Near the docks there is a large archway about one hundred feet in height, which was erected two years ago to receive Victoria, when she honored Pat with a visit. It is constructed of wood, and constitutes one of the most prominent objects in the city. On one side is inscribed in letters of living light, "God save the Queen," and on the other, in the Irish language, "One hundred thousand welcomes to you." The Queen's reception is said to have been warmer here than at any other place she visited during the tour-a demonstration of loyalty that gratified her beyond measure, as it was wholly unexpected. She returned to Buckingham Palace highly pleased with her Irish subjects, and expressed the opinion that they were a better people than the world gave them credit for.

Leaving Belfast, we passed along the sea-shore in an Irish jaunting car, to the Giant's Causeway, which is a pleasant day's drive over a beautiful road, and through scenery of great singularity and wildness. The Causeway is regarded here as one of the wonders of the world, and is resorted to by thousands every week during the summer months, who are curious to behold and admire the works of nature. After enjoying a good dinner at the Causeway House, and getting rid of the swarm of specimen venders that infest the whole neighborhood, we proceeded quietly with our guide down a narrow pathway to the sea-shore, where we were shown for the first time this great phenomenon. Like almost every one that goes there, we were at first sadly disappointed-having actually stood upon the rocks without being aware of it-inquiring of our guide all the while, "Where is the Causeway?" But this disappointment was not of long duration, for when we came to examine into its formation and singularity, we felt fully compensated for our trouble. It consists of a series of stone columns extending several hundred yards into the sea, with a gradual descent forming an inclined plane. Each block is about one foot in diameter, and varies in length from three to six feet, fitting into each other with as much nicety and precision as if it were done with the hand of art. No two of these columns are alike in shape; some are hexagons, some heptagons, and others octagons, and every other conceivable formation. The beauty of the Causeway has been very much impaired of late years by the removal of the most curious blocks to different parts of the world as specimens for exhibition. You will find them in London, Paris,

and even in Philadelphia—and, as a matter of course, in Barnum's Museum.

After viewing the Causeway to our satisfaction, we consented to be rowed in a small boat by four sturdy Irishmen into the caves, more in conformity with custom than any pleasure we expected to derive, for we were pretty well convinced before starting that they were humbugs, exaggerated in order to squeeze a few more shillings out of the visitor's pocket. They repaid us, however, by rowing the boat out into the sea, from which we had a beautiful view of the lofty heights formed of a succession of columns, and extending for miles beyond as far as the eye can reach. Our guide was particularly loquacious, and grew quite eloquent in his description of the attack made by the Spanish Armada upon one of the heights, which they battered down in the night with cannon balls, thinking it was the Castle of Dunlose, about four miles off. He also pointed out a place formed of a succession of small fluted columns resembling pipes, and called the Spanish organ, from its similarity to that instrument. These heights are always covered with sea fowl of every description, that congregate there to receive shelter and build their nests in the fissures of the rock. Quite a melancholy accident took place there a few weeks since. A young man from Edinburgh, in the morning of life and of great promise, descended from the summit to the distance of about fifty feet in an attempt to reach one of these nests, when he became dizzy, lost his support, and fell about two hundred feet into the sea. His body was found some four days after by his brother, much mutilated and disfigured.

The northern shore of Ireland is considered by navigators as exceedingly dangerous, on account of the high seas and great number of rocks forming ledges below the surface of the water, and extending for miles in some places from the main land. Several wrecks have taken place during the present month, and among them an American vessel from St. John, loaded with lumber. The crew were all saved by fishermen, who picked them up here and there on planks upon which they floated all night in the storm.

The city of Londonderry, so celebrated in history on account of its long and memorable siege, is the most beautifully situated and interesting place in Ireland. The old wall that surrounded it originally is still kept in good repair, and stands as a monument of its

former strength. The public buildings all present an antique appearance without any evidence of dilapidation, and the population is composed of decidedly a better class of people than it has been our fortune to meet with elsewhere on this side of the channel. Here we saw something of Irish hospitality and the fine old Irish gentleman in his true element.

Londonderry is a place of considerable commerce; vessels of the largest capacity come up the Foyle, and steamers of the first class ply daily to Glasgow and Liverpool. At this season of the year the docks are always crowded with laborers going to Scotland to aid them in gathering in their harvest, after which they return to their families and occupy the intervening time in tending their flocks and growing potatoes.

LETTER EIGHTEEN.

GLASGOW, Scotland.

The River Clyde-Dumbarton Castle-Glasgow-Trip to Ayr-Birthplace of Burns--Alloway Kirk-Brig of Doon, etc.

IN my last letter I gave you a description of the scenery on the river Foyle-the pride of Londonderry-out of which we sailed in a magnificent steamer, called the Thistle, for the shores of Caledonia, passing en route, by moonlight, the lofty heights of the Causeway, the chalk bluffs, and several beautiful islands dotted here and there with the thatch-covered cottages of the Irish peasantry. Wishing to enjoy a sea-view of the Highlands and the Firth of Clyde, so celebrated in Scottish song, we gave orders to the steward, before retiring, to have us up by the dawn of day-an injunction obeyed most implicitly, for Aurora had scarcely emerged from the waters when all on board were aroused by a loud voice crying out, "The rock! the rock! the rock!" Many of the passengers, supposing the vessel was in danger of being stranded on some fearful breaker, rushed forth from their berths in their morning gowns, with glaring eyes and distended mouths, expecting every moment to hear the crash and feel the shock, but were agreeably disappointed when the captain informed them that there was no danger, as the rock was two miles off-pointing out at the same time a lofty object in the shape

of a cone, rising some forty or fifty feet above the surface of the water. This singular rock stands, solitary and alone, several miles from the main land, serving as a beacon for vessels nearing tho Scottish shore. The captain of our ship told us, and we have no reason to doubt its truth, that a bold fresh water spring rises from the summit and flows perpetually down the sides of the rock into the sea, furnishing sailors with the pure element to mix with their vile liquor without the trouble of making a landing. Beyond this rock, in the dim distance, the lofty peaks of Ben Lomond, and the whole range of southern highlands, were presented to our view, forming a scene of panoramic beauty far surpassing my expectations, and equalling in every respect the descriptions given by different writers. In a short time we found ourselves ascending the Clyde, which is in a commercial point of view the most important river in Scotland, being navigable at high water for the largest class of merchant vessels as far as Glasgow. The river as far up as Dumbarton Castle is very wide and beautiful, with many villas and several flourishing towns on the banks, but beyond this it is very narrow and uninteresting except to practical minds, fond of looking at ship yards and dredging machines. Large sums of money have been expended of late by the city of Glasgow in deepening the channel and making the stream wider, an undertaking of great magnitude, evincing a degree of enterprise that we rarely see in any city. Several thousand Irish laborers are now employed night and day, with their shovels and spades, in excavating the banks and conveying the dirt in boats to the low lands below, which are subject to inundation at high tide. In a few years this river, which was originally very small and unimportant, will become, by human ingenuity and labor, the largest in the kingdom.

Dumbarton Castle is one of the four fortresses stipulated to be kept up at the time of the union between Scotland and England, and, accordingly, it is still in repair, and occupied by a garrison. It is situated on a rock rising from the point of junction of the Leven and Clyde, to the height of two hundred and sixty feet, measuring a mile in circumference, terminating in two sharp points, one higher than the other, and covered over with houses and batteries. Previous to his being sent to England, Wallace was confined in this castie, the governor of which was the notorious Sir John Menteith,

who betrayed him. One of the peaks of the rock is now called Wallace's Seat, and a part of the castle Wallace's Tower, in which can be seen a huge two-handed sword said to have belonged to that hero. During the wars which desolated Scotland in the reign of Queen Mary, this formidable fortress was taken by Captain Crawford, a distinguished adherent of the King's party, by means of scaling ladders, in the night time, choosing for his dangerous experiment the place where the rock was highest, and where, of course, less pains were taken to keep a regular guard. The exploit at the time was considered very extraordinary, but in this day and generation of ours, when men do every thing and stop at nothing, it would be regarded as mere child's play.

The city of Glasgow is the great commercial metropolis of Scotland, and in wealth, population, and manufacturing importance, the third city in the United Kingdom. It cannot be called a beautiful place, although it possesses many attractions. The streets are wide, well paved, and kept perfectly clean, and the houses all present a similarity of architecture, and are constructed without an exception of white stone found in the neighborhood. Like most of the cities in this country, it is rich in religious, charitable, and philanthropic institutions, which are supported by annual donations to the amount of fifty thousand pounds. Among the most important establishments of this kind which we visited are, the Asylum for the Houseless Poor, Asylum for Indigent Old Men and Orphan Boys, Institution for Destitute Young Females, and work-houses, all of which are conducted upon superior principles, and do much towards improving the condition of the masses, and elevating the tone of society. Among the many beautiful houses dedicated to the worship of God, the venerable Cathedral erected by Bishop Achaius, in 1136, is the most conspicuous. It occupies the highest point in the city, and stands, like the awful Genius of the place, in perfect preservation, surrounded by the remains and memorials of twenty-five generations. In the centre of the Necropolis, near this ancient structure, stands a beautiful monument erected to the memory of John Knox, the great ecclesiastical reformer. It is a plain and substantial structure, designed more to represent the true character of the man, than as an ornament to perpetuate the name of the architect, or gratify the vanity of those who projected it.