we should rather be inclined to consider the whole erection as contemporaneous, and to view the existence of these rude stoneseats as an early peculiarity of the country.-The conjectural solution of the circular indentations on the single stone noticed by our author, is bold, but scarcely fanciful. That the deity, in his attributes of power and benignity, was worshipped by the pagan inhabitants of these islands through the medium of the sun and moon, the grandest of his works, is not only probable, but is acknowledged on early testimony; and that circles composed of upright stones formed, at the same time, places of religious and civil ceremony, will hardly be doubted, after a due consideration of the simplicity of antient manners.

SHANGANAGH, distant about nine miles from Dublin, towards the south-eastern extremity of this county, was the property of the family of Walsh, of old Connaught, from the reign of Edward I. until the early part of the eighteenth century; and here are still to be seen the remains of the castle which constituted the dwelling of those proprietors of the estate. This place is now embellished with a fine modern seat, the property and country residence of Lieutenant-General Cockburne. The exterior of the building was designed by Mr. Morrison, in the castellated style, and is a pleasing example of this fashionable mode of architectural arrangement. The house was formerly of limited dimensions, but has been recently enlarged to its present ample proportions under the direction of General Cockburne, at which time the aspect of a baronial mansion of the middle ages was first bestowed on the external part of the structure.

With his accustomed taste and skill, the architect has con

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"They" (the Irish) use to place him that shall be their captaine, upon a stone alwayes reserved for that purpose, and placed commonly upon a hill: In some of which I have seen formed and ingraven a foot, which they say was the measure of their first captaine's foot, whereon hee standing, receives an oath to preserve all the auncient former customes of the countrey inviolable, and to deliver up the succession peaceably to his Tanist, and then hath a wand delivered unto him by some whose proper office that is: after which, descending from the stone, he turneth himselfe round, thrice forward, and thrice backward." View, &c. p. 11.

VOL. I.

fined to the outward portion of the building all allusions to the gorgeous but rude manners of times long past. The interior, both as regards disposal and decoration, is well adapted to the habits of refined life,-to the customs of society intent on intellectual pleasure as well as hospitable entertainment. The classical acquirements and correct taste of General Cockburne have been displayed to the literary world in several estimable productions; and he has at this place a large and valuable library. In different apartments are some fine pieces of sculpture, and casts after the antique. The principal rooms are also ornamented with numerous paintings, amongst which the following appear to be most deserving of notice:

Three very fine Landscapes, by Wilson. A Descent from the Cross, copied by Pompeio Battoni from the celebrated picture by Daniel de Volterra. An old Man and Children, by Francis Hals. Beggar Boy, by Murillo. Sacrament, by Murillo. An old Man tempting a Girl with a Purse; a highly-finished picture, by Mieris. Two Dutch Schools, by A. Ostade. Cattle, by Rosa de Tivoli. The Fool of Antwerp, finely executed, by Jordans. A Shoemaker, by Breclincamp. A Sea-piece, by Monamy. Two pictures, the subjects Ruins, by Panini. View of Venice, by Canaletti. Holy Family, by Correggio. Four Portraits, by Janssens. The Adoration, by Bassano. A fine Landscape, by Gabrielli. Roman Charity, by Parmigiano.

This mansion is further enriched by several antique bronzes; tables of Mosaic and of Egyptian granite; and numerous volcanic specimens from Mounts Vesuvius and Etna, with other collections illustrative of Natural History.

CONNOGH, usually termed OLD CONNAUGHT, a small and pleasant village, distant about one mile from the town of Bray, contains several cottages of a neat and eligible character, and is ornamented with the handsome residence of Richard Morrison, Esq. whose talents as an architect are noticed in many of our pages. Connaught, in the early part of the thirteenth century, was the estate of the De Marisco family, and was granted, in the year 1248, by Sir Geoffrey de Marisco, to the priory of Christchurch,

Dublin. At this place was formerly a seat of the Walsh, or Wallis, family, whose large possessions in this quarter (including Shanganagh and Carrickmaine) were acquired by intermarriage with the de Cogans, about the commencement of the fourteenth century.

Near the centre of the village is a flourishing plantation of chesnut-trees; and here, on a Sunday evening, when the place was visited by the present writer, in the autumn of 1819, the villagers and neighbouring peasants were engaged in a cheerful dance; the whole were neatly attired, and the rustic festival was conducted without excess of any kind, except that of the jocund spirit proceeding warm from the heart, which mantled on every countenance.

At the distance of about half a mile from the village, on a high bank by the side of a road, is a cross of considerable antiquity, formed of granite. The shaft is surmounted by a circle, on which the crucifixion is represented in rude sculpture. Buried in the deep seclusion of several neighbouring glens, as if intentionally placed in obscure situations, are to be seen the remains of small churches, roofless and overgrown with the moss and ivy of numerous ages. These buildings (abandoned to decay at periods unknown to any attainable record) are usually constructed of unhewn stone, and exhibit no traces of any peculiarity in architectural style.

COUNTY OF WICKLOW.

THIS County is situated to the south of Dublin, and is bounded towards the east by St. George's Channel. The county of Wexford meets its southern border; and on the west it unites with Carlow and Kildare, together with an insulated part of the county of Dublin. Its dimensions and contents may be thus stated, on the authority of the agricultural survey made by Mr. Fraser. Extent, from north to south, 32 Irish, or 401 English miles; and from east to west, 26 Irish, or 33 English miles. The county contains, in Irish acres, 305,404; in English measurement 494,704 acres, and is divided into the following six baronies: Arklow; Newcastle; Half Rathdown; Ballinacor; Talbotstown; and Shillelagh. According to Dr. Beaufort, there are in this district 58 parishes and 20 churches. "Of these, 49 parishes and 17 churches are in the archbishoprick of Dublin; 6 parishes and 3 churches in the diocess of Leighlin; and 3 parishes and 1 church in that of Ferns."

The returns made under the act of 1812, for taking an account of the population of Ireland, are known to be inaccurate as regards the baronies of Talbotstown and Shillelagh; and no returns were procured from the barony of Newcastle. The statement, as to the number of inhabited houses and the gross population of the respective baronies, with the exception of Newcastle, was as follows:

According to the returns made in the year 1821, the number of houses was 18,419; and the number of inhabitants, 115,162. Thus, according to those returns, the increase of inhabitants between the years 1813 and 1821, would appear to have amounted to 32,053.

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Much the greater part of Wicklow is of a mountainous charac"An oblong," observes Mr. Fraser, may be measured from Kippure, the highest mountain in the north, to Lugnaquilla, the highest in the south, being in length fourteen miles. From Blackmoor Hill, on the north-west, to mountain Douce, on the north-east, and from Black Mountain, on the south-west, to Trooperstown Hill, on the south-east, a medium breadth may be taken of ten miles."

Towards the interior this alpine region is boggy, uncultivated, and rendered additionally cheerless by the want of wood; but throughout a long extent of its borders, and particularly on the sea-coast, it assumes a splendour and variety of scenery not to be surpassed in any part of the island.* The mountains and rocky elevations are here magnificently bold, and the country is plentifully clothed with ornamental wood. The numerous streams which issue from the lofty wilds of the interior, flow through glens, extensive, devious, and rich in all circumstances which enchant the eye and elevate the fancy. From each grand ravine diverge vales so exquisitely soft, so unspeakably lovely, that they would seem to have been formed as the earthly paradise of the poet and the painter. The scenery in the eastern parts of Wicklow, indeed, presents one of those few subjects on which the pen may freely expatiate, without danger of creating too vivid an expectation in the reader's mind; and which, after the most glowing description, must be visited to be duly admired.†

* It will be recollected that Dean Swift compared Wicklow, on account of its rugged aspect in the central divisions, and the exuberant richness of its borders, to a frieze cloak trimmed with golden lace.

+ This beautiful district is much frequented, in the summer and autumn, by parties from Dublin, and is particularly recommended to the notice of the English traveller, desirous of acquiring a knowledge of the peculiar characteristics of Irish scenery, without the labour of extensive journeys from the metropolis. A curiosity concerning the unusual charms dispersed