hern Lee road. Beneath Bawnafinny, "the pastures of beauty," we
get a glimpse of Blarney Lake, a broad sheet of water bordered with tall
trees, above which the old Castle raises its head. It would gladden the
heart of Izaak Walton, as it is full of fish, among which is the famous
gillaroo trout, which will not rise to the tantalising fly. The
peasantry have a legend, that within the lake lies hidden the treasure
and plate of the last of the MacCarthys, who hid them there sooner than
allow his conquerors to gain possession of it. The secret is said to be
known to three of the old family, and before one dies he tells it to
the other, so that it may be recovered when the MacCarthy "comes to his
own again." The milk girls also on May mornings are said to have
frequently seen fairy cows along the banks of the lake, which vanish
into thin mists when approached by human footsteps!

[Illustration: _Photo, Roche, Dublin._ Blackrock Castle, Cork.]

~Ballincollig~ is a place of some interest. The powder mill is a
long-established factory, and gives considerable employment in the
neighbourhood. The large cavalry barracks is amongst the finest in the
south of Ireland.

~Blackrock~ is little better than a fishing village; but the suburbs
between it and Cork are filled with villa residences, pleasure grounds,
and market gardens. Beside the road, between the city and the village,
are situated the well-known nursery gardens belong to Hartland. The
daffodil farm, when the flowers are full, is a sight very difficult to
surpass in the three Kingdoms. Maxwellstown House, on the slope of a
southern hill, was the scene of a tragedy, not yet forgotten in Cork.
After a marriage _dejeuner_, the bride retired to her dressing-room to
don her going-away dress, but the bridegroom waited in vain for her
return. She had died suddenly in the arms of those who attended her; and
the story goes that the disconsolate lover dismissed the servants, shut
up the house with everything just as it was, and went on his way out
into the wide world alone. Long years afterwards, when news of his death
came from a far-off land, his next-of-kin had the house re-opened, and
found everything just as it had been left half a century before, after
the wedding breakfast. The dust and cobwebs were cleared away, and all
went to the hammer.

Eastward, towards the harbour's mouth, there is much to be enjoyed.
Excursionists may take the train direct from the Great Southern and