ASSENGERS from America arriving in Europe by steamers destined to Liverpool can land at Queenstown (Cove of Cork), and a few days will suffice to visit the most interesting places in Ireland, including Cork and Blarney Castle, Killarney and its Lakes, Limerick, Kilkenny, Dublin, Galway, Belfast, and the Giant's Causeway.

Those who wish to visit Scotland before reaching London may go directly from Belfast to Glasgow by excellent and swift steamers. Travellers to England may take the steamer from Kingstown, a suburb of Dublin, to Holyhead, thence by rail to Liverpool or London, viá Chester.

The

10. DUBLIN TO HOLYHEAD

(Route to Liverpool and London).

11. BELFAST TO GLASGOW

American mails are forwarded from Cork by the Kingstown and Holyhead route to London. The steamers between Kingstown and Holyhead have been constructed with especial reference to speed; the passage, 66 miles, is usually made in 3 hours.

The best months for visiting Ireland are June, July, and August. The weather is then generally fine, and the temperature agreeable; but before the middle of May and after August the weather is likely to be damp and the rains frequent, which, combined with the fogs, make sight-seeing very disagreeable.

The physical geography of Ireland is peculiar. The mountains, or more properly the hills,

instead of being in the interior, and approached from the coast through level lands, form a kind of belt along nearly the whole of the coast, leaving the country comparatively flat. The most noteworthy of the hills is Carrantuohill, County Kerry, the highest peak in Ireland. It is 3,414 ft. above the level of the sea; Lugnaquilla, in County Wicklow, 3,039 ft.; Slieve Donard, in County Down, 2,796 ft.; Galtymore, in County Tipperary, 3,015 ft.

The principal rivers are the Shannon, the Barrow, Boyne, Suir, Slaney, Erne, Foyle, Bann, Blackwater, and Liffey. The Shannon is the largest; in fact, it is the largest river in the United Kingdom, its length being 240 miles; it is navigable for barges to within 5 miles of its

source.

Ireland is justly celebrated for the number, extent, and beauty of its lakes or loughs. No country in Europe contains so great a proportion of land covered with fresh water. Lough Neagh, in Ulster, is the largest, it being 14 miles in length, by 11 miles in breadth. The celebrated lakes of Killarney are the smallest, the three covering an area of 6,110 acres, while Lough Neagh alone covers 98,200 acres.

The climate of Ireland differs from that of England and Scotland in being more equable, neither the heat in summer nor the cold in winter being so severe. The mean annual temperature is from 47° to 49°. The average annual rainfall is estimated to be thirtysix inches.

The soil and climate are favourable to the growth of grasses and oats. Barley and potatoes are extensively grown. The humidity of the atmosphere and the equable nature of the temperature are un

favourable to the production of wheat. The smallness of the holdings in the hands of poor tenants, generally from two to ten acres, and the want of care and encouragement both of resident and non-resident landlords, impeded the advancement of agriculture.

The population of Ireland is, in 1870, not far from 5,500,000. It diminished between 1841 and 1851, according to official statements,from 8,175,124 to 6,551,970, and in 1861 was reduced to 5,798,233. This falling off is due, in the first instance, largely to the potato famine of 1845, and it has been subsequently increased by emigration, chiefly to the United States.

The length of the island from N.E. to S.W. is 304 miles, its greatest breadth 194 miles, and it comprises a total of 20,322,641 acres, or 31,874 square miles.

Ireland is divided into thirtytwo counties, nine of which form the province of Ulster, twelve that of Leinster, six that of Munster, and five that of Connaught.

ROUTE 1.

QUEENSTOWN TO CORK. QUEENSTOWN. (Queen's Hotel.)

REVIOUS to 1849 this place was known as the "Cove of Cork." In honour of the visit of the Queen in that year, the name was changed to Queenstown. The place possesses in itself nothing of interest.

The traveller arriving by sea will have remarked the noble scenery of the spacious harbour, with its two islands, Hawlbowline and

Spike (one a depôt for ordnance stores, and the other a prison for convicts), and the town extending along the quays, and covering the steep hill in the background. The harbour is one of the most extensive in the United Kingdom, and is capable of affording shelter to the whole British navy. Of the beauty of the scenery, Arthur Young says that "he thought it preferable in many respects to anything he had seen in Ireland." It was to this harbour that Drake retreated when pressed by the Spanish navy. On Great Island, upon which the town itself is situated, are buried the remains of Wolfe, the author of the celebrated lines on the burial of Sir John Moore.

The railway is completed from Queenstown to Cork, where it connects with the railway to Dublin; but the route by the river, 11 miles, is the most agreeable and picturesque. The boats leave many times a day.

After rounding the point, quitting the Cove, and entering the river Lee, the first place reached is, MONKSTOWN (3 miles). (Imperial Hotel.)

The prominent object of interest here is the now ruined castle, built in 1636, in relation to which a curious story is related. During the absence of her husband in Spain, Anastasia Goold (others say Anastasia Archdeckan), in order to prepare an agreeable surprise for her lord on his return, determined to build a castle. To provide means, she arranged with all the workmen employed to receive in payment, at prices fixed by herself, food, clothing, and other necessaries. The tariff of prices fixed was so liberal that she cleared profits enough to cover the entire costs of the castle within fourpence. The castle was

always thereafter said to have cost only a groat.

PASSAGE (1 miles), a pretty village, latterly of some note as a watering-place. The largest ships may anchor here. From this port Sir Walter Raleigh sailed for Guinea in 1617, and the "Sirius," the second steamship which crossed the Atlantic, left Passage on the 1st of January, 1858, for New York. Lover, in his "Irish Lyrics," thus pleasantly says of the

town:

"The town of Passage is both large and spacious,

And situate upon the say; "Tis nate and dacent, and quite adja

cent

To come from Cork on a summer's day."

Passing through a magnificent sheet of water, called Lough Mahon, we see, BLACKROCK (3 miles), a picturesque promontory, which at a distance resembles a ruined castle. Blackrock Castle is a modern structure, consisting of a circular tower with a small turret.

The tall round tower overlooking our route is the Mathew Tower, erected in honour of Father Mathew, the great apostle of tempe

rance.

CORK. (Hotels: Imperial, Victoria, Commercial.) Population in 1861, 80,121.

This city, the capital of southern Ireland, is situated on the river Lee, and is peculiar from its singular mixture of broad avenues and quays, and narrow squalid lanes; the latter are, however, disappearing, and the city bears visible marks of having been vastly less beautiful than it now is. The principal modern streets are in that part known as the Island, which is connected with the shores by six bridges, of which Patrick's and Parliament bridges are worthy of attention. The chief streets

and avenues are Saint Patrick's, Grand Parade, South Mall, Great Georges-st., and Mardyke; the latter once the promenade of the fashionables of the city.

The churches and public buildings are not of especial interest. Of the latter, the most noteworthy are St. Patrick's Cathedral, in the Grecian order of architecture, and the church of St. Peter and Paul, a rich Gothic building. The church of the Holy Trinity, a Gothic building, is chiefly remarkable from having been founded by Father Mathew. There is a statue of the Father in St. Patrick street, near Patrick's Bridge, representing him in the dress of his order (Capuchin). Sheridan Knowles, Haynes Bayley, and Hogan the sculptor, were born in Cork.

William Penn, while visiting Cork to look after business connected with his father's estate, became a convert to Quakerism under the preaching of Thomas Loe. He was imprisoned here for a few days, with eighteen other converts to this faith."

ROUTE 2.

CORK TO BLARNEY

CASTLE.

HE distance is 5 miles. It may be reached either by jaunting-car, or railway from Cork; the former is usually adopted. The route is by the north bank of the river, the scenery by that course being preferable. A car from Cork costs 2s. 6d. to 3s. It is always well to arrange with the driver before leaving, stipulating price, length of stay, &c.

BLARNEY CASTLE is the name given to the ruins of a massive and

powerful structure built by Cormack M'Carthy in 1449. Its chief feature is its square tower with a battlement. It is annually visited by thousands, not for any especial interest it possesses as a castle or ruin, but because it contains the world-renowned Blarney Stone, which is situated below the parapet, and is very difficult to reach. To reach and kiss it is the object of the visits of not only Irish but foreign tourists, since the kissing confers "an eloquence so flattering and persuasive that nothing can resist it." Owing to the difficulty in reaching the original, another Blarney Stone has been substituted, which the local guide assures visitors possesses all the power of the other.

The Blarney Stone was a byword in Ireland before 1799, the year in which Milliken wrote the now celebrated song, "The Groves of Blarney." Since then the stone and the ruin where it is placed have attained a world-wide renown, and "blarney" is a synonym for flattery wherever the English language is spoken. Webster, in his dictionary, has defined it "smooth deceitful talk-flattery." It is certainly very curious that a few lines remarkable only for their absurdity should have gained for this place, which possesses nothing remarkable in itself, such a wonderful notoriety. There are several versions of the song, which may be found in most collections of British poetry. The following, which will serve as a sample, is from Crocker's "Popular Songs of Ireland:"

"The groves of Blarney,
They look so charming,
Down by the purling
Of sweet silent streams,
Being banked with posies
That spontaneous grow there,
Planted in order

By the sweet rock close.