thus forming a
succession of gigantic ridges, over which it would be impossible to
drive a road. For this reason it has been found necessary to wind
round the mouths of these romantic valleys, which are guarded and shut
off from each other by a number of formidable and noble headlands,
foremost among which ranks the beautiful Garron Point. Thus a
succession of surprises await the tourist. Having fairly made your way
between the foot of the towering cliff and the inflowing tide, with no
prospect in front but huge and grotesque-shaped rocks, which look bent
on opposing all further advance, you suddenly find that you have
doubled the point. A blue bay opens before you, shut in at its farther
side by the next promontory, at the base of which you can distinctly
trace the white streak of dusty road, that sweeps round the bay in a
graceful semicircle. To your left--or while you are speaking, almost
directly ahead--is the wide opening of one of the "Glens"--sweet,
retired abodes of peace, sheltered and happy as they look out forever
on the sea. The barren and rocky highlands, terminated by the wild
bluffs that so courageously plunge themselves into the waves, become
gradually softened and verdure-clad as they slope downward, while the
narrow valley itself is studded with trees and pretty homesteads.

The people of "The Glens" are peculiar, primitive, and distinct. In
these shut-in retreats the ancient Irish and Roman Catholic element
largely prevails. When, in consequence of frequent rebellions, the
original inhabitants were well-nigh exterminated, and their places
taken by Scotch and English settlers, the natives found a refuge in the
wilder and more remote parts of the country. Thus, here and there in
Ulster--generally known as "Protestant Ulster"--we come upon little
nooks and nests where for two centuries the primitive Irish race has
survived. Naturally, living in the presence of their more pushing and
prosperous Presbyterian neighbours, these last representatives of a
conquered nationality are for the most part of a retiring and
suspicious disposition. In quiet country places there is seldom any
manifestation of open hostility, and intermarriages and neighbourly
feeling have done much to smooth away the edge of bitter memories, but
at bottom there remains a radical difference of sentiment, as of creed,
which constitutes an impassable, though for the most invisible, barrier.

Michael McAravey was a good specime