Rambles in the South of Ireland. By

Lady Chatterton. 2 vols. LADY Chatterton, who is favourably known in the literary circles as the author of a novel published anonymously a year or two ago, called "Aunt Dorothy's Tale," now, in propriâ personâ, states that her principal object in producing the present work is,

"to endeavour to remove some of the prejudices which render so many people afraid either to travel or reside in Ireland-to shew how many and various are the attractions that misunderstood country contains —and to furnish the most decided proofs

that a tour in some of its wildest districts may be keenly enjoyed by an Englishwoman, rendered fastidious by ill-health, and frequent visits to the more refined and luxurious countries of the South of Europe."

With the amiable and benevolent feeling expressed in this advertisement, it would be difficult for a critic to feel displeased; but when her ladyship has produced not only a work of an amusing and popular character, but one, which we venture to assert, will be referred to by grave and learned antiquaries, it must be hailed as a good omen of the decline of what has been called the taste for fashionable novel writing, and we therefore most cordially welcome Lady Chatterton's

volumes.

After some delightful "home pictures," and they truly are so, full of gracefulness, taste, and sentiment, Lady Chatterton starts from Blackrock near Cork with a small travelling party on a journey to explore the wild western shores of Ireland. The party proceed to Glengariff by Castle Townsend and Bantry, explore Berehaven, ascend Hungry hill, and visit the mines of Allihies, of which, by the way, there is an admirable and beautifully executed view, embracing miles and miles of land and water; in short, exhibiting a bird's eye view of the South West of Ireland in the most satisfactory and map-like manner.

On the return of Lady Chatterton and her companions from an examination of the noble scenery of Bantry Bay, and after some remarkable and well-described adventures, the tourists attempt and accomplish the formidable passage of the Esk mountain on their way to Killarney,

'Happy people,' exclaimed the gentle. man to whom I am indebted for this piece of information; Happy people!' and he then enquired, being a stranger like myself-Pray what do the inhabitants of Dingle do, in case of serious indisposition ?'

"The reply was, 'Oh we have an excellent apothecary here; and when he sees much danger, why he sends to Tralee for help-and so most of the people, you see, die easy, without troubling the doctor.'

"Thus satisfied as to the state of medi

cal practice in this ancient town, he proceeded to enquire about its form of government, whether by a corporation, or a single county magistrate, &c. To this his friend rejoined with some warmth"Our town, Sir, governed by a county magistrate? not it, indeed! We have a corporation, a sovereign-a deputy sovereign, and various other officers; our court possesses great powers. We could confine you, Sir, in our prison for ten pounds, and let you out on the Insolvent Act, without giving you the trouble of going to Dublin.'

Your powers are very great indeed, Sir,' observed the visitor of Dingle-' but I hope your sovereign will not have an opportunity of extending his kindness to

me.'

power,' said the stranger, must occasion many trials of great moment to be held in it; and of course you have a number of those ingenious gentlemen, commonly called attornies, residing in your town.'

"Attornies-attornies!' exclaimed the

indignated inhabitant of Dingle.

No

attornies, Sir-not an attorney-thank goodness we have not one nearer than Tralee; and that is two-and-twenty long miles from us, the shortest way, and a hilly road.'

"But suppose,' continued the pertinacious stranger, that a point of law occurred in one of the cases that came before your court; what would you do then, without legal advice to expound and unravel the matter?"

"Do, Sir?-Law, Sir?' repeated the man of Dingle, with a look of astonishment and affright- Law, Sir! we never mind the law in our court. We judge by the honesty of the case that comes before us; and let me tell you, Sir, that if every court were so conducted, there would be but few attorneys, and the country would be quiet and happy.'

But what would you do, if any person brought an attorney these twenty-two long miles, and hilly road, and introduced him into your court, and that he started some points of law, which required professional skill to reply to ?'

6

"I'll tell you what I did myself,' was the answer to this apparently perplexing question. When I was deputy sovereign, two fools in this town employed each of them an attorney, whom they brought at a great expense from Tralee. When the attorneys went into court and settled themselves with their bags and papers, all done up with red bits of tape, and one of them was getting up to speak, Crier,' said I, command silence.' 'Silence in the court!' says he. So I stood up, and looking first at one attorney, and then at the other, I said, with a solemn voice, I adjourn this court for a month.' 'God save the King!' said the crier, and then I left them all; and I assure you,' he added, that from that day to this, no attorney ever appeared in our court; and please God, we never will mind law in it, but go on judging by the honour and honesty of the cases that come before us."'

From Dingle, Lady Chatterton makes an excursion to Smerwick Bay, memorable in history as the landing place of some Spaniards in the reign of Elizabeth; and here her ladyship's love of architectural research and antiquarian zeal, bursts forth in full enthusiasm. She is delighted with a curious kind of stone cell, which appears to be very

"Upon very ancient tombstones," says Lady Chatterton "I have observed the upper device of a cross within a circle, from which various scrolls and decorations proceeded, but I have never seen anything more rude or incomprehensible than the strange figures upon this stone.

"The supposition that it is the headstone of some chieftain's grave, is, perhaps, the most likely. The little cell near it might have been constructed by his followers, that prayers might there be offered up for his soul, and for the souls of those who fell and were interred around him.

"Many other stones lie about within the little enclosure, but they bear no marks of the chisel."

introduced themselves to Father Casey, In this neighbourhood the tourists an Irish Roman Catholic Priest, and a most devoted admirer of Irish Oghams and antiquities.

"We explained to him," says Lady Chatterton," that our object was to inspect the ancient remains, which we had been informed existed in his neighbourhis admiration of those who, like ourhood. He expressed in the warmest terms selves, would take the trouble to visit, and

perhaps to rescue from oblivion, the ruins of old Irish art,' and to see with their own eyes memorials of Ireland's ancient glory. After a most capital luncheon, relished by the cordial welcome of this interesting old

ancient glory."

Of Killmachedor, Lady Chatterton observes that,

"The burial ground contains many most curious remains of old grave-stones, quaintly carved and rudely shaped, and evidently belonging to various ages, from the old pillar stone engraved with the incomprehensible Ogham character, to the modern head-stone."

And her ladyship proceeds,

"There is something altogether very remarkable in this assemblage of mysterious monuments; possibly the memorials of many generations of mankind, and of their different religions.

"The Ogham Pillar, inscribed with the characters of a language perhaps now unknown; the huge cross, the rude and massive form of which belongs to the early days of Christianity; and the shapeless masses of stone, carry the mind back to remote ages, when mankind reared those mystic circles of stones, now called druidical! All these things combined in one spot have an air of undisturbed antiquity that is singularly impressive."

Various remarkable ancient structures and monuments are described by Lady Chatterton, but as we feel ourselves somewhat inspired by her ladyship's and Father Casey's Ogham zeal, we prefer following the good priest, who, although he is just sixty-five years of age, we are told,

"Danced up the height like a boy of fourteen."

Then came the great lion of the day— the pagan monument which has lately been discovered at Ballinlanrig in Smerwick bay. The mound, or sand hill,

upon which the ruins stand, was recently uncovered by a storm, and thus gave the lovers of Antiquity a monument which might have been concealed for ages. The inscriptions upon the stones will prove most valuable to those who study the Ogham characters, as on many they are quite uninjured.

"Seven of the stones are thus inscribed, and one is marked with a cross. They are scattered about in the sand, but seem to have been once arranged in a circle. A quantity of rubbish surrounds them. I copied the inscriptions on several stones and crosses, but it rained so fast, that I fear the sketches are imperfect, and therefore I do not insert them. Not far off are some head-stones, and we heard that human bones have been found there; shewing that this was once probably a burial place. Beyond it, nearer the sea, are the ruins of some houses."

Dunquin head, the point described by Camden as "beaten upon by the barking billows of the Atlantic," is not far distant, and most magnificent must be the sea view which it commands. On this elevated point stands a pillar stone inscribed with Ogham characters, of which Lady Chatterton gives the following sketch.

"It is about six feet high, and two feet wide, and the characters appeared more perfect than any we have yet seen. Mr. Casey caused it to be placed in an upright position, and there it stands, enjoying the finest view imaginable, and receiving on its unintelligible face the bleak winds of this wild region."

At Kinard and Garfinny, Lady Chatterton is no less zealous in her pursuit of Ogham inscriptions, than while clambering the breezy cliffs that brave the billowy Atlantic, and like other Irish hunters thinks nothing of clearing stone walls in the chase:take her ladyship's own words.

"We had a long and dirty walk, across potatoe fields, and over stone walls, which my civil attendants were most anxious to pull down for me. Not one of them spoke English, and as the waiter was left with the gingle in the village, I had no interpreter."

However Lady Chatterton perseveres until she hunts down some engraved stones, which lead her into observations upon a similitude between the Ogham character and "the arrowheaded inscriptions found among the Persian ruins." But we must protest against the subsequent illustration bearing upon this interesting inquiry.

where the children were piously introduced upon their parent's tomb according to their relative dimensions?

Near Dingle, in a field opposite to Mr. Hickson's residence, Lady Chatterton stopped on her way to Killarney to examine more Ogham inscriptions.

"Some are placed near an old burial ground, and two lie close to a ditch in the field. They differ from those we had already seen, inasmuch as the stones are perfectly smooth and round at the extremities, like a large risolle or flattened bolster. I copied the inscriptions of two; the stones are about two feet, ten inches and a half in length; the circumference at the centre, three feet one inch.

To our humble comprehension this is not a very unintelligible hierogly phic, and has nothing whatever to do with letters. We imagine its component parts to be a large cross, which marks the grave of a Christian. That Christian had four children, two of whom lie buried with their father, and whose interments are recorded by the minor crosses.

"The characters are very perfect, and one of these would be an excellent specimen for a museum; there are, I think, seven or eight stones with inscriptions, one having a cross; and some others similar in shape, but without inscriptions.

"This is the second time we have found a cross on the same stone with the Ogham consistent with the received opinion, characters. At first sight this seems inwhich gives to these inscriptions an antiquity far more remote than the Christian era. Some learned antiquarians at Cork have removed this difficulty by suggesting, that the crosses were probably added at a later period, when the stones were accidently made use of at a christian the rude execution of these crosses, as compared with the inscription, seems to justify this idea.

Near the sea, on what is called "Trabeg," or "the short strand," are some

stones similarly inscribed. one of them is here given.

A sketch of

"Mr. Windle, of Cork, who has bestowed much attention on the study of the Ogham character, supposes the translation of the inscription to be

sea.'"'

We must confess our ignorance of the matter, and that we do not exactly understand upon what scale or alphabet Mr. Windle has made this translation. We should be glad to be informed how he reads the inscription, whether from right to left, or from left to right, whether upside or downside, and whether we may put the same credence in the precision of his translation as in that made by Mr. Theophilus O'Flannagan, and published in the Transactions of the Royal Irish Academy, which is known as the Callen Inscription.

In Lord Headley's garden near Killarney, Lady Chatterton found another Ogham inscription, which it appears had been removed from the old church of Agadoe.

Our space will not permit us to accompany Lady Chatterton, if we were inclined to do so, in her visit to Derrynane Abbey, the seat of Mr. O'Connell. In her second volume, her ladyship visits Michelstown in the county of Cork, and its celebrated caves; then follow an excursion to Blarney and a journey to Limerick, in the neighbourhood of which city the accomplished author sojourns for some time, agreeably occupied with picking up the legends of the district, and in depicting the manners and sketching the characteristic traits of the peasantry. From Limerick, Lady Chatterton makes a tour in the county of Clare, visiting Dromoland, the seat of Sir Lucius O'Brien, Miltown, Kilkee, a new and charming little bathing GENT. MAG. VOL. XI.

Limerick, and closes her Rambles in the South of Ireland, with an account

almost a history-of Kilmallock, "the Balbec of Ireland," as it has been termed, and of the overthrow of the Desmond family, many of the incidents in the fortunes of which family are so wild and singular, that Lady Chatterton truly observes, faithful relation gives the pages which chronicle them all the charm of romance."

a

Selections from the Hesperides and Works of the Rev. R. Herrick. By the late Charles Short, Esq., F.R.S. 1839, 12mo.

THIS little volume, it appears, was set up in type and some copies struck off just before the author's decease; his executors, however, suffered it to proceed in the state they found it, and they apologize for any chance misprints and mistakes in a work revised under the influence of bodily disease and increasing debility.

Herrick's Hesperides was first printed in 1648, and dedicated to Prince Charles. Some of his poems were printed in 1639 and 1640. Dr. Nott of Bristol published a selection in 1810, and the whole volume was reprinted at Edinburgh in 1823. The extreme indelicacy and coarseness of many passages and poems exclude them from general circulation, and justify such a selection as the present. For the fullest portraiture of Herrick's family and life, we refer our readers to Nichols's Leicestershire, vol. ii. p. 2. p. 615-631. The chief incidents of his life seem to be that he had a tame 4 K