The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1852-10-14
For tho National Era.
COPYRIGHT SECURED ACCORDING TO Law.
GREENWOOD LEAVES FROM OVER THE SEA.

No. Is.
BELFAST, September IS, 1852.
Ny DEAR p: On the 9th of August,
left Dublin, with my kind English friends, for
short tour in the beautiful county of Wick
low We discarded the car and travelled quite
luxurously in an easy carriage, open, but shut
able at will, with pair of fine horses, and a
driver of staid and respectable demeanor, and
personal appearance slightly suggestive of the
elder Weller.
We set forth on lovely morning and soon
found ourselves in country of great natural
beauty, and as compared with Southern Ire
land, in fine state of cultivation Our first
visit was to the Dargle," a dark, romantic
glen, containing a swift, silvery mountain
stream, and beautiful waterfall. 1t is not
wild enough for grandeur part OF Lord
Powerscourts demesne, it has too well-kept an
air-but it is pretty picturesque, and picnic
ish place. We spent an hour or two very de-
hghtfully wandering through its cool quetudes
and sun-dropped shades"
Our next visit was to the Vale of Avoca i'm
mortalzed by Moore, in his song of "The Meet
ing of the Waters" looked in vain, in the
little streams Avonmore and Avonbeg in their
wedding at Castle Howard, and in their subse-
quent two-in-oneness, their slow, sedate, matri-
monlal on-fiow, As the Avoca for that "purest
OF crystal" which CLEANS in the song-the
poets words have more slvery flowing than
these waters, and this valleys brightest of
green ~ surpassed by the verdancy of the ro-
mSnuc tourist who comes hither hoping to be-
no'u picture Of enhancing loneliness, which
""S all IN the eye" of the melodist The
current Vi The Avoca is evidently discolored by
'ne copper mines, worked on its banks, most
unPoeuc and unlooked-for adjuncts to that
scene Oh enchantmentn Yet, believe me, |
. .el' ueePer pleasure in seeing the poor coun-
"yncn vi the poet earning an honest livelihood
ny INNING IN those beautiful hills--rude avo-
cation Tor the Sweet Vale of Avoca than I
Iouid nave known in the perfect realization of
ms most exquisite dream.
we next explored " The Devils Glen" up to
It's beautiful cascade. His Satanic majesty
seems to have been a sort of surveyor general
Of Ireland, at some remote period, and to have
INDUCED his vanity by giving his name to all
such places as particularly struck his fancy.
Ihe desire to send his fame down to posterty
with this waterfall, certainly does honor to his
TASTE Tor surely never saw, in any cascade, a
more enchanting combination Of grandeur and
grace The glen ITSELF lying deep and dark
between two mountain ridges, is a wild. grand,
ana lonely place, which art has not yet pro-
ianed, nor custom staledn
VA the second day of our tour, we visited
perhaps the most wonderful place in Ireland
The Valley of the Seven Churches or the
ancient city of Glendalough. Sir Walter Scott
speaks OF it as "the inexpressibly singular
scene OF Irish antiquities" and it surely is the
haunt OF shadows and the abode of mysteries
between black, rocky, barren mountains in a
narrow, gloomy valley, containing two dark
shd almost fathomless lakes are the ruins of a
ivy, founded early in the sixth century, by ST.
Aenn' a most holy and potent parsonage. sec
Hnd only to st. Patrick in the pious and popu.
'At legends Of this country. In addition TO the
runs Of the Seven Churches, built on a singu.
airy dIminutive scale, and in rude style of
anVaal'ecture, there are the sepulchres Of the
auGeht kings and church dignitaries, and, most
, o. OF all one Of those mysterious round
lerS The origin and purpose Of which has 30
s constituted one of the knottiest of ANTIGUA
ran problems.
lon. ne almost deathly quiet the oppressive
Of tb;a the strange, deep, unearthly gloom
% d. Hmouidering city Of the dead, are things
ws;,S,yI u" IN all their melancholy wild, and
uc,ni ke power, but which could scarce be
nSin.u ny the sternest and most vivid word
Of "" we selected guide from clamorous crowd
Wm vassr applicants in the person of George
low NJ Wild, picturesque, long bearded fel.
ter an mo proved to be very much Of a charac-
dersai 1u y entertained us nightly by many won
NAgends Of st. Kelvin, the famous Irish