844 Observations on the 
Instead therefore of distracting our judg- 
ment by attempting to reconcile discordant 
theories, and fatiguing our attention by wa- 
ding through the fanciful volumes of Irish 
antiquaries; instead of consulting even those 
writers most deserving of credit, we will 
commence our enquiry about the origin of the 
Round Towers, by supposing that they had 
never been described in any history, and that 
even tradition was silent respecting them :— 
that we, in short, were the first persons, in 
whom the sight of these towers had awakened 
the smallest curiosity. On seeing a high 
tower standing near a church, and evidently 
of the same date, we should at once con- 
clude that it was erected for someuse connected 
with the religious application of that church ; 
andon observing near the top of it four arched 
windows, similar to those in our steeples, 
the immediate impression on our unprejudiced 
minds would be, that it was intended for the 
suspension of a bell, to summon people to 
worship. This belief would be strengthened 
by our remarking, that the church itself had 
no provision for doing this, nor accommo- 
dation either for bell or clock, and that one 
or other, but particularly the bell, was abso- 
lutely necessary where the population was 
small, and widely scattered, Our conviction 
