82 POOR-HOUSE — SCHOOL. 



A melancholy sight it was, to stand looking from one of 

 the drawing-room windows of that house and witness 

 the sad scene. In front was what had once been a 

 handsome pond, with a little island on which still stood 

 a rather rickety statue ; beyond this a fine park with 

 old timber, and immediately below, on the gravel, were 

 squatted a great number of women, wearing out the 

 day by picking grass from among the stones. Within 

 the room other women were spinning, some picking 

 oakum, many doing nothing at all. The house was quite 

 full, and yery clean and well managed. More than two- 

 thirds of the females were young girls and women, 

 healthy and intelligent-looking, who would be a great 

 acquisition to some of our Australian colonies. Many 

 of them looked very happy, but others were weeping. 

 It was a sad sight altogether. 



On Mr Mod sell's property here we visited a school, 

 which is divided into two apartments, one for girls, and 

 the other for boys. There might be fifty of each, the 

 children of the neighbouring small farmers. They were 

 clean and neatly dressed, and showed much proficiency 

 in geography, reading, writing, and arithmetic, in all of 

 which we witnessed their examination. The school is 

 under the superintendence of the priest of the parish, 

 and the children do much credit to their teacher, who 

 takes his instructions from the priest. 



Crossing some high land, we again descended into 

 a valley, where we drove through a well- wooded and 

 picturesque demesne, surrounding a handsome mansion. 

 The stables and coach-houses, &c, commodious and 

 extensive. Two cows were wading in the long rich grass, 



