Kohl's journey took him through the four provinces, including Dublin, Limerick, Waterford and Belfast. He encountered such men as Daniel O'Connell and the great temperance campaigner, Father Mathew.

He talked to beggars in their huts, gentry in their countryseats and men of religion. He visited monastic relics, archeological sites, linen factories steeple-chasing, and a range of diverse places, always reminding the readers of the poverty of the ordinary people, social injustices and the wretched conditions in the country.

His commentaries are enlivened with information about the historic context and folklore associated with the locations he visited