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appropriate, and suited to all the mountains of Kerry. Although many rivers are marked on the map, and at this season they were not likely to be dried up, yet far and wide I could no where discover even one of those little streamlets which, on our wooded German hills, trickle down in such rich fulness at every step. The moisture deposited from the atmosphere is here principally retained by the morasses, and by those large and small patches of turf I have before described; the hills must therefore be looked upon as immense sponges, which in wet seasons absorb nearly all the moisture, so that in warm weather, when the rocks become heated, the springs are drained, and only a few of them yield a supply throughout the entire year.

The furze is the principal plant that grows in the clefts and chinks of the rocks, and its yellow blossoms now marked out several patches in the dark vallies, whilst through its bushes fitted pretty little birds, to which it afforded but poor lodging. These wilds have certainly never been more thickly inhabited, nor better cultivated, than at present; nor is it probable they will be for a long time to come. Irish patriots talk of the beautiful thick woods with which their island was once covered; but the arguments which they adduce to prove this appear to rest upon some very undefined accounts and expressions of a few old writers. Small islands, like Madeira, might indeed be suddenly deprived of their timber by improvident management; but that a forest of the extent of Ireland could be so thoroughly destroyed, as to vanish from the soil, with its full-grown old trees, its roots, and its perpetuating seeds, and leave not a trace behind, seems to me more than could be accomplished in the course of many centuries, even though the inhabitants, like those of Ireland, lived in perpetual savage strife and devastating hostility. That Ireland formerly had more wood than she now has, is proved by the large trunks of trees which are frequently found in the bogs; but I must protest against the endless beautiful groves which are said to have covered these very regions of rock.

The green potato-fields were here again most charming; and equally charming were the new school-houses, which have been erected here and there in these wastes. The road itself is also quite a new work, still more so than that of Killarney, having, I believe, only been completed a year and a half. Extraordinary difficulties had to be overcome in its formation: rocks were every where to be blasted, and at the highest point it was requisite to bore a tunnel through the mountain. Besides this, a multitude of other new roads have either been completed or are now in progress in Ireland, some of which are truly wonderful.

USE OF TOBACCO.-THE PIPE OF PEACE.

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Thus far I had been the sole occupant of one entire cushioned side of the mail-car; and I was therefore well pleased that it occurred to a woman, who was also crossing the mountain, to jump up and seat herself beside me. She was a Sullivan-a

name which is as common in this part of Kerry as O'Brien is in Clare, or Blennerhasset in Tralee. The inferior members of the clan are usually called simply Sullivan, but the higher ranks O'Sullivan. Another family equally numerous here is the M'Carthys; and the woman informed me that there were few people in Kerry who were not in some way related either to the one or the other. Her own father was a Sullivan, and her mother a M'Carthy. She was smoking, and had a piece of lighted turf in her hand, which she was conveying to her husband, who was at work in a potato-garden among the rocks. Twice, when I looked at her, she immediately offered me her pipe, which I was unpolite enough to decline. To offer a pipe, and gratefully to accept it, has ever been a customary trait of Irish politeness. I would like to know how it comes, that not only in Ireland, but almost through the whole world, so much politeness is connected with this stinking tobacco. With most savages the pipe of peace is customary! A pipe is the first civility offered to a visitor in Turkey; and in Paris the cigar-case is not only placed upon the table, but is the first mark of politeness that friend offers to friend, or the host to his guest; and generally throughout the whole of civilized Europe, those are deemed very unpolite by whom this ceremony is neglected! This custom is still more observed with tobacco in that form in which it shows itself in our snuff-shops. When in Europe a person presents his snuff-box to the friend who sits beside him, the act has precisely the same meaning as when the pipe of peace goes round in the wigwam of the savage. Peace is concluded, people consider themselves friends, and converse more freely with each other. Other things we do not offer so regularly. The pipe, which soothes the mind, puts people in good humour, stops the mouth of the angry and the "prise contenance," and infuses so much mildness, alone enjoys this privilege.

At the top of the mountain Mrs. Sullivan alighted, and climbed away through the rocks, with her piece of burning turf in her hand, the smoke of which enabled me to trace her course for some time. So usual is it for the Irish labourer to have a piece of ignited turf lying beside him in the field, that wherever you find the one you may be sure the other is not far distant.

After passing through an endless variety of blasted rocks and broken stones, we at length arrived at that portion of the road where its makers, tired of winding backwards and forwards, had

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tunnelled right through the rock. Here we turned our backs on the county of Kerry, and when we issued from the southern gate of the tunnel, beheld the county of Cork, lit up by the bright rays of the sun. This, as every Irishmau informs the stranger the moment he puts his foot upon its soil, is the largest county in Ireland; and every Corkman repeats the information so long as he remains within its boundary. It contains 1,800,000 acres; whilst Louth, which is the smallest county, contains only 200,000 acres. The county of Cork has also many districts which resemble those of Kerry in wildness and want of cultivation; 1,100,000 acres, or three-fifths of the whole, are cultivated, the remainder being unimproved mountain and bog. In Kerry, 550,000 acres, or upwards of one-half, is rock and bog, while the remaining 500,000 acres are only capable of cultivation to a certain extent. The best cultivated county in Ireland is Meath, which lies to the west of Dublin, and in which, for 560,000 acres under cultivation, there are only 6000 acres unimproved. Donegal, in the north, is, on the other hand, the most uncultivated, for here there are 650,000 acres of uncultivated to 520,000 of cultivated land. Donegal, however, is the only one which exceeds Kerry in this respect. On the whole, something more than a fourth part of Ireland is waste land and bog, for in 19,944,209 acres which, according to M'Culloch, is the superficial area of Ireland, there are 14,603,473 acres cultivated and 5,340,736 waste. The average yearly rental of all the land in Ireland is 12s. 9d. per acre. In Kerry and in Donegal, however, it only averages 6s.; whilst in the county of Dublin it produces rather more than 20s.

Almost on our very entrance into the county of Cork we enjoyed another celebrated little paradise, the mountainous country of Glengariff. We descended to it by an excellent road that wound zigzag down the hills, and met innumerable cars laden with sea-sand, a product of great use in Irish agriculture. It is mixed with the cold clay and the acrid bog by spreading it over the ploughed land, and afterwards harrowing it in. The Irish say, "the sea-sand cuts up the clay." Being so serviceable, it is frequently conveyed, by carts or boats, distances of fifteen or twenty miles; and were it not for this ingredient much land in Ireland would be altogether unproductive. As excellent roads now afford great facility for inland transport, they will thus in no slight degree contribute to the better cultivation of the country. The sea-sand of Bantry Bay, which is called "coral sand" by the people, is said to be of a very superior quality: it consists principally of broken muscle shells, and contains some particles of lime.

BANTRY BAY.-AN OYSTER APPETITE. ED 141

Numerous beautiful trees, in which some pretty country-seats are embosomed, enrich the valleys of Glengariff; and the bay on which the little village lies, is studded with islands like the lakes of Killarney. These islands have exactly the same peculiarities as those of Killarney, being covered with bog-stuff, furze-bushes, and occasional thickets; and as they are of all sizes, the bay appears as if it were full of great whales.

This is the renowned Bantry Bay, so spacious, so deep, so sheltered on every side, and so calm, that all the fleets in the world might here ride at anchor in perfect safety. It was in this bay that the French attempted to land towards the close of the last century; here also, according to Moore, the colonists from Spain landed upwards of a thousand years before; and it was probably to this bay that the Phoenicians resorted in times of yore. Irish writers, who believe in a colonization from Spain, find many points of similarity between this western extremity of Ireland and Gallicia, the opposite north-western extremity of Spain, and are of opinion that a constant and direct communication by sea formerly existed between the Bay of Corunna and Bantry Bay. According to the old traditions cited by Moore, the Spaniards sailed over in so short a time, that, in order to render it credible, it is also necessary to suppose that a stronger current must at that period have set between these two points than is now known to prevail in any part of the world.

The views of the bay from our mountain roads were charming; and equally so were those from the road around the bay, into which several little rivers flow, while several arms of the sea stretch into the land. These we crossed by ivy-mantled bridges. The little islands, between which the barks of the fishermen were sailing backwards and forwards, were also exceedingly pleasing. Some of the steep promontories which jutted out into the sea were covered with potato-gardens to the very summits, whilst others were equally covered with turf. In a little creek we found a boat laden with oysters, which are very plentiful on the western coasts of Ireland; and for sixpence we obtained such an abundant supply of them, that some of our party ate too many, and were consequently very much indisposed on their arrival in Bantry. Apropos of oysters: whenever I ate oysters in Ireland, a story was always told me respecting a certain gentleman who, being recommended by his physician to take a few oysters before dinner, in order to sharpen his appetite, afterwards complained to the doctor that although he devoured a hundred every day before dinner, he did not find his appetite a bit better than before! As this story was invariably told every time I ate oysters I cannot attribute it

to chance, and must therefore set it down as a national Irish oyster anecdote.

CHAPTER

V.

BANTRY, AND A VISIT TO IRISH BEGGARS.

COMPLAINTS OF THE FISHERMEN-A CASTLE WRAPPED IN PAPER-TEMPERANCE ANECDOTE-TESTIMONIES FOR TEMPERANCE-MARY SULLIVAN --IRISH GREETINGS—“ THANKS TO The great gOD"-" GOD SAVE YOU KINDLY”—THe beggar's huT—A MOTHER'S LOVE-TOBACCO INDISPENSABLE TO FEMALES-"GOD SPEED YE."

Bantry is a pretty little town, and methinks all towns that lie upon the sea are generally pretty. Ruin, dilapidation, sluggishness, poverty, disorder, and filth are less met with on the sea-coast than in the interior of countries. The sea is in its very nature refreshing, inciting, enlivening, and beneficial. The town is situated on a small handsome bay which branches off from the large one. Bantry was at one time celebrated for its fisheries, but the fishermen, like many others in Europe, now complain that the fish is no longer so abundant, either because it has greatly diminished in quantity, or taken another direction. When we every where hear these lamentations over the diminished productiveness of fisheries of every description, from the herring to the whale, it is natural to inquire whence it has arisen, and also whether it is not probable that, eventually, we shall have no fish to eat except such as we can breed and fatten in our pouds. Our fishermen are themselves destroying our fish not less effectually than our sportsmen are destroying our game, the waters being much freer to every one than the land, and the fish being much less protected in the breeding season than the feathered race. Whilst, however, the taking of fish is diminishing, that of sea-sand is on the increase. Formerly, only a few boats were employed in this branch of commerce, but now the number of little barks which fish up the coral sand on the sand banks amounts to some hundreds, so that even a new quay, at which we saw them lying in a long row, has been built for their use alone. The increased exertions for the improvement and extension of Irish agriculture is the cause of the great prosperity of this trade.

Even here there is no scarcity of beggars or of rags, as we found when we arrived at the fish-market, which is a walled-in court, surrounded by fish-stands. Scarcely had my companions and 1 entered it than we were accosted by twenty or thirty