SALMON ANGLINa IN lEELAND. 201 



sea-board of Jar-Connaught to the head of the Killeries, this beauti- 

 ful fish abounds, and, in my opinion, foims the raw material from 

 which the best sport is produced. In this lovely district of course 

 there are salmon ; but if the numbers of trout be taken into con- 

 sideration, I think it will be admitted that they form par excellence 

 the fishing of Connemara. The lakes round Ballinahinch are justly 

 celebrated for the sport they afford. I never fished them, but hope 

 shortly to do so. 



The road to Clifden skirts the ''Lake Country," seen to such 

 romantic perfection from the summit of Urrisbeg mountain. It is 

 a wild, solitary, and almost uninhabited tract, with here and there 

 a cabin dotting the vast flat. Innumerable pools, lakes, and water- 

 holes light up the heathery waste, some of the large sheets of water 

 bearing many a lovely islet, whose woody drapery ^the dark and 

 sombre yew seems quite in harmony with the mournful loveliness 

 of all around. In the great family of towns Clifden ranks as a mere 

 baby. Five-and-forty years ago, history tells us, there was not a 

 house, where now there is a town, not made up of a mere collection 

 of hovels, but with three or four fair streets, decked with many good 

 shops ; altogether it forms a sort of sanctuary in the desert. It was 

 too late to push on to Kylemore, and the divine beauty of the 

 evening, showed, past all doubt, that we were quite as well in 

 Clifden. Even my angling insanity could draw no picture of oppor- 

 tunity wasted, so with a heart at ease I strolled towards " the 

 castle," down the banks of a narrow and beautiful inlet. The tide 

 was full and so calm that the rugged shores seemed to grow 

 beneath the water. Beyond the narrow entrance the broad breast 

 of the Atlantic lay so peaceful that it seemed hard to believe it 

 could ever be disturbed by stormy passions. Rounding one of the 

 headlands of the bay, Clifden Castle came into view. In the house 

 there was nothing remarkable, but for situation it was unrivalled. 

 Behind are mountains, wood, and lakes ; in front a noble lawn 

 stretches down to the beautiful land-locked bay, whilst to the right 

 the eye ranges over the glorious ocean until it mingles with the dim 

 and far-off horizon. 



