The Herald of Wales. — 1887-10-15 (Swansea, West Glamorgan, Wales)

TIIE. ELNKE OF THE LIFFEY.  The virtues of the river Liffey, !which comes down to the eea through the heart of Dublin, I have been celebrated in prose and sung in verse from time immemorial. The river has helped to I make Dublin what it is--the metropolis of Ire' land, but from what I saw, and smelt of it, it also makes the Irish capital one of the moot unhealthy of our great towns. High tides prevailed at the time of my visit, and at low water large patches of the black putrid mud in the bed ot the stream were left uncovered by the tide. The stench from this was abominable, and ren tered it impossible to walk along the quay road without offence to the olfactory nerves. Some of the finest buildings in the city are alongside the river, among them the Custom House, a magnificent pile; the Four Courts, one I of the finest buildings in Dublin, or elsewhere. The Land Court, where the Land Commissioners sit, was distinguished by having printed notices outside, directing those who bad business within where to go, but the other courts were not similarly indicated. There arc also several fine churches and chapels, which open on to the quay, and towards the higher end of the city are the barracks, with a zailedlield in front, about the laze of the Bay View Recreation Grounds. This I concluded was a parade ground.  Refreshed by a good night's rest, I started early in the morning for Phoenix Park, the scene of the murder of Burke ard Cavendish. The Park is one of the sights of Dublin, and entering it, I turned to the right, into the botanical gardens. These gardens contained sorao of the finest examplei of artistic bedding I have seen. Mr. Muir, of Margam, and Mr Harris, of Singleton, are both experts at this, and, indeed, at all other modes of floral decoration, and Margam offers floe scope for the ekill of the horticultural arti-t, but for artistic blending of colour in a flower bed I have seen nothing so attractive as the plots in Pbamix Park. I rom a little distance it was easy to imagine them to be designs of richly coloured tapeetry;strei &lel on the greensward. From the ornamental beds shady walks lead to a miniature lake, on which a couple of white swans glided silently along, their graceful necks diving occasionally below the placid waters in search ef material for the morning's meal. Just outdde the gardens are a ample of monuments, erected to perpetuate the memory of military heroes, of which Ireland has contributed her share. The Weilington memorial, or the Wellington tistimonial," as one of the gardeners willed it, is a magnificent granite obelisk, on which are carved the names of the battles in which the Iron Duke led Britain's sons to victory. The obelisk has for its base a series of granite steps, from whit orators discourse at thee-pen air meetings which are held in the park. It struck me as slightly incongruous that the gospel of liberty for Ireland should be preached beneath the shadow of the memorial of ens of Ireland's most resolute governor., a man who only granted Catholic Emancipation to ;stave off a revolution. Bat perhaps in this concession he was wiser than his conservative successors of to-day who seem bent on following out a policy of resolute incapacity. _  '