Upon inquiring concerning the emigrations, I found that in 1772 and 1773
they were at the height; that some went from this neighbourhood with
property, but not many. They were in general poor and unemployed. They
find here that when provisions are very cheap, the poor spend much of
their time in whisky-houses. All the drapers wish that oatmeal was never
under one penny a pound. Though farms are exceedingly divided, yet few
of the people raise oatmeal enough to feed themselves; all go to market
for some. The weavers earn by coarse linens one shilling a day, by fine
one shilling and fourpence, and it is the same with the spinners--the
finer the yarn, the more they earn; but in common a woman earns about
threepence. For coarse linens they do not reckon the flax hurt by
standing for seed. Their own flax is much better than the imported.
This country is in general beautiful, but particularly so about the
straits that lead into Strangford Loch. From Mr. Savage's door the view
has great variety. To the left are tracts of hilly grounds, between
which the sea appears, and the vast chain of mountains in the Isle of Man
distinctly seen. In front the hills rise in a beautiful outline, and a
round hill projects like a promontory into the strait, and under it the
town amidst groups of trees; the scene is cheerful of itself, but
rendered doubly so by the ships and herring-boats sailing in and out. To
the right the view is crowned by the mountains of Mourne, which, wherever
seen, are of a character peculiarly bold, and even terrific. The shores
of the loch behind Mr. Savage's are bold ground, abounding with numerous
pleasing landscapes; the opposite coast, consisting of the woods and
improvements of Castle Ward, is a fine scenery.
Called at Lord Bangor's, at Castle Ward, to deliver a letter of
recommendations but unfortunately he was on a sailing party to England;
walked through the woods, etc. The house was built by the present lord.
It is a very handsome edifice, with two principal fronts, but not of the
same architecture, for the one is Gothic and the other Grecian. From the
temple is a fine wooded scene: you look down on a glen of wood, with a
winding hill quite covered with it, and which breaks the view of a large
bay. Over it appears the peninsula of Strangford, which consists of
enclosures and wood. To the right the bay is bounded by a fine grove,
which projects into it. A ship at anchor added much. The house well
situated above several rising woods; the whole scene a fine one. I
remarked in Lord Bangor's domains a fine field of turnips, but unhoed.
There were some cabbages also.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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