Corpus of Electronic Texts Edition
Lewis Dillwyn's Visit to Kerry, 1809 (Author: Lewis Weston Dillwyn)

entry 8

Tuesday, July 25th
Mr Woods is so delighted with the Scenery about Killarney & has found travelling so injurious to his Health that if he could procure a suitable Apartment he determined on spending a few weeks on the borders of the Lake. To the search for some such Apartment he devoted this morning & succeeded in fixing himself very comfortably at Mucross. In the meanwhile Leach & myself, anxious to make the best use of our time strolled to the Quay at Ross Castle with the intention of hiring a Boat & crossing the Lake to O'Sullivan's Cascade, but alas, every Boat was engaged. We then went on to Ross Mines for the purpose of borrowing Captain White's which he had obligingly said should be always at our service, but here a fresh Disappointment awaited us, for the Boat had been sunk just before in order to stop it from Leading.74 I however derived some consolation

p.107

from the assurance of several Gentlemen who happened to be at the Mines that tho' the Fall is extremely grand when there is plenty of Water yet that it is hardly worth seeing at such a dry Season as the present. I then gave an hour or two to examine the Island on which we found much heavenly scenery but no Rariores except Lobelia Dortmanna, Littorella locustris & other Plants peculiar to similar situations. I was a good deal puzzled by a very short variety of Alisma ranunculoides 75 with a single large flower & at first thought it had been a new Species. We returned to our Inn by 5 when Mr Lapp & Capt. White, who had yesterday accepted our Invitation, dined & spent the Evening very pleasantly with us.