ELGINSHIRE, or Moray, is Lowland in the north, but Highland in its southwardly portion. Its climate is remarkably mild.

The town of ELGIN (8), its capital, is a few miles distant from the coast, on the little River Lossie. Forres is farther to the west, near the River Findhorn.

NAIRNSHIRE, a small county, is partly Lowland, but becomes hilly in the south. The level districts are along the coast, and are generally fertile.

The town of NAIRN (4) is on a small river of that name, at its entrance into the Moray Firth. Auldearn, a village lying a few miles south of Nairn, was the scene of one of Montrose's victories in 1645.

INVERNESS-SHIRE, the largest of the Scottish counties, is entirely a Highland county, and most of its surface is occupied as sheep-runs and deer forests.

Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in Britain, is in this county, which includes a succession of bleak moorlands, high mountains, and narrow glens. The line of the Caledonian Canal crosses the county from north-east to south-west, passing through the narrow valley of Glenmore. The large island of Skye belongs to this county, as also do Harris, North and South Uist, Benbecula, and Barra, among those of the Hebrides lying farther to the west.

The town of INVERNESS (21), regarded as the "Capital of the Highlands," stands at the entrance of the River Ness into Beauly Firth (as the upper extremity of the Moray Firth called). A few miles east is Culloden Moor, the scene of Prince Charles Edward's final defeat in 1746. Near Fort William, at the south-western extremity of the Caledonian Canal, and at the outlet of the River Lochy into Loch Eil, is Inverlochy, where Montrose gained, in 1645 the most brilliant of his victories. Portree is a small fishing town on the east coast of Skye. Mallaig, at the entrance to Loch Nevis, is the new port for Skye.

ROSS and CROMARTY (now united into one shire) comprehends a rugged Highland tract, which stretches across the country from the Moray Firth to the Atlantic coast. It includes Lewis, the largest of the Hebrides.

DINGWALL (2), the county town, is a royal burgh and railway junction of some importance at the head of Cromarty Firth. Tain (2) is a royal burgh on the Dornoch Firth. Stornoway is a fishing station on the island of Lewis.

The town of CROMARTY (1) is situated at the entrance of the magnificent estuary called Cromarty Firth-one of the finest of natural harbours. Hugh Miller, the geologist, was born in this town.

The formerly separate shire of Cromarty consisted of several small and detached portions of country, enclosed by Ross and the adjacent county of Sutherland.

SUTHERLAND is entirely Highland, and is the most thinlypopulated county in Scotland. Immense numbers of sheep arc reared in this county, and there are large deer forests.

DORNOCH, the county town, is on the east coast, on the northern side of the firth to which its name is given. Golspie, near which is Dunrobin Castle--the seat of the Duke of Sutherland, and Helmsdale, further north, at the mouth of the river of the same name, are small seaports. Lairg, at the south end of Loch Shin, is a great centre for sportsmen and tourists.

CAITHNESS includes the north-castern extremity of the Scot tish mainland. The county is level and generally sterile.

Its chief town, WICK (3), is the capital of the Scottish herring fishery. Thurso is on the north coast of the island. Near Duncansbay Head is the site of the famous John o' Groat's House, the most northerly dwelling in Scotland. Hence the popular saying, "From Land's End to John o' Groat's."

The county of ORKNEY and SHETLAND consists of the groups of islands so called. Both groups are nearly, if not entirely, destitute of trees, and are bleak and barren, with the exception of a few fertile tracts; but the scenery along the rocky coast is interesting, and in some places grand, while the climate, though humid, is comparatively mild, and snow seldom lies long in the Shetland Isles. Fishing is the chief industry.

KIRKWALL (4), situated on the largest of the Orkneys (called Pomona, or Mainland), is the county town. Stromness (2), 14 miles west of Kirkwall, has a good harbour. Between Kirkwall and Stromness are the Standing Stones

of Stenness"-ancient stone circles, like those at Stonehenge in England. Lerwick (4), the principal town in the Shetlands and the northernmost town in the British Islands, is on Bressay Sound, on the east coast of the Mainland, the largest island of the group.

IRELAND.

IRELAND, the third largest island of Europe, lies to the west of Great Britain.

The shores of Ireland and Great Britain make the nearest approach to each other between Fair Head and the Mull of Kintyre where the channel is only 13 miles wide, and are furthest apart along the 54th parallel, between Dundalk Bay and Morecambe Bay, a distance of about 140 miles. St. David's Head, the most westerly point of Wales, is about 50 miles distant from Carnsore Point on the opposite Irish coast.

BOUNDARIES.-On three sides-the north, west, and south--Ireland is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean; on the east, by the North Channel, Irish Sea, and St. George's Channel.

Ireland is divided from England by the Irish Sea; from Wales, by St. George's Channel; and from Scotland, by the North Channel.

EXTENT.-The superficial extent of Ireland is 32,530 square miles, or rather more than one-half the area of England and Wales. The greatest length (from Malin Head to Mizen Head) is 290 miles, the greatest breadth (from Howth Head to Slyne Head) is 175 miles, while the least breadth (between Donegal and Belfast) is 90 miles.

1. Ireland (Gaelic), western isle. The native is often called the "Emerald Isle," on account
name is Erm. The Romans called it Hibernia.
of its verdure.

To the Phoenicians it was known as lerne. It

COASTS.-The western and south-western coasts of Ireland are more indented than the eastern side of the island. The entire length of coast-line, including the larger inlets, is about 2,200 miles, or I mile of coast to every 15 square miles of area.

The East Coast of Ireland is, on the whole, flat and regular, and the approach from Great Britain is obstructed by numerous sandbanks and sunken rocks.

The West Coast, on the contrary, is high, rocky, and in parts very irregular, especially in the south-west. The scenery along the rugged and broken coasts of Donegal and Connaught is of surpassing grandeur, and the noble indentations between Loop Head and Mizen Head are undoubtedly, in point of scenery, the finest in the kingdom.

The North Coast is also bold and rocky, and is broken by two deep inletsLough Swilly and Lough Foyle. The Giant's Causeway, on the north coast of Antrim, is one of the chief natural wonders of the kingdom; it is a vast assemblage of columns of basaltic rock, which line a part of the shore, and advance, by successive rows, into the sea. and about 1,000 feet broad. The "Causeway" is 2,000 feet lorg Similar basaltic columns form the so-called

'Fingal's Cave" in the island of Staffa, on the west coast of Scotland.

The South Coast possesses several magnificent natural harbours, one of which, Cork Harbour, the port of call for the Atlantic liners, is one of the finest in the world.1

CAPES: The chief capes are the following:

On the North Coast, Fair Head (or Benmore), Bengore Head, Malin Head, and Horn Head; on the West Coast, Bloody Foreland, Rossan Point, Erris Head, Achil Head, Slyne Head, Loop Head, Dunmore Head; on the South Coast, Brow Head, Mizen Head, Cape Clear, and Caruso: e Point; on the East Coast, Wicklow Head and Howth Heal.

The most northerly point of Ireland is Malin Head; the most westerly, Dunmore Head; and the most southerly, Mizen Head. Cape Clear is the extreme point of a small island which lies off the south-west coast, and is the first land sighted, with the exception of Fastnet Lighthouse, in coming from America.

INLETS: The following are the principal inlets :

On the east coast, Wexford Harbour, Dublin Bay, Dundalk Bay, Carlingford Lough, Dundrum Bay, Strangford Lough, and Belfast Lough; on the north coast, Lough Foyle and Lough Swilly; on the west coast, Donegal Bay, Sligo Bay, Killala Bay, Blacksod Bay, Clew Bay, Galway Bay, the estuary of the Shannon, Tralee Bay, Dingle Bay, Kenmare Bay, and Bantry Bay; on the south coast, Cork Harbour, Youghal Bay, Dungarvan Harbour, Tramore Bay,

and Waterford Harbour.

Many of the numerous inlets on the southern and western shores of Ireland form splendid harbours. Both Bantry Bay and Cork Harbour could contain the entire British navy, and no less than twelve others could float the largest men-of-war. Bantry Bay is so spacious, so deep and well sheltered, that all 1. Our remarks (pp. 149-50) anent the contrasts Loch in Scotland. It is given both to inland lakes between the eastern and western coasts of Scot Land and England apply equally to the dissimilari Les in form of the east and west coasts of Ireland. and to the nearly land-enclosed in ets along the Alat, cagle.

3 Dimore, Dun, a fort, and mor, great.
4 The term lough, in Ireland, is equivalent to

coast.

5. Berehaven, in Bantry Bay, is the chief resort of ships of wir on this coast; it affo.ds safe anchorage in any weather.

the fleets in the world might safely anchor in it.1 On the east coast the only good harbour is Strangford Lough, and the entrance to that is somewhat dangerous. Dublin Bay is partially protected by two granite sea-walls.

ISLANDS: Of the many islands along the coasts of Ireland, none are of any considerable magnitude.

The principal islands are:-On the north coast, Rathlin and Tory: on the south coast, Clear, Spike, and Saltee Islands; on the east coast, Dalkey, Ireland's Eye, and Lambay; on the west coast, North Aran, Achil, Clare, Aran Islands, and Valentia."

MOUNTAINS.-Ireland is generally level in the interior, but moderately elevated highlands adjoin various portions of the coast. The highest mountains are in the south-west, within the county of Kerry, but there are nowhere any continuous chains.

The mountains and hills of Ireland may be arranged in four groups, including, respectively, the Northern, Eastern, Southern, and Western Highlands.

THE NORTHERN HIGHLANDS include the Mountains of Donegal, which culminate in Mount Errigal, 2,466 feet in height, and the Mountains of Antrim, 2,400 feet in height.

THE EASTERN HIGHLANDS include the granitic masses of the Mourne Mountains, between Dundrum and Dundalk Bays, with Slieve Donard, 2.796 feet high, and the Wicklow Hills, famed for their scenery, and rising in Lugnaquilla to an elevation of 2,039 feet above the sea.

THE SOUTHERN HIGHLANDS include the less detached ranges of the Slieve Bloom, 1,733 feet; Silvermine, 2,278 feet; Galty Mountains, 3,015 feet; and Knockmeildown Mountains, 2,609 feet.

THE WESTERN HIGHLANDS include the Kerry Mountaias, in the south-west, a series of parallel ranges, separated by Dingle Bay and othe inlets, and rising in Carrantuohill, the highest point in Macgillicuddy Reeks, t 3.414 feet above the sea. The Mountains of Connaught include the Nephia

Beg, 2,065 feet, Croagh Patrick, 2,510 feet, and Muilrea, 2,688 feet, in the county of Mayo; and the Mountains of Connemara, the Twelve Pins group, the Mamturk Range and the Slieve Aughty, in the county of Galway.

PLAINS. A great limestone plain extends across the middle part of the island, from Dublin Bay on the east, to Galway Bay on the west, on either side of which are several minor plains.

In some parts of this Great Central Plain, and also in the various mountain regions, there are extensive bogs, which cover perhaps one-seventh of the entire area of the island. These bogs, of which the Bog of Allen, in Leinster, is the largest, furnish abundance of peat (used as fuel), and are capable, when drained, of being brought under cultivation.

1. It was of this magnificent expanse that Thackeray said, "Were such a bay lying along English shores, it would be a world's wonder; per haps if it were on the Mediterranean or the Baltic, English travellers would flock to it in hundreds.

2. Spike Island is in Cork Harbour, and is fortified.

3. Valentia is an important telegraph station, being the eastern terminus of the submarine cable to Newfoundland.

Slieve, Irish, Shiabh, a mountain.

5. Organic substances buried in the bog are curiously preserved from corruption; remains of large forests not unfrequently are discovered firm and sound, and bog-cak is a recognized material for making trinkets; deer that perished centuries ago are found as if but recently slain; and at times a human body, belonging to generations long for gotten, is strangely brought back to the light of day. 6. Of the bogs of Ireland, the Bark Boy is most valuable for fuel, but is not so capable of being claimed as the Red and Brown Begs.

RIVERS.-Ireland abounds in inland waters, but the rivers, with one exception, the Shannon, have short courses, and, though navigable, are commercially unimportant. The principal rivers are :~

On the north, the Bann (100 miles long), draining Lough Neagh; and the Foyle, flowing into Lough Foyle.

On the east, the Lagan (42 miles), flowing into Belfast Lough; the Boyne (80 miles), which is navigable to Navan; the Liffey (75 miles), which has Dublin, the metropolis of Ireland, on its banks; the Slaney (70 miles), flowing into Wexford Harbour.

On the south, the Barrow (114 miles long), which rises in the Slieve Bloom Mountains, and is navigable to Athy, 60 miles from the sea; the Suir and Nore, tributaries of the Barrow; the Blackwater (90 miles), which rises in the Kerry Mountains and falls into Youghal Harbour; the Lee (60 miles), whose estuary forms the splendid harbour of Cork; and the Bandon (40 miles), which flows into Kinsale Harbour.

On the west, the Shannon (224 miles), the longest river in Ireland, which flows from a small pond in Cavan, through Loughs Allen, Ree, and Derg, entering the Atlantic by a broad and deep estuary 60 miles long. The Shannon is navigable to Lough Allen, 213 miles from the sea; and, as its fall is only about 9 inches per mile, its current is very sluggish.

LAKES abound in Ireland: the largest of them, Lough Neagh, Is in Ulster; the most beautiful, the Lakes of Killarney, are in Munster; but the greater number are in Connaught.

Lough Neagh, the largest lake in Ireland, 150 square miles in extent, and is thus larger than any other lake in the British Isles, being more than 3 times the size of Loch Lomond in Scotland, and 15 times larger than Windermere in England. Lough Erne is singularly beautiful, its surface being studded with small wooded islands, which are said to equal in number the days in the year. Lough Mask and Lough Corrib, which are connected together by a subterranean channel, are both partly in Mayo and partly in Galway.

Lough Allen, Lough Ree, and Lough Derg are within the course of the River Shannon, and may be regarded as expansions of that river. The Lakes of Killarney, in Kerry, three in number, and altogether less than 10 square miles in extent, are celebrated for the contrasts afforded by their scenery, from the "soft, verdant, and beautiful, to the wild, rugged, and sublime." The highest mountains in Ireland rise immediately above their western shore.

CLIMATE.-The climate of Ireland is moister than that of England. The winters are nearly always mild, and the prevalent winds, which are from the west, are laden with the warm and moist vapours derived from the waters of the Atlantic.

Vegetation: The moist climate of Ireland preserves a more constant verdure to the fields, and a superior freshness and brightness of colour to its general vegetation, so that the island is most appropriately named the "Emerald Isle." The vegetation native to the coasts of Kerry (the south-westernmost county) is especially distinguished for its rich luxuriance.

Ireland is at all times much more humid than England, and is, indeed, the rainiest country in Europe, and more rain falls on its western and southern than

1. The "Battle of the Boyne" was fought on the 1st of July, 1690.