1 8 9 4-95-] l8 5 



firs and flowering shrubs mingling together in beauty and 

 variety on the terrace overhanging the waters on Lough Neagh 

 making a scene of quiet beauty not easily surpassed in these 

 Northern latitudes. Boats had been provided by M'Garry, the 

 fisher of eels, at the foot of the lawn to row the members to 

 Ram's Island, there being no wind for sailing, to see the ruined 

 round tower, the only remains of a large ecclesiastical settle- 

 ment. The plash of the oar and the notes of the birds alone 

 broke the silence of the wooded island, floating as it were, in a 

 sea of glass. Well might the local poet^say : — 



"It's pretty to be in Ballinderry, 

 It's pretty to be in Aghalee j 

 It's prettier to be in bonny Ram's Island, 

 Sitting under an ivy tree." 



The branches of the trees upon the lawn made an ideal shade 

 for tea in the afternoon, when all the members, as it were 

 trooped in from the four airts to that repast. Some came from 

 the flower gardens, some from a botanical hunt by the damp 

 margin of the lake, whilst the major part came from the island 

 with stimulated appetites after the row upon the water. 



