78

START FOR LONDON.

gentleman, Dr. G, who pointed out to me Colonel Napier, and quite won my esteem by the interest which he took in Irish affairs.

"O'Connell," he said,-"though he did not go quite so far in politics as the learned member, was a fitting leader for a nation struggling for her rights; and, should he ever visit Bath, he would be among the foremost to bid him a hearty welcome."

Dr. G-pressed me with the warm-heartedness of a Briton to dine with him, but having other arrangements I declined. In the evening, having made a party at the hotel, three of us went to the theatre: the piece was "The King's Fool." The theatre is a very good one, the stage ample, and both scenery and dresses the best I have seen in any provincial towns. It was not well attended, having but few in the dress circle. I own I was disappointed, at not seeing more beauty in Bath; but, though I went to the public places, perhaps it is unfair to draw conclusions from one day's judgment.

Saturday, 9th.

By a quarter to seven, I was seated on the coach, about to start for London. At the office, I rejoined Mrs. and her boy, who went inside. Presently, the coachman took the ribbons. Ya! hip! we rumbled over the pavement, and,

"As thin as a lath,

I left the beautiful place they call Bath,"

CONTRAST OF ENGLAND AND IRELAND. 79

on my way to the mighty Babylon, the metropolis of the British Empire,-London.

Every Irishman, who travels in England, must be much struck with the vast difference between the two countries; and, prepared as I was for the change, I own it exceeded my imagination. I did not think it possible for two countries, in the same degree of latitude, to be so unlike. There is an air of system, visible in every object, from the formation of a canal to the clipping of a hedge, which we know nothing about; and I could present to my mind no better simile, than two sisters, children of the same parent, Nature,-one of whom received the advantage of a good education, traces of which appear, like flowers, in all her paths, causing admiration in the beholder for the graces of her person, and the innate fertility of her mind; while the other has been suffered to run wild, in the luxuriance of unchecked imagination, unfettered by restraint, and untrammelled by rules,causing a sigh of regret, from the pitying thought how much natural beauty is, by inattention and downright neglect, suffered to

"Waste its sweetness on the desert air."

The country, as I passed along, seemed like a vast domain of unlimited extent, through which a road had been cut: the hedges were neat and trim; the lawns dotted with groups of noble trees;

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REASONS FOR GOING INSIDE.

the cottages were emblems of neatness :-each had a small garden in front, and often a vine was carefully trailed along the walls. The turnpike houses might form a pretty picture, from the substantial and neat manner in which they are built. Fingerposts pointed out the different roads, and the cultivation to the highest summit of the hills took away all appearance of their altitude.

After breakfast, finding it came on to blow desperately cold, and seeing that a bleak plain, over which the road lay, afforded no prospect of shelter from the piercing east wind, I quitted the roof and went inside. This I did for no less than three reasons:

1st. Because I was cold.

2nd. To make the acquaintance of my countrywoman by adoption.

3rd. To meet an eminent English barrister, who was inside, and learn from him something relative to my profession.-I was about to put in the remainder of my terms in London, preparatory to going to the Irish bar.

Mrs. is an extremely lady-like person, and without being strictly handsome, is nevertheless a very interesting looking woman; her eyes are brown, and her complexion dark; she was well acquainted with Cork, and the localities, so we had a great deal of conversation. Mr. B. the barrister, is a most gentlemanly man. I cannot instance a better proof of it than his taxing his memory for little

stories,-"The twelve Princesses," &c. to amuse Mrs.'s little boy. We dined at Reading, and when within fifteen miles, might have supposed ourselves in London. London! but I must give thee a page to thyself!

Arrived at Regent Street, our vehicle pulled up at the Bull and Mouth, where we abandoned it for our respective destinations. I offered a repetition of my services to Mrs., which she accepted, as far as to see her into a coach. I then allowed myself to be carried down the stream of life, flowing onward towards the city, and established myself quietly at my hotel, in the Strand.

CHAPTER V.

Bavarian Chapel-London Streets-Temple Bar-Gray's Inn -Visit Mr. B.-The Bank of England-Ramble through the West End-The Admiralty-War Office-TreasuryPark and Palace of St. James's-Buckingham Palace and Arch-Entrance to Hyde Park-Tattersall's-Statue of Charles I.-Charing Cross.-Temple-Middle Temple Hall -Examination at Gray's Inn-Election of Colonel for the Lumber Troop.

Sunday, 10th.

THOUGH a day of rest, the streets get no rest in London. Carriages rattle, omnibuses roll, and cabs fly, busy as a week day; the uproar of a myriad of vehicles roused me from my pillow. I arose and beheld the sun glistening pale, yellow, and foggy, over the place of a thousand spires.Already the various churches sent their brazen voices among the multitude, and I remembered that of late I was in the habit of "keeping holy the Sabbath-day;" and now was the time to continue in the path of righteousness. I hastily made my toilet, ordered my breakfast, which, having