were confiscated in 1701, in consequence of the Baron's adherence to James II., for whom he had raised and equipped a regiment. The family had been in possession for 530 years.

THE COUNTY CARLOW.

Carlow, though one of the smallest, is one of the bestconditioned counties in Ireland. Its greatest length, north and south, is twenty-nine miles, and its greatest breadth twenty and a-half miles. But a large portion of it is very narrow, running wedge-like between Kilkenny and Wexford, while a wing of it protrudes into Wicklow, at the opposite end. It contains 221,342 acres, of which 184,059 are arable, 31,249 uncultivated, and 4,927 in plantations: only 602 being in towns, and 506 under water. The Slaney flows through the county, but the river with which it is identified is the Barrow, although for a good deal of its course it does not pass through it, but only forms the boundary between it and the county Kilkenny. Mount Leinster and Blackstairs separate it from Wexford, and their off-shoots, as well as those of the Comer Mountains, occupy a good deal of the surface. The rest is either flat or gently undulated. The soil rests, to a large extent, on limestone gravel, the basis of the remainder being granite, remarkable for its whiteness, for the facility with which it is worked, and for its durability. It extends from end to end. of the county, and occupies the greatest proportion of its eastern half. From the facility of splitting, the stone is used extensively for fencing, long pieces resting upon small pillars, and secured by mortices. The limestone district is peculiarily fertile, producing excellent wheat crops; and this part of the county in particular presents an aspect of great comfort, wealth, and respectability, resembling very much the best of the old agricultural districts in England. Carlow, indeed, was one of the earliest and best settled of the counties of the Pale; and long before the English invasion the Danes had fought hard and often for a footing in it, along the banks of the Barrow. The native owners were the O'Kavanaghs, O'Ryans, O'Nolans, and O'Moores. With them were gradually mingled a number of Norman names, and after

them came the Cromwellian planters, whose descendants form a considerable portion of the gentry. The county was part of the territory inherited of the daughter of Strongbow and her descendants. It ultimately passed by grant to the families of Carew and Howard. The Kavanaghs, however, still retained a part, and claimed to be the heirs of Dermot McKavanagh, their King. One of them was, in the sixteenth century, entrusted with the Secretaryship of the County; but he subsequently renounced his allegiance, claimed the sovereignty of his ancestor, and waged war against the English for many years, at the head of his clan, until he was reduced to submission by Sir Oliver Lambert. The present head of the great historic house of Kavanagh is Arthur McMorough Kavanagh, Esq., M.P. for the county, owner of Borris Castle, the most interesting and magnificent baronial mansion in the county, standing in the midst of an extensive, varied, and richly-wooded park. In 1550 Carlier McMorough Kavanagh, of Polmonty, surrendered part of his estates, and was created Baron of Ballyane. Although Mr. Kavanagh is a Protestant and a Conservative, the hereditary attachment of his tenantry is very strong, and he is one of the most esteemed of Irish landlords. Borris Castle was garrisoned by the troops of the Parliament in 1642, and besieged by the Irish. It was attacked in '98 by the insurgents, some hundreds of the assailants having been killed by the defenders. The lieutenant of the county is the Right Hon. the Earl of Bessborough; the number of magistrates, 54—of whom seven are deputylieutenants. The county is represented by two members, the constituency being 2,309.

The borough of Carlow, the capital, returns one member -the population being 8,967, and the constituency 352. It is a clean, open, respectable business town, with numerous resident gentry in the neighbourhood; there is nothing remarkable, however, about its public. buildings, if we except the splendid cathedral, the first of the kind erected in Ireland by the Roman Catholics, out of Dublin. There is also at Carlow a Catholic college, which acquired great celebrity when Dr. Doyle (J.K.L.) was one of its professors, and during his residence there as bishop. It is a large, well

The

built pile, consisting of a centre and two wings, surrounded by a well-planted park, enclosed with high walls. college has been for many years affiliated with the London University.

CHAPTER XV.

DUBLIN TO BELFAST.

HERE are three railways, managed by three separate companies, between Dublin and Belfast. The first is the Dublin and Drogheda; the second is the Dublin and Belfast Junction; and the third the Belfast and Portadown. Great complaints have been made, particularly by merchants, on account of the inconvenience, delays, and expense, resulting from the management of three independent companies, not always acting harmoniously; and a remedy of some kind has been loudly called for. Certainly it is a very anomalous state of things to exist on the great line of communication between the metropolis and the capital of Ulster, which the most laudable efforts on the part of the officials to lessen the amount of annoyance cannot render tolerable. We have already in our metropolitan excursions described the district through which the Dublin and Drogheda line passes. The terminus is in Amiens Street. It is a large, handsome building, in the Italian style, faced with granite. The railway is carried over the Royal Canal, by a magnificent iron bridge of 140 feet span, and proceeds along an embankment 30 feet high, to Clontarf, from which there are good views of the city and the bay. At four and a half miles from town, we meet the Howth Junction, and at nine miles arrive at Malahide, beyond which the line passes over an estuary, crossed on a wrought-iron lattice viaduct, resting on stone piers, and having twelve spans, eight of which are forty-two feet wide. At Donabate there is an embankment, with a wooden viaduct, 335 feet in length, and 15 feet above high water.

It

Skerries is a large fishing village, pleasantly situated on the shore, about half a mile from the Skerries station. is a clean, cheerful-looking place, and close to the town there is a harbour which affords good shelter to fishing vessels.

Balbriggan, celebrated for its hosiery, was once a very prosperous place, owing to its cotton factories and its position on the great northern road. Its very handsome church was built in 1813, at a cost of over £3,000. It was accidentally burned in 1833, but it has been rebuilt by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners. It has a harbour, protected by a pier or rough mole, projecting into the sea about 600 feet, with a wall and a rampart of great rocks. It was built by the late Baron Hamilton, at a cost of £15,000, contributed partly by the Irish Parliament. Vessels of 200 tons can unload within it. The manufacture of the famed Balbriggan hosiery still flourishes, with an increasing demand. The town is lighted by gas, and is rapidly improving. The population in 1861 was 2,258.

Passing from Balbriggan, we get a view of Gormanstown castle, the seat of Lord Gormanstown, which has been in possession of the family since it was granted to Sir Robert Preston in 1357. It is a fine old baronial residence, distinguished by the antique peculiarity of the long, straight, verdant avenue, between two rows of wide-spreading, ancient trees. From this point to Laytown the railway is continued along the shore, presenting fine views of the coast scenery, including the firm sandy beach, which extends a distance of twelve miles out to Clogher Head. Two miles from Balbriggan we have crossed the stream called the Delvin, which separates the counties of Dublin and Meath. At Laytown, a pleasant little watering-place, we cross the narrow estuary, into which flows the Nanny water, through a lovely valley, adorned by the plantations of Ballygarth, the ancient seat of the Peppers, above which is the hamlet of Julienstown. The line now leaves the coast, running between Piltown and Bettystown, or Betaghstown, and passing near the village of Mornington, from which the father of the Duke of Wellington took his title. We arrive at the town of Drogheda.

DROGHEDA.

This town, for a long time, played an important part in Irish history. It is a Parliamentary borough, situated on the River Boyne, between the counties of Meath and Dublin, four miles from the sea, and 31 miles from the metropolis. It is the county of a town, and has assizes and county officers of its own, including within its boundaries a population of 18, 107, of which 367 are in the rural districts. A large cotton factory has been erected here by Benjamin Whitworth, Esq., of Manchester, who represented the town. for some years; and at his sole expense he has built a spacious and handsome town-hall, contributing largely also to the new waterworks, by which 800,000 gallons of the purest water will be conveyed to the town daily. Three flaxmills, which cost 50,000, give employment to 1,000 persons. Drogheda is the principal seat of the heavy linen trade, and employs a large number of hand-loom weavers. Besides those employed in the mills, there are several wealthy firms engaged in this branch of the linen trade in the town. The iron-works of Grendon and Co. give employment to upwards of 300 persons, in the manufacture of steam engines, boilers, iron bridges, &c. The town returns one Member to Parliament; constituency, 726. The harbour extends about half a mile below the bridge. Vessels of 400 tons can moor at the quays in sixteen to eighteen feet of water. The tide flows up to Old Bridge, 24 miles above the town, and from that to Navan, nineteen miles. The navigation is carried on by barges of fifty tons. At the entrance to the harbour are three light-houses. The Dublin and Drogheda line was open for traffic in 1844. There is a branch running along the valleys of the Boyne and the Blackwater to Navan and Kells.

The ancient name of Drogheda was Treadagh. Little is known, with certainty, of its history in Milesian times. The Danes got possession of it early in the tenth century, and made it one of their greatest strong-holds on the coast. It was a very important position with the Normans, and it became the theatre of great transactions between the Pale and the Irish during several centuries. The Parliament of