THE ISLE OF MAN. 301 



inhabitants is not, however, purely Celtic, for there has been a strong intermixture 

 of Scandinavian blood.* 



A range of mountains of considerable elevation traverses the island from the 

 south-west to the north-east, and a depression near its centre separates this 

 range into two distinct masses. Standing upon the principal summit (2,004 feet), 

 the whole of the Irish Sea, with the mountains that bound it, lies spread beneath 

 us. This mountain still bears the Scandinavian name of Snae Fell, or Snow 

 Mountain, although snow only covers it during part of the winter. Indeed, the 

 climate of the Isle of Man is very temperate, though somewhat variable, and the 

 number of tourists attracted by its scenery is very considerable. The larger part 

 of the island is the property of yeomen, who cultivate their own small estates. 

 The mountains yield lead, copper, iron, and zinc. 



Castletown, the official capital of the island, is built on a crescent-shaped bay 

 near its southern extremity. Feel is the principal port on the western, as 

 Ramsay is on the north-eastern coast, but Douglas is the only town of real 

 importance. It stands on a well- sheltered bay on the east coast, opposite 

 Liverpool, and at one extremity of the " gap " which runs athwart the island, 

 the other end being occupied by Peel. Gardens, villas, and terraces covered 

 with flowers surround Douglas, and the roadstead is protected by a powerful 

 breakwater. In the churchyard of Kirk Braddan, to the north-west of it, 

 may still be seen a raised stone covered with dragons, carved in the twelfth 

 century, and bearing a mortuary inscription in Runic letters which Miinch of 

 Copenhagen was the first to decipher. So-called Druidical monuments of every 

 kind are plentiful throughout the island, but there is reason to believe that some 

 of them, at all events, are not older than the Middle Ages. One of the most 

 curious amongst them is the monument at Tynwald, at the intersection of four 

 roads, in the centre of the island. We do not know whether its origin is Celtic 

 or Scandinavian, but to the present day it is put to the use for which it appears 

 to have been intended, for the local laws still continue to be promulgated here 

 annually in the presence of the Governor, the two " Deemsters," or Judges, the 

 Council, and the " Keys." According to tradition a head Druid or kind of 

 Pope of the Celtic world, officiated in the Isle of Man before the Poman epoch, 

 and the faithful then flocked to it from all parts to do him homage. Man and 

 Anglesey had formerly the same name, and the mediaeval lords of the island used 

 the title of " King of both the Monas." The authority of the Bishop of Sodor 

 and Man is now limited to the Isle of Man; the Sodor — Siidr eyyars ; that 

 is, southern islands (when contrasted with the Orkneys)— or Hebrides, having 

 been separated from his bishopric. 



* H. Jenner, "The Manx Language,'' Tramactions of the Philological Society, 1875, 



