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    / 794 5tfK 3Lt&tlt V* [Saturday,

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    Notes'ol«' Tkavkl And Talk. Nt)W«Khtl«;-...

    it grew both dark and stormy in about two hours , and I felt somewhat qualmish , I quitted the deck ,- — though I could have delighted in watching all night , the electric flashes from marine animals , and the white pyramidical masses of foam that reared themselves to divide the thick darkness for a few moments , and melted away into it as suddenly-. I went down and got into bed quickly ; thus avoiding sickness , and all feeling of it , though I had no sleep till about four in the morning , from the pitching and heaving of the vessel ; but what a relief to get quit of that ¦ wretched feeling of sea-sickness ! How to do so ? Go to bed . That is the simple recipe .

    About seven , the heaving motion of the steamer having subsided , I put on my clothes and went on deck . We were in the beautiful " Lough " of Belfast , with the grand and lofty hills on our right , and a tract of country on the left so much like cultivated England that I was a little disappointed . Ireland ! Surely , I thought , the shore should have looked a little more wild and savage . But there it lay , as sensible-looking a country as any part of England . A the

    drizzling rain came on as we advanced along broad water , so that I did not get a very striking impression of old Carrickfergus , with its grim little castle by the water ' s edge , or of the approach to the town of Belfast . But I had , afterwards , a delightful opportunity of beholding that pleasing and majestic outline of hills above , with the alternation of cultivated grounds , country seats , and little towns—all along the extent of that most beautiful " Lough to

    the sea . .. The entrance to Belfast from the harbour , is striking . The Victoria " triumphal arch "—a very classiclooking affair , only it is a sham wooden one—stands before you ; and when you pass under and have the high street in view , it is wonderfully fine . You feel proud that poor Ireland possesses so line a city as Belfast . But all looks modern . No grand old Gothic pile—no interesting and quaint gable—no shred or fragment of the Past is there to greet the eyes of any and and

    antiquarian visitor . The churches chapelsthey are exceedingly numerous—are very fine , I had almost said magnificent : but the pillared portico and triangular pediment prevail in them all ; it is , everlastingly , Corinthian , Ionic , or Doric ; not a bit of the rich Gothic to be seen ! I wonder what has given rise to this exclusive taste in the architecture of Belfast . Was it the Presbyterian dislike of all that had been associated with Romanism ? I should think so ; and yet when I reached Presbyterian Scotland , I found the rage for Gothic was becoming as notable as

    in England . The first thing that fixed my attention , after my good friend , Mr . Maginnis , had received me at the landing , was the form and make of the cabs . How funny they looked to one used every day to seeing the rows of Broughams and Hansoms in London They were all light , naked , and unroofed vehicles : the driver sits in front , but his passengers ride sideways , two on each side : the carriages look almost like things with wings , and you feel as insecure when you first mount them , as if you were about to attempt

    frying . They scour along at a rapid rate , however , on their two wheels ; and the natives smile to see a stranger hold on lest he should fall off . Except barelegged and bare-footed children and women , nothing in the appearance of the people reminds you that you » re out ot England . The faces are few that resemble the Irish we are accustomed to see about St . Giles ' s . The names on the signboards are scarcely so often Irish as Scotch and English ; and you are not aurpriaed at this , when you remember that you are in that Ulster which was colonized by Cromwell's

    Puritan soldiers . I addressed audiences nine times during the eleven daya I spent in Belfast ; none of them large , but all manifesting an eagerness of attention that showed something might be done among them for progress , if one knew the right way of talking to them , licit , however , that I had yet to learn the method : it was clear to me , although some of the young men often applauded rather too loudly , that 1 was not getting fair hold of the minda of all I was talking to . They could appreciate any flash of poetic feeling or imagination , and testified it with enthusiasm ; any blight stroke of rhetoric produced an equal effect ; but , the franchise for every upgrown man—the right of every man to share in the election of those by whom he is

    to be governed — that kind of appeal waa received with comparative indifference , I thought . I felt resolved , if possible , to find out what wuh the chord I ought to Btrike ; and , the laat time I addressed them , though the subject was . poetry , I went out of tho way "f lt to draw them into Home expression of home feeling . The experiment was successful ; but somewhat painfully ho to myself . I waa expressing the pleunure I had felt in viniting their country , and my ^ ratification in finding it ho much like my own ; and then I ventured to nay , that their faces seemed so Fmrlinh that I could hardly think they should class theinHelveH with the Keltic race . My Htara ! with what vehemence a young working-man stinted up , and how bitterly ho spurned the idea that they were either like the English , or winlied to be like them ! " Nationality—independent nationality , that wub ( he darling though and desire , I found ; und uuleaa u

    speaker sympathises with that feeling , it is evident he will not be heartily relished by even the thinking portion of the working-classes of Ireland . I did not shrink , however , from uttering my conviction , that the separation of Ireland from England was impracticable ; and avowed that , as an Englishman , I could not desire it , though I did not wonder that Irishmen wished for it , when they remembered the seven hundred years of misgovemment and wrong their country had experienced from mine . I endeavoured also to show themthat if they would join us in trying to 4 that ¦ - ™ ¦¦ b l

    , Mr ^^ ^^ »* ^^ v v * fA ^^ * y ^ —^ * ^ — — ' — ^ v ' ^ * get the People ' s Charter , and every man of them could with us share in choosing a good government , they would thereby be benefitted much more effectually , than by setting up a rude independent nationality , " which might not , after all , give them manhood suffrage . But it was evident that they had no strong sympathy with the distinct idea of Chartism—though they fired up at the enunciation of broad democratic doctrines , and were eager to welcome the names of Mazzini and Kossuth and Louis

    Blanc . I ventured to touch another tender argument ; namely , that if they could win the *? independent nationality , " it was but too probable that Catholic and Presbyterian would be cutting each others throats in a few weeks . There was a strong response to the truth of this remark , but not from the working-menthough they seemed to be so far persuaded of its probability as to express no dissent . A residence of some months among them might develope to one the best way of creating a feeling of a more fraternal nature towards Englishmen ; but , I must confess , I did not discover this way while I was among the Irish people—if the inhabitants of Belfast are really to be classed among them .

    By a very small portion of the middle class views of progress are warmly entertainedj and by one most amiable and intelligent family I was received with a degree of kindness that I shall never cease to remember . By these intelligent few , and by the very elite of the working-men , my friend , Maginnis , the Unitarian minister , is seconded in his laudable at tempts to spread free thought on political and theological subjects . I have seen few men that I believe to be so thoroughly true-hearted ; but he has a sore uphill fight to sustain in a town like Belfast . I could almost wish that his excellent nature were planted in a soil more congenial to its growth ; and yet Belfast needs an addition to its few strugglers for mental advancement , rather than a diminution of their number .

    The nearer grew the time for my departure from the Bhores of Old Ireland , the deeper was my regret that I could not see some of its natural grandeur , such as the mountains of Donegal , or view the beauty of its capital ; for people will talk about these things to you , till they " make your mouth water , " as we say . Not a flower or weed could I find but such as I had gathered in England in my childhood—except the wild seapink and a few new lichens , near the sea-side , at the entrance of the " Lough . " It is true I saw a few things that looked strange—such as the

    sea-weed , called " dullas , " which poor women sold in the streets by halfpenny worths , and which is eaten , it seems , as a kind of treat . I tasted it once ; but , 'egad , I declined it a second time ! Neither flowers nor fields , buildingsnor people , seemed foreign , though I knew there was much to be seen of that character if I had had the opportunity ; and while the steamer was making her way over the calm sea , and we were nearing the coast of Scotland , I watched the fading shore of Old Ireland with an inexpressible feeling of regret that I had not seen more of itb human tribes , as well as of its surpassing scenery .

    Ailaa Craig ! what a charm to the sight is that huge conical rock , standing so solitarily in the waves , aa you approach the Scottish coast and make way towarda the mouth of the Clyde . The peaks of the isle of Arran , too , how bold and imposing ! There is nothing like theae as you approach the English coast ; they give you a sublime warning that you are about to enter the " land of the mountain and the flood "the land of romantic beauty . We landed at Ardrossan , by eight in the evening , having left Belfast at one in the afternoon of Saturday ; and in less than two hours I waa in the streets of Glasgow , and waa welcomed by the hospitality of my friend , Mr . Clarke , also a Unitarian minister . I had never been in Scotland | before ; and though I had heard much of tho beauty of Edinburgh , no one had

    ever praised the appearance of" Glasgow in my hearing . I therefore aaw its Argyll-street , its Exchange , and ita squares und streets to the west , with the utmost Hurpr , iH (\ I do not hesitate to say , that the weatern part of Glasgow ia more atatcly and better built than any town in England , except London . It ia true that the contrast between the wynds of the old town and these Buperb purtn of the new , ia very notable ; Imt the contrasts in London are fully aa remarkable . The first entire day I spent in Scotland being u rainy Sunday , all who are well acquainted with the country will have some guess of my iniaery , especially at * I had no talking duty to attend to . What Hombre looks !—what diamul clanking of the single bella in tho churches I —what a dreary cloaing of . every shop and house /!—what long solemn ,

    drawling , in most lugubrious minors , under the name psalm-tunes , as you pass the kirks !—what troops of people , all wending solemnly to the kirk , and looking neither to the right hand not to the left ! J wandered hither and thither , gazing at the buildings till I was wet and faint ( for I never can control my curiosity when I enter a fresh city ) , and I sought a place of entertainment ; but none could I find open nothing to be had , either to eat or drink ; it was—1 awful word in Scotland !— " the Sabbath . " I began to feel as bitter as the Scotch Sabbath itself , and looked about for a cab ; but I had to plod my dreary way down many a street before I found one ; and then away I went , and ensconced myself from so much that was dismal , among my friend Clarke ' s books .

    I was in and out of Glasgow for more than three weeks—passing four times to talk at Paisley , and sundry other times to talk at Hamilton , Barrhead Kilbarchan , and Campsie . In Glasgow itself I addressed audiences five times in the Unitarian chapel , and once in the Lyceum , Nelson- street , I soon found * the intellectual atmosphere to be very different from that of Belfast . It was no longer difficult to make oneself understood , or to touch the chord of

    sympathy ; but I was evidently talking to a critical people . I had the same impression all the way through Scotland , and everywhere I was surrounded by working-men , who gave powerful indications of mind ; though I did not think every individual I met free from wrongheadness , nor , above all , fro m conceit . Indeed , there is too much vain talk about " our Scottish education / ' and a most ungracious and discourteous undervaluing of the mental training

    of the English . Of course , this is to be found among those Scotchmen who have never been out of Scotland . I endeavoured to check this ridiculous Scotch prejudice , very often at the risk of giving offence , and , I fear , without much success . It gave me the greater pain to hear Scotphmen speak deprecatingly of Englishmen , since I never hear Englishmen speak in the same manner about Scotchmen . It is time all these foolish prejudices were laid aside ; Scotchmen ought to know that , throughout the whole length and breadth of England , working-men are as eager for education , and in as great numbers too , as the working-men to be found any where north of the Tweed .

    But their prejudice is not confined to the notion of their superior education . The majority of the Scotch , ay , even they who are professed Freethinkers , evince such a tenderness respecting their " Sabbath , " that if 3 'ou happen to hum a line of a song , or whistle , on the Sunday , they look as if they were about to swoon ! You tell them that you regard their notion of the Sunday as absurdly tyrannous ; and creative of hypocrites . They do not deny it ; but they answer with a stolid solemnity that provokes your mirth , " Ay ; but it is our Scottish Sabbath ! " and there , they think , the conversation ought to end ! _ . Sabbatarianism

    One of the most vinegar instances of that I met in Scotland was at Paisley . The friend who had been commissioned to invite me to talk : there directed me to a temperance hotel . On the Sunday , having spent the forenoon in writing letters in my sleeping room ( not being allowed to write them elsewhere ) , I went down stairs towards two o ' clock , and said cheerfully , " Now , landlord , what have you got for dinner ? " The man ' g face became three inches longer ! " Dinner , sir ! " he answered , " do you no ken it ' s the Sabbath ? " The words nnd the man ' s look were so strange , that I asked m in my perplexity what he said , although 1 ' » " heard him plainly enough . He repeated his < l ™^™' and I could not help , somehow or other , appealing his Satanic Majesty whether such a question was

    ...,,. . ¦ : i tt _ -. 1 T t < l .. ia till' hdU strange : " What the d -, " said I , " has the £ a « bath to do with my dinner ? Do you thing an Jj » lishman is to go without his dinner , because it is w you call the Sabbath ? " He looked unutt r . * things ; but , without saying more , went ini ^ kitchen , and began conversing in a low tono 1 wl hen I landlady . Very soon he beckoned me ; and w \ 4 yc had rejoined him he said , in a mysterious tone , _ ken , if ye'll stay till the people aro gone to tnc , . „ „ I'll get ye a steak ! " I was in danger oi Ia " «» . £ in his face , though he looked inexpressibly . ^ t When his company ( who had been Hitting sileni ^ various rooms , discussing biscuits , tracts , a » j , total drinks ) had disappeared , the steak was or b up . I asked waggishly if he could not get me of porter . " Nay , nay , " he replied , very

    " nae porter ! " .,,,.., h , lii « The man was truer to his toctotalwm tn . ' wrtH sour Sabbatarianism , niter all , Hih consc" - " hybound by appearances in one case , and it - otion , pocrisy . In the other , it was guided Uy c «> d I 1 () t and he preserved his truth , Ot course ' , 1 J () Vvillf r trouble him with my company again . lin ' . i went Sunday , when 1 had to be at 1 ' andey » K " ' 1 ( 1 ,, p , to the principal inn ; and there dinner wash - l itfll and all things went on aa they do m any ^ ^ hotel . The lesson was not lost up » n "V ^ hiie in care never to bo sourly circumstanced agon * Scotland . . r f do < : tri »> ° It i « this gloomy , slavish , floul-grni ai "B . olMJ '» and practice of Sabbatariuniam w noli n ^ ^ ^ combativonuHS perpetually in Scotland .

    / 794 5tfk 3lt&Tlt V* [Saturday,

    / 794 5 tfK 3 Lt & tlt V * [ Saturday ,

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), Aug. 23, 1851, page 6, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_23081851/page/6/