Chapter VI: Letter XXXIII

Limerick. Antique character of that city. Catholics and Protestants. Deputation, and offer of the Order of the Liberator. O'Connell's cousin. Cathedral. I am taken for a son of Napoleon. I substitute my valet and make my retreat. Conversation in the stage. The Shannon. Its magnificent size. New sort of industry of a beggar in Lisdowel. Twelve rainbows in a day. Killarney. Voyage on the lake in a storm. The dandy and the manufacturer. Some danger of drowning. Inisfallen island. O'Donaghue's white horse. His history and apparition. The old boat, man and his adventure. _Journal des Modes_ of the infernal regions. Mucruss Abbey. The large yew-tree. Influence of the Catholic priests. O'Sullivan's waterfall. Young Sontag. The wager. Ross Castle. Two Englishmen 'de trop'. Bad taste of quizzing. The Knight of the Gap. The "madman's rock." Brandon Castle. A bugleman. The eagle's nest. Coleman's leap. The dinner. Fresh salmon boiled on arbutus sticks. Voyage back. Melancholy thoughts. Christening with whisky. Julia Island. Journey to Kenmare. Shillelah battle. Ride to Glengariff by night. Extraordinary road. The intelligent poney. Beautiful bay of Glengariff. Colonel W----'s park a model. Family of the possessor. Lord B----'s hunting seat. Bad weather. Rocks, storm and apparition of ----......367

LETTER XXXIV.

Kenmare. Irish messenger. Road to Derrinane. Bridge of the black water. Chaos. Terrific coast. Perplexities. Aid from a smuggler. Mountain pass at night. Derrinane Abbey. O'Connell the great Agitator; Father L'Estrange his confessor. O'Connell as chieftain giving laws to his subjects. His intolerance in matters of religion. Departure from Derrinane. Danish forts. Leave-taking. Irish modes of conveyance. Amiable character of the lower Irish. Example of it. Sorrows of Werther. Opinion of it. Faust. The Innkeeper's daughter at Kenmare. Hungry Hill and its majestic waterfall. O'Rourke's eagle. The modern Ganymede. Seals under my window. Their love for music. English family worship. Theological discussion on the deluge, the day of judgment, and the Apocalypse. Extraordinary beauties and advantages of this spot......380

LETTER XXXV.

Wild honeycomb. Egyptian lotus. Visit to an eagle's nest; their romantic dwelling, and wonderful instinct. The wild huntsman of the South of Ireland. The caves of the Sugar Loaf. Track of the fairy queen's carriage wheels. Dangerous hunting in these mountains. The fogs, bogs, and wild bulls. Manner of taming one......393

LETTER XXXVI.

Idolatry of Sunday in England. Wonderful conversion of a Protestant to Catholicism. Riding in a car. The Whiteboys. Macroom. The naïve mamma and the spoiled child in the gingle. The strong king of the Danes. Cork. Voyage to Cove: beautiful entrance from the sea. Folko's sea castle. Monkstown. Remarkable appearance of two perfect rainbows at once. The amphitheatre of the town of Cove. Disappointed expectation of fish. Illuminated night-scene. The stars. Departure in the Mail. Mitchelstown and Castle. Materials for novels. Lord K----. Extraordinary weather for Ireland. The soldier of O'Connell's Militia. The Galtees. Cahir. Another of King John's castles. Lord Glengall's beautiful park. The Prince's equipage at Cashel. Force of habit. Secret of all educations. Club dinner......395

LETTER XXXVII.

The rock of Cashel. One of the most curious ruins in Ireland. The Devil's Bite. Old Saxon architecture. Bell of the Inquisition. The statue of St. Patrick, and throne at Scone. Hore and Athassil abbeys. Lord L----. Condition of the Catholics in Tipperary. Church of Ireland. Laughable article in the newspaper concerning myself. My speech......404

LETTER XXXVIII.

The swan. Holy Cross and its monuments. Irish Catholic clergy. Dinner with eighteen clergymen. Conversation at it. Comparison of the Wendish and the Irish. List of the Catholic and Protestant parishes in Cashel. Curious details and remarks upon them. Well-meant exorcism. Irish breakfast. Breakneck hunt. The wandering bog. Feats of horses. Country gentleman's life. The Castle in the air. Potheen enthusiasm. Irish gentry. Lord H----......408

LETTER XXXIX.

The brothers. Animal life. Devils. The pretty hostess. The piper. The robbers. The lawyer cheated. The murder of Baker. The motionless cock. Fitzpatrick and his bag-pipe......415

LETTER XL.

Killough Hill. The fairy garden. Romantic sentry-box. Return to Dublin. Madame de Sevigne. Lord Byron's tempest. Dinner with the Lord Lieutenant. The Marquis of Anglesea. Catholic worship. Invisible music. St. Christopher. Comparison of the Catholic and Protestant divine service. Allegory. Journal of a London life. Difference between English and German modes of thinking. Remarks on English Women. Malahide. Furniture seven hundred years old. Duchess of Portsmouth. Charles the First at the court of Spain. Howth Castle. Ducrow's living statues......420

LETTER XLI.

Evening at Lady M----'s. Her nieces. Curious conversation. More theology. The nightingales. All the _corn_ of Europe. National scene. Domestic pictures. The authoress's boudoir. The miniature Napoleon. The Catholic Association. Shiel, Lawless, and others. Artificial resolution. Ride in the mountains. Sentimentality of a dandy......427

LETTER XLII.

B---- H---- on modern piety. O'Connell in a long-tailed wig. The Don Quixote and the Dandy of the Association. Acting charades at Lady M----'s. 'Love me love my dog.' Miss O'Neil. Her acting......436

LETTER XLIII.

Dead-letter office. £3000 incognito. The doctor. New surgical instrument. The bank. Bank-note metal. Gymnastics. Parlour philosophy. Paradoxes......441

LETTER XLIV.

Favour of Neptune. The dream. Voyage across the channel. The young heir. Night in the mail. Shrewsbury. The tread-mill. Yellow criminals. Church. Curious old houses. Street curiosity. The little scholar. Ross. The river Wye. Goderich Castle. Varied prospects. Three counties at once. Childhood of Henry the Fifth. Grotesque rocks. Unfortunate tourist. The Druid's Head. Monmouth. Birth-place of Henry the Fifth. A poultry-yard. The bookseller and his family. Theft. Kind, simple-hearted people. Tintern abbey. The ivy avenue. The Wind Cliff. Sublime view. Chepstow Castle. Cromwell and Henry the Eighth improvers of the picturesque. Discovery. Penitence......451

LETTER XLV.

Chepstow. Marten the Regicide. The girl's explanation. Taxes imposed by English lords and gentlemen on travellers. The possessor of Piercefield. Crossing the Bristol Channel. Men and horses pèle mèle. Recapitulation. Natural pictures. The most beautiful building. Bristol. The feudal churches. Disinterested piety of English clergymen. The mayor's equipage. Cook's Folly. Lord de Clifford's park. Russian fleet. The model of a village. Clifton. The black and white house. Sensibility of surgeons. Bath. The king of Bath. The Abbey church. Singular decoration. King James the Second's heroic feat. The eccentric Beckford. The tower. Strange _cortege_. The visit over the wall. Gothic architecture. Christmas-eve market. Walks by day and night. The conflagration......460