erected by their race in the olden times have fallen into ruins, but that one stone remains upon another. Nor should we wonder that to the Celtic imagination, the everlasting mountains which witnessed the glories of the past, should appear wrapt in mourning! or that the dark lake should be a reservoir of tears, wept by a suffering people, which struggled for so many ages, wearily and faithfully, against its destiny. The last chief of Imaile who appeared in arms against the English was Luke O'Toole, of Castle Kevin, who met Sir Charles Coote, at the head of 1000 men, in 1641. He was taken, tried in Dublin, and hanged. The O'Tooles and O'Byrnes gave some trouble to the government in 1798, and, in consequence of their stubborn resistance to the English for so long a time, they are great favourites with the nationalist orators and poets. They are now among the most peaceable and industrious peasantry in Ireland; and as the County Wicklow has a numerous resident gentry, and good landlords, agrarian crime, or, indeed, serious crime of any kind, is scarcely known.

The mountains which inclose the lake and ruins of Glendalough consist of granite, through which run numerous veins of quartz, associated with ores of lead. At the head of Glenassan there is a vein of quartz, six feet wide, with blende, golena, and some copper pyrites. It passes nearly from east to west, and were it continuous it would join the vein of Luganure, the most important in the district. It crosses the mountain Comaderry, and has been traced through a course of 900 fathoms, its ascertained depth being 180 fathoms. The produce of this vein usually yielded 70 per cent. of metallic lead. The Glendalough vein ranges east and west, crossing the Glen obliquely. Its course is down the southern flank of Comaderry, re-appearing high on the mountain at the opposite side. It has been traced for about half a mile, varying in width from about five to seven fathoms, the great mass being quartz. It contains numerous minerals, principally galena. On the Luganure vein, and on some smaller veins discovered on both sides of Glensane, a number of shafts have been sunk, and very extensive workings made. The mining operations have produced a sensible effect on the scenery. The mountain to the right of the upper lake

has been planted by the company, who have erected houses, built walls, and made extensive inclosures, while the river that makes the waterfall has been utilized to work their machinery; and Loughnahagan serves as a reservoir, which has been rendered available for the dressing works. The property was purchased by the Mining Company of Ireland, from Mr. Owen Byrne, whose family had possessed it for many generations, for the sum of £4,154.

It will be better for the tourist to return to Bray by the line of road which keeps along the sides of the greater Sugar-Loaf. It affords very extensive views and runs through a wild, rocky district, at the western base of the mountain. As it is nearly all down hill, the cars travel rapidly, and it affords a good opportunity of reaching the summit from the point where the ascent is easiest; for half the height (which is 1,651 feet above the sea) is obtained by the public road. At the other side the journey on foot is much longer, the ascent steeper, and the face of the mountain is covered with loose shingle, which gives way under your feet, and makes the adventure rather perilous on a windy day. The view from the summit is truly magnificent, commanding the vast range of the Wicklow mountains to the south, including Lugnaquilla, towering to a height of 3,039 feet, the Carlingford mountains in the north, a vast range of the Channel, and the Welsh mountains, if the weather be clear. Immediately under the spectator lies the exquisite scenery of the Glen of the Downs, and the rich, well-cultivated, and finely wooded tract of hill and dale extending to the sea, with the coast line stretching from Wicklow Head to Arklow.

CHAPTER VII.

BRAY TO ARKLOW.

E now start from Bray for the Glen of the Downs, the Devil's Glen, and the Vale of Ovoca. The journey could be quickly made by rail; but then we should miss the most interesting points, and see very little of the beauties of Wicklow, except where the line runs through the Vale of Ovoca. It is, therefore, far better to take a car, and stop when and where we please. The first sight on our way is the highly picturesque demesne of Hollybrook, the seat of Sir G. F. Hodson, Bart., who kindly allows strangers to drive through it. The house is a handsome Elizabethan mansion, situated on the margin of a wooded valley, which lies between it and the Little Sugar-Loaf. The place is celebrated for its fine timber, and particularly for its ever-green oak, cypress, and yew. The road from this to the Glen of the Downs runs along the bottom of the valley between the two Sugar-Loaf mountains, and enters that romantic ravine about four miles from Bray. It is a mile and a half in length, terminating near the pretty village of Delgany. The sides, which rise boldly, are covered with primitive wood, oak, hazel, birch, holly, &c., with masses here and there of modern plantation; larch, spruce, and Scotch fir, and an endless variety of luxuriant copse. The Glen is the property of W. R. La Touche, Esq., J.P., and forms part of the demesne of Bellevue, one of the most beautiful seats in this part of the country. It looks down upon the sea, over the pleasant and thoroughly rural little watering-place of Greystones. On one of the highest points is the Octagon House, which commands the best views, and is open to pic-nic parties having an order from Mr. La Touche himself, which is freely granted. Luckily there is a very charming spot for parties not provided with a passport, near the head of the Glen on the grounds of Glenview.

Two miles from the Glen of the Downs is Newtownmountkennedy, a place dear to travellers in the pre-railway times,

for there the Wexford coach stopped for breakfast, where the passengers were supplied with right good fare in the quiet little hotel. In spite of the railway it ought to have plenty of business still, for, from this point, the visitor can make pleasant excursions to the Glen of Dunran, the Devil's Glen, Glenmore Castle, Kiltymon Glen, and the demesnes of Newtownmountkennedy, Altadore, Hermitage, and other charming scenes in this region of wooded hills, fertile glens, and pleasant streams. The little town is interesting on another account. It illustrates the saying of the poet

'A thing of beauty is a joy for ever,'

and the man who creates the thing of beauty should be remembered for ever. There are thousands of localities in Ireland, which could be made as beautiful as this, or as the Glen of the Downs, if they got into the possession of such men as General Cunninghame. This whole tract of land, about seventy years ago, was totally wild and barren.' About that period it was purchased by General Cunninghame, afterward Lord Rossmore, who then retired from public life. This demesne, as well as Dunran, was planted, and the soil of valleys and lowlands hitherto useless reclaimed, principally by the application of marl and limestone gravel. Beginning from fifty acres, he extended his demesne and farms from Newtownmountkennedy to the southern extremity of Dunran, nor ceased till he had expended £64,000 in improvements. The house is a large square building, of great simplicity and elegance, in the Ionic order, and after a design by Wyatt. The place derived its name from a mercantile family of Dublin, one of whom, George Kennedy, was an alderman in 1590. The manor passed by inheritance from the last of the Kennedys to a Mr. Barker, from whom it was purchased by General Cunninghame, and then descended to a family named Gun; hence the name of the present proprietor, Major Gun Cunninghame, a deputylieutenant of the county. The characteristics of the scenery about the place partake more of the soft and beautiful than of the bold and grand: an outline highly varied, lovely views, venerable trees, evergreens in rich profusion, finely wooded foregrounds, with a background of shadowy moun

tains. About a mile from the town is Glendaragh, a lovely dell, and Altadore, which occupies one of the finest sites in the county, making the house a striking object in the rural picture, the charms of which are enhanced by the meandering mountain stream. The road now keeps along the Glen, in which several streams unite under the name of the Woodstock river. About a mile and a half from' the town in this direction, we meet Woodstock House, and its demesne, diversified by wooded ravines, the seat of Colonel Tottenham.

One of the roads from Newtownmountkennedy runs up the high lands to Roundwood, passing near the mouth of the great tunnel which conveys the. Vartry water on its way to Dublin. The Glen of Dunran exhibits features of considerable interest. A point called 'the View Rock,' enables the visitor to see the extensive forest which clothes the sides of Carignamuck, where the verdure of the oak is heightened by the dark foliage of the old pines scattered through it, and rocks which protrude in a variety of fantastic shapes. Dunran mountain is 1122 feet above the level of the sea, affording, of course, a more extended prospect of the surrounding country than any of the places we have mentioned.

Passing the villas of Broomfield and Inchanappa we descend to the village of Ashford, situated on the river Vartry, which has just issued from the Devil's Glen, flowing on to Newrath Bridge, a mile lower down. In each of these places there is a hotel and a postal establishment for the accommodation of tourists. We are now in the midst of what has been justly called 'the Garden of Wicklow,' the exquisitely beautiful region bounded on the north by the mountain of Dunran, on the east by the sea, and on the south and west by the range of hills which terminates at Rathdrum. Near Newrath Bridge is Rosanna, the celebrated residence of the Tighe family, in which the poetess Mrs. Tighe composed 'Psyche.' A spot more congenial for poetic inspiration it is difficult to imagine. Nothing can be richer than the landscape, nothing grander than the aged oaks, and Spanish chestnuts, and beech, which cast their broad shadows over the sloping glades, souvenirs of an