272 



LETTER XXII. 



Bally Shannon, August 31, 1813. 



X HE road for the first four miles afforded nei- 

 ther a view of the country nor any thing worthy 

 of remark, excepting some fine quarries of white 

 free stone, which we were informed were the roof 

 to coal that had recently been discovered. Ge- 

 nerally speaking, the stratification of Ireland, 

 in those places where the lime-stone does not 

 prevail, is too much broken to afford a reason- 

 able hope of finding any extensive field of this 

 valuable mineral. 



;,-i ;: .MrtJ.;,?n air- 1 



We had a long and tiresome ascent to Scotch 

 Thomond,, without any indication of our labors 

 being requited on gaining the summit; when, 

 however, a most surprising view burst suddenly 

 on us, resembling in effect that of a panorama. 

 The sublime, the beautiful, and picturesque, all 

 contributed, with a descending sun and clear 

 atmosphere, to exhibit a distinct prospect of no 

 common or usual description. The first object 

 that attracted our attention, and indeed the 



