65S Description of a Cottage in England) 



for a cart-load of potatoes. From the floor to the ceiling of 

 the house and parlour is a height of 8 ft. 6 in., and that of 

 the chamber 7 ft. : the whole is built of freestone ashlar, with a 

 pavilion-slated roof. I have been thus particular in describing 

 my own cottage ; for, as the saying is, what is nearest the 

 heart is nearest the mouth, and, of course, nearest the pen. I 

 am particularly fond of my cottage, because I think it the 

 most beautiful and accommodating in the whole world. Nor 

 are its inside ornaments less attractive. I have a Venus, five 

 Dianas, and an Adonis, which excel any paintings that ever I 

 saw. We have neither dog nor cat, cow nor pig, nor so much 

 as a canary bird, to take up our attention for a moment. If 

 such a cottage as this, such a home as this, is not worth fight- 

 ing for, where must patriots come from ? Now, I do not think 

 that any poor man could, should, would, or ought to build 

 such a cottage : but if gentlemen and noblemen would build 

 such cottages for their servants, think of the comfort there 

 would be in living in one of them ; think what such a servant 

 would do for such a master, or rather think what he would 

 not do for such. 



I shall now contrast my cottage with the thousands of 

 cottages which I have seen in Ireland, in twelve different 

 counties ; and, first, to begin with the lowest. The first thing 

 that an Irish peasant thinks of, when he comes to the age 

 of puberty, is to get married. He is encouraged in this by 

 his priest ; partly to prevent the deadly sin of fornication, 

 and partly because there is always a collection of money 

 made by the friends of the parties, like the penny- weddings in 

 Scotland : but, instead of giving the collection to the young 

 couple, as in Scotland, it is, every farthing, given to the priest, 

 I myself have given as much as a pound-note at a time, rather 

 than appear shabby or singular. Well, Sir, you always see 

 that, when birds begin to couple, they begin to think of build- 

 ing a nest ; and so do the Irish peasantry. The young man 

 begins to build his house on a piece of waste land, by the 

 road-side. His first process is to work up a quantity of clay, 

 as if he meant to make a quantity of bricks ; he then lays the 

 foundation of his cabin with this soft clay, about 9 ft. by 15 ft. 

 long, about 1 ft. high, leaving a door-place near the centre, 

 which is to serve as door, window, and chimney. As the clay 

 gets dry and stiff, he adds another layer, just as the swallows 

 do, till it is about 6 ft. high ; he then begs, buys, or steals 

 rails or poles, and lays them across it ; he collects brushwood 

 to raise the roof, and then covers the whole with turves or 

 straw, or both, as he can get them. He then begs or steals 

 straw sufficient to make a bed of; for, though he might beg 

 chaff from his master, or his master's neighbour, he has got 



