The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1852-09-23
v,,aHr SECURED ACCORDING TO LAw.l
.,,uoon LEAVES FROM OVER THE SEA.
DUBLIN, August 25, 1852.

,rning OF the lOtn' WIN my ~,
W,s Bennock. for tour IN Ireland. mere
VI little on our way OF particular interest," I'LL
W cached Chester, that famous old town
NL;cb figures so largely in the annals OF border
W.T., ".Carc The Roman walls are still very per-
s s'lt and imposing and the entire place seems
HE' 't and slumberous with grand ancient
nu .n,ories and the sombre spirit OF antiquity
nc nassed the town of Flint, in whose castle
p;.bard II was imprisoned; Coles Hill the
~ me- of a bloody battle between Henry ii and
sI,,Welch and Holywell, which contains "St
,WV;n;fred's Well" an exhaustless fount OF TO
."a "',, and poetry. The wide LANDS of Dee 4"
n'a a,d us of that exquisite song in Alton
IT'rnLo"-we caught at Rhyl, n distant view of
i Lo' 1ovo,v vale of Clwyd-we halyed our admi-
lut between Rhuddlan Castle in ruins, and
I p'nyhvn Castle in its glory-between the Won
Ien tnbular bridge and the old Castle of
Conwav into which we emerged; for this
81 tnrreted stronghold forms part of the
sa,rav station: and we rush with irreverent
- and haste into the scenes of ancient
r roincey splendor and rude warlike state.
Tbo mountains of Wales, as far as | made
.ho;r acouaintance, are not of inviting or pecu-
Tarly picturesque aspect. Those on our way
ltr,,ck me as miserably bare and bleak, with
o~t sublimity of height or beauty of outline
Wales has better mountains, if they would ever
come to one-but they require to be done in
separate tour, lying off from railway routes, or
at least turning their best faces away. The
soil of Wales seems extremely unproductiye,
except in some of the valleys-the people poor,
but everywhere industrious. The women seem
10 have a strange fancy for DOMINIC the hats,
and in some instances the coats, of the men.
One sturdy damsel saw milking by the way
side. who with one uncomfortable exception,
might have passed for WEIGH Bl6omer. What
articles Of feminine gear the men take posses
SION Of by way of reprisal, did not discover.
The passage from Holyhead to Kingstown
,vae accomplished in four hours: but through
ont the trip felt that would sooner cross the
So 10 the PhetOnian shores than attempt it
o,,;, thought that had sounded the low
-, danths of mortal suffering in the way of
Goa. sickness but found that my Atlantic ex-
,,or;ences were but faint prelude to mild
irngcestion of this A gentleman at Cork told
n,e an anecdote of company of emigrants
who were observed passing back and forth on
one of the ferry boats during an entire day,
and when questioned in regard to their strange
movements, answered they were bound to
America in the next ship, and were "prdcticing
Of the Mv.sickness, iust.b So the tourist in the
utmost he may endure on an Atlantic voyage,
before crossing the Irish Channel, may have
the consolation of knowing that he is but
"practicing at sGy-SickneSs."
At Kingstown, we were treated to taste of
nationality in the shape of bit of a row be-
tween two carmen. At the Dublin station, we
took that peculiar and distinctive Irish vehicle,
an outside iaunting-c car, which has the merit Of
giving you a variety in the way of exercise
iotngs, backwards forwards and sideways
a vigilant and vigorous endeavor to keep your
self and your luggage on, and an alert watch
fitness to keep other vehicles off There are
two kinds Of jaunting-cars, which are thus dis
tinguished by the Irish carman: The outside
car, yer honor, has the wheels inside, and the
inside car has the wheels outside"
We put up at the Gresham Hotel, an admit
rable house on noble Sackville street. In the
morning we took a car and saw as much of
the town as the weather, which came on chill
and showery, would permit Dublin is indeed
a most beautiful city-many of its public build
ings are remarkably fine, its private residences
handsome and tasteful, and its extensive park
treasure of howery loneliness, leafy luxuri-
ance, and pure, delicious airs. As we drove
along the Lffey, our driver pointed out the
bridges by name. "Ths,n said he, at last, g. is
Bloody Bridge the oldest of ALL Why is it
called "Bloody Bridge" | asked. The man
bent back toward me, and sunk his voice to a
hOarse whisper, as he replied, Because, miss,
twas off this they hung the poor rebels in '9S,
and left them hanging till they dropped pace
male into the acather"
The railway station from which we left for
Cork, on the following morning might almost
be mistaken for palace at little distance
most elegant structure. am impressed by
the excellence of the system adopted, both here
and in England, of putting all the officials at
tached to the railways in a sort of uniform. 1t
prevents all confusion and possibility of mis-
take-it is neat and orderly in itself, and is
suggestive of a thorough system, and a respon-
sibe authority. ] hope, most heartily, to see
similar regulation prevailing on the great
railway routes at home, where the most i'm
pOrtant officials seldom wear any distinguishing
badge. But we have the advantage in the sys-
TEN of checking baggage protective policy
10 simple, convenient, and effective, that won
der it has not been universally adopted As it
rs here, porters often walk off with the wrong
box to the right cab, or the right box to the
wrong cab-all sorts of absurd mistakes are
made in the hurry of departures and confusion
OF great arrivals-quet old gentlemen grow
fussy and funny in standing guard over their
trunks and portmanteaus, against the incur
siOns of maraudng cabmen; and female tour
lists only gain and retain possession of their va
rous and multfarious parcels by the watchful
anxiety shown by the old lady of big box.
little box, bandbo and bundlen memory.
The route from Dublin to Cork leads mostly
through a barren, boggy miserable country,
with here and there an oasis of waving green
and gold, telling of careful cultivation and wise
husbandry There are some fine old ruins
along the way, among which best remember
those of Kilmallock, Kildare, where the pious
nuns once kept the holy fires burning through
long ages Of darkness and storm-Lougbman
castle, and the Rocks of Dunamore and Cashel
But all along the line the ruins are almost
eounteSs-you grow mortally weary Of crum-
oling turrets5 tnmtle-down gateways, battered
arGneS ana staggering towers, all standing out
poidiy IN the sun and storm-for the absence
Oh trees ana shrubbery is a marked feature in
.he agricultural districts Of Ireland Indeed
the larger part OF this ill-iated isle seems, in
contrast with fruitful, prosperous, beautiful
England wild, weary, shadowless waste
Scathed- peeled, desolated and abandoned.
Az CORK, we put up at the Imperial; another
excellent hotel, and after dinner had delight.
iu' nrlye about the town, which, handsome in
I,Ser Is most nobly situated. We visited the
Vue'h College, new and beautiful edi6ce.
ana took look at the Lunatic Asylum, also a
very hne building. By the way, am panied
whlle gratlhed to find in each large town |
nave Visited in Ireland, large establishments of
eniS KIND Insanity and idiocy are said to pre-
, na,l TO most heart-sickening extent in this
unhappy country.
oh the following morning, amid golden sun
Sn'ne ana silvery showers, we drove TO Barney
oa't'e' and wandered through those umbrage-
Gus grounds, immortalized by the poet in the
famous song OF the Groves of Blarney.p The
castle itself is noble old ruin, and it, situa-