| Description of Travel Account |
This is not an actual travel narrative. Written for younger readers, it recounts the adventures of a didactic figure – ‘a gentleman of considerable literary but very extensive scientific knowledge’ (p. 1) – accompanied by two young charges, aged about sixteen. They embark on a tour of Europe, starting from England and Wales, and taking in Ireland (chapter 3), Iceland, Scotland, Scandinavia, Russia, Prussia, Germany, Switzerland, Holland, France and the main Mediterranean countries as far as Turkey. Early on, the parameters are set: ‘we travel for mental improvement’ and ‘our perambulations must not extend far out of the beaten track’ (p. 2). The Irish part of the account adheres to this programme, concentrating on familiar destinations and topics: Dublin, Wicklow, Dunmore, Waterford, Cork, Killarney, Killaloe, Limerick, Westmeath, Longford, the Giant’s Causeway, Lough Neagh, are all featured, together with sections on Salmon, Irish Bogs, the ‘Mouse’ Deer and Wakes. An engraving of the ‘Giants Causeway’ (p. 70) is the only one of the 13 illustrations which relates to Ireland. |
