Stories and Legends of Travel and History, for ChildrenGreenwood, Grace
General
Stories and Legends of Travel and History, for Children
Greenwood, Grace
Great Britain -- Juvenile literature; Ireland -- Juvenile literature
In sight of this town is a large hill, which is remarkable for
presenting at a particular point of view, a most gigantic likeness to
the first Napoleon. Certain swells and ledges of the summit form the
great profile very distinctly. He seems to be lying on his back,
asleep, or in a meditative mood, and the face has such a dejected,
melancholy look that one might suppose the likeness had been taken when
the Emperor was a prisoner at St. Helena. There was one of the
Bonapartes at Belfast, at the time I was there--attending the meeting
of the British Association, a celebrated scientific society. This was
Lucien, Prince of Canino, a grand-nephew of the Emperor. He recognized
the likeness in the great rocky profile, when it was pointed out to
him, and professed to be a good deal affected by it, and many people
saw a strong family likeness between him and the old hill. This
Bonaparte, unlike most princes, is fond of learning and science--is
what is called a _savant_--but unlike most _savants_, he is stout and
jovial-looking, and extremely fond of children, which is the best thing
I can say for him.
Near Belfast is a famous "Druidical circle," or a large amphitheatre,
enclosed by high mounds of earth, where the ancient Druids used to meet
for their heathen worship. As we stood in that great circle, beside a
rude altar of stones, it made us shudder to think that hundreds of
human beings had probably been cruelly sacrificed there as offerings to
the gods of the Druids. What a happy, blessed thing it is to know that
such dreadful crimes can never again be committed here, under the name
of religion.
I should like to tell you about some of the admirable charitable
institutions of Belfast--in which I became interested--and describe
some of the beautiful scenery of the neighborhood, but I have so many
things and places to speak of in this chapter, that I must not allow
myself to linger longer here.
While at Belfast, we made a delightful excursion to Shane's Castle, the
seat of Lord O'Neil.
The O'Neils were for many centuries kings of Ulster, and were a very
proud and warlike race. There is a curious tradition of the manner in
which they came into possession of their kingdom: "In an ancient
expedition for the conquest of Ireland, the leader declared that
whoever of his followers should first touch the shore, should possess
the territory. One of them, the founder of the O'Neils, seeing that
another boat was likely to reach the land before him, seized an axe and
with it cut off his left hand, which he flung on shore, and so, was the
first to 'touch' it."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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