The Express.
London, England, 1847-08-25 00:00:00

mantic incidents, upon which the pen of a man of
genius would be well employed. Oh! for an Irish
Walter Scott! Fancy a man of his large and Ge-
nial nature, living in the heart of Munster, dwelling
on the banks of the Blackwater, said scenes of
enchanting loveliness. What traditions he would
record, and how many picturesque incidents he would
portray ! With plastic ease he would embody in
fiction some of the characters that have pealed away
from Munster : he would lay under contribution the
family histories of the Elizabethan and Cromwellian
adventurer,- The mere personal anecdotes of an
Irish Walter Scott would be of great literary. value.
But to look for such a man in Ireland is at vain as to
expect another Daniel O'Connell in Scotland. AB we
doubt whether any Scotchman could be bun with the
amount of blarney and capacity for droll humbug poi-
'eased by O'Connell, se do we think that it would be
impossible to generate an Irishman of very powerful
genius with the calm and serene temper of Walter
Scott. Lord Plunkett is the only case we know
of a first-rate Irishman of genius exempt from
the impulsive vehemence and extravagant vivacity
of the country. In the case of the Duke of
Wellington, it is difficult to decide whether his an-
Irish steadiness be the result of physical conformation,
or of military habits, overcoming all local influences
and early associations.
Meanwhile, we must be thankful to such writers as
the author of " Ireland Sixty Years Ago." As the
sister island has not yet produced any lively mora-
list like Voltaire, tb dissert with witty vivacity and
critical decision upon the manners of the people, nor
a catholic genius like Scott to paint all ranks and
classes in all eras of history, we must be satisfied for
the present with an agreeable annotator on pest times
like our author. He can evidently produce more of
the materials fit for an instructive history of Irish
manners. He ought to select a good model,
and systematise his subject, after the mode
adopted by some of the approved writers on
national character. Books of the class before
us belong, strictly, neither to history, nor bio-
graphy, nor morals, but they partake of all. Neither
are they compilations. In the present work the
author has collected several particulars from old men
of tenacious memory. So that in some respects his
book may be classified under memoirs. The exact
11 character of the work is an original miscellany of
curious anecdotes on Irish life.

His choice of illustrations is sometimes not felici-
tous. In his chapter on abductions, he ought not
to have omitted notice of the extraordinary case of
Miss Pike, upon which the forensic genius of Curran
was employed. Possibly, he may have preferred to
treat of cases more remote from our own times,
and in which the chance of wounding the
feelings of surviving relatives would be unlikely
to occur. Such a feeling en an author's part is doubt-
less praiseworthy; but in cases appertaining to
history it should not be carried too far. The chapter
on duelling is the least original in the book ; that on
the college visitation, by Lord Chancellor Clare, the
most striking and novel. It is supplied chiefly from
the manuscript of a friend, whose name the author
does not give. This is a contribution of much value.
It describes the state of Trinity College daring
.the
close of the last century. The conflict of opinions
which prevailed there is indicated faithfully, and the
details relating to the political conduct of some eminent
men are very interesting. The sketch of Whitley
Stokes is very pleasing lie was one of the fellows
of the university, and resigned his fellowship from
conscientious sereples, having imbibed peculiar reli.
eons opinions. Out of respect to his character and
talents, a prodossonhip was given to him. Oa the
occasion of Lord Clare's visitation of the college in
search of secret societies, the following circumstance
oecnired. Lard Clan Wag the examiner :
Ns (111dllael:as) ases Oask weed wbeihss e Iserp:=Z
or awed salislas k Wisp. He sarassed
without lig Iss it is was dim mad sa ts e -
=Or:. dethlll lows. The asla EWA= st that
WWI Ila MOM or an Orono ssisilm. as I Mo.
ar moo assolasy at Ora" II Ss eksasellor bad Isla sin* ab-
bot blow be add astbsa• shwa mare amain ma
astsmil7 storied au Ids soar of Ms andialoas aleassfty at ads okapis.
Waded Fen, sad meat ar.ar ran dims. Os ea.
Whitley Stokes was an excellent roan and was a
great ornament to the moiety of Dublin. He pre-
served his intellect and love of science to the last,
honoured by all parties, and revered by his old pupils.
He belonged to a clue of proud, self-respecting men
of the last generation. His opinions were those of a
" northern whig." The well-known Irish barrister,
Robert Holmes, belongs to the same order of men. It
was one of " the sights" of Dublin, some years ago,
to visit a small dissenting chapel, and see the remark-
able old men who met to worship there. Amongst
them Stokes, Holmes, and Hamilton Rowan used to
attract particular notice.
We have heard that a man of letters in now em-
ployed on a reties of curious volumes, illustrative of
Irish life in all its varieties. Amusement and in-
struction may be looked for in them, and we hope the
talked-of works will be forthcoming. Irish memoirs,
if written by a man of the world, posseseing mental
vivacity and good taste, would no doubt prove very
agreeable reading. The Irish writers have mostly
been authors by profession, admitted only by courtesy
to know what was passing in the higher circles. Few
Irishmen of fashion have soiled their fingers with
printer's ink. Always ready to talk, the Irish gen-
tleman has not shown an equal propensity to write.
Echoes from the Backwoods ; or, Sketches of
.Trass-Atlantic
Lye. By Captain B. G. A. Leaman.
An amusing and instructive volume. Capt. Levinge
saw a good deal of colonial and American life, and
describes it with much gusto and vivacity. He is,
moreover, a keen sportsman, and possesses a scientific
knowledge of the requirements and resources of that
favourite English pastime. His accounts of his hunting
and fishing expeditions are not the least interesting
portion of the work; but it is not without information
of a graver sort. For much of his matter the anther
is indebted to Mr. Perley, a descendant of that Isaac
Perley, who, in 1761, was despatched by the then
governor of Massachusetts, with twelve men, to ex-
plore the regions of the great river Bt. John, and who
led the first English colony to its banks in 1763. His
descendant is now the government emigration agent,
and, at the same time, Wunjeet Sagamore, or head
chief of the Indian tribe of the Micmac/. No man
possesses a better acquaintance with the condition
and capabilities of the province; and, consequently,
any information coming from him is stamped with
an appreciable value.
New Brunswick has hardly had justice done to it.
This magnificent province contains about 16,500,000
acres of land. Of this 12,000,000 at least (according
to Mr. Cleener's reports) are capable of immediate and
profitable cultivation : and 1,000,000 acres more
might be reclaimed under a better system of agricul-
ture. The country is well watered by numerous
navigable rivers, and is covered with wood of the
grated utility and value. Coal is found in several
plums. The climate too—except on a narrow sea-
board of about twenty miles depth, which is foggy—
is as healthy as any co the American continents. All
kinds of provisions are plentiful and cheap. Beef,
mutton, lamb, and veal, are each sold at 3d. per lb. ;
butter at 9d. ; cheese, sd. ; tea, 2.5. 6d.; coffee, 10d.;
loaf sugar, 6d.; beer, la 6d. per gallon, and so forth.
Wages, too, are high—averaging from 341. per day for
farm labourers, to 6s. per day for millwrights. The
facilities for acquiring land—either cleared or uncleared
—are uncommonly easy. Yet with all these splendid
advantages, the tide of emigration has continued
to roll over New Brunswick towards the Canadas
and the northern states of the Anglo-American re-
public. Thousands have " gone further and fared
worse." The resources of this fine territory are little
recognised or known in England—even by the legis-
lators who are called upon to control its destinies.
In 1840, the populatica of the entire colony was
158,162. It 110 W probe*, amounts to 200,000 souls
The lands already granted to genies 111116bn 090
five millimis of acres. There are (according to Mr.
Perley's report) about tea and a quarter millions of
acres, all fit for cultivation and settlement, still un-
granted, and at the disposal of the government. The
want of good roads and greater facilities of com-
munication have been the principal causes of the
g,iclity of new settlers. IPith more oonvenient
• ways, more enlarged river navigation, and, above
railways, the vast natural resources of the pro-
vince would become rapidly developed, and a large
proportion of the emigrants who now paw over it to
the countries beyond would be arrested in their
march, and induced to settle upon its unoccupied
lands.
There are still the remnants of two Indian nations
in New Brunswick—the Micmaot, of which Mr.
Parley is the acknowledged chief, and the Milioete.
The Micmacs are, both intellectually and physically,
a superior race. They are tall, strong, and hardy.
They inhabit the seacoast, to which they are warmly
attached. Their hunting-grounds, over which they
range at pleasure, extend along the whole north-