Friday, June 28th

Dunluce Castle.

(13)June 28th
    The rain fell off while we ate a hurried breakfast. Then, under breaking clouds, we took the dinky engine train to the Giant's Causeway. We ran close to broken headlands, across rabbit infested moorlands, and along high cliffs looking down upon sand beach or rocks. Everywhere the sea had worn deeply into the soft rock, with here a cave, there an arch, and always a most broken shore. We passed Dunluce castle, standing on a peninsular headland, with wonderful natural defense. The ruins are well covered with softening moss and ivy, all reminiscent of the untold strife of a past age.  Further along the coast we came to a good manly profile carved by the wash of the waves and the beat of the storms. Then an elephant. Also, a lion's head, a monkey, a crouched lion, an old woman,a bear, and a highland cap, were (14) freakish whims discovered here and there.
    We took boat, and first visited some caverns, where the ocean hid short arms of water. One was 250 ft. back into the cliffs, and the highest was 85 ft. from the top of the arch to the bottom of the water. Low tide favored us.  We next returned along our course, watching sky, sea, headlands, etc., with pigeons, gulls, and cormorants flying about us. We rowed around a point and came upon the Causeway! That is the first natural wonder that geography taught me, and along with mammoth Cave, has always held my desire to behold it. So both desires have been satisfied.
    Before landing upon these strange and wonderfully formed pillars and blocks, we rowed past a grand amphitheatre, to come upon a smaller amphitheatre, less magnificent (15) but more varied. The larger one, however, had a sweep of green grown steps and rocky formations that make it the finer.
    Then the Causeway. We wandered around these unique formations, sometimes following the guide as he described his pet spots, - the key stone, a perfect octagon; the lady's fan, an outline make by water held by sunken pillars; the wishing seat, one regular stone backed be three others like a heavy chair; the giants well, with a bottom of regular hexagons, etc. Most of the prisms were of five or seven sides, some of the tops being concave, some convex. Surely nature had a freakish fancy upon her when in a mood to throw these pillars into compact positions, - with even cracks between them.

Clayton, Freddie, D.S. Burgess, Mr. Strawbridge, Charles Brown, Mick Jagger, Giant's Causeway, 1912.

Clayton, D.S. Burgess, Mr. Strawbridge, Freddie, Charles Brown, Giant's Causeway, 1912

    We left the Causeway just as a sprinkle started.  The other Americans, women and a Mr. Dixon from Phila. leading them, fell victims to a heavy downpour. Such, too, would have been our luck, (16) had we delayed our start and taken the wagonette suggested by the over-eager-to-make-a-shilling porter.
    My Irish bog-oak cane, purchased at the causeway, was quite an object of envy among the members of the party.
    After lunch, we took the train back to Portrush. A large group of folk of Erin walked over the hills toward the station, preceded by a cart loaded with all sorts of luggage, - so we witnessed the breaking of home ties as a family set out for America.
    The journey from Portrush to Larne was a pleasant one, especially the latter part of it, leading through a broad sweeping valley not unlike our own Chester valley. Then boat to Stranraer. A smooth crossing made it a pleasant two hour trip.  The first glimpse of the Scotch headlands was a delight to all of us. This country of romance appealed to the imagination of all of us. (17)
    At Stranraer we stayed in the old King's Arms Hotel,- a quaint place. The only point of interest in the town was the old dungeon tower of the ancient castle of the place, - now all built around by stone houses, the dungeons serving as store houses for a "spirit shop"