Interior of an Irish Cabin. 169 



the general character of the people : a know- 

 ledge of this can alone lead the government to 

 a fair appreciation of their morals and habits, 

 which ought most seriously to engage the rulers 

 in every country ; for on this depends the ge* 

 neral happiness or misery of the ruled. 



The English traveller imbibes a most unfa- 

 vorable opinion of Ireland, from the wretched 

 state in which he beholds the habitations of the 

 lower orders ; the generality of which certainly 

 appear unsuitable to the residence of human 

 creatures. From the dilapidations without, he 

 draws instant conclusions of accumulated mi- 

 series within. The Irish peasant, however, 

 though poor in what the world calls riches, 

 possesses that in his cabin which the mines of 

 Peru could not furnish. Let the feelings be 

 restrained -let a dispassionate survey of the 

 interior be taken, and the traveller will find in 

 the possession of its inhabitants a warmth of 

 heart an overflowing of the kindest domestic 

 affections, and of the purest joys of life : while 

 he acknowledges that such sensibilities do honor 

 to his species, he must become persuaded that 

 man may yet be happy, though under priva- 

 tions of what in our ideas is essential even to 

 the continuance of our existence. 



When the threatening cloud affords the pea- 



