n. It contains 66,000 acres, and comprises the
barony of Upper Massereene, part of the barony of Upper Belfast, in
the county of Antrim, and part of the baronies of Castlereagh and
Lower Iveagh, in the county of Down; consisting altogether of no
less than 140 townlands. It extends from Dunmurry to Lough Neagh, a
distance of about fourteen miles as the crow flies. When the Devon
commission made its inquiry, the population upon this estate amounted
to about 50,000. It contains mountain land, and the mountains are
particularly wet, because, unlike the mountains in other parts of the
country, the substratum is a stiff retentive clay. At that time there
was not a spot of mountain or bog upon Lord Hertfort's estate that
was not let by the acre. About one-third of the land is of first-rate
quality; there are 15,000 or 16,000 acres of mountain, and about the
same quantity of land of medium quality.

In the early part of Elizabeth's reign this property formed a section
of the immense territory ruled over by the O'Neills. One of these
princes was called the Captain of _Kill-Ultagh_. In those times, when
might was right, this redoubtable chief levied heavy contributions
on the settlers, partly in retaliation for aggressions and outrages
perpetrated by the English upon his own people. The queen, with the
view of effecting a reconciliation, requested the lord deputy, Sir H.
Sidney, to pay the Irish chief a visit. He did so, but his welcome
was by no means gratifying. In fact, O'Neill would not condescend to
receive him at all. His reason for exhibiting a want of hospitality
so un-Irish was this:--He said his 'home had been pillaged, his lands
swept of their cattle, and his vassals shot like wild animals.' The
lord deputy, in his notes of the northern tour, written in October,
1585, says:--'I came to Kill-Ultagh, which I found rich and plentiful,
after the manner of these countries. But the captain was proud and
insolent; he would not come to me, nor have I apt reason to visit
him as I would. But he shall be paid for this before long; I will not
remain in his debt.' The 'apt reason' for carrying out this threat
soon occurred. Tyrone had once more taken the field against the queen;
the captain joined his relative; all his property was consequently
forfeited, and handed over to Sir Fulke Conway, a Welsh soldier of
some celebrity. Sir Fulke died in 1626, and his brother, who was a
favourite of Charles I., succeeded to the estate, to whi