worst I know of." 
 
 'The travellers could hardly believe this, for 
 they expected to find something so much worse, 
 that they could not put a dark look upon any. 
 thing, and the ride terminated without seeing 
 
142 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 any streets more degraded than many found in 
 our own land. 
 
 On returning to the hotel, Mr. Percy said to 
 Walter, " My son, the steamer will leave Liver- 
 pool at noon to-morrow, and I propose writing to 
 your mother, and, if you like, you may do the 
 same." 
 
 Walter eagerly embracing the proposal, at once 
 sat down, and wrote the following note : — 
 
 Dublin, 1858. 
 
 Dearest Mother : — 
 
 Across the ocean I greet you, and from this 
 land of strangers and strange things I send 
 home to yon, not only these few poor lines, but 
 my whole heart, that yearns for you. One 
 thing, one thing only, I want in my journeying 
 — the presence of my mother. Minnie and I 
 often talk about yon, and every night when we 
 kneel down and say our prayers, we breathe 
 your name, and Charlie's too. 
 
 I closed my last letter when just arrived at 
 Liverpool. We spent some days in Liverpool, 
 exploring the wonderful docks, and becoming 
 acquainted with the various works of art. Liv- 
 erpool is a great city, but a very crowded and 
 confused one, and the traveller wishes to get out 
 of it as soon as possible ; and we were not sorry 
 when the time came foi us to depart. 
 
THE IRISH CAPITAL. 143 
 
 Leaving Liverpool, we crossed over to Ireland, 
 stopping, on our way, at the interesting old town 
 of Chester, and glancing, in our rapid passage, 
 at the scenery of Wales, with its old castles and 
 abbeys, and its quaint old towers, and quainter 
 people. I admire Ireland, for the whole country 
 is so beautiful at this season, that it seems a 
 perfect garden, from its deepest valleys to its 
 highest mountain peaks. Why the inhabitants 
 should want to leave such a land we can 
 hardly tell. The large cities of Ireland are very 
 fine. Boston cannot be compared, in some im- 
 portant respects, with Dublin, and other places 
 compare favorably with our best towns. We 
 rode, to-day, through the worst and lowest streets 
 of Dublin, and found none as bad as North 
 Street, in Boston, or the Five Points, in New 
 York ; and I shall leave with a better impression 
 of Dublin than I ever had before. 
 
 I have talked much with the people, and 
 father says I am getting to be very inquisitive ; 
 but I would rather incur the odium of being in- 
 quisitive, than to go through Ireland without 
 getting any information. 
 
 We find all classes here interested in America 
 and American institutions. We scarcely meet a 
 man who does not have some relative in our 
 country. One has a son at New York, another 
 
144 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 a cousin in Wisconsin, and a third some friend 
 in Boston. The people, however, are beginning 
 to get the idea that going to America is not 
 altogether what it has been represented to be. 
 Emigrant agents have made the people of this 
 land think that in our country dimes grow on 
 bushes, and dollars are as plenty as potatoes. 
 But so many have come over, and written home 
 discouraging tidings, that others are afraid to 
 venture over. 
 
 You would be surprised to know what a trav- 
 eller I have become. I believe I could go the 
 round of the continent of Europe without any 
 one to look out for me ; and I have remembered 
 that you have often wished you could have some 
 one to go with you to Saratoga or Niagara Falls, 
 when father was closely confined by his business. 
 Now I shall learn so much about men and 
 tilings, see so much of the world, and become so 
 familiar with the way of getting along in it, that 
 I shall be able to escort you about in the summer 
 season, and you will not be obliged to depend on 
 the changes in the money market, or be subject 
 to the ups and downs of business. 
 
 We are all enjoying ourselves finely ; or 
 " hugely," as Mr. Tenant persists in saying ; or 
 " beautifully, 1 ' as Minnie expresses it. Father 
 will, of course, write you all about us, and tell 
 
THE IRISH CAPITAL. 145 
 
 you all the particulars. Every hour is crowded 
 with incidents, and I have already a very large 
 journal, which increases in size every day. And 
 now Minnie has come, begging the privilege of 
 writing on the back side of my sheet ; and you 
 know when she sets out to do any thing, there is 
 no way of denying her ; so I will close by sub- 
 scribing myself, Walter. 
 
 The letter which Minnie wrote will give a 
 little insight into her character, and we present 
 a few passages from it : — 
 
 Dear Mamma : — 
 
 A thousand blessings your little girl sends 
 you, in a letter from this land of promise, where 
 we are stopping. How we got here, what we 
 are doing, and when we leave, prosy Walter will 
 doubtless tell you on the other page. He is the 
 scribe (and sometimes I think the Pharisee) of 
 our party. He moves about among these old 
 tombs, towers, and trumpery with a solemn 
 face, and a note book or portfolio in his hand, 
 taking sketches, and making notes of what he 
 sees and hears, looking gravely at me when I 
 laugh at his enthusiasm, and wondering at my 
 want of appreciation of gravestones and battle 
 fields. 
 
 vol. i. 10 
 
146 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 Well, that brother mine is destined for some- 
 thing, and doubtless I am at fault for not being 
 able to enter into his ideas, and sympathizing 
 with his veneration of rust and dust. Perhaps 
 two years — eleven instead of nine — will smooth 
 all the wrinkles out of my face, and make me as 
 demure a little maiden as ever knit stocking, or 
 did crochet work, or pounded a piano. 
 
 You need not wonder at my style of writing, 
 for I am changed and grown wild, as Walter 
 says. And no wonder that I should be, travel- 
 ling with three men, not one of whom feels any 
 interest in fashions or frolics, but who study 
 bridges, shops, cathedrals, and all those things 
 that we ladies feel no special interest in. 
 
 And, to confess the truth, I am homesick ; I 
 want to see little Charlie, and my dear mamma, 
 and the old friends in Cambridge. Walter acts 
 as if he had no thought of home. However, I 
 expect to be done with all that feeling when we 
 get to London, for Mr. Tenant tells me that 
 homesickness, like seasickness, is to be outlived. 
 
 And now the page is full, and I close by send- 
 ing you a good-night kiss. You may be sur- 
 prised that I have written such a letter, but, to 
 tell the truth, Mr. Tenant has been looking over 
 my shoulder, telling me what to write — all ex- 
 cept the good-night kiss — that was wholly mine. 
 
 Minnie, 
 
THE IRISH CAPITAL. 147 
 
 " Come, Minnie, it is time for you to retire," 
 said Mr. Percy, entering the room. " And you, 
 Walter, had better fold your letter and send it 
 by the porter to the post office to-night, so that 
 it will be in season for the steamer to-morrow, 
 for your mother would feel badly not to hear 
 from us." 
 
 Walter folded the letter carefully, and directed 
 it in a fair, round hand, and ringing the bell for 
 a porter, asked him to take it to the post office, 
 and have it mailed. The porter did as re- 
 quested, and in a few hours the letter was on its 
 way across the channel. Who can tell the joy 
 it gave to her, who with a mother's patience 
 had remained at home, counting the hours until 
 again she should see her husband and children J 
 
148 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 Chapter VIII. 
 
 FANCY TRIP TO CORK. 
 
 " TT7 ALTER, Walter, I thought you were go 
 » f iiig to get up and see the sun rise,'' was 
 Minnie's salutation, as she rushed into Walter's 
 apartment, and stood by his bedside. 
 
 " Is it morning ? " asked AValter, who had 
 been thoroughly jaded out the day before, and 
 who was not astir as early as usual. 
 
 " Certainly it is morning, or I should not be 
 here. Come, — 
 
 < Early to bed, and early to rise, 
 Makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.' " 
 
 " Well, go and arouse father, and order break- 
 fast, and I will soon meet you in the breakfast 
 room." 
 
 " Well, don't be all day about it ; " and hur- 
 rying out of the room, the happy creature was 
 heard singing gayly on her way down to the 
 porter's office . 
 
 Soon the whole party were assembled in the 
 breakfast room, and plans were discussed for 
 
FANCY TRIP TO CORK. 149 
 
 the day. Mr. Percy thought they could spend 
 the day agreeably and profitably in Dublin, 
 while Mr. Tenant thought best to move on at 
 once towards the south of Ireland. 
 
 " We had better start to-morrow morning," 
 remarked Minnie. 
 
 " To-morrow is Friday, and that is an un- 
 lucky day," said Walter. 
 
 " Unlucky day — how silly ! " cried Minnie. 
 
 " What makes you think Friday is an un- 
 lucky day, my son ? " asked Mr. Percy. 
 
 " I don't know ; but every body says so." 
 
 " Not every body ; superstitious people only 
 believe in lucky and unlucky days." 
 
 " Do not more accidents happen on Friday 
 than on any other day ? " 
 
 " No, I think not. There is no such thing 
 as luck and chance. God rules in the world, 
 and his providence superintends all things. 
 What men call luck is the working of the great 
 plan of Jehovah." 
 
 " But I have heard that the day is a very un- 
 fortunate one." 
 
 " Perhaps you have heard so ; and you have 
 heard a hundred other foolish things." 
 
 " Friday," added Mr. Tenant, " instead of 
 being an unfortunate day, has been a very for- 
 tunate one." 
 
150 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 " How so ? " 
 
 " Because some of the most glorious events 
 of history have taken place on Friday ; some of 
 the most useful discoveries have been made on 
 that day." 
 
 " In former times, Walter," said Mr. Percy, 
 " there were a great many popular superstitions 
 that sensible people now repudiate." 
 
 " Please tell us about them, pa ? " shouted 
 Minnie, becoming attentive all at once. 
 
 " I have time now only to refer to some of 
 them. It was a common belief, not many years 
 ago, that ' seven ' was a charmed number, and 
 that the seventh son would always be fortunate, 
 and that the seventh day of the seventh month 
 would be very fortunate for one born on it ; and 
 various other things connected with seven have 
 been stated." 
 
 " 0, yes, I remember the seventh son — the 
 old doctor that came around a year ago, and 
 cured every body that was sick." 
 
 " Professed to be able to cure every body that 
 was sick, my child." 
 
 " Yes, that is it ; but have any sensible 
 people ever believed that seven was a charmed 
 number ? " 
 
 " Yes, many of the wisest of the ancients 
 used to believe it, and even Pythagoras, so wise 
 
FANCY TRIP TO CORK. 151 
 
 a man, said, in his day, ' Cultivate assiduously 
 the science of numbers. Our vices and our 
 crimes are only errors of calculation.' Some 
 time, children, when we are in the cars, having 
 a long ride, I will tell you about a great many 
 popular superstitions that once were very prev- 
 alent, but now are scouted by intelligent men." 
 
 It was agreed that they should start, during 
 the day, for the south of Ireland ; and Walter 
 was commissioned to go to the office and settle 
 the whole bill for the company, and give notice 
 of the intention to leave the hotel. This he 
 did, counting out the change, which, being in a 
 currency differing from our own, was somewhat 
 difficult. 
 
 The party then took a carriage and driver, 
 and leaving the rail cars to go tl Hindering 
 through the land as fast as they could, turned 
 into the Irish highways, travelling very leisurely 
 towards the south. All that day they rode on 
 through a charming country, stopping now and 
 then to converse with the farmers by the road- 
 side, or with the women who sat at the doors of 
 their thatched cottages, spinning or knitting, 
 and at nightfall arrived, after a long ride, at 
 Carrick-on-Suir, in the county of Tipperary. 
 They found a comfortable inn, where they 
 made themselves as happy as possible, and in 
 
152 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 the evening went out among the houses of the 
 poorer classes of people, who seemed to be quite 
 different from any they had seen in Dublin. 
 They found the town to consist of one long 
 street, running east and west, with several 
 shorter ones diverging from it. Some old ruins 
 were seen, a church in a dilapidated condition, 
 and many poor, mean houses. 
 
 The next morning, before breakfast, they all 
 visited the old ruined castle, and wandered 
 through its apartments, and then took a stroll 
 along the winding Suir, which they found to be 
 a very beautiful river. Such healthy exercise 
 gave them a fine appetite for their morning 
 meal, to which they sat down in most excellent 
 spirits. After breakfast a janting car was se- 
 cured for a ride to Cahir Castle, now in a toler- 
 able state of preservation, and in which Walter 
 became much interested on account of its his- 
 torical reminiscences. The Earl of Glengall was 
 not at the castle, but a distinguished member of 
 his family received the party with true Irish 
 hospitality, and pointed out to them all the fine 
 views and objects of interest in the vicinity ; 
 and it was late in the afternoon ere they reached 
 Clonmell, to which place they went on leaving 
 Cahir. There they stopped all night, meeting 
 with a variety of adventures, which pleased the 
 children very much. 
 
FANCY TRIP TO CORK. 153 
 
 The inn where they lodged was an old- 
 fashioned building, gloomy as one need to see, 
 and not as tidy as the one at Carrick ; onr 
 friends were subjected to some annoyances which 
 they had not suffered before, and they were not 
 sorry when the time came to leave. 
 
 As they rode out, Walter asked his father, 
 " What is the town of Clonmell noted for ? " 
 
 " For various riotous demonstrations in times 
 past, I believe." 
 
 " I think it was the birthplace of Lawrence 
 Sterne," added Mr. Tenant. 
 
 " Who was he, Mr. Tenant ? " inquired Min- 
 nie. 
 
 " He was a divine who loved good hunting, 
 and wrote some noted books, among which was 
 Tristram Shandy. His private character did 
 not well qualify him for the holy work to which 
 he was devoted." 
 
 " And was not Lady Blessington born here ? " 
 asked Mr. Percy. 
 
 " I think so," said Mr. Tenant. 
 
 The young people were curious to know who 
 Lady Blessington was, and Mr. Tenant gave 
 them several interesting particulars in her his- 
 tory. 
 
 They reached Cork at night, and about the 
 first object that arrested the attention of Walter 
 
154 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 was the old Shandon steeple, a view of which is 
 seen on the next page, and a description of 
 which comes hereafter. 
 
 " I'll bet a fig that that steeple has a history 
 which Walter will follow np," said Minnie. 
 
 " If it had no history, it would not be an Irish 
 steeple," said Mr. Tenant ; " and while we are 
 in Cork, we will see what it is." 
 
 They drew np at a fine hotel, where they were 
 soon provided with suitable rooms, at a very 
 moderate charge. Here they remained several 
 days, taking excursions into the country around, 
 visiting the notable buildings in the city, and 
 conversing with the people, who seemed very 
 courteous, and willing to give any information 
 in relation to the history of the city." 
 
 " Father," said Walter, " what a funny name 
 this city has ! I have been wondering what it 
 was derived from. Do you know ? " 
 
 " It is said to be derived from corough^ an 
 old Irish word." 
 
 " What does that word corough mean ? " 
 
 " It means a marshy place — a swamp." 
 
 " But Cork does not seem to be a marshy 
 place ? " 
 
 " It does not seem so now, but it once was. 
 It has been drained, and the land raised, and the 
 whole country around has changed." 
 
SHANDON T.-TEEPLE 
 
FANCY TRIP TO CORK. 157 
 
 Mr. Percy then related to his children some 
 particulars in the history of the city. He told 
 them that " formerly Cork was a very mean city, 
 and quoted what Lord Orrery said to Dean 
 Swift about it in 1736 : ' The butchers are as 
 greasy, the Quakers as formal, and the Presby- 
 terians as holy and as full of the Lord, as ever ; 
 all things are in statu quo ; even the hogs and 
 pigs grunt in the same cadence as of yore, un- 
 furnished with variety, and drooping under the 
 natural dulness of the place ; materials for a 
 letter are as hard to be found as money, sense, 
 honesty, or- truth.' The town was very small 
 then compared with its present growth. Two 
 hundred and fifty years ago it had but one 
 street, and poor at that. It bore all the marks 
 of an Irish village of the lowest stamp, and 
 Camden described it as ' enclosed within a cir- 
 cuit of walls in the form of an egg, with the 
 river flowing round about it, and running be- 
 tween, not passable through but by bridges, 
 lying out in length, as it were, in one direct, 
 broad street, and the same having a bridge 
 over it.' " 
 
 The children were very much interested in 
 these statements, and Walter asked " if there 
 had not been some battles fought there in the 
 time of the civil wars in Great Britain." 
 
158 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 " I have not time to tell you now about that 
 part of the history of the place. We will find 
 some citizen who knows all about the place, to 
 whom we can apply for facts.'' 
 
 The next morning was the Sabbath, a bright, 
 clear, beautiful day ; and while the party were 
 all sitting in one of the parlors of the hotel, 
 looking out upon the crowds that filled the 
 streets, — gayly dressed ladies and men in holi- 
 day attire, — the bells on Shandon Steeple sent 
 a merry sound far and wide. Conversation was 
 suspended, as all listened to those harmonious 
 sounds that seemed to be melting on the air, 
 and Walter, as they died away in the distance, 
 repeated a few lines from one of our poets. 
 
 " List the chiming, how it floats 
 On the air in tuneful notes ! 
 
 List the chiming, 
 
 And the rhyming, 
 Of the bells in golden notes. 
 So seems to me the poet's art : 
 From the music in his heart, 
 
 Words upspringing, 
 
 "Widely ringing, 
 Are like bell-chimes in the heart. 
 
 " Again the chiming, how it floats, 
 Now in muffled, mournful notes ! 
 Slowly tolling, 
 Deeply rolling 
 
FANCY TRIP TO CORK. 159 
 
 So often seems the poet's art : 
 From the sorrow in his heart, 
 
 Words levealing 
 
 Depths of feeling 
 Sound like bell-tolls in the heart." 
 
 The mellow sound of these Shandon bells led 
 to a conversation on " bells, bells, brazen bells." 
 
 " Where is the largest bell in the world ? " 
 asked Minnie. 
 
 " In Russia," said Mr. Percy. " It is called 
 the King of Bells." 
 
 " What does it weigh ? " 
 
 "It is said to weigh four hundred and forty- 
 three thousand seven hundred and seventy-two 
 pounds, and is more than twenty-one feet high, 
 and if melted up and sold for old metal, would 
 bring three hundred and thirty-two thousand 
 eight hundred and twenty-five dollars. It seems 
 almost incredible, but I have seen the statement 
 gravely put forth, and Walter must look up the 
 facts, and see if what I state on the authority 
 of others is correct." 
 
 " Is there any other large bell in Russia ? " 
 
 " Yes ; the bell on St. Ivan's Church, in 
 Moscow, weighs one hundred and twenty-seven 
 thousand eight hundred and thirty-six pounds, 
 and is of a very rich, superior tone." 
 
 " What is the largest bell in England ? " 
 
160 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 " I think the one on St. Paul's Cathedral, 
 which you will see when you get to London. 
 The clapper of that weighs one hundred and 
 eighty pounds, and the sides of the bell are 
 more than ten inches thick." 
 
 " How can they ring it ? " 
 
 " They do not ring it, but only use it for 
 tolling on occasions when eminent personages 
 die." 
 
 " What does the bell on St. Paul's weigh ? " 
 
 " As near as I remember, between six and 
 seven tons. There is another at Oxford of about 
 the same size, called ' Great Tom,' which I will 
 take you to see when you reach that interesting 
 old place." 
 
 " Have we any bells on the American conti- 
 nent larger than the one on St. Paul's ? " 
 
 " Yes, the bell at Montreal is said to weigh 
 several tons more." 
 
 " I don't see how they get them into the 
 towers." 
 
 " That is easily done, my child." 
 
 " Do not some of the bells have inscriptions 
 on them ? " asked Walter. 
 
 " Almost all of them do, my son. They are ded- 
 icated to some personage, or the circumstances 
 under which they are cast are stated, or some 
 fancy inscription is put upon them. There is a 
 
FANCY TRIP TO CORK. 161 
 
 bell at Rouen, in France, which has an inscrip- 
 tion which is thus translated : — - 
 
 ' I am George of Ambois — 
 Thirty-five thousand in pois ; 
 But he that will weigh me 
 Thirty-six thousand shall find me.' " 
 
 Just then the Shandon bells began to ring 
 again, and all paused and listened ; and as they 
 closed, Mr. Percy remarked, " There is always 
 something affecting in the sound of a bell, 
 whether it is tolled, or rung, or chimed. I re- 
 member of reading a fact which illustrates this. 
 Many years ago, an artist contracted and cast a 
 chime of bells for an Italian convent. The 
 tones were so fine, musical, and melancholy, that 
 all who listened to them, were charmed with the 
 sound. The artist himself was so pleased with 
 his success, that he built a villa near the con- 
 vent, that he might listen ; and there for many 
 years he lived, listening to the music of the 
 bells. But war swept through the valleys and 
 over the mountains of Italy ; the monks were 
 scattered, the convent demolished, and the bells 
 carried away ; and the artisan, suffering confisca- 
 tion and persecution, was driven into foreign 
 countries. In course of years, as the story goes', 
 he journeyed to Ireland, and as he sailed in his 
 vol. i. 11 
 
162 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 shallop up the bosom of the broad Shannon, 
 there burst upon his ears a peal of bells from a 
 neighboring cathedral. He had found at last 
 his long-lost treasures, and, bowing his head 
 upon his breast, he listened long in silence. 
 When his companions at length looked towards 
 him, they saw his face still turned to the cathe- 
 dral; but his eyes had closed forever to this 
 world. He was dead." 
 
 " Do you think that is true, father ? " asked 
 Minnie. 
 
 " I do not know, but I give you the incident 
 just as I read it, and nearly in the author's own 
 language." 
 
 The proposal was now made that they go out 
 to church, and on the way pass by Shandon 
 steeple. Walter was disappointed when stand- 
 ing in the street, and looking up into the tower- 
 ing spire, for he expected to see something more 
 elaborate and beautiful. Nor did a glance at the 
 inside increase his admiration. But Mr. Percy re- 
 minded him that many buildings in America, for 
 which we have great veneration, are not remark- 
 able for architectural beauty. Faneuil Hall, and 
 the old Independence Hall in Philadelphia, are not 
 the best specimens of art, but they are endeared 
 to the hearts of all who love liberty. And this 
 Shandon steeple is dear to all Corkonians. They 
 
FANCY TRIP TO CORK. 163 
 
 have many rich old Irish ballads, in which it 
 finds a central place. 
 
 " Can yon recite any of these ballads, father ?" 
 asked Walter, with earnestness. 
 
 " No, but perhaps Mr. Tenant can." 
 
 Mr. Tenant, on being thus appealed to, said 
 he could recite a few stanzas of a poem written 
 by a parish priest living near by, which he re- 
 membered to have committed to memory long 
 ago. 
 
 " Do give them to us," chimed in little 
 Minnie. 
 
 Mr. Tenant then recited the following verses, 
 which, he said, were all he could remember of 
 the poem : — 
 
 " I've heard bells chiming 
 Full many a clime in, 
 Tolling sublime in 
 
 Cathedral shrine, 
 While at a glibe rate 
 Brass tongues would vibrate ; 
 But all their music 
 
 Spoke nought like thine. 
 
 " For memory, dwelling 
 On each proud swelling 
 Of thy belfry knelling 
 
 Its bold note* 1 free, 
 Made the bells of Shandon 
 Sound far more ^rand on 
 
164 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 The pleasant waters 
 Of the River Lee. 
 
 " "With deep affection 
 And recollection 
 I often think of 
 
 Those Shandon bells, 
 "Whose sounds so wild would, 
 In the days of childhood, 
 Fling round my cradle 
 
 Their magic spells. 
 
 " On this I ponder 
 "Where'er I wander, 
 And thus grow fonder, 
 
 Sweet Cork, of thee ; 
 With thy bells of Shandon, 
 That sound so grand on 
 The pleasant waters 
 
 Of the River Lee." 
 
 The whole party attended church in a little 
 chapel built by dissenters, where they heard an 
 earnest, able discourse delivered, by a simple, 
 godly man, to a small, but very devout and sin- 
 cere audience. The remainder of the day was 
 spent in reading some good books, and seeking 
 spiritual communion with Him who loves the 
 spiritual worshipper. 
 
 On Monday, a yacht was engaged, and the 
 travellers took an excursion in the harbor and 
 bay. The day was beautiful, and the whole 
 
FANCY TRIP TO CORK. 165 
 
 party was pleased with what they saw. Walter 
 was especially interested, for he found on board 
 the yacht an old man, who stood all day at the 
 helm, with a pipe in his mouth, who was a per- 
 fect volume of history, the leaves of which were 
 self-turning ; and from him he derived much 
 useful information in relation to Cork and its 
 environs. He also told Walter that many no- 
 ble and honorable men had lived in or near 
 Cork. 
 
 The lad was anxious to know some of them, 
 and the old man mentioned the name of Edmund 
 Spenser. 
 
 " Who was he ? I never heard of him. Was 
 he a warrior ? " 
 
 " No, he was an English poet, of considerable 
 note, who became possessor of large tracts of 
 land in Ireland, and took up his residence near 
 Cork." 
 
 " What works did he write ? " 
 
 " He wrote several, among which were the 
 < Fairy Queen,' the ' View of Ireland,' and some 
 others. But his end was unfortunate." 
 
 " Please tell us about it." 
 
 " 0, well, it is not to the credit of Ireland, but 
 I will tell it. He was a dear, kind, good man, 
 but in an insurrection, with many of which Ire- 
 land has been cursed, he was obliged to leave 
 
166 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 the beautiful house which he had built to be 
 burned by the rioters ; and so sudden was his 
 flight, that his infant child was left behind and 
 was burned with the house." 
 
 " Did the poet escape ? " 
 
 " Yes, he fled into the city, leaving his house 
 burning behind him, and the yells of his pursu- 
 ers falling on his ears, but found protection 
 here, and finally went to England, and died in 
 sorrow." 
 
 " Has Ireland furnished many literary men ? " 
 
 " Yes, some of the most distinguished are of 
 Celtic origin. Have you ever heard of Oliver 
 Goldsmith ? He was an Irishman, born in the 
 county of Longford." 
 
 " I have read the Vicar of Wakefield, but 
 did not know that Goldsmith was an Irishman," 
 said Minnie. 
 
 Mr. Tenant saw the face of the old, weather- 
 beaten sailor lighting up with smiles at the en- 
 thusiasm of Minnie, and thought he would touch 
 his pride in another direction ; so he said, very 
 quietly,— 
 
 " But Goldsmith did not like Ireland ; did 
 he?" 
 
 " Sure yes, he would have poured out every 
 drop of his blood for old Ireland." 
 
 " But I have read somewhere, that in writing 
 
FANCY TRIP TO CORK. 16? 
 
 to a friend, he says, after expressing a wish to 
 see his native land, — 
 
 " < But now, to be serious : let me ask myself 
 what gives me a wish to see Ireland again ? The 
 country is a fine one, perhaps ? No. There is 
 good company in Ireland ? No. The conversa- 
 tion there is generally made up, and the vivacity 
 supported, by some humble cousin, who had just 
 folly enough to earn his dinner. Then, perhaps, 
 there's more wit and learning among the Irish ? 
 
 Lord, no ! There has been more money spent 
 in the encouragement of the Padareen mare 
 there in one season, than given in rewards to 
 learned men since the time of Usher. All their 
 productions in learning amount to perhaps a 
 translation, or a few tracts in divinity ; and all 
 their productions in wit to just nothing at all. 
 Why the plague, then, so fond of Ireland ? 
 Then, all at once, because you, my dear friend, 
 and a few more who are exceptions to the gen- 
 eral picture, have a residence there. This it is 
 that gives me all the pangs I feel in separation. 
 
 1 confess I carry this spirit sometimes to the 
 souring of the pleasures I at present possess. If 
 I go to the opera, where Signora Columba pours 
 out all the mazes of melody, I sit and sigh for 
 Lissoy fireside, and Johnny Armstrong's " Last 
 Good Night," from Peggy Golden. If I climb 
 
168 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 »o^oc 
 
 Hampstead Hill, than where nature never ex- 
 hibited a more magnificent prospect, I confess it 
 fine ; but then I had rather be placed on the 
 little mount before Lissoy gate, and there take 
 in, to me, the most pleasing horizon in nature.' " 
 
 The old man heard him repeat the passage, 
 and then exclaimed, — 
 
 " No wit among the Irish ! That was said 
 after Goldsmith got his Irish heart changed to 
 English." 
 
 Walter put one or two more questions, but 
 the old man was wounded, and would not 
 communicate any more information ; and Mr. 
 Tenant, to heal the wound that he had made, 
 remarked that it was Goldsmith's life-long wish 
 to return, at last, and die amid the scenes of his 
 boyhood. 
 
 " Where did he die ? " asked Walter. 
 
 " In London, and was buried in the Temple 
 Church, and has a monument to his memory in 
 Westminster Abbey." 
 
 The yacht was now nearing the pier, and " all 
 hands," as Walter expressed it, were soon on 
 land. 
 
 A little time remaining before nightfall, a 
 visit was made to the Mathew monument, which 
 stands near the Capuchin Church, on Charlotte 
 Quay. Irish gratitude commenced the erection 
 
FANCY TRIP TO CORK. 169 
 
 of this memorial of the labors of Father Mathew, 
 who formerly labored here as a priest. The 
 monument is still in an unfinished state. It 
 consists of a double round tower, and when 
 perfected will have an imposing appearance. 
 
 " Have you ever seen Father Mathew ? n 
 asked Walter of Mr. Percy. 
 
 " Yes ; ten or twelve years ago he was ii^ 
 America, and I saw him, and heard him speaX 
 at one of the Catholic churches in Boston. He 
 also administered the pledge to a large number 
 of people. " 
 
 Having looked at the monument, walked 
 through some of the streets of Cork, and noticed 
 many features of the style of life among the, 
 people, they returned to the hotel, where they 
 took a late dinner, which was prepared for them 
 in excellent style. In the evening Walter and 
 his father went out to present several letters of 
 introduction to distinguished citizens of Cork to 
 whom he had been recommended ; and many 
 pleasant interviews they had with fine old Irish 
 gentlemen, who received the strangers with gen- 
 uine hospitality. 
 
 The next morning, Walter, who was the guide 
 and planner for the party, marked out a visit to 
 Blarney Castle, and a janting car was taken for 
 the purpose. The ride was through a fine coun- 
 
170 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 try, the fields were beautiful with flowers, and 
 the whole face of nature was arrayed in smiles 
 of hopefulness. 
 
 Ireland is full of relics ; vestiges of ancient 
 Phoenician architecture and life are seen on all 
 sides. The old Druids have left their marks on 
 the very stones of the earth, and the mediaeval 
 periods have lingering monuments of their feu- 
 dal systems, to speak of them to the living age. 
 
 Blarney Castle is four miles from Cork, and 
 the road being hard and smooth, the company 
 were soon on the ground. The castle consists 
 of a large square tower and some minor build- 
 ings, and is a favorite object with travellers who 
 pass through the south of Ireland. 
 
 As they approached it, Mr. Percy told the 
 children that there was a stone in the wall of 
 this Castle which was supposed to have great 
 virtues. Whoever kisses it three times will al- 
 ways succeed in love, will at once become gifted 
 with great powers of persuasion, become an elo- 
 quent orator, and receive various other gifts. 
 
 " Does any one believe that ? " asked Walter. 
 
 " It has been believed in times past, and 
 doubtless some superstitious people believe it 
 now. It is said that the Blarney Stone is kissed 
 every year by hundreds of people." 
 
 " I'll kiss it," cried Minnie. 
 
FANCY TRIP TO CORK. 173 
 
 An Irish guide had met them at the gates 
 of the castle, and persisted in showing them 
 through, and at length they came to the part of 
 the edifice that had set in it the wonderful stone. 
 The guide pointed it out. It is in the tower, 
 and he assured Mr. Percy that its merits were 
 not overrated. 
 
 Minnie reached up and kissed it, and ex- 
 claimed, " Now I shall be an irresistible 
 pleader." 
 
 " You talked blarney enough before," said 
 Walter. 
 
 " But, sure," said the guide to Minnie, " you 
 must kiss it three times." 
 
 " Well, three times it is," shouted the enthu- 
 siastic child. 
 
 " You must go down on your knees." 
 
 " Ah, is that it ? " 
 
 And Minnie complied with all the terms of 
 the superstition, and rattled on so merrily about 
 blarney stones and yielding lovers, that Mr. 
 Percy checked her with the remark, " You are 
 a little too gay, Minnie, and had better reserve 
 some of your remarks until you get home." 
 
 The little girl, thus rebuked, became silent, 
 and allowed the guide, in his extravagant way, 
 to describe the wonders of the Blarney Stone. 
 
 " I have often heard hoys and men say, ' Stop 
 
174 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 your blarney,' " said Walter. " Has that any 
 connection with this stone ? " 
 
 " Yes," said Mr. Tenant ; " as this stone is 
 supposed to give readiness of speech to those 
 who kiss it, an excess of talking has been termed 
 1 blarney.' " 
 
 " The word never ha/3 any significance to me 
 before ; now I shall understand it." 
 
 " Many words originate in similar ways. Did 
 you ever hear any one term harsh, vile talk, 
 < Billingsgate ' ? " 
 
 " Yes, sir." 
 
 " Well, Billingsgate is a fish market in London, 
 and the fishmongers who deal in the market are 
 very vile tongued, and it has become common 
 to call vile expressions ' Billingsgate ' expres- 
 sions. So an excess of talking is called ' blar- 
 ney.' " 
 
 Having seen the castle, they all rode back to 
 Cork ; and as they entered the city, they met a 
 woman in a neat Quaker dress, which led Mr. 
 Percy to remark that in Cork, William Penn, 
 the founder of Pennsylvania, became a Quaker. 
 The children were anxious to know what he was 
 before, and what arguments were used to con- 
 vert him to the ideas of the Society of Friends. 
 
 Mr. Percy told them all he knew about it, 
 which was not much, but enough to satisfy their 
 curiosity. 
 
FANCY TRIP TO CORK. 175 
 
 " When was it ? " asked Walter. 
 
 " In the year 1658, and the Quakers of that 
 day were not like those of our day. They were 
 more set and rigid." 
 
 To illustrate this, he told Walter the story of 
 John Exham, who, about the time of the con- 
 version of Penn, went through the streets of 
 Cork, with sackcloth on his person and ashes on 
 his head, disturbing the people. 
 
 " What did they do with him ? " asked Minnie. 
 
 " They shut him up in prison." 
 
 " Was that right, father ? " 
 
 " No, not unless he disturbed the peace. No 
 error or fanaticism can be put down by perse- 
 cution." 
 
 Thus several days were spent in seeing the 
 objects of interest in the vicinity of Cork. Ex- 
 cursions were made into the country, and many 
 very pleasant places seen. The whole country 
 is rich in historic associations, and Mr. Percy 
 was reluctant to leave, but previously formed 
 plans required it ; so they started, at length, for 
 the Lakes of Killarney, in a carriage hired at 
 Cork for the purpose, the driver sitting in front, 
 Mr. Percy and Walter occupying one seat in the 
 vehicle, and Mr. Tenant and Minnie the other. 
 
176 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 Chapter IX. 
 
 LAKES OF KILLARNEY. 
 
 AFTER Walter knew that he was to spend 
 a few months in Europe, he was very apt 
 in forming acquaintance with foreigners ; and as 
 Irish people are numerous in Cambridge, he 
 was not put to any inconvenience in getting de- 
 scriptions of Ireland before he left home. He 
 plagued the Irish servants in the family with 
 questions about the green isle ; he talked whole 
 hours with the Irish coachman of one of his 
 father's neighbors, but obtained the most infor- 
 mation from a gardener employed by Mr. Tenant. 
 This gardener was a well-informed man, who 
 had formerly moved in good circles, but who 
 had been reduced by drink, and now labored in 
 a menial service. The old man was born in 
 Killarney, and he was never tired of describing 
 the glories of his native town, and the beauti- 
 ful lakes. Walter had determined, during these 
 interviews with the gardener, whose name was 
 Patrick Mahoney, to see Killarney Lakes, if he 
 ever lived to tread the soil of Ireland ; and when 
 
LAKES OF KILLARNEY. 177 
 
 he found himself on his way, he was very happy 
 in the idea that he should see what Pat had so 
 graphically described. 
 
 " Patrick, your gardener," said he, turning to 
 Mr. Tenant, " says the lakes are the finest sight 
 he ever saw." 
 
 " And Patrick is not alone in that opinion. 
 The great Sir Walter Scott said the same thing, 
 and from what I have read, with some reason, 
 too." 
 
 On the arrival of the party at Killarney, they 
 went to the Queen's Hotel, and hired a guide to 
 go with them the next day, which they did very 
 easily, as many persons in the town make a 
 living of conducting strangers to the objects of 
 interest. The town contains about ten thousand 
 inhabitants, and many of them are very poor 
 and illiterate. The Earl of Kenmare owns the 
 whole place, and there is nothing to see there. 
 The principal business is done by hotel keepers, 
 who charge enormous prices for entertaining 
 strangers. If a traveller does not ask for a tariff 
 of prices, and make a definite bargain before he 
 takes his rooms, he is almost sure to be charged 
 at an extravagant rate, whatever may be his 
 accommodations. The hotel season is confined 
 to the few summer months, and the landlords 
 make the most of it. Mr. Percy had guarded 
 vol. I. 12 
 
178 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 against any extortion by fixing the prices to be 
 paid before he had his baggage taken from the 
 carriage. And all travellers in Europe should 
 do this. The consciences of European inn- 
 keepers are so elastic that they will cover a most 
 inordinate bill, and the traveller must guard 
 himself by a previous bargain. 
 
 When morning came, the whole party started 
 out on their explorations, — Mr. Percy and his 
 friend Tenant on horseback, and Walter and Min- 
 nie in a sort of flag-work car, which was drawn 
 by one horse, and rode very easily. We do not 
 expect to follow them in just the course they took, 
 but to refer to the places they visited somewhat 
 briefly, covering a period of three days, which 
 were required to see all the objects of interest. 
 
 The lakes are three in number, and into 
 them several small rivers flow continually, 
 and supply them with water. These rivers are 
 the Deenab, the Flesk, the Gearhameen, and 
 several others, scarcely one of which we should 
 dignify with the name of river in this country. 
 The outlet is the River Laune, which connects 
 with the distant sea. These beautiful sheets of 
 water are called the Upper Lake, the Tore Lake, 
 and the Lower Lake, and each one has its objects 
 of interest. 
 
 The Upper Lake is two and a half miles long, 
 
LAKES OF KILLARNEY. 179 
 
 and not more than half a mile broad. The 
 scenery around it is very fine, being wild and 
 romantic. As the party came in view of this 
 lake, Minnie shouted with all her might, " Da 
 these people call that a lake ? " 
 
 " Yes," replied her father, who was riding 
 beside the carriage ; " what wonld you call it ? " 
 
 " Frog Pond, if we had it on Boston Com- 
 mon." 
 
 " It is not its size, but its beauty, my child, 
 that draws attention to it." 
 
 " Well, if they make such a fuss over this 
 pond, what would they say if they had Lake 
 Winnipiseogee here in this country ? " 
 
 " That is right, Minnie ; stand up for home," 
 laughingly replied Walter. 
 
 " You are a little captious, daughter ; this 
 country is unable to suit you." 
 
 " No, indeed, pa ; but something must be set 
 against Walter's enthusiasm." 
 
 On reaching the Upper Lake, they found it to 
 be all that travellers had described it to be ; its 
 banks set with the beautiful arbutus unedo ; and 
 waters dashing now on a sandy shore, and anon 
 against the base of the high cliff, and beautiful 
 landscape views breaking upon the sight in all 
 directions. 
 
 The Tore Lake is about two miles long, and 
 
180 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 half as wide. One or two villages are on its 
 banks, objects of interest are seen in all direc- 
 tions, and the islands dotting the lake appear 
 like green clumps of grass rising above the sur- 
 face of the water. It is charming to ride along 
 the lake, or to sail across it ; and as Minnie 
 stood, getting one view after another, she began 
 to confess the charm which the scenery exer- 
 cised upon her. 
 
 The Lower Lake is the largest of the three, 
 and is more tame in its scenery, having around 
 it fewer of the wild scenes which distinguish the 
 others. Our party staid long enough around 
 them to get a view of all the objects of interest, 
 and see all the famous landscape scenes. The 
 view which charmed Walter most was from the 
 summit of Tore Mountain. After a climb which 
 to the children was very laborious, they found 
 themselves on the top. As they stood there they 
 saw a river flowing between it and the neigh- 
 boring mountain, and Walter asked, — 
 
 " What mountains are those in the distance ? " 
 
 " That beyond the river is the Mange rton 
 Mountain ; on the other side of us are the Glena 
 Mountains." 
 
 " How high is this one, pa ? " asked Minnie. 
 
 " About eighteen hundred feet." 
 
 The view from the summit of this mountain 
 
LAKES OP KILLARNEY. 181 
 
 was a delightful one, and for a long time they 
 stood enjoying it. After partaking of some re^ 
 freshments on the Tore, they descended, which 
 was about as difficult a thing to do as the ascent, 
 so precipitous and uneven are the sides of the 
 hill. 
 
 As they came down they visited the Tore 
 Waterfall, a beautiful cascade that dashes down 
 over the sultry rocks, now almost hidden be- 
 neath the foliage, and anon splashing on, cast- 
 ing up beautiful spray, — roaring, and foaming, 
 and tumbling down the cliffs, now in one broad 
 sheet, and anon broken and shivered into little 
 spiteful jets. 
 
 They came in sight of Muckross Abbey, an 
 old ruin, with a choir window yet in a state 
 of considerable perfection, and a square tower, 
 broken at the top, and hung with vines that are 
 creeping over it. It was formerly a Franciscan 
 monastery ; but the monks died long ago, and 
 the edifice where once they counted their beads, 
 and chanted their prayers, is now a mass of 
 ruins. The guide told Walter that the abbey 
 was founded in the year 1440, and that hun- 
 dreds of years before that a church stood on 
 this spot. 
 
 " Will you see the Lady's Walk ? " asked the 
 guide. 
 
182 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 " Where is that ? " inquired Minnie. 
 
 They entered a fine walk, which leads from 
 the abbey along the shores of the lake, beside 
 which seats are placed for the accommodation of 
 those who wish to rest and meditate on the sober 
 reminiscences of the place. The Walk is two or 
 three miles long, but our party did not pursue 
 it far. He also pointed them to the trunk of the 
 yew tree to which Inglis alludes in the follow- 
 ing passage : " No one should visit Killarney 
 without seeing Muckross Abbey. It is a very 
 beautiful and very perfect remain, and contains 
 within it the most gigantic yew tree I have ever 
 seen ; its arms actually support the crumbling 
 wall, and form a canopy above the open clois- 
 ters. The trunk of this majestic yew tree meas- 
 ures thirteen feet in circumference. " 
 
 On Dinis Island they dined. There is on 
 this island an elegant little cottage, where sub- 
 stantial refreshments are kept for visitors. An- 
 other party had just left the cottage, and our 
 friends took their places at the table. A mod- 
 erate bill of fare was put before them ; and at 
 Walter's order, a fine dish of boiled salmon was 
 brought on, and with the other accompaniments, 
 a nice, wholesome, though frugal, meal was 
 made. The island is connected with the main 
 land by a little bridge on one side, and with 
 
LAKES OP KILLARNEY. 183 
 
 Brickeen Island in the same way on the other 
 side. After dinner the party went out and 
 threw themselves on the greensward, and 
 conversed of home and friends for a long 
 time. 
 
 Having rested, they proceeded to the Eagle's 
 Nest, a curious hill, conical in form. It has a 
 flat, bare top, while its sides are all covered with 
 beautiful shrubbery. 
 
 " Shall we climb the mountain ? " asked Mr. 
 Percy. 
 
 " I do not care about it," said Mr. Tenant. 
 
 " 0, do go up ; I am not tired," was Minnie's 
 answer. 
 
 " Yes, I want to go up," said Walter. 
 
 " Two against one," said Mr. Percy, " and I 
 also incline to see the top." 
 
 So they all started on, parting the shrubbery, 
 and wandering among the trees, and after a 
 very bold climbing, reached the summit. Here 
 Walter asked, — 
 
 " Why is this elevation called the Eagle's 
 Nest ? " 
 
 " Because," replied his father, " in the rocks 
 around us the eagles build their nests." 
 
 " I do not see any signs of eagles." 
 
 " No, they are not so common here as for- 
 merly. Since visitors have come to the mountain 
 
184 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 and lakes in such vast numbers, the retreat of 
 the eagles has been disturbed." 
 
 On descending from the mountain, the guide 
 took a pistol from his pocket, at the sight of 
 which Minnie started. 
 
 " What are you going to do with that ? " 
 
 " You will see," he replied. 
 
 " I guess I know," said Walter. 
 
 " What, what ? tell me," was Minnie's impa- 
 tient rejoinder. 
 
 " I think he is going to shoot an eagle." 
 
 " Where is the eagle ? " 
 
 " I do not see him, but perhaps the guide 
 does." 
 
 Mr. Percy was as much at a loss to know what 
 the fellow was about to do as his children were, 
 nor was Mr. Tenant any better informed. But 
 the matter was soon explained, for the guide dis- 
 charged the pistol into the air. For a moment 
 after the report all was still ; then a single echo, 
 and then another, and another, until the whole 
 mountain seemed to be full of unseen shooters. 
 The effect was so grand that the children clapped 
 their hands in the greatest glee, and, at the 
 earnest solicitation of the gentlemen, the pistol 
 was discharged again with greater effect than 
 before. The party then descended, very rapidly, 
 the Long Range, and passed under the old Wek 
 
LAKES OF KILLARNEY. 185 
 
 Bridge, which, with two spans, crosses the stream, 
 which is very rapid. Minnie, who is not very 
 timid, was actually frightened as the boat went 
 whirling along by the stones, and dashing on 
 through dangers which would have appalled 
 persons of a more advanced age. The little girl 
 said nothing, but her pale face and compressed 
 lips showed how much her fears were aroused. 
 When the boat shot out into Muckross Lake, she 
 breathed freely, exclaiming, — 
 "lam glad that is over ! " 
 
 The next day they visited several places, 
 among which was Ross Island, on which stands 
 the ruins of Ross Castle. Concerning this castle 
 there are many strange tales of horror, which 
 the guide related to the children, who treasured 
 every one of them. Some of them were so ab- 
 surd, that they made much sport for the young 
 people. They went through the castle, and 
 ascended to the top of the square tower, from 
 which point a fine view of the country was ob- 
 tained. 
 
 As they came down, the guide told Walter of 
 a famous echo, at the base of this huge tower. 
 He told him that there was a legend, which af- 
 firmed that a giant named Paddy Blake, was 
 concealed under the tower, and that whoever 
 
186 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 called to him would receive an answer. Walter 
 called, as the guide told him to, and a hoarse 
 sound was the response ; and Minnie declared 
 that if that was the giant's answer, it was not 
 very intelligible ; and Walter assured the guide 
 that he had not much faith in Paddy Blake. 
 
 As they wandered about the island, they found 
 some evidences of the fact that the copper min- 
 ing had been carried on in the place. It seems 
 that about fifty years ago, a few gentlemen en- 
 deavored to reopen the mine on this island, 
 which had been worked a great many years 
 before. They toiled on a while, and when the 
 prospect of the mine became very profitable, 
 the water from the lake broke in, and the opera- 
 tion will probably never be resumed. 
 
 The three days were taken up in visits to the 
 various objects of interest around the lakes. 
 They saw the famous Logan Stone, left by the 
 ancient Druids to puzzle and perplex the curious ; 
 the Devil's Punch Bowl, not half so dangerous 
 as the common punch bowl, though a very wild 
 place ; the Gap of Dnnloe, a sort of Alpine pass, 
 though found in Ireland ; and many other inter- 
 esting things and places. They stood and looked 
 up upon 0' Sullivan's Falls, and wandered into 
 O'Sullivan's Grotto ; they wandered about Dun- 
 loe Castle, charmed with its stern, wild appear- 
 
LAKES OF KILLABNEY. 187 
 
 ance ; and saw every thing from O'Donoghue's 
 prison to his pulpit, and returned to Killarney 
 with a most delightful impression of the lakes 
 and the mountains. 
 
 The morning after, it was arranged to journey 
 north, by early stages, and see the country, and 
 got what information they could concerning the 
 habits and customs of the people. For this pur- 
 pose they took a carriage, seating four persons 
 besides the driver, and started out, as they had 
 come to Killarney. As they rode on, Mr. Tenant 
 asked Walter what he should tell Patrick Ma- 
 honey about the lakes of Killarney. 
 
 " I shall tell him they are all he described 
 them to be." 
 
 " Then you are not disappointed ? " 
 
 " Not at all." 
 
 " Nor I," said Minnie. " These lakes are 
 beau ti ful." 
 
 And this was the general expression, Mr. 
 Percy uniting in praise of the beautiful scenery 
 as earnestly as his children. 
 
 As they rode on, the children were amused 
 with many tilings which they saw. A boy driv- 
 ing a donkey, with two baskets over his back, 
 one hanging down on each side, made much 
 sport for Minnie. An old farmer, driving his 
 wife and child along the road in a basket-work 
 
188 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 carriage, drawn by a horse that looked as if he 
 had been fed on sawdust, (a view of which we 
 give on the next page,) also drew their attention. 
 They were also much pleased with the abbeys 
 and ruins of churches which were seen all along 
 the way through the country ; and Mr. Percy 
 gave to his children such facts in relation to 
 these ruined edifices, as made even the frolicking 
 Minnie to look upon them with interest. Hu 
 related ; as they rode on, many interesting le- 
 gends ; for almost all the old ruins have curious 
 tales to tell. 
 
 " You remember," he said to Walter, " an old 
 abbey we saw on the banks of the Suir ? " 
 
 " Certainly, sir." 
 
 "What, father, the Holy Cross Abbey?" 
 asked Minnie. 
 
 " Yes, my child." 
 
 " Why is it called by this name ? " asked 
 Walter. " I forgot to ask at the time." 
 
 " It was so called, I believe, because in the 
 year 1110, Pope Pascal sent to the church con- 
 nected with the abbey a piece of the true cross ; 
 and it was to speak of this circumstance that 
 I called your attention to the abbey." 
 
 " Was it a piece of the true cross ? " 
 
 " Of course not. I have seen in Europe 
 many pieces of wood which were said, by super- 
 
LAKES OF KILLARNEY. 191 
 
 stitious people, to be pieces of the true cross ; 
 but they were miserable impositions." 
 
 " What became of the piece of wood that was 
 sent by the pope to this abbey ? " 
 
 " It was set in gold and precious stones, and 
 for a long time venerated by the people ; but 
 what has become of it I do not know." 
 
 Mr. Percy then gave many interesting remi- 
 niscences of the abbey, (for a view of which see 
 the frontispiece to this volume,) and the chil- 
 dren were delighted with the entertainment. 
 
 They rode in a northerly direction until they 
 struck a railroad, where they dismissed their 
 carriage and driver, and proceeded by rail to 
 Dublin, having had a most interesting tour in 
 the south of Ireland. 
 
 " How long do you stay here ? " asked Walter 
 of his father on the evening of their arrival. 
 
 " Only one night, my son. To-morrow we 
 will go out to Maynooth, and then proceed to- 
 wards the north." 
 
 Accordingly they bade adieu to Dublin, and 
 proceeded to Maynooth, on the way to the inter- 
 esting places in the north of Ireland, where they 
 were to stay for a few days before crossing over 
 to Scotland. 
 
192 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 Chapter X. 
 
 MAYNOOTH AND DEOGHEDA. 
 
 " i ND is this Maynooth, of which I have heard 
 -£*- and read so much ? " asked Walter, as 
 they entered that town. 
 
 " I suppose it is. But what have you heard 
 or read about it, Walter ? " asked Mr. Percy. 
 
 " I have read of Maynooth College, and have 
 seen in the English papers signs of strife between 
 the friends and foes of the college." 
 
 " Why should there be a strife about a col- 
 lege ? " asked Minnie. 
 
 " Because," replied her father, " this college 
 is for the education of young men for the Bo- 
 man Catholic priesthood, and Protestants oppose 
 all grants of money, on the ground that it is a 
 sectarian institution." 
 
 " But are not all the English colleges as sec- 
 tarian ? " asked Walter. 
 
 " They are most of them under the control of 
 the Church of England." 
 
 " Then where is the difference ? " 
 
 " The difference consists in the fact that while 
 
MAYNOOTH AND DROGHEDA. 193 
 
 in English colleges, generally, young men are 
 educated for all professions and vocations in 
 life, and the theological training is not made a 
 specality ; in Maynooth the young men are trained 
 directly for the priesthood." 
 
 " Then the college is more like the Andover 
 Seminary, or the institution at Newton ? " 
 
 " It is an institution lying between the college 
 and the theological seminary, or rather combin- 
 ing both/' 
 
 " When was this college founded ? " 
 
 " In the year 1795." 
 
 Thus conversing, they reached the college, 
 w.id Mr. Percy having a letter of introduction to 
 one of the prominent teachers, the whole party 
 were very kindly received, and shown through 
 the bandings, which are very finely located, and 
 very spacious. They consist of chapel, dormi- 
 tories, lecture and recitation rooms, professors' 
 apartments, library, dining halls, and all the 
 usual conveniences of such an institution. 
 
 When they had inspected the college build- 
 ings, one of the professors very kindly accom- 
 panied them to the parish church, a building of 
 some historical interest, to the old ruined castle 
 of the Fitzgeralds, built several centuries ago, 
 and to all the various objects of interest in the 
 town. Of the latter there were, indeed, few, as 
 vol. i. 13 
 
194 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 the town of Maynooth is small, and has only one 
 principal street, and few buildings of importance 
 except those mentioned. 
 
 As the day advanced, they took the cars for 
 Drogheda, where they decided to spend the 
 night. While waiting in the station house, 
 Walter proposed to ride in the third-class cars. 
 
 " We have been riding in the first-class cars, 
 and we have seen nobody but ourselves," he 
 said. " We have a whole car to ourselves, and 
 do not see the people as I would like to see 
 them." 
 
 " A sensible suggestion," replied Mr. Tenant ; 
 " and as the distance to Drogheda is short, I 
 propose that we follow Walter's advice." 
 
 " But Minnie will be most inconvenienced. 
 If she consents, I have no objection," said Mr. 
 Percy ; " but she must remember that she will 
 be crowded into a car with many very dirty peo- 
 ple, some of whom will be smoking, and some 
 swearing, and some yelling." 
 
 " What say, Minnie ? " asked Walter. 
 
 " I say yes," replied the little girl ; " I dare 
 go any where that you dare carry me." 
 
 So it was agreed that they should take the 
 third-class cars, and the tickets were purchased 
 accordingly. 
 
 On entering the car, they found it filled with 
 
MAYNOOTH AND DROGHEDA. 195 
 
 a very rough looking set of people. The seats 
 were close together, the windows were small, and 
 the prospect of a pleasant ride not altogether 
 auspicious. The Irish peasants, who filled the 
 carriage, conversed boisterously together, and 
 Minnie began to regret that they had taken their 
 tickets in the third class. But a humorous 
 remark, indulged in by a full-faced, genial old 
 man, at the expense of a fellow-traveller, pro- 
 voked shouts of laughter, in which our friends 
 joined, and the whole company soon became 
 very much interested in the wit and fun for 
 which the Irish people are noted. 
 
 Mr. Percy soon engaged in conversation with 
 some of the men, who were very communica- 
 tive, furnishing all the information in their 
 power in relation to the country through which 
 they were riding, the politics and morals of the 
 people, and the religious condition and prospects 
 of the Irish nation. Walter was delighted with 
 the country, all waving with grain, beautiful to 
 the eye, fragrant and fair, and reminding one of 
 the beauties of Eden. He could scarcely restrain 
 his emotions as one view after another burst 
 upon him, and in his enthusiasm, he forgot his 
 hard seat and uncouth fellow-passengers, ab- 
 sorbed in the landscape scenes, which every 
 where presented themselves. Minnie was amus- 
 
196 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 ing herself with the quaint remarks, the curious 
 pronunciation, and the general hilarity of the 
 Irish people in the car, and she laughed as heart- 
 ily, if not as boisterously, as they. Mr. Tenant, 
 with his cigar in his mouth, sat leaning back in a 
 corner, now and then uttering some remark, to 
 add to the general good feeling which seemed to 
 exist, himself pleased that he could be in a com- 
 pany that were not annoyed by his bad habit of 
 smoking — a habit which he unfortunately con- 
 tracted when a boy, but which strengthened with 
 his strength and grew with his growth. 
 
 " How, is it," asked Walter, " that a country 
 which looks so fertile, and has so many evi- 
 dences of thrift, can contain so many poor peo- 
 ple ? " 
 
 Mr. Percy explained, and gave his son much 
 useful information in relation to the way in 
 which the lands in Ireland are held, the tenantry 
 system, and the various causes which tend to 
 the poverty of the laboring classes. 
 
 Thus they rode on, passing several interesting 
 Irish towns, (one of which appears on the oppo- 
 site page,) with their humble church, lowly 
 graveyard, thatched and stone cottages, and 
 their poor but cheerful inhabitants ; and when 
 the children found the cars had reached Droghe- 
 da, they complained that the ride was so short, 
 
-*< 
 
 
 II 1 
 
 
 •V 
 
MAYNOOTH AND DROGHEDA. 199 
 
 and that they were so soon to part company with 
 those who had furnished them so much amuse- 
 ment and information. 
 
 " What a wonderful way of travelling we 
 have ! " said Walter ; " and how surprised our 
 ancestors would be if they could come back from 
 their graves, and see steam carriages flying 
 across the country as rapidly as we have come 
 from Maynooth ! " 
 
 " Yes, my son," replied Mr. Percy, " in 
 nothing do we see greater improvements than in 
 the facilities for travelling. Stage coaches were 
 introduced into England about the year 1670, to 
 take the place of private carriages, post chaises, 
 and saddle riding ; and now we have locomotives 
 instead of horses, and beautiful cars instead of 
 the awkward vehicles which then went over the 
 road, about thirty miles per day." 
 
 " Where did the first stage coach run — over 
 what road ? " 
 
 " From Oxford to London. It was called the 
 Flying Coach." 
 
 " I suppose the people then thought that as 
 wonderful as we now think the railway is ? " 
 
 " Yes, it was an enterprise so important that 
 the University of Oxford gravely considered it, 
 and issued a recommendatory notice of it ; but 
 many people opposed it as a dangerous innova- 
 tion." 
 
200 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 " A dangerous innovation ? " 
 
 " Yes, a tract was published against it, and 
 hundreds of people petitioned the king that cer- 
 tain restrictions might be put upon it. These 
 restrictions, which related to its speed, the fre- 
 quency of the passages, the number of horses to 
 be attached to it, the petitioners hoped would 
 make the stage coach so unprofitable that few 
 would feel desirous of sustaining it." 
 
 " What objection could they have to such an 
 improvement in the mode of travelling ? " 
 
 " They had various objections, all of which 
 were unsound and frivolous. Mr. Macaulay tells 
 us that it was vehemently ' argued that this mode 
 of conveyance would be fatal to the breed of 
 horses and the noble art of horsemanship ; that 
 the Thames, which had long been an important 
 nursery of seamen, would cease to be the chief 
 thoroughfare from London up to Windsor and 
 down to Gravesend ; that saddlers and spurriers 
 would be ruined by hundreds ; that numerous 
 inns, at which mounted travellers had been in 
 the habit of stopping, would be deserted, and 
 would no longer pay any rent ; that the new 
 carriages would be too cold in winter and too 
 hot in summer ; that the passengers would be 
 grievously annoyed by invalids and crying chil- 
 dren ; that the coach would sometimes reach 
 
MAYNOOTH AND DROGHEDA. 201 
 
 the inn so late that the passengers could get no 
 supper, and start so early in the morning that 
 they could get no breakfast.' " 
 
 The cars now stopped at Drogheda, and our 
 company at once repaired to the hotel, an old- 
 fashioned, comfortable inn. This Drogheda is 
 a very interesting old Irish town, which has a 
 memorable history, and onr friends were very 
 much interested in visiting it. The place has 
 about thirty thousand inhabitants ; the streets 
 remind one of the middle ages ; the houses are 
 peculiar and odd, the citizens seem like a dif- 
 ferent race ; and every aspect of the place is 
 interesting and unfamiliar. 
 
 Having left their carpet bags at the inn, they 
 went out to see the town. On passing along, 
 they noticed, not far from the centre of the 
 place, a huge square tower, and on inquiry, 
 were told that it was " Magdalen's Steeple.'' It 
 is a very high, venerable tower, in which the bats 
 have made their abode, and which looks as if it 
 might soon tumble to the ground. When it was 
 built, no one can tell. The church of which it 
 was once the tower fell down four hundred years 
 ago, and this memorial of it still bears the pelt- 
 ing of the storms, and feels from year to year 
 the crumbling hand of time passing over it. 
 
 The children were much amused in visiting 
 
202 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 some of the cabins of the poor people, and we 
 give Walter's idea of them in an extract from 
 his journal. 
 
 Drogheda. 
 
 After viewing " Magdalen's Steeple," we went 
 to see some of the houses of the poor people on 
 the outskirts of the town. As one of them will 
 answer for a description of the whole, I will 
 write it out in my journal. We went into the 
 one I am about to describe, and found it occu- 
 pied by an elderly woman, her son, and daugh- 
 ter. The building was not one of the poorest 
 kind, which are generally built of turf, but was 
 of a better class, built of rough stone, unhewn, 
 and without any claim to taste or elegance. 
 The stone walls were whitewashed within and 
 without. The building was an oblong, thirty 
 feet long, and fifteen feet wide. The roof was 
 thatched with straw, the thatching being about 
 one foot thick . The straw is carefully laid upon 
 small poles which serve for rafters, and will last 
 six or eight years. 
 
 The interior of the house was divided into two 
 apartments by a curtain about eight feet high, 
 thus making two rooms about fifteen feet square. 
 The windows were fixed in the stonework, and 
 could not be moved. The glass was about five 
 
MAYNOOTH AND DROGHEDA. 203 
 
 inches square, and the whole window about 
 eighteen inches square. The floor was the bare 
 ground, beaten hard, cold and damp. The 
 chimney and fireplace were at one end, built of 
 stone and clay, a mere rough pile to hold the 
 fire and conduct the smoke into the outer re- 
 gion. A loom for the manufacture of Irish 
 linen was in one room, and the young woman 
 was at work upon it. The adornments of the 
 cabin were very few ; the women were barefoot ; 
 the whole aspect of the house cheerless and 
 dreary, much resembling the cells of a prison. 
 And yet every thing was neat and tidy, and the 
 people seemed to be quite happy. The old lady 
 received us very kindly, and answered the ques- 
 tions we asked with much intelligence, and was 
 much gratified with our visit. 
 
 When she found we were Americans, she said, 
 " Then you know my sister's boy, Mike O'Brien, 
 who lives over there." 
 
 Father told her he had never seen him, at 
 which she seemed surprised, exclaiming, — 
 
 " What, you come from America, and never 
 saw Mike O'Brien ! " 
 
 " Where does he live ? " asked father. 
 
 " In Wisconsin, sure." 
 
 We told her that we lived a great distance 
 from Wisconsin, and that we never had been 
 
201 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 there ; but she could not comprehend the vast- 
 ness of our country. 
 
 The town of Drogheda has a solemn and fear- 
 ful history. It held out for a long time against 
 Cromwell, who poured his vengeance out upon 
 it until the streets ran with blood. September 
 3, 1649, he encamped on the neighboring hills, 
 and began to fortify them. Within the town 
 the brave Ormond had placed his choicest sol- 
 diers and his heaviest cannon, and deemed his 
 defences impregnable. For six clays did the 
 Protector fortify the distant hills, and at the end 
 of that time hoisted his red flag, and poured his 
 iron rain upon the doomed place beneath him. 
 The siege continued until Drogheda was one 
 vast pile of ruins, one general receptacle of 
 death. The streets flowed with blood ; calls for 
 mercy were heard in vain ; hundreds, driven 
 into the churches, were burned there, and in the 
 houses were heard sounds of lamentation and 
 sorrow. So dreadful was the massacre, and so 
 deep the rivers of blood, that all Ireland was 
 overwhelmed with consternation. C.omwell 
 seemed to be writing his edicts in great letters 
 of blood, and the cold chill of horror ran through 
 the whole land. 
 
 From Drogheda, our friends made an excur- 
 
MAYNOOTH AND DROGHEDA. 205 
 
 sion out to the field where was fought the battle 
 of the Boy no ; and Walter listened with much 
 interest as his father described the battle which 
 was fought in 1690 by the armies of James II. 
 and William III. 
 
 " Which was victorious ? " he asked. 
 
 " William gained the day." 
 
 " And what became of James ? " 
 
 " His army was routed, and he fled into Eng- 
 land." 
 
 Mr. Percy explained the relations which ex- 
 isted between these two warriors, and the 
 causes which induced them to fight with each 
 other ; and every young reader will find it in- 
 teresting to turn to the history of those times, 
 and read what is written of the battle of the 
 Boyne. 
 
 The party left Droghecla for Belfast, stopping 
 at Dundalk, Newry, Armagh, and several other 
 interesting towns, on the way, in each of which 
 they saw something new, and became better 
 acquainted with the Irish people. 
 
206 THE PERCY FAMILY 
 
 Chapter XI. 
 
 GLANCES AT GIANT'S CAUSEWAY. 
 
 "T)ELFAST! passengers for Belfast stop 
 J-J here ! " shouted the conductor as the train 
 stopped in the station house of that city. 
 
 The party at once sought lodgings, and then 
 made arrangements at once to visit that interest- 
 ing natural phenomenon, the Giant's Causeway, 
 on the north coast of Ireland, and the rugged 
 scenery of Donegal and Antrim. They took a 
 janting car, and pursued the road along the 
 coast, by the Lough of Belfast, with the heaving 
 sea in view much of the distance. After riding 
 through a country beautifully picturesque, they 
 reached the Causeway, pictures of which Walter 
 had often seen. 
 
 They found many persons waiting and desir- 
 ing to act as guides, each professing to be better 
 acquainted with the seenery than the others. 
 The privilege of selecting a guide from all these 
 was left to Walter, who ran his eye over the 
 crowd, and with considerable intuitive discern- 
 ment, made choice of a lad a few years older 
 
GLANCES AT GIANT'S CAUSEWAY. 207 
 
 than himself, with a bright eye, and a garb pe- 
 culiar to his class. He may be seen in the ac- 
 companying engraving, with Walter's umbrella 
 and Minnie's cloak, standing at the Giant's 
 Well. 
 
 THE GUIDE AT GIANT S WELL. 
 
 This guide led them forth to the Pleaskin, the 
 Grand Causeway, which consists of a very curi- 
 ous combination of crystallized rocks, which are 
 thus described : — 
 
 " These remarkable specimens of nature's 
 
208 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 handiwork are of unequal height and breadth. 
 They rise up from the strand to a height of 
 about twenty feet, gradually receding to the 
 water ; though how far seaward this arrangement 
 extends is very uncertain. This grand assem- 
 blage of basaltic pillars extends for a consider- 
 able distance along the shore ; sometimes like a 
 vast pile congregated together, as in the Grand 
 Causeway ; sometimes taking the shape of iso- 
 lated masses of broken, disjointed rocks scattered 
 along the beach ; sometimes assuming the ap- 
 pearance of regular geological strata in the ex- 
 posed face of the cliff, as in that remarkable 
 natural curiosity, the ' Giant's Organ ; ' and 
 sometimes becoming part of the rugged moun- 
 tainous coast itself, as in the headland known as 
 the ' Chimney Tops.' But in whatever part of 
 the coast these basaltic pillars appear, they have 
 all two peculiarities — their almost uniform pen- 
 tagonal figure, and the singular manner in which 
 the separate pieces of each column are jointed 
 together. In no cases do the columns seem to 
 consist of single solid blocks, but are composed 
 of a number of short lengths, one on the top of 
 the other, like layers of masonry. But instead 
 of possessing flat surfaces, the ends of each 
 length are articulated one into the other like a 
 ball and socket, in the same way as is observable 
 
in the vertebrae of some of the larger kinds of 
 fishes — the one end of the joint having a cavity 
 into which the convex end of the opposite ex- 
 actly fits. The deptli of this concavity or con- 
 vexity is generally about three or four inches ; 
 and it is peculiar that the joint, instead of being 
 conformable to the external angular figure of 
 the block, is exactly round, and as large as the 
 diameter of the column will admit ; conse- 
 quently, as the angles of these columns are in 
 general very unequal, the circular edges of the 
 joints are seldom coincident with more than two 
 or three sides of the pentagon, and are, from the 
 edge of the circular part of the joint to the ex- 
 terior sides and angles, quite plain. The articu- 
 lations of these joints are frequently inverted, in 
 some of them the concavity being upwards, and 
 in others the reverse. This occasions that 
 variety and mixture of concavities and convexi- 
 ties on the tops of the columns which is obser- 
 vable throughout the platform of this Causeway 
 without any discoverable design or regularity 
 with respect to the number of either." 
 
 The effect of this view upon our travellers was 
 impressive, and they stood, for a long time, view- 
 ing the wonderful work of God. 
 
 " These rocks look like chimneys," said 
 Minnie. 
 
 VOL. I. 14 
 
210 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 " Very much so," replied Mr. Tenant. 
 
 " They are sometimes mistaken for chimneys," 
 said the guide, who told them that on one occa- 
 sion a Spanish ship mistook them for the towers 
 and chimneys of Dunluce Castle, which is near 
 by, and wasted considerable ammunition by firing 
 into them. 
 
 giant's gateway. 
 
 Minnie laughed heartily at this mistake. 
 
 The party then went through the Giant's 
 Gateway, a view of which is given in the en- 
 graving. 
 
GLANCES AT GIANT'S CAUSEWAY. 2ll 
 
 " This is the way the giants used to enter the 
 Causeway," said the guide. 
 
 " You do not mean that giants ever lived here ; 
 do you ? " asked Minnie. 
 
 " Who, then, could have formed this Gate- 
 way ? " 
 
 " The great God," replied the child. 
 
 The guide then took them to the " Lady's 
 Chair," which he said was used by the queen of 
 the giants. 
 
 " She must have been a large woman," said 
 Walter. 
 
 " Giants usually are large," replied the guide. 
 
 " She must have loved a hard seat," said 
 Minnie. 
 
 This Chair consists of a number of huge 
 basaltic stones put together, forming a mammoth 
 chair, or seat ; and when Walter saw it, it was 
 overhung with beautiful vines, and decorated 
 with humble flowers, that found a place to grow 
 between the stones, and bore a striking resem- 
 blance to a huge chair, worthy of a giantess. 
 
 The Giant's Well is partly natural, and partly 
 artificial, and the water is pure and pleasant to 
 the taste. A distinguished visitor to the spot 
 says, " The only person I observed on the Cause- 
 way, when I descended, was an old woman sitting 
 by the spring of fresh water, with a whiskey 
 
212 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 bottle and glasses to mix that national spirit 
 with the pure spring, and render it more palat- 
 able to her customers. On returning from my 
 ramble, however, I perceived a young lady, in a 
 riding habit, sitting down by the side of the 
 fountain, waiting the return of some gentlemen 
 who were examining the Causeway ; the sight of 
 whom, in this lonely spot, I am free to confess, 
 drove all the pentagons and hexagons out of my 
 head ; and to escape from the chance of its be- 
 ing filled with something else, I was ungallant 
 enough to take an abrupt departure." 
 
 " Do you not suppose this Causeway was 
 formed by human hands ? " asked Walter of 
 his father, as they wandered from point to 
 point. 
 
 " No, my son, there is no chance for such a 
 supposition." 
 
 " Why not, father ? " 
 
 " Because, in the first place, there could be no 
 conceivable object for such a structure ; and 
 second, because the rocks are so dissimilar, and 
 are so unlike what man would form, that the 
 idea can hardly be seriously entertained for a 
 moment." 
 
 " But look at the regularity of the stones, as 
 they lie together ; that indicates art." 
 
 " At the first glance it looks like it ; but if 
 
GLANCES AT GIANT'S CAUSEWAY. 213 
 
 these pillars were made from a pattern, they 
 
 would bear a more striking likeness to each 
 
 other." 
 
 " Do they not all look alike ? " 
 
 " Yes, just as the leaves are alike in general 
 
 construction, but endlessly diverse ; just as all 
 
 human faces are alike, but all of them possessed 
 
 of an individual identity." 
 " I understand." 
 " Notice, Walter, that all these pieces of stone 
 
 are so different, that they could not be worked 
 
 from any one pattern." 
 
 " Yes, but is there no other reason ? " 
 
 " Several I might mention. The extent of 
 
 these hexagonal, octagonal, pentagonal, and non- 
 
 agonal, found all along the coast of Antrim and 
 
 Donegal, shows that they were cast up by Nature 
 
 in some one of her freaks." 
 
 " Well, father, you must explain those hard 
 
 words you have just used. I do not understand 
 
 them," said Minnie. 
 
 " What words, my daughter ? " 
 
 " Why, hexagonal — what is that ? " 
 
 " Hexagonal, my child, means having six sides 
 
 and angles, as you see some of these stones 
 
 have." 
 
 " What are the octagonal stones ? " 
 " Those having eight sides and angles." 
 
214 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 " And how many angles have the pentagon 
 nal ? " 
 
 " Five." 
 
 " And what are the — the nonagonal, I be- 
 lieve you called it ? " 
 
 " Those that have nine sides and angles." 
 
 The guide secured a six-oared row boat, and 
 took the party out upon the water, where they 
 could have a very fine view of the whole Cause- 
 way ; and as they rowed about, Walter opened 
 his guide book, and read aloud the following tes- 
 timony to the effect produced upon the mind by 
 looking upon this grand natural wonder : " What 
 shall I say of the Causeway ? " inquires Lord 
 John Manners. " There are three promontories 
 running into the sea on a level with the waves, 
 or nearly so, composed of upright blocks of 
 stone, each, it may be, a yard in circumference, 
 hexagonal, pentagonal, octagonal, and one or 
 two nonagonal in shape ; some of the cliffs, too, 
 are fluted in this manner, with columns thirty 
 feet high, resembling, at a little distance, the 
 pipes of an organ. A very steep and narrow 
 track took us from the Causeway to the summit 
 of the cliffs — an ascent of about three hundred 
 feet, and a walk of a couple of miles along their 
 edge to the Pleaskin Rock. It rained furiously, 
 so that it was only now and then we could obtain 
 
GLANCES AT GIANT'S CAUSEWAY. 215 
 
 a fair view of the dark creeks, and bold rocks, 
 and strange formations of whinstone, which 
 diversify this mysterious coast." 
 
 " How fortunate we are that we have not a 
 rainy day now ! " said Minnie. 
 
 " We shall get from the water here the favor- 
 ite view of travellers — the sunset view." 
 
 " Is that a better view than any other ? " asked 
 Walter. 
 
 " It is said to be so ; and travellers, who have 
 time to do so, tarry, and behold these huge rocks, 
 towers, and chimneys, lighted up and gilded by 
 the last rays of the descending sun." 
 
 " We shall soon test it, for the sun is descend- 
 ing fast." 
 
 " See, father," cried Minnie, " how red the 
 western sky looks. 0, how beautiful the colors 
 that glow, and change, and disappear." 
 
 Walter, and the whole company, turned to- 
 wards the west, and all admired the gorgeous 
 drapery that old Sol had wrapped about his 
 royal person as he retired to rest ; and they sat 
 silent in their boat, waiting for the beams to 
 strike the pinnacles above them. 
 
 And they waited not long, for the sun, like a 
 great red orb, went rolling down behind the 
 hills, flinging its parting beams on the Cause- 
 way, gorgeously lighting and shading its pinna- 
 
216 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 cles, and bringing out the bold outlines of the 
 countless columns : and the children shouted 
 with joy as they witnessed the changing aspects 
 of the dwelling place of the giants ; and as they 
 rowed rapidly to the shore, Walter repeated, 
 from memory, the lines of one of our poets, 
 written after viewing this wonderful mass of 
 pillared stone : — 
 
 " Dark o'er the foam-white waves, 
 The Giant's Pier the war of tempests braves — 
 A far-projecting, firm, basaltic way 
 Of clustering columns wedged in dense array ; 
 With skill so like, yet so surpassing art, 
 With such design, so just in every part, 
 That reason pauses, doubtful if it stand 
 The work of mortal or immortal hand." 
 
 That night they found lodgings at the village 
 of Ballinatoy, at an inn, where several parties, 
 who, like themselves, had come to visit the 
 Causeway, had taken refuge. Walter sought the 
 public room, where were villagers, guides, and 
 strangers, talking about the Causeway, and re- 
 lating to each other the fables and legends con- 
 nected with the place. 
 
 He was told that, a year before, a young 
 American lady had seated herself in the Lady's 
 Chair, and remained so long that she took a 
 violent cold, and came back to this hotel, sick- 
 
GLANCES AT GIANT'S CAUSEWAY. 217 
 
 ened, and died. The superstitious people in the 
 vicinity believe that in some way she offended 
 the spirit of the giants, who still hover around 
 the ruins of their ancient home, and that they 
 smote her with death. 
 
 A guide also related to him the story of a 
 young lady, who, several years ago, climbed out 
 upon these rocks to get a leaf that was growing 
 in a crevice of the ledge, when the basaltic 
 stones beneath her feet became disturbed, and 
 she was plunged down the cliff, and taken up by 
 her friends a lifeless form. 
 
 As the evening advanced, the weary party 
 sought repose, and soon the children were 
 asleep, dreaming of giants, castles, and banditti, 
 living over in sleep the events and legends of 
 the day. 
 
218 THE PERCY FAMILY 
 
 Chapter XII. 
 
 DTJNLUCE CASTLE. 
 
 DING — dong — ding ! Ding — dong — 
 ding ! 
 
 " What is that ? " shouted Minnie to Walter, 
 running from her little bedroom into the cham- 
 ber where her brother slept. 
 
 " What is it ? Why, breakfast time, to be 
 sure.' , 
 
 " Then this is the first time we have heard a 
 bell ring for breakfast. I thought they had no 
 public table." 
 
 " You thought ! " 
 
 " Yes, I thought, and believe I am right, 
 though it sounds much like our bell at home." 
 
 "You will find the bell to be a call to the 
 breakfast table." 
 
 At this moment Mr. Percy entered Walter's 
 room, and once more the children both asked, 
 " What was that bell for ? " 
 
 " It was rung for the passengers who are 
 going to Belfast in a stage that is about start- 
 ing to get ready." 
 
Dunluce castle. 219 
 
 " Do we go in it ? " asked Minnie. 
 
 "No, my daughter." 
 
 " 0, why not ! I love to go in a crowd." 
 
 " Because we are not ready to go. We have 
 had no breakfast, and your toilet is not com- 
 pleted ; and then we go to Dunluce Castle to-* 
 day." 
 
 The crack of the driver's whip, the rumbling 
 of wheels, the shout of the passengers, an 
 nounced that the stage had started." 
 
 After breakfast, in a janting car our friends 
 rode out to Dunluce Castle. The ride was a 
 short one, and intensely interesting ; and all 
 were sorry when the old frowning towers 
 were reached, so much did they admire the 
 scenery of the shore road along which they trav- 
 elled. 
 
 Dunluce Castle is rather a remarkable struc- 
 ture, which has been well described as " the 
 grandest, romantickest, awfullest sea-king's cas- 
 tle in broad Europe. It stands on a great ledge 
 of a cliff, separated from, rather than joined to, the 
 main land by the narrowest of natural bridges, 
 and overhangs the sea — that dark, chilling, 
 northern sea — so perpendicularly, that how the 
 towers and wall on the seaside were built I can- 
 not divine : what numbers of masons and build- 
 ers must have fallen into that gloomy sea before 
 
220 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 the last loophole was pierced ! The landward 
 scenery, in spite of good roads and modern 
 improvements, is dreary enough now ; what it 
 must have been when those grim halls were first 
 inhabited by Ulster chieftains, who can guess ? 
 There is no castle on the Rhine, or the Loire, 
 or the Seine, or any where else that I know of, 
 that can be compared with Dunluce for desolate, 
 awe-inspiring grandeur." 
 
 The travellers crossed a narrow rock which 
 serves for a bridge, and entered the gloomy cas- 
 tle. They were met by a porter who conducted 
 them through it. What pleased Walter most 
 was tne fine views obtained from the lofty tow- 
 ers. But Minnie was most interested in some 
 wild tales which the porter related as they went 
 from room to room. " Here," said he, " in this 
 apartment, sickened and died a beautiful and 
 gifted lady, who was brought here by the former 
 lord of the castle." 
 
 " Please tell me about her," cried Minnie. 
 
 " Be patient, little lady, and I will." 
 
 " Patience is not a virtue when I want to hear 
 a story," laughingly replied the little girl. 
 
 The guide went on with his tale. He told 
 them that many years ago the lord of this castle 
 became enamoured of a beautiful woman, who 
 lived about one hundred miles away. She did 
 
DUNLUCE CASTLE. 221 
 
 not favor his suit, and gave her hand to another. 
 But the knight, enraged at his want of success, 
 gathered a number of faithful servants, and 
 coming at night upon the castle where she lived, 
 took her away, and brought her to Dunluce 
 Castle. The costliest docorations and the most 
 beautiful furniture were used for her chamber, 
 and every attention was paid to her wants ; but 
 in a few weeks, finding escape impossible, she 
 sickened, and one morning, when the knight 
 came to press his suit, he found the lady on her 
 knees, her hands clasped, and her eyes fixed 
 upon a crucifix before her. Supposing she was 
 at her devotions, and not wishing to disturb her, 
 he returned. In an hour he came again, and 
 found her still on her knees. He touched her, 
 and she moved not, answered not. He bent 
 down, and looked in her pale but still beautiful 
 face, and started back with horror. She was 
 dead." 
 
 " Dead ! " exclaimed Minnie. 
 " Yes, her spirit had fled from earth." 
 " What did they do with the wicked man ? " 
 " Nothing at all. The state of society was 
 very different then from now, and he was a man 
 of great power." 
 
 " Well, what else about it ? " 
 
 " 0, nothing ; only \t is supposed that the 
 
222 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 spirit of this lady sometimes visits this room at 
 night, and " 
 
 " 0, what nonsense ! It seems as if the people 
 of this country believed in nothing but ghosts 
 and hobgoblins." 
 
 " I was telling you what some suppose, and 
 what not a few seriously believe." 
 
 " I am glad," said Mr. Percy, " that my 
 daughter discredits all such stories. They are 
 absurd and very ridiculous, and are only fit to 
 be laughed at and scorned." 
 
 The whole company were delighted with the 
 romantic scenery in the vicinity of the castle, 
 rendered interesting by the huge masses of ba- 
 saltic rock, which can be seen in all directions ; 
 and the whole day was spent in looking over the 
 grounds, and wandering about the castle. Wal- 
 ter scratched his name on one of the stones of 
 the tower, nearly spoiling a new knife in doing 
 it ; and doubtless whoever visits the castle in 
 future will be able to find it : — 
 
 WALTER PERCY. 
 ANNO DOMINI MDCCCLVIII. 
 
 On returning to Belfast, Walter wrote a 
 description of his visit to the Giant's Cause- 
 way, and sent it to Charlie. It read as fol- 
 lows : — 
 
DUNLUCE CASTLE. 223 
 
 Brother Charlie : — 
 
 You remember to have seen in some of your 
 books a picture of the Giant's Causeway, a re- 
 markable object of interest in the north of Ire- 
 land. Well, your sister Minnie and myself have 
 been to visit it, and a wonderful place it is. A 
 beautiful lad, little older than I am, was our 
 guide, and we paid him for his services two days, 
 three dollars. He wore a little red knit cap, a 
 light velvet jacket, and looked trim and neat, 
 as he ran on before us, or turned, his face all 
 glowing with smiles, to point out the objects of 
 interest. 
 
 I cannot tell you all we saw, the objects were 
 so numerous. The guide took us to the Lady's 
 Chair, in which the giant's wife used to sit; 
 to the well of which the giants drank ; to the 
 mighty Causeway itself, a natural wonder, such 
 as you never saw. 
 
 With all these objects Minnie as well as my- 
 self were delighted, and father allowed us to 
 purchase several fine views of the Causeway 
 and Dunluce Castle, which is near by, and we 
 shall bring them home for you to look at, though 
 you are such a little boy that we do not expect 
 you will be as much interested in them as you 
 are in your new rocking horse. 
 
 Father says that when you become a large 
 
224 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 boy he will take you across the ocean to see the 
 very objects we have visited to-day. Then you 
 will be able to understand and enjoy them as 
 we do now. 
 
 And now, Charlie, I hope you take good care 
 of Rover ; give him enough to eat, and do not 
 play too hard with him. Do not get into any 
 mischief yourself, and be a very good boy, and 
 when we return we will tell you all we have 
 seen. I shall be delighted to sit down evenings 
 in our happy home in Cambridge, and tell you 
 all about the places we have visited, the people 
 with whom we have conversed, and the incidents 
 with which we have met. 
 
 It is now ten o'clock, and father says I must 
 retire ; and so I bid you good night. 
 
 Walter. 
 
 Walter sealed his letter, put the postage 
 stamps upon it, and neatly directed it to his 
 brother, and handed it to the porter to be car- 
 ried to the post office the next morning ; and 
 then, weary and exhausted with the hard day's 
 work, went to his bed and fell asleep. 
 
A DAY IN BELFAST. 
 
 225 
 
 Chapter XIII. 
 
 A DAY IN BELFAST. 
 
 BELFAST has been called the "Athens of 
 Ireland," but onr friends saw nothing there 
 to indicate that this appellation was well de- 
 served. Only one day could they spend there, 
 and that was to be crowded full of work. Early 
 in the morning, before business men were astir, 
 the whole party left the hotel, and went first to 
 the railway station where the baggage was left, 
 ready to be taken in the afternoon. Reference 
 has already been made to the admirable system 
 for the preservation of small bundles that may 
 be left at the depot. On this occasion, Walter 
 
 had his carpet bag, 
 raglan, and umbrella, 
 which he tied in one 
 bundle, and paying a 
 halfpenny, or one cent, 
 he gave it to the bag- 
 gage master, who put 
 upon it a check like 
 this, and gave him a 
 
 ULSTER RAILWAY. 
 
 LUGGAGE LABEL. 
 
 ONE HALFPENNY. 
 
 15506. 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 15 
 
226 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 corresponding ticket, that there might be no 
 mistake about it when he returned. However 
 small or trivial the article, it was carefully 
 placed where the keeper could lay his hand 
 upon it, and as Walter looked into his room he 
 saw that he had a large framework with various 
 compartments, each compartment for articles la- 
 belled between certain numbers, and he also 
 noticed that there were hundreds of articles on 
 deposit. 
 
 " There are several objects of interest in Bel- 
 fast, and which shall we take first ? " asked Mr. 
 Percy, as they again entered the carriage, after 
 leaving their luggage at the station house. 
 
 " I propose," said Mr. Tenant, " that we make 
 a visit to the extensive linen works. I have let- 
 ters to the proprietors of some of these estab- 
 lishments, and as we have seen none of them, 
 the change may be agreeable." 
 
 " Certainly," replied Mr. Percy ; " let us go." 
 
 " But what do Minnie and Walter say ? " 
 asked Mr. Tenant ; " we make them equal part- 
 ners, and give them equal voices with us, on 
 this tour." 
 
 " We should acquiesce in your plans, Mr. 
 Tenant, of course, whatever our opinion might 
 be ; but preference would lead me the same way 
 with you this morning. I would like to see the 
 mills." 
 
A DAY IN BELFAST. 227 
 
 " So should I," added Minnie. " I have seen 
 the mills of Lowell, Lawrence, and Holyoke, 
 and I should like to know if the operatives are 
 as nice looking, well dressed, and well behaved 
 as those in America." 
 
 They drove then to the York Street Flax- 
 spinning Company's works, to the proprietors 
 of which Mr. Tenant had letters of introduction. 
 This establishment employs about three hun- 
 dred men and twelve hundred girls, and they 
 are engaged in the manufacture of Irish linen. 
 These factories are not carried on, as in our 
 country, by corporate companies composed of a 
 large number of small stockholders, but by a 
 few wealthy men, and often by a single indi- 
 vidual who has amassed immense wealth. 
 
 Walter noticed that the outside of this mill 
 was dingy and dirty, the bricks were of a very 
 poor quality, and covered and begrimed with 
 smoke and coal dust, and looked very different 
 from the bright-red brick factories of our own 
 manufacturing cities. He also called the atten- 
 tion of Minnie to the fact that many of the oper- 
 atives were very young, mere children, who had 
 been placed at the loom long before they were 
 able to endure the fatigue of a hard day's work. 
 
 The inside of the mill was of unfinished brick 
 or stone ; the walls, floors, stairs, all of one or 
 
228 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 the other of these materials ; very little wood- 
 work was seen, except in the window frames, 
 the doors, and in the machinery. The floors 
 were oily, the walls covered with dust, and the 
 operatives would bear no comparison with that 
 industrious, cheerful, and intelligent class of 
 our own population. They were very poorly 
 dressed, dirty, and generally barefoot. And yet 
 there were some respects in which the gentle- 
 men thought the establishment excelled those 
 at home ; but the children thought the difference 
 was all in favor of our own factories. 
 
 Walter was pleased with the huge engine that 
 moved all these spindles, and kept all these 
 men, women, and children employed ; and as 
 they stood gazing at it from a little gallery 
 erected for the purpose, the gentleman who con- 
 ducted them through, asked the children, " How 
 many horse power do you suppose this engine 
 has ? " 
 
 " Horse power ! What is that ? " asked Minnie. 
 
 " Why," replied the gentleman, " when an 
 engine will do a given amount of work, we say 
 it has so much horse power." 
 
 " How is the estimate made ? " asked Walter. 
 
 " What do you mean ? " 
 
 " Why, how much is one horse power ? " 
 
 " Mr. James Watt estimates that " 
 
A DAY IN BELFAST* 229 
 
 " Who is James Watt ? " interrupted Minnie. 
 
 " He was a Scotch mathematician, who did 
 much to improve steam engines, and who, 
 though born poor, the son of a tradesman, be- 
 came a very eminent man, and received high 
 honorary titles from the University of Glasgow, 
 and died in the year 1819." 
 
 " But as to the horse power ? " queried Walter. 
 
 " Yes, as I was saying when the little girl in- 
 terrupted me, Watt estimates that a horse will 
 raise thirty two thousand pounds one foot per 
 minute." 
 
 " Then that is called one horse power." 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 " And how much power has this engine ? " 
 
 " How many horse power should you think it 
 was, from the looks of it, and from the work you 
 see it doing ? " 
 
 " Let me guess," said Minnie. 
 
 " Guess is a word we do not use in Ireland ; 
 that is a Yankee word." 
 
 " Well, I think the engine is about seventy- 
 five horse power." 
 
 " What does the young master here think it 
 
 is : 
 
 ? » 
 
 " I think it must be more than that," replied 
 Walter ; " perhaps about one hundred and 
 twenty-five horse power." 
 
230 THE PEECY FAMILY. 
 
 " You both fall below the reality ; it is esti- 
 mated at one hundred and sixty horse power." 
 
 " Then this engine would raise, one foot per 
 minute, a weight equal to five million one hun- 
 dred and twenty thousand pounds." 
 
 " Yes, that will answer for a general esti- 
 mate-" 
 
 The children were much pleased, and Minnie, 
 as she left the gallery, said, — 
 
 " I have a new idea." 
 
 " What is it, sis ? " asked Walter. 
 
 " Why, about this horse power. I never un- 
 derstood it before. I have heard it said that 
 steam engines had such an amount of horse 
 power, but never knew what it meant." 
 
 " Where do the operatives live ? " asked Wal- 
 ter of his father. 
 
 " All about the place, I suppose." 
 
 " Do they not have boarding houses, like 
 operatives in our country ? " 
 
 " No." 
 
 " Why not ? " 
 
 " Because that is not a part of the system." 
 
 " That feature of the American manufactur- 
 ing life," added Mr. Tenant, " is one of the best 
 ideas of our system. Among us, long brick 
 edifices are erected, which have all the outward, 
 and many of the internal, evidences of luxury 
 
A DAY IN BELFAST. 231 
 
 and ease. Operatives at night are not driven 
 away to rude and wretched tenements, where 
 poverty and filth rule and ruin, or to the den 
 of infamy, or to the street, but have a comfort- 
 able home provided. Here each girl boards her- 
 self where best she can ; and consequently many 
 of them scarcely live at all. When they are 
 sick, no care is taken of them ; and they die un- 
 cared for and unmournecl. Vice must be the 
 product of such an arrangement ; and we have 
 no reason to be astonished when we are told 
 that many leave the path of rectitude and virtue, 
 and sink into the depth of ruin. One of the 
 wisest and most humane provisions for the com- 
 fort and safety of operatives in our American 
 towns is found in the neat, spacious, and even 
 elegant boarding houses, in the kind and mater- 
 nal care exercised by the women who have the 
 charge of them, and the wise rules which are 
 adopted by the corporations to secure the neces- 
 sary ends of order and good behavior." 
 
 Thus conversing, they reentered their car- 
 riage, and drove from the factory, to visit other 
 objects of interest. And the first place they 
 went to was Queen's College, a finely located 
 structure on high ground, overlooking the city. 
 This college was opened and inaugurated in the 
 year 1849, and is a very creditable institution. 
 
232 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 The buildings cost one hundred and fifty 
 thousand dollars, and are quite elegant and im- 
 posing in their appearance, being built of red 
 brick, with brown stone facings. The whole 
 structure is six hundred feet long. The library 
 has twelve thousand volumes. The museum of 
 natural history is quite extensive, and its gen- 
 eral arrangements are very excellent. It is 
 named in honor of her majesty Queen Victoria, 
 and is very prosperous. 
 
 It was vacation time, and Minnie did not see 
 the students. They had gone to their homes, 
 and the old janitor alone received the visitors. 
 This college has a large central tower, and from 
 its top a wide country can be seen. As the 
 party stood there, Minnie asked, — 
 
 " What river is that I see, father ? " 
 
 " The Lagan, my child." 
 
 " And what county are we now in ? " 
 
 " Antrim." 
 
 " Is Belfast as large as Dublin ? " 
 
 " Nearly so ; it is the second city in Ire- 
 land ? " 
 
 They stood a long time on this tower, looking 
 out upon the city, which was spread out beauti- 
 fully before them, and upon the surrounding 
 country, which stretched away into obscure dis- 
 tance. 
 
A DAY IN BELFAST. 233 
 
 As they came down from the tower, Minnie 
 asked Mr. Tenant why the city was called " Bel- 
 fast." She wanted to know whence the word 
 was derived. 
 
 " I do not know," replied Mr. Tenant, " any 
 thing about it ; but this little guide book says 
 that the name comes from Beal-na-far-sad, which 
 in Irish means the mouth of the ford." 
 
 " But where is the ford ? " 
 
 " Why, the town lies at the confluence of the 
 Lagan and the Belfast Lough." 
 
 " Why do you call that sheet of water a 
 ' lough ' ? " 
 
 " That is the Irish name for lake. In Scot- 
 land they would call it a ' loch.' " 
 
 On leaving the college, the party repaired to 
 the botanical gardens, near by, a charming spot, 
 running down to the banks of the river. Here 
 they saw all the usual things connected with 
 such a place, and spent an hour delightfully in 
 visiting the conservatories, and wandering 
 through the grounds. The taste displayed, the 
 fine scenery, and the delightful views, made the 
 visit a very pleasant one. 
 
 Visits to the custom house, museums, ceme- 
 teries, and other places of public interest, occu- 
 pied the day, the last hour of which was spent 
 in a fine ride about the place, from street to 
 
234 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 street. The ride furnished Mr. Percy a good op- 
 portunity to give his children many interesting 
 facts in relation to the history of the city. Walter 
 had many questions which he wished to ask, 
 and Minnie had comments to make on all she 
 saw. 
 
 " The first Bible ever printed in Ireland was 
 printed in Belfast," remarked Mr. Tenant. 
 
 " When was that ? " asked Walter. 
 
 " In 1704." 
 
 " What is the principal business of the 
 place ? " 
 
 " The flax spinning is an important branch." 
 
 " But are there not other manufactures ? " 
 
 " Yes, cotton and damask are manufactured 
 here in large quantities." 
 
 While Walter was getting at facts in relation 
 to the business and history of Belfast, Minnie 
 was quietly watching the handsome carriages 
 that went dashing by, with drivers having pow- 
 dered wigs, and footmen with gay velvet coats, 
 and all the appendages of wealth and state. 
 
 " Are these the carriages of the nobility ? " 
 she asked. 
 
 " Yes, of the aristocratic people who live 
 here," replied her father. 
 
 " I would like to be an aristocrat," added the 
 little girl, enthusiastically. " There is some- 
 
A DAY IN BELFAST. 235 
 
 tiling so pleasant in the idea of being so rich, 
 having so many servants, and living so easy." 
 
 " But some of the nobility of Great Britain 
 are impoverished, and have exhausted their 
 estates, and all that is left to them is an empty 
 title." 
 
 " But these here must be wealthy." 
 
 " You do not know as the people in these 
 carriages are noble. They may be the wives 
 and children of rich manufacturers, or mer- 
 chants, many of whom in this country are more 
 wealthy than the titled lords. Besides, having 
 so many servants to take care of, only makes 
 slaves of those who support them. The more 
 simple we live, the more happy we are." 
 
 " But men do not think so." 
 
 " True, they do not ; but it has been proved, 
 conclusively, that many servants and much 
 money only weary and sadden the heart." 
 
 " I remember to have read," said Mr. Tenant, 
 " that an ancient queen sent to Alexander the 
 Great, two cooks ; but the monarch sent them 
 back, saying he had two cooks that were better 
 than any she could send him ; and when he was 
 asked who they were, he replied, Encrateia 
 (temperance) and Askesis (exercise), and he 
 did not wish to part with them in exchange for 
 those sent by the queen." 
 
236 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 The children both laughed, but Minnie did not 
 wish to give up her argument so she added, — 
 
 " The ancient ancestry is something honor- 
 able at least ; and to be connected with people 
 who trace their way back through earls, dukes, 
 and lords, is very ennobling." 
 
 " But, Minnie," said Mr. Percy, " you must 
 remember that some of these nobles descended 
 from poor, unlearned people, and their nobility 
 is but a few years old." 
 
 " Can you tell me of some such ? " 
 
 " Yes, I might mention several of the dead 
 and living nobles of England, those who had 
 the largest titles and the most honored names, 
 who descended from a plebeian stock." 
 
 " What is plebeian ? " 
 
 " It comes from a Latin word, plebeius, and 
 refers to the common people. A plebeian is a 
 common, undistinguished man." 
 
 " And now tell me of a case." 
 
 " I have one on my mind to the point. In 
 the troublous times of Charles I., a poor, unedu- 
 cated country girl went to London in search of 
 a place ; and after various vicissitudes, hired 
 herself to a wealthy brewer as a ' tub-woman/ 
 to " 
 
 " Pray what is a tub-woman ? " 
 
 " A tub-woman is a person in a brewery to 
 
A DAY IN BELFAST. 237 
 
 attend to some menial services, just what, I do 
 not know, as I feel little interest is such estab- 
 lishments." 
 
 " And what of the woman ? " 
 
 " For a time she continued at her employment, 
 doing the hard work, when her master, wanting 
 a house servant, and being pleased with her neat, 
 tidy appearance, took her into the family. He 
 had no wife, and after observing the good beha- 
 vior of this girl, lie married her. Soon after the 
 marriage he died, leaving his fortune to his 
 widow. This fortune was very large, and the 
 heir-by-will, wanting some one to settle the 
 estate and counsel witli her, applied to Edward 
 Hyde, an eminent lawyer, and retained him for 
 this purpose. Hyde saw that the widow was 
 young, fair, and rich, proposed himself to her in 
 marriage, and became her husband. They had 
 born unto them a daughter, Anne, who privately 
 married the Duke of York, brother to Charles 
 II. Of this marriage came two daughters, Mary 
 and Anne, both of whom ascended the British 
 throne ; so that the mother of the wife of James 
 H., and the grandmother of Mary and Anne, 
 queens of England, was only a tub-woman in a 
 London brewery." 
 
 " But, pa, this case is an extreme one." 
 
 " Perhaps so, dear, but it illustrates the fact 
 
238 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 with which I started, that trace ancestry back, 
 and sooner or later it will be lost in an inglorious 
 obscurity." 
 
 "And yet the people take much pride in their 
 ancestry." 
 
 " Certainly they do ; and wherever you go in 
 England, you will see evidences of this. You 
 will see engraved shields and crests, coats of 
 arms, and all the insignia of an illustrious 
 parentage." 
 
 " We never see these things at home ; why 
 not ? " 
 
 " Because our institutions do not tend to fos- 
 ter such a pride. We take men for what they 
 are worth, not for what their sires or grandsires 
 were worth." 
 
 " This is doubtless so ; and yet there is some- 
 thing so imposing in the English aristocracy that 
 one cannot help being pleased with it." 
 
 " True, and the nearer you get to the throne, 
 the more you will see of this." 
 
 This and similar conversation occupied the 
 time of a long ride about Belfast, and as evening 
 drew near, the whole company repaired, after 
 securing their baggage, to the pier where they 
 were to embark for Scotland. 
 
FAREWELL TO IRELAND. 239 
 
 Chapter XIV. 
 
 FAREWELL TO IRELAND. 
 
 "THE Royal Mail Steamer Elk: seven 
 
 J- o'clock," was on a placard hanging against 
 the side of a beautiful steamer that rode easily 
 at the pier in Belfast. 
 
 " There she is, Minnie," shouted Walter. 
 
 " There who is ? " 
 
 " Why, the steamer that is to take us over to 
 Scotland." 
 
 They found it to be so, and at once deposited 
 their carpet bags in their state rooms, and then 
 took their seats on deck among a large company 
 of people, who were, like themselves, about to 
 cross the Channel. 
 
 They had not been looking long before they 
 saw several drays roll up to the vessel, and an 
 immense quantity of nice butter and fresh eggs 
 were brought on board. For an hour several 
 strong men were tumbling the firkins and boxes 
 on board, until tons of butter had been freighted. 
 The butter looked very yellow and rich, and 
 
240 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 Minnie declared she could make a supper of that 
 alone, without bread. 
 
 The eggs came on in baskets, and the children 
 tried to estimate the number of dozens, but 
 could not do it. They were large, clean, beauti- 
 ful looking eggs, and were very suggestive to 
 our travellers, who had not yet taken tea. 
 
 " Where are these going ? " asked Walter of 
 a good-natured looking Irishman, who was put- 
 ting them away. 
 
 " They go to Glasgow." 
 
 " Your country must be very productive to 
 furnish such quantities of butter and eggs to 
 Scotland." 
 
 " This is but a very small part of what we 
 send away." 
 
 " I presume not." 
 
 " You see," remarked the man, " those steam- 
 ers lying all along the dock ? " 
 
 " Yes, sir." 
 
 " Well, they are all loading with butter, 
 cheese, eggs, and vegetables, to be carried out 
 to-night. Some of these steamers go to Glas- 
 gow, some to Liverpool, and some to other 
 places." 
 
 " Do they all carry things produced in Ire- 
 land ? " 
 
 " Yes, and similar steamers go from Dublin, 
 
FAREWELL TO IRELAND. 241 
 
 Cork, and other Irish ports, all laden with the 
 produce of Ireland." 
 
 " Certainly, a country that can spare so much 
 for her neighbors ought never to know any 
 thing like want." 
 
 " That is just the trouble ; the poor people of 
 Ireland produce, and our richer neighbors eat. 
 Ireland starves, while rich landholders send 
 away the products of the soil." 
 
 It was not long before Minnie discovered a 
 large drove of cattle, sheep, and swine approach- 
 ing the steamer ; and when they arrived, plank 
 was laid from the wharf to the vessel, and the 
 whole herd, bellowing, bleating, and squealing, 
 was driven into the fore part of the steamer. 
 As they ran, and jumped over, and pushed each 
 other, the children were much amused with 
 their frightened looks and singular appearance. 
 Soon Walter found a practical farmer, who told 
 him all about these cattle, their peculiar habits 
 and races, in which he was much interested. He 
 also met on board Mr. Howland, a neighbor of 
 his father's, the editor of an agricultural paper 
 in Boston, who was on his way to Scotland for 
 the purpose of procuring cattle for propagation 
 in this country. This gentleman entered at once 
 into Walter's views, and being an accomplished 
 and intelligent man, Walter derived from him 
 VOL. i. 16 
 
242 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 much valuable information on subjects con- 
 nected with agricultural life, in which he was 
 interested ; and an hour or two, until the steamer 
 started, was passed very pleasantly. 
 
 The steamer did not start promptly at the 
 time, but when she did, she rode out upon the 
 river in gallant style. 
 
 The Lagan was covered with boats, some with 
 oars and some with sails, some huge and un- 
 wieldy, some tiny and graceful, but all filled 
 with men and women enjoying themselves in 
 the closing day. Just below the city, which 
 faded gradually from sight, they saw a sad spec- 
 tacle. Several boats were dragging the river 
 for a dead body. A lad had been drowned, and 
 on the bank stood a crowd of friends, and just 
 at the water's edge, with her hair dishevelled, 
 her countenance distorted with grief, stood his 
 mother. Just as the Elk, with her happy com- 
 pany, went by, one of the grappling irons fas- 
 tened in the clothes of the dead lad, and the 
 children saw the men draw him into one of the 
 boats, while the shrieks of his mother at the 
 sight resounded far and wide over the waters. 
 It was, indeed, a mournful spectacle, and a sad- 
 ness spread over the passengers as they conversed 
 about it. 
 
 They left the Lagan, and were out upon the 
 
FAREWELL TO IRELAND. 243 
 
 Lough of Belfast. Several other steamers were 
 in sight, and until dark the scene was exhila- 
 rating and exciting. Sometimes the Elk was 
 ahead, and sometimes the others left her behind, 
 and the passengers entered into the race with 
 much enthusiasm. 
 
 When the night came on, and darkness pre- 
 vailed, our party went down into the saloon, 
 where they were quite alone until the servants 
 began to spread the table for supper. A light, 
 fancy meal was served, which was hastily swal- 
 lowed by the passengers, who rushed on deck at 
 its conclusion, leaving Mr. Percy, the children, 
 and Mr. Tenant conversing together. Walter 
 soon got out his writing materials, and began to 
 make his record of the day's labors. 
 
 " Father," he said, " I want some facts in re- 
 lation to Belfast. Can you give me any ? " 
 
 " What facts, my son ? " 
 
 " Any that it would be well for me to re- 
 member." 
 
 " Well, let me think ; there has not been a 
 bank suspension here for a hundred years." 
 
 " That is a good one — any other ? " 
 
 " The first newspaper published in Belfast was 
 in 1737." 
 
 " Do you know the name ? " 
 
 " The Belfast News Letter." 
 
244 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 " Any other fact ? " 
 
 " There are thirty-five steam mills for the 
 
 manufacture of linen, and they employ about 
 
 twenty thousand hands." 
 
 " How many are employed in the whole of 
 
 Ulster ? " 
 
 " About three hundred thousand." 
 " And how much do they make ? " 
 " The whole value of the linen goods manu- 
 factured in Ulster is about twenty millions of 
 
 dollars." 
 
 " Well, I have got that written down." 
 
 " Some other facts I will give you at another 
 
 time ; and now Minnie can retire, while you, 
 
 my son, write a while." 
 
 Minnie went to her state room, while Walter 
 
 wrote on ; and we give a few extracts from his 
 
 journal : — 
 
 Irish Sea, 1859. 
 
 I sit writing in the cabin of a steamer on the 
 Irish Sea. The night has deepened over the 
 waves, and we have left the shores of Ireland to 
 return no more. I have often heard the country 
 we have been visiting called by various names — 
 sometimes Hibernia, sometimes Erin, and some^ 
 times by other names. I have been trying to 
 find out what these names mean, and I have 
 found out. I find that Hibernia was the ancient 
 
FAREWELL TO IRELAND. 245 
 
 name of Ireland, given to it by Julius Caesar, 
 and borne by it for a long time. I think that 
 Hibernia now would be a much prettier name 
 than Ireland. 
 
 I do not wonder the Irish entertain so much 
 affection for their native country. The hills are 
 so green, the valleys so beautiful, the rivers so 
 free and joyous, that I do not wonder that the 
 inhabitants look back with veneration and love 
 to these old familiar scenes. I have travelled 
 up and down the land from Shandon Steeple 
 to Giant's Causeway, and find much more com- 
 fort and intelligence than I expected, though 
 the people are not like those in dear New Eng- 
 land. 
 
 We have had many pleasing incidents, one or 
 two of which I must make a matter of record. 
 One day, when we were in Drogheda, we met 
 an old lady who had a donkey and some bas- 
 kets. In one of the baskets were specimens of 
 fruit, which she was selling. Her assortment 
 was very small and very poor, and father told 
 her so. 
 
 " 0, we poor people cannot get what we would 
 like to sell ; so we get what we can," she said. 
 
 "But what have you in the other basket ? " 
 asked father. 
 
 " My things." 
 
246 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 Father picked out a few oranges, and some 
 other fruit, and just as he was paying her for it, 
 a great, rude lad came along with a dray, and 
 ran roughly against the donkey, almost knocked 
 him over, and completely overturned the bas- 
 kets. 
 
 A cry of terror arose from the woman, and a 
 shrill, piercing shriek from the basket which the 
 woman said contained " my things." Father 
 sprang to the basket, and caught it up, saying, 
 " Hallo ! what have you here ? " 
 
 " 0, my poor, dear child — poor boy ! " ex- 
 claimed the woman, as she caught the basket 
 from father's hand, and took out her child, 
 which was more frightened than hurt, having 
 been so rudely awakened by the fall. 
 
 The child was about two years old, and for a 
 few minutes cried most lustily, while the woman 
 made much more fuss than the baby. There 
 soon gathered around us a large crowd of men, 
 women, and boys ; some of whom looking on 
 with pity, some inquiring what the matter was, 
 some laughing rudely, and some uttering low 
 remarks and jests. 
 
 But at length the baby was picked up, and 
 put into the basket again ; the fruit was gath- 
 ered and replaced ; and father gave the woman 
 two or three shillings, which was a sum larger 
 
FAREWELL TO IRELAND. 247 
 
 than all her fruit was worth. At first the 
 woman did not seem to comprehend that it was 
 a gift ; but after the idea had dawned upon her, 
 that she was indeed to receive all this money, 
 which to her was a very large sum, she was pro- 
 fuse in her thanks, showering her blessings upon 
 us most lavishly. 
 
 "God, and all the angels, and all — the — 
 the prophets bless your lordship," she said. 
 
 Minnie laughed at the idea of " lordship." 
 
 Father replied, " That is blessing enough, good 
 woman," and moved away; but she followed, 
 saying, — 
 
 " And may all the saints and martyrs bless 
 you." 
 
 " That is enough," persisted pa ; "go and sell 
 your fruit now." 
 
 But she followed, saying, " The Holy Virgin 
 bless you." 
 
 " We don't believe in the Virgin," said Mr. 
 Tenant. 
 
 " And sure, sir," she replied, " I don't mean 
 the blessing for you ; ye gave me nothing in my 
 trouble." 
 
 As she turned away, we all laughed at 
 Mr. Tenant, who had been outwitted by the 
 woman's closing speech, she having bestowed 
 her blessing only where she had been paid for 
 
248 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 it, as is often the case with people, not only in 
 this land, but in our own. 
 
 ***** 
 
 There was another incident, of a different 
 character, which I must not forget. In the inn 
 at Ballinatoy, where we lodged near the Cause- 
 way, Minnie was put into a room occupied gen- 
 erally by the son of the innkeeper. This room 
 was some distance from those occupied by the 
 rest of the party, and was given up to sister be- 
 cause it was more comfortable for a young lady. 
 Minnie retired to rest, and not being tired, soon 
 fell asleep. How long she had slept, she could 
 not tell ; but all at once she was awakened by a 
 violent ringing in her room. To her startled 
 ears it did not seem like a natural ringing, but 
 had an unearthly sound. How long it continued 
 she does not know, but it seemed half an hour 
 to her. 
 
 " Ding-a-ding, ding-a-ding, ding-a-ding. ,, 
 " What does it mean ? " said Minnie, as the 
 cold sweat started from her forehead. 
 
 And still it went, " Ding-a-ding, ding-a-ding. " 
 She raised herself in bed, and tried to dis- 
 cover what part of the room the sound came 
 from. At one time it seemed to be just over 
 her head, and then it seemed to be in another 
 
FAREWELL TO IRELAND. 249 
 
 part of the room ; now it appeared to be on one 
 side, and then on the other. 
 
 " What can it be ? " asked Minnie, anxiously, 
 of herself. 
 
 " Ding-a-ding, ding-a-ding, ding-a-ding." 
 
 " What shall I do ? " 
 
 " Ding-a-ding, ding-a-ding, ding-a-ding." 
 
 While thus the poor girl listened in an agony 
 of suspense, a loud sound was heard, as if a 
 heavy kettle had been dashed upon the floor, 
 and the ringing ceased. All was now still as 
 death, and the ticking of the clock in the room, 
 and Minnie's hard breathing, alone disturbed 
 the solemn silence. For a long time she re- 
 mained in that state of suspense, then gradually 
 her nerves relaxed, and she fell asleep. When 
 she awoke, broad daylight was flooding the room. 
 
 She rose, and at once proceeded to investi- 
 gate the cause of her alarm. She found a long 
 sheet of iron on the floor beneath the clock, and 
 this was all she could see. At once she repaired 
 to the landlord, who after some little delay was 
 able to explain the whole matter. 
 
 It seems that the innkeeper's son wished to 
 rise that morning at an early hour, to go to a 
 town some miles distant, and had set his alarm 
 clock before he gave up his room to Minnie, and 
 forgot to tell her of the fact when the change 
 
250 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 was made. This was the ringing which she 
 heard, and her fears had produced the impres- 
 sion that the sound came at one time from one 
 quarter, and at one time from another. It also 
 seems that during the day the large sheet of 
 iron had been taken into the room, and stood 
 up carelessly against the wall under the clock ; 
 and the running down and hard striking of the 
 clock had so jarred it, that it fell with a crash 
 just as the bell was about through with its 
 striking. 
 
 We all concluded that Minnie was a little 
 heroine, not to cry out and alarm the whole 
 house, and we unanimously voted that she 
 should have her own way for a week, which to 
 her was more complimentary than a crown. 
 
 $fc $fc yfc vfc $fc 
 
 dear, I yawn and gape with weariness ; but 
 I must write on a little farther to-night. My 
 eyes are heavy, and I feel more like casting my- 
 self into my berth than sitting here ; but I will 
 write a little longer, and record the facts and 
 incidents that are in my mind. 
 
 ***** 
 
 To-day, in Belfast, Mr. Tenant wanted to pur- 
 chase a pocket knife, and the effort to do so 
 developed a little specimen of human nature. 
 We all stepped into a very line looking cutlery 
 
FAREWELL TO IRELAND. 251 
 
 store, and after looking at various styles of pen- 
 knife, Mr. Tenant selected one, and asked, — 
 
 " What is the price of this ? " 
 
 " Six shillings.'' 
 
 The English shilling is about equal to a quar- 
 ter of a dollar. Mr. Tenant examined the knife, 
 and thought the price too much, and said so, 
 adding, — 
 
 " I will give you five shillings." 
 
 The man at once appeared indignant at the 
 idea that it should be supposed he had two 
 prices." 
 
 "No, no," he said, " I have only one price ; 
 you are in the wrong store to trade in that 
 style." 
 
 And then he muttered something about it 
 being impossible to trade with people from 
 America. Mr. Tenant very coolly told him that 
 he could do as he liked about it. The knife 
 was not worth six shillings, and he should not 
 give it ; and if the seller did not wish to make 
 a reduction, he could say so, and there was the 
 the end of it. The man made an uncivil reply, 
 again telling Mr. Tenant that he was in the 
 wrong shop for such a trade as that. 
 
 We moved to the door, and just as Mr. Tenant 
 was passing out, the shopkeeper called him — 
 
 " Come back a moment." 
 
252 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 " I think it is no use for us to try to trade." 
 
 " I will take off sixpence." 
 
 " No, I do not care about purchasing now ; 
 your discourteous remarks incline me to go else- 
 where." 
 
 " I did not mean to offend you ; I will let 
 you have the knife for five shillings," said the 
 man, his anxiety to sell increasing as the 
 disposition of Mr. Tenant to buy seemed to 
 fall. 
 
 " No, I think not," said the latter ; " I offered 
 you five shillings once, and you refused it ; now 
 I think I will not trade." 
 
 The man still yielded, and finally offered the 
 article for four shillings, saying, " I have some 
 money to raise to-day, and every little helps." 
 
 At length Mr. Tenant concluded to buy the 
 knife, so great was the man's earnestness, but 
 paid him for it the five shillings, saying, — 
 
 " I know very accurately the value of these 
 knives, and this is worth to me about live shil- 
 lings. I do not wish to take advantage of your 
 determination to sell, but will pay you the price 
 I originally offered you, though you once refused 
 it. I see you would sell to me at almost any 
 price, but I only wish a fair bargain." 
 
 As we left the shop, Mr. Tenant asked me, — 
 
 " Walter, have you learned any lesson from 
 
FAREWELL TO IRELAND. 253 
 
 this little transaction between me and this shop- 
 keeper which you have just witnessed ? " 
 
 " I think I have." 
 
 " Have you, Minnie ? " 
 
 " Yes, sir." 
 
 " Well, tell us, Minnie, first, what you have 
 learned." 
 
 " I have learned that it is best to beat a man 
 down a little, if you want to get a good trade." 
 
 " Minnie, I am sorry you learned that les- 
 son. I did not design to teach it. But what 
 did Walter learn ? " he asked, turning to me. 
 
 " I have learned this," I said, " that a man 
 had better say what he means, and not get of- 
 fended at an offer that he means to take if he 
 cannot get a better one." 
 
 " Is that all you have learned ? " 
 
 "Not all." 
 
 " Well, what more ? " 
 
 " Why, I have learned that it is not right to 
 take advantage of a man's emergencies to get 
 a good bargain. This man wanted to sell his 
 knife ; he was determined from the first that 
 you should have it, and you might have secured 
 it for four shillings, which you knew to be less 
 than it was worth But you gave five shillings, 
 for two reasons, as I suppose," 
 
 " What do you think those reasons were ? " 
 
254 THE PERCY FAMILY. 
 
 " First, you believed the knife to be worth 
 that sum ; and second, you had once offered it, 
 and did not feel that you could recede with 
 honor." 
 
 " You are right, Walter," added Mr. Tenant. 
 ***** 
 
 But I can write no longer. Farewell, Ire- 
 land, green isle, sleeping now in the bosom of 
 the sea, — farewell. 
 
 Walter folded his paper, wiped his pen, closed 
 up his inkstand, and taking up his portfolio, 
 went to his state room, which adjoined that 
 occupied by Minnie. As he passed her door, 
 which had been left open to admit the air, he 
 paused, and a soft, musical voice from within 
 said, — 
 
 " Walter, is that you ? " 
 
 " Yes, sis, it is, and nobody else." 
 
 " Come in, Walter, a minute ; I cannot get 
 asleep. What o'clock is it ? " 
 
 "It is near midnight. But why are you so 
 wakeful ? " 
 
 " I have been thinking of home, Walter, — 
 of dear mamma and little Charlie, — and as I 
 have thought, my fancy has been working, and 
 I am nervous." 
 
 " Well, go to sleep." 
 
FAREWELL TO IRELAND. 255 
 
 " How can I ? " 
 
 " I do not know ; but I have heard it said 
 that a person who is wakeful at night can, by 
 counting one or two hundred backward, so 
 break up the chain of thoughts, and turn the 
 mind from its reflections, that sleep will over- 
 power the faculties." 
 
 " I will try it. Good night, Walter." 
 
 " Good night, Minnie ; may you have happy 
 dreams." 
 
 Walter entered his own room, and closing the 
 door softly, bowed down, and committed him- 
 self, his father, Minnie, and Mr. Tenant to the 
 kind care of our wise heavenly Father ; then he 
 breathed out a gentle prayer for the dear ones at 
 home ; and then, repeating the simple, yet sub- 
 lime, petition given us by Christ, and long ago 
 taught him by his mother, " Our Father, who 
 art in heaven," he went into his berth, and was 
 soon asleep, midway between Ireland and Scot- 
 land. 
 
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