The Prince fancies his domestic
while she minds me no more than if I was a wellorganized piece of mechanism, by whose motions her pencil was to be guided.What if, with all her genius, this creature had no heart I And what were it to me, though she had ? government to be purely patriarchal, and that he is at once the ” Law and the Prophet” to his family; never suspecting that he is all the time governed by a girl of eighteen, whose nature, notwithstanding the playful softness of her maimer, contains a latent ambition, which, sometimes breathing in the elevation of her sentiments, and sometimes flashing in the haughti ness of her eye, seems to say, was born to ruleTIt is evident that her mind is naturally stronger than her father’s, though, to a common observer, he would appear a man of masculine understanding; but the difference between them is thisbis energies are the energies of the passionshers of the intellect!
Like most other Princes, mine is governed much by favouritism; and it is evident I already rank high on the list of partialities.I perceive, however, that much of his predilection in my favour arises from the coincidence of my present curiosity and taste with his favourite pursuits and national prejudices. Newly awakened perhaps by mere force of novelty to a lively interest for every thing that concerns a country I once thought so little worthy of consideration; in short, convinced by the analogy of existing habits with recorded customs of the truth of those circumstances so generally ranked in the apocryphal tales of the history of this vilified country, I have determined to resort to the evidence of time, to the light of truth, and the corroboration of living testimony, in the study of a country which I am beginning to think would afford to philosophy a rich subject of analysis, and to poetry a splendid series of romantic detail.M Sir William Temple’ says Dr. Johnson ” complains that Ireland is less known than any other country, as to its ancient state, becausthe natives have little leisure, and less encouragement, for inquiry ; and that a stranger not knowing its language, has no ability.” Well, this impediment, however, shpll not stand in the way of one stranger, who is willing to offer up his national prejudices at the Altar of Truth, and expiate the crime of an unfounded but habitual antipathy, by an impartial examination and an unbiassed inquiry. In short, I have actually begun to study the Irish language;