Yet it was not that nature had shed o'er the scene 'Twas that friends, the beloved of my bosom, were near, Sweet vale of Avoca! how calm could I rest In thy bosom of shade with the friends I love best, he was drawing as much upon imagination in all likelihood as upon nature; and when we remember the lavishness of Moore's ideas, we must only be astonished to find nature so like poetry. The valley is indeed sweet, and cold must be the heart, and dull the head, which could pass through it unmoved; but if the tourist does not wish to meet with a disappointment, he must not expect too much. It would be doing an injustice to the literature of Ireland, to pass the scene of one of Moore's most exquisite lyrics without a slight notice of the poet. It was a just eulogy which the editor of the Cyclopædia of English Literature passed upon him when he said :-"A rare union of wit and sensibility, of high powers of imagination and extensive learning, has been exemplified in the works of Thomas Moore." He was educated at Trinity College Dublin, and at the age of nineteen proceeded to the Middle Temple, London, to study law. A year afterwards, he published his inimitable translation of Anacreon. His works are justly and universally esteemed, whether in the walk of pure poetry or of keenest satire. Of the former, his Lalla Rookh and Irish Melodies undoubtedly stand highest; his satirical works, published under the title of Thomas Little, and his Fudge Family in Paris, are best known. Kohl, who being a stranger, may be supposed to be less prejudiced than most British critics, thus beautifully alludes to the genius of the poet :-"There occur," says he, "in every literature short striking passages that captivate the imagination with a force for which we find it difficult, oft impossible, to account. Millions of fine sentences may be expended in vain, while two or three sentences may thrill for centuries in the hearts of a nation. This is a power which Moore often exercises in a high degree, and to many a sequestered vale and ruined castle his verses have given a fame that will probably outlive monuments of bronze or granite." It is difficult to convey a description of the Vale of Avoca in terms to come up to the expectation of the reader, or even to the reality of nature. A notice of it, by the author already quoted, may be of some assistance to the expectant tourist. "Beautifully picturesque groups of oaks and beeches, everywhere hung with ivy, constitute one of the main beauties of the Vale of Avoca. This, to some extent, is the character of all the valleys of Wicklow through which rivers flow, while the summits of the mountains and the unwatered vales remain completely bare. The Irish oak differs materially from the English oak; yet this difference, so striking that you notice it at the first glance, is difficult to describe. The branches are less knotted and spreading. There seem to me to be more straight lines and fewer crooked ones; more length and less breadth in the Irish oak." Another stranger, Prince Puckler Muskau, writes in glowing terms of the spot. "Just before sunset," he says, "I reached the exquisitely beautiful Avondale. In this paradise every possible charm is united. A wood, which appears of measureless extent; two noble rivers; rocks of every variety of picturesque form; the greenest meadows; the most varied and luxuriant shrubberies and thickets. In short, scenery changing at every step, yet never diminishing in beauty." An English writer * gives a very different account of the place. "As to the 'Meeting of the Waters,' " he writes, " as the Irish are pleased to call the confluence of two little streams, pompously or poetically as you may please to decide, I think more has been made of it than either the waters or their meeting deserve. There are, in fact, two places in the valley where two streams meet, one towards the lower end, where the scenery is rich and beautiful, the other, which I was assured to be the 'riglar' meeting, was higher up the vale; and I confess, on arriving at it, I was disappointed, and could not hesitate in giving preference to the place of the confluence of the two streams we had * Mr. Barrow. passed lower down." The valley is about eight miles in length, when we arrive at WOODEN BRIDGE (Wooden Bridge Hotel-bed 1s. 6d., breakfast Is. 8d., dinner 2s. to 3s., tea 1s., attendance (charged in the bill) 1s., private room 2s. 6d.) In the valley there are copper and sulphur mines about one mile above Wooden Bridge. The amount paid monthly, in 1853, for mining labour in this poetic valley, was about £2000. Just before the door of the hotel, the second meeting of the waters takes place the river Aughrim here flowing into the Avoca. This spot is supposed by some to be the scene of the poem, and many and fierce are the contests between the partisans of the spots for the honour of Moore's patronage. In a letter written to a friend by the author, and published in his memoirs and journal, he says:- "The fact is, I wrote the song at neither place; though I believe the scene under Castle Howard (first meeting), was the one that suggested it to me. But all this interest shews how wise Scott was in connecting his poetry with beautiful scenery. As long as the latter blooms so will the former." From Wooden Bridge the tourist may return by train direct to Bray, or proceed to Arklow (page 101) and Enniscorthy (page 103), and thence to Wexford (page 103). BRAY TO WICKLOW, WOODEN BRIDGE, LUGNAQUILLA, ARKLOW, ENNISCORTHY, AND WEXFORD. Leaving Bray by railway, the first station is Delgany, from which the Glen of the Downs (page 80) is one and a half mile distant due west. The next halting-place is Kilcool, two miles from which is NEWTOWN M. KENNEDY. It is situated in a rich tract of country, extending from the foot of Downs Mountain, and bounded by the sea. This was the scene of an encounter in 1798 between the rebels and the king's troops under Lords Kingsborough and Rossmore, in which the former met with a signal defeat. The domain of Mount Kennedy, formerly the property of Sir Robert Kennedy, was purchased from him by the late Lord Rossmore, at that time General Cunningham, who converted it from waste land into a beautiful property. The present proprietor, R. G. Cunningham, Esq., permits visitors to pass through the grounds on week days. In the immediate vicinity are the domains of Glendaragh and Altadore. Proceeding from Kilcool we arrive at Killoughter, the station for the Devil's Glen (page 81), and for NEWRATH (Inn The Newrath-bed 1s. 8d. to 2s., breakfast 1s. 8d. to 2s., lunch 9d. to 1s., dinner 2s. to 3s., tea 1s., supper 1s., attendance 1s., private room 2s. 6d.), situated in the centre of what has been happily termed the Garden of Wicklow. The Inn at Newrath Bridge is, out of Bray, one of the best in the county of Wicklow. About a mile from New. rath is Ashford (page 81), where there is also a good inn. The next station we come to is WICKLOW.-Like most other harbours on the east coast of Ireland, Wicklow is guarded by a sea bar, on which the water seldom exceeds seven or eight feet. This being an assize town, it contains the gaol, court-house, and infirmary. The trade is limited to fishing and exportation of coal and lime. The town gives the title of Earl to the family of Howard. "Here," says Seward, "is a rock, by some taken for the remains of a castle surrounded by a strong wall; there are but few buildings, yet it has a barrack, and is remarkable for the best ale in the kingdom." About a mile and a half to the east is a bold point of land called Wicklow Head. After leaving Wicklow, the train proceeds to Rathdrum. (page 92). Here the tourist who wishes to ascend MOUNT LUGNAQUILLA leaves the train and proceeds by car seven miles up the river Avonbeg to the village of Drumgoff, where there is a hotel and barracks. The ascent should not be attempted without the assistance of a guide, which can easily be secured at the hotel. This being the highest hill in the county (3039 feet above the sea level), it commands a wide and varied panorama, which will be better explaimed by the guide than any written account can do. The following paragraph from the pen of Mr. Wright, than whom no one knows more of the country, will be appreciated by those who cannot place implicit reliance on Irish guides. "From this elevated station," he writes, "in clear weather, parts of five counties are clearly seen. And Mr. Weaver states that the Galtee Mountains in Tipperary have sometimes been perceived; but such extensive prospects can only be enjoyed by those who have frequent opportunities of ascending, and the good fortune to meet with a cloudless atmosphere. Towards the north, Kippure and the Great Sugar Loaf raise their towering summits to the clouds, beyond a lengthened chain of waste and barrer H |