The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1889-06-12
A TINY KINGDOM
WHAT May BE SEEN IN A VISIT
TO THE ISLE OF MAN.
A Diversity of Beautiful Scenery
in Very Small Space-ReGc
of an Ancient Scandi-
navian Custom.

It is said that there is no other spot in
the world where such diversity of scenery
has been compressed into small space as
the Isle of man. It is Liliputian king
dom from its miniature constitution to its
tiny rivers and waterfalls; from its pigmy
mountains to its little valleys. Every
thing is abridged and petit, writes Marion
Taylor in the San Francisco Call. Manx-
land lies midway between the ports of
Belfast and Liverpool, its rocky coast con-
tinually washed by restless waves of the
Irish Sea. Douglas, the principal town
and port, was simply fishing village not
very many years ago, but row it can boast
of London shops, fine hotels and boarding
houses, and in the season there is such q
mighty influx of visitors that many have
to seek shelter in the bathing-machines
for lack of better accommodation. Its
beautiful bay is guarded at one extremity
by Onchau Head and at the other by that
majestic promontory, Douglas Head, the
view from which is unsurpassed; while
between the two on an islet of rock is
Wordsworth's wave-washed tower Of
refuge.
Douglas owns some beautiful walks,
notably one through the woods to the
nunnery grounds, and another to Kirk
Braddan, where lie both Druid and
Scandinavian in the graveyard consecrated
by the associations of 1000 years.
At Castleton, in the south of the
island. is the II ouse of Keys, where the
Manx Parliament is held; it boasts also
Castle Rushen, which dates from the
twelfth century, and which was the prison
of the heroic Countess of Derby, who, as
Sir Walter Scott tells us, was detained
there after the island had succumbed to
Cromwell until the restoration. At the
present time the castle is used as the
'ManX House of Detention. Port Erin IS
sweet spot,and from it may be obtained
fine view of that mountain-like rock,
Bradda Head. A sail round the Calf of
Man insures for the tourist sublime seen
cry, for it is there nature assumes her
widest mood. The cliffs rise to giddy
heights and wear all manner of weird
shapes. The Stacks, the Eye, Sugar Leaf
Rocks and the Thousla Rock, each stand
out as picture of superb coast scenery.
Spanish Head, stupendous cliff on the
mainland, with hidden rocks, sharp as
knives, stretching out under the sea,is so
named from having been destructive to
the warships of the Invincible Armada in
1883.
! Ramsey, the second town of import
,ance on the island, has many attractions,
among others its proximity to the beauti-
sful Sulby Glen, and many prefer it to
Douglas on account of its quieter aspect.
.Laxey, few miles distant from Ramsey,
is noted for the largest water-wheel in
the world, used for draining the lead
mines of that locality, and standing as it
does, a miracle of mechanism, amid the
most romantic and beautiful mountain
scenery, snaefell overtopping all; it lives
long in the memory. Then, how many
lovely glens there are, with their wooded
banks and fairy waterfalls-Glen Helen,
with the music of Rhenass ravishing the
eye and ear, and Dhon Glen, with its
rushing waters making melody every
where. Surely it is the land of poetry.
A glance at the Isle of Man would be
incomplete without few words on the
subject of what is called by the Manx
people Tynwald Day, which means fes-
tival attended by the population of the
entire island. 1t is held on the 5th OF
July every year, and is the lingering relic
of Scandinavian custom, elsewhere OBJ
solete for a great number of years.
The main purpose of the gathering is
to hear the public PRONUNCIATION of the
laws of the island from the lips of the
governor-general, on Tynwald Mount, a
mount hemmed in with hills in the ham
let of St. John, an out-of-the-way spot
situate between Douglass and Peel. 1t is
quaint ceremony, in which those laws
that have passed through the House of
Keys during the past year and have re-
ceived the imperial consent are declared
to the people. The law-giver reads the
statutes first in the English language and
then in the native tongue of Mona, a
dreadful dialect, which is still spoken
there to considerable extent. Outside
the Mount there are all the characteristics
of country fair, for the rest of the day
is devoted to fun and pleasantly the
Manx peasantry evidently agreeing with
the old proverb which tells us ''all work
and no play makes Jack dull boy" and
there, mingling feeling freely together,
are seen the Peel fishermen, the farmers
from the interior, the pretty Manx girls,
attired in gaudy colors, the swarthy
miners from Laxey, soldiers in their gay
uniform, belonging to the detachment
sent thither for the day from the military
headquarters; and last, but not the least,
the good-humored tourists, full of delight
and enjoyment. And thus we leave this
happy people, content with their own
beautiful island, their humble lives and
primitive ways.