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relics of feudal times; and others were reared by ecclesiastics, and for military purposes, during the civil war in GreatBritain. They seem to prove, that this part of Ireland has long possessed a dense population, and was deemed of great importance.

A few miles below Limerick, we passed St. Patrick's Well, a spring by the way-side, which has given name to the little village around it. With the holy waters of this fountain, the tutelary Saint is said to have baptized the neighbouring inhabitants in person, who flocked to him in multitudes, to receive the token of the remission of their sins. Four miles from town stand the ruins of a castle and abbey, reputed to be the oldest on the Island. The spot is said to be enchanted. A legend is still in circulation and currently believed, that the wife of a peasant went out one evening to milk her cow, when the animal made for the ruined abbey and entered the door: the woman followed: suddenly the dark and crumbling cloister became a splendid apartment, with furniture of the most dazzling description: the cow moved on, and the house-wife pursued with her pail: another cloister was converted into a repository of gold and precious stones: in an instant, the scene changed, and the ruin became dark and silent as the grave: the woman groped her way out, but the cow was never again heard of. Lights were also seen in the dilapidated castle so insufferably brilliant, that whoever looked at them became blind. St. Patrick presented himself one stormy night at the door of a cottage, and requested admittance and shelter from the inclemency of the weather. The tenants of the cabin refused to rise and let him in, lest they should see the light and be struck with blindness. He knew the cause of their fears, and gave them a charm against the influence of the light, commanding them to cross their faces as soon as it appeared. The custom prevails to this day of making a cross, when 1a candle is lighted. I asked the guard of the coach who is an active and intelligent man, possessed of good understanding and sound sense on other subjects, if he believed these stories. He replied there was no reason why he should not; for St. Patrick had removed serpents and every thing venomous out of Ireland: and that shows, added he, that he had power to do these things. The opinion was expressed in so much sincerity, and with such gravity of manner, that his faith was disturbed by no farther interrogatories.

We arrived at Limerick at two o'clock. On the left of the road, just as it enters the town, are the unostentatious residences of Lord Limerick and of the Bishop, side by side; and on the right, at a little distance, a large and new county jail, a lunatic asylum, and an infirmary for the sick and aged. That part of the city through which we first passed, is handsomely built. The streets are wide, and the houses, nearly all of brick, are spacious, finished in the modern style. This is called the new town and is inhabited by the wealthier portion of citizens, who make it merely a winter residence. While dinner was preparing, we visited the Court House, Custom House, and Cathedral. The last is a venerable pile of great antiquity. Around its mouldering walls are the tombs of the nobility, with the bearings of their families, and many inscriptions, some of which are in illegible characters. The organ, which is profusely ornamented, and the tones of which are said to be uncommonly sweet, was captured from the Spanish by Admiral Drake. We climbed this edifice, which is a specimen of pure Gothic architecture, to the very battlements, whence a perfect view of the city was obtained.

After dinner our rambles were resumed. Limerick was once a walled city, and is celebrated in the history of the wars between England and Ireland. A section of the ancient rampart is yet standing; as are also two castles, in one of which, King John for some time resided.. They are now both vacant and shut up. Adjoining to them are the barracks, in which there is a regiment of troops at present stationed. Near these old fortresses, a stone bridge of equal antiquity, extends across the Shannon. A bloody battle was once fought upon it, and multitudes of the troops were in the heat of the conflict precipitated into the river and seen floating over the falls below.

The Shannon, opposite Limerick, is a narrow stream, but the channel is of sufficient depth to admit ships of 500 tons burthen to ascend with ease and safety. It soon becomes wide. Where we first saw it this morning, it is nearly as broad as the Hudson. The distance from Limerick to its mouth is 63 miles. It rises far in the interior, and is the largest river, not only in the three kingdoms, but on any island yet explored. Its commerce is extensive. The steam-boat Lady of the Shannon, which is small in compa

rison with ours, runs every other day to Killrush, a village on the right bank of the river, near its mouth.

This city is apparently in a flourishing condition. Fewer beggars are seen in the streets, than in other towns, and the lower classes are more decently clad. This difference in the aspect of the population is ascribed to the number and activity of the charitable institutions, among which is a house of industry, where eight hundred or a thousand are constantly kept employed. There is, however, yet a wide field open for melioration.

LETTER IV.

ROUTE FROM LIMERICK TO DUBLIN CITY OF DUBLINPASSAGE FROM DUBLIN TO LIVERPOOL.

The distance is 91 Each of the horses, be

July, 1825.—On Saturday morning the 9th instant, we left Limerick in the post coach, at 5 o'clock, and arrived at Dublin at 9 on the same evening. Irish, or about 116 English miles. longing to this line has his name stamped on the collar. Our coach was drawn by Bolivar, and other heroes. Relays are stationed at distances of eight or ten miles, and changes are effected with great expedition, seldom occupying more than two minutes. So exact are the times of arrival at the different stages, that the teams are standing harnessed at the door of the inn, and the only delay is the unhitching and hitching the traces. Irish horses are generally stout and well fed, calculated for strength rather than speed. They are not so fleet as ours. An American stage, with an American driver, would fly like lightning along an Irish road, which presents no obstructions. I have smiled at the caution of coachmen in this country. They begin to turn out by the time another team is in sight, always taking the left hand side of the path, exemplifying the solecism that in travelling," the left is always the right." Where there is only a moderate descent, the wheels are locked. With such precautions, accidents very seldom happen. Travellers feel so much security as frequently to sleep upon the top of the

coach, although at almost a dizzy height from the ground. We were told that our ride from Limerick to Dublin was a pretty fair specimen of English travelling; and if so, it has the preference in point of comfort over ours. The motion of the coach is easy, and very little fatigue was felt at the end of this long journey.

The road between these two cities stretches across the Island in a diagonal direction; and as we rode almost the whole distance upon the outside, we had a good view of the interior and agricultural part of the country. Both in point of soil and cultivation, Ireland has much surpassed my expectations. The surface is uniform, consisting of moderate undulations, with here and there chains of hills and intervening bogs. There is however, very little waste land, the high grounds being used for pastures to their very tops, and the morasses for supplies of fuel. A destitution of trees and timber is the greatest defect, both in point of convenience and beauty of landscape. No woodlands are seen, except about the seats of the more wealthy inhabitants; and the residence of one of the nobility may be ascertained as far as the eye can reach, by the green copses about his dwelling. Geologists infer from the strata in the bogs, that Ireland was at three different periods covered with forests of heavy timber. These morasses are composed of vegetable and ligneous materials, some of which are found in a perfect state, in different layers, for many feet below the surface. Stumps and trees of a large growth have frequently been dug up in cutting turf.

The formation of the Island is secondary, being chiefly composed, as far as our observation has extended, of lime stone and slate, lying in strata nearly horizontal. We have seen no primitive rock since landing, not even about the mountains of Killarney. The soil is heavy and moist, being much better adapted to pasture and grass-land than to other crops. Wheat fields frequently look well, and are sometimes extensive. One was observed containing twenty acres. Potatoes, however, are the staple commodity, and fields of them are every where to be seen. The mode of tillage, both as respects this vegetable and grain, is generally different from ours, the ground being thrown up into beds four or five feet wide. Sometimes the former is planted in drills, but never in separate hills, as with us.

Fruits of all kinds are rare, with the exception, perhaps of the gooseberry, currant, and strawberry; and these are insipid, compared with those of the United States. We have not seen a dozen orchards in the whole of our route. The few apple-trees to be found are dwarfish, and the fruit equally small and stinted in its growth. New-York pippins are spoken of in terms of admiration by those who have tasted them. They are very frequently brought to the principal cities in Ireland. Our cherries are as much superior in size and flavour as our apples; and the peach will not grow here at all. The traveller is struck with the scantiness of the fare at the inns, compared with the profusion of our hotels. Nothing is placed before him, but what is expressly ordered, and a dozen little articles are not thought of, until the knife and fork are extended to take them. The necessity of making one's tea is awkward enough. We are not very well versed in Madam Glass; and our tea has on some occasions been a strange kind of beverage. Experience has, however, taught us to measure the quantity with tolerable accuracy.

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Immediately after leaving Limerick, the road runs along a section of the Grand Canal, which connects the waters of the Shannon with those of the Liffey and the Barrow. This is an important work, and has been of great utility to the country. Boats are constantly passing this navigable channel extending across the island. Farther north is the Royal Canal, running nearly parallel to the other. But I have not yet seen enough of these great national works, to enable me to enter into detail, or to draw a comparison between them and similar improvements in our own country.

In one of the villages, a beautiful range of white cottages. was observed, with neat doors and windows, and the grounds about them in a high state of cultivation. Every thing appeared in a thrifty condition, presenting a perfect contrast to the poverty, dirt and wretchedness of the ordinary cabin. The appearance was so novel, as to arrest the attention of the passengers. A gentléman in the coach, who was acquainted with the country, furnished an easy solution of this moral phenomenon. He remarked that the tenants were all freeholders, feeling the pride and ambition of citizens.

Seven or eight miles from Limerick, is Castle Connel Spa, with a cluster of houses about it, situate upon the banks of the Shannon. The waters are chalybeate, and said to be

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