here, that English suns are made of worn-out French moons! and English summers, they say, consist of three warm days and a thunderstorm!" Most things, however, in England, are admirable to a Hindoo, who sees even a snow storm with a feeling of wonder and delight. "The other day," says our author, writing about Christmas time, “ we had a snowfall. Beautiful flakes of snow descended gently in showers, like bits. of cotton. The climate of England, notwithstanding its drawbacks, is very healthy and bracing, and makes one active and disposed to labour. Believe me, climatic influences, have more to do with the formation of the character of nations than is generally supposed." It was natural that the Crystal Palace should be one of the earliest places visited and commended, in the neighbourhood of London; and as natural that the system of advertizing should be animadverted upon, as a part of the national life. Speak ing of the interest which every class of Englishmen takes in the political concerns and in the activity of his country, our author observes : "During the last fortnight (5th to 20th November, 1868) London, and in fact the whole of the British Isles, have been in a state of great excitement, on account of the Parliamentary elections going on. The amount of excitement in London on the day of election was simply incredible. Booths were erected every here and there, and voters came to these booths to give in their votes. The streets were crowded with people-those who had votes and those who had not-and all engaged with one absorbing topic of conversation; while the candidates for election. could be seen going about from place to place, and from booth to booth, with an agitation of mind which can easily be imagined. All the voters were to give in their votes on that particular day; and as the day advanced, the people could guess pretty correctly what the result in the evening would be, for the number of votes given for each candidate was published hourly ing observer, this interest which the votes for conservative members; and they go on, influencing the public mind, and convincing the people that a reform is needed. When they are strong enough they make a representation in Parliament; they have a Bill introduced by some member who may be of the same opinion with themselves. The Bill may be defeated cnce, twice, three times, perhaps, but that does not matter, they go on quietly with their work, with a patience and perseverance which are almost incredible. They know that the will of the people is the law of the land, and if the people show increasing interest and favour to their cause, they are sure to succeed; otherwise, of course, their cause must be given up. Societies and leagues of this kind exist in England without number; and it is really a wonder how patiently and perseveringly they work. Sometimes the generation which started an association may pass away; but new members come in, the next generation takes up the cause, and the association lives and works on, still trying to influence the public mind. For public opinion is the law of the land, which sways the country without a rival, and before which the Queen, the Lords, and the House of Commons must all give way. The Queen and the nobility dare not oppose it, and if the House of Commons dares to act contrary to it, another set of members are sure to be returned on the next election who are of the same opinion as the public. Such is England, a country where the people govern themselves— what wonder if such a people have secured for themselves an amount of political liberty which is nowhere else to be found on the face of the globe, America alone excepted! The foregoing extract is one of the most pregnant and suggestive paragraphs in the entire series of letters before us, and is, on the whole, extremely creditable to the observation and reflection of a stranger who, when he penned it, was still in his minority. After he had had experience of the "shires, he severally and discriminatingly appraises the peculiarities of the gentry of the country as differenced from the same classes in the towns and cities. The absence of education from the lower classes is bewailed and commiserated ; the national interest in horse races, boat races, and athletic competitions generally, is pleasantly described; and the charity and the charitable institutions of London are magnified as remarkable examples of kindness and good feeling. On the other hand, the strong feeling, and even the envious antipathy, which too often separates class from class, is strongly deprecated; and it need scarcely be said of one who has broken through the trammels and repudiated the privileges of high caste in his own country, that his sympathies are in favour of the abrogation of class disabilities. His heart is with the democracy, in whom, as we have seen, he has recognized the ultimate springs of power. In July-September, 1869, our author devoted a month to a tour in Scotland, the results of which, taking the form of what he calls "guide-book" information for his younger fellow-countrymen, scarcely call for notice in this place. A note or two may be profitably extracted, however, referring to the more or less severely scientific aspect of his itinerary. "While coming along the coast of Northumberland," he writes, " we saw the ruins of several ancient castlesnests of robber-chiefs, which were very useful in the days of border warfare between the Percies and the Douglases, but which have now fallen to disuse and decay. They look noble even in their decay, and the associations of hundreds of years fling a charm round their ruins." "In the evening we had a row on the beautiful Loch Achray. (By-the-bye the letters ch in Loch, Achray, Vennachar, &c., are pronounced exactly as the Caboolees pronounce the Kh in Kheeshmish, Khyber, &c. It is curious how the mountain tongue in Europe resembles the Asiatic mountain tongue.)" Besides his journey to Scotland in 1869, our author devoted a month-15th June to 15th July, 1870-to an itinerary of Ireland and Wales. After praising Dublin, its University, and its "beautiful park," he goes on to say, that "not far from Dublin is Kingstown on the sea-shore, a favourite haunt of Dublin cockneys, and, like other sea-side towns, a seat of courtship and love. And manifold are the charms of sea-side towns. The old and invalid come here to recruit their health, the student and the working people to have some relaxation and to enjoy a holiday, and the young people of both sexes fly to these places from the reserve and rigid rules of busy towns to pay their offerings to the shrine of love, or, in plain English, to court and be courted. Every one in a wateringplace seems determined to enjoy himself and be merry; throws off his habitual reserve, and mingles familiarly and jocosely with friends and strangers. For, a poet would say, there is something in the warbling of the waves and the sighing of the sea breeze which rouses the softer and the finer feelings of our heart, and predisposes us for merriment and friendship, for courtship and-love! "But," somewhat unaccountably adds our author, "enough of that." * * * "The Devil's Glen' is more rugged and wild than the 'Glen of the Downs,' but not quite so pretty. A rivulet meanders through this glen. There is a very funny story connected with this glen. Visitors cannot enter it without the keeper opening a gate leading into the glen. It is said that two tourists managed once upon a time to get into this glen withoutout the keeper's permission, and the latter got offended and wanted to send them out rather uncourteously. The two visitors inquired of the keeper what right he had to send them out? Why, Sir,' says the surly keeper, 'this is my glen!' "O yes,' rejoined one of the visitors, 'we know this to be the "Devil's Glen," but really we did not expect to see the proprietor here!"" *** "Athlone is situated on the Shannon, which is, perhaps, the noblest river in the United Kingdom. I cannot conceive of any river scenery that can be more beautiful than the falls of the Shannon, or, as they are generally called the 'Rapids of the Doonas." " "The scenes through * * * * * * which we passed in sailing along the magnificent Lakes of Killarney, the pride of Ireland, defy all description." We need only add that the author left London in August, 1871, and after a rapid tour of France, the Rhine, Switzerland, and Italy, he sailed from Brindisi for Bombay, having spent three useful and agreeable years in Europe. It would not be reasonable to expect much consistency from Home Rulers, yet certainly we were not prepared for such an exhibition as took place in the House of Commons, on Mr. Blennerhassett's motion for the purchase of Irish Railways by the State. This gentleman is one of those aspiring politicians who swallowed the Home Rule pledge, as a necessary condition precedent to obtaining the suffrages of the "free and independent electors of Kerry ;" and, perhaps, it was excusable for him under the circumstances to have done so, as by no other means was it probable he could have obtained a seat; and men, conscious of latent greatness, and ambitious of senatorial honours, ought not to have their prospects marred by any squeamishness about accepting pledges, no matter how absurd, or as to identifying themselves with any agitation however chimerical and mischievous. wonder what the product would be, were a chemical analysis possible, to discover out of all the aspirants for seats in Parliament who professed to be Home Rulers, how many really spoke from honest conviction. We It must be obvious that neither Mr. Blennerhassett, nor those who supported his motion, had a very correct and definite conception of what the principle of Home Rule involves, else they never would have so stultified themselves as to outrage that principle by proposing to hand over the entire management of Irish railways to an alien Government sitting in London! The proposal practically declared that Ireland was incapable of managing Now, is this what "Ireland for Imagine for one moment the Home Rule dream realized-the Union repealed, "legislative independence" achieved, and a Parliament "racy of the soil" enthroned in College Green, while the whole railway system of Ireland was managed by a Government in London, totally independent of the Irish Government and Parliament. What an embroilment would then ensue! Is such a condition of things possible? We must remember that Mr. Isaac Butt, who assumes to be the leader of the Home Rule agitation, and the expounder of its intent and scope, has declared that a simple repeal of the Union will not satisfy him, for that he will be content with nothing less than an Irish ministry, alone responsible to an Irish Parliament. This, of course, implies complete separation, but the gentlemen who parroted this folly to gull electors and obtain seats in Parliament, are not over nice in such matters. We should like to be informed, however, how they propose to work their scheme of Government-how Ireland is to be ruled exclusively by an Irish ministry, responsible only to an Irish Parliament, while the entire management of Irish railways is to be vested in an alïen Government in London ? Could such a scheme possibly work? What would earnest patriots in College Green say to such a condition of things? It is, however, really absurd to reason seriously on such a matter, but it is just as well to point out the glaring inconsistency of men who profess impracticabilities, and obtain credit for patriotism by advocating something worse than an imperium in imperio-a dismemberment of the empire in fact, for such in truth is what Home Rule really involves, as Mr. Isaac Butt has himself declared. Apart from the miserable follies of Home Rulers, we are rejoiced that the present Government will not have anything to do with the purchase of the Irish Railways. No sufficient reason has been adduced why the State should purchase Irish railways and leave those of England, Wales, and Scotland alone. We could understand the policy of Government undertaking the gigantic operation of purchasing the whole railways of the United Kingdom, and working them with a view to paying off the National Debt, as was contemplated by the 7 & 8 Vict. c. 85. That Act, passed in 1844, authorized the Government, after the 1st of January, 1866, to purchase up existing railways with the permission of Parliament, but at that time the railway interest had not attained the national magnitude which now distinguishes it, and few were sanguine enough to believe that such a future was in store for it. In 1854, ten years after the Act authorizing the perspective purchase of the railways was passed, there were only 8054 miles opened in Great Britain and Ireland, and the total capital paid up amounted to 286,068,7941. 286,068,7947.; but now the length of line open is 15,814 miles, and the total capital has increased to 570,046,7947. This is a vast increase, and we may fairly assume it was never contemplated, to such an extent, by those who prepared and carried the Act of 1844. It is true that some parties advocate the purchase of Irish Railways by the State, while those of Great Britain should remain as at present, and, in one of his blind bids for popularity, Mr. Gladstone, among his other political mistakes, played fast-and-loose with this question. In reply to a deputation that waited on him to urge State purchase, he would not give an explicit, unhesitating answer. "The matter was worthy consideration "the subject had serious aspects "the proposal to purchase the Irish Railways was worthy of consideration as an exceptional case "he was free to regard it quite apart from a proposal that embraced the purchase of the railways of England and Scotland." In this hesitating but characteristic fashion, stimulating the useless agitation of questions by exciting false hopes of what might follow, |