DOWN.

Down is a maritime county, and contains 936 English square miles. In the centre of it the Mourne mountains, the second in point of height in Ireland, rear their lofty summits;* and this grand feature produces a very striking difference in regard to some parts of the county. To the north of these mountains, and on the western side of it, comprehending Hillsboro, Banbridge, Moyallan, and round towards Newry, the land is in a high state of cultivation, and inhabited by a middle class of opulent manufacturers, whose appearance and condition would do credit to any country in Europe. Their habitations are well built, display great neatness, and are all white-washed. The whole tract is embellished with plantations; and whether owing to the wealth created by the linen manufacture, or the trade carried on at Belfast and Newry, every thing exhibits evident signs of increased population and industry. The banks of the rivers Bann and Laggan are covered with bleachfields, and present that cheerful and pleasing scenery which characterizes a manufacturing country, and excites in the mind an idea of improved civilization. The whiteness of the linen spread out on these fields, contrasted with the greenness of the surrounding sward, produces an effect on the eye not easily described; and the concomitant objects, added to the bustle and activity of the people employed, render the whole scene most interesting. From such favoured spots, every appearance of that misery and wretchedness, which prevail where industry has not yet extended its beneficial influence, are completely banished.

Tullymore Park, belonging to Lord Roden and Rostrevor, a celebrated bathingplace, which is considered the Brighton of Ireland, are both highly extolled, on account of their romantic scenery. Rostrevor consists of a wooded bank, on a small arm of the sea, which stretches into the country from Carlingford Bay, and has behind it the Mourne mountains. I had no opportunity of seeing these places, and have mentioned them only from the report of others. Sir Richard Hoare has described them minutely.+

All the views of Belfast Lough are on a grand scale. The opposite shore towards Larne, in the county of Antrim, being a rising ground, is studded with white-washed houses, inhabited by a numerous class of people, who have acquired opulence, and all its attendant comforts, by commercial pursuits. The Lough itself is filled with

Slieve Donard, in Down, commonly called the Mountains of Mourne, rise to the height of 2809 feet above the level of the sea, according to the account given to me by Mr. Herbert, of Carneine, near Killarney.

vessels, some with their sails spread, pursuing their course home from distant lands; and others lying at anchor near the town of Belfast, taking in cargoes for a foreign market; while the town itself, appearing as it were, depressed, at the end of the Lough, forms a most interesting object. The whole surface of this county, like the greater part of the cultivated portion of Ireland, is uneven.

FERMANAGH.

Fermanagh contains 694 English square miles. The grand feature in the face of this county is Lough Erne, which stretches throughout its whole length, forming two large lakes in places embayed by mountains; which, in some parts, extend to the edge of the water, and in others receding from it, are seen at a distance. Both sides of this noble sheet of water are, therefore, hilly and uneven; but the country towards Leitrim, forms one extensive range of mountains, of which Belmore, swelling out its massy sides towards the lake, is the most conspicuous. There are several other lakes of inferior size in this county, and a great many magnificent seats, which are highly worthy of notice; such as Castle-Cool, Florence Court, Castle Archdall, Castle Caldwell, Brookboro, Belleisle, Crum, &c.

In the course of my tour I travelled from Farnham, near Cavan, to Belleisle; passing through the towns of Butler's- Bridge, Wattle's-Bridge, and Maguire'sBridge. Lough Erne, which was on my left, is not seen here to advantage. On the south side of it there is a range of hills; and I remarked that the hills here are disposed more in ridges than in Cavan, though it equally abounds with them. It struck me, also, that this part of the country did not appear to be so thickly strewed with cabins or cottages.

Belleisle, when I was there, belonged to Sir Richard Hardinge, in right of his lady; but it has since been sold to Mr. Hannington. The mansion is small, and situated on a woody island, which is accessible by means of a causeway and a bridge, consisting of one arch. The island contains 112 acres. Adjacent to it is another island, nearly of the same extent; and both exhibit a most agreeable prospect, being covered with thriving woods of ash, oak, beech, and firs. The house fronts the south, and has before it a neat lawn, ornamented with gravel-walks and plantations. Immediately before it, at the distance of about three miles, stands a green hill, called Knockninny, which was formerly a deer park, but is now let as a farm. Behind this hill the scenery consists of a greenish mountain, which appears to be cultivated to a certain height; and connected on the right with a ridge of much higher black mountains, the termination of which becomes lost in the horizon. Immediately to the westward, within about a quarter of a mile of West Island, is a range of eleven other islands, all covered to the water's-edge with timber, which stretches directly

across the lake. On the left, in this view from the house, the lake appears too narrow, and to possess less beauty than the western side, which I have described.

On the 30th of August, 1808, I enjoyed the pleasure of a most delightful waterexcursion on Lough Erne, which is still fresh in my memory; but I regret that my talent for description is little calculated to do justice to scenes which would require a more lively imagination than I possess, and a much more animated pen. As the party intended to visit Crum, a small lodge ten miles distant, belonging to Lord Erne, we attempted to direct our vessel to the south-east of the old castle, which stands on the main land, and of which little now remains; but it is celebrated for a most extraordinary ewe-tree, throwing out its branches to the enormous distance of forty-five feet. Unfortunately the wind was against us; and after beating about the lake for three hours, to the southward of Knockninny, we were reluctantly obliged to return, heartily fatigued; but compensated, in some measure, for our disappointment, by the beauty of the surrounding scenery. The views on the lake are indeed delightful, and very different from those which you enjoy during a ride on the land. The eye being very little elevated above the surface of the lake, the shores appear as if emerging from the water. The island of Belleisle, with its white mansion, surrounded by thick plantations, is the first striking object that occurs; and the eye is afterwards attracted by the other wooded islands, stretching in a semicircular direction across the widest part of the lake; and by the black mountains of great height, which rise directly beyond them. Although the sun shed his rays with great brightness, a blue mist, rising from the summits of these salubrious ridges, and apparently reaching the skies, gave a romantic and picturesque cast to the whole scene; and suggested to my mind some of those sublime passages which occur in the works of a northern poet.*

These islands lie at various distances from each other, some of them being half a mile apart. Sir Richard Hardinge says, the passages between them are as wide, and, he thinks, very similar to, the Straits of Sunda, in the East Indies. We sailed through some of them, and landed on one of the islands, called Kelligowan, which

* This natural phenomenon, so common in hilly countries, gives rise to some beautiful allusions and similies in the works of Ossian. "The sun looked forth from his cloud. The hundred streams of Moilena shone. Slow rose the blue columns of mist against the glittering hill." Temora, book viii. Poems of Ossian, Laing's edit. 1805, vol. ii. p. 248. "But they themselves are like two rocks in the midst; each with its dark head of pines, when they are seen in the desert, above low-sailing mist." Temora, b. v. ib. vol. ii. p. 146. "On Lena's dusky heath they stand, like mist that shades the hills of Autumn; broken and dark it settles high, and lifts its head to heaven." Fingal, b. i. ib. vol. i. p. 14. "My hair is the mist of Gromla, when it curls on the hill; when it shines to the beam of the west." Ibid, ib. p. 21. "It bends behind like a wave near a rock; like the sun-streaked mist of the heath." Ibid, ib. p. 29.

contains forty acres of land, and produces oak, ash, firs, willows, and hazel, of an extraordinary size, intermixed with briars and underwood, that reach to the very edge of the water. Beyond this appeared another island, far more extensive, called Ennismore, and containing 1400 acres. Among these islands, the scene is continually varying in all directions; the expanse of water is completely lost, and in many places the appearance is exactly the same as that which occurs to those sailing either up or down a large river, bordered by woody banks, and pursuing its sluggish course amidst distant mountains. Yet these reaches are short; and in a moment, on turning round a point of land, you are suddenly and unexpectedly astonished by a wide expanse of water spread out before you; and numerous wooded islands, like clumps of trees, emerging from the bosom of the lake. The fresh green colour of Knockninny, Belleisle, and the West Island, together with the distant prospect of the Black Mountain, form a delightful assemblage of objects, in which the softer beauties of nature are so blended with the sublime, as to excite a sensation of pleasure, mixed with surprise and astonishment. In a word, the beauties of Lough Erne charm by their variety, and the continued change of scenery.

Castle Coole, which deserves the appellation of a palace, is a double house with extensive wings, and was built after a design by Wyatt, of Portland stone, brought hither by the father of the present Earl of Belmore, in 1791. It cost 90,000l.; but it stands on a lawn very much confined, and unfortunately has too few views of the Lough. The mountains, however, to the south and south-west of the lake, are seen to great advantage from different parts of the grounds; and the town of Enniskillen appears at some distance.

In proceeding from Belleisle, to Florence Court, I found the road, as far as Enniskillen, very rugged and uneven, and the country well covered with wood; in consequence of the tenure being renewable under the bishopric of Clogher, which prevents the tenants from cutting down timber. Enniskillen Enniskillen opens to view in a very fine manner, and with great effect. The hill which appears above it, was formerly planted; but a French engineer, sent over by Lord Pelham, cleared it of wood, and constructed on it a fort. After it was built, "no ghost was wanted to tell him," that it was completely commanded by an adjoining hill, the elevation of which is much greater.

The road from Enniskillen to Florence Court, is not so hilly as in some other parts; but excepting the trees planted around gentlemen's seats, it is entirely destitute of wood. From neither of the roads is there any view of the lake. Florence Court stands at the bottom of a mountain, called Cuha, and fronts the north-west. The Jawn is of considerable size, and the plantations in the demesne are very extensive. The ash-trees rise to a great height; and had the woods been thinned when they were young, many of them would have attained to a considerable growth. Some

large trees, however, may be seen at the extremities. The prospect behind the house is by far the best; as the mountains present a diversified appearance, those which consist of lime-stone being green; and the rest, which are covered with heath, black and dusky.

Proceeding to Ross Clear, the point of a peninsula stretching out into Lough Erne, and standing above the woody islands with which it is studded, I called at Ross Fadd, the residence of Major Richardson, which is within sight of Castle Archdall. The latter is situated on an elbow of the lake, and seems to be surrounded by beautiful plantations. Taking advantage of a full view, which I here had of the lake, and surveying with great attention that extensive sheet of water, I found that the account given of it by Mr. Arthur Young is perfectly correct, except in regard to the woods. Among these the axe has made dreadful havoc; whereas, in his time, the opposite hills were all covered with timber.

In his Tour through Ireland, in 1780, he gives the following description of Castle Caldwell, which I only saw at a distance. "Nothing can be more beautiful than the approach to Castle Caldwell; the promontories of thick wood which shoot into Lough Erne, under the shade of a great ridge of mountains, have the finest effect imaginable. As soon as you are through the gates, turn to the left about two hundred yards, to the edge of the hill, where the whole domain lies beneath the point of view. It is a promontory three miles long, projecting into the lake, a beautiful assemblage of wood and lawn; one end a thick shade, the other grass, scattered with trees and finishing with wood. A bay of the lake breaks into the eastern end, where it is perfectly wooded. There are six or seven islands, and among them that of Bow, three miles long and one and a half broad; yet they have a noble sweep of water, bounded by the great range of Turaw mountains. To the right the lake takes .the appearance of a fine river, with two large islands in it; the whole unites to form one of the most glorious scenes I ever beheld. Rode to the little hill above Michael Macguire's cabin; here the two great promontories of wood join in one, but open in the middle, and give a view of the lake quite surrounded with woods, as if a distant water; beyond are the islands scattered over its face, nor can any thing be more picturesque than the bright silver surface of the water breaking through the dark shades of wood. Around the point on which we stood the ground is rough and rocky, wild and various; forming no bad contrast to the brilliant scenery in view.

Crossing some of this undressed ground, we came to a point of a hill above Paddy Macguire's cabin; here the lake presents great sheets of water, breaking beyond the woody promontories and islands in the most beautiful manner. At the bottom of the declivity, at your feet, is a creek, and beyond it the lands of the domain, scattered with noble woods, that rise immediately from the water's edge. The house, almost obscured among the trees, seems a fit retreat from every care