The parting was hard; but you who wish me in a very different place,
will say that I have staid quite long enough. I tore myself away from
these excellent people and their romantic dwelling. It was Sunday; and
the worthy lady, in spite of her manifest regard for me, could not help
exclaiming reproachfully, "But how is it possible that a good man like
you can set out upon a journey on a Sunday?" You know that the English
have stamped this day with a sort of death-like character; dancing,
music and singing are forbidden; indeed, the severely pious hang their
canary-birds in some remote corners, that no voice of song may offend
their ears during these holy hours. This idolatry of the Sunday began in
the time of James the First, and was the cause of furious dissentions.
No bread must be baked, and no useful work performed; but drunkenness
and other vices thrive more luxuriantly than on the week-days. I have
observed that the streets are never so bestrewed with drunken people as
on Sunday evenings; nor, as is well known to the police, are the resorts
of vice ever so filled. Many English people think dancing on a Sunday
unquestionably a greater crime than a little theft or so; and I lately
read in print a history of Whitby, in which it was seriously affirmed,
that the rich abbey there was doubtless destroyed because the monks did
not only indulge in every possible crime, rape and murder not excepted,
but their sinful abbot had permitted the repairs of the abbey and other
labours to go on on a Sabbath-day.
The worthy Mrs. W---- was infected with this same strange conceit; and
it was somewhat difficult for me to excuse my half-committed sin on the
ground of urgent necessity. To appease her, I went first with the whole
family along the bay to B---- church, which was quite out of my way. In
going along, I related to her the strange vision of one of the sons of
my former excellent host, Captain B----, by which he had been induced to
go over to the Catholic church. He was, as he himself told me, a most
zealous Protestant and Orangeman, and went one day into a Catholic
chapel in Dublin, rather with the intention of making himself merry at
the ceremonies than from any better motive. But the beautiful music
touched him against his will; and as he raised his eyes to the high
altar, the Redeemer stood bodily before him, his eyes fixed intently on
him with an expression of angelic mildness. The divine vision smiled
upon him, beckoned with his hand, and then slowly ascended, still
looking fixedly at him, till at length it disappeared, borne by angels
through the dome. From this moment B---- was persuaded he was an
especial object of the divine favour; and in a few days he became a
member of _another_ church which has the exclusive privilege of ensuring
salvation, (for the orthodox English Protestants also believe that they
enjoy this monopoly.) How philosophically did my pious friends reason on
_this_ conversion! "Is it possible!" exclaimed they. "What superstition!
Without doubt this was either a feverish delirium, or the man is a
hypocrite, and has good reasons for what he does. Either he is mad, or
he invented the story for his own profit."
Oh, men, men! How justly does Christ say, "Ye behold the mote in the eye
of another; ye cannot see the beam in your own!" No doubt this is the
case with us all, more or less; and be assured I make no exception in
favour of your poor friend.
We parted at last, not without emotion; and I seated myself on a
mountain car, drawn by a horse whose appearance was by no means
brilliant. The young ladies were greatly delighted at my eccentric mode
of travelling. The journey I had to accomplish was thirty miles, and
began most tediously. After a little time the wretched horse was so
restive at going up hill, that I was obliged to alight, rather than run
the risk of being dashed down a precipice. The stubborn beast was now
forced to be constantly led, without which he would not advance a single
step. For a long while the driver trotted sturdily on by his side, but
at length could go no further; and Heaven knows what would have become
of us, had we not luckily met a man on horseback, who consented to
harness in his horse instead of ours. I reached Macroom late in the
evening. Nothing struck me much in the way but a long and deep glen, in
which at the time of the White Boy conspiracies, Lord B---- and Colonel
W---- were attacked by a party who were posted on the heights, and had a
narrow escape for their lives. The White Boys had taken their measures
extremely well, and during the night had loosened a great mass of rock,
which they suddenly rolled down directly across the road through which
the troops were marching. By this means the detachment of cavalry was
not only prevented from advancing, but was cut off in its rear, and thus
placed in a desperate situation. A great many were killed; the two
gentlemen, who rode capital hunters, luckily escaped. Their good steeds
climbed up the almost inaccessible side of a rock, amidst an incessant
shower of musketry. Colonel W---- was slightly wounded in the right arm;
Lord B---- escaped quite unhurt.
In this extremely wild region, not far from hence, lies a large lake
with a woody island in its centre. Here stands a chapel of great
sanctity, to which numerous pilgrimages are yearly made. It was too late
for me to see it more nearly.
Macroom is a cheerful pretty place, with a handsome house belonging to
the uncle of the beautiful African, or rather of her husband. She gave
me a letter to him, but I had not time to use it.
_Cork, Oct. 6th._
I left Macroom very early in a 'gingle,' a sort of covered stage with
two horses. It rained and blew again; for, dear Julia, I find that I am
no longer, as the Irish prettily say, 'on the sunny side of life.'
My fellow-travellers were three women and a great cub of five years old,
who made himself extremely disagreeable, and was horribly spoiled by his
pretty and lively mamma. Although he had a great loaf, and a cake of
similar dimensions, with which he was incessantly stuffing himself, and
filling the coach with bits and crumbs, his ill humour broke out at
every moment. The scream he then set up, and the stamping of his feet,
which he often placed upon mine without the slightest reserve; the
coaxings of the mother, and her cries for help to her husband on the
outside; then her incessant prayers to 'stop just a moment,' because the
poor little dear was ill with the motion of the coach, or because he was
thirsty, or because something or other; her keeping the windows
hermetically closed for fear he should catch cold, in spite of his
furred coat;--it was really a trial of fortitude. The young woman seemed
as anxious for herself as for her child; whenever the coach leaned a
little on one side, she began to scream, and clung to me with both
hands, taking me almost round the neck. This was the most endurable of
my sufferings; and I often amused myself with increasing her fright. In
the intervals she enlarged with great patriotism on the beauty of the
country, pointed out to me the fine ruins, and told me their histories.
At last she showed me a pointed and tower-like stone, and said that a
Danish king had thrown this across the sea to show his strength. She
would have her husband get down from the roof to admire this stone, and
remarked to him with some contempt that the men now-a-days were
miserable feeble pigmies compared to those giants. At the same time she
gave him the boy to take beside him. The poor devil made a long face,
pulled his nightcap over his ears, and quietly obeyed orders.
The country was now very fertile, full of rich meadows, with here and
there a stately mansion. Cork lies most picturesquely in a deep valley
on the sea-shore. It has an air of antiquity, which is rendered more
peculiar by the roofs of scale-like slates with which many of the houses
are covered. The two new prisons are magnificent buildings; they are
erected, the one by the city, the other by the county: the former is in
an antique taste, the latter in the perfectly Gothic style, and has the
appearance of a great fortress.
After I had breakfasted, I hired what they call here a whale-boat,
narrow and pointed at each end, and thence safer and swifter, and sailed
with a fair wind along the bay, which is called the 'river of Cork,' to
Cove, where I intended to dine. A part of this bay, which is about
three-quarters of a mile broad, forms one of the most beautiful harbours
in the world. Both shores consist of high hills, covered with palaces,
villas, country-seats, parks, and gardens. On either side, rising in
unequal height, they form the richest and most varied boundary. By
degrees the city advances into the middle of the picture, and terminates
on the brow of the highest hill, with the imposing mass of the barracks.
This is the view from the sea. Towards Cove it frequently changes, as
the windings of the channel present objects in different positions. One
of these pictures was finely bounded by a Gothic castle, which has been
built with great good taste by the city on a bold projecting rock. Its
admirable site not only gives it importance, but it appears, if I may so
say, as if it grew there naturally; while buildings of this kind in
ordinary situations so often strike one as unpleasant 'hors
d'oeuvres.' Though I think we excel the English in the higher sorts of
architecture, we are very deficient in attention to the objects and the
scenery which surround our buildings; and yet these are the
circumstances which ought generally to decide the style.
This castle seemed built for one of the sea-kings, for the only entrance
is from the sea. A colossal gate, adorned with a coat of arms, beneath
which the waves wash the steps, overarches the dark entry. I thought of
Folko with the vulture's wings returning hither after a successful
seafight; and peopled the deep with fantastic beings from Fouque's
"Magic Ring."
We sailed with a fair wind past Passage, a fishing village, and then
past Monkstown, which takes its name from a ruin of a monastery in a
wood above. The rain, which had ceased for a time, here began to fall
again, but I was requited by a splendid effect. We turned, near the
island of Arboul, into the narrow bay of Cove, which afforded a very
beautiful view; its mouth is bounded on the left by a high coast,
covered with houses and gardens; on the right by the rocky island I have
just named, on which are situated a fort, marine buildings, and
store-houses containing the 'matériel' for the naval service; before us,
in the bay itself, lay several line-of-battle ships and frigates, and
another convict ship at anchor; behind them arose the town of Cove,
built in steps or terraces on the side of the mountain.
While all this was full in our view, the sun, now near its setting,
broke forth from a flame-coloured spot in the heavens, below the rain
clouds, while a rainbow more perfect and deeply coloured than I ever
remember to have seen, with both feet on the sea, spanned the entrance
of the bay like a portal of flowers leading from earth to heaven. Within
its gigantic arch appeared the sea and the ships, shaded from the sun's
rays by a mountain behind us perfectly black; in contrast with which the
evening glow resting on the lofty amphitheatre of Cove, shed such a
glory that the sea-mews poised in it looked like glittering silver, and
every window in the town, (which is spread out on the side of the hill,)
gleamed like burnished gold. This indescribably beautiful scene not only
lasted till we entered the bay, but just before we landed the rainbow
doubled itself, each bow glowing in equal beauty of colour. We had
hardly set foot on the shore when both disappeared almost
instantaneously.
I now established myself very agreeably at the window of the little inn,
in the hope of an excellent fast-day dinner of the most delicate fresh
fish. No part of my scheme was verified but the fasting; not a fish, not
an oyster was to be had. This happens oftener than you would think in
the little fishing towns on the coast, every thing 'disponible' being
immediately carried to the great cities. In this point of view therefore
I attained my end but badly, and I was forced to content myself with the
eternal 'mutton-chops.' However, I did not suffer this to disturb my
equanimity. I read an old newspaper or two, not having seen one for a
long time, and took my way homewards by land, when it was nearly dark.
An open car, with a bundle of straw as a seat, was the only carriage I
could get. The wind blew cold and gusty, and I was obliged to wrap
myself closely in my cloak. We skirted the shore at a considerable
elevation, and the numerous lights of the ships and marine buildings
below us were like an illumination. Five flickering flames danced like
Will-o'-the-wisps on the black convict ship, and the report of a cannon
from the guard-ship thundered through the stillness of night.
As this view disappeared, I turned my eyes to the unusually clear
firmament. Who can look intently on the sublime and holy beauty of those
glittering worlds, and not be penetrated by the deepest and the sweetest
emotions? They are the characters by which God has from all time spoken
most clearly to the soul of man; and yet I had not thought of these
heavenly lights so long as the earthly ones sparkled before me! But thus
is it ever. When earth forsakes us, we seek heaven. Earth is nearer, and
her authority more powerful with us; just as the peasant stands more in
awe of the justice than of the king; the soldier fears the lieutenant
more than the general; the courtier is more assiduous to please the
favourite than the monarch; and lastly, the fanatic--but we won't
philosophize further about it, dear Julia; for I need not repeat to you,
'qu'il ne faut pas prendre le valet pour le roi.'
_Mitchelstown, October 9th.--Morning._
At four o'clock yesterday afternoon I left Cork by the mail. I was
seated by the coachman, whose four horses I occasionally drove. For
about three miles from the city the country continues picturesque; it
then became uninteresting, and soon it was too dark to distinguish.
After a few stages we left most of our passengers, and I took my seat
inside the coach, where I was destined to enjoy a three hours
tête-à-tête with a lady,--unfortunately, however, she was seventy, and a
Puritan. This disagreeably company, combined with the eulogies which a
former travelling companion had pronounced on the newly built Gothic
castle at Mitchelstown, induced me to leave the mail in the middle of
the night, and to stay here till the morrow. At seven o'clock I was
waked to go to view this much lauded edifice. I was sorely disappointed,
as were some other strangers who had been drawn hither by the same
object. We were certainly shown a huge heap of stone which had cost its
possessor 50,000_l._; but one ingredient was unluckily forgotten,--good
taste. The building is, in the first place, much too high for its
extent; the style is confused without variety; the outline heavy, and
the effect small, though the mass is great. It stands, too, on the bare
turf, without the slightest picturesque break, which castles in the
Gothic or kindred styles peculiarly need; and the inconsiderable park
possessed neither a handsome group of trees nor a prospect worth
describing.
I have thrown away so many words on this abortive work, because, from
the name of its possessor, and the great cost of its erection, it enjoys
a certain reputation in Ireland. Yet how infinitely preferable is the
place of my excellent Colonel W----, on which perhaps an eighth part of
the money has been spent.
The internal decorations of the castle are of a piece with its exterior:
in five minutes we had quite enough of them, and as we heard of a fine
prospect from the top of the tower, but the key was no where to be
found, we all returned in no very good-humour to our inn. Here one of
the strangers entertained me during breakfast with all sorts of
interesting stories of this part of the country and its inhabitants. He
told me among other things, that Lord K---- and his family had been
remarkable for their very extraordinary adventures. He is now one of the
most zealous Orangemen, and is rather feared than loved. His father,
when just twelve years old, was married to the heiress of the whole
property now possessed by the family, who was just ten. The tutor and
governess received the strictest injunctions to watch the young couple
most narrowly, and to prevent every possibility of a tête-à-tête. But
'somehow or other,' as my informant said, three years afterwards they
found means to elude their vigilance, and the present Lord was the
result of this little 'equipée.' They had afterwards several children,
of whom I happened to know one at Vienna. He was a remarkably handsome
man, and celebrated for his 'bonnes fortunes;' at one time the avowed
lover of the Duchess of----, whom he treated with so little ceremony,
that once when he invited me to breakfast at the hotel where they were
living, I found the Duchess alone, and he came into the room some time
after, in dressing gown and slippers, out of his or their chamber.
The youngest child grew up to be one of the most attractive girls in
Ireland. She was just sixteen when a cousin on the mother's side, a
married man, named F----, who then enjoyed the greatest celebrity as a
resistless seducer, fell in love with her, and confirmed his reputation
in so conspicuous a manner, that he actually brought this beautiful
girl, the idolized daughter of an earl, not only to sacrifice her
innocence to him, but to accompany him to England as his avowed
mistress. Here they lived for a year, at first in concealment; but at
last he had the effrontery to take her to one of the most frequented
watering-places. Her abode was of course discovered, and she was carried
off at her father's command, and placed in safe custody in the north of
England. F----, perhaps only irritated by the resistance of the family,
determined, let it cost what it would, to get her again into his power;
and as he thought she had been taken to her father's residence, he
hurried off to Ireland in disguise. Here he lodged in the very inn in
which we were breakfasting, and endeavoured to discover the place of her
concealment. His minute inquiries, his mysterious behaviour, and the
unlucky accident that a former acquaintance of his met him and remarked
that he never saw a greater resemblance than between this stranger and
the notorious F----, awakened the suspicions of the host, who
immediately went to impart them to Lord K----. The Earl received the
communication with perfect apparent indifference, and only enjoined on
the informer absolute secrecy. He then asked at what hour the stranger
generally rose; learned that it was never before eight: dismissed the
host with a present,--and added, that he would examine into the matter
himself at six o'clock the next morning, at which hour he desired him to
expect him, and to be quite alone. Morning came; and with it,
punctually, the Earl. Without any further inquiry he went up stairs
accompanied by the host, and desired the stranger's servant to open his
master's door instantly. The man refused; on which he broke open the
door with his foot, walked up to the bed in which F----, awakened by the
noise, had just raised himself, looked intently at him; and as soon as
he had satisfied himself of his identity, drew a pistol from his pocket,
and with perfect coolness blew out the brains of this modern Don Juan,
who sank back in the bed without a groan. The sequel proves how lightly
the laws sit on great men in England, when there is not a still greater
who has an interest in putting them in force. Lord K---- was, indeed,
brought to trial; but as he had taken good care to arrange the affair
with the only two witnesses, and to get them out of the way, he was
acquitted for want of evidence. No man in England can be tried twice for
the same offence; so that from this moment, in spite of the perfect
notoriety of the murder, all danger to the murderer was at an end. The
unhappy girl soon after disappeared,--it was reported, died. Lord K----
long survived her; and at a very late period of his life was famed for
the beauty of his mistresses, one of whom inhabited each of his seats.
The consequences of this depravity, at length, was a separation from his
wife, and the bitter hostility and litigation which subsisted between
them till his death. Meanwhile his eldest son, the present Earl, had
married, while yet a minor, in Sicily; had already three children by his
young wife, and lived completely separated from his country; when
suddenly he received a most affectionate invitation from his father, who
promised to forget and forgive the past. He was induced by this to set
out for Ireland with all his family. Scarcely was he returned, when his
father employed all his influence to get the marriage annulled. The
young mother was sent home; and the children, declared illegitimate,
were disposed of in England. The son, contrary to all expectation, seems
to have given in to his father's schemes without much difficulty, and
soon after married a rich heiress. After his father's death he carried
on a still fiercer lawsuit with his mother than his father had done, in
order to get possession of an estate which she refused him. In this,
however, he could not accomplish his end; nor could she at a later
period obtain hers, which was to disinherit him entirely.
Here is a picture of the manners of the great and noble of the
eighteenth century.
_Cashel.--Evening._
My communicative friend travelled on with me to Cashel. The weather was
tolerable,--that is, it did not rain, and that was sufficient in this
watery land to set my worthy Irishman repeatedly exclaiming, "What a
delightful day!" "What lovely weather!"--I proposed to go a part of the
way on foot; on which a tall lad of eighteen, ragged 'comme de raison,'
offered himself as guide. He walked with great difficulty in a sort of
slippers, and appeared to have wounded his feet. I asked him if that was
the case: "Oh no," said he, "it's only the shoes I've put on, because
I'm going to be a soldier, and must get used to wearing shoes: but the
things are such a plague that I can't get on with them at all."
After my usual fashion of disdaining no sources of information,--by
which means I often glean some ears from conversation even with the
lowest,--I made inquiries of my guide as to the present state of his
country. "Yes," said he, "it's quiet enough here at present, but in
Tipperary, which we shall soon come to, especially off to the north,
they know how to stand against the Orangemen: O'Connell and the
Association have organized us there, like regular troops: I belong to
them, and I have a uniform at home: if you saw me in it, you'd hardly
know me;--three weeks ago we all met there, above 40,000 men, to be
reviewed. We had all green jackets, (for every man must get one as well
as he can,) with an inscription on the arm--King George and O'Connell.
We have chosen our own officers; they drill us, and we can march and
wheel already like the redcoats. We had no arms to be sure, but they
could be had too if O'Connell chose. We had flags, and whoever deserted
them or got drunk, we threw into the water till he was sober again: but
that very seldom happened.--They call us O'Connell's Militia."
The Government has since prudently forbidden this military display; and
my promising citizen-soldier was furious against Lord K----, who had
arrested all his tenants (little farmers who are as dependent on their
lords as serfs) who were present at the review. "But," added he, "every
hour that they sit in prison shall be paid by their tyrants, whom we had
rather see dead than alive;--if they in Cork here were not such tame
sheep! In Tipperary they would have settled his business long ago:
O'Connell never comes here, even when it's his nearest way, for he
cannot endure the sight of K----."
This is the spirit of party every where at work! and so well informed is
this nation of beggars as to the state of their affairs!
The journey to Cahir was not very interesting. The road lies between two
chains of mountains, the Galtees and the Knockmildown mountains; but as
the wide plain between them affords little wood or variety of objects,
the view is not agreeable. My travelling companion pointed out the
highest peak of the Galtees, where the most renowned sportsman[138] of
the neighbourhood was buried with his dog and his gun. Not far from
thence are subterranean caverns, of unfathomable extent, full of
stalactites. They are accessible only in the hottest weather; at all
other seasons they are filled with water.
In Cahir there is a beautiful park belonging to Lord Glengall, who
furnished the London caricaturists and the public with so much amusement
last year. At the entrance is an imposing ruined castle of King John's,
on whose tower Lord Glengall's banner is now flying. At the other end
of the park is the contrast to this ruin, namely, a 'cottage ornée,' in
which the possessor resides when he is here. The situation of this
cottage is so charming and so well chosen that it deserves a fuller
description. The whole park, beginning with the town and King John's
castle, consists of a long and narrow valley, with a river flowing
through meadows. Along these, clumps of trees and little thickets are
beautifully scattered, and a path leads on each side of the river. The
mountain ridges which close the valley are completely clothed with wood,
through which the paths are cut. Near the end of the park, which is
about three miles long, the glen opens and discloses a beautiful view of
the higher Galtees. But before you reach this point there is a long
isolated hill, directly in the middle of the valley, rising from the
meadow-land. On this side is built the cottage, more than two-thirds
hidden by the wood which clothes the whole hill. Within this wood is
situated the 'pleasure-ground' and gardens of various sorts, with
flowery walks which command the loveliest views of the valley on either
side. Several ruins of castles and monasteries are visible on the
distant mountains; but in the immediate neighbourhood all is repose,
rural quiet, and the gay beauty of flowers even in winter.
On my return to dinner, the landlord told me, as a great piece of news,
that the carriage and servants of a foreign prince had been waiting for
him in Cashel for the last fortnight; but that he was gone on a secret
journey to O'Connell, and that the whole country was in a stir and
wonderment about it. Many thought he was sent by the King of France,
with secret propositions to O'Connell; some had actually seen him in
Limerick, and maintained that he was a son of Napoleon.
While my host was uttering this and more nonsense of the like kind, not
suspecting that he was talking to the 'personage' himself, who had just
dismounted from a car; he announced that the second car, (the only
carriage to be got,) was ready, and waited my orders. I set out, and had
soon an opportunity of making fresh philosophical observations on the
power of habit in the beast that drew me. He was a very good and willing
animal; but as soon as he reached the place where for fifteen years he
had been accustomed to be led to water, he suddenly stopped, and fire
would not have moved him till he had had his drink. After that he needed
no driving; but he repeated the same manoeuvre when we met a return
car, on which occasions it is usual to stop and exchange information. As
if suddenly struck lame, he drew up and stood stock still; as soon as
the drivers had shaken hands over his back he instantly went on of his
own accord. This is really the great secret in the education of man or
beast,--habit, 'voilà tout.' The Chinese are a glorious example of this.
I remember that once in London, the well-known ambassador of a great
nation tried at great length to convince me that the Chinese form of
government was the best and most efficient, because there every thing
remained unaltered: 'C'est plus commode pour ceux qui regnent, il n'y a
pas de doute.'
About seven I reached Cashel, having passed the Suir, a river which is
called the flower of Ireland, because the richest pastures and the most
beautiful seats lie on its banks. I found a terrible tumult in the
inn,--one of the liberal 'Clubs' were having a meeting and a
dinner.[139] I had hardly taken possession of my room, when the
president, in propriâ personâ, and a deputation, came to invite me to
their dinner. I entreated them to excuse me, on the ground of the
fatigue of my journey and a violent head-ache, but promised to come in
at the dessert, for indeed I was curious to see what was going forward.
The club was instituted with an admirable purpose;--it consisted of
Catholics and Protestants, who proposed to unite their efforts to
reconcile the parties, and to co-operate with all their might to obtain
emancipation. When I entered, I found from eighty to a hundred persons
sitting at a long table; they all stood up while the president led me to
the top. I thanked them; upon which they drank my health, and I was
again forced to reply. Innumerable other toasts followed, all
accompanied by speeches. The eloquence of the speakers was not very
remarkable, and the same common-places were served up over and over
again in different words. In half an hour I seized a favourable moment
to take my leave.--Forgive me, for I was very tired.
I have not heard any thing from you for a long time, and must wait for
letters till I get to Dublin. Only be well,--that is the main thing for
you; and don't cease to love me, for that is the main thing for me.