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mighty symbol, in whose name half the world has been ruled so long.

Being so near the field of the famous battle of the Boyne, we went a few miles out of our way to visit it on our return to Drogheda. Interesting as this locality is to the English politician, it possesses also considerable attractions to the mere sight-seer, as a piece of wood-and-river scenery. The obelisk in memory of the battle is erected on a singular isolated rock on the left bank of the river, and is rather an elegant structure. It is said to be 150 feet high, and adds not a little to the impressiveness of the natural landscape.

We left Drogheda after dark, between eight and nine o'clock, and reached Dublin at ten.

CHAPTER XII.

THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND.

HAVING, with the Tower of Monasterboice, taken leave, for the present, of those most singular monuments of antiquity, THE ROUND Towers of Ireland, it seems fitting, at least, if not imperative, that something of a more general kind should here be said respecting them. This would be appropriate, if it were merely to commemorate in these pages, the strong impression made by them on the writer's mind, as, one after another, they presented themselves to notice, in so many and such distant parts of the country travelled. Of all the relics of antiquity still preserved in Ireland-I had almost said in Europe-there are none which, in my mind, can vie in point of attractiveness with these Towers. No one who sees but once their beautiful, lofty, and slender shafts shooting up into the sky, and dominating in solitary grandeur, the surrounding landscape-all strikingly resembling one another and resembling nothing else—but must be struck with admiration and curiosity of the liveliest kind. And yet these primary feelings are but slight in degree,

when compared with those which are excited by the consideration of all the extraordinary circumstances involved in their history.

That these Towers have existed, or, at least, the majority of them, for upwards of a thousand years, is certain; that they may have existed twice or thrice this period is far from improbable; but that the era of their origin and the object of their erection remain as secrets yet to be unfolded, are circumstances which only add to the mysterious interest which attaches to them. It may be hoped, therefore, that the following notices, though containing nothing new, will not be considered as foreign to a work which professes to record whatever appeared to a stranger most note-worthy in Ireland.

In the adjoining small woodcut we have an accurate representation of one of the most perfect

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of these towers, that of Antrim; and seeing this, the reader may suppose that he has seen all. It

will be immediately shown, that they do vary considerably in size, and slightly in form, and more or less in some of their minuter details; but certainly their striking resemblance one to another, is one of their most remarkable features.

The number of Round Towers at present existing in Ireland, in a more or less perfect state, is said to be between seventy and eighty, of which number about twenty only are in complete preservation; the rest being more or less injured or decayed. They are to be found in every county of Ireland except six, and are spread over its whole extent, east, west, north, and south. The following is a synopsis of the present heights of all I have been able to find an account of:

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Ledwich gives the following as the circumference near the base, of twelve of the towers:

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The same author gives the following as the varying thickness of the walls in twelve of them :

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In Clondalkin Tower, so carefully measured by Mr. Petrie, there is a difference of 14 inches between the thickness of the walls in the lower and the upper story. Speaking of them generally, this author, the latest and best authority, says they vary in height from 50 to 150 feet, and from 40 to 60 feet in circumference. He also says, that they have usually a circular projecting base, consisting of one, two, or three steps or plinths. None of the five towers examined by me had any appearance of this kind. In a few cases (one or two) the base is considerably wider than the rest of the shaft (as, for instance, in Clondalkin Tower); but, generally, they begin to taper from the very foundation, but so gently, that the diminution is only perceptible when you look upwards and take in the whole structure at one glance: then you see the gradual diminution of size from bottom to top. In Clondalkin Tower, which is 85 feet 9 inches high, the difference between the internal diameter of the lower story and the upper is ten inches, the former being 7 feet 4 inches, the latter 6 feet 6 inches.

The entrance or doorway of the Towers is always,

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