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upon having his rent. On the other hand, it must

be remembered that the landlords are sometimes inconsiderate; for very often they do not live in Ireland, and employ agents to collect the rents; therefore, they do not know so much as they ought about their tenants, and sometimes order rents to be raised rather unfairly.

Every now and then the Irish get discontented at being under the dominion of the English, and rebel against the Queen. Lately there have been several uproars, caused by men called Fenians, who have persuaded others to join them in endeavouring to upset the English power; several have been caught and punished.

The Queen sends a gentleman to govern Ireland for her, who is called the Lord Lieutenant; and Irishmen sit in the Parliament at Westminster, so really the country is ruled by Irishmen as well as Englishmen; and the Fenians seem to be people who more desire their own advantage than the real good of their country. The chief cause of poverty and misery in Ireland is whisky. Nearly all the poor people drink too much, and even some of the rich.

I heard a story of a gentleman who had £1,000 a year; and yearly, as soon as it was paid, started off on a journey in a carriage with four horses; but before the end of the year he always returned, ragged and on foot, having spent his money on drink; and sold, first one horse and then another, to pay his way.

The Irish poor have very curious customs at

funerals. When any one dies, all his relations dress very smartly, and invite their friends to what they call "a wake;" there they drink, and sing, and howl, as they call it, for grief. Sometimes the whisky drinking produces quarrels. I heard of a wake where one of the mourners was killed in a drunken fight, so then there was another "wake" for him. When the body is buried, crowds of people follow it to the tomb, howling and yelling.

The Irish are not very particular about speaking the truth; they like to flatter, and to say civil things. On the other hand, they have very good points; they are very generous and unselfish, and well-mannered, and most hospitable to strangers. All school-masters would like, I think, to teach Irish children; for they are so quick and yet thoughtful, seldom giving random answers.

Religion. Most of the Irish are Roman Catholics; but there are some Protestants, and a good many Protestant churches.

There are more Protestants in the north than the south, because there are a good many Scotch families. in the north.

Education.-There are many schools in Ireland, a university at Dublin for gentlemen, and a college at Maynooth, where priests are educated.

Principal Divisions.—Ireland is divided into four great bits Ulster, Munster, Leinster, and Connaught; and these again are divided into thirtytwo counties.

The capital city is Dublin, on the river Liffey, in the county of Dublin. The Irish talk of

County Antrim or County Down, not simply Antrim or Down.

Dublin is a beautiful town, not nearly so large as London, but, in some ways, handsomer, for the squares and streets are wide, and there are few dirty alleys, and narrow crooked streets. There are many churches-some Roman Catholic and some Protestant; beautiful shops; many public houses—too many. The cabs are most of them not like English ones, but open carriages, with the seats placed sideways; they are called cars. Some of the drivers make a great noise, yelling and shouting to their horses, which they call "encouraging" them.

There is a splendid park in Dublin, where people go and walk and make pleasure parties. There is no park anything like the size in London.

Another large city is Cork, in County Cork; there numbers of pigs are sent off for sale to other countries.

Belfast, in County Antrim, is another big town; there flax is spun into yarn.

Scenery. In the south of Ireland there are beautiful lakes, called the Lakes of Killarney.

FRANCE.

ONE hour and a half spent on the water will take us from Dover to the "sunny land of France," as it is called. However, though the distance is so short between England and France, you could not for a moment fancy you were still in England. Everything is different-language of course, although

there are a good many English people at Calais, where the boat will land us after our passage across the Straits of Dover.

The dress of the poor people is different. We shall not see any dirty silk gowns trailing along the muddy street, nor hats with faded feathers. No, all the peasant women will have beautifully clean white caps and rather short dresses. Their little boys will be in comfortable loose pinafores.

We shall not see so much pasture-land as in England, but great quantities of corn-fields; and besides corn-fields, vineyards, for a great deal of wine is made in France.

The towns are not so clean as English towns, as far as the streets are concerned, but the cottages are cleaner, and the people live very comfortably, for they do not waste anything. A Frenchwoman keeps an iron pot standing under her grate, and into it she throws little scraps of meat, vegetables, and odds and ends, which many English people would throw away, but which make capital soup.

The French are very polite; they always say "Good morning, sir," or "ma'am," as the case may be, when they go in or out of a shop, and never say anything rude and uncivil. Men do a good deal of work which in England is done by women, such as cooking the dinners, making the beds, and sweeping the floors. The French are very merry, and like plenty of amusement.

Paris, on the river Seine, is the capital. A beautiful city it is, with splendid public gardens, wide walks, and beautiful shops. The people of Paris

have hitherto been remarkable for spending a great deal of time in amusements, and Paris has been usually one of the gayest cities in Europe. But latterly the troubles caused by the German war have cast a gloom over the city. But the natural temper of the Parisians is gay, and probably before long Paris will again be one of the most cheerful towns on the Continent.

The French are fond of change. They have ruled their country in all manner of ways-sometimes they have governed themselves, sometimes they have had a king. The kings of France have not been very firm on their thrones; one was put to death in the year 1793 by the people for no fault of his; since which there have been several changes of government, the latest monarch being styled an emperor, who reigned for about twenty years, till 1870, when he was deposed because he was unsuccessful in the late war with Germany, and now there is a republic again. Another large town in France is Lyons, where silk is made and sent to all parts of Europe.

Marseilles, in the south of France, is the port from which vessels on their way to India sail. Many English people who are going to India travel through France to Marseilles, and embark there instead of starting from Southampton. Rivers.-Seine, Loire, Garonne, Rhone. Mountains.-Alps, between France and Italy; Pyrenees, between France and Spain.

Government.-A Republic.

Religion.-Roman Catholic, but other religions are allowed, and there are a good many Protestants.

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