[ '3 ] 



has rifcn fo much on the other fide, anH the whole is thus 

 allowed to defcend until the zenith is laid open to obfcrvation. 

 Around this dome there is a platform, commanding one of the 

 mofl exteufive and varied profpeds that can be imagined *. 



The room for making obfervations on the meridian requires 

 an uninterrupted view to the North and South. This room is 

 here placed to the Wefl of the building. It is manifeft to any 

 one who compares the prefent plan with the indifpenfable requi- 

 lites of an Obfervatory, that the front might have been pre- 

 fented either to the Eaft or Weft with equal advantage, fo far as 

 regards the neceffary difpofition of the rooms for obfervation ; 

 the beauty of the eaftern profped, and the elegance of the 

 approach on that fide from the city, would have been fufEcient 

 of themfelves to have given the preference to the prefent difpo- 

 fition ; but thefe inferior confiderations happily coincided with 

 one much more important. In this part of the ifland the 



* The Obfen'atory commands on the South fide a view of the grounds of Lord 

 Bedlive, with a gentle declivity to the river, and from thence a varied picture 

 of the rich fcenery of the woods of the Phoenix Park, terminated in the back 

 ground by the majeflic grandeur of the Wicklow mountains. To the S. E. we 

 have the city of Dublin, diftant four miles, the femicircular bay with the fliipping, 

 and the great South Wall extending five miles into the fea, and terminated by 

 the Light-houfe ; the ridge of rocky hills called The Three Brothers forming the 

 head of Dalkey, and bearing Malpas's Obelilk on the higheft point. On the E. 

 and N. E. Clontarf and its environs, the Hill of Howth, Ireland's Eye and 

 Lambay. From thence to the N. W. the profpeft is fo uncommonly level and 

 extenfive as to gratify the aftronomer much more than the painter; but even 

 this variety is not without its beauty. To the S. W. we have the pidlurefque 

 ruins at Caftleknock, and to the Weft the extended and rich view of Kildare,, 

 in which Mr. ConoUy's Obelilk forms a grand and central Objedl. 



wefterly 



