The aspect and surroundings of the place have been greatly changed since the time when this was written. A railway has a marvellous effect in producing topographical metamorphoses. Here the line forms an embankment to the sea, and shuts the bathers out from public view, even where they do not avail themselves of the boxes provided for the purpose. The car traffic from Dublin being completely abolished by steam, we see no such 'garrons' now as those which Mr. Brewer describes. The demand for cars and cabs is as great as ever it was, but they wait at the railway stations; and all along this line as far as Bray the horses are well fed and clean, while the vehicles are of a superior class, and nicely kept. In 1841 the population of Blackrock was 2,372. It has decreased considerably since, being but 2,342 at the last census, the result, no doubt, of an improvement in the class of houses. The Town Improvement Act has been applied to this place, including in the Township Monkstown, Williamstown, Booterstown, &c. ; giving a population of about 10,000, upon 1,078 statute acres. It is now supplied with the Vartry water. The railway stations from Dublin to Kingstown are Lansdowne Road, Booterstown, Blackrock, Seapoint, and Salthill. From Kingstown the Company have a branch which joins the main line at this side of Bray, running a most picturesque course around Killiney Hill by the shore, and along by the strand from Ballybrack. The tourist can spend a few hours very pleasantly at Kingstown, and it will be the most convenient point from which to visit Dalkey and Killiney. If possible, he should visit Kingstown at the time of the yacht races, when he will see the Harbour crowded with vessels of all sizes, in their most gallant trim, the two club-houses dressed out in all their bravery, and the town itself keeping holiday, while gigantic trains, arriving every quarter of an hour from Dublin, pour out in rapid succession their hundreds of gaily dressed sight-seers, till the piers, the quays, the roads, and the Gresham Gardens are covered with a bright and motley array of human beings bent on enjoyment, but seldom able to see the races which they ostensibly came to witness, and for the sake of which the ladies risk their lives, returning amongst the crushing multitudes that besiege the trains in the evenings. It is surprising that so few serious accidents occur on those occasions. There are other times when Kingstown, and Salthill adjoining, shine with extraordinary brilliancy—that is, when the Royal Horticultural Society holds there its annual flower shows, which are annually attended by the Viceroy and the elite of Dublin Society. But apart from these periodical attractions, the fashionable crowds promenading on the pier during the summer evenings will present as many specimens of beauty, blooming with nature's tints, as can be seen anywhere else in the world perhaps, not excepting the West Pier at Brighton. And even in the absence of gala splendour and female loveliness, under the most ordinary circumstances, and when all is quiet around him, the visitor will have much to admire when he looks out of his hotel at Kingstown. If he has read our general view of the past, he will probably reflect with wonder on the changes that have been effected in the scenery around him during the present century-the creations of utility and beauty, the progress of material improvement and refined civilization, of which the monuments present themselves on every side. At the close of the last century, the London packet was sent from Dublin at different hours, from six till twelve in the evening, according as the tide served. When the tide did not serve it had to wait. It was then put on board the packet at the Pigeonhouse Dock; if the wind blew fresh from the east or northeast the packet could not sail, and thus an entire tide, sometimes two tides, or twenty-four hours, were lost. If the wind happened to blow fresh from the north at neap tides, the packet was sometimes laid up in the dock. Unless the wind was westward, the ship had always considerable difficulty in working out into the channel, and she took an average of nine hours to reach Holyhead. From Holyhead the mail had to cross two ferries, over several mountains, and the Sands of Cheshire, generally taking forty-eight hours to reach London; so that on an average, a letter written from Dublin to London could not be answered in less than a week. Now the journey is performed in less than twelve hours. Such are the prodigies wrought by the power of steam! How marvellous the progress since the 9th October 1834, when the first railway train arrived at Salthill from Westland Row! Now, one of the amusements of the residents of this busy town and lively watering place, is to watch the mail train emerging from its under-ground passage and gliding gracefully along the Carlisle Pier, where it pulls up to await the arrival of the mail steamer, and to see the Ulster, Connaught, Leinster, or Munster steering majestically into the harbour, and taking her station without delay, bustle, or noise, just beside the train, punctual almost to a minute, having by the power and smoothness, as well as the fleetness of her motion, almost banished sea-sickness, formerly the plague of the channel. There are some interesting reminiscences of the historical kind connected with the Kingstown harbour. One of these is the embarkation of George IV. in 1821, with its various picturesque incidents. The King came from Powerscourt House, where its noble owner had invited a party to meet him at luncheon, when one of Moore's Melodies, 'The Prince's Day,' was sung. His Majesty seemed to enjoy the song very much, evincing his pleasure by the constant motion of his hands. He seemed specially delighted with the following lines: 'He loves the Green Isle, and his love is recorded In hearts which have suffered too much to forget; O'Connell, accompanied by a deputation of ten gentlemen on bended knee, presented a laurel crown to his Majesty, and was noticed in the most gracious and condescending manner. 'The King shook his hand, and accepted the appropriate tribute with dignity and affection.' The multitude, pressing down to the water's edge, were wild with enthusiasm. Referring to these demonstrations of loyalty on the part of the Catholics, not yet emancipated, Moore wrote: The only excuse I can find for the worse than eastern prostration into which my countrymen have grovelled during these few last weeks is, that they have so long been slaves, they know no better; and that it is not their own fault if they know no medium between brawling rebellion and foot-licking idolatry.' If the King had licked the Blarney stone, he could not have delivered a more mellifluous or unctuous parting address than the following: 'My friends, when I arrived in this beautiful country, my heart overflowed with joy. It is now depressed with sincere sorrow; I never felt sensations of more delight than since I came to Ireland. I cannot expect to meet any superior, nor many equal, till I have the happiness to see you again. Whenever an opportunity offers, whenever I can serve Ireland, I shall seize on it with eagerness. I am a man of few words. Short adieus are best. God bless you all, my friends. God bless you all!'1 The conduct of the people on this occasion provoked an intensely bitter and scornful satire from Lord Byron, called 'The Irish Character.' One stanza may be quoted to show the spirit : 'Shout, drink, feast, and flatter! O Erin, how low When Queen Victoria, the Prince Consort, the Prince of Wales, and other members of the royal family, took their departure from Kingstown, on the 3rd of September 1853, there was a more genuine and a more rational manifestation of loyalty. No one could doubt the reality of her Majesty's kind feeling towards the country whose wounds she had come to heal in 1849, after the terrible visitation of famine, and on the morrow of a rebellion, and who had now paid a second visit to speed industrial progress. We were present on the pier on that occasion, and witnessed the deep earnestness of the multitude, while her Majesty, with her children beside her, standing on deck, continued to wave her handkerchief, until the fair vision of royalty disappeared in the distance. There is a monument on the east pier which will probably excite more interest, in some minds, than the crowned obelisk which commemorates the visit of George IV. It is dedicated to the memory of Captain Boyd, of her Majesty's Ship 'Ajax,' who, with a number of her crew, was swept off See full details of this Royal Visit in Cassell's History of England, Vol. III., New Series. the rock at that spot, while heroically striving to save the lives of men who had been shipwrecked in a tremendous storm then raging, on the 9th of February 1861. His remains, which were not found for some days, received the honour of a public funeral, and were buried in St. Patrick's Cathedral, where a noble monument has been erected to his memory, and a tablet recording the names of the men who perished with him on that melancholy occasion. It lies In the Dalkey, which joins Kingstown to the south, was once the most important place on this part of the coast. at the base of the rocky hill which bears its name. reign of Edward IV. the town acquired the privilege of holding fairs and markets; and from an early period down to the 17th century, it was the principal port connected with the metropolis, and the place of disembarkation for new Viceroys and other personages coming from England. The Lord Deputy, Philip de Courtenay, Sir John Stanley, Lord Furnival, afterwards Earl of Shrewsbury, Sir Edward Bellingham, and Sir John Perrott, landed here at different periods from 1386 to 1584. The place was protected by no less than seven castles, one of which still remains. It was numbered amongst the ancient manors belonging to the Archbishop of Dublin, but it had declined so much that, about one hundred years ago, it was described as consisting of 'the venerable remains of some old castles, the ruins of an ancient church, some good dwelling houses, and about twenty cabins, for the most part occupied by a poor labouring people, and serving indiscriminately for themselves, their cattle, and their swine.' One of the castles had then been repaired, and by means of some additional buildings, converted into a commodious 'dwelling-house; a second had been roofed, and afforded room for a billiard table; a third and fourth were inhabited by publicans; the remains of a fifth were found in the walls of an old cabin; the sixth had been totally demolished for the sake of the stones, and the most antique and complete of the whole was occupied as a stable. It is supposed that those castles were built by the Danes, to protect their plunder until they had time to ship it in their vessels, which lay in the Sound of Dalkey. It appears from the 'Black Book' of the Archbishop of Dublin that, in the early part of |