The universal geography : earth and its inhabitants

434
TUE BEITISH ISLES.
Henry II. landed at "Waterford in order to take possession of Ireland, which, had
been given him hy the Pope, and ever since that time frequent intercourse with
England has been maintained. At the present day sixteen steamers depart every
week for Milford Haven, New^iort, Liverpool, Glasgow, Bristol, and London.
Porflaw, above Waterford, on the Eladagh, has a cotton- mill. Passarje and Dunmore
are small villages below it, on the " Harbour." On the coast arc Tramore, with
a dangerous harbour ; the twin villages of Knochnahon and Bonmahon, with lead
mines ; and Bungarvan, on a shallow bay, with a large distillery. The Lower
Blackwater crosses the western extremity of the county. Lismore, an ancient
university city, with the ruins of a cathedral and an old castle, is now merely
a village, but its environs are as delightful as ever. A canal joins it to
Youghal at the mouth of the river. Cappoquin, also on the Blackwater, has near
it the Trappist monastery of Mount Mellery, whose inmates have abjured the use
of flesh and stimulating drinks, but have reclaimed a large piece of once sterile
mountain land which lies around their abode.
The coimty of Tipperary is almost whoUy drained by the river Suir, but its
north-western portion, beyond the Silvcrmine Mountains, slopes down to the
Shannon and Lough Derg. It has its " Golden Vale " like Limerick, and is
more carefully cultivated than most parts of Ireland.
With the exception of Eoscrea, in a rich tract at the northern extremity of the
county, and of Nemcjh, on the Shannon slope, all the towns of Tipperary lie within
the basin of the Suir. On descending that river we first pass Templemore ; then
Thurlcs, a prosperous market town, with a Catholic cathedral and St. Patrick's
College ; obtain a glimpse of the ruins of Holy Cross Abbey ; and then reach
Cashel, at the foot of its steep rock, crowned by the ruins of a tower, a cathedral,
a chapel, and a palace of the Kings of Munster. Tijwrari/ lies in its Golden
Vale to the west of the Suir, and at the northern foot of the Galty Mountains.
Cahir, on the Suir, is a Quaker town, a fact proclaimed by its appearance of
comfort and cleanliness. Clonmel, the largest town of the county, carries on a
brisk trade. It is the birthplace of Sterne, the humorist. Its castle and forti-
fications were destroyed by Cromwell in 1650 after a protracted siege. North of
it lies the ancient town of Fcfhard, with remains of the walls which formerly
protected it. Carrick-onSidr, on the eastern boundary of the county, is a town of
considerable trade, and manufactures coarse cloth.
Far out in the Atlantic, 250 miles west from the Hebrides, 300 miles from the
nearest point of Ireland, and altogether outside the submarine plateau upon which
rise the British Islands, the dumpy pillar of Rockall rears its head above the
water. That rock, which from afar might be taken for a vessel under sail, owing
to the sheet of guano which falls over its slope, is hardly a hundred yards in
circumference ;
but it forms the summit of a huge range of submarine mountains,
rising in the same direction as the Faroer. This range, separated from the
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