1903-1904. J 169 



Our party left the hotel on Tuesday morning at 9-0, form- 

 ing a procession of twelve outside cars driven by those sturdy, 

 hard-going Donegal horses that never seem to tire. The day 

 was dull and showery, but it failed to damp the spirits 

 of the party, or to rob the country of its views of rich 

 pastures, woodland, mountains, and winding roads. The 

 Earl of Leitrim had kindly invited us to drive through his 

 beautiful demesne of Mulroy, which is charmingly situated 

 on the winding shores of the lough. The programme, in 

 describing the route along the shore of Mulroy Bay to 

 Milford, did not say a word too much about the delightful 

 views opening up at every turn of the road along the narrow 

 winding bay, steep heathery hills on the one side with Mulroy 

 on the other, broken up by its many islands and little wooded 

 points. If the praise in the programme was limited, the 

 reality caused raptures of unbounded delight. 



At Cratlagh the road runs through a beautiful wood three 

 miles long, which slopes down to the water's edge, where an 

 hour was spent in collecting and sketching. The thick 

 underbrush, with masses of fern, moss, &c., covering every 

 available space even of the rough wayside, formed a fine 

 collecting ground for botanist and zoologist. The vehicles 

 were waiting at the margin of the wood, and the drive was 

 resumed to the head of the lough, where beautiful vistas of 

 mountain, wood, and water are to be seen as the road winds 

 in and out along the rugged hillsides, this being one of the 

 most picturesque spots in the country. 



Arriving at Milford, a halt was called at M'Devitt's Hotel, 

 where lunch was served and a most enjoyable hour spent 

 before resuming the drive to Rathmullan, which was reached 

 at 3 p.m. 



Leaving Milford, the road runs along a high table-land, 

 then descends to the sea again at Ray Wood, through 

 which the road lies for miles along the shore of the lovely 

 '' Lake of Shadows," until Rathmullan — the ancient capital 

 of Fanait — is reached. The ruins of the Abbey were then 

 visited. It was built in the fifteenth century for the Car- 



