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+The Project Gutenberg eBook, The "Ladies of Llangollen", by John Hicklin
+
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+
+
+
+Title: The "Ladies of Llangollen"
+       as Sketched by Many Hands; with Notices of Other Objects
+       of Interest in "That Sweetest of Vales"
+
+
+Author: John Hicklin
+
+
+
+Release Date: March 13, 2007  [eBook #20810]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII)
+
+
+***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE "LADIES OF LLANGOLLEN"***
+
+
+
+Transcribed from the 1847 Thomas Catherall edition by David Price, email
+ccx074@pglaf.org.  We would like to thank Llangollen Library,
+Denbighshire, for allowing access to the copy from which this
+transcription was made.
+
+
+
+
+
+THE "LADIES OF LLANGOLLEN,"
+AS SKETCHED BY MANY HANDS;
+WITH NOTICES OF
+OTHER OBJECTS OF INTEREST
+IN
+"THAT SWEETEST OF VALES."
+
+
+                             BY JOHN HICKLIN,
+    EDITOR OF THE "CHESTER COURANT," AUTHOR OF THE "HISTORY OF CHESTER
+                          CATHEDRAL," ETC. ETC.
+
+                                 CHESTER:
+                     THOMAS CATHERALL, EASTGATE ROW;
+            LONDON: WHITTAKER & CO.; ACKERMANN & CO., STRAND;
+                          DUBLIN: T. CRANFIELD.
+
+                               MDCCCXLVII.
+
+                                    TO
+                       MISS LOLLY AND MISS ANDREW,
+                                   THE
+                PROPRIETORS AND OCCUPIERS OF PLAS NEWYDD.
+                           THE FAMED RETREAT OF
+                       "The Ladies of Llangollen,"
+                           THE FOLLOWING PAGES
+                     ARE MOST RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED,
+                                    BY
+                         THEIR OBEDIENT SERVANT,
+
+                                                            THE PUBLISHER.
+
+
+
+
+THE LADIES OF LLANGOLLEN.
+
+
+From the early age of Cambrian history, when the peerless beauty of the
+high-born Myfanwy Fechan awoke the passion and the poesy of her admiring
+bard, Howel ap Einion Llygliw, down to the modern days of the more
+humble, but not less renowned maiden, "Sweet Jenny Jones;" Llangollen,
+"that sweetest of vales," seems to have been associated with
+recollections of tender and romantic interest.  Our narrative, however,
+albeit it relates to the Ladies of Llangollen, refers not to whispered
+vows and moonlight serenades between gallant chiefs and damsels of noble
+birth; nor to sentimental tales of love in a cottage; but it is rather
+devoted to the records of a friendship, whose incidents and
+eccentricities have engaged the attention of many eminent _literati_ and
+tourists.  Most persons who take any interest in the scenery or
+topography of North Wales, have either seen or read of that singular
+residence, Plas Newydd, at Llangollen, for so many years the home of Lady
+Eleanor Butler and Miss Ponsonby.
+
+About the year 1778, these ladies, impelled by a desire to lead a
+secluded life of celibacy, forsook the gay and fashionable circles in
+which they had moved; and in their search for a fitting spot, on which to
+pass their days together in devoted friendship to each other, and in acts
+of benevolence and charity to their neighbours, they visited Llangollen.
+Rambling along this charming locality one balmy evening, when the
+tranquil beauty of the lovely valley was lighted up by the mild splendour
+of the moon, their eyes rested upon a cottage that stood on a gentle
+eminence near the village; and there they resolved to fix their abode.
+They accordingly purchased the estate; built a new cottage on the site of
+the old one, in a remarkably unique and somewhat grotesque style of
+architecture; and laid out gardens, pleasure grounds, and rural walks
+with grottoes, temples, conservatories, rustic bridges, and other
+accessories for enjoying, in the undisturbed quiet of their own domain,
+the natural charms of their picturesque retreat.  Their mode of life
+being singular, and their costume still more so (for they assumed a style
+of head-dress resembling that of men, and always wore long cloth coats,
+rather like ladies' riding habits), they soon attracted the attention of
+the many travellers who passed through North Wales; and as they kept up
+an extensive and active correspondence with several eminent authors and
+persons of distinction, the "Ladies of Llangollen," for so they were
+always designated, made a much greater sensation in their seclusion, than
+many less remarkable persons who are constantly living in the business
+and bustle of society.  Hence many literary pilgrimages were made to the
+recluses of Plas Newydd; and the "even tenor" of their way was often
+diversified by the calls of the illustrious, the learned, and the
+curious; from whom they were as willing to learn what was passing in
+politics, literature, and general gossip, as were their visitors desirous
+of having a peep within the charmed circle of this mountain solitude.
+Their motive for adopting this romantic seclusion is thus stated in
+"Steward's Collections and Recollections:"--
+
+    "Lady Eleanor Butler and Miss Ponsonby were young ladies of beauty
+    and rank, who loved each other with so true an affection, that they
+    could never bear the afflicting idea of a separation, which the
+    marriage of either might occasion.  They therefore resolved on lives
+    of celibacy, and refusing many handsome offers, and remaining deaf to
+    the persuasions of their friends, they retired to the beautiful Yale
+    of Llangollen, to enjoy the happiness of each other's company, that
+    as their friendship began in infancy, it might be perpetuated through
+    life.  The traveller, in passing by the celebrated abode of these
+    interesting women, must contemplate with a sigh that excessive
+    friendship which could tear from the bosom of society two of its
+    brightest ornaments, to bury them in the depths of seclusion:--
+
+    'Full many a gem, of purest ray serene,
+       The dark unfathom'd caves of ocean bear;
+    Full many a flower is born to blush unseen,
+       And waste its sweetness on the desert air.'
+
+    "It is on this subject Miss Seward employs her poetical talents, in
+    her well-known poem of 'Llangollen Vale.'--The following is an
+    account of these celebrated ladies, extracted from a periodical work
+    published in the year 1796.  'Miss Butler and Miss Ponsonby are now
+    retired from the society of men into the wilds (!) of Llangollen in
+    Wales, where they have resided seventeen years.  Miss Butler is of
+    the Ormond family, and had five offers of marriage, all of which she
+    rejected.  As Miss Ponsonby, her particular friend and companion, was
+    supposed to have been the bar to her matrimonial union, it was
+    thought proper to separate them, and Miss Butler was confined.  The
+    two ladies, however, found means to elope together, but being soon
+    overtaken, were brought back to their respective relations.  Many
+    attempts were again made to draw Miss Butler into marriage, though in
+    vain; not many weeks after, the ladies eloped again, each having a
+    small sum with her.  The place of their retreat was confided to a
+    female servant of the house.  Here they lived many years, unknown to
+    any of the neighbouring villagers, otherwise than by the appellation
+    of the 'Ladies of the Vale.'  No persuasions could ever get them from
+    this retreat.  A lady from Ireland told the collector of these
+    articles the following anecdote relative to these female friends:--An
+    Irish nobleman (Lord Fingal) happening to be travelling in the
+    neighbourhood of Llangollen Vale, and having heard much of Lady E.
+    Butler and Miss Ponsonby, felt a desire to see and converse with
+    them.  But how he could obtain this pleasure (as the ladies seldom or
+    never saw company, and were fond of a recluse life) was the question.
+    At length he bethought himself of a method the most likely to answer
+    the purpose, without the appearance of forwardness or indelicacy.  He
+    sent his servant with the following verbal message:--'Lord Fingal,
+    travelling in this neighbourhood, sends his respectful compliments to
+    Miss Butler and Miss Ponsonby, and informs them that he sets out
+    to-morrow morning for Ireland, and would be happy to be the bearer of
+    any commands of theirs to that country.'  This message had the effect
+    which his lordship desired.  He received, in return, a kind and
+    friendly invitation to take tea with the ladies, which he, of course,
+    accepted with much pleasure.--Lord Fingal (the collector's informant
+    added) was peculiarly charmed with the amiable behaviour of these
+    interesting enthusiasts of friendship.  He found not in them the
+    gravity, formality, and demureness of virgin recluses, but the ease
+    of liveliness, and animated conversation of happy, cultivated, and
+    polished minds."
+
+On June 2, 1829, death severed the faithful friendship which had existed
+for so many years between the eccentric residents at Plas Newydd, by
+removing from this earthly scene Lady Eleanor Butler, who had attained
+the advanced age of 90; and in December 9, 1831, Miss Ponsonby, who was
+seldom seen (except by her domestics) after the decease of her attached
+companion, was called to her "long home."  They are both buried in the
+church-yard of Llangollen, where a stone monument is erected to their
+memory.  On this record of mortality are inserted the following
+memorials:--
+
+                           Sacred to the Memory of
+                            _The Right Honourable_
+                        LADY ELEANOR CHARLOTTE BUTLER,
+                     Late of Plas Newydd in this Parish.
+                         _Deceased_ 2_nd June_, 1829,
+                                Aged 90 Years.
+
+           _Daughter of the Sixteenth_, _Sister of the Seventeenth_
+                        _EARLS OF ORMONDE AND OSSORY_.
+
+                     Aunt to the late, and to the present
+                             MARQUESS OF ORMONDE.
+
+    _Endeared to her friends by an almost unequalled excellence of
+    heart_, _and by manners worthy of her illustrious birth_, _the
+    admiration and delight of a very numerous acquaintance from a
+    brilliant vivacity of mind undiminished to the latest period of a
+    prolonged existence_.  _Her amiable condescension & benevolence
+    secured the grateful attachment of those by whom they had been so
+    long and so extensively experienced_.  _Her various perfections
+    crowned by the most pious and cheerful submission to the Divine
+    Will_, _can only be appreciated_, _where it is humbly believed_,
+    _they are_ now _enjoying their Eternal Reward_, _and by her of whom
+    for more than fifty years_, _they constituted that happiness_, _which
+    through our Blessed Redeemer_, _she trusts will be renewed_ when THIS
+    TOMB _shall have closed over its latest tenant_.
+
+                   "Sorrow not as others who have no hope."
+
+                                            1 _Thess._ _Chap._ 4. _v._ 13.
+
+                                SARAH PONSONBY
+                              departed this Life
+                     on the 9th December, 1831, Aged 76.
+
+    _She did not long survive her beloved Companion LADY ELEANOR BUTLER_,
+    _with whom she had lived in this valley for more than half a century
+    of uninterrupted friendship_.  "_But they shall no more return to
+    their House_, _neither shall their place know them any more_."
+    _Job_, _Chap._ 7. _v._ 10.
+
+    _Reader pause for a moment and reflect not on the uncertainty of
+    human life but upon the certainty of its termination_, _and take
+    comfort from the assurance that_ "_As it is appointed unto men once
+    to die_, _but after this the judgment_: _so Christ was once offered
+    to bear the sins of many_; _and unto them that look for Him_, _shall
+    He appear the second time without sin unto salvation_."  _Heb._
+    _Chap._ 9. _v._ 27, 28.
+
+On the same tombstone is also the following inscription, to the memory of
+a faithful servant, who accompanied "the Ladies" from Ireland, the
+country of their nativity.
+
+                                 In Memory of
+                              MRS. MARY CARRYL,
+                        _Deceased 22 November_, 1809.
+
+             This Monument is erected by Eleanor Butler and Sarah
+                   Ponsonby of Plas Newydd in this Parish.
+
+    _Released from Earth and all its transient woes_,
+    _She whose remains beneath this Stone repose_,
+    _Steadfast in faith resigned her parting breath_,
+    _Looked up with Christian joy and smiled in death_.
+    _Patient_, _Industrious_, _Faithful_, _Generous_, _Kind_,
+    _Her Conduct left the proudest far behind_;_
+    Her Virtues dignified her humble birth_,
+    _And raised her mind above this sordid earth_.
+    _Attachment_ (_Sacred bond of grateful breasts_)_
+    Extinguished but with life_, _this Tomb attests_,
+    _Reared by Two Friends who will her loss bemoan_,
+    _Till with her ashes_--_Here shall rest their own_.
+
+In 1832, the home of "the Ladies of Llangollen" was sold by auction, by
+the late renowned "knight of the hammer," Mr. George Robins, who put
+forth the following advertisement, in his characteristic style of
+decorative description.
+
+                               "IN NORTH WALES.
+                                  * * * * *
+                      Particulars and Conditions of Sale
+                                    OF THE
+                         LADY ELEANOR BUTLER AND MISS
+                                  PONSONBY'S
+                               LITTLE PARADISE
+                                AT LLANGOLLEN,
+               Of which a more enlarged description will appear
+                              on the other side.
+                             IT IS ALL FREEHOLD,
+               And it need hardly be remarked that it is in the
+                            most favoured Spot in
+                                 NORTH WALES;
+                        Which will be Sold by Auction
+                                      BY
+                                  * * * * *
+                              MR. GEORGE ROBINS,
+                                  * * * * *
+                         AT THE AUCTION MART, LONDON,
+                On THURSDAY, JUNE 28, 1832, at Twelve o'Clock,
+                                 IN ONE LOT,
+                        BY DIRECTION OF THE EXECUTORS.
+
+May be viewed only with Tickets, and Particulars had Twenty-one Days
+prior to the Sale at the Lion Hotel, Shrewsbury; the Inns at Llangollen,
+and Corwen; the Great Hotel, Bangor; Waterloo, Liverpool; York House,
+Bath; and at Mr. GEORGE ROBINS's Offices, London.
+
+N.B.  The appropriate Furniture, Service of Plate, Elegancies of the
+Chateau, extensive Library of Books, and all the valuable Appendages,
+will be submitted to Public Competition the latter End of the Month of
+July, by Direction of the Executors.
+
+
+
+PARTICULARS, &c.
+
+
+Mr. ROBINS is not a little proud that it hath been his good fortune to be
+selected by the Executors of the Lady Eleanor Butler and Miss Ponsonby to
+direct the sale of their far-famed Domicile.  He feels that an apology
+will be due to all those who are familiar with its beauties and
+peculiarities, for the very imperfect recital which follows, while those
+who are yet to be gratified with the sight of it, may imagine he has
+drawn some little upon "Fancy's sketch."  There is nothing of pretension
+in its outward form, it indicates but moderately the comfort that
+presides within, inasmuch as will be found congregated all the _agremens_
+pertaining to more consequential habitations.  Considerable tact is
+conspicuous everywhere; but none more unequivocally displayed than in the
+lightsome little Dining Room, contrasted with the gloomy, yet superior
+grace of the Library, into which it opens.  This room is fitted up in the
+Gothic style, the Windows are of ancient painted glass "_shedding their
+dim religious light_."
+
+
+THE SALOON OF THE MINERVAS
+
+
+Is the repository of the choice Library.  The auxiliary Offices are very
+commensurate, the grounds are disposed in such good order as is the
+natural consequence of pure taste, the Kitchen Garden is neatness itself,
+and the Fruit trees are of the rarest and finest sort, and luxuriant in
+their produce.  Many and shaded
+
+                   GRAVEL WALKS ENCIRCLE THIS ELYSIUM,
+
+Which is adorned with curious and rare Shrubs and Flowers.  It is nothing
+in extent but
+
+                     EVERYTHING IN GRACE AND BEAUTY,
+
+United with a great variety of foliage.  Upon the Freehold is a
+considerable quantity of valuable Timber which overhangs
+
+                         A DEEP AND HOLLOW GLEN;
+
+In its entangled bottom, a frothing brook leaps and clamours o'er the
+rough stones in its channel towards
+
+                         THE VALE OF LLANGOLLEN.
+
+To speak of the latter would be quite superfluous, few, if any, are
+unacquainted with the wildness and surpassing beauty of the most admired
+spot in North Wales.  Its contiguity to the little romantic village,
+giving the opportunity either to indulge in the gaiety of this place, or
+recreate in retirement, (as shall seem best suited to varied
+inclination), there are fortunately both auxiliaries to this scene (it
+had almost been said of enchantment).  The verdant Lawns, dotted with
+rare plants, the scenic beauties, and the woodland scenery combined,
+plead in extenuation of this lofty tone.  The whole is encompassed by
+rich meadows, wearing a park-like appearance; held with the freehold,
+which is limited to less than Five Acres.  A truly beautiful Portico of
+carved Oak leads to this
+
+
+DOMICILE OF COMFORT.
+
+
+The whole lower Story of which, on the outside, is covered with the
+richest carved Oak, and within which will be found a Dining Room 15 feet
+by 15, with handsome Chimney Piece, and carved Oak Doors and Wainscoting.
+
+A Library, 13 feet by 14 feet 6 inches, with Three Gothic Windows of
+carved Oak and splendid stained Glass, exhibiting old Armorial Bearings,
+and forming a Bow Window, handsome Chimney Piece of yellow and white
+marble, and Recesses fitted up with Gothic Book Cases, and the Doors and
+Architrave of old carved Oak.
+
+An admirably constructed Kitchen, carved Oak Doors and Window Facia, a
+very handsome carved Oak Screen and Seat, Grate Ovens, Hearths, Stew
+Holes, &c.
+
+A Housekeeper's Room, beautifully fitted up with carved Oak Presses, Oak
+Doors and Window Frames.
+
+A large Larder with fixed Tables, Hooks, &c. together with an ample
+Cellar, both so situated as to be perfectly cool in the hottest weather.
+
+Wash-house, Scullery, Coal-house, &c., a Staircase of carved Oak, Walls
+and Ceilings of the same beautifully ornamented Gothic Architecture.
+This is one of the most beautiful things that can be conceived.
+
+
+FIRST FLOOR.
+
+
+An excellent Bed Room, fixed Book Shelves and carved Oak Door, Chimney
+Piece and Window Facia, an excellent best Bed Room, Oak Doors, fancy
+Cornice, and cross Ceiling Beams of carved Oak, a very handsome Chimney
+Piece of the same.
+
+A light Dressing Room and Closet, Gothic carved Oak Doors, &c. fitted up
+with Book Shelves.  Over the Staircase a commodious Pantry, Shelves and
+Presses for China and Plate, Oak Doors of carved open work.  The Sashes
+of the Windows are all Metal.
+
+
+ATTIC STORY.
+
+
+Two good Servants' Rooms, and a Store Room.  The Premises consist of
+
+
+FOUR GARDENS
+
+
+In the best order, and well stocked with all kinds of Fruit Trees,
+Vegetables, and Flowers.
+
+
+FIVE PASTURE FIELDS
+
+
+Of the richest Land, well timbered, Rustic Bridges, Summer Houses of
+richly carved Oak, and Rustic Seats, Cow and Calf-house, Garden-house,
+Yard, Store-house, &c.  An excellent Engine Pump.
+
+This celebrated Place was the Property, and for more than half a Century
+the Residence of the late LADY ELEANOR BUTLER AND MISS PONSONBY.  It is
+situated upon a Piece of rich Table Land, just above the Port and
+Market-town of Llangollen, and commands a View of the Valley of the Dee,
+both up and down, is close to Valle Crucis, Dinas Bran, and many of the
+most beautiful Scenes in Wales.  The Taxes are very light.
+
+
+CONTENTS OF THE FREEHOLD PART OF THE ESTATE.
+                  A.                R.                P.
+House, Offices,   0                 3                 14
+and Shrubbery
+Flower Garden     0                 0                 27
+Garden House,     0                 0                 12
+Court and
+Poultry ditto
+Part of Lawn      0                 3                 8
+Nursery           0                 0                 20
+Field             2                 0                 12
+Total             4                 0                 13
+
+THE LANDS CONTIGUOUS ARE AS FOLLOWS:
+
+
+1A. 1R. 20P. part of Lawn; and 3R. 26P. of Gardens and Shrubbery, held
+from year to year, from Ousley Gore, Esq., at a rent of pounds
+
+3R. 13P. part of Lawn and Flower Garden, held in same manner from Hon. F.
+West, at a rent of pounds
+
+4A. 1R. 30P. being two Fields, the Glen, and a Kitchen Garden, from Hon.
+Mr. Mostyn, yearly at a rent of pounds
+
+1A. 2R. 16P. a Field from J. Dicken, Esq. at a yearly rent of pounds
+
+TOTAL QUANTITY, 13 ACRES 38 PERCHES."
+
+                                * * * * *
+
+The exaggerated style of this ornate announcement will, doubtless, excite
+a smile, and we suspect that some of our readers, who know the locality,
+will laugh outright at the very fanciful stretch of imagination, which
+led the worthy auctioneer to speak of the "_Port_ of Llangollen."
+
+The purchasers of the property were Miss Lolly and Miss Andrew, the
+present owners and occupiers of Plas Newydd, between whom and the late
+"Ladies of Llangollen," an intimate friendship existed.
+
+In August 1832, Mr. Robins offered by public auction the furniture and
+fittings of this unique villa; the following is a copy of the
+advertisement, and the catalogue of the sale extended over seventy quarto
+pages.
+
+                                * * * * *
+
+                        "LLANGOLLEN, NORTH WALES.
+                            MR. GEORGE ROBINS
+
+Has the pleasure most respectfully to announce to the Nobility, Lovers of
+the Fine Arts, and those who delight in objects of interest, and indeed
+to the Public generally, that having sold "PLAS NEWYDD," he is instructed
+by the Executors of
+
+                         THE LADY ELEANOR BUTLER
+                                   AND
+                              MISS PONSONBY,
+
+To offer for UNRESERVED COMPETITION, at the Domicile so long hallowed as
+the abode of friendship,
+
+On MONDAY, the 13th day of AUGUST, 1832,
+And many succeeding Days, at Eleven for Twelve
+o'clock precisely, on each day,
+
+                              THE FOLLOWING
+                    INTERESTING AND VALUABLE PROPERTY,
+                      APPERTAINING TO THE RESIDENCE,
+
+And which for extent, variety and novelty, forms a most brilliant
+Assemblage, certainly unexampled in the Annals of Auctions; it having
+been congregated by those highly talented Ladies, the fair "MISTRESSES OF
+PLAS NEWYDD," during a series of 50 years, aided by their joint taste,
+and at considerable expense, including the appropriate
+
+                        FURNITURE OF THE CHATEAU,
+
+Comprising a Drawing Room suite in curtains, glasses, centre, card, and
+occasional tables; ottomans, sofas, couches, chairs of various
+descriptions, yet in unison, whatnots, cheffioneers; the dining room is
+very complete; there are excellent dining tables, chairs, sideboard,
+writing tables and library chairs.
+
+                   A RANGE OF BOOKCASES & MANY OBJECTS,
+                        ELABORATELY CARVED IN OAK;
+                   A STRONG BOX OF GREAT ANTIQUITY, AND
+                                 CARVED,
+
+           It was once the Property of his late Royal Highness
+
+                            THE DUKE OF YORK.
+
+   The Furniture of the Bed Chambers and Offices is of a corresponding
+                                character;
+
+                      EXCELLENT TABLE AND BED LINEN,
+
+     The equipments of the Garden are of a very superior description;
+  A VARIETY OF SEATS, CURIOUS ETRUSCAN FLOWER VASES, GARDEN IMPLEMENTS,
+                                   ETC.
+
+                      A GREEN HOUSE OF GREAT BEAUTY,
+                ORNAMENTED WITH PAINTED AND STAINED GLASS;
+
+      An extensive Collection of Plants, Dairy and Brewing Utensils;
+                       SERVICES OF CHINA AND GLASS,
+    In complete sets, for the Table, the Dejeune, the Dessert, &c. &c.
+
+                           SIDEBOARD OF PLATE,
+
+    Comprising many rare chased and antique items; dishes and covers,
+   salvers, waiters, tea and coffee equipages, candlesticks, liquor and
+                     cruet frames, spoons and forks;
+
+      AND A VARIETY OF USEFUL ARTICLES FOR THE SIDEBOARD AND TABLE.
+
+                        JEWELLERY AND ELEGANCIES,
+
+    Presenting many pleasing and valuable Ornaments for the person, in
+  necklaces, car-rings, crosses and brooches, most of them inclosing the
+    hair of the donors, particularly one of great interest, possessing
+
+                  A LOCK OF "MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS" HAIR.
+
+          INTERESTING MISCELLANIES, CURIOSITIES AND RELICS, VIZ.
+
+Very fine missals, beautifully illuminated; autographs of numerous
+renowned personages, particularly a letter by "Charles the First" to Lady
+Fisher, from Whitehall, during his confinement; presentation snuff boxes,
+many of value, and most with lines of dedication; relics of great
+antiquity, and many of modern date, presented by travellers, forming
+altogether a Museum of great interest and amusement.
+
+              SEVERAL REMARKABLY FINE CAMEOS AND INTAGLIOS.
+
+                 A MODEL OF THE WARWICK VASE, IN SILVER,
+
+    Richly Chased, most exquisite in Workmanship and perfectly Unique.
+
+  Many curious models, bronze busts, and in Sevres bisquit; MUSICAL AND
+OTHER ELEGANT CLOCKS, in ormolu; China essence, and flower vases; a large
+                AEolian harp, telescopes, microscopes, &c.
+
+               AN EXTENSIVE AND VALUABLE LIBRARY OF BOOKS,
+
+ Comprising many Thousand Volumes, elegantly bound in folio, quarto, and
+                        octavo, (large and small.)
+
+                          A SERIES OF ETCHINGS.
+                    THE POWER AND PROGRESS OF GENIUS,
+                               EXECUTED BY
+                         THE PRINCESS ELIZABETH,
+                           AND PRESENTED BY HER
+                         TO THE PRINCESS AMELIA;
+
+                         AN AUTOGRAPH LETTER FROM
+                       THE PRESENT KING OF FRANCE,
+
+ Accompanying the Memoirs du Duc de Montressor, in scarlet and morocco, a
+   present from His Majesty to Lady Butler and Miss Ponsonby; with many
+  other contributions and valuable presents from persons of the highest
+      rank and literary acquirements to these highly gifted Ladies.
+
+                 PICTURES, VALUABLE DRAWINGS, AND PRINTS,
+
+ In frames and in portfolios, comprising a collection the most choice and
+   valuable, many by the first Artists of the day, Portraits of Kings,
+exalted and renowned Characters, and Views of the most celebrated Scenery
+                of various Countries.  A small quantity of
+
+                         RARE WINES AND LIQUEURS;
+
+Viz., Old Port, Sherry, Madeira, Lisbon, Bucellas, Vidonia, Maraschino,
+Noyeau, Eau de la Reine, and other estimable Liqueurs.
+
+*** The entire Sale will be on View at the Chateau from the 4th to the
+13th of August.
+
+The CATALOGUES will be ready Three Weeks prior to the Sale; and may be
+had at 3s. each, at the Villa; Phillips's Hotel, and the King's Head,
+Llangollen; the Lion, Shrewsbury; the Owen Glendower, Corwen; the Great
+Hotel, at Bangor; the Waterloo Hotel, Liverpool; the Hen and Chickens,
+Birmingham; York Hotel, Bath; of Mr. Guernon, Molesworth-street, Dublin,
+and at Mr. GEORGE ROBINS' Offices, Covent Garden."
+
+                                * * * * *
+
+The present occupiers were also purchasers of many of the rare
+"curiosities and relics."
+
+We shall now proceed to cite the descriptions which have been put upon
+record by several distinguished and popular authors, relative to the
+"Ladies of Llangollen."
+
+It appears from Volume VI. of the published Letters of the late Miss Anna
+Seward, that a friendly intimacy was cultivated between that clever
+_literateur_ and the recluses of Plas Newydd; and it would seem from her
+correspondence, that their tastes were very comprehensive and
+multifarious; poetry and politics, music and mystery, tragedy and tattle,
+being alike acceptable.  In a letter addressed to Lady Eleanor Butler and
+Miss Ponsonby, under date Lichfield, October 4, 1802, Miss Seward
+exclaims:--
+
+    "Ah! dearest ladies, it is under the pressure of a severe cold,
+    fierce cough, and inflamed lungs, that I address you.  A duty so
+    delightful had, but for this incapacitating malady, been earlier
+    paid.
+
+    "I have to thank dear Miss Ponsonby for a manuscript of many verses,
+    which she had the goodness to make for me in hours so engrossed, amid
+    engagements so indispensable.  I had the honour to receive it as I
+    was stepping into the chaise which was to convey Mrs. Smith and
+    myself far from that Edenic region where we had recently passed so
+    many happy hours; from those bowers in Llangollen Vale, whence the
+    purest pleasures have so often flowed to my heart and mind, as from a
+    full and overflowing fountain."
+
+From Lichfield, Nov. 9, 1802, Miss Seward discourses to Miss Ponsonby on
+modern tragedy, and concludes with the following bit of "blue-stocking
+gossip:"--
+
+    "Though I know her not, I am pleased that Mrs. Spencer has had the
+    good fortune to interest and delight you; for I am always desirous
+    that men of genius should not do what they are so prone to do, marry
+    every-day women.
+
+    "Naughty brook, for having behaved outrageously again!  That little
+    stream of the mountain is a true spoiled child, whom we love the
+    better for its faults, and for all the trouble and alarm they
+    occasion.  You see I presume to involve myself, as if, in some sort,
+    the interesting little virago belonged to me.  Certainly it is my
+    peculiar pet amongst your scenic children, dear to my taste, as they
+    are beautiful; to my heart as being yours."
+
+In a letter from Lichfield, June 13, 1805, Miss Seward begins:--
+
+    "'With a trembling hand, my beloved Miss Ponsonby, do I take up the
+    pen to thank you for a thrice kind letter.  It had not remained
+    several weeks unacknowledged, but for this terrible malady of the
+    head, which has oppressed me with so much severity during the
+    interim.  I think it must soon lay me low.  Not at my time of life
+    does the constitution, pushed from its equipoise by long enduring
+    disease, regain it amid the struggles.
+
+    "Immediately on receiving your last, I sent for Madoc; by far the
+    most captivating work of its genuinely inspired author."
+
+In the same letter the following passage occurs:--
+
+    "Our young friend Cary has published his translation of Dante's
+    Inferno.  It is thought the best which has appeared, and the sale
+    goes on well.  He presents a copy to yourself and Lady Eleanor, and I
+    trust you will receive it soon."
+
+After some literary disquisitions on the Inferno, the Lay of the Last
+Minstrel, and Madoc; and an allusion to King George's visit to Lichfield,
+the letter thus concludes:--
+
+    "Present me devoutly to your beloved Lady Eleanor.  Most interesting
+    is your description of that visit, mutually paid to that desolate and
+    silent Dinbren.  How worthy of yourselves that hour of consecration,
+    with all its tributary sighs!  Too happy were the days and weeks
+    which I passed beneath its roof, and in its beautiful and sublime
+    environs, to permit such revisitation from me.
+
+    "It would break my heart amid its present consciousness, spread over
+    with a dark and impervious pall, which can never be drawn away.
+
+    "Dear, and amiable Miss Ponsonby, farewell."
+
+From Lichfield, October 31st, 1805, we have another letter to Miss
+Ponsonby, with the following tremendous opening:--
+
+    "Nothing, my dear Madam, is so common as hypocrisy and treachery
+    where property is concerned; but a greater excess of them never
+    poured their dark currents from the vulgar heart, than in those
+    circumstances which your last letter narrates.
+
+    "Thus ever be extortionate villany baffled--and long unclouded be the
+    peace which succeeds to that attempted injury.  I cannot express how
+    much I am obliged that you took the kind trouble of retracing the
+    road of peril, which had so nearly engulfed a scene, whose beauties
+    rise perpetually in my sleeping and waking dreams."
+
+What ever could have happened at Plas Newydd to excite so grand a burst
+of tragic passion: here _is_ matter for curious speculation!  Then Miss
+Seward runs into a not very wise dissertation on politics; then reverts
+to literary subjects, of which Horace Walpole's genius is the chief
+topic; bemoans her own dizziness of the head; has another touch at Mr.
+Pitt; and finally ejaculates "Adieu, dearest Madam!  Your beloved Lady
+Eleanor will accept my affectionate devoirs!"  Why did not Miss Seward go
+to Llangollen, to end her days in peace?
+
+In the lively Memoirs of that celebrated Comedian, the late Mr. Charles
+Matthews, we have the following humourous letters, descriptive of the
+"Ladies of Llangollen:"--
+
+                                               "Oswestry, Sept. 4th. 1820.
+
+    "The dear inseparable inimitables, Lady Butler and Miss Ponsonby,
+    were in the boxes here on Friday.  They came twelve miles from
+    Llangollen, and returned, as they never sleep from home.  Oh, such
+    curiosities!  I was nearly convulsed.  I could scarcely get on for
+    the first ten minutes after my eye caught them.  Though I had never
+    seen them, I instantaneously knew them.  As they are seated, there is
+    not one point to distinguish them from men: the dressing and
+    powdering of the hair; their well-starched neckcloths; the upper part
+    of their habits, which they always wear, even at a dinner-party, made
+    precisely like men's coats; and regular black beaver men's hats.
+    They looked exactly like two respectable superannuated old clergymen;
+    one the picture of Boruwlaski.  I was highly flattered, as they never
+    were in the theatre before.
+
+    "The packets now sail at seven in the morning; all _day_-work instead
+    of night, which is delightful; and the weather is heavenly.  People
+    are here extremely hospitable; but, of all days in the year, Mr.
+    Ormsby Gore went to Carnarvon assizes (being high sheriff) the day
+    before I arrived.  He only returned yesterday; and almost forced me
+    away from the inn.  I, however, could not conveniently go there, but
+    have been to call this morning.  Such a place!
+
+    "By the by, have you any magnolias in the grounds? if not, get me one
+    or two.  I saw a Portugal laurel, only four years old, full half the
+    size of that great beauty at Lord Mansfield's; pray have one or two
+    of them placed by themselves on our new lawn.
+
+    "I have to-day received an invitation to call, if I have time as I
+    pass, at Llangollen, to receive in due form, from the dear old
+    gentlemen called Lady Butler and Miss Ponsonby, their thanks for the
+    entertainment I afforded them at the theatre."
+
+                                                   "Porkington, Oct. 24th.
+
+    "Well, I have seen them, heard them, touched them.  The pets, "_the
+    ladies_," as they are called, dined here yesterday--Lady Eleanor
+    Butler and Miss Ponsonby, the curiosities of Llangollen mentioned by
+    Miss Seward in her letters, about the year 1760.  I mentioned to you
+    in a former letter the effect they produced upon me in public, but
+    never shall I forget the first burst yesterday upon entering the
+    drawing-room: to find the dear antediluvian darlings, attired for
+    dinner in the same manified dress, with the Croix de St. Louis, and
+    other orders, and myriads of large brooches, with stones large enough
+    for snuff-boxes, stuck in their starched neckcloths!  I have not room
+    to describe their most fascinating persons.  I have an invitation
+    from them, which I much fear I cannot accept.  They returned home
+    last night, fourteen miles, after twelve o'clock.  They have not
+    slept one night from home for above forty years.  I longed to put
+    Lady Eleanor under a bell-glass, and bring her to Highgate for you to
+    look at."
+
+In August 1825, Sir Walter Scott visited Llangollen, and the account of
+his interview with the famed "ladies of the vale," is given with much
+humour and smartness by Mr. Lockhart, in his interesting Memoirs of the
+immortal "Author of Waverley."--
+
+    "Our progress through North Wales produced nothing worth recording,
+    except perhaps the feeling of delight which everything in the aspect
+    of the common people, their dress, their houses, their gardens, and
+    their husbandry, could not fail to call up in persons who had just
+    been seeing Ireland for the first time; and a short visit (which was,
+    indeed, the only one he made) to the far-famed "ladies" of
+    Llangollen.  They had received some hint that Sir Walter meant to
+    pass their way; and on stopping at the inn, he received an invitation
+    so pressing, to add one more to the long list of the illustrious
+    visitors of their retreat, that it was impossible for him not to
+    comply.  We had read histories and descriptions enough of these
+    romantic spinsters, and were prepared to be well amused; but the
+    reality surpassed all expectation.
+
+    "An extract from a gossiping letter of the following week will
+    perhaps be sufficient for Llangollen.
+
+                                                     "'Elleray, August 24.
+
+    * * * "'We slept on Wednesday evening at Capel Curig, which Sir W.
+    supposes to mean the Chapel of the Crags; a pretty little inn in a
+    most picturesque situation certainly, and as to the matter of toasted
+    cheese, quite exquisite.  Next day we advanced through, I verily
+    believe, the most perfect gem of a country eye ever saw, having
+    almost all the wildness of Highland backgrounds, and all the
+    loveliness of rich English landscape nearer us, and streams like the
+    purest and most babbling of our own.  At Llangollen your papa was
+    waylaid by the celebrated 'Ladies'--viz. Lady Eleanor Butler and the
+    Honourable Miss Ponsonby, who having been one or both crossed in
+    love, forswore all dreams of matrimony in the heyday of youth,
+    beauty, and fashion, and selected this charming spot for the repose
+    of their now time-honoured virginity.  It was many a day, however,
+    before they could get implicit credit for being the innocent friends
+    they really were, among the people of the neighbourhood; for their
+    elopement from Ireland had been performed under suspicious
+    circumstances; and as Lady Eleanor arrived here in her natural aspect
+    of a pretty girl, while Miss Ponsonby had condescended to accompany
+    her in the garb of a smart footman in buckskin breeches, years and
+    years elapsed ere full justice was done to the character of their
+    romance. {26}  We proceeded up the hill, and found everything about
+    them and their habitation odd and extravagant beyond report.  Imagine
+    two women, one apparently seventy, the other sixty-five, dressed in
+    heavy blue riding habits, enormous shoes, and men's hats, with their
+    petticoats so tucked up, that at the first glance of them, fussing
+    and tottering about their porch in the agony of expectation, we took
+    them for a couple of hazy or crazy old sailors.  On nearer inspection
+    they both wear a world of brooches, rings, &c., and Lady Eleanor
+    positively _orders_--several stars and crosses, and a red ribbon,
+    exactly like a K.C.B.  To crown all, they have crop heads, shaggy,
+    rough, bushy, and as white as snow, the one with age alone, the other
+    assisted by a sprinkling of powder.  The elder lady is almost blind,
+    and every way much decayed; the other, the ci-devant groom, in good
+    preservation.  But who could paint the prints, the dogs, the cats,
+    the miniatures, the cram of cabinets, clocks, glass-cases, books,
+    bijouterie, dragon-china, nodding mandarins, and whirligigs of every
+    shape and hue--the whole house outside and in (for we must see
+    everything to the dressing-closets), _covered_ with carved oak, very
+    rich and fine some of it--and the illustrated copies of Sir W.'s
+    poems, and the joking simpering compliments about Waverley, and the
+    anxiety to know who McIvor really was, and the absolute devouring of
+    the poor Unknown, who had to carry off, besides all the rest, one
+    small bit of literal _butter_ dug up in a Milesian stone jar lately
+    from the bottom of some Irish bog.  Great romance (_i.e._ absurd
+    innocence of character) one must have looked for; but it was
+    confounding to find this mixed up with such eager curiosity, and
+    enormous knowledge of the tattle and scandal of the world they had so
+    long left.  Their tables were piled with newspapers from every corner
+    of the kingdom, and they seemed to have the deaths and marriages of
+    the antipodes at their fingers' ends.  Their albums and autographs,
+    from Louis XVIII. and George IV., down to magazine poets and
+    quack-doctors, are a museum.  I shall never see the spirit of
+    blue-stockingism again in such perfect incarnation.  Peveril won't
+    get over their final kissing match for a week.  Yet it is too bad to
+    laugh at these good old girls; they have long been the guardian
+    angels of the village, and are worshipped by man, woman, and child
+    about them.'"
+
+In July, 1828, the charming vale of Llangollen was visited by a German
+Prince (Puckler-Muskau of Prussia), who has thus left on record the
+impressions which his excursion in that vicinity excited:--
+
+    "The most beautiful reality, however, awaited me this morning in
+    Wales.  The vision of clouds seemed to have been the harbinger of the
+    magnificence of the vale of Llangollen,--a spot which, in my opinion,
+    far surpasses all the beauties of the Rhine-land, and has, moreover,
+    a character quite its own, from the unusual forms of the peaked tops,
+    and rugged declivities of its mountains.  The Dee, a rapid stream,
+    winds through the green valley in a thousand fantastic bendings,
+    overhung with thick underwood.  On each side high mountains rise
+    abruptly from the plain, and are crowned with antique ruins, modern
+    country-houses, manufactories, whose towering chimneys send out
+    columns of thick smoke, or with grotesque groups of upright rocks.
+    The vegetation is everywhere rich, and hill and vale are filled with
+    lofty trees, whose varied hues add so infinitely to the beauty and
+    picturesque effect of a landscape.  In the midst of this luxuriant
+    nature, arises, with a grandeur heightened by contrast, a single
+    long, black, bare range of mountains, clothed only with thick, dark
+    heather," and from time to time skirting the high road.  This
+    magnificent road, which from London to Holyhead, is as even as a
+    'parquet,' here runs along the side of the left range of mountains,
+    at about their middle elevation and following all their windings; so
+    that in riding along at a brisk trot or gallop, the traveller is
+    presented at every minute with a completely new prospect; and without
+    changing his position, overlooks the valley now before him, now
+    behind, now at his side.  On one side is an aqueduct of twenty-five
+    slender arches, a work which would have done honour to Rome.  Through
+    this a second river is led over the valley and across the Dee, at an
+    elevation of an hundred and twenty feet above the bed of the natural
+    stream.  A few miles further on, the little town of Llangollen offers
+    a delightful resting place, and is deservedly much resorted to.
+
+    "There is a beautiful view from the churchyard near the inn: here I
+    climbed upon a tomb, and stood for half an hour enjoying with deep
+    and grateful delight the beauties so richly spread before me.
+    Immediately below me bloomed a terraced garden, filled with vine,
+    honeysuckle, rose, and a hundred gay flowers, which descended to the
+    very edge of the foaming stream.  On the right hand, my eye followed
+    the crisped waves in their restless murmuring course through the
+    overhanging thicket; before me rose two lines of wood, divided by a
+    strip of meadow-land filled with grazing cattle; and high above all,
+    rose the bare conical peak of a mountain crowned by the ruins of the
+    old Welsh castle Dinas Bran, or the Crow's Fortress.  On the left,
+    the stone houses of the town lie scattered along the valley; the
+    river forms a considerable waterfall near the picturesque bridge,
+    while three colossal rocks rise immediately behind it like giant
+    guards, and shut out all the more distant wonders of this enchanting
+    region.
+
+    "Before I left Llangollen I recollected the two celebrated ladies who
+    have inhabited this valley for more than half a century, and of whom
+    I had heard once as a child, and again recently in London.  You have
+    doubtless heard your father talk of them;--'si non, voila leur
+    histoire.'  Fifty-six years ago, two young, pretty and fashionable
+    ladies, Lady Eleanor Butler, and the daughter of the late Lord
+    Ponsonby, took it in their heads to hate men, to love only each
+    other, and to live from that hour in some remote hermitage.  The
+    resolution was immediately executed; and from that time neither lady
+    has ever passed a night out of their cottage.  On the other hand, no
+    one who is presentable travels in Wales unprovided with an
+    introduction to them.  It is affirmed that the 'scandal' of the great
+    world interests them as much as when they lived in it; and that their
+    curiosity to know what passes has preserved all its freshness.  I had
+    compliments to deliver to them from several ladies, but I had
+    neglected to furnish myself with a letter.  I therefore sent my card,
+    determined if they declined my visit, as I was led to fear, to storm
+    the cottage.  Here, as elsewhere, however, in England, a title easily
+    opened the door, and I immediately received a gracious invitation to
+    a second breakfast.  Passing along a charming road, through a trim
+    and pretty pleasure-ground, in a quarter of an hour I reached a small
+    but tasteful gothic cottage, situated directly opposite to Dinas
+    Bran, various glimpses of which were visible through openings cut in
+    the trees.  I alighted, and was received at the door by the two
+    ladies.  Fortunately I was already prepared by hearsay for their
+    peculiarities; I might otherwise have found it difficult to repress
+    some expression of astonishment.  Imagine two ladies, the eldest of
+    whom, Lady Eleanor, a short robust woman, begins to feel her years a
+    little, being now eighty-three; the other, a tall and imposing
+    person, esteems herself still youthful, being only seventy-four.
+    Both wore their still abundant hair combed straight back and
+    powdered, a round man's hat, a man's cravat and waistcoat, but in the
+    place of 'inexpressibles,' a short petticoat and boots: the whole
+    covered by a coat of blue cloth, of a cut quite peculiar,--a sort of
+    middle term between a man's coat and a lady's riding-habit.  Over
+    this, Lady Eleanor wore, first, the grand cordon of the order of St.
+    Louis across her shoulder; secondly, the same order around her neck;
+    thirdly, the small cross of the same in her button-hole, and 'pour
+    comble de gloire,' a golden lily of nearly the natural size, as a
+    star,--all, as she said, presents of the Bourbon family.  So far the
+    whole effect was somewhat ludicrous.  But now, you must imagine both
+    ladies with that agreeable 'aisance,' that air of the world of the
+    'ancien regime,' courteous and entertaining, without the slightest
+    affectation; speaking French as well as any Englishwoman of my
+    acquaintance; and above all, with that essentially polite,
+    unconstrained, and simply cheerful manner of the good society of that
+    day, which, in our serious hardworking age of business, appears to be
+    going to utter decay.  I was really affected with a melancholy sort
+    of pleasure in contemplating it in the persons of the amiable old
+    ladies who are among the last of its living representatives; nor
+    could I witness without lively sympathy the unremitting, natural and
+    affectionate attention with which the younger treated her somewhat
+    infirmer friend, and anticipated all her wants.  The charm of such
+    actions lies chiefly in the manner in which they are performed,--in
+    things which appear small and insignificant, but which are never lost
+    upon a susceptible heart.
+
+    "I began by saying that I esteemed myself fortunate in being
+    permitted to deliver to the fair recluses the compliments with which
+    I was charged by my grandfather, who had had the honour of visiting
+    them fifty years ago.  Their beauty indeed they had lost, but not
+    their memory: they remembered the C--- C--- very well, immediately
+    produced an old memorial of him, and expressed their wonder that so
+    young a man was dead already.  Not only the venerable ladies, but
+    their house, was full of interest; indeed it contained some real
+    treasures.  There is scarcely a remarkable person of the last half
+    century who has not sent them a portrait or some curiosity or antique
+    as a token of remembrance.  The collection of these, a well-furnished
+    library, a delightful situation, an equable, tranquil life, and
+    perfect friendship and union,--these have been their possessions; and
+    if we may judge by their robust old age and their cheerful temper,
+    they have not chosen amiss."
+
+During the summer of 1833, Miss Catherine Sinclair, the clever authoress
+of "Modern Accomplishments," made an excursion through Wales, and thus
+describes her visit to Plas Newydd:--
+
+    "No eyes but those of a poet are worthy to behold the celebrated
+    valley of Llangollen, where we next proceeded, after having drawn
+    largely on the firm of Messrs. Wordsworth, Cowper, Thomson, and Co.
+    for language to pay a due tribute of admiration to this surpassing
+    scene,--but who has a genius equal to the majesty of nature?  I
+    thought of the Mahometan who turned back when he observed some such
+    rich and fertile plain, saying, he had been only promised one
+    Paradise, and did not wish to enjoy it upon earth.  Instead of
+    following his example, however, we advanced, trying to fancy
+    ourselves on the banks of the Rhine, to which so many travellers have
+    compared this beautiful valley.  Pray employ your unrivalled taste in
+    imagining the rugged mountains,--the sparkling river,--the ancient
+    trees,--the smiling cottages,--the daisied meadows, and the fertile
+    gardens, all grouped or scattered in the way you think best,--and
+    invention can suggest nothing more perfect.
+
+    "The valley of Llangollen belonged once to the far-famed Owen
+    Glendower, mentioned in Shakespeare's Plays, as 'not in the roll of
+    common men.'  His palace stood near this formerly, and here he
+    maintained a war during twelve years against Henry IV., being a keen
+    adherent of Richard's; besides which, a private feud against Lord
+    Grey de Ruthyn whetted his exertions.  Peace was, however, about to
+    be concluded in 1415, between the Welsh chief and the English king,
+    on very honourable terms, when, as we frequently observe, if any one
+    attains his utmost earthly desires, Owen died.  But though the vale
+    of Llangollen boasts of such a hero, its chief celebrity arises from
+    a pair of heroines; and we lost no time in doing homage to their
+    memories, by scrambling our way up a steep ascent to that well-known
+    cottage, where the late Lady Eleanor Butler and the Honourable Miss
+    Ponsonby, during more than half a century, devoted their long lives
+    so romantically to friendship, celibacy, and the knitting of blue
+    stockings.  It seems only astonishing that this is so very rare an
+    occurrence, for any one with a friend so richly endowed as my
+    accomplished correspondent, might feel safe from the possibility of
+    tiring, and might like to connect her name with so charming a scene
+    and with so romantic a story.  Two successors to these fair hermits
+    have already sprung up, as substitutes for the original occupants,
+    following the same exclusive plan of life; and in a moment of
+    enthusiasm I felt much inclined to knock at the door and ask if they
+    would make it a trio.  In the case of Lady Eleanor Butler and Miss
+    Ponsonby, very transient visits only were acceptable, and even their
+    own names remained long concealed, as the friends eloped
+    clandestinely without confiding to any one, except a maid servant,
+    the place of their retreat.  The cause of this very close seclusion
+    having been variously conjectured, excited much gossipping curiosity
+    at the time; but from whatever cause the hermitage originated, here,
+    embowered in roses, they 'made a solitude and called it peace.'
+    After discussing the Ladies of Llangollen, our thoughts naturally
+    diverged into a general consideration, whether the greatest number of
+    voluntary recluses have relinquished social intercourse on account of
+    disappointed affection, mortified vanity, or mistaken devotion.
+
+    "What a beau ideal of earthly felicity springs up to the imagination
+    in taking a glance at the beautiful cottage of Llangollen! all the
+    every-day vexations and vulgar cares of life, seem there swept aside,
+    and nothing left for the inhabitants but to lead a life of graceful
+    leisure, tying up carnations, engrafting roses, gazing at the
+    splendid scenery around, and talking in perpetual ecstacies about
+    flowers and perfumes.  Almost every grown-up person entertains, at
+    the out-set of life, notions of happiness with a cottage nearly
+    similar to that which a little girl enjoys with her first
+    doll,--dressing it up, altering, arranging, painting, and spoiling
+    it; but this hermitage really is a singular looking toy.  The
+    building is long and low, so completely cased in richly-carved oak,
+    that it might be mistaken for an enormous wardrobe.  The garden
+    slopes upwards from the river Dee, and is greatly embellished by a
+    splendid beech hedge about forty feet high; several charming little
+    summer houses are sprinkled about the grounds; and in one most
+    romantic arbour, overlooking the fine cascade, we found a volume
+    lying open on the seat, which proved to be Southey's Roderick;
+    suitable reading for such a scene of poetical beauty.
+
+    "An attempt at embellishment has been made, by placing a stuffed bear
+    near the house, probably in imitation of the Zoological Gardens; but
+    the idea is rather a failure, and would appear more suitable over the
+    door of a perfumer's shop, to intimate the presence of bear's grease.
+    A little gim-crack model of a wooden house is also visible, by way of
+    an ornament, stuck on the summit of a wooden pillar, but the effect
+    is disproportioned to all surrounding objects, even more than the
+    designs on Chinese paper; where men of six feet high are represented
+    entering mansions half their own height, and birds may be seen flying
+    larger than either the houses or their inhabitants.  In a cottage
+    built of oak and roofed with thatch, it would be very desirable that
+    the inhabitants should have some taste for the study of entomology,
+    as they might find an inexhaustible hunting-field among the wooden
+    walls and creepers.  It has been disputed whether more inconvenience
+    is endured from the extreme cold of an English winter, or from the
+    swarms of insects inevitably encountered during the heat of an
+    Italian summer; but those who inhabit this 'Fairy Palace of the
+    Vale,' might be able from experience at home, to decide the question.
+    They could afford sufficient employment for an entire
+    pin-manufactory, to supply impaling machines for all the specimens of
+    insects that might be collected and classified here.  The birds too,
+    were so vociferous, that we seemed standing in an aviary, and the
+    locality would not at all have suited Lady ---, who scolded her
+    gardener for 'letting the sparrows make such a noise under her
+    windows in the morning.'  It is much to be lamented how many
+    'harmonious blackbirds' annually fall victims to the preservation of
+    cherries; and though the 'four-and-twenty baked in a pie,' might be
+    rather too loud when they all 'began to sing,' yet a few in a garden
+    are so enlivening and delightful, that it would be better never to
+    taste fruit again than to lose such a concert of natural melody as we
+    enjoyed at Llangollen."
+
+Mr. Roscoe, in his remarkably interesting "Wanderings in North Wales," is
+less enthusiastic than some tourists on the subject of our present
+narrative; he says:--
+
+    "Plas Newydd, for so many years the residence of the fair recluses of
+    the lovely vale of Llangollen, stands on a gentle eminence close to
+    the town, ornamented with a carved railing in front, and decorated
+    with grotesque gables and ornaments.  The present proprietors are
+    also two maiden ladies, who seem disposed to perpetuate the
+    conventual celebrity of this place; and are certainly not less urbane
+    than the former possessors, in permitting visitors to gratify their
+    taste in the inspection of the beautiful grounds.  Attended by my
+    _cicerone_, the gardener, I passed from one object of natural beauty
+    to another,--the vale of Pen-gwern surrounded by part of the Berwyn
+    chain, the woody dingle, and brawling brook of the Cyflymed, with
+    many others, which are supplied with the most gratifying conveniences
+    for their leisurely inspection.  After all, I must confess, filled as
+    was my mind by the impressions of the majestic scenes with which it
+    had become familiar, the miniature landscapes supplied by the
+    situation of Plas Newydd, fell far short of the anticipation I had
+    formed, and they forcibly recalled the emotion I remembered to have
+    felt after viewing the mimic hills and vales, and passionless
+    cascades of the poet Shenstone, in his retreat at the Leasowes, near
+    Hagley."
+
+Miss Costello, who made the tour of North Wales in 1844 is even less
+complimentary, and is thus smartly satirical in the peculiarities of the
+departed "Ladies:"--
+
+    "One of the great attractions of Llangollen a few years ago was the
+    romantic story attached to the place and the residence there of Lady
+    Eleanor Butler and Miss Ponsonby.  Pilgrimages were made to this
+    shrine of friendship, and the ladies were overwhelmed with visitors,
+    and their cottage filled with offerings.  Their tomb is now in the
+    churchyard, and their cottage let; and very few persons recollect
+    much about them, or feel any interest in a sentimental history, which
+    belonged to the last century, and now can only excite a smile at the
+    eccentricity of its heroines, who, under pretence of retiring from
+    society, made themselves conspicuous throughout the country.  Most of
+    their accumulated stores were sold by public auction, on the death of
+    the last of the friends, and the cottage, as it now stands, is by no
+    means either a rural or picturesque object.  It is covered inside and
+    out with carved wood, some of value, and some quite worthless; and
+    all that remains of the taste of the former proprietors merely proves
+    how little was required to please fifty years ago.  The trees,
+    planted by the friends, are now grown high, and shut out all view of
+    the country; in fact, the whole place has a vulgar, common-place
+    appearance, and excited in my mind no sort of interest, nor was my
+    indifference agreeably dispelled by the view of an engraving, hung up
+    in the little boudoir, representing the two ladies sitting at their
+    table covered with curiosities, both dressed in masculine habits, and
+    both frightfully ugly.  These portraits, it seems, were taken by an
+    amateur, by stealth, as neither of 'The Ladies of Llangollen' would
+    consent to sit, and a lamentable record is it which creates most
+    unpleasing sensations to the lover of the graceful, beautiful, and
+    venerable.
+
+    "The 'ladies' were, although singular in the extreme, remarkably
+    charitable and considerate of the necessities of their neighbours,
+    and their loss has been greatly felt.  They seemed vain and pompous,
+    but accomplished and intellectual, and were a strange compound of
+    wisdom and folly, pride and condescension."
+
+The celebrated Madame de Genlis, in an entertaining miscellany, under the
+title of "Souvenirs de Felicie L---," has given the following graphic
+narrative of "The Fair Recluses of Llangollen:"--
+
+    "During my residence in England (says she), nothing struck me so much
+    as the delicious cottage of Llangollen, in North Wales.  It is not a
+    little extraordinary, that a circumstance so singular and remarkable
+    as that connected with this retreat, should hitherto have escaped the
+    notice of all modern travellers.  The manner in which I became
+    acquainted with it was this:--During our long-stay at Bury, a small
+    company of five or six persons, including ourselves, met every
+    evening from seven till half-past ten o'clock.  We diverted ourselves
+    with music and conversation, so that the time past very agreeably.
+    One night friendship happened to be the subject of conversation, and
+    I declared that I would with pleasure undertake a long journey to see
+    two persons who had long been united by the bonds of genuine
+    friendship.  'Well, Madam,' replied Mr. Stuart (now Lord
+    Castlereagh), go to Llangollen; you will there see a model of perfect
+    friendship, which will afford you the more delight, as it is
+    exhibited by two females who are yet young and charming in every
+    respect.  Would you like to hear the history of Lady Eleanor Butler
+    and Miss Ponsonby?'--'It would give me the greatest pleasure.'--'I
+    will relate it to you.'  At these words the company drew nearer to
+    Mr. Stuart, we formed a little circle round him, and after
+    recollecting himself a few moments, he thus began his narrative:--
+
+    "'Lady Eleanor Butler, was born in Dublin.  She was left an orphan
+    while in her cradle; and possessing an ample fortune, together with
+    an amiable disposition and a beautiful person, her hand was solicited
+    by persons belonging to the first families in Ireland.  At an early
+    age she manifested great repugnance to the idea of giving herself a
+    master.  This love of independence, which she never dissembled, did
+    no injury to her reputation; her conduct has always been
+    irreproachable, and no female is more highly distinguished for
+    sweetness of temper, modesty, and all the virtues which adorn her
+    sex.  In tender infancy a mutual attachment took place between her
+    and Miss Ponsonby, by an accident which made a deep impression on
+    their imagination.  They had no difficulty to persuade themselves
+    that heaven had formed them for each other; that is, that it had
+    designed each of them to devote her existence to the other, so that
+    they might glide together down the stream of life, in the bosom of
+    peace, the most intimate friendship, and delicious independence.
+    This idea their sensibility was destined to realize.  Their
+    friendship gradually grew stronger with their years, so that at
+    seventeen they mutually engaged never to sacrifice their liberty, or
+    to part from each other.  From that moment they formed the design of
+    withdrawing from the world, and of settling for good in some
+    sequestered retreat.  Having heard of the charming scenery of Wales,
+    they secretly absconded from their friends for the purpose of fixing
+    upon their future residence.  They visited Llangollen, and there, on
+    the summit of a mountain, they found a little detached cottage, with
+    the situation of which they were delighted.  Here they resolved to
+    form their establishment.  Meanwhile the guardians of the young
+    fugitives sent people after them, and they were conveyed back to
+    Dublin.  They declared that they would return to their mountain as
+    soon as they were of age.  Accordingly, at twenty-one, in spite of
+    the entreaties and remonstrances of their relatives and friends, they
+    quitted Ireland for ever, and flew to Llangollen.  Miss Ponsonby is
+    not rich, but Lady Eleanor possesses a considerable fortune.  She
+    purchased the little hut and the property of the mountain, where she
+    built a cottage, very simple in external appearance, but the interior
+    of which displays the greatest elegance.  On the top of the mountain
+    she has formed about the house a court and flower-garden; a hedge of
+    rosebushes is the only enclosure that surrounds this rural
+    habitation.  A convenient carriage-road, the steepness of which has
+    been diminished by art, was carried along the mountain.  On the side
+    of the latter some ancient pines of prodigious height were preserved;
+    fruit trees were planted, and a great quantity of cherry trees in
+    particular, which produce the best and finest cherries in England.
+    The two friends likewise possess a farm for their cattle, with a
+    pretty farm-house and a kitchen-garden at the foot of the mountain.
+    In this sequestered abode these two extraordinary persons, with minds
+    equally cultivated, and accomplishments equally pleasing, have now
+    resided ten years, without ever having been absent from it a single
+    night.  Nevertheless they are not unsociable, they sometimes pay
+    visits to the neighbouring gentry, and receive with the greatest
+    politeness travellers on their way to or from Ireland, who are
+    recommended to them by any of their old friends.'
+
+    "This account strongly excited my curiosity, and produced the same
+    effect on Mademoiselle d'Orleans and my two young companions.  We
+    determined the same night to set out immediately for Llangollen, by
+    the circuitous route of Brighton, Portsmouth, and the Isle of Wight.
+    It was the latter end of July when we arrived at Llangollen.  This
+    place has not the rich appearance of the English villages in general,
+    but nothing can equal the cleanliness of the houses, and among the
+    lower classes of any country this is an infallible proof of
+    abundance.  Llangollen, surrounded with woods and meadows, clothed
+    with the freshest verdure, is situated at the foot of the mountain
+    belonging to the two friends, which there forms a majestic pyramid
+    covered with trees and flowers.  We arrived at the cottage, the only
+    object of our journey, an hour before sunset.
+
+    "The two friends had received in the morning by a messenger the
+    letter which Mr. Stuart had given me for them.  We were received with
+    a grace, a cordiality, and kindness, of which it would be impossible
+    for me to give any idea.  I could not turn my eyes from those two
+    ladies, rendered so interesting by their friendship and so
+    extraordinary on account of their way of life.  I perceived in them
+    none of that vanity which takes delight in the surprize of others.
+    Their mutual attachment, and their whole conduct evince such
+    simplicity, that astonishment soon gives way to softer emotions; all
+    they do and say breathes the utmost frankness and sincerity.  One
+    circumstance which I cannot help remarking is, that after living so
+    many years in this sequestered retreat, they speak French with equal
+    fluency and purity.  I was likewise much struck with the little
+    resemblance there is between them.  Lady Eleanor has a charming face,
+    embellished with the glow of health; her whole appearance and manner
+    announce vivacity and the most unaffected gaiety.  Miss Ponsonby has
+    a fine countenance, but pale and melancholy.  One seems to have been
+    born in this solitude, so perfectly is she at her ease in it; for her
+    easy carriage shews that she has not retained the slightest
+    recollection of the world and its vain pleasures.  The other, silent
+    and pensive, has too much candour and innocence for you to suppose
+    that repentance has conducted her into solitude, but you would
+    suppose that she still cherishes some painful regrets.  Both have the
+    most engaging politeness, and highly-cultivated minds.  An excellent
+    library, composed of the best English, French, and Italian authors,
+    affords them an inexhaustible source of diversified amusement and
+    solid occupation; for reading is not truly profitable except when a
+    person has time to read again.
+
+    "The interior of the house is delightful on account of the just
+    proportion and distribution of the apartments, the elegance of the
+    ornaments and furniture, and the admirable view which you enjoy from
+    all the windows; the drawing-room is adorned with charming
+    landscapes, drawn and coloured from nature, by Miss Ponsonby.  Lady
+    Eleanor is a great proficient in music; and their solitary habitation
+    is filled with embroidery by them both, of wonderful execution.  Miss
+    Ponsonby, who writes the finest hand I ever saw, has copied a number
+    of select pieces in verse and prose, which she has ornamented with
+    vignettes and arabesques, in the best taste, and which form a most
+    valuable collection.  Thus the arts are cultivated there with equal
+    modesty and success, and their productions are admired with a feeling
+    that is not experienced elsewhere; the spectator observes with
+    delight that so much merit is secure in this peaceful retreat from
+    the shafts of satire and envy, and that talents unaccompanied with
+    ostentation and pride, have there never coveted any suffrages but
+    those of friendship.
+
+    "This evening was a scene of enchantment for me; not one painful
+    reflection disturbed its felicity.  I retired to rest, but my
+    imagination was so fully occupied with what I had seen and heard,
+    that my thoughts kept me for a long time awake.  At length, I was
+    just falling asleep, when I was roused by the most melodious sounds.
+    I listened in great astonishment; it was not music, but an indistinct
+    and celestial harmony which penetrated my very soul.  I discovered
+    that it was produced by a violent wind which had just then arisen; my
+    ear distinguished the distant noise and the whistling usually heard
+    on such occasions, but the winds changing their nature as they
+    approached this asylum of peace and friendship, formed only the most
+    enchanting harmony as they met its trees and its walls.  I was
+    strongly disposed to believe in prodigies; but nevertheless I was
+    determined to investigate the nature of this, but I durst not rise
+    for fear of waking Mademoiselle d'Orleans, who was extremely fatigued
+    with her journey, and slept in a bed close by mine.  The tempest
+    suddenly ceased, and the harmonious sounds appeared to be carried to
+    a distance by the retiring winds.  I raised my head towards the
+    heavens to catch the last tones of this celestial concert, which
+    seemed to be lost in the clouds.  I listened with transport like St.
+    Cecilia; if I had had my harp in my hands I should certainly have
+    dropped it; at that moment all terrestrial music appeared totally
+    spiritless and insipid.
+
+    "Next morning the whole mystery was explained.  On opening my window
+    I found in the balcony an Eolian harp, an instrument with which I was
+    then unacquainted, and which, when the wind blows upon it, produces
+    such enchanting sounds.
+
+    "I walked out the whole forenoon with the two friends; nothing can
+    equal the charms of the surrounding scenery, and of the prospects
+    which the mountain whose summit they occupy commands; at this
+    elevation they appear the queens of all the beautiful country at
+    their feet.  Towards the north they have a view of the village and of
+    a wood; to the south a long river washes the foot of the mountain,
+    and fertilizes meadows of prodigious extent, beyond which is
+    discovered an amphitheatre of hills, covered with intermingled trees
+    and rocks.  In the midst of this wild scenery rises a majestic tower,
+    which might be taken for the Pharos of this coast, but is only the
+    ruins of a magnificent castle, once the residence of the prince of
+    the country.  This solitary region was doubtless at that time
+    flourishing and populous, now it is abandoned to nature alone;
+    nothing is now to be seen in it but herds of goats, and a few
+    scattered herdsmen sitting upon the rocks and playing upon the Irish
+    harp.  Facing this rustic and melancholy scene the two friends have
+    raised a verdant seat, shaded by two poplars, and thither they told
+    me they often repair in summer to read together the poems of Ossian.
+
+    "The ride from Wrexham to Llangollen is remarkable for the sublimity
+    and awful grandeur of the prospects; the most prominent feature in
+    the landscape is a high and stupendous chain of mountains, sometimes
+    swelling into the clouds, or gently shelving into the vallies, around
+    which they form a wide amphitheatre; and by their elevations afford
+    shelter, and tend to fertilize the vales at their bases.  I was led
+    to exclaim--
+
+    'I love thy mountain's giant forms!
+       Darkly clad in gath'ring storms;
+    I love thy rocks, down whose steep sides,
+       With foaming, dizzying crash,
+    Thunder the torrent's tan-brown tides,
+       And roaring whirlwinds dash.'
+
+    "For,
+
+    ''Mid clouds and crags, dark pools and mountains drear,
+       The wild-wood's silence, and the billow's roll,
+    Great Nature rules, and claims with brow austere,
+       The shudd'ring homage of the inmost soul.'
+
+    "From the craggy sides of the rocks descend the tributary streams to
+    supply the river which divides the dales, and which dashes its
+    foaming impetuous course along the banks, often edged with broken
+    crags and grey rocks, or is seen winding in a deeper and more
+    peaceful stream through dark and silent groves, spreading their
+    autumnal shades over the surface, or often glistening through fields
+    of verdure and cultivated spots of ground; here foaming and chafing
+    some dark ruin's tottering base, there reflecting the modern villa or
+    the humble hamlet in its silver bosom, and by the variety of scenery
+    giving new beauty to the whole.
+
+    "The cottages, bridges, villas, towers, rocks, and dark ruins of
+    Gothic antiquity, are in unison with the surrounding objects, and the
+    attention is frequently called from beholding the beauties of nature
+    to pause on the works of art.  In the centre of the long valley which
+    stretches to Llangollen, is erected a most stupendous aqueduct, by
+    which the canal is conveyed from a lofty hill over a wide chasm in
+    the mountains; the length of this amazing work of art and human
+    industry, is, I was informed, three hundred yards, the aqueduct
+    composed of cast iron, is supported on fifty stone pillars and
+    arches, and the view of this immense pile bestriding the valley is
+    grand beyond description, and contributes much to heighten the effect
+    produced by the whole scenery; for here grandeur and sublimity sit
+    enthroned on the mountains, and solitude and human privacy, with
+    their attendant charms, have fixed their abode in the vallies.
+
+    "The beauties of the Vale of Llangollen certainly exceed every idea I
+    had formed of their grandeur, and on my arrival at the inn in the
+    village, the muse embodied the following
+
+    "LINES ON VISITING LLANGOLLEN.
+
+    'Much have I heard, Llangollen, of thy scenes,
+    And the wild landscapes of thy mountain greens,
+    The rushing streams, that dash thy rocks among,
+    Thy snow-topt mountains, thy wild harper's song,
+    Thy fruitful vallies deep, where oft between
+    Rise hamlets, rocks, and tow'rs to grace the scene.
+    Where solitude and calm contentment dwell,
+    And contemplation roves each rocky dell,
+    Or climbs the snow-topt mountain's cloudy height
+    To watch the sinking shades of evening light;
+    To view the foaming torrent's misty shower,
+    To list' the brooding tempest's rising roar,
+    Mark the blue mists the silvery moonbeams shroud,
+    Or golden ev'ning edge the dusky cloud;
+    Yet, till this hour my doubting heart has thought
+    Thy glowing scenes by fancy's pencil wrought,
+    Or drest in poetry's enchanting hues,
+    And all the flatt'ring colours of the muse;
+    But if in winter's storms thy beauties charm,
+    If the cold breast thy varying landscapes warm,
+    In summer's smiles it surely stands confest,
+    That he who draws thee fairest paints thee best.'"
+
+Having thus seen the various amusing and interesting records, which so
+many of our most popular authors have given to the world, respecting the
+once famous "Ladies of Llangollen," curiosity induced us to pay a visit
+to this much frequented abode of ancient friendship.  Accordingly in
+March, 1847, we made an excursion, in company with our respected
+Publisher, to the celebrated retreat of Plas Newydd; and through the
+favour of Mr. Jacques, an intelligent and hospitable gentleman resident
+at Pen-y-bryn, Llangollen, we were introduced to the present owners, Miss
+Lolly and Miss Andrew, and met with a most courteous reception.  Their
+manners are easy, dignified, and lady-like; totally free from all
+affectation, and in nowise marked by that frigid stateliness and pedantic
+formality, which a censorious world proverbially attributes to a state of
+elderly maidenhood.  In all its characteristic particulars, the cottage
+remains in the same condition as in the days of Lady Eleanor and Miss
+Ponsonby; but its present possessors have introduced several judicious
+alterations in the interior, which, though carried out in strict harmony
+with the general design of its former occupants, exhibit an improved
+taste and a cultivated judgment.  The house is delightfully situated, and
+is well-adapted to realize the notion of the poet--
+
+    "'Tis pleasant from the loop-holes of retreat
+    To look at such a world; to see great Babel
+    And not feel the crush;"
+
+but the site is not well chosen for developing the many charming
+prospects which the vale of Llangollen affords; and, indeed, the entire
+arrangements, both of dwelling and pleasure grounds, seem to be
+suggestive rather of another poetical maxim in great favour with
+anchorites and recluses--"Retire, the world shut out."  We cannot agree
+with Miss Seward, who describes this hermitage as "a retreat which
+breathes all the witchery of genius, taste, and sentiment."  It is rather
+fantastical than tasteful, and savours more of eccentricity than
+sentiment.  In the Gothic entrance, there are undoubtedly many fine
+specimens of carved wood-work, some of which we suspect were the plunder
+of despoiled convents and churches during the continental wars of the
+last century; but classical, mythological, and scripture subjects are
+intermingled in odd confusion, and with "most admired disorder."  The
+rooms are small and comfortable, with very low ceilings; the prospect
+from the dining-room is flat and tame; but several of the miniature
+views, as seen through small openings of the painted window in the
+library, are remarkably picturesque, and reveal themselves with a
+pleasing effect to the eye of the artist or the admirer of natural
+scenery.  The cottage yet contains many articles of furniture and choice
+rarities, which belonged to the former owners; whose portraits adorn the
+fanciful little boudoir.  Disguised as they are by the strangeness of
+their costume, we should not like to hazard any opinion of our own as to
+their personal charms; especially as Miss Seward has been so minutely
+particular in telling us "all about them."  That clever and amusing
+gossip says of the "ladies," whom she rhapsodizes as "the enchantresses"
+of Plas Newydd--
+
+    "Lady Eleanor is of middle height, and somewhat beyond the
+    _embonpoint_ as to plumpness; her face round and fair, with the glow
+    of luxuriant health.  She has not fine features, but they are
+    agreeable; enthusiasm in her eye, hilarity and benevolence in her
+    smile.  Exhaustless is her fund of historic and traditionary
+    knowledge, and of every thing passing in the present eventful period.
+    She expresses all she feels with an ingenuous ardour, at which, the
+    cold-spirited beings stare.  I am informed that both these ladies
+    read and speak most of the modern languages.  Of the Italian poets,
+    especially of Dante, they are warm admirers.  Miss Ponsonby, somewhat
+    taller than her friend, is neither slender nor otherwise, but very
+    graceful.  Easy, elegant, yet pensive, is her address and manner.
+
+       "Her voice, like lovers' watched, is kind and low."
+
+    A face rather long than round, a complexion clear but without bloom,
+    with a countenance which, from its soft melancholy, has a peculiar
+    interest.  If her features are not beautiful, they are very sweet and
+    feminine.  Though the pensive spirit within permits not her lovely
+    dimples to give mirth to her smile, they increase its sweetness, and,
+    consequently, her power of engaging the affections.  We see, through
+    her veil of shading reserve, that all the talents and accomplishments
+    which enrich the mind of Lady Eleanor, exist, with equal powers, in
+    this her charming friend."
+
+We commend these pen and ink portraits to the notice of our readers
+without controversy; and the more especially, as they may gratify their
+curiosity still more in this matter, by purchasing from our Publisher a
+well-executed engraving representing, with all due fidelity, excellent
+likenesses of the "Ladies of Llangollen;" each, as _Hamlet_ would say,
+"in her habit as she lived."
+
+Among the treasured relics which the cottage now contains, we were shewn
+the veritable crutch-headed walking stick, on which Lady Eleanor used to
+support her aged steps, when rambling through the village on errands of
+mercy, or sauntering among the pleasure grounds of her mountain-home; and
+we also saw and handled the broad-brimmed hat worn by Miss Ponsonby,
+whose head we should judge to have been small and finely formed.  O for
+the genius of a Seward, to have written an ode to that venerable
+head-dress! and in good truth, one might almost fancy we heard the spirit
+of that amiable enthusiast, bidding us, like _Gesler's_ captain, "bow
+down and honour it."  Seriously, every little particular connected with
+the history and habits of the departed "Ladies" is so anxiously prized at
+Llangollen, that we felt very grateful for the prompt kindness with which
+the present worthy possessors of the unique residence contributed to our
+information and amusement.  We may therefore tell, for the advantage of
+such of our readers as associate their notions of "old maids" with an
+affectionate regard for the canine and feline tribes, that Lady Eleanor
+Butler possessed a favourite dog of the turnspit-breed, called "Trust;"
+that Miss Ponsonby had a small white poodle, named "Busy;" and that they
+had a joint interest in a popular cat, answering to the name of
+"Meggins;" all of which four-footed domestics were especial pets in their
+garden walks or at their quiet fire-side.
+
+The little domain of Plas-Newydd, if situated in some localities, would
+be esteemed a miniature paradise, but planted as it is amidst so many
+scenes of surpassing loveliness, its limited and somewhat formal
+characteristics suffer by comparison.  The arrangement of the ground
+might have suited the peculiar tastes and habits of the "recluses;" but
+it is certainly very far inferior to the picturesque effect, which
+landscape gardening in the present day could _there_ produce.  The
+prettiest portions of these much-vaunted precints are the shady knoll,
+overhanging a romantic glen, down which a brawling streamlet leaps its
+frothing course over a craggy bed; and the rural walk by the gothic
+fount, into which a pellucid mountain-rill pours its refreshing waters.
+Among the remembrances of former days, is the effigy of a guardian
+'lion,' (which, under the name of a 'bear,' has been noted by an author
+whom we have quoted;) the melancholy quadruped is now considerably "used
+up," and excites a laugh at the burlesque on the monarch of the forest,
+which his attenuated figure and shrivelled hide present.  Plas-Newydd is
+unquestionably a delightful residence; and its adjacent pleasure grounds
+and gardens afford most inviting facilities for those who love to make a
+practical study of horticulture; to ruminate amidst its tranquil retreats
+over the published works of some favourite authors; or to "meditate,"
+like the patriarch, at "even-tide" on the wonders and glories of Eternal
+Power.  Apart therefore from the romantic recollections, with which the
+singular history of the "Ladies of Llangollen" has invested this fair
+spot of earth, it presents to the tourist certain attractions, which the
+reflective explorer of the lovely vallies of the Dee should not neglect.
+We heard from some of the older inhabitants several anecdotes of the
+benevolence and charity of the departed "Ladies," whose memory is most
+affectionately cherished in the neighbourhood.  It has been said that on
+religious subjects, these ancient friends were divided in opinion; one
+being a Roman Catholic and the other a Protestant; but the parish clerk,
+an intelligent old man who knew them well, assured us that they both
+regularly attended the services in the Church of Llangollen, and received
+the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper, both there, and at their own cottage
+during the last illness of Lady Eleanor Butler, from the vicar.  With all
+their eccentricity, their attachment to each other must have been of a
+pure, unchanging, and fervent character; else would they never have
+forsworn in the full bloom of youth and beauty, the gay fascinations or
+the elegant ease of courtly life for the dull monotony of seclusion and
+celibacy.  Both in feeling and intellect, Lady Eleanor Butler and Miss
+Ponsonby were no common persons; it may of a truth be said of them, that
+"they lived to a good old age and died honoured and respected;" and if
+ever the beings of a brighter and holier sphere are permitted to cast
+back occasional glimpses on the world which they have left, their spirits
+may sometimes hover over the sacred spot where their ashes repose, and
+haunt the moon-lit banks of the silvery Dee, in its murmuring current by
+the lowly church-yard of Llangollen.
+
+
+
+
+VALLE CRUCIS ABBEY.
+
+
+The picturesque ruins of this venerable structure stand in a lovely and
+sequestered valley, about two miles from Llangollen, and are approached
+by as delightful and inviting road as ever rambler need wish to tread.
+The Rev. John Williams, in his learned description of this ancient
+monastery, says:
+
+    "The abbey was founded about the year 1200, {58a} and in conformity
+    with the rule {58b} of the Cistercian fraternity, was dedicated to
+    the Blessed Virgin Mary.  The names by which it was generally known
+    to the Welsh had, however, a particular reference to the locality
+    where it was situated: thus, 'Monachlog y Glyn,' 'Monachlog Glyn
+    Egwestl,' 'Monachlog Pant y Groes.'  And in Latin it was called
+    'Abbatia {58c} de Valle Crucis,' and 'Abbatia de Llanegwest.'
+
+    "The remains of the abbey extant at the present day consist of the
+    church, and of a building on the southern side, part of which seems
+    to have formed the Abbot's lodgings, and part to have been the
+    refectory, with the dormitory above.  The church is a cruciform
+    building, of which the northern side has been almost entirely
+    destroyed, and without any vestige remaining of its roof, except in
+    the eastern aisle of the southern transept.  In the midst of these
+    hallowed precincts the rubbish is heaped up to a great height,
+    caused, probably, by the fall of the northern wall, and by the
+    remains of the roof:--the pavement, if there be any of it subsisting,
+    is entirely concealed, and ash-trees grow luxuriantly upon the
+    mounds, adding to the picturesque effect of the ruin, but saddening
+    the heart of the antiquary.  We are unable, therefore, to determine
+    the number of piers that formed the side of the nave; but from the
+    space between the western end and the central piers, at the
+    intersection of the transepts, we should conjecture this number to
+    have been three, thus making four arches on either side.  The choir
+    was without aisles, but each transept had one on the eastern side,
+    which seems to have been used as a chapel.  The oldest portion of the
+    church is the choir; the eastern end of which was lighted by three
+    bold and lofty lancet arches, rising from no great height above the
+    level of the pavement to half the altitude of the building, and by
+    two proportionably smaller lancets above.  In the apex of the gable
+    was probably a small aperture, but of this no trace remains; the
+    gable is mutilated, and we judge only from the analogy of the western
+    end of the nave.  In each of the northern and southern walls of the
+    choir is a lancet window; and two similar windows, but lower in
+    height, occur in each of the eastern walls of the transept aisles.
+    High up in the southern wall, also, is to be seen a small loophole,
+    communicating with a passage which leads over the vaulting of the
+    southern transept aisle to the abbatial building adjoining the
+    church.  This passage is now blocked up, but it is conjectured to
+    have served either as a closet wherein the abbot could attend service
+    privately, or else as a place of confinement or penitence for the
+    monks.  The architecture of this portion of the church corresponds in
+    its style with the date of the foundation,--the commencement of the
+    thirteenth century: the lancets, with their mouldings, are strictly
+    of that date, and the capitals of the shafts, which are worked with
+    great boldness, are of the late Norman period, rather than of that
+    which is called Early-pointed."
+
+    "Of all that portion of the nave which occurs between the central
+    tower and the western end, nothing remains but the outer wall of the
+    southern aisle; the western end of it, however, still stands, and is
+    a beautiful example of the richest and purest architecture of the
+    middle of the thirteenth century.  Over a central doorway, with
+    deeply recessed mouldings and shafts, and with a bold dog-tooth
+    ornament, each projection of which is elegantly carved into four
+    converging fleurs-de-lys, occur three lofty windows, the central one
+    taller than those at its sides--all with remarkably bold splays, both
+    internally and externally, enriched with shafts and mouldings.  The
+    central window appears to have been of only one light, though broad,
+    and to have had its arch occupied by a foliation of six cusps, and
+    therefore of seven recesses,--the foliating spaces being solid.  The
+    side windows are each of two lights, the principal arch-head being
+    solid, but pierced with a single aperture divided into six
+    foliations.  Above these three windows runs a kind of framework,
+    analagous in some respects to that at the eastern end of the choir.
+    The gable is pierced above these windows with a small but beautiful
+    wheel-window of eight pointed compartments, each trifoliated; the
+    divisions being moulded in one order, and converging to a central
+    ring, itself pierced to admit the light.  Above all is a square
+    quatrefoliated aperture in the very apex of the gable.  On the
+    external face of the western end are two bold buttresses of a single
+    stage, that on the south-eastern side being pierced with loopholes
+    for a circular staircase formed in the thickness of itself and the
+    wall."
+
+The Abbey of Valle Crucis was dissolved in the year 1535, and is said to
+have been the first of the Welsh monasteries which underwent the doom of
+abolition.
+
+    Romantic Abbey! hallow'd be the rest
+    Of those, who rear'd thee in this wild green vale
+    A temple lovely as the place is blest--
+    And stern as beautiful:--but words would fail
+    To paint thy ruin'd glories, though the gale
+    Of desolation sweeps thro' thy hoar pile,
+    And waves the long grass thro' thy cloisters pale
+    Where the dark ivy scorns day's garish smile,
+    And weed-grown fragments crown thy desecrated aisle.
+
+    * * * *
+
+    How sweet the sounds!--whose soft enchantments rose
+    'Mid those wild woodlands at the matin prime--
+    Or when the vesper song at evening's close
+    Wafted the soul beyond the cares of time,
+    To that Elysium of a brighter clime
+    Where thro' heaven's portals golden vistas gleam,
+    And the high harps of Seraphim sublime
+    Came o'er the spirit like a prophet's dream,
+    Till faded earth away on glory's endless beam.
+
+    Oft the proud feudal chief, whom human law
+    Or kingly pow'r could bind not, nor control,
+    Has paus'd before thy gates in holy awe,
+    And felt religion's charm subdue his soul--
+    The heart that joy'd to hear the savage howl
+    Of battle on the breeze, has soften'd been--
+    List'ning the hymns of peace that sweetly stole
+    O'er this lone vale, where fancy's eye hath seen
+    Forms bright and angel-like glide thro' thy vistas green:
+
+    And angel forms here at thy altar knelt,
+    Fair dames, and gentle maidens whose bright eyes
+    The sternest heart of warrior-mould could melt,
+    Soft'ning grim war with gen'rous sympathy--
+    Pleading, like pity wafted from the skies
+    To quell the stormy rage of savage man:
+    And hence the gentle manners had their rise--
+    Hence knights for lady's praise all dangers ran--
+    And thus, the glorious age of chivalry began.
+
+The Abbey derives its name (the Vale of the Cross) from a sepulchral
+monument commonly called "THE PILLAR OF ELISEG," which stands on an
+ancient tumulus in the middle of this beautifully secluded glen.  It was
+erected by Cyngen ab Cadell Dryrnllug, in memory of his great grandfather
+Eliseg, whose son Brochmail Ysgythrog, grandfather of the founder of this
+rude monument of filial veneration, was engaged in the memorable border
+wars at the close of the sixth century; and was defeated at the Battle of
+Chester, A.D. 607.  During the great rebellion this pillar was thrown
+down by Oliver Cromwell's "Reformers," who in their fiery zeal for
+destruction mistook it for a "Popish Cross;" and it remained for more
+than a century in its broken recumbent condition, when it was restored by
+the patriotism and intelligence of Mr. Lloyd of Trevor Hall, and replaced
+upon its pedestal with a suitable memorial to record the fact.  It now
+forms an interesting relic of antiquity, and is probably the oldest
+British Cross (bearing a carved inscription) which exists in these
+islands.  That said inscription has long been a puzzle to the learned
+investigator of archaeological remains.
+
+Having wandered through the verdant meads of the "happy valley," the
+adventurous tourist may probably wish to climb the lofty hill, which is
+crowned by the romantic ruins of the Castle of Dinas Bran.  This
+memorable fortress of the past, is a remarkable object from all parts of
+the vale; for whose safety and defence it was long the abode of a line of
+chiefs renowned in Cambrian lore.  The view from the summit is
+exceedingly picturesque, grand, and imposing; and naturally prompts the
+exclamation of the Poet of the Seasons--
+
+    "Heavens! what a goodly prospect spreads around."
+
+On descending the mountain-path, the traveller may perchance look round
+for a comfortable resting-place and good refreshment; he will readily
+find both, either at the Hand, or the King's Head Hotel.  In the album of
+the latter house of entertainment he may also peruse the following
+bacchanalian effusion in honour of "Llangollen Ale," which he will then
+be in the mood to enjoy; and as he quaffs this nectar of the valley, he
+may thus chaunt its praises, if in a convivial humour, to the music of a
+Welsh harp--
+
+
+
+LLANGOLLEN ALE.
+
+
+While other poets loudly rant
+   About Llangollen's Vale,
+Let me, with better taste, descant
+   Upon Llangollen Ale.
+
+The daughters of the place are fair,
+   Its sons are strong and hale:
+What makes them so?  Llangollen air?
+   No, no!--Llangollen Ale.
+
+And Nature only beautified
+   The landscape, to prevail
+On travellers to turn aside
+   And quaff Llangollen Ale.
+
+For though the scene might please at first
+   As charms would quickly stale;
+While he who tastes will ever thirst
+   To drink Llangollen Ale.
+
+From rock to rock the Dee may roam,
+   And chafe without avail;
+It cannot match its yeasty foam
+   Against Llangollen Ale.
+
+The umber-tinted trees that crown
+   Bron-vawr's ridge are pale,
+Contrasted with the nutty brown
+   That tints Llangollen Ale.
+
+Nor is the keep of Dinas-bran,
+   Though high and hard to scale,
+So elevated as the man
+   Who drinks Llangollen Ale.
+
+Thy shattered arch, beside the way,
+   Val-crucis, tells a tale
+Of monks who sometimes went astray
+   To quaff Llangollen Ale.
+
+And still upon the saintly spot
+   The pilgrim may regale
+His fainting spirits with a pot
+   Of good Llangollen Ale.
+
+For though the ancient portress may
+   Not offer it for sale,
+Yet cheerfully to all who pay
+   She gives Llangollen Ale.
+
+And, Eliseg, thy pillar rude
+   Is merely--I'll be bail--
+A monument to him who brewed
+   The first Llangollen Ale.
+
+In short, each ruin, stream, or tree,
+   Within Llangollen's Vale,
+Where'er I turn, whate'er I see,
+   Is redolent of Ale.
+
+                                                       _Liverpool_.  R. R.
+
+The convivial disposition of the monks of the "olden time" has always
+been a favourite theme with our romance writers and "ballad-mongers;" but
+it would appear from a passage which Mr. Roscoe quotes, that the cowled
+brethren of Valle Crucis Abbey did not content themselves in their hours
+of festivity with draughts of "Llangollen Ale."  The wealth of the
+institution, he infers, may be judged of by the magnificent hospitality
+of the monks, who are described by Owain as having the table usually
+covered with four courses of meat, served up in silver dishes, with
+sparkling claret for their general beverage.
+
+    "Many have told of the monks of old,
+       What a saintly race they were;
+    But 'tis most true, that a merrier crew
+       Could scarce be found elsewhere;
+          For they sung and laughed,
+          And the rich wine quaffed,
+       And lived on the daintiest cheer.
+
+    "And the Abbot meek, with his form so sleek,
+       Was the heartiest of them all,
+    And would take his place, with a smiling face,
+       When the refection bell would call;
+          And they sung and laughed,
+          And the rich wine quaffed,
+       Till they shook the olden hall."
+
+                                  FINIS.
+
+                T. THOMAS, PRINTER, EASTGATE ROW, CHESTER.
+
+                                VIEWS, &c.
+                             LATELY PUBLISHED
+                           BY THOMAS CATHERALL,
+                          EASTGATE ROW, CHESTER.
+
+                                * * * * *
+
+                                PORTRAITS
+                                  OF THE
+            RIGHT HON. LADY ELEANOR BUTLER AND MISS PONSONBY,
+                       "THE LADIES OF LLANGOLLEN."
+
+                              Price 2s. 6d.
+
+                                * * * * *
+
+                               PLAS NEWYDD,
+                             NEAR LLANGOLLEN,
+       The Seat of the late Lady Eleanor Butler and Miss Ponsonby.
+
+                              Price 1s. 6d.
+
+                                * * * * *
+
+                           VALLE CRUCIS ABBEY,
+                             NEAR LLANGOLLEN.
+
+                              Price 1s. 6d.
+
+                                * * * * *
+
+                            PILLAR OF ELISEG,
+                         NEAR VALLE CRUCIS ABBEY.
+
+                                Price 1s.
+
+                                * * * * *
+
+                            A GREAT VARIETY OF
+              LITHOGRAPHIC VIEWS IN CHESTER AND NORTH WALES,
+                           CONSTANTLY ON SALE.
+
+
+
+
+Footnotes
+
+
+{26}  "It is, I suppose, needless to say, that the editor is far from
+vouching for the accuracy of these details.  The letter in the text gives
+the gossip as it was heard at the time."
+
+{58a}  According to Tanner.  Bishop Godwin saith, A.D. 1100, which is
+decidedly wrong, if Madog was the founder.
+
+{58b}  Tanner's Notitia Monastica.
+
+{58c}  Sive Monasterium.
+
+
+
+***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE "LADIES OF LLANGOLLEN"***
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