Our Wicklow tour may be said to end here. We now return to Bray, or to Dublin, by rail but I hope to be accompanied by many to other districts of the Green Isle where the natives, strange to say, believe that in their immediate neighbourhood are many scenes and points of interest which could well compare with the best of those of the old country of the Byrnes, Tooles, and Cavanaghs-viz., Wicklow. Before finally leaving Dublin for the North, South, or West, the tourist is strongly recommended to spend one day in an excursion to Howth and its peculiarly interesting neighbourhood. There is no district in the immediate vicinity of the Irish metropolis where a day could be more delightfully passed. The distance from the Amiens-street terminus of the Great Northern Railway, of which the Howth line is a branch, to the town of Howth is about nine miles, and trains can be conveniently had at almost any hour of the day for a journey either way. From Dublin to Howth,* round the celebrated peninsula and back, has long been a favourite walk for many of the more robust citizens of Dublin, and even for strangers who had been advised of the various beauties of the route. The road to the town is admirably adapted for the use of the bicyclist. Most tourists, however, will prefer to use the railway, and no doubt they are right in so selecting, for to do the famous Hill proper justice no little amount of physical exercise is required. At the same time, those who do not feel inclined for rough walking or rock-climbing will find many resting places amongst the ferns and heath with which some of the lonely nooks which adjoin the sea-cliffs, and even more than one noble eminence, are overspread. Howth has its name from a Danish word which signifies head; and it is on record that here, for a long time, the Scandinavian rovers were wont to muster ere proceeding on their enterprising cruises. The first feature which strikes the notice of the stranger upon leaving the railway premises is the harbour, a work which at one time was expected to accomplish all the service now rendered by that of Kingstown. Soon after its completion it was discovered that the project was a failure, at least so far as for the reception of vessels of any considerable size the harbour could not be used. The £300,000, however, which was spent on its construction was not entirely thrown away, as the enclosed area of fifty-two acres forms an admirable asylum for small craft. During the period of the herring fishery in the summer months the harbour presents a scene of great interest and animation, owing to the number of boats from all parts of Ireland, Scotland, and England, and from the Isle of Man, which here congregate. They literally arrive *Ben Edair, the peak of Edar. in hundreds, and are waited upon by steamers plying between Howth and the western English ports for the purpose of carrying off the glittering prey. Tons upon tons of the "poor man's friend" are salted and barrelled upon the piers for exportation, and immense quantities of the fresh fish are sent inland. In the prosecution of this trade innumerable hands find temporary employment. It is said on authority that in some seasons the value of the "take" which enters the harbour exceeds £60,000. It was here that, while yet Howth was a packet station, his Majesty King George the Fourth landed. This was in 1821. On the stone in the landing place on which the king first stepped the figure of a foot has been sculptured, a commemorative imprint of the royal sole. On a commanding eminence right over the harbour may be seen the ruin of a very picturesque structure usually styled the " Abbey." The base of the cliff upon which it stands was anciently washed by the sea. It owes its origin to an ancestor of the present Lord Howth, and was erected in the early part of the thirteenth century. It is surrounded by a strong embattled wall as shown in the cut, and Grana Uile and Howth Castle. *105 presents a striking evidence of the military character of its founders. A considerable portion of the original structure remains, but the whole of the north side is comparatively modern. The tomb of Christopher the Twentieth, Lord of Howth, who died in 1580, stands in the nave not far from the eastern gable. It is an extremely nice specimen of the altar-tomb, but the inscription, owing to the neglected state in which the monument until lately was suffered to lie, has become in a great part extremely difficult to decipher. A bell turret with three apertures rises from the west gable, and adds greatly to the picturesqueness of the scene. The bells are preserved in the adjoining castle, together with the greater portion of a formidable double-handed sword, with which tradition asserts the founder of the family, St. Lawrence, carved his fortune and that of his descendants. Some very curious house-like buildings, generally called the "College," are attached to an angle of the embattled wall. They are supposed to have been used by the ecclesiastics as dwelling-places. As interesting examples of fifteenth century architecture they are well worthy of notice, and something should be done to save them from impending destruction. The castle of Howth stands at a considerable distance from the abbey. It consists of an extensive range of buildings of various ages, occupying a considerable space. A fine original entrance gate-tower remains, and there are traces of the original enciente, but the place has so often been re-modelled, and in a great part re-built, that little remains to attract archæological attention. Until a comparatively recent date, it was the custom, during meal times, to throw open the door leading to the interior of the castle. But, upon the establishment of the railway between Dublin and Howth, so many uninvited visitors arrived that it was found necessary to have the portal closed, as in any other place. The story of the origin of this curious arrangement is as follows:-It appears that in the time of Elizabeth there lived in the far west another queen, the famous Grace O'Malley, better known as Grana Uile. This lady was little better than a female Lambro, if all that is said about her be true. At any rate, the Government of England, alarmed at her growing power, and deluged with complaints of her numerous piracies in 1579, › proclaimed her an outlaw, and offered a reward of £500, an enormous sum in those days, for her capture. Troops were sent from Galway to take her castles and destroy her ships; but all was done in vain, through the obstinate defence of Grana, backed by a numerous body of well armed retainers. The extension of English influence in Connaught, however, at length induced the "Dark Lady of Doona," as Grana was |