Ferguson — On Rath Caves. 133 



G. "I have no doubt of it, as I have also seen an account of that 

 cave which you mention, and a fac-simile of those letters printed in 

 copperplate, in the new history of the county Down." 



S. "A learned gentleman came from Annahilt, who took a copy 

 of it on paper." 



G. "Was there not a cromleac found, under a earn, near that 

 place?" 



S. " There was indeed, about two miles from it (about seven years 

 before), an exceeding large, broad, level, smooth stone, as polished as 

 the pebbles on the sea-coast, &c. There was an enclosure of long 

 equal stones, standing straight up round the great cromleac when it 

 was found, under a great earn of small stones." 

 G. " Were these long stones lifted ?" 



S. " They were all carried away to a building near the place." 

 G. " Surely, the cave was not broken ?" 



S. " It was broken and destroyed ; neither flag nor stone was left, 

 of any value, that was not carried away in the same manner." 

 G. "lam surprised that the cave was broken ?" 

 S. " Why, even the round tower at Downpatrick was thrown 

 down; and I think, Sir, it is not lucky to touch such things." 



G. "I do not say that it is unlucky; but I think it a disgrace to 

 literary gentlemen to pay no respect or attention to the remains of the 

 ancient works of their country {aclid togar dhamgur naireach do dhaoinibh 

 uaisle, foghlamta, gan cion no meas a bheith, a bhfuighioll oibreach 

 irasaighe na tire)." — Neilson, " Ir. Gram.," App. 51-4. 



The " Duine uasail foghlumtha, v or learned gentleman from 

 Annahilt, who made the drawing, is obviously Mr. Dubordieu, from 

 whose Statistical Account, published about six years before, I shall now 

 give the particulars as they appeared to him, after the cave had been 

 broken up, and its inscribed roofing-stone used for a trough for 

 pounding furze-tops as food for cattle : — 



" The cave was about thirty yards long, with a circular apartment 

 on one side, towards the extremity, and a square apartment on the 

 other, a little nearer the entrance, both covered with roofs of stone. 

 The cave having been destroyed before I saw it, I could not get the 

 exact dimensions ; I heard it was about three or four feet in width, 

 and about four in height. On a stone at the further end was the fol- 

 lowing inscription, but in what characters I could not discover, as it 

 has been used for a trough to pound furze, and is thereby much de- 

 faced. A gentleman to whom I showed the inscription, and who had 

 been used to look at the Danish manifests brought by the masters of 

 ships, thought it was in that character ; but on taking a copy of it, he 

 let me know that the interpreter could not read it. The fort in which 

 it is situated is within sight of the old Danish Castle of Clogh." — 

 " Stat. Surv., Down," App. x. p. 277. 



The "three lines" of the dialogue were probably the three groups 

 of characters which may be distinguished in Dubordieu' s drawing, 

 reproduced on the next page. 



