ring once again to that country, shall conclude with the words of the learned and disinterested Ludolff:-" Ercitet D. O. M. Principum nostrorum animes, ut pervetuste huic Christianæ nationi opem ferant, Chris delight; and, when the ceremony was con'cluded, the good old man delivered out his orders for the day with a patriarchal simplicity and dignity of manner that was really affecting to contemplate. Such were the feelings of our travel-tianismo in tam remotis mundi partibus proler when entering the country: he enferendo utilem, sihique omni ævo gloriosam larges on them still more affectionately futuram." when quitting it. Among all the men with whom I have ever been intimately acquainted, I consider this old man as one of the most perfect and blameless characters, his mind seemed to be formed upon the purest principles of the Christiau religion: his every thought and action appearing to be the result of its dictates. He would often, to ease his mule, walk more than half the day; and as he journeyed by my side, continually recited prayers for our welfare and future prosperity. On all occasions he sought to repress in those around him, every improper feeling of anger; conciliated them by the kindest words, and excited them by his own example to an active performance of their several duties. If a man were weary, he would assist him in carrying his burthen; if he perceived any of the mules backs to be hurt, he would beg me to have them relieved: and constantly, when he saw me engaged in shooting partridges or other birds, he would call out to them to fly out of the way; shaking his head, and begging me in a mournful accent not to kill them. I have We confess, that having depended on the character drawn of the Abyssinian priests, by Mr. Bruce, we were no inore prepared to find so much candour among them, than to find the mountains of the country covered with snow, and the cold of the atmosphere so piercing as to force tears from the eyes of a asserted in the volume before us; notnative. This is, however, repeatedly withstanding Mr. Bruce assures us that, the thing being unknown, there is no word in the language to denote it. We extract a passage in which the people and their country appear equally, in a new light. Samen, came to Mishekka, where the re- Among the rest, the wife of an old priest remarked in my former journal, that with all this refined feeling of humanity, he was far from being devoid of courage, and I had an opportunity subsequently of witnessing several instances of his bravery, though he appeared on all occasions peculiarly anxious to avoid a quarrel. I can truly say, and assured the good people, though in situation into which he had been drawu, that I have seldom felt more respect for an individual than I did for this worthy man. vain, that they were mistaken; but, lús new guide on the contrary, seemed so And surely, will our readers say, his much to enjoy the consequences of the mischaracter deserved it: and the more, understanding, that by his assertions, he when the prevalent manners of his coun- more strongly confirmed them in their trymen are considered. Keeping them, erroneous opinion. From this point the however, in some degree out of sight, difficult of ascent; and the snow and ice, mountain became extremely rugged and we cannot wonder that proofs of good-which lay in every hollow, rendered the will and of piety met with by Mr. Salt, should be repaid by him with answerable good wishes: they deeply affected him; as appears from the concluding paragraph of his volume. I shall here take my leave of the reader, with an anxious hope that I may, in this instance, meet with the same liberal indulgence which has hitherto attended my efforts in the cause of Abyssinia, and, refer atmosphere piercingly cold, so much so, that the female servant actually cried, from the pain which the severity of the weather occasioned. Dec. 1807.-On the 24th he returned another fall of snow, which lay so thick again to Mishekka, where they met with they made their way through it. on the ground, that it was with difficulty We must not, however, suffer our selves to be misled by these incidents | Heath. A very interesting map' which we must remember that these "mingled accompanies the work, is laid down with people" differ in different provinces; great care, and shews the tracks of as they even speak different languages; many travellers as Mr. Salt could dethat the fevers in the valleys are con-pend on in point of accuracy. It gives tagious and destructive, in spite of the by far the best idea of this part of Snows among the mountains; that the Africa, that we have seen. The views priests of Axum are at variance with and plans of places, harbours, bays, the priests of Chelicut; and are both coasts, &c. possess great importance, mischievous and superstitious; that ad- and augment our geographical knowvice had been openly given, to admit ledge, to the practical benefit of our the party into the country, and murder nautical men, as well as to the gratificathem and that it was after repeated tion of our men of study and science. escapes from robbery and violence, our traveller entered the country, and at length he quitted it. A Statistical Account, or Parochial Survey of Ireland; drawn up from the We are willing, nevertheless, to close Communities are benefited in a diver sity of ways; not alone by legislative proceedings, however consummately planned and ably executed: but besides these, and often extending much beyond them, into minor branches, not to be reached by statute, there are imperious duties attached to certain ranks and classes of society, the observance or neglect of which render the fostering soli citude of government effective and be neficial, or inert, perhaps injurious. When Mr. Pearce was at the coast of the Red Sea, waiting for the intercourse with Mocha, he must have starved had not an Arab dow accidentally touched at the port, Hurtos, the master of which named Adam Mahomed, humanely supplied his party with a few dollars worth of juwarry Ireland, in our opinion, furnishes a and dates, in exchange for a bill on Mocha, striking instance in support of this obsaying "that he could not bear to see an servation. Without incurring the posEnglishman in distress for provisions.”- sibility of that guilt which attaches to This feeling appears to be very general invidious remark, we may safely say, among the Arabs; the high respect they that little has formerly been done by entertain for the English character, makes the natives of that island to make the then feel ashamed to see a person belong-country known to itself; and, of course, ing to this nation in difficulties. During Mr. Salt's stay at Mocha, Hadjee Salce, an Arab trader brought two Englishmen to that place, whom he had picked up at Lamo, where, but for his charitable assistance, they must have starved. These mengard of her favours. had run away from an East Indiaman, at Johanna, and had gained a passage to the African coast in a native boat. The plates to this work are extremely well executed. They do honour to the talents of the draughtsman, Mr. Salt; and to those of the engraver Mr. C. those who were not natives were left in irremediable ignorance of the powers and capabilities of a kingdom, to whiche Nature had been far enough from nig Times have changed: they will change still more, we trust, in favour of this por tion of the United Kingdom. Contrasting the present advances of Ireland towards maturity in civilization and the arts, with; the state of that country only two centuries ago, its people then but few removes the present instance, have emulated their brethren of Scotland with “a noble strife." In proof of the labour and diligence exerted on this occasion, we need only refer to the sections, according to which the account of every parish is arranged by Mr. Mason, viz. The name of the Parish, ancient and modern; its situation, extent, and divi- II. Miues, Minerals, and all other natural from barbarism, and its mountains co- | Sir John Sinclair) in the clergy, who, in vered with wood, the mind becomes as tounded in the contemplation of so rapid, so amazing a progress. Reflecting farther on the susceptibility of a country pregnant with genius and sense, and not less with vivacity, feeling, and patriotism, we cannot but attach the highest importance to a publication of this de-I. scriptiou, as a most powerful mean of facilitating the amalgamation of all that is essential to render a people prosperous and happy. With pleasure commensurate to the objects aimed at, we have at various times recorded the projection and execution of measures, national and individual, promising benefieial results to Ireland: but we are free to confess a gratification beyond the ordinary stamp, in announcing to our readers the present Statistical Account of that country, by Mr. Shaw Mason, because the arduous work is at length achieved, which the united efforts of the most eminent literary characters had hitherto attempted, without success. We allude to the labours of the PhysicoHistorical Society in 1744; of the Dublin Society, in 1773; and of the Royal Irish Academy, so recently as 1793. The political economy of the United Kingdom will now take its proper course, since that science, as it may be made to operate on Ireland, is furnished with a legitimate basis. It is therefore in a twofold view that we hail Mr. Mason's work, and most cordially congratulate his country on the successful completion of what has been so long desiderated, in laying a foundation for perfecting its moral and physical energies *. The compiler has laudably followed the plan of Sir John Sinclair's Statistical Account of Scotland; and to render his work equally respectable and authentic for reference, to those who make political economy their study, the sources whence his information is principally derived, originate (as also did that of As a matter extremely interesting to the United Kingdom, but to Ireland in particular, it is our intention to resume the subject of the Bogs [Vide Panorama, Vol. IX. p. 418.] as further illustrated by the second, third and fourth Parliamentary Reports on the subject. IV. Ancient Buildings, Monastic and Cas- VI. The Genius and dispositions of the VII. The education and employment of their children; schools, state of learning, public libraries, &c.; collection of Irish MSS. or historical documents relating to Ireland. VIII. State of the Religious Establishment, mode of tithes, parochial funds, of records, &c. IX. Modes of Agriculture, crops, stocks of cattle, rural implements; chief proprie tors names, and average value of land; prices of labour; fairs and markets, &c. X. Trade and Manufactures, Commerce, Navigation and Shipping, Freight, &c. XI. Natural Curiosities, remarkable occurrences, and eminent men. XII. Suggestions for improvement, and The volume before us, comprises aecounts of about sixty parishes, and these are in every instance so judiciously handled, so fraught with matter interesting to the statesman and philosopher, that the Work we have no doubt will soon be in universal request. In all probability, it cannot be long before the continuation will reach us, and add to the mass of curious matter contained in the present volume; and, if our advice may prevail, it should contribute to prevent a premature termination of this undertaking. We wish it to be complete, and neither hurried nor contracted, as is too often the case with works of great labour toward the latter end: whereby the whole is injured, irreparably, so far as the service of posterity is concerned; and not seldom, to the infinite mortification and perplexity of contemporaries. 66 narrow r a wall, and Baull, a member or part, be all spelt alike, and thereby confounded in our English gazetteers, as being indiscriminately pronounced with short a, like Bal in by all native Irishmen who speak the lauBallad, whereby the etymology is lost; yet pronounced according to its original accep guage, each of these words, is distinctly tation. Among thousands of places' names in Ireland, with the component parts of which these radical words coalesce as initials or finals, that of Ballynasloe may be adduced as an instance. An Irishman being asked which was the road to Ballynasloe, could not tell, though within ed it was where the great fair was held, seven miles of the place, till inform"O, then," said he, "it must be Beulawh-na-slua."-The word is derived from Much as we are interested in the welBeul," a mouth, ath," a ford, and fare of the population of Ireland, and "sluagh," an army, a concourse of people, &c. much as we wish to promote it, we must cal acceptations, is similar to, and co-exIn short, "Beul," in its metaphoribe allowed to admit the precedence due to ancient national deities; and to sub-deities, tensive with Peul or TVA, (Powl in Irish) also, male or female, in other words, to figurative application denotes a a gate, among the Greeks, which, in its Christian Saints, of various degrees of pass or a defile, as Pyle Caucasiæ, Pyle Almerit and celebrity. Druidical customs are baniæ, and the celebrated Thermopyle denot yet forgotten. The Rev. Mr. Gra- note the passes or defiles of Caucasus, Alham, writing from Maghera, in London-bania, and Thermæ. This diffuse account derry, informs us, that on the 23rd of the word "beul" may prevent the abof June, bonfires are kindled in al surdity of modern antiquaries, who from directions through the country." And the supposed identity of sound, adopted the we learn the same from Dr. Fitzgerald's opinion that "Bel," &c. account of Ardstraw, County of Tyrone; was the object of adoration in every bealach, he says, "with respect to customs, the pass, or solitary defile, in Ireland. old one of lighting fires on high places on Midsummer's Eve, is observed here." This, is neither more nor less than the Beltein, or worship of the Solar Fire, that most ancient observance, which more than any known to us, may claim the character of universality. It is traced in all parts of the world; and there is none in which it did not prevail. We say this, without fear of contradiction, from the very worthy Archdeacon of Ferns, who, concluding his account of the parishes of Adamstown and Newbawn, by an explanation of the names of places derived from the Irish language, adds, 66 For the further information of curious philologers, not intimately acquainted with the pronunciation and grammatic variations of words in Irish, it may not be unnecessary to observe, that though "Beul" a mouth, often contracted by volubility of oral utterance into Bal: "Baille," "Balle" a village, townland or town; "Bawlla," a Vol. I. Lit. Pan. New Series, Feb. 1. 66 בעל ",Baal » To this reproof we submit; though not conscious of intentional crime in committing short and long" as Milton's phrase is, by a bad pronounciation of good Irish :---and the rather, because, as the work proceeds, there will be no scarcity of local appellations in which the name of Baal, the deity, is still preserved, no less than as we have seen above, the remains of worship formerly paid to him. There are also many evidences of the prevalence of Druidism throughout the island. stones of wonder, their cromlechs, &c. witness the superstitious practices to which they once contributed; and some of them are constructed with an art and premeditation, not to be contemplated without a secret conviction of trick and deception. Their was forced to hide its diminished head, as free from all those delusive practices which they reprobated in the system they found established. In too many instances the succeeding saint, or martyr, merely transferred to himself the customs then and there existing; and though the present volume does not touch on the principal of such prevarications, yet it contains enough to justify the inference in all its strength. We shall quote an instance taken from the account of Dungiven, in Londonderry, communicated by Mr. Ross, the Rector. There is a fine spring well, between the town and the old church, called TubberPatrick, which is the object of peculiar veneration. The absurd and superstitious ceremonies which are here practised, to this day, would scarcely be credited without ocular testimony. Early almost every Sunday morning, from Patrick's-day until about Michaelmas, a number of devotees surround this well, and after bowing towards it with great reverence, walk round it a certain number of times, repeating, during their progress, a stated measure of prayer, they then wash their hands and feet with the water, and tear off a small rag from their clothes, which they tie on a bush overhanging the well;-from thence they all proceed to a large stone in the river Roe, immediately below the old church, and having performed an ablution, they walk round the stone, bowing to it, and repeating prayers as at the well. Their next movement is to the old church, within which a similar ceremony goes on, and they finish this rite, by a procession and prayer round the upright stone already described. How strange that this idolatrous monument of Odin †, should still be substituted for the pure sanctuary and spiritual worship of the living Jehovah. We have great pleasure, however, in adding, that Nor is this all; for the Catholic Prelates have interfered to abolish similar rites, and we heartily wish they would exert their authority in suppressing those scandalous impieties which under the pretence of Religion are witnessed by Lough Derne. For what they have done, we give them credit; why should not this credit be extended further? of St. Canice, Aghaboe was crowded from On the 11th of October, the patron-day the neighbouring parishes to celebrate that saint's festival. The Roman Catholic prelates very wisely abolished such meetings. I shall allege a passage from one of them, the very respectable Dr. Bray, of Cashel, who speaking of a patron (day)in his diocese, says, "it is become such a scene of drunkenness and quarrelling, and of other most abominable vices, that religion herself is brought into disrepute, nay, mocked and ridiculed; intemperance and immorality are encouraged; the tranquility of the country is disturbed, and the seeds of perpetual animosities and dissentions are sown." He has therefore forbidden them under the severe penalty of the greater excommunication. St. Canice's well was in my orchard in Aghaboe; there the pedlars laid down their packs, and said their prayers. About a quarter of a mile distant from the town was a groupe of thorn bushes, called after St. Canice, there, likewise, the poor people performed their devotions. These were heathen practices, derived from the earliest ages. At the citadel of Athens stood an olive tree, planted by Neptune and Minerva, and held very sacred. The Fathers and Councils reprobated such gross superstition; but it was difficult to eradicate it, as among the uninformed it is to be found at present. Whether it would not be prudent also in the prelates to prepare their people for a diminished devotion to Christian saints and saintesses, may be submitted to The dislike to these ceremonies is not con- their consideration without a breach of fined entirely to Protestants. The Rev. C. charity. The love of the marvellous O'Conner, a zealous Roman Catholic, almay be inherent in the human mind; Judes, with sufficient contempt to them, the persuasion that the object of devowhen speaking of the massacre of 1641, he tion looks with peculiar complacency boldly attributes it to "the Druidical and well-worshiping excommunications and on those who worship at an altar dedimiracles, by which the people were hood-cated to his, or her, honour, may be winked."-See his Historical Address, published in 1812, p. 244. See in the Prophet Isaiah, 57th chap. and 6th verse, where something of this kind is alluded to. + See Ledwich Antiq. p. 43. gratifying to the uninstructed; but, at the same time, it is the root of all fanaticism: it is founded on a fallacy of apprehension that leads astray-and irrecoverably bewilders weak minds. They may ardently attach themselves to their |