kenzie, which are defective and inaccurate. The dreadful losses that have occurred on this coast of Ireland imperatively call for a minute survey of every harbour, that a ship, caught in a gale on this part of the Atlantic, may know to what place she may securely run. It is not many years ago when two King's ships, the Saldanha and the Arab, were dashed in pieces on the coast and every soul on board perished. One ship of the Spanish Armada was wrecked in the Bay of Galway; most of the remainder were lost on different parts of the coast; and it is generally stated that all those who escaped on shore were butchered in cold blood by order of the Lord Deputy, Sir William Fitz-Williams*.

* I am not sure whether a part of these unfortunate Spaniards may include those mentioned in the Note, p. 84. The following are the ships lost on this coast, which I extracted from a paper in the State Paper Office.

"Shipps and Men sunke, drowned, killed, and taken uppon this coast of Ireland, in the month of September, 1588, as followeth :

276

LETTER XIV.

GALWAY TO LIMERICK.

Stony Country-"Dry Lodgings"-Gort-Terry Alts-Ennis and Clare Limerick, Old and New Towns-ImprovementPopulation-Criticism on "First Flower of the Earth," &c.Growth and extent of Bogs-Wood, Animals, and animal Fat found in-A House discovered in-Consumption and probable duration of Peat from Bogs.

Limerick, 23rd September, 1835. I HAD engaged an outside seat by the mail, a wellconducted coach, for Limerick; but on arriving at Kilroy's Hotel, from whence the coach starts, the weather being settled foul and raining intensely, I deemed it prudent to go inside, which I dislike so much that I question whether the outside place in all weathers, provided one is well protected with cloaks, be not preferable. This, however, is a matter of taste. Thus shut up, you will not be surprised that I saw little of the country between Galway and Limerick; but considering the state of the weather, I could not have seen much more outside. I could see, however, that on the first part of the journey, the ground on both sides was strewed with round boulder stones of every gradation of size, from six or seven pounds to as many tons-the inclosures in

which they were, as far as the eye could reach, were bounded by stone walls—the little cottages were also of stone-in short, for three or four miles at least, stones and nothing but stones saluted the eye.

It continued to rain hard, but every one was of course calling it a soft day. This expression is, I believe, equally common in the north of England; but in Ireland some of the terms which are made use of are odd enough to a stranger. For instance, "Dry Lodgings to be had, inquire within," will be observed in passing through almost every village. It naturally suggested to me that the word "dry" could only mean free from wet or damp, perhaps at the same time insinuating that others in the neighbourhood were not so. It seems, however, that I was quite wrong in my conjectures, for I found that "dry lodgings" meant neither more nor less than that no eating or drinking was to be obtained within, but merely a bed for the lodger. A poor woman, in whose cottage I had once taken shelter, pressed me to eat a boiled potato, observing I might feel dry before I crossed the mountain, meaning hungry—a word not at all applicable on that occasion, as the rain was pouring, and there was every prospect of my clothes being drenched through.

We passed through the little town of Gort, which consists chiefly of a street of neat houses, with some decent-looking shops, and the people who appeared at the doors were cleanly and tidily clad.

The

road skirts Lord Gort's park, which is close to this little town. It looked, and I am told it is, a beautiful spot, well wooded, and laid out in good taste. His lordship, it seems, allows it to be thrown open to the public every Monday: he bears the character of a good landlord, and is much beloved and respected in the neighbourhood.

We next passed through Ennis, a miserable, dirty-looking town, and the appearance of the few people I saw corresponded with it. Its population, however, would seem to be on the increase :

being fifteen and two-thirds per cent. in ten years. It is here and at Kilkenny that the black marble slabs are procured and polished; at first they are beautiful enough, but by exposure to the air numerous white spots break out on the surface. I understand there is a bad spirit in this county among the lower orders, which was not improved by what occurred at the last election. That part of the country between Cresheen (which we had passed unnoticed) and Carrofin was the theatre of those outrages of the Terry Alts, who some years ago struck terror all around by the murders and robberies they committed. It is remarkable that the individual whose name they assumed is a most harmless and inoffensive man, and that it arose from these marau