fancy or imagination within us. We try the phenomena of Nature by the standard of our air-castle building fancy, and are then dissatisfied with the reality. Do we remain, however, within our human limits-do we visit, in the modest consciousness of our weakness, those scenes which exceed all the powers as well of the mind as of the body, they cannot fail to make a mighty impression upon us. From this point of view, and not in comparison with Utopian things, which may perhaps exist on other planets, but with those which actually exist here on earth, I must say that your Benmore is unquestionably one of the most wonderful, magnificent, and remarkable things any one can behold." The Irish are all very desirous that the traveller should be satisfied with every thing in their fatherland, and that he should bestow becoming admiration on every thing. They are fond of hearing the praises of the traveller, and they expect them. This is because they seldom see travellers in their country, and therefore feel themselves honoured by their visits, as well as because they are most friendly towards strangers, and, as it were, enamoured of their fatherland. The Misses M'Donnell, therefore, who had been anxiously waiting my return, were content with my report, and retired to bed perfectly gratified. CHAPTER XXXVII. THE GIANT'S CAUSEWAY. CASTLES-CARAIG-A STORM-PUFFING-HOLES-DUNNING AND KENBAAN DISAPPOINTMENT-BASALTIC STRATA, OCHRE, CLAY-SLATE, COAL-BED- Next day I set out for the Giant's Causeway. The wind was still blowing and roaring from the north, with the same violence' as it now had for some days. It dashed against the steep, rugged cliffs, it howled skywards up the rocks, in immense arches it again' descended on the road I was travelling, and in long-drawn, lofty ROCKS AND RUINS.-PRIMITIVE BRIDGE. 389 waves, greater probably than all the waves ever formed on an ocean of water, it billowed along through the ocean of the atmosphere; for though all these currents of the air were less visible and perceptible than the corresponding commotions of the waters, they nevertheless existed for all that. On the coast I observed many "puffing-holes," such as I have above described, from which the water spouted up as if from the nostrils of a whale. My equipage was again a little Irish one-horse car, and my soul was full of what I was to see. As the rocks of the whole coast of Antrim are covered with ruins, the remains of old castles from that heroic period which the Irish and Scottish ballads still glorify, there are, immediately behind Ballycastle, the ruins of two, called Dunning and Kenbaan Castles. Both are situated on a lofty limestone rock, that rises abruptly from the sea. On the left side of the road are seen the traces of a still older work of man; the remains of the Round Tower of Armoy. Wherever it was possible, we dismounted and examined every thing, to the annoyance of our driver and his horse, whose patience we tried severely. In the immediate vicinity of the valley of Ballycastle there seems to be nothing but limestone. The strangest forms show themselves where the basalt again makes its appearance, and the first extraordinary, interesting point is Carrick-a-Rede, as English orthography writes it, or Caraig-a-Ramhad, according to the proper Irish spelling, i. e. the rock on the road. Properly speaking, there are two rocks, formed of two masses of basaltic columns, clustered closely together, each about 200 feet high, with a circumference of some thousands of feet. The one is connected with the mainland by a little isthmus; but the other is pushed out completely into the sea, and separated from the other by a deep chasm. A little island that lies not far from it is called " Sheep Island." Even to the Faroe Islands (Sheep Islands) this is a very usual appellation for such islands as afford pasturage for sheep only. Many of these small "Sheep Islands" also lie along the Scottish coast. The fresh, green, grassy summit of this little island contrasts agreeably with the black basalt pillars which support it. In summer, the island is connected with the headland by a bridge, made in the following manner. Two thick ropes are, by some expert climbers, fastened to two iron rings, which have been driven into the rocks at each side. These ropes are then con. nected by little cross-ropes, upon which small boards are laid. A third rope, fastened a little higher than the other two, serves as a handrail. This slender bridge, which is more than sixty feet long, swings of course with every step, and sways to and fro in the wind over the abyss; but the people assured me that even their wives, with their children in their arms, cross it without fear or difficulty. In the autumn it is removed, lest the ropes migth be lost in some storm; and unfortunately this operation had been performed before our visit, and the island was, for us, inaccessible. Nevertheless, sheep were grazing on it, and, as the people told me, remain there the entire winter, never wanting for food, and finding shelter behind the rocks and in some caves. When the shepherd requires to visit them, he must do so by means of a boat. This bridge is probably one of the oldest suspension-bridges in the British dominions. Many similar constructions are to be found on the Scottish and Irish coasts, where it is the usual means by which two rocks are connected which can be communicated with in no other way. In fact, it is remarkable that this system of suspension-bridges should have been here in such general use, and constructed by simple fishermen and shepherds, before the thinking heads and great inventors of Britain thought of applying it on a grand scale, and using it for the improvement of intercourse on the great lines of trade. The picture presented by these two rocks of Carrick-a-Rede, with the little black island beside them, is surprisingly beautiful. We were obliged to be content with enjoying it from the shore, where we chose a spot, sheltered by a grass-covered basalt wall, whence we could see it as plainly as if we were sitting in the very middle of it. The mighty breakers ceaselessly rushed against the island, sending their high-dashing foam even to the sheep on its summit. On the side of the island, turned towards us, was a little bay, shut in by high rock-walls, so that it lay like a mirror unruffled by the slightest breath of air; and this although the storm was raging close beside it. In this bay, and in the little strait between the rocks and the island, the people carry on a notunimportant salmon-fishery in the summer; for as the salmon come in the spring time from the open sea to deposit their spawn in the bays and mouths of rivers, they usually coast along the shore, searching for the sweet water, and linger in the little strait between Carrick-a-Rede and the mainland, and in the quiet bay of the former. The fishermen take their measures accordingly, and have also built a small hut on the low shore of the bay for their convenience. The salmon-fishery of the entire north of Ireland is of great importance, and quantities of salmon have, from time immemorial, been exported thence to the markets of Spain and Italy. Proceeding along the coast, we again got a view of an old ruin, which lies on the extremity of a mass of rocks, projecting far into GUIDES TO THE GIANT'S CAUSEWAY. 391 the sea. It was Castle Dunseverick, said to have been built by an ancient Irish king, Sobhairee, 800 years before the birth of Christ! These castles, on island-rocks, surrounded by the brawling sea, are quite peculiar to the northern coast of Ireland. The most remarkable, largest, and most beautiful of all these castles is that of Dunluce, near the Giant's Causeway. Dunseverick is said to be one of the three oldest castles in Ireland, (the two others of equal antiquity are Dunkarmna and Cahirconry). An Irish king, Rotheacht, was struck by lightning on this rock; and it was once besieged by the Danes, with a fleet of 200 ships. Many Irish families trace their descent from Milesius, through the builder of Dunseverick Castle. We perceived, by the number of persons who soon surrounded us, offering their services, that we were at last approaching the great work of nature which was the object of our journey. As, in Ireland, there are always a dozen men where one only is requisite, there were here also a crowd of men, old and young, well-clad and in rags, all of whom represented themselves as the best guides for the Giant's Causeway. "Take me, your honour," cried one: "I showed Field-Marshal Mac Donald the Giant's Causeway, when he came to visit Ireland, and his own country, Scotland." "Take me, your honour," shouted another: "I showed every bit of the Giant's Causeway to his Grace the Duke of Wellington, and his Grace was exceedingly well pleased with me." "And I, your honour," said a third, "have a certificate from the Most Noble the Marquis of Anglesea, and his lady and his daughter." 66 Sir," boasted a fourth, "I am the best friend of Professor Buckland, of Oxford, who said that every thing I told him of the Giant's Causeway was perfectly true, and I can show your honour every stone of it." I chose the one who seemed to have the most promising physiognomy, and, in fact, I was not deceived in him. I was, however, greatly deceived in imagining, that, after I had proclaimed my election, the rest would leave me in quietness. No such thing. According to the obtrusive custom of their country, the entire troop followed me every step of the way. At first I conjured them to remain at home, and not to disturb my enjoyment of the sublime work of nature, with their unnecessary chattering. I entreated them, I gave them money, I supplicated them, I cursed them.— all in vain. They hunted me, as dogs would a deer; and I waз at last obliged to yield to my fate, and make peace with them. One party collected stones for me; another pulled me by the right arm to show me this; while another pulled me by the right to show me that. I do not exaggerate a tittle. In summer, one fares somewhat better; for as many strangers are then usually there at the same time, the guides of course divide their favours between them. But as I was now the only visitor, I had the whole tribe together in my train. In the vicinity of the Giant's Causeway, amid the cultivated fields on the high coast-land, is a large new hotel, where I left my car and entered, while my pursuers remained waiting for me at the door; and when, after taking some refreshment, I again made my appearance, the chase immediately recommenced. The distance is not far, and the Giant's Causeway is soon gained. "Causeway," as is well known, means a high paved road, thrown up like a dam or embankment. The strangest thing about this Giant's Causeway is, that at first sight it seems as if people had erred in naming it; and it looks as if it should properly be called the Dwarf's Causeway. It might be appropriately called Giant's Causeway if it were of vast length, or stretched out for several miles into the sea. But it is not longer than 700 feet, which may be considered extremely short, in comparison with the usual length of roads. It is nothing more than the beginning of a causeway, which soon after sinks beneath the waves of the sea. One might, at the first glance, be inclined to ask himself, why all his attention and anxiety on account of this worldfamous word, was directed merely to the little portion of this wide and magnificent coast to which this title is pre-eminently applied; but after he has looked about a little, after he has more closely inspected the Causeway itself and its parts, and especially after he has endeavoured to meditate on it, and to ask himself the how and the why it was made, all his contempt for it vanishes immediately, and the warmest admiration takes its place, yea, the most decided enthusiasm, for this wondrous, inconceivable, mysterious, and in every sense unsurpassingly charming, work of nature. Yet before my readers can sympathise with this enthusiastic admiration of mine, I must communicate to them as much as I can concerning the formation and structure of this coast. I have already said that, at Benmore, the basalt appears in a vast stratum, 250 feet thick, falling into massy, mighty Cyclopean pillars. Here, at the Giant's Causeway, it is different. In its neighbourhood, on the right and on the left, from Bengore Head to the mouth of the river Bush, a distance of about three miles, the basalt exbibits itself on the rugged shore in the following manner. Not One thick stratum, but many, though mostly two, are plainly distinguishable all along the above-mentioned line of coast. Between |