| On this island [Devenish] stands one of those round towers, the venerable relics of olden times, of the use and origin of which no memorial has been handed down to later days, and concerning which as I have before told you, so many various opinions have been held. I found it to be precisely similar to that which I had seen at Antrim, and about the same height, namely, eighty-two feet. I understand the upper part was rapidly falling into decay, owing partly to [p. 137] the rooks building their nests near the summit, the twigs of which occasionally took root, and the birds picked out the mortar: the consequence was that the stones were loosened and constantly falling. It is now in excellent preservation, having been repaired in the course of the present summer by the aid of a subscription raised by the noblemen and gentlemen in the neighbourhood. Like that of Antrim, the summit is now crowned with a modern cone, close below which, on a cornice carried round the building, were discovered the figures of four human heads sculptured in the stone, facing the four cardinal points of the compass. A kind of band, or chain, was carried round the cornice, connecting the heads; they are about the size of life: the beards were curiously plaited; but the following sketch will convey to you a better idea of these antient monuments, than any description that [image: Sculptured Head on Devenish Round Tower] [p. 138] I can give. [pp. 136-138] |
