The universal geography : earth and its inhabitants

THE ISLE OF MAN. 301
inhabitants is not, however, purely Celtic, for there has been a strong intermixture
of Scandinavian blood.*
A range of mountains of considerable elevation traverses the island from the
south-west to the north-east, and a depression near its centre separates this
range into two distinct masses. Standing upon the principal summit (2,004 feet),
the whole of the Irish Sea, with the mountains that bound it, lies spread beneath
us. This mountain still bears the Scandinavian name of Snae Fell, or Snow
Mountain, although snow only covers it during part of the winter. Indeed, the
climate of the Isle of Man is very temperate, though somewhat variable, and the
number of tourists attracted by its scenery is very considerable. The larger part
of the island is the property of yeomen, who cultivate their own small estates.
The mountains yield lead, copper, iron, and zinc.
Castletoicn, the official capital of the island, is built on a crescent-shaped bay
near its southern extremity. Peel is the principal port on the western, as
Ramsay is on the north-eastern coast, but Douglas is the only town of real
importance. It stands on a well- sheltered bay on the east coast, opposite
Liverpool, and at one extremity of the " gap " which runs athwart the island,
the other end being occupied by Peel. Gardens, villas, and terraces covered
with flowers surround Douglas, and the roadstead is protected by a powerful
breakwater. In the churchyard of Kirk Braddan, to the north-west of it,
may stOI be seen a raised stone covered with dragons, carved in the twelfth
century, and bearing a mortuary inscription in Eunic letters which Miinch of
Copenhagen was the first to decipher. So-called Druidical monuments of every
kind are plentiful throughout the island, but there is reason to believe that some
of them, at all events, are not older than the Middle Ages. One of the most
curious amongst them is the monument at Tynwald, at the intersection of four
roads, in the centre of the island. TVe do not know whether its origin is Celtic
or Scandinavian, but to the present day it is put to the use for which it appears
to have been intended, for the local laws still continue to be promulgated here
annually in the presence of the Governor, the two " Deemsters," or Judges, the
Council, and the " Kevs." According to tradition a head Druid or kind of
Pope of the Celtic world, officiated in the Isle of Man before the Roman epoch,
and the faithful then flocked to it from all parts to do him homage. Man and
Anglesey had formerly the same name, and the mediaeval lords of the island used
the title of " King of both the Monas." The authority of the Bishop of Sodor
and Man is now limited to the Isle of Man ; the Sodor
—
Sudr eyyars ; that
is, southern islands (when contrasted with the Orkneys)—or Hebrides, having
been separated from his bishopric.
• H. Jenner, " The Manx Language," Transactions of the Phihlogieal Society, 1875.