forcibly as I felt, when seeking thus to turn a sinner from the error of her ways. There was a tear in the woman's eye as I departed, which convinced me and yet I might be much mistaken-that though Mary Blake will continue all her life to go to Mass, that living, she will continue to read the Gospel, and dying, she will rest alone on the all-sufficient merits of her crucified Redeemer.

In this neghbourhood was the mansion of Ros M'Owen, and the place where it was situated was pointed to me, where dwelt one of the principal branches of the O'Sullivans of Cork, the two elder branches, those of M'Gillicuddy and M'Fineen Duff, being established in Kerry, and the lineal descendants of the O'Sullivan Bear being long settled and ennobled in Spain, where with the O'Donohue's, O'Donnels, and O'Higgins, they have cast some fresh blood, and some portion of Irish activity into the stagnant veins of the Castilian nobility. Of Murtough O'Sullivan's establishment at Ros M'Owen, I have received the following curi

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ous and characteristic aecount, from a valua ble and venerable correspondent :

"More than fifty years elapsed since I first visited Bearhaven, and among other exeursions, in company with a friend, walked to a place called Ross M'Owen, where was an old mansion-house on the south side of Hungryhill, at a small distance from the bay. This dwelling, though it might savour somewhat of the bleak and dreary from without, yet presented nothing of cold or dismal within : on the contrary, hospitality of the warmest kind was the order of every day, let who would be the comer or the visitant. There was a copse near it, the remains of a considerable oak wood, that the hospitable expenses of O'Sullivan's table contributed to reduce to a very limited size-we had come to it for the purpose of shooting wood-cocks, and were soon joined by O'Sullivan's son, who carried a gun, but had no ammunition, with which, however, we supplied him. After continuing our sport for some time, a message arrived from the old gentleman, desiring the

favour of our company at his house, an invitation which I would most gladly have declined did civility permit it, conceiving from the "Mount Dismal" appearance of the outside, that all within was correspondent—but I was agreeably disappointed. Murtough O'Sullivan's person and countenance were prepossessing, his manners and conversation those of a well-bred gentleman, whose youth had been passed in polite society, and who 'mores hominum multorum vidit et urbes.' It was evident that the rays of fortune which shone upon his youth had been withdrawn in his old age, and that the style of his entertainment was at variance with his wishes. But he made no complaint of his altered state; offered no apologies for the plainness of his fare, and was as cheerful as if he had entertained with claret and venison. We remained longer than might seem prudent, considering that it was a winter's night, and that we had some miles to return over rock and bog, for as to road, that was an accommodation then wholly unknown; but we were furnish

ed with a sober guide, and two excellent ponies, as expert at climbing rocks as goats, and the only risk we ran was a chance slide into a bog-hole-this being a matter of common occurrence, was only a thing to be laughed at; and though the night was dark, I think I occasioned but one opportunity for mirth during the entire ride. My companion was not so fortunate.

"One circumstance concerning the old house of Ros M'Owen I must not omit, as it is curious. It was not uncommon formerly to have water admitted into the kitchen, by means of an aperture in the wall, through which it was introduced by a wooden pipe, and let out again at another opening underneath. In this old house it was managed otherwise, a large stream being admitted near one of the angles, which flowing close to the wall, discharged itself at the opposite side; at the point of admission a strong iron grating was fixed, allowing passage to nothing but water, of which a certain quantity was permitted to enter, the overflow during

the rains being carried off by an external channel. It will be naturally asked, for what culinary purpose could such a stream be required? The answer, if not obvious, is very satisfactory-as a ready way not only of supplying the cook with means of washing fish, which constituted a great part of the daily food, but also of catching it. Salmon and sea-trout abound in Bantry Bay, and in their proper seasons seek every stream of fresh water, in which to deposit their spawn —that they will ascend even smaller streams than that of Ros M'Owen, I know from actual experience; and the proximity of this stream to the bay, renders the fact extremely probable, that salmon and sea-trout were frequently taken as well as dressed in O'Sullivan's kitchen. A salmon which made part of our dinner, we were assured, was so caught in the kitchen not three hours before."

A respectable old gentleman who lived near Adrigoll for many years, relates many curious anecdotes of the awkward mixture