ir.ISH INSECT-HUNTER. 143 



sympathy was with wild, uncivilized, catholic Ireland. Still, 

 as strangers, we must not entirely pass over Dublin, lest it 

 should be taken for indifference or deficiency of notice. Sack- 

 ville-street is the great lion of Dublin, and Sacl^pUe-street is 

 the only thing in all Ireland with which we were disappointed. 

 This arose from the very common cause of extravagant antici- 

 pations. I fancied, from what I had heard, that all the public 

 buildings in Dublin were congregated together in this one 

 street; and having often seen it described as one of the ** finest 

 streets in Europe," I expected to find it all palace and archi- 

 tecture. We were disappointed, therefore, to find ourselves 

 actually in Sackville-street without being actually overpowered 

 by its grandeur, or even quite sure of its identity ; and when 

 we came to the conclusion that it must be Sackville-street, the 

 existence of plain matter-of-fact shops operated against its 

 dignity, by obtruding ideas of pounds, shillings and pence, 

 and brought it down to our own ordinary level of good business 

 streets. There is nothing great in Sackville-street except its 

 width, — said to be one hundred and sevent}' yards. It is very 

 inferior to our Portland-place in aristocratic air, and to many 

 streets of Edinburgh in point of architecture. Large hotels, 

 some of which were the town residences of members of the 

 nobility before the union of the two Parliaments, occupy a 

 considerable portion of the street. Nelson's column is placed 

 in the centre, and, from the bridge, esteemed the best point of 

 view, appears directly opposite the post-office, which, having 

 no building to correspond with its projecting pediment, had, 

 to my eye, an ugly, lop-sided effect. Whether the best taste is 

 displayed by placing a column or pillar in the. centre rather 

 than at one end of a street, may be questioned, on comparison 

 with our Duke of York's column, Waterloo-place. In the 

 former situation it is necessarily more or less of an obstruction, 

 breaks the unity of the view, and loses the fine effect of a long- 

 avenue. 



But, apart from exaggerated expectation, Sackville-street is 

 a fine street, and Dublin a fine city. There are other streets 

 that vie with Sackville-street, except in width. The line along 

 the river is as broad, or broader, and contains far more of 

 architecture and interest. The view from Carlisle-bridge, as 

 an architectural one, is said to be unrivalled in Europe, the 

 eye being met by a fine building whichever way you turn, — 



