was left to tumble down and lie there, as if there was no one to care about either the past or the present. Mr. M. Keane considers this one of the most ancient of the Round Towers, and declares his conviction that the arch which forms the entrance gateway of the churchyard, and part of the wall, is a fragment of an ancient and highly ornamental heathen temple-an idea which would greatly shock the inhabitants of Roscrea. However that may be, there was a Franciscan Monastery founded in 1490 by one of the O'Carrolls. This stood at the opposite end of the town, and upon its site has been erected a large, handsome, costly Roman Catholic church, the approach to which passes under an arch of the old building; and there are many venerable trees, which add to its air of antiquity. Above it, on the brow of a hill overlooking the town, is a nunnery-a large pile of building, in which there is a flourishing boarding-school. There are some fields, with a very large and well-stocked garden attached to the institution; and a picturesque little cemetery adorns the face of the hill, just over the chapel yard. Roscrea is said to have been the residence of St. Canice, the patron saint of Kilkenny, who, according to Archbishop Usher, wrote here a copy of the Four Gospels, which was preserved till the Archbishop's time. There exists still, in the centre of the town, a circular tower, the remains of a fortress built by King John, and a square castle erected by the Ormond family in the reign of Henry VIII.

acres.

KING'S COUNTY.

The total area of the King's County is 493,987 statute Of this, 352,573 consist of arable land. The quantity uncultivated is 131,164, of which 7,899 are under woods or plantations, and 1,733 under water. The average size of the farms throughout the county is 39 statute acres of arable land. The number of families is 17,879, inhabiting 16,365 houses. Employed in agriculture, 8,243 families, and in manufactures, 2,238. The Protestants are 10,077 to 79,955 Catholics. Of the total population, there are 28,000 who can neither read nor write, and the number at school is under 7,000. The number of emigrants who left the county from

1851 to 1860 was 20,867, which was at the rate of about 2,300 a year. During the following two years the number of emigrants was much less; but in 1863 they amounted to 1,698; in 1864, to 2,148; in 1865, to 1,722; in 1866, to 1,215; and in 1867, to 1,207. The total number of emigrants from 1851 to 1867 was 30,437 ; so that in the course of sixteen or seventeen years this single county sent to America a number of people equal to one-third of its present population. If they increase and multiply as fast in the Far West as they did around their native bogs, there will soon be as many King's County people in America as in Ireland.

This county enjoys the advantage of a numerous resident gentry, whose relations with the people are generally as satisfactory as in any part of Ireland. The number of magistrates is 86, and of deputy-lieutenants 12. Flat as the country is -damp and dreary in its aspect in some places, the proprietors have, with few exceptions, built for themselves fine mansions, surrounded by beautiful plantations and rich grazing land, with avenues of large trees on the roads near their dwellings, indicating a long-settled, quiet, and peaceful country. There are also here and there substantial dwellinghouses sheltered by old trees, showing either that the owner is a small proprietor, or that he or his forefathers had a long lease.

The southern part of this county comprises a small portion of the Slieve-Bloom Mountains; and Crogan Hill, in the north-east, rises to 769 feet. The rest is comparatively flat. In fact, it is an irregular tract lying around the Bog of Allen, which extends from east to west, through its whole length, between the Little Brosna and the Shannon. The soil and sub-soil are in most parts like those of the Queen's County and Kildare-a light loam of moderate depth, resting on limestone gravel. The principal towns are Tullamore (population 4,791), and Parsonstown (population 5,220). The assizes are held in the former.

The grandfathers of the present tenants occupied the same farms, with few exceptions. The rents have not been unduly raised, and the landlords have not taken advantage of the tenants' improvements. In such cases the old hereditary attachments are still unbroken. The seat of W. T. H.

Vaughan, Esq., Golden Grove, is one of the most beautiful places in Ireland—a fine house, a park of great extent, with hill and dale well wooded, admirably kept, and surrounded by the richest land in a high state of cultivation. Mr. Vaughan had a hunting party when we visited the place; the weather was beautiful. The hounds in hot pursuit of a fox; he doubled round the park, and was captured. There were ladies of the party, the youthful bride of the proprietor bearing the usual trophy, while the huntsman exulted in the possession of old reynard. It was a charming rural picture : and not the least pleasing feature was a number of farmers' sons-stalwart youths, who had been out with the hunt— running across the lawn to be in time to hold the horses while the party dismounted.

The country about here abounds with resident landlords like Mr. Vaughan. His uncle, Joseph Hutchinson, Esq., of Dungar, nearer to the town of Roscrea, has just built a house in the midst of finely undulating grounds, covered with old timber. He is a wealthy landed proprietor, without any sort of incumbrance, who can live in Paris or wherever he pleases. Well, this gentleman has built in Tipperary a mansion of the most costly kind, fit for the accommodation of a nobleman with a large family, solid enough to last 500 years, with every modern improvement in kitchens, laundries, stables, gates, &c., that the art of man has invented, or money could purchase. The best Irish quarries have been laid under contribution for marble, and the stairs are made of stone cut by the convicts at Portland. This magnificent creation of capital, employed with perfect taste, has given a great deal of employment for several years. A number of men were engaged on earthworks for terraces.

Gloster is on the road from Roscrea to Parsonstown. The house stands on elevated ground, overlooking the valley of the Little Brosna, which has been drained, and commanding fine views of the country lying beyond. The roads leading to the mansion and round the domain are overshadowed with fine old timber trees, and the whole place is kept in the most perfect order. Mr. Lloyd, though young, devotes himself heartily to the improvement of the tenantry, and especially of the labourers on his estate. With a mind well

cultivated and enlarged by travel, with artistic taste and practical knowledge exceedingly rare among country gentlemen, he has, by personal intercouse and enlightened sympathy, acquired a degree of tact in the management of the Irish people which we have never seen surpassed. He goes amongst the people, calls at their houses unexpectedly while out shooting, and talks with the family familiarly concerning the affairs of the farm, and the improvements which might be effected in the house and about it. He carefully avoids— which, indeed, is not difficult to a gentleman of his good sense and Christian spirit-anything like a domineering or dictatorial tone and manner. He rather consults the tenant and his wife as to what is best to be done, suggesting how it might be accomplished, expressing his own willingness to co-operate in effecting the improvement, and to contribute liberally to the object; but, at the same time, carefully developing and cultivating the spirit of self-reliance. His aim is to get the people to do as much as possible themselves, to make them feel the satisfaction of having done something of which they have reason to be proud, and which helps to sustain their self-respect and independence. For example, if the tenant farmer has a thatched house going into decay, Mr. Lloyd will notice its shabby appearance, and will suggest the desireableness of having a new one. But, instead of proposing to build it himself, at a cost of £500 or £600, and charging the tenant four or five per cent., to be added to the rent for the outlay, he says to him—' Suppose you build the walls yourself on a plan which I will give you; you could get the work much more cheaply done than I could; you have limestone at hand, also lime and sand in abundance. When the walls are finished I will give you timber and slates gratis for the roof, and we shall see whether we cannot make a nice job of it between us.'

'Well, now, your honour,' replies the tenant, 'it's very curious that you had the word before me. I was just going to make so bold as to ask your honour to do that very thing.' So, with professions of heartfelt gratitude, in which his wife. warmly joins, he promises to undertake the building. He sets to work with cheerfulness and energy; the landlord does his part with no niggard hand, and in a short time the family

are in the enjoyment of a substantial, commodious and handsome dwelling-house, with very little cost comparatively, and without any addition to the rent. The other farmers with old houses seeing this, are stirred up with a spirit of emulation to acquire a residence of equal respectability, and thus gradually, one after another, fine new dwelling houses spring up, giving a renovated appearance to the whole estate. Some of the tenants are, of course, more slow than others to avail themselves of the advantages placed within their reach; and even where a good house has been provided, the occupier may lapse into old slovenly habits. The pigs may be permitted to return to the kitchen, or the white-washing of the walls may be neglected. Mr. Lloyd, when visiting the family will, as it were, casually observe that the walls want white-washing, and will remind the owner that he may have lime for the purpose by going for it to Gloster. The quick reply of the tenant is-Thank your honour; I was just going to get it done, and I intended to send for the lime and brush this very day.'

Mr. Lloyd's greatest difficulty in carrying on his social reforms has been to exclude the pig from the kitchen, especially in his new cottages. But he has been completely successful, without a single peremptory order or the shadow of coercion. These cottages are real models of neatness, cleanliness, and comfort. We had never seen anything to equal them in Ireland. Those who are anxious to see what can be done in improving-nay, thoroughly reforming-the habits of the Irish peasantry, and especially the habits of agricultural labourers and their families-should visit the happy homes of the workmen on the Gloster Estate. landlord has 750 acres in his own hands, including the demesne, and he keeps 100 acres annually under the plough. No wonder the wife and children of the cottager seem so cheerful and happy. Behind each cottage is a snug little house for the pig and another for the cow. These two animals produce an abundance of the best manure for the acre of land. The consequence is that it yields magnificent crops. The good wife of one of the labourers told us with laudable pride, in the presence of her landlord, that she had just got £9, 1os. for her crop of wheat that grew on half the

The