The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1872-02-17
letter from KreEand4-Ne. Is
Correspondence of Cambria Freeman1
DUBLIN CITY. Jan. 81 1870

d ueIalieu sketCn OF the almost cnuntIeSs an
tiquarian and sacred ruins in which Carlow
and Wicklow counties abound. it would be
years before | could get back among my
friends in Little Cambria ;" so will only
touch on the most prominent ones, and pro
coed at once to the
VALE OF LTCCA,
o! the Meeting cf the Waters, - which COM
mences at the confluence Of the Avonbeg and
the Avoumore rivers. No wonder that the
immortal Moore wrote:
There fs not in the wide world a valley SO
sweet
As the vale in whose bosom the bright waters
meet.
Oh the last ray of feeling and life must depart
Ere the bloom of that valley shall fade from
my heart
Nature has here scattered her charms with
a liberal hand. Waving woods. crystal
waters and verdant shores combine to render
tho scene one of surprising softness and beau
tiful tranquility. 1t surpasses any place
have ever seen for calm quietude and lonely
repose. A short distance from the "mesting g
Of the waters" the vale gradually expands
into broad and verdant slopes, dotted here
and there with white cottages, thro' which
(the valley, not the cottages the river gldes
gently towards the sea, whose blue waters
make a noble boundary to a combina-
tion of the grandest and softest scenery
which nature is capable Of producing. Leav>
ing the lovely Vale of Avoca. we come to
the head Of Gleumalone glen, which presents
a wild. impressive aspect-its rude and bar
ren rocks, rising abruptly on either side,
give it savage grandeur. Next we come to
GLENDALoUGH,
or the "Glen of the Two Lakes" Hers
again the tourist is trans6xed with amaze
ment at the scene which nature spreads out
before him. Glendalough. or as some call
it. the Seven Churches" is about twenty
eight miles from dublin. The glen is about
two miles and half in extent, open at the
eastern extremity, but enclosed on svery side
by lofty, precipitous mountains. | ascend
ed the valley through which the read winds
for about mile and half to obtain the
first view of the once celebrated Glendalough,
where religion and literature fouriShed in
oldea times. but which now presents naught
to the traveller save melancholy waste
Whose sombrs character is deepened by the
moulderiug relics of past greatness that lie
scattered here and there through the glen.
Tho arst object that attracted my attention
was the stately R, und Tower, considered
one Of the finest in the country. Next was
the Cathedral. - "Our Lady's Church, >" and
st. kevin's Kitchen" Here in the fifth
century did the good St KeviE retire after
he had consecrated himself to religion, and
founded the Abbey Of Glendaough, over
which he presided as abbot and bishop for
many years. and | believe history tells us
that he lived to the patriarchal age of one
hundred aud twenty years. A description
Of all these mOnastic ruins would probably
tire the general reader so | will briefly
mention the celebrated "St. Kevin's Bed y
a small cave, followed in the face of a per-
pendicular rock overhangiDg, at Il considera~
be height, the dark waters Of the lake
The romantic tradition attached to this bed
and cave has given it an extraordinary ce~
lebrity and has formed the suli.ct of enc Of
MooTe's exquisite melodies, commencing
with
"By that lake whose gloomy shore
Skylark never warbies o'er,'' etc.
We are told that st. Kevin, 10 his youth.
was as remarkable for his personal beauty
as he was for his exemplary picty. and that
he Cnconsciously cap'ivated the heart of
hiSh>born lady named Kathleen. The love-
lit giances of her "eyes of most unholy blue"
could not soften the rigid heart of the young
anchorite, however, and in order to free him.
self from her visits he concealed himself in
a cave Of Lugduf mountain. But the low
ing Kathleen, who knew no barrier between
herself and him she loved, tracked his steps
to the rocky couch, and
Even now while Kelvin calmly sleeps,
Kathleen Ger him leans aud weeps"
But the legend tells US that when he awoke
and saw female form standing near he. in
a moment of anger and distraction, hurled
her from tho cliff into the lake below, where
the fond Kathleen met a watery grave
Ksvin tried to save her, but it was impoas;>
bic, and he then prayed that no one would
ever again be drowned in that lake-a PRAYER
which | am told was granted, no one was
ever known 70 be drowned in it since
Those wishing to read this in full can do so
by referring to Gerald GrIfin's poems.
Leaving with fond and delightful recol-
lections the lovely Gtsndalougb, 1 turned
toward
LUGGELAU,
WEIGH is encompassed on all sides by noun
tains, SONS Of them Of the widest aud others
of the richest and most pleasing character.
10 the outline Of huge rock is distinctly
traced a gigantic resemblance Of human
face, locking slccuIiIy on the lake below.
The eyebrows, broad and dilating arc mar k ed
by moss and heath, and the prominent cheeks
aud deep suukon eyes arc perfectly formed
by the cefts in the rock. The mouth ap-
pears open. but if you move to a distance it
seems to close, aud that too without pro-
duciug aIy alteration in the features. a
little distance up, the valley closes with an
of rocks. down which flows a
small but pretty waterfall, forming at the
foot little stream which, winding through
the meadows, mingles with the still waters
of the lake. Not far from Luggelau is the
celebrated DEVILS Glen, which l think is
monstrous misnomer, as the Glen of the
Gods would be more appropriate for such a
combination of wood. rock and water-in all
sufficiently beautiful to be entitled to the
latter name. Here the Vantrey river forms
a fine fall of enc hundred feet in height in
an unbroken descent.
The next place of note and interest is the
TOWN OF BRAY
situated on the sea shore, about a mile be
bind the promontory of Bray Head. From
here l went to visit the Glen Of the Downs.
This beautiful fairy dell is walled in by
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