way ?" "I have." "Will you state the acreage of that property?" "One hundred and ninety-six thousand acres." "The property extends with some interruptions over a surface of about fifty miles?" "Over fifty English miles." "From Galway to the westward of Clifden ?" "By what description of persons is this estate generally tenanted?" "By very small holders. and ever since that time the black marble of Galway the estates of Mr. Martin, in the county of Galhas had numerous admirers and purchasers. The entrance-hall and grand staircase of the Duke of Hamilton's palace near Glasgow, are formed of this beautiful material. The right of quarrying is at the present time leased to certain capitalists, who have extensive stone-working machines at Galway. The process of obtaining the marble is simply as follows:The men first remove a covering of limestone, about twenty-five feet in thickness; it lies in beds or layers from one to two feet thick, and requires blasting with gunpowder to ensure its removal. The black marble, thus exposed to view, lies as flat as a billiard-table, in successive layers varying from six to fifteen inches in thickness. There are joints or fissures in these layers, which greatly facilitate the process of quarrying; wedges are driven into the fissures, and a few blows suffice to separate a complete block-for the different layers seem to be easily detached. Some of the blocks or slabs procured in this way are as large as twelve feet long by ten wide. The black marble here spoken of is a wholly distinct material from the green marble of the Twelve Pins. A visit to the mineralogical gallery at the British Museum will enable us to see a specimen of this beautiful green marble, in the form of a table presented by Mr. Martin, of Galway. The family of the Martins in Connamara are said to be the owners of a greater number of acres than any other family in Ireland. If the resources of the country were fully developed, the estate would be of enormous value; but the wealth of mountain and bog is of a prospective character. Colonel Martin, the representative of the family thirty or forty years ago, is said to have endeavoured to put the Prince Regent out of conceit with the famous "long walk" of Windsor, by saying that the avenue which led to his hall-door was thirty miles in length. The pleasantry was true to this extent, that the whole distance of thirty miles from Galway to Ballinahinch lay within the Martin estates, while the road from the one to the other stopped short of the mansion, beyond which there was little else than rugged paths. Ballinahinch is the name of a barony, a lake, a rivulet, a village, and a demesne; and the whole form the head-quarters of a family which has possessed almost regal power in this wild region indeed the title of " king of Connamara" has been given almost as much in seriousness as in joke to the representative of the family, by the native Irish around. But this great estate, like many other great estates in Ireland, is in such a state of entanglement that much will have to be done before its resources can be developed. Lieutenant Colonel Archer, who was recently examined before a Committee of the House of Lords on the Irish Poor Law, gave the following evidence: "You have been, I think, for nearly a year, employed as an Agent by the Law Life Assurance Company, who have foreclosed their mortgage upon The great bulk of the estate is in very small holdings, the occupiers of which are at and under £4." Another of the centres of power in this district is Clifden, the residence of the D'Arcys, one of the small number of proprietors of Connamara. Clifden is almost at the south-west corner of the district. In 1815 it consisted of one single house: it now contains several hundred. In the former year its site and a large extent of surrounding country yielded no revenues whatever to its proprietor: it now yields several thousands per annum. In 1822 roads were commenced, eastward from Clifden to Ballinahinch and Oughterard, and northward to Westport; these were the forerunners of the town; and an excellent quay, built by Mr. Nimmo at the inner extremity of Ardbear Harbour, gave to the incipient town the means of exporting and importing produce. The formation of this town did not involve any actual outlay on the part of Mr. D'Arcy; he offered leases of plots of ground on advantageous terms, to whoever was inclined to build; many availed themselves of the opportunity, and the result has been favourable both to lessor and lessees. This town of twenty seven years' existence now boasts of its gothic Parish Church, its Roman Catholic Chapel, its two public schools, its dispensary and workhouse, its three streets of tolerable houses, its import trade from Liverpool and even from America, its trade in curing and exporting herrings, its grain market, its breweries, distilleries, and corn-mills, and its corps of fishermen. The bay on whose shore it stands is so completely landlocked as to constitute a favourite rendezvous for the government cruisers. Mr. D'Arcy has built a beautiful castle at Clifden, in the midst of a scene of natural grandeur-mountain and sea coast forming component parts not easily surpassed in Ireland. There was one piece of flat unsightly bog; but this has been drained and converted into a lawn in front of the castle. Clifden is in every sense a valuable example, to show what may yet be done in the industrial regeneration of Connamara. Of Joyce's Country, it is doubtful whether so much will be made as of Connamara proper, on account of the bareness of its mountains and its lesser proportion of sea-coast. Its inhabitants are nearly all Joyceswho have the reputation of being the tallest and largest men in Ireland. "Big Jack Joyce" was for many yeass a well-known giant among a race of giants. Mr. Inglis met with a young Joyce, seventeen years of age, who measured six feet three inches-not exactly "in his stockings," for he had none. The Joyces of Joyce's Country, and the Flynns of Connamara, have for ages had a sort of hereditary faction-feud. Will the present generation see such feuds die out? The evidence collected by Fishery Commissioners and Inspectors at various times, shows that the coast of Connamara is abundantly supplied with fish. The whole of Galway Bay, sheltered by the Arran Isles from the Atlantic, and having a depth varying from six to thirty-five fathoms, is remarkable for the finest description of fish in their respective seasons-turbot, cod, ling, haddock, gurnet, hake, glassen, soles, plaice, dories, halibut, mackarel, herrings, &c. Off the western coast of Connamara there is a great bank, extending from the coast of Mayo to the isle of Arran, and sup posed by some to stretch out westward to the Great Bank of Newfoundland. Its nearest edge is about thirty miles out from the coast; and it has from thirty to sixty fathoms water on it. The bank is much frequented by cod, ling, and conger; it is, however, seldom fished on, the boats on the coast being too small to venture so far out to sea. Great quantities of fish have been taken on this bank by vessels of from twenty to forty tons burden. This bank was remarkable until within the last few years for the sunfish, many of which were taken by the boats of the coast, and produced, on an average, from five to eight barrels of the finest oil. The principal fishery near Connamara, and that of most value, is for herrings; it commences about Christmas, at which period these fish, in immense quantities, generally fall into some of the numerous bays on the coast. NORTH WALES. NORTH WALES is more frequently compared with the mountain district of Westmoreland and Cumberland than with any other locality, either at home or abroad. Comparisons are proverbially odious; and, to our thinking, comparisons of scenery are almost invariably unjust. There are usually more points of distinction than of agreement; and different things cannot fairly be compared with each other. We have no intention to institute invidious comparisons between these beauteous rivals, and certainly none of awarding the palm to either. But there is a difference between them, which the visitor to each should bear in mind, and which, therefore, it may be proper to call attention to. Cumbria has few historical or romantic recollections, and possesses, consequently, hardly an historical memorial. It is a region of beauty, which owes all its charms to Nature: even the poetry that is connected with the lakes and fells is of recent date, and but a reflex of the native loveliness. With Cambria it is otherwise. Everywhere exist the monuments or the traditions of an ancient and entirely different condition of society. Throughout Wales occur places which are associated with tales of British prowess, or are celebrated in antique legend. The stories are often fabulous; and where the events they describe are real, the relations possess no very powerful attraction for Saxon' ears and hearts-at least, as they have been hitherto told were there a Welsh Walter Scott to vivify his native records, and re-people his native fastnesses, they might be found to have for all nations equal interest with the history and the romance of Scotland. Still, as it is, those ancient memories serve at least to invest these scenes with that indefinite charm, which ever lingers over the spot whose name has been inscribed on the historic or poetic page. And the ruined castle and monastery, while they add something of elevation to the mind which is most susceptible to the sublimity and the grace of Nature, seldom fail to receive the homage even of those whose hearts the mountain and the cataract alike speak to in vain. We are not going, here or hereafter, to inflict upon the reader any details of Welsh history, or to plunge into the depths of its legendary lore all we desire is, to have it remembered that our tour lies through an historic region; and to suggest to the tourist that it will add to the charm of even Cambrian scenery, if it be kept in mind that every hill and every valley abounds with recollections and relics; and that the humble tradition of mythic hero, the incoherent tale of national glory and valour, the rude vestiges of faëry legends, and the superstitions and observances which are yet lingering on, though in the latest stages of decay, all speak of those ancient manners which were created and fostered by the peculiar insulation of the XXVII.-VOL. III. people during so many centuries, and of that national pride, which, in early times, the example of the chief and the exhortations of the priest and the bard, made a part of the popular character and creed. There are many ways of approach to Wales; and the chief features may, of course, be visited in various order and succession. The tourist will be guided in the selection of his route by convenience. We propose, in the first place, to look at so much of North Wales as lies along the line of the Chester and Holyhead Railway, and of the old coach-road through the Vale of Llangollen-staying by the way as we please, and making short excursions from the principal stations. In this manner we shall see the leading features of the northern coast, the district lying between it and the valleys of the Dee and the Conway, and have also a cursory view of the Isle of Anglesea. We shall then be at leisure to examine the interior of the Principality and the remainder of the coast; and thus readily visit whatever is most worth visiting in the entire district. Chester will consequently be our starting-place; our journey will terminate at Shrewsbury. Concerning the character of the country and the people, and of the main objects of interest that lie in the route, it is not necessary to make any further general remarks now: it will be as well to leave them to speak for themselves when we come upon them. CHESTER. Before giving an account of North Wales itself, we must look awhile at Chester: for the old city, though it lies just outside the boundary of the Principality, always forms an essential part and main attraction of a Welsh tour. Indeed it thus becomes one of the many advantages of this tour, that not only is the tourist led to investigate a grand mountain tract, with a people in many respects so remarkable as are the Welsh, but he also has the opportunity of examining three or four old towns of almost unique character, and of singular interest. Chester is one of the most curious cities in the kingdom, as well as one of the most ancient. Nothing can be better in its way than Thomas Fuller's notice of it: "Chester is a faire city on the north-east side of the river Dee, so ancient, that the first founder thereof is forgotten. . . . . It is built in the form of a quadrant, and is almost a just square; the four cardinal streets thereof (as I may call them) meeting in the middle of the city, at a place called the Pentise, which affordeth a pleasant prospect at once into all four. Here is a property of building peculiar to the city, called the Rows, being galleries, wherein the passengers go dry, without coming into the streets, having shops on both |
