can enjoy nearly all the picturesque scenery in this part of Ulster; and certainly, in its combination of mountain, sea and wood, some of the grandest and loveliest in the whole country. As already remarked, there is a railway from Newry to Warrenpoint. Four and a half miles from Newry is Narrowwater, the head of the estuary or lough which was guarded in old times by a fortress built by the Duke of Ormond in 1633, on the site of an old castle then in ruins. Narrowwater demesne, the seat of Major Hall, D.L., with its charming woods, stretches along the side of the hill, and visitors have the privilege of driving or walking through it. Warrenpoint was once a very pleasant, lively little town, situated on the margin of the lough, and until lately much frequented as a watering place. Rostrevor, two miles further on, is one of the most charming little bathing places that can be imagined, wanting only strength of water to make it perfect. It is delightfully situated at the head of a small cove running off Carlingford Lough. The road to it from Warrenpoint runs along the shore, and the number of pretty villas along the shore shows how well the attractions of the locality are appreciated by the merchants of Newry. About midway a very fine obelisk has been erected to the memory of Gen. Ross, who fell victorious at Baltimore. Opposite Warrenpoint is O'Meath, where the late Mr. Wodehouse built a beautiful villa, and planted and inclosed the hilly ground around it, making one of the most desirable residences, having magnificent views of the Mourne Mountains. He left behind him there one of the largest and most valuable libraries in the kingdom. That side of the lough may be reached by a ferry-boat, from which we can drive to the town of Carlingford, famous for its oysters. It has a very time-worn and desolate appearance, with none of the life that animates the towns of Ulster. Kilkeel is twelve miles from Warrenpoint, a clean, comfortable little town on the coast. The present Member for Newry, Lord Newry, has his seat, Mourne Park, in the vicinity. Three miles and a-half from Kilkeel, at the mouth or Carlingford Lough, are Cranfield Point, the light-house, and coast-guard station-the light-house is on the rock of Hawlboline, which is about a mile off the shore; and two miles west from Cranfield Point is Greencastle Point, and the ruins of Green Castle. This fortress was erected by De Burgo, Earl of Ulster, and is considered to have 'been among the first built by the English, to guard this entrance to the bay. There are several small islands at the mouth of the lough, and the shores on either side exhibit vast accumulations of sand. From Kilkeel to Newcastle, twelve miles, the road leads along the mountain side, which comes closer and closer to the sea till we come to Newcastle, where Slieve Donard, the highest of the Mourne Mountains, rises abruptly from the sea to the height of 2,796 feet. During the whole journey from Warrenpoint many summits were visible, varying in their aspects according to the light or shade in which they were viewed. But towering above all was the giant Donard, the monarch of this Alpine region. Newcastle is an exceedingly pretty little village, on the shore of Dundrum Bay, laid out expressly for a wateringplace, and considered the most fashionable in the County Down. It nestles right under the mountain, whose steep ascent is clothed with wood. Immediately above it is a large villa, surrounded with lovely plantations and pleasure-grounds, the seat of the Countess Dowager of Annesley, who has for many years devoted herself to the moral and social improvement of the people. Adjoining the demesne is a very handsome church, built chiefly at the expense of the noble proprietor of the town: by him, also, a piece of ground facing the strand has been inclosed and planted as a promenade, with seats for the accommodation of visitors, to whom the demesne is open, and through it a romantic pathway leads up the wooded glen to a waterfall, with restingplaces for pic-nic parties, where the most glorious views are enjoyed. In this way the ascent of the mountain can be most easily made; and thus reveals a panorama of scenery such as can be very rarely witnessed in any country. Newcastle has a very large first-class hotel, the Annesley Arms, close to the sea, and there are besides many good villas and lodging-houses. The railway is now opened to Newcastle from Belfast, passing by Downpatrick, Crossgar, Saintfield, Ballygowan, Comber, and Dundonald. Before leaving the neighbourhood of Newcastle, however, the tourist should visit Tollymore Park, the romantically beautiful demesne and fine old baronial mansion of the Earl of Roden. Situated in a broad glen, watered by the Shimna, reaching up the sides of Slieve Donard, clothed with every variety of wood, exhibiting every form of beauty, laid out with exquisite taste, and kept with the greatest care, and comprising 1,200 acres, the scenery inspires fresh delight at every turn; while the village of Bryansford, at the entrance-gate, presents one of the best pictures we have seen of a quiet English hamlet, near an ancient aristocratic mansion. At a short distance from Tollymore Park, standing on elevated ground, is the small town of Castlewellan, laid out with a large square, after the manner of the English settlers in this province. At Newcastle we can take the train to Belfast. BELFAST. Belfast not being blessed with a cathedral, like Armagh and Derry, is not called a city. It is only a town; but it is the capital of Ulster, and it surpasses all other places in Ireland in the rapidity of its progress and in its prosperity. It can boast but little of its antiquity: there is probably not an house in the borough more than 150 years old. The place is first noticed by history in 1178, merely as the site of a fort of the O'Neills, which was destroyed by John De Courcy. It was but a poor village at the time of Bruce's invasion in 1315, though Spenser erroneously calls it a very good town. It was so insignificant in 1586, that Hollingshead does not mention it among the towns and havens of Down and .Antrim. Whatever town existed there had been destroyed by the Earl of Kildare when Lord Deputy. In 1552 it was repaired and garrisoned, and shortly after it was granted by the Crown to Hugh O'Neill of Clandeboye. In 1571 the castle, with a large portion of territory adjoining it, was bestowed upon Sir Thomas Smith and his son. The latter was assassinated by the 'wicked, barbarous, and uncivil people;' and the former not being able to fulfil the conditions of his tenure, the district reverted, with the whole Earldom of Ulster, to the Crown, in the reign of James I. Belfast was then surrounded by extensive forests, abounding in fine timber for building. The best specimen-perhaps the only one in the kingdom-of a forest like what covered the country at that time still exists at Shane's Castle, the magnificent demesne of Lord O'Neill, where may be seen enormous oaks decaying with age, under whose shade probably the famous Shane marshalled his galloglasse. In 1613 the Castle and Manor of Belfast were granted to Sir Arthur Chichester, Lord Deputy, ancestor of the Marquis of Donegal, who did so much to effect the final conquest of Ulster. He may be said to be the founder of the town. From the estates of his relatives in Devonshire and from Scotland many families came over and made a strong settlement here. Ultimately it became a corporation, sending two Members to the Irish Parliament. The chief magistrate was called the sovereign; and the first who held the office was Thomas Pottinger, ancestor of the celebrated Sir Henry Pottinger. In 1758 the population was 8,549; in 1821 it was 37,000; in 1831 it was 53,000; in 1841 it had increased to 75,000; in 1851 it amounted to 103,000, and the last census shows it to be 121,602. About 1,500 houses are built annually within the borough boundary, and the present population is estimated at 150,000. The rateable property is more than £394,000. The sum of £560,000 has been spent on the harbour improvements, to which is to be added £250,000 for building new docks. There are docks of all sorts and great ship-building establishments standing on ground created out of the floating chaos of mud. 'Year by year,' as one of its citizens has said, 'Belfast is changing its aspect, and over-stepping its former boundaries, climbing the hill-. side, skirting the river's margin, and even invading the sea's ancient domain.' 'Ambition,-mistress of the fertile land, Among the usurpations is Queen's Island, a beautiful people's park, standing in the midst of the Lough. The citizens of Belfast have effected all these vast improvements from their own resources, without a shilling from the lord of the |