In the centre of Ireland, seventy miles from Dublin, on the border between King’s County and Tipperary, is a little town whereof we must be cautious before writing the name.  The inhabitants of that town frequently insist that its name is Birr, * while the official designation is Parsonstown, and to this day for every six people who apply one name to the town, there will be half a dozen who use the other.  But whichever it may be, Birr or Parsonstown—­and I shall generally call it by the latter name—­it is a favourable specimen of an Irish county town.  The widest street is called the Oxmantown Mall.  It is bordered by the dwelling-houses of the chief residents, and adorned with rows of stately trees.  At one end of this distinctly good feature in the town is the Parish Church, while at the opposite end are the gates leading into Birr Castle, the ancestral home of the house of Parsons.  Passing through the gates the visitor enters a spacious demesne, possessing much beauty of wood and water, one of the most pleasing features being the junction of the two rivers, which unite at a spot ornamented by beautiful timber.  At various points illustrations of the engineering skill of the great Earl will be observed.  The beauty of the park has been greatly enhanced by the construction of an ample lake, designed with the consummate art by which art is concealed.  Even in mid-summer it is enlivened by troops of wild ducks preening themselves in that confidence which they enjoy in those happy localities where the sound of a gun is seldom heard.  The water is led into the lake by a tube which passes under one of the two rivers just mentioned, while the overflow from the lake turns a water-wheel, which works a pair of elevators ingeniously constructed for draining the low-lying parts of the estate.

 * Considering the fame acquired by Parsonstown from Lord Rosse’s
   mirrors, it may be interesting to note the following extract from
   “The Natural History of Ireland,” by Dr. Gerard Boate, Thomas
   Molyneux M.D., F.R.S., and others, which shows that 150 years ago
   Parsonstown was famous for its glass:—­

“We shall conclude this chapter with the glass, there having been several glasshouses set up by the English in Ireland, none in Dublin or other cities, but all of them in the country; amongst which the principal was that of Birre, a market town, otherwise called Parsonstown, after one Sir Lawrence Parsons, who, having purchased that lordship, built a goodly house upon it; his son William Parsons having succeeded him in the possession of it; which town is situate in Queen’s County, about fifty miles (Irish) to the southwest of Dublin, upon the borders of the two provinces of Leinster and Munster; from this place Dublin was furnished with all sorts of window and drinking glasses, and such other as commonly are in use.  One part of the materials, viz., the sand, they had out of England; the other, to wit the ashes, they made in the place