particularly at the entrance, render it ill adapted for carriages, though it would be possible to conduct them within a very short distance of the upper lake. The road was made chiefly for the benefit of the mountaineers, who invariably transport their butter and other articles of rural commerce on horses. Great advantages can already be perceived from opening this communication; and when the country becomes richer, and can sustain the additional expense, it is intended to widen the road, and to render it in every respect convenient.

The tract which lies between Dunloh-castle and the mountains, on the border of the lake, is not distinguished by any striking features; it is divided for the most part into fields, and there are few trees but those which grow in the hedge-rows. The small hills with which it is diversified command extensive prospects; but they are very much inferior to those which open from Mucruss on the opposite shore.

The ancient family seat of Macarthy-more, or the great, stood here; and its remains may still be seen near a small grove not far from the water side. This chief, to acquire a more secure title to his extensive possessions, in those times of anarchy and confiscation, surrendered them to Queen Elizabeth, who immediately afterwards reconveyed them to him by letters patent, and created him Earl of Glencar.

To the south of Dunloh-castle there are no roads, except such narrow passes as are made for the convenience of the farmers; but an enterprising pedestrian may proceed along the mountain-shore, and entirely round the three lakes, unless when the rivers are swollen by rains; at which time many of them are impassable. This route however is full of difficulties, and should on no account be attempted by any but the vigorous and active;

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as a whole day is scarcely sufficient to accomplish it. To proceed along the shore in a boat, and occasionally to land amongst the rocks, will be found far preferable; and by adopting this course the finest prospects may readily be commanded.

SECTION II.

HAVING thus taken a survey of the shores of the lower lake, from Mucruss, at the foot of Turk mountain, to the gap of Dunloh, and pointed out those objects which appeared to me best deserving of notice, I shall next examine those parts of the scenery which are viewed to most advantage in the course of an excursion on the water.

The common place of embarkation for strangers who sojourn in the town is at the head of Ross-bay, at a quay under the walls of the castle; this being the nearest part of the lake to which there is a communication by a public road. Persons who prefer walking to the conveyance of a horse or a carriage, will find a much more agreeable route to the lake than the road, and not much longer, through Lord Kenmare's grounds, along the banks of the river Deanagh; but the propriety of taking boat near the mouth of this river depends upon the course that it is intended afterwards to pursue, upon the state of the wind, and also upon that of the lake; for in dry weather the water is sometimes so low as not to admit a boat to approach the shore.

From the town to the castle of Ross the distance is about an English mile and a half. The road runs along the flat; and as

it affords little to gratify the eye that is anticipating the pleasures it is to enjoy on arriving at the lake, it invariably appears tedious and uninteresting. Indeed few strangers visit Killarney without having occasion to lament that there is no public place of accommodation nearer to the lake than the town. Much time is always lost in passing and repassing this road, and considerable inconvenience is often experienced in returning to the town, at night, after the fatigues of a day spent upon the lake. Besides, horses, carriages and attendants, that wait the precarious return of a party, are sometimes necessarily kept exposed on the open beach, for many hours, to all the casualties of this uncertain climate. If a spacious and well regulated inn were established on the borders of the lake, and there are many excellent situations for one, it could not fail to remunerate the proprietor.

Strangers are very liberally accommodated with the use of Lord Kenmare's boats, which are handsome and commodious. To the superintendant of them, who either acts himself or substitutes a person properly qualified as guide, a small gratuity is given the boatmen have an established hire of one English shilling each, if they are not ordered beyond the limits of the lower lake; if they go further, they receive half as much more. It is usual to allow them refreshments if they are kept out the whole day; an indulgence that is too frequently abused by their drinking to excess, to which they are addicted in common with most of their countrymen in the same rank of life. When it unfortunately does happen that some of them become intoxicated, and no precaution will always be effectual to preserve them sober, disorder seldom fails to ensue, attended at least with inconvenience, and sometimes even with danger, to the party. In this as in most other mountainous regions storms are

frequent; and when the lake is exposed to their fury, its waves become so boisterous that skill and strength are requisite to resist their impetuosity. To those who are accustomed to behold the billows of the ocean, the danger arising from the waves upon a basin of water not more than six miles in extent may be regarded perhaps with contempt; but the lower lake sometimes presents the most frightful images of elemental warfare.

A gentleman living near Killarney, who had often crossed the ocean, assured me he had more than once beheld it so much agitated by the impetuous hurricanes which descend in circling eddies through the passes between the mountains, that its waves, drifted together and raised to an immense height above the surface, have assumed the terrific aspect of a water-spout. Though such tremendous storms are seldom experienced in summer, yet as squalls occur even during that season, no boats should be used that are not able to encounter heavy waves. For the same reason, vessels with sails cannot be employed without the greatest care: those belonging to Lord Kenmare are all conducted with oars. The boatmen, in general, when sober are very prudent; and as they are from long experience well acquainted with the prognostics of bad weather, their judgment and management may be safely relied on.

The navigation of the lake is represented as unsafe to those who are unacquainted with the rocks; but the peril in this respect is somewhat exaggerated. The greatest danger to be apprehended from rocks, is when the lake either rises considerably above or sinks below its ordinary level. In the former case, those rocks which commonly appear above water are covered, but not sufficiently deep to admit the passage of a large boat over them; and they are so numerous that it is almost impossible to remember the precise situation of each. I have