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    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 ? ( jo 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 advanced tne

    drizzling rain came on as we 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 approachto the town of Belfast . But I had , afterwards , a delightful opportunity of beholding that pleasing and majestic outline of hills above , with the alternation ot 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 line . You ieel proud that poor Ireland possesses so tine 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 tine , 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 ot 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 Uomanism ? I should think so ; » nd 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 , aicer 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 wore 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 iiying . 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 oif . Except barelegged und bare-footed children and women , nothing m ° the appearance of the people reminds you that you are out ot England . The faces are few that resemble the Irish we are accustomed to see about St . Giles's . The numcK on the signboards arc ; scarcely ko often

    Irish jih Scotch and English ; and you are not surprised 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 days I spent in Belfast ; none of them large , but all manifesting an eagerness of attention that showed Homething might be done among them for progress , if one knew the right way of talking to them . 1 felt , however , that I had yet to learn the method : it was clear to me , although some of the young men often lauded rather too loudly , that 1 was not getting

    app fair hold of the minds of all 1 . was talking to . ' 1 hey could appreciate any Hash of poetic feeling or imagin ation , and testiiied it with enthusiasm ; any . slight Mroko of rhetoric produced an equal effect ; but , the franchise for every upgrown man -the right , of every xrian to share in the election of tho . se by whom lie is to be governed— that kind of appeal was received with comparative indifference , 1 thought . I felt ronolved if possible , to find out wliat was the chord I ouirht t () miilce J ! lll ( 1 » tho lllKt tilI 1

    way of il to ( huw th (' m int <> H (); > * l > n ;<> fet'liii" 'J '» ° experiment was successful ; but somewhat painfully bo to myself . I was expressing the Treasure 1 had iolt in visiting their country , and my Gratification in finding it ho much like my own ; and fhen r ventured to nay , that their faces seemed ho I S ish , that 1 could hardly think they should class Oon « elve » with the Keltic race . My h tun . I with Sh i v « h «! nic .. « o a young working-man Kt . rt ., 1 up . m ! how biU-ly he HpurntKl the idea that they were eithar like the English , or wished to bo l . ke then ! ?« Nationality-independent nationality , that wiu . tho during thought and desire , I found ; und union * »

    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 . ? endeavoured also would in trying to

    to show them , that if they join us get the People's Charter , and every man of them could with us share in choosing a good government , they would thereby be benefited 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 ot its probability as to express no dissent . A residence ot some months among them might devclope to one the best way of creating a feeling of a more fraternal nature towards Englishmen ; but , I must confess , 1 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 entertained ; and by one most amiable a nd 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 6 Ute of the working-men , my friend , Maginnis , the Unitarian minister , is seconded in his laud able 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 light to sustain in a town like Belfast . I could almost wish that his excellent nature were planted in a soil more cong enial 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 shores 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 n 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 T H .-iw a few things that looked strange—such as the

    sea-weed , called "dullas , " whicli 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 llo wersYior fields , buildingsnorpeople , seemed foreign , though I knew there was much to be seen of that character if 1 had had the opportunity ; and while the steamer was making her way over the calm sea , and we were Hearing the coast of . Scotland , 1 watched the fading shore of Old Ireland with an inexpressible feeling of regret that I hud not seen more of ita human tribes , as well as of its surpassing scenery . ht is that

    Ailsa Craig ! what a charm to the sig huge conical rock , standing ho solitarily in the waves , as you approach the Scottish coast and make way towards the mouth of the . Clyde . The peaks of tho i . sle of Arran , too , how bold and imposing ! There in nothing like these 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 Hood "the land of romantic beauty . We : landed at ArdrosH . ui , by eight in the evening , having left Belfast at one in the- afternoon of Saturday ; and in less than two hours I was in the streets of Glasgow , and was welcomed by tin * hospitality of my friend , Mr . Clarke-, also a Unitarian minister . 1 had never been in Scotlandjbefore ; and though 1 had heard much of the beauty of Edinburgh , no one had

    overpraised the appearance of Glasgow in my hearing . I therefore ; saw its Argyll-ntroet ., its Kxehange , and its squares and streets to the west , with tin : utmost Hiirprisc . I do not hesitate to say , that the western part of Glasgow is more stately and bettor built than any town in Kngland , except London . It is true that the contrast between tin ; wynds of the old town and these superb puts of the new , in very notable ; but the contrasts in London are fully as remarkable . The first entire day I spent , in Scotland being a rainy Sunday , all who are well acquainted with the country will have some guess of my misery , especially as 1 had no talking duty to attend to . What sombre looks ! —whiit , dismid ehinking of the tangle bells in the churches ' . what a dreary closing of every bhop and Iiouho J—what long huIuuui ,

    drawling , in most lugubrious minors , under the name of psalm-tunes , as you pass the kirks !—what troops of people , all wending solemnly to the kirk , and looking neither to the right hand nor to the left ! I 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 wasawful 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 sympathv ; 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 , from 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 been out of Scotland

    those Scotchmen who have never . 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 Scotchmen 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 , evmci such a tenderness resp ecting their « l Sabbath , that if you 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 ty rannous , 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 ! of Sabbatarianism

    One of the most vinegar instances 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 tne 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 ' s face becam e three inches longer ! " Dinner , sir ! " he answered , " do you no ken it ' s the Sabbath ? " The words and the man ' s look were ko strange , that I asked mm in my perplexity what he said , although 1 n . »« - heard him plainly enough , lie repeated his question , and I could not help , somehow or other , appealing i » hiB Satanic Majesty whether such a question was n <

    strange : What tho d , " said 1 , " has the ha » - batli to do with my dinner ? Do you thing an i- " a - liuhnian is to go without his dinner , because it is w » you call the Sabbath ? " Ho looked unntteriiWe things ; but , without saying more , went into kitchen , and began converging in a low tone wUn ^ landlady . Very soon lie beckoned me ; and vvn ( ( ;' yc had rejoined him he said , in a myHterious tone , . ken , if ye'll stay till the people are gone to the jci , I'll get ye a steak ! " 1 was in danger ot laugl ' » in his face , though he looked inexpressibly h « i > <> j When his company ( who had been sitting silei > u > ^ various rooms , discussing biscuits , tracts , aiu - total drinks ) had disappeared , tho bteak was uro h up . I asked waggishly if he could not get me a i up . l a . sitcu waggi ^ niy n nu cuiuu « . <>> - ^ --- . i" l

    of porter . "Nay , nay , " he replied , very » *' " nae porter ! " t ) , ;« Tbemnnwas truer to his teetotahsm than to ^ Hour Sabbatarianism , after all , Him conseH'ii « - bound by appearance * in one ease , and it l |< / lioIlj pocriHV . In the other ,- it was guided by << " t and he preserved his truth , Of course , to trouble him with my company again . « »'' . ' t Sunday , when 1 had to be at 1 ' aisley » K «»»« J , , to flu ; principal inn ; and there dinner was M-. v < < ^ and all tliingn went on as they do in any ' « ( jk hotel . The lesson wan not lost upon me . ¦ . ^ care never to be » ourly circumstanced iitfiun w Scotland . . .. doctrine It is this gloomy , slavish , Houl-gnnd . nK J . „ and practice of Sabbata . ianism whicli » au « u ^ ^ combativoncHH perpotually iu Scotland .

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    794 mtte iUa&rtu t SATCRDAy »

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), Aug. 23, 1851, page 794, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1897/page/6/