8o LIFE IN IRELAND 



wealth and prosperity to London. His Lordship 



pledged his honour that he would consider of it! 



and no doubt but he will consider it a very proper 



tax to be kept up. At the time of the Union a member 

 of the Irish Parliament said that every mountain would 

 become a fruitful valley, and every valley a garden, 

 and the whole land be filled with absentees. As none 

 of these prophecies have come to pass, Pat will e'en 

 be content with a repeal of the window-tax, which is 

 certainly oppressive, as the only windows in an Irish 

 cabin are the hole in the roof meant for a chimney, 

 for which he pays a smoke-tax under the name of 

 hearth money. The fatal typhus fever, that carried 

 off so many hundreds in Dublin, was occasioned by 

 breathing impure air — the poor people blocking up 

 their windows to avoid the tax. Let us hope that his 

 Lordship will seriously take this matter under his con- 

 sideration, and try to remedy the evil. 



Morrison's port now began to work in the noodle of 

 Captain Grammachree, who got so furiously loyal, that 

 he disturbed the whole room. One of the newspapers, 

 not famous either for its logic or loyalty, had inserted 

 some paragraphs highly offensive to Grammachree's 

 principles, and he swore with an oath that he would 

 prosecute the printer, if he pawned his wooden leg to 

 fee Counsellor Phillips for the purpose. 



' What do you think of a censorship over the press ? ' 

 asked Sir Shawn; 'perhaps Lord Londonderry may 

 grant us that favour as a memorial of the gratitude he 

 bears to Ireland ? ' 'By Jasus 1 ' bellowed the Captain, 

 ' there should be a court of enquiry daily sitting upon 

 these newspapers, and the Duke of York ought to be 



