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calm, we did not arrive at our destination until nightfall. Fortunately 

 the little inn at Kilronan (the principal place in the island), was close 

 to the shore, so that we soon established ourselves aud baggage in 

 Mrs. Costello's best parlour. I shall never forget my surprise next 

 morning on a view of the place, I had imagined the island a most 

 fertile spot, clothed with verdure, but to my astonishment it appeared 

 a rude mass of limestone, the whole surface, wherever you went, 

 scattered over with loose fragments of the same material. A short 

 acquaintance with the place shows you its remarkable character and 

 peculiarities. A long strip of land, running nearly east and west, ten 

 miles in length and perhaps not more than from three to four in 

 breadth. This form gives it a large sea-board, and with a surface 

 rising gradually and in a curved form from its northern shore, it attains 

 a considerable elevation or ridge, and then falls abruptly on the other 

 side in perpendicular cliffs. From this peculiarity of form the surface 

 of the island in its whole length is thrown up so as to have a northern 

 aspect, or nearly such. The climate must be a very peculiar one, ex- 

 ceedingly moist and mild. The arable ground is indeed very small 

 in proportion to the mass of rock, but it must be of a peculiarly nu- 

 tritious and fattening quality, for the place is noted all over Galway 

 for producing the largest and finest calves. There is a peculiarity of 

 the place, but artificial, that strikes a stranger. The whole island is 

 parcelled off into small enclosures by loose stone walls, which appear 

 a serious obstacle to progression. With an attendant or guide, how- 

 ever, these walls fall like magic before you : he goes before, and with- 

 out any ceremony pushes down so much of the frail structure as to 

 leave a breach for you to pass. Tn numerous instances, generally on 

 the higher parts of the island, you meet immense boulders of con- 

 glomerate ; these are erratic blocks, and evidently quite foreign to the 

 place. I walked to the buildings called the Seven Churches, which 

 I found insignificant as to size, and totally devoid of ornament ; and 

 also visited two out of the four of those very remarkable circular stone 

 forts as they are called, and which structures, from their size, form a 

 feature in the scenery of the place. 



I shall now give the result of my botanical research on the island. 



Adiantum Capillus- Veneris. This charming rarity is to be found 

 in abundance, and grows generally over the island wherever there are 

 fissures or clefts in the rock. The usual depth it grows at is from 

 eighteen inches to two feet, keeping just so much below the surface 

 as to shelter its delicate fronds from the blast. There is a great deal 

 of the plant heedlessly destroyed. The inhabitants use it in decoc- 



