And no town I have seen in Ireland is more picturesquely placed than Loughrea.

It has an almost Italian aspect as you approach it from Woodford.

But no lake in Lombardy or Piedmont is so peculiarly and exquisitely tinted as the lough on which it stands.
The delicate grey-green of the sparkling waters reminded me of the singular and well-defined belts and stretches of chrysoprase upon which you sometimes come in sailing through the dark azure of the Southern Seas.

I have never before seen precisely such a hue in any body of fresh water.

The lake is incorrectly described, Mr.Tener tells me, in the guide-books, as being one of the many curious developments of the Lower Shannon.