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| VIEW OF BELLEEK, CO. FERMANAGH. -The beautiful "Belleek ware," which charms the eyes and warms the hearts of thousands of American housewives, comes from the charming little town situated in the county Fermanagh, on the lower expanse of Lough Erne, where it forms a fall over a ledge of rocks fourteen feet in height. As the fame of Belleek is widely established in this country, it may not be uninteresting to state that the name is derived from the Gaelic Bil-leice, which signifies "the Ford-mouth of the Flag-stone;" and is so called, says Dr. Joyce, "from the flat surfaced rock in the ford, which, when the water decreases in the summer, appears as level as a marble floor." The famous china factory stands near the picturesque rapids, and a portion of the water power is skillfully utilized for the purposes of manufacture. The people of Fermanagh, and of all Ireland, have a good right to be proud of the place Belleck china has won in the markets of the world. Apart from its commercial importance, Belleck has a most delightful situation on "the Irish Windermere," and nowhere in all Ireland can better salmon fishing be found. The beauties of Lough Erne have been the theme of many an Irish bard, but it is only of late that English and Scotch tourists have begun to recognize them. Sir Joseph Paxton, an English traveller, pronounced the Falls of Belleck to be "the most picturesque he had ever seen." But, after all, Belleck is more celebrated for its "crockery ware" than its scenery. |
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