The Boyne rises in King's county ; by its junction, soon after its rise, with a great many rivulets, it becomes a very considerable river in its passage through the county of Kil dare; and still stronger in its course, and more beautiful in its appearance, when it enters East 1%leath, where it passes by Trim, Navan, and Slane ; its course from Slane to Drogheda, for about seven miles, is east ; about two miles below Drogheda, it falls into the sea. The Boyne is navigable for ships of considerable size as far as this town ; and, by means of cuts, barges may proceed from Drogheda to Navan. The river Bann rises in the plain called the Deet's, or King's Meadows, in the northern part of that ridge of mountains, in the county of Down, already men tioned, called the Mourne ; it soon becomes a large stream ; its course at first is winding, but generally in a direction to the north-west ; at Portodown, it is joined by the canal of Newry ; and, a few miles lower down, it falls into Lough Neagh at Banfoot ferry, after running about 30 miles. When it leaves this lake, it continues its former direction north-west, and divides the counties of Antrim and Lon donderry. After passing over a ridge of rocks, called the Salmon leap, it flows with impetuous force into the sea, a few miles below Coleraine. The river Foyle passes by Londonderry, and has a considerable estuary called Loch foyle ; it is navigable to Liflord.
Ireland abounds in lakes, some of which are very exten sive. They are commonly divided into salt water lakes, and fresh water lakes; but as the former, properly speak ing, are estuaries, or inlets of the sea, they will be describ ed afterwards, when we treat of the sea coast of Ireland ; at present, we shall confine ourselves to the fresh water lakes, or lakes properly so called.
The most extensive lake of fresh water is that of Erne, which, however, sometimes appears as a river, and some times as a lake. Lough Erne is in the province of Ulster, and county of Fermanagh ; as a river, it derives its source from a small lake on the borders of the county of Long ford. Below Belturbet, it expands itself into a lake ; it again assumes its former shape, and flows past Enniskil len ; between this place and Church-hill, it is sometimes a lake and sometimes a river; but a little to the south of Church-hill. it widens into an extensive lough, appearing like an inland sea. From this description it will be seen, that Lough Erne, properly speaking, consists of two loughs; the one lies north and south, joining the other, which lies cast and west, by e small canal; and from this last the river Erne runs into the sea ; the first of these loughs is 20 miles long, the other about 15 ; the greatest breadth of Lough Erne is 12 miles; its medium breadth 10 miles. This lough contains, in its two basins, 300 or 400 islands.
Next in magnitude is Lough Neagh, which lies in the centre of the province of Ulster, and is bounded by five counties, Armagh on the south, Tyrone on the west, Lon donderry on the north-west, Antrim on the north and east, and Down, which barely touches it on the south eastern angle. It was formerly believed that Lough Neagh co
vered 100,000 acres of land, and it is so laid down in all the old maps of Ireland ; but, by a recent accurate survey, its area is reduced nearly to one half, as it does not ex ceed 53.200 acres ; its length is 15 miles, and breadth seven miles. This lough is supplied by the constant influx of several rivers of considerable magnitude, although there is but one narrow channel by which these are again dis charged, yet it very seldom inundates its shores. The river B inn, through which its waters find their way into the ocean, has been already described. In some places, the coast of Lough Neagh is bold and abrupt ; but in ge neral it is flat, and nearly bare of wood ; nor are there in it (‘ an) of the delightful interruptions," for which oug Erne and Killarney are celebrated ; there being no C3 's in the prospect, with rocky and wooded islands. The tameness of its surface is broken only in two parts, by Black-water island, in the south-western angle of the lough, at the mouth of the river of the same name, and by Ram Island, on its eastern borders, near the coast of Antrim. Lough Corrib, in the province of Connaught and county of Galway, is next in size to Lough Erne and Neagh; it is 20 miles long from north to south, and at the upper end broad, but grows narrower, so that its medium breadth is only about four miles. In the midst of the mountains of the county of Kerry is the celebrated Lakes of Killarney: they are three in number; the largest, which is called the lower lake, occupies an area of 3000 acres: its south-west shore is bounded by a majestic range of mountains, while, on the opposite shore, there is the fine and striking con trast or flat land, in a high state of cultivation. Mucross Lake, to the south, occupies 640 acres : it lies immediately under the Turk mountain. For about three miles, the lakes continue with a width which gives them the appear ance of a river, till they approach the upper lake, contain ing 720 acres. As this lake lies in a hollow, among stu pendous mountains, its scenery is magnificent and sublime in the highest degree. " These glassy lakes, overlooked by stupendous mountains, bordered with pendent woods, most delightfully variegated, ornamented with the most romantic verdant islands, resounding on all sides with wa terfalls, and the reverberations of a vast variety of echoes, combine an assemblage of beauty, perhaps unparalleled,— at least far surpassing all power of language to express." The lakes are almost the only ones in the south of Ireland; in the east, there are none of any importance ; on the north-west are the lakes of Gask, Frierty, Melno, Gill, and Macnean. Lough Allan is in fact the river Shannon, under another name, and has been already described.