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LETTER XXIII. 



Sligo, Sept. I, 1813. 



W E left Bally Shannon with regret, prevented 

 as wewerefrom accomplishingwhat had been with 

 us a principal object an unhurried contempla- 

 tion of the beauties of Lough Erne. Disagree- 

 able matters are not encountered with compla- 

 cency when the mind has previously been made 

 " ill at ease." For the first time in the course 

 of our tour were we now compelled to suffer the 

 tedium of bad roads, and to travel for a con- 

 siderable distance through the estate of an 

 absentee. Four miles from Bally Shannon, we 

 passed a small bathing place, where stood se- 

 veral neat cottages, and many others were 

 erecting in general the shore is rocky, but at 

 the distance of about half a mile from this spot, 

 we observed the small sandy beach for bathing, 

 though unattended by machines. How bathing 

 is managed without these I cannot conceive ; 

 for in no place does greater decorum or re- 

 spect to the delicate feelings of the sex prevail 

 than in Ireland. Even among the lower orders 

 3 



