Auhnnnal Ravings. 201 



Tenant-right was the all-absorbing watchword in Antrim, 

 and looking round once more upon the fair scene, we are 

 reminded of what Ulster tenant-right has done, and may jog 

 onward, musing whether without it the hand of the diligent 

 would have wrung out of the soil the flax, oats, and potatoes 

 which it now yields. 



The face of the country suggests plenty. But for the 

 news we had heard of troops moved and policemen drafted 

 in readiness for the "fifteenth," and the possible conflicts 

 between Catholics and Protestants but for the appearance 

 by-and-by at the brow of a hill of a little regiment of con- 

 stables with rifles over their shoulders and bayonets in their 

 sheaths, one might have written peace as well as plenty, and 

 the word happily could yet be written, for the fifteenth 

 came and departed, and the peace was not broken. 



At length we have reached the highest point of the road, 

 and Belfast Lough, lovely as heart could desire, lies beneath, 

 five miles distant, it is true, but stretching seaward a view 

 decked with the brightest of crystal and purest of green. 

 The houses of Bangor and Holywood on the opposite coast 

 sparkle in a treacherous burst of sunshine, ships of every 

 tonnage lie motionless in the ample natural harbour, the 

 steamers cross and recross, the ruins of Carrickfergus Castle 

 far up the western shore are conspicuous ; but it is evident 

 that beyond, where Ailsa Craig should be visible, there are 

 rain and storm. 



Belfast, into whose suburbs we are descending, demands 

 more than a bird's-eye view. The absolute stranger will be 

 surprised at its vigour, position, and importance. The fleet 

 of full-rigged ships, the tier of large steamers in the docks, 

 the imposing buildings, the prosperity which is apparent in 

 the broad busy thoroughfares, tell their own tale of work 

 in the past, and a promised reward in the future. 



