LETTER III.

JANUARY.

You must be content to go back with me to the evening on which we so rapidly descended the pass of Mam Turc. I will not make you climb again that steep ascent, but you must return as far as the cross roads, where the little by-path from the Killery harbour, used to meet the main road from Renvyle to Galway; from this point, at the distance of seven or eight miles to the south east, diverged the narrow track by which we had crossed the chain of mountains that divides the baronies of Ross and Ballynahinch.

It had been our intention to take up our headquarters at the foot of Bencoona, on a farm which was held directly from the landlord; and thither we despatched the main body of our little army; but seeing the wreck, which was the primary object of our expedition, lying on the white sands, at no great distance to the westward, we determined to proceed thither, previously to our settling for the night.

On the shore we found a party of as wild looking fellows as can be imagined; some idly watching the surf, as it rolled in successive waves, and dashed against the side of the vessel, which was at that time surrounded by the tide; and others, under the command of a person of superior rank, running in and out of a hovel dug in the sand, that served as a watch-house for the party destined to protect the timber and staves already landed. I soon found that the leader of this motley group was a son-in-law of Mr. and that it would be impossible for us to refuse the invitation, which without any consideration of the purport of our visit, was most hospitably given, to what was emphatically called, "the big house." I was indeed delighted at the opportunity of seeing, for the first time, the interior of such an establishment. A middle-man, possessing an income of 1500l. per annum, arising from his good management of profit rents, surrounded by a numerous and untutored tenantry, utterly unconscious of any other claims on the land, must have been undoubtedly a person of consequence in this country, and, as such, an object of great curiosity to those who little understood the arrangement of these matters. His authority too received an additional sanction, from the circumstance of his claim

We

ing to be a lineal descendant from the old Kings of the West, O'Flaherties of centuries long since gone by; and, however trifling this may sound in your English ears, yet in a country where feudal claims are scarcely yet relinquished, and feudal feelings are still warmly cherished, the descendant of a former race of kings is regarded with greater veneration than would be granted to one who could make a fair show of lands and honours of a modern date. ventured therefore to disregard the warnings that we had received from intelligent but prejudiced lowlanders, who had endeavoured to instil a fund of suspicion into our minds against the whole race of mountaineers; and readily accepted the offer that was made us on behalf of this acknowledged chief. It is true, we were well armed, but there was in reality little foundation for the idle tales that had induced us to take this precaution. Mr.

was a jus

tice of the peace, and, as such, with patriarchal power, administered to all around, his own form of statute law, somewhat different perhaps from that which Mr. Gabbett has abstracted for the use of the present generation, but quite sufficient for the protection of any one to whom he thought fit to extend his favour; in which number we were certain of being reckoned, so long as we remained under his roof.

"The big house," then, was a thatched cabin about sixty feet long by twenty wide, and to all appearance only one story high. It ostensibly contained an eating parlour and sitting-room, about twenty feet long by sixteen or seventeen wide, or as they are called in this country, two reception-rooms, from each of which opened two small bed-rooms. We had oral evidence in the night, that there was other accommodation in the thatch, but those who had the benefit of it were placed far beyond our ken. Conceive then our surprise at being gradually introduced to at least two dozen individuals, all parlour boarders. There was mine host, a venerable old man of eighty-six, his young and blooming wife, a daughter with her husband, three or four gay young ladies from Galway, two young gentlemen, two priests, and several others, evidently clansmen and relations. As they filed in, we sat by, wondering whence they came, but when the adjournment to the dining-room took place, it was evident, from the profusion with which the hospitable board was spread, that there would be no deficiency in their entertainment. Among a variety of curious articles on the table, we particularly noticed a fine dish of sea-kale; a delicacy, which at Christmas, you would, I fancy, have some difficulty in procur

ing without much adventitious aid. A room full of company, the fumes of a large dinner, and the warmth of a bright turf fire, rendered the heat almost insupportable, and during the feast, amid the clatter of knives and forks, and the mingled voices of our party, we were indulged ad libitum with the dulcet notes of the bag-pipe, which continued its incessant drone until the ladies retired from the table.

I need not expatiate on the wine and spirits, though both had probably been imported duty free many years before, and were certainly good enough to tempt the whole party to pay a sufficient devotion to the jolly god. It is but fair however to mention, in reply to certain scandalous reports that are abroad concerning us, that no one was compelled to drink more than he felt inclined. I was on my guard, wishing to have full possession of my judgment in case I should be called upon to exert it, and I soon found that this precaution was not without its use. When the glass had circulated freely, the expected attack was commenced; and after the whole line of compliments to my family, and the self gratulations of successful industry, had been run through, I was asked, not indeed by mine host, but by his more eloquent son-in-law, for