SECTION II.

HAVING thus taken a survey of the shores of the lower lake, from Mucruss, at the foot of Turk mountain, to the gap of Dunloh, and pointed out those objects which appeared to me best deserving of notice, I shall next endeavour to direct the attention to those parts of the scenery which are seen to most advantage in the course of an excursion on the water.

The common place of embarkation for strangers who sojourn in the town is at the head of Ross bay, at a quay under the walls of the castle, this being the nearest part of the lake to which there is a communication by a carriage road. Persons who prefer walking will, however, find a much more agreeable route than the high road, and not much longer, through Lord Kenmare's grounds, along the banks of the river Deanagh; but the propriety of taking boat near the mouth of this river depends upon the course that it is intended afterwards to pursue, upon the state of the wind, and also upon that of the lake; for, in dry weather, the water is sometimes so low as not to ad

mit a boat to approach within many yards of the

shore.

From the town to the castle of Ross the distance is about an English mile and a half. The road runs along a flat, and, as it affords little to gratify the eye of one who is anticipating the pleasures of arriving at the lake, it invariably appears tedious and uninteresting. Indeed few strangers visit Killarney without having occasion to lament that there is no public place of accommodation in the immediate vicinity of the lake. Much time is always lost in passing and repassing this road, and considerable inconvenience is often experienced in getting back to the town at night, after the fatigues of a day spent upon the water. Horses, carriages, and attendants, that wait the precarious return of a party, are sometimes necessarily detained many hours, during which they are commonly obliged to remain on the open beach exposed to all the casualties of this uncertain climate. If a spacious and well-regulated inn were established on the borders of the lake, and there are many excellent situations for one, it could not fail to remunerate the proprietor.

Strangers are very liberally accommodated with the use of Lord Kenmare's boats, which are handsome and commodious. To the superintendant of them, who either acts himself, or substitutes a person properly qualified, as guide, a small gratuity is given :

the boatmen have an established hire of one English shilling each, if they are not ordered beyond the limits of the lower lake; if they go further, they receive half as much more. It is usual to allow them refreshments if they are kept out the whole day; an indulgence that is too frequently abused by their drinking to excess, to which they are addicted, in common with most of their countrymen in the same rank of life. When any of them unfortunately become intoxicated, and no precaution will always be effectual to preserve sobriety, disorder seldom fails to ensue, attended at least with inconvenience, and sometimes even with danger, to the party. In this, as in most other mountainous regions, storms are frequent; and when the lake is exposed to their fury, its waves become so boisterous that skill and strength are requisite to resist their impetuosity. To those who are accustomed to behold the billows of the ocean, the danger arising from the waves upon a basin of water not more than six miles in extent may be regarded perhaps with contempt; but the lower lake sometimes presents the most frightful images of ele, mental warfare.

A gentleman living near Killarney, who had often crossed the ocean, assured me he had more than once beheld it so much agitated by the hurricanes which descend in circling eddies through the passes between the mountains, that the waves, drifted together, and

raised to an immense height above the surface, assumed the terrific aspect of a water-spout. Though such tremendous storms are seldom experienced in summer, yet, as squalls occur even during that season, no boats should be used that are not able to encounter heavy waves. For the same reason, vessels with sails cannot be employed without the greatest care those belonging to Lord Kenmare are all conducted with oars. The boatmen, in general, when sober, are very prudent; and as, from long experience, they are well acquainted with the prognostics of bad weather, their judgment and management may be safely relied on.

The navigation of the lake is represented as unsafe to those who are unacquainted with the rocks; but the peril in this respect is somewhat exaggerated. The greatest danger to be apprehended from rocks is when the lake either rises considerably above, or sinks below, its ordinary level. In the former case, those rocks which commonly appear above water are covered, but not sufficiently deep to admit the passage of a large boat over them; and they are so numerous, that it is almost impossible to remember the precise situation of each. I have many times been carried against them by boatmen of reputed experience. Similar accidents happen when the lake is unusually low. In the summer of the year 1803, the water, from a long continuance of dry weather, sunk

so much, that a great many rocks were laid bare which had never been seen before that period. A large sail boat, belonging to a gentleman residing near the lake, navigated by men who were supposed to be thoroughly acquainted with every dangerous point, was very nearly lost during this season, by getting entangled in a reef of rocks near the Brown island, over which there usually was found a sufficient depth of water; and it was not extricated without very great difficulty and danger. If, however, we contrast the infrequency of untoward accidents with the great concourse of people who venture on the lake, at all seasons of the year, and if we reflect that giddiness is the usual concomitant of festivity, we may conclude that the navigation is almost exempt from danger.

On approaching the lake in the vicinity of Ross castle, some disappointment is at first generally experienced from the flatness and marshiness of the shore. The latter part of the road is a mere causeway over a morass or bog near the castle, which is reduced to a narrow isthmus by inlets of the lake on each side. A small canal through this isthmus, which just admits one boat, is the only separation between the main land and the island during summer; but in winter the whole isthmus is overflowed.

The canal affords a ready passage from Ross bay to Mucruss; and it also facilitates that to the upper