Then canst thou, 'mid this deep silence, gaze
Unmoved at its dim, undefined rays?

No thoughts of sublime immortal themes
O'er thy spirit steal with its peaceful beams,
Of Him whose richly diffusive hand

Strew'd this host of spheres as the ocean's sand,-
Of future things that pertain to thee,

Thy home through the years of eternity?
Goole, November 1839.

J. W., JUN.

RECOLLECTION OF A DEPARTED CHILD.

My heart is lone, and once again I seek my darling's room;
But ah, the loved one is not there;-she sleeps within the tomb.
No more I view thy happy smile; yet still I seem to hear
The music of thy voice, that erst fell sweetly on my ear.
Where'er with thee I used to stray, I still delight to go,
Though each familiar thing I see renews my sense of woe.
But surely 'tis a selfish grief that makes me grieve for thee,
For thou shalt be an angel bright throughout eternity.

S. W.

MORNING.

THE blackbird sings loud from the brake in the morning,
The wild-wing'd lark carols clear from the sky;
The dew-drops the green blades of grass are adorning,
Each gem of the meadow unfoldeth its eye:
The hares in the shady lanes sportingly dally,
The partridge and pheasant fly whirringly by;

And soft comes the voice of the lambs from the valley,

"And loud caw the rooks from their rude homes on high." With the tints of the rosebud the bright east is blushing, The clouds far and near catch the warm sunny ray; O'er the landscape expansive the glory is flushing, It chases the mist from the mountain away; It ambers the skirts of the deep gloomy forest,

Where the smoke of the lone cot is curling so grey;

But the sweet-scented valley it loveth the dearest,

Where the buxom, blythe rustics are tossing the hay.

Now strong through the minstrel's heart raptures are gushing,
As he climbs to the dark rocky brow of the hill;—
Where blooms the blue heather, and wild streams are rushing,
And foaming and dashing in madness of will.

And soft steals the zephyr joy over his bosom,
In green sunny meads where the streamlet is still-
Where the elfin bee wantonly bustles each blossom,
And the heart of all nature doth lovingly thrill.

SYLVESTER.

London: R. Needham, Printer, Paternoster-Row.

GENERAL POST-OFFICE, DUBLIN.

(With an Engraving.)

THIS magnificent building stands on the west side of Sackville-street. It is two hundred and twenty-three feet in front, one hundred and fifty in depth, and three stories, or fifty feet, in height to the top of the cornice. In front is a grand portico, eighty feet wide, of six fluted pillars of the Ionic order, four feet and a half in diameter. The frieze of the entablature is highly enriched, and in the tympanum of the pediment are the Royal arms. The pediment is surmounted by three statues, executed by John Smyth, representing Hibernia resting on her spear, and holding her shield; Mercury, with his caduceus and purse, on the right; and Fidelity, with her finger on her lips, and a key in her hand, on the left. A handsome balustrade surmounts the cornice, giving an elegant finish to the whole. With the exception of the portico, which is of Portland stone, the whole is of mountain granite. The building is after a design of Francis Johnston, Esq.: the foundation-stone was laid by His Excellency, Earl Whitworth, on the 12th of August, 1815; and the whole was completed for about £50,000. The Board-room contains a white marble bust of His Excellency, over the chimney-piece.

In 1710 a Postmaster-general was appointed for the British dominions. A separate establishment was opened in Ireland in 1784, under the direction of another Postmastergeneral, which continued to 1831, when the Irish postVOL. IV. Second Series. T

office became incorporated with the English, and one Postmaster-general was appointed for Great Britain and

Ireland.

The introduction of mail-coaches has been attended with the greatest advantage to the general interests of Ireland, and has greatly improved the system of the postoffice. Previous to this, the state of the roads was such, that it generally took five or six days to perform a journey from Dublin to Cork; and it is said that persons, at that time, deemed it a matter of more serious importance to undertake a long journey through Ireland, than many do at present to undertake a voyage to America. The first mail-coaches commenced running from Dublin to Cork, and Belfast, on the 5th of July, 1790. A regular improvement in the state of the roads has continued from that time to the present, and they are now allowed to be amongst the best in Europe. Letters are now delivered at upwards of 600 towns in Ireland.

The mail-coaches for the interior of Ireland assemble in the square of the general post-office every evening, before seven; and having received the bags, they, each in turn, set out for their different destinations. They start at six o'clock on Sundays; but on that day no Irish letters are forwarded.

The departure of the coaches from the office would, by some, be deemed rather an interesting exhibition. Nine mails start every evening; viz.,-Belfast, Cork, Derry, Enniskillen, Galway, Limerick, Sligo, Waterford, and Wexford. This nightly exhibition always attracts a crowd of spectators, when the sound of the horns, the prancing of the horses, and the last adieus of friends, form, altogether, a very interesting and animated scene. In addition to the above, there are morning mails to Belfast and Kilkenny, and a mid-day mail to Cork.

The English mails are conveyed to the packet station at Kingstown, by the railway, whence they are sent by steam-packets to Holyhead;-the London mail is despatched every evening at six, and the Liverpool at five o'clock, from the general post-office; there is also a