town of Waterford; and during a few weeks' sojourn with one of my sisters in Kingstown, I had attended the Mariner's Church there, and been edified by the preaching of the Rev. Richard Brooke; I had heard both those clergymen preach openly against the then "new doctrines" of Doctors Newman and Pusey; I therefore felt anxious to hear, whether it was one of those "wolves in sheep's clothing," called "Puseyite Ministers," had the privilege of teaching religion to Queen Victoria. The day was lovely, and I found that a walk with an agreeable companion had already done much to cheer my spirits; when we arrived at the church door, my readers may judge of the surprise of Miss Moore and myself, when we were met at the door of the house of God, by a company of soldiers, with bayonets pointed at us, who said, that as we had not obtained tickets of admission the day previous, they would not let us in. The largest organs in my head are "Love of Approbation, Combativeness, and Destructiveness," and this combination of organs, when found in the heads of men, lead Phrenologists to tell them, that they will "seek the bubble reputation, even at the cannon's mouth;" my. first impulse therefore, was, -to take arms against a sea of troubles And, by opposing, end them. I had for a long time been suffering from those sources of misery, which lead people, as Shakspeare says, to commit suicide; I was tired of the world; I had experienced The oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely, The insolence of office. * Here was an opportunity for a glorious death! It was my duty, (according to my godfather and godmother's promise for me,) "to fight manfully under Christ's banner, against sin, the world, and the devil." To die fighting my way into the house of God would have been a delightful species of martyrdom! It might have been attended with such beneficial consequences to the cause of true christianity! I should have figured in all the newspapers in London the next morning, and my fame would have spread far and wide. The Head of the Church, and her benevolent Royal Consort, might have put their heads together to devise some plan for keeping the place of worship which they attended from being too crowded, without the assistance of bayonets. However, I spared them the trouble; I had left two helpless children in Ireland, who were then depending entirely on my exertions for support; Philoprogenitiveness, Conscientiousness, and Benevolence, forbade a rash act; I again took the proffered arm of my friend, and we entered the door of the first dissenting chapel we found open, where we listened to a sermon preached from the text: "Then said he unto the disciples, It is impossible but that offences will come: but woe unto him through whom they come! It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones." I had been engaged from the day previous to dine with a Mr. and Mrs. Phineas Murphy, who lived at Islington, so I parted from my kind friend, and felt myself so much better than I was in the morning, that I was able to laugh over my High Church adventure, with Mr. and Mrs. Murphy, and Miss Ardagh, a young lady from Waterford, who was then passing a few months with them. I have often thought since, that if I were head of the church, instead of Queen Victoria, the plan I should adopt to avoid the necessity of having drawn bayonets in a place of worship, would be, to take all the places of worship in London, to attend in turn. If the day were favourable for a long ride, I should rise early, and go to the more distant ones: and if the weather were rainy or snowy, I should order my coachman to stop at one or other of those nearest to Buckingham Palace. I should then so familiarize my subjects with the sight of my countenance, that I should soon cease to be "a lion" and from having an opportunity of personally observing, how all the labourers in the Lord's vineyard were doing their work; I should be able to judge for myself whom I should promote, as occasion offered, to bishoprics, and archbishoprics, without consulting my 'ministers at all. I quitted London the day after this adventure, and returned to Ireland, where I shortly afterwards obtained a situation as governess, in the family of the Rev. Richard Langford, then preaching the gospel at Miltown Malbay, in the county of Clare. I consider it one of the greatest privileges I have ever had in the course of my pilgrimage, to have passed nearly a year under the roof of that faithful servant of Christ. The eloquence of his discourses, preached with the " "sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,"* in his right hand, and not a written sermon the soothing influence of his extemporaneous family prayers; his zeal in the performance of his parochial duties, and his instructive conversation, will, I trust, never be forgotten by me; for the remembrance of them is refreshing, in this morally thirsty land. Some expenses he was obliged to enter into, to make his glebe-house habitable, prevented his retaining me in his family: but I shall never forget the morning I left his house. He read aloud the following Psalm: "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil: my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.* He then prayed extempore, that all the blessings which David enumerates in this beautiful Psalm might be my portion; and after a hasty breakfast, I parted with my kind friends, and took my seat on the mail car which was starting for the town of Ennis. Some months afterwards I emigrated with my two "olive branches" to Australia, and I have since felt frequent experience that Richard Langford's prayer for me has been answered. As I embarked from Cork, and not from London, I left Queen Victoria's dominions in the Northern Hemisphere, without seeing Her Majesty, except in pictures, and have of course exercised my observing faculties, in studying her head: which, as far as I can judge of it from a profile, is so well proportioned, that she need not be under the necessity of wearing her crown, to hide any deficiency in the development of her cranium, that Charles the Bald of France thought he was, when he always wore his crown in public to hide the deficiency of his hair. * Psalm xxiii. † Psalm cxxviii. 3. Prince Albert, as well as I can judge from a picture, has the beautiful "tète carrée," so frequently seen amongst the Germans, which is, perhaps, the most perfect formation of head, in the eyes of a Phrenologist. It is worthy of such a head to plan the great exhibition of the Industry of all nations, which is to take place next year. The head that could form such a design wants no golden crown. Prince Albert proves himself to be not only a King, but an Emperor of the creation; and Queen Victoria in giving him a command of money to carry out his plan, proves herself worthy of the compliments paid to her in the following lines, written by John Rae, Esq., of Sydney, and set to music by Professor S. H. Marsh : NATIONAL AUSTRALIAN ANTHEM. Hail to Victoria! Queen of the Ocean, As her sires have for ages its conquerors been; Hail to the favor'd one! Love and affection, Are due to a princess, so youthful as thou. Since thy people have plac'd for thy country's protection, Hail to the happy Queen, sweetest that earth has seen; Australia speaks loud of thee, Britain is proud of thee, Hail to the happy Queen! Be still as thou hast been, Live in Australia's love, live like the peaceful dove, |