be credited. His vassals were habituated to the use of arms, 600 soldiers constituted his body-guard; and he was master of an army of 4000 foot and 1000 horse. His father, Con, had submitted to Henry VIII.; but Shane asserted his independence, and at the head of a considerable force burst into the English pale, quelling his enemies, and carrying the sway of O'Neill higher than it had reached under any of his predecessors since the race had given monarchs to Ireland. Yet willing to live at peace with England, he announced his intention of visiting the Queen of England in her capital, as became an independent prince. The citizens of the British metropolis beheld with astonishment the Ulster chieftain, accompanied by a splendid train of Irishmen, arrayed in the costume of their country, on whom they gazed with surprise as on the natives of another hemisphere. A body-guard of Galloglasses, armed with battle-axes, marched with O'Neill. Long curled hair descended from their uncovered heads; their linen vests were dyed with crocus; long sleeves, short tunics, and shaggy cloaks rendered the whole dress more singularly conspicuous. Regardless of the law which prohibited the use of the national Hibernian costume, O'Neill appeared proudly at the head of his guards, going in a spirit of conscious independence to treat on equal terms with the sovereign of the British empire. Elizabeth received him graciously, and O'Neill returned triumphant into Ireland. But to make a fitting" Chronicle of the O'Neills" would require an abler pen than ours, and we will prosecute the attempt no farther.

Two miles farther on we reach

RANDALSTOWN,

A beautifully environed little town, situated in the glen or richly wooded valley of the river Main, at the northern extremity of Lord O'Neill's gorgeously wooded demesne. The town contains a comfortable inn. The principal trade of the place (besides considerable sales of agricultural produce) is the linen weaving, calico weaving, and cotton spinning. It sent two members to the Irish Parliament, named by Charles Henry St. John Viscount O'Neill (who received the £15,000 compensation at its disfranchisement, in 1800).

The present Lord John Bruce Richard O'Neill, is second son of the first viscount, by the only daughter and heir of Charles Lord Dungarvan, grand-daughter of fifth Earl of Cork and Orrery. Born 1780; is unmarried; succeeded his brother in the viscounty and barony in 1841; was elected an Irish representative peer in February, 1842, upon the decease of the second Viscount Gort; is Vice-admiral of the coast of the province of

Ulster Constable of Dublin Castle; represented Antrim in Par liament from 1802 to April 1841; a Lieutenant-general in the

army.

Passing without a call, regardless of the poet's command, "the good house Moneyglass" (the residence of Thomas M. Hamilton Jones, Esq., J.P. and present High Sheriff of Antrim), so famous for Carolan's air and song-which latter is lost in the splendour of the facetious Baron Dawson's paraphrase, which begins"Ye good fellows all

Who love to be told where there's claret good store,

Attend to the call

Of one who's ne'er frighted
But greatly delighted

With six bottles more.

Be sure you don't

pass

The good house Moneyglass,

Which the jolly red god so peculiarly owns,

'T will suit your humour,

For pray what would you more

Than mirth, with good claret, and bumpers, Squire Jones ?"

We next reach Toome Bridge, where we cross the lower Bann by a bridge of nine arches, erected by Lord O'Neill. On the Derry side are the ruins of an old castle, and in the vicinity is Drumraymond Cottage, a seat of Lord O'Neill's; Blackpark, the seat of John Shiel, Esq., J.P., and St. Helena.

At the northern extremity of Lough Neagh we enter the pleasantly situated village of

CASTLEDAWSON.

Adjoining the village are the demesne and mansion of Castledawson, the residence of the Right Hon. George Robert Dawson, brother-in-law of Sir Robert Peel, and in the vicinity are the residences of John G. Lapenitiere, J.P.; Hon. Charles Stuart, J.P.; William Graves, of Gravesend, Esq., J.P.

We now take a hurried drive south-westward, through the thriving little villages and towns of Magherafelt, Moneymore, Cookstown, and Stuartstown. Half way between those towns is Tullogh-oge Rath, where they used to "make the O'Nialls" Here, upon this Rath, in days of yore, the chieftains of Ulster were solemnly inaugurated, on the Stone of Royalty, amidst the circling warriors, the bards, and Ollamhs of Tyr-eoghain; and received" an oath to preserve all the ancient former customs of the country inviolable, and to deliver up the succession peaceably to his Tanist; and then hath a wand delivered unto him by one whose proper office that is; after which, descending from

the stone, he turneth himself round, thrice forward and thrice backward," &c.

COAL-ISLAND.

Passing Stuartstown, we enter this village, which takes its name from the extensive coal-mines of Tyrone, which chiefly exist in its neighbourhood. It stands at six miles north-west of Lough Neagh, with which it communicates by a canal of four miles, joining the river Blackwater two miles above its debouch into the Lough, and thus it commands, for the diffusion of its mining and manufacturing produce, the extensively ramified communications of the Ulster, Lagan, and Newry canals. In the village is a small iron work for manufacture of spades and shovels. In the mining fields six beds of coals have been worked, with various success, during the last century, and are now (July, 1846) being worked with greater vigour than formerly. And it is said that the quality of coal is better than that formerly found. It is confidently anticipated that the chief use of the Newry Canal will again become what it was originally intended for the transportation of coals from Tyrone to Newry; and that in a short time the lighters of Coal-Island will supersede the colliers of Whitehaven and other Northern English and West of Scotland ports, at the Newry Coal Mart, Butter Crane Quay, as the quality of the Irish coal is as good as the Scotch or the Workington and Whitehaven coals, and they can be sold much cheaper.

Leaving Coal-Island, we drive westward four miles through an agreeably diversified country, with the flat rich shores of Lough Neagh on the one hand, and before us the beautiful undulations of the banks of the Blackwater on the other-in the distance the moors and black hills of central Tyrone-and enter the famed

DUNGANNON.

HIS town is at the eastern base of the great expanse of hill country which fills the northern midland counties. Dungannon is environed by a well-cultivated, fertile, and thickly populated district. Adjoining the town is Northland House, the seat of the Earl of Ranfurly, the proprietor of the town; and all the country round is dressed with demesnes, villas, and pretty farm houses. The town itself is well-built, and wears a cheerful prosperous appearance. It has a diffusive inland and retail trade, and a considerable grain and linen trade. Although

its public buildings have no pretensions to architectural beauty, yet the parish church of Dungannon must ever have peculiar attractions for the Irish patriot; for here was first promulgated the resolve of a brave and ardent people to achieve their independence. Here was held, on the 15th of February, 1782, the memorable Convention of the Representatives, of 143 corps of Volunteers, who resolved, unanimously, "That a claim of any body of men, other than the King, Lords, and Commons of Ireland, to make laws to bind this kingdom, is unconstitutional, illegal, and a grievance;" a resolution from which sprung the brief but bright era of Irish independence. Another meeting, attended by the most respectable men in Ulster, was held on the 8th of September, 1783, and adopted resolutions expressing the general principles of a Reform in Parliament. A third meeting was held in February, 1793, and was composed of delegates from every county in Ulster. The Government was so alarmed at their resolutions, that the Convention Act was enacted to put a stop to such meetings.

Dungannon appears to have been a very ancient place. In the reign of James I., letters patent were issued to the Chichester family, granting to them the manor of Dungannon with many peculiar privileges. Immediately after, Dungannon appears to have been increasing in trade and population; and additional letters patent were soon after granted, appointing Dungannon a borough, governed by a partrieve and burgesses, and directing them to elect" two honest, sober, and discreet men" to represent them in Parliament.

On the summit of the hill stood an old castle, said to have been built by the O'Neills. The ancestors of the present landlord, Earl Ranfurly, possessed the old castle until its mouldering walls began to show symptoms of decay. The family then removed to the elegant mansion built by the late Lord Northland, at Dungannon Park. On the site of the old castle, T. K. Hammington, Esq., about the year 1790, erected a handsome castle in the modern style. As it stands upon the summit of the hill it affords a pleasing prospect of the surrounding country. Ranfurly, second Earl of. Created 1831; Viscount Northland, 1791; Baron Welles, 1781 (Ireland); Baron Ranfurly, 1826 (United Kingdom), by which latter title he holds his seat in the House of Lords. Thomas Knox, son of the first earl by the eldest daughter of Viscount Percy (extinct). Born 1786; married 1815, eldest daughter of Archbishop (Stuart) of Armagh (she was born 1797); succeeded his father in 1840; represented Dungannon in Parliament from August 1837 to June 1838, when he accepted the Chiltern Hundreds. The first peer repre

sented Dungannon in Parliament. Residences-8 George Street, Portman Square, London; Dungannon Park, county Tyrone. Heir, his son Thomas, Viscount Northland, M.P., born 1816; has represented Dungannon in Parliament since June, 1838.

The old castle experienced the vicissitudes of turbulent ages, and frequently changed masters. In 1498, it was taken by Gerald, eighth Earl of Kildare, but was soon after retaken. In 1517, it was taken by Gerald, ninth Earl of Kildare, and burned. In the wars of 1641, it was one of the earliest strong places taken by the insurgents.

A Franciscan friary was built here in the reign of Henry VII., by Con O'Neill, in a place in the suburbs called Anna Ballysoggart.

The Royal School of Dungannon, was founded and largely endowed in 1628; and was repaired and aided by Lord Rokeby in 1786. The circle of education includes all the ordinary departments, and French, Latin, Hebrew, Greek, Geography, History, Antiquities, Logic, Mathematics, and Natural Philosophy. Master, Rev. John Darley, A.M.

The town had a population of 3,801, houses 589, in 1841, and gives the title of Viscount in the Irish peerage to the noble families of Hill Trevor.

Turning to the south, we traverse a well-cultivated country, which, as we advance, grows naturally tame and flat, but from its aboricultural improvements, it wears a pleasing aspect. At four miles and three quarters we enter the stirring little town of

MOY,

Which carries on a considerable trade in corn, coal, slate, timber, and various other articles. It commands the navigation of the Blackwater, and of all the canals communicating with Lough Neagh. The linen trade, in weaving and bleaching, gives a good deal of employment. Adjacent to the town is the demesne of Roxborough Castle, a residence of the Earl of Charlemont, and in the immediate vicinity are several villas, including Churchhill, the seat of Sir William Verner, Bart., M.P. Crossing by a good stone bridge over the Blackwater, we enter the town of

CHARLEMONT,

In the county Armagh. It is strictly a part of Moy; the two towns are separated topographically by the river; but as they