Approach to Waterford. 4-S 



house, a small inn, where the landlord was 

 considered a great farmer, occupying above 

 one hundred acres, at a rent of forty shillings 

 per acre ; twelve shillings per acre is the tithe 

 composition for wheat and potatoes ; nine for 

 barley and meadow, and six for oats. No 

 fences, except with mounds, are here to be 

 icen, and scarcely a tree. When within a mile 

 of \Vaterford the land improves ; near the city 

 are a number of good houses, bespeaking the 

 wealth and consequence of the place we were 

 approaching. King William is reported to have 

 said, when he first got sight of Waterford, that 

 it was a country well worth fighting for. Water- 

 ford is built along the west bank of the Suir, 

 a most noble stream. Close to its banks, the 

 ground rises on both sides, leaving but a small 

 space of flat ground along the river. In the 

 old part of the town, the streets are steep and 

 narrow ; the quay is very spacious, and exceeds a 

 mile in length ; the houses are good, and at 

 its extremity is a very handsome modern street, 

 in which are situated the Bishop's palace and the 

 cathedral. The quay called to my recollection 

 the Garonne at Bourdeaux, though undoubtedly 

 less magnificent ; yet is it highly sufficient, and 

 so commodious that ships of considerable 

 burden lie afloat at all times within a short 

 distance of it. An extensive range of ware- 



6 



