The Hill other botanical garden belonging to Trinity College, and having 

 of Howth done so to give himself time to explore both of them to the 

 uttermost. 



From Glasnevin a very little energy will carry our horti- 

 culturist to the hill of Howth, where some of the most 

 successful of the gardens in this neighbourhood are to be found. 



Howth you need not by the way pronounce the w in 

 that word, unless you particularly wish to do so ! is, as everyone 

 knows, the narrow-necked peninsular running across the 

 northern portion of the mouth of Dublin bay. To the dweller 

 upon the side of that bay which lies nearest to the town of 

 Dublin it is apt to present a blunted and somewhat truncated 

 profile; indeed as a limit of vision and terminus to the land- 

 scape I will own to having an imperfect appreciation of it 

 myself. To desire to drown eyes and thought in a line of 

 quivering air and water, and to have perpetually a solid, not 

 particularly impressive object intervening between you and that 

 desire, tends in the end to irritation. Let our captious objector 

 make the circuit of his bay, however, and let him ascend the 

 obstacle in question, and his prejudice will be found to vanish 

 in a flash. Although not, as just said, of any lofty or 

 menacing acclivity, this hill of Howth possesses, by reason of its 

 peculiar combination of river, sea, shore, and sky, an unwonted, 

 in my experience a unique, harmony and diversity of aspect, 

 one which it may challenge even the haughtiest of its rivals 

 to surpass. This largeness and diversity of aspect, as well as 

 other desirable things, the gardens upon it share, to their great 

 and manifest advantage. 



Of such gardens there is one that must be named at once 

 that of the ancient castle of Howth itself. Unlike the 



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