in mind, however, that Christian places of worship were founded on the sites of ancient temples;* and it is obvious that where one of those towers existed there was no necessity for building another steeple, its chief use being to hold the bells. That the towers were appropriated for this purpose seems clear, from their name of Cloghad, or bell tower. This appellation is decisive of their having been long so appropriated; but it has been asserted, without much reason, that their small diameter rendered them unfit for belfries. The height of these towers varies from about 60 feet to 130. The walls are usually about 3 feet in thickness, and the clear diameter about 10 feet. They are built of stones about a foot square, neatly joined with very little cement. The inside is sometimes remarkably smooth, and the masonry is so good, that instances have occurred of their falling down and lying entire on the ground, like a huge cannon. Those in best repair are covered by a conical roof of stone, which has usually windows facing the cardinal points, and the inside generally shows the corbel stones on which the wooden floors of four to six different apartments rested. The door is commonly a considerable distance from the ground, sometimes 15 feet or more, and this is reckoned one of their most unaccountable peculiarities.

Assuming that these towers were erected after the introduction of Christianity, is it not probable that they were used as watch towers, whence the approach of an enemy could be descried at a great distance, and to which the ecclesiastics could speedily retreat with their relics and other valuable articles? The elevated entrance demonstrates that it was intended to be difficult of access, and is a well-known characteristic of the fortifications of other nations. A subterraneous passage between the cathedral of Cashel and its attendant tower corroborates the opinion that it was a place of retreat. Consistent with this use would be the position of an alarm bell, to ring on the advance of invading enemies, or the ferocious nations who had not learned to respect the persons of the clergy, or the rights of the church. In Scotland, and I believe also in Wales, the steeples of old churches have crenellated battlements, and other appearances of having been built with the prospect of having to sustain assaults, and the pages of history inform us that the sacred edifice did not always protect its inmates from the rage of a barbarous foe. In Scotland there still exist two round towers, in every respect like those in Ireland. They both stand in the territories of the ancient Picts; and Abernethy, where one of them is seen, was once the capital of their kingdom. The tower here is about seventy-four feet high, and has recently got a covering of lead. The stones of which it is built have been brought from the Lomond hills, five miles distant, and are carefully placed in regular courses, without much cement. The Rev. Andrew Small

* The tower at Cashel is believed to be the oldest building on the rock.

† At Kineigh, a ruined church near Inniskeen, is a tower hexagonal to a certain height.

CASTLES.-COTTAGES.

267 notices the tradition, that the stones were handed from one person to another, the edifice being finished in one day; to accomplish which, he calculates that 5,500 men were sufficient. It is clear to him "as a sunbeam," that this tower is the burying-place of the Pictish kings, and, on digging, an urn, and eight or ten skulls, with other parts of the human body, and some bones of dogs were discovered. The tower at Brechin consists of sixty regular courses of hewn stone, of a fairer color than the adjoining church. It is eighty-five feet high to the cornice, above which is a low roof of stone with four windows. It communicates with the ancient cathedral by a door, which, like that at Abernethy, is on the north side, but this may not be original. Both are about forty-eight feet in outward circumference, which is, with a few exceptions, larger than those in Ireland.

The castles of Dunstaffnage, Inverlochy, and many others, are of undeniable antiquity. It is true that the remaining ruins do not display very perceptibly the marks of primitive architecture. Buildings were successively repaired and renewed, until all traces of the original work were lost; but it would be quite unwarrantable to deny that the structures referred to in history, as standing on the sites of these buildings never existed. Both Picts and Caledonians were able to raise fabrics of sufficient grandeur and strength for the accommodation and security of their princes.

The Gaël do not adhere to the circular form in which their ancestors built their houses, but construct them of an oblong that sometimes stretches a considerable way. From the abundance of the material, they are usually of stone, built with much nicety, and are finished with or without the addition of mortar, according to circumstances. Turf and stone, in alternate layers, are much used, the first being laid in manner of herring-bone work. A sort of wall, formed of clay and straw, mixed together, called Achenhalrig, is prevalent in Banff and Morayshires. The interior arrangement is simple. Each end forms an apartment, the centre being occupied by wooden fixed beds, ambries or cupboards, &c. These are termed in Scotish the but and ben ends, which are the Saxon words "be out" and "be in," applied to the common and better apartments.*

The cottages in Scotland are constructed without much trouble or expense, and are generally the work of the owners. An old corporal in Sutherland, who appears, from having seen a little of the world, to have acquired a taste for something better than the common sort of houses, being asked how he intended to build his dwelling, replied, that there should be one good room in it, should it cost two pounds! Few houses, except those of the chiefs and clergymen, had any upper floor, or any ceiling. In many parts of the Highlands there is a difficulty of procur ing wood of sufficient length for couples or rafters. Cabers are rough

* The Dutch have also buten and benen.

boughs spread across the rafters; and for defence these were formerly interwoven, and the whole roof strongly wattled.

A usual covering for the houses in Scotland is feil or divot, i. e. turf cut tainly, and with much nicety, by a peculiar implement called a flaughter spade. This, when used alone, is laid in manner of slating, with the greatest care and the regularity of fishes' scales. The turf is generally covered with heath, a material so cheap and lasting, that it is surprising to find it not universally adopted. It can be used alone, and with timber of a very ordinary description. It also takes very little trouble to keep in repair; and, if the covering is well executed, it is equal to slates, and will last 100 years, if the timber do not give way. Many churches were formerly covered with heath, some within my own memory, the services from lands being often a certain quantity of it for this purpose. Its only disadvantage is being heavier than straw or rushFern or rainneach is next to heath, but much inferior, and will not last above twelve or fifteen years. In Argyle the houses appear to be chiefly covered with it. A straw thatched roof is light, and has this advantage, that it is warmer in winter, and cooler in summer than the others.

es.

The floors are commonly of clay or mortar, well hardened, but it is often partially laid with stones. The ben end in the houses of the better sort is sometimes floored with wood, and the ceiling is often of the same material. The windows are small, and few in number, and glass is an article with which they can easily dispense. The room is chiefly lighted by the chimney, and this, in the old-fashioned houses, where the fire occupied the middle of the apartment, was in the roof above it. In many Highland cottages it still retains this situation, a position which allows the inmates to get around it, an accommodation so desirable, that where the hearth is fixed, in accordance with the modern plan, at one end, a sufficient space is often reserved for seats between the wall and the fire. In the aboriginal huts the most convenient site for the fires was the middle of the dwelling. The Welsh had not altered its place in the time of Cambrensis, who informs us it occupied the centre of the round hall, and men, women, and children slept around it on rushes spread on the floor. Chimneys were alike unknown to the ancient and recent Gaël. At the present day, they have in many cases adopted the artificial funnel for carrying off the smoke; but a hole in the roof, above which there is sometimes a low chimney of wood or wicker work, is usually all that is thought necessary, and very inefficient it generally is. It has been observed by a recent traveller in these parts, that chimneys are a premature improvement, the cottages, while constructed on the old plan, and the inhabitants remaining in the same state, being sufficiently comfortable.

The houses of the Gauls were coated inside with an earth or clay, sometimes so varied, pure, and transparent, that it resembled painting.*

* Tacitus.

OF ANIMALS, AND THE MANNER OF HUNTING.

HUNTING is one of the principal occupations of mankind in a state of barbarism. With the exception of war, it is almost their sole pursuit, and the necessity of following it as a chief means of subsistence, overcomes the indolence which is so characteristic of uncivilized nations.

The Celta were celebrated hunters, and they pursued the game not only for the purpose of supplying themselves with food, but as an agreeable diversion, suited to their active and roaming dispositions. There was also an advantage in hunting, which, perhaps, had some influence in stimulating them to the pursuit: it lessened the number of ferocious animals with which their dense woods were filled, and to which their flocks were so much exposed, and this was urged as a strong reason by the Highlanders why they should be allowed to retain their arms. The produce of the chase continued to afford the Celts a plentiful supply of venison when it had long ceased to be their chief dependence. The ancient Caledonians had numerous herds of domestic animals, and raised a scanty supply of corn. Their successors extended agriculture, but they preferred the hunting and shepherd state in which they remained until the sixteenth century, and continued both the practice and love of fowling and the chase until the disarming act altered their situation. Allan Mac Dougal, a modern bard, regrets this change, in lines imitated in English by a literary friend: