424 Lakes of Killarney. count for his disappearance thus. Whilst the venerable oak tenanted the sides of Glená, the beams of the moon were reflected from a small stream which descended into the lake, but which is now completely skreened by brushwood. Be this as it may-the ghost has va nished, and the timid no longer suffer alarm. Mucross Abbey has the reputation of being a fine Gothic ruin, and the grounds about it very beautiful. This, as well as a visit to the Devil's Punch-bowl, and to the grand Alpine chain that forms the southern boundary of the island, with other objects of great curiosity in Ireland, must on the present occasion be relinquished. We landed at Ross Castle, and regained Killarney soon after it was dark. A detail of all the beauties of this interesting spot would fill a volume. Had my powers of description been equal to my admiration of the beautiful and sublime features of nature, which my eye has this day surveyed, you would not have hesitated to concur with me, that Killarney has no equal. I feel a pleasure at parting, by indulging a hope I may at no distant period pay this delighful spot a second visitat present so many objects are in view-so many concerns obtrude, that I am not in a fit Lakes of Killarney. 425 state of mind to devote myself, and be so abstracted, as it is requisite to partake the full enjoyment of its fascinations. It is for you to decide how far the prepossessions in favor of home, with which I ascended the mountains on leaving Castle Isle, have disqualified me from dealing candidly with Killarney. Adieu. J. C. C. LETTER XXXIV. Macroom, Sept. 13, 1813. WE had to wait in the street this morning a full hour before the ostler could be roused from his bed, and our horses obtained. To what will not habit reconcile us? We had now acquired by experience such knowledge of the want of order and punctuality at Irish inns, that we endured the delay with the most edifying patience; by-the-by, this virtue is no where exposed to severer trials than at Killarney. The weather puts it often to comfortless experiments, while some forbearance is requisite to submit, without loss of temper, to the general conspiracy to rob and plunder. The impositions, though glaring, cannot well be avoided; and as few visitors are expected to return, they are practised on with impunity. There is still much oak in the neighbourhood of Killarney. The devastation, unfortunately, has been made on the islands, and the sides of Glená, where it was most ornamental, Lakes of Killarney. 427. and where its loss is consequently the greatest. The waste, however, is fast recruiting, and the injury is daily less perceptible, by the rapid growth of the wood. The sun arose this morning in all its splendor; I beheld its first beams irradiate the brow of Glená. The smile it provoked, like that assumed by hopeless desperation, exposed the melancholy it sought to conceal. Not all the sun's resplendent rays could enliven the indelible character of pensive gloominess attached to this enchanting spot, the magnificence of whose features were deeply imprinted on my mind; and had not a cherished hope of revisiting Killarney ere long, with greater leisure and more capacity of thought for enjoying its sublime beauties, supported my spirits, I could not with any comfort have been reconciled to our immediate departure. M'Gilly Cuddy's Reeks, and Mangerton, seemed to rise in height in proportion as our distance from them became increased. The altitude of Mount Blanc surprised me more from the summit of Montanvert than from the valley of Chamouni. 428 Lakes of Killarney. Our delightful, though transient view has exhibited sufficient to make us truly sensible of our loss, in being precluded from a more intimate acquaintance with the indescribable beauties of this romantic region. Previous to my visit to Killarney, Ben-lomond stood in my opinion unrivalled, as the most sublime object within my knowledge. I saw the sun rise upon it some years ago, in a fine autumnal morning, from the head of the lake, and then thought it the grandest sight I ever beheld. In my estimation now, I can only reckon the Scottish mountain as second to M'Gilly Cuddy's Reeks. The enchantments of Killarney, however, have not diminished my admiration for our northern scenery; the pretensions of each are so completely opposite, that no merited praise bestowed on Killarney can detract from Windermere; and though competitors for picturesque effect, they may for ever continue as friends, to the gratification of those, whose perceptions are capable of being charmed either by the assemblage of nature's most sublime, or her most beautiful compositions! At a short distance from Killarney we overtook an Irish car, with a coffin fixed upon it; |