to devotion, and peculiarly congenial to the superstitious notions of monkery, appears to have been studied in the plans of the early churches of Ireland still more than in those of Great Britain. At Glendalough, in the county of Wicklow, there is a small church covered with a roof of stone of great antiquity, the interior of which is so dark that a book could with difficulty be read in it at noon day. Many others of the same description are to be met with. The best executed part of the architecture of the church of Aghadoe is the western door-case, which consists of a carved Saxon arch, in excellent preservation; differing only from that of the chapel of Innisfallen, represented in the vignette on the title page, in its being decorated with an embattled frieze, instead of one in chevron work. These door-cases are both remarkable for being formed of a red siliceous sandstone, interspersed with grains of quartz; a species of stone not found, I believe, in any part of the neighbourhood. Hence it is to be presumed that they were procured already carved, or sent perhaps as a donation to the cathedral from some other part of the kingdom where the art of sculpture was further advanced. At least this appears more probable, than that the stone should have been conveyed in its rude state to the spot where it was to be finally employed; for although it is capable of being wrought with more facility than either the common mountain stone or the marble found on the shores of the lake, this advantage would not have compensated for the labour and expense of transporting it. Besides, the marble of this neighbourhood is so much more beautiful, as well as more durable, that an artist working on the spot must have given it the prefe Its superior hardness could scarcely have operated as an objection; for, in an age when steel armour was in common rence. use, there could have been no difficulty in procuring instruments capable of working it. The hill of Aghadoe is regarded by the inhabitants of the surrounding district as a spot of peculiar sanctity; and the cemetery adjoining the church, like that at Mucruss-abbey, continues to be a favourite place of burial. Though the soil is considerably deeper here than at the latter place, the eye is nevertheless assailed with a similar disagreeable spectacle of mouldering bones and coffins, that have been dug up in opening new graves. Well may it be described, in the language of the A striking instance is exhibited at this place of the prevalence of a superstitious prejudice, which I apprehend is not unknown amongst persons of a more enlightened religious profession. Not a single grave appears to the north of the cathedral, whilst, on the opposite side, they extend to a considerable distance beyond the precincts of the antient cemetery, along the green borders of the public road; but doubtless the ground has received benediction, or the unhallowed spot would be avoided with caution. How various and inconsistent are the opinions of mankind on the subject of burial! Here would it be deemed a dereliction of duty to inter the deceased in any place but that which has already received their forefathers; though so many lay claim to the same scanty portion of earth, that time is scarcely allowed for changing dust to dust; though the grave is liable to be dispos sessed of its dead, and the ashes of those who were once held dear scattered before the winds of heaven. How much more rational the custom of America and Switzerland; where a spot is commonly selected for burial in a private garden, or in some place distinguished for its amenity and retirement: surely it must be grateful to the heart, in the hour of sorrow, to be enabled to visit the tomb of a beloved friend in silence and in solitude, free from impertinent intrusion, free even from the unwelcome appearance of a stranger *. In the north-west corner of the church of Aghadoe, there is a stone about seven feet in length, on which Mr. Pelham, not long since, discovered several of the Ogham or sacred mystical cha, racters, supposed to have been used by the ancient pagan Irish priesthood. This species of writing, if writing it is, may be ranked amongst the most simple, and probably the most imperfect, of the various kinds which have been transmitted to the knowledge of modern times; in fact, it differs but little from the scores or marks which illiterate people commonly make with a piece of chalk for the purpose of enumeration. Yet upon these rude strokes Time has affixed a value, which is enhanced by the accounts that have been handed down of their mysterious im * Du bon Helvetien qui ne connoit pas l'usage? Pres d'un eau murmurante, au fond d'un vert bocage H port. Notwithstanding frequent mention is made," says General Vallancey, "in Irish manuscripts, of the use of the Ogham character, and of certain monuments in certain places, the incredulity of our modern antiquaries was so great as to deny its existence, until a person was paid by the late Mr. Conyngham to search upon a mountain, in the county of Clare, for one of these monuments mentioned in an ancient poem. The monument and inscription were at length discovered, and published in the Transactions of the Royal Irish Academy. After the discovery of this monument no Ogham inscriptions were heard of, until Mr. Pelham discovered fourteen of them, on as many different stones, in the county of Kerry." Of these stones and inscriptions, accurate engravings, together with an account of their discovery, may be seen in Collectanea de Rebus Hibernicis. The stone, of Aghadoe is amongst the number. Mr. Pelham is of opinion that it was once much longer, and stood erect; as at one end it bears marks of having been broken, and seems to have been thrown down by violence into its present situation. He thinks also that the inscription is imperfect, as there is an appearance of a scale of the stone having come off at the present termination. The characters, near the middle of the stone, are three and a half inches long. The ancient Irish erected pillars of stone on many occasions: "Some were inscribed (says General Vallancey*) with Ogham characters, to mark the cycles +; others were Phalli, such as we are told the brahmins erected on the boundaries of districts, on *Coll. de Reb. Hib. vol. vi. pag. 176. +As the Ogham character was a mysterious one, whose import was known only to the priesthood, and which no person at the present day pretends to decypher, it seems somewhat bold to assert that they marked the cycles. the high ways, and in the temples as symbols of the vivifying spirit." At Ballysteeny, in Kerry, Mr. Pelham discovered a prepared rounded stone, tapering towards the top, with an Ogham inscription, which the General, without hesitation, pronounces to be the Muidhr, Phallus, or Lingam of the Hindoos. This stone appears to have been originally about eight feet in length, and to have been broken by a fire that was made against it; part of it still continues in an upright position. A few yards from the western end of the church of Aghadoe, the remains are to be seen of one of those slender round towers, whose original destination, notwithstanding the laboured and ingenious researches of the numerous antiquarians who have directed their attention to the subject, is still involved in considerable obscurity. Sixty-four of these fabrics have been discovered in different parts of Ireland, of various heights, occasionally, amounting to one hundred and thirty-seven feet: their diameters are from twelve to nineteen, and the thickness of the walls, in general, between three and four feet; when the height of the tower is unusually great, it increases to a few inches more. Many of them are built of hewn stone, and those that remain entire are crowned with a conical cap of the same materials. The entrance is by a small door, generally situated considerably above the foundation; in some instances at the apparently inconvenient height of twenty-four feet: but at Swords in the neighbourhood of Dublin, and at Cluanmacnose in the King's county, there are towers which have the entrance on a level with the ground. Various small apertures are observable at different elevations above the doors, which were probably made for the purpose of affording light to the stories into which the building was divided, or to the stairs or flights of steps which conducted to the upper apartment. The latter was lighted by four large windows placed op |