18 
has been, and ftill in tempeftuous weather 
continues to be, extremely injurious, arid 
fometimes fatal to trading veffels, which 
are not perfeétly acquainted with the en= 
trance intothis harbour. This wall thus 
keeps the mouth of the harbeur from be- 
ing choked up. Three miles nearer 
Dublin, at a place called the Pigeon- 
houfe, and fituated upon this wall, the 
packet lands her paffengers in a fine and 
newly ereéted dock, where now allo a 
ery {pacious hotel is nearly compteated, 
into which the paffengers can infantly 
retire upon Janding; a circmftance hi- 
therto much wanted by all perfons re- 
forting to that part of the filter kingdom. 
In committing my obfervations upon 
the city of Dublin to paper, | fhall begin 
with the public buildings, and firit with 
the Parliament-houfe, the fouth front of 
which has, for many years, been the ad- 
miration of all who are well fkilled in ar- 
chiteélure. It is compofed of a maffy co- 
lonnade of the Ionic order ; the bafe of 
every column being three feet fix inches 
in diameter. Thefe columns all {pring 
from an elevated platform, to which you 
afcend by a flight of fteps, which do 
not, as is too often the cafe, tamely ref 
upon the bafe of the column, but are re- 
gularly elevated upon the pedeftal truly 
belonging to that order of architecture, 
and thus giving the whole order in per- 
fection. Independent of the enrrance in 
the centre of this colonnade, the eaftern 
‘Tour in 
and weftern extremities of this front pre- © 
fent you with a bold projection of. the 
fame colonnade,continued for many feet, 
and forming two other grand iniulated, 
entrances. 
About twelve years ago, it was thought 
expedient to take away a litle of the 
overflowing money from the Irifh trea- 
fury, and with it to erect a new front to 
thar part of the building called the 
Houfe of Lords. For this purpofe a com- 
mittee of thefe hereditary counfellors of 
the crown was appointed, and a plan and 
elevation was propofed, which was carri- 
ed into execution, and finifhed in 1791. 
This now forms the eaft front of that 
building : and had this eaftern front been 
ereéted in any place unconneéted with 
other buildings, it certainly would de- 
ferve to be celebrated, as it is compefed 
of a very handfome portico, confiiting of 
fix columns in a fancied order, nearly re- 
fembling, but not exaétly, the Corinthian. 
‘This portico has no pedeftals {pringing 
from the bafe of the column, which refts 
wpon a platform, elevated by three ftone 
as 
‘handfome baluftrade. 
reland. ’ [Jan. 
_fteps. Over this colonnade is a pediment, 
upon which is. ereéted three. ftatues 
larger than life, excellently {culptured in 
Portland fione, reprefenting W1sDOM, 
Jusrice, and Liperty. It is, how- 
ever, 2 Circumftance no lefs extraordinary 
than true, thar although this expenfive 
eaftern front was defigned for the grand 
entrance of the Lord Lieutenant, when 
he proceeds to parliament to open and 
clofe the feffions, as well as to give the 
roval affent to fuch bills as the Irifh par- 
liament enact, yet not any Lord Lieute- 
nant has ever entered the Irifh heule of 
peers through the fuperb portico fince 
thofe faid three fratues of WisDOM, 
jusTicE, and. Ligerty have _ been 
erc&ted, but, he proceeds in his ufual {tate 
through the old front, which das never. 
been decoraied with any of thofe emblems. 
To which we may add, that this hand-. 
{ome, though uncorrefponding, eaftern 
front, 1s joined to the fouth front, by an 
unmeaning heavy curtain-wall. A few 
years after this portico was raifed, the 
foufe of. Commons was refolved to have 2 
front erected io the weftward of the 
building, as if determined not to be out- 
done by the lerds ; and, accordingly, a 
eommittee of the guardians of the public 
purfe was appointed to fix and deter- 
mine upon aplen and elevation. A wef- 
tern front indeed they did ereét. But 
how ? Not like either the fouth or the 
eaft front; but one defigned by them- 
felves, forming a portico, confilting of 
four colurans of the Jonic order, and 
much inferior to thofe in the fouth; te 
which grand frent, hewever, they have 
connected it, by a range of unmeaning 
columns projeéting about fix feet beyond 
another clumfy curtain-wall. Thus is 
this once grand, and now expenfive pile 
of building, rendered, by the jarring opi- 
nions of lords and commons, one of the 
moit heterogeneous edifices ever ereéted. 
The infide of the Irifh Houle of Lords 
is fomething fimilar tothat at Weftmin- 
fier. ‘Phe wails are hang with tapiftry, 
finely executed, reprefenting King Wil- 
liam at the battle of the Boyne ; but the 
infide of the Irith Houfe of Commons is 2 
very beautiful {tru€ture of -an e¢tagonal 
form, round which there is a large and 
commodious gallery for {peCtators. Co- 
lumns which fupport a fine dome, fpring 
from this gallery, and between thofe co- 
lumns, in the front of the gallery, is an 
This Howufe of 
Commons, which is juft finithed, is, with 
a little improvement, fimilar to one 
which 
