ances until their children should arrive at the age of manhood! Woe to the heart that meditated, woe to the mind that conceived, woe to the counsel that recommended the project of this expedition, without knowing whether they should to the end of their lives be able to return to their native principalities or patrimonies!"* "Davis concludes his curious narrative with a few pregnant words, in which the difficulties England had to contend with in conquering Tyrone, (Earl O'Neil,) are there acknowledged with all the frankness of a generous foe: As for us that are here,' he says, 'we are glad to see the day wherein the countenance and majesty of the law and civil government hath banished Tyrone out of Ireland, which the best army in Europe, and the expense of two millions of sterling pounds, had not been able to bring to pass.'"+ Amongst Mangan's translations from the Irish is a touching elegy, said to have been composed by O'Donnell's own bard, Owen Roe MacWard, who accompanied the chieftain in his exile. This beautiful poem is addressed to Nuala, O'Donnell's sister, whom the bard finds in solitary grief at the grave of her illustrious relatives, on St Peter's Hill, at Rome. * Annals of the Four Masters, A.D. 1607. Moore's Ireland. "O woman of the piercing wail, Who mournest o'er yon mound of clay Would to God thou wert among the Gael! "Twere long before, around a grave In green Tirconnell one could find This loneliness; Near where Beann-Boirche's banners wave Such grief as thine could ne'er have pined Companionless. What do I say? Ah, woe is me! Their fatal fall! Then, daughter of O'Donnell, dry For Adam's race is born to die, Look not, nor sigh, for earthly throne, Uplift thy soul to God alone, For all things go their destined way Embrace the faithful Crucifix, And seek the path of pain and prayer Thy Saviour trod; Nor let thy spirit intermix With earthly hope and worldly care Its groans to God! And Thou, O mighty Lord! whose ways To understand, Sustain us in these doleful days, Look down upon our dreary state, Watch Thou o'er hapless Erin's fate, From Rathmullan the tourist may cross, by boat, to Buncranna, on the east side of Lough Swilly, or proceed by the road to Rathmelton, which is a beautiful drive, passing the woods of Holymount, and Raywood. After crossing the Genalla river, where you get charming glimpses of the grounds of Glenalla House, and the pretty little church, built by General Hart, at Aughnish, you keep close to the shore up to Rathmelton. FROM RATHMELTON TO BUNCRANA. Lough Swilly is crossed from Fort-Stewart. The tourist will take the straight road to Newtowncunningham, a quiet hamlet, where there is nothing to detain him. Here, instead of going on to Derry, he should turn to the left, taking the Burt road, which runs northward, passing, about a mile and a half farther on, a place called Bridgetown, near which are the remains of an old castle, on Castle Hill. Close to Burt is the Greenan Hill, (800 feet,) on the summit of which are the remains of the historic Grianan of Aileach," the chief residence in former times of the northern Hy Nial. No man who knows anything of ancient Ireland will omit a visit to this spot. As the word Grianan signifies a sunny chamber, some have fancied that there was at one time here some kind of temple or place dedicated to the worship of the sun; but this opinion seems to have no other foundation than the etymology of the word. It is certain that it was the principal palace of the northern Irish kings from the earliest times down to the twelfth century. It is a Cyclopean construction, consisting of a cashel, whose circular wall encloses an area seventy-seven feet in diameter. The wall is not vertical, but rises with a curved incline, like that of Staigue Fort in the county of Kerry. Within the thickness of the wall are galleries beginning on either side of the entrance, but strongly walled off from the gateway, and running round one-half the entire circumference; they are entered from the area inside. In the centre of the cashel is a small oblong building, which, it is probable, was a chapel, and a more re * See the historic sketch passim: sometimes written "Oileach” and "Ailigh." cent erection than any other portion of the remains. Outside, the cashel is defended by three extensive ramparts, running in concentric circles. They are constructed of earth mixed with lines of uncemented stones. The hill on which the Grianan of Aileach stood is 800 feet above the sea, and would deserve a visit for the fine and varied prospect it affords. It commands the whole of the district called the Laggan. From this point the visitor may behold again the blue pomp of Lough Swilly, and the pageantry of its shores already traced from the venerable Killydonnell, on the opposite shore. Southward, the view extends far over the green slopes of the Laggan. Here is the traditionary Magh Ith, the plain whereon was fought the first battle in Ireland. Here Ith, the son of Breogan, the first of the Milesians that landed in Ireland, received his death-wound. * "One of the most familiar legends of Inishowen is, that a troop of Hugh O'Neill's horse lies in magic sleep in a cave under the hill of Aileach, where the princes of the country were formerly installed. These bold troopers only wait to have the spell removed to rush to the aid of their country; and a man (says the legend) who wandered accidentally into the cave, found them lying beside their horses, * The Magh Ith (plain of Ith) has not been identified. Р |