and trim, are now so overrun with brambles and wild flowers as to be passed
with difficulty. Much wood has also been cut down, and the statues, so
ridiculously enumerated in a popular song, removed. A picturesque bridge
too, which led to the castle, has been swept away by the wintry floods,
and, with the exception of a small dell called the Rock Close, every thing
seems changed for the worse. In this romantic spot nature and art (a
combination rather uncommon in pleasure-grounds) have gone hand in hand.
Advantage has been taken of accidental circumstances to form tasteful and
characteristic combinations; and it is really a matter of difficulty at
first to determine what is primitive, and what the produce of design. The
delusion is even heightened by the present total neglect. You come most
unexpectedly into this little shaded nook, and stand upon a natural terrace
above the river, which glides as calmly as possible beneath. Here, if you
feel inclined for contemplation, a rustic couch of rock, all festooned with
moss and ivy, is at your service; but if adventurous feelings urge you to
explore farther, a discovery is made of an almost concealed, irregularly
excavated passage through the solid rock, which is descended by a rude
flight of stone steps, called the "Witches Stairs," and you emerge _sul
margine d'un rio_, over which depend some light and graceful trees. It
is indeed a fairy scene, and I know of no place where I could sooner
imagine these little elves holding their moonlight revelry.

A short distance to the south-west of the castle is a lake, said to abound
with a species of leech. It does not afford one good subject for the
pencil, being without islands, the margin swampy, and the adjacent trees
planted with too much attention to regularity. It is a very generally
believed tradition that, before Blarney surrendered to King William's
forces, Lord Clancarty's plate was made up in an 'oaken chest, which was
thrown into this lake, and has not since been recovered; nor does this
appear improbable, as I understand repeated attempts have in vain been made