meal, but how to eat it in clean clothes, with a clean knife and fork, off a clean table-cloth; in short, with a probationary pay of a shilling a-day, they were undergoing the agreeable process of being introduced to a new system of life, in which they were not only to display good behaviour, but, like Falstaff's wit, to be the cause of good behaviour in others.

Here, again, the members of the two religions were intermingled in most happy communion, and, as one large mealy potato after another disappeared, it was utterly impossible for the keenest observer even to guess whether they had been devoured before his eyes by a Protestant or by a Catholic; indeed, so easily are these recruits made to harmonise together on this point, that on Friday they, as well as the whole of the Police force, often comfortably dine together on fish; in short, the prejudices which great statesmen fancy to be insuperable, they readily annihilate by mastication.

The bed-rooms were lofty, airy, with floors as clean as women's hands could make them: in fact, it is by the hands of old women, hired by the force, that they are cleaned. After going through several, we came to those in which a hundred men who had been on nightduty were lying, with nearly closed shutters, fast asleep.

On opening these doors and standing for a few seconds at the threshold, I beheld before me, in twilight, under bed-clothes, a series of large lumps of men, all apparently more or less exhausted by fatigue. Here and there a very great eye would open-stare a little-gradually become fishy-and then close. Occasionally a pair would unequally open, until the owner of one

set, as if half aghast, actually raised his huge head from his pillow. Not wishing to disturb the poor fellow, I instantly slowly retired backwards, leaving him to recite to his comrades in the morning, that he had dreamt he had distinctly seen "the Colonel" gazing at him, accompanied by an inquisitive stranger, who appeared to be taking his picture.

In a very neat small room I visited a 1st class serjeant, who, besides possessing a wife and daughter of very pleasing appearance, has a couple of hundred pounds in the savings-bank. On his table I observed a large bible, and as the good book, I felt sure, had had something to do with the sum that had been saved, I ascertained on inquiry that the Protestant members of the Dublin Police have in savings-banks no less a sum than 20,000l.

As in the Constabulary, no married man is admitted into the corps; nor is any member of it afterwards allowed to marry unless he is the possessor of 401; the first thing, therefore, that Cupid has to teach a Dublin policeman is to put by a sixpence, to repeat the operation sixteen hundred times, and then apply for his licence.

To the force is attached a fire brigade, with a magnificent engine, under the especial direction of an acting serjeant, fourteen firemen (from the mounted police), and twenty of the recruits who work the pumps.

At one of the police-stations, in Chancery-lane, a narrow, crooked, old-fashioned street, in olden times the official residence of the Attorney and Solicitor Generals, and other crown lawyers, I visited the lockup houses, in which I found only one tenant, a respect

ably dressed man, well known to Col. Brown, who had unfortunately happened to become so intoxicated that he could with difficulty articulate an explanation, which, as it slowly came out of his mouth, was apparently thicker than his whole body. Adjoining him in a corner of the yard reposed a hand-stretcher, with a canvas bottom, for the purpose of bringing to the station any one who-without metaphor-might be found in the streets dead-drunk.

I learnt, on inquiry, that drunken men assist not a little in removing from the police any hostile feelings among each other on the score of religion; for as in their madness these delinquents attack Catholics and Protestants with equal violence, the parties assailed are absolutely forced to join together for mutual self-defence, and thus vicious habits and brutal conduct are productive under Providence of beneficial results.

As I had now gone through all the district and barrack details, I had only to witness the force, or rather a large portion of it, that had been drawn up for inspection in that large hollow quadrangle in the interior of the Castle, in the centre of which there stands, guarded by a sentinel always pacing up and down beside it, the British flag, affixed not to a lofty, but to an ordinary hand-staff.

This powerful body of tall men, who appear to be considerably stouter than the slight active members of the constabulary, were dressed as nearly as possible like their brothers in London; that is to say, they had black hats, covered at top with black patent leather— whalebone side-guards covered with the same; blue coats with silver buttons, hard black stocks, blue

trousers, black leather waistbelt, white gloves, and boots. The only trifling difference, as I could observe, was, that the figures and letters distinguishing the division and number of each policeman are in Dublin in silver, instead of, as in London, in white cotton.

In appearance they are clean, and well set up; and as they marched and countermarched about the square of old-fashioned buildings that environed us, their heavy tread unequivocally explained their momentum or physical force.

MY TOUR.

FIRST DAY.

DURING the few days I was in Dublin, I perceived that it was not only agreed upon by everybody I had the happiness to converse with that I ought to make a tour in Ireland, but everybody was obliging enough to tell me exactly where I ought to proceed. "You must go to Cork," said one; "Belfast is the place that You should visit," said another. All said "Of course you'll go to KILLARNEY!" After gratefully thanking everybody for their kind endeavours to steer a compassless and rudderless bark into its proper harbour, I asked - as it were quite incidentally-in what part of Ireland was to be seen the greatest amount of poverty and misery; and as almost everybody, in reply, named the counties of Mayo and Galway, in the secret chamber of my mind I quietly determined that, without saying a word to any one, I would make my tour in that direction. Everybody was so obliging, that I believe I could have obtained a sackfull of letters of introduction; and like a postman, could have spent the whole of my time in delivering them. On reflection, however, I considered that, instead of going to strange people who would often encumber me with help, the best mode of summarily obtaining the simple information I desired would be to get an order to the consta