[The following most interesting and valuable communinication is from the pen of an English Protestant lady; it was written for publication in an English periodical, but we think it finds a more fitting place in THE IRISH QUARTERLY REVIEW. It possesses a peculiar interest for Irish Catholic readers, and we believe that very much of the information contained in it, will be new to but too many of our fellowcountrymen and countrywomen.-ED.]

A

GLANCE AT IRISH CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS. To the Editor of The Irish Quarterly Review.

December, 1857. Perhaps a slight sketch of different Schools, and Charitable Institutions I have visited, during a recent tour in Ireland with some relatives, may be interesting to your readers.

Many of these Institutions, as may naturally be expected in that country, have been established by different religious orders existing among the Roman Catholics for the relief and assistance of the destitute and suffering classes of the population, the majority of whom belong to that faith.

As the constitution of these orders and the purposes for which they were founded are perhaps but little known in England, it will not be irrelevant to the subject to insert the following particulars forwarded to me through the kindness of a friend.

There are several orders of Nuns in Ireland. Some are cloistered, who never leave the precincts of their convent after having taken their vows. Among them the Carmelites are governed by rules far stricter than those in force in any other order. They never see or converse with any persons but those belonging to the convent, except through a grating. They dress entirely in serge and never use linen, not even for sleeping, except during severe illness. Until lately they only took one meal a day, and never ate meat at all; but the present Archbishop of Dublin has released the Carmelite nuns from obedience to this rule, and now they take the regular number of meals, and eat meat three times a-week, In order to make up, as it were, for this indulgence, they have opened an additional school for 500 poor children, for they consider that if they fare better they must work harder.

I did not make the acquaintence of any ladies belonging to this order, but we visited a convent of cloistered nuns (the order of the Visitation) in the neighbourhood of Dublin in which we found the sisters engaged in their schools, and they appeared perfectly happy, and contented with their lot. But the nuns whose acquaintance we had chiefly the pleasure of making, belonged to the sisterhoods of Charity and Mercy, who differ from other religious orders, in being able to leave their convents whenever the objects, to which they have devoted their lives, require them to do so. They also, unlike other orders, visit the sick, and undertake the management of hospitals.

The foundation of both these orders is of comparatively recent date, the former having been organized by a Mrs.* Aikenhead, a lady of Cork (who is still alive), in 1815; and the latter by Mrs. M'Auley, in 1827. These orders have spread so rapidly that their convents have been established all over Ireland, and so far as regards the sisterhood of Mercy, in several other parts of the world. Very possibly · (but of this I am not sure), the sisters of Charity may also have establishments in foreign countries.

Both these orders have the same object in view, i. e. the amelioration and relief of the sick and destitute, the education of the poor, and the reformation of the vicious. "Miss M'Auley," says the friend whom I have before mentioned, "resided with a wealthy gentleman and his wife in Dublin, as companion. The fidelity with which she watched over their interests, and the general sweetness of disposition she evinced, on all occasions, towards them, so won upon the hearts of this good couple, that they were induced, when dying, to bequeath her their entire property, well aware in what manner she would dispose of it, her love for, and devotion to, the poor (particularly unprotected young women) having been so evident during her residence with them."

The benevolent intentions of the two foundresses have been admirably carried into execution by both sisterhoods, who work unceasingly at their labour of love.

It must also be understood that the house work in all convents, except the very rough cleaning, is almost always performed by the sisters themselves; and that not only are

Mrs. is the title given to nuns in Ireland, whether they are mar

ried or not.

these various charitable institutions, (many different ones being carried on in the same conveat,) superintended, but, if I may use the expression, worked by the Nuns.

The first school I visited in Ireland was in the convent of St. Mary of the Isles, at Cork, belonging to the Sisters of Charity, where, besides a school for poor children, there is an asylum for destitute female orphans, in which the pupils are received, clothed, and educated. They are instructed in the duties of domestic servants, and at a proper age are placed out in situations.

In Dublin we visited several convents; one in Baggotstreet, the parent house of the Sisters of Mercy, and the one in which Mrs. M'Auley commenced her charitable labours by establishing an asylum for the protection of females of good character. It now contains several institutions under its roof. Firstly, a National School, that is, a school in connexion with the Board of Commissioners of National Education in Ireland. Every school in that country which is either directly under the management of the Board, or which being managed by local Trustees or Patrons is inspected and assisted by the Commissioners, must be thrown open to children of every Christian denomination. Religious instruction must be amply provided for; but no child is obliged to be present during these lessons unless it is so desired by its parents or guardians; and in schools only assisted by the Commissioners, if the managers do not choose to admit the religious teachers of the different denominations into the school-house, which all those "vested for the purposes of National Education" are compelled to do (of course under regulations of time and convenience), they must allow their pupils to absent themselves at reasonable times for the purpose of receiving religions instruction elsewhere. These admirable regulations, which are faithfully carried into practice, have rendered it possible for persons of any denomination to become either patrons, managers, or teachers of National Schools. The Commissioners have thus demonstrated that with judicious. rules, honestly enforced, the two religions whose antagonism bas so long been, aye, which still is the bane of Ireland, may exist together in harmony. Let us, therefore, hope that if the admirable example of the National Board of Education be followed generally in the country, religious