FIFTH EXCURSION. BELMORE-GIANTS' CAVE AND GRAVE-BLACK LION-LOUGH MACNEAN-PAGAN ANTIQUITIES-THE HANGING ROCK-THE MARBLE ARCH AND CAVES-ST. LASSER'S CELL-FLORENCECOURT. ALL that we have said in reference to cars, &c., in our introduction to the last trip, will equally apply here. This, also, will be a strictly inland excursion, though from at least one point of our journey the waters of the Atlantic, in ordinary clear weather, may be discerned. Our route will be by Belmore Mountain, with its awful inland cliffs and Celtic monuments; by the shores of Lough Macnean to the source of the Shannon, near which point we shall have to describe an extraordinary group of hitherto unnoticed pre-historic monuments, as fine, and in some respects, even grander than any works of their class at present remaining in the British islands. We shall thence proceed by the village of Black Lion, by the shore of lower Lough Macnean, by the celebrated Hanging Rock to the unrivalled glen and caverns of the Marble Arch; and thence by the Earl of Enniskillen's beautiful demesne, Florence-Court, homewards. To many this will be the most interesting of all our trips, and the journey may be "done" in one day-a consideration which will find favour with not a few who may dislike the "knocking about" inseparable from a sojourn in districts little frequented except by the hardy sportsman, or equally adventurous artist or naturalist. Let our start be at as early an hour as possible-for though the journey be not exhaustive, there will be found so much to invite attention, that even a June day will appear short ere we once more greet the spire of Enniskillen. "The street is cleared, our jarvey cheered, Below the church, beyond the bridge, Below the battery's top❞— an unworthy adaptation from the "Ancient Mariner." Our route is along the Sligo road, by the reedy Lough of Rossole ("the promontory of the light"), famous for pike and perch of the largest size (we have heard of perch of over six pounds weight having been caught here), to Glencunny (the valley of the rabbits") Bridge, where we cross the river Sillees-referred to in our Second Excursion. That neat, white cottage in front was the scene of a foul murder, committed some twenty years ago, in which one of the perpetrators and the victim were brothers! The fratricide and a servant boy by whom he was assisted in his crime were executed in front of Enniskillen Jail. This was the last hanging in this county, and might therefore be alluded to, as, judging from its date, we may form an idea of the absence of murderous crime in Fermanagh. But we have another reason for touching upon the subject. For this murder three men, the brother and two others, were sentenced to death. Two, we have seen, suffered the extreme penalty, and the third would likewise have been executed but, as we have heard, for the exertions of a gentleman of the then Grand Jury, who was not satisfied with the evidence. Not without great difficulty, and almost at the last moment, a reprieve was gained. Subsequently the prisoner had his sentence commuted to transportation for life, and was even sent to the Antipodes to work in a convict gang. In the mean time, inquiries into his case were prosecuted, in the course of which, facts which incontestably proved his entire innocence of any complicity in the murder were elicited, and of course a free pardon (for what?) was granted. This person's name was Cathcart, and we believe he is still alive and flourishing. Here, then, is a fine illustration of the awful responsibility attached to the office of juryman. Had Cathcart been hung, there would have been no more about him. The twelve, of course, could do no wrong! and but for an interposition which may be truly said to have been Providential, another case would have been added to the list, as many believe already sadly full, of legal murders. Leaving Lisbofin ("the fort of the white cow") house on our right, about half-a-mile brings us to the small hamlet of Letterbreen ("the wet hill-side of the fort or mansion"), near which are the remains of a circular rath, from which no doubt the place was in part named. From this point the neighbouring mountain of Belmore ("the great mouth, place, or opening"), which rises to the height of 1,312 feet above the sea level, is most easy of ascent. From the summit, a series of views of the same class (and of almost equal grandeur) to those which we have described at Knockmore may be obtained, and will delight even the coldest observer. As at Knockmore, the cliffs surpass all verbal description, and great indeed must be the painter who could even faintly represent in light, and shade, and colour the wondrous character of the scenes which in glen and precipice, wild heath-clad upland and dreamy distance, are here presented. Whether the visitor can procure a guide or not matters very little. Upon making inquiry at any of the cottages on the way from Letterbreen to the slope of the mountain, he will be courteously directed towards the little grassy boreen or road which leads to the height. At the upper end of this road or path, within the edge of a stupendous cliff, is a cavern or fissure in the limestone rock called the "Giant's Cave," and near it an ancient Celtic sepulchre known as the "Giant's Grave." The latter, consisting of huge flagstones set on edge so as to enclose an oblong space, is now in a sadly ruined condition. We were informed by our hospitable friend, Mr. Gamble, who resides not far from the spot, and who kindly accompanied us on our first visit to Belmore, that some years ago the grave was explored by "Sappers" attached to a portion of the Ordnance staff at the time employed in the topographical survey of Ireland. The only discovery then made appears to have been that of human bones, which are described as having been of considerable size. It is a pity that the Sappers (they were privates, we suppose, or "chainmen"), after having satisfied their curiosity, did not think it iucumbent upon them to restore the monument to the same condition in which they had found it. In all likelihood this leaba, or grave, was, as tradition asserts, the last resting-place of a family by whom the cave was used as an habitation. The Irish people have retained historical traditions longer, we believe, than any other race in Europe. Sir William Wilde, in his recently published work on Lough Corrib, has shown that in the neighbourhood of Moy-Tura the story of passages in the famous battle of which that district was the scene, as well as the names of several of the heroes engaged in it, were well known to unlettered peasants of our own days-and yet that conflict must have taken place some 1,500 years before the Christian era! Not far from the grave, a little higher up the mountain, are the ruins of a small caiseal, or stone fort, one of the few still to be seen in this part of the country. The material of every portion of the wall has been displaced, but a stony ring remains, and yet guards a well-cleared interior. "The moor around is brown and bare, a fitting place for the fairies or Tuatha-de-Danaan ghosts to meet in, and trip it o'nights in the "merry moonlight." A walk in a westerly direction of about three-quarters of a mile from the crumbled caiseal, through heath breast high, and constituting a fastness for grouse, will lead us to Lough Nagor, or "the lake of the hollow." This is indeed a strange position for the loch-a wild, haunted-looking sheet of water, lonesome and fishless as the Dead Sea, but, as we were informed, not unvisited by the feathered tribes. We would advise the tourist who may have visited the antiquities just referred to, and seen Nagor, after a stroll amongst the heather and a glance at the Atlantic, which is often visible from the higher points of the mountain, to retrace his steps to the car, which we premise he has left at or somewhere near Letterbreen. He may then enjoy his drive along the shore of Lower Lough Macnean, through Belcoo (which name may be translated the "river mouth, opening, or place of the dog"), to the village of Black Lion, so called probably from the sign of an ancient inn or hostelrie. He will have passed, at a considerable distance from the road, upon the right-hand, the ruins of two old churches of the medieval period, which do not possess features of sufficient interest to warrant the delay necessary for their examination. Upon the left-hand side the lough stretches, closed to the west by a panorama of hills of great picturesque beauty, abounding in variety of wood, heath, rock, and cultivated land, forming a scene in which judicious planting and agricultural care seem to have vied with nature in the formation of a landscape. From the Black Lion the tourist should proceed by the mountain road in the direction of the source of the river Shannon, which is here known as the "Shannon Pot." No mean birth has this "monarch of Irish" and, as has been written, of "island rivers," springing as it does from a mighty fountain, and at once assuming the character of a considerable stream. Many, we are assured, would like to visit this remarkable source; but, as "Guide," we may as well here say, "for the benefit of all whom it may concern," that the place lies as nearly as possible six miles from the Black Lion, and at least four from a spot where we shall now halt for the purpose of viewing one of the most remarkable groups of Celtic antiquities remaining, and of which it is our fortune to lay the first published notice before our readers. Travellers from "The Black," after having passed about two miles and a-half or so along the mountain road, will do well to inquire of "natives" the nearest path to the "Giants' Graves." At a point near a little modern bridge which spans a stream running from Lough Tullygobban (or "the hill of the smith"), they should take the upland upon the left, and after a walk of somewhat less than a mile through a delightful wilderness of rock, bog, and heather, the place is reached. The monuments here grouped together may be noticed as follows: No. 1. A magnificent and perfect megalithic chamber, 47 feet long, covered by five flags, and surrounded by a line of detached stones set in an oval form. No. 2. A similar monument, equally grand but partly broken. No. 3. A perfect circle of the class usually but absurdly styled "druidical." No. 4. A cromlech, the covering stone of which measures 15 feet 5 inches in length, and 15 feet in breadth. No. 5. A second monument. No. 6. A so-called "druidical" rocking stone, which, though several tons in weight, may still be moved by the hand. |