Ward & Lock's descriptive and pictorial guide to the Isle of Man ...

!132 Guide to the Isle of Man.due time reach the former town. True, the distance is aboutthroe times as great as that to St. John's ; hut, for the lasthalf-dozeu miles, it is down a descent so marked, that, whentravelhng i;p it, the Manx people exclaim, " JJgli ! taglihreesli my cJirce " which means, " Oh, it breaks myheart ! " And not without reason ! But it is easy goingdownhill—we all remember the Latin proverb of our schooldays—and in this case we have the company of the Silverhumriver, voted by many the most enchanting stream iuthe island, and can, moreover, when we reach Ballasalla,two miles from Castletown, complete our excursion to thesoutliern town (or return to Douglas) by a railway ride, thochief features of which we have already described {see pp.Hl-7).If, on our former visit to Castletown, we have not had timeto examine the ruins of Bushcn Abbey, we can do so beforeleaving Ballasalla. The river flows past them, and they areclose to the village. The main road passes over a bridge,from which we get an excellent view of them, and a beautifulavenue of trees overhanging the river; and if we visit the spotin the spring (the time of all others when, to our mind, Natm-ewears her loveliest garb), we find it to be"A pentle, lovely place; the path o'trgrownWith primroses aud broad-leavotl violets,Arched by laburnums and the sweet -woodbiuc."