O" DviscoV s Views of Ireland, 



It might Iiavc been thought thai, at commonwealth 

 least, this advantage would have ac- 

 crued from the Union, ihat siiaking off 

 the fangs of faction, Dublin would liavc 

 devoted herself to literature and science; 

 but the people of Ireland were disap- 

 pointed in this, as in all other, the |)ro- 

 iiiised advantagesof that measure. Dub- 

 lin continues lo be the seat of faclion, 

 though it is no longer the dwelling-place 

 of those great interests which relieve fac- 

 tion of its meanness, and cover ail its 

 deformities. The capital of Ireland did 

 not become, as Ediril)urgli, a school of 

 medicine, or a school of any Ihiug ; its 

 rich and si)lcndid college dicl not make 

 it literary; this great establishment Has 

 dumb ; and so jealous was it that no 

 earthly sriund shoidd bo heard in its 

 halls, that silence was imposed upon the 

 exercises of its yonth, lest some inl'ant 

 genius should disturb the |)rofound re- 

 pose of timid and conscious dulness. 

 The IJistorieal Society, which had ex- 

 isted so long, and in limes of so much po- 

 litical agitation, has been suppressed 

 since the Union. 



Strangers, in Dublin, are struck with 

 the elegance and beauty of the streets, 

 and the taste and grandeur of the public 

 buildings, and the fine and fortunate 

 disposition of the whole. 'J'his ancient 

 city stretches along both banks of the 

 Liffcy, and opens her bosom to the 

 ocean, forming (he far-famed and beau- 

 tiful bay which bears her name. On one 

 side, she is girt with the rich fields of 

 Meath; and on the other, encompassed 

 with tiie wild and lovely .scenery of 

 AVicklow. 'J'liere isnocity morchn|)pi!y 

 placed, or combining greater or rarer 

 a<lv;iii(;ig(s. 



In Dublin, since the extinction of the 

 legislature, though the law has become 

 tin; ruling profession, it has hjst, other- 

 wise, much of its im|)orlance; it is now 

 no mori' llian a means <jf making money ; 

 it was, formerly, the highway lofame; 

 the road which genius took to reach its 

 natural elevation, those b<'ights were 

 wisdom and virtue labouied for the weal 

 of their native land. 



It has been said, that the pidjiic build- 

 ings of Jlublin are too suin|iluons and 

 expensive for a city of the sec(jnil order ; 

 we arc of another opinion ; we admire 

 pnl)lic n)agnifici'nci', as nMn;li as we con- 

 demn private paia'le. 'J'lie old Koman 

 Mlcpped from his hunibht shed into the 

 grandeur of the iniprrial city, and felt 

 bis iniporlane.e iiicii.asrd as In- walked 

 amongst thi; flonws and coiunms which 

 attested the power and splctidour of the 



627 



in these, he, too, had a 



property, in common with the liighest 



men in Rome; this was his country, and 



these were her glorious ornaments. 



Ours is an age of private enjoyment ; 

 the genius of architecture is condemned 

 to labour upon a small scale, for the 

 gratification of individual pride or taste. 

 Hence the povcity of London in its pub- 

 lie buildings, and the wealth of that great 

 city, in its private circles; even the bridge 

 of Waterloo, the finest piece of architec- 

 tiu'c the metropolis can boast, owes its 

 existence to private adventure. 



The |)ublic can afford to build upon a 

 greater scale than even the wealthiest 

 individual; and it possesses also a kind 

 of immortality, which gives permanence 

 to ils works : the hand of a continuing 

 care sustains and preserves them ; and 

 even when that hand is withdrawn, when 

 the day of fate is at length arrived, and 

 nations sigh their last, these glorious 

 monuments endure, and stand out in the 

 wilderness, to tell of genius and power, 

 of which there is no other record, and 

 to supi)ly us with a portion of the history 

 of our race, and of their sad fortunes, of 

 which otherwise there were no account. 

 It is said that Dublin has not suffered 

 from the effects of the Union, in the de- 

 gree that was anticipated. The grass 

 is not seen growing in her streets. 

 True: Dublin has thriven, spite of the 

 Union; but what would she not be now, 

 had the Union not taken place? Our re- 

 gret is not, however, for what Dublin has 

 lost, but for what the rest of the country 

 has not "rained. 



I'NIVI-RSITIES. 



Dublin College is reproached with 

 being barren: its possessors have given 

 nothing to the world worthy of notice ; 

 and this has been accountetl for by the 

 severe course of study which a fellow- 

 ship recjuircs ; after this, it is said, the 

 intellect is exhausted, and a n)an requires 

 a whole life of repose. The wealth of 

 the fellowships is also thought to incline 

 those learned persons to idleness : but 

 neither of these cansi s appear lo us suffi- 

 cient to account for the inlelleelual bar- 

 r{!imess of the college. IMen who have 

 undergone as nuieh mental labour as the 

 fellows, and men as rich, have shone in 

 the brightest paths of literature aud 

 scien(;e. 



Wt: believe the fact to bo, that they 

 are not the brightest men of the cotnitry, 

 or of the colleg(!, who obtain fellowships. 

 Thecoursi of study by which those rii^h 

 pii/.es arc won, rcrjuires more of labour 

 aud memory tliuti of intellect ; if there is 

 talent, 



