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| OTTER ISLAND, GLENGARRIFF, CO. CORK. -This superb region preserves its Gaelic orthography and pronunciation in the English tongue, and is translated the Rugged Glen - a name which gives but a crude idea of its combined beauty and majesty. The mountains which bound the bay in almost every direction, are Alpine in character. The valley itself is about three miles long and about half a mile in width. Mrs. Hall, who after Arthur Young and Thomas Cromwell, may be called the pioneer Irish tourist, was entirely carried away by the scenic splendor of Glengarriff-once the magnificent patrimony of the gallant family of the O'Sullivans Beare. She says of it: "Bleak and savage rocks embosom, as it were, a scene of surpassing loveliness. Endowed by nature with richest gifts of wood and water, for the trees are graceful in form, luxuriant in foliage and varied in character; and the rippling stream, the strong river and the foaming cataract are supplied from a thousand rills collected in the mountains. Beyond all, the magnificent bay, with its numerous islands, by one of which it is so guarded and sheltered as to acquire the aspect of a serene lake. The artist cannot do it justice, and the pen must be laid aside in despair!" Otter Island, of peculiar formation, is shown in the sketch. |
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