Public Institutions ott a magnificent Scale. 117 



sand a year from government : this appropriate 

 expenditure advances a general knowledge and 

 taste for the arts ; it also contributes to pro- 

 mote many useful improvements in every branch 

 of science. Previous to the establishment of 

 the Farming Society in Ireland, the attention of 

 the Institute was in a particular manner directed 

 to objects of agriculture. All the public in- 

 stitutions in Ireland are on a great scale, and 

 do credit to the national spirit and taste. As 

 far as so cursory an inspection would enable 

 me to form any judgment, I was much pleased 

 with the general arrangements, and the mode 

 of conducting, the several departments of the 

 Institute. 



The style and beauty of Dublin have greatly 

 surpassed my expectations. Many of the streets 

 are handsome and commodious, while the ap- 

 pearance of the shops is inferior to those only 

 in London. The bridges over the Liffey are 

 so numerous that the passage of the river 

 through the centre of the town is attended with 

 little inconvenience. St. Stephen's Green ex- 

 ceeds in size any of the squares in London ; the 

 others are of an inferior character. There are 

 numbers of capital houses, which are occupied 

 at high rents. The Union for some years had 

 the effect of reducing the value of the best re- 



