262 THE WICKLOW MOUNTAINS. quitting the country, to take a glance at some of my favourite points, now that they were dressed in the rich hues of the waning year. The improvement produced by the autumnal tints upon the luxuriant foliage was greater even than I had anticipated. I had now been for more than four months touring through some of the finest scenery in Ireland, and yet the beautiful, the picturesque, the romantic scenes, which the Wicklow Mountains hold within their rocky embrace, struck me with undiminished admiration. I do not, of course, mean to compare them with Killarney, or Glengarriffe, or Lough Gilly; neither have they the magnificence of some portions of Cunnemarra. But, with all these, and a thousand other glorious scenes fresh in memory, I hold him to be no true lover of Nature, who cannot still find room in his heart for the winding vale, the crystal waters, and splendid woods, of Avoca— the grand and singular Glen of the Downs, or RETURN TO DUBLIN. 263 the still finer and more romantic Devil's Glen. The Seven Churches must excite the interest of every learned or unlearned antiquary; and Luggielaw, though in my opinion, I confess, usually overrated, is in a high degree picturesque and lovely. Powerscourt, as I have always seen it with an abundance of water, is one of the finest cascades in our islands. It may be disappointing as a waterfall in dry weather, but at all times the noble amphitheatre of wood and rock by which it is surrounded must excite the warmest admiration, while the stroll along the banks of its stream through the Dargle into Bray will as certainly enchant every genuine admirer of the picturesque and beautiful. I reached Dublin on October 3a, having been absent twenty-one weeks on my tour. Here I rested for a few days, and paid a much shorter visit than I could have wished to some highlyvalued friends in County Louth, after which a prosperous sea voyage and a short land journey brought me rapidly home-" hic finis Char tæque Viæque" or, in the beautiful language of one of those very few passages to be found in the ancient poets, which express any genuine feelings of home: "O quid solutis est beatius curis ! CHAPTER XI. Concluding Remarks on the present State and future Prospects of Ireland-Irish Scenery and Character-Effects of the Catholic Faith-Feelings of England towards Ireland— Advantages of a Tour through that Country. I LEFT Ireland with a mixture of those contradictory feelings which, I think, must be impressed on every stranger who makes himself acquainted by personal inspection with this most extraordinary people and country, in which there is so much to admire, and, alas! so much to regret. Amongst these my feelings, however, by far the most prominent were a grateful sense of much, very much kindness, experienced from almost all with whom I had had any intercourse; and a warm recollection of many very happy hours spent in some of Nature's most VOL. II. N 266 INTEREST FELT FOR IRELAND. favoured scenes; but, above all, a warm interest in the future fate of this most important member of our common country. And what Briton does not feel this interest deeply seated in his heart? — I firmly believe none ! It has been the habit of persons, unfortunately too influential in Ireland, to impress upon the lower orders that England careth not for Ireland. This misrepresentation may serve their purposes, but I am very sure that it is totally unjust and untrue. There is certainly no sympathy felt for Mr. O'Connell's projects on this side of the water, as they are well seen to be calculated only for his personal aggrandizement, at the price of the eventual ruin of both countries. But there is a sincere and increasing interest universally felt in England for the fate of Ireland, together with an anxious wish to raise her in every respect to an equal level with her Sister, not Rival, Island. This sympathy has |