KNOCTOPHER, 9 m. S. of Kilkenny, stands pleasantly on the banks of a rivulet which flows into the Nore. Bessborough, 8 m. S., is a handsome seat of the Earl of that name, in a park of 500 acres; the house 100 feet in length, with elegant hall, saloon and parlour containing numerous fine paintings, of the Italian and Flemish schools. See various Cromlechs and other Druidical remains at Garryduff-hill, especially Leibe ne Cuhn, or the Priest's Grave, with stone cells. Grandison or Grany Castle, though apparently not older than the reign of Henry VIII., being in the style of domestic fortification of that period, and now almost a total ruin, is yet far from being an uninteresting object, not only in picturesque effect with its numerous towers, but as affording a good idea of the insecure state of society during that unsettled period. It has three Round Towers on the Suir, and two Courts; a large square Tower, connected to a great hall, and another Round Tower form the other side; in the inside of the arch of a window in the hall is a grotesque angel holding a shield with the arms of Butler. It was built by Margaret, the great Countess of Ormonde, at a period when ladies of high birth seem to have been proud of exercising the masculine authority of the other sex. Kells, a pleasant little place, 3 m. N., has some pretty river scenery. At Kilbeacon see Earl's Rath, a very large fort, oblong, and surrounded by a deep fosse, formerly filled with water, with a bank about 20 feet high; in the area are remains of buildings. Kilmogue has a curious Cromlech, the upper stone, 45 feet in circumference, supported by several others, nine in number. The stones are of siliceous breccia, and it is still known by the name of Lachan Scahl, the Great Altar Stone. At Mullinavat, the mineralogist will find considerable amusement in his researches. At Tory-hill, to the S.E. about 7 m., and called in the Irish, Sleigh Grian, or the Hill of the Sun, see a circular space on the very summit, covered with stones, in which is one large squared stone, 5 feet long, resting on three others, with an inscription in the ancient Pelasgic characters, BELIDIVOSE, supposed to be a dedication to the Deity, under the name of Bel, Baal, or Apollo.