At the other side of the isthmus of Howth is Malahide, where there is a magnificent old castle, also possessed by a family of the English invaders-the Talbots-who have been settled there since the time of Henry II. Among the curiosities in this castle is an altarpiece which belonged to Mary Queen of Scots, painted by Albert Durer. It is a small picture, divided into compartments, representing the nativity, adoration, and circumcision of our Lord.

A few miles inland from Malahide, and about the same distance from Dublin, is the ancient town of Swords. This town owes its origin to a monastery founded there by St Columbkill about the year 512. It was formerly a place of much importance, was incorporated by Queen Elizabeth, and returned a member to the Irish parliament, but is now much decayed. It contains, however, one object of great interest to antiquarians, viz., a very perfect specimen of those singular structures, peculiar to Ireland, called 'Round Towers. Of these there are only two in the neighbourhood of Dublin-this one at Swords, and another at the village of Clondalkin, at the south side of the city.

What was the origin or use of these extraordinary buildings has been a fertile theme of discussion. They are very common throughout Ireland, and are all of nearly the same form. They are tall narrow towers, in shape somewhat resembling very lofty chimneys such as are built at gas-works or manufactories, except that they taper a little more, are much more lofty, and are roofed with a conical cap, without any attempt at ornament. There is an opening like a door, generally about twenty feet above the ground. No remains of floors, and few inscriptions, have been found in any of them. The masonry is generally very strong, and time has made little impression on most of them. A great many ingenious theories have been proposed respecting these structures. Among the most singular of modern times was a theory propounded and ingeniously defended by Mr O'Brien, that they were heathen emblems, connected with the obscene ceremonies imported by the aboriginal inhabitants of Ireland from Egypt, similar to those derived by the Greeks from the same source, and still observed by idolaters in the East. But the discussion is now set at rest by the learned researches of Mr Petric. He has proved, almost beyond controversy, that these buildings are of Christian origin, and were probably used by the first Christian preachers to summon the people to worship. They are generally supposed to be the most ancient specimens of architecture now remaining in Ireland, and, before Mr Petrie's discoveries, were usually assigned to a period long prior to the introduction of Christianity.

the sacrifice. It has been inferred from this circumstance, and from their size being so much beyond what could have been mechanically raised in the rude age when they were probably used, that they were placed in their present posi tions by digging away the clay from about them. There is no mark of chiselling or any other preparation on any of them, which has led to a fanciful conjecture by the enent antiquarian Sir J. Ware. He supposes that they were derived from Abraham and the patriarchs, who were directed not to strike a tool on the stones of their altars. The Druids' altar at Howth is called Finn's Quoit,' and tra dition records that it was hurled into its present position by the Irish giant Finn M'Comhl, when engaged in a centest with a Dane.

Proceeding eastward from Swords, a little nearer Dablin, we come to the villages of Glassnevin and Finglass. A century since, these villages were the fashionable resort of the citizens of Dublin for the summer, and were at ove time the place of residence of some of the most eminent of the English classical authors. The present site of the Botanic Garden at Glassnevin was the residence of the poet Tichell. He came to Ireland with Addison, who was secretary to Lord Sunderland, in 1716. He soon after married in Dublin, and made Glassnevin his residence, where his friend Addi son was his constant guest. There is in the garden an avenue of yews called Addison's Walk, which it is said was the favourite resort of the author of Cato. In the immediate neighbourhood is Delville, which was the house of Dean Delany, Swift's friend. Swift passed much of his time here, and particularly in the summers of 1735-36. In the latter year the Legion Club,' one of his most venemous political satires appeared. This was considered so dangerous a libel, that no Dublin printer would venture to publish it, and it was privately printed at Delville by Swift himself. An old printing-press was discovered many years after, in removing some lumber from an out-office which was being pulled down, and it is supposed to have been the identical press with which the first copies of this famous squib were printed. Sheridan, Swift's friend, had also a house near Glassnevin. A little further from Dub lin, towards Finglass, is Hampstead, the residence of Sir Richard Steele. At Finglass, lived Parnell, who was vicar of the parish, and founded a library there for the use of the parishioners. Thus Tickell, Addison, Swift, Delany, Sheridan, Steele, and Parnell at once gave eclat to this classic neighbourhood. Few great cities could boast of so brilliant an array of genius as was then assembled in these two adjoining little villages.

Finglass is also a place of great antiquity. It has been the scene of many battles. Here Miles De Cogan and Raymond Le Gros, two of Strongbow's companions, with a smail army of five hundred men, having made a sally from Dublin, defeated the Irish army, several thousand strong, under King O'Connor. King William III., on his way to Dublin after the battle of the Boyne, encamped here, and the ramparts which he threw up are still standing. The church, round which a small town afterwards gathered. was founded by St Canice. There was a cross attached to it of considerable sanctity, which gives the name to the barony. The existence of this curious relic was doubted for a long period. Tradition said it had been broken down by Cromwell's soldiers, and carried away by some of the pious inhabitants, who buried it for safety. About thirty years ago, the Rev. Dr Walsh hearing this tradition, made inquiries to find out the supposed place of its concealment from the old inhabitants of the neighbourhood. After much search, he actually did discover it, and had the vene rable relic exhumed and erected inside the gate of the churchyard, where it now stands. In another generation its existence would probably have been forgotten.

powerful priory in Ireland. It was founded in 1174 by Strongbow, for knights-templars. The priors of this establishment, for centuries afterwards, exercised great political power, and were frequently chancellors and deputies of the kingdom: but it shared the fate of the other monastic institutions, and was suppressed by Henry VIII. It was revived by Queen Mary; but finally put an end to in the succeeding reign. The most ancient building now remaining at Kilmainham is the Royal Military Hospital, which was built after a design of Sir Christopher Wren, in the reign of Charles II. It is in design not unlike, and is used for the same purposes as the hospital at Chelsea. Adjoining the Royal Hospital of Kilmainham is a very ancient burial-place, in which is shown one of the oldest tombstones in the kingdom. It is a block of coarse black granite, said to be erected in commemoration of some of the heroes who fell at the battle of Clontarf.

In the southern environs of Dublin there are few remains of antiquity, except the town of Clondalkin before mentionel, till we again approach the sea. On the south side of the bay, opposite Howth, is Dalkey. This was formerly considered a place of much importance. There were markets and fairs holden there, and it had a charter. In the immediate neighbourhood are some ruined castles-the castles of Bullock. The origin of these castles affords a curious comment on the mercantile affairs of Ireland in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Though within a few miles of the capital, they were built to protect the goods of merchants resorting to Dalkey from pirates. When the limits of the English dominion were much reduced, during the wars of the Roses, Dalkey, though so near Dublin, was considered the southern boundary of the pale, and was exposed to the constant incursions of the wild Irish from Wicklow. It consequently fell into total decay.

There is a small island opposite the shore. Like every other remote recess in Ireland, it has the ruins of a church, which was dedicated to St Benedict. When Dublin was visited with the plague, in 1575, as many of the inhabitants as could fled here, as to a place of refuge, and the little island was covered with the tents of the terrified citizens. In more modern times it was rendered famous by a political club, who, between the years 1790 and 1798, founded there a mimic kingdom called the Kingdom of Dalkey.' The islands of Dalkey and Ireland's Eye are now uninhabited (except by the men in a battery erected on the former), and are used only for pic-nic parties; but, though only specks in size, they have given rise to a puzzling question among geographers. Ptolemy and Pliny both enumerate islands off the coast of Ireland, and the question in dispute is whether one of those mentioned by them, and called 'Edrus,' is either of these two, or, as Cambden asserts, the island of Ramsay off the coast of Wales.

LORD JOHN RUSSELL. CAN that little, quiet, fragile, modest, almost insignificantlooking man, so neat, plain, and formal in his black coat and snow-white neckcloth, who sits with his legs crossed 'anyhow,' and his hat overshadowing his small sharp features till they are scarcely seen-can that be Lord John Russell? Is he really the leader of that compact and numerous party? And has he the power or the skill to rule and rein them in; to amalgamate all their discordant varieties; to tame their political violence, of which you have heard or seen so much; to pour the oil of his philosophic spirit on the waters of their excited passions; to beguile them into suspending or giving up their cherished opinions and settled purposes, and cordially uniting in working out his views, and respecting, if not obeying his will? When you regard the phisique of Sir Robert Peelhis full commanding figure, his intellectual face and head, his handsome expressive countenance, his erect and manly bearing, you are half tempted to believe, on trust, all you have heard of his magical influence over the House of Commons: but no persuasion will induce you to think that the

diminutive model of a man who has been pointed out to you as Lord John Russell-whom Lord Palmerston, his next neighbour, might dandle in his arms-can possess those qualities which history tells us are necessary in order to sway popular assemblies. In a few moments he takes off his hat and rises from his seat, advancing to the table to speak. Now, for the first time, you see something that prepossesses. His head, though small, is finely shaped; it is a highly intellectual head, and the brow is wide and deep. The face, broad and firm-set, sphynx-like in shape, is not of faultless outline, but it is strongly marked with character. A thoughtful repose, slightly tinged with melancholy, pervades it. The features are sharply defined; they look more so in the extreme paleness of the complexion -a paleness not of ill-health, but of refined breeding. The mouth is wide, but finely shaped, surrounded with a marked line, as though it were often made the vehicle of expression; while the lips are firmly compressed, as from habitual thought. The eye is quick and intelligent, the nose straight and decided, the eyebrows dark and well arched, and the whole face, which seems smaller still than it is from the absence of whiskers, is surmounted by dark and scanty hair, which leaves disclosed the whole depth of an ample and intellectual forehead. A moment more, and you are struck with the proportions, though small, of his frame-his attitude erect, his chest expanded. You begin to perceive that a little man need not of necessity be insignificant. There is a presence upon him, a firm compactness of outline, a self-possessed manner, a consciousness of latent strength, that lead you to abandon your unfavourable view of his physical attributes, and to hope much from his moral and intellectual qualities. He speaks, and for a time your disappointment returns. You have seen him make one step forward to the table, look all around the House, then make a step back again to his old place; then, with his right arm stretched partly out, and his face half turned to his own supporters, he begins. His voice is feeble in quality and monotonous. It is thin, and there is a twang upon it which smacks of aristocratic affectation; but it is distinct. He is, perhaps, about to answer some speech, or to attack some measure, of Sir Robert Peel. He goes on in level strain, uttering a few of the most commonplaces of apology or deprecation, till the mediocrity grows irresistibly upon your mind. Yet the House seem to listen anxiously-they would not do so if they did not know their man. Wait a little. A cheer comes from around him; it bears in it the effeminate laugh of Mr Ward, the deep bassoon note of Mr Warburton, the shrill scream of Mr Sheil, the loud hearty shout of Mr Wakley, and the delighted chorus of the Radicals and manufacturers. Nay, even on the opposite side, the 'point' has not been without its effect, as many a suppressed titter testifies. All the level commonplace, it seems, was but the stringing of the bow; at the moment when least expected, the cool, prepared marksman has shot his arrow of keen polished sarcasm at Sir Robert Peel, whom it has fleshed, if not transfixed. You follow the speaker a little longer, now fairly interested in him, even though opposed to his opinions, and you find that he has more of those arrows in his quiver. And then he proceeds, during a speech of perhaps an hour and a-half, developing those characteristics of his mind which we have described in detail-now earning approval by his enlarged and statesmanlike view, now lowering himself to the level of the various prejudices of his party; alternately compelling respect and admiration, or provoking something like contempt; now rousing his own side to cheer against their own opponents, and now stimulating those opponents to laugh at or suspect their own leaders; but always exhibiting power, self-possession, tact, skill, parliamentary and political knowledge, command of language, and felicity of diction, surpassed by but a few distinguished men of the day. Meanwhile you have lost sight of the defects of the speaker-defects of voice, manner, and action-which place him as far below Sir Robert Peel, in the merely mechanical point of oratory, as his occasional elevation of thought and happy choice of language place him in these respects above him. If you had not thus been

carried away, you would have been speedily wearied by the drawling monotony of his voice, the hesitation in delivery, the constant catching up and repetition of words, and even of portions of sentences; and you have noticed that the only action used was a constant stepping forward from the bench to the table and back again, an occasional thumping of the latter with the right hand, when not rested permanently on it, a folding of the arms akimbo, or an action peculiar to this orator when he rests his left elbow on his right hand, while the left arm, raised perpendicularly, is held as if in warning at his opponents.-Orators of the Age.

VALUE OF THE BIBLE TO THE POOR.

The poor, we may be certain, will sustain no injury from their attention to a book, which, while it inculcates under the most awful sanction the practice of honesty, industry, frugality, subordination to lawful authority, contentment, and resignation to the allotments of Providence, elevates them to the hope of an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away;' a book which at once secures the observance of the duties which attach to an inferior condition, and almost annihilates its evils by opening their prospects into a state where all the inequalitics of fortune will vanish, and the obscurest and most neglected piety shall be crowned with eternal glory. The poor man rejoices that he is exalted;' and while he views himself as the member of Christ and the heir of a blessed immortality, he can look with undissembled pity on the frivolous distinctions, the fruitless agitations, and the fugitive enjoyments of the most eminent and the most prosperous of those who have their portion in this world. The poor man will sustain no injury by exchanging the vexations of envy for the quiet of a good conscience, and fruitless repinings for the consolations of religious hope. The less is his portion in this life, the more ardently will he cherish and embrace the promise of a better, while the hope of that better exerts a reciprocal influence in prompting him to discharge the duties, and reconciling him to the evils, which are inseparable from the present. The Bible is the treasure of the poor, the solace of the sick, and the support of the dying; and while other books may amuse and instruct in a leisure hour, it is the peculiar triumph of that book to create light in the midst of darkness, to alleviate the sorrow which admits of no other alleviation, to direct a beam of hope to the heart which no other topic of consolation can reach; while guilt, despair, and death vanish at the touch of its holy inspiration.-Robert Hall.

INTOLERANCE OF PAGANISM.

The plausible theory of the tolerant spirit of Paganism is never known to have been realised in practice. The Athenians allowed no alteration whatever in the religion of their ancestors; and the lives of Æschylus, Anaxagoras, Diagoras, Protagoras, Prodicus, Socrates, and Alcibiades, decided that innovation in religion was death. The holy or sacred wars among the Grecian states; the sanguinary contests between the respective votaries of the different gods of Egypt; and the cruel extermination of the disciples of every other religion except that of Zoroaster in Persia, conspire to prove that bigotry is peculiar to no clime but indigenous to human nature. As to the vaunted toleration of the Roman government, we learn from Livy, that about 430 years before Christ orders were given to the Edila to see that none except Roman gods were worshipped, nor in any other than the established forms.' Macenas carnestly exhorted Augustus to hate and punish' all foreign religions, and to compel all men to conform to the national worship; and Augustus and his successors literally followed his counsel. Tiberius prohibited the Egyptian worship, banished the Jews from Rome, and restrained the worship of the Druids in Gaul. Domitian and Vespasian banished the philosophers from Rome; some of whom were confined in the islands, and others put to death. From all of which it would appear that intolerance was an original law of Rome-that this law was never repealed-and that from time to time it was let loose on the

professors of other religions with terrible effect; while th history of France during the Revolution proclaims that hot as were the fires of persecution which polytheism ofte kindled, atheism has a furnace capable of being heate seven times hotter'-that intolerance is inherent in ou fallen nature.-Dr Harris.

LINES SUGGESTED BY THE SUDDEN DEATH OF THE REV. JOSIAS WILSON.

(Written for the Instructor.)

Thou art gone-thou art gone! yet we scarce can deplore thee,
Though grief wrap around us its mantle like night;
With thine eye fix'd intent on the joy set before thee,
Thou hast finish'd thy course-thou hast fought the good fight
No more from thy words we instruction shall borrow-
No more from thy lips gather spiritual food;
Yet we trust we can say in the depth of our sorrow,
''Tis the Lord, let him do as it seemeth him good.'

Thy sun has gone down in the noon of its glory-
Thy lamp has been quench'd when most brightly it shone;
And yet, if we could, we would never restore thee
To earth, from the mansions to which thou hast gone.
But we bear our sad loss with profound resignation;
'Tis thy Master and ours that has call'd thee away.
Be this then the source of our strong consolation--
No night can intrude on thy long happy day.
No sickness can mar thine unceasing enjoyment,
No sorrow or sadness thy rapture restrain;
But this shall be ever thy blissful employment,
To sing to the praise of the Lamb that was slain.
No willow, no cypress, no yew shall droop o'er thee,
To tell us the spot where thy body shall rest.
As those without hope, we can never deplore thee,
Or grieve that so soon thou art happy and blest.
But often we'll visit thy last habitation,
And there thy bless'd mem'ry our spirits shall thrill,
While we learn, in those moments of deep contemplation,
That, though thou art dead, thou dost speak to us still.

INANIMATE OBJECTS.

W. M. HUTCHINGS.

We grow attached unconsciously to the objects we`see every day. We may not think so at the time-we may be discontented, and used to talk of their faults; but let us be on the eve of quitting them for ever, and we find that they are dearer than we dreamed. The love of the inaniTrue, it makes no return of mate is a general feeling. affection, neither does it disappoint it-its associations are from our thoughts and our emotions. We connect the hearth with the confidence which has poured forth the full soul in its dim twilight; on the wall we have watched the shadows, less fantastic than the creations in which we have indulged; beside the table, we have read, worked, and written. Over each and all is flung the strong link of habit: it is not to be broken without a pang.

A WORD TO THE EXTRAVAGANT.

A princely mind will ruin a private fortune. Keep the rank in which Providence hath placed you, and do not make yourself unhappy because you cannot afford whatever a wild fancy might suggest. The revenues of all the kingdoms of the world would not be equal to the expense of one extravagant person.

Printed and published by JAMES HOGG, 122 Nicolson Street, Edinburgh; to whom all communications are to be addressed. Sold also by J. JOHNSTONE, Edinburgh; J. M'LEOD, Glasgow: W. CURRY, jun. & Co., Dublin; R. GROOMBRIDGE & SONS, London; W. M'COMB, Belfast; G. & R. KING, Aberdeen; R. WALKER, Dundee; G. PHILIP and J. SHEPHERD, Liverpool; FINLAY & CHARLTON, Newcastle; WRIGHTSON & WEBB, Birmingham; A. HEYWOOD and J. AINSWORTH, Manchester; G. CULLINGWORTH, Leeds; and all Booksellers. C. MACKENZIE & Co., Halifax Nova Scotia.

No. 119.

EDUCATION OF THE PEOPLE BY THE

STATE.

We recently directed the attention of our readers to this important subject in two of our numbers, and although the question is and has been discussed on all sides usque ad nauseam, we believe that the publication of the details embodied in the reports of the Government Inspectors of Schools, may prove of good service in laying open the urgent necessities of the case. Whatever may be the opinions entertained as regards the best means of enlightening the ignorant millions of our population, it is quite clear that the country will not go on much longer under the present inefficient system. According to calculations by the Registrar-General, the number of children in England and Wales, in 1846, was nearly 4,000,000, of whom not more than half are receiving instruction, to say nothing of the large proportion of adults who have been found willing to avail themselves of the means of education when schools have been opened in the localities in which they reside. With so large a proportion of the rising generation growing up in entire ignorance, can we feel surprised that misery, suffering, and crime prevail to so great an extent all over the country? We trust, however, that the time for proper application of a judicious remedy is now not far distant.

the

The reports now before us, published in 1846, show the parliamentary grant for education in the preceding year to have been £75,000—a sum by no means proportionate to the amount of work to be done. The inspectors generally state that signs of improvement have appeared since their former visits to the schools, and, amid much that is gloomy, show that great good may be effected where the will to do it exists. In many out-of-the-way villages the most beneficial results have followed from the exertions of the clergy. A desire for reading is said to be growing, lending libraries are established where books, a few years ago, were almost unknown, and many whose education Was defective have amended it from this source alone. The books published by the Irish Educational Board appear to be much in request; and the desire to lodge spare earnings in the funds of friendly societies and savings' banks, is, with the taste for reading, among the first steps towards more provident habits than have hitherto characterised the masses of our agricultural and operative population. These, however, are some of the brighter features

of the picture.

Mr Allen, inspector of the schools in the eight counties comprising the southern district, visited 340 schools: 112 in which boys and girls were taught apart, under a master and mistress; 57 under a master only; 119 under a mis

PRICE 14d.

tress; and 52 infant schools, also under a mistress. This gentleman, in writing on the difficulties against which schools have at present to contend, observes :-'Right training cannot be looked for from our ordinary monitors, and is seldom found in our large schools; the money that in England has been spent in raising such has commonly, as I believe, been ill spent. I have seen buildings calculated for 600 with less than 80 children in them: dispirited teachers, untidy cheerless school-rooms, and the conviction that the interest of the money lavished on the fabric would have gone far to support the school, naturally associate themselves with such a spectacle. In some of our schools, had less been attempted, more would have been done. The proverb says, 'That little which is good fills the trencher." Another difficulty consists in the periodical absence of the children from the schools in rural districts, at hay-time and harvest, for nearly six weeks; it not unfrequently happens that when the scholars reassemble not more than half the number is present, and much valuable time is wasted in bringing up the loss of learning occasioned by the interruption. Mr Allen considers that much good would result from a better diffusion of Scriptural knowledge, proper regard being had to the portions to be committed to memory, and mentions a case where, owing to the teacher's negligence, the only portion of the Bible which a child could repeat was one of the chapters on ceremonials from the book of Leviticus: were it more the custom to bring the sacred precepts of the Scriptures to bear on the daily duties of life, there can be no doubt as to the beneficial result. 6 The amount of moral training,' continues the inspector, afforded by a school must depend mainly upon the character of the teacher. Too much stress cannot be laid on the importance of our schoolmasters being men who love their work, and live in the fear of God. Even in an intellectual point of view, it requires but little experience to be assured that no natural qualifications nor acquired advantages can compensate for the absence of faithfulness grounded upon a religious sense of duty. Love melts almost all hearts, effecting that which no harshness can ever accomplish. It is said that more flies are caught with a drop of honey than with a tun of vinegar. I have always admired that history written by Camus, bishop of Bellay, of the prelate his friend, who, when questioned- How should advice be given?' How may reproof be best administered?'-ever prefaced his reply with these words, ' In a spirit of love;' the secret of whose government was, not by constraint but willingly;' and who was wont to say that such as would force the will of man strove to exercise a tyranny hateful to God.'

The eastern district comprehends the counties of Essex,