1869] " Hesperus " in his element. 2 1 7 



Roundstone. " A lovely drive home past Ballinahinch ; all 

 the Binboola Pins in full view a glorious day with chilly 

 wind. Shot a gosling Merganser with ball, just below 

 Ballinahinch Bridge. Went to botanize, and found Naias 

 again. To bed at 10, very tired." 



"I have a bad cold caught in that pookaun from the 

 spray and rain," he writes next morning (Aug. 3rd), and 

 the early part of the day being very rainy he did not go 

 dredging, but " practised rifle-shooting (with good suc- 

 cess) ; wrote, and arranged specimens ; fished in Lough 

 Creg-duff (fish sulky, though a fine breeze was blowing, 

 and soft); called at monastery; to bed at n bad night, 

 as if overworked/' Next day, " up and saw sun rise on 

 Twelve Pins ; wrote many letters ; Aira uliginosa to 

 London and Syme ; skinned the gosling Merganser ; 

 called on Mr. ; dined with Dr. ; called with doc- 

 tor at the monastery : saw Brother and my friend 



Brother , the blue-eyed kindly monk. Mem. to send 



' Cybele Hibernica.' A lovely evening ; clear, soft, and 

 bright; the hills perfect; air like Isle of Wight. Very 

 sleepy." 



It was now a fortnight since he had come to Round- 

 stone, and his great wish to obtain a seal was unaccomplished. 

 Next day he purposed another expedition to Kilkieran, and 

 tired as he had been on the Wednesday night, on Thursday 

 (August 5th), " woke before dawn, and started at 4^ for 

 Urrisbeg; reached top at 5," and made a list of the plants 

 growing there ; then hurried down and embarked for Kil- 

 kieran Bay. "Passed the monastery at 10.40; landed at 

 Macdara for lunch ; then on to Mason Isle, where I saw 

 one root of Inula elecampane, Senecio jacobaea, rayless ; 

 pond full of Hippuris; Raphanus maritimus ; Eryngium 

 very large. A raised beach at east end, eight feet high, 

 and with a kind of rude chamber containing (human) 

 bones, topped with ten inches of solidifying shells and 

 layers of periwinkles, &c." Mweenish and other islands 

 were visited, and a " shallow sandy ford " between one of 

 them and the mainland was explored as " a very likely 

 looking place," but " kelp-boats are now everywhere ; no 

 seal was seen, and we landed shortly after sunset (at 8) at 



