rough and rude. The inferior work is probably of the same age as the adjoining church. In architecture, as well as in literature and every ennobling art, our countrymen appear to have grown weaker and weaker as time rolled on, from the first landing of a descendant of William "the Bastard" and his accompanying advanced guard of "civilizers" upon Irish soil!

Of Aidan, the patron if not the founder of Drumlane, we shall have much to say in a future chapter. Our English readers need not confound Aidan of Drumlane with the saint of the same name of Lindisfarne-though the latter, almost equally celebrated as a pioneer of Christianity, was also a native of Erin. When we consider the insular or semi-insular position of many of our most famous monasteries of the sixth and seventh centuries, we cannot but recall the word-painting of Sir Walter in his allusion to the Irish establishment upon the "Holy Island" of Northumberland :

"The tide did now its flood-mark gain
That girdled in the Saint's domain;
For with the flow and ebb, its style
Varies from continent to isle ;
Dry-shod o'er sands, twice every day,
The pilgrims to the shrine find way;
Twice every day, the waves efface

Of staves and sandall'd feet the trace."

In this Guide, as indeed in all our literary sketches, it has been our especial care to touch upon no topic the consideration of which might excite unpleasant controversial encounters. But the fame of teachers of the TRUTH, such as Saints Aidan, Molaisse, Columba, Ninnedth, and other great and good men to whose works we shall have occasionally to refer, is claimed alike by the representatives of Protestantism on the one hand, and of Roman Catholicism on the other, for the honour of their respective churches. Here then, in according reverence to such names, is one point upon which Irishmen and our English and Caledonian neighbours may agree not to differ.

In the neighbourhood of Belturbet may be visited the noble demesne of Lord Farnham, so celebrated for the richness of its timber; as also Castle Saunderson, one of the

finest seats in this part of the country. No doubt the great majority of our readers who have accompanied us thus far will have arranged to proceed to their destination (whether that be Enniskillen or some stage further down the lake) by the fast and very comfortable screw-steamer Knockninny, already referred to. The voyage by the lake between Enniskillen and Belturbet will be found described in a subsequent chapter under the title of Second Excursion. Having selected Enniskillen as our head-quarters and starting point for trips, we think it better, for the sake of unity and clearness, to make this arrangement.

ENNISKILLEN.

THE thriving town of Enniskillen-situated upon an island o Lough Erne of the same name, which was anciently written Jnir Cethlenn, or the Island of Cethlenn, wife of "Balor of the mighty blows," a Fomorian chieftain who is said to have flourished about the year of the world 3303though very famous amongst the towns of Ireland, is not a place of any considerable antiquity. It is first heard of in the middle ages as containing the stronghold of the Maguires, princes of Fermanagh, from the year 1302 until the "Plantation" of Ulster in the beginning of the reign of James I.

THE CASTLE.

Of the ancient Castle only a small portion remains unmodernised. This appears to have been a gateway, leading to the lake. At its angles, on the side next the water, are two circular towers rising to a considerable height above the embattled parapets and covered with conical roofs of stone-a unique feature in works of this character and date (16th century), and copied most probably from the neighbouring round tower of Devenish. Around the old castle, upon the land side, several modern buildings, comprising the "Castle Barrack," have been erected. This fortress was taken and re-taken on several occasions during the wars of Elizabeth and the troubles of the seventeenth century. It is clear from the "Annals of the Four Masters" and other authorities, that the Maguires, lords of the castle and district, were a very powerful family. According to the late Dr. O'Donovan, they derived their name from Odhar, the eleventh in descent from Colla-da-chrich, who was great-grandson of Cormac Mac Art, monarch of Ireland about the middle of the third century.

When, early in the reign of Elizabeth, Cuconnaght, fourteenth in descent from Odhar, was informed by the Lord Deputy that an English sheriff was about to be appointed over his territory, Maguire is recorded to have answered,

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"Your sheriffe shall be welcome to me, but let me know his ericke" (or the price of his head) "aforehand, that if my people cut it off, I may cut the ericke upon the country."

The most memorable recorded siege of the Castle of Enniskillen occurred A.D. 1595. For the benefit of such of our readers as like to read of old manners and events, we condense an account of this siege and of its accidents from the "Annals of the Four Masters."

It appears that at the above-mentioned period, Hugh Maguire, Lord of Fermanagh, and the English government were at war. The Lord Justice, Sir William Fitzwilliam, having collected a great force, proceeded secretly through the adjoining territories, and upon arriving at Enniskillen, then held by Maguire, laid siege to the castle. By dint of battering-engines the fortress was taken and garrisoned by Sir William, who then went home. As soon. as Maguire, who had been away, heard of the loss of his hold, he at once mustered all the forces he could collect and laid siege to the same castle. Hugh Roe O'Donnell having joined Maguire with a considerable army, the besiegers closely invested the castle from the beginning of June to the middle of August, making not unfrequent incursions in order to plunder and devastate every portion of the surrounding country which still remained under the control of the English. The Irish chieftains succeeded in engaging a force of Scotch gallowglasses, under Donal Gorm MacDonnell, and Mac Leod of Arran. The pent-up guards of Enniskillen had no prospect but that of capture or starvation before them. As soon as the Lord Deputy was informed of their critical condition, he commanded a great number of the men of Meath, the chiefs of the O'Reillys, and the Binghams of Connaught, to come for the purpose of conveying provisions and stores to Enniskillen. These chiefs and their people proceeded to Cavan, the head-quarters of O'Reilly, where they obtained the necessary stores, &c., and then marched for Enniskillen by the right hand shore of Lough Erne. Maguire, by his scouts, was aware of everything that was going on, and he wisely considered that the best thing to do was to intercept the convoy. Accordingly, with a strong force he proceeded in the direction of the

enemy, and halted at a narrow pass by which he expected the enemy would have to march. This plan was crowned with success. Both bodies met at a ford of the river Arney, near the present bridge of Drumnane, and, in the words of the annalists, "a violent and fierce conflict and a strenuous and determined battle ensued between both parties; but at length the Maguire and his forces defeated the other party by force of arms, so that he slaughtered their chiefs, and he continued pursuing the vanquished for a long distance from that place. Immense was the number of officers and common soldiers that were slain in that battle; a vast number of horses and a deal of arms and of property were left in that place, besides the steeds and horses which were carrying the stores to Enniskillen.'

This battle gave name to the ford at which it was fought, Bel-atha-na-mBriosgaidh, or the "Mouth of the Ford of the Biscuits," and this from the quantity of biscuits and other provisions lost by the vanquished. When the garrison at Enniskillen heard of the defeat of their friends they gave up the town to Maguire, who gave them quarter, a civility rather unusual amongst belligerents in Ireland in those days.

We have now done with ancient Enniskillen, unless the beautiful parish church, originally erected in 1637, and of which a portion has been most judiciously preserved, can be considered an object of archæological interest.

THE PARISH CHURCH.

This structure stands upon the highest ground of the island, and seen from any point of view, looks picturesque and elegant. It is nestled in the centre of the town, and towers above all other buildings of the place, as a hen amongst her chickens. The style is known to ecclesiologists as "perpendicular." There are side-aisles and a chancel. The eastern window presents one of the finest examples of stained glass to be seen in Ireland. The effect of the choir is greatly enriched by the war and time-worn colours of the Enniskillen regiments, which hang from its sides. A fine monumental statue of the chief who had often in the Peninsula led these banners to victory, is appropriately placed between