first. It stands at the mouth of the river Lagan, where it enters Belfast Lough, and besides being the centre of the Irish linen manufacture it carries on various other manufactures and industries and has an important British and foreign trade. Linen weaving is said to have been introduced into Ulster by French Protestant refugees who settled at Lisburn.

3. The county of Londonderry contains the town of Londonderry, on the river Foyle, one of the most thriving towns in Ireland. It has 29,000 inhabitants, an extensive commerce and some manufactures. Coleraine (Cōl-rān'),

a port near the mouth of the Bann, has spinning and weaving factories.

4. The wild and mountainous county of Donegal forms a kind of peninsula of irregular shape in the north-west of the country, with many islands on the coast. It is a poor county, with no town of any size.

5. In Armagh is the ancient city of Armagh, the seat of the archbishop, who is primate of the Irish Protestant Church.

6. Many of the inhabitants of the county of Down are engaged in the linen manufacture. Newry is the chief town, having 15,000 inhabitants and a considerable export and import trade besides manufactures. Downpatrick (which was the residence of the kings of Ulster and the home of St. Patrick) and Donaghadee (Do-na-kadee') are small seaports.

LESSON 40.--LONDONDERRY.

1. In the year of grace 1689, the hearts of Englishmen were fixed on one town in the remote district of Donegal with intense anxiety. The little band of townsmen, born

on Irish soil but of English descent, were attacked and their town besieged by men belonging to tribes at that time scarce civilized, aided by paid troops from France.

2. Londonderry stands on a hill rising above the estuary of the Foyle, here more than 1000 feet wide. The ground by the river-side is level, and in places marshy; it has been drained and cultivated, houses have spread upon it, and villas and plantations have given the suburbs of the town a beauty which they possessed in less degree before the siege.

3. The old town of Derry, the place by the oaks-for so the name means-passed through stormy scenes in ancient times, being many times plundered and burnt. After the destruction of the town and fort in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, the year 1588, the corporation of the city of London in 1612 agreed to rebuild Derry, and the towns of Derry and Coleraine were granted them with neighbouring lands, bog, mountains, fishings, and ferries.

4. The next year the walls of the town henceforth known as Londonderry arose, forts were built and supplied with arms, streets laid out and houses erected, and in 1633 a cathedral was built on the summit of the hill of Derry.

5. The city endured more than one siege in the troublous times of Charles I. and Cromwell. Upon the flight of James II. to France, Londonderry sided with William of Orange, and King James himself appeared before the walls and called upon the people to surrender. After enduring a siege for 104 days and great hardships the defenders were relieved.

6. The aspect of the town has greatly changed since its famine-stricken defenders streamed forth from its ruins. The old defences in part remain, but the town has long overpassed their limits. A fine stone bridge conducts the

road and railway across the Foyle. New quays and docks line its banks, busy with an important colonial and coasting trade.

7. The town is the centre of a large shirt-making industry, and is much given to the curing of bacon; it has also trades in brass, iron, flour, beer, and tobacco. Some of the twenty cannon used during the siege are still left in place, the most noted among them being one which, from the loudness of its report, received the name of Roaring Meg.

BELFAST.

8. Belfast, lying on low ground on the left bank of the Lagan near its entrance to Belfast Lough, is the next

town in Ireland to Dublin in respect of population, and one of the most rapidly rising towns in the whole kingdom.

9. Owing to its low position, Belfast has from a distance nothing imposing in its appearance; but on a nearer approach is found to improve a great deal. The houses, mostly of brick, are well built, and many of them handsome; the streets are broad and clean, and there is a cheerful stir which tells of business prosperity.

10. Queen's College is a fine building of brick and stone, and there are the White and Brown Linen Halls and several other large public buildings.

11. Belfast is the centre of the linen trade of the north of Ireland, as well as the chief seat of the manufactures of both linen and cotton. Its importance as a manufacturing town began in 1777, when the cotton manufacture was introduced.

12. There are several ship-building yards; from one of them the iron steam-ships of the White Star Line of mail steamers have been launched. The size and trade of the port are such as to place Belfast among the first-class seaports of the United Kingdom.

LESSON 41. DIVISIONS AND TOWNS.-III.

1. The province of Connaught contains five counties, namely Leitrim (Le'-trim), Sligo, Roscommon, Galway, and Mayo. Much of the surface consists of mountain, bog, and lake, and altogether this is the poorest and least fertile of the provinces. It has, however, grand and picturesque scenery. The towns are all small.

2. The town of Sligo has over 10,000 inhabitants, and is the most important seaport on the north-west coast of Ireland, exporting large quantities of cattle and agricultural produce.

3. The town of Galway is situated on the north shore

of Galway Bay, on the stream that carries off the waters of Lough Corrib. It is the largest town in Connaught, having 19,000 inhabitants. It has one of the Queen's Colleges1 and is a centre of trade and commerce, exporting agricultural produce and black marble, large slabs of which are sent to England and America. The inland town of Tuam (Tew-am) has a fine cathedral. Ballinasloe (Bal-li-nas-lō') has celebrated fairs for cattle, sheep, and horses. Westport on Clew Bay is much visited on account of its scenery and facilities for sea-bathing.

4. The province of Munster, occupying the southwestern portion of Ireland, is the largest of the four provinces, though inferior to Ulster in population. It contains six counties, namely Cork, Waterford, Tipperary, Clare, Limerick, and Kerry. With much mountain land it contains very fertile plains and valleys, and has the advantage of many fine natural harbours. Copper is mined to a small extent in the eastern part of the province.

5. The county of Cork occupies the most southerly portion of the island, and is the largest and most populous Irish county, producing large crops of oats, wheat, and potatoes, and maintaining great numbers of cattle and sheep.

6. The city of Cork stands on the estuary of the Lee, which forms an extensive land-locked harbour, containing Great Island and other smaller islands. The town is in a convenient position for trade with Europe and America; it exports large quantities of butter and other agricultural produce, and has manufactures of woollens, and carries on ship-building, distilling, and brewing. Cork is the one important city in the south of Ireland and the third

1 The Queen's Colleges were founded to provide higher education for students of all creeds.

(231)

Π