"Faithful to the last to his unhappy country!"
In which are given four original Letters of King James II. never before published; accompanied with fac-similes of his royal Signet and Signature. Likewise, an original Letter from the Duke of Berwick; the fac-simile of the Duke's Seal and Signature are also given, copied critically from the original Letters in the Manuscript Closet of Trinity College, Dublin.
"Ailsa, about fifteen miles from the coast, [of Ayrshire,] is a vast rock of a conical form, 940 feet in height, two miles in circumference, accessible only on the north-east, and uninhabited. Its summit is covered with heath and a little grass. It is the property of the Earl of Casilis, who obtains a rent from it, paid from the sale of feathers, Solan geese, and rabbit-skins. On its acclivity are the ruins of a chapel and fort, and near these there is a spring of fresh water."--PLAYFAIR'S _Geographical and Statistical Description of Scotland_, vol. I. p. 179.
In the summer of 1811, and likewise in that of 1824, the author of these volumes sailed past this stupendous rock, and the Scotch sailors on board informed him, that the rent received from the produce of this rock by Lord Cassilis, amounted to upwards of £30 per annum.
Grace O'Malley, formerly better known in Ireland by the name (in popular parlance) of Grana Uile; and so called from the Castle of Carrick Uley, the ruins of which are stationed at the extremity of an inlet in the bay of Newport, in the county of Mayo. The proper name is _Carrick a Uile_, or, "the rock in the elbow;" in allusion to the impending mountain which crowns it, the strength of the castle, and the recess in which it is situated.
In this castle resided Grace O'Malley. Her family were from time immemorial considerable on the north-west coast of Ireland, their principality extending from the lake called Lough Corrib, in the county of Galway, to Croagh Patrick, in the county of Mayo, and from thence to the borders of the town of Sligo, a considerable tract of which is still called "the Uisles of O'Malley;" a fine fertile country, chiefly skirted by the sea; the bays and harbours excellent, and beautifully interspersed with verdant islands, many of which are inhabited. For aptness of local situation for maritime affairs and naval exploits, the lords of the territory became early conspicuous; in attestation of which the motto to the family name is, "_Terra marique potens_,"--Powerful alike by land and sea.