14 
MEMOIE OF THE LATE EOBEET BALL, LL. D. 
Dean got nothing good; I got choughs , and upwards of a hundred eggs 
of sea-fowl, but, most valuable, a quantity of the Echinus lividus of 
Lamarck. This creature burrows in the limestone rocks, making a 
teacup-like cavity, in which it holds with great pertinacity; it is be¬ 
sides well to look at, having large spines, and being of a rich purple 
colour. Having set a fellow to clean out the specimens, we proceeded 
to the shore, the Dean again bent on furthering my pursuits, searching 
under stones, &c., for all manner of creeping things. He soon found a 
species of Holothuria which I have not as yet made out. I found the 
Sgngathus ophidion, new, I believe, to Ireland; and a few Algae, which 
will add to your collection. I caught the Cetonia aurata and another 
Cetonia. 
“¥e here found a poor fisherman with a single lobster-pot and a 
rod; he had just caught the largest lobster I ever saw, which he would 
have sold for a sixpence. He told us he was too poor to fie able to 
attend to or have more than one lobster-pot; and I am sure he would 
not take a present of another, having always had only one. It would 
take more than a generation to effect any improvement in such a 
people. 
“ Seeing a building on the high ground, we asked our guide what it 
was; he could give us no other answer than, ‘we calls it the look-out.’ 
However, as it seemed too good a structure to he of recent date, we 
climbed our way to it, and were rewarded. It proved to be a well- 
executed little building of cut stone, 11 ft. long inside, by 6 ft. 8 in. 
in breadth, having a curious door 5 ft. 6 in. high, and 1 ft. 4 in. wide 
at top, expanding to 2 feet at the bottom; the height of the side walls 
only 5 ft. 2 in.; it had a very steep roof. The door was so narrow 
that no ordinary man could get in, except sideways. The savages are 
pulling down the little edifice from mere wantonness. It was not, 
perhaps, a Christian church, as its direction is contrary to that given in 
such places of worship. Hear it are some of the ancient bee-hive houses, 
specimens of which are met with throughout Ireland; but in other 
places, under ground; here, the rock being at the surface prevented 
concealment. The stones in these houses were all laid horizontally. 
Here there is the base of a Eound Tower, thrown down by the people 
to build their cabins, though nearly as good stones were all around 
them naturally on the surface of the ground. Here is also a holy well, 
at which was a woman praying, and our guide would only approach it 
with his head uncovered, though he spoke but lightly of his priest, &c.. 
It appeared that the well belonged to his patron saint. Below this, 
according to his account, was a monastery, which once contained 700 
monks. They were all put to death, and their habitation razed, by a 
rover. Further down on the shore is a remnant of a Horman-like 
fortress of considerable extent,—according to the guide, built by Crom¬ 
well. 
“ I believe I did as much in natural history as was practicable, but 
could have found employment for a week with ease. Having first made 
a scamper to the shore, I gathered more Algae, and found the Voluta 
