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| author | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-15 02:32:40 -0700 |
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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/26735-8.txt b/26735-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..2f426dd --- /dev/null +++ b/26735-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,5282 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Stories and Legends of Travel and History, +for Children, by Grace Greenwood + +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: Stories and Legends of Travel and History, for Children + +Author: Grace Greenwood + +Release Date: October 1, 2008 [EBook #26735] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK STORIES, LEGENDS--TRAVEL, HISTORY *** + + + + +Produced by Al Haines + + + + + + + + + + +[Illustration: Cover] + + + + +[Illustration: Title] + + + + +STORIES AND LEGENDS + +OF + +TRAVEL AND HISTORY, FOR CHILDREN. + + + +BY GRACE GREENWOOD. + + + + +NEW YORK: + +JOHN B. ALDEN, PUBLISHER, + +1885. + + + + +Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1857, by + +LEANDER K. LIPPINCOTT, + +in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District + of Massachusetts + + + + +DEDICATION. + +To my little friends, MARY and ALICE SEELYE, I wish to inscribe this +volume, in remembrance of a pleasant summer spent under their father's +roof--the Water Cure, at Cleveland, where a part of these sketches were +written,--in remembrance of their happy, cordial faces, and of the +"loving kindness" of their parents--of much genial companionship and +generous sympathy. + +In remembrance of the beautiful wood, with its flowery paths, its hills +and dells and darkly shadowed water, where we often wandered +together;--where my dear baby grew like the flowers, drinking in dew +and sunshine--strengthened by fresh winds and aromatic odors,--where +under fluttering forest-leaves her little face caught its first gleams +of thought and tender meanings, like their glinting lights and flying +shades, and her little voice seemed intoned by their silvery murmurs, +the love-notes of birds and prattle of streams. In remembrance of the +sweet spring in the glen, and the shady resting-places on the hill,--of +the grand old oaks, and of the violets at their feet. + +In remembrance of the lovely child, with whom we last visited that +wood,--dear _Georgiana Gordon_. + +GRACE GREENWOOD. + CHRISTMAS, 1857. + + + + +CONTENTS. + +LONDON PARKS AND GARDENS.--MABEL HOWARD AND HER PET + +ST. PAUL'S CATHEDRAL.--STORY OF SIR PHILIP SIDNEY + +GREENWICH HOSPITAL--THE PARK, ETC.--LITTLE + ROBERT AND HIS NOBLE FRIEND + +HAMPTON COURT.--THE LADY MARY'S VISION + +WINDSOR CASTLE.--KING JAMES OF SCOTLAND AND THE LADY JANE BEAUFORT + +THE JOURNEY FROM ENGLAND TO IRELAND.--THE + FISHERMAN'S RETURN + +DUBLIN, HOWTH.--GRACE O'MALLEY + +DONNYBROOK.--THE LITTLE FIDDLER. + +FROM DUBLIN TO CORK AND BLARNEY CASTLE.--LITTLE NORAH + AND THE BLARNEY STONE + +A VISIT TO THE LAKES OF KILLARNEY.--KATHLEEN OF KILLARNEY + +LIMERICK.--LITTLE ANDY AND HIS GRANDFATHER + +WICKLOW.--TIM O'DALY AND THE CLERICAUNE + +ANTRIM--THE GIANT'S CAUSEWAY.--THE POOR SCHOOLMASTER + + + + +London Parks and Gardens + +MABEL HOWARD AND HER PET. + +After all, I think I had more real delight in the noble public parks +and gardens of London than in palaces and cathedrals They were all +wonders and novelties to me--for, to our misfortune and discredit,--we +have nothing of the kind in our country. To see the poor little public +squares in our towns and cities, where a few stunted trees seem huddled +together, as though scared by the great red-faced houses that crowd so +close upon them, one would think that we were sadly stinted and +straitened for land, instead of being loosely scattered over a vast +continent, many times larger than all Great Britain. + +The English government, with all its faults, has always been wise and +generous toward the people in regard to their out-door comfort and +pleasure. It does not mean that they shall be stifled for want of air, +or cramped for room to exercise in. Everywhere over the kingdom, the +traveller sees shady parks, pleasant gardens, breezy downs, and wide +heaths, open to the public, and as much for the enjoyment of the poor +as the rich. + +The great Hyde Park of London, has been the property of the crown since +the time of Henry VIII. It was formerly walled in, and held deer for +royal hunting--but in the reign of George IV. it was inclosed with an +open iron railing, and is now only used for drives, promenades, rides, +and military reviews. + +Connected with Hyde Park, by a bridge over the Serpentine, an +artificial river, are Kensington Gardens, beautiful pleasure-grounds +attached to Kensington Palace, a building belonging to the royal family. + +This palace was for several years the town residence of the widowed +Duchess of Kent, and here her illustrious daughter, the princess, now +Queen Victoria, was educated. + +Strangers sometimes met the young princess walking in the gardens, or +saw her sitting under the shade of the trees, accompanied by her +mother, or governess. She was always very simply dressed, and always +wore a sweet, gentle look on her fresh, young face. + +In Hyde Park, every pleasant afternoon, there may be seen hosts of +splendid equipages, and hundreds of ladies and gentlemen mounted on +elegant horses, riding up and down a long, broad avenue, called "Rotten +Row," which is devoted entirely to equestrians. + +In Hyde Park stood the Crystal Palace--now removed to Sydenham--where +it stands on an eminence, and seems in itself a great mountain of light. + +A smaller, but yet a fine park, is that of St. James. King Charles I. +walked through this from the Palace of St. James to the scaffold before +White Hall, on the morning of his execution. He was very calm, and on +his way he pointed out a tree to one of his attendants, as having been +planted by his brother, the young Prince Henry, who, if he had lived, +would have been king,--and poor Charles might have kept his head; +which, doubtless, was of more value to him than all the crowns of all +the kingdoms of the world. + +King Charles II. made many improvements in this park, and took much +pleasure in riding, sporting, and idly strolling here. He might often +be seen with half a dozen dogs at his heels, lounging along by the +banks of the ponds, feeding the ducks with his own delicate royal +hands. The foolish people were greatly moved and delighted at this, +thinking that a king, who could be so kind and gracious to dogs and +ducks, must be a good sovereign; but they were wofully mistaken there. + +Regent's Park was so named for the Prince Regent, afterwards George IV. +This park is extensive, and exceedingly beautiful. It has winding +roads and shady paths, ornamental plantations, clear, shining sheets of +water--noble trees and fairy-like bowers, so secluded and shadowy, that +the birds sing and nest in them as fearlessly as in the deep heart of a +country wood. + +Within this park are several elegant villas--among which I best +remember St. Dunstan's Villa--the residence of the late Marquis of +Hertford, about whom and this place I have heard a pretty little story, +which I will tell you. + +In Fleet Street, London, stands the Church of St. Dunstan, built on the +site of a church of the same name, which was torn down about thirty +years ago. + +The old Church of St. Dunstan had a curious clock, which was considered +a very wonderful piece of mechanism, almost a work of witchcraft. +Standing out on the side of the church, in full view of the passers-by, +were two figures of Hercules, holding clubs, with which they struck on +two bells the hours and the quarters. All children took delight in +watching these gigantic figures, but none so much as the little Marquis +of Hertford, whose kind nurse used to take him to see them--whenever he +was a particularly good boy. Every time that he saw them he would +strike his hands together and declare that as soon as he was a grown +man, he would buy those beautiful giants, and have them all to himself. +Well, strangely enough, when the Marquis grew to be a man, and got +possession of all his property, and built his new villa in Regent's +Park, it happened that old St. Dunstan's Church was torn down, and that +famous clock set up at auction. So, the Marquis, who had never +forgotten his beloved giants, bought them, and set them up in his +garden, where night and day, rain or shine, they still stand, sturdily +swinging their big clubs, striking the hours and the quarters. + +St. Dunstan's Villa contains fine marble statues, rare bronzes, vases, +and pictures, and much costly furniture; but nothing in all the house +or grounds was half so dear to the Marquis as that quaint old clock, +and those uncouth giants--for the sight of them always took him back to +the time when he was a happy innocent child, and thought them the most +wonderful things in all the world. + +Regent's Park contains The Botanical Gardens, where are to be seen +almost all species and varieties of plants and flowers. In a great +conservatory, I saw the _Victoria Regia_, the largest aquatic plant in +the world. Its vast leaves lie on the water like those of the +water-lily, which they resemble--and so broad and thick are they, that +it is said a little girl of six years may stand on one of them, without +weighing it down enough to wet her feet. + +But the most interesting portions of Regent's Park are the Zoological +Gardens, where are kept all varieties of beasts, birds, and serpents. +I had far more pleasure in visiting these gardens than I had ever found +in seeing collections of wild beasts in our own country, because the +animals themselves seemed so much more comfortable and happy. I had +been accustomed to see the lions, leopards, tigers, and bears cramped +up in miserable little grated boxes, and looking as fierce, surly, and +wretched as possible. But here they walked up and down large airy +cages, or stretched themselves out in the sun, or dozed in their +sleeping-rooms--with no brutal showmen to molest them, and no Van +Amburgh to make them afraid--and seemed really very well to do, +good-humored, and contented. Even the polar bear, who had a quiet, +shady retreat, seemed to be taking matters coolly, instead of panting +and lolling and tumbling about in the old uncomfortable way. + +The zebras looked almost amiable, and the hyenas respectable, while the +poor camels wore a far less woe-begone expression than those +long-suffering animals are expected to wear. As for the monkeys, apes, +and ourang-outangs, they were the noisiest, jolliest, most frolicsome +set of creatures you can imagine. + +In a yard by themselves, we saw several giraffes, who appeared to be +having a pleasant gossipping time, overlooking the affairs of all their +neighbors. It seemed to me that if they could put their necks +together, they would reach almost as high as Jack's famous bean-stalk +climbed. + +Very curious sights to me were the rhinoceros and hippopotamus, both of +whom I saw luxuriating in great vats of muddy water. This hippopotamus +is an enormous animal, very clumsy in his motions, and rather indolent +in his habits. He has an Arab keeper, of whom he is so fond that he +will take food from no one else--will not even sleep away from him. +The Arab is said to return his fat friend's affection, and by no means +objects to him as a bedfellow. + +A strange, piteous-looking creature was the seal, that I saw stretched +on a rock at the edge of a little pond. Its eyes were large and dark +and sad--so like human eyes, that I shuddered as I looked at them; for +it almost seemed that the poor, helpless seal itself was a human form, +bound and pinioned, and flung down there to die. + +I have no fancy for serpents--indeed, to tell the truth, I detest and +fear them--so, I did not visit that department. + +Among the birds, I was most amused by the large collection of parrots. +When I entered the gallery in which they are kept, I was almost crazed +by the confusion of tongues. There were scores of parrots, parroquets, +macaws, and cockatoos, all chattering and laughing and screaming +together. It was like a village school just let out, or a large party +of gossiping ladies over their tea. + +No two were alike, except in name--for the majority were Pollies. Some +were ugly, yet were vain enough to call themselves "pretty;" and some +were beautiful, and sleek, and plump, though they piteously declared +themselves "poor," and begged of us as we passed. + +And now I will tell you a little story--something very simple in +itself, but which I hope will serve to impress this chapter upon your +memories. + + +MABEL HOWARD AND HER PET. + +Mabel Howard, my little heroine, was not exactly an English girl, +though she was the daughter of English parents. She was born in India, +in Calcutta, where her father, Colonel Howard, was stationed for +several years with his regiment. Mabel was not, I am sorry to say, a +bright and blooming little maiden, though she had a sweet, intelligent +face, and very endearing ways. From her birth, she had been pale, +slight, and feeble. The climate was very bad for her; and, though all +possible pains were taken with her health, she did not gain strength, +but grew weaker and weaker. At last, when she was about nine years of +age, it was resolved to send her to England, to stay with her +grandparents, who lived in London. Neither her papa nor her mamma +could go with her; but Katuka, her ayah, or native nurse, a kind, +faithful woman, would go and stay with her always, and a friend of +Colonel Howard, an officer returning home, would take charge of them +both till they should reach London. + +Poor Mabel's loving little heart was almost broken at the thought of +being sent so far away from her papa and mamma and baby-brother; but +she knew it was all meant for her good, and did not complain. + +Of all Mabel's pets, she loved best a beautiful red and white cockatoo, +that her papa had given her on her seventh birthday. + +Bobby--for so this favorite was called--was a very knowing bird +indeed--talking fluently, if not wisely, in both English and +Hindostanee; and though somewhat vain of his beauty and +accomplishments, and a little too selfish and fond of good living, +never arrogant or surly, but the most gracious and amiable of cockatoos. + +Bobby had a fine gilded cage, which hung in a shaded veranda, where the +family sat in the cool morning and evening hours; so, when not talking, +or talked to himself, he picked up a good deal of knowledge by +listening to the conversation of others. + +Everybody liked Bobby, he was so clever and comical; but Mabel not only +liked and petted him, but cared for him constantly; patiently +ministered to his dainty appetite, and tried always to teach him good +and useful things. Indeed, I am afraid that, if it had not been for +his young mistress, Bobby would have been a wicked little heathen, like +other Hindoo cockatoos. + +When Mabel was told that she must go to England, almost the first words +which she sobbed out were, "May I take Bobby?" + +"Of course, darling," said her papa; "Bobby shall go with you." + +But on the morning when Katuka and her young mistress sailed, lo, Bobby +was nowhere to be found! He had been stolen in his cage from the +veranda, and carried away during the night, by some straggling native; +and poor little Mabel was obliged to go away with a new grief weighing +down her tender, childish heart. All through the long voyage, she +missed and mourned for her lost pet, and, when she reached London, her +good grandmamma could give her nothing that would quite take its place. + +Everybody was kind to the lonely little girl, and much was done to make +her well and happy. Every day her grandmamma or her good ayah took her +to drive or walk in Hyde Park, or Kensington Gardens, or out on the +open, breezy heaths; and Mabel soon grew better, healthier, and +stronger, and a soft color stole into her pale cheeks, and deepened and +brightened, day by day, like the flush of an opening rose. + +Mabel dearly loved her kind English friends, but there were sometimes +chill wintry days, or dull rainy evenings, when she was very homesick, +and cried to see again her far-off Indian home, her papa and mamma, and +little baby-brother. + +At such times, she would often say to her kind ayah, who wept with her, +"Ah, Katuka, if I only had poor Bobby here, it would be some +consolation." + +One day, when Mabel had been about six months in England, her +grandmamma took her to the Zoological Gardens. She was greatly +interested in seeing the animals, though she shrank away with a shudder +from the tigers, of whom she had heard fearful stories in India. At +last, they entered a long, beautiful gallery, all hung with bright +gilded cages of gorgeous birds, mostly parrots, of many different +species. As Mabel walked slowly along, admiring the pretty chattering +creatures, but sadly remembering her lost Bobby, and thinking that no +one of all these was half so beautiful as he, suddenly she heard, from +a cage just before her, a joyous familiar cry: "Good morning, Miss +Mabel!--come to bring Bobby dinner? Poor Bobby hungry!" + +With a cry of delight, Mabel sprang forward and flung her arms about +the cage, and kissed the crimson-tuffed head of a pretty cockatoo, +thrust through the bars--Bobby's head--for it was indeed her own dear +lost bird! + +Sir John Howard, Mabel's grandfather, was able to buy Bobby of the +Zoological Society, who had bought him of a sailor from Calcutta so +Mabel had her pet again. + +He seemed the same intelligent, affectionate bird as ever. He had +forgotten nothing he had ever known; but he had learned some rather +rough sayings of the sailors, on his voyage from India, which did not +go very well with the good things his gentle little mistress had taught +him. But for all that, he was a great comfort to her, and she never +was homesick any more. + +After a few years, Mabel's papa, mamma, and little brother came to +England to live--never to return to India. Ah, there was a joyful +meeting one morning, in Leicester Square. Sir John and Lady Howard +were overjoyed to see their darling only son again; and he, bronzed and +weather-beaten soldier as he was, felt as glad to get home as he had +ever been when he was a homesick school-boy at Eton. Mrs. Howard was +welcomed as a real daughter, and her beautiful little boy almost +smothered with kisses. Mabel was half wild with happiness, and her +parents were surprised and delighted to find her grown so healthy and +handsome. The faithful Katuka kissed the hands of her master and +mistress with tears of joy--while Bobby, grown impatient at not being +noticed, called out sharply from his perch--"Avast there shipmates! +what a hullabaloo! Bobby wants breakfast!" + + + + +St. Paul's Cathedral + +STORY OF SIR PHILIP SIDNEY + +The Cathedral Church of St. Paul's is the largest religious edifice in +London, and one of the largest in the world. It stands on high ground +in the centre of the city, and can be seen for a long distance in +several directions, though it is too closely surrounded by other large +buildings to show to the best advantage. It is less beautiful than +some of the old English minsters, but in size grander than any. It is +built in the form of a Greek cross, and covers more than two acres of +ground. The dome is nearly as large as that of St. Peter's, at Rome, +and from every part of the vast city of London you can see it looming +up toward the sky--a dark, stupendous object--sometimes gilded by the +setting sun, sometimes wreathed by the mists of morning. The dome is +surmounted by a cupola, called "the lantern," over which is placed an +immense ball of gilt copper, weighing five thousand six hundred pounds, +and bearing above it a gilt cross, weighing three thousand six hundred +pounds. + +The interior of the cathedral is very grand, but rather dark and +gloomy, even under the great central light of the dome--except when +viewed by a very clear sunshine, the rarest thing in the world in +"great London town;" for what with the smoke, the fog, and the rain, +the poor old sun has few opportunities of making himself agreeable to +the Londoners. But when he does get a chance to shine, he seems to +make the most of it, and surely nothing can be more pleasant than a +right [Transcriber's note: bright?] sunny morning in London. On such a +morning we visited St. Paul's Cathedral. + +Before ascending to the dome, we wandered about for some time in the +nave and transept, examining with much interest the monuments, statues, +and tablets, erected in honor of celebrated English poets, artists, +soldiers, naval heroes, and statesmen, and seeking out the famous +epitaph of the noble architect, and the great and good man, Sir +Christopher Wren. This is in Latin, but translated, reads thus:-- + +"Beneath lies Christopher Wren, the architect of this church and city, +who lived more than ninety years, not for himself alone, but for the +public. Reader, do you seek his monument? look around!" + +About the interior of the dome are a series of pictures, illustrating +the life of St. Paul. An incident occurred during the painting of +these which I will relate, as a remarkable instance of presence of +mind. The artist, Sir James Thornhill, painted standing on a scaffold, +erected of course at a great height from the ground. This scaffold was +securely built, but not protected by any railing. One day, while +fortunately a friend was with him watching him at his work--having just +finished the head of one of the apostles, he forgot where he was, and +with his hand over his eyes, stepped hastily backward, to see how the +picture would look from a distance. In a moment he stood on the very +edge of the platform; another step--another inch backward were certain +death! His friend dared not speak, for fear of startling him; but +catching up a large brush, he dashed it over the face of the apostle, +smearing the picture shockingly. Sir James sprang forward instantly, +crying out: + +"Bless my soul! what have you done?" "_I have saved your life,_" +replied his friend, calmly. For the next moment the two stood face to +face, very pale and still, but thanking God fervently in their full, +loud-beating hearts. + +Within the dome is "The Whispering Gallery." This is surely very +curious; the least whisper breathed against the wall at a certain +point, being distinctly heard on the opposite side of the gallery, or +making the entire inner circle of the great dome. After a long, weary +ascent of very dirty and dark staircases, we reached the cupola, and +great London and its environs lay beneath us! Oh, what a wide and +wonderful view was that! It was almost overwhelming--and so bewildered +me at first, that I could not clearly make out any thing. But soon +that dizziness of astonishment passed away, and I began to recognize, +one after another, places and buildings that had grown familiar to me. +There was Hyde Park, looking at that distance like a plantation of +young trees; there was Buckingham Palace, the new palace of +Westminster, and the grand old Abbey. I could see the flash of the +fountains in Trafalgar Square, and trace the silver winding of the +Thames, through miles on miles of docks and warehouses, under dark +bridges, past darker prisons, far up into the green and smiling +country, and far down toward the blue and shining sea. There was the +Tower, which, though not a dark or dilapidated building, always has a +guilty, gloomy look,--after you know what it is. There was the +Monument, towering toward the sky, in memory of the great conflagration +in London, when, where those magnificent buildings now stand, were +piles and masses of fire--and great flames going up in red columns, to +heaven. + +Brightly shone the sun on hundreds of spires and domes, cheerily +lighting up all that vast scene beneath us; the wide, elegant streets, +open squares and parks of the town, and the busy crowded streets and +narrow lanes of the city. The kindly rays fell just as warmly and +clearly into the dark and damp courts of the miserable parish of St. +Giles, as on to the noble terraces and into the palace gardens of +fashionable West End. Oh, the beautiful sunshine! God's manna of +light--falling for the poor as well as for the rich. + +While standing on that lofty balcony, I could but faintly hear that +great noise of business and travel, which roars along London streets, +without ceasing day or night. It was like being at the summit of a +high rock, on the sea-shore, where the hoarse sound of the great waves +comes up to your ear, softened to a low, deep murmur. + + +"Old St. Paul's," upon the site of which this noble cathedral now +stands, was burned in the fire of 1660. Among the great men buried in +"Old St. Paul's," was Sir Philip Sidney, the most brilliant, and the +best man of Queen Elizabeth's court. Let me tell you more about him. + + +STORY OF SIR PHILIP SIDNEY. + +Philip Sidney was born in November, 1554. He was the son of Sir Henry +Sidney, the dear friend of the amiable young King Edward VI., who died +in his arms, and of the Lady Mary, only daughter of the ambitious and +unfortunate Duke of Northumberland. + +From his early childhood, Philip was remarkable for his genius, his +beauty, his sweet and generous disposition, and the modesty and grace +of his manners. Sir Fulke Greville--who was one of his schoolmates, +knew him all his life, and so dearly loved and highly honored him that +he directed it should be put on his tombstone, that, he was "the friend +of Sir Philip Sidney"--said of him, that, while yet a child, he seemed +a man, in gravity and wisdom, in steadiness of purpose, and love of +knowledge, and that even his teachers found in him something to wonder +at and learn, above what they could find in books, or were able to +teach. + +At the age of twelve, Philip corresponded with his father in French and +Latin, with correctness and elegance; at thirteen, he entered the +University at Oxford, where he distinguished himself by his +scholarship, by his noble character, and blameless life. At the age of +seventeen, having left college, he went to Paris in the suite of the +Earl of Lincoln, the ambassador extraordinary of Queen Elizabeth to the +court of France. Because of his high connections and reputation, and +the letters which he carried from his uncle, Robert Dudley, Earl of +Leicester, he was received with much distinction. Charles IX., a +courteous, though treacherous prince, and his wily mother, Catharine de +Medicis, were extremely gracious to him. The king gave him an office +of honor in his palace, and strove in various ways to win his regard +and confidence. But Philip neither liked nor trusted him, but gave the +respect and friendship of his noble heart to a more truly royal object, +the brave and good King Henry of Navarre. + +It was soon evident what secret object King Charles had in trying to +conciliate the English at his court. It was to blind their eyes, that +they should not foresee and help to arrest one of the most fearful and +cruel crimes to be found in the dark history of Catholic persecution, +the Massacre of St. Bartholomew. Charles, his wicked mother, and the +priests, their advisers, chose this time when a large number of +Protestants were assembled at Paris on the occasion of the marriage of +the young Prince of Navarre to the sister of the King of France, for a +general massacre of the Huguenots, throughout the city and kingdom. On +St. Bartholomew's day the slaughter began, and lasted until many +thousand Protestants--men, women, and children--were murdered, shot +down and cut down in their houses, their churches, and in the open +street. King Charles himself, though scarcely more than a boy, was the +most brutal and blood-thirsty of all the persecutors. He stood at one +of the windows of his palace, and fired at the poor, shrieking, +struggling people, as fast as his carbine could be loaded. Many a +brave Christian father and noble youth were laid low by his cruel shot, +in those dreadful streets and courts, where the hard stones steamed +with warm blood as meadows in May mornings smoke with ascending dews, +and where down the very gutters, instead of swift currents of summer +rain, ran sluggish red rivulets, slowly flowing from the bodies of the +dead and dying, piled on either side. But though that bad and mad +young king cruelly meant every shot, and though every drop of blood he +shed was a guilt-stain on his soul, and every dying groan he caused was +to ring on his ear and pierce his wicked heart till he died, yet, after +all, he harmed only the poor, perishing bodies of his victims; their +deathless souls he but early set free from mortal bondage, and hastened +home to God. + +But to return to Philip Sidney. During the massacre, he took refuge +with the English resident minister, Sir Francis Walsingham, one of the +most distinguished men of the age and court of Elizabeth. + +Sir Francis had a young daughter, a beautiful, sweet-tempered little +girl, in whom Philip Sidney became much interested. This child felt +very deeply for the poor Huguenot martyrs. She prayed for them +constantly, and wept for them tears of bitter anguish, that seemed to +quench the glad sparkle of her tender blue eyes, and to wash all the +rosy bloom from her soft, round cheeks. + +Philip, who saw her sadness, often tried to comfort her; but her grief +and her sweet, sorrowful words always so touched his own tender heart, +that his manly voice trembled, and sometimes he bowed his beautiful +face on her head, as it lay on his breast, and wept with her silently. +And so he grew to love her; and she loved him more than all the world. + +As soon as quiet was restored--a sad quiet it was--Philip Sidney set +out to travel in Germany and Italy. He was glad to leave Paris, its +vile court and viler king; he was sorry to leave nobody but little +Fanny Walsingham. + +Soon after returning to England, and when only twenty-one, Sidney was +sent as ambassador to Vienna, by Queen Elizabeth, who knew how to +perceive talent and worth, though she did not always reward them +generously. He faithfully discharged the duties of his office, and was +most honorably received by the queen on his return. But he was not of +the stuff out of which courtiers are made. He was too honest, +independent, and disinterested to gain wealth or power by intrigue or +flattery; so, though the queen respected him, and often advised with +him, he received neither gifts nor offices, but lived for several years +in retirement, devoting himself to study and writing. + +In 1583, he married Frances, only daughter of Sir Francis Walsingham, +his well remembered little friend, now grown into a beautiful woman, +well worthy of his noble love. During that same year he was knighted +by the queen at Windsor, and became Sir Philip Sidney. + +By the time that he reached the age of thirty, the fame of his many +splendid qualities--his learning and literary talent, his bravery, and, +above all, his noble honesty--had spread over Europe, while in England, +he was the glory of the court and the idol of the people. + +There are a kind of little great men who seek to impose on you by +pompous ways, proud looks, and high-sounding words; but there was no +such poor pride and pretension about Sir Philip Sidney. He was gay and +free-hearted, frank in his words, simple and gentle in his manner, and +always earnest in the endeavor to be and do good. His writings were +full of noble thought and pure, sweet feeling, worthy his true heart +and his great soul. + +In 1585, a wonderful tribute was paid to the talent and exalted worth +of Sir Philip Sidney. + +The throne of Poland having become vacant by the death of Stephen +Bathori, he was invited to enroll himself among the candidates. He +does not seem to have been tempted by this splendid opportunity of +obtaining sovereign power and honors, but cheerfully acquiesced in the +queen's will that he should remain her loyal subject. She said, rather +selfishly, I think, that she "could not consent to lose the jewel of +her times." + +Soon after this, she appointed him to a military command in the Low +Countries. Here he soon distinguished himself by skilful generalship, +rare coolness in danger, and courage in action. At last, on the 24th +of September, 1586, in a gallant attack on a greatly superior force of +the enemy, near Zutphen, a town he was besieging, after having had one +horse shot from under him, he was severely wounded by a musket-ball in +the left leg. + +As his soldiers were bearing him from the field of battle toward his +camp, he grew very faint from loss of blood, and asked for water. It +was brought to him; but just as the glass was raised to his parched +lips, he caught the eye of a poor dying soldier fixed wistfully upon +it. In an instant he passed it to him, without having tasted a drop, +saying, "Drink, my friend; thy necessity is yet greater than mine." + +Oh, in all his noble life, Sir Philip Sidney had never done so grand a +deed as this! It was, in truth, a Christ-like act, though performed +upon a bloody battle-field,--and it will be remembered and honored +while the world endures. + +Sir Philip's wound was unskilfully treated, and finally caused his +death. He died at Arnheim, about the middle of the next month. + +This seemed a sad closing to so brilliant a life. Far away from +country and home, from his dearest friends, his beloved wife, and his +darling child, with no loving one to sympathize with him in his pain, +and comfort him in his sadness--to listen reverently to his dying +words, to close tenderly his darkened eyes, and to weep over the pale +beauty of his dead face. But we may trust, from all we know of his +pure Christian life, that comforting angels were near him, whispering +hope and peace to his heart--that divine love sustained him; and we may +feel assured that, for the gift of that "cup of cold water" to the +dying soldier, his soul drunk deep of "the waters of life that now from +the throne of the Lamb," and make beautiful forever the Paradise of God. + + + + +Greenwich Hospital--The Park, etc. + +LITTLE ROBERT AND HIS NOBLE FRIEND. + +Greenwich, though a large market town, containing a goodly number of +elegant and noble buildings, and many thousand inhabitants, appears in +this age of steam to form a part of London--for when you set out from +the metropolis to visit it, you seem to have hardly got comfortably +seated in the railway carriage, before you are _there_. + +Greenwich is delightfully situated on the south bank of the Thames, and +is certainly one of the most beautiful and interesting places in the +vicinity of London. From the time of Edward I., the English monarchs +had a royal residence here, but by the time of Charles II., this old +palace had become a rather mouldy and tumble-down affair, so he +commanded that it should be demolished entirely, and a magnificent +structure of freestone erected in its place. We read that "riches take +to themselves wings," but King Charles's riches seem to have gone off +with one wing, for he had only means enough to finish that much of his +new palace, and even that cost him thirty-six thousand pounds--an +enormous sum for his time, or for any time, indeed. This answered his +purpose tolerably well, and he condescended to reside here +occasionally, when he was tired of Hampton Court and his London palaces. + +No more was done to the building till the reign of William III. It had +been suggested by his queen, Mary, that an asylum for old and disabled +seamen should be built, and as the royal family had really no need of +the palace at Greenwich, Sir Christopher Wren ventured to advise that +it should be finished, and converted into a hospital. The king and +queen graciously consented, and so the good work went on. The building +was enlarged, beautified, and finished with simple elegance, and now +there is not a more imposing palace in all England. Not only is it a +princely, but a comfortable and happy home for nearly three thousand +poor seamen. Here they have excellent and abundant food and clothing; +skilful medical treatment, when they are ill, and their wives, as paid +nurses, to attend them; a reasonable sum of pocket-money is given them +to spend as they please. Here is a library, a picture-gallery, and a +chapel, for their especial benefit, and a school, where their children +can be educated. Is it any wonder that these veteran seamen, nearly +every man of whom has lost a leg or an arm in the service of his +country, should be contented and happy, in such a noble asylum as +this--such a quiet and comfortable place of refuge and rest? + +Near the hospital is Greenwich Park, an inclosure of nearly two hundred +acres, planted principally with elms and Spanish chestnuts, many of +which are very large and magnificent trees. This park is hilly, and on +the highest eminence stands the Royal Observatory, where, as you know, +many valuable astronomical calculations are made. + +In the park, on pleasant days, many of the old pensioners can always be +seen, hobbling along the shady avenues, or sitting together on the +benches, under the great trees, talking over old times--telling tales +of storms and shipwrecks, or more terrible still, of battles at sea. + +Those who fought under the heroic Lord Nelson most love to talk of him, +for he was idolized by all his men. + +In the great hall of the hospital hang many pictures of him and his +battles; and there also, in a glass case, are kept the clothes which he +wore when he was killed--all stained with his blood. Not a man among +his veteran seamen can look at these relics without feeling his dim old +eyes grow yet more dim with tears. Among the pictures, there was one +which, though not very fine in itself, impressed me not a little at the +time, and which I still remember vividly. It represents an adventure +which happened to Lord Nelson when he was a young sailor-boy, cruising +in the north seas. In the picture, he seems to have wandered off in a +freak of boyish rashness, far from the boat and crew, and is standing +on the ice, surrounded by vast wastes and mountains of ice, alone, but +in a very fearless attitude, facing a monstrous white bear, who is +evidently coming up, eagerly, to _hug_ the young mariner, yet has any +thing but an affectionate expression on his ugly face. Nelson has his +long knife drawn, and seems to say: "Come on; I'm ready for you, old +fellow!" + +I do not remember ever to have read any account of this adventure, so I +cannot tell how it terminated for the bear. We know well enough that +Bruin did not get the better of Nelson, for he lived to fight again and +again with foes no less ferocious than the bear, though without his +excuse of brute instincts and hunger. But only suppose it had been +different; suppose the bear had killed and eaten the hero of Trafalgar, +like any common sailor-boy, what a difference it would have made with +the glory and boasting of England, and it may be, in its power on land +and sea. + +In the eastern part of Greenwich Park are "the barrows," very singular +circular mounds, supposed to be burial-places of ancient Britons. +These the English people so much respect that they will not suffer them +to be opened, or even levelled. + +Just without the park lies Blackheath, a large expanse of common, full +a mile wide, and more than that long, I should say. Opening off from +this is Blackheath Park, and here, in a lovely homelike cottage, +embowered in trees and flowers and vines, I spent some of the happiest +days of my happy visit in England. Oh, I so often think with a sad +longing of that home, and wonder if I shall ever see it again! There +is a certain pleasant window of the family parlor, looking out into the +garden, and sometimes, when I sit alone at evening, I dream that I am +sitting at that window, enjoying the long English twilight. I seem to +see one very dear to me, flitting lightly about among the flowers, +singing low, and smiling to herself, because her heart is made so glad +by their beauty and their fragrance. And the flowers seem to know her, +and bend to her and claim relationship with her--the roses for her +bloom, the lilies for her white dress and innocent look, while the +violets kiss her feet, as she passes, because she is good. + +I can almost hear the good-night song of the blackbird, before he goes +to sleep among the golden laburnum boughs; can almost smell the +good-night sigh of the flowers, as they nod their sleepy heads and +swing lazily in the evening wind. + +Just across the heath lives another dear friend, Mrs. Crosland, whom my +little readers know. When going to visit her, I never chose to ride, +enjoying much more that walk across the heath. Here the air was always +fresh and cool, and the winds, without a tree or house to obstruct +them, had a bold, strong, frolicsome sweep, as though glad to be free +of both forest and town. + +The ground of this heath is smooth, and gently rolling. It does not +grow the heather, but is covered everywhere with a firm turf of fine +grass, which, thanks to frequent showers, always looks soft and green, +though it is kept very closely cropped. + +In pleasant summer weather there can always be seen ranged along one +side of this heath, queer little pony chaises, donkey carts, goat +carriages, and ponies and donkeys saddled and bridled, all waiting to +be let to invalids and children, by the hour, or for the ride. + +It was very amusing, on Saturday afternoons, to see school children +consoling themselves for the week's confinement and study, by a wild +pony trot, or a scrambling donkey gallop across the heath. Wild girls, +with gipsy bonnets falling on their shoulders, and their long hair +flying in the wind; wilder boys, with their satchels bobbing at their +backs, their hats swung in the air, and their feet remorselessly +digging into the sides of the poor little bewildered beasts who carried +them. + +"Great fun!" "splendid sport!" they said it was, when they dismounted +and paid their six-pence, but perhaps the ponies and donkeys had an +opinion of their own on the subject. + +Donkey-riding is said to be a very healthful exercise, and invalids +often drive out from town to the heaths, where these animals are always +to be had, for the sake of a free ride in those fresh, open places. + +Hampstead-heath, which lies on the other side of London, is more +frequented, both for health and pleasure; and as this was the scene of +the story I am about to tell, we will take leave of Blackheath, a dear, +pleasant, sunny place, in spite of its name. + + +LITTLE ROBERT AND HIS NOBLE FRIEND. + +Robert Selwyn was the only son of a poor widow, who kept a small green +grocer's shop, at Hampstead. + +Robert, at the period at which our story commences, was a fine, +handsome, intelligent lad of twelve, with frank, engaging manners, and +a warm, honest heart. + +For a boy of his age, he was remarkably thoughtful and serious; he +loved books more than any thing in the world, except his mother, and +actually seemed to hunger and thirst after knowledge. Mrs. Selwyn was +a woman of considerable education, as she had seen better days in her +youth, and now she taught Robert all that she knew, beside sending him +to the parish school as often as she could spare him. + +The widow owned a very pretty fawn-colored donkey,--good tempered and +well trained, which she used to hire out to invalids, and so added +something to her little income. Every pleasant summer afternoon she +would send Robert with "Billy" to the heath, telling him never to allow +any wild boys or girls to ride the good little animal for sport, but to +let him to invalids or very young children, and always to walk or run +by his side. Robert faithfully obeyed his mother, and though bold boys +and girls thought him hard and disobliging, he and his pretty donkey +were in great demand among the invalids and children. Many were the +sweet little girls and gentle boys that he taught to ride--trotting +along beside them, up and down the heath. + +One balmy afternoon, late in May, Robert was standing on the edge of +the heath, leaning against his donkey, waiting for a customer. Billy +always plump and sleek, was wearing, for the first time, a nice new +saddle, with a fine white linen cloth, fringed with crimson, and really +looked fit to carry a prince. + +At length, an open carriage came slowly driving that way; it had a +coachman and a footman in handsome livery, and contained a lady and a +little boy. This child was about Robert's age, but looked much +smaller. He was slight and delicate, and his face, which was very +beautiful, was almost as white as marble, and would have been sad to +look upon, had it not been for a sweet lovingness about the mouth, and +a cheerful, patient spirit smiling out of the eyes. + +The lady was a noble, stately person, dressed all in black, and looking +as if she had seen a great deal of sorrow. She had an anxious +expression on her face, and held the hand of the little boy tenderly +clasped in hers. + +"Oh, mamma," the child suddenly exclaimed, "may I not have a ride on +that nice donkey yonder, standing by that handsome, red-cheeked boy?" + +The lady sighed as she looked at Robert's robust form and blooming +face, but she answered, cheerfully:-- + +"Certainly, my love, you may take a little ride, if the donkey and the +boy seem trustworthy." + +So Robert was called, and questioned about Billy, and answered so +frankly and modestly, that the young invalid was soon seated on +donkey-back, and gently trotting down the heath, with Robert running at +his side. He liked his attendant so well, that he soon got into +conversation with him, asked his name, and told him his own. Robert +was a little startled, when he found that his sociable new customer was +a real young nobleman--Arthur, Lord Evremond. + +When they returned to the carriage, his lordship felt so much benefited +by his ride, and was so much pleased with both donkey and donkey-boy, +that he engaged their services for the next afternoon. + +Lady Evremond had come up to London from her country-seat, where she +lived in great retirement, for the best medical advice for her son, who +had come home from Eton, ill, and who, young as he was, seemed +threatened with consumption. Her husband and daughter had died of that +disease, in Italy, and she had not the heart to take her Arthur away +from England to die. + +The physicians gave her hope that the child would recover; he seemed +better in the air of London than on his estate, which lay low in a +little valley in Devonshire. His new exercise of donkey-riding, seemed +to benefit him greatly for awhile. Two or three times a week the +little lord drove out to Hampstead, to take his ride on the breezy +heath. He became more and more friendly and confiding with Robert, +whom he never treated as an inferior. He loved best to talk with him +about the good he meant to do if God would only make him well, and let +him grow up to be a man. He said that if he died, the title and +estates must go to his cousin, who was a wicked, wasteful man, and who +would do nothing for the poor and suffering; and that, he said, was +what made it hardest for him to die. Next to that, was the thought of +leaving his mother; but she would soon come to him in heaven, and all +her grief be over--while the sorrows that his hard-hearted cousin might +cause his poor tenants, would last a long time. + +When the young lord spoke so sweetly and nobly, there was always such a +holy light on his beautiful face that he seemed to have become already +one of God's blessed angels, and Robert was almost ready to worship +him. So great was the boy's reverence for his goodness, not for his +_title_, that when Evremond asked him to call him "Arthur," instead of +"my lord," he gently shook his head, and said: "I would rather not." + +After a few weeks had gone by, Robert noticed that his noble friend +seemed to be getting still weaker and paler. He talked more and more +earnestly and tenderly of heaven, of his papa and angel sister, and +seemed to feel yet more loving pity for all the poor and suffering. He +now seldom rode faster than a walk, his voice grew faint, he rested his +hand wearily on Robert's shoulder, and fell languidly into his arms, +when he dismounted. + +At last he failed to keep his engagement at the heath. Day after day, +a whole week went by, and still he did not come, and poor Robert was +almost heart-broken with disappointment and anxiety. At length, to his +great joy, he saw the well-known carriage coming! Alas, it was empty! +The footman brought a message from Lady Evremond--her son had been +taken alarmingly ill, the night after his last ride--he had been +failing ever since, and now it was thought he could not live many +hours. The carriage was sent for his friend Robert, whom he wished to +see before he died. + +Robert sent home his donkey by a friend, and sprang into the carriage, +where he buried his face in his hands and wept all the way to Grosvenor +Square. + +He was conducted into a great hall, up a noble staircase, through +several elegant rooms, filled with beautiful and costly things, strange +enough to poor Robert, but his eyes were too full of tears and his +heart of grief to notice them. A chamber door was opened softly before +him, and Robert saw his friend lying on a couch by the window, with his +head resting in his mother's lap. His eyes were closed, and his face +so deathly pale that Robert thought he had come too late, and +staggering forward, he fell at the young lord's feet, and hiding his +face against them, sobbed aloud. + +"Dear Robert; have you come?" said a low, sweet voice. + +"Yes, my lord," answered Robert, joyfully. + +"Oh, _won't_ you call me _Arthur_, now that I am dying?" said his +friend. + +"Arthur, _dear Arthur_," murmured Robert, and that was all that he +could say for weeping. + +After awhile, Lord Evremond, looking up to his mother and clasping +Robert's hand, said: + +"Mamma, I leave _you_ Robert; love him and take care of him; send him +to school, and let him have just such an education as you would have +given to me. Promise me that you will, dear mamma." + +"Yes, Arthur, my beloved child, I promise but oh, my son, my darling +only boy, how can I part with you!" + +"Dearest mother, only think, it is for but a little while, and then we +shall all be together. Kiss me now, and let me sleep, I feel so +drowsy." + +And he did sleep, for some time, very peacefully, smiling sweetly, as +though dreaming pleasant dreams. Suddenly he opened his eyes, and +reached up his arms, calling out joyfully: "Papa! sister Mary!" and +died without a pang of suffering. + + +Ten years had passed. It was Sunday morning, and the church bell of +Evremond was calling the people to worship. All were eager to see and +hear the new minister, who was to preach his first sermon that day. +Out of the pleasant Rectory he came, supporting an elderly lady on his +arm. It was Robert Selwyn and his mother. At the church door they met +a lady, who grasped them both by the hand. This was Lady Evremond. + +Robert Selwyn performed the sacred rites with dignity and true feeling, +and preached a noble discourse, such an one as makes men's hearts +strong against sin, but soft toward the erring. + +After the services, when all save she had left the church, Lady +Evremond lingered for some time before a white marble monument, which +stood under a high church window. The sculpture on this monument +represented the young Lord Evremond, as he lay on his couch, when +dying,--and an angel, with a face very like his, lovingly lifting him +from his mother's arms, to bear him to heaven. + +As Lady Evremond gazed on the marble image of her dead boy, she +murmured: + +"Have I not been true to thy trust, my son?" + + +Late in the dim twilight of that day, another form was kneeling beside +that monumental couch. It was Robert Selwyn; and when he rose, there +were tears on that sweet marble face. All night long they glistened in +the pale moonlight, and sad starlight, shining through that high church +window; but in the morning the happy sunbeams came softly down and +kissed them all away. + + + + +Hampton Court + +THE LADY MARY'S VISION. + +How well I remember one pleasant morning in September--more than two +years ago, I declare!--when a merry party of us, English and Americans, +met at the counting house of our noble friend, Mr. B----, to go from +thence to Hampton Court. It was in the city of London that we met. +This is entered from the town, which holds most of the parks and +palaces of royalty and the nobility, by an old, old gateway, called +Temple Bar. When the Queen is to pay a visit to the city, Temple Bar +gate is closed, and she must respectfully ask admittance of the lord +mayor, and he must graciously present the keys to her before she may +come in. The lord mayor is the real king of London, and takes +precedence of royalty in all processions in the city, as, for instance, +the funeral procession of the Duke of Wellington, after it passed +Temple Bar. All lord mayors are elected from the board of aldermen; +they serve but one year, during which time they live in a very handsome +residence, called "The Mansion House," and ride in a splendid, but +rather gaudy and old-fashioned coach--something such as you have seen +pictures of in the story of Dick Whittington. + +Each new sovereign attends, with the court, a grand ball, given by the +lord mayor, at Guildhall; on which occasion there is always a +magnificent display, both on the part of the aristocracy and the +citizens. + +Guildhall is a large building, where the aldermen and councilmen meet, +to transact business and eat good dinners. In the hall where balls and +great banquets are given stand two gigantic painted figures, called Gog +and Magog, which are very quaint and odd-looking, and I don't know how +many years old. + +"But what," you will say, "has all this to do with Hampton Court?" + +Well, we started from the city, a social, merry party, of five or six; +and, after laughing and chatting in a comfortable English railway +carriage, for a few minutes, arrived at the station, near the palace. + +The old palace of Hampton Court stands on the northern bank of the +Thames, about twelve miles west of Hyde Park, and is situated in the +parish of Hampton, and county of Middlesex. + +In the reign of Henry VIII., when the great prelate, Cardinal Wolsey, +was at the height of his power, he leased the old manor and manor-house +of the Knights-Hospitallers of Jerusalem, to whom it then belonged, for +the purpose of building a palace suitable to his rank and splendor. He +erected a structure so magnificent, and so far surpassing any of the +royal residences, that he quite overshot his mark, and roused the +jealousy of the king, who bluntly asked him what he, a priest, and a +butcher's son, meant by building for himself a palace handsomer than +any of his king's. Then the cunning Cardinal, putting the best face he +could on the matter, said that he had only been trying to build a +residence worthy of so great and glorious a monarch, and that Hampton +Court was at King Henry's service. The king jumped at the offer, but +in return bestowed upon Wolsey the old manor of Richmond, the favorite +residence of his father, Henry VII. It was observed, when the great +Cardinal was going home, after this interview with his royal master, +that he scowled and growled at his followers, and belabored the poor +mule that he rode most unmercifully. + +So, by gift from Cardinal Wolsey, Hampton Court became the property of +the crown. + +Edward VI. was born in this palace, and mostly resided here, during his +short, but happy reign. Gloomy Queen Mary and her false hearted +husband, Philip of Spain, spent their honey-moon, or rather +vinegar-moon, here. Queen Elizabeth here gave several great festivals, +and her successor, the mean and pedantic James I. held a great +religious conference in the privy-chamber,--he, the most immoderate of +bigots, sitting as _moderator_. Here he entertained some great French +princes at one time, very handsomely; every thing being on a royal +scale except the host. Here he lost his wife, Anne of Denmark, a very +respectable sort of a woman, much too good for him. + +Charles I., with his queen and court, sought refuge at this place from +the plague, which was ravaging London. But there was another trouble +that came upon him from which he could not escape, even here. Death, +with his scythe, passed by the healthful shades of the country palace, +but the executioner with his axe was not to be evaded. + +The Lord Protector, Oliver Cromwell, resided sometimes at this palace; +but his favorite daughter, Elizabeth, a very lovely woman, died here, +and after that, it was the saddest place in all the world to him. + +Charles II., with his gay court, which hardly held one honest man, or +reputable woman, used to hold revels here; and stubborn James II. +resided here now and then, till he was driven by a roused people from +throne, palace, and country. William III. was very partial to Hampton +Court, and did much to improve and adorn it. His queen here performed +prodigious labors in the embroidery line, and kept her maids of honor +as hard at work on chair covers and bed curtains as though they were +poor seamstresses, toiling for their daily bread. + +George II. and Queen Caroline were the last sovereigns who resided at +this palace. It is now only occupied by the officers and servants who +have charge of it, and some dowagers and poor women of rank, called in +England "decayed gentlewomen." To those ladies the queen allots +apartments, and they live very handsomely and comfortably, though I +should think they would have rather lonely times, amid the melancholy +grandeur and stillness of that deserted old palace. + +Over the gateway by which we entered are carved the arms of Cardinal +Wolsey, with a Latin inscription, signifying "God is my help," a lying +motto, as his own words afterwards proved; for, when dying in disgrace, +he exclaimed, "If I had served my God half as faithfully as I have +served my king, He would not have given me over to my enemies in my old +age." + +We went up the grand staircase, to the guard-chamber, and from thence +passed through several suites of noble rooms, hung with pictures and +ancient tapestry, with frescoed ceilings, and carved and gilded +cornices. The most interesting among the pictures are portraits of +famous people, kings, queens, princes, heroes, and beauties, of whom we +read in history. + +But as there are more than a thousand paintings at Hampton Court, of +course I cannot stop to describe any of these, though about many I +could tell you very strange and romantic stories. + +The most magnificent apartment in the palace, and one of the grandest +in the world, is the great hall, which is one hundred and six feet +long, forty wide, and sixty high. The roof is beautifully carved and +decorated with the royal arms and badges, the walls are hung with +costly tapestry, the windows are richly stained, and bear the arms and +pedigree of Henry VIII. and his six wives. + +From this hall we passed through another splendid apartment, called +"the withdrawing room," down "the queen's staircase," into a court, +containing a pretty fountain, and from thence into the gardens. These +are very fine, but rather too stiffly and formally laid out to suit our +modern taste. I remember one narrow, gloomy alley, of boxwood, or yew, +called "Queen Mary's Walk," after bloody Mary, who used to take her +evening exercise here alone, marching slowly up and down in the waning +twilight, meditating, I fear, those frightful persecutions, rackings, +and burnings of the poor Protestants, and trying to steel her heart +against the womanly pity that would creep into it sometimes, in spite +of all the admonitions of Cardinal Pole and Bishop Gardiner, and the +counsels of her cruel husband. + +The greatest curiosity of these gardens is a Hamburg grape-vine, +supposed to be the largest in the world. It alone fills a green-house +seventy-two feet long and thirty broad. It is itself one hundred and +ten feet long; and is thirty inches in circumference, three feet from +the ground. It often bears as many as two thousand five hundred +bunches. + +From the green-house, we walked down to the Thames, and then returned +through a beautiful avenue of linden-trees, to the east part of the +palace, where there is a fountain and a basin containing gold and +silver fish. Then we whiled away another hour in the grounds, the +"Labyrinth," and under the noble chestnut and lime trees in the great +avenue, which is more than a mile in length, and then the golden day +was over! + + +THE LADY MARY'S VISION, + +_A Story of Hampton Court._ + +Some ten years ago, there resided for a time, in a pleasant suite of +apartments at Hampton Court, a young and beautiful gentlewoman, who was +greatly beloved by all who knew her, for her goodness and her sweet and +winning ways. Lady Mary Hamilton, or "the Lady Mary," as she was +called by the pensioners and retainers there, was the youngest daughter +of a poor Scottish nobleman, and the widow of a still poorer young +officer. Captain Hamilton, soon after his marriage, was ordered to +join the army in Afghanistan and for several months dared danger and +death, and endured frightful hardships, in that dreadful war against a +treacherous and savage people. + +At last, in a skirmish among the mountains, he was seen to fall under +the spear-thrust of a fierce Afghan chief, and was reported as +"killed," though his body was never recovered by his victorious +comrades. It was supposed that the natives had carried him off in +their retreat, to plunder him at leisure. + +But the Lady Mary never would give him up as really dead; and though +she was very sorrowful and anxious for him, she could not be persuaded +to put on a widow's dress, or cover her soft, brown hair with a widow's +cap. She even refused to receive a widow's pension, professing always +a firm belief that her husband was yet living. + +Month after month went by, till two long years had passed, and brought +her no word from her beloved George; and still she did not despair. + +It was said that she was kept up by happy dreams--that her husband +often came to her in her sleep, and told her to be of good cheer, and +all would yet be well. However that may have been, it is certain that +she never wholly lost heart. + +The queen kindly offered Lady Mary apartments at Hampton Court, and she +gladly accepted, for she was poor, and then, she felt that she should +like the melancholy quiet of the old palace far better than the gayety +and bustle of the town. And so she came to Hampton Court to live, and +"wait for my husband," she said, smiling sadly, while her friends shook +their heads, and whispered among themselves that "the poor dear +creature was hardly in her right mind." + +The lonely Lady Mary soon became a great favorite with the guards and +servitors at Hampton Court. They all felt for her a tender, respectful +pity, and would do any thing in their power to serve her. Being very +shy, she never liked to visit the show apartments of the palace, at +hours when she might meet strangers. So, the kind porter would often +let her go in by herself, and sometimes even give her the keys, that +she might stay as long as she pleased in any of the halls or galleries. + +She was romantic and poetical, and loved much to visit the grand old +hall, on summer evenings, and see the rich sunset light pour in, and +then fade softly out through the gorgeous stained windows. Sometimes, +she would linger here till the long twilight was over, and the +starlight and moonlight struggled through the stained glass, and +faintly lit up the hall, silvering over the faded tapestry and banners, +glistening on the old arms and armor. Strolling up and down the hall, +or seated under one of the great windows, she would think and dream, +and try to forget the sorrows of her humble life in remembering the +misfortunes of the great and royal ones, who had so often walked where +she walked, and sat where she sat. + +Once old Roger, the porter, asked her if she were not afraid to stay +there, all alone by herself, so late. + +"Why, no," she answered, "what should I be afraid of?" + +He shrugged his shoulders, but said no more; I suppose because he did +not know what to say, to such a simple, childlike question. + +One lovely August evening, the Lady Mary stayed later than usual in +"Wolsey's Hall." + +The sunset glory faded and faded away; the twilight deepened and +deepened into night; the moon and the stars looked in upon her through +the great window. She was weary and sad, and the lonely stillness of +that place seemed to suit her; she seemed to _feel_ the calm moonlight +in which she sat, bathing her like a soft, soothing flood. She leaned +her head against the tapestried wall, closed her eyes, and thought, and +thought of the great days and splendid festivals long gone by--of kings +and queens, brave knights, and beautiful ladies, and--when all at once +that vast hall was lighted up as though by magic! Music swelled +through the arches, and a splendid court came slowly sweeping in! +First walked a stout, red-faced man, all velvets and jewels, with a +dark, sorrowful-looking lady on his right; and on his left, an elderly +man, with a bold, haughty face, and a rich dress of scarlet velvet and +ermine. + +The Lady Mary recognized these as Henry VIII., Queen Katharine, and +Cardinal Wolsey. + +They were followed by maids of honor, gentlemen, priests, and pages. + +Soon there was a livelier peal of music, and the dance began. The king +danced with the most beautiful of the maids of honor, whom he smiled +lovingly upon, while the poor queen looked very unhappy. So the Lady +Mary knew that this fair maid must be Anne Boleyn. + +When the dance ended, the gay court passed out; but again there was +music, and another swept in. This was headed by a proud, stately +woman, with golden hair, and cold blue eyes. She wore a sparkling +diadem; her dress was of stiff brocade, thickly bestrewn with pearls +and diamonds, while about her neck was a ruff so prodigious, that it +alone would keep everybody at a very respectful distance. On her left, +walked a handsome noble, most royally dressed, and behind came a +brilliant host of beauties, pages, cavaliers, poets, and statesmen. + +The Lady Mary now recognized Queen Elizabeth, the Earl of Essex, and +the court. + +The queen took her place upon the throne and graciously desired her +court to be seated. Before them was a stage; they were to witness a +play. The queen signified that she was ready, and the play began. It +was "Henry VIII., or the Fall of Wolsey." + +The queen seemed interested, and applauded occasionally, though the +actors played badly. They were half frightened to death at appearing +in that august place, before her august majesty; all but one, who went +through with his part in a quiet, manly way, which did him great +credit. This was the author--William Shakspeare. + +At length the queen, court, and actors all went out, and there came in +next, not a court, with music and pomp, but quietly and silently, a +dark, sad-looking man, leading two children by the hand. These three +walked up and down the hall, several times--the man talking to the +children, and telling them, it seemed, something very sad, for they +cried and clung to him, and then the three passed out, weeping. + +The Lady Mary knew these to be Charles I. and his children, whom he had +been telling, perhaps, that he might soon be put to death. + +Next there came, in stillness also, a stern, haggard-faced man, in a +rough, half-military dress, with a sweet delicate-looking lady, in +white. She was clinging to his arm, and seemed expostulating with him +very earnestly, but he shook his head, yet at the same time he tenderly +smoothed her hair, with his strong hand, and playfully pinched her thin +cheek, and tried to smile. Then he suddenly turned, and strode out of +the hall. The lady stood a moment, looking after him mournfully, and +then passed out also. + +The Lady Mary knew these two to be Cromwell and his daughter Elizabeth, +who often interceded with her father, for political offenders. + +Again there was loud music, and again a brilliant court came pouring +in. First walked a dark, dissolute-looking young man, very gayly +dressed, with long curls dangling about his shoulders, handing +carelessly along a pale, dispirited lady, who didn't seem to find much +comfort in the queenly diadem she wore. + +The ball began, and soon it was turned into a wild revel. Beautiful, +but bold ladies, and reckless looking gentlemen, danced and laughed, +sung and feasted, and gamed, and grew merrier and madder every minute. + +The Lady Mary became frightened, for she saw that she was in the +profligate court of Charles II. She tried to hide behind the tapestry +by the window, but a rollicking nobleman, whom she recognized by his +portraits as the Earl of Rochester, caught sight of her, and sprang +forward, to drag her out into the midst of the hall! She flung his +hand off, with a scream, and lo, he, the king, the queen, the court, +the lights, every thing vanished! + +_It was all a dream!_ + +The Lady Mary was alone in the old hall, in the silent night, now +darker than before, for a cloud had come over the moon. + +She groped her way to the door, unlocked it, and passed into the +withdrawing room. At the further end she saw some one coming, she +could not see who it was, by the dim starlight, so she asked: "Roger, +is that you?" + +"No, Mary," answered a glad, tremulous voice, "it is not Roger--it is +I--George!" + +With a wild, joyful cry, the Lady Mary sprang forward, and was clasped +in her husband's arms. + +And _this_ was not a dream. + +Captain Hamilton had been severely wounded, and taken captive by the +Afghans. They had kept him a close prisoner in the mountains, not even +permitting him to write a letter to any one, for two years. He had at +last been discovered, liberated, and sent home to recover his health, +which had suffered somewhat in his hardship and confinement. + +On arriving at Hampton Court, whither he had been directed from London, +he had been told by old Roger where his wife probably was, as he could +not find her in her apartments, and was on his way to the hall, when he +met her, as we have seen. + +The next time that the Lady Mary visited that old hall, to walk in the +moonlight, or muse in her favorite window-seat, it was observed that +she did not go alone. + + + + +Windsor Castle + +KING JAMES OF SCOTLAND AND + THE LADY JANE BEAUFORT. + +One of the pleasantest excursions which a traveller can make from +London is to Windsor, with its parks and grounds so wonderfully +luxuriant and beautiful, and so vast in extent, and its royal old +castle--certainly one of the noblest sights in all England. + +This is finely situated on the Thames; it overlooks a rich and lovely +country, and is seen from great distances--a grand, crowning object in +the landscape. + +I visited Windsor with a party of Americans, some of whom I had never +seen before, and have not met since; but I always think of them with +kindly interest, because I shared with them so great a pleasure. I +wonder if they remember it as well as I do! + +'Twas on a bright, but not unpleasantly warm day in midsummer, when the +parks and gardens were in all the glory of their greenness and bloom, +when fountains sparkled in the sun and birds warbled in the shade, and +the sky above was clear and blue enough to make up for all the clouds +and fogs I had seen since I came to England. + +We went directly from the station to the Castle, a grand mass of +ancient and modern buildings, towers, and turrets, and parapets--all +solidly but elegantly built, of dark gray stone. + +We entered through a lofty gateway, into the court-yard, from thence +into a sort of guardroom, where we recorded our names in a book; and +then were conducted up a great marble staircase, to the state +apartments. These are somewhat jumbled up in my mind with the hosts of +magnificent rooms which I have since seen in many other royal palaces; +but I remember that they were all very handsome, richly furnished, and +hung with fine pictures and gorgeous tapestry. I recollect most +distinctly "The Vandyke Room," called so because of its containing +several great pictures by that famous painter--principally portraits of +Charles I. and his family. Then there is "The Waterloo Chamber," hung +round with portraits of heroes and great men, and "St. George's Hall," +a grand banqueting room, two hundred feet in length, and the beautiful +ball-room, as brilliant as rich carving and gilding and delicate +painting can make it. + +Our party had permission to see not only the state, but the private +apartments of the palace. These are less splendid than those great +show rooms, but more tasteful, beautiful, and comfortable. Yes, +_comfortable_--for the English, even in their grandest palaces, manage +to have the dear, cosy home look and feeling about them. The Queen's +breakfast parlor, looking out on a pleasant terrace, simply though +richly furnished, and hung with portraits of herself, Prince Albert, +and the royal children, is a very charming apartment indeed. We came +to this through a long, bright corridor, lined with beautiful pictures, +bronzes, graceful statuettes, and elegant curiosities, so that one +could but be charmed to linger by the way. Several of the pictures +represented scenes in her Majesty's life--her first council--her +coronation--her marriage--the christening of the princess royal, etc. + +Many palaces have such a vast, cold, awfully grand look that one +fancies kings and queens must have very dull, stiff, dreary times, +living in them, and must often long for a simple, snug little +cottage-home, somewhere away from all their pomp and splendor. But it +is not so at Windsor; I did not pity the Queen at all. I even fancied +that I could be very comfortable myself, living at the palace, after +getting a little used to it. Her Majesty never gave me an opportunity +to test this, however. + +Attached to the Castle is the beautiful chapel of St. George, in which +the court, when at Windsor, attend service. Here, a place is +partitioned off for the royal family, something like a box at the +opera, only enclosed by a fine lattice work screen, to prevent the +people, I suppose, from gazing at the Queen and Prince Albert, when +they should be minding their devotions. + +From the chapel we went to the royal stables, where we were shown some +very fine horses and elegant equipages. There were the Queen's +carriages of all varieties, and little pony phaetons, and Canadian +sleighs and Russian sledges; and there were her carriage and riding +horses, and Prince Albert's hunters, and the children's ponies. The +stables are handsome and comfortable buildings, and are kept with the +utmost care, order, and neatness. Thousands of poor people might envy +the high-blooded brutes such a home as this. Some of the horses were +very beautiful and graceful animals, and all were groomed so carefully +it seemed no one hair was longer than the others. In almost every +stall was a sleek, lazy, high-bred looking cat, either perched upon the +back of the horse, dozing and blinking, or curled up in the straw at +his feet, fast asleep. The grooms told us that the horses were really +very fond of their feline companions, and treated them tenderly and +protectingly. + +From the castle we drove to the delightful pleasure-grounds of Virginia +Water. Passing up a magnificent avenue, more than three miles long, we +came to a height, on which stands a large equestrian statue of George +III., in the dress of an ancient Roman. This is the king we rebelled +against, you know. He was a domineering, stubborn, crack-brained old +gentleman, but, for all that, honest and good-humored. I should not +think him particularly like an ancient Roman, except in his obstinacy. + +Next we came to Virginia Water, which is just the loveliest place I +ever saw. Here are luxuriant plantations and gardens, summer-houses, +temples, fountains, cascades, woods, walks, and drives. Here is a +shining, winding little lake, with fairy-like pleasure-boats upon it, +and graceful swans slowly sailing over the clear, blue waves, and +looking like the reflection of small white clouds, floating in the sky +above. + +Virginia Water is the play-ground of royalty. The celebrated Duke of +Cumberland, George IV., and William IV., amused themselves here a great +deal, at an enormous and very foolish expense, sometimes. The duke +built an absurd Chinese temple and a useless clock-tower. George had +ruins brought from Greece and Egypt, and set up in the wood; while +William, who had been a sailor, had a little vessel of war built to +defend the miniature sea. + +The Duke of Cumberland's clock-tower was sold to a rich country +gentleman, who soon tired of it, and wished to sell it back to the +crown. But King George objected to his price, and refused to buy. The +owner, who was a shrewd fellow, a sort of English Barnum, said, "Very +well," but immediately took means to render himself a very +uncomfortable neighbor, by mounting a large telescope on the top of the +tower, and coolly watching the king in all his loyal recreations. This +quite enraged his Majesty; but he bought the tower on the owner's +terms, who, I am sorry to say, was disloyal enough to make him pay dear +for the telescope. + +When Queen Victoria is at Windsor, the royal standard is seen floating +from the highest tower, and strangers are not admitted to the castle. +But the great park is always open to the people. Here they sometimes +meet the Queen and Prince Albert walking or riding, without an escort, +and so plainly dressed that those who expect to see sovereigns and +princes always surrounded by pomp and show, might pass them by +unnoticed. The little princes and princesses are often seen walking +and playing in the grounds, also very simply dressed. They are fine, +healthy, natural children, and are admirably governed and cared for. +Their good mother sees that especial attention is paid to their health, +and has established a wise and strict system of exercise and diet. She +keeps them in the country and on the sea-shore as much as possible; she +overlooks their studies, reading, and sports; she is very careful that +they go early to bed, and rise in time to hear the good-morning song of +the lark. As for their diet, many an American farmer's or shopkeeper's +children would think it very hard if they were restricted to such +simple food as these sons and daughters of a great queen are content +with and thrive on; oatmeal porridge, butterless bread, a very little +meat, no rich gravies,--water, milk, a limited amount of fruit, and no +sweetmeats. + +The Prince of Wales, who, if he lives, will be the next king of +England, is an amiable and gallant young lad, but is a little too apt, +I heard it said, to take kingly airs upon himself before his time. I +was told of an instance of this very natural fault, in which he was +taught a good lesson. + +It happened some two or three summers ago, that he invited one of the +boys from Eton College, which is near Windsor, to spend a day with him +at the castle. This boy, though the son of a nobleman, was untitled, I +believe, but perhaps all the more sturdy and manly for that, and not to +be put upon, even by a prince. + +All went well for a time, but at last, the prince took offence at some +bit of sport, and did not restrain his temper or his tongue. The +Etonian resented the insult, I am sorry to say, in the usual school-boy +fashion, by a resort to blows; and being stronger than the prince, soon +got the advantage of him. The attendants raised an alarm, and Prince +Albert himself came to the field of battle. The Etonian, having let +the little prince up, stood bravely facing his royal father. + +"Why, what is the matter, boys?" asked Prince Albert. + +"The matter is, your royal highness, that I have beaten your son. It +was because he insulted me, and I won't stand an insult from any boy." + +The prince, after inquiring into the matter, reproved young Albert; and +being a soldier, did not blame the Eton boy for his want of peace +principles, as you or I would doubtless have done. + +There are many stories in English history connected with Windsor +Castle, but none I think so pretty as that of + + +KING JAMES OF SCOTLAND AND THE LADY JANE BEAUFORT. + +About four hundred and fifty years ago, when Henry IV. was king of +England, King Robert III., of Scotland, put his son James, the heir to +his throne, a boy of nine years old, on board ship, to send him to +France, to be educated. But the vessel was taken by some English +cruisers, and the little prince carried captive to King Henry, who +treacherously imprisoned him at Windsor Castle. + +King Robert was a very loving father, and when the news of this capture +was brought to him, as he sat at supper in his palace at Rothesay, he +was so overcome with grief that he fainted and seemed about to die. +His attendants carried him to his chamber and laid him on his bed, +which he never left again; for when he came out of his swoon, he hid +his face in the pillow, and wept, and wept, refusing to be +comforted,--sending all his food away untasted, and scarcely ever +speaking, except to repeat the name of his son, over and over again, in +a way to break one's heart. So he took on for three days and nights, +and then died. + +But the prince, now King James, was not so badly off as he might have +been. Though a prisoner, he was not confined in a gloomy dungeon, but +had handsome and comfortable apartments, in a tower which overlooked a +beautiful garden, where trees waved, and birds sang, and fountains +sparkled, and flowers sent up sweet perfumes to his windows. The sun +shone and the stars looked in upon him; and when a prisoner can see the +sun and the stars, he cannot feel that God has quite forgotten him, or +the angels ceased to watch over him. He was not left alone, or +deprived of employments and amusements. King Henry commanded that he +should have a right princely education. He had masters who taught him +history, grammar, oratory, music, sword-exercise, jousting, singing, +and dancing. He was handsome, graceful, and clever, but always most +celebrated for his poetical talent. As he grew to manhood, he became +one of the noblest poets of his day, and even now his verses, though +quaint and old-fashioned, are very sweet, pure, and pleasant to read. + +One fresh May morning, when James had been a captive in Windsor Castle +nearly eighteen years, as he was looking down from his window, he saw a +beautiful young lady walking in the garden. She was dressed all in +white; a net of pearls and sapphires confined her golden hair, and a +rich chain of gold was about her delicate throat. By her side sported +a pretty little Italian greyhound, with a string of tinkling silver +bells around his neck. + +As she moved among the flowers, the violet looked up into her eyes, and +thought their tender blue was her own reflection. The rose said to +herself, "What a rich bloom I must have, if even my shadow makes her +cheeks so red!" The lily had similar thoughts about her neck; while +the golden laburnum thought it and the sunbeams had been the making of +her hair. + +This lovely dame was the Lady Jane Beaufort, daughter of the Earl of +Somerset. Of course, King James, having little else to do, fell in +love with her without delay, and in a very short time told her so, by +means of tender rhymes, which he sent fluttering down into her path. +The Lady Jane was charmed with his verses, and found it easy to go from +admiring the poetry into loving the poet. To be frank, and tell him +so, she wrote a little billet, and tied it under the wing of a white +dove, directing him to carry it straight to the captive's window,--and +he did so. But if he had suspected what was to have come of it, I +don't believe he would have gone; for it was little rest the poor bird +got after that, between the two lovers, who kept him flying back and +forth a dozen times a day with their fond messages under his wing. + +At last, King Henry got wind of this romantic affair, and, instead of +being angry; he was very glad, for he wanted King James to have an +English wife. So he took him from prison, gave him Lady Jane in +marriage, and restored him to his throne. + +The poet-king and his noble queen were very kindly received in +Scotland, and lived for some time very happily and peacefully, always +dearly loving one another. But James found the kingdom in great +confusion from misgovernment, and the common people very much +oppressed. He bravely set himself to reform matters, trying to relieve +and protect the poor, and restrain and humble the rich and powerful. +His most difficult labor was to lessen the power of the great nobles, +who were in fact almost kings themselves, on their own estates, and +fought against each other, and even against the king, upon the +slightest provocation, and often without any. They rebelled against +this as being a spiteful action, and not, as it really was, a noble, +kingly effort to benefit the _whole_ kingdom. They took further +offence at the levying of some taxes for the support of the throne and +to carry on the government. The people being poor, and not used to +paying such taxes, were easily led to believe that it was King James's +avarice, and not the necessities of the government, which caused them +to be exacted. So, although he was so wise and good, and had the +welfare of his people so much at heart, he came to be looked upon as +unjust and tyrannical, by both the nobles and the common people; and +this led to a conspiracy to bring about his death. + +The leader in this conspiracy was one Sir Robert Graham, a bold, +ambitious man, who was greatly embittered by having suffered an +imprisonment at the command of the King. He also enticed into the plot +the old Earl of Athole, by promising that his son, Sir Robert Stewart, +should be made king in James's place. Many others joined the plot, +upon various grounds, bringing with them their followers, to whom they +pretended that their object was to carry off a lady from the court. +Graham went off into the far Highlands, to complete his plan, and from +thence he formally recalled his allegiance to the king, bidding him +defiance, and threatening to put him to death with his own hand. In +reply to this, King James set a price upon the head of Graham, to be +paid to any one who should capture and deliver him up to justice; but +he managed to keep himself safely concealed in the mountains. + +For the Christmas following this, the poor, doomed king had appointed a +feast to be held at Perth. As he was about to cross a ferry on his way +to attend this feast, he was stopped by a Highland woman, who professed +to be a prophetess. She called out to him in a loud voice, "My lord, +the king, if you pass this water, you will never return alive." The +king had read in some book of prophecy, that a king would be killed in +Scotland during that year, and was much struck by this speech of the +old woman. + +Better would it have been for both himself and Scotland had he given +heed to this warning, which the old woman doubtless had better +authority than her claim to prophecy for making; but he turned +jestingly to a knight of the court, to whom he had given the title of +"the King of Love," saying, "Sir Alexander, there is a prophecy that a +king shall be killed in Scotland this year; now this must mean either +you or me, since we are the only kings in Scotland." Several other +things occurred which, if attended to, might have saved the king; but +they were all suffered to pass unheeded. + +When the king arrived at Perth, there being no castle or palace +convenient, he selected for his residence an abbey of Black Friars, +which made it necessary, unfortunately, to distribute his guards among +the citizens, and thus make comparatively easy the execution of the +design of the conspirators. + +On the night of the 20th of February, 1437, after some of the +conspirators, selected for that purpose, had knocked to pieces the +locks of the doors of the king's apartment, carried away the bars which +fastened the gates, and provided planks with which the ditch +surrounding the monastery was to be crossed, Sir Robert Graham left his +hiding-place in the mountains and entered the convent gardens, with +about three hundred men. + +The king had spent the evening with the ladies and gentlemen of the +court, in singing, dancing, playing chess, and reading romances aloud. +All the court had retired, and James was standing before the fire, in +night-gown and slippers, talking with the queen and her ladies, when +the same Highland prophetess that had warned him at the ferry, begged +to speak with him, but was refused, because it was so late. + +Suddenly there was heard without the clash of men in armor, and the +glare of torches was seen in the gardens. The king at once thought of +Sir Robert Graham and his threat, and called to the ladies who were +still in the room to keep the doors fast, so as to give him time to +make his escape. After vainly trying to break the bars of the windows, +he suddenly remembered that there was a vault running beneath the +apartment, which was used as a common sewer; whereupon he seized the +tongs, raised a plank in the floor, and let himself down. This vault +had formerly led out into the court of the convent; but, most +unfortunately, he had only a few days before ordered this opening to be +walled up, because, when playing ball, the ball had several times +rolled into it. + +In the mean time, the conspirators were hunting for him from room to +room, and at last they reached the one beneath which he was hidden. +The queen and her ladies kept the door shut as long as they could, but +you will remember that the cowardly conspirators had broken the locks +and carried off the bars; and this brings us to one of the most devoted +and heroic acts in Scottish history. Catherine Douglas, one of the +noblest (both by rank and nature) and loveliest of the queen's ladies, +when she found that the bar was gone, with that high spirit which has +made her race wellnigh the most famous of Scotland, thrust her +beautiful, naked arm through the staples, in the place of the bar, and +thus kept the door closed till her arm was crushed and broken by the +pressure of the brutal traitors on the other side. When this heroic +defence was overcome, they burst headlong into the room, with swords +and daggers drawn, beating down and trampling on the brave ladies who +did their best to keep them back. One of them was in the act of +killing the queen, but a son of Graham prevented it, by exclaiming, +"What would you do with the queen? She is but a woman! Let us seek +the king!" + +After a careful, but unsuccessful search, they went away to look in +other parts of the building. The king having heard their departure, +and being very cold and uncomfortable, asked the ladies to help him out +of the vault. But some of the conspirators had remembered this vault, +and just at this moment they returned to search it. They tore up the +plank, and there stood the poor, doomed king in his night-gown, and +entirely unarmed; at which, one of them said, "Sirs, I have found the +bride for whom we have been seeking all night." + +First, two brothers, named Hall, jumped into the vault, with drawn +daggers; but the king was a very powerful and active man, and he at +once threw them both down, and was trying to get a dagger from them, +when Graham himself leaped down. Then James, finding that defence was +useless, asked him for mercy, and for a little time to confess his +sins. But Graham replied, "Thou never hadst mercy on any one, +therefore thou shall receive no mercy; and thy confessor shall be only +this good sword." Whereupon he ran the king through the body. Then, +possibly overcome with remorse, or fearing the consequences of the +deed, he was for leaving the king to the chances of life and death; but +the others fiercely called out that if he did not kill the king, he +himself should die. At this, he and the two Halls dispatched the poor +monarch with their daggers. After his death, sixteen wounds were found +upon his breast alone. + +And this was the end of the great and good James I. of Scotland, who, +king though he was, died a martyr for the rights of the people. + + + + +The Journal from England to Ireland. + +THE FISHERMAN'S RETURN. + +On a bright morning, early in August, I left London, with my dear +friends, Mr. and Mrs. B., for a visit to Ireland, by the way of Wales +and Holyhead. The first remarkable place we came to was the town of +Chester, which stands just outside the Principality of Wales, and is so +very ancient that antiquarians, who are often rather quarrelsome old +gentlemen, have had many a hot dispute about its founder. Some say it +was Leon Gaur, "a mighty strong giant," who first built caves and +dungeons here, in which he confined all the poor stragglers he could +catch, and fatted them for his table. Others affirm that it was old +King Lear, whom you will sometime read about in Shakspeare, as being +afflicted with a very testy temper and two wicked daughters, who were +quite too sharp for him. + +When the Romans had possession of Great Britain, they made Chester an +important military station, under the name of Dova. There are many +Roman remains shown here, to this day. Afterwards some of the Saxon +kings held their court here. It is related that the proud Edgar once +took a grand pleasure trip on the Dee, when his boat was rowed by eight +tributary kings. + +Under the Normans, the town grew fast in strength and importance, and, +at last, took the name of Chester. Lupus, the first Earl of Chester, +built a castle, rebuilt the walls, and made it the head-quarters of an +army, maintained on the frontiers, to keep down the Welsh. That brave, +half savage people kept attacking the town and setting fire to the +suburbs; but were always beaten back with great slaughter and left so +many of their dead behind them, that the cold-blooded English actually +made a wall of Welshmen's skulls. So, in years after, when the young +Welsh soldiers undertook to take the town; they were obliged, it may be +said, to climb up over their fathers' and grandfathers' heads. + +Chester is now a very interesting place, full of quaint, old-fashioned +houses, with high pointed roofs and carved gables turned toward the +streets, which are wide and straight. The walls remain nearly +perfect--not preserved for defence, but as relics of the old fighting +times. + +The Dee is a strange looking river when the tide is low, for the sands +stretch far out on each side. Mr. Kingsley, an English author, in a +beautiful song, tells a sad story of a poor girl, who was sent one +evening to call the cattle home across these wide sands. A blinding +mist came up and the tide came in, but Mary never came home--only as +she floated ashore the next morning, drowned. + +A little way off the railway track, lies Maes Garmon, the scene of a +great victory gained by the Britons over the Scots and Picts, in 429. + +It was in the season of Lent;--the Britons had assembled in great +numbers, in a valley amid the mountains, to listen to the preaching of +St. Germanus and Bishop Lupus. These holy men preached with such +extraordinary power, that thousands of rude warriors came forward, +vociferously professing religion, and eager to be baptized. The enemy, +hearing of this by their scouts, thought that here would be a fine +opportunity to take them by surprise, and hastened to the spot to make +the attack. But St. Germanus somehow got wind of their coming, and, +taking the pick of the warriors; conducted them to a pass through which +the heathen army must enter the valley. As soon as the enemy appeared, +the Saint, lifting the rood in his hands, shouted three times at the +top of his voice, "Hallelujah!" All his warriors repeated the cry, and +the mountains echoed and reëchoed it, till their caves and forests +seemed to be alive with lurking Britons. The bloody-minded heathens +were so astonished and frightened by this strange Christian uproar, +that they flung down their aims and ran for their lives! The Britons, +instead of going on with their Hallelujahs, as I think they should have +done, took after them with great fury--slew thousands and drove +thousands into the river, where they were drowned. It was a queer way +to win a battle that--scaring the enemy out of their wits by shouting +holy words at them. I doubt whether the plan would succeed as well in +our enlightened Christian times. + +The next object of interest is Flint Castle, to which King Richard II. +was carried as a prisoner, and where he met the banished Bolingbroke, +who was soon to step into his royal shoes and dub himself King Henry IV. + +Next was the town of Holywell--so called for the famous, and, it is +said, miraculous well of St. Winifred, which it contains. If you +inquire for this, you are conducted to a beautiful Gothic building, +erected by the good Margaret, Countess of Richmond. Within this +edifice is a large bath; and in and out of this, the maimed, palsied, +and rheumatic, are constantly hobbling, crawling, or being carried. +Over head, fixed in the roof, are hosts of old canes and crutches, +placed there by cripples who say they have been cured by the waters. +Doubtless this spring has medicinal properties, like many in our own +country, and very likely many a poor creature is cured by simply +bathing repeatedly in pure cold water--a treatment tried here for the +first time in all their lives. + +But who was St. Winifred? + +All I know of her I get from a Roman Catholic legend, which I, being a +Protestant, and because it seems to me absurd, cannot credit; but which +many good, simple-hearted people find no difficulty in +believing--especially such as have had a lame leg cured by the well, +and have hung up a crutch in the shrine. + +There was once, (says the legend,) a great lord, whose name was +Thewith, and a noble lady, whose name was Wenlo, and they had one only +daughter, whose name was Winifred. Now Winifred grew up to be a +marvellously beautiful maiden, and her hand was sought in marriage by +lords and princes far and near. But strangely enough, she would have +nothing to say to any of them, and seemed to care nothing for the pomps +and pleasures of the world. She was pious and charitable, and loved +better to nurse and pray with the sick than to wear fine dresses, or +dance with handsome young gentlemen. Perhaps she had visions, in which +she saw and heard all the palsied old men and women, and all the +miserable cripples that were, or ever would be in the world, shaking +their heads and thumping with their crutches at her. At any rate, she +resolved to live a single, devout, and charitable life, and for that +purpose, placed herself under the care and instruction of her uncle, +Breno, a very holy priest. + +But it happened that Prince Caradoc, the son of King Alen--who _he_ was +I don't know--saw her, and instantly fell desperately in love with her, +and in the authoritative way which princes have, asked her to be his +wife. Winifred said "no" very decidedly, and then he undertook to +carry her off by force. But she escaped, and ran down the hill toward +her uncle's cell. Caradoc followed, foaming with rage, and with his +drawn sword in his hand. She ran very fast, but he soon overtook her, +and with one blow of his sword cut off her head! The body dropped on +the spot, but the head bounded forward and fell at the feet of Father +Breno, who stood at the door of his cell. The good priest caught it +up, and running to the body, put it on again--being very careful not to +have it twisted toward one shoulder, or what would have been more +awkward still, facing backward. + +Immediately Winifred arose, as well as ever, only a little weak from +loss of blood--and with nothing to remember her decapitation by, but a +red line around her neck, which looked like a small string of coral +beads, and was rather pretty than otherwise. + +From that day it was settled that Winifred was a Saint, for on the spot +where her head had rested, there bubbled up a spring of pure water, for +the healing of the sick--particularly the crippled and rheumatic. +Believers say that, in the Saint's time, the waters were more powerful +than they are now. Then, after one dip, the palsied stopped shaking, +the paralytic began talking, and cripples flung away their crutches +while the maimed had only to thrust the stumps of arms and legs into +the spring, to have beautiful new hands and feet sprout out before +their eyes! + +The part of North Wales through which we passed, is not so mountainous +and picturesque as some other portions of the Principality; but it is +very beautiful, even as seen in flying glimpses, from the railway +carriage. We were very sorry that we could not stop to explore the +lovely vales of Clwyd and Llangollen, and visit the little city of St. +Asaph, where Mrs. Hemans once resided. + +I longed to go and pay my respects to some of those grand, old +mountains, that stood afar off, in their stern majesty, clothed with +purple-blossomed heather, flecked with golden sunshine and crowned with +gorgeous clouds, or silvery mists. The dark-waving foliage of many a +shadowy glen and rocky gorge seemed beckoning to us to search into +their lovely, lonely places, and many a glad rill and wild cascade +seemed to call to us to come and look upon its unsunned beauty. But +the swift locomotive remorselessly whirled us away from glen and gorge, +and its rush and clang soon drowned those pleasant mountain voices of +dancing rivulet and laughing waterfall. + +We hardly caught a breath of the free, fresh air of the hills, in +exchange for the long, brown train of heavy, hot smoke we left behind +us;--in truth, puffing and whirling in and out of the Principality, as +we did, I am almost ashamed to count Wales as one of the countries I +have seen. + +In England, no town, however large it may be, is called a city, unless +it has a Bishop and a Cathedral, as the capital of an Episcopal See. +Thus the great seaport of Liverpool is only a _town_, while St. Asaph, +with but one street and eight hundred inhabitants, is a _city_. + +The first Bishop of St. Asaph was St. Kentigern, a famous monk and +monk-maker, and founder of monasteries. He had a disciple by the name +of Asaph, whom he brought up to be a Saint. + +Legends say that one day the good Bishop got severely chilled by +remaining in his bath too long, and young Asaph, not having any shovel +or tongs, took up some live coals in his hands, and carried them to his +master, without burning himself at all. People said this was a very +fair beginning for a Saint, and as he continued to improve, the church +canonized him when he died, and the city and diocese were named for him. + +Near St. Asaph is Rhyddlan Castle--the place where Edward I. outwitted +the Welsh nobles, by proposing that they should be ruled by a _native_ +Prince, whose character nobody could say a word against. All joyfully +agreed, and then he presented to them his infant son, born at Carnarvon +Castle, and whom he had made Prince of Wales. + +At Conway, we passed close by a grand old castle, still very strong and +imposing, though it was built by Edward I. Here we crossed the Tubular +Bridge--a great curiosity--but far from equal to the Britannia Bridge, +across the Menai Straits, which lie between Wales and the Island of +Anglesea. I cannot describe this to you--but it is one of the most +wonderful works in all the world. + +Holyhead is a small town, on an island of the same name--divided by a +narrow strait from the west coast of Anglesea. Here we took a steamer +to cross the Irish channel. + +We made the trip in about four hours; but they seemed to me no less +than twelve--for I was mortally sick. I thought at one time that I was +surely dying. I did not care much; people never do when they are +sea-sick; still, I thought I should prefer a more romantic sort of a +death, and I was heartily glad when I found myself on shore, at +Kingstown, seven miles below Dublin, where we took the railway for that +city. We arrived late at night, and drove to our hotel on a regular +Irish jaunting car. This is a very funny looking vehicle--low and +broad, with two wheels, concealed by the seats, which run lengthwise. +There is another kind, called the _inside car_. An Irishman once +explained the difference to an English traveller, in this way: "An +outside car, yer honor, has the wheels _inside_, and an inside car has +the wheels _outside_." + +All Irish carmen drive furiously, and the cars go jumping and hopping +along, and spinning round the corners, at such a rate that one feels +rather nervous at first, and has no little difficulty in keeping on. +But like many other things, it's easy enough, when you get used to it. + +We found Gresham's Hotel a very comfortable, pleasant place, and we +soon felt at home, though we saw none but Irish faces, and heard only +the Irish brogue around us; for those faces were smiling and cordial, +and that rich, musical brogue seemed bubbling up from kindly hearts. + +I have not told you much about Wales in this chapter, because rushing +through the country, as I did, I really saw very little of it. The +people seemed quiet, cleanly, and industrious; but they did not look, +or dress at all like the English. I noticed that many of the women +seemed rather masculine in their tastes--wearing hats and coats like +the men, and that the children were dressed in an odd old-fashioned +way, and looked serious, shrewd, and mature--almost as though they were +a race of dwarfs. The Welsh language had to me a strange, harsh, +barbaric sound, and when listening to it, I realized for the first time +since I had left America, that I was indeed far away from home. I do +not doubt, however, but that if I had seen more of the Welsh, I should +have liked them heartily, for they are said to be very kindly, honest, +and hospitable. They are naturally brave and sturdy lovers of liberty. +In old times the English had a hard and tedious struggle with them, +before they could subdue them. Often, when they thought they had the +whole rude nation under their hands, or rather under their feet, the +rebellious spirit would break out again in a new spot, fiercer and +hotter than ever, and all the work had to be done over again. + +Many of the stories in Welsh history are very grand and heroic, but +they are also very terrible; and I think you will find more to your +taste a simple little story of domestic life, which I have picked up +somewhere, and can assure you is as true as a great deal we find in +history. + + +THE FISHERMAN'S RETURN. + +A good many years ago, somewhere on the southwestern coast of Wales, +there lived an honest fisherman, by the name of John Jenkins. The +Jenkinses are a very numerous and respectable family in Wales, and so +are the Joneses. + +Mrs. Jenkins was a Jones, but she was not half so proud of her high and +vast family connections, as she was of her industrious, hardy husband, +and her pretty little daughter, Fanny. + +When Fanny was a fortnight-old baby, the least, puny, little, pink +creature, wrapped in flannel, there came up a dreadful storm, and a +small London packet was wrecked on the coast, near her father's +cottage. The passengers were all lost except a little boy, about three +years of age, whom John Jenkins saved at the risk of his life. Two of +the crew escaped, but they could tell nothing of the child more than +that he came from Ireland, and was bound for London, with his nurse. +The boy could give no clear account of himself, but he wore round his +neck a gold locket, with arms engraved on it, and containing a lock of +black hair, twined with small pearls. So the fisherman concluded that +he must belong to some great family; and when they asked what was his +name, they expected to hear some prodigious great title, such as earl, +or marquis; but when he proudly answered, "Brian O'Neill," they could +make nothing of it--little knowing, simple folks as they were, that the +O'Neills were once kings and princes in Ireland. But that was in the +old, old time; great changes have taken place since, and there are a +few O'Neills quite in common life nowadays. + +John Jenkins did all that lay in his power to find the parents and home +of the child--but he was poor and ignorant--the lord of the manor was a +little boy, at school, and the steward could not or would not help him; +so, his efforts all proving useless, he adopted Brian, and brought him +up as his son, giving him a tolerably good education, and training him +for his own honest calling. + +O'Neill grew into a fine, hearty, brave lad,--not at all conceited or +haughty in his ways, though he was proud, he scarcely knew why, of his +Irish name,--always treasured up his locket of gold, and often declared +that he could remember the head from which that hair was cut--his +mother's--and how he had seen it shut away under the coffin-lid, the +very day that his nurse set out with him for London. He said, too, +that he could remember his home; a grand old castle, near a lake, and a +great park, and a little cottage, where his foster-mother lived, and +his foster-father, a terrible man, who used to get drunk and break +things; and how once, when running away from him, he fell and cut his +head. Here Brian always lifted the hair off his forehead, and, sure +enough, there was a scar quite plain to be seen. + +Fanny Jenkins grew up into a good and beautiful girl, and it seemed +very natural that she and young O'Neill should love one another, and +when they married and set up for themselves nobody objected. Indeed, +so much were they beloved, that all who were able, helped them, and +those who had nothing to give, wished them well and smiled on their +courageous love, and so did them more good than they thought. + +The lord of the manor built them a beautiful cottage by the sea, with +long narrow windows and turrets, almost like a castle; and the Lord of +lords blessed them and prospered them, and in due time gave them a +little son, whom they called Brian Patrick Jenkins Jones O'Neill, and +who was just the brightest, best, and most beautiful baby ever +beheld,--at least Fanny thought so, and surely mothers are the best +judges of babies. + +They lived a very happy life, that humble little family. Every morning +early the young fisherman went out in his pretty boat, the "Fanny +Jenkins," for his day's toil and adventure, leaving his cheerful little +wife at her work--spinning, sewing, or caring for the child; and every +night, when he returned tired and hungry, as fishermen often are, and +found a tidy home, a smiling wife, a crowing baby and a hearty meal +awaiting him, he thought and said, that he was just the happiest +O'Neill in all the world. + +In tempestuous weather Fanny suffered a great deal from anxiety for her +brave husband, who would always put out to sea, unless the storm was +very serious indeed. + +At length, one lowering day in September, when he was far out of sight +of home, a sudden squall came up, which deepened into a tempest as the +day wore on. + +With anxious heart and tearful eyes poor Fanny watched through the +gloomy sunset, for his coming,--half longing, half fearing to see his +frail vessel driven toward the land on such an angry sea. + +But the day and night passed, and he did not come. The next four or +five days were dark and stormy; there were several wrecks upon the +coast, and Brian was given up for lost by all but his wife. She still +kept up a good heart and would not despair. + +At last the storm ceased, the sea grew smooth, the skies smiled, and +all looked cheerful again, save where along the wild shore fragments of +wrecks came drifting in, and the people were burying the drowned. + +At the close of a beautiful day, a week from the time that Brian +O'Neill left his home, his wife sat in front of the cottage, with her +baby asleep upon her lap. Her brave heart was failing her now; she +grew tired of her sad, vain gazing out toward the west, and bowing her +head on her hands, wept till the tears trickled through her fingers and +dropped on the sleeping face before her. + +So she sat a long time, weeping and praying, and calling her babe a +"poor fatherless boy," when suddenly, the child smiled out of sleep and +started up, calling "Papa!" Fanny sprung to her feet, almost hoping +that her Brian was by her side. No, he was not there; but, oh, joy! a +little way out to sea, between her and the sunset glory, came a dear +familiar object--her aquatic namesake--_the boat_! Swiftly it came +o'er the bright waters, joyfully dancing toward its home! Soon a +beloved form was seen waving a shining sailor's hat; soon a beloved +voice was heard calling her name, and soon, though it seemed an age to +her, Brian O'Neill, with his oars and nets over his shoulder, as though +he had only been absent for a day's fishing, sprang up the steps before +the cottage and clasped his wife and child to his honest heart! Fanny +laughed and wept and thanked God, the baby crowed and pulled his +father's whiskers, and all were happier than I can tell. + +In the evening, when his parents and the neighbors were in, to rejoice +over his return, Brian told the story of his adventures. + +When that dreadful storm came up, he would have been lost, had he not +been near a large vessel which took up both him and his boat. This +ship was bound to a northern Irish port, and as the storm continued, he +was obliged to make the whole voyage. At B----, while he was waiting +for fair weather, he looked about him a little, to see the country; and +now comes the wonderful, romantic part of his story. On visiting an +old and somewhat dilapidated castle, in the neighborhood of the town, +he instantly recognized it as the home of his infancy; and walking +straight through the park, he found the cottage of his foster-mother +and the dear old woman herself--who didn't believe in him at first, +because he was a great weather-beaten sailor, instead of the fair baby +she had nursed. But when Brian lifted his hair and showed the scar, +she was convinced and rejoiced exceedingly. Then she told him how his +father, Sir Patrick O'Neill died when he was a mere baby, and left him +to the guardianship of an uncle who proved to be a bad man. So when +Lady O'Neill was dying, she made her nurse promise to take the child to +her sister, in London, to have him brought up away from that wicked +man. When the news came of the wreck of the "Erin," and the loss of +all on board, this uncle went into mourning for six months--but his +tenants were always in mourning, for he proved a very hard landlord. + +Brian laid no claim then to his title and estate, but as soon as the +sea was calm, went home to ask his wife's advice, like a sensible man +and a good husband. + +He and Fanny had often said that they did not envy the rich and great; +but now, considering that the false baronet was so bad a man, and his +tenantry so oppressed, they really thought it their duty to make an +effort for rank and fortune. + +Well, after a long time, Brian got his rights, by the help of a great +lawyer, who took half the property in payment for his services. So he +became Sir Brian O'Neill, the master of a dreary old castle and no end +of bogs and potatoe patches, and Fanny became "Her Leddyship, God bless +her!" as the peasants used to say. + +For a long time they found it rather awkward and tiresome to be grand +and idle, like other great folks; so much so, that for several years +they used to go over to Wales in the fishing season, and live in the +cottage by the sea, and Sir Brian would go out fishing every day, and +Lady Fanny would spin and sew and take care of the baby, just in the +old way. Living thus, they were happiest--but they were always happy +and good--they lived to be very old, and died on the same day and were +buried in the same grave. + +Their great great-grandson, Sir Algernon O'Neill, is fond of the water, +too; but he takes to it in a splendid yacht, called the "Fanny +Ellsler," with his delicate wife, the Lady Ginevra, who abhors the sea, +and gets dreadfully sick always, but _will_ take cruises, because the +sea air is good for the little O'Neills, _she_ says,--because Queen +Victoria has set the fashion, some people say. + + + + +Dublin, Howth. + +GRACE O'MALLEY. + +It is not certainly know who was the founder of Dublin, or _Dubhlywn_, +as the name was written formerly. Some learned historians say it was +Avellanus, one of the Danish Vikings, an adventurous sort of monarchs +of old times, very much given to a seafaring life, and piratical +depredations. If Avellanus was the founder--and I don't dispute that +he was--he showed great taste and wisdom in selecting the site of a +city. It has a beautiful harbor; the River Liffey flows through it, a +picturesque country lies around it, and in sight are romantic valleys +and dark gorges and noble hills, which don't stop far short of real +mountains. + +Dublin remained under the rule of the Danish Sea-kings, and their +descendants, till they were conquered by the English, in the year 1170. +They were, however, put down for a time in the year 1014, by a league +of native princes, led by the great king, Brien-Boro. It was during +this struggle that the famous battle of Clontarf was fought. + +Brien-Boro was a model monarch--the King Alfred of Ireland. So +perfectly were the laws administered in his reign, that it was said a +fair damsel might travel alone, from one end of the Kingdom to the +other, with a gold ring on the top of a wand, without danger of being +robbed. I doubt very much, however, if any young lady ever performed +such a journey. + +From the year 1173, when Henry II. received the submission of the Irish +princes, and the last Irish king, Roderic O'Connor, Ireland has +remained under the government of England, and though it has had several +bloody rebellions, it has never been really independent. The Irish +formerly had a parliament of their own, but toward the close of the +last century it was suppressed, and the union made complete. + +The governors of Ireland have always been called viceroys, or +lord-lieutenants. Dublin Castle was built for their residence, but for +some time past it has been abandoned for "The Lodge," in Phoenix Park. +The Castle is a massive, gloomy-looking building, now principally +occupied by the military. + +The Parliament House, now the Bank of Ireland, the Custom-House, and +Trinity College, are beautiful buildings; but I did not admire the +cathedrals and churches very much, after those of England. The church +of St. Anne is interesting, as containing the tomb of Felicia Hemans. + +We drove about the town on a jaunting car, with a talkative driver, +seeing all the sights and listening to strange, wild legends. In the +pretty cemetery of Glasneven, we saw, through the grating of a vault, +the magnificent coffin which contains the body of Daniel O'Connell, the +great orator. We enjoyed most our drive in Phoenix Park, a noble +enclosure, filled with fine trees and shrubbery, flowers, birds, gentle +deer, and playful, brown-eyed fawns. + +But if we liked the streets, buildings, and parka of Dublin, we liked +the _people_ better. Very courteous, generous, and cordial we found +all those to whose hospitality we had been commended--and warm at my +heart is now, and ever will be, the dear memory of my good Dublin +friends. + +A pleasant excursion from the city is to the Bay, which is considered +one of the most beautiful in the world; and to Howth Harbor, formerly +the landing-place of the Dublin packets, but now superseded by Kingston. + +The first object which strikes one on approaching Dublin by sea, is the +famous Hill of Howth, which rises bold and high, on the northern coast +of the bay, and stands like the great guardian and champion of Ireland. + +The Dublin people are as proud of this as the Neapolitans are of Mount +Vesuvius, which overlooks their noble bay of Naples. "Ah, sure ma'am," +said an Irish sailor,--"it's as fine an ilivation, barrin' a few +thousand feet of height, as that same smokin', rumblin' ould cratur, +an' a dale betther behaved." + +At Howth there are some very interesting Druidical remains to be seen, +a fine old castle and an abbey, in which repose many brave and famous +knights--the Tristrams and St. Lawrences, barons of Howth. + +There is a curious and romantic legend of Howth Castle, which I will +relate here. + + +GRACE O'MALLEY. + +In the time of Queen Elizabeth, there was a celebrated woman living in +the province of Connaught, Ireland, named _Grana Uille_, or Grace +O'Malley. She was the chieftainess of the O'Malley's of Clare Island, +and called herself a princess, but she was most famed as a female +pirate-captain, or vi-_queen_, as, perhaps, she would have preferred to +be called. + +She lived in rude, stormy times, when the Irish were nearly as wild and +warlike as savages, and fierce feuds and bold robberies, on land and +sea, were every day affairs. Indeed, for a man to be a peaceful, +honest, sober citizen, was then no ways to his credit; then children +were taught by their quarrelsome parents, to fire up on the slightest +occasion, and fight for their rights,--to revenge all insults, and make +free with the property of their enemies; and little was the +Sunday-school teaching they had to the contrary; then when women became +leaders of lawless predatory bands, they were admired and wondered at; +but few thought of condemning them, or dared to scout at them. + +Those must have been the days, or Ireland the country, of "woman's +rights," for throughout the warlike career of the great chieftainess, +nobody seems to have been much shocked, or to have thought that Miss +O'Malley was going out of her "proper sphere," and infringing on the +sacred rights of the nobler sex, in fighting and pirating; except it +may be those men who got the worst of it, in engagements with her. + +Grace O'Malley was the daughter of a powerful chief, who, having no +heir, brought up his one little girl as though she were a son--teaching +her all sorts of manly and martial exercises. Instead of dolls and +pets, her childish playthings were pistols and daggers, which she soon +found very useful in scaring her attendants into instant obedience to +her whims; and instead of being allowed to play among the sands and +hunt shells on the wild seashore, she was taught to swim, to fish, to +row, and to shoot the shy water-fowl. Instead of taking her airings, +like a modern nobleman's little daughter, on a well-trained pony, or a +sober, sure-footed donkey, over smooth lawns, and through shady parks +and flowery lanes, she was accustomed to accompany her father and his +rough followers, mounted on one of the wild horses of the country, on +long mountain hunts--to dash through bog and briar, to ford swollen +streams, and leap wide, dark chasms. + +Once, when Grace was but a child, while she was out on one of these +hunts, a young fawn that they were chasing, turned suddenly, and +singling her out from all the party, ran to her side, laid its head in +her lap, and lifted its large sorrowful eyes to her face, as though +asking for her protection. "Stand back!" cried she, to the +hunters,--"call off the dogs, and let no one harm her now,--she is +mine!" + +"Ah, well, comrades," said one of the men, "let us seek other game, and +leave the fawn to our little lady, for a pet." + +"No, by the Rock of Cashel!" cried old Cormac O'Malley, "I will not +have my brave daughter made soft and silly, like other girls, by +tending pets. Draw your hunting-knife across her throat, Grace, while +you have her." + +"That will I not, father, for she has trusted in me. I want no pets, +but whoever kills this fawn, must kill me first," she said, flinging +her arms around the poor trembling creature. She looked so fierce and +determined that the men cheered, and the old chief laughingly promised +her that the fawn should be allowed to escape unharmed. Grace +jealously watched the disappointed hunters and yelping hounds till the +swift-footed animal was out of sight, and then rode on with the rest. + +Such was Grace O'Malley--stern and proud in temper, fearless and manly +in her habits, but now and then giving way to a kind and generous +impulse. When her father died, she assumed the command of his warlike +retainers, and the sternest and bravest of them were not ashamed to +acknowledge her authority. At first, she only fought in self-defence, +or in revenge for what she considered aggressions and insults, and +finally, for spoil and conquest, and for the habit and love of strife +and adventure. She was a tall, handsome woman, with dark, flashing +eyes, a clear, ringing voice, and a proud, soldier-like step. Her +dress was a singular mingling of the masculine and feminine fashions of +her half barbarous country; but it was picturesque and imposing; made +of the richest materials she could procure, and worn with an air of +majesty which not Queen Bess herself, in all her glory, could surpass. + +But the proud Lady Grace professed to be a loyal subject of Elizabeth. +In an Irish rebellion, headed by the Earl of Tyrone, she sided with the +English government, and added immensely to her power and possessions, +by the victories she gained over the rebels. She did not deign to +receive a regular commission from the Queen, but fought in her own wild +way, on her own responsibility, at her own risk, and for her own +advantage. She took castle after castle, confiscated estate after +estate, claiming always the "lion's share" of the plunder. + +When some of the ships of the great Spanish armada, sent against +England, were driven by a storm upon the Irish coast, she bore down +upon them with her armed galleys, and took several noble prizes. With +these ships, she obtained much magnificent dress, belonging to the +proud Castilian officers and their stately ladies--velvets and +brocades, stiff with woven jewels and broideries of gold, with which +she went bravely dressed for the rest of her life. And the Spanish +Dons and Donnas, what did they do, robbed of their splendid apparel? +Ah, they went where they did not need it any more--down, down into +still, dark ocean-caves, where they reposed on beds of silver sand, +with the long sea-weed wrapping itself about them. + +But I am not getting on with that legend of Howth Castle. + +In the height of the fame and power of Grace O'Malley, when her rude +bands were the terror of Connaught and the islands of that coast, and +her ships the scourge of the Irish seas, she resolved to pay a visit to +the court of Elizabeth. She went almost as a sovereign princess, and +was royally received and entertained; for the politic English Queen was +only too willing, I am afraid, to close her ears against stories of the +cruelty and lawlessness of so useful a subject. + +The warlike Grace made a decided sensation at court. In her strange, +rich, half martial dress, and always wearing some sort of deadly +weapon, she strode about like a terrible giantess among the Queen's +laughing dames, awing them into momentary silence; and even the gay +wits, pert young poets, and pages, shrank abashed from her haughty, +flashing looks. + +"Gra' mercy!" whispered one, as she passed, "she hath daggers in her +eyes, as well as in her girdle." + +"Ay, and pistols in her voice," said a saucy page, who served at the +Queen's table; "when she saith 'Sirrah!' I have ever a mind to drop +upon my knees and beg for my life." + +But Grace O'Malley soon tired of the stately gayeties of the court. +She curled her scornful lip at the safe and easy way of hunting in the +royal parks--calling it "child's play." She laughed at their formal +balls and feasts; and when the Queen, especially to please her, led off +the court dance, the solemn, but graceful minuet, played the +harpsichord with her own royal hands, and sung madrigals, and read +Latin verses of her own composition, Grace only yawned, and said: "I +wonder your Majesty should throuble yourself with things of this sort +at all. Sure in Ireland, we have people to do the likes for us, and +save us the worriment." + +Once, on the Queen having expressed some curiosity in regard to the +Irish national dances, Grace made sign to her harper, a wild-eyed, +white-haired, long-bearded old gentleman, who struck up a stirring +Celtic air, and instantly her warlike followers rushed into the midst +of the hall, and began dancing, in the strangest, maddest way +imaginable. Faster and louder played the harper, wilder and more +furiously they danced; they wheeled and leaped and shook their arms in +the air, and shouted fierce Celtic battle-cries, till all the court +ladies trembled, and not a few of the courtiers drew near the throne +for fear, and even the Queen had to thank her rouge for not looking +pale. However, it all ended like a modern Irish jig, in a harmless +"whoop!" and the fiery dancers quietly returned to their places about +their mistress. "That, your Majesty," said Grace, proudly, "is rale +Irish dancing." + +"And by our faith, brave Lady Grace, we hope it may ever remain _Irish_ +dancing. The fashion suits not our peaceful court," replied Elizabeth, +laughing. + +Grace O'Malley returned to Ireland loaded with princely gifts. It is +not recorded in history that Elizabeth ever returned her visit, though +at parting, Grace gave her Majesty a cordial invitation to come over to +Connaught and see some hunting and fighting that were no shams. + +"The O'Malley," as Grace called herself, after the fashion of great +Irish chiefs, landed first at Howth, intending to pay the Earl a visit. +But it happened to be dinner time, and the castle gates were shut, as +they always were at that hour, by command of his lordship, who was a +high liver, and had a particular objection to being disturbed at his +meals. When Grace haughtily demanded admittance, the warder not having +a proper sense of the honor she was intending to do his master, +sturdily refused. This surly, inhospitable reception so enraged the +chieftainess, that she was quite ready to storm the castle, and slay +the fat Earl at his own dinner-table, with all his guests and +retainers. But she had not with her a sufficient force for this; so +was obliged to return to her ship, where she strode up and down the +deck in a terribly wrathful state, and made all ring again with her +threats and imprecations against the Earl, for the insult she had +received. Suddenly a gleam of malicious joy flashed over her dark +face. She commanded her men to land her again, and as soon as she +reached the shore, she rushed up to a cottage, where she remembered +that the nurse of the young lord, the Earl's little son, was living. +She caught the child from the woman's arms, telling her to tell her +master that _she_ would take charge of his heir, and bring him up to +have better notions of hospitality and good manners than could be +learned at Howth Castle. Then she hurried back to her ship, with the +poor little lordling who seemed too frightened to cry, and hid his face +against her bosom, as though shrinking from the look of her dark, angry +eyes. Immediately she ordered all sails to be set, and sped away +toward Connaught. The nurse ran up to the castle with the news, but as +she could not be admitted till the Earl had dined and drunk his punch, +so much time was lost that, before his galley could be manned and sent +on, Lady Grace's sails were already glimmering down the horizon, and +the pursuit was hopeless. + +Tristram St. Lawrence, the little lord, was a handsome child, between +two and three years old, with a look of brave, yet quiet dignity in his +face, which roused some kindly feeling in the sternest mariners and +warriors, on board the piratical ship, and even touched the heart of +the Lady Grace herself--that unsuspected womanly heart, which she had +kept sternly pressed down so many years under her breastplate of steel. + +When she first went on board, she gave the boy to one of her women, +telling her to tend him and give him food and playthings. But when +they had been at sea some time, the woman came to her mistress, and +said that the child would neither eat, nor play; that he gave no heed +to any one, but stood apart, sullen and silent, looking back over the +sea toward Howth. Then Grace, whose quick anger had cooled down in the +fresh evening breeze, went to him, laid her hand on his shoulder and +spoke his name. He did not start, or answer, but kept his sad, wistful +eyes fixed on the distant towers of his father's castle. So she stood +over him, watching, and so he stood gazing, till the ship rounded a +point which hid the castle from sight. Then, for the first time, the +child burst into tears; but, flinging himself on the deck, he covered +his face with his hands, as though to conceal his crying, and seemed to +try to check the sobs which shook his little breast. So much proud and +delicate feeling in one so young--a mere baby--appealed strongly to the +Lady Grace. She felt her heart soften and yearn over the noble child, +in his grief and loneliness. She knelt at his side and slid her hand +under his head, and speaking his name more tenderly than before, she +told him not to be afraid, not to grieve any more, and he should go +home soon. She made her harsh, commanding voice sound so sweet and +motherly that the child turned a little, and clasped that large brown +hand, and held it against his lips and his eyes, while he wept and +sobbed, till his heavy heart grew lighter. When Grace drew away her +hand, and found it all wet with tears, she looked at it for a moment, +with a strange tenderness in her imperious eyes. It seemed to her that +those tears of a sinless child, were like the holy water of baptism, +and would purify that hand, so often stained with blood. + +Great was the astonishment of the rough mariners and warriors when they +saw their stern mistress, whose name was used by mothers and nurses all +over the kingdom, as a bugbear, with which to frighten naughty +children, now comforting and caressing this stolen child; when she fed +him with her own hands, and then took him in her arms and hushed him to +sleep--singing to him a wild, childish ditty, which she remembered, +because her own long dead mother had sung it to her, when she also was +an innocent babe. + +So kind and gentle did the bold vi-queen become, that before many days +the baby-lord became passionately attached to her, and ceased to ask +for his nurse and parents. And he, with all his endearing, infantile +ways, was such brave, grand little fellow--a child so after her own +heart--that Grace, who, in her pride and independence, had never envied +anybody any thing, not even Elizabeth her crown--envied the stout Earl +of Howth his only son and heir, with a bitter, hopeless, lonely envy. +It made her sometimes sad, but it made her better, and gentler, and +even almost humble; and the most harmless, if not the happiest part of +her life, was that in which she retained the child with her, at her +gloomy stronghold in Connaught. + +At length, after sending several messengers and agents in vain, the +proud and indolent Earl of Howth came himself, with a large ransom, to +buy back his heir. Grace O'Malley refused the money with scorn, but +offered to restore the child to him, if he would solemnly promise that +the gates of Howth Castle should always be thrown wide open when the +family were at dinner. He readily promised this, and the hospitable +custom has remained in his noble house to this day. + +The Earl could scarcely believe his eyes when, as he was about to +leave, he saw the stern chieftainess lift little Tristram in her arms +and embrace him tenderly, while the child clung to her and cried. "By +my soul," whispered his lordship to one of his train, "there's a +saisoning of the woman and the Christian about the heathen Amazon, +after all." + +The Earl and the Lady Grace parted very good friends, and the baby-lord +went home loaded with presents. Oh, lonely and dreary seemed Grace +O'Malley's old castle when he was gone--doubly dark seemed its great +cavernous hall, without the sunshine of his joyous life--doubly +desolate the lady's shadowy chamber, in the windy old turret alone, +without the brightness of his winsome face and the music of his happy +voice. + +The Lady Grace became sadder and more silent than before, but she +seemed less haughty and warlike. She still followed the chase as +fiercely as ever, but she gradually gave over fighting and plundering. +She began to notice kindly little children--to give more generously to +the poor, and was even suspected of praying sometimes, and of wearing a +concealed crucifix. Her men said that the baby-lord had spoiled their +fiery vi-queen, who led them no longer on marauding and piratical +expeditions; but her women blessed the saints that their mistress had +"softened down a bit, and made it more comfortable like to sarve her." + +Once every year, Grace O'Malley went in state to Howth Castle, to see +her beloved little friend and carry him presents, till at last, just as +he was growing into manhood, a cruel sickness came upon her, and she +was unable to go. Yet she sent her galley and the presents, as usual, +to prove her faithful love. + +Tristram, who had grown up a noble, generous youth, was grieved to hear +of the illness of this strange, proud woman, who had seemed to lay +aside her very nature to love him, and as he had always kept his old +childish affection for her, he resolved to go and see her once more. + +So the galley, on its return, took the young Lord of Howth to the +O'Malley's Castle, in Connaught. + +It was night when they arrived--a wild November night. The sky was +heavy with storm-clouds, and the sea was running high before a strong +wind, and breaking with a sound like thunder upon that bleak, black +shore. There was a great fire burning in the vast chimney of the old +hall, but in the farther corners, dark shadows were lurking, and the +stone walls were glistening with a chill dampness. + +As the heavy hall door swung open, to admit the young lord and his +train, so much of the tempestuous night rushed in with them, that the +old armor and the banners hanging on the walls clanged and flapped, and +the fire roared fiercely and whirled out an angry cloud of smoke. In +the midst of the hall the Lady Grace was lying, surrounded by her +retainers, her warriors, and seamen, on a rude couch, piled with skins +of deer she had slain, but curtained with rich crimson drapery, +suspended from the ceiling by enormous antlers of elks. She was +dressed in her old way, except that she had no arms in her girdle, and +wore a rosary about her neck. By her side stood a venerable priest, +holding a crucifix and the Lady Grace was repeating after him very +devoutly a prayer for the dying; but when she saw Tristram, she forgot +both priest and prayer. She sprang up from her couch to meet him, with +a glad cry; and though she sank back at once, in weakness and mortal +pain, she was content, for her arms were about the neck of her darling. +She wiped the rain-drops from his face and pressed them out of his soft +brown hair, and gazed at him with a fierce joy of love in her great +dark eyes, which seemed larger and darker now, and shone with new +splendor, since her long black locks had turned to silvery white. + +"It was noble and like thee, _mavourneen deelish_," she said, "to give +my dying eyes this last best blessing of life--beholding thee once +more. For this boon, I bestow upon thee the proudest legacy I have to +leave--this ring of most precious stones--the gift of my sister, +Elizabeth of England. With the ring, I would give thee my benison, but +that I fear the blessing of so sinful a woman might do thee harm. And +yet, as I have loved thee purely, as a mother might, the saints may +make it good. So, I _will_ bless thee, jewel of my heart!" + +The young lord knelt reverently to receive her blessing, and after she +had ceased to murmur the fervent words, he still kept his place, for +her large hand yet pressed heavily upon his head. After a moment's +silence, she recommenced speaking, but rapidly and wildly, for her mind +was wandering. It seemed to have gone back to the night when she had +taken the heir of Howth from his nurse. She began railing against the +old Earl's churlishness, and vowing she would teach him a lesson in +hospitality Then she called out in loud, stern tones to her mariners to +set sail for Connaught, and laughed fiercely over her prize. But soon +her mood changed; she began to stroke the head of Tristram, and comfort +him by gentle words and kind promises. She did not seem to perceive +that the firm, manly face now before her, was not the smooth little +face all wet with tears, she once caressed. The young lord was again a +baby-boy to her; and presently she drew him closer, and began singing +that same nursery song with which she used to soothe him to sleep. + +It was a strange sight to see,--that dying woman, rocking herself back +and forth, and singing that wild lullaby, with her staring servitors +and grim old fighters grouped around her, hardly able to believe that +this was indeed their haughty mistress, their brave leader, their bold +sea-captain. + +At first, her voice rang out clear and full, but soon it faltered and +failed, and sunk lower and lower. And lower and lower sunk the head of +the old chieftainess, till her long white locks mingled with the dark +curls of the young lord; then her voice ceased altogether, and her +forehead lay heavy and cold against his, and he knew that Grace +O'Malley was dead. + + + + +Donnybrook + +THE LITTLE FIDDLER. + +A mile or two south of Dublin is Donnybrook, the place where a famous +annual fair is held. We happened to be in the city at the time of +this, and one pleasant afternoon we drove out to see this great +gathering of the Irish peasantry. The fair-ground presented a busy, +gay, and curious scene. A large enclosed space was covered with booths +and tents--horse-markets--cattle-markets--buyers, sellers, and crowds +of spectators. There was almost every thing one could think of, for +sale; there were all sorts of games, and sports and shows going on; +there were Ethiopian concerts, plays, exhibitions of Punch and Judy, +little circuses and menageries, jugglers, tumblers, hurdy-gurdy +players, ballad singers, pipers, fiddlers, and dancers. + +In nearly all the tents were gay young couples, dancing away as though +for dear life--dancing not alone with their feet, but with their arms, +their heads, and their merry, twinkling eyes. They were not all well +dressed, or even clean, but they seemed happy and healthy, and merrily +snapped their fingers at care. Everywhere there was laughter, and +chatter, and feasting, and frolic; but, I am glad to say, we saw little +tippling, and no quarrelling. It was very different in old times, when +the wild fun of Donnybrook Fair always ended in confusion, drunkenness, +and fighting. This happy change has been effected partly by the +Temperance reform, and partly by the establishment of a strong and +active government police. + +Now for a short story of Donnybrook Fair. + + +THE LITTLE FIDDLER. + +Away toward the hills of Wicklow, some five or six miles from Dublin, +there lived, not many years ago, a humble peasant family, by the name +of O'Shaughnessy. Michael O'Shaughnessy worked in the bog--that is, he +cut up the turf of the bogs, and piled it in stacks for drying--so +making the peat which is the common fuel of Ireland. He was very poor, +and with his wife and five children lived in a little low cabin, built +of mud and stones, and thatched with straw. There was but one small +window to this cabin, but then a good deal of light came down through a +hole in the roof, left for the smoke to go out of--for there was no +chimney. + +Mrs. O'Shaughnessy kept a few geese, and just before the door there was +a little muddy pond, where they enjoyed themselves, and on the edges of +which the pig wallowed, and dozed; except on stormy days, when he +preferred to go into the house. Now, among the poor Irish peasants, +the pig is a very important personage, and is treated with a great deal +of respect, for he usually pays the rent. With Mrs. O'Shaughnessy, it +was first herself and husband, then her son Teddy, then _the Pig_; then +the girls, Biddy and Peggy and Katy; and then, our hero, Larry +O'Sullivan. If she had known he was to be our hero, she might have put +him before the _colleens_, (girls,) but not, I think, before the pig. + +Larry O'Sullivan was a poor orphan boy, the child of a sister of +Michael O'Shaughnessy, by whom he had been adopted, when his father and +mother died of the fever. Larry was very handsome, and what was +better, very good, but he led rather a hard life of it at his new home. +His uncle was kind, but he was a gentle, meek sort of a man--his wife +ruled every thing at the cabin, and she did not like Larry overmuch. +She thought it hard that he should not only eat the food and wear the +clothes that her own children needed, but should be more liked and +admired in the neighborhood than they. She doted on her own boy, +Teddy, and thought him not only good-looking, but wonderfully +clever--when, in fact, a plainer or more stupid young bog-trotter could +hardly be found in all Ireland. She was a strong-minded woman, and did +not make much account of her girls--and there she was not far +wrong--except in regard to the youngest, Katy, who was a pretty, +blue-eyed darling, as sweet and as bright as a May morning. Katy and +Larry were famous good friends--Larry was the pulse of Katy's heart, +and Katy was the light of Larry's eyes. + +The children all went to school in the village, about a mile away. +Dermot Finnigen, the schoolmaster, was also a tailor, a barber, a bit +of a doctor, and a fiddler. He did very well at all his professions, +but he was greatest at fiddling. + +From the first, Larry was the master's favorite--not because he was +particularly studious, but because he took to the fiddle as naturally, +Dermot said, "as a ducklin' takes to the wather, just." Indeed, the +boy showed such extraordinary talent for music, that, for the mere love +of it, Dermot gave him lessons, and often lent him an old fiddle to +practise on. + +Larry had also a very sweet voice, and in singing the wild ballads of +the country, could make people laugh or cry, just as it pleased him to +do. + +Larry coveted, more than any thing in the world, the old fiddle of his +master. Dermot was willing to sell it, as he had a better, but he said +he could not part with it even to his favorite pupil, for less than a +crown. Now Larry in all his life had never held so much money--so he +despaired of ever being rich enough to have a fiddle of his own. + +One spring-time, when Larry was about twelve and Teddy fourteen, a +great trouble came upon the house of the O'Shaughnessys--the pig died! + +One morning, soon after this sad event, as the two boys were on the way +to the little village, on some errand, a travelling carriage passed +them, driving rapidly. As it turned a corner, a small writing-case was +jolted off from one of the seats, and fell into the road. Larry picked +it up, and the two boys ran after the carriage, shouting to the driver +to stop. But he took them for beggars, and drove on the faster. So +they followed, for more than a mile, running at the top of their speed, +calling and holding up the writing-case. + +At last, the carriage stopped, and the boys came up panting, and gave +the writing-case to a gentleman, who seemed very happy to get it, as he +said it contained valuable papers and money. He thanked the boys, and +gave them each a crown. + +Larry's beautiful brown eyes danced with joy. "Arrah, Teddy," said he, +"sure this is a rale providince! I'll go immadiately an buy Dermot's +ould feddle." + +"Faix thin, Larry, ye'll make thrue the sayin'--'a fool and his money +be soon parted.' _I'll_ go an' buy the Widdy Mullowny's pig, and fat +it for the Fair. It's meself that knows how to spind money in a +sinsible way. A feddle indade!" + +Larry did not heed Teddy's sneers, but went directly and bought the +fiddle. He hugged it to his heart, and danced for joy all the way +home. But such a scolding as met him there! All blamed him for his +extravagance, but little Katy, who stole up to him and +whispered--"Niver mind the hard discoorse, Larry; ye've got the feddle +ony how, and it's mighty glad I am." + +Larry was never allowed to play on his treasure within the cabin walls; +it was always "Away wid ye now, ye lazy feddling spalpeen!" But up +amid the gorge of the hill side, he used to sit, with Katy, on pleasant +summer evenings, playing so late that Katy would creep close to him, +fancying she saw the "little folk," or fairies, dancing in the +moonlight, to his delicious music. + +In the mean time, "Phelim," the pig, throve finely, and grew to be, as +Mrs. O'Shaughnessy said, "an iligant cratur, intirely." Every meal, +after the family had eaten, the remains were thrown into the +potato-kettle, and "the sinsible baste claned it out beautifully," so +saving work for Mrs. O'Shaughnessy. + +At last, the first day of the Fair arrived, and Teddy and Larry set out +for Donnybrook, with the pig,--Larry taking his fiddle. + +Now Phelim had been a wonderful animal at home, and in his own +mud-puddle, but it was quite another thing at Donnybrook. There he was +eclipsed by pigs of a more choice breed, fatter, cleaner, and better +behaved. Teddy was sadly disappointed and mortified--he had supposed +that there would be a tremendous competition for that jewel of a pig. + +"Suppose, Larry, ye strike up a tune on yer feddle, to call the +attintion of the folk, just," said he, at last. + +Larry began very timidly, but in a few moments an admiring group was +collected around him. A purchaser was soon found for Phelim, and Teddy +having doubled his money, felt rich and grand, and cast rather +contemptuous looks on his thriftless cousin. But before the day was +over, Larry had made more money than two pigs like Phelim would +bring--by playing for the dancers, and singing ballads. Among those +who listened most attentively to him was a great musician from Dublin, +who saw at once that the lad had a remarkable genius for music. He +talked with him, and was much pleased with his intelligence and +modesty. Larry was glad to find it was the same gentleman whose +writing-case he had picked up a few months before. + +Mr. R---- inquired where the boys lived, and the next day drove down to +Michael O'Shaughnessy's, and offered to take his nephew and educate him +for a musician. + +So Larry went to town, to live with his kind benefactor. He was well +clothed and cared for and being good and grateful, studied hard to be a +finished musician. He never forgot his humble home, or felt above his +poor relations. Every Sunday he walked out to see them, and good old +Dermot, who was fond and proud of him, you may depend. His cousin Katy +grew still dearer to him as the years wore on, and he blessed the time +when he was rich enough to take her to Dublin, and put her to school. +It was said she was to be governess--but every body thought Larry would +have no other wife but Katy--and every body was right. + +Larry _has_ become a great musician--so great that even Mrs. +O'Shaughnessy admits that he "is not a bad fiddler." + + + + +From Dublin to Cork and Blarney Castle. + +LITTLE NORAH AND THE BLARNEY STONE. + +We left Dublin for Cork, on a fresh August morning--pleasant but +showery, like nearly all mornings in Ireland. The railway on which we +travelled, passes for the most part through a barren, boggy, desolate +country, with only here and there a tract of well cultivated land--past +low, miserable hovels of bog-working peasants, and wretched, +tumble-down little villages. + +It was melancholy to see, all along our way, multitudes of +ruins--churches and castles and towers--battered, dismantled, and +ivy-grown--making it look more like a country of the dead than of the +living. In these crumbling remains, you read, almost as in a book, the +history of the ancient prosperity and power of Ireland, and of its +gradual destruction by wars, sieges, famine, and pestilence, till it +was brought to its present state of poverty and desolation. + +We passed through, or in sight of, several famous old places, such as +Kildare, the Rock of Dunamase, Cashel, Kilmallock, and Buttevant. + +Kildare, though now a small, dilapidated town, was once a large city, +renowned for its religious institutions. Its principal buildings were +churches, monasteries, and nunneries, and its chief productions +crucifixes, rosaries, and saints. The most celebrated among the +latter, was Saint Bridget, who received the veil from the hands of St +Patrick himself. She founded a nunnery here, which was most remarkable +for "the sacred fire," which the nuns who succeeded her kept burning +for hundreds of years--in remembrance of her, probably. From a little +story related of her, when she was a child, I should say she better +deserved to be called a saint than many of those so honored by the +Church. + +The father of Bridget was a warlike Irish chieftain, but a loyal +subject of the King of Leinster, and on one occasion, that monarch +bestowed upon him a rich sword, with the hilt set with costly jewels. +Now the peasants on this chieftain's estates were very poor--indeed, +suffering absolute starvation, and there was no one to help them, for +their lord had enough to do to fight his enemies, without feeding his +humble friends; and his wife, Bridget's stepmother, was a hard, cruel +woman. Poor little Bridget gave all her pocket-money, and sold all her +little keepsakes, for their relief, and still they were starving. At +last, she went to the armory and took down her father's idle, show +sword, and had the rich jewels taken out of the hilt and sold. With +the money she bought food, and saved the lives of several most worthy +but unfortunate families. When her father came home, she told him what +she had done. History does not say, but we can easily guess, what _he_ +did. And that was not the last of it; soon after, the King came to her +father's house to dine, and having heard about the theft, called the +child up to him, and asked her how she had dared to do such a wicked +thing as to rob her father and deface the gift of a great monarch. +Now, we republicans can have very little idea of what it was to be +called up and spoken to in this way. Kings, in old times, were far +more terrible than they are now, and Irish kings were the most terrible +of all. But brave little Bridget, though she was only nine years old, +was not frightened by his black frown and thunder-like voice. She +stood up straight, and looked calmly into his angry eyes, as she +replied: "I have but bestowed thy gift upon a greater and a mightier +king than thou art--even Christ, who hath said that whatsoever we give +unto his poor children is given unto him." + +In the neighborhood of Kildare, is Inch Castle, about which Mrs. S. C. +Hall tells a touching legend. Inch Castle was once in the possession +of the MacKellys--a proud and powerful family. Ulick, one of the sons +of the old lord, a handsome, gay, daring young man, but wild and +heartless, paid court to a beautiful peasant girl, named Oona More. He +won her love, and then, being very fickle, cruelly forsook her. Oona +was very good and gentle--she forgave her false lover, and would not +allow her brothers to harm him, though he had broken her loving heart. +Suddenly the plague broke out in the neighborhood, and Ulick MacKelly +was one of the first struck. As was the custom, for fear of the +infection, he was removed at once from the castle to the fields, where +a shed was erected over him, and he was left alone with only a loaf of +bread and a pitcher of water by his side. When Oona heard of this, she +forgot his cruel desertion--forgot every thing but his suffering and +her love--and went to him, and tended him, and prayed beside him, day +and night, till he died. Even then, she did not leave him. She had +taken his deadly disease; on her breast came a bright red spot--the +sure sign of the plague. She was not sorry to see it there and the +next day, all her pain and trouble and sorrows were over. Then her +brother came to take her away. She still sat by the dead--her hood +fell over her face, so she seemed to be yet alive. Her brother laid +his hand on her shoulder, and said, gently-- + +"Oona, come home--the cow is lowing for you--the little lambs have no +one to care for them. Oona, dear, come home with me!" + +Seeing that she did not stir, he lifted the hood, looked in her dead +face, and gave a bitter cry. He had no sister any more. + +We passed through a portion of the "Bog of Allen," the largest of all +Irish bogs--said to be full 300,000 acres in extent. Some of my +readers may not know that the bog is not the primitive soil, but masses +of partly decomposed vegetable matter, which have accumulated during +many, many ages. In nearly all of the bogs, trees of various kinds +have been found imbedded--sometimes small buildings, arms, ornaments, +strange implements, and the bones of enormous animals, now extinct. +From oak dug up from bogs, many pretty black ornaments are now made. + +This bog takes its name from the hill of Allen, or "Dun Almhain," on +which was the residence of the famous old Irish chief, Fin MacCual, or +Fingal, as he is called in Ossian's Poems. He was the king of the +Fians, the name of the ancient Irish tribes who lived by hunting. He +must have been handsome as well as heroic, for he was, it seems, a +wonderful favorite with the ladies. It is related that when he +concluded that it was time for him to take a wife, he was sadly puzzled +who to choose among his many fair admirers. Finally, he settled upon a +plan odd and funny enough, certainly. He sent out a proclamation to +all the beautiful young women of Ireland, calling upon them to assemble +on a certain day, at the foot of a mountain in Tipperary, now called +Slieve-na-man. When they had all come together, a host of rival +beauties in their best array, the great chief coolly announced to them +that he was about to ascend the mountain, and that from the summit, he +would make a signal to them, when they should all start fair, and +whoever should first reach the summit, should have the honor and +felicity of being Mrs. Fin MacCual. He then proceeded leisurely up the +mountain, seated himself on an old Druidical altar, at the very topmost +point, and graciously waved his hand to the expectant ladies below. +Off they started like eager young race-horses,--nothing daunted by the +hard course they had to run. Up, up, over rocks and streams, and +patches of black bog--up, up, through woods and briars and furze, they +leaped and climbed and scrambled--laughing and panting and scolding and +screaming! Ah, what sport it must have been for Fin, watching them +from above! Yet, though they all ran well, only one came in winner. +But that was the highest princess of the country--Graine, daughter of +Cormac, monarch of all Ireland. I hope she found her husband worth the +chase. + +The great rock of Dunarnase stands alone in the midst of a plain, and +is crowned with the ruins of a castle--once a very strong fortress. +The rock of Cashel is seen from a great distance, and upon its summit +are the finest ruins in all Ireland. This noble height was a +stronghold of the ancient kings of the province of Munster. The first +Christian kings built churches, chapels, towers, and cathedrals here, +and the present ruins are mostly of religious edifices. This imposing +site is much venerated still, and a favorite oath among the Irish +peasantry is--"By the Rock of Cashel!" + +Kilmallock, now all in ruins, was once a city of great beauty and +consideration. It was destroyed by the troops of Cromwell, the +desolater of Ireland. Kilmallock was the seat of the ancient and +powerful race of the Desmonds. + +Buttevant is a poor little place, but containing the ruins of a fine +old abbey. Near Buttevant are the ruins of Kilcoleman Castle, at which +the great poet Spenser lived, and which was burned by the Irish in a +rebellion. The youngest child of the poet perished in the flames. + +Cork is usually ranked as the second city of Ireland, and is a +handsome, pleasant, prosperous looking place. It has not many +interesting antiquities, but some of its modern buildings are very +fine. The country around Cork is exceedingly picturesque, and its +harbor is very beautiful. The city itself is about twelve miles from +the mouth of the harbor, upon the River Lee. + +We had letters of introduction to a gentleman living at Monkstown, +about six miles below the city, and on the day after our arrival, we +took the steamboat and went down to his residence. We were received +with warm Irish hospitality, and throughout that day and the next, +every thing that our friend and his family could do for our enjoyment +was done in the pleasantest and heartiest way. They took us boating up +and down the noble bay--driving along the shores, and walking over +their estate. There was always a large, lively party, and we had the +merriest times imaginable. They made a pic-nic for us, on Cove Island, +but a rain coming on, we took refuge in an old, old castle, where we +feasted, and jested, and laughed, and sung songs, and even danced, in +the rough and gloomy halls in which, hundreds and hundreds of years +ago, were gathered barbaric Irish chieftains--grim, terrible +fellows--parading the spoils of the chase, or the plunder of war. + +A little way back from their house, our friends have another +ruin--Monkstown Castle. This was built in 1636--tradition says at only +the cost of a groat. Of course, the statement was a puzzle to me, when +I first heard it, but it was soon explained. The estate belonged, at +that time, to John Archdeken, who, while serving with the army abroad, +left his wife in charge of his property. She was a thrifty woman, and +determined to surprise him on his return by a noble residence, which +should cost very little. So she hired workmen, with the privilege of +supplying them with all their provisions and articles of clothing. +These she purchased by wholesale, and though she sold them at the +ordinary retail price, found in the end, that the profits had only +fallen short of paying the expenses of building, one groat. + +It came very hard for us to part from our kind friends at +Monkstown--but it has by no means been hard to keep them in loving +remembrance. + +Just a pleasant drive from Cork is Blarney Castle--a noble ruin, +towering above a beautiful little lake, all surrounded by delightful, +though neglected grounds--made famous by an old comic song, called "The +Groves of Blarney." + +This stronghold was built in the fifteenth century, by the great chief, +Cormac MacCarty, and retained by his descendants, the lords of +Clancarty and Musterry, until 1689, when it was confiscated. It has +since belonged to a family of Jeffries. The sad work of decay and +demolition has been going on for several centuries, and yet some of the +walls look as though they would stand centuries longer. + +The chief object of curiosity here is the famous "Blarney Stone," about +which there is a foolish tradition that whoever kisses it shall be +gifted with such shrewdness and eloquence that nobody will be able to +resist his persuasions. From this comes the expression of "_blarney_" +for cunning and flattering talk. I did not perceive that the people in +this neighborhood had any more of this peculiar gift than those of +other provinces;--indeed, I should suppose that there was a Blarney +stone in every town in Ireland, and that no Irishman, woman, or child +had failed to kiss it. + +This stone is now on the inside of the highest battlement of the great +tower. It was formerly on the outside, some feet from the top, and +those who wished to kiss it, were obliged to be let down by their +heels--which being a rather disagreeable and dangerous process, Mr. +Jeffries had it removed to its present place. Some learned men say +that this is nothing but a spurious stone, after all; and that the real +magical stone is yet imbedded in the outer wall, about twenty feet from +the top, and bears the name of the great MacCarty. Perhaps it is +so--but I don't believe it. + +In the grounds about the Castle, or "The Groves," there is many a +sweet, dewy, flowery spot, where the grass, moss, and ivy, are green as +green can be, and no sound is heard in the deep shade but the gurgle of +water and the warble of birds. Here are some rude steps made in the +rock, called "The Witches' Staircase," and a cave, in which it was said +a fair Princess remained enchanted for many years. Legends say that +the last Earl of Clancarty sunk all his valuable plate in the lake, +where it will remain until one of the old race regains possession of +the estate. Our guide told us that Lady Jeffries tried to drain the +lake, but that though she made a deep opening in the bank, not a drop +would run out--"for fear of exposing the plate of the rale lord!" He +said, too, that enchanted cows in the MacCarty interest came often at +night, and drove the Jeffries cows out of their pastures; and that no +earthly cattle had any chance at all against them--for they were +furious animals, with "mighty sharp horns." Of course, all this is +very absurd, and not half so pretty as the legends we heard everywhere +in Ireland of the fairies, or "good people." I will tell you more of +these another time. Now I have only room for a little anecdote of the +last Lord Clancarty, which I find set down as a great lesson to people +to read their Bibles. + +When this unfortunate nobleman was going into exile, he told his +relative, the beautiful Duchess of Marlborough, that he was certain he +could recover his property, if he only had money enough to carry on a +lawsuit for it. She did not offer to help him, but she placed in his +hands a Bible, saying that he would find in it comfort and support in +all his troubles. The young lord thanked her with such a pious face +that one would have thought he meant to do little else than study the +good book for the next six months. But the rogue never once looked +into it, and when, long after, he returned to England, the Duchess +asked him for it, and opening it before his eyes, showed him that she +had placed between the leaves, bank notes enough to have recovered his +estates, now hopelessly lost. + +I must say that this account of Lord Clancarty's poverty, and that of +his treasure hid in Blarney Lake, do not hang together very well; but, +as the Bible story has the best moral, perhaps we had better hold on to +that, and let the other go, with the legends of enchanted cows and +princesses. + + +LITTLE NORAH AND THE BLARNEY STONE. + +One pleasant summer morning, in 18--, a gay party of English ladies and +gentlemen visited the old Castle of Blarney. They strolled along the +green shore of the lake, wandered about the wild neglected gardens and +"groves," ran up and down the Witches' Staircase, poked their heads +into the princesses cave, and then ascended the great tower of the +castle. This party was headed by a gentleman of middle age, tall and +stately, but very kindly and pleasant in his looks. He wore a military +uniform, but was addressed as "my lord." He held by the hand, that is, +whenever he could catch her, a smiling rosy, dimple-cheeked little +girl, whom he called "Fanny," and the rest of the party "Lady Frances." +It was a pretty sight to see her break away from them all, and flit +about the ruins and through the dark tangled alleys of the groves, like +a bird on the wing. She laughingly skipped up and down the Witches' +Staircase with the rest, but she lingered longest in the haunted cave, +looking about her wistfully, as though she expected to see the +enchanted princess; and once her father found her peering into a dark +green dell, and listening attentively, her dark eyes growing big with +expectant awe. + +"Why, daughter Fanny, what have you there?" he asked. "What wonderful +discovery are you making?" + +"Hush, father!" she replied, with her small taper finger on her lip, +"it's the fairies I'm after--the 'good people,' nurse Bridget has told +me so much about. I am sure there must be some of them in this still, +shady place. I've found their 'rings' in the fresh, green grass." + +Lord Clare at first smiled at this simple, childish faith, then grew +serious, and sitting down on a flowery bank, drew his little daughter +on to his knee, and explained to her how the story of fairies was, in +the beginning, only a fable of poets and romance-writers, and was now +only believed in by ignorant peasants, like her Irish nurse; that, in +truth, there were no such beings as the fairies in all the world. When +he had finished, he was surprised to see that the child had covered her +face with her hands, and that the tears were fast trickling through her +fingers. "What is my little daughter weeping for?" he asked. + +"For the fairies, papa; the dear, beautiful fairies. I can't believe +in them any more." + +"But was it not right for papa to tell you the truth, my darling, even +though it gave you pain?" + +"Yes, I suppose it was. But, oh, papa, somehow things don't look so +beautiful as they did when I believed in the 'good people.' Then every +bank of moss, or bit of green turf, I thought might be a fairy +ball-room. Whenever I saw a flower, or a leaf floating on the water, I +thought some fairy might be sailing on it. I was almost sure +full-blown roses were the thrones of fairy queens, and buds just +opening they were the little baby-fairies' cradles. Oh, it was so +beautiful! and then, the kindness and goodness of the wee things, papa; +that is, when you did not happen to offend them. They were always +helping people out of trouble, especially poor persecuted princes and +princesses, and they were such fast friends of good children--at least, +so nurse and the fairy books said, and I used to believe so;--now it's +all over." + +"But, my daughter," said Lord Clare, "we can be better than fairies to +one another, if we will; and then, remember, that we have God's good +angels to watch over and help us, when they can." + +"Yes," said Fanny, brightening up a little, "that is some comfort." + +It was soon after this conversation that the party ascended the old +crumbly stone steps of the great tower of the castle. After enjoying +the fine prospect from the summit for some time, Lord Clare inquired +for the famous Blarney Stone. + +Rooney, the guide, a shrewd, smooth-tongued fellow, leaned over the +ruined parapet, and pointing to a stone, several feet below, replied, +"There it is, yer honor, the rale meraculous ould stone. Sure if your +lordship would so demane yourself as to kiss it, to-day, you would +never have any trouble in governing Irishmen at all. You would have +only to spake, and the spirit of fight and rebellion would leave them, +and they would be quiet as lambs." + +"Indeed! that would be a miracle; but how am I to get at the stone?" + +"Oh, that is aisy done. I'll hould your lordship by the heels and +swing you over just--all for half a crown, and as much more as yer +lordship is plased to give." + +"O yes, I remember to have heard of your original way of showing up the +Blarney Stone," said Lord Clare, "but how can I be sure that you will +not raise your price before raising me. It strikes me that I have +heard of your once playing off that trick upon a tourist." + +"Ah!" said Rooney, with a sly chuckle, "yer lordship alludes to a +mean-souled tailor, from London. He stood where yer lordship stands +for more nor an hour, beating me down from half a crown, my lawful fee, +to a shilling,--and me with seven children and the wife at home down +with the fever. At last, I gave in, and swung him over. He kissed the +stone, and then called to me to pull him up. 'Wait a bit, my man,' +says I, 'you gave me only a shilling for letting you down; it's a dale +harder job to pull you up. I must have half a crown for that same.' +With that, he began to swear and call me a chate, and threaten me with +the police. But I only said, 'my arms is givin' out, and I can't hold +on much longer, and if you won't pay me my just demand, I shall be +under the necessity of dropping yer acquaintance.' Then he began to +beg, for you see, he could look down and see the ugly rocks and the +black water more nor a hundred feet below him. But I told him he had +bothered so long, and given my arms such a strain, that I could not let +him up so aisy. At last, to save his neck, he promised me the half +guinea I asked, and paid it as soon as he set foot on the tower. I +know it was a big price for the article, but that was his own affair. +And now, begging your lordship's pardon, for proposing such a thing as +your kissing the stone after a tailor, shall I have the pleasure of +suspending your lordship over the wall, this morning?" + +"No, Rooney, you must excuse me. But here is your half crown, all the +same," said Lord Clare, with a good-humored smile. + +Just at this moment, Fanny called the attention of the party to a +little girl, about her own age, who had just ascended the tower, and +was standing near them, looking about her curiously and wistfully. She +was evidently one of the poorest class of peasants, for her dress was +coarse and patched, though clean and tidy. But she was a beautiful +child. She had large, dark, tender eyes, and soft curling, brown hair; +her arms and hands, though much sunburnt, and her feet, which were +bare, were small and gracefully formed. Her face wore now a weary and +troubled look, so little befitting a child, that it touched the hearts +of all that gay company. One of the gentlemen asked very kindly what +it was she wanted. She courtesied, as she answered timidly, "Sure, yer +honor, it's the Blarney Stone I'm after. Will you tell me, plase, +where I can find it?" + +"Why, child," said Lord Clare, "what do you want of the Blarney Stone?" + +"Only to kiss it, yer honor. I've come all the way from Bantry, on my +two feet, barring a lift now and then on a car, just to do that +same--all for the sake of poor Phin." + +"And who is Phin?" + +"He is my brother, sir--my own brother, and he has gone and 'listed, +and it's breaking my mother's heart; and sure, yer honor, if he goes +away for a soldier, she will die, and it's all alone in the world I'll +be." With that, her little red lips began to quiver, and the tears to +fall from her soft, brown eyes. + +"But what good will it do Phin, for you to kiss the Blarney Stone?" +asked one of the ladies. + +"Whist!" said the child, looking about her, and speaking low, as though +afraid of being overheard by some one unfriendly to Phin, "it's just a +little plot of my own. I was told that the new lord-lieutenant was +coming to Cork, and I knew he could let poor Phin off from being a +soldier; so I said nothing to nobody, but came up to entrate him. You +see I had often heard how this same Blarney Stone would give people an +ilegant and moving discoorse; and sure I thought I'd need to kiss it, +before I could stand up forninst a great lord, and say my story. That +is all, yer ladyship." + +"Oh, little girl!" cried Fanny, joyfully, "you need not kiss the old +stone for that, for my papa is--" Here the impulsive little girl +caught a warning look from her father, and paused suddenly, while his +lordship took up the conversation with the peasant child. + +"What is your name?" + +"Norah McCarthy, yer honor." + +"Ah, quite a pretty name. Well, Norah, how came this brother of yours +to enlist?" + +"Och! it all came from going to Darby O'Hallagher's wake." + +"What is a wake?" asked Fanny. + +"A wake, my darling young lady," said Rooney, very politely, "sure it's +an entertainment that a man gives after he is dead, when his +disconsolate friends all assemble at his house, to discuss his virtues +and drink his poteen. There is one who is called a 'keener,' usually +an elderly woman, with a touch of madness, or poetry, and a wild +rolling eye, who chants a 'keen,' or lamentation; in short, it's a sort +of melancholy frolic, where we only drink to drown our sorrow--a good +old Irish custom. Now, go on, Norah, my jewel." + +"Well, may be Phin was a great mourner for Darby, for he was overtaken +in drink that night, and brought shame upon himself, that had always +been a dacent and a sober lad; and the next day Mary Nelligan wouldn't +spake to him, and even our mother turned her face away from him; and +so, with the hot shame at his heart, he went straight to the sergeant +and 'listed. He was sorry soon, and Mary was sorry, and mother is just +kilt with grief, for she has nobody to look to now." + +"And to obtain your brother's discharge, you have come on this +pilgrimage to Blarney Castle, my poor child?" said Lord Clare, laying +his hand gently on the little girl's head. + +"Yes, and will yer honor kindly point out the stone to me? for I must +go back to Cork this day." + +Lord Clare took her by the hand, and leading her to the parapet, +pointed down to the stone, imbedded in the outside wall. "Ah," cried +Norah, in a tone of dismay and grief, "how can I reach it there? and +where am I to get the heart to spake up to the lord-lieutenant for poor +Phin?" + +Just then, an idea of testing the courage and devotion of the child +occurred to Lord Clare. Unwinding from his waist a long silk, military +sash, he said, "If you will let me tie this around you, under your +arms, and let you down by it, you can kiss the Blarney Stone, and I +will draw you up again. Are you brave enough to venture?" + +As Norah looked down from what seemed to her a dreadful height, she +grew dizzy and shrank back; but when she looked up into the calm, kind +eyes of Lord Clare, she took courage, and said she would go. As he +tied the sash firmly about her, she said,--"If yer honor finds me heavy +you'll not let me fall, for sure you have a colleen (girl) of your own." + +She put up a little prayer when she went over the wall, which I doubt +not was lovingly listened to, by Him who blessed little children. +Safely she was lowered to the stone, and eagerly she pressed against it +her soft red lips, and then called out, "I've done it, yer honor; now +pull me up, if you plase." + +As Lord Clare lifted her up over the parapet, Fanny, in admiration of +her courage, rushed forward, flung her arms about her and kissed +her--calling her "the best and bravest girl in the world." The ladies +and gentlemen of the party all made presents of money, which she +received with grateful thanks, but seemed bewildered by their great +kindness and in a hurry to get away. + +"Where are you going?" asked one. + +"Back to Cork, sure, to find the lord-lieutenant, while the feel of the +Blarney Stone is on my lips." + +"But how will you get to speak to him?" + +"Ah, then, I cannot tell; but the saints will help me, may be." + +"I will tell you what to do," said Lord Clare. "Come to the Royal +Hotel, where he lodges, just after the Review, to-day. I know him, and +will see that orders are given to admit you, at once." + +"But hadn't I better wait till his lordship has dined?" asked Norah, +"for I have heard that gentlemen are better natured after dinner." + +"Ah, you are a shrewd child," said Lord Clare, laughing, "but you +forget that you have kissed the Blarney Stone, and need not fear even a +hungry lord-lieutenant. Come at the time I set." + +"And keep up good courage," whispered Fanny. "You can't expect any +help from the fairies, for there are no such little folks nowadays; but +there are the angels, you know--and my papa, he is almost as good as a +fairy." + +At the hour appointed for receiving his humble petitioner, the +lord-lieutenant was standing in his parlor, at the Royal Hotel, with a +group of officers in rich uniforms and ladies in full dress about him. +He was amusing some of the company who had not been with him in the +morning, by an account of the simplicity and heroism of the beautiful +Irish child he had met, when she was shown in, by a pompous +serving-man, in showy livery, who looked very much astonished and +somewhat indignant at being obliged to introduce such a humble little +body to a room full of grand people. But no one cared for his looks. +Norah was dazzled by the sight of so much splendid dress, and went +forward with timid, wavering steps to where she was told the +lord-lieutenant was standing. She stood before him, quite silent for a +moment, her eyes cast down, and a painful blush overspreading her +artless face; then, in a trembling, hesitating voice, she began--"Will +yer honor plase--no, may it plase yer lord-lieutenantship to let our +poor Phin go! Sure, with all these fine soldiers you'll never miss +him, and then"--here she stammered and broke quite down. Covering her +face with her hands, she cried out, half sorrowfully and half in +vexation, "Bad luck to the Blarney Stone! There's no good in it at +all, at all--sorra a word more will it give me to spake." + +Lord Clare laughed at this--a pleasant, familiar laugh--and Norah +dropped her hands and looked up full in his face, for the first time +during the interview. In an instant, her eyes flashed joyfully through +their tears, she clapped her hands and cried,--"Blessed Saint Patrick +it is himself!" The next moment, Fanny was at her side, smiling and +whispering joyfully, "Didn't I tell you my papa was almost as good as a +fairy?" + +To make a long story short, I will say that Phin McCarthy's discharge +was soon obtained, and Norah McCarthy returned to Bantry, by the public +car, loaded with presents from the generous friends her beauty and +brave devotion had made. + +A short time after, as the lord-lieutenant and his party were passing +through Bantry, on their way to Killarney, their travelling car was +surrounded by the McCarthys and Nelligans, (Mary Nelligan was already +Mrs. Phin McCarthy,) all come to return their thanks. + +Little Lady Frances was very happy to see her Irish friend, who looked +prettier than ever, in a neat new dress; and drawing her father's face +down to hers, she whispered,--"Oh, papa, dear! won't you take Norah +home with us, to be my little maid?" This thought had already occurred +to Lord Clare, so he proposed it at once to Mrs. McCarthy. Though +feeling greatly honored, the good woman was, at first, unwilling to +part from her darling, and Norah to go so far from her mother; but when +his lordship promised that they should often visit each other, they +gratefully consented. + +So Norah went to live in Dublin Castle, as the maid and playmate of +Lady Frances. She was always most kindly cared for, received a good +education, and was treated more as a friend than as a servant by all +Lord Clare's household, for she ever retained her simple, endearing +ways, and was as good as she was beautiful. + +When she had been a year or two in his family, Lord Clare one day +explained to her, as well as he could, the curious superstition of the +Blarney Stone,--assuring her that there was in reality no virtue or +power in it whatever. Norah smiled and blushed at his earnest words, +as she answered in her sweet brogue, which she had not yet been +educated out of,--"My Lady Frances told me long ago, that the fairies +were all a pretty fable, and the Blarney Stone was like any other +stone, just. I'll let the fairies go, but," (taking Fanny's hand and +kissing it,) "by your lordship's leave and hers, I will stand by the +Blarney Stone, for the good fortune it has brought me." + + + + +A Visit to the Lakes of Killarney. + +KATHLEEN OF KILLARNEY. + +The morning of our leaving Cork was dark and rainy; but it gradually +cleared up, and by the time we reached Bantry, the first place of much +note on our route, all was bright and smiling, overhead and along our +way. + +Bantry Bay is very beautiful, and is historically remarkable as the +place where the French have twice attempted a landing, for the purpose +of invading and revolutionizing Ireland. + +Late in the afternoon, we arrived at Glengariff--one of the wildest and +yet loveliest spots in all that picturesque country. How I wish I +could give you such an idea of it as I have in my own mind--a great, +magnificent picture, painted on my memory--in some parts sunny and +green, and flowery; in others, dark and rugged, and grand. I shall +always particularly remember a long row we had on the bay, in the +twilight, and how the scenery of the mountainous shore and the rocky +islands, and the swelling, booming waves, grew stern, solemn, and even +awful, in the fast-falling shadows of evening, and the rising winds and +gloomy clouds of a coming storm. + +But the next morning, every thing was more sweet and quiet and radiant +than I can tell. So, wild Glengariff smiled upon us in our parting, +but we found it hard to smile back. We really felt sad to go so soon +and forever from such a bit of paradise. + +We travelled now upon a large outside car, which allowed us to see +every thing on our way, and would have been a very pleasant conveyance +if it had not left us too much exposed to the attacks of the beggars. +The seats were so low that when the car was going slowly up the hills, +we could step off and walk--so, of course, the beggars could come close +beside us. Nothing kept them off--neither laughing, nor commanding; +alms-giving, nor refusals. Drive as fast as we might, they kept up +with us--crowds of little boys and girls, and sometimes full-grown men +and women. Some of the children were exceedingly handsome, with black +hair and eyes, and dark olive skins--descendants, it is said, of the +Spaniards, who, in the time of Queen Elizabeth, invaded Ireland. + +The Lakes of Killarney would scarcely be called _lakes_ in our country, +where we boast such grand inland seas under that name. They are small, +but certainly very beautiful, and surrounded by delightful scenery. +They are three in number--the Upper, the Lower, and Torc Lake. + +The town of Killarney has a miserable, dilapidated appearance, and is +overflowing with beggars. We did not stop here, however, but at a +hotel a mile or two away, on the northern shore of the Lower Lake--a +most charming situation. A little way out of the town, we had stopped +to visit Torc waterfall--a beautiful cascade, in a wild and shady +glen--one of the very finest sights of that region. + +In the morning, we set out early on an excursion through the Gap of +Dunloe, to the Upper Lake. This time I was mounted on a fleet-footed +pony, which gave me an advantage over the beggars. One friend rode +beside me; the others were, as usual, on a jaunting car. + +The "Gap" is a long, dark, rocky pass, with a noisy stream, called the +Loe, rushing through it. On the right, are the mountains called the +Reeks; on the left, the Toomies, and the "Purple Mountain." On +reaching the Upper Lake, we left our ponies and car, and embarked in a +boat, which was awaiting us, for a row down a still, silvery, and +fairy-like sheet of water. Passing many green and flowery +islands--always in sight of grand mountains and lovely shores--we +entered upon "the long range"--a sort of river, connecting the lakes. +On this stands old "Eagle's Nest," a mountain about eleven hundred feet +in height, on whose summit the eagles have built their nests for +centuries. + +It is principally remarkable for the fine echoes which it gives forth. +Our guide played the bugle before it, and every note came back, clear +and sweet. + +Mrs. Hall, in her beautiful book on Ireland, relates an amusing story +which a peasant told her, of a daring attempt a mountaineer once made +to rob the eagle's nest. He watched till he saw the old eagles fly +away, and then let himself down by a rope from the rock above, and was +just about to seize upon the young eaglets, when suddenly out darts the +mother eagle from a thunder-cloud, and stood facing him! But she spoke +very civilly, and said-- + +"Good morning, sir; and what brings you to visit my fine family so +early, before they've had their breakfast?" + +"Oh, nothing at all," said the man, "only to ax after their health, +ma'am, and to see if any of them is troubled with the tooth-ache; for +I've got a cure for it, here in my pocket, something I brought wid me +from furrin parts." + +"Aha! and you brought some _blarney_ in the other pocket," said the +mother eagle; "for don't I know you came to steal my children--the +darlings?" + +"Honor bright," said he, "do you raly think now I'd be sarving ye such +a mane trick as that?" + +"I'll leave it to a neighbor of mine," said she; and with that she +raised her voice and screeched out--"Did he come to rob the eagle's +nest?" + +Of course, the echo answered--"To rob the eagle's nest." + +"Hear that! you thieving blackguard," said the eagle, "and take _that_ +home with you!" and with one blow of her great beak, she pitched him +over, and he tumbled down the mountainside into the lake; getting +severely bruised and well ducked for interfering with the domestic +happiness of his neighbors. + +About a mile below this mountain, we passed under Old Weir Bridge. +This is called "shooting the bridge," and unless you have very skilful +boatmen, is considered very dangerous, as the rapids are swift and +strong. + +We next passed the bay and mountain of Glena, by far the most beautiful +scenes of Killarney. + +We took dinner on shore, seated on the soft, cool grass, under the +shade of arbutus-trees, and after a little stroll, returned over the +water to our hotel, but a very little wearied by our day of pleasure. + +Our first excursion the next morning was to the ruins of Muckross +Abbey, on a peninsula which divides the Lower Lake from Torc Lake. + +This is a beautiful, solemn old spot, and is very much venerated by the +Irish peasantry, not only as having been built and occupied by holy +priests and saints, but as the burial-place of many of the ancient +Princes of Desmond, the MacCartys-Mor, and the O'Donoghues. + +After leaving the Abbey, we commenced the ascent of Mangerton, a +mountain some 2,550 feet high. We were now all mounted on ponies, who +were very sagacious and sure-footed, and climbed the rocky, narrow path +like goats. We were followed every step of the way by a host of lads +and girls, carrying jugs and cups of milk and whisky, which they +offered to us at almost every moment. The greatest curiosity upon this +mountain is a little lake, near the summit, called, "The Devil's +Punch-Bowl." It is surrounded by almost perpendicular rocks; the water +is very dark, and is said to be unfathomable. Though so completely +shut in, it is never calm, and though icy cold in summer, it never +freezes in winter. + +From the summit, we had a vast, magnificent view, which, however, I +must confess, I enjoyed less than the wild, frolicking ride which I +took soon after, down the mountain, following closely upon the steps of +one of my friends, who, for mischief, went far out of the path, and +took his way over rocks and gullies, through bogs and briars. It was +great sport to us, but I am afraid my poor pony had some private +objections to it. + +We enjoyed another pic-nic dinner in Lord Kenmare's grounds, and +afterwards rowed to the lovely little island of Innisfallen, upon which +are some ruins of a famous old abbey, which is said to have been built +as early as the seventh century. + +From Innisfallen we went to Ross Castle--a very well-preserved ruin. + +In old times it was the stronghold of the war-like O'Donoghues. It was +besieged in 1652, by the forces of Cromwell, commanded by General +Ludlow, and though very strong and well provisioned, surrendered, with +scarcely an attempt at defence. The reason of this was that the +garrison was frightened at seeing the war ships which Ludlow brought +against them--as, long before, some old priest or wizard had made a +prophecy that when such vessels should appear on the lake, all would be +up with the castle. So superstition makes cowards of the bravest men. + +There is a very curious and absurd legend which the peasants relate +about the last O'Donoghue; and they really seem to believe what they +are telling. Some say that when Ludlow marched his men into his +castle, the O'Donoghue, driven to despair, leaped from one of the +windows into the lake,--that he was not drowned, but turned into a sort +of merman under the waves, and has lived there ever since, with the +friendly water-spirits, and his family and many of his friends who have +followed him. They say he has a splendid sub-marine palace, and dogs +and horses, and harpers and fiddlers, good whisky punch, and potatoes +that are never touched with the rot--fairs and dances, and weddings and +wakes, and now and then a fight--in short, every thing that can make a +real old-fashioned Irishman feel at home and comfortable. The wakes +and fights are only make-believes, "for divarshin," they say; for the +people down there cannot die--cannot even be wounded, or hurt in any +way. + +Others say that the O'Donoghue under the lake is a more ancient +prince--an enchanter, who for some act of impiety, got enchanted in his +turn and was condemned to dwell under the water, and is only allowed to +come to the surface once a year--on the first morning in May, when he +rides over the lake in grand style, clad in silver armor, with snowy +plumes in his casque, mounted on a white steed, splendidly caparisoned. +Before him go beautiful water-spirits, scattering flowers--all running +and dancing on the water, without the slightest difficulty. It is said +the enchantment of the O'Donoghue will last until the silver shoes of +his horse are worn off by the friction of the waves. + +There are many yet living at Killarney, who solemnly declare that they +have seen the chieftain on his May-morning ride. But these, if honest +persons, have doubtless been deceived by singular appearances in the +atmosphere, called optical illusions, or mirages. + +Many other legends are told by the peasants and guides. All are +strange and improbable, but some are very amusing, and some, I think, +quite poetic and beautiful. + +One is about a holy man of Muckross, who fell into some great sin, and +repenting of it, waded into the lake, and stuck a holly-stick into the +bottom, and said he would not leave the spot till it should throw out +leaves and branches. So he did penance for seven years, and then the +stick suddenly leaved out and blossomed, and became a great tree, by +which the good man knew that he was pardoned. We may take a lesson +from this. If we do wrong, and try to atone for it, in the best way we +know how, it may seem a hopeless work; but if we wait patiently and +pray, we shall surely see, at last, God's love and blessing blossoming +before us like the holly-stick, and overshadowing us like the great +tree. + +There is another legend about an ancient Abbot of Innisfallen, which is +sweet and touching, though I do not see that it has any moral. This +good man was at his prayers one morning, very early, when he heard a +little bird singing so melodiously out among the trees, that he got up +from his knees and followed it. The bird flew from tree to tree, and +still he walked after, for its music was so delicious he could not tire +of it. He thought in his heart that he could listen to it forever, and +he came very near doing that same, for the bird was an enchanted +singer, and so bewitched the priest that he had no idea how the time +went by. At last, he thought that it was about the hour for +vespers--so he gave his blessing to the little bird, and went back into +the abbey. But, when he entered, he was astonished to see only strange +faces and to hear a strange tongue, which was the English, in place of +the Irish. There were monks about, who asked him who he was, and where +he came from. He told them his name, and that he was their Abbot. He +had gone out, he said, in the morning to hear a little bird sing, and +somehow it had kept him following it about the island ever since. Then +they told him that no less than _two hundred years_ had passed since he +went out to hear that singing, and that he had never been seen +since--for being enchanted, he had been invisible. Then the old monk +cried out--"Give me absolution, some of you, for my time is come!" +They gave him absolution, and he died in peace; but just as he was +passing away, there came to the holly-tree, before the window, a little +white bird, and sat and sung the sweetest song ever heard; and when the +soul left the body of the old Abbot, another white bird appeared, and +the two sang together very joyfully for awhile, in the holly tree, and +then flew out into the sunshine, and up into the blue heaven, away! + + +KATHLEEN OF KILLARNEY. + +Not many years ago there lived at Glena, the loveliest spot in all +Killarney, a small farmer, by the name of Mickey, or Michael More, his +wife, and one daughter. Though Mickey was a poor, hard-working man, he +boasted that he was descended from a regular Irish chieftain, the great +MacCarty-Mor, and held his head up accordingly. But his wife, Bridget +O'Dogherty, that was--used sometimes to put him down a little, by +boasting that her great ancestor of all, was "a mighty king, or +monarch, that ruled over the biggest part of Ireland, shortly after the +flood,--long before the MacCartys-Mor were ever heard of. Why man, it +took all the lakes of Killarney to water his cattle--and the bog of +Allen was only his potato-patch." + +In truth, Mrs. More was but a silly, ignorant woman, and her husband +was not much better, though he thought himself infinitely more clever +and sensible. In one thing, however, this couple were perfectly +agreed: it was in thinking their daughter, Kathleen, the most beautiful +and bewitching creature that the sun ever shone upon. They were so +foolishly proud of her that they resolved and declared that no one +short of a lord, or a rich baronet should ever marry her--that she +should become "my lady" somebody, or remain Kathleen More, to the day +of her death. They were strengthened in this resolution by a famous +fortune-teller, who foretold that Kathleen would become a grand +lady--live in a castle, ride in a coach, and have jewels and fine +dresses, ponies, pages, parrots, and poodle-dogs to her heart's content. + +So they kept as keen a watch over her as though she had been a royal +princess, whose marriage was a great affair of state. They would +hardly allow her to speak to the young people of her own rank, but were +always telling her to hold her head high, and remember that she was "a +mate for their betters." + +Of course, this ambition and pretension excited some ill feeling at +Killarney, and laughter and ridicule without end. But Kathleen was +truly a very beautiful young girl--so beautiful that her fame spread +far and wide, and toasts were made and songs were written in her +praise. Visitors to the Lakes used to inquire after her, and sometimes +hire their boatmen to land them near her father's cottage, so that they +might, by chance, catch a glimpse of "the Beauty of Glena." But +Kathleen was a good and sensible girl, and, strange to say, was not +spoiled by the constant flattery of her parents, and the evident +admiration of all who beheld her. She knew that she was very +beautiful,--every glance into the clear waters of the lake showed her +what sweet blue eyes, what lustrous black locks, what rosy, dimpled +cheeks were hers,--showed her that no lily could be fairer than her +brow, her neck, and her lovely taper [Transcriber's note: tapered, +tapering?] arms. Yet she knew also that this beauty was hers by no +merit, or power of her own; that it was the gift of the good God, +bestowed in kindness, though it brought her little happiness, poor +girl. Watched and guarded like a nun, she had few friends and little +pleasure, and often envied the humblest village maids and +farm-servants, as she saw them, strolling along the lake shore, with +their brothers and friends, on summer evenings, when their work was +done--or sometimes rowing over the lake, their plain brown faces +lighted up with innocent enjoyment, and their gay songs and happy +laughter ringing out over the water. + +There was one young man, braver or more persevering than most of +Kathleen's untitled admirers, who would not be frowned off by her +ambitious parents;--perhaps because he was encouraged by the kind +smiles of the beautiful girl herself. This was a young tradesman, +named Barry O'Donoghue--a fine, manly fellow, industrious, intelligent, +and though not rich, in better circumstances than most young men of the +parish. But when "bold Barry O'Donoghue," as he was called, proposed +to Michael More for the hand of his daughter, he received as stern and +scornful a "No, young man," as any who had been before him. Barry had +a proud as well as a loving heart, and felt the slight and +disappointment so keenly that he left his home at once, and sailed for +Australia, to seek his fortune in that rich, but then almost unknown +land. People laughed, and said that Mickey and Biddy More were keeping +their daughter for "_the_ O'Donoghue"--expecting him to come for her, +some May-day morning, in grand style, riding over the waves on his +silver-shining steed, to carry her off to his palace under the lake. +But when it was seen how poor Kathleen took Barry's going to heart, few +were so unfeeling as to laugh. She never had been as merry as most +young girls, and now she grew sad and silent and very weary-looking. +She did not complain, but her eyes seemed heavy with the tears she +would not shed, and the roses went fading and fading out of her cheeks, +till her father became alarmed, and would bid her eat more, and spin +less--to get up early in the morning and drink new milk, "with a drop +of mountain-dew in it." ("Mountain-dew," I must tell you, is an Irish +name for whisky.) "Ah darling," her mother would say, "if you don't +howld on to your beauty, what'll his lordship say, when he comes after +you? Sure, he'll consider himself imposed upon." + +"But mother, dear," Kathleen would reply, "I don't want any lord--I'll +just stay with father and you, always as I am." + +"Hush now, you simple child! It's just flying in the face of +Providince, you are--your fortune has all been foretowld this many a +year, and you've only to submit to it--though you don't desarve it." + +Well, one May-day morning, when Barry O'Donoghue had been gone somewhat +over a year, Kathleen More went out as usual, to take her early walk; +but did not come back again. All day long they searched, far and near, +but without obtaining any trace or tidings of her; but just at night, a +note was found at the door of Michael's cottage, which ran thus:-- + + +"I have taken away your daughter, and married her, before a priest. Be +easy about her. She is happy, and sends her dutiful respects. + +_The O'Donoghue_." + + +"Ochone!" cried Bridget More, "the Phantom Prince has come and gone off +wid our darling Kathleen. I always towld you that trouble would come +of them early walks;--and how do you feel, Mickey More, to have gone +and made yourself father-in-law to a merman--a wicked water-wizard? +Answer me that!" + +"Hush now, Biddy," said Michael, "it's not the O'Donoghue at all. It's +the great lord we've been waiting for so long, trying to make believe +he is the Phantom Prince. Maybe, for reasons of state, he don't like +to reveal himself; and maybe," he added, with a sly laugh, "he don't +care to make the acquaintance of his talkative mother-in-law." + +Mrs. More was very indignant at this supposition, and persisted in +believing that the O'Donoghue, and no one else, had carried off and +married her daughter,--and as time went by and brought, always in some +mysterious way, good news, and now and then a handsome present, from +Kathleen, she became reconciled to her marriage, and even proud of it. +In her talks with her cronies, she would often speak of "her ladyship, +my daughter Kathleen,"--or "my daughter, the Princess O'Donoghue." +This greatly amused some of her neighbors, and they used to question +and quiz her without mercy. + +"And why don't you go and visit your daughter, Mistress More?" asked +one--"Sure they invite you." + +"Why, you see, Mistress Hallaghan," replied the cunning Bridget, "it's +all on account of my rhumatiz--I'm thinking that the climate down there +wouldn't agree with me." + +But Mrs. More grew yet prouder and more important than ever, when there +came another letter from the O'Donoghue, bringing the good news that +she was grandmother to a fine little boy. Such grand calculations as +she laid on this event. "Who knows," she said, "but that the heir will +break up the long enchantment and grow up a good Christian, and come +back and take possession of Ross Castle, and we'll be ruled by a rale +Irish Prince once more." + +At all these foolish anticipations Michael only laughed contemptuously; +but as his efforts to find out any thing about his daughter and her +husband had all failed, it was thought that he finally more than half +believed in the O'Donoghue story himself, though he never owned that he +did. + +May-day morning had come round again. It was three years since +Kathleen More was carried off, and as usual, on that day, her father +and mother awoke very early, for it was a sad anniversary for them. + +"Troth!" exclaimed Michael, "and it was a queer drame I had last night." + +"Ah then, avick, tell me it!" cried his wife, who was particularly +curious and superstitious about dreams. + +"Well, then, I dramed that I paid a visit to the O'Donoghue; in his +grand palace under the lake. I received my invitation by being upset +in my boat, and pulled downwards by a big merman, who never let go of +my coat-tails till he landed me at the palace gate. + +"The O'Donoghue himself met me in the hall. 'Welcome, Mr. +MacCarty-Mor,' (mind that, MacCarty-Mor!) said he--'welcome kindly! +Sure it's delighted I am to see you--and you are just in time for +dinner.' With that a sarvent began sounding a big conch-shell, a great +door was flung open, and the next thing, I found myself in an ilegant +room, sitting down to dinner with a mighty genteel looking company." + +"Arrah! and was our Kathleen amongst them?" asked Mrs. More. + +"Of course she was--sitting at the O'Donoghue's right hand, all silks +and gold, and heaps of pearls in her hair. She kissed her hand to me, +very politely, which was the most she could do, being a Princess, so +grandly dressed, and meself in my old grey coat and patched corduroys." + +"And did she look natural?--the darling!" + +"A trifle paler and prouder--but pretty much the same as ever, Biddy." + +"And who else did you see, Mickey?" + +"Oh hosts of the quality. First there was Fin MacCual, and Brian Boro, +and old King Cormac and the O'Tooles--with their crowns on, and the +O'Neills, and the O'Connors, and the O'Meaghers, and the O'Malleys, and +the O'Doghertys, and the O'Briens, and no end of O'Donoghues,--and the +Dermods, and Desmonds, and my ancestor, the great MacCarty-Mor himself." + +"And what was your dinner, Mickey?" + +"Why, principally oysters, and lobsters, and turtles, sarved up in +their shells--and plenty of good potheen to drink. The trouble of it +was, every thing was cowld, for you see they had no fire down there; +and candles wouldn't burn, by raison of the dampness,--so we went to +bed by moonlight, and slept on pillows of soft sand, between two sheets +of water." + +"Ah, Mickey!" cried out Mrs. Bridget, in alarm, "why didn't you excuse +yourself, and come home before bed-time, for you know you always take +cowld from sleeping in damp sheets." + +Michael burst into a laugh at this--"Why Biddy, woman," said he,--"sure +you forget it's all a drame." + +"Arrah, and so it is," replied his wife, sadly, "and we know no more +about our poor Kathleen than we did the day she was spirited away. Ah, +Mickey dear, I often think that if I had her back, in my ould arms +again, I'd have no more such high notions for her, and I'd niver cross +her in any way." + +Michael said nothing, but sighed heavily, and turned his face toward +the wall. + +A short time after this conversation, while Michael More was stirring +up the peat fire in the little kitchen, to boil the potatoes for +breakfast, and his wife was milking the cow, just outside the door, he +was startled by her calling put to him, in a tone of joyful +excitement--"Mickey, oh, Mickey! they're coming!" + +"Who are coming?" cried he, rushing to the door. + +"The O'Donoghue and our Kathleen. Don't you see them? Sure it's the +morning for them--only they are in a boat, instead of on horseback. +Hark, don't you hear the fairy music? and that's our Kathleen's voice +calling!" + +"Faith, you are right, for once," replied Michael, running with her +down to the shore. Yes, a boat came dancing over the bright waters of +the bay; containing a tall young man, quite proud, and happy looking +enough for a Prince, though not dressed in silver armor,--and a very +beautiful lady, holding a child in her arms. The "fairy music" was +made by the bugle of old Stephen Spillane, the Killarney guide. + +In a few moments, there leaped to land, not the enchanted Irish +chieftain, but a better man, Barry O'Donoghue, who had as good a right +to call himself "_the_ O'Donoghue" as any other member of that numerous +family. Then he handed out his wife, Kathleen, who three years before +he had been obliged to steal away from her unkind and foolish +parents,--and little Master Harry O'Donoghue, a handsome, curly-headed +little rogue, who jumped at once with a merry laugh, into the arms and +into the hearts of his grandparents. + +After a great deal of embracing and kissing, Barry said, in reply to a +host of wondering exclamations and questions: "We have come back from +Australia, where we were getting rich, because Kathleen could not be +longer away from home and you. We have brought a little fortune with +us, and mean to settle down here in dear old Killarney, if you will be +reconciled to us, and take us for neighbors." + +"And if you will forgive me, for not coming back to you a great lady," +said Kathleen, smiling. + +"Don't say any more about that," said Michael More, embracing her for +the twentieth time,--"We are glad enough to have you back just your old +self, and it's quite content we are with your husband and the boy--and +bad luck to all fortune-tellers! say I." + +With that, old Stephen blew an applauding farewell note on his bugle, +and the Mores and O'Donoghues all went into the cottage, where we will +leave them. + + + + +Limerick. + +LITTLE ANDY AND HIS GRANDFATHER. + +We travelled from Killarney to Tarbert, on the Shannon, by the +stage-coach, passing through several old, but uninteresting towns, and +seeing a great deal of barrenness and wretchedness on our way. At +Tarbert, we took a steamer, to ascend the river to Limerick, and as the +weather that afternoon was clear and bright, we had one of the most +delightful trips you can imagine. + +The Shannon is a very noble river--in some places widening out like a +sea, and all the way running between beautiful green shores. There is +a place in the river, near the mouth, which has somewhat the appearance +of rapids, when the tide is coming in. This, the people say, is the +site of a sunken city, whose towers and turrets make the roughness of +the water. The whole city can be seen every seven years, but, as the +sight is said to be unlucky, every body avoids it. The whole story is +about as probable as the one I have told you of the damp and dubious +palace of the O'Donoghue. + +Limerick is a pleasant and prosperous city, and has a very honorable +name in Irish history. The most interesting object that it contains is +the Castle, which was built by King John, and has stood for more than +six hundred years. In 1651, Limerick sustained a terrible siege, by +the Parliamentary forces, under General Ireton, the son-in-law of +Cromwell. It held out for six months, and would not have surrendered +then, though the inhabitants were dying of starvation and plague, had +it not been for the treachery of an officer of the garrison--one +Colonel Fennel. Among the most faithful and heroic of the city's +defenders, was a priest--Terence Albert O'Brien, Bishop of Emly. He +was so active and influential that Ireton made him an offer of forty +thousand pounds, (two hundred thousand dollars,) and a free pass to the +Continent, if he would cease his exhortations, and advise immediate +surrender. He scorned the offer, and so when the city at last fell +into the hands of the English, he was tried and condemned to death. He +was calm and heroic to the last; but before he was beheaded, he +addressed a few solemn, warning words to Ireton, which made the stern +soldier's blood curdle. He accused him of cruel injustice, and +summoned him to appear before the tribunal of God within a few days. +It is a singular fact that in a little more than a week from that time, +Ireton died of the plague. + +Limerick was again besieged in 1690, by William III. It was defended +by the Irish Catholic adherents of James II. and their French allies, +and so well defended, that the King and his army beat a retreat in less +than a month. However, they made another trial the next year and with +a little better success, for after a six months' siege, the garrison +capitulated. A treaty was signed between the two armies, in which it +was stipulated that Limerick and the other Irish fortresses should +surrender to the new King--that the garrisons should be allowed to +march out with all the honors of war, and that they should be provided +with shipping to carry them to any country they should please to go to. +Then there were several other articles very favorable to the rights and +liberties of the Roman Catholics. To the shame of the English +government of that day, it must be said that this compact was most +dishonorably broken, and through that reign and many succeeding, the +Irish Catholics were greatly wronged and meanly persecuted. From this +circumstance, Limerick has always been called "The City of the Violated +Treaty"--at least, until the year 1847, when, one evening, a famous +tea-party given to the rebel leader, Smith O'Brien, was broken up by a +mob--on which occasion, Mr. Punch made a little change in the old +title, and called it "The City of the Violated _Tea-tray_." + +The Cathedral of St. Mary's is a large, gloomy-looking building, with a +very high tower, from which one can get a magnificent view of the +surrounding country. In this tower is a very melodious chime of bells, +about which there is told a pretty and touching story, which I do not +doubt is true. + +Once there lived in Italy a skilful young artisan, who was celebrated +for founding bells. No founder in all Europe could equal him--no +chimes in all the world were so grand and sweet-sounding as his. At +last, he made a chime for a convent, which proved to be finer than any +he had cast before. He had spent years upon them; they were his great +work; he was very proud of them; he even seemed to have fallen in love +with them, for he could not live out of the sound of their melodious +ringing. So he purchased a little villa, in a lovely seaside nook, +beneath the lofty cliff on which the convent stood, and every night and +morning he had the happiness of hearing the solemn silver chiming of +his own dear bells, which, when sounding at that height, it almost +seemed to him God had taken and hung in the clouds, to call him and his +children to prayer and to heaven. + +But after a few bright, peaceful years, there came a dark, troubled +time of war and pillage. The good Italian lost all in the terrible +struggle--home, family--even his beloved bells--for the convent on the +cliff was destroyed, and they were carried away to some distant land. +At last, he was released from a miserable dungeon, to find himself old, +infirm, poor, and alone in the wide world. Then a great longing came +to him, and grew and grew at his lonely heart, to hear his bells once +more before he should die. So he became a wanderer over Europe, +searching for them every where. He would be told of wonderful chimes +in this and that city, and go many weary leagues to hear them; but as +soon as they sounded on his ear, he would sadly shake his head, his +eyes would fill with tears, and he would turn to go on his way. + +When, at length, he heard of the sweet bells of Limerick, he was very +old and feeble, but he set out at once on what he knew must be his last +pilgrimage. The vessel on which he sailed went up the Shannon, and +anchored opposite the city. The old Italian took a boat to go on +shore, at the close of a calm and beautiful day. He was very weak and +ill, and reclined in the stern of the boat, looking longingly toward +St. Mary's Cathedral. Suddenly, from the tall tower, rang softly out +the vesper chime. The Italian started up joyfully at the sound. Then +he crossed himself, looked upward, and murmured--"I thank thee, blessed +mother of Jesus! _I hear my bells at last!_" Then he sank back, and +closed his eyes and listened. The men rested on their oars, and all +was still, except that sweet, solemn ringing. The Italian seemed to +hear in his bells more than their old melody--all the music of his +happy home--the deep murmur of the sea below the convent cliff--the +sighing of the winds in the cypress and olive trees--and sweeter and +dearer than all, the voices of his wife and children. _They_ seemed to +be softly calling his pious soul to leave the trouble and weariness of +earth for the blessedness and rest of God. And his soul obeyed the +call,--for, when the bells ceased their ringing, and the boatmen rowed +to land, they found that the aged stranger was dead. + +About six miles above Limerick are the Rapids of the Shannon, usually +called the Falls of Doonas. These can be part way descended in long, +narrow skiffs, constructed for the purpose, but the feat is a very +hazardous one. I went down, with a friend and two brave boatmen, but +though I enjoyed the adventure, I would not advise any one to follow my +example. + +Not far from Limerick are the ruins of Mungret Priory, said to have +been founded by St. Patrick, and which once contained no less than one +thousand five hundred monks. + +"As wise as the women of Mungret," is a saying among the Irish, which +had its rise, according to tradition, in this way:-- + +The monks of Cashel having heard great stories of the learning of those +of Mungret, resolved to send a deputation to them, to settle the point +as to which college possessed the finest scholars in the dead +languages. Now the monks of Mungret enjoyed a better reputation for +such learning than they deserved,--being rather more fond of good +living than hard study,--so they were mortally afraid of being beaten +in the contest, and losing their good name forever. But they hit upon +a very ingenious plan of escape from their embarrassment. They dressed +up a number of their best scholars--some as women and some as +peasants--and placed them along the road by which their rivals must +travel. As the deputation came on, they naturally asked the way to +Mungret, and put other questions to the persons they met, and to their +great astonishment, every question was answered in Greek or Latin. At +last, they came to a halt, held a consultation, and prudently resolved +to go back to Cashel, as they could not hope to win any honor in a +controversy with a priory of monks who had so filled all the country +around with learning, that even the women and workmen spoke the dead +languages fluently. + +We saw a great deal of poverty, squalor, and idleness, in Limerick, but +also much honest industry. We visited the lace and glove +manufactories, where many poor girls earn not only their own living, +but often that of their families. + +The peasantry in this county seemed sober and quiet people, but, as in +other parts of Ireland, they are mostly ignorant and superstitious. +They are workers in the bogs, or day-laborers, and all think themselves +very fortunate if they can obtain employment at wages which will keep +them and their children from starvation. Beggary is very common +everywhere, and is not considered a disgrace, except by the better +order of people. + +There is in Ireland a class of small farmers, who live very respectably +and comfortably, though they can never hope to get very much +beforehand, as they do not own their farms, are obliged to pay many +taxes, and the more valuable they make the land, by their industry, the +higher is the rent. + +I have heard a pretty little story about one of these farmer-families, +with which I will close this chapter. + + +LITTLE ANDY AND HIS GRANDFATHER. + +In the county of Waterford once lived an honest old farmer, by the name +of Walsh. His wife died young, and left him one only child--a son, of +whom he was very proud. And Patrick Walsh was worthy of a great deal +of affection and respect; for he was a fine, amiable, industrious young +man. + +Unfortunately, Patrick fell in love with a proud, handsome young woman, +the daughter of a well-to-do farmer in the neighborhood, and finally +persuaded her to marry him, though she gave him to understand pretty +plainly that she thought she was condescending not a little in doing so. + +Why, the Mullowneys (she was a Mullowney) actually had three rooms in +their cabin, and kept a horse, two cows, a goat, and a good-sized +donkey! And then, they had relations who were very well off in the +world--in particular, some fourth cousins, who kept a draper's shop in +Waterford, who, though they never visited the country Mullowneys, +couldn't help being an honor to the family. So it was little wonder +that "Peggy Mullowney Walsh," as she always insisted on being called, +held her pretty nose rather high, and curled her red lip a little +scornfully, as she stepped into the neat, but humble cabin of her +handsome young husband. Old Mr. Walsh felt for Patrick, and in order +to make his fortune equal the goods and the honors which his wife had +brought him, he made over to him the farm and all his possessions, and +left himself a pennyless dependent upon his son and daughter-in-law. + +All went well for a few years, for Patrick honored and loved his +father, and did all that he could to make him happy and comfortable. +But I am sorry to say that Mrs. Peggy never was very kind to him. With +her high notions, she rather looked down upon him than felt grateful to +him for being simple enough to give up all his property to his son. +Then she was selfish and violent tempered, and did not like "the bother +of an ould body like him about the cabin." Still, she bore with him, +for he made himself quite useful, mostly in taking care of the +children, especially of the oldest boy, Andy. This child was all the +comfort the old grandfather had. _He_ was always gentle and loving to +him, and made him as little trouble as possible. Sometimes, when the +poor old man was lying awake at night, grieving over the hard, scornful +treatment of his proud daughter-in-law, and praying God to take him to +a home of peace and love, where he would never be "in the way" any +more, little Andy would hear his low sobs, and go to him, creep close +to his desolate old heart, and whisper-- + +"Don't cry, gran'daddy--I love you wid all my heart, _avourneen_." + +But the older and more feeble her father-in-law grew, the more unkindly +Mrs. Peggy treated him, till she made the cabin such a scene of +constant storm and confusion that everybody in it was wretched. At +last, old Mr. Walsh came to a resolution to put an end to all this +trouble. He would take to the road--that is, go a-begging. "The Lord +will take care of me," he said: "He who feeds the sparrows will put it +into the hearts of good Christians to give me all that I need." + +Of course, Patrick was sad at the thought of his old father becoming a +mendicant; but he was a peaceable man and ruled by his wife; he was +tired of her scolding and complaints, and so, at last, consented. + +As for Mrs. Peggy, she was very glad; she thought it was the best thing +the "ould body" could do, and set about making a beggar's bag for him +at once. He was to start the next morning. + +Little Andy heard all the talk, but did not say any thing. He sat in a +corner, busily at work, sewing up his bib. + +"What's that yer doing, Andy, darling?" said his father. + +The child looked up at him sadly and reproachfully, and +answered,--"_Making a bag for you to go beg--when you're as old as +gran'daddy_." + +Patrick Walsh burst into tears, flung his arms around his old father's +neck, and begged his forgiveness. And even the proud Peggy was so +affected that she fell upon her knees and asked pardon of God, of her +husband and his father, for her undutiful conduct. For his part, the +good old man forgave her at once. I need hardly say that he never went +on the road; for, from that hour, Peggy was a better and gentler woman, +and tried hard to make her house a happy home for her father-in-law, +and so, for all her family. To be sure, her besetting sins--pride and +temper--would break out once in a while, but God was stronger than +either; she prayed to Him, and He gave her strength to get the better +of them at last. + +Grandfather Walsh lived in comfort and content several years, and on +his peaceful death-bed, blessed his son and daughter, and their +children, very solemnly and lovingly. When all thought that he was +gone, little Andy, who had been very quiet till then, began to cry +aloud. The good old man, whose soul was just at the gates of heaven, +heard him, opened his eyes, reached out his hand, and blessed his +darling once more. Then he died. + + + + +Wicklow. + +TIM O'DALY AND THE CLERICAUNE + +After leaving Limerick, we returned to Dublin, and there took a +carriage, for a little tour in the neighboring county of Wicklow. + +Wicklow has been called "The Garden of Ireland," for the beauty of its +scenery and the high cultivation of a large portion of its lands. It +is full of romantic valleys and streams, lakes, glens, and +waterfalls--varied by rugged, untamable wilds, and bleak, barren +mountains. + +We first visited "the Dargle," or Glenislorane River, upon Lord +Powerscourt's domain. This would be thought "a small specimen" of a +river with us, as, except when the waters are swollen with a freshet, +it is but a narrow and shallow mountain stream. But in Ireland it +passes at such times for a mighty torrent, and at all times is greatly +admired and respected. + +It runs very rapidly, with bright sparkles and pleasant murmurs, down a +deep rocky ravine, whose jagged sides are overgrown with moss and +ferns, and overhung with luxuriant foliage. + +A path leads up the glen to the waterfall. This is considered by the +people here a sublime and magnificent cataract, and it is very fine in +its way, and abundantly makes up in beauty for what it lacks in +awfulness; it is a charming thing to look at, and listen to, and ramble +about; and though it does not thunder and plunge and roar, like +Niagara, it glads the hearts of all who behold it--it manufactures +quite as radiant bows in the sunshine, and makes soft, musical, lulling +sounds enough to soothe all the peevish and restless children in the +world to sleep. + +The entire descent at this fall is said to be about three hundred feet; +but it is only when the stream has been reinforced and encouraged by +heavy winter rains, that it takes the whole great jump at once. + +The next stopping-place of much interest was Glendalough, which means, +"The Glen of the Two Lakes." This is usually called "The Valley of the +Seven Churches;" for here, in a very small space, are the ruins of that +number of rude little churches, and several other edifices, most of +them said to have been built as early as the sixth century, by St. +Keven. + +The place reminds one of "The Valley of the Shadow of Death," in +"Pilgrim's Progress," and it is hard to believe that any thing like a +"city" ever stood on so gloomy and desolate a spot. Yet history says +so; and it is certain the O'Tooles and MacTooles, for centuries kings +of all this region, lived here, or near here, in old-fashioned Irish +state, and were buried generation after generation of them in the +Church of Rhefeart. + +The two lakes are small and quiet; but the water seems very deep, and +is remarkably dark-colored. There is something really awful in the +look of the lower lake, which is shut in by steep black mountains. On +the side of one of these, Lugduff, about thirty feet above the water, +is a singular little cave, which looks as though it had been hewn from +the solid rock, and is called St. Keven's Bed. The legend about it is, +that when St. Keven was a handsome young man of twenty, he made up his +mind to be a priest, and a saint--so, gave up all thoughts of love and +marriage, and devoted himself to a life of loneliness, privation, and +penance. It unluckily happened that a certain noble young lady, named +Kathleen, (the last name has not come down to us--perhaps it was +O'Toole,) took a great fancy to him, and offered him her hand, with a +very respectable property. To her surprise and mortification, he not +only did not accept, but actually ran away from her. He went to +Glendalough, then a wilderness, and scooped out this little den in the +rock--a place very difficult of access, both from the mountain and the +lake. Here he hid, laughing to himself that he had outwitted Kathleen. +But, one morning, he was wakened by hearing his name called, very +softly, and opening his eyes, who should he see but Miss Kathleen, +standing at the opening of the little cave, and smiling at him--as much +as to say, "Ah, you rogue, you see you can't escape me." + +Shocked at the impropriety of her conduct, and provoked at being found +out, he put his feet against her, and kicked her into the lake! where, +I am sorry to say, she drowned in a very short time. In our day, there +would have been a hue and cry raised--a coroner's inquest--a great talk +in the newspapers--a trial--and, if the jury agreed, a hanging; but +there was nothing of the kind in that benighted time--nobody arrested +Keven, or punished him, and he went on his pious way in peace, building +churches and monasteries, and working miracles, or what passed for +such, till he got to be a very famous saint indeed. But my opinion is, +that it took more than the working of all the miracles assigned to him, +and the building of those miserable little edifices at Glendalough, to +atone for the drowning of that poor, foolish girl, Kathleen. + +Mr. and Mrs. S. C. Hall, in their admirable work On Ireland, give +several other anecdotes, told by their guide, Wynder, which illustrate +the saint's goodness of heart in rather an improbable way. "One day, +when he had retired to keep the forty days of Lent, in fasting, +meditation, and prayer, as he was holding his hand out of the window, a +blackbird came and laid her four eggs in it; and the saint, pitying the +bird, and unwilling to disturb her, never drew in his hand, but kept it +stretched out until she had brought forth her young, and they were +fully fledged and flew off with a chirping quartette of thanks to the +holy man, for his _convaynience_." Another is of "how he was once +going up Derrybawn, when he met a woman that carried five loaves in her +apron. 'What have you there, good woman?' said the saint. 'I have +five stones,' said she. 'If they are stones,' said he, 'I pray that +they may be bread; and if they are bread, I pray that they may be +stones.' So with that, the woman let them fall; and sure enough, +stones they were, and stones they are to this day." Our guide told us +this same anecdote, in a queer, half jesting, half believing way, and +pointed out the stones to us. I thought to myself that if they had not +been stones in the first place, they must have been very _heavy +bread_--too hard fare even for a saint. + +We clambered up the rock, and crawled into the cave, which we found all +carved and written over with names--among them a few of distinguished +persons, such as Thomas Moore, Maria Edgeworth, Mr. and Mrs. S. C. +Hall, and Walter Scott. + +After leaving Glendalough, we visited the "Sweet Vale of Avoca," which +the poet Moore has rendered famous by a song, called "The Meeting of +the Waters." + +It is a little green valley, in which meet two streams--the Avonmore +and the Avonbeg--a pretty place enough, but hardly coming up to Mr. +Moore's description. + +The next day we explored "The Devil's Glen," an exceedingly beautiful +place, for all its naughty name. It is somewhat like the Dargle, but +more wild and romantic. It also has its rugged hills, its stream, and +its waterfall--or its mountains, river, and cataract; as, being in a +foreign country, I suppose we should be polite enough to call them, +instead of letting ourselves be carried away by conceit in our +Mississippis and Niagaras, and being "stuck up" on our Alleghanies and +Mount Washingtons. + +Our last day in Wicklow was spent at the beautiful and romantic country +seat of Sir Philip Crampton, or Lough Bray, a wild, lonely little +mountain lake, whose shores are all black peat, or barren rock, except +where flourish the pleasant plantations and shrubberies of Sir Philip, +growing upon manufactured ground, and looking like the enchanted +gardens we read of in fairy tales. + +The Lough is a smooth dark sheet of water, so deep in the centre that +it cannot be sounded. There is a pretty pebbly beach at one end, and +all around the other shores the waves make a peculiar musical sound +against the precipitous rocks. It is a charming little lake for +boating, and in fine weather, Sir Philip Crampton always gives his +guests the pleasure of a trip in his pretty row-boat. There are great +numbers of duck and other water-fowl about the lake, which Sir Philip, +who is a kind, genial, delightful old gentleman, has tamed, by feeding +them with crumbs of bread, which he always carries about him when he +goes on the water. No sooner does he make his appearance, than his +winged pets are after him in flocks, all clamoring eagerly for their +"daily bread." + +Sir Philip Crampton told me that when his friend, Sir Walter Scott, was +at Lough Bray, on his last visit, a boat excursion was proposed. Sir +Walter had always been passionately fond of boating, and now his eye +brightened, and he smiled gladly at the thought of his favorite +amusement. But just as the party were about stepping into the boat, +Mrs. Scott, Sir Walter's young daughter-in-law, drew back, and declared +that she was afraid to go. Everybody urged her and reasoned with her, +but she could not be persuaded--she would not go--she would stay where +she was. Sir Walter did not seem at all vexed with her, though he +laughed at her childish fears, but insisted on staying with her; and as +the boat pushed off, he sat down on the shore beside her, and plucked +flowers for her hair, and tried his best to entertain her--the good, +kind great man! When the laughter and songs of his merry friends came +to him across the water, he would smile cheerily, and wave his hat to +them, and never once said how sorry he was not to be with them. I have +heard many noble things about Sir Walter Scott, but nothing that speaks +better for his generous, tender heart, than this little anecdote. + +I should like to describe further this strange and charming place, but +I fear I have no room for any more descriptions of scenery. I will now +try to give you some idea of the fairy lore and superstitions of this +part of Ireland. + +The fairies, or "good people," according to the belief of the peasants, +are not confined to any locality; they are all over the country, +wherever they can find pleasant, secluded nooks, flowers, and green +grass. Their meeting-places are said to be the "Raths," which are +singular artificial mounds, supposed to have been built by the Danes, +away back in the heathen ages. Fairies have the reputation of being in +general good-humored and kindly, though full of merry pranks and +frolicsome tricks; yet the peasants are very careful not to offend them +by intruding upon their haunts at night, or speaking disrespectfully of +their little mightinesses--for they say, "they have tempers of their +own, and not having a Christian _idication_, can't be blamed for not +behaving in a Christian-like fashion--poor _craturs_." + +The _Phooka_ is said to be a half-wicked, half-mischievous spirit, who +takes the form of many strange animals, but oftenest assumes that of a +wild horse. His great object then, is to get a rider, and when he has +persuaded a poor fellow to mount him, he never lets him off till he has +treated him to a ride long and hard enough to last him his lifetime. +Over bogs and moors, ditches and walls, across streams, up and down +mountains, he gallops, leaps, and plunges, making the welkin ring with +his horrible horse-laugh, and snorting fire from his nostrils. + +There is a funny story told of one Jerry Deasy, who paid the Phooka +well for such a ride. The next night, he provided himself with a +"_shillalah_," or big stick, and put on a pair of sharp spurs, and when +the Phooka appeared, and invited him to take another little excursion, +he mounted, and so belabored the head and cut up the sides of the +beast, that he was quite subdued, and trotted home, with Jerry, to his +own cabin door. + +The "_Banshee_" is a gloomy, foreboding spirit, of rather aristocratic +tastes, as she is only attached to highly respectable old families. +She never appears but to announce some great misfortune, or the death +of a member of the household. She does this by howling and shrieking +in the night; and sometimes, they say, she is seen--a tall, pale woman, +in long white robes, with black hair flying in the wind. + +The most amusing of these supernatural creatures is the Leprehawn, or +Luriceen, or Clericaune, the brogue-maker of the "good people." This +fairy cobbler is said to have inexhaustible concealed treasure; and +sometimes, when he is busily at work, he is surprised and caught. Then +he can be made to give up his riches, if his captor keeps his eye fixed +on him all the time. But he is almost sure to divert attention, and +then is off like a flash. While we are on this subject, I will tell +you a little story. + + +TIM O'DALY AND THE CLERICAUNE. + +Tim O'Daly was an under-gamekeeper upon Lord Powerscourt's estate, and +lived in a nice comfortable cottage, near the Dargle. He had a tidy, +thrifty, good-tempered wife, and half a dozen fine, hearty boys and +girls--the eldest nearly young men and women. Tim, himself, was honest +and industrious, and very much trusted by his master, and yet he was +not a happy man. He was _discontented_, because he was poor, and +obliged to work for a living. He longed for wealth and ease--to see +his wife ride in her carriage, and to make his sons and daughters +gentlemen and ladies. In short, he thought that riches were all that +was needed to put the O'Dalys where they deserved to be in the world, +and make them great and happy. So much did he think of these things, +that he was always on the look-out for the _Clericaune_, determined, if +ever he should see him, to catch him, and make him deliver up his +treasure. + +One evening, as he was going home through the Dargle, he sat down on a +mossy stone, and fell to thinking of his hard lot, and wondering what +Providence had against the O'Dalys, that he had not been made a lord, +or at least, a rich squire. + +All at once, he heard the click, click, of the _Clericaune's_ little +hammer on his lapstone! He rose softly--parted the bushes, and there +sat the wee brogue-maker, busily at work. + +The next moment, Tim had him fast in his fist, and fast he held him, +till the elf showed him where his treasure was hid. + +Then, after loading himself with gold and jewels, he set the fairy +free, and went home dancing and singing in a very strange and +indecorous way. The news and the treasure he brought set his sober +family wild with joy. They had a great feast and dance over it--all to +themselves, for they were grown too grand to associate with their poor +neighbors. + +Then Tim went and bought a castle, a real old castle, from an +impoverished lord--with fine furniture, pictures, horses, hounds, +plate, wines, whiskey, and a famous Banshee, who lived in an old +turret, especially built for her accommodation. + +Tim took his family to this castle, and set up a splendid style of +living. Nobody was troubled with work or care now, except in the +pursuit of pleasure; and yet, to poor Tim's astonishment, nobody was +happy. He was most miserable of all, for he found it hardest to get +used to rich clothes, rich food, authority, and idleness. His wife had +her carriage--but she was always driving about in it--never at home +with him. His daughters put on fine airs, with fine clothes, and +learned to despise their ignorant old father, His sons took to bad +company, drinking, rioting, and fox-chasing--and, as they did not know +much about riding, they were always getting tumbles, and breaking their +necks. His old friends were too humble to come near him in his +grandeur, and the gentry too proud to notice such a rough, vulgar +fellow, who had got rich in some sudden, suspicious way. He had hoped +that Lord Powerscourt, at least, would visit him, "for the sake of old +times, and out of neighborly feeling just,"--and Mrs. O'Daly counted +confidently on a "betther acquaintance with her Ladyship." "An' sure," +she said, "our young folk will be mighty thick directly, and what +should hinder the young lord from taking a fancy to our Peggy? Arrah! +they would make an ilegant match, by raison of his height an' her +shortness,--an' thin, haven't they hair of the same lively shade of +red?" + +But Lord Powerscourt, who had always been a kind and affable master, +seemed put upon the very tallest stilts of his dignity, when he met his +old servant now; and though he congratulated him on his good fortune, +never honored him with either a formal or friendly call--while Lady +Powerscourt and her daughters, who had often visited the cottage by the +Dargle, in times of sickness and trouble, were never seen driving up +the avenue of O'Daly Castle,--and as for the young lord, he went +abroad, about these days, and was lost to Miss Peggy O'Daly forever. + +Tim's new neighbors laughed at him for his pretensions, and the +blunders his family made in "aping their betters,"--his servants +imposed on him, and there was nothing but coldness, discord, and wicked +waste in his grand old castle, so unlike the humble, happy home of the +game-keeper. + +Even the Banshee, in whom he had felt so much pride, was no +consolation; for, being indignant that low-born peasants had dared to +take the place of the ancient and noble family she had so long +patronized, she did nothing but howl about the castle, every night of +her life. + +At length, things got to such a desperate pass, that Tim could endure +them no longer, but took the few fairy jewels and guineas that +remained, and went with them to the place where he had caught the +_Clericaune_. + +There he was again, and he looked up at Tim with a wicked twinkle in +his eye, for he knew, the rascal, what trouble unearned riches bring +upon one. Tim emptied his pockets of gold and precious stones, and +flung them at the little brogue-maker's head--crying out-- + +"There, take back yer dirty treasure, and bad luck to you, you spalpeen +of a fairy, for decaying a Christian!" + +He threw with such force, that he flung himself off the stone--_and +that woke him!_ + +Yes, the capture of the _Clericaune_, his wealth, his grand castle, and +all his trouble were _a dream_. He got up and looked about him, a +little bewildered at first, but soon recollected himself, and set out +for home, a wiser and happier man than when he entered the Dargle that +afternoon. + +It was late and supper was waiting for him. His good wife smiled when +he came in, and put by her sewing; his sons and daughters had all come +from their work or school, and greeted him affectionately. As he sat +down with them to their simple evening meal of bread, milk, and +potatoes, they noticed that he said grace with unusual fervor, and then +looked round upon them all with tears in his eyes. + +His home was as humble as ever--but somehow, it had grown beautiful to +him, for the sunshine of _contentment_ was over every thing. His wife +was as far from riding in her carriage, and his boys and girls from +being gentlemen and ladies, as ever; but he loved them and was proud of +them for their goodness and honesty, and he felt that God had done +better for them than he could do, with all the riches in the world. + + + + +Antrim--The Giant's Causeway. + +THE POOR SCHOOLMASTER. + +The county of Antrim is not only one of the most picturesque, but most +prosperous in all Ireland. It is also remarkable for being entirely +surrounded by water--by the ocean, Lough Neagh, and the rivers Bann and +Lagan. In this county vast quantities of flax are raised and +manufactured into linen---chiefly at Belfast, the handsomest and most +important commercial town in the north of Ireland. + +Belfast is particularly dear to me as a place where I spent many +pleasant days, with some warm-hearted Irish friends, whose constant +kindness and affectionate care made me feel as though my long voyage +across the stormy sea was only a troubled dream, and that I was still +at home, surrounded by the dear ones I had loved and clung to always. + +In sight of this town is a large hill, which is remarkable for +presenting at a particular point of view, a most gigantic likeness to +the first Napoleon. Certain swells and ledges of the summit form the +great profile very distinctly. He seems to be lying on his back, +asleep, or in a meditative mood, and the face has such a dejected, +melancholy look that one might suppose the likeness had been taken when +the Emperor was a prisoner at St. Helena. There was one of the +Bonapartes at Belfast, at the time I was there--attending the meeting +of the British Association, a celebrated scientific society. This was +Lucien, Prince of Canino, a grand-nephew of the Emperor. He recognized +the likeness in the great rocky profile, when it was pointed out to +him, and professed to be a good deal affected by it, and many people +saw a strong family likeness between him and the old hill. This +Bonaparte, unlike most princes, is fond of learning and science--is +what is called a _savant_--but unlike most _savants_, he is stout and +jovial-looking, and extremely fond of children, which is the best thing +I can say for him. + +Near Belfast is a famous "Druidical circle," or a large amphitheatre, +enclosed by high mounds of earth, where the ancient Druids used to meet +for their heathen worship. As we stood in that great circle, beside a +rude altar of stones, it made us shudder to think that hundreds of +human beings had probably been cruelly sacrificed there as offerings to +the gods of the Druids. What a happy, blessed thing it is to know that +such dreadful crimes can never again be committed here, under the name +of religion. + +I should like to tell you about some of the admirable charitable +institutions of Belfast--in which I became interested--and describe +some of the beautiful scenery of the neighborhood, but I have so many +things and places to speak of in this chapter, that I must not allow +myself to linger longer here. + +While at Belfast, we made a delightful excursion to Shane's Castle, the +seat of Lord O'Neil. + +The O'Neils were for many centuries kings of Ulster, and were a very +proud and warlike race. There is a curious tradition of the manner in +which they came into possession of their kingdom: "In an ancient +expedition for the conquest of Ireland, the leader declared that +whoever of his followers should first touch the shore, should possess +the territory. One of them, the founder of the O'Neils, seeing that +another boat was likely to reach the land before him, seized an axe and +with it cut off his left hand, which he flung on shore, and so, was the +first to 'touch' it." + +Shane's Castle and the O'Neil estate are situated upon Lough Neagh, the +largest lake in Great Britain. There is a legend that this sheet of +water covers land that was once cultivated--cottages, castles, and even +villages. The peasants say that there was once a well in the midst of +this country--an enchanted well--which was always kept covered with a +heavy stone, lest its waters should rise and overwhelm the land. One +day, a careless woman went to this well to get water to boil her +potatoes in, and hearing her baby cry, ran home without waiting to +cover the well--which presently began to leap up in a great column, +like a water-spout of an under-ground sea--and poured out so fast and +furious, that before many hours the whole valley was overflowed, and +that night, the moon smiled to see herself reflected in a new lake. + +On our route from Belfast to the Giant's Causeway, we passed through +several towns, of little importance now, though of some historical +note--such as Carrickfergus, Larne, and Glenarm. This last is a +beautifully situated town, with a pleasant little bay, which usually +affords a safe shelter for shipping on a coast somewhat renowned for +wrecks and disasters. Here is a fine castle--the seat of the ancient +family of the MacDonnels--Earls of Antrim. + +Scarcely any thing in the world can be grander or more beautiful than +the coast road all the way from Glenarm to the Giant's Causeway. It is +altogether too fine to be described--it should be painted, not written +about. + +One of the grandest points in the scenery is the great promontory of +Benmore, or Fairhead. From the sea it rises an immense precipice, +formed of a multitude of enormous basaltic columns, at the highest +point more than five hundred feet above the water. + +We reached the Causeway late in the evening--so hungry and tired that +we were very glad to get our supper and go to bed, without putting our +heads out of doors. In the morning early we engaged a guide, and set +out on our tour of sight-seeing. + +The Causeway is formed by a vast collection of rocky columns--mostly as +regular in shape as though cut by masonry--five-sided, six-sided, seven +or eight-sided--piled and packed together, varying much in height, but +little in size. Some form a floor almost as even as a city +pavement--some form gradual steps leading down to the sea--and some +tower upward, like spires and turrets. + +There is a very singular collection of these columns on the side of the +highest cliff, a hundred and twenty feet in height, called "the Giant's +Organ," from their resemblance to the pipes of that instrument. + +According to tradition, the mighty Giant, Fin Mac Cual, was musical in +his taste, and used to give himself "a little innocent divarsion" here, +after his hard labors in building the Causeway. Even now, when the sea +roars, and the deep thunder rolls along the rocky coast, they say--"the +giant is playing on his big stone organ under the cliff." + +Sometimes they say,--"Listen to Fin, now!--he's at his avening +devotions--Heaven help us, an' him, poor cratur!" and then they cross +themselves, for Fin was but a miserable heathen, and can have no part +now, they think, in the true church. + +By the way, I was told while here, a ludicrous little anecdote of the +great Fin, from which it seems that he was not, after all, quite as +brave as a giant should be. It is said that when he had finished the +Causeway, he went up on a high point and shouted across the channel to +the Scotch Giant, Benandonner, to come over and fight him, if he dared. +Bold Benandonner accepted the challenge, and began to wade +across--threatening and bullying his Irish enemy. As he drew near, he +seemed to grow so much bigger, that Fin got frightened, and turned and +ran into his house, which stood near the cliff. + +"What's the matter, Fin?" said his wife, who saw what a tremble he was +in, and how pale he looked. + +"Ah, my darling," said he, "there's big Benandonner coming over to have +a fight--and as I'm not very well to-day, I don't like to meet him." + +Now, Mrs. Mac Cual was really very much ashamed of her husband for +being such a booby; but like the good wife she was, she kept her +contempt to herself, just then, and told him to lie down in the cradle, +and keep quiet, and she would attend to the Scotch Giant. Fin did as +he was bid--his wife covered him up in the cradle, and commenced +rocking and singing to him. Presently, Benandonner came stamping and +storming in, and asked for "that rascal, Fin Mac Cual." + +"If you'll please sit down and rock my baby a minute--I'll go and look +for him," said Mrs. Mac Cual. Benandonner looked down into the cradle, +and seeing that enormous giant lying there, with his feet hanging over +the foot-board, thought to himself, "if Fin's baby is so big, what must +Fin himself be!"--and became so frightened that he turned and hurried +back home, much quicker than he came. It is a foolish little +tradition, but I have related it as a specimen of the stories which are +told to amuse the children of Irish peasants. + +There are two caves near the Causeway, which are entered from the sea. +Our visits to these were the most interesting and exciting incidents of +the day. Though the waves ran high, our skilful boatmen rowed us +safely in--and though the roar of the sea and the reverberation of some +fire-arms discharged by the guides, were rather awful, we certainly +enjoyed the sight of those ocean temples, gloomy, rude, and jagged +though they were. + +From the Causeway we went to Dunluce Castle--a grand old ruin, which +stands on an insulated rock, a hundred feet above the sea. It is +separated from the land by a chasm twenty feet wide, which is crossed +by an arch only about eighteen inches broad. + +This castle was once the stronghold of a very powerful, proud, and +warlike family--the Mac Donnels. They had a whole regiment of +retainers; they had their bard, an elderly gentleman, with a long white +beard, who spent most of his time in singing songs in praise of their +glory and great exploits, to the music of a rude harp--and they had +their Banshee, who occupied a choice apartment in one of the turrets, +and doubtless howled as seldom as possible. But all this glory has +passed away, and now, the rooks and sea-birds have the famous old +castle all to themselves--wheel fearlessly about the lofty black +precipices, and scream back the shrillest shriek of the storm-winds. +Now, no bard, however poor, ever visits that once hospitable hall, to +"sing for his supper," and even the gloomy Banshee has retired from her +turret in disgust. + +A branch of the Mac Donnels clung to the haunted, dilapidated, old +castle as long as possible, to keep up the family credit, I suppose. +It was within this century, I think, that a frightful accident +happened, which drove the last of them away. In a terrible storm, one +winter afternoon, the part of the castle containing the kitchen was +blown down, and tumbled over the precipice into the sea, with the +family stores of meat and potatoes, and Biddy, the cook, who was +preparing dinner, and Teddy, the little scullion, who was turning the +spit. The Mac Donnels, for all their pride, were shocked and afflicted +by this misfortune,--for Biddy was an excellent cook, and Teddy, her +son, though careless and lazy, and given to little thefts and large +stories, had his good points, as what Irish boy has not. So they, the +Mac Donnels, sought out some other home,--safer and more comfortable, +if not quite so grand in its isolated, ancient gentility,--and it may +be, took the Banshee with them for their comfort. Trouble, I believe, +always goes with people in this world, wherever they move to,--in some +form or other, it travels with them, and settles down with them,--as +sorrow, ill-luck, disease, disgrace, discontent, fear, or remorse,--and +if we may credit Irish traditions, the old nobility and gentry had to +endure howling Banshees in addition. No wonder they wasted away under +their aristocratic infliction. + +In my story, I shall make bold to turn my back on the Causeway, Dunluce +Castle, the Mac Donnels, Banshees, and all,--return to the beautiful +neighborhood of Glenarm, and relate a little incident in the lives of +some humble peasant people there. + + +THE POOR SCHOOLMASTER. + +Some forty or fifty years ago, there lived at Glenarm, near the castle, +a poor schoolmaster, named Philip O'Flaherty. + +Philip, though a very quiet, well meaning man, was singularly +unfortunate in all but one thing--he had an excellent wife. Yet she, +poor woman, was but "a weakly body," while, as for Philip, if any +sickness whatever was going about, he was sure to catch it. He was a +sort of Irish "Murad the Unlucky," nothing seemed to prosper with him. +His potatoe-crop always fell short--if he took a fancy to keep a few +ducks, or geese, a thieving fox carried them on--his pigs ran away, and +he had not even "the poor man's blessing"--children, to comfort him. +One after another, his babes were borne to the churchyard, and his +cabin was left silent and lonely. + +Poor Philip, though a schoolmaster, was not very remarkable for +learning. In truth, he was a good deal behind the times, and his few +scholars, if at all clever, soon got beyond him, and left him. When +his wife was well, she did more than her part toward their support, and +when she was ill, they fared very poorly, I assure you. + +One September night, Philip and his wife sat alone in their cabin, more +than usually dejected and sorrowful. They had just buried their last +child--a baby-boy, only a few months old, but as dear to them as though +he had grown to their hearts for years. + +There was a terrible storm on the coast that night; the winds almost +shook their old cabin to pieces, and torrents of rain were fast +quenching the peat fire upon the hearth. Suddenly they were startled +by hearing the sound of a gun, above the roaring of the sea. "There's +a ship in distress!" cried Philip--"God help the poor creatures, for +it's an awful night to be on the deep!" "Amen!" said Nelly, solemnly. + +Soon after they heard the shouts of fishermen and cottagers, hurrying +to the shore, and, protecting themselves as well as they could, they +joined their neighbors--hoping to do some good upon the beach. + +They arrived just in time to see the distressed vessel dashed upon a +rock, and to witness a still more dreadful sight--the falling of a bolt +of fire, from the black sky, right on to the ship--which in a few +moments was enveloped in flames! No boatman, however brave, dared put +out through the wild breakers to rescue the passengers and crew--and in +the morning it was announced along that coast, that an unknown ship had +gone down, in storm and fire, with every soul on board! But no--one +little babe had been taken from the arms of its dead mother, and though +apparently lifeless, was restored, by Nelly O'Flaherty, the +schoolmaster's wife, who took it home to her cabin, where it was doing +well. There was no mark upon the few fragments of clothing which +remained upon the mother and child, when they reached the shore, by +which it could be told who or what they were--but they both had a +delicate look, which made the peasants think that they belonged to "the +quality." + +Nelly took the poor foundling at once to her heart--clad him in her +dead baby's clothes, and would not hear to his being taken to the +almshouse. "God," she said, "knew what was the best almshouse for the +pretty little cherub, when He sent it to cheer the lone cabin of the +childless." + +As a matter of course, unlucky Philip took cold from the exposure of +that stormy night, and had one of his fevers, which confined him +several weeks. The first day that he was able to get out, he walked +down to the bay, with his wife, to say good-bye to some friends, who +were going to America. After the ship had set sail, they sat for a +long time on the shore, watching it sadly and silently. "Ah, Nelly," +said Philip at last, "if it weren't for my faver and your being +burdened with that strange baby, sure we might work and earn enough to +take us to America. Faith, that shipwreck was a misfortune to us, +entirely!" + +"Sure, and it was no such thing," said Nelly; "what's a faver more or +less to you, avourneen; and has it not given us a beautiful boy, to +take the place of our little dead Phil? 'Twas the Lord sent him, and +He'll not let him bring us any trouble." + +"The Lord,--why, Nelly, woman, do you suppose _He_ ever busies himself +with the likes of us?" said the schoolmaster, bitterly. + +"Philip, avick, what do you mean?" exclaimed Nelly, in astonishment. + +"I mean," replied her husband, "that our cabin is so small and poor, +and the castle near by so big and grand, that it's natural Providence +should overlook us just, and attend to the affairs of the quality. +It's the way of the world." + +"It may be the way of the world, but it's no the way with God, Philip. +Our cabin is bigger than a sparrow's nest, afther all, and we--even +you, miserable sinner, as ye are, 'are of more value than many +sparrows.' 'The likes of us,' indade! Have ye ever come yet to +sleeping in a stable in Bethlehem, among cows and sheep and asses? +Answer me that! Ah, it's ashamed of you, I am, Philip O'Flaherty." + +The next morning, this poor couple sat down to a breakfast of only half +a dozen potatoes and a little salt. + +"Philip, dear," said Nelly, sadly, when they had finished, "these are +our last potatoes--I have sold all the rest to pay our rent, and the +Doctor's little account, just." + +"Blessed Saints!" exclaimed Philip, "what'll we do?" + +"I'm afraid we must ask charity, till we can get work," said Nelly. + +"No, no! I can't do that! I will die first!" cried Philip; then +laying his face down on the table, he burst into tears and sobbed +out--"Oh Nelly, darling, I wish I were dead and out of your way!--sure +I'm no use in the world." + +Nelly clasped the "strange baby" to her heart and murmured--"God help +us!" Just at that moment, there came a knock at the cabin door--she +opened it and dropped a respectful curtesy. It was the Earl, and a +gentleman in mourning, who as soon as he saw the baby that Nelly held, +caught it in his arms and began kissing it, and weeping over it, crying +out that he had found his boy! The Earl explained that the stranger +was a kinsman of his, a Scotch Laird, whose wife had been lost in the +wreck, a few weeks before, while on her way to visit her relatives at +the castle, with her child and servants. He said, they had not +received the letter announcing her coming--so had not thought of +looking for friends among the drowned and burned who were washed ashore +after the wreck; but they had heard of the child so miraculously saved, +and hoped that it might be their kinsman's son. + +When Nelly fully realized that she must lose her adopted child, she +fell at the feet of the father, crying with tears and sobs,--"Oh, sir, +I cannot let him go! I warmed him out of the death-chill at my +heart--I gave him my own dead darling's place! It will kill me, just, +to part with him!" + +"And you shall not part with him, my good woman," said the Laird--"the +child must have a nurse--he should have none but you. I will take you +and your husband with me to Scotland, if you will come!" + +So, to make a long story short, the poor schoolmaster and his wife were +provided with a comfortable home for the rest of their days, for their +kindness to the little shipwrecked boy, who was always dear to them, +and always returned their love. + +Many others may adopt poor foundlings and care for them tenderly, and +yet never have rich lords come to claim their charges and reward them +so generously; but the Lord of all will not fail to ask for his "little +ones" at last,--and to those who do good to "the least of these" He has +promised rewards more glorious than the greatest earthly monarch could +give--and _He will keep his word_. + + * * * * * + +Here end my stories and legends of dear old Ireland. I returned from +visiting the Causeway, to Belfast, from which place, after a few weeks +of rest and quiet social enjoyment, I passed over to Scotland. And +now, may I not hope that all the dear young readers who have gone with +me thus far, in my wanderings, will wish to bear me company yet +further? In another volume, I will describe what I saw, and tell +appropriate histories and legends of the rugged, but beautiful land of +Wallace and Bruce--of Burns and Scott. So, for the present, I will +only bid you a _short_ farewell--or as the French say, when they part +with the hope of meeting again--_au revoir_. + +GRACE GREENWOOD. + + + + + + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Stories and Legends of Travel and +History, for Children, by Grace Greenwood + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK STORIES, LEGENDS--TRAVEL, HISTORY *** + +***** This file should be named 26735-8.txt or 26735-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/2/6/7/3/26735/ + +Produced by Al Haines + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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charset=iso-8859-1"> + +<TITLE> +The Project Gutenberg E-text of Stories and Legends of Travel and History, +by Grace Greenwood +</TITLE> + +<STYLE TYPE="text/css"> +BODY { color: Black; + background: White; + margin-right: 10%; + margin-left: 10%; + font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; + text-align: justify } + +P {text-indent: 4% } + +P.noindent {text-indent: 0% } + +P.poem {text-indent: 0%; + margin-left: 10%; + font-size: small } + +P.letter {font-size: small ; + margin-left: 10% ; + margin-right: 10% } + +P.salutation {font-size: small ; + text-indent: 0%; + margin-left: 10% ; + margin-right: 10% } + +P.closing {font-size: small ; + text-indent: 0%; + margin-left: 10% ; + margin-right: 10% } + +P.footnote {font-size: small ; + text-indent: 0% ; + margin-left: 0% ; + margin-right: 0% } + +P.transnote {font-size: small ; + text-indent: 0% ; + margin-left: 0% ; + margin-right: 0% } + +P.index {font-size: small ; + text-indent: -5% ; + margin-left: 5% ; + margin-top: 0% ; + margin-bottom: 0% ; + margin-right: 0% } + +P.intro {font-size: medium ; + text-indent: -5% ; + margin-left: 5% ; + margin-right: 0% } + +P.dedication {text-indent: 0%; + margin-left: 15%; + text-align: justify } + +P.published {font-size: small ; + text-indent: 0% ; + margin-left: 15% } + +P.quote {font-size: small ; + text-indent: 4% ; + margin-left: 0% ; + margin-right: 0% } + +P.report {font-size: small ; + text-indent: 4% ; + margin-left: 0% ; + margin-right: 0% } + +P.report2 {font-size: small ; + text-indent: 4% ; + margin-left: 10% ; + margin-right: 10% } + +P.finis { text-align: center ; + text-indent: 0% ; + margin-left: 0% ; + margin-right: 0% } + +H3.h3left { margin-left: 0%; + margin-right: 1%; + margin-bottom: .5% ; + margin-top: 0; + float: left ; + clear: left ; + text-align: center } + +H3.h3right { margin-left: 1%; + margin-right: 0 ; + margin-bottom: .5% ; + margin-top: 0; + float: right ; + clear: right ; + text-align: center } + +H3.h3center { margin-left: 0; + margin-right: 0 ; + margin-bottom: .5% ; 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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: Stories and Legends of Travel and History, for Children + +Author: Grace Greenwood + +Release Date: October 1, 2008 [EBook #26735] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK STORIES, LEGENDS--TRAVEL, HISTORY *** + + + + +Produced by Al Haines + + + + + +</pre> + + +<BR><BR> + +<A NAME="img-cover"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-cover.jpg" ALT="Cover" BORDER="2" WIDTH="596" HEIGHT="685"> +</CENTER> + +<BR><BR> + +<A NAME="img-title"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-title.jpg" ALT="Title" BORDER="2" WIDTH="344" HEIGHT="507"> +</CENTER> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<H1 ALIGN="center"> +STORIES AND LEGENDS +</H1> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +OF +</H4> + +<H2 ALIGN="center"> +TRAVEL AND HISTORY, FOR CHILDREN. +</H2> + +<BR><BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +BY GRACE GREENWOOD. +</H3> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +NEW YORK: +<BR> +JOHN B. ALDEN, PUBLISHER, +<BR> +1885. +</H4> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<H5 ALIGN="center"> +Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1857, by +<BR> +LEANDER K. LIPPINCOTT, +<BR> +in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District +of Massachusetts<BR> +</H5> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +DEDICATION. +</H3> + +<P> +To my little friends, MARY and ALICE SEELYE, I wish to inscribe this +volume, in remembrance of a pleasant summer spent under their father's +roof—the Water Cure, at Cleveland, where a part of these sketches were +written,—in remembrance of their happy, cordial faces, and of the +"loving kindness" of their parents—of much genial companionship and +generous sympathy. +</P> + +<P> +In remembrance of the beautiful wood, with its flowery paths, its hills +and dells and darkly shadowed water, where we often wandered +together;—where my dear baby grew like the flowers, drinking in dew +and sunshine—strengthened by fresh winds and aromatic odors,—where +under fluttering forest-leaves her little face caught its first gleams +of thought and tender meanings, like their glinting lights and flying +shades, and her little voice seemed intoned by their silvery murmurs, +the love-notes of birds and prattle of streams. In remembrance of the +sweet spring in the glen, and the shady resting-places on the hill,—of +the grand old oaks, and of the violets at their feet. +</P> + +<P> +In remembrance of the lovely child, with whom we last visited that +wood,—dear <I>Georgiana Gordon</I>. +<BR><BR> +GRACE GREENWOOD.<BR> +CHRISTMAS, 1857.<BR> +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<H2 ALIGN="center"> +CONTENTS. +</H2> + +<P> +<A HREF="#chap01">LONDON PARKS AND GARDENS.</A>—MABEL HOWARD AND HER PET +</P> + +<P> +<A HREF="#chap02">ST. PAUL'S CATHEDRAL.</A>—STORY OF SIR PHILIP SIDNEY +</P> + +<P> +<A HREF="#chap03">GREENWICH HOSPITAL—THE PARK, ETC.</A>—LITTLE +ROBERT AND HIS NOBLE FRIEND<BR> +</P> + +<P> +<A HREF="#chap04">HAMPTON COURT.</A>—THE LADY MARY'S VISION +</P> + +<P> +<A HREF="#chap05">WINDSOR CASTLE.</A>—KING JAMES OF SCOTLAND AND THE LADY JANE BEAUFORT +</P> + +<P> +<A HREF="#chap06">THE JOURNEY FROM ENGLAND TO IRELAND.</A>—THE +FISHERMAN'S RETURN<BR> +</P> + +<P> +<A HREF="#chap07">DUBLIN, HOWTH.</A>—GRACE O'MALLEY +</P> + +<P> +<A HREF="#chap08">DONNYBROOK.</A>—THE LITTLE FIDDLER. +</P> + +<P> +<A HREF="#chap09">FROM DUBLIN TO CORK AND BLARNEY CASTLE.</A>—LITTLE NORAH +AND THE BLARNEY STONE<BR> +</P> + +<P> +<A HREF="#chap10">A VISIT TO THE LAKES OF KILLARNEY.</A>—KATHLEEN OF KILLARNEY +</P> + +<P> +<A HREF="#chap11">LIMERICK.</A>—LITTLE ANDY AND HIS GRANDFATHER +</P> + +<P> +<A HREF="#chap12">WICKLOW.</A>—TIM O'DALY AND THE CLERICAUNE +</P> + +<P> +<A HREF="#chap13">ANTRIM—THE GIANT'S CAUSEWAY.</A>—THE POOR SCHOOLMASTER +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap01"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +London Parks and Gardens +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +MABEL HOWARD AND HER PET. +</H3> + +<IMG CLASS="imgleft" SRC="images/img-009.jpg" ALT="dropcap-a" BORDER="0" WIDTH="315" HEIGHT="378"> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +After all, I think I had more real delight in the noble public parks +and gardens of London than in palaces and cathedrals They were all +wonders and novelties to me—for, to our misfortune and discredit,—we +have nothing of the kind in our country. To see the poor little public +squares in our towns and cities, where a few stunted trees seem huddled +together, as though scared by the great red-faced houses that crowd so +close upon them, one would think that we were sadly stinted and +straitened for land, instead of being loosely scattered over a vast +continent, many times larger than all Great Britain. +</P> + +<P> +The English government, with all its faults, has always been wise and +generous toward the people in regard to their out-door comfort and +pleasure. It does not mean that they shall be stifled for want of air, +or cramped for room to exercise in. Everywhere over the kingdom, the +traveller sees shady parks, pleasant gardens, breezy downs, and wide +heaths, open to the public, and as much for the enjoyment of the poor +as the rich. +</P> + +<P> +The great Hyde Park of London, has been the property of the crown since +the time of Henry VIII. It was formerly walled in, and held deer for +royal hunting—but in the reign of George IV. it was inclosed with an +open iron railing, and is now only used for drives, promenades, rides, +and military reviews. +</P> + +<P> +Connected with Hyde Park, by a bridge over the Serpentine, an +artificial river, are Kensington Gardens, beautiful pleasure-grounds +attached to Kensington Palace, a building belonging to the royal family. +</P> + +<P> +This palace was for several years the town residence of the widowed +Duchess of Kent, and here her illustrious daughter, the princess, now +Queen Victoria, was educated. +</P> + +<P> +Strangers sometimes met the young princess walking in the gardens, or +saw her sitting under the shade of the trees, accompanied by her +mother, or governess. She was always very simply dressed, and always +wore a sweet, gentle look on her fresh, young face. +</P> + +<P> +In Hyde Park, every pleasant afternoon, there may be seen hosts of +splendid equipages, and hundreds of ladies and gentlemen mounted on +elegant horses, riding up and down a long, broad avenue, called "Rotten +Row," which is devoted entirely to equestrians. +</P> + +<P> +In Hyde Park stood the Crystal Palace—now removed to Sydenham—where +it stands on an eminence, and seems in itself a great mountain of light. +</P> + +<P> +A smaller, but yet a fine park, is that of St. James. King Charles I. +walked through this from the Palace of St. James to the scaffold before +White Hall, on the morning of his execution. He was very calm, and on +his way he pointed out a tree to one of his attendants, as having been +planted by his brother, the young Prince Henry, who, if he had lived, +would have been king,—and poor Charles might have kept his head; +which, doubtless, was of more value to him than all the crowns of all +the kingdoms of the world. +</P> + +<P> +King Charles II. made many improvements in this park, and took much +pleasure in riding, sporting, and idly strolling here. He might often +be seen with half a dozen dogs at his heels, lounging along by the +banks of the ponds, feeding the ducks with his own delicate royal +hands. The foolish people were greatly moved and delighted at this, +thinking that a king, who could be so kind and gracious to dogs and +ducks, must be a good sovereign; but they were wofully mistaken there. +</P> + +<P> +Regent's Park was so named for the Prince Regent, afterwards George IV. +This park is extensive, and exceedingly beautiful. It has winding +roads and shady paths, ornamental plantations, clear, shining sheets of +water—noble trees and fairy-like bowers, so secluded and shadowy, that +the birds sing and nest in them as fearlessly as in the deep heart of a +country wood. +</P> + +<P> +Within this park are several elegant villas—among which I best +remember St. Dunstan's Villa—the residence of the late Marquis of +Hertford, about whom and this place I have heard a pretty little story, +which I will tell you. +</P> + +<P> +In Fleet Street, London, stands the Church of St. Dunstan, built on the +site of a church of the same name, which was torn down about thirty +years ago. +</P> + +<P> +The old Church of St. Dunstan had a curious clock, which was considered +a very wonderful piece of mechanism, almost a work of witchcraft. +Standing out on the side of the church, in full view of the passers-by, +were two figures of Hercules, holding clubs, with which they struck on +two bells the hours and the quarters. All children took delight in +watching these gigantic figures, but none so much as the little Marquis +of Hertford, whose kind nurse used to take him to see them—whenever he +was a particularly good boy. Every time that he saw them he would +strike his hands together and declare that as soon as he was a grown +man, he would buy those beautiful giants, and have them all to himself. +Well, strangely enough, when the Marquis grew to be a man, and got +possession of all his property, and built his new villa in Regent's +Park, it happened that old St. Dunstan's Church was torn down, and that +famous clock set up at auction. So, the Marquis, who had never +forgotten his beloved giants, bought them, and set them up in his +garden, where night and day, rain or shine, they still stand, sturdily +swinging their big clubs, striking the hours and the quarters. +</P> + +<P> +St. Dunstan's Villa contains fine marble statues, rare bronzes, vases, +and pictures, and much costly furniture; but nothing in all the house +or grounds was half so dear to the Marquis as that quaint old clock, +and those uncouth giants—for the sight of them always took him back to +the time when he was a happy innocent child, and thought them the most +wonderful things in all the world. +</P> + +<P> +Regent's Park contains The Botanical Gardens, where are to be seen +almost all species and varieties of plants and flowers. In a great +conservatory, I saw the <I>Victoria Regia</I>, the largest aquatic plant in +the world. Its vast leaves lie on the water like those of the +water-lily, which they resemble—and so broad and thick are they, that +it is said a little girl of six years may stand on one of them, without +weighing it down enough to wet her feet. +</P> + +<P> +But the most interesting portions of Regent's Park are the Zoological +Gardens, where are kept all varieties of beasts, birds, and serpents. +I had far more pleasure in visiting these gardens than I had ever found +in seeing collections of wild beasts in our own country, because the +animals themselves seemed so much more comfortable and happy. I had +been accustomed to see the lions, leopards, tigers, and bears cramped +up in miserable little grated boxes, and looking as fierce, surly, and +wretched as possible. But here they walked up and down large airy +cages, or stretched themselves out in the sun, or dozed in their +sleeping-rooms—with no brutal showmen to molest them, and no Van +Amburgh to make them afraid—and seemed really very well to do, +good-humored, and contented. Even the polar bear, who had a quiet, +shady retreat, seemed to be taking matters coolly, instead of panting +and lolling and tumbling about in the old uncomfortable way. +</P> + +<P> +The zebras looked almost amiable, and the hyenas respectable, while the +poor camels wore a far less woe-begone expression than those +long-suffering animals are expected to wear. As for the monkeys, apes, +and ourang-outangs, they were the noisiest, jolliest, most frolicsome +set of creatures you can imagine. +</P> + +<P> +In a yard by themselves, we saw several giraffes, who appeared to be +having a pleasant gossipping time, overlooking the affairs of all their +neighbors. It seemed to me that if they could put their necks +together, they would reach almost as high as Jack's famous bean-stalk +climbed. +</P> + +<P> +Very curious sights to me were the rhinoceros and hippopotamus, both of +whom I saw luxuriating in great vats of muddy water. This hippopotamus +is an enormous animal, very clumsy in his motions, and rather indolent +in his habits. He has an Arab keeper, of whom he is so fond that he +will take food from no one else—will not even sleep away from him. +The Arab is said to return his fat friend's affection, and by no means +objects to him as a bedfellow. +</P> + +<P> +A strange, piteous-looking creature was the seal, that I saw stretched +on a rock at the edge of a little pond. Its eyes were large and dark +and sad—so like human eyes, that I shuddered as I looked at them; for +it almost seemed that the poor, helpless seal itself was a human form, +bound and pinioned, and flung down there to die. +</P> + +<P> +I have no fancy for serpents—indeed, to tell the truth, I detest and +fear them—so, I did not visit that department. +</P> + +<P> +Among the birds, I was most amused by the large collection of parrots. +When I entered the gallery in which they are kept, I was almost crazed +by the confusion of tongues. There were scores of parrots, parroquets, +macaws, and cockatoos, all chattering and laughing and screaming +together. It was like a village school just let out, or a large party +of gossiping ladies over their tea. +</P> + +<P> +No two were alike, except in name—for the majority were Pollies. Some +were ugly, yet were vain enough to call themselves "pretty;" and some +were beautiful, and sleek, and plump, though they piteously declared +themselves "poor," and begged of us as we passed. +</P> + +<P> +And now I will tell you a little story—something very simple in +itself, but which I hope will serve to impress this chapter upon your +memories. +</P> + +<BR><BR> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +MABEL HOWARD AND HER PET. +</H4> + +<P> +Mabel Howard, my little heroine, was not exactly an English girl, +though she was the daughter of English parents. She was born in India, +in Calcutta, where her father, Colonel Howard, was stationed for +several years with his regiment. Mabel was not, I am sorry to say, a +bright and blooming little maiden, though she had a sweet, intelligent +face, and very endearing ways. From her birth, she had been pale, +slight, and feeble. The climate was very bad for her; and, though all +possible pains were taken with her health, she did not gain strength, +but grew weaker and weaker. At last, when she was about nine years of +age, it was resolved to send her to England, to stay with her +grandparents, who lived in London. Neither her papa nor her mamma +could go with her; but Katuka, her ayah, or native nurse, a kind, +faithful woman, would go and stay with her always, and a friend of +Colonel Howard, an officer returning home, would take charge of them +both till they should reach London. +</P> + +<P> +Poor Mabel's loving little heart was almost broken at the thought of +being sent so far away from her papa and mamma and baby-brother; but +she knew it was all meant for her good, and did not complain. +</P> + +<P> +Of all Mabel's pets, she loved best a beautiful red and white cockatoo, +that her papa had given her on her seventh birthday. +</P> + +<P> +Bobby—for so this favorite was called—was a very knowing bird +indeed—talking fluently, if not wisely, in both English and +Hindostanee; and though somewhat vain of his beauty and +accomplishments, and a little too selfish and fond of good living, +never arrogant or surly, but the most gracious and amiable of cockatoos. +</P> + +<P> +Bobby had a fine gilded cage, which hung in a shaded veranda, where the +family sat in the cool morning and evening hours; so, when not talking, +or talked to himself, he picked up a good deal of knowledge by +listening to the conversation of others. +</P> + +<P> +Everybody liked Bobby, he was so clever and comical; but Mabel not only +liked and petted him, but cared for him constantly; patiently +ministered to his dainty appetite, and tried always to teach him good +and useful things. Indeed, I am afraid that, if it had not been for +his young mistress, Bobby would have been a wicked little heathen, like +other Hindoo cockatoos. +</P> + +<P> +When Mabel was told that she must go to England, almost the first words +which she sobbed out were, "May I take Bobby?" +</P> + +<P> +"Of course, darling," said her papa; "Bobby shall go with you." +</P> + +<P> +But on the morning when Katuka and her young mistress sailed, lo, Bobby +was nowhere to be found! He had been stolen in his cage from the +veranda, and carried away during the night, by some straggling native; +and poor little Mabel was obliged to go away with a new grief weighing +down her tender, childish heart. All through the long voyage, she +missed and mourned for her lost pet, and, when she reached London, her +good grandmamma could give her nothing that would quite take its place. +</P> + +<P> +Everybody was kind to the lonely little girl, and much was done to make +her well and happy. Every day her grandmamma or her good ayah took her +to drive or walk in Hyde Park, or Kensington Gardens, or out on the +open, breezy heaths; and Mabel soon grew better, healthier, and +stronger, and a soft color stole into her pale cheeks, and deepened and +brightened, day by day, like the flush of an opening rose. +</P> + +<P> +Mabel dearly loved her kind English friends, but there were sometimes +chill wintry days, or dull rainy evenings, when she was very homesick, +and cried to see again her far-off Indian home, her papa and mamma, and +little baby-brother. +</P> + +<P> +At such times, she would often say to her kind ayah, who wept with her, +"Ah, Katuka, if I only had poor Bobby here, it would be some +consolation." +</P> + +<P> +One day, when Mabel had been about six months in England, her +grandmamma took her to the Zoological Gardens. She was greatly +interested in seeing the animals, though she shrank away with a shudder +from the tigers, of whom she had heard fearful stories in India. At +last, they entered a long, beautiful gallery, all hung with bright +gilded cages of gorgeous birds, mostly parrots, of many different +species. As Mabel walked slowly along, admiring the pretty chattering +creatures, but sadly remembering her lost Bobby, and thinking that no +one of all these was half so beautiful as he, suddenly she heard, from +a cage just before her, a joyous familiar cry: "Good morning, Miss +Mabel!—come to bring Bobby dinner? Poor Bobby hungry!" +</P> + +<P> +With a cry of delight, Mabel sprang forward and flung her arms about +the cage, and kissed the crimson-tuffed head of a pretty cockatoo, +thrust through the bars—Bobby's head—for it was indeed her own dear +lost bird! +</P> + +<P> +Sir John Howard, Mabel's grandfather, was able to buy Bobby of the +Zoological Society, who had bought him of a sailor from Calcutta so +Mabel had her pet again. +</P> + +<P> +He seemed the same intelligent, affectionate bird as ever. He had +forgotten nothing he had ever known; but he had learned some rather +rough sayings of the sailors, on his voyage from India, which did not +go very well with the good things his gentle little mistress had taught +him. But for all that, he was a great comfort to her, and she never +was homesick any more. +</P> + +<P> +After a few years, Mabel's papa, mamma, and little brother came to +England to live—never to return to India. Ah, there was a joyful +meeting one morning, in Leicester Square. Sir John and Lady Howard +were overjoyed to see their darling only son again; and he, bronzed and +weather-beaten soldier as he was, felt as glad to get home as he had +ever been when he was a homesick school-boy at Eton. Mrs. Howard was +welcomed as a real daughter, and her beautiful little boy almost +smothered with kisses. Mabel was half wild with happiness, and her +parents were surprised and delighted to find her grown so healthy and +handsome. The faithful Katuka kissed the hands of her master and +mistress with tears of joy—while Bobby, grown impatient at not being +noticed, called out sharply from his perch—"Avast there shipmates! +what a hullabaloo! Bobby wants breakfast!" +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap02"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +St. Paul's Cathedral +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +STORY OF SIR PHILIP SIDNEY +</H3> + +<IMG CLASS="imgleft" SRC="images/img-027.jpg" ALT="dropcap-t" BORDER="0" WIDTH="313" HEIGHT="365"> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +The Cathedral Church of St. Paul's is the largest religious edifice in +London, and one of the largest in the world. It stands on high ground +in the centre of the city, and can be seen for a long distance in +several directions, though it is too closely surrounded by other large +buildings to show to the best advantage. It is less beautiful than +some of the old English minsters, but in size grander than any. It is +built in the form of a Greek cross, and covers more than two acres of +ground. The dome is nearly as large as that of St. Peter's, at Rome, +and from every part of the vast city of London you can see it looming +up toward the sky—a dark, stupendous object—sometimes gilded by the +setting sun, sometimes wreathed by the mists of morning. The dome is +surmounted by a cupola, called "the lantern," over which is placed an +immense ball of gilt copper, weighing five thousand six hundred pounds, +and bearing above it a gilt cross, weighing three thousand six hundred +pounds. +</P> + +<P> +The interior of the cathedral is very grand, but rather dark and +gloomy, even under the great central light of the dome—except when +viewed by a very clear sunshine, the rarest thing in the world in +"great London town;" for what with the smoke, the fog, and the rain, +the poor old sun has few opportunities of making himself agreeable to +the Londoners. But when he does get a chance to shine, he seems to +make the most of it, and surely nothing can be more pleasant than a +right [Transcriber's note: bright?] sunny morning in London. On such a +morning we visited St. Paul's Cathedral. +</P> + +<P> +Before ascending to the dome, we wandered about for some time in the +nave and transept, examining with much interest the monuments, statues, +and tablets, erected in honor of celebrated English poets, artists, +soldiers, naval heroes, and statesmen, and seeking out the famous +epitaph of the noble architect, and the great and good man, Sir +Christopher Wren. This is in Latin, but translated, reads thus:— +</P> + +<P> +"Beneath lies Christopher Wren, the architect of this church and city, +who lived more than ninety years, not for himself alone, but for the +public. Reader, do you seek his monument? look around!" +</P> + +<P> +About the interior of the dome are a series of pictures, illustrating +the life of St. Paul. An incident occurred during the painting of +these which I will relate, as a remarkable instance of presence of +mind. The artist, Sir James Thornhill, painted standing on a scaffold, +erected of course at a great height from the ground. This scaffold was +securely built, but not protected by any railing. One day, while +fortunately a friend was with him watching him at his work—having just +finished the head of one of the apostles, he forgot where he was, and +with his hand over his eyes, stepped hastily backward, to see how the +picture would look from a distance. In a moment he stood on the very +edge of the platform; another step—another inch backward were certain +death! His friend dared not speak, for fear of startling him; but +catching up a large brush, he dashed it over the face of the apostle, +smearing the picture shockingly. Sir James sprang forward instantly, +crying out: +</P> + +<P> +"Bless my soul! what have you done?" "<I>I have saved your life,</I>" +replied his friend, calmly. For the next moment the two stood face to +face, very pale and still, but thanking God fervently in their full, +loud-beating hearts. +</P> + +<P> +Within the dome is "The Whispering Gallery." This is surely very +curious; the least whisper breathed against the wall at a certain +point, being distinctly heard on the opposite side of the gallery, or +making the entire inner circle of the great dome. After a long, weary +ascent of very dirty and dark staircases, we reached the cupola, and +great London and its environs lay beneath us! Oh, what a wide and +wonderful view was that! It was almost overwhelming—and so bewildered +me at first, that I could not clearly make out any thing. But soon +that dizziness of astonishment passed away, and I began to recognize, +one after another, places and buildings that had grown familiar to me. +There was Hyde Park, looking at that distance like a plantation of +young trees; there was Buckingham Palace, the new palace of +Westminster, and the grand old Abbey. I could see the flash of the +fountains in Trafalgar Square, and trace the silver winding of the +Thames, through miles on miles of docks and warehouses, under dark +bridges, past darker prisons, far up into the green and smiling +country, and far down toward the blue and shining sea. There was the +Tower, which, though not a dark or dilapidated building, always has a +guilty, gloomy look,—after you know what it is. There was the +Monument, towering toward the sky, in memory of the great conflagration +in London, when, where those magnificent buildings now stand, were +piles and masses of fire—and great flames going up in red columns, to +heaven. +</P> + +<P> +Brightly shone the sun on hundreds of spires and domes, cheerily +lighting up all that vast scene beneath us; the wide, elegant streets, +open squares and parks of the town, and the busy crowded streets and +narrow lanes of the city. The kindly rays fell just as warmly and +clearly into the dark and damp courts of the miserable parish of St. +Giles, as on to the noble terraces and into the palace gardens of +fashionable West End. Oh, the beautiful sunshine! God's manna of +light—falling for the poor as well as for the rich. +</P> + +<P> +While standing on that lofty balcony, I could but faintly hear that +great noise of business and travel, which roars along London streets, +without ceasing day or night. It was like being at the summit of a +high rock, on the sea-shore, where the hoarse sound of the great waves +comes up to your ear, softened to a low, deep murmur. +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +"Old St. Paul's," upon the site of which this noble cathedral now +stands, was burned in the fire of 1660. Among the great men buried in +"Old St. Paul's," was Sir Philip Sidney, the most brilliant, and the +best man of Queen Elizabeth's court. Let me tell you more about him. +</P> + +<BR><BR> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +STORY OF SIR PHILIP SIDNEY. +</H4> + +<P> +Philip Sidney was born in November, 1554. He was the son of Sir Henry +Sidney, the dear friend of the amiable young King Edward VI., who died +in his arms, and of the Lady Mary, only daughter of the ambitious and +unfortunate Duke of Northumberland. +</P> + +<P> +From his early childhood, Philip was remarkable for his genius, his +beauty, his sweet and generous disposition, and the modesty and grace +of his manners. Sir Fulke Greville—who was one of his schoolmates, +knew him all his life, and so dearly loved and highly honored him that +he directed it should be put on his tombstone, that, he was "the friend +of Sir Philip Sidney"—said of him, that, while yet a child, he seemed +a man, in gravity and wisdom, in steadiness of purpose, and love of +knowledge, and that even his teachers found in him something to wonder +at and learn, above what they could find in books, or were able to +teach. +</P> + +<P> +At the age of twelve, Philip corresponded with his father in French and +Latin, with correctness and elegance; at thirteen, he entered the +University at Oxford, where he distinguished himself by his +scholarship, by his noble character, and blameless life. At the age of +seventeen, having left college, he went to Paris in the suite of the +Earl of Lincoln, the ambassador extraordinary of Queen Elizabeth to the +court of France. Because of his high connections and reputation, and +the letters which he carried from his uncle, Robert Dudley, Earl of +Leicester, he was received with much distinction. Charles IX., a +courteous, though treacherous prince, and his wily mother, Catharine de +Medicis, were extremely gracious to him. The king gave him an office +of honor in his palace, and strove in various ways to win his regard +and confidence. But Philip neither liked nor trusted him, but gave the +respect and friendship of his noble heart to a more truly royal object, +the brave and good King Henry of Navarre. +</P> + +<P> +It was soon evident what secret object King Charles had in trying to +conciliate the English at his court. It was to blind their eyes, that +they should not foresee and help to arrest one of the most fearful and +cruel crimes to be found in the dark history of Catholic persecution, +the Massacre of St. Bartholomew. Charles, his wicked mother, and the +priests, their advisers, chose this time when a large number of +Protestants were assembled at Paris on the occasion of the marriage of +the young Prince of Navarre to the sister of the King of France, for a +general massacre of the Huguenots, throughout the city and kingdom. On +St. Bartholomew's day the slaughter began, and lasted until many +thousand Protestants—men, women, and children—were murdered, shot +down and cut down in their houses, their churches, and in the open +street. King Charles himself, though scarcely more than a boy, was the +most brutal and blood-thirsty of all the persecutors. He stood at one +of the windows of his palace, and fired at the poor, shrieking, +struggling people, as fast as his carbine could be loaded. Many a +brave Christian father and noble youth were laid low by his cruel shot, +in those dreadful streets and courts, where the hard stones steamed +with warm blood as meadows in May mornings smoke with ascending dews, +and where down the very gutters, instead of swift currents of summer +rain, ran sluggish red rivulets, slowly flowing from the bodies of the +dead and dying, piled on either side. But though that bad and mad +young king cruelly meant every shot, and though every drop of blood he +shed was a guilt-stain on his soul, and every dying groan he caused was +to ring on his ear and pierce his wicked heart till he died, yet, after +all, he harmed only the poor, perishing bodies of his victims; their +deathless souls he but early set free from mortal bondage, and hastened +home to God. +</P> + +<P> +But to return to Philip Sidney. During the massacre, he took refuge +with the English resident minister, Sir Francis Walsingham, one of the +most distinguished men of the age and court of Elizabeth. +</P> + +<P> +Sir Francis had a young daughter, a beautiful, sweet-tempered little +girl, in whom Philip Sidney became much interested. This child felt +very deeply for the poor Huguenot martyrs. She prayed for them +constantly, and wept for them tears of bitter anguish, that seemed to +quench the glad sparkle of her tender blue eyes, and to wash all the +rosy bloom from her soft, round cheeks. +</P> + +<P> +Philip, who saw her sadness, often tried to comfort her; but her grief +and her sweet, sorrowful words always so touched his own tender heart, +that his manly voice trembled, and sometimes he bowed his beautiful +face on her head, as it lay on his breast, and wept with her silently. +And so he grew to love her; and she loved him more than all the world. +</P> + +<P> +As soon as quiet was restored—a sad quiet it was—Philip Sidney set +out to travel in Germany and Italy. He was glad to leave Paris, its +vile court and viler king; he was sorry to leave nobody but little +Fanny Walsingham. +</P> + +<P> +Soon after returning to England, and when only twenty-one, Sidney was +sent as ambassador to Vienna, by Queen Elizabeth, who knew how to +perceive talent and worth, though she did not always reward them +generously. He faithfully discharged the duties of his office, and was +most honorably received by the queen on his return. But he was not of +the stuff out of which courtiers are made. He was too honest, +independent, and disinterested to gain wealth or power by intrigue or +flattery; so, though the queen respected him, and often advised with +him, he received neither gifts nor offices, but lived for several years +in retirement, devoting himself to study and writing. +</P> + +<P> +In 1583, he married Frances, only daughter of Sir Francis Walsingham, +his well remembered little friend, now grown into a beautiful woman, +well worthy of his noble love. During that same year he was knighted +by the queen at Windsor, and became Sir Philip Sidney. +</P> + +<P> +By the time that he reached the age of thirty, the fame of his many +splendid qualities—his learning and literary talent, his bravery, and, +above all, his noble honesty—had spread over Europe, while in England, +he was the glory of the court and the idol of the people. +</P> + +<P> +There are a kind of little great men who seek to impose on you by +pompous ways, proud looks, and high-sounding words; but there was no +such poor pride and pretension about Sir Philip Sidney. He was gay and +free-hearted, frank in his words, simple and gentle in his manner, and +always earnest in the endeavor to be and do good. His writings were +full of noble thought and pure, sweet feeling, worthy his true heart +and his great soul. +</P> + +<P> +In 1585, a wonderful tribute was paid to the talent and exalted worth +of Sir Philip Sidney. +</P> + +<P> +The throne of Poland having become vacant by the death of Stephen +Bathori, he was invited to enroll himself among the candidates. He +does not seem to have been tempted by this splendid opportunity of +obtaining sovereign power and honors, but cheerfully acquiesced in the +queen's will that he should remain her loyal subject. She said, rather +selfishly, I think, that she "could not consent to lose the jewel of +her times." +</P> + +<P> +Soon after this, she appointed him to a military command in the Low +Countries. Here he soon distinguished himself by skilful generalship, +rare coolness in danger, and courage in action. At last, on the 24th +of September, 1586, in a gallant attack on a greatly superior force of +the enemy, near Zutphen, a town he was besieging, after having had one +horse shot from under him, he was severely wounded by a musket-ball in +the left leg. +</P> + +<P> +As his soldiers were bearing him from the field of battle toward his +camp, he grew very faint from loss of blood, and asked for water. It +was brought to him; but just as the glass was raised to his parched +lips, he caught the eye of a poor dying soldier fixed wistfully upon +it. In an instant he passed it to him, without having tasted a drop, +saying, "Drink, my friend; thy necessity is yet greater than mine." +</P> + +<P> +Oh, in all his noble life, Sir Philip Sidney had never done so grand a +deed as this! It was, in truth, a Christ-like act, though performed +upon a bloody battle-field,—and it will be remembered and honored +while the world endures. +</P> + +<P> +Sir Philip's wound was unskilfully treated, and finally caused his +death. He died at Arnheim, about the middle of the next month. +</P> + +<P> +This seemed a sad closing to so brilliant a life. Far away from +country and home, from his dearest friends, his beloved wife, and his +darling child, with no loving one to sympathize with him in his pain, +and comfort him in his sadness—to listen reverently to his dying +words, to close tenderly his darkened eyes, and to weep over the pale +beauty of his dead face. But we may trust, from all we know of his +pure Christian life, that comforting angels were near him, whispering +hope and peace to his heart—that divine love sustained him; and we may +feel assured that, for the gift of that "cup of cold water" to the +dying soldier, his soul drunk deep of "the waters of life that now from +the throne of the Lamb," and make beautiful forever the Paradise of God. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap03"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Greenwich Hospital—The Park, etc. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +LITTLE ROBERT AND HIS NOBLE FRIEND. +</H3> + +<IMG CLASS="imgleft" SRC="images/img-045.jpg" ALT="dropcap-g" BORDER="0" WIDTH="313" HEIGHT="381"> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +Greenwich, though a large market town, containing a goodly number of +elegant and noble buildings, and many thousand inhabitants, appears in +this age of steam to form a part of London—for when you set out from +the metropolis to visit it, you seem to have hardly got comfortably +seated in the railway carriage, before you are <I>there</I>. +</P> + +<P> +Greenwich is delightfully situated on the south bank of the Thames, and +is certainly one of the most beautiful and interesting places in the +vicinity of London. From the time of Edward I., the English monarchs +had a royal residence here, but by the time of Charles II., this old +palace had become a rather mouldy and tumble-down affair, so he +commanded that it should be demolished entirely, and a magnificent +structure of freestone erected in its place. We read that "riches take +to themselves wings," but King Charles's riches seem to have gone off +with one wing, for he had only means enough to finish that much of his +new palace, and even that cost him thirty-six thousand pounds—an +enormous sum for his time, or for any time, indeed. This answered his +purpose tolerably well, and he condescended to reside here +occasionally, when he was tired of Hampton Court and his London palaces. +</P> + +<P> +No more was done to the building till the reign of William III. It had +been suggested by his queen, Mary, that an asylum for old and disabled +seamen should be built, and as the royal family had really no need of +the palace at Greenwich, Sir Christopher Wren ventured to advise that +it should be finished, and converted into a hospital. The king and +queen graciously consented, and so the good work went on. The building +was enlarged, beautified, and finished with simple elegance, and now +there is not a more imposing palace in all England. Not only is it a +princely, but a comfortable and happy home for nearly three thousand +poor seamen. Here they have excellent and abundant food and clothing; +skilful medical treatment, when they are ill, and their wives, as paid +nurses, to attend them; a reasonable sum of pocket-money is given them +to spend as they please. Here is a library, a picture-gallery, and a +chapel, for their especial benefit, and a school, where their children +can be educated. Is it any wonder that these veteran seamen, nearly +every man of whom has lost a leg or an arm in the service of his +country, should be contented and happy, in such a noble asylum as +this—such a quiet and comfortable place of refuge and rest? +</P> + +<P> +Near the hospital is Greenwich Park, an inclosure of nearly two hundred +acres, planted principally with elms and Spanish chestnuts, many of +which are very large and magnificent trees. This park is hilly, and on +the highest eminence stands the Royal Observatory, where, as you know, +many valuable astronomical calculations are made. +</P> + +<P> +In the park, on pleasant days, many of the old pensioners can always be +seen, hobbling along the shady avenues, or sitting together on the +benches, under the great trees, talking over old times—telling tales +of storms and shipwrecks, or more terrible still, of battles at sea. +</P> + +<P> +Those who fought under the heroic Lord Nelson most love to talk of him, +for he was idolized by all his men. +</P> + +<P> +In the great hall of the hospital hang many pictures of him and his +battles; and there also, in a glass case, are kept the clothes which he +wore when he was killed—all stained with his blood. Not a man among +his veteran seamen can look at these relics without feeling his dim old +eyes grow yet more dim with tears. Among the pictures, there was one +which, though not very fine in itself, impressed me not a little at the +time, and which I still remember vividly. It represents an adventure +which happened to Lord Nelson when he was a young sailor-boy, cruising +in the north seas. In the picture, he seems to have wandered off in a +freak of boyish rashness, far from the boat and crew, and is standing +on the ice, surrounded by vast wastes and mountains of ice, alone, but +in a very fearless attitude, facing a monstrous white bear, who is +evidently coming up, eagerly, to <I>hug</I> the young mariner, yet has any +thing but an affectionate expression on his ugly face. Nelson has his +long knife drawn, and seems to say: "Come on; I'm ready for you, old +fellow!" +</P> + +<P> +I do not remember ever to have read any account of this adventure, so I +cannot tell how it terminated for the bear. We know well enough that +Bruin did not get the better of Nelson, for he lived to fight again and +again with foes no less ferocious than the bear, though without his +excuse of brute instincts and hunger. But only suppose it had been +different; suppose the bear had killed and eaten the hero of Trafalgar, +like any common sailor-boy, what a difference it would have made with +the glory and boasting of England, and it may be, in its power on land +and sea. +</P> + +<P> +In the eastern part of Greenwich Park are "the barrows," very singular +circular mounds, supposed to be burial-places of ancient Britons. +These the English people so much respect that they will not suffer them +to be opened, or even levelled. +</P> + +<P> +Just without the park lies Blackheath, a large expanse of common, full +a mile wide, and more than that long, I should say. Opening off from +this is Blackheath Park, and here, in a lovely homelike cottage, +embowered in trees and flowers and vines, I spent some of the happiest +days of my happy visit in England. Oh, I so often think with a sad +longing of that home, and wonder if I shall ever see it again! There +is a certain pleasant window of the family parlor, looking out into the +garden, and sometimes, when I sit alone at evening, I dream that I am +sitting at that window, enjoying the long English twilight. I seem to +see one very dear to me, flitting lightly about among the flowers, +singing low, and smiling to herself, because her heart is made so glad +by their beauty and their fragrance. And the flowers seem to know her, +and bend to her and claim relationship with her—the roses for her +bloom, the lilies for her white dress and innocent look, while the +violets kiss her feet, as she passes, because she is good. +</P> + +<P> +I can almost hear the good-night song of the blackbird, before he goes +to sleep among the golden laburnum boughs; can almost smell the +good-night sigh of the flowers, as they nod their sleepy heads and +swing lazily in the evening wind. +</P> + +<P> +Just across the heath lives another dear friend, Mrs. Crosland, whom my +little readers know. When going to visit her, I never chose to ride, +enjoying much more that walk across the heath. Here the air was always +fresh and cool, and the winds, without a tree or house to obstruct +them, had a bold, strong, frolicsome sweep, as though glad to be free +of both forest and town. +</P> + +<P> +The ground of this heath is smooth, and gently rolling. It does not +grow the heather, but is covered everywhere with a firm turf of fine +grass, which, thanks to frequent showers, always looks soft and green, +though it is kept very closely cropped. +</P> + +<P> +In pleasant summer weather there can always be seen ranged along one +side of this heath, queer little pony chaises, donkey carts, goat +carriages, and ponies and donkeys saddled and bridled, all waiting to +be let to invalids and children, by the hour, or for the ride. +</P> + +<P> +It was very amusing, on Saturday afternoons, to see school children +consoling themselves for the week's confinement and study, by a wild +pony trot, or a scrambling donkey gallop across the heath. Wild girls, +with gipsy bonnets falling on their shoulders, and their long hair +flying in the wind; wilder boys, with their satchels bobbing at their +backs, their hats swung in the air, and their feet remorselessly +digging into the sides of the poor little bewildered beasts who carried +them. +</P> + +<P> +"Great fun!" "splendid sport!" they said it was, when they dismounted +and paid their six-pence, but perhaps the ponies and donkeys had an +opinion of their own on the subject. +</P> + +<P> +Donkey-riding is said to be a very healthful exercise, and invalids +often drive out from town to the heaths, where these animals are always +to be had, for the sake of a free ride in those fresh, open places. +</P> + +<P> +Hampstead-heath, which lies on the other side of London, is more +frequented, both for health and pleasure; and as this was the scene of +the story I am about to tell, we will take leave of Blackheath, a dear, +pleasant, sunny place, in spite of its name. +</P> + +<BR><BR> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +LITTLE ROBERT AND HIS NOBLE FRIEND. +</H4> + +<P> +Robert Selwyn was the only son of a poor widow, who kept a small green +grocer's shop, at Hampstead. +</P> + +<P> +Robert, at the period at which our story commences, was a fine, +handsome, intelligent lad of twelve, with frank, engaging manners, and +a warm, honest heart. +</P> + +<P> +For a boy of his age, he was remarkably thoughtful and serious; he +loved books more than any thing in the world, except his mother, and +actually seemed to hunger and thirst after knowledge. Mrs. Selwyn was +a woman of considerable education, as she had seen better days in her +youth, and now she taught Robert all that she knew, beside sending him +to the parish school as often as she could spare him. +</P> + +<P> +The widow owned a very pretty fawn-colored donkey,—good tempered and +well trained, which she used to hire out to invalids, and so added +something to her little income. Every pleasant summer afternoon she +would send Robert with "Billy" to the heath, telling him never to allow +any wild boys or girls to ride the good little animal for sport, but to +let him to invalids or very young children, and always to walk or run +by his side. Robert faithfully obeyed his mother, and though bold boys +and girls thought him hard and disobliging, he and his pretty donkey +were in great demand among the invalids and children. Many were the +sweet little girls and gentle boys that he taught to ride—trotting +along beside them, up and down the heath. +</P> + +<P> +One balmy afternoon, late in May, Robert was standing on the edge of +the heath, leaning against his donkey, waiting for a customer. Billy +always plump and sleek, was wearing, for the first time, a nice new +saddle, with a fine white linen cloth, fringed with crimson, and really +looked fit to carry a prince. +</P> + +<P> +At length, an open carriage came slowly driving that way; it had a +coachman and a footman in handsome livery, and contained a lady and a +little boy. This child was about Robert's age, but looked much +smaller. He was slight and delicate, and his face, which was very +beautiful, was almost as white as marble, and would have been sad to +look upon, had it not been for a sweet lovingness about the mouth, and +a cheerful, patient spirit smiling out of the eyes. +</P> + +<P> +The lady was a noble, stately person, dressed all in black, and looking +as if she had seen a great deal of sorrow. She had an anxious +expression on her face, and held the hand of the little boy tenderly +clasped in hers. +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, mamma," the child suddenly exclaimed, "may I not have a ride on +that nice donkey yonder, standing by that handsome, red-cheeked boy?" +</P> + +<P> +The lady sighed as she looked at Robert's robust form and blooming +face, but she answered, cheerfully:— +</P> + +<P> +"Certainly, my love, you may take a little ride, if the donkey and the +boy seem trustworthy." +</P> + +<P> +So Robert was called, and questioned about Billy, and answered so +frankly and modestly, that the young invalid was soon seated on +donkey-back, and gently trotting down the heath, with Robert running at +his side. He liked his attendant so well, that he soon got into +conversation with him, asked his name, and told him his own. Robert +was a little startled, when he found that his sociable new customer was +a real young nobleman—Arthur, Lord Evremond. +</P> + +<P> +When they returned to the carriage, his lordship felt so much benefited +by his ride, and was so much pleased with both donkey and donkey-boy, +that he engaged their services for the next afternoon. +</P> + +<P> +Lady Evremond had come up to London from her country-seat, where she +lived in great retirement, for the best medical advice for her son, who +had come home from Eton, ill, and who, young as he was, seemed +threatened with consumption. Her husband and daughter had died of that +disease, in Italy, and she had not the heart to take her Arthur away +from England to die. +</P> + +<P> +The physicians gave her hope that the child would recover; he seemed +better in the air of London than on his estate, which lay low in a +little valley in Devonshire. His new exercise of donkey-riding, seemed +to benefit him greatly for awhile. Two or three times a week the +little lord drove out to Hampstead, to take his ride on the breezy +heath. He became more and more friendly and confiding with Robert, +whom he never treated as an inferior. He loved best to talk with him +about the good he meant to do if God would only make him well, and let +him grow up to be a man. He said that if he died, the title and +estates must go to his cousin, who was a wicked, wasteful man, and who +would do nothing for the poor and suffering; and that, he said, was +what made it hardest for him to die. Next to that, was the thought of +leaving his mother; but she would soon come to him in heaven, and all +her grief be over—while the sorrows that his hard-hearted cousin might +cause his poor tenants, would last a long time. +</P> + +<P> +When the young lord spoke so sweetly and nobly, there was always such a +holy light on his beautiful face that he seemed to have become already +one of God's blessed angels, and Robert was almost ready to worship +him. So great was the boy's reverence for his goodness, not for his +<I>title</I>, that when Evremond asked him to call him "Arthur," instead of +"my lord," he gently shook his head, and said: "I would rather not." +</P> + +<P> +After a few weeks had gone by, Robert noticed that his noble friend +seemed to be getting still weaker and paler. He talked more and more +earnestly and tenderly of heaven, of his papa and angel sister, and +seemed to feel yet more loving pity for all the poor and suffering. He +now seldom rode faster than a walk, his voice grew faint, he rested his +hand wearily on Robert's shoulder, and fell languidly into his arms, +when he dismounted. +</P> + +<P> +At last he failed to keep his engagement at the heath. Day after day, +a whole week went by, and still he did not come, and poor Robert was +almost heart-broken with disappointment and anxiety. At length, to his +great joy, he saw the well-known carriage coming! Alas, it was empty! +The footman brought a message from Lady Evremond—her son had been +taken alarmingly ill, the night after his last ride—he had been +failing ever since, and now it was thought he could not live many +hours. The carriage was sent for his friend Robert, whom he wished to +see before he died. +</P> + +<P> +Robert sent home his donkey by a friend, and sprang into the carriage, +where he buried his face in his hands and wept all the way to Grosvenor +Square. +</P> + +<P> +He was conducted into a great hall, up a noble staircase, through +several elegant rooms, filled with beautiful and costly things, strange +enough to poor Robert, but his eyes were too full of tears and his +heart of grief to notice them. A chamber door was opened softly before +him, and Robert saw his friend lying on a couch by the window, with his +head resting in his mother's lap. His eyes were closed, and his face +so deathly pale that Robert thought he had come too late, and +staggering forward, he fell at the young lord's feet, and hiding his +face against them, sobbed aloud. +</P> + +<P> +"Dear Robert; have you come?" said a low, sweet voice. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, my lord," answered Robert, joyfully. +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, <I>won't</I> you call me <I>Arthur</I>, now that I am dying?" said his +friend. +</P> + +<P> +"Arthur, <I>dear Arthur</I>," murmured Robert, and that was all that he +could say for weeping. +</P> + +<P> +After awhile, Lord Evremond, looking up to his mother and clasping +Robert's hand, said: +</P> + +<P> +"Mamma, I leave <I>you</I> Robert; love him and take care of him; send him +to school, and let him have just such an education as you would have +given to me. Promise me that you will, dear mamma." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, Arthur, my beloved child, I promise but oh, my son, my darling +only boy, how can I part with you!" +</P> + +<P> +"Dearest mother, only think, it is for but a little while, and then we +shall all be together. Kiss me now, and let me sleep, I feel so +drowsy." +</P> + +<P> +And he did sleep, for some time, very peacefully, smiling sweetly, as +though dreaming pleasant dreams. Suddenly he opened his eyes, and +reached up his arms, calling out joyfully: "Papa! sister Mary!" and +died without a pang of suffering. +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +Ten years had passed. It was Sunday morning, and the church bell of +Evremond was calling the people to worship. All were eager to see and +hear the new minister, who was to preach his first sermon that day. +Out of the pleasant Rectory he came, supporting an elderly lady on his +arm. It was Robert Selwyn and his mother. At the church door they met +a lady, who grasped them both by the hand. This was Lady Evremond. +</P> + +<P> +Robert Selwyn performed the sacred rites with dignity and true feeling, +and preached a noble discourse, such an one as makes men's hearts +strong against sin, but soft toward the erring. +</P> + +<P> +After the services, when all save she had left the church, Lady +Evremond lingered for some time before a white marble monument, which +stood under a high church window. The sculpture on this monument +represented the young Lord Evremond, as he lay on his couch, when +dying,—and an angel, with a face very like his, lovingly lifting him +from his mother's arms, to bear him to heaven. +</P> + +<P> +As Lady Evremond gazed on the marble image of her dead boy, she +murmured: +</P> + +<P> +"Have I not been true to thy trust, my son?" +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +Late in the dim twilight of that day, another form was kneeling beside +that monumental couch. It was Robert Selwyn; and when he rose, there +were tears on that sweet marble face. All night long they glistened in +the pale moonlight, and sad starlight, shining through that high church +window; but in the morning the happy sunbeams came softly down and +kissed them all away. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap04"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Hampton Court +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE LADY MARY'S VISION. +</H3> + +<IMG CLASS="imgleft" SRC="images/img-065.jpg" ALT="dropcap-h" BORDER="0" WIDTH="309" HEIGHT="362"> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +How well I remember one pleasant morning in September—more than two +years ago, I declare!—when a merry party of us, English and Americans, +met at the counting house of our noble friend, Mr. B——, to go from +thence to Hampton Court. It was in the city of London that we met. +This is entered from the town, which holds most of the parks and +palaces of royalty and the nobility, by an old, old gateway, called +Temple Bar. When the Queen is to pay a visit to the city, Temple Bar +gate is closed, and she must respectfully ask admittance of the lord +mayor, and he must graciously present the keys to her before she may +come in. The lord mayor is the real king of London, and takes +precedence of royalty in all processions in the city, as, for instance, +the funeral procession of the Duke of Wellington, after it passed +Temple Bar. All lord mayors are elected from the board of aldermen; +they serve but one year, during which time they live in a very handsome +residence, called "The Mansion House," and ride in a splendid, but +rather gaudy and old-fashioned coach—something such as you have seen +pictures of in the story of Dick Whittington. +</P> + +<P> +Each new sovereign attends, with the court, a grand ball, given by the +lord mayor, at Guildhall; on which occasion there is always a +magnificent display, both on the part of the aristocracy and the +citizens. +</P> + +<P> +Guildhall is a large building, where the aldermen and councilmen meet, +to transact business and eat good dinners. In the hall where balls and +great banquets are given stand two gigantic painted figures, called Gog +and Magog, which are very quaint and odd-looking, and I don't know how +many years old. +</P> + +<P> +"But what," you will say, "has all this to do with Hampton Court?" +</P> + +<P> +Well, we started from the city, a social, merry party, of five or six; +and, after laughing and chatting in a comfortable English railway +carriage, for a few minutes, arrived at the station, near the palace. +</P> + +<P> +The old palace of Hampton Court stands on the northern bank of the +Thames, about twelve miles west of Hyde Park, and is situated in the +parish of Hampton, and county of Middlesex. +</P> + +<P> +In the reign of Henry VIII., when the great prelate, Cardinal Wolsey, +was at the height of his power, he leased the old manor and manor-house +of the Knights-Hospitallers of Jerusalem, to whom it then belonged, for +the purpose of building a palace suitable to his rank and splendor. He +erected a structure so magnificent, and so far surpassing any of the +royal residences, that he quite overshot his mark, and roused the +jealousy of the king, who bluntly asked him what he, a priest, and a +butcher's son, meant by building for himself a palace handsomer than +any of his king's. Then the cunning Cardinal, putting the best face he +could on the matter, said that he had only been trying to build a +residence worthy of so great and glorious a monarch, and that Hampton +Court was at King Henry's service. The king jumped at the offer, but +in return bestowed upon Wolsey the old manor of Richmond, the favorite +residence of his father, Henry VII. It was observed, when the great +Cardinal was going home, after this interview with his royal master, +that he scowled and growled at his followers, and belabored the poor +mule that he rode most unmercifully. +</P> + +<P> +So, by gift from Cardinal Wolsey, Hampton Court became the property of +the crown. +</P> + +<P> +Edward VI. was born in this palace, and mostly resided here, during his +short, but happy reign. Gloomy Queen Mary and her false hearted +husband, Philip of Spain, spent their honey-moon, or rather +vinegar-moon, here. Queen Elizabeth here gave several great festivals, +and her successor, the mean and pedantic James I. held a great +religious conference in the privy-chamber,—he, the most immoderate of +bigots, sitting as <I>moderator</I>. Here he entertained some great French +princes at one time, very handsomely; every thing being on a royal +scale except the host. Here he lost his wife, Anne of Denmark, a very +respectable sort of a woman, much too good for him. +</P> + +<P> +Charles I., with his queen and court, sought refuge at this place from +the plague, which was ravaging London. But there was another trouble +that came upon him from which he could not escape, even here. Death, +with his scythe, passed by the healthful shades of the country palace, +but the executioner with his axe was not to be evaded. +</P> + +<P> +The Lord Protector, Oliver Cromwell, resided sometimes at this palace; +but his favorite daughter, Elizabeth, a very lovely woman, died here, +and after that, it was the saddest place in all the world to him. +</P> + +<P> +Charles II., with his gay court, which hardly held one honest man, or +reputable woman, used to hold revels here; and stubborn James II. +resided here now and then, till he was driven by a roused people from +throne, palace, and country. William III. was very partial to Hampton +Court, and did much to improve and adorn it. His queen here performed +prodigious labors in the embroidery line, and kept her maids of honor +as hard at work on chair covers and bed curtains as though they were +poor seamstresses, toiling for their daily bread. +</P> + +<P> +George II. and Queen Caroline were the last sovereigns who resided at +this palace. It is now only occupied by the officers and servants who +have charge of it, and some dowagers and poor women of rank, called in +England "decayed gentlewomen." To those ladies the queen allots +apartments, and they live very handsomely and comfortably, though I +should think they would have rather lonely times, amid the melancholy +grandeur and stillness of that deserted old palace. +</P> + +<P> +Over the gateway by which we entered are carved the arms of Cardinal +Wolsey, with a Latin inscription, signifying "God is my help," a lying +motto, as his own words afterwards proved; for, when dying in disgrace, +he exclaimed, "If I had served my God half as faithfully as I have +served my king, He would not have given me over to my enemies in my old +age." +</P> + +<P> +We went up the grand staircase, to the guard-chamber, and from thence +passed through several suites of noble rooms, hung with pictures and +ancient tapestry, with frescoed ceilings, and carved and gilded +cornices. The most interesting among the pictures are portraits of +famous people, kings, queens, princes, heroes, and beauties, of whom we +read in history. +</P> + +<P> +But as there are more than a thousand paintings at Hampton Court, of +course I cannot stop to describe any of these, though about many I +could tell you very strange and romantic stories. +</P> + +<P> +The most magnificent apartment in the palace, and one of the grandest +in the world, is the great hall, which is one hundred and six feet +long, forty wide, and sixty high. The roof is beautifully carved and +decorated with the royal arms and badges, the walls are hung with +costly tapestry, the windows are richly stained, and bear the arms and +pedigree of Henry VIII. and his six wives. +</P> + +<P> +From this hall we passed through another splendid apartment, called +"the withdrawing room," down "the queen's staircase," into a court, +containing a pretty fountain, and from thence into the gardens. These +are very fine, but rather too stiffly and formally laid out to suit our +modern taste. I remember one narrow, gloomy alley, of boxwood, or yew, +called "Queen Mary's Walk," after bloody Mary, who used to take her +evening exercise here alone, marching slowly up and down in the waning +twilight, meditating, I fear, those frightful persecutions, rackings, +and burnings of the poor Protestants, and trying to steel her heart +against the womanly pity that would creep into it sometimes, in spite +of all the admonitions of Cardinal Pole and Bishop Gardiner, and the +counsels of her cruel husband. +</P> + +<P> +The greatest curiosity of these gardens is a Hamburg grape-vine, +supposed to be the largest in the world. It alone fills a green-house +seventy-two feet long and thirty broad. It is itself one hundred and +ten feet long; and is thirty inches in circumference, three feet from +the ground. It often bears as many as two thousand five hundred +bunches. +</P> + +<P> +From the green-house, we walked down to the Thames, and then returned +through a beautiful avenue of linden-trees, to the east part of the +palace, where there is a fountain and a basin containing gold and +silver fish. Then we whiled away another hour in the grounds, the +"Labyrinth," and under the noble chestnut and lime trees in the great +avenue, which is more than a mile in length, and then the golden day +was over! +</P> + +<BR><BR> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +THE LADY MARY'S VISION, +<BR> +<I>A Story of Hampton Court.</I> +</H4> + +<P> +Some ten years ago, there resided for a time, in a pleasant suite of +apartments at Hampton Court, a young and beautiful gentlewoman, who was +greatly beloved by all who knew her, for her goodness and her sweet and +winning ways. Lady Mary Hamilton, or "the Lady Mary," as she was +called by the pensioners and retainers there, was the youngest daughter +of a poor Scottish nobleman, and the widow of a still poorer young +officer. Captain Hamilton, soon after his marriage, was ordered to +join the army in Afghanistan and for several months dared danger and +death, and endured frightful hardships, in that dreadful war against a +treacherous and savage people. +</P> + +<P> +At last, in a skirmish among the mountains, he was seen to fall under +the spear-thrust of a fierce Afghan chief, and was reported as +"killed," though his body was never recovered by his victorious +comrades. It was supposed that the natives had carried him off in +their retreat, to plunder him at leisure. +</P> + +<P> +But the Lady Mary never would give him up as really dead; and though +she was very sorrowful and anxious for him, she could not be persuaded +to put on a widow's dress, or cover her soft, brown hair with a widow's +cap. She even refused to receive a widow's pension, professing always +a firm belief that her husband was yet living. +</P> + +<P> +Month after month went by, till two long years had passed, and brought +her no word from her beloved George; and still she did not despair. +</P> + +<P> +It was said that she was kept up by happy dreams—that her husband +often came to her in her sleep, and told her to be of good cheer, and +all would yet be well. However that may have been, it is certain that +she never wholly lost heart. +</P> + +<P> +The queen kindly offered Lady Mary apartments at Hampton Court, and she +gladly accepted, for she was poor, and then, she felt that she should +like the melancholy quiet of the old palace far better than the gayety +and bustle of the town. And so she came to Hampton Court to live, and +"wait for my husband," she said, smiling sadly, while her friends shook +their heads, and whispered among themselves that "the poor dear +creature was hardly in her right mind." +</P> + +<P> +The lonely Lady Mary soon became a great favorite with the guards and +servitors at Hampton Court. They all felt for her a tender, respectful +pity, and would do any thing in their power to serve her. Being very +shy, she never liked to visit the show apartments of the palace, at +hours when she might meet strangers. So, the kind porter would often +let her go in by herself, and sometimes even give her the keys, that +she might stay as long as she pleased in any of the halls or galleries. +</P> + +<P> +She was romantic and poetical, and loved much to visit the grand old +hall, on summer evenings, and see the rich sunset light pour in, and +then fade softly out through the gorgeous stained windows. Sometimes, +she would linger here till the long twilight was over, and the +starlight and moonlight struggled through the stained glass, and +faintly lit up the hall, silvering over the faded tapestry and banners, +glistening on the old arms and armor. Strolling up and down the hall, +or seated under one of the great windows, she would think and dream, +and try to forget the sorrows of her humble life in remembering the +misfortunes of the great and royal ones, who had so often walked where +she walked, and sat where she sat. +</P> + +<P> +Once old Roger, the porter, asked her if she were not afraid to stay +there, all alone by herself, so late. +</P> + +<P> +"Why, no," she answered, "what should I be afraid of?" +</P> + +<P> +He shrugged his shoulders, but said no more; I suppose because he did +not know what to say, to such a simple, childlike question. +</P> + +<P> +One lovely August evening, the Lady Mary stayed later than usual in +"Wolsey's Hall." +</P> + +<P> +The sunset glory faded and faded away; the twilight deepened and +deepened into night; the moon and the stars looked in upon her through +the great window. She was weary and sad, and the lonely stillness of +that place seemed to suit her; she seemed to <I>feel</I> the calm moonlight +in which she sat, bathing her like a soft, soothing flood. She leaned +her head against the tapestried wall, closed her eyes, and thought, and +thought of the great days and splendid festivals long gone by—of kings +and queens, brave knights, and beautiful ladies, and—when all at once +that vast hall was lighted up as though by magic! Music swelled +through the arches, and a splendid court came slowly sweeping in! +First walked a stout, red-faced man, all velvets and jewels, with a +dark, sorrowful-looking lady on his right; and on his left, an elderly +man, with a bold, haughty face, and a rich dress of scarlet velvet and +ermine. +</P> + +<P> +The Lady Mary recognized these as Henry VIII., Queen Katharine, and +Cardinal Wolsey. +</P> + +<P> +They were followed by maids of honor, gentlemen, priests, and pages. +</P> + +<P> +Soon there was a livelier peal of music, and the dance began. The king +danced with the most beautiful of the maids of honor, whom he smiled +lovingly upon, while the poor queen looked very unhappy. So the Lady +Mary knew that this fair maid must be Anne Boleyn. +</P> + +<P> +When the dance ended, the gay court passed out; but again there was +music, and another swept in. This was headed by a proud, stately +woman, with golden hair, and cold blue eyes. She wore a sparkling +diadem; her dress was of stiff brocade, thickly bestrewn with pearls +and diamonds, while about her neck was a ruff so prodigious, that it +alone would keep everybody at a very respectful distance. On her left, +walked a handsome noble, most royally dressed, and behind came a +brilliant host of beauties, pages, cavaliers, poets, and statesmen. +</P> + +<P> +The Lady Mary now recognized Queen Elizabeth, the Earl of Essex, and +the court. +</P> + +<P> +The queen took her place upon the throne and graciously desired her +court to be seated. Before them was a stage; they were to witness a +play. The queen signified that she was ready, and the play began. It +was "Henry VIII., or the Fall of Wolsey." +</P> + +<P> +The queen seemed interested, and applauded occasionally, though the +actors played badly. They were half frightened to death at appearing +in that august place, before her august majesty; all but one, who went +through with his part in a quiet, manly way, which did him great +credit. This was the author—William Shakspeare. +</P> + +<P> +At length the queen, court, and actors all went out, and there came in +next, not a court, with music and pomp, but quietly and silently, a +dark, sad-looking man, leading two children by the hand. These three +walked up and down the hall, several times—the man talking to the +children, and telling them, it seemed, something very sad, for they +cried and clung to him, and then the three passed out, weeping. +</P> + +<P> +The Lady Mary knew these to be Charles I. and his children, whom he had +been telling, perhaps, that he might soon be put to death. +</P> + +<P> +Next there came, in stillness also, a stern, haggard-faced man, in a +rough, half-military dress, with a sweet delicate-looking lady, in +white. She was clinging to his arm, and seemed expostulating with him +very earnestly, but he shook his head, yet at the same time he tenderly +smoothed her hair, with his strong hand, and playfully pinched her thin +cheek, and tried to smile. Then he suddenly turned, and strode out of +the hall. The lady stood a moment, looking after him mournfully, and +then passed out also. +</P> + +<P> +The Lady Mary knew these two to be Cromwell and his daughter Elizabeth, +who often interceded with her father, for political offenders. +</P> + +<P> +Again there was loud music, and again a brilliant court came pouring +in. First walked a dark, dissolute-looking young man, very gayly +dressed, with long curls dangling about his shoulders, handing +carelessly along a pale, dispirited lady, who didn't seem to find much +comfort in the queenly diadem she wore. +</P> + +<P> +The ball began, and soon it was turned into a wild revel. Beautiful, +but bold ladies, and reckless looking gentlemen, danced and laughed, +sung and feasted, and gamed, and grew merrier and madder every minute. +</P> + +<P> +The Lady Mary became frightened, for she saw that she was in the +profligate court of Charles II. She tried to hide behind the tapestry +by the window, but a rollicking nobleman, whom she recognized by his +portraits as the Earl of Rochester, caught sight of her, and sprang +forward, to drag her out into the midst of the hall! She flung his +hand off, with a scream, and lo, he, the king, the queen, the court, +the lights, every thing vanished! +</P> + +<P> +<I>It was all a dream!</I> +</P> + +<P> +The Lady Mary was alone in the old hall, in the silent night, now +darker than before, for a cloud had come over the moon. +</P> + +<P> +She groped her way to the door, unlocked it, and passed into the +withdrawing room. At the further end she saw some one coming, she +could not see who it was, by the dim starlight, so she asked: "Roger, +is that you?" +</P> + +<P> +"No, Mary," answered a glad, tremulous voice, "it is not Roger—it is +I—George!" +</P> + +<P> +With a wild, joyful cry, the Lady Mary sprang forward, and was clasped +in her husband's arms. +</P> + +<P> +And <I>this</I> was not a dream. +</P> + +<P> +Captain Hamilton had been severely wounded, and taken captive by the +Afghans. They had kept him a close prisoner in the mountains, not even +permitting him to write a letter to any one, for two years. He had at +last been discovered, liberated, and sent home to recover his health, +which had suffered somewhat in his hardship and confinement. +</P> + +<P> +On arriving at Hampton Court, whither he had been directed from London, +he had been told by old Roger where his wife probably was, as he could +not find her in her apartments, and was on his way to the hall, when he +met her, as we have seen. +</P> + +<P> +The next time that the Lady Mary visited that old hall, to walk in the +moonlight, or muse in her favorite window-seat, it was observed that +she did not go alone. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap05"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Windsor Castle +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +KING JAMES OF SCOTLAND AND<BR> +THE LADY JANE BEAUFORT. +</H3> + +<IMG CLASS="imgleft" SRC="images/img-085.jpg" ALT="dropcap-o" BORDER="0" WIDTH="308" HEIGHT="355"> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +One of the pleasantest excursions which a traveller can make from +London is to Windsor, with its parks and grounds so wonderfully +luxuriant and beautiful, and so vast in extent, and its royal old +castle—certainly one of the noblest sights in all England. +</P> + +<P> +This is finely situated on the Thames; it overlooks a rich and lovely +country, and is seen from great distances—a grand, crowning object in +the landscape. +</P> + +<P> +I visited Windsor with a party of Americans, some of whom I had never +seen before, and have not met since; but I always think of them with +kindly interest, because I shared with them so great a pleasure. I +wonder if they remember it as well as I do! +</P> + +<P> +'Twas on a bright, but not unpleasantly warm day in midsummer, when the +parks and gardens were in all the glory of their greenness and bloom, +when fountains sparkled in the sun and birds warbled in the shade, and +the sky above was clear and blue enough to make up for all the clouds +and fogs I had seen since I came to England. +</P> + +<P> +We went directly from the station to the Castle, a grand mass of +ancient and modern buildings, towers, and turrets, and parapets—all +solidly but elegantly built, of dark gray stone. +</P> + +<P> +We entered through a lofty gateway, into the court-yard, from thence +into a sort of guardroom, where we recorded our names in a book; and +then were conducted up a great marble staircase, to the state +apartments. These are somewhat jumbled up in my mind with the hosts of +magnificent rooms which I have since seen in many other royal palaces; +but I remember that they were all very handsome, richly furnished, and +hung with fine pictures and gorgeous tapestry. I recollect most +distinctly "The Vandyke Room," called so because of its containing +several great pictures by that famous painter—principally portraits of +Charles I. and his family. Then there is "The Waterloo Chamber," hung +round with portraits of heroes and great men, and "St. George's Hall," +a grand banqueting room, two hundred feet in length, and the beautiful +ball-room, as brilliant as rich carving and gilding and delicate +painting can make it. +</P> + +<P> +Our party had permission to see not only the state, but the private +apartments of the palace. These are less splendid than those great +show rooms, but more tasteful, beautiful, and comfortable. Yes, +<I>comfortable</I>—for the English, even in their grandest palaces, manage +to have the dear, cosy home look and feeling about them. The Queen's +breakfast parlor, looking out on a pleasant terrace, simply though +richly furnished, and hung with portraits of herself, Prince Albert, +and the royal children, is a very charming apartment indeed. We came +to this through a long, bright corridor, lined with beautiful pictures, +bronzes, graceful statuettes, and elegant curiosities, so that one +could but be charmed to linger by the way. Several of the pictures +represented scenes in her Majesty's life—her first council—her +coronation—her marriage—the christening of the princess royal, etc. +</P> + +<P> +Many palaces have such a vast, cold, awfully grand look that one +fancies kings and queens must have very dull, stiff, dreary times, +living in them, and must often long for a simple, snug little +cottage-home, somewhere away from all their pomp and splendor. But it +is not so at Windsor; I did not pity the Queen at all. I even fancied +that I could be very comfortable myself, living at the palace, after +getting a little used to it. Her Majesty never gave me an opportunity +to test this, however. +</P> + +<P> +Attached to the Castle is the beautiful chapel of St. George, in which +the court, when at Windsor, attend service. Here, a place is +partitioned off for the royal family, something like a box at the +opera, only enclosed by a fine lattice work screen, to prevent the +people, I suppose, from gazing at the Queen and Prince Albert, when +they should be minding their devotions. +</P> + +<P> +From the chapel we went to the royal stables, where we were shown some +very fine horses and elegant equipages. There were the Queen's +carriages of all varieties, and little pony phaetons, and Canadian +sleighs and Russian sledges; and there were her carriage and riding +horses, and Prince Albert's hunters, and the children's ponies. The +stables are handsome and comfortable buildings, and are kept with the +utmost care, order, and neatness. Thousands of poor people might envy +the high-blooded brutes such a home as this. Some of the horses were +very beautiful and graceful animals, and all were groomed so carefully +it seemed no one hair was longer than the others. In almost every +stall was a sleek, lazy, high-bred looking cat, either perched upon the +back of the horse, dozing and blinking, or curled up in the straw at +his feet, fast asleep. The grooms told us that the horses were really +very fond of their feline companions, and treated them tenderly and +protectingly. +</P> + +<P> +From the castle we drove to the delightful pleasure-grounds of Virginia +Water. Passing up a magnificent avenue, more than three miles long, we +came to a height, on which stands a large equestrian statue of George +III., in the dress of an ancient Roman. This is the king we rebelled +against, you know. He was a domineering, stubborn, crack-brained old +gentleman, but, for all that, honest and good-humored. I should not +think him particularly like an ancient Roman, except in his obstinacy. +</P> + +<P> +Next we came to Virginia Water, which is just the loveliest place I +ever saw. Here are luxuriant plantations and gardens, summer-houses, +temples, fountains, cascades, woods, walks, and drives. Here is a +shining, winding little lake, with fairy-like pleasure-boats upon it, +and graceful swans slowly sailing over the clear, blue waves, and +looking like the reflection of small white clouds, floating in the sky +above. +</P> + +<P> +Virginia Water is the play-ground of royalty. The celebrated Duke of +Cumberland, George IV., and William IV., amused themselves here a great +deal, at an enormous and very foolish expense, sometimes. The duke +built an absurd Chinese temple and a useless clock-tower. George had +ruins brought from Greece and Egypt, and set up in the wood; while +William, who had been a sailor, had a little vessel of war built to +defend the miniature sea. +</P> + +<P> +The Duke of Cumberland's clock-tower was sold to a rich country +gentleman, who soon tired of it, and wished to sell it back to the +crown. But King George objected to his price, and refused to buy. The +owner, who was a shrewd fellow, a sort of English Barnum, said, "Very +well," but immediately took means to render himself a very +uncomfortable neighbor, by mounting a large telescope on the top of the +tower, and coolly watching the king in all his loyal recreations. This +quite enraged his Majesty; but he bought the tower on the owner's +terms, who, I am sorry to say, was disloyal enough to make him pay dear +for the telescope. +</P> + +<P> +When Queen Victoria is at Windsor, the royal standard is seen floating +from the highest tower, and strangers are not admitted to the castle. +But the great park is always open to the people. Here they sometimes +meet the Queen and Prince Albert walking or riding, without an escort, +and so plainly dressed that those who expect to see sovereigns and +princes always surrounded by pomp and show, might pass them by +unnoticed. The little princes and princesses are often seen walking +and playing in the grounds, also very simply dressed. They are fine, +healthy, natural children, and are admirably governed and cared for. +Their good mother sees that especial attention is paid to their health, +and has established a wise and strict system of exercise and diet. She +keeps them in the country and on the sea-shore as much as possible; she +overlooks their studies, reading, and sports; she is very careful that +they go early to bed, and rise in time to hear the good-morning song of +the lark. As for their diet, many an American farmer's or shopkeeper's +children would think it very hard if they were restricted to such +simple food as these sons and daughters of a great queen are content +with and thrive on; oatmeal porridge, butterless bread, a very little +meat, no rich gravies,—water, milk, a limited amount of fruit, and no +sweetmeats. +</P> + +<P> +The Prince of Wales, who, if he lives, will be the next king of +England, is an amiable and gallant young lad, but is a little too apt, +I heard it said, to take kingly airs upon himself before his time. I +was told of an instance of this very natural fault, in which he was +taught a good lesson. +</P> + +<P> +It happened some two or three summers ago, that he invited one of the +boys from Eton College, which is near Windsor, to spend a day with him +at the castle. This boy, though the son of a nobleman, was untitled, I +believe, but perhaps all the more sturdy and manly for that, and not to +be put upon, even by a prince. +</P> + +<P> +All went well for a time, but at last, the prince took offence at some +bit of sport, and did not restrain his temper or his tongue. The +Etonian resented the insult, I am sorry to say, in the usual school-boy +fashion, by a resort to blows; and being stronger than the prince, soon +got the advantage of him. The attendants raised an alarm, and Prince +Albert himself came to the field of battle. The Etonian, having let +the little prince up, stood bravely facing his royal father. +</P> + +<P> +"Why, what is the matter, boys?" asked Prince Albert. +</P> + +<P> +"The matter is, your royal highness, that I have beaten your son. It +was because he insulted me, and I won't stand an insult from any boy." +</P> + +<P> +The prince, after inquiring into the matter, reproved young Albert; and +being a soldier, did not blame the Eton boy for his want of peace +principles, as you or I would doubtless have done. +</P> + +<P> +There are many stories in English history connected with Windsor +Castle, but none I think so pretty as that of +</P> + +<BR> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +KING JAMES OF SCOTLAND AND THE LADY JANE BEAUFORT. +</H4> + +<P> +About four hundred and fifty years ago, when Henry IV. was king of +England, King Robert III., of Scotland, put his son James, the heir to +his throne, a boy of nine years old, on board ship, to send him to +France, to be educated. But the vessel was taken by some English +cruisers, and the little prince carried captive to King Henry, who +treacherously imprisoned him at Windsor Castle. +</P> + +<P> +King Robert was a very loving father, and when the news of this capture +was brought to him, as he sat at supper in his palace at Rothesay, he +was so overcome with grief that he fainted and seemed about to die. +His attendants carried him to his chamber and laid him on his bed, +which he never left again; for when he came out of his swoon, he hid +his face in the pillow, and wept, and wept, refusing to be +comforted,—sending all his food away untasted, and scarcely ever +speaking, except to repeat the name of his son, over and over again, in +a way to break one's heart. So he took on for three days and nights, +and then died. +</P> + +<P> +But the prince, now King James, was not so badly off as he might have +been. Though a prisoner, he was not confined in a gloomy dungeon, but +had handsome and comfortable apartments, in a tower which overlooked a +beautiful garden, where trees waved, and birds sang, and fountains +sparkled, and flowers sent up sweet perfumes to his windows. The sun +shone and the stars looked in upon him; and when a prisoner can see the +sun and the stars, he cannot feel that God has quite forgotten him, or +the angels ceased to watch over him. He was not left alone, or +deprived of employments and amusements. King Henry commanded that he +should have a right princely education. He had masters who taught him +history, grammar, oratory, music, sword-exercise, jousting, singing, +and dancing. He was handsome, graceful, and clever, but always most +celebrated for his poetical talent. As he grew to manhood, he became +one of the noblest poets of his day, and even now his verses, though +quaint and old-fashioned, are very sweet, pure, and pleasant to read. +</P> + +<P> +One fresh May morning, when James had been a captive in Windsor Castle +nearly eighteen years, as he was looking down from his window, he saw a +beautiful young lady walking in the garden. She was dressed all in +white; a net of pearls and sapphires confined her golden hair, and a +rich chain of gold was about her delicate throat. By her side sported +a pretty little Italian greyhound, with a string of tinkling silver +bells around his neck. +</P> + +<P> +As she moved among the flowers, the violet looked up into her eyes, and +thought their tender blue was her own reflection. The rose said to +herself, "What a rich bloom I must have, if even my shadow makes her +cheeks so red!" The lily had similar thoughts about her neck; while +the golden laburnum thought it and the sunbeams had been the making of +her hair. +</P> + +<P> +This lovely dame was the Lady Jane Beaufort, daughter of the Earl of +Somerset. Of course, King James, having little else to do, fell in +love with her without delay, and in a very short time told her so, by +means of tender rhymes, which he sent fluttering down into her path. +The Lady Jane was charmed with his verses, and found it easy to go from +admiring the poetry into loving the poet. To be frank, and tell him +so, she wrote a little billet, and tied it under the wing of a white +dove, directing him to carry it straight to the captive's window,—and +he did so. But if he had suspected what was to have come of it, I +don't believe he would have gone; for it was little rest the poor bird +got after that, between the two lovers, who kept him flying back and +forth a dozen times a day with their fond messages under his wing. +</P> + +<P> +At last, King Henry got wind of this romantic affair, and, instead of +being angry; he was very glad, for he wanted King James to have an +English wife. So he took him from prison, gave him Lady Jane in +marriage, and restored him to his throne. +</P> + +<P> +The poet-king and his noble queen were very kindly received in +Scotland, and lived for some time very happily and peacefully, always +dearly loving one another. But James found the kingdom in great +confusion from misgovernment, and the common people very much +oppressed. He bravely set himself to reform matters, trying to relieve +and protect the poor, and restrain and humble the rich and powerful. +His most difficult labor was to lessen the power of the great nobles, +who were in fact almost kings themselves, on their own estates, and +fought against each other, and even against the king, upon the +slightest provocation, and often without any. They rebelled against +this as being a spiteful action, and not, as it really was, a noble, +kingly effort to benefit the <I>whole</I> kingdom. They took further +offence at the levying of some taxes for the support of the throne and +to carry on the government. The people being poor, and not used to +paying such taxes, were easily led to believe that it was King James's +avarice, and not the necessities of the government, which caused them +to be exacted. So, although he was so wise and good, and had the +welfare of his people so much at heart, he came to be looked upon as +unjust and tyrannical, by both the nobles and the common people; and +this led to a conspiracy to bring about his death. +</P> + +<P> +The leader in this conspiracy was one Sir Robert Graham, a bold, +ambitious man, who was greatly embittered by having suffered an +imprisonment at the command of the King. He also enticed into the plot +the old Earl of Athole, by promising that his son, Sir Robert Stewart, +should be made king in James's place. Many others joined the plot, +upon various grounds, bringing with them their followers, to whom they +pretended that their object was to carry off a lady from the court. +Graham went off into the far Highlands, to complete his plan, and from +thence he formally recalled his allegiance to the king, bidding him +defiance, and threatening to put him to death with his own hand. In +reply to this, King James set a price upon the head of Graham, to be +paid to any one who should capture and deliver him up to justice; but +he managed to keep himself safely concealed in the mountains. +</P> + +<P> +For the Christmas following this, the poor, doomed king had appointed a +feast to be held at Perth. As he was about to cross a ferry on his way +to attend this feast, he was stopped by a Highland woman, who professed +to be a prophetess. She called out to him in a loud voice, "My lord, +the king, if you pass this water, you will never return alive." The +king had read in some book of prophecy, that a king would be killed in +Scotland during that year, and was much struck by this speech of the +old woman. +</P> + +<P> +Better would it have been for both himself and Scotland had he given +heed to this warning, which the old woman doubtless had better +authority than her claim to prophecy for making; but he turned +jestingly to a knight of the court, to whom he had given the title of +"the King of Love," saying, "Sir Alexander, there is a prophecy that a +king shall be killed in Scotland this year; now this must mean either +you or me, since we are the only kings in Scotland." Several other +things occurred which, if attended to, might have saved the king; but +they were all suffered to pass unheeded. +</P> + +<P> +When the king arrived at Perth, there being no castle or palace +convenient, he selected for his residence an abbey of Black Friars, +which made it necessary, unfortunately, to distribute his guards among +the citizens, and thus make comparatively easy the execution of the +design of the conspirators. +</P> + +<P> +On the night of the 20th of February, 1437, after some of the +conspirators, selected for that purpose, had knocked to pieces the +locks of the doors of the king's apartment, carried away the bars which +fastened the gates, and provided planks with which the ditch +surrounding the monastery was to be crossed, Sir Robert Graham left his +hiding-place in the mountains and entered the convent gardens, with +about three hundred men. +</P> + +<P> +The king had spent the evening with the ladies and gentlemen of the +court, in singing, dancing, playing chess, and reading romances aloud. +All the court had retired, and James was standing before the fire, in +night-gown and slippers, talking with the queen and her ladies, when +the same Highland prophetess that had warned him at the ferry, begged +to speak with him, but was refused, because it was so late. +</P> + +<P> +Suddenly there was heard without the clash of men in armor, and the +glare of torches was seen in the gardens. The king at once thought of +Sir Robert Graham and his threat, and called to the ladies who were +still in the room to keep the doors fast, so as to give him time to +make his escape. After vainly trying to break the bars of the windows, +he suddenly remembered that there was a vault running beneath the +apartment, which was used as a common sewer; whereupon he seized the +tongs, raised a plank in the floor, and let himself down. This vault +had formerly led out into the court of the convent; but, most +unfortunately, he had only a few days before ordered this opening to be +walled up, because, when playing ball, the ball had several times +rolled into it. +</P> + +<P> +In the mean time, the conspirators were hunting for him from room to +room, and at last they reached the one beneath which he was hidden. +The queen and her ladies kept the door shut as long as they could, but +you will remember that the cowardly conspirators had broken the locks +and carried off the bars; and this brings us to one of the most devoted +and heroic acts in Scottish history. Catherine Douglas, one of the +noblest (both by rank and nature) and loveliest of the queen's ladies, +when she found that the bar was gone, with that high spirit which has +made her race wellnigh the most famous of Scotland, thrust her +beautiful, naked arm through the staples, in the place of the bar, and +thus kept the door closed till her arm was crushed and broken by the +pressure of the brutal traitors on the other side. When this heroic +defence was overcome, they burst headlong into the room, with swords +and daggers drawn, beating down and trampling on the brave ladies who +did their best to keep them back. One of them was in the act of +killing the queen, but a son of Graham prevented it, by exclaiming, +"What would you do with the queen? She is but a woman! Let us seek +the king!" +</P> + +<P> +After a careful, but unsuccessful search, they went away to look in +other parts of the building. The king having heard their departure, +and being very cold and uncomfortable, asked the ladies to help him out +of the vault. But some of the conspirators had remembered this vault, +and just at this moment they returned to search it. They tore up the +plank, and there stood the poor, doomed king in his night-gown, and +entirely unarmed; at which, one of them said, "Sirs, I have found the +bride for whom we have been seeking all night." +</P> + +<P> +First, two brothers, named Hall, jumped into the vault, with drawn +daggers; but the king was a very powerful and active man, and he at +once threw them both down, and was trying to get a dagger from them, +when Graham himself leaped down. Then James, finding that defence was +useless, asked him for mercy, and for a little time to confess his +sins. But Graham replied, "Thou never hadst mercy on any one, +therefore thou shall receive no mercy; and thy confessor shall be only +this good sword." Whereupon he ran the king through the body. Then, +possibly overcome with remorse, or fearing the consequences of the +deed, he was for leaving the king to the chances of life and death; but +the others fiercely called out that if he did not kill the king, he +himself should die. At this, he and the two Halls dispatched the poor +monarch with their daggers. After his death, sixteen wounds were found +upon his breast alone. +</P> + +<P> +And this was the end of the great and good James I. of Scotland, who, +king though he was, died a martyr for the rights of the people. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap06"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +The Journal from England to Ireland. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE FISHERMAN'S RETURN. +</H3> + +<IMG CLASS="imgleft" SRC="images/img-109.jpg" ALT="dropcap-o" BORDER="0" WIDTH="312" HEIGHT="362"> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +On a bright morning, early in August, I left London, with my dear +friends, Mr. and Mrs. B., for a visit to Ireland, by the way of Wales +and Holyhead. The first remarkable place we came to was the town of +Chester, which stands just outside the Principality of Wales, and is so +very ancient that antiquarians, who are often rather quarrelsome old +gentlemen, have had many a hot dispute about its founder. Some say it +was Leon Gaur, "a mighty strong giant," who first built caves and +dungeons here, in which he confined all the poor stragglers he could +catch, and fatted them for his table. Others affirm that it was old +King Lear, whom you will sometime read about in Shakspeare, as being +afflicted with a very testy temper and two wicked daughters, who were +quite too sharp for him. +</P> + +<P> +When the Romans had possession of Great Britain, they made Chester an +important military station, under the name of Dova. There are many +Roman remains shown here, to this day. Afterwards some of the Saxon +kings held their court here. It is related that the proud Edgar once +took a grand pleasure trip on the Dee, when his boat was rowed by eight +tributary kings. +</P> + +<P> +Under the Normans, the town grew fast in strength and importance, and, +at last, took the name of Chester. Lupus, the first Earl of Chester, +built a castle, rebuilt the walls, and made it the head-quarters of an +army, maintained on the frontiers, to keep down the Welsh. That brave, +half savage people kept attacking the town and setting fire to the +suburbs; but were always beaten back with great slaughter and left so +many of their dead behind them, that the cold-blooded English actually +made a wall of Welshmen's skulls. So, in years after, when the young +Welsh soldiers undertook to take the town; they were obliged, it may be +said, to climb up over their fathers' and grandfathers' heads. +</P> + +<P> +Chester is now a very interesting place, full of quaint, old-fashioned +houses, with high pointed roofs and carved gables turned toward the +streets, which are wide and straight. The walls remain nearly +perfect—not preserved for defence, but as relics of the old fighting +times. +</P> + +<P> +The Dee is a strange looking river when the tide is low, for the sands +stretch far out on each side. Mr. Kingsley, an English author, in a +beautiful song, tells a sad story of a poor girl, who was sent one +evening to call the cattle home across these wide sands. A blinding +mist came up and the tide came in, but Mary never came home—only as +she floated ashore the next morning, drowned. +</P> + +<P> +A little way off the railway track, lies Maes Garmon, the scene of a +great victory gained by the Britons over the Scots and Picts, in 429. +</P> + +<P> +It was in the season of Lent;—the Britons had assembled in great +numbers, in a valley amid the mountains, to listen to the preaching of +St. Germanus and Bishop Lupus. These holy men preached with such +extraordinary power, that thousands of rude warriors came forward, +vociferously professing religion, and eager to be baptized. The enemy, +hearing of this by their scouts, thought that here would be a fine +opportunity to take them by surprise, and hastened to the spot to make +the attack. But St. Germanus somehow got wind of their coming, and, +taking the pick of the warriors; conducted them to a pass through which +the heathen army must enter the valley. As soon as the enemy appeared, +the Saint, lifting the rood in his hands, shouted three times at the +top of his voice, "Hallelujah!" All his warriors repeated the cry, and +the mountains echoed and reëchoed it, till their caves and forests +seemed to be alive with lurking Britons. The bloody-minded heathens +were so astonished and frightened by this strange Christian uproar, +that they flung down their aims and ran for their lives! The Britons, +instead of going on with their Hallelujahs, as I think they should have +done, took after them with great fury—slew thousands and drove +thousands into the river, where they were drowned. It was a queer way +to win a battle that—scaring the enemy out of their wits by shouting +holy words at them. I doubt whether the plan would succeed as well in +our enlightened Christian times. +</P> + +<P> +The next object of interest is Flint Castle, to which King Richard II. +was carried as a prisoner, and where he met the banished Bolingbroke, +who was soon to step into his royal shoes and dub himself King Henry IV. +</P> + +<P> +Next was the town of Holywell—so called for the famous, and, it is +said, miraculous well of St. Winifred, which it contains. If you +inquire for this, you are conducted to a beautiful Gothic building, +erected by the good Margaret, Countess of Richmond. Within this +edifice is a large bath; and in and out of this, the maimed, palsied, +and rheumatic, are constantly hobbling, crawling, or being carried. +Over head, fixed in the roof, are hosts of old canes and crutches, +placed there by cripples who say they have been cured by the waters. +Doubtless this spring has medicinal properties, like many in our own +country, and very likely many a poor creature is cured by simply +bathing repeatedly in pure cold water—a treatment tried here for the +first time in all their lives. +</P> + +<P> +But who was St. Winifred? +</P> + +<P> +All I know of her I get from a Roman Catholic legend, which I, being a +Protestant, and because it seems to me absurd, cannot credit; but which +many good, simple-hearted people find no difficulty in +believing—especially such as have had a lame leg cured by the well, +and have hung up a crutch in the shrine. +</P> + +<P> +There was once, (says the legend,) a great lord, whose name was +Thewith, and a noble lady, whose name was Wenlo, and they had one only +daughter, whose name was Winifred. Now Winifred grew up to be a +marvellously beautiful maiden, and her hand was sought in marriage by +lords and princes far and near. But strangely enough, she would have +nothing to say to any of them, and seemed to care nothing for the pomps +and pleasures of the world. She was pious and charitable, and loved +better to nurse and pray with the sick than to wear fine dresses, or +dance with handsome young gentlemen. Perhaps she had visions, in which +she saw and heard all the palsied old men and women, and all the +miserable cripples that were, or ever would be in the world, shaking +their heads and thumping with their crutches at her. At any rate, she +resolved to live a single, devout, and charitable life, and for that +purpose, placed herself under the care and instruction of her uncle, +Breno, a very holy priest. +</P> + +<P> +But it happened that Prince Caradoc, the son of King Alen—who <I>he</I> was +I don't know—saw her, and instantly fell desperately in love with her, +and in the authoritative way which princes have, asked her to be his +wife. Winifred said "no" very decidedly, and then he undertook to +carry her off by force. But she escaped, and ran down the hill toward +her uncle's cell. Caradoc followed, foaming with rage, and with his +drawn sword in his hand. She ran very fast, but he soon overtook her, +and with one blow of his sword cut off her head! The body dropped on +the spot, but the head bounded forward and fell at the feet of Father +Breno, who stood at the door of his cell. The good priest caught it +up, and running to the body, put it on again—being very careful not to +have it twisted toward one shoulder, or what would have been more +awkward still, facing backward. +</P> + +<P> +Immediately Winifred arose, as well as ever, only a little weak from +loss of blood—and with nothing to remember her decapitation by, but a +red line around her neck, which looked like a small string of coral +beads, and was rather pretty than otherwise. +</P> + +<P> +From that day it was settled that Winifred was a Saint, for on the spot +where her head had rested, there bubbled up a spring of pure water, for +the healing of the sick—particularly the crippled and rheumatic. +Believers say that, in the Saint's time, the waters were more powerful +than they are now. Then, after one dip, the palsied stopped shaking, +the paralytic began talking, and cripples flung away their crutches +while the maimed had only to thrust the stumps of arms and legs into +the spring, to have beautiful new hands and feet sprout out before +their eyes! +</P> + +<P> +The part of North Wales through which we passed, is not so mountainous +and picturesque as some other portions of the Principality; but it is +very beautiful, even as seen in flying glimpses, from the railway +carriage. We were very sorry that we could not stop to explore the +lovely vales of Clwyd and Llangollen, and visit the little city of St. +Asaph, where Mrs. Hemans once resided. +</P> + +<P> +I longed to go and pay my respects to some of those grand, old +mountains, that stood afar off, in their stern majesty, clothed with +purple-blossomed heather, flecked with golden sunshine and crowned with +gorgeous clouds, or silvery mists. The dark-waving foliage of many a +shadowy glen and rocky gorge seemed beckoning to us to search into +their lovely, lonely places, and many a glad rill and wild cascade +seemed to call to us to come and look upon its unsunned beauty. But +the swift locomotive remorselessly whirled us away from glen and gorge, +and its rush and clang soon drowned those pleasant mountain voices of +dancing rivulet and laughing waterfall. +</P> + +<P> +We hardly caught a breath of the free, fresh air of the hills, in +exchange for the long, brown train of heavy, hot smoke we left behind +us;—in truth, puffing and whirling in and out of the Principality, as +we did, I am almost ashamed to count Wales as one of the countries I +have seen. +</P> + +<P> +In England, no town, however large it may be, is called a city, unless +it has a Bishop and a Cathedral, as the capital of an Episcopal See. +Thus the great seaport of Liverpool is only a <I>town</I>, while St. Asaph, +with but one street and eight hundred inhabitants, is a <I>city</I>. +</P> + +<P> +The first Bishop of St. Asaph was St. Kentigern, a famous monk and +monk-maker, and founder of monasteries. He had a disciple by the name +of Asaph, whom he brought up to be a Saint. +</P> + +<P> +Legends say that one day the good Bishop got severely chilled by +remaining in his bath too long, and young Asaph, not having any shovel +or tongs, took up some live coals in his hands, and carried them to his +master, without burning himself at all. People said this was a very +fair beginning for a Saint, and as he continued to improve, the church +canonized him when he died, and the city and diocese were named for him. +</P> + +<P> +Near St. Asaph is Rhyddlan Castle—the place where Edward I. outwitted +the Welsh nobles, by proposing that they should be ruled by a <I>native</I> +Prince, whose character nobody could say a word against. All joyfully +agreed, and then he presented to them his infant son, born at Carnarvon +Castle, and whom he had made Prince of Wales. +</P> + +<P> +At Conway, we passed close by a grand old castle, still very strong and +imposing, though it was built by Edward I. Here we crossed the Tubular +Bridge—a great curiosity—but far from equal to the Britannia Bridge, +across the Menai Straits, which lie between Wales and the Island of +Anglesea. I cannot describe this to you—but it is one of the most +wonderful works in all the world. +</P> + +<P> +Holyhead is a small town, on an island of the same name—divided by a +narrow strait from the west coast of Anglesea. Here we took a steamer +to cross the Irish channel. +</P> + +<P> +We made the trip in about four hours; but they seemed to me no less +than twelve—for I was mortally sick. I thought at one time that I was +surely dying. I did not care much; people never do when they are +sea-sick; still, I thought I should prefer a more romantic sort of a +death, and I was heartily glad when I found myself on shore, at +Kingstown, seven miles below Dublin, where we took the railway for that +city. We arrived late at night, and drove to our hotel on a regular +Irish jaunting car. This is a very funny looking vehicle—low and +broad, with two wheels, concealed by the seats, which run lengthwise. +There is another kind, called the <I>inside car</I>. An Irishman once +explained the difference to an English traveller, in this way: "An +outside car, yer honor, has the wheels <I>inside</I>, and an inside car has +the wheels <I>outside</I>." +</P> + +<P> +All Irish carmen drive furiously, and the cars go jumping and hopping +along, and spinning round the corners, at such a rate that one feels +rather nervous at first, and has no little difficulty in keeping on. +But like many other things, it's easy enough, when you get used to it. +</P> + +<P> +We found Gresham's Hotel a very comfortable, pleasant place, and we +soon felt at home, though we saw none but Irish faces, and heard only +the Irish brogue around us; for those faces were smiling and cordial, +and that rich, musical brogue seemed bubbling up from kindly hearts. +</P> + +<P> +I have not told you much about Wales in this chapter, because rushing +through the country, as I did, I really saw very little of it. The +people seemed quiet, cleanly, and industrious; but they did not look, +or dress at all like the English. I noticed that many of the women +seemed rather masculine in their tastes—wearing hats and coats like +the men, and that the children were dressed in an odd old-fashioned +way, and looked serious, shrewd, and mature—almost as though they were +a race of dwarfs. The Welsh language had to me a strange, harsh, +barbaric sound, and when listening to it, I realized for the first time +since I had left America, that I was indeed far away from home. I do +not doubt, however, but that if I had seen more of the Welsh, I should +have liked them heartily, for they are said to be very kindly, honest, +and hospitable. They are naturally brave and sturdy lovers of liberty. +In old times the English had a hard and tedious struggle with them, +before they could subdue them. Often, when they thought they had the +whole rude nation under their hands, or rather under their feet, the +rebellious spirit would break out again in a new spot, fiercer and +hotter than ever, and all the work had to be done over again. +</P> + +<P> +Many of the stories in Welsh history are very grand and heroic, but +they are also very terrible; and I think you will find more to your +taste a simple little story of domestic life, which I have picked up +somewhere, and can assure you is as true as a great deal we find in +history. +</P> + +<BR> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +THE FISHERMAN'S RETURN. +</H4> + +<P> +A good many years ago, somewhere on the southwestern coast of Wales, +there lived an honest fisherman, by the name of John Jenkins. The +Jenkinses are a very numerous and respectable family in Wales, and so +are the Joneses. +</P> + +<P> +Mrs. Jenkins was a Jones, but she was not half so proud of her high and +vast family connections, as she was of her industrious, hardy husband, +and her pretty little daughter, Fanny. +</P> + +<P> +When Fanny was a fortnight-old baby, the least, puny, little, pink +creature, wrapped in flannel, there came up a dreadful storm, and a +small London packet was wrecked on the coast, near her father's +cottage. The passengers were all lost except a little boy, about three +years of age, whom John Jenkins saved at the risk of his life. Two of +the crew escaped, but they could tell nothing of the child more than +that he came from Ireland, and was bound for London, with his nurse. +The boy could give no clear account of himself, but he wore round his +neck a gold locket, with arms engraved on it, and containing a lock of +black hair, twined with small pearls. So the fisherman concluded that +he must belong to some great family; and when they asked what was his +name, they expected to hear some prodigious great title, such as earl, +or marquis; but when he proudly answered, "Brian O'Neill," they could +make nothing of it—little knowing, simple folks as they were, that the +O'Neills were once kings and princes in Ireland. But that was in the +old, old time; great changes have taken place since, and there are a +few O'Neills quite in common life nowadays. +</P> + +<P> +John Jenkins did all that lay in his power to find the parents and home +of the child—but he was poor and ignorant—the lord of the manor was a +little boy, at school, and the steward could not or would not help him; +so, his efforts all proving useless, he adopted Brian, and brought him +up as his son, giving him a tolerably good education, and training him +for his own honest calling. +</P> + +<P> +O'Neill grew into a fine, hearty, brave lad,—not at all conceited or +haughty in his ways, though he was proud, he scarcely knew why, of his +Irish name,—always treasured up his locket of gold, and often declared +that he could remember the head from which that hair was cut—his +mother's—and how he had seen it shut away under the coffin-lid, the +very day that his nurse set out with him for London. He said, too, +that he could remember his home; a grand old castle, near a lake, and a +great park, and a little cottage, where his foster-mother lived, and +his foster-father, a terrible man, who used to get drunk and break +things; and how once, when running away from him, he fell and cut his +head. Here Brian always lifted the hair off his forehead, and, sure +enough, there was a scar quite plain to be seen. +</P> + +<P> +Fanny Jenkins grew up into a good and beautiful girl, and it seemed +very natural that she and young O'Neill should love one another, and +when they married and set up for themselves nobody objected. Indeed, +so much were they beloved, that all who were able, helped them, and +those who had nothing to give, wished them well and smiled on their +courageous love, and so did them more good than they thought. +</P> + +<P> +The lord of the manor built them a beautiful cottage by the sea, with +long narrow windows and turrets, almost like a castle; and the Lord of +lords blessed them and prospered them, and in due time gave them a +little son, whom they called Brian Patrick Jenkins Jones O'Neill, and +who was just the brightest, best, and most beautiful baby ever +beheld,—at least Fanny thought so, and surely mothers are the best +judges of babies. +</P> + +<P> +They lived a very happy life, that humble little family. Every morning +early the young fisherman went out in his pretty boat, the "Fanny +Jenkins," for his day's toil and adventure, leaving his cheerful little +wife at her work—spinning, sewing, or caring for the child; and every +night, when he returned tired and hungry, as fishermen often are, and +found a tidy home, a smiling wife, a crowing baby and a hearty meal +awaiting him, he thought and said, that he was just the happiest +O'Neill in all the world. +</P> + +<P> +In tempestuous weather Fanny suffered a great deal from anxiety for her +brave husband, who would always put out to sea, unless the storm was +very serious indeed. +</P> + +<P> +At length, one lowering day in September, when he was far out of sight +of home, a sudden squall came up, which deepened into a tempest as the +day wore on. +</P> + +<P> +With anxious heart and tearful eyes poor Fanny watched through the +gloomy sunset, for his coming,—half longing, half fearing to see his +frail vessel driven toward the land on such an angry sea. +</P> + +<P> +But the day and night passed, and he did not come. The next four or +five days were dark and stormy; there were several wrecks upon the +coast, and Brian was given up for lost by all but his wife. She still +kept up a good heart and would not despair. +</P> + +<P> +At last the storm ceased, the sea grew smooth, the skies smiled, and +all looked cheerful again, save where along the wild shore fragments of +wrecks came drifting in, and the people were burying the drowned. +</P> + +<P> +At the close of a beautiful day, a week from the time that Brian +O'Neill left his home, his wife sat in front of the cottage, with her +baby asleep upon her lap. Her brave heart was failing her now; she +grew tired of her sad, vain gazing out toward the west, and bowing her +head on her hands, wept till the tears trickled through her fingers and +dropped on the sleeping face before her. +</P> + +<P> +So she sat a long time, weeping and praying, and calling her babe a +"poor fatherless boy," when suddenly, the child smiled out of sleep and +started up, calling "Papa!" Fanny sprung to her feet, almost hoping +that her Brian was by her side. No, he was not there; but, oh, joy! a +little way out to sea, between her and the sunset glory, came a dear +familiar object—her aquatic namesake—<I>the boat</I>! Swiftly it came +o'er the bright waters, joyfully dancing toward its home! Soon a +beloved form was seen waving a shining sailor's hat; soon a beloved +voice was heard calling her name, and soon, though it seemed an age to +her, Brian O'Neill, with his oars and nets over his shoulder, as though +he had only been absent for a day's fishing, sprang up the steps before +the cottage and clasped his wife and child to his honest heart! Fanny +laughed and wept and thanked God, the baby crowed and pulled his +father's whiskers, and all were happier than I can tell. +</P> + +<P> +In the evening, when his parents and the neighbors were in, to rejoice +over his return, Brian told the story of his adventures. +</P> + +<P> +When that dreadful storm came up, he would have been lost, had he not +been near a large vessel which took up both him and his boat. This +ship was bound to a northern Irish port, and as the storm continued, he +was obliged to make the whole voyage. At B——, while he was waiting +for fair weather, he looked about him a little, to see the country; and +now comes the wonderful, romantic part of his story. On visiting an +old and somewhat dilapidated castle, in the neighborhood of the town, +he instantly recognized it as the home of his infancy; and walking +straight through the park, he found the cottage of his foster-mother +and the dear old woman herself—who didn't believe in him at first, +because he was a great weather-beaten sailor, instead of the fair baby +she had nursed. But when Brian lifted his hair and showed the scar, +she was convinced and rejoiced exceedingly. Then she told him how his +father, Sir Patrick O'Neill died when he was a mere baby, and left him +to the guardianship of an uncle who proved to be a bad man. So when +Lady O'Neill was dying, she made her nurse promise to take the child to +her sister, in London, to have him brought up away from that wicked +man. When the news came of the wreck of the "Erin," and the loss of +all on board, this uncle went into mourning for six months—but his +tenants were always in mourning, for he proved a very hard landlord. +</P> + +<P> +Brian laid no claim then to his title and estate, but as soon as the +sea was calm, went home to ask his wife's advice, like a sensible man +and a good husband. +</P> + +<P> +He and Fanny had often said that they did not envy the rich and great; +but now, considering that the false baronet was so bad a man, and his +tenantry so oppressed, they really thought it their duty to make an +effort for rank and fortune. +</P> + +<P> +Well, after a long time, Brian got his rights, by the help of a great +lawyer, who took half the property in payment for his services. So he +became Sir Brian O'Neill, the master of a dreary old castle and no end +of bogs and potatoe patches, and Fanny became "Her Leddyship, God bless +her!" as the peasants used to say. +</P> + +<P> +For a long time they found it rather awkward and tiresome to be grand +and idle, like other great folks; so much so, that for several years +they used to go over to Wales in the fishing season, and live in the +cottage by the sea, and Sir Brian would go out fishing every day, and +Lady Fanny would spin and sew and take care of the baby, just in the +old way. Living thus, they were happiest—but they were always happy +and good—they lived to be very old, and died on the same day and were +buried in the same grave. +</P> + +<P> +Their great great-grandson, Sir Algernon O'Neill, is fond of the water, +too; but he takes to it in a splendid yacht, called the "Fanny +Ellsler," with his delicate wife, the Lady Ginevra, who abhors the sea, +and gets dreadfully sick always, but <I>will</I> take cruises, because the +sea air is good for the little O'Neills, <I>she</I> says,—because Queen +Victoria has set the fashion, some people say. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap07"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Dublin, Howth. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +GRACE O'MALLEY. +</H3> + +<IMG CLASS="imgleft" SRC="images/img-135.jpg" ALT="dropcap-i" BORDER="0" WIDTH="313" HEIGHT="348"> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +It is not certainly know who was the founder of Dublin, or <I>Dubhlywn</I>, +as the name was written formerly. Some learned historians say it was +Avellanus, one of the Danish Vikings, an adventurous sort of monarchs +of old times, very much given to a seafaring life, and piratical +depredations. If Avellanus was the founder—and I don't dispute that +he was—he showed great taste and wisdom in selecting the site of a +city. It has a beautiful harbor; the River Liffey flows through it, a +picturesque country lies around it, and in sight are romantic valleys +and dark gorges and noble hills, which don't stop far short of real +mountains. +</P> + +<P> +Dublin remained under the rule of the Danish Sea-kings, and their +descendants, till they were conquered by the English, in the year 1170. +They were, however, put down for a time in the year 1014, by a league +of native princes, led by the great king, Brien-Boro. It was during +this struggle that the famous battle of Clontarf was fought. +</P> + +<P> +Brien-Boro was a model monarch—the King Alfred of Ireland. So +perfectly were the laws administered in his reign, that it was said a +fair damsel might travel alone, from one end of the Kingdom to the +other, with a gold ring on the top of a wand, without danger of being +robbed. I doubt very much, however, if any young lady ever performed +such a journey. +</P> + +<P> +From the year 1173, when Henry II. received the submission of the Irish +princes, and the last Irish king, Roderic O'Connor, Ireland has +remained under the government of England, and though it has had several +bloody rebellions, it has never been really independent. The Irish +formerly had a parliament of their own, but toward the close of the +last century it was suppressed, and the union made complete. +</P> + +<P> +The governors of Ireland have always been called viceroys, or +lord-lieutenants. Dublin Castle was built for their residence, but for +some time past it has been abandoned for "The Lodge," in Phoenix Park. +The Castle is a massive, gloomy-looking building, now principally +occupied by the military. +</P> + +<P> +The Parliament House, now the Bank of Ireland, the Custom-House, and +Trinity College, are beautiful buildings; but I did not admire the +cathedrals and churches very much, after those of England. The church +of St. Anne is interesting, as containing the tomb of Felicia Hemans. +</P> + +<P> +We drove about the town on a jaunting car, with a talkative driver, +seeing all the sights and listening to strange, wild legends. In the +pretty cemetery of Glasneven, we saw, through the grating of a vault, +the magnificent coffin which contains the body of Daniel O'Connell, the +great orator. We enjoyed most our drive in Phoenix Park, a noble +enclosure, filled with fine trees and shrubbery, flowers, birds, gentle +deer, and playful, brown-eyed fawns. +</P> + +<P> +But if we liked the streets, buildings, and parka of Dublin, we liked +the <I>people</I> better. Very courteous, generous, and cordial we found +all those to whose hospitality we had been commended—and warm at my +heart is now, and ever will be, the dear memory of my good Dublin +friends. +</P> + +<P> +A pleasant excursion from the city is to the Bay, which is considered +one of the most beautiful in the world; and to Howth Harbor, formerly +the landing-place of the Dublin packets, but now superseded by Kingston. +</P> + +<P> +The first object which strikes one on approaching Dublin by sea, is the +famous Hill of Howth, which rises bold and high, on the northern coast +of the bay, and stands like the great guardian and champion of Ireland. +</P> + +<P> +The Dublin people are as proud of this as the Neapolitans are of Mount +Vesuvius, which overlooks their noble bay of Naples. "Ah, sure ma'am," +said an Irish sailor,—"it's as fine an ilivation, barrin' a few +thousand feet of height, as that same smokin', rumblin' ould cratur, +an' a dale betther behaved." +</P> + +<P> +At Howth there are some very interesting Druidical remains to be seen, +a fine old castle and an abbey, in which repose many brave and famous +knights—the Tristrams and St. Lawrences, barons of Howth. +</P> + +<P> +There is a curious and romantic legend of Howth Castle, which I will +relate here. +</P> + +<BR> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +GRACE O'MALLEY. +</H4> + +<P> +In the time of Queen Elizabeth, there was a celebrated woman living in +the province of Connaught, Ireland, named <I>Grana Uille</I>, or Grace +O'Malley. She was the chieftainess of the O'Malley's of Clare Island, +and called herself a princess, but she was most famed as a female +pirate-captain, or vi-<I>queen</I>, as, perhaps, she would have preferred to +be called. +</P> + +<P> +She lived in rude, stormy times, when the Irish were nearly as wild and +warlike as savages, and fierce feuds and bold robberies, on land and +sea, were every day affairs. Indeed, for a man to be a peaceful, +honest, sober citizen, was then no ways to his credit; then children +were taught by their quarrelsome parents, to fire up on the slightest +occasion, and fight for their rights,—to revenge all insults, and make +free with the property of their enemies; and little was the +Sunday-school teaching they had to the contrary; then when women became +leaders of lawless predatory bands, they were admired and wondered at; +but few thought of condemning them, or dared to scout at them. +</P> + +<P> +Those must have been the days, or Ireland the country, of "woman's +rights," for throughout the warlike career of the great chieftainess, +nobody seems to have been much shocked, or to have thought that Miss +O'Malley was going out of her "proper sphere," and infringing on the +sacred rights of the nobler sex, in fighting and pirating; except it +may be those men who got the worst of it, in engagements with her. +</P> + +<P> +Grace O'Malley was the daughter of a powerful chief, who, having no +heir, brought up his one little girl as though she were a son—teaching +her all sorts of manly and martial exercises. Instead of dolls and +pets, her childish playthings were pistols and daggers, which she soon +found very useful in scaring her attendants into instant obedience to +her whims; and instead of being allowed to play among the sands and +hunt shells on the wild seashore, she was taught to swim, to fish, to +row, and to shoot the shy water-fowl. Instead of taking her airings, +like a modern nobleman's little daughter, on a well-trained pony, or a +sober, sure-footed donkey, over smooth lawns, and through shady parks +and flowery lanes, she was accustomed to accompany her father and his +rough followers, mounted on one of the wild horses of the country, on +long mountain hunts—to dash through bog and briar, to ford swollen +streams, and leap wide, dark chasms. +</P> + +<P> +Once, when Grace was but a child, while she was out on one of these +hunts, a young fawn that they were chasing, turned suddenly, and +singling her out from all the party, ran to her side, laid its head in +her lap, and lifted its large sorrowful eyes to her face, as though +asking for her protection. "Stand back!" cried she, to the +hunters,—"call off the dogs, and let no one harm her now,—she is +mine!" +</P> + +<P> +"Ah, well, comrades," said one of the men, "let us seek other game, and +leave the fawn to our little lady, for a pet." +</P> + +<P> +"No, by the Rock of Cashel!" cried old Cormac O'Malley, "I will not +have my brave daughter made soft and silly, like other girls, by +tending pets. Draw your hunting-knife across her throat, Grace, while +you have her." +</P> + +<P> +"That will I not, father, for she has trusted in me. I want no pets, +but whoever kills this fawn, must kill me first," she said, flinging +her arms around the poor trembling creature. She looked so fierce and +determined that the men cheered, and the old chief laughingly promised +her that the fawn should be allowed to escape unharmed. Grace +jealously watched the disappointed hunters and yelping hounds till the +swift-footed animal was out of sight, and then rode on with the rest. +</P> + +<P> +Such was Grace O'Malley—stern and proud in temper, fearless and manly +in her habits, but now and then giving way to a kind and generous +impulse. When her father died, she assumed the command of his warlike +retainers, and the sternest and bravest of them were not ashamed to +acknowledge her authority. At first, she only fought in self-defence, +or in revenge for what she considered aggressions and insults, and +finally, for spoil and conquest, and for the habit and love of strife +and adventure. She was a tall, handsome woman, with dark, flashing +eyes, a clear, ringing voice, and a proud, soldier-like step. Her +dress was a singular mingling of the masculine and feminine fashions of +her half barbarous country; but it was picturesque and imposing; made +of the richest materials she could procure, and worn with an air of +majesty which not Queen Bess herself, in all her glory, could surpass. +</P> + +<P> +But the proud Lady Grace professed to be a loyal subject of Elizabeth. +In an Irish rebellion, headed by the Earl of Tyrone, she sided with the +English government, and added immensely to her power and possessions, +by the victories she gained over the rebels. She did not deign to +receive a regular commission from the Queen, but fought in her own wild +way, on her own responsibility, at her own risk, and for her own +advantage. She took castle after castle, confiscated estate after +estate, claiming always the "lion's share" of the plunder. +</P> + +<P> +When some of the ships of the great Spanish armada, sent against +England, were driven by a storm upon the Irish coast, she bore down +upon them with her armed galleys, and took several noble prizes. With +these ships, she obtained much magnificent dress, belonging to the +proud Castilian officers and their stately ladies—velvets and +brocades, stiff with woven jewels and broideries of gold, with which +she went bravely dressed for the rest of her life. And the Spanish +Dons and Donnas, what did they do, robbed of their splendid apparel? +Ah, they went where they did not need it any more—down, down into +still, dark ocean-caves, where they reposed on beds of silver sand, +with the long sea-weed wrapping itself about them. +</P> + +<P> +But I am not getting on with that legend of Howth Castle. +</P> + +<P> +In the height of the fame and power of Grace O'Malley, when her rude +bands were the terror of Connaught and the islands of that coast, and +her ships the scourge of the Irish seas, she resolved to pay a visit to +the court of Elizabeth. She went almost as a sovereign princess, and +was royally received and entertained; for the politic English Queen was +only too willing, I am afraid, to close her ears against stories of the +cruelty and lawlessness of so useful a subject. +</P> + +<P> +The warlike Grace made a decided sensation at court. In her strange, +rich, half martial dress, and always wearing some sort of deadly +weapon, she strode about like a terrible giantess among the Queen's +laughing dames, awing them into momentary silence; and even the gay +wits, pert young poets, and pages, shrank abashed from her haughty, +flashing looks. +</P> + +<P> +"Gra' mercy!" whispered one, as she passed, "she hath daggers in her +eyes, as well as in her girdle." +</P> + +<P> +"Ay, and pistols in her voice," said a saucy page, who served at the +Queen's table; "when she saith 'Sirrah!' I have ever a mind to drop +upon my knees and beg for my life." +</P> + +<P> +But Grace O'Malley soon tired of the stately gayeties of the court. +She curled her scornful lip at the safe and easy way of hunting in the +royal parks—calling it "child's play." She laughed at their formal +balls and feasts; and when the Queen, especially to please her, led off +the court dance, the solemn, but graceful minuet, played the +harpsichord with her own royal hands, and sung madrigals, and read +Latin verses of her own composition, Grace only yawned, and said: "I +wonder your Majesty should throuble yourself with things of this sort +at all. Sure in Ireland, we have people to do the likes for us, and +save us the worriment." +</P> + +<P> +Once, on the Queen having expressed some curiosity in regard to the +Irish national dances, Grace made sign to her harper, a wild-eyed, +white-haired, long-bearded old gentleman, who struck up a stirring +Celtic air, and instantly her warlike followers rushed into the midst +of the hall, and began dancing, in the strangest, maddest way +imaginable. Faster and louder played the harper, wilder and more +furiously they danced; they wheeled and leaped and shook their arms in +the air, and shouted fierce Celtic battle-cries, till all the court +ladies trembled, and not a few of the courtiers drew near the throne +for fear, and even the Queen had to thank her rouge for not looking +pale. However, it all ended like a modern Irish jig, in a harmless +"whoop!" and the fiery dancers quietly returned to their places about +their mistress. "That, your Majesty," said Grace, proudly, "is rale +Irish dancing." +</P> + +<P> +"And by our faith, brave Lady Grace, we hope it may ever remain <I>Irish</I> +dancing. The fashion suits not our peaceful court," replied Elizabeth, +laughing. +</P> + +<P> +Grace O'Malley returned to Ireland loaded with princely gifts. It is +not recorded in history that Elizabeth ever returned her visit, though +at parting, Grace gave her Majesty a cordial invitation to come over to +Connaught and see some hunting and fighting that were no shams. +</P> + +<P> +"The O'Malley," as Grace called herself, after the fashion of great +Irish chiefs, landed first at Howth, intending to pay the Earl a visit. +But it happened to be dinner time, and the castle gates were shut, as +they always were at that hour, by command of his lordship, who was a +high liver, and had a particular objection to being disturbed at his +meals. When Grace haughtily demanded admittance, the warder not having +a proper sense of the honor she was intending to do his master, +sturdily refused. This surly, inhospitable reception so enraged the +chieftainess, that she was quite ready to storm the castle, and slay +the fat Earl at his own dinner-table, with all his guests and +retainers. But she had not with her a sufficient force for this; so +was obliged to return to her ship, where she strode up and down the +deck in a terribly wrathful state, and made all ring again with her +threats and imprecations against the Earl, for the insult she had +received. Suddenly a gleam of malicious joy flashed over her dark +face. She commanded her men to land her again, and as soon as she +reached the shore, she rushed up to a cottage, where she remembered +that the nurse of the young lord, the Earl's little son, was living. +She caught the child from the woman's arms, telling her to tell her +master that <I>she</I> would take charge of his heir, and bring him up to +have better notions of hospitality and good manners than could be +learned at Howth Castle. Then she hurried back to her ship, with the +poor little lordling who seemed too frightened to cry, and hid his face +against her bosom, as though shrinking from the look of her dark, angry +eyes. Immediately she ordered all sails to be set, and sped away +toward Connaught. The nurse ran up to the castle with the news, but as +she could not be admitted till the Earl had dined and drunk his punch, +so much time was lost that, before his galley could be manned and sent +on, Lady Grace's sails were already glimmering down the horizon, and +the pursuit was hopeless. +</P> + +<P> +Tristram St. Lawrence, the little lord, was a handsome child, between +two and three years old, with a look of brave, yet quiet dignity in his +face, which roused some kindly feeling in the sternest mariners and +warriors, on board the piratical ship, and even touched the heart of +the Lady Grace herself—that unsuspected womanly heart, which she had +kept sternly pressed down so many years under her breastplate of steel. +</P> + +<P> +When she first went on board, she gave the boy to one of her women, +telling her to tend him and give him food and playthings. But when +they had been at sea some time, the woman came to her mistress, and +said that the child would neither eat, nor play; that he gave no heed +to any one, but stood apart, sullen and silent, looking back over the +sea toward Howth. Then Grace, whose quick anger had cooled down in the +fresh evening breeze, went to him, laid her hand on his shoulder and +spoke his name. He did not start, or answer, but kept his sad, wistful +eyes fixed on the distant towers of his father's castle. So she stood +over him, watching, and so he stood gazing, till the ship rounded a +point which hid the castle from sight. Then, for the first time, the +child burst into tears; but, flinging himself on the deck, he covered +his face with his hands, as though to conceal his crying, and seemed to +try to check the sobs which shook his little breast. So much proud and +delicate feeling in one so young—a mere baby—appealed strongly to the +Lady Grace. She felt her heart soften and yearn over the noble child, +in his grief and loneliness. She knelt at his side and slid her hand +under his head, and speaking his name more tenderly than before, she +told him not to be afraid, not to grieve any more, and he should go +home soon. She made her harsh, commanding voice sound so sweet and +motherly that the child turned a little, and clasped that large brown +hand, and held it against his lips and his eyes, while he wept and +sobbed, till his heavy heart grew lighter. When Grace drew away her +hand, and found it all wet with tears, she looked at it for a moment, +with a strange tenderness in her imperious eyes. It seemed to her that +those tears of a sinless child, were like the holy water of baptism, +and would purify that hand, so often stained with blood. +</P> + +<P> +Great was the astonishment of the rough mariners and warriors when they +saw their stern mistress, whose name was used by mothers and nurses all +over the kingdom, as a bugbear, with which to frighten naughty +children, now comforting and caressing this stolen child; when she fed +him with her own hands, and then took him in her arms and hushed him to +sleep—singing to him a wild, childish ditty, which she remembered, +because her own long dead mother had sung it to her, when she also was +an innocent babe. +</P> + +<P> +So kind and gentle did the bold vi-queen become, that before many days +the baby-lord became passionately attached to her, and ceased to ask +for his nurse and parents. And he, with all his endearing, infantile +ways, was such brave, grand little fellow—a child so after her own +heart—that Grace, who, in her pride and independence, had never envied +anybody any thing, not even Elizabeth her crown—envied the stout Earl +of Howth his only son and heir, with a bitter, hopeless, lonely envy. +It made her sometimes sad, but it made her better, and gentler, and +even almost humble; and the most harmless, if not the happiest part of +her life, was that in which she retained the child with her, at her +gloomy stronghold in Connaught. +</P> + +<P> +At length, after sending several messengers and agents in vain, the +proud and indolent Earl of Howth came himself, with a large ransom, to +buy back his heir. Grace O'Malley refused the money with scorn, but +offered to restore the child to him, if he would solemnly promise that +the gates of Howth Castle should always be thrown wide open when the +family were at dinner. He readily promised this, and the hospitable +custom has remained in his noble house to this day. +</P> + +<P> +The Earl could scarcely believe his eyes when, as he was about to +leave, he saw the stern chieftainess lift little Tristram in her arms +and embrace him tenderly, while the child clung to her and cried. "By +my soul," whispered his lordship to one of his train, "there's a +saisoning of the woman and the Christian about the heathen Amazon, +after all." +</P> + +<P> +The Earl and the Lady Grace parted very good friends, and the baby-lord +went home loaded with presents. Oh, lonely and dreary seemed Grace +O'Malley's old castle when he was gone—doubly dark seemed its great +cavernous hall, without the sunshine of his joyous life—doubly +desolate the lady's shadowy chamber, in the windy old turret alone, +without the brightness of his winsome face and the music of his happy +voice. +</P> + +<P> +The Lady Grace became sadder and more silent than before, but she +seemed less haughty and warlike. She still followed the chase as +fiercely as ever, but she gradually gave over fighting and plundering. +She began to notice kindly little children—to give more generously to +the poor, and was even suspected of praying sometimes, and of wearing a +concealed crucifix. Her men said that the baby-lord had spoiled their +fiery vi-queen, who led them no longer on marauding and piratical +expeditions; but her women blessed the saints that their mistress had +"softened down a bit, and made it more comfortable like to sarve her." +</P> + +<P> +Once every year, Grace O'Malley went in state to Howth Castle, to see +her beloved little friend and carry him presents, till at last, just as +he was growing into manhood, a cruel sickness came upon her, and she +was unable to go. Yet she sent her galley and the presents, as usual, +to prove her faithful love. +</P> + +<P> +Tristram, who had grown up a noble, generous youth, was grieved to hear +of the illness of this strange, proud woman, who had seemed to lay +aside her very nature to love him, and as he had always kept his old +childish affection for her, he resolved to go and see her once more. +</P> + +<P> +So the galley, on its return, took the young Lord of Howth to the +O'Malley's Castle, in Connaught. +</P> + +<P> +It was night when they arrived—a wild November night. The sky was +heavy with storm-clouds, and the sea was running high before a strong +wind, and breaking with a sound like thunder upon that bleak, black +shore. There was a great fire burning in the vast chimney of the old +hall, but in the farther corners, dark shadows were lurking, and the +stone walls were glistening with a chill dampness. +</P> + +<P> +As the heavy hall door swung open, to admit the young lord and his +train, so much of the tempestuous night rushed in with them, that the +old armor and the banners hanging on the walls clanged and flapped, and +the fire roared fiercely and whirled out an angry cloud of smoke. In +the midst of the hall the Lady Grace was lying, surrounded by her +retainers, her warriors, and seamen, on a rude couch, piled with skins +of deer she had slain, but curtained with rich crimson drapery, +suspended from the ceiling by enormous antlers of elks. She was +dressed in her old way, except that she had no arms in her girdle, and +wore a rosary about her neck. By her side stood a venerable priest, +holding a crucifix and the Lady Grace was repeating after him very +devoutly a prayer for the dying; but when she saw Tristram, she forgot +both priest and prayer. She sprang up from her couch to meet him, with +a glad cry; and though she sank back at once, in weakness and mortal +pain, she was content, for her arms were about the neck of her darling. +She wiped the rain-drops from his face and pressed them out of his soft +brown hair, and gazed at him with a fierce joy of love in her great +dark eyes, which seemed larger and darker now, and shone with new +splendor, since her long black locks had turned to silvery white. +</P> + +<P> +"It was noble and like thee, <I>mavourneen deelish</I>," she said, "to give +my dying eyes this last best blessing of life—beholding thee once +more. For this boon, I bestow upon thee the proudest legacy I have to +leave—this ring of most precious stones—the gift of my sister, +Elizabeth of England. With the ring, I would give thee my benison, but +that I fear the blessing of so sinful a woman might do thee harm. And +yet, as I have loved thee purely, as a mother might, the saints may +make it good. So, I <I>will</I> bless thee, jewel of my heart!" +</P> + +<P> +The young lord knelt reverently to receive her blessing, and after she +had ceased to murmur the fervent words, he still kept his place, for +her large hand yet pressed heavily upon his head. After a moment's +silence, she recommenced speaking, but rapidly and wildly, for her mind +was wandering. It seemed to have gone back to the night when she had +taken the heir of Howth from his nurse. She began railing against the +old Earl's churlishness, and vowing she would teach him a lesson in +hospitality Then she called out in loud, stern tones to her mariners to +set sail for Connaught, and laughed fiercely over her prize. But soon +her mood changed; she began to stroke the head of Tristram, and comfort +him by gentle words and kind promises. She did not seem to perceive +that the firm, manly face now before her, was not the smooth little +face all wet with tears, she once caressed. The young lord was again a +baby-boy to her; and presently she drew him closer, and began singing +that same nursery song with which she used to soothe him to sleep. +</P> + +<P> +It was a strange sight to see,—that dying woman, rocking herself back +and forth, and singing that wild lullaby, with her staring servitors +and grim old fighters grouped around her, hardly able to believe that +this was indeed their haughty mistress, their brave leader, their bold +sea-captain. +</P> + +<P> +At first, her voice rang out clear and full, but soon it faltered and +failed, and sunk lower and lower. And lower and lower sunk the head of +the old chieftainess, till her long white locks mingled with the dark +curls of the young lord; then her voice ceased altogether, and her +forehead lay heavy and cold against his, and he knew that Grace +O'Malley was dead. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap08"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Donnybrook +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE LITTLE FIDDLER. +</H3> + +<IMG CLASS="imgleft" SRC="images/img-161.jpg" ALT="dropcap-a" BORDER="0" WIDTH="308" HEIGHT="347"> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +A mile or two south of Dublin is Donnybrook, the place where a famous +annual fair is held. We happened to be in the city at the time of +this, and one pleasant afternoon we drove out to see this great +gathering of the Irish peasantry. The fair-ground presented a busy, +gay, and curious scene. A large enclosed space was covered with booths +and tents—horse-markets—cattle-markets—buyers, sellers, and crowds +of spectators. There was almost every thing one could think of, for +sale; there were all sorts of games, and sports and shows going on; +there were Ethiopian concerts, plays, exhibitions of Punch and Judy, +little circuses and menageries, jugglers, tumblers, hurdy-gurdy +players, ballad singers, pipers, fiddlers, and dancers. +</P> + +<P> +In nearly all the tents were gay young couples, dancing away as though +for dear life—dancing not alone with their feet, but with their arms, +their heads, and their merry, twinkling eyes. They were not all well +dressed, or even clean, but they seemed happy and healthy, and merrily +snapped their fingers at care. Everywhere there was laughter, and +chatter, and feasting, and frolic; but, I am glad to say, we saw little +tippling, and no quarrelling. It was very different in old times, when +the wild fun of Donnybrook Fair always ended in confusion, drunkenness, +and fighting. This happy change has been effected partly by the +Temperance reform, and partly by the establishment of a strong and +active government police. +</P> + +<P> +Now for a short story of Donnybrook Fair. +</P> + +<BR> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +THE LITTLE FIDDLER. +</H4> + +<P> +Away toward the hills of Wicklow, some five or six miles from Dublin, +there lived, not many years ago, a humble peasant family, by the name +of O'Shaughnessy. Michael O'Shaughnessy worked in the bog—that is, he +cut up the turf of the bogs, and piled it in stacks for drying—so +making the peat which is the common fuel of Ireland. He was very poor, +and with his wife and five children lived in a little low cabin, built +of mud and stones, and thatched with straw. There was but one small +window to this cabin, but then a good deal of light came down through a +hole in the roof, left for the smoke to go out of—for there was no +chimney. +</P> + +<P> +Mrs. O'Shaughnessy kept a few geese, and just before the door there was +a little muddy pond, where they enjoyed themselves, and on the edges of +which the pig wallowed, and dozed; except on stormy days, when he +preferred to go into the house. Now, among the poor Irish peasants, +the pig is a very important personage, and is treated with a great deal +of respect, for he usually pays the rent. With Mrs. O'Shaughnessy, it +was first herself and husband, then her son Teddy, then <I>the Pig</I>; then +the girls, Biddy and Peggy and Katy; and then, our hero, Larry +O'Sullivan. If she had known he was to be our hero, she might have put +him before the <I>colleens</I>, (girls,) but not, I think, before the pig. +</P> + +<P> +Larry O'Sullivan was a poor orphan boy, the child of a sister of +Michael O'Shaughnessy, by whom he had been adopted, when his father and +mother died of the fever. Larry was very handsome, and what was +better, very good, but he led rather a hard life of it at his new home. +His uncle was kind, but he was a gentle, meek sort of a man—his wife +ruled every thing at the cabin, and she did not like Larry overmuch. +She thought it hard that he should not only eat the food and wear the +clothes that her own children needed, but should be more liked and +admired in the neighborhood than they. She doted on her own boy, +Teddy, and thought him not only good-looking, but wonderfully +clever—when, in fact, a plainer or more stupid young bog-trotter could +hardly be found in all Ireland. She was a strong-minded woman, and did +not make much account of her girls—and there she was not far +wrong—except in regard to the youngest, Katy, who was a pretty, +blue-eyed darling, as sweet and as bright as a May morning. Katy and +Larry were famous good friends—Larry was the pulse of Katy's heart, +and Katy was the light of Larry's eyes. +</P> + +<P> +The children all went to school in the village, about a mile away. +Dermot Finnigen, the schoolmaster, was also a tailor, a barber, a bit +of a doctor, and a fiddler. He did very well at all his professions, +but he was greatest at fiddling. +</P> + +<P> +From the first, Larry was the master's favorite—not because he was +particularly studious, but because he took to the fiddle as naturally, +Dermot said, "as a ducklin' takes to the wather, just." Indeed, the +boy showed such extraordinary talent for music, that, for the mere love +of it, Dermot gave him lessons, and often lent him an old fiddle to +practise on. +</P> + +<P> +Larry had also a very sweet voice, and in singing the wild ballads of +the country, could make people laugh or cry, just as it pleased him to +do. +</P> + +<P> +Larry coveted, more than any thing in the world, the old fiddle of his +master. Dermot was willing to sell it, as he had a better, but he said +he could not part with it even to his favorite pupil, for less than a +crown. Now Larry in all his life had never held so much money—so he +despaired of ever being rich enough to have a fiddle of his own. +</P> + +<P> +One spring-time, when Larry was about twelve and Teddy fourteen, a +great trouble came upon the house of the O'Shaughnessys—the pig died! +</P> + +<P> +One morning, soon after this sad event, as the two boys were on the way +to the little village, on some errand, a travelling carriage passed +them, driving rapidly. As it turned a corner, a small writing-case was +jolted off from one of the seats, and fell into the road. Larry picked +it up, and the two boys ran after the carriage, shouting to the driver +to stop. But he took them for beggars, and drove on the faster. So +they followed, for more than a mile, running at the top of their speed, +calling and holding up the writing-case. +</P> + +<P> +At last, the carriage stopped, and the boys came up panting, and gave +the writing-case to a gentleman, who seemed very happy to get it, as he +said it contained valuable papers and money. He thanked the boys, and +gave them each a crown. +</P> + +<P> +Larry's beautiful brown eyes danced with joy. "Arrah, Teddy," said he, +"sure this is a rale providince! I'll go immadiately an buy Dermot's +ould feddle." +</P> + +<P> +"Faix thin, Larry, ye'll make thrue the sayin'—'a fool and his money +be soon parted.' <I>I'll</I> go an' buy the Widdy Mullowny's pig, and fat +it for the Fair. It's meself that knows how to spind money in a +sinsible way. A feddle indade!" +</P> + +<P> +Larry did not heed Teddy's sneers, but went directly and bought the +fiddle. He hugged it to his heart, and danced for joy all the way +home. But such a scolding as met him there! All blamed him for his +extravagance, but little Katy, who stole up to him and +whispered—"Niver mind the hard discoorse, Larry; ye've got the feddle +ony how, and it's mighty glad I am." +</P> + +<P> +Larry was never allowed to play on his treasure within the cabin walls; +it was always "Away wid ye now, ye lazy feddling spalpeen!" But up +amid the gorge of the hill side, he used to sit, with Katy, on pleasant +summer evenings, playing so late that Katy would creep close to him, +fancying she saw the "little folk," or fairies, dancing in the +moonlight, to his delicious music. +</P> + +<P> +In the mean time, "Phelim," the pig, throve finely, and grew to be, as +Mrs. O'Shaughnessy said, "an iligant cratur, intirely." Every meal, +after the family had eaten, the remains were thrown into the +potato-kettle, and "the sinsible baste claned it out beautifully," so +saving work for Mrs. O'Shaughnessy. +</P> + +<P> +At last, the first day of the Fair arrived, and Teddy and Larry set out +for Donnybrook, with the pig,—Larry taking his fiddle. +</P> + +<P> +Now Phelim had been a wonderful animal at home, and in his own +mud-puddle, but it was quite another thing at Donnybrook. There he was +eclipsed by pigs of a more choice breed, fatter, cleaner, and better +behaved. Teddy was sadly disappointed and mortified—he had supposed +that there would be a tremendous competition for that jewel of a pig. +</P> + +<P> +"Suppose, Larry, ye strike up a tune on yer feddle, to call the +attintion of the folk, just," said he, at last. +</P> + +<P> +Larry began very timidly, but in a few moments an admiring group was +collected around him. A purchaser was soon found for Phelim, and Teddy +having doubled his money, felt rich and grand, and cast rather +contemptuous looks on his thriftless cousin. But before the day was +over, Larry had made more money than two pigs like Phelim would +bring—by playing for the dancers, and singing ballads. Among those +who listened most attentively to him was a great musician from Dublin, +who saw at once that the lad had a remarkable genius for music. He +talked with him, and was much pleased with his intelligence and +modesty. Larry was glad to find it was the same gentleman whose +writing-case he had picked up a few months before. +</P> + +<P> +Mr. R—— inquired where the boys lived, and the next day drove down to +Michael O'Shaughnessy's, and offered to take his nephew and educate him +for a musician. +</P> + +<P> +So Larry went to town, to live with his kind benefactor. He was well +clothed and cared for and being good and grateful, studied hard to be a +finished musician. He never forgot his humble home, or felt above his +poor relations. Every Sunday he walked out to see them, and good old +Dermot, who was fond and proud of him, you may depend. His cousin Katy +grew still dearer to him as the years wore on, and he blessed the time +when he was rich enough to take her to Dublin, and put her to school. +It was said she was to be governess—but every body thought Larry would +have no other wife but Katy—and every body was right. +</P> + +<P> +Larry <I>has</I> become a great musician—so great that even Mrs. +O'Shaughnessy admits that he "is not a bad fiddler." +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap09"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +From Dublin to Cork and Blarney Castle. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +LITTLE NORAH AND THE BLARNEY STONE. +</H3> + +<IMG CLASS="imgleft" SRC="images/img-173.jpg" ALT="dropcap-w" BORDER="0" WIDTH="312" HEIGHT="377"> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +We left Dublin for Cork, on a fresh August morning—pleasant but +showery, like nearly all mornings in Ireland. The railway on which we +travelled, passes for the most part through a barren, boggy, desolate +country, with only here and there a tract of well cultivated land—past +low, miserable hovels of bog-working peasants, and wretched, +tumble-down little villages. +</P> + +<P> +It was melancholy to see, all along our way, multitudes of +ruins—churches and castles and towers—battered, dismantled, and +ivy-grown—making it look more like a country of the dead than of the +living. In these crumbling remains, you read, almost as in a book, the +history of the ancient prosperity and power of Ireland, and of its +gradual destruction by wars, sieges, famine, and pestilence, till it +was brought to its present state of poverty and desolation. +</P> + +<P> +We passed through, or in sight of, several famous old places, such as +Kildare, the Rock of Dunamase, Cashel, Kilmallock, and Buttevant. +</P> + +<P> +Kildare, though now a small, dilapidated town, was once a large city, +renowned for its religious institutions. Its principal buildings were +churches, monasteries, and nunneries, and its chief productions +crucifixes, rosaries, and saints. The most celebrated among the +latter, was Saint Bridget, who received the veil from the hands of St +Patrick himself. She founded a nunnery here, which was most remarkable +for "the sacred fire," which the nuns who succeeded her kept burning +for hundreds of years—in remembrance of her, probably. From a little +story related of her, when she was a child, I should say she better +deserved to be called a saint than many of those so honored by the +Church. +</P> + +<P> +The father of Bridget was a warlike Irish chieftain, but a loyal +subject of the King of Leinster, and on one occasion, that monarch +bestowed upon him a rich sword, with the hilt set with costly jewels. +Now the peasants on this chieftain's estates were very poor—indeed, +suffering absolute starvation, and there was no one to help them, for +their lord had enough to do to fight his enemies, without feeding his +humble friends; and his wife, Bridget's stepmother, was a hard, cruel +woman. Poor little Bridget gave all her pocket-money, and sold all her +little keepsakes, for their relief, and still they were starving. At +last, she went to the armory and took down her father's idle, show +sword, and had the rich jewels taken out of the hilt and sold. With +the money she bought food, and saved the lives of several most worthy +but unfortunate families. When her father came home, she told him what +she had done. History does not say, but we can easily guess, what <I>he</I> +did. And that was not the last of it; soon after, the King came to her +father's house to dine, and having heard about the theft, called the +child up to him, and asked her how she had dared to do such a wicked +thing as to rob her father and deface the gift of a great monarch. +Now, we republicans can have very little idea of what it was to be +called up and spoken to in this way. Kings, in old times, were far +more terrible than they are now, and Irish kings were the most terrible +of all. But brave little Bridget, though she was only nine years old, +was not frightened by his black frown and thunder-like voice. She +stood up straight, and looked calmly into his angry eyes, as she +replied: "I have but bestowed thy gift upon a greater and a mightier +king than thou art—even Christ, who hath said that whatsoever we give +unto his poor children is given unto him." +</P> + +<P> +In the neighborhood of Kildare, is Inch Castle, about which Mrs. S. C. +Hall tells a touching legend. Inch Castle was once in the possession +of the MacKellys—a proud and powerful family. Ulick, one of the sons +of the old lord, a handsome, gay, daring young man, but wild and +heartless, paid court to a beautiful peasant girl, named Oona More. He +won her love, and then, being very fickle, cruelly forsook her. Oona +was very good and gentle—she forgave her false lover, and would not +allow her brothers to harm him, though he had broken her loving heart. +Suddenly the plague broke out in the neighborhood, and Ulick MacKelly +was one of the first struck. As was the custom, for fear of the +infection, he was removed at once from the castle to the fields, where +a shed was erected over him, and he was left alone with only a loaf of +bread and a pitcher of water by his side. When Oona heard of this, she +forgot his cruel desertion—forgot every thing but his suffering and +her love—and went to him, and tended him, and prayed beside him, day +and night, till he died. Even then, she did not leave him. She had +taken his deadly disease; on her breast came a bright red spot—the +sure sign of the plague. She was not sorry to see it there and the +next day, all her pain and trouble and sorrows were over. Then her +brother came to take her away. She still sat by the dead—her hood +fell over her face, so she seemed to be yet alive. Her brother laid +his hand on her shoulder, and said, gently— +</P> + +<P> +"Oona, come home—the cow is lowing for you—the little lambs have no +one to care for them. Oona, dear, come home with me!" +</P> + +<P> +Seeing that she did not stir, he lifted the hood, looked in her dead +face, and gave a bitter cry. He had no sister any more. +</P> + +<P> +We passed through a portion of the "Bog of Allen," the largest of all +Irish bogs—said to be full 300,000 acres in extent. Some of my +readers may not know that the bog is not the primitive soil, but masses +of partly decomposed vegetable matter, which have accumulated during +many, many ages. In nearly all of the bogs, trees of various kinds +have been found imbedded—sometimes small buildings, arms, ornaments, +strange implements, and the bones of enormous animals, now extinct. +From oak dug up from bogs, many pretty black ornaments are now made. +</P> + +<P> +This bog takes its name from the hill of Allen, or "Dun Almhain," on +which was the residence of the famous old Irish chief, Fin MacCual, or +Fingal, as he is called in Ossian's Poems. He was the king of the +Fians, the name of the ancient Irish tribes who lived by hunting. He +must have been handsome as well as heroic, for he was, it seems, a +wonderful favorite with the ladies. It is related that when he +concluded that it was time for him to take a wife, he was sadly puzzled +who to choose among his many fair admirers. Finally, he settled upon a +plan odd and funny enough, certainly. He sent out a proclamation to +all the beautiful young women of Ireland, calling upon them to assemble +on a certain day, at the foot of a mountain in Tipperary, now called +Slieve-na-man. When they had all come together, a host of rival +beauties in their best array, the great chief coolly announced to them +that he was about to ascend the mountain, and that from the summit, he +would make a signal to them, when they should all start fair, and +whoever should first reach the summit, should have the honor and +felicity of being Mrs. Fin MacCual. He then proceeded leisurely up the +mountain, seated himself on an old Druidical altar, at the very topmost +point, and graciously waved his hand to the expectant ladies below. +Off they started like eager young race-horses,—nothing daunted by the +hard course they had to run. Up, up, over rocks and streams, and +patches of black bog—up, up, through woods and briars and furze, they +leaped and climbed and scrambled—laughing and panting and scolding and +screaming! Ah, what sport it must have been for Fin, watching them +from above! Yet, though they all ran well, only one came in winner. +But that was the highest princess of the country—Graine, daughter of +Cormac, monarch of all Ireland. I hope she found her husband worth the +chase. +</P> + +<P> +The great rock of Dunarnase stands alone in the midst of a plain, and +is crowned with the ruins of a castle—once a very strong fortress. +The rock of Cashel is seen from a great distance, and upon its summit +are the finest ruins in all Ireland. This noble height was a +stronghold of the ancient kings of the province of Munster. The first +Christian kings built churches, chapels, towers, and cathedrals here, +and the present ruins are mostly of religious edifices. This imposing +site is much venerated still, and a favorite oath among the Irish +peasantry is—"By the Rock of Cashel!" +</P> + +<P> +Kilmallock, now all in ruins, was once a city of great beauty and +consideration. It was destroyed by the troops of Cromwell, the +desolater of Ireland. Kilmallock was the seat of the ancient and +powerful race of the Desmonds. +</P> + +<P> +Buttevant is a poor little place, but containing the ruins of a fine +old abbey. Near Buttevant are the ruins of Kilcoleman Castle, at which +the great poet Spenser lived, and which was burned by the Irish in a +rebellion. The youngest child of the poet perished in the flames. +</P> + +<P> +Cork is usually ranked as the second city of Ireland, and is a +handsome, pleasant, prosperous looking place. It has not many +interesting antiquities, but some of its modern buildings are very +fine. The country around Cork is exceedingly picturesque, and its +harbor is very beautiful. The city itself is about twelve miles from +the mouth of the harbor, upon the River Lee. +</P> + +<P> +We had letters of introduction to a gentleman living at Monkstown, +about six miles below the city, and on the day after our arrival, we +took the steamboat and went down to his residence. We were received +with warm Irish hospitality, and throughout that day and the next, +every thing that our friend and his family could do for our enjoyment +was done in the pleasantest and heartiest way. They took us boating up +and down the noble bay—driving along the shores, and walking over +their estate. There was always a large, lively party, and we had the +merriest times imaginable. They made a pic-nic for us, on Cove Island, +but a rain coming on, we took refuge in an old, old castle, where we +feasted, and jested, and laughed, and sung songs, and even danced, in +the rough and gloomy halls in which, hundreds and hundreds of years +ago, were gathered barbaric Irish chieftains—grim, terrible +fellows—parading the spoils of the chase, or the plunder of war. +</P> + +<P> +A little way back from their house, our friends have another +ruin—Monkstown Castle. This was built in 1636—tradition says at only +the cost of a groat. Of course, the statement was a puzzle to me, when +I first heard it, but it was soon explained. The estate belonged, at +that time, to John Archdeken, who, while serving with the army abroad, +left his wife in charge of his property. She was a thrifty woman, and +determined to surprise him on his return by a noble residence, which +should cost very little. So she hired workmen, with the privilege of +supplying them with all their provisions and articles of clothing. +These she purchased by wholesale, and though she sold them at the +ordinary retail price, found in the end, that the profits had only +fallen short of paying the expenses of building, one groat. +</P> + +<P> +It came very hard for us to part from our kind friends at +Monkstown—but it has by no means been hard to keep them in loving +remembrance. +</P> + +<P> +Just a pleasant drive from Cork is Blarney Castle—a noble ruin, +towering above a beautiful little lake, all surrounded by delightful, +though neglected grounds—made famous by an old comic song, called "The +Groves of Blarney." +</P> + +<P> +This stronghold was built in the fifteenth century, by the great chief, +Cormac MacCarty, and retained by his descendants, the lords of +Clancarty and Musterry, until 1689, when it was confiscated. It has +since belonged to a family of Jeffries. The sad work of decay and +demolition has been going on for several centuries, and yet some of the +walls look as though they would stand centuries longer. +</P> + +<P> +The chief object of curiosity here is the famous "Blarney Stone," about +which there is a foolish tradition that whoever kisses it shall be +gifted with such shrewdness and eloquence that nobody will be able to +resist his persuasions. From this comes the expression of "<I>blarney</I>" +for cunning and flattering talk. I did not perceive that the people in +this neighborhood had any more of this peculiar gift than those of +other provinces;—indeed, I should suppose that there was a Blarney +stone in every town in Ireland, and that no Irishman, woman, or child +had failed to kiss it. +</P> + +<P> +This stone is now on the inside of the highest battlement of the great +tower. It was formerly on the outside, some feet from the top, and +those who wished to kiss it, were obliged to be let down by their +heels—which being a rather disagreeable and dangerous process, Mr. +Jeffries had it removed to its present place. Some learned men say +that this is nothing but a spurious stone, after all; and that the real +magical stone is yet imbedded in the outer wall, about twenty feet from +the top, and bears the name of the great MacCarty. Perhaps it is +so—but I don't believe it. +</P> + +<P> +In the grounds about the Castle, or "The Groves," there is many a +sweet, dewy, flowery spot, where the grass, moss, and ivy, are green as +green can be, and no sound is heard in the deep shade but the gurgle of +water and the warble of birds. Here are some rude steps made in the +rock, called "The Witches' Staircase," and a cave, in which it was said +a fair Princess remained enchanted for many years. Legends say that +the last Earl of Clancarty sunk all his valuable plate in the lake, +where it will remain until one of the old race regains possession of +the estate. Our guide told us that Lady Jeffries tried to drain the +lake, but that though she made a deep opening in the bank, not a drop +would run out—"for fear of exposing the plate of the rale lord!" He +said, too, that enchanted cows in the MacCarty interest came often at +night, and drove the Jeffries cows out of their pastures; and that no +earthly cattle had any chance at all against them—for they were +furious animals, with "mighty sharp horns." Of course, all this is +very absurd, and not half so pretty as the legends we heard everywhere +in Ireland of the fairies, or "good people." I will tell you more of +these another time. Now I have only room for a little anecdote of the +last Lord Clancarty, which I find set down as a great lesson to people +to read their Bibles. +</P> + +<P> +When this unfortunate nobleman was going into exile, he told his +relative, the beautiful Duchess of Marlborough, that he was certain he +could recover his property, if he only had money enough to carry on a +lawsuit for it. She did not offer to help him, but she placed in his +hands a Bible, saying that he would find in it comfort and support in +all his troubles. The young lord thanked her with such a pious face +that one would have thought he meant to do little else than study the +good book for the next six months. But the rogue never once looked +into it, and when, long after, he returned to England, the Duchess +asked him for it, and opening it before his eyes, showed him that she +had placed between the leaves, bank notes enough to have recovered his +estates, now hopelessly lost. +</P> + +<P> +I must say that this account of Lord Clancarty's poverty, and that of +his treasure hid in Blarney Lake, do not hang together very well; but, +as the Bible story has the best moral, perhaps we had better hold on to +that, and let the other go, with the legends of enchanted cows and +princesses. +</P> + +<BR> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +LITTLE NORAH AND THE BLARNEY STONE. +</H4> + +<P> +One pleasant summer morning, in 18—, a gay party of English ladies and +gentlemen visited the old Castle of Blarney. They strolled along the +green shore of the lake, wandered about the wild neglected gardens and +"groves," ran up and down the Witches' Staircase, poked their heads +into the princesses cave, and then ascended the great tower of the +castle. This party was headed by a gentleman of middle age, tall and +stately, but very kindly and pleasant in his looks. He wore a military +uniform, but was addressed as "my lord." He held by the hand, that is, +whenever he could catch her, a smiling rosy, dimple-cheeked little +girl, whom he called "Fanny," and the rest of the party "Lady Frances." +It was a pretty sight to see her break away from them all, and flit +about the ruins and through the dark tangled alleys of the groves, like +a bird on the wing. She laughingly skipped up and down the Witches' +Staircase with the rest, but she lingered longest in the haunted cave, +looking about her wistfully, as though she expected to see the +enchanted princess; and once her father found her peering into a dark +green dell, and listening attentively, her dark eyes growing big with +expectant awe. +</P> + +<P> +"Why, daughter Fanny, what have you there?" he asked. "What wonderful +discovery are you making?" +</P> + +<P> +"Hush, father!" she replied, with her small taper finger on her lip, +"it's the fairies I'm after—the 'good people,' nurse Bridget has told +me so much about. I am sure there must be some of them in this still, +shady place. I've found their 'rings' in the fresh, green grass." +</P> + +<P> +Lord Clare at first smiled at this simple, childish faith, then grew +serious, and sitting down on a flowery bank, drew his little daughter +on to his knee, and explained to her how the story of fairies was, in +the beginning, only a fable of poets and romance-writers, and was now +only believed in by ignorant peasants, like her Irish nurse; that, in +truth, there were no such beings as the fairies in all the world. When +he had finished, he was surprised to see that the child had covered her +face with her hands, and that the tears were fast trickling through her +fingers. "What is my little daughter weeping for?" he asked. +</P> + +<P> +"For the fairies, papa; the dear, beautiful fairies. I can't believe +in them any more." +</P> + +<P> +"But was it not right for papa to tell you the truth, my darling, even +though it gave you pain?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, I suppose it was. But, oh, papa, somehow things don't look so +beautiful as they did when I believed in the 'good people.' Then every +bank of moss, or bit of green turf, I thought might be a fairy +ball-room. Whenever I saw a flower, or a leaf floating on the water, I +thought some fairy might be sailing on it. I was almost sure +full-blown roses were the thrones of fairy queens, and buds just +opening they were the little baby-fairies' cradles. Oh, it was so +beautiful! and then, the kindness and goodness of the wee things, papa; +that is, when you did not happen to offend them. They were always +helping people out of trouble, especially poor persecuted princes and +princesses, and they were such fast friends of good children—at least, +so nurse and the fairy books said, and I used to believe so;—now it's +all over." +</P> + +<P> +"But, my daughter," said Lord Clare, "we can be better than fairies to +one another, if we will; and then, remember, that we have God's good +angels to watch over and help us, when they can." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," said Fanny, brightening up a little, "that is some comfort." +</P> + +<P> +It was soon after this conversation that the party ascended the old +crumbly stone steps of the great tower of the castle. After enjoying +the fine prospect from the summit for some time, Lord Clare inquired +for the famous Blarney Stone. +</P> + +<P> +Rooney, the guide, a shrewd, smooth-tongued fellow, leaned over the +ruined parapet, and pointing to a stone, several feet below, replied, +"There it is, yer honor, the rale meraculous ould stone. Sure if your +lordship would so demane yourself as to kiss it, to-day, you would +never have any trouble in governing Irishmen at all. You would have +only to spake, and the spirit of fight and rebellion would leave them, +and they would be quiet as lambs." +</P> + +<P> +"Indeed! that would be a miracle; but how am I to get at the stone?" +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, that is aisy done. I'll hould your lordship by the heels and +swing you over just—all for half a crown, and as much more as yer +lordship is plased to give." +</P> + +<P> +"O yes, I remember to have heard of your original way of showing up the +Blarney Stone," said Lord Clare, "but how can I be sure that you will +not raise your price before raising me. It strikes me that I have +heard of your once playing off that trick upon a tourist." +</P> + +<P> +"Ah!" said Rooney, with a sly chuckle, "yer lordship alludes to a +mean-souled tailor, from London. He stood where yer lordship stands +for more nor an hour, beating me down from half a crown, my lawful fee, +to a shilling,—and me with seven children and the wife at home down +with the fever. At last, I gave in, and swung him over. He kissed the +stone, and then called to me to pull him up. 'Wait a bit, my man,' +says I, 'you gave me only a shilling for letting you down; it's a dale +harder job to pull you up. I must have half a crown for that same.' +With that, he began to swear and call me a chate, and threaten me with +the police. But I only said, 'my arms is givin' out, and I can't hold +on much longer, and if you won't pay me my just demand, I shall be +under the necessity of dropping yer acquaintance.' Then he began to +beg, for you see, he could look down and see the ugly rocks and the +black water more nor a hundred feet below him. But I told him he had +bothered so long, and given my arms such a strain, that I could not let +him up so aisy. At last, to save his neck, he promised me the half +guinea I asked, and paid it as soon as he set foot on the tower. I +know it was a big price for the article, but that was his own affair. +And now, begging your lordship's pardon, for proposing such a thing as +your kissing the stone after a tailor, shall I have the pleasure of +suspending your lordship over the wall, this morning?" +</P> + +<P> +"No, Rooney, you must excuse me. But here is your half crown, all the +same," said Lord Clare, with a good-humored smile. +</P> + +<P> +Just at this moment, Fanny called the attention of the party to a +little girl, about her own age, who had just ascended the tower, and +was standing near them, looking about her curiously and wistfully. She +was evidently one of the poorest class of peasants, for her dress was +coarse and patched, though clean and tidy. But she was a beautiful +child. She had large, dark, tender eyes, and soft curling, brown hair; +her arms and hands, though much sunburnt, and her feet, which were +bare, were small and gracefully formed. Her face wore now a weary and +troubled look, so little befitting a child, that it touched the hearts +of all that gay company. One of the gentlemen asked very kindly what +it was she wanted. She courtesied, as she answered timidly, "Sure, yer +honor, it's the Blarney Stone I'm after. Will you tell me, plase, +where I can find it?" +</P> + +<P> +"Why, child," said Lord Clare, "what do you want of the Blarney Stone?" +</P> + +<P> +"Only to kiss it, yer honor. I've come all the way from Bantry, on my +two feet, barring a lift now and then on a car, just to do that +same—all for the sake of poor Phin." +</P> + +<P> +"And who is Phin?" +</P> + +<P> +"He is my brother, sir—my own brother, and he has gone and 'listed, +and it's breaking my mother's heart; and sure, yer honor, if he goes +away for a soldier, she will die, and it's all alone in the world I'll +be." With that, her little red lips began to quiver, and the tears to +fall from her soft, brown eyes. +</P> + +<P> +"But what good will it do Phin, for you to kiss the Blarney Stone?" +asked one of the ladies. +</P> + +<P> +"Whist!" said the child, looking about her, and speaking low, as though +afraid of being overheard by some one unfriendly to Phin, "it's just a +little plot of my own. I was told that the new lord-lieutenant was +coming to Cork, and I knew he could let poor Phin off from being a +soldier; so I said nothing to nobody, but came up to entrate him. You +see I had often heard how this same Blarney Stone would give people an +ilegant and moving discoorse; and sure I thought I'd need to kiss it, +before I could stand up forninst a great lord, and say my story. That +is all, yer ladyship." +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, little girl!" cried Fanny, joyfully, "you need not kiss the old +stone for that, for my papa is—" Here the impulsive little girl +caught a warning look from her father, and paused suddenly, while his +lordship took up the conversation with the peasant child. +</P> + +<P> +"What is your name?" +</P> + +<P> +"Norah McCarthy, yer honor." +</P> + +<P> +"Ah, quite a pretty name. Well, Norah, how came this brother of yours +to enlist?" +</P> + +<P> +"Och! it all came from going to Darby O'Hallagher's wake." +</P> + +<P> +"What is a wake?" asked Fanny. +</P> + +<P> +"A wake, my darling young lady," said Rooney, very politely, "sure it's +an entertainment that a man gives after he is dead, when his +disconsolate friends all assemble at his house, to discuss his virtues +and drink his poteen. There is one who is called a 'keener,' usually +an elderly woman, with a touch of madness, or poetry, and a wild +rolling eye, who chants a 'keen,' or lamentation; in short, it's a sort +of melancholy frolic, where we only drink to drown our sorrow—a good +old Irish custom. Now, go on, Norah, my jewel." +</P> + +<P> +"Well, may be Phin was a great mourner for Darby, for he was overtaken +in drink that night, and brought shame upon himself, that had always +been a dacent and a sober lad; and the next day Mary Nelligan wouldn't +spake to him, and even our mother turned her face away from him; and +so, with the hot shame at his heart, he went straight to the sergeant +and 'listed. He was sorry soon, and Mary was sorry, and mother is just +kilt with grief, for she has nobody to look to now." +</P> + +<P> +"And to obtain your brother's discharge, you have come on this +pilgrimage to Blarney Castle, my poor child?" said Lord Clare, laying +his hand gently on the little girl's head. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, and will yer honor kindly point out the stone to me? for I must +go back to Cork this day." +</P> + +<P> +Lord Clare took her by the hand, and leading her to the parapet, +pointed down to the stone, imbedded in the outside wall. "Ah," cried +Norah, in a tone of dismay and grief, "how can I reach it there? and +where am I to get the heart to spake up to the lord-lieutenant for poor +Phin?" +</P> + +<P> +Just then, an idea of testing the courage and devotion of the child +occurred to Lord Clare. Unwinding from his waist a long silk, military +sash, he said, "If you will let me tie this around you, under your +arms, and let you down by it, you can kiss the Blarney Stone, and I +will draw you up again. Are you brave enough to venture?" +</P> + +<P> +As Norah looked down from what seemed to her a dreadful height, she +grew dizzy and shrank back; but when she looked up into the calm, kind +eyes of Lord Clare, she took courage, and said she would go. As he +tied the sash firmly about her, she said,—"If yer honor finds me heavy +you'll not let me fall, for sure you have a colleen (girl) of your own." +</P> + +<P> +She put up a little prayer when she went over the wall, which I doubt +not was lovingly listened to, by Him who blessed little children. +Safely she was lowered to the stone, and eagerly she pressed against it +her soft red lips, and then called out, "I've done it, yer honor; now +pull me up, if you plase." +</P> + +<P> +As Lord Clare lifted her up over the parapet, Fanny, in admiration of +her courage, rushed forward, flung her arms about her and kissed +her—calling her "the best and bravest girl in the world." The ladies +and gentlemen of the party all made presents of money, which she +received with grateful thanks, but seemed bewildered by their great +kindness and in a hurry to get away. +</P> + +<P> +"Where are you going?" asked one. +</P> + +<P> +"Back to Cork, sure, to find the lord-lieutenant, while the feel of the +Blarney Stone is on my lips." +</P> + +<P> +"But how will you get to speak to him?" +</P> + +<P> +"Ah, then, I cannot tell; but the saints will help me, may be." +</P> + +<P> +"I will tell you what to do," said Lord Clare. "Come to the Royal +Hotel, where he lodges, just after the Review, to-day. I know him, and +will see that orders are given to admit you, at once." +</P> + +<P> +"But hadn't I better wait till his lordship has dined?" asked Norah, +"for I have heard that gentlemen are better natured after dinner." +</P> + +<P> +"Ah, you are a shrewd child," said Lord Clare, laughing, "but you +forget that you have kissed the Blarney Stone, and need not fear even a +hungry lord-lieutenant. Come at the time I set." +</P> + +<P> +"And keep up good courage," whispered Fanny. "You can't expect any +help from the fairies, for there are no such little folks nowadays; but +there are the angels, you know—and my papa, he is almost as good as a +fairy." +</P> + +<P> +At the hour appointed for receiving his humble petitioner, the +lord-lieutenant was standing in his parlor, at the Royal Hotel, with a +group of officers in rich uniforms and ladies in full dress about him. +He was amusing some of the company who had not been with him in the +morning, by an account of the simplicity and heroism of the beautiful +Irish child he had met, when she was shown in, by a pompous +serving-man, in showy livery, who looked very much astonished and +somewhat indignant at being obliged to introduce such a humble little +body to a room full of grand people. But no one cared for his looks. +Norah was dazzled by the sight of so much splendid dress, and went +forward with timid, wavering steps to where she was told the +lord-lieutenant was standing. She stood before him, quite silent for a +moment, her eyes cast down, and a painful blush overspreading her +artless face; then, in a trembling, hesitating voice, she began—"Will +yer honor plase—no, may it plase yer lord-lieutenantship to let our +poor Phin go! Sure, with all these fine soldiers you'll never miss +him, and then"—here she stammered and broke quite down. Covering her +face with her hands, she cried out, half sorrowfully and half in +vexation, "Bad luck to the Blarney Stone! There's no good in it at +all, at all—sorra a word more will it give me to spake." +</P> + +<P> +Lord Clare laughed at this—a pleasant, familiar laugh—and Norah +dropped her hands and looked up full in his face, for the first time +during the interview. In an instant, her eyes flashed joyfully through +their tears, she clapped her hands and cried,—"Blessed Saint Patrick +it is himself!" The next moment, Fanny was at her side, smiling and +whispering joyfully, "Didn't I tell you my papa was almost as good as a +fairy?" +</P> + +<P> +To make a long story short, I will say that Phin McCarthy's discharge +was soon obtained, and Norah McCarthy returned to Bantry, by the public +car, loaded with presents from the generous friends her beauty and +brave devotion had made. +</P> + +<P> +A short time after, as the lord-lieutenant and his party were passing +through Bantry, on their way to Killarney, their travelling car was +surrounded by the McCarthys and Nelligans, (Mary Nelligan was already +Mrs. Phin McCarthy,) all come to return their thanks. +</P> + +<P> +Little Lady Frances was very happy to see her Irish friend, who looked +prettier than ever, in a neat new dress; and drawing her father's face +down to hers, she whispered,—"Oh, papa, dear! won't you take Norah +home with us, to be my little maid?" This thought had already occurred +to Lord Clare, so he proposed it at once to Mrs. McCarthy. Though +feeling greatly honored, the good woman was, at first, unwilling to +part from her darling, and Norah to go so far from her mother; but when +his lordship promised that they should often visit each other, they +gratefully consented. +</P> + +<P> +So Norah went to live in Dublin Castle, as the maid and playmate of +Lady Frances. She was always most kindly cared for, received a good +education, and was treated more as a friend than as a servant by all +Lord Clare's household, for she ever retained her simple, endearing +ways, and was as good as she was beautiful. +</P> + +<P> +When she had been a year or two in his family, Lord Clare one day +explained to her, as well as he could, the curious superstition of the +Blarney Stone,—assuring her that there was in reality no virtue or +power in it whatever. Norah smiled and blushed at his earnest words, +as she answered in her sweet brogue, which she had not yet been +educated out of,—"My Lady Frances told me long ago, that the fairies +were all a pretty fable, and the Blarney Stone was like any other +stone, just. I'll let the fairies go, but," (taking Fanny's hand and +kissing it,) "by your lordship's leave and hers, I will stand by the +Blarney Stone, for the good fortune it has brought me." +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap10"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +A Visit to the Lakes of Killarney. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +KATHLEEN OF KILLARNEY. +</H3> + +<IMG CLASS="imgleft" SRC="images/img-205.jpg" ALT="dropcap-t" BORDER="0" WIDTH="318" HEIGHT="371"> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +The morning of our leaving Cork was dark and rainy; but it gradually +cleared up, and by the time we reached Bantry, the first place of much +note on our route, all was bright and smiling, overhead and along our +way. +</P> + +<P> +Bantry Bay is very beautiful, and is historically remarkable as the +place where the French have twice attempted a landing, for the purpose +of invading and revolutionizing Ireland. +</P> + +<P> +Late in the afternoon, we arrived at Glengariff—one of the wildest and +yet loveliest spots in all that picturesque country. How I wish I +could give you such an idea of it as I have in my own mind—a great, +magnificent picture, painted on my memory—in some parts sunny and +green, and flowery; in others, dark and rugged, and grand. I shall +always particularly remember a long row we had on the bay, in the +twilight, and how the scenery of the mountainous shore and the rocky +islands, and the swelling, booming waves, grew stern, solemn, and even +awful, in the fast-falling shadows of evening, and the rising winds and +gloomy clouds of a coming storm. +</P> + +<P> +But the next morning, every thing was more sweet and quiet and radiant +than I can tell. So, wild Glengariff smiled upon us in our parting, +but we found it hard to smile back. We really felt sad to go so soon +and forever from such a bit of paradise. +</P> + +<P> +We travelled now upon a large outside car, which allowed us to see +every thing on our way, and would have been a very pleasant conveyance +if it had not left us too much exposed to the attacks of the beggars. +The seats were so low that when the car was going slowly up the hills, +we could step off and walk—so, of course, the beggars could come close +beside us. Nothing kept them off—neither laughing, nor commanding; +alms-giving, nor refusals. Drive as fast as we might, they kept up +with us—crowds of little boys and girls, and sometimes full-grown men +and women. Some of the children were exceedingly handsome, with black +hair and eyes, and dark olive skins—descendants, it is said, of the +Spaniards, who, in the time of Queen Elizabeth, invaded Ireland. +</P> + +<P> +The Lakes of Killarney would scarcely be called <I>lakes</I> in our country, +where we boast such grand inland seas under that name. They are small, +but certainly very beautiful, and surrounded by delightful scenery. +They are three in number—the Upper, the Lower, and Torc Lake. +</P> + +<P> +The town of Killarney has a miserable, dilapidated appearance, and is +overflowing with beggars. We did not stop here, however, but at a +hotel a mile or two away, on the northern shore of the Lower Lake—a +most charming situation. A little way out of the town, we had stopped +to visit Torc waterfall—a beautiful cascade, in a wild and shady +glen—one of the very finest sights of that region. +</P> + +<P> +In the morning, we set out early on an excursion through the Gap of +Dunloe, to the Upper Lake. This time I was mounted on a fleet-footed +pony, which gave me an advantage over the beggars. One friend rode +beside me; the others were, as usual, on a jaunting car. +</P> + +<P> +The "Gap" is a long, dark, rocky pass, with a noisy stream, called the +Loe, rushing through it. On the right, are the mountains called the +Reeks; on the left, the Toomies, and the "Purple Mountain." On +reaching the Upper Lake, we left our ponies and car, and embarked in a +boat, which was awaiting us, for a row down a still, silvery, and +fairy-like sheet of water. Passing many green and flowery +islands—always in sight of grand mountains and lovely shores—we +entered upon "the long range"—a sort of river, connecting the lakes. +On this stands old "Eagle's Nest," a mountain about eleven hundred feet +in height, on whose summit the eagles have built their nests for +centuries. +</P> + +<P> +It is principally remarkable for the fine echoes which it gives forth. +Our guide played the bugle before it, and every note came back, clear +and sweet. +</P> + +<P> +Mrs. Hall, in her beautiful book on Ireland, relates an amusing story +which a peasant told her, of a daring attempt a mountaineer once made +to rob the eagle's nest. He watched till he saw the old eagles fly +away, and then let himself down by a rope from the rock above, and was +just about to seize upon the young eaglets, when suddenly out darts the +mother eagle from a thunder-cloud, and stood facing him! But she spoke +very civilly, and said— +</P> + +<P> +"Good morning, sir; and what brings you to visit my fine family so +early, before they've had their breakfast?" +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, nothing at all," said the man, "only to ax after their health, +ma'am, and to see if any of them is troubled with the tooth-ache; for +I've got a cure for it, here in my pocket, something I brought wid me +from furrin parts." +</P> + +<P> +"Aha! and you brought some <I>blarney</I> in the other pocket," said the +mother eagle; "for don't I know you came to steal my children—the +darlings?" +</P> + +<P> +"Honor bright," said he, "do you raly think now I'd be sarving ye such +a mane trick as that?" +</P> + +<P> +"I'll leave it to a neighbor of mine," said she; and with that she +raised her voice and screeched out—"Did he come to rob the eagle's +nest?" +</P> + +<P> +Of course, the echo answered—"To rob the eagle's nest." +</P> + +<P> +"Hear that! you thieving blackguard," said the eagle, "and take <I>that</I> +home with you!" and with one blow of her great beak, she pitched him +over, and he tumbled down the mountainside into the lake; getting +severely bruised and well ducked for interfering with the domestic +happiness of his neighbors. +</P> + +<P> +About a mile below this mountain, we passed under Old Weir Bridge. +This is called "shooting the bridge," and unless you have very skilful +boatmen, is considered very dangerous, as the rapids are swift and +strong. +</P> + +<P> +We next passed the bay and mountain of Glena, by far the most beautiful +scenes of Killarney. +</P> + +<P> +We took dinner on shore, seated on the soft, cool grass, under the +shade of arbutus-trees, and after a little stroll, returned over the +water to our hotel, but a very little wearied by our day of pleasure. +</P> + +<P> +Our first excursion the next morning was to the ruins of Muckross +Abbey, on a peninsula which divides the Lower Lake from Torc Lake. +</P> + +<P> +This is a beautiful, solemn old spot, and is very much venerated by the +Irish peasantry, not only as having been built and occupied by holy +priests and saints, but as the burial-place of many of the ancient +Princes of Desmond, the MacCartys-Mor, and the O'Donoghues. +</P> + +<P> +After leaving the Abbey, we commenced the ascent of Mangerton, a +mountain some 2,550 feet high. We were now all mounted on ponies, who +were very sagacious and sure-footed, and climbed the rocky, narrow path +like goats. We were followed every step of the way by a host of lads +and girls, carrying jugs and cups of milk and whisky, which they +offered to us at almost every moment. The greatest curiosity upon this +mountain is a little lake, near the summit, called, "The Devil's +Punch-Bowl." It is surrounded by almost perpendicular rocks; the water +is very dark, and is said to be unfathomable. Though so completely +shut in, it is never calm, and though icy cold in summer, it never +freezes in winter. +</P> + +<P> +From the summit, we had a vast, magnificent view, which, however, I +must confess, I enjoyed less than the wild, frolicking ride which I +took soon after, down the mountain, following closely upon the steps of +one of my friends, who, for mischief, went far out of the path, and +took his way over rocks and gullies, through bogs and briars. It was +great sport to us, but I am afraid my poor pony had some private +objections to it. +</P> + +<P> +We enjoyed another pic-nic dinner in Lord Kenmare's grounds, and +afterwards rowed to the lovely little island of Innisfallen, upon which +are some ruins of a famous old abbey, which is said to have been built +as early as the seventh century. +</P> + +<P> +From Innisfallen we went to Ross Castle—a very well-preserved ruin. +</P> + +<P> +In old times it was the stronghold of the war-like O'Donoghues. It was +besieged in 1652, by the forces of Cromwell, commanded by General +Ludlow, and though very strong and well provisioned, surrendered, with +scarcely an attempt at defence. The reason of this was that the +garrison was frightened at seeing the war ships which Ludlow brought +against them—as, long before, some old priest or wizard had made a +prophecy that when such vessels should appear on the lake, all would be +up with the castle. So superstition makes cowards of the bravest men. +</P> + +<P> +There is a very curious and absurd legend which the peasants relate +about the last O'Donoghue; and they really seem to believe what they +are telling. Some say that when Ludlow marched his men into his +castle, the O'Donoghue, driven to despair, leaped from one of the +windows into the lake,—that he was not drowned, but turned into a sort +of merman under the waves, and has lived there ever since, with the +friendly water-spirits, and his family and many of his friends who have +followed him. They say he has a splendid sub-marine palace, and dogs +and horses, and harpers and fiddlers, good whisky punch, and potatoes +that are never touched with the rot—fairs and dances, and weddings and +wakes, and now and then a fight—in short, every thing that can make a +real old-fashioned Irishman feel at home and comfortable. The wakes +and fights are only make-believes, "for divarshin," they say; for the +people down there cannot die—cannot even be wounded, or hurt in any +way. +</P> + +<P> +Others say that the O'Donoghue under the lake is a more ancient +prince—an enchanter, who for some act of impiety, got enchanted in his +turn and was condemned to dwell under the water, and is only allowed to +come to the surface once a year—on the first morning in May, when he +rides over the lake in grand style, clad in silver armor, with snowy +plumes in his casque, mounted on a white steed, splendidly caparisoned. +Before him go beautiful water-spirits, scattering flowers—all running +and dancing on the water, without the slightest difficulty. It is said +the enchantment of the O'Donoghue will last until the silver shoes of +his horse are worn off by the friction of the waves. +</P> + +<P> +There are many yet living at Killarney, who solemnly declare that they +have seen the chieftain on his May-morning ride. But these, if honest +persons, have doubtless been deceived by singular appearances in the +atmosphere, called optical illusions, or mirages. +</P> + +<P> +Many other legends are told by the peasants and guides. All are +strange and improbable, but some are very amusing, and some, I think, +quite poetic and beautiful. +</P> + +<P> +One is about a holy man of Muckross, who fell into some great sin, and +repenting of it, waded into the lake, and stuck a holly-stick into the +bottom, and said he would not leave the spot till it should throw out +leaves and branches. So he did penance for seven years, and then the +stick suddenly leaved out and blossomed, and became a great tree, by +which the good man knew that he was pardoned. We may take a lesson +from this. If we do wrong, and try to atone for it, in the best way we +know how, it may seem a hopeless work; but if we wait patiently and +pray, we shall surely see, at last, God's love and blessing blossoming +before us like the holly-stick, and overshadowing us like the great +tree. +</P> + +<P> +There is another legend about an ancient Abbot of Innisfallen, which is +sweet and touching, though I do not see that it has any moral. This +good man was at his prayers one morning, very early, when he heard a +little bird singing so melodiously out among the trees, that he got up +from his knees and followed it. The bird flew from tree to tree, and +still he walked after, for its music was so delicious he could not tire +of it. He thought in his heart that he could listen to it forever, and +he came very near doing that same, for the bird was an enchanted +singer, and so bewitched the priest that he had no idea how the time +went by. At last, he thought that it was about the hour for +vespers—so he gave his blessing to the little bird, and went back into +the abbey. But, when he entered, he was astonished to see only strange +faces and to hear a strange tongue, which was the English, in place of +the Irish. There were monks about, who asked him who he was, and where +he came from. He told them his name, and that he was their Abbot. He +had gone out, he said, in the morning to hear a little bird sing, and +somehow it had kept him following it about the island ever since. Then +they told him that no less than <I>two hundred years</I> had passed since he +went out to hear that singing, and that he had never been seen +since—for being enchanted, he had been invisible. Then the old monk +cried out—"Give me absolution, some of you, for my time is come!" +They gave him absolution, and he died in peace; but just as he was +passing away, there came to the holly-tree, before the window, a little +white bird, and sat and sung the sweetest song ever heard; and when the +soul left the body of the old Abbot, another white bird appeared, and +the two sang together very joyfully for awhile, in the holly tree, and +then flew out into the sunshine, and up into the blue heaven, away! +</P> + +<BR> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +KATHLEEN OF KILLARNEY. +</H4> + +<P> +Not many years ago there lived at Glena, the loveliest spot in all +Killarney, a small farmer, by the name of Mickey, or Michael More, his +wife, and one daughter. Though Mickey was a poor, hard-working man, he +boasted that he was descended from a regular Irish chieftain, the great +MacCarty-Mor, and held his head up accordingly. But his wife, Bridget +O'Dogherty, that was—used sometimes to put him down a little, by +boasting that her great ancestor of all, was "a mighty king, or +monarch, that ruled over the biggest part of Ireland, shortly after the +flood,—long before the MacCartys-Mor were ever heard of. Why man, it +took all the lakes of Killarney to water his cattle—and the bog of +Allen was only his potato-patch." +</P> + +<P> +In truth, Mrs. More was but a silly, ignorant woman, and her husband +was not much better, though he thought himself infinitely more clever +and sensible. In one thing, however, this couple were perfectly +agreed: it was in thinking their daughter, Kathleen, the most beautiful +and bewitching creature that the sun ever shone upon. They were so +foolishly proud of her that they resolved and declared that no one +short of a lord, or a rich baronet should ever marry her—that she +should become "my lady" somebody, or remain Kathleen More, to the day +of her death. They were strengthened in this resolution by a famous +fortune-teller, who foretold that Kathleen would become a grand +lady—live in a castle, ride in a coach, and have jewels and fine +dresses, ponies, pages, parrots, and poodle-dogs to her heart's content. +</P> + +<P> +So they kept as keen a watch over her as though she had been a royal +princess, whose marriage was a great affair of state. They would +hardly allow her to speak to the young people of her own rank, but were +always telling her to hold her head high, and remember that she was "a +mate for their betters." +</P> + +<P> +Of course, this ambition and pretension excited some ill feeling at +Killarney, and laughter and ridicule without end. But Kathleen was +truly a very beautiful young girl—so beautiful that her fame spread +far and wide, and toasts were made and songs were written in her +praise. Visitors to the Lakes used to inquire after her, and sometimes +hire their boatmen to land them near her father's cottage, so that they +might, by chance, catch a glimpse of "the Beauty of Glena." But +Kathleen was a good and sensible girl, and, strange to say, was not +spoiled by the constant flattery of her parents, and the evident +admiration of all who beheld her. She knew that she was very +beautiful,—every glance into the clear waters of the lake showed her +what sweet blue eyes, what lustrous black locks, what rosy, dimpled +cheeks were hers,—showed her that no lily could be fairer than her +brow, her neck, and her lovely taper [Transcriber's note: tapered, +tapering?] arms. Yet she knew also that this beauty was hers by no +merit, or power of her own; that it was the gift of the good God, +bestowed in kindness, though it brought her little happiness, poor +girl. Watched and guarded like a nun, she had few friends and little +pleasure, and often envied the humblest village maids and +farm-servants, as she saw them, strolling along the lake shore, with +their brothers and friends, on summer evenings, when their work was +done—or sometimes rowing over the lake, their plain brown faces +lighted up with innocent enjoyment, and their gay songs and happy +laughter ringing out over the water. +</P> + +<P> +There was one young man, braver or more persevering than most of +Kathleen's untitled admirers, who would not be frowned off by her +ambitious parents;—perhaps because he was encouraged by the kind +smiles of the beautiful girl herself. This was a young tradesman, +named Barry O'Donoghue—a fine, manly fellow, industrious, intelligent, +and though not rich, in better circumstances than most young men of the +parish. But when "bold Barry O'Donoghue," as he was called, proposed +to Michael More for the hand of his daughter, he received as stern and +scornful a "No, young man," as any who had been before him. Barry had +a proud as well as a loving heart, and felt the slight and +disappointment so keenly that he left his home at once, and sailed for +Australia, to seek his fortune in that rich, but then almost unknown +land. People laughed, and said that Mickey and Biddy More were keeping +their daughter for "<I>the</I> O'Donoghue"—expecting him to come for her, +some May-day morning, in grand style, riding over the waves on his +silver-shining steed, to carry her off to his palace under the lake. +But when it was seen how poor Kathleen took Barry's going to heart, few +were so unfeeling as to laugh. She never had been as merry as most +young girls, and now she grew sad and silent and very weary-looking. +She did not complain, but her eyes seemed heavy with the tears she +would not shed, and the roses went fading and fading out of her cheeks, +till her father became alarmed, and would bid her eat more, and spin +less—to get up early in the morning and drink new milk, "with a drop +of mountain-dew in it." ("Mountain-dew," I must tell you, is an Irish +name for whisky.) "Ah darling," her mother would say, "if you don't +howld on to your beauty, what'll his lordship say, when he comes after +you? Sure, he'll consider himself imposed upon." +</P> + +<P> +"But mother, dear," Kathleen would reply, "I don't want any lord—I'll +just stay with father and you, always as I am." +</P> + +<P> +"Hush now, you simple child! It's just flying in the face of +Providince, you are—your fortune has all been foretowld this many a +year, and you've only to submit to it—though you don't desarve it." +</P> + +<P> +Well, one May-day morning, when Barry O'Donoghue had been gone somewhat +over a year, Kathleen More went out as usual, to take her early walk; +but did not come back again. All day long they searched, far and near, +but without obtaining any trace or tidings of her; but just at night, a +note was found at the door of Michael's cottage, which ran thus:— +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +"I have taken away your daughter, and married her, before a priest. Be +easy about her. She is happy, and sends her dutiful respects. <BR> +<I>The O'Donoghue</I>." +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +"Ochone!" cried Bridget More, "the Phantom Prince has come and gone off +wid our darling Kathleen. I always towld you that trouble would come +of them early walks;—and how do you feel, Mickey More, to have gone +and made yourself father-in-law to a merman—a wicked water-wizard? +Answer me that!" +</P> + +<P> +"Hush now, Biddy," said Michael, "it's not the O'Donoghue at all. It's +the great lord we've been waiting for so long, trying to make believe +he is the Phantom Prince. Maybe, for reasons of state, he don't like +to reveal himself; and maybe," he added, with a sly laugh, "he don't +care to make the acquaintance of his talkative mother-in-law." +</P> + +<P> +Mrs. More was very indignant at this supposition, and persisted in +believing that the O'Donoghue, and no one else, had carried off and +married her daughter,—and as time went by and brought, always in some +mysterious way, good news, and now and then a handsome present, from +Kathleen, she became reconciled to her marriage, and even proud of it. +In her talks with her cronies, she would often speak of "her ladyship, +my daughter Kathleen,"—or "my daughter, the Princess O'Donoghue." +This greatly amused some of her neighbors, and they used to question +and quiz her without mercy. +</P> + +<P> +"And why don't you go and visit your daughter, Mistress More?" asked +one—"Sure they invite you." +</P> + +<P> +"Why, you see, Mistress Hallaghan," replied the cunning Bridget, "it's +all on account of my rhumatiz—I'm thinking that the climate down there +wouldn't agree with me." +</P> + +<P> +But Mrs. More grew yet prouder and more important than ever, when there +came another letter from the O'Donoghue, bringing the good news that +she was grandmother to a fine little boy. Such grand calculations as +she laid on this event. "Who knows," she said, "but that the heir will +break up the long enchantment and grow up a good Christian, and come +back and take possession of Ross Castle, and we'll be ruled by a rale +Irish Prince once more." +</P> + +<P> +At all these foolish anticipations Michael only laughed contemptuously; +but as his efforts to find out any thing about his daughter and her +husband had all failed, it was thought that he finally more than half +believed in the O'Donoghue story himself, though he never owned that he +did. +</P> + +<P> +May-day morning had come round again. It was three years since +Kathleen More was carried off, and as usual, on that day, her father +and mother awoke very early, for it was a sad anniversary for them. +</P> + +<P> +"Troth!" exclaimed Michael, "and it was a queer drame I had last night." +</P> + +<P> +"Ah then, avick, tell me it!" cried his wife, who was particularly +curious and superstitious about dreams. +</P> + +<P> +"Well, then, I dramed that I paid a visit to the O'Donoghue; in his +grand palace under the lake. I received my invitation by being upset +in my boat, and pulled downwards by a big merman, who never let go of +my coat-tails till he landed me at the palace gate. +</P> + +<P> +"The O'Donoghue himself met me in the hall. 'Welcome, Mr. +MacCarty-Mor,' (mind that, MacCarty-Mor!) said he—'welcome kindly! +Sure it's delighted I am to see you—and you are just in time for +dinner.' With that a sarvent began sounding a big conch-shell, a great +door was flung open, and the next thing, I found myself in an ilegant +room, sitting down to dinner with a mighty genteel looking company." +</P> + +<P> +"Arrah! and was our Kathleen amongst them?" asked Mrs. More. +</P> + +<P> +"Of course she was—sitting at the O'Donoghue's right hand, all silks +and gold, and heaps of pearls in her hair. She kissed her hand to me, +very politely, which was the most she could do, being a Princess, so +grandly dressed, and meself in my old grey coat and patched corduroys." +</P> + +<P> +"And did she look natural?—the darling!" +</P> + +<P> +"A trifle paler and prouder—but pretty much the same as ever, Biddy." +</P> + +<P> +"And who else did you see, Mickey?" +</P> + +<P> +"Oh hosts of the quality. First there was Fin MacCual, and Brian Boro, +and old King Cormac and the O'Tooles—with their crowns on, and the +O'Neills, and the O'Connors, and the O'Meaghers, and the O'Malleys, and +the O'Doghertys, and the O'Briens, and no end of O'Donoghues,—and the +Dermods, and Desmonds, and my ancestor, the great MacCarty-Mor himself." +</P> + +<P> +"And what was your dinner, Mickey?" +</P> + +<P> +"Why, principally oysters, and lobsters, and turtles, sarved up in +their shells—and plenty of good potheen to drink. The trouble of it +was, every thing was cowld, for you see they had no fire down there; +and candles wouldn't burn, by raison of the dampness,—so we went to +bed by moonlight, and slept on pillows of soft sand, between two sheets +of water." +</P> + +<P> +"Ah, Mickey!" cried out Mrs. Bridget, in alarm, "why didn't you excuse +yourself, and come home before bed-time, for you know you always take +cowld from sleeping in damp sheets." +</P> + +<P> +Michael burst into a laugh at this—"Why Biddy, woman," said he,—"sure +you forget it's all a drame." +</P> + +<P> +"Arrah, and so it is," replied his wife, sadly, "and we know no more +about our poor Kathleen than we did the day she was spirited away. Ah, +Mickey dear, I often think that if I had her back, in my ould arms +again, I'd have no more such high notions for her, and I'd niver cross +her in any way." +</P> + +<P> +Michael said nothing, but sighed heavily, and turned his face toward +the wall. +</P> + +<P> +A short time after this conversation, while Michael More was stirring +up the peat fire in the little kitchen, to boil the potatoes for +breakfast, and his wife was milking the cow, just outside the door, he +was startled by her calling put to him, in a tone of joyful +excitement—"Mickey, oh, Mickey! they're coming!" +</P> + +<P> +"Who are coming?" cried he, rushing to the door. +</P> + +<P> +"The O'Donoghue and our Kathleen. Don't you see them? Sure it's the +morning for them—only they are in a boat, instead of on horseback. +Hark, don't you hear the fairy music? and that's our Kathleen's voice +calling!" +</P> + +<P> +"Faith, you are right, for once," replied Michael, running with her +down to the shore. Yes, a boat came dancing over the bright waters of +the bay; containing a tall young man, quite proud, and happy looking +enough for a Prince, though not dressed in silver armor,—and a very +beautiful lady, holding a child in her arms. The "fairy music" was +made by the bugle of old Stephen Spillane, the Killarney guide. +</P> + +<P> +In a few moments, there leaped to land, not the enchanted Irish +chieftain, but a better man, Barry O'Donoghue, who had as good a right +to call himself "<I>the</I> O'Donoghue" as any other member of that numerous +family. Then he handed out his wife, Kathleen, who three years before +he had been obliged to steal away from her unkind and foolish +parents,—and little Master Harry O'Donoghue, a handsome, curly-headed +little rogue, who jumped at once with a merry laugh, into the arms and +into the hearts of his grandparents. +</P> + +<P> +After a great deal of embracing and kissing, Barry said, in reply to a +host of wondering exclamations and questions: "We have come back from +Australia, where we were getting rich, because Kathleen could not be +longer away from home and you. We have brought a little fortune with +us, and mean to settle down here in dear old Killarney, if you will be +reconciled to us, and take us for neighbors." +</P> + +<P> +"And if you will forgive me, for not coming back to you a great lady," +said Kathleen, smiling. +</P> + +<P> +"Don't say any more about that," said Michael More, embracing her for +the twentieth time,—"We are glad enough to have you back just your old +self, and it's quite content we are with your husband and the boy—and +bad luck to all fortune-tellers! say I." +</P> + +<P> +With that, old Stephen blew an applauding farewell note on his bugle, +and the Mores and O'Donoghues all went into the cottage, where we will +leave them. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap11"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Limerick. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +LITTLE ANDY AND HIS GRANDFATHER. +</H3> + +<IMG CLASS="imgleft" SRC="images/img-233.jpg" ALT="dropcap-w" BORDER="0" WIDTH="314" HEIGHT="379"> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +We travelled from Killarney to Tarbert, on the Shannon, by the +stage-coach, passing through several old, but uninteresting towns, and +seeing a great deal of barrenness and wretchedness on our way. At +Tarbert, we took a steamer, to ascend the river to Limerick, and as the +weather that afternoon was clear and bright, we had one of the most +delightful trips you can imagine. +</P> + +<P> +The Shannon is a very noble river—in some places widening out like a +sea, and all the way running between beautiful green shores. There is +a place in the river, near the mouth, which has somewhat the appearance +of rapids, when the tide is coming in. This, the people say, is the +site of a sunken city, whose towers and turrets make the roughness of +the water. The whole city can be seen every seven years, but, as the +sight is said to be unlucky, every body avoids it. The whole story is +about as probable as the one I have told you of the damp and dubious +palace of the O'Donoghue. +</P> + +<P> +Limerick is a pleasant and prosperous city, and has a very honorable +name in Irish history. The most interesting object that it contains is +the Castle, which was built by King John, and has stood for more than +six hundred years. In 1651, Limerick sustained a terrible siege, by +the Parliamentary forces, under General Ireton, the son-in-law of +Cromwell. It held out for six months, and would not have surrendered +then, though the inhabitants were dying of starvation and plague, had +it not been for the treachery of an officer of the garrison—one +Colonel Fennel. Among the most faithful and heroic of the city's +defenders, was a priest—Terence Albert O'Brien, Bishop of Emly. He +was so active and influential that Ireton made him an offer of forty +thousand pounds, (two hundred thousand dollars,) and a free pass to the +Continent, if he would cease his exhortations, and advise immediate +surrender. He scorned the offer, and so when the city at last fell +into the hands of the English, he was tried and condemned to death. He +was calm and heroic to the last; but before he was beheaded, he +addressed a few solemn, warning words to Ireton, which made the stern +soldier's blood curdle. He accused him of cruel injustice, and +summoned him to appear before the tribunal of God within a few days. +It is a singular fact that in a little more than a week from that time, +Ireton died of the plague. +</P> + +<P> +Limerick was again besieged in 1690, by William III. It was defended +by the Irish Catholic adherents of James II. and their French allies, +and so well defended, that the King and his army beat a retreat in less +than a month. However, they made another trial the next year and with +a little better success, for after a six months' siege, the garrison +capitulated. A treaty was signed between the two armies, in which it +was stipulated that Limerick and the other Irish fortresses should +surrender to the new King—that the garrisons should be allowed to +march out with all the honors of war, and that they should be provided +with shipping to carry them to any country they should please to go to. +Then there were several other articles very favorable to the rights and +liberties of the Roman Catholics. To the shame of the English +government of that day, it must be said that this compact was most +dishonorably broken, and through that reign and many succeeding, the +Irish Catholics were greatly wronged and meanly persecuted. From this +circumstance, Limerick has always been called "The City of the Violated +Treaty"—at least, until the year 1847, when, one evening, a famous +tea-party given to the rebel leader, Smith O'Brien, was broken up by a +mob—on which occasion, Mr. Punch made a little change in the old +title, and called it "The City of the Violated <I>Tea-tray</I>." +</P> + +<P> +The Cathedral of St. Mary's is a large, gloomy-looking building, with a +very high tower, from which one can get a magnificent view of the +surrounding country. In this tower is a very melodious chime of bells, +about which there is told a pretty and touching story, which I do not +doubt is true. +</P> + +<P> +Once there lived in Italy a skilful young artisan, who was celebrated +for founding bells. No founder in all Europe could equal him—no +chimes in all the world were so grand and sweet-sounding as his. At +last, he made a chime for a convent, which proved to be finer than any +he had cast before. He had spent years upon them; they were his great +work; he was very proud of them; he even seemed to have fallen in love +with them, for he could not live out of the sound of their melodious +ringing. So he purchased a little villa, in a lovely seaside nook, +beneath the lofty cliff on which the convent stood, and every night and +morning he had the happiness of hearing the solemn silver chiming of +his own dear bells, which, when sounding at that height, it almost +seemed to him God had taken and hung in the clouds, to call him and his +children to prayer and to heaven. +</P> + +<P> +But after a few bright, peaceful years, there came a dark, troubled +time of war and pillage. The good Italian lost all in the terrible +struggle—home, family—even his beloved bells—for the convent on the +cliff was destroyed, and they were carried away to some distant land. +At last, he was released from a miserable dungeon, to find himself old, +infirm, poor, and alone in the wide world. Then a great longing came +to him, and grew and grew at his lonely heart, to hear his bells once +more before he should die. So he became a wanderer over Europe, +searching for them every where. He would be told of wonderful chimes +in this and that city, and go many weary leagues to hear them; but as +soon as they sounded on his ear, he would sadly shake his head, his +eyes would fill with tears, and he would turn to go on his way. +</P> + +<P> +When, at length, he heard of the sweet bells of Limerick, he was very +old and feeble, but he set out at once on what he knew must be his last +pilgrimage. The vessel on which he sailed went up the Shannon, and +anchored opposite the city. The old Italian took a boat to go on +shore, at the close of a calm and beautiful day. He was very weak and +ill, and reclined in the stern of the boat, looking longingly toward +St. Mary's Cathedral. Suddenly, from the tall tower, rang softly out +the vesper chime. The Italian started up joyfully at the sound. Then +he crossed himself, looked upward, and murmured—"I thank thee, blessed +mother of Jesus! <I>I hear my bells at last!</I>" Then he sank back, and +closed his eyes and listened. The men rested on their oars, and all +was still, except that sweet, solemn ringing. The Italian seemed to +hear in his bells more than their old melody—all the music of his +happy home—the deep murmur of the sea below the convent cliff—the +sighing of the winds in the cypress and olive trees—and sweeter and +dearer than all, the voices of his wife and children. <I>They</I> seemed to +be softly calling his pious soul to leave the trouble and weariness of +earth for the blessedness and rest of God. And his soul obeyed the +call,—for, when the bells ceased their ringing, and the boatmen rowed +to land, they found that the aged stranger was dead. +</P> + +<P> +About six miles above Limerick are the Rapids of the Shannon, usually +called the Falls of Doonas. These can be part way descended in long, +narrow skiffs, constructed for the purpose, but the feat is a very +hazardous one. I went down, with a friend and two brave boatmen, but +though I enjoyed the adventure, I would not advise any one to follow my +example. +</P> + +<P> +Not far from Limerick are the ruins of Mungret Priory, said to have +been founded by St. Patrick, and which once contained no less than one +thousand five hundred monks. +</P> + +<P> +"As wise as the women of Mungret," is a saying among the Irish, which +had its rise, according to tradition, in this way:— +</P> + +<P> +The monks of Cashel having heard great stories of the learning of those +of Mungret, resolved to send a deputation to them, to settle the point +as to which college possessed the finest scholars in the dead +languages. Now the monks of Mungret enjoyed a better reputation for +such learning than they deserved,—being rather more fond of good +living than hard study,—so they were mortally afraid of being beaten +in the contest, and losing their good name forever. But they hit upon +a very ingenious plan of escape from their embarrassment. They dressed +up a number of their best scholars—some as women and some as +peasants—and placed them along the road by which their rivals must +travel. As the deputation came on, they naturally asked the way to +Mungret, and put other questions to the persons they met, and to their +great astonishment, every question was answered in Greek or Latin. At +last, they came to a halt, held a consultation, and prudently resolved +to go back to Cashel, as they could not hope to win any honor in a +controversy with a priory of monks who had so filled all the country +around with learning, that even the women and workmen spoke the dead +languages fluently. +</P> + +<P> +We saw a great deal of poverty, squalor, and idleness, in Limerick, but +also much honest industry. We visited the lace and glove +manufactories, where many poor girls earn not only their own living, +but often that of their families. +</P> + +<P> +The peasantry in this county seemed sober and quiet people, but, as in +other parts of Ireland, they are mostly ignorant and superstitious. +They are workers in the bogs, or day-laborers, and all think themselves +very fortunate if they can obtain employment at wages which will keep +them and their children from starvation. Beggary is very common +everywhere, and is not considered a disgrace, except by the better +order of people. +</P> + +<P> +There is in Ireland a class of small farmers, who live very respectably +and comfortably, though they can never hope to get very much +beforehand, as they do not own their farms, are obliged to pay many +taxes, and the more valuable they make the land, by their industry, the +higher is the rent. +</P> + +<P> +I have heard a pretty little story about one of these farmer-families, +with which I will close this chapter. +</P> + +<BR> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +LITTLE ANDY AND HIS GRANDFATHER. +</H4> + +<P> +In the county of Waterford once lived an honest old farmer, by the name +of Walsh. His wife died young, and left him one only child—a son, of +whom he was very proud. And Patrick Walsh was worthy of a great deal +of affection and respect; for he was a fine, amiable, industrious young +man. +</P> + +<P> +Unfortunately, Patrick fell in love with a proud, handsome young woman, +the daughter of a well-to-do farmer in the neighborhood, and finally +persuaded her to marry him, though she gave him to understand pretty +plainly that she thought she was condescending not a little in doing so. +</P> + +<P> +Why, the Mullowneys (she was a Mullowney) actually had three rooms in +their cabin, and kept a horse, two cows, a goat, and a good-sized +donkey! And then, they had relations who were very well off in the +world—in particular, some fourth cousins, who kept a draper's shop in +Waterford, who, though they never visited the country Mullowneys, +couldn't help being an honor to the family. So it was little wonder +that "Peggy Mullowney Walsh," as she always insisted on being called, +held her pretty nose rather high, and curled her red lip a little +scornfully, as she stepped into the neat, but humble cabin of her +handsome young husband. Old Mr. Walsh felt for Patrick, and in order +to make his fortune equal the goods and the honors which his wife had +brought him, he made over to him the farm and all his possessions, and +left himself a pennyless dependent upon his son and daughter-in-law. +</P> + +<P> +All went well for a few years, for Patrick honored and loved his +father, and did all that he could to make him happy and comfortable. +But I am sorry to say that Mrs. Peggy never was very kind to him. With +her high notions, she rather looked down upon him than felt grateful to +him for being simple enough to give up all his property to his son. +Then she was selfish and violent tempered, and did not like "the bother +of an ould body like him about the cabin." Still, she bore with him, +for he made himself quite useful, mostly in taking care of the +children, especially of the oldest boy, Andy. This child was all the +comfort the old grandfather had. <I>He</I> was always gentle and loving to +him, and made him as little trouble as possible. Sometimes, when the +poor old man was lying awake at night, grieving over the hard, scornful +treatment of his proud daughter-in-law, and praying God to take him to +a home of peace and love, where he would never be "in the way" any +more, little Andy would hear his low sobs, and go to him, creep close +to his desolate old heart, and whisper— +</P> + +<P> +"Don't cry, gran'daddy—I love you wid all my heart, <I>avourneen</I>." +</P> + +<P> +But the older and more feeble her father-in-law grew, the more unkindly +Mrs. Peggy treated him, till she made the cabin such a scene of +constant storm and confusion that everybody in it was wretched. At +last, old Mr. Walsh came to a resolution to put an end to all this +trouble. He would take to the road—that is, go a-begging. "The Lord +will take care of me," he said: "He who feeds the sparrows will put it +into the hearts of good Christians to give me all that I need." +</P> + +<P> +Of course, Patrick was sad at the thought of his old father becoming a +mendicant; but he was a peaceable man and ruled by his wife; he was +tired of her scolding and complaints, and so, at last, consented. +</P> + +<P> +As for Mrs. Peggy, she was very glad; she thought it was the best thing +the "ould body" could do, and set about making a beggar's bag for him +at once. He was to start the next morning. +</P> + +<P> +Little Andy heard all the talk, but did not say any thing. He sat in a +corner, busily at work, sewing up his bib. +</P> + +<P> +"What's that yer doing, Andy, darling?" said his father. +</P> + +<P> +The child looked up at him sadly and reproachfully, and +answered,—"<I>Making a bag for you to go beg—when you're as old as +gran'daddy</I>." +</P> + +<P> +Patrick Walsh burst into tears, flung his arms around his old father's +neck, and begged his forgiveness. And even the proud Peggy was so +affected that she fell upon her knees and asked pardon of God, of her +husband and his father, for her undutiful conduct. For his part, the +good old man forgave her at once. I need hardly say that he never went +on the road; for, from that hour, Peggy was a better and gentler woman, +and tried hard to make her house a happy home for her father-in-law, +and so, for all her family. To be sure, her besetting sins—pride and +temper—would break out once in a while, but God was stronger than +either; she prayed to Him, and He gave her strength to get the better +of them at last. +</P> + +<P> +Grandfather Walsh lived in comfort and content several years, and on +his peaceful death-bed, blessed his son and daughter, and their +children, very solemnly and lovingly. When all thought that he was +gone, little Andy, who had been very quiet till then, began to cry +aloud. The good old man, whose soul was just at the gates of heaven, +heard him, opened his eyes, reached out his hand, and blessed his +darling once more. Then he died. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap12"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Wicklow. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +TIM O'DALY AND THE CLERICAUNE +</H3> + +<IMG CLASS="imgleft" SRC="images/img-251.jpg" ALT="dropcap-a" BORDER="0" WIDTH="318" HEIGHT="376"> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +After leaving Limerick, we returned to Dublin, and there took a +carriage, for a little tour in the neighboring county of Wicklow. +</P> + +<P> +Wicklow has been called "The Garden of Ireland," for the beauty of its +scenery and the high cultivation of a large portion of its lands. It +is full of romantic valleys and streams, lakes, glens, and +waterfalls—varied by rugged, untamable wilds, and bleak, barren +mountains. +</P> + +<P> +We first visited "the Dargle," or Glenislorane River, upon Lord +Powerscourt's domain. This would be thought "a small specimen" of a +river with us, as, except when the waters are swollen with a freshet, +it is but a narrow and shallow mountain stream. But in Ireland it +passes at such times for a mighty torrent, and at all times is greatly +admired and respected. +</P> + +<P> +It runs very rapidly, with bright sparkles and pleasant murmurs, down a +deep rocky ravine, whose jagged sides are overgrown with moss and +ferns, and overhung with luxuriant foliage. +</P> + +<P> +A path leads up the glen to the waterfall. This is considered by the +people here a sublime and magnificent cataract, and it is very fine in +its way, and abundantly makes up in beauty for what it lacks in +awfulness; it is a charming thing to look at, and listen to, and ramble +about; and though it does not thunder and plunge and roar, like +Niagara, it glads the hearts of all who behold it—it manufactures +quite as radiant bows in the sunshine, and makes soft, musical, lulling +sounds enough to soothe all the peevish and restless children in the +world to sleep. +</P> + +<P> +The entire descent at this fall is said to be about three hundred feet; +but it is only when the stream has been reinforced and encouraged by +heavy winter rains, that it takes the whole great jump at once. +</P> + +<P> +The next stopping-place of much interest was Glendalough, which means, +"The Glen of the Two Lakes." This is usually called "The Valley of the +Seven Churches;" for here, in a very small space, are the ruins of that +number of rude little churches, and several other edifices, most of +them said to have been built as early as the sixth century, by St. +Keven. +</P> + +<P> +The place reminds one of "The Valley of the Shadow of Death," in +"Pilgrim's Progress," and it is hard to believe that any thing like a +"city" ever stood on so gloomy and desolate a spot. Yet history says +so; and it is certain the O'Tooles and MacTooles, for centuries kings +of all this region, lived here, or near here, in old-fashioned Irish +state, and were buried generation after generation of them in the +Church of Rhefeart. +</P> + +<P> +The two lakes are small and quiet; but the water seems very deep, and +is remarkably dark-colored. There is something really awful in the +look of the lower lake, which is shut in by steep black mountains. On +the side of one of these, Lugduff, about thirty feet above the water, +is a singular little cave, which looks as though it had been hewn from +the solid rock, and is called St. Keven's Bed. The legend about it is, +that when St. Keven was a handsome young man of twenty, he made up his +mind to be a priest, and a saint—so, gave up all thoughts of love and +marriage, and devoted himself to a life of loneliness, privation, and +penance. It unluckily happened that a certain noble young lady, named +Kathleen, (the last name has not come down to us—perhaps it was +O'Toole,) took a great fancy to him, and offered him her hand, with a +very respectable property. To her surprise and mortification, he not +only did not accept, but actually ran away from her. He went to +Glendalough, then a wilderness, and scooped out this little den in the +rock—a place very difficult of access, both from the mountain and the +lake. Here he hid, laughing to himself that he had outwitted Kathleen. +But, one morning, he was wakened by hearing his name called, very +softly, and opening his eyes, who should he see but Miss Kathleen, +standing at the opening of the little cave, and smiling at him—as much +as to say, "Ah, you rogue, you see you can't escape me." +</P> + +<P> +Shocked at the impropriety of her conduct, and provoked at being found +out, he put his feet against her, and kicked her into the lake! where, +I am sorry to say, she drowned in a very short time. In our day, there +would have been a hue and cry raised—a coroner's inquest—a great talk +in the newspapers—a trial—and, if the jury agreed, a hanging; but +there was nothing of the kind in that benighted time—nobody arrested +Keven, or punished him, and he went on his pious way in peace, building +churches and monasteries, and working miracles, or what passed for +such, till he got to be a very famous saint indeed. But my opinion is, +that it took more than the working of all the miracles assigned to him, +and the building of those miserable little edifices at Glendalough, to +atone for the drowning of that poor, foolish girl, Kathleen. +</P> + +<P> +Mr. and Mrs. S. C. Hall, in their admirable work On Ireland, give +several other anecdotes, told by their guide, Wynder, which illustrate +the saint's goodness of heart in rather an improbable way. "One day, +when he had retired to keep the forty days of Lent, in fasting, +meditation, and prayer, as he was holding his hand out of the window, a +blackbird came and laid her four eggs in it; and the saint, pitying the +bird, and unwilling to disturb her, never drew in his hand, but kept it +stretched out until she had brought forth her young, and they were +fully fledged and flew off with a chirping quartette of thanks to the +holy man, for his <I>convaynience</I>." Another is of "how he was once +going up Derrybawn, when he met a woman that carried five loaves in her +apron. 'What have you there, good woman?' said the saint. 'I have +five stones,' said she. 'If they are stones,' said he, 'I pray that +they may be bread; and if they are bread, I pray that they may be +stones.' So with that, the woman let them fall; and sure enough, +stones they were, and stones they are to this day." Our guide told us +this same anecdote, in a queer, half jesting, half believing way, and +pointed out the stones to us. I thought to myself that if they had not +been stones in the first place, they must have been very <I>heavy +bread</I>—too hard fare even for a saint. +</P> + +<P> +We clambered up the rock, and crawled into the cave, which we found all +carved and written over with names—among them a few of distinguished +persons, such as Thomas Moore, Maria Edgeworth, Mr. and Mrs. S. C. +Hall, and Walter Scott. +</P> + +<P> +After leaving Glendalough, we visited the "Sweet Vale of Avoca," which +the poet Moore has rendered famous by a song, called "The Meeting of +the Waters." +</P> + +<P> +It is a little green valley, in which meet two streams—the Avonmore +and the Avonbeg—a pretty place enough, but hardly coming up to Mr. +Moore's description. +</P> + +<P> +The next day we explored "The Devil's Glen," an exceedingly beautiful +place, for all its naughty name. It is somewhat like the Dargle, but +more wild and romantic. It also has its rugged hills, its stream, and +its waterfall—or its mountains, river, and cataract; as, being in a +foreign country, I suppose we should be polite enough to call them, +instead of letting ourselves be carried away by conceit in our +Mississippis and Niagaras, and being "stuck up" on our Alleghanies and +Mount Washingtons. +</P> + +<P> +Our last day in Wicklow was spent at the beautiful and romantic country +seat of Sir Philip Crampton, or Lough Bray, a wild, lonely little +mountain lake, whose shores are all black peat, or barren rock, except +where flourish the pleasant plantations and shrubberies of Sir Philip, +growing upon manufactured ground, and looking like the enchanted +gardens we read of in fairy tales. +</P> + +<P> +The Lough is a smooth dark sheet of water, so deep in the centre that +it cannot be sounded. There is a pretty pebbly beach at one end, and +all around the other shores the waves make a peculiar musical sound +against the precipitous rocks. It is a charming little lake for +boating, and in fine weather, Sir Philip Crampton always gives his +guests the pleasure of a trip in his pretty row-boat. There are great +numbers of duck and other water-fowl about the lake, which Sir Philip, +who is a kind, genial, delightful old gentleman, has tamed, by feeding +them with crumbs of bread, which he always carries about him when he +goes on the water. No sooner does he make his appearance, than his +winged pets are after him in flocks, all clamoring eagerly for their +"daily bread." +</P> + +<P> +Sir Philip Crampton told me that when his friend, Sir Walter Scott, was +at Lough Bray, on his last visit, a boat excursion was proposed. Sir +Walter had always been passionately fond of boating, and now his eye +brightened, and he smiled gladly at the thought of his favorite +amusement. But just as the party were about stepping into the boat, +Mrs. Scott, Sir Walter's young daughter-in-law, drew back, and declared +that she was afraid to go. Everybody urged her and reasoned with her, +but she could not be persuaded—she would not go—she would stay where +she was. Sir Walter did not seem at all vexed with her, though he +laughed at her childish fears, but insisted on staying with her; and as +the boat pushed off, he sat down on the shore beside her, and plucked +flowers for her hair, and tried his best to entertain her—the good, +kind great man! When the laughter and songs of his merry friends came +to him across the water, he would smile cheerily, and wave his hat to +them, and never once said how sorry he was not to be with them. I have +heard many noble things about Sir Walter Scott, but nothing that speaks +better for his generous, tender heart, than this little anecdote. +</P> + +<P> +I should like to describe further this strange and charming place, but +I fear I have no room for any more descriptions of scenery. I will now +try to give you some idea of the fairy lore and superstitions of this +part of Ireland. +</P> + +<P> +The fairies, or "good people," according to the belief of the peasants, +are not confined to any locality; they are all over the country, +wherever they can find pleasant, secluded nooks, flowers, and green +grass. Their meeting-places are said to be the "Raths," which are +singular artificial mounds, supposed to have been built by the Danes, +away back in the heathen ages. Fairies have the reputation of being in +general good-humored and kindly, though full of merry pranks and +frolicsome tricks; yet the peasants are very careful not to offend them +by intruding upon their haunts at night, or speaking disrespectfully of +their little mightinesses—for they say, "they have tempers of their +own, and not having a Christian <I>idication</I>, can't be blamed for not +behaving in a Christian-like fashion—poor <I>craturs</I>." +</P> + +<P> +The <I>Phooka</I> is said to be a half-wicked, half-mischievous spirit, who +takes the form of many strange animals, but oftenest assumes that of a +wild horse. His great object then, is to get a rider, and when he has +persuaded a poor fellow to mount him, he never lets him off till he has +treated him to a ride long and hard enough to last him his lifetime. +Over bogs and moors, ditches and walls, across streams, up and down +mountains, he gallops, leaps, and plunges, making the welkin ring with +his horrible horse-laugh, and snorting fire from his nostrils. +</P> + +<P> +There is a funny story told of one Jerry Deasy, who paid the Phooka +well for such a ride. The next night, he provided himself with a +"<I>shillalah</I>," or big stick, and put on a pair of sharp spurs, and when +the Phooka appeared, and invited him to take another little excursion, +he mounted, and so belabored the head and cut up the sides of the +beast, that he was quite subdued, and trotted home, with Jerry, to his +own cabin door. +</P> + +<P> +The "<I>Banshee</I>" is a gloomy, foreboding spirit, of rather aristocratic +tastes, as she is only attached to highly respectable old families. +She never appears but to announce some great misfortune, or the death +of a member of the household. She does this by howling and shrieking +in the night; and sometimes, they say, she is seen—a tall, pale woman, +in long white robes, with black hair flying in the wind. +</P> + +<P> +The most amusing of these supernatural creatures is the Leprehawn, or +Luriceen, or Clericaune, the brogue-maker of the "good people." This +fairy cobbler is said to have inexhaustible concealed treasure; and +sometimes, when he is busily at work, he is surprised and caught. Then +he can be made to give up his riches, if his captor keeps his eye fixed +on him all the time. But he is almost sure to divert attention, and +then is off like a flash. While we are on this subject, I will tell +you a little story. +</P> + +<BR> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +TIM O'DALY AND THE CLERICAUNE. +</H4> + +<P> +Tim O'Daly was an under-gamekeeper upon Lord Powerscourt's estate, and +lived in a nice comfortable cottage, near the Dargle. He had a tidy, +thrifty, good-tempered wife, and half a dozen fine, hearty boys and +girls—the eldest nearly young men and women. Tim, himself, was honest +and industrious, and very much trusted by his master, and yet he was +not a happy man. He was <I>discontented</I>, because he was poor, and +obliged to work for a living. He longed for wealth and ease—to see +his wife ride in her carriage, and to make his sons and daughters +gentlemen and ladies. In short, he thought that riches were all that +was needed to put the O'Dalys where they deserved to be in the world, +and make them great and happy. So much did he think of these things, +that he was always on the look-out for the <I>Clericaune</I>, determined, if +ever he should see him, to catch him, and make him deliver up his +treasure. +</P> + +<P> +One evening, as he was going home through the Dargle, he sat down on a +mossy stone, and fell to thinking of his hard lot, and wondering what +Providence had against the O'Dalys, that he had not been made a lord, +or at least, a rich squire. +</P> + +<P> +All at once, he heard the click, click, of the <I>Clericaune's</I> little +hammer on his lapstone! He rose softly—parted the bushes, and there +sat the wee brogue-maker, busily at work. +</P> + +<P> +The next moment, Tim had him fast in his fist, and fast he held him, +till the elf showed him where his treasure was hid. +</P> + +<P> +Then, after loading himself with gold and jewels, he set the fairy +free, and went home dancing and singing in a very strange and +indecorous way. The news and the treasure he brought set his sober +family wild with joy. They had a great feast and dance over it—all to +themselves, for they were grown too grand to associate with their poor +neighbors. +</P> + +<P> +Then Tim went and bought a castle, a real old castle, from an +impoverished lord—with fine furniture, pictures, horses, hounds, +plate, wines, whiskey, and a famous Banshee, who lived in an old +turret, especially built for her accommodation. +</P> + +<P> +Tim took his family to this castle, and set up a splendid style of +living. Nobody was troubled with work or care now, except in the +pursuit of pleasure; and yet, to poor Tim's astonishment, nobody was +happy. He was most miserable of all, for he found it hardest to get +used to rich clothes, rich food, authority, and idleness. His wife had +her carriage—but she was always driving about in it—never at home +with him. His daughters put on fine airs, with fine clothes, and +learned to despise their ignorant old father, His sons took to bad +company, drinking, rioting, and fox-chasing—and, as they did not know +much about riding, they were always getting tumbles, and breaking their +necks. His old friends were too humble to come near him in his +grandeur, and the gentry too proud to notice such a rough, vulgar +fellow, who had got rich in some sudden, suspicious way. He had hoped +that Lord Powerscourt, at least, would visit him, "for the sake of old +times, and out of neighborly feeling just,"—and Mrs. O'Daly counted +confidently on a "betther acquaintance with her Ladyship." "An' sure," +she said, "our young folk will be mighty thick directly, and what +should hinder the young lord from taking a fancy to our Peggy? Arrah! +they would make an ilegant match, by raison of his height an' her +shortness,—an' thin, haven't they hair of the same lively shade of +red?" +</P> + +<P> +But Lord Powerscourt, who had always been a kind and affable master, +seemed put upon the very tallest stilts of his dignity, when he met his +old servant now; and though he congratulated him on his good fortune, +never honored him with either a formal or friendly call—while Lady +Powerscourt and her daughters, who had often visited the cottage by the +Dargle, in times of sickness and trouble, were never seen driving up +the avenue of O'Daly Castle,—and as for the young lord, he went +abroad, about these days, and was lost to Miss Peggy O'Daly forever. +</P> + +<P> +Tim's new neighbors laughed at him for his pretensions, and the +blunders his family made in "aping their betters,"—his servants +imposed on him, and there was nothing but coldness, discord, and wicked +waste in his grand old castle, so unlike the humble, happy home of the +game-keeper. +</P> + +<P> +Even the Banshee, in whom he had felt so much pride, was no +consolation; for, being indignant that low-born peasants had dared to +take the place of the ancient and noble family she had so long +patronized, she did nothing but howl about the castle, every night of +her life. +</P> + +<P> +At length, things got to such a desperate pass, that Tim could endure +them no longer, but took the few fairy jewels and guineas that +remained, and went with them to the place where he had caught the +<I>Clericaune</I>. +</P> + +<P> +There he was again, and he looked up at Tim with a wicked twinkle in +his eye, for he knew, the rascal, what trouble unearned riches bring +upon one. Tim emptied his pockets of gold and precious stones, and +flung them at the little brogue-maker's head—crying out— +</P> + +<P> +"There, take back yer dirty treasure, and bad luck to you, you spalpeen +of a fairy, for decaying a Christian!" +</P> + +<P> +He threw with such force, that he flung himself off the stone—<I>and +that woke him!</I> +</P> + +<P> +Yes, the capture of the <I>Clericaune</I>, his wealth, his grand castle, and +all his trouble were <I>a dream</I>. He got up and looked about him, a +little bewildered at first, but soon recollected himself, and set out +for home, a wiser and happier man than when he entered the Dargle that +afternoon. +</P> + +<P> +It was late and supper was waiting for him. His good wife smiled when +he came in, and put by her sewing; his sons and daughters had all come +from their work or school, and greeted him affectionately. As he sat +down with them to their simple evening meal of bread, milk, and +potatoes, they noticed that he said grace with unusual fervor, and then +looked round upon them all with tears in his eyes. +</P> + +<P> +His home was as humble as ever—but somehow, it had grown beautiful to +him, for the sunshine of <I>contentment</I> was over every thing. His wife +was as far from riding in her carriage, and his boys and girls from +being gentlemen and ladies, as ever; but he loved them and was proud of +them for their goodness and honesty, and he felt that God had done +better for them than he could do, with all the riches in the world. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap13"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Antrim—The Giant's Causeway. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE POOR SCHOOLMASTER. +</H3> + +<IMG CLASS="imgleft" SRC="images/img-271.jpg" ALT="dropcap-t" BORDER="0" WIDTH="316" HEIGHT="373"> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +The county of Antrim is not only one of the most picturesque, but most +prosperous in all Ireland. It is also remarkable for being entirely +surrounded by water—by the ocean, Lough Neagh, and the rivers Bann and +Lagan. In this county vast quantities of flax are raised and +manufactured into linen—-chiefly at Belfast, the handsomest and most +important commercial town in the north of Ireland. +</P> + +<P> +Belfast is particularly dear to me as a place where I spent many +pleasant days, with some warm-hearted Irish friends, whose constant +kindness and affectionate care made me feel as though my long voyage +across the stormy sea was only a troubled dream, and that I was still +at home, surrounded by the dear ones I had loved and clung to always. +</P> + +<P> +In sight of this town is a large hill, which is remarkable for +presenting at a particular point of view, a most gigantic likeness to +the first Napoleon. Certain swells and ledges of the summit form the +great profile very distinctly. He seems to be lying on his back, +asleep, or in a meditative mood, and the face has such a dejected, +melancholy look that one might suppose the likeness had been taken when +the Emperor was a prisoner at St. Helena. There was one of the +Bonapartes at Belfast, at the time I was there—attending the meeting +of the British Association, a celebrated scientific society. This was +Lucien, Prince of Canino, a grand-nephew of the Emperor. He recognized +the likeness in the great rocky profile, when it was pointed out to +him, and professed to be a good deal affected by it, and many people +saw a strong family likeness between him and the old hill. This +Bonaparte, unlike most princes, is fond of learning and science—is +what is called a <I>savant</I>—but unlike most <I>savants</I>, he is stout and +jovial-looking, and extremely fond of children, which is the best thing +I can say for him. +</P> + +<P> +Near Belfast is a famous "Druidical circle," or a large amphitheatre, +enclosed by high mounds of earth, where the ancient Druids used to meet +for their heathen worship. As we stood in that great circle, beside a +rude altar of stones, it made us shudder to think that hundreds of +human beings had probably been cruelly sacrificed there as offerings to +the gods of the Druids. What a happy, blessed thing it is to know that +such dreadful crimes can never again be committed here, under the name +of religion. +</P> + +<P> +I should like to tell you about some of the admirable charitable +institutions of Belfast—in which I became interested—and describe +some of the beautiful scenery of the neighborhood, but I have so many +things and places to speak of in this chapter, that I must not allow +myself to linger longer here. +</P> + +<P> +While at Belfast, we made a delightful excursion to Shane's Castle, the +seat of Lord O'Neil. +</P> + +<P> +The O'Neils were for many centuries kings of Ulster, and were a very +proud and warlike race. There is a curious tradition of the manner in +which they came into possession of their kingdom: "In an ancient +expedition for the conquest of Ireland, the leader declared that +whoever of his followers should first touch the shore, should possess +the territory. One of them, the founder of the O'Neils, seeing that +another boat was likely to reach the land before him, seized an axe and +with it cut off his left hand, which he flung on shore, and so, was the +first to 'touch' it." +</P> + +<P> +Shane's Castle and the O'Neil estate are situated upon Lough Neagh, the +largest lake in Great Britain. There is a legend that this sheet of +water covers land that was once cultivated—cottages, castles, and even +villages. The peasants say that there was once a well in the midst of +this country—an enchanted well—which was always kept covered with a +heavy stone, lest its waters should rise and overwhelm the land. One +day, a careless woman went to this well to get water to boil her +potatoes in, and hearing her baby cry, ran home without waiting to +cover the well—which presently began to leap up in a great column, +like a water-spout of an under-ground sea—and poured out so fast and +furious, that before many hours the whole valley was overflowed, and +that night, the moon smiled to see herself reflected in a new lake. +</P> + +<P> +On our route from Belfast to the Giant's Causeway, we passed through +several towns, of little importance now, though of some historical +note—such as Carrickfergus, Larne, and Glenarm. This last is a +beautifully situated town, with a pleasant little bay, which usually +affords a safe shelter for shipping on a coast somewhat renowned for +wrecks and disasters. Here is a fine castle—the seat of the ancient +family of the MacDonnels—Earls of Antrim. +</P> + +<P> +Scarcely any thing in the world can be grander or more beautiful than +the coast road all the way from Glenarm to the Giant's Causeway. It is +altogether too fine to be described—it should be painted, not written +about. +</P> + +<P> +One of the grandest points in the scenery is the great promontory of +Benmore, or Fairhead. From the sea it rises an immense precipice, +formed of a multitude of enormous basaltic columns, at the highest +point more than five hundred feet above the water. +</P> + +<P> +We reached the Causeway late in the evening—so hungry and tired that +we were very glad to get our supper and go to bed, without putting our +heads out of doors. In the morning early we engaged a guide, and set +out on our tour of sight-seeing. +</P> + +<P> +The Causeway is formed by a vast collection of rocky columns—mostly as +regular in shape as though cut by masonry—five-sided, six-sided, seven +or eight-sided—piled and packed together, varying much in height, but +little in size. Some form a floor almost as even as a city +pavement—some form gradual steps leading down to the sea—and some +tower upward, like spires and turrets. +</P> + +<P> +There is a very singular collection of these columns on the side of the +highest cliff, a hundred and twenty feet in height, called "the Giant's +Organ," from their resemblance to the pipes of that instrument. +</P> + +<P> +According to tradition, the mighty Giant, Fin Mac Cual, was musical in +his taste, and used to give himself "a little innocent divarsion" here, +after his hard labors in building the Causeway. Even now, when the sea +roars, and the deep thunder rolls along the rocky coast, they say—"the +giant is playing on his big stone organ under the cliff." +</P> + +<P> +Sometimes they say,—"Listen to Fin, now!—he's at his avening +devotions—Heaven help us, an' him, poor cratur!" and then they cross +themselves, for Fin was but a miserable heathen, and can have no part +now, they think, in the true church. +</P> + +<P> +By the way, I was told while here, a ludicrous little anecdote of the +great Fin, from which it seems that he was not, after all, quite as +brave as a giant should be. It is said that when he had finished the +Causeway, he went up on a high point and shouted across the channel to +the Scotch Giant, Benandonner, to come over and fight him, if he dared. +Bold Benandonner accepted the challenge, and began to wade +across—threatening and bullying his Irish enemy. As he drew near, he +seemed to grow so much bigger, that Fin got frightened, and turned and +ran into his house, which stood near the cliff. +</P> + +<P> +"What's the matter, Fin?" said his wife, who saw what a tremble he was +in, and how pale he looked. +</P> + +<P> +"Ah, my darling," said he, "there's big Benandonner coming over to have +a fight—and as I'm not very well to-day, I don't like to meet him." +</P> + +<P> +Now, Mrs. Mac Cual was really very much ashamed of her husband for +being such a booby; but like the good wife she was, she kept her +contempt to herself, just then, and told him to lie down in the cradle, +and keep quiet, and she would attend to the Scotch Giant. Fin did as +he was bid—his wife covered him up in the cradle, and commenced +rocking and singing to him. Presently, Benandonner came stamping and +storming in, and asked for "that rascal, Fin Mac Cual." +</P> + +<P> +"If you'll please sit down and rock my baby a minute—I'll go and look +for him," said Mrs. Mac Cual. Benandonner looked down into the cradle, +and seeing that enormous giant lying there, with his feet hanging over +the foot-board, thought to himself, "if Fin's baby is so big, what must +Fin himself be!"—and became so frightened that he turned and hurried +back home, much quicker than he came. It is a foolish little +tradition, but I have related it as a specimen of the stories which are +told to amuse the children of Irish peasants. +</P> + +<P> +There are two caves near the Causeway, which are entered from the sea. +Our visits to these were the most interesting and exciting incidents of +the day. Though the waves ran high, our skilful boatmen rowed us +safely in—and though the roar of the sea and the reverberation of some +fire-arms discharged by the guides, were rather awful, we certainly +enjoyed the sight of those ocean temples, gloomy, rude, and jagged +though they were. +</P> + +<P> +From the Causeway we went to Dunluce Castle—a grand old ruin, which +stands on an insulated rock, a hundred feet above the sea. It is +separated from the land by a chasm twenty feet wide, which is crossed +by an arch only about eighteen inches broad. +</P> + +<P> +This castle was once the stronghold of a very powerful, proud, and +warlike family—the Mac Donnels. They had a whole regiment of +retainers; they had their bard, an elderly gentleman, with a long white +beard, who spent most of his time in singing songs in praise of their +glory and great exploits, to the music of a rude harp—and they had +their Banshee, who occupied a choice apartment in one of the turrets, +and doubtless howled as seldom as possible. But all this glory has +passed away, and now, the rooks and sea-birds have the famous old +castle all to themselves—wheel fearlessly about the lofty black +precipices, and scream back the shrillest shriek of the storm-winds. +Now, no bard, however poor, ever visits that once hospitable hall, to +"sing for his supper," and even the gloomy Banshee has retired from her +turret in disgust. +</P> + +<P> +A branch of the Mac Donnels clung to the haunted, dilapidated, old +castle as long as possible, to keep up the family credit, I suppose. +It was within this century, I think, that a frightful accident +happened, which drove the last of them away. In a terrible storm, one +winter afternoon, the part of the castle containing the kitchen was +blown down, and tumbled over the precipice into the sea, with the +family stores of meat and potatoes, and Biddy, the cook, who was +preparing dinner, and Teddy, the little scullion, who was turning the +spit. The Mac Donnels, for all their pride, were shocked and afflicted +by this misfortune,—for Biddy was an excellent cook, and Teddy, her +son, though careless and lazy, and given to little thefts and large +stories, had his good points, as what Irish boy has not. So they, the +Mac Donnels, sought out some other home,—safer and more comfortable, +if not quite so grand in its isolated, ancient gentility,—and it may +be, took the Banshee with them for their comfort. Trouble, I believe, +always goes with people in this world, wherever they move to,—in some +form or other, it travels with them, and settles down with them,—as +sorrow, ill-luck, disease, disgrace, discontent, fear, or remorse,—and +if we may credit Irish traditions, the old nobility and gentry had to +endure howling Banshees in addition. No wonder they wasted away under +their aristocratic infliction. +</P> + +<P> +In my story, I shall make bold to turn my back on the Causeway, Dunluce +Castle, the Mac Donnels, Banshees, and all,—return to the beautiful +neighborhood of Glenarm, and relate a little incident in the lives of +some humble peasant people there. +</P> + +<BR> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +THE POOR SCHOOLMASTER. +</H4> + +<P> +Some forty or fifty years ago, there lived at Glenarm, near the castle, +a poor schoolmaster, named Philip O'Flaherty. +</P> + +<P> +Philip, though a very quiet, well meaning man, was singularly +unfortunate in all but one thing—he had an excellent wife. Yet she, +poor woman, was but "a weakly body," while, as for Philip, if any +sickness whatever was going about, he was sure to catch it. He was a +sort of Irish "Murad the Unlucky," nothing seemed to prosper with him. +His potatoe-crop always fell short—if he took a fancy to keep a few +ducks, or geese, a thieving fox carried them on—his pigs ran away, and +he had not even "the poor man's blessing"—children, to comfort him. +One after another, his babes were borne to the churchyard, and his +cabin was left silent and lonely. +</P> + +<P> +Poor Philip, though a schoolmaster, was not very remarkable for +learning. In truth, he was a good deal behind the times, and his few +scholars, if at all clever, soon got beyond him, and left him. When +his wife was well, she did more than her part toward their support, and +when she was ill, they fared very poorly, I assure you. +</P> + +<P> +One September night, Philip and his wife sat alone in their cabin, more +than usually dejected and sorrowful. They had just buried their last +child—a baby-boy, only a few months old, but as dear to them as though +he had grown to their hearts for years. +</P> + +<P> +There was a terrible storm on the coast that night; the winds almost +shook their old cabin to pieces, and torrents of rain were fast +quenching the peat fire upon the hearth. Suddenly they were startled +by hearing the sound of a gun, above the roaring of the sea. "There's +a ship in distress!" cried Philip—"God help the poor creatures, for +it's an awful night to be on the deep!" "Amen!" said Nelly, solemnly. +</P> + +<P> +Soon after they heard the shouts of fishermen and cottagers, hurrying +to the shore, and, protecting themselves as well as they could, they +joined their neighbors—hoping to do some good upon the beach. +</P> + +<P> +They arrived just in time to see the distressed vessel dashed upon a +rock, and to witness a still more dreadful sight—the falling of a bolt +of fire, from the black sky, right on to the ship—which in a few +moments was enveloped in flames! No boatman, however brave, dared put +out through the wild breakers to rescue the passengers and crew—and in +the morning it was announced along that coast, that an unknown ship had +gone down, in storm and fire, with every soul on board! But no—one +little babe had been taken from the arms of its dead mother, and though +apparently lifeless, was restored, by Nelly O'Flaherty, the +schoolmaster's wife, who took it home to her cabin, where it was doing +well. There was no mark upon the few fragments of clothing which +remained upon the mother and child, when they reached the shore, by +which it could be told who or what they were—but they both had a +delicate look, which made the peasants think that they belonged to "the +quality." +</P> + +<P> +Nelly took the poor foundling at once to her heart—clad him in her +dead baby's clothes, and would not hear to his being taken to the +almshouse. "God," she said, "knew what was the best almshouse for the +pretty little cherub, when He sent it to cheer the lone cabin of the +childless." +</P> + +<P> +As a matter of course, unlucky Philip took cold from the exposure of +that stormy night, and had one of his fevers, which confined him +several weeks. The first day that he was able to get out, he walked +down to the bay, with his wife, to say good-bye to some friends, who +were going to America. After the ship had set sail, they sat for a +long time on the shore, watching it sadly and silently. "Ah, Nelly," +said Philip at last, "if it weren't for my faver and your being +burdened with that strange baby, sure we might work and earn enough to +take us to America. Faith, that shipwreck was a misfortune to us, +entirely!" +</P> + +<P> +"Sure, and it was no such thing," said Nelly; "what's a faver more or +less to you, avourneen; and has it not given us a beautiful boy, to +take the place of our little dead Phil? 'Twas the Lord sent him, and +He'll not let him bring us any trouble." +</P> + +<P> +"The Lord,—why, Nelly, woman, do you suppose <I>He</I> ever busies himself +with the likes of us?" said the schoolmaster, bitterly. +</P> + +<P> +"Philip, avick, what do you mean?" exclaimed Nelly, in astonishment. +</P> + +<P> +"I mean," replied her husband, "that our cabin is so small and poor, +and the castle near by so big and grand, that it's natural Providence +should overlook us just, and attend to the affairs of the quality. +It's the way of the world." +</P> + +<P> +"It may be the way of the world, but it's no the way with God, Philip. +Our cabin is bigger than a sparrow's nest, afther all, and we—even +you, miserable sinner, as ye are, 'are of more value than many +sparrows.' 'The likes of us,' indade! Have ye ever come yet to +sleeping in a stable in Bethlehem, among cows and sheep and asses? +Answer me that! Ah, it's ashamed of you, I am, Philip O'Flaherty." +</P> + +<P> +The next morning, this poor couple sat down to a breakfast of only half +a dozen potatoes and a little salt. +</P> + +<P> +"Philip, dear," said Nelly, sadly, when they had finished, "these are +our last potatoes—I have sold all the rest to pay our rent, and the +Doctor's little account, just." +</P> + +<P> +"Blessed Saints!" exclaimed Philip, "what'll we do?" +</P> + +<P> +"I'm afraid we must ask charity, till we can get work," said Nelly. +</P> + +<P> +"No, no! I can't do that! I will die first!" cried Philip; then +laying his face down on the table, he burst into tears and sobbed +out—"Oh Nelly, darling, I wish I were dead and out of your way!—sure +I'm no use in the world." +</P> + +<P> +Nelly clasped the "strange baby" to her heart and murmured—"God help +us!" Just at that moment, there came a knock at the cabin door—she +opened it and dropped a respectful curtesy. It was the Earl, and a +gentleman in mourning, who as soon as he saw the baby that Nelly held, +caught it in his arms and began kissing it, and weeping over it, crying +out that he had found his boy! The Earl explained that the stranger +was a kinsman of his, a Scotch Laird, whose wife had been lost in the +wreck, a few weeks before, while on her way to visit her relatives at +the castle, with her child and servants. He said, they had not +received the letter announcing her coming—so had not thought of +looking for friends among the drowned and burned who were washed ashore +after the wreck; but they had heard of the child so miraculously saved, +and hoped that it might be their kinsman's son. +</P> + +<P> +When Nelly fully realized that she must lose her adopted child, she +fell at the feet of the father, crying with tears and sobs,—"Oh, sir, +I cannot let him go! I warmed him out of the death-chill at my +heart—I gave him my own dead darling's place! It will kill me, just, +to part with him!" +</P> + +<P> +"And you shall not part with him, my good woman," said the Laird—"the +child must have a nurse—he should have none but you. I will take you +and your husband with me to Scotland, if you will come!" +</P> + +<P> +So, to make a long story short, the poor schoolmaster and his wife were +provided with a comfortable home for the rest of their days, for their +kindness to the little shipwrecked boy, who was always dear to them, +and always returned their love. +</P> + +<P> +Many others may adopt poor foundlings and care for them tenderly, and +yet never have rich lords come to claim their charges and reward them +so generously; but the Lord of all will not fail to ask for his "little +ones" at last,—and to those who do good to "the least of these" He has +promised rewards more glorious than the greatest earthly monarch could +give—and <I>He will keep his word</I>. +</P> + +<HR ALIGN="center" WIDTH="60%"> + +<P> +Here end my stories and legends of dear old Ireland. I returned from +visiting the Causeway, to Belfast, from which place, after a few weeks +of rest and quiet social enjoyment, I passed over to Scotland. And +now, may I not hope that all the dear young readers who have gone with +me thus far, in my wanderings, will wish to bear me company yet +further? In another volume, I will describe what I saw, and tell +appropriate histories and legends of the rugged, but beautiful land of +Wallace and Bruce—of Burns and Scott. So, for the present, I will +only bid you a <I>short</I> farewell—or as the French say, when they part +with the hope of meeting again—<I>au revoir</I>. +<BR><BR> +GRACE GREENWOOD. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR><BR> + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Stories and Legends of Travel and +History, for Children, by Grace Greenwood + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK STORIES, LEGENDS--TRAVEL, HISTORY *** + +***** This file should be named 26735-h.htm or 26735-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/2/6/7/3/26735/ + +Produced by Al Haines + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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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: Stories and Legends of Travel and History, for Children + +Author: Grace Greenwood + +Release Date: October 1, 2008 [EBook #26735] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK STORIES, LEGENDS--TRAVEL, HISTORY *** + + + + +Produced by Al Haines + + + + + + + + + + +[Illustration: Cover] + + + + +[Illustration: Title] + + + + +STORIES AND LEGENDS + +OF + +TRAVEL AND HISTORY, FOR CHILDREN. + + + +BY GRACE GREENWOOD. + + + + +NEW YORK: + +JOHN B. ALDEN, PUBLISHER, + +1885. + + + + +Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1857, by + +LEANDER K. LIPPINCOTT, + +in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District + of Massachusetts + + + + +DEDICATION. + +To my little friends, MARY and ALICE SEELYE, I wish to inscribe this +volume, in remembrance of a pleasant summer spent under their father's +roof--the Water Cure, at Cleveland, where a part of these sketches were +written,--in remembrance of their happy, cordial faces, and of the +"loving kindness" of their parents--of much genial companionship and +generous sympathy. + +In remembrance of the beautiful wood, with its flowery paths, its hills +and dells and darkly shadowed water, where we often wandered +together;--where my dear baby grew like the flowers, drinking in dew +and sunshine--strengthened by fresh winds and aromatic odors,--where +under fluttering forest-leaves her little face caught its first gleams +of thought and tender meanings, like their glinting lights and flying +shades, and her little voice seemed intoned by their silvery murmurs, +the love-notes of birds and prattle of streams. In remembrance of the +sweet spring in the glen, and the shady resting-places on the hill,--of +the grand old oaks, and of the violets at their feet. + +In remembrance of the lovely child, with whom we last visited that +wood,--dear _Georgiana Gordon_. + +GRACE GREENWOOD. + CHRISTMAS, 1857. + + + + +CONTENTS. + +LONDON PARKS AND GARDENS.--MABEL HOWARD AND HER PET + +ST. PAUL'S CATHEDRAL.--STORY OF SIR PHILIP SIDNEY + +GREENWICH HOSPITAL--THE PARK, ETC.--LITTLE + ROBERT AND HIS NOBLE FRIEND + +HAMPTON COURT.--THE LADY MARY'S VISION + +WINDSOR CASTLE.--KING JAMES OF SCOTLAND AND THE LADY JANE BEAUFORT + +THE JOURNEY FROM ENGLAND TO IRELAND.--THE + FISHERMAN'S RETURN + +DUBLIN, HOWTH.--GRACE O'MALLEY + +DONNYBROOK.--THE LITTLE FIDDLER. + +FROM DUBLIN TO CORK AND BLARNEY CASTLE.--LITTLE NORAH + AND THE BLARNEY STONE + +A VISIT TO THE LAKES OF KILLARNEY.--KATHLEEN OF KILLARNEY + +LIMERICK.--LITTLE ANDY AND HIS GRANDFATHER + +WICKLOW.--TIM O'DALY AND THE CLERICAUNE + +ANTRIM--THE GIANT'S CAUSEWAY.--THE POOR SCHOOLMASTER + + + + +London Parks and Gardens + +MABEL HOWARD AND HER PET. + +After all, I think I had more real delight in the noble public parks +and gardens of London than in palaces and cathedrals They were all +wonders and novelties to me--for, to our misfortune and discredit,--we +have nothing of the kind in our country. To see the poor little public +squares in our towns and cities, where a few stunted trees seem huddled +together, as though scared by the great red-faced houses that crowd so +close upon them, one would think that we were sadly stinted and +straitened for land, instead of being loosely scattered over a vast +continent, many times larger than all Great Britain. + +The English government, with all its faults, has always been wise and +generous toward the people in regard to their out-door comfort and +pleasure. It does not mean that they shall be stifled for want of air, +or cramped for room to exercise in. Everywhere over the kingdom, the +traveller sees shady parks, pleasant gardens, breezy downs, and wide +heaths, open to the public, and as much for the enjoyment of the poor +as the rich. + +The great Hyde Park of London, has been the property of the crown since +the time of Henry VIII. It was formerly walled in, and held deer for +royal hunting--but in the reign of George IV. it was inclosed with an +open iron railing, and is now only used for drives, promenades, rides, +and military reviews. + +Connected with Hyde Park, by a bridge over the Serpentine, an +artificial river, are Kensington Gardens, beautiful pleasure-grounds +attached to Kensington Palace, a building belonging to the royal family. + +This palace was for several years the town residence of the widowed +Duchess of Kent, and here her illustrious daughter, the princess, now +Queen Victoria, was educated. + +Strangers sometimes met the young princess walking in the gardens, or +saw her sitting under the shade of the trees, accompanied by her +mother, or governess. She was always very simply dressed, and always +wore a sweet, gentle look on her fresh, young face. + +In Hyde Park, every pleasant afternoon, there may be seen hosts of +splendid equipages, and hundreds of ladies and gentlemen mounted on +elegant horses, riding up and down a long, broad avenue, called "Rotten +Row," which is devoted entirely to equestrians. + +In Hyde Park stood the Crystal Palace--now removed to Sydenham--where +it stands on an eminence, and seems in itself a great mountain of light. + +A smaller, but yet a fine park, is that of St. James. King Charles I. +walked through this from the Palace of St. James to the scaffold before +White Hall, on the morning of his execution. He was very calm, and on +his way he pointed out a tree to one of his attendants, as having been +planted by his brother, the young Prince Henry, who, if he had lived, +would have been king,--and poor Charles might have kept his head; +which, doubtless, was of more value to him than all the crowns of all +the kingdoms of the world. + +King Charles II. made many improvements in this park, and took much +pleasure in riding, sporting, and idly strolling here. He might often +be seen with half a dozen dogs at his heels, lounging along by the +banks of the ponds, feeding the ducks with his own delicate royal +hands. The foolish people were greatly moved and delighted at this, +thinking that a king, who could be so kind and gracious to dogs and +ducks, must be a good sovereign; but they were wofully mistaken there. + +Regent's Park was so named for the Prince Regent, afterwards George IV. +This park is extensive, and exceedingly beautiful. It has winding +roads and shady paths, ornamental plantations, clear, shining sheets of +water--noble trees and fairy-like bowers, so secluded and shadowy, that +the birds sing and nest in them as fearlessly as in the deep heart of a +country wood. + +Within this park are several elegant villas--among which I best +remember St. Dunstan's Villa--the residence of the late Marquis of +Hertford, about whom and this place I have heard a pretty little story, +which I will tell you. + +In Fleet Street, London, stands the Church of St. Dunstan, built on the +site of a church of the same name, which was torn down about thirty +years ago. + +The old Church of St. Dunstan had a curious clock, which was considered +a very wonderful piece of mechanism, almost a work of witchcraft. +Standing out on the side of the church, in full view of the passers-by, +were two figures of Hercules, holding clubs, with which they struck on +two bells the hours and the quarters. All children took delight in +watching these gigantic figures, but none so much as the little Marquis +of Hertford, whose kind nurse used to take him to see them--whenever he +was a particularly good boy. Every time that he saw them he would +strike his hands together and declare that as soon as he was a grown +man, he would buy those beautiful giants, and have them all to himself. +Well, strangely enough, when the Marquis grew to be a man, and got +possession of all his property, and built his new villa in Regent's +Park, it happened that old St. Dunstan's Church was torn down, and that +famous clock set up at auction. So, the Marquis, who had never +forgotten his beloved giants, bought them, and set them up in his +garden, where night and day, rain or shine, they still stand, sturdily +swinging their big clubs, striking the hours and the quarters. + +St. Dunstan's Villa contains fine marble statues, rare bronzes, vases, +and pictures, and much costly furniture; but nothing in all the house +or grounds was half so dear to the Marquis as that quaint old clock, +and those uncouth giants--for the sight of them always took him back to +the time when he was a happy innocent child, and thought them the most +wonderful things in all the world. + +Regent's Park contains The Botanical Gardens, where are to be seen +almost all species and varieties of plants and flowers. In a great +conservatory, I saw the _Victoria Regia_, the largest aquatic plant in +the world. Its vast leaves lie on the water like those of the +water-lily, which they resemble--and so broad and thick are they, that +it is said a little girl of six years may stand on one of them, without +weighing it down enough to wet her feet. + +But the most interesting portions of Regent's Park are the Zoological +Gardens, where are kept all varieties of beasts, birds, and serpents. +I had far more pleasure in visiting these gardens than I had ever found +in seeing collections of wild beasts in our own country, because the +animals themselves seemed so much more comfortable and happy. I had +been accustomed to see the lions, leopards, tigers, and bears cramped +up in miserable little grated boxes, and looking as fierce, surly, and +wretched as possible. But here they walked up and down large airy +cages, or stretched themselves out in the sun, or dozed in their +sleeping-rooms--with no brutal showmen to molest them, and no Van +Amburgh to make them afraid--and seemed really very well to do, +good-humored, and contented. Even the polar bear, who had a quiet, +shady retreat, seemed to be taking matters coolly, instead of panting +and lolling and tumbling about in the old uncomfortable way. + +The zebras looked almost amiable, and the hyenas respectable, while the +poor camels wore a far less woe-begone expression than those +long-suffering animals are expected to wear. As for the monkeys, apes, +and ourang-outangs, they were the noisiest, jolliest, most frolicsome +set of creatures you can imagine. + +In a yard by themselves, we saw several giraffes, who appeared to be +having a pleasant gossipping time, overlooking the affairs of all their +neighbors. It seemed to me that if they could put their necks +together, they would reach almost as high as Jack's famous bean-stalk +climbed. + +Very curious sights to me were the rhinoceros and hippopotamus, both of +whom I saw luxuriating in great vats of muddy water. This hippopotamus +is an enormous animal, very clumsy in his motions, and rather indolent +in his habits. He has an Arab keeper, of whom he is so fond that he +will take food from no one else--will not even sleep away from him. +The Arab is said to return his fat friend's affection, and by no means +objects to him as a bedfellow. + +A strange, piteous-looking creature was the seal, that I saw stretched +on a rock at the edge of a little pond. Its eyes were large and dark +and sad--so like human eyes, that I shuddered as I looked at them; for +it almost seemed that the poor, helpless seal itself was a human form, +bound and pinioned, and flung down there to die. + +I have no fancy for serpents--indeed, to tell the truth, I detest and +fear them--so, I did not visit that department. + +Among the birds, I was most amused by the large collection of parrots. +When I entered the gallery in which they are kept, I was almost crazed +by the confusion of tongues. There were scores of parrots, parroquets, +macaws, and cockatoos, all chattering and laughing and screaming +together. It was like a village school just let out, or a large party +of gossiping ladies over their tea. + +No two were alike, except in name--for the majority were Pollies. Some +were ugly, yet were vain enough to call themselves "pretty;" and some +were beautiful, and sleek, and plump, though they piteously declared +themselves "poor," and begged of us as we passed. + +And now I will tell you a little story--something very simple in +itself, but which I hope will serve to impress this chapter upon your +memories. + + +MABEL HOWARD AND HER PET. + +Mabel Howard, my little heroine, was not exactly an English girl, +though she was the daughter of English parents. She was born in India, +in Calcutta, where her father, Colonel Howard, was stationed for +several years with his regiment. Mabel was not, I am sorry to say, a +bright and blooming little maiden, though she had a sweet, intelligent +face, and very endearing ways. From her birth, she had been pale, +slight, and feeble. The climate was very bad for her; and, though all +possible pains were taken with her health, she did not gain strength, +but grew weaker and weaker. At last, when she was about nine years of +age, it was resolved to send her to England, to stay with her +grandparents, who lived in London. Neither her papa nor her mamma +could go with her; but Katuka, her ayah, or native nurse, a kind, +faithful woman, would go and stay with her always, and a friend of +Colonel Howard, an officer returning home, would take charge of them +both till they should reach London. + +Poor Mabel's loving little heart was almost broken at the thought of +being sent so far away from her papa and mamma and baby-brother; but +she knew it was all meant for her good, and did not complain. + +Of all Mabel's pets, she loved best a beautiful red and white cockatoo, +that her papa had given her on her seventh birthday. + +Bobby--for so this favorite was called--was a very knowing bird +indeed--talking fluently, if not wisely, in both English and +Hindostanee; and though somewhat vain of his beauty and +accomplishments, and a little too selfish and fond of good living, +never arrogant or surly, but the most gracious and amiable of cockatoos. + +Bobby had a fine gilded cage, which hung in a shaded veranda, where the +family sat in the cool morning and evening hours; so, when not talking, +or talked to himself, he picked up a good deal of knowledge by +listening to the conversation of others. + +Everybody liked Bobby, he was so clever and comical; but Mabel not only +liked and petted him, but cared for him constantly; patiently +ministered to his dainty appetite, and tried always to teach him good +and useful things. Indeed, I am afraid that, if it had not been for +his young mistress, Bobby would have been a wicked little heathen, like +other Hindoo cockatoos. + +When Mabel was told that she must go to England, almost the first words +which she sobbed out were, "May I take Bobby?" + +"Of course, darling," said her papa; "Bobby shall go with you." + +But on the morning when Katuka and her young mistress sailed, lo, Bobby +was nowhere to be found! He had been stolen in his cage from the +veranda, and carried away during the night, by some straggling native; +and poor little Mabel was obliged to go away with a new grief weighing +down her tender, childish heart. All through the long voyage, she +missed and mourned for her lost pet, and, when she reached London, her +good grandmamma could give her nothing that would quite take its place. + +Everybody was kind to the lonely little girl, and much was done to make +her well and happy. Every day her grandmamma or her good ayah took her +to drive or walk in Hyde Park, or Kensington Gardens, or out on the +open, breezy heaths; and Mabel soon grew better, healthier, and +stronger, and a soft color stole into her pale cheeks, and deepened and +brightened, day by day, like the flush of an opening rose. + +Mabel dearly loved her kind English friends, but there were sometimes +chill wintry days, or dull rainy evenings, when she was very homesick, +and cried to see again her far-off Indian home, her papa and mamma, and +little baby-brother. + +At such times, she would often say to her kind ayah, who wept with her, +"Ah, Katuka, if I only had poor Bobby here, it would be some +consolation." + +One day, when Mabel had been about six months in England, her +grandmamma took her to the Zoological Gardens. She was greatly +interested in seeing the animals, though she shrank away with a shudder +from the tigers, of whom she had heard fearful stories in India. At +last, they entered a long, beautiful gallery, all hung with bright +gilded cages of gorgeous birds, mostly parrots, of many different +species. As Mabel walked slowly along, admiring the pretty chattering +creatures, but sadly remembering her lost Bobby, and thinking that no +one of all these was half so beautiful as he, suddenly she heard, from +a cage just before her, a joyous familiar cry: "Good morning, Miss +Mabel!--come to bring Bobby dinner? Poor Bobby hungry!" + +With a cry of delight, Mabel sprang forward and flung her arms about +the cage, and kissed the crimson-tuffed head of a pretty cockatoo, +thrust through the bars--Bobby's head--for it was indeed her own dear +lost bird! + +Sir John Howard, Mabel's grandfather, was able to buy Bobby of the +Zoological Society, who had bought him of a sailor from Calcutta so +Mabel had her pet again. + +He seemed the same intelligent, affectionate bird as ever. He had +forgotten nothing he had ever known; but he had learned some rather +rough sayings of the sailors, on his voyage from India, which did not +go very well with the good things his gentle little mistress had taught +him. But for all that, he was a great comfort to her, and she never +was homesick any more. + +After a few years, Mabel's papa, mamma, and little brother came to +England to live--never to return to India. Ah, there was a joyful +meeting one morning, in Leicester Square. Sir John and Lady Howard +were overjoyed to see their darling only son again; and he, bronzed and +weather-beaten soldier as he was, felt as glad to get home as he had +ever been when he was a homesick school-boy at Eton. Mrs. Howard was +welcomed as a real daughter, and her beautiful little boy almost +smothered with kisses. Mabel was half wild with happiness, and her +parents were surprised and delighted to find her grown so healthy and +handsome. The faithful Katuka kissed the hands of her master and +mistress with tears of joy--while Bobby, grown impatient at not being +noticed, called out sharply from his perch--"Avast there shipmates! +what a hullabaloo! Bobby wants breakfast!" + + + + +St. Paul's Cathedral + +STORY OF SIR PHILIP SIDNEY + +The Cathedral Church of St. Paul's is the largest religious edifice in +London, and one of the largest in the world. It stands on high ground +in the centre of the city, and can be seen for a long distance in +several directions, though it is too closely surrounded by other large +buildings to show to the best advantage. It is less beautiful than +some of the old English minsters, but in size grander than any. It is +built in the form of a Greek cross, and covers more than two acres of +ground. The dome is nearly as large as that of St. Peter's, at Rome, +and from every part of the vast city of London you can see it looming +up toward the sky--a dark, stupendous object--sometimes gilded by the +setting sun, sometimes wreathed by the mists of morning. The dome is +surmounted by a cupola, called "the lantern," over which is placed an +immense ball of gilt copper, weighing five thousand six hundred pounds, +and bearing above it a gilt cross, weighing three thousand six hundred +pounds. + +The interior of the cathedral is very grand, but rather dark and +gloomy, even under the great central light of the dome--except when +viewed by a very clear sunshine, the rarest thing in the world in +"great London town;" for what with the smoke, the fog, and the rain, +the poor old sun has few opportunities of making himself agreeable to +the Londoners. But when he does get a chance to shine, he seems to +make the most of it, and surely nothing can be more pleasant than a +right [Transcriber's note: bright?] sunny morning in London. On such a +morning we visited St. Paul's Cathedral. + +Before ascending to the dome, we wandered about for some time in the +nave and transept, examining with much interest the monuments, statues, +and tablets, erected in honor of celebrated English poets, artists, +soldiers, naval heroes, and statesmen, and seeking out the famous +epitaph of the noble architect, and the great and good man, Sir +Christopher Wren. This is in Latin, but translated, reads thus:-- + +"Beneath lies Christopher Wren, the architect of this church and city, +who lived more than ninety years, not for himself alone, but for the +public. Reader, do you seek his monument? look around!" + +About the interior of the dome are a series of pictures, illustrating +the life of St. Paul. An incident occurred during the painting of +these which I will relate, as a remarkable instance of presence of +mind. The artist, Sir James Thornhill, painted standing on a scaffold, +erected of course at a great height from the ground. This scaffold was +securely built, but not protected by any railing. One day, while +fortunately a friend was with him watching him at his work--having just +finished the head of one of the apostles, he forgot where he was, and +with his hand over his eyes, stepped hastily backward, to see how the +picture would look from a distance. In a moment he stood on the very +edge of the platform; another step--another inch backward were certain +death! His friend dared not speak, for fear of startling him; but +catching up a large brush, he dashed it over the face of the apostle, +smearing the picture shockingly. Sir James sprang forward instantly, +crying out: + +"Bless my soul! what have you done?" "_I have saved your life,_" +replied his friend, calmly. For the next moment the two stood face to +face, very pale and still, but thanking God fervently in their full, +loud-beating hearts. + +Within the dome is "The Whispering Gallery." This is surely very +curious; the least whisper breathed against the wall at a certain +point, being distinctly heard on the opposite side of the gallery, or +making the entire inner circle of the great dome. After a long, weary +ascent of very dirty and dark staircases, we reached the cupola, and +great London and its environs lay beneath us! Oh, what a wide and +wonderful view was that! It was almost overwhelming--and so bewildered +me at first, that I could not clearly make out any thing. But soon +that dizziness of astonishment passed away, and I began to recognize, +one after another, places and buildings that had grown familiar to me. +There was Hyde Park, looking at that distance like a plantation of +young trees; there was Buckingham Palace, the new palace of +Westminster, and the grand old Abbey. I could see the flash of the +fountains in Trafalgar Square, and trace the silver winding of the +Thames, through miles on miles of docks and warehouses, under dark +bridges, past darker prisons, far up into the green and smiling +country, and far down toward the blue and shining sea. There was the +Tower, which, though not a dark or dilapidated building, always has a +guilty, gloomy look,--after you know what it is. There was the +Monument, towering toward the sky, in memory of the great conflagration +in London, when, where those magnificent buildings now stand, were +piles and masses of fire--and great flames going up in red columns, to +heaven. + +Brightly shone the sun on hundreds of spires and domes, cheerily +lighting up all that vast scene beneath us; the wide, elegant streets, +open squares and parks of the town, and the busy crowded streets and +narrow lanes of the city. The kindly rays fell just as warmly and +clearly into the dark and damp courts of the miserable parish of St. +Giles, as on to the noble terraces and into the palace gardens of +fashionable West End. Oh, the beautiful sunshine! God's manna of +light--falling for the poor as well as for the rich. + +While standing on that lofty balcony, I could but faintly hear that +great noise of business and travel, which roars along London streets, +without ceasing day or night. It was like being at the summit of a +high rock, on the sea-shore, where the hoarse sound of the great waves +comes up to your ear, softened to a low, deep murmur. + + +"Old St. Paul's," upon the site of which this noble cathedral now +stands, was burned in the fire of 1660. Among the great men buried in +"Old St. Paul's," was Sir Philip Sidney, the most brilliant, and the +best man of Queen Elizabeth's court. Let me tell you more about him. + + +STORY OF SIR PHILIP SIDNEY. + +Philip Sidney was born in November, 1554. He was the son of Sir Henry +Sidney, the dear friend of the amiable young King Edward VI., who died +in his arms, and of the Lady Mary, only daughter of the ambitious and +unfortunate Duke of Northumberland. + +From his early childhood, Philip was remarkable for his genius, his +beauty, his sweet and generous disposition, and the modesty and grace +of his manners. Sir Fulke Greville--who was one of his schoolmates, +knew him all his life, and so dearly loved and highly honored him that +he directed it should be put on his tombstone, that, he was "the friend +of Sir Philip Sidney"--said of him, that, while yet a child, he seemed +a man, in gravity and wisdom, in steadiness of purpose, and love of +knowledge, and that even his teachers found in him something to wonder +at and learn, above what they could find in books, or were able to +teach. + +At the age of twelve, Philip corresponded with his father in French and +Latin, with correctness and elegance; at thirteen, he entered the +University at Oxford, where he distinguished himself by his +scholarship, by his noble character, and blameless life. At the age of +seventeen, having left college, he went to Paris in the suite of the +Earl of Lincoln, the ambassador extraordinary of Queen Elizabeth to the +court of France. Because of his high connections and reputation, and +the letters which he carried from his uncle, Robert Dudley, Earl of +Leicester, he was received with much distinction. Charles IX., a +courteous, though treacherous prince, and his wily mother, Catharine de +Medicis, were extremely gracious to him. The king gave him an office +of honor in his palace, and strove in various ways to win his regard +and confidence. But Philip neither liked nor trusted him, but gave the +respect and friendship of his noble heart to a more truly royal object, +the brave and good King Henry of Navarre. + +It was soon evident what secret object King Charles had in trying to +conciliate the English at his court. It was to blind their eyes, that +they should not foresee and help to arrest one of the most fearful and +cruel crimes to be found in the dark history of Catholic persecution, +the Massacre of St. Bartholomew. Charles, his wicked mother, and the +priests, their advisers, chose this time when a large number of +Protestants were assembled at Paris on the occasion of the marriage of +the young Prince of Navarre to the sister of the King of France, for a +general massacre of the Huguenots, throughout the city and kingdom. On +St. Bartholomew's day the slaughter began, and lasted until many +thousand Protestants--men, women, and children--were murdered, shot +down and cut down in their houses, their churches, and in the open +street. King Charles himself, though scarcely more than a boy, was the +most brutal and blood-thirsty of all the persecutors. He stood at one +of the windows of his palace, and fired at the poor, shrieking, +struggling people, as fast as his carbine could be loaded. Many a +brave Christian father and noble youth were laid low by his cruel shot, +in those dreadful streets and courts, where the hard stones steamed +with warm blood as meadows in May mornings smoke with ascending dews, +and where down the very gutters, instead of swift currents of summer +rain, ran sluggish red rivulets, slowly flowing from the bodies of the +dead and dying, piled on either side. But though that bad and mad +young king cruelly meant every shot, and though every drop of blood he +shed was a guilt-stain on his soul, and every dying groan he caused was +to ring on his ear and pierce his wicked heart till he died, yet, after +all, he harmed only the poor, perishing bodies of his victims; their +deathless souls he but early set free from mortal bondage, and hastened +home to God. + +But to return to Philip Sidney. During the massacre, he took refuge +with the English resident minister, Sir Francis Walsingham, one of the +most distinguished men of the age and court of Elizabeth. + +Sir Francis had a young daughter, a beautiful, sweet-tempered little +girl, in whom Philip Sidney became much interested. This child felt +very deeply for the poor Huguenot martyrs. She prayed for them +constantly, and wept for them tears of bitter anguish, that seemed to +quench the glad sparkle of her tender blue eyes, and to wash all the +rosy bloom from her soft, round cheeks. + +Philip, who saw her sadness, often tried to comfort her; but her grief +and her sweet, sorrowful words always so touched his own tender heart, +that his manly voice trembled, and sometimes he bowed his beautiful +face on her head, as it lay on his breast, and wept with her silently. +And so he grew to love her; and she loved him more than all the world. + +As soon as quiet was restored--a sad quiet it was--Philip Sidney set +out to travel in Germany and Italy. He was glad to leave Paris, its +vile court and viler king; he was sorry to leave nobody but little +Fanny Walsingham. + +Soon after returning to England, and when only twenty-one, Sidney was +sent as ambassador to Vienna, by Queen Elizabeth, who knew how to +perceive talent and worth, though she did not always reward them +generously. He faithfully discharged the duties of his office, and was +most honorably received by the queen on his return. But he was not of +the stuff out of which courtiers are made. He was too honest, +independent, and disinterested to gain wealth or power by intrigue or +flattery; so, though the queen respected him, and often advised with +him, he received neither gifts nor offices, but lived for several years +in retirement, devoting himself to study and writing. + +In 1583, he married Frances, only daughter of Sir Francis Walsingham, +his well remembered little friend, now grown into a beautiful woman, +well worthy of his noble love. During that same year he was knighted +by the queen at Windsor, and became Sir Philip Sidney. + +By the time that he reached the age of thirty, the fame of his many +splendid qualities--his learning and literary talent, his bravery, and, +above all, his noble honesty--had spread over Europe, while in England, +he was the glory of the court and the idol of the people. + +There are a kind of little great men who seek to impose on you by +pompous ways, proud looks, and high-sounding words; but there was no +such poor pride and pretension about Sir Philip Sidney. He was gay and +free-hearted, frank in his words, simple and gentle in his manner, and +always earnest in the endeavor to be and do good. His writings were +full of noble thought and pure, sweet feeling, worthy his true heart +and his great soul. + +In 1585, a wonderful tribute was paid to the talent and exalted worth +of Sir Philip Sidney. + +The throne of Poland having become vacant by the death of Stephen +Bathori, he was invited to enroll himself among the candidates. He +does not seem to have been tempted by this splendid opportunity of +obtaining sovereign power and honors, but cheerfully acquiesced in the +queen's will that he should remain her loyal subject. She said, rather +selfishly, I think, that she "could not consent to lose the jewel of +her times." + +Soon after this, she appointed him to a military command in the Low +Countries. Here he soon distinguished himself by skilful generalship, +rare coolness in danger, and courage in action. At last, on the 24th +of September, 1586, in a gallant attack on a greatly superior force of +the enemy, near Zutphen, a town he was besieging, after having had one +horse shot from under him, he was severely wounded by a musket-ball in +the left leg. + +As his soldiers were bearing him from the field of battle toward his +camp, he grew very faint from loss of blood, and asked for water. It +was brought to him; but just as the glass was raised to his parched +lips, he caught the eye of a poor dying soldier fixed wistfully upon +it. In an instant he passed it to him, without having tasted a drop, +saying, "Drink, my friend; thy necessity is yet greater than mine." + +Oh, in all his noble life, Sir Philip Sidney had never done so grand a +deed as this! It was, in truth, a Christ-like act, though performed +upon a bloody battle-field,--and it will be remembered and honored +while the world endures. + +Sir Philip's wound was unskilfully treated, and finally caused his +death. He died at Arnheim, about the middle of the next month. + +This seemed a sad closing to so brilliant a life. Far away from +country and home, from his dearest friends, his beloved wife, and his +darling child, with no loving one to sympathize with him in his pain, +and comfort him in his sadness--to listen reverently to his dying +words, to close tenderly his darkened eyes, and to weep over the pale +beauty of his dead face. But we may trust, from all we know of his +pure Christian life, that comforting angels were near him, whispering +hope and peace to his heart--that divine love sustained him; and we may +feel assured that, for the gift of that "cup of cold water" to the +dying soldier, his soul drunk deep of "the waters of life that now from +the throne of the Lamb," and make beautiful forever the Paradise of God. + + + + +Greenwich Hospital--The Park, etc. + +LITTLE ROBERT AND HIS NOBLE FRIEND. + +Greenwich, though a large market town, containing a goodly number of +elegant and noble buildings, and many thousand inhabitants, appears in +this age of steam to form a part of London--for when you set out from +the metropolis to visit it, you seem to have hardly got comfortably +seated in the railway carriage, before you are _there_. + +Greenwich is delightfully situated on the south bank of the Thames, and +is certainly one of the most beautiful and interesting places in the +vicinity of London. From the time of Edward I., the English monarchs +had a royal residence here, but by the time of Charles II., this old +palace had become a rather mouldy and tumble-down affair, so he +commanded that it should be demolished entirely, and a magnificent +structure of freestone erected in its place. We read that "riches take +to themselves wings," but King Charles's riches seem to have gone off +with one wing, for he had only means enough to finish that much of his +new palace, and even that cost him thirty-six thousand pounds--an +enormous sum for his time, or for any time, indeed. This answered his +purpose tolerably well, and he condescended to reside here +occasionally, when he was tired of Hampton Court and his London palaces. + +No more was done to the building till the reign of William III. It had +been suggested by his queen, Mary, that an asylum for old and disabled +seamen should be built, and as the royal family had really no need of +the palace at Greenwich, Sir Christopher Wren ventured to advise that +it should be finished, and converted into a hospital. The king and +queen graciously consented, and so the good work went on. The building +was enlarged, beautified, and finished with simple elegance, and now +there is not a more imposing palace in all England. Not only is it a +princely, but a comfortable and happy home for nearly three thousand +poor seamen. Here they have excellent and abundant food and clothing; +skilful medical treatment, when they are ill, and their wives, as paid +nurses, to attend them; a reasonable sum of pocket-money is given them +to spend as they please. Here is a library, a picture-gallery, and a +chapel, for their especial benefit, and a school, where their children +can be educated. Is it any wonder that these veteran seamen, nearly +every man of whom has lost a leg or an arm in the service of his +country, should be contented and happy, in such a noble asylum as +this--such a quiet and comfortable place of refuge and rest? + +Near the hospital is Greenwich Park, an inclosure of nearly two hundred +acres, planted principally with elms and Spanish chestnuts, many of +which are very large and magnificent trees. This park is hilly, and on +the highest eminence stands the Royal Observatory, where, as you know, +many valuable astronomical calculations are made. + +In the park, on pleasant days, many of the old pensioners can always be +seen, hobbling along the shady avenues, or sitting together on the +benches, under the great trees, talking over old times--telling tales +of storms and shipwrecks, or more terrible still, of battles at sea. + +Those who fought under the heroic Lord Nelson most love to talk of him, +for he was idolized by all his men. + +In the great hall of the hospital hang many pictures of him and his +battles; and there also, in a glass case, are kept the clothes which he +wore when he was killed--all stained with his blood. Not a man among +his veteran seamen can look at these relics without feeling his dim old +eyes grow yet more dim with tears. Among the pictures, there was one +which, though not very fine in itself, impressed me not a little at the +time, and which I still remember vividly. It represents an adventure +which happened to Lord Nelson when he was a young sailor-boy, cruising +in the north seas. In the picture, he seems to have wandered off in a +freak of boyish rashness, far from the boat and crew, and is standing +on the ice, surrounded by vast wastes and mountains of ice, alone, but +in a very fearless attitude, facing a monstrous white bear, who is +evidently coming up, eagerly, to _hug_ the young mariner, yet has any +thing but an affectionate expression on his ugly face. Nelson has his +long knife drawn, and seems to say: "Come on; I'm ready for you, old +fellow!" + +I do not remember ever to have read any account of this adventure, so I +cannot tell how it terminated for the bear. We know well enough that +Bruin did not get the better of Nelson, for he lived to fight again and +again with foes no less ferocious than the bear, though without his +excuse of brute instincts and hunger. But only suppose it had been +different; suppose the bear had killed and eaten the hero of Trafalgar, +like any common sailor-boy, what a difference it would have made with +the glory and boasting of England, and it may be, in its power on land +and sea. + +In the eastern part of Greenwich Park are "the barrows," very singular +circular mounds, supposed to be burial-places of ancient Britons. +These the English people so much respect that they will not suffer them +to be opened, or even levelled. + +Just without the park lies Blackheath, a large expanse of common, full +a mile wide, and more than that long, I should say. Opening off from +this is Blackheath Park, and here, in a lovely homelike cottage, +embowered in trees and flowers and vines, I spent some of the happiest +days of my happy visit in England. Oh, I so often think with a sad +longing of that home, and wonder if I shall ever see it again! There +is a certain pleasant window of the family parlor, looking out into the +garden, and sometimes, when I sit alone at evening, I dream that I am +sitting at that window, enjoying the long English twilight. I seem to +see one very dear to me, flitting lightly about among the flowers, +singing low, and smiling to herself, because her heart is made so glad +by their beauty and their fragrance. And the flowers seem to know her, +and bend to her and claim relationship with her--the roses for her +bloom, the lilies for her white dress and innocent look, while the +violets kiss her feet, as she passes, because she is good. + +I can almost hear the good-night song of the blackbird, before he goes +to sleep among the golden laburnum boughs; can almost smell the +good-night sigh of the flowers, as they nod their sleepy heads and +swing lazily in the evening wind. + +Just across the heath lives another dear friend, Mrs. Crosland, whom my +little readers know. When going to visit her, I never chose to ride, +enjoying much more that walk across the heath. Here the air was always +fresh and cool, and the winds, without a tree or house to obstruct +them, had a bold, strong, frolicsome sweep, as though glad to be free +of both forest and town. + +The ground of this heath is smooth, and gently rolling. It does not +grow the heather, but is covered everywhere with a firm turf of fine +grass, which, thanks to frequent showers, always looks soft and green, +though it is kept very closely cropped. + +In pleasant summer weather there can always be seen ranged along one +side of this heath, queer little pony chaises, donkey carts, goat +carriages, and ponies and donkeys saddled and bridled, all waiting to +be let to invalids and children, by the hour, or for the ride. + +It was very amusing, on Saturday afternoons, to see school children +consoling themselves for the week's confinement and study, by a wild +pony trot, or a scrambling donkey gallop across the heath. Wild girls, +with gipsy bonnets falling on their shoulders, and their long hair +flying in the wind; wilder boys, with their satchels bobbing at their +backs, their hats swung in the air, and their feet remorselessly +digging into the sides of the poor little bewildered beasts who carried +them. + +"Great fun!" "splendid sport!" they said it was, when they dismounted +and paid their six-pence, but perhaps the ponies and donkeys had an +opinion of their own on the subject. + +Donkey-riding is said to be a very healthful exercise, and invalids +often drive out from town to the heaths, where these animals are always +to be had, for the sake of a free ride in those fresh, open places. + +Hampstead-heath, which lies on the other side of London, is more +frequented, both for health and pleasure; and as this was the scene of +the story I am about to tell, we will take leave of Blackheath, a dear, +pleasant, sunny place, in spite of its name. + + +LITTLE ROBERT AND HIS NOBLE FRIEND. + +Robert Selwyn was the only son of a poor widow, who kept a small green +grocer's shop, at Hampstead. + +Robert, at the period at which our story commences, was a fine, +handsome, intelligent lad of twelve, with frank, engaging manners, and +a warm, honest heart. + +For a boy of his age, he was remarkably thoughtful and serious; he +loved books more than any thing in the world, except his mother, and +actually seemed to hunger and thirst after knowledge. Mrs. Selwyn was +a woman of considerable education, as she had seen better days in her +youth, and now she taught Robert all that she knew, beside sending him +to the parish school as often as she could spare him. + +The widow owned a very pretty fawn-colored donkey,--good tempered and +well trained, which she used to hire out to invalids, and so added +something to her little income. Every pleasant summer afternoon she +would send Robert with "Billy" to the heath, telling him never to allow +any wild boys or girls to ride the good little animal for sport, but to +let him to invalids or very young children, and always to walk or run +by his side. Robert faithfully obeyed his mother, and though bold boys +and girls thought him hard and disobliging, he and his pretty donkey +were in great demand among the invalids and children. Many were the +sweet little girls and gentle boys that he taught to ride--trotting +along beside them, up and down the heath. + +One balmy afternoon, late in May, Robert was standing on the edge of +the heath, leaning against his donkey, waiting for a customer. Billy +always plump and sleek, was wearing, for the first time, a nice new +saddle, with a fine white linen cloth, fringed with crimson, and really +looked fit to carry a prince. + +At length, an open carriage came slowly driving that way; it had a +coachman and a footman in handsome livery, and contained a lady and a +little boy. This child was about Robert's age, but looked much +smaller. He was slight and delicate, and his face, which was very +beautiful, was almost as white as marble, and would have been sad to +look upon, had it not been for a sweet lovingness about the mouth, and +a cheerful, patient spirit smiling out of the eyes. + +The lady was a noble, stately person, dressed all in black, and looking +as if she had seen a great deal of sorrow. She had an anxious +expression on her face, and held the hand of the little boy tenderly +clasped in hers. + +"Oh, mamma," the child suddenly exclaimed, "may I not have a ride on +that nice donkey yonder, standing by that handsome, red-cheeked boy?" + +The lady sighed as she looked at Robert's robust form and blooming +face, but she answered, cheerfully:-- + +"Certainly, my love, you may take a little ride, if the donkey and the +boy seem trustworthy." + +So Robert was called, and questioned about Billy, and answered so +frankly and modestly, that the young invalid was soon seated on +donkey-back, and gently trotting down the heath, with Robert running at +his side. He liked his attendant so well, that he soon got into +conversation with him, asked his name, and told him his own. Robert +was a little startled, when he found that his sociable new customer was +a real young nobleman--Arthur, Lord Evremond. + +When they returned to the carriage, his lordship felt so much benefited +by his ride, and was so much pleased with both donkey and donkey-boy, +that he engaged their services for the next afternoon. + +Lady Evremond had come up to London from her country-seat, where she +lived in great retirement, for the best medical advice for her son, who +had come home from Eton, ill, and who, young as he was, seemed +threatened with consumption. Her husband and daughter had died of that +disease, in Italy, and she had not the heart to take her Arthur away +from England to die. + +The physicians gave her hope that the child would recover; he seemed +better in the air of London than on his estate, which lay low in a +little valley in Devonshire. His new exercise of donkey-riding, seemed +to benefit him greatly for awhile. Two or three times a week the +little lord drove out to Hampstead, to take his ride on the breezy +heath. He became more and more friendly and confiding with Robert, +whom he never treated as an inferior. He loved best to talk with him +about the good he meant to do if God would only make him well, and let +him grow up to be a man. He said that if he died, the title and +estates must go to his cousin, who was a wicked, wasteful man, and who +would do nothing for the poor and suffering; and that, he said, was +what made it hardest for him to die. Next to that, was the thought of +leaving his mother; but she would soon come to him in heaven, and all +her grief be over--while the sorrows that his hard-hearted cousin might +cause his poor tenants, would last a long time. + +When the young lord spoke so sweetly and nobly, there was always such a +holy light on his beautiful face that he seemed to have become already +one of God's blessed angels, and Robert was almost ready to worship +him. So great was the boy's reverence for his goodness, not for his +_title_, that when Evremond asked him to call him "Arthur," instead of +"my lord," he gently shook his head, and said: "I would rather not." + +After a few weeks had gone by, Robert noticed that his noble friend +seemed to be getting still weaker and paler. He talked more and more +earnestly and tenderly of heaven, of his papa and angel sister, and +seemed to feel yet more loving pity for all the poor and suffering. He +now seldom rode faster than a walk, his voice grew faint, he rested his +hand wearily on Robert's shoulder, and fell languidly into his arms, +when he dismounted. + +At last he failed to keep his engagement at the heath. Day after day, +a whole week went by, and still he did not come, and poor Robert was +almost heart-broken with disappointment and anxiety. At length, to his +great joy, he saw the well-known carriage coming! Alas, it was empty! +The footman brought a message from Lady Evremond--her son had been +taken alarmingly ill, the night after his last ride--he had been +failing ever since, and now it was thought he could not live many +hours. The carriage was sent for his friend Robert, whom he wished to +see before he died. + +Robert sent home his donkey by a friend, and sprang into the carriage, +where he buried his face in his hands and wept all the way to Grosvenor +Square. + +He was conducted into a great hall, up a noble staircase, through +several elegant rooms, filled with beautiful and costly things, strange +enough to poor Robert, but his eyes were too full of tears and his +heart of grief to notice them. A chamber door was opened softly before +him, and Robert saw his friend lying on a couch by the window, with his +head resting in his mother's lap. His eyes were closed, and his face +so deathly pale that Robert thought he had come too late, and +staggering forward, he fell at the young lord's feet, and hiding his +face against them, sobbed aloud. + +"Dear Robert; have you come?" said a low, sweet voice. + +"Yes, my lord," answered Robert, joyfully. + +"Oh, _won't_ you call me _Arthur_, now that I am dying?" said his +friend. + +"Arthur, _dear Arthur_," murmured Robert, and that was all that he +could say for weeping. + +After awhile, Lord Evremond, looking up to his mother and clasping +Robert's hand, said: + +"Mamma, I leave _you_ Robert; love him and take care of him; send him +to school, and let him have just such an education as you would have +given to me. Promise me that you will, dear mamma." + +"Yes, Arthur, my beloved child, I promise but oh, my son, my darling +only boy, how can I part with you!" + +"Dearest mother, only think, it is for but a little while, and then we +shall all be together. Kiss me now, and let me sleep, I feel so +drowsy." + +And he did sleep, for some time, very peacefully, smiling sweetly, as +though dreaming pleasant dreams. Suddenly he opened his eyes, and +reached up his arms, calling out joyfully: "Papa! sister Mary!" and +died without a pang of suffering. + + +Ten years had passed. It was Sunday morning, and the church bell of +Evremond was calling the people to worship. All were eager to see and +hear the new minister, who was to preach his first sermon that day. +Out of the pleasant Rectory he came, supporting an elderly lady on his +arm. It was Robert Selwyn and his mother. At the church door they met +a lady, who grasped them both by the hand. This was Lady Evremond. + +Robert Selwyn performed the sacred rites with dignity and true feeling, +and preached a noble discourse, such an one as makes men's hearts +strong against sin, but soft toward the erring. + +After the services, when all save she had left the church, Lady +Evremond lingered for some time before a white marble monument, which +stood under a high church window. The sculpture on this monument +represented the young Lord Evremond, as he lay on his couch, when +dying,--and an angel, with a face very like his, lovingly lifting him +from his mother's arms, to bear him to heaven. + +As Lady Evremond gazed on the marble image of her dead boy, she +murmured: + +"Have I not been true to thy trust, my son?" + + +Late in the dim twilight of that day, another form was kneeling beside +that monumental couch. It was Robert Selwyn; and when he rose, there +were tears on that sweet marble face. All night long they glistened in +the pale moonlight, and sad starlight, shining through that high church +window; but in the morning the happy sunbeams came softly down and +kissed them all away. + + + + +Hampton Court + +THE LADY MARY'S VISION. + +How well I remember one pleasant morning in September--more than two +years ago, I declare!--when a merry party of us, English and Americans, +met at the counting house of our noble friend, Mr. B----, to go from +thence to Hampton Court. It was in the city of London that we met. +This is entered from the town, which holds most of the parks and +palaces of royalty and the nobility, by an old, old gateway, called +Temple Bar. When the Queen is to pay a visit to the city, Temple Bar +gate is closed, and she must respectfully ask admittance of the lord +mayor, and he must graciously present the keys to her before she may +come in. The lord mayor is the real king of London, and takes +precedence of royalty in all processions in the city, as, for instance, +the funeral procession of the Duke of Wellington, after it passed +Temple Bar. All lord mayors are elected from the board of aldermen; +they serve but one year, during which time they live in a very handsome +residence, called "The Mansion House," and ride in a splendid, but +rather gaudy and old-fashioned coach--something such as you have seen +pictures of in the story of Dick Whittington. + +Each new sovereign attends, with the court, a grand ball, given by the +lord mayor, at Guildhall; on which occasion there is always a +magnificent display, both on the part of the aristocracy and the +citizens. + +Guildhall is a large building, where the aldermen and councilmen meet, +to transact business and eat good dinners. In the hall where balls and +great banquets are given stand two gigantic painted figures, called Gog +and Magog, which are very quaint and odd-looking, and I don't know how +many years old. + +"But what," you will say, "has all this to do with Hampton Court?" + +Well, we started from the city, a social, merry party, of five or six; +and, after laughing and chatting in a comfortable English railway +carriage, for a few minutes, arrived at the station, near the palace. + +The old palace of Hampton Court stands on the northern bank of the +Thames, about twelve miles west of Hyde Park, and is situated in the +parish of Hampton, and county of Middlesex. + +In the reign of Henry VIII., when the great prelate, Cardinal Wolsey, +was at the height of his power, he leased the old manor and manor-house +of the Knights-Hospitallers of Jerusalem, to whom it then belonged, for +the purpose of building a palace suitable to his rank and splendor. He +erected a structure so magnificent, and so far surpassing any of the +royal residences, that he quite overshot his mark, and roused the +jealousy of the king, who bluntly asked him what he, a priest, and a +butcher's son, meant by building for himself a palace handsomer than +any of his king's. Then the cunning Cardinal, putting the best face he +could on the matter, said that he had only been trying to build a +residence worthy of so great and glorious a monarch, and that Hampton +Court was at King Henry's service. The king jumped at the offer, but +in return bestowed upon Wolsey the old manor of Richmond, the favorite +residence of his father, Henry VII. It was observed, when the great +Cardinal was going home, after this interview with his royal master, +that he scowled and growled at his followers, and belabored the poor +mule that he rode most unmercifully. + +So, by gift from Cardinal Wolsey, Hampton Court became the property of +the crown. + +Edward VI. was born in this palace, and mostly resided here, during his +short, but happy reign. Gloomy Queen Mary and her false hearted +husband, Philip of Spain, spent their honey-moon, or rather +vinegar-moon, here. Queen Elizabeth here gave several great festivals, +and her successor, the mean and pedantic James I. held a great +religious conference in the privy-chamber,--he, the most immoderate of +bigots, sitting as _moderator_. Here he entertained some great French +princes at one time, very handsomely; every thing being on a royal +scale except the host. Here he lost his wife, Anne of Denmark, a very +respectable sort of a woman, much too good for him. + +Charles I., with his queen and court, sought refuge at this place from +the plague, which was ravaging London. But there was another trouble +that came upon him from which he could not escape, even here. Death, +with his scythe, passed by the healthful shades of the country palace, +but the executioner with his axe was not to be evaded. + +The Lord Protector, Oliver Cromwell, resided sometimes at this palace; +but his favorite daughter, Elizabeth, a very lovely woman, died here, +and after that, it was the saddest place in all the world to him. + +Charles II., with his gay court, which hardly held one honest man, or +reputable woman, used to hold revels here; and stubborn James II. +resided here now and then, till he was driven by a roused people from +throne, palace, and country. William III. was very partial to Hampton +Court, and did much to improve and adorn it. His queen here performed +prodigious labors in the embroidery line, and kept her maids of honor +as hard at work on chair covers and bed curtains as though they were +poor seamstresses, toiling for their daily bread. + +George II. and Queen Caroline were the last sovereigns who resided at +this palace. It is now only occupied by the officers and servants who +have charge of it, and some dowagers and poor women of rank, called in +England "decayed gentlewomen." To those ladies the queen allots +apartments, and they live very handsomely and comfortably, though I +should think they would have rather lonely times, amid the melancholy +grandeur and stillness of that deserted old palace. + +Over the gateway by which we entered are carved the arms of Cardinal +Wolsey, with a Latin inscription, signifying "God is my help," a lying +motto, as his own words afterwards proved; for, when dying in disgrace, +he exclaimed, "If I had served my God half as faithfully as I have +served my king, He would not have given me over to my enemies in my old +age." + +We went up the grand staircase, to the guard-chamber, and from thence +passed through several suites of noble rooms, hung with pictures and +ancient tapestry, with frescoed ceilings, and carved and gilded +cornices. The most interesting among the pictures are portraits of +famous people, kings, queens, princes, heroes, and beauties, of whom we +read in history. + +But as there are more than a thousand paintings at Hampton Court, of +course I cannot stop to describe any of these, though about many I +could tell you very strange and romantic stories. + +The most magnificent apartment in the palace, and one of the grandest +in the world, is the great hall, which is one hundred and six feet +long, forty wide, and sixty high. The roof is beautifully carved and +decorated with the royal arms and badges, the walls are hung with +costly tapestry, the windows are richly stained, and bear the arms and +pedigree of Henry VIII. and his six wives. + +From this hall we passed through another splendid apartment, called +"the withdrawing room," down "the queen's staircase," into a court, +containing a pretty fountain, and from thence into the gardens. These +are very fine, but rather too stiffly and formally laid out to suit our +modern taste. I remember one narrow, gloomy alley, of boxwood, or yew, +called "Queen Mary's Walk," after bloody Mary, who used to take her +evening exercise here alone, marching slowly up and down in the waning +twilight, meditating, I fear, those frightful persecutions, rackings, +and burnings of the poor Protestants, and trying to steel her heart +against the womanly pity that would creep into it sometimes, in spite +of all the admonitions of Cardinal Pole and Bishop Gardiner, and the +counsels of her cruel husband. + +The greatest curiosity of these gardens is a Hamburg grape-vine, +supposed to be the largest in the world. It alone fills a green-house +seventy-two feet long and thirty broad. It is itself one hundred and +ten feet long; and is thirty inches in circumference, three feet from +the ground. It often bears as many as two thousand five hundred +bunches. + +From the green-house, we walked down to the Thames, and then returned +through a beautiful avenue of linden-trees, to the east part of the +palace, where there is a fountain and a basin containing gold and +silver fish. Then we whiled away another hour in the grounds, the +"Labyrinth," and under the noble chestnut and lime trees in the great +avenue, which is more than a mile in length, and then the golden day +was over! + + +THE LADY MARY'S VISION, + +_A Story of Hampton Court._ + +Some ten years ago, there resided for a time, in a pleasant suite of +apartments at Hampton Court, a young and beautiful gentlewoman, who was +greatly beloved by all who knew her, for her goodness and her sweet and +winning ways. Lady Mary Hamilton, or "the Lady Mary," as she was +called by the pensioners and retainers there, was the youngest daughter +of a poor Scottish nobleman, and the widow of a still poorer young +officer. Captain Hamilton, soon after his marriage, was ordered to +join the army in Afghanistan and for several months dared danger and +death, and endured frightful hardships, in that dreadful war against a +treacherous and savage people. + +At last, in a skirmish among the mountains, he was seen to fall under +the spear-thrust of a fierce Afghan chief, and was reported as +"killed," though his body was never recovered by his victorious +comrades. It was supposed that the natives had carried him off in +their retreat, to plunder him at leisure. + +But the Lady Mary never would give him up as really dead; and though +she was very sorrowful and anxious for him, she could not be persuaded +to put on a widow's dress, or cover her soft, brown hair with a widow's +cap. She even refused to receive a widow's pension, professing always +a firm belief that her husband was yet living. + +Month after month went by, till two long years had passed, and brought +her no word from her beloved George; and still she did not despair. + +It was said that she was kept up by happy dreams--that her husband +often came to her in her sleep, and told her to be of good cheer, and +all would yet be well. However that may have been, it is certain that +she never wholly lost heart. + +The queen kindly offered Lady Mary apartments at Hampton Court, and she +gladly accepted, for she was poor, and then, she felt that she should +like the melancholy quiet of the old palace far better than the gayety +and bustle of the town. And so she came to Hampton Court to live, and +"wait for my husband," she said, smiling sadly, while her friends shook +their heads, and whispered among themselves that "the poor dear +creature was hardly in her right mind." + +The lonely Lady Mary soon became a great favorite with the guards and +servitors at Hampton Court. They all felt for her a tender, respectful +pity, and would do any thing in their power to serve her. Being very +shy, she never liked to visit the show apartments of the palace, at +hours when she might meet strangers. So, the kind porter would often +let her go in by herself, and sometimes even give her the keys, that +she might stay as long as she pleased in any of the halls or galleries. + +She was romantic and poetical, and loved much to visit the grand old +hall, on summer evenings, and see the rich sunset light pour in, and +then fade softly out through the gorgeous stained windows. Sometimes, +she would linger here till the long twilight was over, and the +starlight and moonlight struggled through the stained glass, and +faintly lit up the hall, silvering over the faded tapestry and banners, +glistening on the old arms and armor. Strolling up and down the hall, +or seated under one of the great windows, she would think and dream, +and try to forget the sorrows of her humble life in remembering the +misfortunes of the great and royal ones, who had so often walked where +she walked, and sat where she sat. + +Once old Roger, the porter, asked her if she were not afraid to stay +there, all alone by herself, so late. + +"Why, no," she answered, "what should I be afraid of?" + +He shrugged his shoulders, but said no more; I suppose because he did +not know what to say, to such a simple, childlike question. + +One lovely August evening, the Lady Mary stayed later than usual in +"Wolsey's Hall." + +The sunset glory faded and faded away; the twilight deepened and +deepened into night; the moon and the stars looked in upon her through +the great window. She was weary and sad, and the lonely stillness of +that place seemed to suit her; she seemed to _feel_ the calm moonlight +in which she sat, bathing her like a soft, soothing flood. She leaned +her head against the tapestried wall, closed her eyes, and thought, and +thought of the great days and splendid festivals long gone by--of kings +and queens, brave knights, and beautiful ladies, and--when all at once +that vast hall was lighted up as though by magic! Music swelled +through the arches, and a splendid court came slowly sweeping in! +First walked a stout, red-faced man, all velvets and jewels, with a +dark, sorrowful-looking lady on his right; and on his left, an elderly +man, with a bold, haughty face, and a rich dress of scarlet velvet and +ermine. + +The Lady Mary recognized these as Henry VIII., Queen Katharine, and +Cardinal Wolsey. + +They were followed by maids of honor, gentlemen, priests, and pages. + +Soon there was a livelier peal of music, and the dance began. The king +danced with the most beautiful of the maids of honor, whom he smiled +lovingly upon, while the poor queen looked very unhappy. So the Lady +Mary knew that this fair maid must be Anne Boleyn. + +When the dance ended, the gay court passed out; but again there was +music, and another swept in. This was headed by a proud, stately +woman, with golden hair, and cold blue eyes. She wore a sparkling +diadem; her dress was of stiff brocade, thickly bestrewn with pearls +and diamonds, while about her neck was a ruff so prodigious, that it +alone would keep everybody at a very respectful distance. On her left, +walked a handsome noble, most royally dressed, and behind came a +brilliant host of beauties, pages, cavaliers, poets, and statesmen. + +The Lady Mary now recognized Queen Elizabeth, the Earl of Essex, and +the court. + +The queen took her place upon the throne and graciously desired her +court to be seated. Before them was a stage; they were to witness a +play. The queen signified that she was ready, and the play began. It +was "Henry VIII., or the Fall of Wolsey." + +The queen seemed interested, and applauded occasionally, though the +actors played badly. They were half frightened to death at appearing +in that august place, before her august majesty; all but one, who went +through with his part in a quiet, manly way, which did him great +credit. This was the author--William Shakspeare. + +At length the queen, court, and actors all went out, and there came in +next, not a court, with music and pomp, but quietly and silently, a +dark, sad-looking man, leading two children by the hand. These three +walked up and down the hall, several times--the man talking to the +children, and telling them, it seemed, something very sad, for they +cried and clung to him, and then the three passed out, weeping. + +The Lady Mary knew these to be Charles I. and his children, whom he had +been telling, perhaps, that he might soon be put to death. + +Next there came, in stillness also, a stern, haggard-faced man, in a +rough, half-military dress, with a sweet delicate-looking lady, in +white. She was clinging to his arm, and seemed expostulating with him +very earnestly, but he shook his head, yet at the same time he tenderly +smoothed her hair, with his strong hand, and playfully pinched her thin +cheek, and tried to smile. Then he suddenly turned, and strode out of +the hall. The lady stood a moment, looking after him mournfully, and +then passed out also. + +The Lady Mary knew these two to be Cromwell and his daughter Elizabeth, +who often interceded with her father, for political offenders. + +Again there was loud music, and again a brilliant court came pouring +in. First walked a dark, dissolute-looking young man, very gayly +dressed, with long curls dangling about his shoulders, handing +carelessly along a pale, dispirited lady, who didn't seem to find much +comfort in the queenly diadem she wore. + +The ball began, and soon it was turned into a wild revel. Beautiful, +but bold ladies, and reckless looking gentlemen, danced and laughed, +sung and feasted, and gamed, and grew merrier and madder every minute. + +The Lady Mary became frightened, for she saw that she was in the +profligate court of Charles II. She tried to hide behind the tapestry +by the window, but a rollicking nobleman, whom she recognized by his +portraits as the Earl of Rochester, caught sight of her, and sprang +forward, to drag her out into the midst of the hall! She flung his +hand off, with a scream, and lo, he, the king, the queen, the court, +the lights, every thing vanished! + +_It was all a dream!_ + +The Lady Mary was alone in the old hall, in the silent night, now +darker than before, for a cloud had come over the moon. + +She groped her way to the door, unlocked it, and passed into the +withdrawing room. At the further end she saw some one coming, she +could not see who it was, by the dim starlight, so she asked: "Roger, +is that you?" + +"No, Mary," answered a glad, tremulous voice, "it is not Roger--it is +I--George!" + +With a wild, joyful cry, the Lady Mary sprang forward, and was clasped +in her husband's arms. + +And _this_ was not a dream. + +Captain Hamilton had been severely wounded, and taken captive by the +Afghans. They had kept him a close prisoner in the mountains, not even +permitting him to write a letter to any one, for two years. He had at +last been discovered, liberated, and sent home to recover his health, +which had suffered somewhat in his hardship and confinement. + +On arriving at Hampton Court, whither he had been directed from London, +he had been told by old Roger where his wife probably was, as he could +not find her in her apartments, and was on his way to the hall, when he +met her, as we have seen. + +The next time that the Lady Mary visited that old hall, to walk in the +moonlight, or muse in her favorite window-seat, it was observed that +she did not go alone. + + + + +Windsor Castle + +KING JAMES OF SCOTLAND AND + THE LADY JANE BEAUFORT. + +One of the pleasantest excursions which a traveller can make from +London is to Windsor, with its parks and grounds so wonderfully +luxuriant and beautiful, and so vast in extent, and its royal old +castle--certainly one of the noblest sights in all England. + +This is finely situated on the Thames; it overlooks a rich and lovely +country, and is seen from great distances--a grand, crowning object in +the landscape. + +I visited Windsor with a party of Americans, some of whom I had never +seen before, and have not met since; but I always think of them with +kindly interest, because I shared with them so great a pleasure. I +wonder if they remember it as well as I do! + +'Twas on a bright, but not unpleasantly warm day in midsummer, when the +parks and gardens were in all the glory of their greenness and bloom, +when fountains sparkled in the sun and birds warbled in the shade, and +the sky above was clear and blue enough to make up for all the clouds +and fogs I had seen since I came to England. + +We went directly from the station to the Castle, a grand mass of +ancient and modern buildings, towers, and turrets, and parapets--all +solidly but elegantly built, of dark gray stone. + +We entered through a lofty gateway, into the court-yard, from thence +into a sort of guardroom, where we recorded our names in a book; and +then were conducted up a great marble staircase, to the state +apartments. These are somewhat jumbled up in my mind with the hosts of +magnificent rooms which I have since seen in many other royal palaces; +but I remember that they were all very handsome, richly furnished, and +hung with fine pictures and gorgeous tapestry. I recollect most +distinctly "The Vandyke Room," called so because of its containing +several great pictures by that famous painter--principally portraits of +Charles I. and his family. Then there is "The Waterloo Chamber," hung +round with portraits of heroes and great men, and "St. George's Hall," +a grand banqueting room, two hundred feet in length, and the beautiful +ball-room, as brilliant as rich carving and gilding and delicate +painting can make it. + +Our party had permission to see not only the state, but the private +apartments of the palace. These are less splendid than those great +show rooms, but more tasteful, beautiful, and comfortable. Yes, +_comfortable_--for the English, even in their grandest palaces, manage +to have the dear, cosy home look and feeling about them. The Queen's +breakfast parlor, looking out on a pleasant terrace, simply though +richly furnished, and hung with portraits of herself, Prince Albert, +and the royal children, is a very charming apartment indeed. We came +to this through a long, bright corridor, lined with beautiful pictures, +bronzes, graceful statuettes, and elegant curiosities, so that one +could but be charmed to linger by the way. Several of the pictures +represented scenes in her Majesty's life--her first council--her +coronation--her marriage--the christening of the princess royal, etc. + +Many palaces have such a vast, cold, awfully grand look that one +fancies kings and queens must have very dull, stiff, dreary times, +living in them, and must often long for a simple, snug little +cottage-home, somewhere away from all their pomp and splendor. But it +is not so at Windsor; I did not pity the Queen at all. I even fancied +that I could be very comfortable myself, living at the palace, after +getting a little used to it. Her Majesty never gave me an opportunity +to test this, however. + +Attached to the Castle is the beautiful chapel of St. George, in which +the court, when at Windsor, attend service. Here, a place is +partitioned off for the royal family, something like a box at the +opera, only enclosed by a fine lattice work screen, to prevent the +people, I suppose, from gazing at the Queen and Prince Albert, when +they should be minding their devotions. + +From the chapel we went to the royal stables, where we were shown some +very fine horses and elegant equipages. There were the Queen's +carriages of all varieties, and little pony phaetons, and Canadian +sleighs and Russian sledges; and there were her carriage and riding +horses, and Prince Albert's hunters, and the children's ponies. The +stables are handsome and comfortable buildings, and are kept with the +utmost care, order, and neatness. Thousands of poor people might envy +the high-blooded brutes such a home as this. Some of the horses were +very beautiful and graceful animals, and all were groomed so carefully +it seemed no one hair was longer than the others. In almost every +stall was a sleek, lazy, high-bred looking cat, either perched upon the +back of the horse, dozing and blinking, or curled up in the straw at +his feet, fast asleep. The grooms told us that the horses were really +very fond of their feline companions, and treated them tenderly and +protectingly. + +From the castle we drove to the delightful pleasure-grounds of Virginia +Water. Passing up a magnificent avenue, more than three miles long, we +came to a height, on which stands a large equestrian statue of George +III., in the dress of an ancient Roman. This is the king we rebelled +against, you know. He was a domineering, stubborn, crack-brained old +gentleman, but, for all that, honest and good-humored. I should not +think him particularly like an ancient Roman, except in his obstinacy. + +Next we came to Virginia Water, which is just the loveliest place I +ever saw. Here are luxuriant plantations and gardens, summer-houses, +temples, fountains, cascades, woods, walks, and drives. Here is a +shining, winding little lake, with fairy-like pleasure-boats upon it, +and graceful swans slowly sailing over the clear, blue waves, and +looking like the reflection of small white clouds, floating in the sky +above. + +Virginia Water is the play-ground of royalty. The celebrated Duke of +Cumberland, George IV., and William IV., amused themselves here a great +deal, at an enormous and very foolish expense, sometimes. The duke +built an absurd Chinese temple and a useless clock-tower. George had +ruins brought from Greece and Egypt, and set up in the wood; while +William, who had been a sailor, had a little vessel of war built to +defend the miniature sea. + +The Duke of Cumberland's clock-tower was sold to a rich country +gentleman, who soon tired of it, and wished to sell it back to the +crown. But King George objected to his price, and refused to buy. The +owner, who was a shrewd fellow, a sort of English Barnum, said, "Very +well," but immediately took means to render himself a very +uncomfortable neighbor, by mounting a large telescope on the top of the +tower, and coolly watching the king in all his loyal recreations. This +quite enraged his Majesty; but he bought the tower on the owner's +terms, who, I am sorry to say, was disloyal enough to make him pay dear +for the telescope. + +When Queen Victoria is at Windsor, the royal standard is seen floating +from the highest tower, and strangers are not admitted to the castle. +But the great park is always open to the people. Here they sometimes +meet the Queen and Prince Albert walking or riding, without an escort, +and so plainly dressed that those who expect to see sovereigns and +princes always surrounded by pomp and show, might pass them by +unnoticed. The little princes and princesses are often seen walking +and playing in the grounds, also very simply dressed. They are fine, +healthy, natural children, and are admirably governed and cared for. +Their good mother sees that especial attention is paid to their health, +and has established a wise and strict system of exercise and diet. She +keeps them in the country and on the sea-shore as much as possible; she +overlooks their studies, reading, and sports; she is very careful that +they go early to bed, and rise in time to hear the good-morning song of +the lark. As for their diet, many an American farmer's or shopkeeper's +children would think it very hard if they were restricted to such +simple food as these sons and daughters of a great queen are content +with and thrive on; oatmeal porridge, butterless bread, a very little +meat, no rich gravies,--water, milk, a limited amount of fruit, and no +sweetmeats. + +The Prince of Wales, who, if he lives, will be the next king of +England, is an amiable and gallant young lad, but is a little too apt, +I heard it said, to take kingly airs upon himself before his time. I +was told of an instance of this very natural fault, in which he was +taught a good lesson. + +It happened some two or three summers ago, that he invited one of the +boys from Eton College, which is near Windsor, to spend a day with him +at the castle. This boy, though the son of a nobleman, was untitled, I +believe, but perhaps all the more sturdy and manly for that, and not to +be put upon, even by a prince. + +All went well for a time, but at last, the prince took offence at some +bit of sport, and did not restrain his temper or his tongue. The +Etonian resented the insult, I am sorry to say, in the usual school-boy +fashion, by a resort to blows; and being stronger than the prince, soon +got the advantage of him. The attendants raised an alarm, and Prince +Albert himself came to the field of battle. The Etonian, having let +the little prince up, stood bravely facing his royal father. + +"Why, what is the matter, boys?" asked Prince Albert. + +"The matter is, your royal highness, that I have beaten your son. It +was because he insulted me, and I won't stand an insult from any boy." + +The prince, after inquiring into the matter, reproved young Albert; and +being a soldier, did not blame the Eton boy for his want of peace +principles, as you or I would doubtless have done. + +There are many stories in English history connected with Windsor +Castle, but none I think so pretty as that of + + +KING JAMES OF SCOTLAND AND THE LADY JANE BEAUFORT. + +About four hundred and fifty years ago, when Henry IV. was king of +England, King Robert III., of Scotland, put his son James, the heir to +his throne, a boy of nine years old, on board ship, to send him to +France, to be educated. But the vessel was taken by some English +cruisers, and the little prince carried captive to King Henry, who +treacherously imprisoned him at Windsor Castle. + +King Robert was a very loving father, and when the news of this capture +was brought to him, as he sat at supper in his palace at Rothesay, he +was so overcome with grief that he fainted and seemed about to die. +His attendants carried him to his chamber and laid him on his bed, +which he never left again; for when he came out of his swoon, he hid +his face in the pillow, and wept, and wept, refusing to be +comforted,--sending all his food away untasted, and scarcely ever +speaking, except to repeat the name of his son, over and over again, in +a way to break one's heart. So he took on for three days and nights, +and then died. + +But the prince, now King James, was not so badly off as he might have +been. Though a prisoner, he was not confined in a gloomy dungeon, but +had handsome and comfortable apartments, in a tower which overlooked a +beautiful garden, where trees waved, and birds sang, and fountains +sparkled, and flowers sent up sweet perfumes to his windows. The sun +shone and the stars looked in upon him; and when a prisoner can see the +sun and the stars, he cannot feel that God has quite forgotten him, or +the angels ceased to watch over him. He was not left alone, or +deprived of employments and amusements. King Henry commanded that he +should have a right princely education. He had masters who taught him +history, grammar, oratory, music, sword-exercise, jousting, singing, +and dancing. He was handsome, graceful, and clever, but always most +celebrated for his poetical talent. As he grew to manhood, he became +one of the noblest poets of his day, and even now his verses, though +quaint and old-fashioned, are very sweet, pure, and pleasant to read. + +One fresh May morning, when James had been a captive in Windsor Castle +nearly eighteen years, as he was looking down from his window, he saw a +beautiful young lady walking in the garden. She was dressed all in +white; a net of pearls and sapphires confined her golden hair, and a +rich chain of gold was about her delicate throat. By her side sported +a pretty little Italian greyhound, with a string of tinkling silver +bells around his neck. + +As she moved among the flowers, the violet looked up into her eyes, and +thought their tender blue was her own reflection. The rose said to +herself, "What a rich bloom I must have, if even my shadow makes her +cheeks so red!" The lily had similar thoughts about her neck; while +the golden laburnum thought it and the sunbeams had been the making of +her hair. + +This lovely dame was the Lady Jane Beaufort, daughter of the Earl of +Somerset. Of course, King James, having little else to do, fell in +love with her without delay, and in a very short time told her so, by +means of tender rhymes, which he sent fluttering down into her path. +The Lady Jane was charmed with his verses, and found it easy to go from +admiring the poetry into loving the poet. To be frank, and tell him +so, she wrote a little billet, and tied it under the wing of a white +dove, directing him to carry it straight to the captive's window,--and +he did so. But if he had suspected what was to have come of it, I +don't believe he would have gone; for it was little rest the poor bird +got after that, between the two lovers, who kept him flying back and +forth a dozen times a day with their fond messages under his wing. + +At last, King Henry got wind of this romantic affair, and, instead of +being angry; he was very glad, for he wanted King James to have an +English wife. So he took him from prison, gave him Lady Jane in +marriage, and restored him to his throne. + +The poet-king and his noble queen were very kindly received in +Scotland, and lived for some time very happily and peacefully, always +dearly loving one another. But James found the kingdom in great +confusion from misgovernment, and the common people very much +oppressed. He bravely set himself to reform matters, trying to relieve +and protect the poor, and restrain and humble the rich and powerful. +His most difficult labor was to lessen the power of the great nobles, +who were in fact almost kings themselves, on their own estates, and +fought against each other, and even against the king, upon the +slightest provocation, and often without any. They rebelled against +this as being a spiteful action, and not, as it really was, a noble, +kingly effort to benefit the _whole_ kingdom. They took further +offence at the levying of some taxes for the support of the throne and +to carry on the government. The people being poor, and not used to +paying such taxes, were easily led to believe that it was King James's +avarice, and not the necessities of the government, which caused them +to be exacted. So, although he was so wise and good, and had the +welfare of his people so much at heart, he came to be looked upon as +unjust and tyrannical, by both the nobles and the common people; and +this led to a conspiracy to bring about his death. + +The leader in this conspiracy was one Sir Robert Graham, a bold, +ambitious man, who was greatly embittered by having suffered an +imprisonment at the command of the King. He also enticed into the plot +the old Earl of Athole, by promising that his son, Sir Robert Stewart, +should be made king in James's place. Many others joined the plot, +upon various grounds, bringing with them their followers, to whom they +pretended that their object was to carry off a lady from the court. +Graham went off into the far Highlands, to complete his plan, and from +thence he formally recalled his allegiance to the king, bidding him +defiance, and threatening to put him to death with his own hand. In +reply to this, King James set a price upon the head of Graham, to be +paid to any one who should capture and deliver him up to justice; but +he managed to keep himself safely concealed in the mountains. + +For the Christmas following this, the poor, doomed king had appointed a +feast to be held at Perth. As he was about to cross a ferry on his way +to attend this feast, he was stopped by a Highland woman, who professed +to be a prophetess. She called out to him in a loud voice, "My lord, +the king, if you pass this water, you will never return alive." The +king had read in some book of prophecy, that a king would be killed in +Scotland during that year, and was much struck by this speech of the +old woman. + +Better would it have been for both himself and Scotland had he given +heed to this warning, which the old woman doubtless had better +authority than her claim to prophecy for making; but he turned +jestingly to a knight of the court, to whom he had given the title of +"the King of Love," saying, "Sir Alexander, there is a prophecy that a +king shall be killed in Scotland this year; now this must mean either +you or me, since we are the only kings in Scotland." Several other +things occurred which, if attended to, might have saved the king; but +they were all suffered to pass unheeded. + +When the king arrived at Perth, there being no castle or palace +convenient, he selected for his residence an abbey of Black Friars, +which made it necessary, unfortunately, to distribute his guards among +the citizens, and thus make comparatively easy the execution of the +design of the conspirators. + +On the night of the 20th of February, 1437, after some of the +conspirators, selected for that purpose, had knocked to pieces the +locks of the doors of the king's apartment, carried away the bars which +fastened the gates, and provided planks with which the ditch +surrounding the monastery was to be crossed, Sir Robert Graham left his +hiding-place in the mountains and entered the convent gardens, with +about three hundred men. + +The king had spent the evening with the ladies and gentlemen of the +court, in singing, dancing, playing chess, and reading romances aloud. +All the court had retired, and James was standing before the fire, in +night-gown and slippers, talking with the queen and her ladies, when +the same Highland prophetess that had warned him at the ferry, begged +to speak with him, but was refused, because it was so late. + +Suddenly there was heard without the clash of men in armor, and the +glare of torches was seen in the gardens. The king at once thought of +Sir Robert Graham and his threat, and called to the ladies who were +still in the room to keep the doors fast, so as to give him time to +make his escape. After vainly trying to break the bars of the windows, +he suddenly remembered that there was a vault running beneath the +apartment, which was used as a common sewer; whereupon he seized the +tongs, raised a plank in the floor, and let himself down. This vault +had formerly led out into the court of the convent; but, most +unfortunately, he had only a few days before ordered this opening to be +walled up, because, when playing ball, the ball had several times +rolled into it. + +In the mean time, the conspirators were hunting for him from room to +room, and at last they reached the one beneath which he was hidden. +The queen and her ladies kept the door shut as long as they could, but +you will remember that the cowardly conspirators had broken the locks +and carried off the bars; and this brings us to one of the most devoted +and heroic acts in Scottish history. Catherine Douglas, one of the +noblest (both by rank and nature) and loveliest of the queen's ladies, +when she found that the bar was gone, with that high spirit which has +made her race wellnigh the most famous of Scotland, thrust her +beautiful, naked arm through the staples, in the place of the bar, and +thus kept the door closed till her arm was crushed and broken by the +pressure of the brutal traitors on the other side. When this heroic +defence was overcome, they burst headlong into the room, with swords +and daggers drawn, beating down and trampling on the brave ladies who +did their best to keep them back. One of them was in the act of +killing the queen, but a son of Graham prevented it, by exclaiming, +"What would you do with the queen? She is but a woman! Let us seek +the king!" + +After a careful, but unsuccessful search, they went away to look in +other parts of the building. The king having heard their departure, +and being very cold and uncomfortable, asked the ladies to help him out +of the vault. But some of the conspirators had remembered this vault, +and just at this moment they returned to search it. They tore up the +plank, and there stood the poor, doomed king in his night-gown, and +entirely unarmed; at which, one of them said, "Sirs, I have found the +bride for whom we have been seeking all night." + +First, two brothers, named Hall, jumped into the vault, with drawn +daggers; but the king was a very powerful and active man, and he at +once threw them both down, and was trying to get a dagger from them, +when Graham himself leaped down. Then James, finding that defence was +useless, asked him for mercy, and for a little time to confess his +sins. But Graham replied, "Thou never hadst mercy on any one, +therefore thou shall receive no mercy; and thy confessor shall be only +this good sword." Whereupon he ran the king through the body. Then, +possibly overcome with remorse, or fearing the consequences of the +deed, he was for leaving the king to the chances of life and death; but +the others fiercely called out that if he did not kill the king, he +himself should die. At this, he and the two Halls dispatched the poor +monarch with their daggers. After his death, sixteen wounds were found +upon his breast alone. + +And this was the end of the great and good James I. of Scotland, who, +king though he was, died a martyr for the rights of the people. + + + + +The Journal from England to Ireland. + +THE FISHERMAN'S RETURN. + +On a bright morning, early in August, I left London, with my dear +friends, Mr. and Mrs. B., for a visit to Ireland, by the way of Wales +and Holyhead. The first remarkable place we came to was the town of +Chester, which stands just outside the Principality of Wales, and is so +very ancient that antiquarians, who are often rather quarrelsome old +gentlemen, have had many a hot dispute about its founder. Some say it +was Leon Gaur, "a mighty strong giant," who first built caves and +dungeons here, in which he confined all the poor stragglers he could +catch, and fatted them for his table. Others affirm that it was old +King Lear, whom you will sometime read about in Shakspeare, as being +afflicted with a very testy temper and two wicked daughters, who were +quite too sharp for him. + +When the Romans had possession of Great Britain, they made Chester an +important military station, under the name of Dova. There are many +Roman remains shown here, to this day. Afterwards some of the Saxon +kings held their court here. It is related that the proud Edgar once +took a grand pleasure trip on the Dee, when his boat was rowed by eight +tributary kings. + +Under the Normans, the town grew fast in strength and importance, and, +at last, took the name of Chester. Lupus, the first Earl of Chester, +built a castle, rebuilt the walls, and made it the head-quarters of an +army, maintained on the frontiers, to keep down the Welsh. That brave, +half savage people kept attacking the town and setting fire to the +suburbs; but were always beaten back with great slaughter and left so +many of their dead behind them, that the cold-blooded English actually +made a wall of Welshmen's skulls. So, in years after, when the young +Welsh soldiers undertook to take the town; they were obliged, it may be +said, to climb up over their fathers' and grandfathers' heads. + +Chester is now a very interesting place, full of quaint, old-fashioned +houses, with high pointed roofs and carved gables turned toward the +streets, which are wide and straight. The walls remain nearly +perfect--not preserved for defence, but as relics of the old fighting +times. + +The Dee is a strange looking river when the tide is low, for the sands +stretch far out on each side. Mr. Kingsley, an English author, in a +beautiful song, tells a sad story of a poor girl, who was sent one +evening to call the cattle home across these wide sands. A blinding +mist came up and the tide came in, but Mary never came home--only as +she floated ashore the next morning, drowned. + +A little way off the railway track, lies Maes Garmon, the scene of a +great victory gained by the Britons over the Scots and Picts, in 429. + +It was in the season of Lent;--the Britons had assembled in great +numbers, in a valley amid the mountains, to listen to the preaching of +St. Germanus and Bishop Lupus. These holy men preached with such +extraordinary power, that thousands of rude warriors came forward, +vociferously professing religion, and eager to be baptized. The enemy, +hearing of this by their scouts, thought that here would be a fine +opportunity to take them by surprise, and hastened to the spot to make +the attack. But St. Germanus somehow got wind of their coming, and, +taking the pick of the warriors; conducted them to a pass through which +the heathen army must enter the valley. As soon as the enemy appeared, +the Saint, lifting the rood in his hands, shouted three times at the +top of his voice, "Hallelujah!" All his warriors repeated the cry, and +the mountains echoed and reechoed it, till their caves and forests +seemed to be alive with lurking Britons. The bloody-minded heathens +were so astonished and frightened by this strange Christian uproar, +that they flung down their aims and ran for their lives! The Britons, +instead of going on with their Hallelujahs, as I think they should have +done, took after them with great fury--slew thousands and drove +thousands into the river, where they were drowned. It was a queer way +to win a battle that--scaring the enemy out of their wits by shouting +holy words at them. I doubt whether the plan would succeed as well in +our enlightened Christian times. + +The next object of interest is Flint Castle, to which King Richard II. +was carried as a prisoner, and where he met the banished Bolingbroke, +who was soon to step into his royal shoes and dub himself King Henry IV. + +Next was the town of Holywell--so called for the famous, and, it is +said, miraculous well of St. Winifred, which it contains. If you +inquire for this, you are conducted to a beautiful Gothic building, +erected by the good Margaret, Countess of Richmond. Within this +edifice is a large bath; and in and out of this, the maimed, palsied, +and rheumatic, are constantly hobbling, crawling, or being carried. +Over head, fixed in the roof, are hosts of old canes and crutches, +placed there by cripples who say they have been cured by the waters. +Doubtless this spring has medicinal properties, like many in our own +country, and very likely many a poor creature is cured by simply +bathing repeatedly in pure cold water--a treatment tried here for the +first time in all their lives. + +But who was St. Winifred? + +All I know of her I get from a Roman Catholic legend, which I, being a +Protestant, and because it seems to me absurd, cannot credit; but which +many good, simple-hearted people find no difficulty in +believing--especially such as have had a lame leg cured by the well, +and have hung up a crutch in the shrine. + +There was once, (says the legend,) a great lord, whose name was +Thewith, and a noble lady, whose name was Wenlo, and they had one only +daughter, whose name was Winifred. Now Winifred grew up to be a +marvellously beautiful maiden, and her hand was sought in marriage by +lords and princes far and near. But strangely enough, she would have +nothing to say to any of them, and seemed to care nothing for the pomps +and pleasures of the world. She was pious and charitable, and loved +better to nurse and pray with the sick than to wear fine dresses, or +dance with handsome young gentlemen. Perhaps she had visions, in which +she saw and heard all the palsied old men and women, and all the +miserable cripples that were, or ever would be in the world, shaking +their heads and thumping with their crutches at her. At any rate, she +resolved to live a single, devout, and charitable life, and for that +purpose, placed herself under the care and instruction of her uncle, +Breno, a very holy priest. + +But it happened that Prince Caradoc, the son of King Alen--who _he_ was +I don't know--saw her, and instantly fell desperately in love with her, +and in the authoritative way which princes have, asked her to be his +wife. Winifred said "no" very decidedly, and then he undertook to +carry her off by force. But she escaped, and ran down the hill toward +her uncle's cell. Caradoc followed, foaming with rage, and with his +drawn sword in his hand. She ran very fast, but he soon overtook her, +and with one blow of his sword cut off her head! The body dropped on +the spot, but the head bounded forward and fell at the feet of Father +Breno, who stood at the door of his cell. The good priest caught it +up, and running to the body, put it on again--being very careful not to +have it twisted toward one shoulder, or what would have been more +awkward still, facing backward. + +Immediately Winifred arose, as well as ever, only a little weak from +loss of blood--and with nothing to remember her decapitation by, but a +red line around her neck, which looked like a small string of coral +beads, and was rather pretty than otherwise. + +From that day it was settled that Winifred was a Saint, for on the spot +where her head had rested, there bubbled up a spring of pure water, for +the healing of the sick--particularly the crippled and rheumatic. +Believers say that, in the Saint's time, the waters were more powerful +than they are now. Then, after one dip, the palsied stopped shaking, +the paralytic began talking, and cripples flung away their crutches +while the maimed had only to thrust the stumps of arms and legs into +the spring, to have beautiful new hands and feet sprout out before +their eyes! + +The part of North Wales through which we passed, is not so mountainous +and picturesque as some other portions of the Principality; but it is +very beautiful, even as seen in flying glimpses, from the railway +carriage. We were very sorry that we could not stop to explore the +lovely vales of Clwyd and Llangollen, and visit the little city of St. +Asaph, where Mrs. Hemans once resided. + +I longed to go and pay my respects to some of those grand, old +mountains, that stood afar off, in their stern majesty, clothed with +purple-blossomed heather, flecked with golden sunshine and crowned with +gorgeous clouds, or silvery mists. The dark-waving foliage of many a +shadowy glen and rocky gorge seemed beckoning to us to search into +their lovely, lonely places, and many a glad rill and wild cascade +seemed to call to us to come and look upon its unsunned beauty. But +the swift locomotive remorselessly whirled us away from glen and gorge, +and its rush and clang soon drowned those pleasant mountain voices of +dancing rivulet and laughing waterfall. + +We hardly caught a breath of the free, fresh air of the hills, in +exchange for the long, brown train of heavy, hot smoke we left behind +us;--in truth, puffing and whirling in and out of the Principality, as +we did, I am almost ashamed to count Wales as one of the countries I +have seen. + +In England, no town, however large it may be, is called a city, unless +it has a Bishop and a Cathedral, as the capital of an Episcopal See. +Thus the great seaport of Liverpool is only a _town_, while St. Asaph, +with but one street and eight hundred inhabitants, is a _city_. + +The first Bishop of St. Asaph was St. Kentigern, a famous monk and +monk-maker, and founder of monasteries. He had a disciple by the name +of Asaph, whom he brought up to be a Saint. + +Legends say that one day the good Bishop got severely chilled by +remaining in his bath too long, and young Asaph, not having any shovel +or tongs, took up some live coals in his hands, and carried them to his +master, without burning himself at all. People said this was a very +fair beginning for a Saint, and as he continued to improve, the church +canonized him when he died, and the city and diocese were named for him. + +Near St. Asaph is Rhyddlan Castle--the place where Edward I. outwitted +the Welsh nobles, by proposing that they should be ruled by a _native_ +Prince, whose character nobody could say a word against. All joyfully +agreed, and then he presented to them his infant son, born at Carnarvon +Castle, and whom he had made Prince of Wales. + +At Conway, we passed close by a grand old castle, still very strong and +imposing, though it was built by Edward I. Here we crossed the Tubular +Bridge--a great curiosity--but far from equal to the Britannia Bridge, +across the Menai Straits, which lie between Wales and the Island of +Anglesea. I cannot describe this to you--but it is one of the most +wonderful works in all the world. + +Holyhead is a small town, on an island of the same name--divided by a +narrow strait from the west coast of Anglesea. Here we took a steamer +to cross the Irish channel. + +We made the trip in about four hours; but they seemed to me no less +than twelve--for I was mortally sick. I thought at one time that I was +surely dying. I did not care much; people never do when they are +sea-sick; still, I thought I should prefer a more romantic sort of a +death, and I was heartily glad when I found myself on shore, at +Kingstown, seven miles below Dublin, where we took the railway for that +city. We arrived late at night, and drove to our hotel on a regular +Irish jaunting car. This is a very funny looking vehicle--low and +broad, with two wheels, concealed by the seats, which run lengthwise. +There is another kind, called the _inside car_. An Irishman once +explained the difference to an English traveller, in this way: "An +outside car, yer honor, has the wheels _inside_, and an inside car has +the wheels _outside_." + +All Irish carmen drive furiously, and the cars go jumping and hopping +along, and spinning round the corners, at such a rate that one feels +rather nervous at first, and has no little difficulty in keeping on. +But like many other things, it's easy enough, when you get used to it. + +We found Gresham's Hotel a very comfortable, pleasant place, and we +soon felt at home, though we saw none but Irish faces, and heard only +the Irish brogue around us; for those faces were smiling and cordial, +and that rich, musical brogue seemed bubbling up from kindly hearts. + +I have not told you much about Wales in this chapter, because rushing +through the country, as I did, I really saw very little of it. The +people seemed quiet, cleanly, and industrious; but they did not look, +or dress at all like the English. I noticed that many of the women +seemed rather masculine in their tastes--wearing hats and coats like +the men, and that the children were dressed in an odd old-fashioned +way, and looked serious, shrewd, and mature--almost as though they were +a race of dwarfs. The Welsh language had to me a strange, harsh, +barbaric sound, and when listening to it, I realized for the first time +since I had left America, that I was indeed far away from home. I do +not doubt, however, but that if I had seen more of the Welsh, I should +have liked them heartily, for they are said to be very kindly, honest, +and hospitable. They are naturally brave and sturdy lovers of liberty. +In old times the English had a hard and tedious struggle with them, +before they could subdue them. Often, when they thought they had the +whole rude nation under their hands, or rather under their feet, the +rebellious spirit would break out again in a new spot, fiercer and +hotter than ever, and all the work had to be done over again. + +Many of the stories in Welsh history are very grand and heroic, but +they are also very terrible; and I think you will find more to your +taste a simple little story of domestic life, which I have picked up +somewhere, and can assure you is as true as a great deal we find in +history. + + +THE FISHERMAN'S RETURN. + +A good many years ago, somewhere on the southwestern coast of Wales, +there lived an honest fisherman, by the name of John Jenkins. The +Jenkinses are a very numerous and respectable family in Wales, and so +are the Joneses. + +Mrs. Jenkins was a Jones, but she was not half so proud of her high and +vast family connections, as she was of her industrious, hardy husband, +and her pretty little daughter, Fanny. + +When Fanny was a fortnight-old baby, the least, puny, little, pink +creature, wrapped in flannel, there came up a dreadful storm, and a +small London packet was wrecked on the coast, near her father's +cottage. The passengers were all lost except a little boy, about three +years of age, whom John Jenkins saved at the risk of his life. Two of +the crew escaped, but they could tell nothing of the child more than +that he came from Ireland, and was bound for London, with his nurse. +The boy could give no clear account of himself, but he wore round his +neck a gold locket, with arms engraved on it, and containing a lock of +black hair, twined with small pearls. So the fisherman concluded that +he must belong to some great family; and when they asked what was his +name, they expected to hear some prodigious great title, such as earl, +or marquis; but when he proudly answered, "Brian O'Neill," they could +make nothing of it--little knowing, simple folks as they were, that the +O'Neills were once kings and princes in Ireland. But that was in the +old, old time; great changes have taken place since, and there are a +few O'Neills quite in common life nowadays. + +John Jenkins did all that lay in his power to find the parents and home +of the child--but he was poor and ignorant--the lord of the manor was a +little boy, at school, and the steward could not or would not help him; +so, his efforts all proving useless, he adopted Brian, and brought him +up as his son, giving him a tolerably good education, and training him +for his own honest calling. + +O'Neill grew into a fine, hearty, brave lad,--not at all conceited or +haughty in his ways, though he was proud, he scarcely knew why, of his +Irish name,--always treasured up his locket of gold, and often declared +that he could remember the head from which that hair was cut--his +mother's--and how he had seen it shut away under the coffin-lid, the +very day that his nurse set out with him for London. He said, too, +that he could remember his home; a grand old castle, near a lake, and a +great park, and a little cottage, where his foster-mother lived, and +his foster-father, a terrible man, who used to get drunk and break +things; and how once, when running away from him, he fell and cut his +head. Here Brian always lifted the hair off his forehead, and, sure +enough, there was a scar quite plain to be seen. + +Fanny Jenkins grew up into a good and beautiful girl, and it seemed +very natural that she and young O'Neill should love one another, and +when they married and set up for themselves nobody objected. Indeed, +so much were they beloved, that all who were able, helped them, and +those who had nothing to give, wished them well and smiled on their +courageous love, and so did them more good than they thought. + +The lord of the manor built them a beautiful cottage by the sea, with +long narrow windows and turrets, almost like a castle; and the Lord of +lords blessed them and prospered them, and in due time gave them a +little son, whom they called Brian Patrick Jenkins Jones O'Neill, and +who was just the brightest, best, and most beautiful baby ever +beheld,--at least Fanny thought so, and surely mothers are the best +judges of babies. + +They lived a very happy life, that humble little family. Every morning +early the young fisherman went out in his pretty boat, the "Fanny +Jenkins," for his day's toil and adventure, leaving his cheerful little +wife at her work--spinning, sewing, or caring for the child; and every +night, when he returned tired and hungry, as fishermen often are, and +found a tidy home, a smiling wife, a crowing baby and a hearty meal +awaiting him, he thought and said, that he was just the happiest +O'Neill in all the world. + +In tempestuous weather Fanny suffered a great deal from anxiety for her +brave husband, who would always put out to sea, unless the storm was +very serious indeed. + +At length, one lowering day in September, when he was far out of sight +of home, a sudden squall came up, which deepened into a tempest as the +day wore on. + +With anxious heart and tearful eyes poor Fanny watched through the +gloomy sunset, for his coming,--half longing, half fearing to see his +frail vessel driven toward the land on such an angry sea. + +But the day and night passed, and he did not come. The next four or +five days were dark and stormy; there were several wrecks upon the +coast, and Brian was given up for lost by all but his wife. She still +kept up a good heart and would not despair. + +At last the storm ceased, the sea grew smooth, the skies smiled, and +all looked cheerful again, save where along the wild shore fragments of +wrecks came drifting in, and the people were burying the drowned. + +At the close of a beautiful day, a week from the time that Brian +O'Neill left his home, his wife sat in front of the cottage, with her +baby asleep upon her lap. Her brave heart was failing her now; she +grew tired of her sad, vain gazing out toward the west, and bowing her +head on her hands, wept till the tears trickled through her fingers and +dropped on the sleeping face before her. + +So she sat a long time, weeping and praying, and calling her babe a +"poor fatherless boy," when suddenly, the child smiled out of sleep and +started up, calling "Papa!" Fanny sprung to her feet, almost hoping +that her Brian was by her side. No, he was not there; but, oh, joy! a +little way out to sea, between her and the sunset glory, came a dear +familiar object--her aquatic namesake--_the boat_! Swiftly it came +o'er the bright waters, joyfully dancing toward its home! Soon a +beloved form was seen waving a shining sailor's hat; soon a beloved +voice was heard calling her name, and soon, though it seemed an age to +her, Brian O'Neill, with his oars and nets over his shoulder, as though +he had only been absent for a day's fishing, sprang up the steps before +the cottage and clasped his wife and child to his honest heart! Fanny +laughed and wept and thanked God, the baby crowed and pulled his +father's whiskers, and all were happier than I can tell. + +In the evening, when his parents and the neighbors were in, to rejoice +over his return, Brian told the story of his adventures. + +When that dreadful storm came up, he would have been lost, had he not +been near a large vessel which took up both him and his boat. This +ship was bound to a northern Irish port, and as the storm continued, he +was obliged to make the whole voyage. At B----, while he was waiting +for fair weather, he looked about him a little, to see the country; and +now comes the wonderful, romantic part of his story. On visiting an +old and somewhat dilapidated castle, in the neighborhood of the town, +he instantly recognized it as the home of his infancy; and walking +straight through the park, he found the cottage of his foster-mother +and the dear old woman herself--who didn't believe in him at first, +because he was a great weather-beaten sailor, instead of the fair baby +she had nursed. But when Brian lifted his hair and showed the scar, +she was convinced and rejoiced exceedingly. Then she told him how his +father, Sir Patrick O'Neill died when he was a mere baby, and left him +to the guardianship of an uncle who proved to be a bad man. So when +Lady O'Neill was dying, she made her nurse promise to take the child to +her sister, in London, to have him brought up away from that wicked +man. When the news came of the wreck of the "Erin," and the loss of +all on board, this uncle went into mourning for six months--but his +tenants were always in mourning, for he proved a very hard landlord. + +Brian laid no claim then to his title and estate, but as soon as the +sea was calm, went home to ask his wife's advice, like a sensible man +and a good husband. + +He and Fanny had often said that they did not envy the rich and great; +but now, considering that the false baronet was so bad a man, and his +tenantry so oppressed, they really thought it their duty to make an +effort for rank and fortune. + +Well, after a long time, Brian got his rights, by the help of a great +lawyer, who took half the property in payment for his services. So he +became Sir Brian O'Neill, the master of a dreary old castle and no end +of bogs and potatoe patches, and Fanny became "Her Leddyship, God bless +her!" as the peasants used to say. + +For a long time they found it rather awkward and tiresome to be grand +and idle, like other great folks; so much so, that for several years +they used to go over to Wales in the fishing season, and live in the +cottage by the sea, and Sir Brian would go out fishing every day, and +Lady Fanny would spin and sew and take care of the baby, just in the +old way. Living thus, they were happiest--but they were always happy +and good--they lived to be very old, and died on the same day and were +buried in the same grave. + +Their great great-grandson, Sir Algernon O'Neill, is fond of the water, +too; but he takes to it in a splendid yacht, called the "Fanny +Ellsler," with his delicate wife, the Lady Ginevra, who abhors the sea, +and gets dreadfully sick always, but _will_ take cruises, because the +sea air is good for the little O'Neills, _she_ says,--because Queen +Victoria has set the fashion, some people say. + + + + +Dublin, Howth. + +GRACE O'MALLEY. + +It is not certainly know who was the founder of Dublin, or _Dubhlywn_, +as the name was written formerly. Some learned historians say it was +Avellanus, one of the Danish Vikings, an adventurous sort of monarchs +of old times, very much given to a seafaring life, and piratical +depredations. If Avellanus was the founder--and I don't dispute that +he was--he showed great taste and wisdom in selecting the site of a +city. It has a beautiful harbor; the River Liffey flows through it, a +picturesque country lies around it, and in sight are romantic valleys +and dark gorges and noble hills, which don't stop far short of real +mountains. + +Dublin remained under the rule of the Danish Sea-kings, and their +descendants, till they were conquered by the English, in the year 1170. +They were, however, put down for a time in the year 1014, by a league +of native princes, led by the great king, Brien-Boro. It was during +this struggle that the famous battle of Clontarf was fought. + +Brien-Boro was a model monarch--the King Alfred of Ireland. So +perfectly were the laws administered in his reign, that it was said a +fair damsel might travel alone, from one end of the Kingdom to the +other, with a gold ring on the top of a wand, without danger of being +robbed. I doubt very much, however, if any young lady ever performed +such a journey. + +From the year 1173, when Henry II. received the submission of the Irish +princes, and the last Irish king, Roderic O'Connor, Ireland has +remained under the government of England, and though it has had several +bloody rebellions, it has never been really independent. The Irish +formerly had a parliament of their own, but toward the close of the +last century it was suppressed, and the union made complete. + +The governors of Ireland have always been called viceroys, or +lord-lieutenants. Dublin Castle was built for their residence, but for +some time past it has been abandoned for "The Lodge," in Phoenix Park. +The Castle is a massive, gloomy-looking building, now principally +occupied by the military. + +The Parliament House, now the Bank of Ireland, the Custom-House, and +Trinity College, are beautiful buildings; but I did not admire the +cathedrals and churches very much, after those of England. The church +of St. Anne is interesting, as containing the tomb of Felicia Hemans. + +We drove about the town on a jaunting car, with a talkative driver, +seeing all the sights and listening to strange, wild legends. In the +pretty cemetery of Glasneven, we saw, through the grating of a vault, +the magnificent coffin which contains the body of Daniel O'Connell, the +great orator. We enjoyed most our drive in Phoenix Park, a noble +enclosure, filled with fine trees and shrubbery, flowers, birds, gentle +deer, and playful, brown-eyed fawns. + +But if we liked the streets, buildings, and parka of Dublin, we liked +the _people_ better. Very courteous, generous, and cordial we found +all those to whose hospitality we had been commended--and warm at my +heart is now, and ever will be, the dear memory of my good Dublin +friends. + +A pleasant excursion from the city is to the Bay, which is considered +one of the most beautiful in the world; and to Howth Harbor, formerly +the landing-place of the Dublin packets, but now superseded by Kingston. + +The first object which strikes one on approaching Dublin by sea, is the +famous Hill of Howth, which rises bold and high, on the northern coast +of the bay, and stands like the great guardian and champion of Ireland. + +The Dublin people are as proud of this as the Neapolitans are of Mount +Vesuvius, which overlooks their noble bay of Naples. "Ah, sure ma'am," +said an Irish sailor,--"it's as fine an ilivation, barrin' a few +thousand feet of height, as that same smokin', rumblin' ould cratur, +an' a dale betther behaved." + +At Howth there are some very interesting Druidical remains to be seen, +a fine old castle and an abbey, in which repose many brave and famous +knights--the Tristrams and St. Lawrences, barons of Howth. + +There is a curious and romantic legend of Howth Castle, which I will +relate here. + + +GRACE O'MALLEY. + +In the time of Queen Elizabeth, there was a celebrated woman living in +the province of Connaught, Ireland, named _Grana Uille_, or Grace +O'Malley. She was the chieftainess of the O'Malley's of Clare Island, +and called herself a princess, but she was most famed as a female +pirate-captain, or vi-_queen_, as, perhaps, she would have preferred to +be called. + +She lived in rude, stormy times, when the Irish were nearly as wild and +warlike as savages, and fierce feuds and bold robberies, on land and +sea, were every day affairs. Indeed, for a man to be a peaceful, +honest, sober citizen, was then no ways to his credit; then children +were taught by their quarrelsome parents, to fire up on the slightest +occasion, and fight for their rights,--to revenge all insults, and make +free with the property of their enemies; and little was the +Sunday-school teaching they had to the contrary; then when women became +leaders of lawless predatory bands, they were admired and wondered at; +but few thought of condemning them, or dared to scout at them. + +Those must have been the days, or Ireland the country, of "woman's +rights," for throughout the warlike career of the great chieftainess, +nobody seems to have been much shocked, or to have thought that Miss +O'Malley was going out of her "proper sphere," and infringing on the +sacred rights of the nobler sex, in fighting and pirating; except it +may be those men who got the worst of it, in engagements with her. + +Grace O'Malley was the daughter of a powerful chief, who, having no +heir, brought up his one little girl as though she were a son--teaching +her all sorts of manly and martial exercises. Instead of dolls and +pets, her childish playthings were pistols and daggers, which she soon +found very useful in scaring her attendants into instant obedience to +her whims; and instead of being allowed to play among the sands and +hunt shells on the wild seashore, she was taught to swim, to fish, to +row, and to shoot the shy water-fowl. Instead of taking her airings, +like a modern nobleman's little daughter, on a well-trained pony, or a +sober, sure-footed donkey, over smooth lawns, and through shady parks +and flowery lanes, she was accustomed to accompany her father and his +rough followers, mounted on one of the wild horses of the country, on +long mountain hunts--to dash through bog and briar, to ford swollen +streams, and leap wide, dark chasms. + +Once, when Grace was but a child, while she was out on one of these +hunts, a young fawn that they were chasing, turned suddenly, and +singling her out from all the party, ran to her side, laid its head in +her lap, and lifted its large sorrowful eyes to her face, as though +asking for her protection. "Stand back!" cried she, to the +hunters,--"call off the dogs, and let no one harm her now,--she is +mine!" + +"Ah, well, comrades," said one of the men, "let us seek other game, and +leave the fawn to our little lady, for a pet." + +"No, by the Rock of Cashel!" cried old Cormac O'Malley, "I will not +have my brave daughter made soft and silly, like other girls, by +tending pets. Draw your hunting-knife across her throat, Grace, while +you have her." + +"That will I not, father, for she has trusted in me. I want no pets, +but whoever kills this fawn, must kill me first," she said, flinging +her arms around the poor trembling creature. She looked so fierce and +determined that the men cheered, and the old chief laughingly promised +her that the fawn should be allowed to escape unharmed. Grace +jealously watched the disappointed hunters and yelping hounds till the +swift-footed animal was out of sight, and then rode on with the rest. + +Such was Grace O'Malley--stern and proud in temper, fearless and manly +in her habits, but now and then giving way to a kind and generous +impulse. When her father died, she assumed the command of his warlike +retainers, and the sternest and bravest of them were not ashamed to +acknowledge her authority. At first, she only fought in self-defence, +or in revenge for what she considered aggressions and insults, and +finally, for spoil and conquest, and for the habit and love of strife +and adventure. She was a tall, handsome woman, with dark, flashing +eyes, a clear, ringing voice, and a proud, soldier-like step. Her +dress was a singular mingling of the masculine and feminine fashions of +her half barbarous country; but it was picturesque and imposing; made +of the richest materials she could procure, and worn with an air of +majesty which not Queen Bess herself, in all her glory, could surpass. + +But the proud Lady Grace professed to be a loyal subject of Elizabeth. +In an Irish rebellion, headed by the Earl of Tyrone, she sided with the +English government, and added immensely to her power and possessions, +by the victories she gained over the rebels. She did not deign to +receive a regular commission from the Queen, but fought in her own wild +way, on her own responsibility, at her own risk, and for her own +advantage. She took castle after castle, confiscated estate after +estate, claiming always the "lion's share" of the plunder. + +When some of the ships of the great Spanish armada, sent against +England, were driven by a storm upon the Irish coast, she bore down +upon them with her armed galleys, and took several noble prizes. With +these ships, she obtained much magnificent dress, belonging to the +proud Castilian officers and their stately ladies--velvets and +brocades, stiff with woven jewels and broideries of gold, with which +she went bravely dressed for the rest of her life. And the Spanish +Dons and Donnas, what did they do, robbed of their splendid apparel? +Ah, they went where they did not need it any more--down, down into +still, dark ocean-caves, where they reposed on beds of silver sand, +with the long sea-weed wrapping itself about them. + +But I am not getting on with that legend of Howth Castle. + +In the height of the fame and power of Grace O'Malley, when her rude +bands were the terror of Connaught and the islands of that coast, and +her ships the scourge of the Irish seas, she resolved to pay a visit to +the court of Elizabeth. She went almost as a sovereign princess, and +was royally received and entertained; for the politic English Queen was +only too willing, I am afraid, to close her ears against stories of the +cruelty and lawlessness of so useful a subject. + +The warlike Grace made a decided sensation at court. In her strange, +rich, half martial dress, and always wearing some sort of deadly +weapon, she strode about like a terrible giantess among the Queen's +laughing dames, awing them into momentary silence; and even the gay +wits, pert young poets, and pages, shrank abashed from her haughty, +flashing looks. + +"Gra' mercy!" whispered one, as she passed, "she hath daggers in her +eyes, as well as in her girdle." + +"Ay, and pistols in her voice," said a saucy page, who served at the +Queen's table; "when she saith 'Sirrah!' I have ever a mind to drop +upon my knees and beg for my life." + +But Grace O'Malley soon tired of the stately gayeties of the court. +She curled her scornful lip at the safe and easy way of hunting in the +royal parks--calling it "child's play." She laughed at their formal +balls and feasts; and when the Queen, especially to please her, led off +the court dance, the solemn, but graceful minuet, played the +harpsichord with her own royal hands, and sung madrigals, and read +Latin verses of her own composition, Grace only yawned, and said: "I +wonder your Majesty should throuble yourself with things of this sort +at all. Sure in Ireland, we have people to do the likes for us, and +save us the worriment." + +Once, on the Queen having expressed some curiosity in regard to the +Irish national dances, Grace made sign to her harper, a wild-eyed, +white-haired, long-bearded old gentleman, who struck up a stirring +Celtic air, and instantly her warlike followers rushed into the midst +of the hall, and began dancing, in the strangest, maddest way +imaginable. Faster and louder played the harper, wilder and more +furiously they danced; they wheeled and leaped and shook their arms in +the air, and shouted fierce Celtic battle-cries, till all the court +ladies trembled, and not a few of the courtiers drew near the throne +for fear, and even the Queen had to thank her rouge for not looking +pale. However, it all ended like a modern Irish jig, in a harmless +"whoop!" and the fiery dancers quietly returned to their places about +their mistress. "That, your Majesty," said Grace, proudly, "is rale +Irish dancing." + +"And by our faith, brave Lady Grace, we hope it may ever remain _Irish_ +dancing. The fashion suits not our peaceful court," replied Elizabeth, +laughing. + +Grace O'Malley returned to Ireland loaded with princely gifts. It is +not recorded in history that Elizabeth ever returned her visit, though +at parting, Grace gave her Majesty a cordial invitation to come over to +Connaught and see some hunting and fighting that were no shams. + +"The O'Malley," as Grace called herself, after the fashion of great +Irish chiefs, landed first at Howth, intending to pay the Earl a visit. +But it happened to be dinner time, and the castle gates were shut, as +they always were at that hour, by command of his lordship, who was a +high liver, and had a particular objection to being disturbed at his +meals. When Grace haughtily demanded admittance, the warder not having +a proper sense of the honor she was intending to do his master, +sturdily refused. This surly, inhospitable reception so enraged the +chieftainess, that she was quite ready to storm the castle, and slay +the fat Earl at his own dinner-table, with all his guests and +retainers. But she had not with her a sufficient force for this; so +was obliged to return to her ship, where she strode up and down the +deck in a terribly wrathful state, and made all ring again with her +threats and imprecations against the Earl, for the insult she had +received. Suddenly a gleam of malicious joy flashed over her dark +face. She commanded her men to land her again, and as soon as she +reached the shore, she rushed up to a cottage, where she remembered +that the nurse of the young lord, the Earl's little son, was living. +She caught the child from the woman's arms, telling her to tell her +master that _she_ would take charge of his heir, and bring him up to +have better notions of hospitality and good manners than could be +learned at Howth Castle. Then she hurried back to her ship, with the +poor little lordling who seemed too frightened to cry, and hid his face +against her bosom, as though shrinking from the look of her dark, angry +eyes. Immediately she ordered all sails to be set, and sped away +toward Connaught. The nurse ran up to the castle with the news, but as +she could not be admitted till the Earl had dined and drunk his punch, +so much time was lost that, before his galley could be manned and sent +on, Lady Grace's sails were already glimmering down the horizon, and +the pursuit was hopeless. + +Tristram St. Lawrence, the little lord, was a handsome child, between +two and three years old, with a look of brave, yet quiet dignity in his +face, which roused some kindly feeling in the sternest mariners and +warriors, on board the piratical ship, and even touched the heart of +the Lady Grace herself--that unsuspected womanly heart, which she had +kept sternly pressed down so many years under her breastplate of steel. + +When she first went on board, she gave the boy to one of her women, +telling her to tend him and give him food and playthings. But when +they had been at sea some time, the woman came to her mistress, and +said that the child would neither eat, nor play; that he gave no heed +to any one, but stood apart, sullen and silent, looking back over the +sea toward Howth. Then Grace, whose quick anger had cooled down in the +fresh evening breeze, went to him, laid her hand on his shoulder and +spoke his name. He did not start, or answer, but kept his sad, wistful +eyes fixed on the distant towers of his father's castle. So she stood +over him, watching, and so he stood gazing, till the ship rounded a +point which hid the castle from sight. Then, for the first time, the +child burst into tears; but, flinging himself on the deck, he covered +his face with his hands, as though to conceal his crying, and seemed to +try to check the sobs which shook his little breast. So much proud and +delicate feeling in one so young--a mere baby--appealed strongly to the +Lady Grace. She felt her heart soften and yearn over the noble child, +in his grief and loneliness. She knelt at his side and slid her hand +under his head, and speaking his name more tenderly than before, she +told him not to be afraid, not to grieve any more, and he should go +home soon. She made her harsh, commanding voice sound so sweet and +motherly that the child turned a little, and clasped that large brown +hand, and held it against his lips and his eyes, while he wept and +sobbed, till his heavy heart grew lighter. When Grace drew away her +hand, and found it all wet with tears, she looked at it for a moment, +with a strange tenderness in her imperious eyes. It seemed to her that +those tears of a sinless child, were like the holy water of baptism, +and would purify that hand, so often stained with blood. + +Great was the astonishment of the rough mariners and warriors when they +saw their stern mistress, whose name was used by mothers and nurses all +over the kingdom, as a bugbear, with which to frighten naughty +children, now comforting and caressing this stolen child; when she fed +him with her own hands, and then took him in her arms and hushed him to +sleep--singing to him a wild, childish ditty, which she remembered, +because her own long dead mother had sung it to her, when she also was +an innocent babe. + +So kind and gentle did the bold vi-queen become, that before many days +the baby-lord became passionately attached to her, and ceased to ask +for his nurse and parents. And he, with all his endearing, infantile +ways, was such brave, grand little fellow--a child so after her own +heart--that Grace, who, in her pride and independence, had never envied +anybody any thing, not even Elizabeth her crown--envied the stout Earl +of Howth his only son and heir, with a bitter, hopeless, lonely envy. +It made her sometimes sad, but it made her better, and gentler, and +even almost humble; and the most harmless, if not the happiest part of +her life, was that in which she retained the child with her, at her +gloomy stronghold in Connaught. + +At length, after sending several messengers and agents in vain, the +proud and indolent Earl of Howth came himself, with a large ransom, to +buy back his heir. Grace O'Malley refused the money with scorn, but +offered to restore the child to him, if he would solemnly promise that +the gates of Howth Castle should always be thrown wide open when the +family were at dinner. He readily promised this, and the hospitable +custom has remained in his noble house to this day. + +The Earl could scarcely believe his eyes when, as he was about to +leave, he saw the stern chieftainess lift little Tristram in her arms +and embrace him tenderly, while the child clung to her and cried. "By +my soul," whispered his lordship to one of his train, "there's a +saisoning of the woman and the Christian about the heathen Amazon, +after all." + +The Earl and the Lady Grace parted very good friends, and the baby-lord +went home loaded with presents. Oh, lonely and dreary seemed Grace +O'Malley's old castle when he was gone--doubly dark seemed its great +cavernous hall, without the sunshine of his joyous life--doubly +desolate the lady's shadowy chamber, in the windy old turret alone, +without the brightness of his winsome face and the music of his happy +voice. + +The Lady Grace became sadder and more silent than before, but she +seemed less haughty and warlike. She still followed the chase as +fiercely as ever, but she gradually gave over fighting and plundering. +She began to notice kindly little children--to give more generously to +the poor, and was even suspected of praying sometimes, and of wearing a +concealed crucifix. Her men said that the baby-lord had spoiled their +fiery vi-queen, who led them no longer on marauding and piratical +expeditions; but her women blessed the saints that their mistress had +"softened down a bit, and made it more comfortable like to sarve her." + +Once every year, Grace O'Malley went in state to Howth Castle, to see +her beloved little friend and carry him presents, till at last, just as +he was growing into manhood, a cruel sickness came upon her, and she +was unable to go. Yet she sent her galley and the presents, as usual, +to prove her faithful love. + +Tristram, who had grown up a noble, generous youth, was grieved to hear +of the illness of this strange, proud woman, who had seemed to lay +aside her very nature to love him, and as he had always kept his old +childish affection for her, he resolved to go and see her once more. + +So the galley, on its return, took the young Lord of Howth to the +O'Malley's Castle, in Connaught. + +It was night when they arrived--a wild November night. The sky was +heavy with storm-clouds, and the sea was running high before a strong +wind, and breaking with a sound like thunder upon that bleak, black +shore. There was a great fire burning in the vast chimney of the old +hall, but in the farther corners, dark shadows were lurking, and the +stone walls were glistening with a chill dampness. + +As the heavy hall door swung open, to admit the young lord and his +train, so much of the tempestuous night rushed in with them, that the +old armor and the banners hanging on the walls clanged and flapped, and +the fire roared fiercely and whirled out an angry cloud of smoke. In +the midst of the hall the Lady Grace was lying, surrounded by her +retainers, her warriors, and seamen, on a rude couch, piled with skins +of deer she had slain, but curtained with rich crimson drapery, +suspended from the ceiling by enormous antlers of elks. She was +dressed in her old way, except that she had no arms in her girdle, and +wore a rosary about her neck. By her side stood a venerable priest, +holding a crucifix and the Lady Grace was repeating after him very +devoutly a prayer for the dying; but when she saw Tristram, she forgot +both priest and prayer. She sprang up from her couch to meet him, with +a glad cry; and though she sank back at once, in weakness and mortal +pain, she was content, for her arms were about the neck of her darling. +She wiped the rain-drops from his face and pressed them out of his soft +brown hair, and gazed at him with a fierce joy of love in her great +dark eyes, which seemed larger and darker now, and shone with new +splendor, since her long black locks had turned to silvery white. + +"It was noble and like thee, _mavourneen deelish_," she said, "to give +my dying eyes this last best blessing of life--beholding thee once +more. For this boon, I bestow upon thee the proudest legacy I have to +leave--this ring of most precious stones--the gift of my sister, +Elizabeth of England. With the ring, I would give thee my benison, but +that I fear the blessing of so sinful a woman might do thee harm. And +yet, as I have loved thee purely, as a mother might, the saints may +make it good. So, I _will_ bless thee, jewel of my heart!" + +The young lord knelt reverently to receive her blessing, and after she +had ceased to murmur the fervent words, he still kept his place, for +her large hand yet pressed heavily upon his head. After a moment's +silence, she recommenced speaking, but rapidly and wildly, for her mind +was wandering. It seemed to have gone back to the night when she had +taken the heir of Howth from his nurse. She began railing against the +old Earl's churlishness, and vowing she would teach him a lesson in +hospitality Then she called out in loud, stern tones to her mariners to +set sail for Connaught, and laughed fiercely over her prize. But soon +her mood changed; she began to stroke the head of Tristram, and comfort +him by gentle words and kind promises. She did not seem to perceive +that the firm, manly face now before her, was not the smooth little +face all wet with tears, she once caressed. The young lord was again a +baby-boy to her; and presently she drew him closer, and began singing +that same nursery song with which she used to soothe him to sleep. + +It was a strange sight to see,--that dying woman, rocking herself back +and forth, and singing that wild lullaby, with her staring servitors +and grim old fighters grouped around her, hardly able to believe that +this was indeed their haughty mistress, their brave leader, their bold +sea-captain. + +At first, her voice rang out clear and full, but soon it faltered and +failed, and sunk lower and lower. And lower and lower sunk the head of +the old chieftainess, till her long white locks mingled with the dark +curls of the young lord; then her voice ceased altogether, and her +forehead lay heavy and cold against his, and he knew that Grace +O'Malley was dead. + + + + +Donnybrook + +THE LITTLE FIDDLER. + +A mile or two south of Dublin is Donnybrook, the place where a famous +annual fair is held. We happened to be in the city at the time of +this, and one pleasant afternoon we drove out to see this great +gathering of the Irish peasantry. The fair-ground presented a busy, +gay, and curious scene. A large enclosed space was covered with booths +and tents--horse-markets--cattle-markets--buyers, sellers, and crowds +of spectators. There was almost every thing one could think of, for +sale; there were all sorts of games, and sports and shows going on; +there were Ethiopian concerts, plays, exhibitions of Punch and Judy, +little circuses and menageries, jugglers, tumblers, hurdy-gurdy +players, ballad singers, pipers, fiddlers, and dancers. + +In nearly all the tents were gay young couples, dancing away as though +for dear life--dancing not alone with their feet, but with their arms, +their heads, and their merry, twinkling eyes. They were not all well +dressed, or even clean, but they seemed happy and healthy, and merrily +snapped their fingers at care. Everywhere there was laughter, and +chatter, and feasting, and frolic; but, I am glad to say, we saw little +tippling, and no quarrelling. It was very different in old times, when +the wild fun of Donnybrook Fair always ended in confusion, drunkenness, +and fighting. This happy change has been effected partly by the +Temperance reform, and partly by the establishment of a strong and +active government police. + +Now for a short story of Donnybrook Fair. + + +THE LITTLE FIDDLER. + +Away toward the hills of Wicklow, some five or six miles from Dublin, +there lived, not many years ago, a humble peasant family, by the name +of O'Shaughnessy. Michael O'Shaughnessy worked in the bog--that is, he +cut up the turf of the bogs, and piled it in stacks for drying--so +making the peat which is the common fuel of Ireland. He was very poor, +and with his wife and five children lived in a little low cabin, built +of mud and stones, and thatched with straw. There was but one small +window to this cabin, but then a good deal of light came down through a +hole in the roof, left for the smoke to go out of--for there was no +chimney. + +Mrs. O'Shaughnessy kept a few geese, and just before the door there was +a little muddy pond, where they enjoyed themselves, and on the edges of +which the pig wallowed, and dozed; except on stormy days, when he +preferred to go into the house. Now, among the poor Irish peasants, +the pig is a very important personage, and is treated with a great deal +of respect, for he usually pays the rent. With Mrs. O'Shaughnessy, it +was first herself and husband, then her son Teddy, then _the Pig_; then +the girls, Biddy and Peggy and Katy; and then, our hero, Larry +O'Sullivan. If she had known he was to be our hero, she might have put +him before the _colleens_, (girls,) but not, I think, before the pig. + +Larry O'Sullivan was a poor orphan boy, the child of a sister of +Michael O'Shaughnessy, by whom he had been adopted, when his father and +mother died of the fever. Larry was very handsome, and what was +better, very good, but he led rather a hard life of it at his new home. +His uncle was kind, but he was a gentle, meek sort of a man--his wife +ruled every thing at the cabin, and she did not like Larry overmuch. +She thought it hard that he should not only eat the food and wear the +clothes that her own children needed, but should be more liked and +admired in the neighborhood than they. She doted on her own boy, +Teddy, and thought him not only good-looking, but wonderfully +clever--when, in fact, a plainer or more stupid young bog-trotter could +hardly be found in all Ireland. She was a strong-minded woman, and did +not make much account of her girls--and there she was not far +wrong--except in regard to the youngest, Katy, who was a pretty, +blue-eyed darling, as sweet and as bright as a May morning. Katy and +Larry were famous good friends--Larry was the pulse of Katy's heart, +and Katy was the light of Larry's eyes. + +The children all went to school in the village, about a mile away. +Dermot Finnigen, the schoolmaster, was also a tailor, a barber, a bit +of a doctor, and a fiddler. He did very well at all his professions, +but he was greatest at fiddling. + +From the first, Larry was the master's favorite--not because he was +particularly studious, but because he took to the fiddle as naturally, +Dermot said, "as a ducklin' takes to the wather, just." Indeed, the +boy showed such extraordinary talent for music, that, for the mere love +of it, Dermot gave him lessons, and often lent him an old fiddle to +practise on. + +Larry had also a very sweet voice, and in singing the wild ballads of +the country, could make people laugh or cry, just as it pleased him to +do. + +Larry coveted, more than any thing in the world, the old fiddle of his +master. Dermot was willing to sell it, as he had a better, but he said +he could not part with it even to his favorite pupil, for less than a +crown. Now Larry in all his life had never held so much money--so he +despaired of ever being rich enough to have a fiddle of his own. + +One spring-time, when Larry was about twelve and Teddy fourteen, a +great trouble came upon the house of the O'Shaughnessys--the pig died! + +One morning, soon after this sad event, as the two boys were on the way +to the little village, on some errand, a travelling carriage passed +them, driving rapidly. As it turned a corner, a small writing-case was +jolted off from one of the seats, and fell into the road. Larry picked +it up, and the two boys ran after the carriage, shouting to the driver +to stop. But he took them for beggars, and drove on the faster. So +they followed, for more than a mile, running at the top of their speed, +calling and holding up the writing-case. + +At last, the carriage stopped, and the boys came up panting, and gave +the writing-case to a gentleman, who seemed very happy to get it, as he +said it contained valuable papers and money. He thanked the boys, and +gave them each a crown. + +Larry's beautiful brown eyes danced with joy. "Arrah, Teddy," said he, +"sure this is a rale providince! I'll go immadiately an buy Dermot's +ould feddle." + +"Faix thin, Larry, ye'll make thrue the sayin'--'a fool and his money +be soon parted.' _I'll_ go an' buy the Widdy Mullowny's pig, and fat +it for the Fair. It's meself that knows how to spind money in a +sinsible way. A feddle indade!" + +Larry did not heed Teddy's sneers, but went directly and bought the +fiddle. He hugged it to his heart, and danced for joy all the way +home. But such a scolding as met him there! All blamed him for his +extravagance, but little Katy, who stole up to him and +whispered--"Niver mind the hard discoorse, Larry; ye've got the feddle +ony how, and it's mighty glad I am." + +Larry was never allowed to play on his treasure within the cabin walls; +it was always "Away wid ye now, ye lazy feddling spalpeen!" But up +amid the gorge of the hill side, he used to sit, with Katy, on pleasant +summer evenings, playing so late that Katy would creep close to him, +fancying she saw the "little folk," or fairies, dancing in the +moonlight, to his delicious music. + +In the mean time, "Phelim," the pig, throve finely, and grew to be, as +Mrs. O'Shaughnessy said, "an iligant cratur, intirely." Every meal, +after the family had eaten, the remains were thrown into the +potato-kettle, and "the sinsible baste claned it out beautifully," so +saving work for Mrs. O'Shaughnessy. + +At last, the first day of the Fair arrived, and Teddy and Larry set out +for Donnybrook, with the pig,--Larry taking his fiddle. + +Now Phelim had been a wonderful animal at home, and in his own +mud-puddle, but it was quite another thing at Donnybrook. There he was +eclipsed by pigs of a more choice breed, fatter, cleaner, and better +behaved. Teddy was sadly disappointed and mortified--he had supposed +that there would be a tremendous competition for that jewel of a pig. + +"Suppose, Larry, ye strike up a tune on yer feddle, to call the +attintion of the folk, just," said he, at last. + +Larry began very timidly, but in a few moments an admiring group was +collected around him. A purchaser was soon found for Phelim, and Teddy +having doubled his money, felt rich and grand, and cast rather +contemptuous looks on his thriftless cousin. But before the day was +over, Larry had made more money than two pigs like Phelim would +bring--by playing for the dancers, and singing ballads. Among those +who listened most attentively to him was a great musician from Dublin, +who saw at once that the lad had a remarkable genius for music. He +talked with him, and was much pleased with his intelligence and +modesty. Larry was glad to find it was the same gentleman whose +writing-case he had picked up a few months before. + +Mr. R---- inquired where the boys lived, and the next day drove down to +Michael O'Shaughnessy's, and offered to take his nephew and educate him +for a musician. + +So Larry went to town, to live with his kind benefactor. He was well +clothed and cared for and being good and grateful, studied hard to be a +finished musician. He never forgot his humble home, or felt above his +poor relations. Every Sunday he walked out to see them, and good old +Dermot, who was fond and proud of him, you may depend. His cousin Katy +grew still dearer to him as the years wore on, and he blessed the time +when he was rich enough to take her to Dublin, and put her to school. +It was said she was to be governess--but every body thought Larry would +have no other wife but Katy--and every body was right. + +Larry _has_ become a great musician--so great that even Mrs. +O'Shaughnessy admits that he "is not a bad fiddler." + + + + +From Dublin to Cork and Blarney Castle. + +LITTLE NORAH AND THE BLARNEY STONE. + +We left Dublin for Cork, on a fresh August morning--pleasant but +showery, like nearly all mornings in Ireland. The railway on which we +travelled, passes for the most part through a barren, boggy, desolate +country, with only here and there a tract of well cultivated land--past +low, miserable hovels of bog-working peasants, and wretched, +tumble-down little villages. + +It was melancholy to see, all along our way, multitudes of +ruins--churches and castles and towers--battered, dismantled, and +ivy-grown--making it look more like a country of the dead than of the +living. In these crumbling remains, you read, almost as in a book, the +history of the ancient prosperity and power of Ireland, and of its +gradual destruction by wars, sieges, famine, and pestilence, till it +was brought to its present state of poverty and desolation. + +We passed through, or in sight of, several famous old places, such as +Kildare, the Rock of Dunamase, Cashel, Kilmallock, and Buttevant. + +Kildare, though now a small, dilapidated town, was once a large city, +renowned for its religious institutions. Its principal buildings were +churches, monasteries, and nunneries, and its chief productions +crucifixes, rosaries, and saints. The most celebrated among the +latter, was Saint Bridget, who received the veil from the hands of St +Patrick himself. She founded a nunnery here, which was most remarkable +for "the sacred fire," which the nuns who succeeded her kept burning +for hundreds of years--in remembrance of her, probably. From a little +story related of her, when she was a child, I should say she better +deserved to be called a saint than many of those so honored by the +Church. + +The father of Bridget was a warlike Irish chieftain, but a loyal +subject of the King of Leinster, and on one occasion, that monarch +bestowed upon him a rich sword, with the hilt set with costly jewels. +Now the peasants on this chieftain's estates were very poor--indeed, +suffering absolute starvation, and there was no one to help them, for +their lord had enough to do to fight his enemies, without feeding his +humble friends; and his wife, Bridget's stepmother, was a hard, cruel +woman. Poor little Bridget gave all her pocket-money, and sold all her +little keepsakes, for their relief, and still they were starving. At +last, she went to the armory and took down her father's idle, show +sword, and had the rich jewels taken out of the hilt and sold. With +the money she bought food, and saved the lives of several most worthy +but unfortunate families. When her father came home, she told him what +she had done. History does not say, but we can easily guess, what _he_ +did. And that was not the last of it; soon after, the King came to her +father's house to dine, and having heard about the theft, called the +child up to him, and asked her how she had dared to do such a wicked +thing as to rob her father and deface the gift of a great monarch. +Now, we republicans can have very little idea of what it was to be +called up and spoken to in this way. Kings, in old times, were far +more terrible than they are now, and Irish kings were the most terrible +of all. But brave little Bridget, though she was only nine years old, +was not frightened by his black frown and thunder-like voice. She +stood up straight, and looked calmly into his angry eyes, as she +replied: "I have but bestowed thy gift upon a greater and a mightier +king than thou art--even Christ, who hath said that whatsoever we give +unto his poor children is given unto him." + +In the neighborhood of Kildare, is Inch Castle, about which Mrs. S. C. +Hall tells a touching legend. Inch Castle was once in the possession +of the MacKellys--a proud and powerful family. Ulick, one of the sons +of the old lord, a handsome, gay, daring young man, but wild and +heartless, paid court to a beautiful peasant girl, named Oona More. He +won her love, and then, being very fickle, cruelly forsook her. Oona +was very good and gentle--she forgave her false lover, and would not +allow her brothers to harm him, though he had broken her loving heart. +Suddenly the plague broke out in the neighborhood, and Ulick MacKelly +was one of the first struck. As was the custom, for fear of the +infection, he was removed at once from the castle to the fields, where +a shed was erected over him, and he was left alone with only a loaf of +bread and a pitcher of water by his side. When Oona heard of this, she +forgot his cruel desertion--forgot every thing but his suffering and +her love--and went to him, and tended him, and prayed beside him, day +and night, till he died. Even then, she did not leave him. She had +taken his deadly disease; on her breast came a bright red spot--the +sure sign of the plague. She was not sorry to see it there and the +next day, all her pain and trouble and sorrows were over. Then her +brother came to take her away. She still sat by the dead--her hood +fell over her face, so she seemed to be yet alive. Her brother laid +his hand on her shoulder, and said, gently-- + +"Oona, come home--the cow is lowing for you--the little lambs have no +one to care for them. Oona, dear, come home with me!" + +Seeing that she did not stir, he lifted the hood, looked in her dead +face, and gave a bitter cry. He had no sister any more. + +We passed through a portion of the "Bog of Allen," the largest of all +Irish bogs--said to be full 300,000 acres in extent. Some of my +readers may not know that the bog is not the primitive soil, but masses +of partly decomposed vegetable matter, which have accumulated during +many, many ages. In nearly all of the bogs, trees of various kinds +have been found imbedded--sometimes small buildings, arms, ornaments, +strange implements, and the bones of enormous animals, now extinct. +From oak dug up from bogs, many pretty black ornaments are now made. + +This bog takes its name from the hill of Allen, or "Dun Almhain," on +which was the residence of the famous old Irish chief, Fin MacCual, or +Fingal, as he is called in Ossian's Poems. He was the king of the +Fians, the name of the ancient Irish tribes who lived by hunting. He +must have been handsome as well as heroic, for he was, it seems, a +wonderful favorite with the ladies. It is related that when he +concluded that it was time for him to take a wife, he was sadly puzzled +who to choose among his many fair admirers. Finally, he settled upon a +plan odd and funny enough, certainly. He sent out a proclamation to +all the beautiful young women of Ireland, calling upon them to assemble +on a certain day, at the foot of a mountain in Tipperary, now called +Slieve-na-man. When they had all come together, a host of rival +beauties in their best array, the great chief coolly announced to them +that he was about to ascend the mountain, and that from the summit, he +would make a signal to them, when they should all start fair, and +whoever should first reach the summit, should have the honor and +felicity of being Mrs. Fin MacCual. He then proceeded leisurely up the +mountain, seated himself on an old Druidical altar, at the very topmost +point, and graciously waved his hand to the expectant ladies below. +Off they started like eager young race-horses,--nothing daunted by the +hard course they had to run. Up, up, over rocks and streams, and +patches of black bog--up, up, through woods and briars and furze, they +leaped and climbed and scrambled--laughing and panting and scolding and +screaming! Ah, what sport it must have been for Fin, watching them +from above! Yet, though they all ran well, only one came in winner. +But that was the highest princess of the country--Graine, daughter of +Cormac, monarch of all Ireland. I hope she found her husband worth the +chase. + +The great rock of Dunarnase stands alone in the midst of a plain, and +is crowned with the ruins of a castle--once a very strong fortress. +The rock of Cashel is seen from a great distance, and upon its summit +are the finest ruins in all Ireland. This noble height was a +stronghold of the ancient kings of the province of Munster. The first +Christian kings built churches, chapels, towers, and cathedrals here, +and the present ruins are mostly of religious edifices. This imposing +site is much venerated still, and a favorite oath among the Irish +peasantry is--"By the Rock of Cashel!" + +Kilmallock, now all in ruins, was once a city of great beauty and +consideration. It was destroyed by the troops of Cromwell, the +desolater of Ireland. Kilmallock was the seat of the ancient and +powerful race of the Desmonds. + +Buttevant is a poor little place, but containing the ruins of a fine +old abbey. Near Buttevant are the ruins of Kilcoleman Castle, at which +the great poet Spenser lived, and which was burned by the Irish in a +rebellion. The youngest child of the poet perished in the flames. + +Cork is usually ranked as the second city of Ireland, and is a +handsome, pleasant, prosperous looking place. It has not many +interesting antiquities, but some of its modern buildings are very +fine. The country around Cork is exceedingly picturesque, and its +harbor is very beautiful. The city itself is about twelve miles from +the mouth of the harbor, upon the River Lee. + +We had letters of introduction to a gentleman living at Monkstown, +about six miles below the city, and on the day after our arrival, we +took the steamboat and went down to his residence. We were received +with warm Irish hospitality, and throughout that day and the next, +every thing that our friend and his family could do for our enjoyment +was done in the pleasantest and heartiest way. They took us boating up +and down the noble bay--driving along the shores, and walking over +their estate. There was always a large, lively party, and we had the +merriest times imaginable. They made a pic-nic for us, on Cove Island, +but a rain coming on, we took refuge in an old, old castle, where we +feasted, and jested, and laughed, and sung songs, and even danced, in +the rough and gloomy halls in which, hundreds and hundreds of years +ago, were gathered barbaric Irish chieftains--grim, terrible +fellows--parading the spoils of the chase, or the plunder of war. + +A little way back from their house, our friends have another +ruin--Monkstown Castle. This was built in 1636--tradition says at only +the cost of a groat. Of course, the statement was a puzzle to me, when +I first heard it, but it was soon explained. The estate belonged, at +that time, to John Archdeken, who, while serving with the army abroad, +left his wife in charge of his property. She was a thrifty woman, and +determined to surprise him on his return by a noble residence, which +should cost very little. So she hired workmen, with the privilege of +supplying them with all their provisions and articles of clothing. +These she purchased by wholesale, and though she sold them at the +ordinary retail price, found in the end, that the profits had only +fallen short of paying the expenses of building, one groat. + +It came very hard for us to part from our kind friends at +Monkstown--but it has by no means been hard to keep them in loving +remembrance. + +Just a pleasant drive from Cork is Blarney Castle--a noble ruin, +towering above a beautiful little lake, all surrounded by delightful, +though neglected grounds--made famous by an old comic song, called "The +Groves of Blarney." + +This stronghold was built in the fifteenth century, by the great chief, +Cormac MacCarty, and retained by his descendants, the lords of +Clancarty and Musterry, until 1689, when it was confiscated. It has +since belonged to a family of Jeffries. The sad work of decay and +demolition has been going on for several centuries, and yet some of the +walls look as though they would stand centuries longer. + +The chief object of curiosity here is the famous "Blarney Stone," about +which there is a foolish tradition that whoever kisses it shall be +gifted with such shrewdness and eloquence that nobody will be able to +resist his persuasions. From this comes the expression of "_blarney_" +for cunning and flattering talk. I did not perceive that the people in +this neighborhood had any more of this peculiar gift than those of +other provinces;--indeed, I should suppose that there was a Blarney +stone in every town in Ireland, and that no Irishman, woman, or child +had failed to kiss it. + +This stone is now on the inside of the highest battlement of the great +tower. It was formerly on the outside, some feet from the top, and +those who wished to kiss it, were obliged to be let down by their +heels--which being a rather disagreeable and dangerous process, Mr. +Jeffries had it removed to its present place. Some learned men say +that this is nothing but a spurious stone, after all; and that the real +magical stone is yet imbedded in the outer wall, about twenty feet from +the top, and bears the name of the great MacCarty. Perhaps it is +so--but I don't believe it. + +In the grounds about the Castle, or "The Groves," there is many a +sweet, dewy, flowery spot, where the grass, moss, and ivy, are green as +green can be, and no sound is heard in the deep shade but the gurgle of +water and the warble of birds. Here are some rude steps made in the +rock, called "The Witches' Staircase," and a cave, in which it was said +a fair Princess remained enchanted for many years. Legends say that +the last Earl of Clancarty sunk all his valuable plate in the lake, +where it will remain until one of the old race regains possession of +the estate. Our guide told us that Lady Jeffries tried to drain the +lake, but that though she made a deep opening in the bank, not a drop +would run out--"for fear of exposing the plate of the rale lord!" He +said, too, that enchanted cows in the MacCarty interest came often at +night, and drove the Jeffries cows out of their pastures; and that no +earthly cattle had any chance at all against them--for they were +furious animals, with "mighty sharp horns." Of course, all this is +very absurd, and not half so pretty as the legends we heard everywhere +in Ireland of the fairies, or "good people." I will tell you more of +these another time. Now I have only room for a little anecdote of the +last Lord Clancarty, which I find set down as a great lesson to people +to read their Bibles. + +When this unfortunate nobleman was going into exile, he told his +relative, the beautiful Duchess of Marlborough, that he was certain he +could recover his property, if he only had money enough to carry on a +lawsuit for it. She did not offer to help him, but she placed in his +hands a Bible, saying that he would find in it comfort and support in +all his troubles. The young lord thanked her with such a pious face +that one would have thought he meant to do little else than study the +good book for the next six months. But the rogue never once looked +into it, and when, long after, he returned to England, the Duchess +asked him for it, and opening it before his eyes, showed him that she +had placed between the leaves, bank notes enough to have recovered his +estates, now hopelessly lost. + +I must say that this account of Lord Clancarty's poverty, and that of +his treasure hid in Blarney Lake, do not hang together very well; but, +as the Bible story has the best moral, perhaps we had better hold on to +that, and let the other go, with the legends of enchanted cows and +princesses. + + +LITTLE NORAH AND THE BLARNEY STONE. + +One pleasant summer morning, in 18--, a gay party of English ladies and +gentlemen visited the old Castle of Blarney. They strolled along the +green shore of the lake, wandered about the wild neglected gardens and +"groves," ran up and down the Witches' Staircase, poked their heads +into the princesses cave, and then ascended the great tower of the +castle. This party was headed by a gentleman of middle age, tall and +stately, but very kindly and pleasant in his looks. He wore a military +uniform, but was addressed as "my lord." He held by the hand, that is, +whenever he could catch her, a smiling rosy, dimple-cheeked little +girl, whom he called "Fanny," and the rest of the party "Lady Frances." +It was a pretty sight to see her break away from them all, and flit +about the ruins and through the dark tangled alleys of the groves, like +a bird on the wing. She laughingly skipped up and down the Witches' +Staircase with the rest, but she lingered longest in the haunted cave, +looking about her wistfully, as though she expected to see the +enchanted princess; and once her father found her peering into a dark +green dell, and listening attentively, her dark eyes growing big with +expectant awe. + +"Why, daughter Fanny, what have you there?" he asked. "What wonderful +discovery are you making?" + +"Hush, father!" she replied, with her small taper finger on her lip, +"it's the fairies I'm after--the 'good people,' nurse Bridget has told +me so much about. I am sure there must be some of them in this still, +shady place. I've found their 'rings' in the fresh, green grass." + +Lord Clare at first smiled at this simple, childish faith, then grew +serious, and sitting down on a flowery bank, drew his little daughter +on to his knee, and explained to her how the story of fairies was, in +the beginning, only a fable of poets and romance-writers, and was now +only believed in by ignorant peasants, like her Irish nurse; that, in +truth, there were no such beings as the fairies in all the world. When +he had finished, he was surprised to see that the child had covered her +face with her hands, and that the tears were fast trickling through her +fingers. "What is my little daughter weeping for?" he asked. + +"For the fairies, papa; the dear, beautiful fairies. I can't believe +in them any more." + +"But was it not right for papa to tell you the truth, my darling, even +though it gave you pain?" + +"Yes, I suppose it was. But, oh, papa, somehow things don't look so +beautiful as they did when I believed in the 'good people.' Then every +bank of moss, or bit of green turf, I thought might be a fairy +ball-room. Whenever I saw a flower, or a leaf floating on the water, I +thought some fairy might be sailing on it. I was almost sure +full-blown roses were the thrones of fairy queens, and buds just +opening they were the little baby-fairies' cradles. Oh, it was so +beautiful! and then, the kindness and goodness of the wee things, papa; +that is, when you did not happen to offend them. They were always +helping people out of trouble, especially poor persecuted princes and +princesses, and they were such fast friends of good children--at least, +so nurse and the fairy books said, and I used to believe so;--now it's +all over." + +"But, my daughter," said Lord Clare, "we can be better than fairies to +one another, if we will; and then, remember, that we have God's good +angels to watch over and help us, when they can." + +"Yes," said Fanny, brightening up a little, "that is some comfort." + +It was soon after this conversation that the party ascended the old +crumbly stone steps of the great tower of the castle. After enjoying +the fine prospect from the summit for some time, Lord Clare inquired +for the famous Blarney Stone. + +Rooney, the guide, a shrewd, smooth-tongued fellow, leaned over the +ruined parapet, and pointing to a stone, several feet below, replied, +"There it is, yer honor, the rale meraculous ould stone. Sure if your +lordship would so demane yourself as to kiss it, to-day, you would +never have any trouble in governing Irishmen at all. You would have +only to spake, and the spirit of fight and rebellion would leave them, +and they would be quiet as lambs." + +"Indeed! that would be a miracle; but how am I to get at the stone?" + +"Oh, that is aisy done. I'll hould your lordship by the heels and +swing you over just--all for half a crown, and as much more as yer +lordship is plased to give." + +"O yes, I remember to have heard of your original way of showing up the +Blarney Stone," said Lord Clare, "but how can I be sure that you will +not raise your price before raising me. It strikes me that I have +heard of your once playing off that trick upon a tourist." + +"Ah!" said Rooney, with a sly chuckle, "yer lordship alludes to a +mean-souled tailor, from London. He stood where yer lordship stands +for more nor an hour, beating me down from half a crown, my lawful fee, +to a shilling,--and me with seven children and the wife at home down +with the fever. At last, I gave in, and swung him over. He kissed the +stone, and then called to me to pull him up. 'Wait a bit, my man,' +says I, 'you gave me only a shilling for letting you down; it's a dale +harder job to pull you up. I must have half a crown for that same.' +With that, he began to swear and call me a chate, and threaten me with +the police. But I only said, 'my arms is givin' out, and I can't hold +on much longer, and if you won't pay me my just demand, I shall be +under the necessity of dropping yer acquaintance.' Then he began to +beg, for you see, he could look down and see the ugly rocks and the +black water more nor a hundred feet below him. But I told him he had +bothered so long, and given my arms such a strain, that I could not let +him up so aisy. At last, to save his neck, he promised me the half +guinea I asked, and paid it as soon as he set foot on the tower. I +know it was a big price for the article, but that was his own affair. +And now, begging your lordship's pardon, for proposing such a thing as +your kissing the stone after a tailor, shall I have the pleasure of +suspending your lordship over the wall, this morning?" + +"No, Rooney, you must excuse me. But here is your half crown, all the +same," said Lord Clare, with a good-humored smile. + +Just at this moment, Fanny called the attention of the party to a +little girl, about her own age, who had just ascended the tower, and +was standing near them, looking about her curiously and wistfully. She +was evidently one of the poorest class of peasants, for her dress was +coarse and patched, though clean and tidy. But she was a beautiful +child. She had large, dark, tender eyes, and soft curling, brown hair; +her arms and hands, though much sunburnt, and her feet, which were +bare, were small and gracefully formed. Her face wore now a weary and +troubled look, so little befitting a child, that it touched the hearts +of all that gay company. One of the gentlemen asked very kindly what +it was she wanted. She courtesied, as she answered timidly, "Sure, yer +honor, it's the Blarney Stone I'm after. Will you tell me, plase, +where I can find it?" + +"Why, child," said Lord Clare, "what do you want of the Blarney Stone?" + +"Only to kiss it, yer honor. I've come all the way from Bantry, on my +two feet, barring a lift now and then on a car, just to do that +same--all for the sake of poor Phin." + +"And who is Phin?" + +"He is my brother, sir--my own brother, and he has gone and 'listed, +and it's breaking my mother's heart; and sure, yer honor, if he goes +away for a soldier, she will die, and it's all alone in the world I'll +be." With that, her little red lips began to quiver, and the tears to +fall from her soft, brown eyes. + +"But what good will it do Phin, for you to kiss the Blarney Stone?" +asked one of the ladies. + +"Whist!" said the child, looking about her, and speaking low, as though +afraid of being overheard by some one unfriendly to Phin, "it's just a +little plot of my own. I was told that the new lord-lieutenant was +coming to Cork, and I knew he could let poor Phin off from being a +soldier; so I said nothing to nobody, but came up to entrate him. You +see I had often heard how this same Blarney Stone would give people an +ilegant and moving discoorse; and sure I thought I'd need to kiss it, +before I could stand up forninst a great lord, and say my story. That +is all, yer ladyship." + +"Oh, little girl!" cried Fanny, joyfully, "you need not kiss the old +stone for that, for my papa is--" Here the impulsive little girl +caught a warning look from her father, and paused suddenly, while his +lordship took up the conversation with the peasant child. + +"What is your name?" + +"Norah McCarthy, yer honor." + +"Ah, quite a pretty name. Well, Norah, how came this brother of yours +to enlist?" + +"Och! it all came from going to Darby O'Hallagher's wake." + +"What is a wake?" asked Fanny. + +"A wake, my darling young lady," said Rooney, very politely, "sure it's +an entertainment that a man gives after he is dead, when his +disconsolate friends all assemble at his house, to discuss his virtues +and drink his poteen. There is one who is called a 'keener,' usually +an elderly woman, with a touch of madness, or poetry, and a wild +rolling eye, who chants a 'keen,' or lamentation; in short, it's a sort +of melancholy frolic, where we only drink to drown our sorrow--a good +old Irish custom. Now, go on, Norah, my jewel." + +"Well, may be Phin was a great mourner for Darby, for he was overtaken +in drink that night, and brought shame upon himself, that had always +been a dacent and a sober lad; and the next day Mary Nelligan wouldn't +spake to him, and even our mother turned her face away from him; and +so, with the hot shame at his heart, he went straight to the sergeant +and 'listed. He was sorry soon, and Mary was sorry, and mother is just +kilt with grief, for she has nobody to look to now." + +"And to obtain your brother's discharge, you have come on this +pilgrimage to Blarney Castle, my poor child?" said Lord Clare, laying +his hand gently on the little girl's head. + +"Yes, and will yer honor kindly point out the stone to me? for I must +go back to Cork this day." + +Lord Clare took her by the hand, and leading her to the parapet, +pointed down to the stone, imbedded in the outside wall. "Ah," cried +Norah, in a tone of dismay and grief, "how can I reach it there? and +where am I to get the heart to spake up to the lord-lieutenant for poor +Phin?" + +Just then, an idea of testing the courage and devotion of the child +occurred to Lord Clare. Unwinding from his waist a long silk, military +sash, he said, "If you will let me tie this around you, under your +arms, and let you down by it, you can kiss the Blarney Stone, and I +will draw you up again. Are you brave enough to venture?" + +As Norah looked down from what seemed to her a dreadful height, she +grew dizzy and shrank back; but when she looked up into the calm, kind +eyes of Lord Clare, she took courage, and said she would go. As he +tied the sash firmly about her, she said,--"If yer honor finds me heavy +you'll not let me fall, for sure you have a colleen (girl) of your own." + +She put up a little prayer when she went over the wall, which I doubt +not was lovingly listened to, by Him who blessed little children. +Safely she was lowered to the stone, and eagerly she pressed against it +her soft red lips, and then called out, "I've done it, yer honor; now +pull me up, if you plase." + +As Lord Clare lifted her up over the parapet, Fanny, in admiration of +her courage, rushed forward, flung her arms about her and kissed +her--calling her "the best and bravest girl in the world." The ladies +and gentlemen of the party all made presents of money, which she +received with grateful thanks, but seemed bewildered by their great +kindness and in a hurry to get away. + +"Where are you going?" asked one. + +"Back to Cork, sure, to find the lord-lieutenant, while the feel of the +Blarney Stone is on my lips." + +"But how will you get to speak to him?" + +"Ah, then, I cannot tell; but the saints will help me, may be." + +"I will tell you what to do," said Lord Clare. "Come to the Royal +Hotel, where he lodges, just after the Review, to-day. I know him, and +will see that orders are given to admit you, at once." + +"But hadn't I better wait till his lordship has dined?" asked Norah, +"for I have heard that gentlemen are better natured after dinner." + +"Ah, you are a shrewd child," said Lord Clare, laughing, "but you +forget that you have kissed the Blarney Stone, and need not fear even a +hungry lord-lieutenant. Come at the time I set." + +"And keep up good courage," whispered Fanny. "You can't expect any +help from the fairies, for there are no such little folks nowadays; but +there are the angels, you know--and my papa, he is almost as good as a +fairy." + +At the hour appointed for receiving his humble petitioner, the +lord-lieutenant was standing in his parlor, at the Royal Hotel, with a +group of officers in rich uniforms and ladies in full dress about him. +He was amusing some of the company who had not been with him in the +morning, by an account of the simplicity and heroism of the beautiful +Irish child he had met, when she was shown in, by a pompous +serving-man, in showy livery, who looked very much astonished and +somewhat indignant at being obliged to introduce such a humble little +body to a room full of grand people. But no one cared for his looks. +Norah was dazzled by the sight of so much splendid dress, and went +forward with timid, wavering steps to where she was told the +lord-lieutenant was standing. She stood before him, quite silent for a +moment, her eyes cast down, and a painful blush overspreading her +artless face; then, in a trembling, hesitating voice, she began--"Will +yer honor plase--no, may it plase yer lord-lieutenantship to let our +poor Phin go! Sure, with all these fine soldiers you'll never miss +him, and then"--here she stammered and broke quite down. Covering her +face with her hands, she cried out, half sorrowfully and half in +vexation, "Bad luck to the Blarney Stone! There's no good in it at +all, at all--sorra a word more will it give me to spake." + +Lord Clare laughed at this--a pleasant, familiar laugh--and Norah +dropped her hands and looked up full in his face, for the first time +during the interview. In an instant, her eyes flashed joyfully through +their tears, she clapped her hands and cried,--"Blessed Saint Patrick +it is himself!" The next moment, Fanny was at her side, smiling and +whispering joyfully, "Didn't I tell you my papa was almost as good as a +fairy?" + +To make a long story short, I will say that Phin McCarthy's discharge +was soon obtained, and Norah McCarthy returned to Bantry, by the public +car, loaded with presents from the generous friends her beauty and +brave devotion had made. + +A short time after, as the lord-lieutenant and his party were passing +through Bantry, on their way to Killarney, their travelling car was +surrounded by the McCarthys and Nelligans, (Mary Nelligan was already +Mrs. Phin McCarthy,) all come to return their thanks. + +Little Lady Frances was very happy to see her Irish friend, who looked +prettier than ever, in a neat new dress; and drawing her father's face +down to hers, she whispered,--"Oh, papa, dear! won't you take Norah +home with us, to be my little maid?" This thought had already occurred +to Lord Clare, so he proposed it at once to Mrs. McCarthy. Though +feeling greatly honored, the good woman was, at first, unwilling to +part from her darling, and Norah to go so far from her mother; but when +his lordship promised that they should often visit each other, they +gratefully consented. + +So Norah went to live in Dublin Castle, as the maid and playmate of +Lady Frances. She was always most kindly cared for, received a good +education, and was treated more as a friend than as a servant by all +Lord Clare's household, for she ever retained her simple, endearing +ways, and was as good as she was beautiful. + +When she had been a year or two in his family, Lord Clare one day +explained to her, as well as he could, the curious superstition of the +Blarney Stone,--assuring her that there was in reality no virtue or +power in it whatever. Norah smiled and blushed at his earnest words, +as she answered in her sweet brogue, which she had not yet been +educated out of,--"My Lady Frances told me long ago, that the fairies +were all a pretty fable, and the Blarney Stone was like any other +stone, just. I'll let the fairies go, but," (taking Fanny's hand and +kissing it,) "by your lordship's leave and hers, I will stand by the +Blarney Stone, for the good fortune it has brought me." + + + + +A Visit to the Lakes of Killarney. + +KATHLEEN OF KILLARNEY. + +The morning of our leaving Cork was dark and rainy; but it gradually +cleared up, and by the time we reached Bantry, the first place of much +note on our route, all was bright and smiling, overhead and along our +way. + +Bantry Bay is very beautiful, and is historically remarkable as the +place where the French have twice attempted a landing, for the purpose +of invading and revolutionizing Ireland. + +Late in the afternoon, we arrived at Glengariff--one of the wildest and +yet loveliest spots in all that picturesque country. How I wish I +could give you such an idea of it as I have in my own mind--a great, +magnificent picture, painted on my memory--in some parts sunny and +green, and flowery; in others, dark and rugged, and grand. I shall +always particularly remember a long row we had on the bay, in the +twilight, and how the scenery of the mountainous shore and the rocky +islands, and the swelling, booming waves, grew stern, solemn, and even +awful, in the fast-falling shadows of evening, and the rising winds and +gloomy clouds of a coming storm. + +But the next morning, every thing was more sweet and quiet and radiant +than I can tell. So, wild Glengariff smiled upon us in our parting, +but we found it hard to smile back. We really felt sad to go so soon +and forever from such a bit of paradise. + +We travelled now upon a large outside car, which allowed us to see +every thing on our way, and would have been a very pleasant conveyance +if it had not left us too much exposed to the attacks of the beggars. +The seats were so low that when the car was going slowly up the hills, +we could step off and walk--so, of course, the beggars could come close +beside us. Nothing kept them off--neither laughing, nor commanding; +alms-giving, nor refusals. Drive as fast as we might, they kept up +with us--crowds of little boys and girls, and sometimes full-grown men +and women. Some of the children were exceedingly handsome, with black +hair and eyes, and dark olive skins--descendants, it is said, of the +Spaniards, who, in the time of Queen Elizabeth, invaded Ireland. + +The Lakes of Killarney would scarcely be called _lakes_ in our country, +where we boast such grand inland seas under that name. They are small, +but certainly very beautiful, and surrounded by delightful scenery. +They are three in number--the Upper, the Lower, and Torc Lake. + +The town of Killarney has a miserable, dilapidated appearance, and is +overflowing with beggars. We did not stop here, however, but at a +hotel a mile or two away, on the northern shore of the Lower Lake--a +most charming situation. A little way out of the town, we had stopped +to visit Torc waterfall--a beautiful cascade, in a wild and shady +glen--one of the very finest sights of that region. + +In the morning, we set out early on an excursion through the Gap of +Dunloe, to the Upper Lake. This time I was mounted on a fleet-footed +pony, which gave me an advantage over the beggars. One friend rode +beside me; the others were, as usual, on a jaunting car. + +The "Gap" is a long, dark, rocky pass, with a noisy stream, called the +Loe, rushing through it. On the right, are the mountains called the +Reeks; on the left, the Toomies, and the "Purple Mountain." On +reaching the Upper Lake, we left our ponies and car, and embarked in a +boat, which was awaiting us, for a row down a still, silvery, and +fairy-like sheet of water. Passing many green and flowery +islands--always in sight of grand mountains and lovely shores--we +entered upon "the long range"--a sort of river, connecting the lakes. +On this stands old "Eagle's Nest," a mountain about eleven hundred feet +in height, on whose summit the eagles have built their nests for +centuries. + +It is principally remarkable for the fine echoes which it gives forth. +Our guide played the bugle before it, and every note came back, clear +and sweet. + +Mrs. Hall, in her beautiful book on Ireland, relates an amusing story +which a peasant told her, of a daring attempt a mountaineer once made +to rob the eagle's nest. He watched till he saw the old eagles fly +away, and then let himself down by a rope from the rock above, and was +just about to seize upon the young eaglets, when suddenly out darts the +mother eagle from a thunder-cloud, and stood facing him! But she spoke +very civilly, and said-- + +"Good morning, sir; and what brings you to visit my fine family so +early, before they've had their breakfast?" + +"Oh, nothing at all," said the man, "only to ax after their health, +ma'am, and to see if any of them is troubled with the tooth-ache; for +I've got a cure for it, here in my pocket, something I brought wid me +from furrin parts." + +"Aha! and you brought some _blarney_ in the other pocket," said the +mother eagle; "for don't I know you came to steal my children--the +darlings?" + +"Honor bright," said he, "do you raly think now I'd be sarving ye such +a mane trick as that?" + +"I'll leave it to a neighbor of mine," said she; and with that she +raised her voice and screeched out--"Did he come to rob the eagle's +nest?" + +Of course, the echo answered--"To rob the eagle's nest." + +"Hear that! you thieving blackguard," said the eagle, "and take _that_ +home with you!" and with one blow of her great beak, she pitched him +over, and he tumbled down the mountainside into the lake; getting +severely bruised and well ducked for interfering with the domestic +happiness of his neighbors. + +About a mile below this mountain, we passed under Old Weir Bridge. +This is called "shooting the bridge," and unless you have very skilful +boatmen, is considered very dangerous, as the rapids are swift and +strong. + +We next passed the bay and mountain of Glena, by far the most beautiful +scenes of Killarney. + +We took dinner on shore, seated on the soft, cool grass, under the +shade of arbutus-trees, and after a little stroll, returned over the +water to our hotel, but a very little wearied by our day of pleasure. + +Our first excursion the next morning was to the ruins of Muckross +Abbey, on a peninsula which divides the Lower Lake from Torc Lake. + +This is a beautiful, solemn old spot, and is very much venerated by the +Irish peasantry, not only as having been built and occupied by holy +priests and saints, but as the burial-place of many of the ancient +Princes of Desmond, the MacCartys-Mor, and the O'Donoghues. + +After leaving the Abbey, we commenced the ascent of Mangerton, a +mountain some 2,550 feet high. We were now all mounted on ponies, who +were very sagacious and sure-footed, and climbed the rocky, narrow path +like goats. We were followed every step of the way by a host of lads +and girls, carrying jugs and cups of milk and whisky, which they +offered to us at almost every moment. The greatest curiosity upon this +mountain is a little lake, near the summit, called, "The Devil's +Punch-Bowl." It is surrounded by almost perpendicular rocks; the water +is very dark, and is said to be unfathomable. Though so completely +shut in, it is never calm, and though icy cold in summer, it never +freezes in winter. + +From the summit, we had a vast, magnificent view, which, however, I +must confess, I enjoyed less than the wild, frolicking ride which I +took soon after, down the mountain, following closely upon the steps of +one of my friends, who, for mischief, went far out of the path, and +took his way over rocks and gullies, through bogs and briars. It was +great sport to us, but I am afraid my poor pony had some private +objections to it. + +We enjoyed another pic-nic dinner in Lord Kenmare's grounds, and +afterwards rowed to the lovely little island of Innisfallen, upon which +are some ruins of a famous old abbey, which is said to have been built +as early as the seventh century. + +From Innisfallen we went to Ross Castle--a very well-preserved ruin. + +In old times it was the stronghold of the war-like O'Donoghues. It was +besieged in 1652, by the forces of Cromwell, commanded by General +Ludlow, and though very strong and well provisioned, surrendered, with +scarcely an attempt at defence. The reason of this was that the +garrison was frightened at seeing the war ships which Ludlow brought +against them--as, long before, some old priest or wizard had made a +prophecy that when such vessels should appear on the lake, all would be +up with the castle. So superstition makes cowards of the bravest men. + +There is a very curious and absurd legend which the peasants relate +about the last O'Donoghue; and they really seem to believe what they +are telling. Some say that when Ludlow marched his men into his +castle, the O'Donoghue, driven to despair, leaped from one of the +windows into the lake,--that he was not drowned, but turned into a sort +of merman under the waves, and has lived there ever since, with the +friendly water-spirits, and his family and many of his friends who have +followed him. They say he has a splendid sub-marine palace, and dogs +and horses, and harpers and fiddlers, good whisky punch, and potatoes +that are never touched with the rot--fairs and dances, and weddings and +wakes, and now and then a fight--in short, every thing that can make a +real old-fashioned Irishman feel at home and comfortable. The wakes +and fights are only make-believes, "for divarshin," they say; for the +people down there cannot die--cannot even be wounded, or hurt in any +way. + +Others say that the O'Donoghue under the lake is a more ancient +prince--an enchanter, who for some act of impiety, got enchanted in his +turn and was condemned to dwell under the water, and is only allowed to +come to the surface once a year--on the first morning in May, when he +rides over the lake in grand style, clad in silver armor, with snowy +plumes in his casque, mounted on a white steed, splendidly caparisoned. +Before him go beautiful water-spirits, scattering flowers--all running +and dancing on the water, without the slightest difficulty. It is said +the enchantment of the O'Donoghue will last until the silver shoes of +his horse are worn off by the friction of the waves. + +There are many yet living at Killarney, who solemnly declare that they +have seen the chieftain on his May-morning ride. But these, if honest +persons, have doubtless been deceived by singular appearances in the +atmosphere, called optical illusions, or mirages. + +Many other legends are told by the peasants and guides. All are +strange and improbable, but some are very amusing, and some, I think, +quite poetic and beautiful. + +One is about a holy man of Muckross, who fell into some great sin, and +repenting of it, waded into the lake, and stuck a holly-stick into the +bottom, and said he would not leave the spot till it should throw out +leaves and branches. So he did penance for seven years, and then the +stick suddenly leaved out and blossomed, and became a great tree, by +which the good man knew that he was pardoned. We may take a lesson +from this. If we do wrong, and try to atone for it, in the best way we +know how, it may seem a hopeless work; but if we wait patiently and +pray, we shall surely see, at last, God's love and blessing blossoming +before us like the holly-stick, and overshadowing us like the great +tree. + +There is another legend about an ancient Abbot of Innisfallen, which is +sweet and touching, though I do not see that it has any moral. This +good man was at his prayers one morning, very early, when he heard a +little bird singing so melodiously out among the trees, that he got up +from his knees and followed it. The bird flew from tree to tree, and +still he walked after, for its music was so delicious he could not tire +of it. He thought in his heart that he could listen to it forever, and +he came very near doing that same, for the bird was an enchanted +singer, and so bewitched the priest that he had no idea how the time +went by. At last, he thought that it was about the hour for +vespers--so he gave his blessing to the little bird, and went back into +the abbey. But, when he entered, he was astonished to see only strange +faces and to hear a strange tongue, which was the English, in place of +the Irish. There were monks about, who asked him who he was, and where +he came from. He told them his name, and that he was their Abbot. He +had gone out, he said, in the morning to hear a little bird sing, and +somehow it had kept him following it about the island ever since. Then +they told him that no less than _two hundred years_ had passed since he +went out to hear that singing, and that he had never been seen +since--for being enchanted, he had been invisible. Then the old monk +cried out--"Give me absolution, some of you, for my time is come!" +They gave him absolution, and he died in peace; but just as he was +passing away, there came to the holly-tree, before the window, a little +white bird, and sat and sung the sweetest song ever heard; and when the +soul left the body of the old Abbot, another white bird appeared, and +the two sang together very joyfully for awhile, in the holly tree, and +then flew out into the sunshine, and up into the blue heaven, away! + + +KATHLEEN OF KILLARNEY. + +Not many years ago there lived at Glena, the loveliest spot in all +Killarney, a small farmer, by the name of Mickey, or Michael More, his +wife, and one daughter. Though Mickey was a poor, hard-working man, he +boasted that he was descended from a regular Irish chieftain, the great +MacCarty-Mor, and held his head up accordingly. But his wife, Bridget +O'Dogherty, that was--used sometimes to put him down a little, by +boasting that her great ancestor of all, was "a mighty king, or +monarch, that ruled over the biggest part of Ireland, shortly after the +flood,--long before the MacCartys-Mor were ever heard of. Why man, it +took all the lakes of Killarney to water his cattle--and the bog of +Allen was only his potato-patch." + +In truth, Mrs. More was but a silly, ignorant woman, and her husband +was not much better, though he thought himself infinitely more clever +and sensible. In one thing, however, this couple were perfectly +agreed: it was in thinking their daughter, Kathleen, the most beautiful +and bewitching creature that the sun ever shone upon. They were so +foolishly proud of her that they resolved and declared that no one +short of a lord, or a rich baronet should ever marry her--that she +should become "my lady" somebody, or remain Kathleen More, to the day +of her death. They were strengthened in this resolution by a famous +fortune-teller, who foretold that Kathleen would become a grand +lady--live in a castle, ride in a coach, and have jewels and fine +dresses, ponies, pages, parrots, and poodle-dogs to her heart's content. + +So they kept as keen a watch over her as though she had been a royal +princess, whose marriage was a great affair of state. They would +hardly allow her to speak to the young people of her own rank, but were +always telling her to hold her head high, and remember that she was "a +mate for their betters." + +Of course, this ambition and pretension excited some ill feeling at +Killarney, and laughter and ridicule without end. But Kathleen was +truly a very beautiful young girl--so beautiful that her fame spread +far and wide, and toasts were made and songs were written in her +praise. Visitors to the Lakes used to inquire after her, and sometimes +hire their boatmen to land them near her father's cottage, so that they +might, by chance, catch a glimpse of "the Beauty of Glena." But +Kathleen was a good and sensible girl, and, strange to say, was not +spoiled by the constant flattery of her parents, and the evident +admiration of all who beheld her. She knew that she was very +beautiful,--every glance into the clear waters of the lake showed her +what sweet blue eyes, what lustrous black locks, what rosy, dimpled +cheeks were hers,--showed her that no lily could be fairer than her +brow, her neck, and her lovely taper [Transcriber's note: tapered, +tapering?] arms. Yet she knew also that this beauty was hers by no +merit, or power of her own; that it was the gift of the good God, +bestowed in kindness, though it brought her little happiness, poor +girl. Watched and guarded like a nun, she had few friends and little +pleasure, and often envied the humblest village maids and +farm-servants, as she saw them, strolling along the lake shore, with +their brothers and friends, on summer evenings, when their work was +done--or sometimes rowing over the lake, their plain brown faces +lighted up with innocent enjoyment, and their gay songs and happy +laughter ringing out over the water. + +There was one young man, braver or more persevering than most of +Kathleen's untitled admirers, who would not be frowned off by her +ambitious parents;--perhaps because he was encouraged by the kind +smiles of the beautiful girl herself. This was a young tradesman, +named Barry O'Donoghue--a fine, manly fellow, industrious, intelligent, +and though not rich, in better circumstances than most young men of the +parish. But when "bold Barry O'Donoghue," as he was called, proposed +to Michael More for the hand of his daughter, he received as stern and +scornful a "No, young man," as any who had been before him. Barry had +a proud as well as a loving heart, and felt the slight and +disappointment so keenly that he left his home at once, and sailed for +Australia, to seek his fortune in that rich, but then almost unknown +land. People laughed, and said that Mickey and Biddy More were keeping +their daughter for "_the_ O'Donoghue"--expecting him to come for her, +some May-day morning, in grand style, riding over the waves on his +silver-shining steed, to carry her off to his palace under the lake. +But when it was seen how poor Kathleen took Barry's going to heart, few +were so unfeeling as to laugh. She never had been as merry as most +young girls, and now she grew sad and silent and very weary-looking. +She did not complain, but her eyes seemed heavy with the tears she +would not shed, and the roses went fading and fading out of her cheeks, +till her father became alarmed, and would bid her eat more, and spin +less--to get up early in the morning and drink new milk, "with a drop +of mountain-dew in it." ("Mountain-dew," I must tell you, is an Irish +name for whisky.) "Ah darling," her mother would say, "if you don't +howld on to your beauty, what'll his lordship say, when he comes after +you? Sure, he'll consider himself imposed upon." + +"But mother, dear," Kathleen would reply, "I don't want any lord--I'll +just stay with father and you, always as I am." + +"Hush now, you simple child! It's just flying in the face of +Providince, you are--your fortune has all been foretowld this many a +year, and you've only to submit to it--though you don't desarve it." + +Well, one May-day morning, when Barry O'Donoghue had been gone somewhat +over a year, Kathleen More went out as usual, to take her early walk; +but did not come back again. All day long they searched, far and near, +but without obtaining any trace or tidings of her; but just at night, a +note was found at the door of Michael's cottage, which ran thus:-- + + +"I have taken away your daughter, and married her, before a priest. Be +easy about her. She is happy, and sends her dutiful respects. + +_The O'Donoghue_." + + +"Ochone!" cried Bridget More, "the Phantom Prince has come and gone off +wid our darling Kathleen. I always towld you that trouble would come +of them early walks;--and how do you feel, Mickey More, to have gone +and made yourself father-in-law to a merman--a wicked water-wizard? +Answer me that!" + +"Hush now, Biddy," said Michael, "it's not the O'Donoghue at all. It's +the great lord we've been waiting for so long, trying to make believe +he is the Phantom Prince. Maybe, for reasons of state, he don't like +to reveal himself; and maybe," he added, with a sly laugh, "he don't +care to make the acquaintance of his talkative mother-in-law." + +Mrs. More was very indignant at this supposition, and persisted in +believing that the O'Donoghue, and no one else, had carried off and +married her daughter,--and as time went by and brought, always in some +mysterious way, good news, and now and then a handsome present, from +Kathleen, she became reconciled to her marriage, and even proud of it. +In her talks with her cronies, she would often speak of "her ladyship, +my daughter Kathleen,"--or "my daughter, the Princess O'Donoghue." +This greatly amused some of her neighbors, and they used to question +and quiz her without mercy. + +"And why don't you go and visit your daughter, Mistress More?" asked +one--"Sure they invite you." + +"Why, you see, Mistress Hallaghan," replied the cunning Bridget, "it's +all on account of my rhumatiz--I'm thinking that the climate down there +wouldn't agree with me." + +But Mrs. More grew yet prouder and more important than ever, when there +came another letter from the O'Donoghue, bringing the good news that +she was grandmother to a fine little boy. Such grand calculations as +she laid on this event. "Who knows," she said, "but that the heir will +break up the long enchantment and grow up a good Christian, and come +back and take possession of Ross Castle, and we'll be ruled by a rale +Irish Prince once more." + +At all these foolish anticipations Michael only laughed contemptuously; +but as his efforts to find out any thing about his daughter and her +husband had all failed, it was thought that he finally more than half +believed in the O'Donoghue story himself, though he never owned that he +did. + +May-day morning had come round again. It was three years since +Kathleen More was carried off, and as usual, on that day, her father +and mother awoke very early, for it was a sad anniversary for them. + +"Troth!" exclaimed Michael, "and it was a queer drame I had last night." + +"Ah then, avick, tell me it!" cried his wife, who was particularly +curious and superstitious about dreams. + +"Well, then, I dramed that I paid a visit to the O'Donoghue; in his +grand palace under the lake. I received my invitation by being upset +in my boat, and pulled downwards by a big merman, who never let go of +my coat-tails till he landed me at the palace gate. + +"The O'Donoghue himself met me in the hall. 'Welcome, Mr. +MacCarty-Mor,' (mind that, MacCarty-Mor!) said he--'welcome kindly! +Sure it's delighted I am to see you--and you are just in time for +dinner.' With that a sarvent began sounding a big conch-shell, a great +door was flung open, and the next thing, I found myself in an ilegant +room, sitting down to dinner with a mighty genteel looking company." + +"Arrah! and was our Kathleen amongst them?" asked Mrs. More. + +"Of course she was--sitting at the O'Donoghue's right hand, all silks +and gold, and heaps of pearls in her hair. She kissed her hand to me, +very politely, which was the most she could do, being a Princess, so +grandly dressed, and meself in my old grey coat and patched corduroys." + +"And did she look natural?--the darling!" + +"A trifle paler and prouder--but pretty much the same as ever, Biddy." + +"And who else did you see, Mickey?" + +"Oh hosts of the quality. First there was Fin MacCual, and Brian Boro, +and old King Cormac and the O'Tooles--with their crowns on, and the +O'Neills, and the O'Connors, and the O'Meaghers, and the O'Malleys, and +the O'Doghertys, and the O'Briens, and no end of O'Donoghues,--and the +Dermods, and Desmonds, and my ancestor, the great MacCarty-Mor himself." + +"And what was your dinner, Mickey?" + +"Why, principally oysters, and lobsters, and turtles, sarved up in +their shells--and plenty of good potheen to drink. The trouble of it +was, every thing was cowld, for you see they had no fire down there; +and candles wouldn't burn, by raison of the dampness,--so we went to +bed by moonlight, and slept on pillows of soft sand, between two sheets +of water." + +"Ah, Mickey!" cried out Mrs. Bridget, in alarm, "why didn't you excuse +yourself, and come home before bed-time, for you know you always take +cowld from sleeping in damp sheets." + +Michael burst into a laugh at this--"Why Biddy, woman," said he,--"sure +you forget it's all a drame." + +"Arrah, and so it is," replied his wife, sadly, "and we know no more +about our poor Kathleen than we did the day she was spirited away. Ah, +Mickey dear, I often think that if I had her back, in my ould arms +again, I'd have no more such high notions for her, and I'd niver cross +her in any way." + +Michael said nothing, but sighed heavily, and turned his face toward +the wall. + +A short time after this conversation, while Michael More was stirring +up the peat fire in the little kitchen, to boil the potatoes for +breakfast, and his wife was milking the cow, just outside the door, he +was startled by her calling put to him, in a tone of joyful +excitement--"Mickey, oh, Mickey! they're coming!" + +"Who are coming?" cried he, rushing to the door. + +"The O'Donoghue and our Kathleen. Don't you see them? Sure it's the +morning for them--only they are in a boat, instead of on horseback. +Hark, don't you hear the fairy music? and that's our Kathleen's voice +calling!" + +"Faith, you are right, for once," replied Michael, running with her +down to the shore. Yes, a boat came dancing over the bright waters of +the bay; containing a tall young man, quite proud, and happy looking +enough for a Prince, though not dressed in silver armor,--and a very +beautiful lady, holding a child in her arms. The "fairy music" was +made by the bugle of old Stephen Spillane, the Killarney guide. + +In a few moments, there leaped to land, not the enchanted Irish +chieftain, but a better man, Barry O'Donoghue, who had as good a right +to call himself "_the_ O'Donoghue" as any other member of that numerous +family. Then he handed out his wife, Kathleen, who three years before +he had been obliged to steal away from her unkind and foolish +parents,--and little Master Harry O'Donoghue, a handsome, curly-headed +little rogue, who jumped at once with a merry laugh, into the arms and +into the hearts of his grandparents. + +After a great deal of embracing and kissing, Barry said, in reply to a +host of wondering exclamations and questions: "We have come back from +Australia, where we were getting rich, because Kathleen could not be +longer away from home and you. We have brought a little fortune with +us, and mean to settle down here in dear old Killarney, if you will be +reconciled to us, and take us for neighbors." + +"And if you will forgive me, for not coming back to you a great lady," +said Kathleen, smiling. + +"Don't say any more about that," said Michael More, embracing her for +the twentieth time,--"We are glad enough to have you back just your old +self, and it's quite content we are with your husband and the boy--and +bad luck to all fortune-tellers! say I." + +With that, old Stephen blew an applauding farewell note on his bugle, +and the Mores and O'Donoghues all went into the cottage, where we will +leave them. + + + + +Limerick. + +LITTLE ANDY AND HIS GRANDFATHER. + +We travelled from Killarney to Tarbert, on the Shannon, by the +stage-coach, passing through several old, but uninteresting towns, and +seeing a great deal of barrenness and wretchedness on our way. At +Tarbert, we took a steamer, to ascend the river to Limerick, and as the +weather that afternoon was clear and bright, we had one of the most +delightful trips you can imagine. + +The Shannon is a very noble river--in some places widening out like a +sea, and all the way running between beautiful green shores. There is +a place in the river, near the mouth, which has somewhat the appearance +of rapids, when the tide is coming in. This, the people say, is the +site of a sunken city, whose towers and turrets make the roughness of +the water. The whole city can be seen every seven years, but, as the +sight is said to be unlucky, every body avoids it. The whole story is +about as probable as the one I have told you of the damp and dubious +palace of the O'Donoghue. + +Limerick is a pleasant and prosperous city, and has a very honorable +name in Irish history. The most interesting object that it contains is +the Castle, which was built by King John, and has stood for more than +six hundred years. In 1651, Limerick sustained a terrible siege, by +the Parliamentary forces, under General Ireton, the son-in-law of +Cromwell. It held out for six months, and would not have surrendered +then, though the inhabitants were dying of starvation and plague, had +it not been for the treachery of an officer of the garrison--one +Colonel Fennel. Among the most faithful and heroic of the city's +defenders, was a priest--Terence Albert O'Brien, Bishop of Emly. He +was so active and influential that Ireton made him an offer of forty +thousand pounds, (two hundred thousand dollars,) and a free pass to the +Continent, if he would cease his exhortations, and advise immediate +surrender. He scorned the offer, and so when the city at last fell +into the hands of the English, he was tried and condemned to death. He +was calm and heroic to the last; but before he was beheaded, he +addressed a few solemn, warning words to Ireton, which made the stern +soldier's blood curdle. He accused him of cruel injustice, and +summoned him to appear before the tribunal of God within a few days. +It is a singular fact that in a little more than a week from that time, +Ireton died of the plague. + +Limerick was again besieged in 1690, by William III. It was defended +by the Irish Catholic adherents of James II. and their French allies, +and so well defended, that the King and his army beat a retreat in less +than a month. However, they made another trial the next year and with +a little better success, for after a six months' siege, the garrison +capitulated. A treaty was signed between the two armies, in which it +was stipulated that Limerick and the other Irish fortresses should +surrender to the new King--that the garrisons should be allowed to +march out with all the honors of war, and that they should be provided +with shipping to carry them to any country they should please to go to. +Then there were several other articles very favorable to the rights and +liberties of the Roman Catholics. To the shame of the English +government of that day, it must be said that this compact was most +dishonorably broken, and through that reign and many succeeding, the +Irish Catholics were greatly wronged and meanly persecuted. From this +circumstance, Limerick has always been called "The City of the Violated +Treaty"--at least, until the year 1847, when, one evening, a famous +tea-party given to the rebel leader, Smith O'Brien, was broken up by a +mob--on which occasion, Mr. Punch made a little change in the old +title, and called it "The City of the Violated _Tea-tray_." + +The Cathedral of St. Mary's is a large, gloomy-looking building, with a +very high tower, from which one can get a magnificent view of the +surrounding country. In this tower is a very melodious chime of bells, +about which there is told a pretty and touching story, which I do not +doubt is true. + +Once there lived in Italy a skilful young artisan, who was celebrated +for founding bells. No founder in all Europe could equal him--no +chimes in all the world were so grand and sweet-sounding as his. At +last, he made a chime for a convent, which proved to be finer than any +he had cast before. He had spent years upon them; they were his great +work; he was very proud of them; he even seemed to have fallen in love +with them, for he could not live out of the sound of their melodious +ringing. So he purchased a little villa, in a lovely seaside nook, +beneath the lofty cliff on which the convent stood, and every night and +morning he had the happiness of hearing the solemn silver chiming of +his own dear bells, which, when sounding at that height, it almost +seemed to him God had taken and hung in the clouds, to call him and his +children to prayer and to heaven. + +But after a few bright, peaceful years, there came a dark, troubled +time of war and pillage. The good Italian lost all in the terrible +struggle--home, family--even his beloved bells--for the convent on the +cliff was destroyed, and they were carried away to some distant land. +At last, he was released from a miserable dungeon, to find himself old, +infirm, poor, and alone in the wide world. Then a great longing came +to him, and grew and grew at his lonely heart, to hear his bells once +more before he should die. So he became a wanderer over Europe, +searching for them every where. He would be told of wonderful chimes +in this and that city, and go many weary leagues to hear them; but as +soon as they sounded on his ear, he would sadly shake his head, his +eyes would fill with tears, and he would turn to go on his way. + +When, at length, he heard of the sweet bells of Limerick, he was very +old and feeble, but he set out at once on what he knew must be his last +pilgrimage. The vessel on which he sailed went up the Shannon, and +anchored opposite the city. The old Italian took a boat to go on +shore, at the close of a calm and beautiful day. He was very weak and +ill, and reclined in the stern of the boat, looking longingly toward +St. Mary's Cathedral. Suddenly, from the tall tower, rang softly out +the vesper chime. The Italian started up joyfully at the sound. Then +he crossed himself, looked upward, and murmured--"I thank thee, blessed +mother of Jesus! _I hear my bells at last!_" Then he sank back, and +closed his eyes and listened. The men rested on their oars, and all +was still, except that sweet, solemn ringing. The Italian seemed to +hear in his bells more than their old melody--all the music of his +happy home--the deep murmur of the sea below the convent cliff--the +sighing of the winds in the cypress and olive trees--and sweeter and +dearer than all, the voices of his wife and children. _They_ seemed to +be softly calling his pious soul to leave the trouble and weariness of +earth for the blessedness and rest of God. And his soul obeyed the +call,--for, when the bells ceased their ringing, and the boatmen rowed +to land, they found that the aged stranger was dead. + +About six miles above Limerick are the Rapids of the Shannon, usually +called the Falls of Doonas. These can be part way descended in long, +narrow skiffs, constructed for the purpose, but the feat is a very +hazardous one. I went down, with a friend and two brave boatmen, but +though I enjoyed the adventure, I would not advise any one to follow my +example. + +Not far from Limerick are the ruins of Mungret Priory, said to have +been founded by St. Patrick, and which once contained no less than one +thousand five hundred monks. + +"As wise as the women of Mungret," is a saying among the Irish, which +had its rise, according to tradition, in this way:-- + +The monks of Cashel having heard great stories of the learning of those +of Mungret, resolved to send a deputation to them, to settle the point +as to which college possessed the finest scholars in the dead +languages. Now the monks of Mungret enjoyed a better reputation for +such learning than they deserved,--being rather more fond of good +living than hard study,--so they were mortally afraid of being beaten +in the contest, and losing their good name forever. But they hit upon +a very ingenious plan of escape from their embarrassment. They dressed +up a number of their best scholars--some as women and some as +peasants--and placed them along the road by which their rivals must +travel. As the deputation came on, they naturally asked the way to +Mungret, and put other questions to the persons they met, and to their +great astonishment, every question was answered in Greek or Latin. At +last, they came to a halt, held a consultation, and prudently resolved +to go back to Cashel, as they could not hope to win any honor in a +controversy with a priory of monks who had so filled all the country +around with learning, that even the women and workmen spoke the dead +languages fluently. + +We saw a great deal of poverty, squalor, and idleness, in Limerick, but +also much honest industry. We visited the lace and glove +manufactories, where many poor girls earn not only their own living, +but often that of their families. + +The peasantry in this county seemed sober and quiet people, but, as in +other parts of Ireland, they are mostly ignorant and superstitious. +They are workers in the bogs, or day-laborers, and all think themselves +very fortunate if they can obtain employment at wages which will keep +them and their children from starvation. Beggary is very common +everywhere, and is not considered a disgrace, except by the better +order of people. + +There is in Ireland a class of small farmers, who live very respectably +and comfortably, though they can never hope to get very much +beforehand, as they do not own their farms, are obliged to pay many +taxes, and the more valuable they make the land, by their industry, the +higher is the rent. + +I have heard a pretty little story about one of these farmer-families, +with which I will close this chapter. + + +LITTLE ANDY AND HIS GRANDFATHER. + +In the county of Waterford once lived an honest old farmer, by the name +of Walsh. His wife died young, and left him one only child--a son, of +whom he was very proud. And Patrick Walsh was worthy of a great deal +of affection and respect; for he was a fine, amiable, industrious young +man. + +Unfortunately, Patrick fell in love with a proud, handsome young woman, +the daughter of a well-to-do farmer in the neighborhood, and finally +persuaded her to marry him, though she gave him to understand pretty +plainly that she thought she was condescending not a little in doing so. + +Why, the Mullowneys (she was a Mullowney) actually had three rooms in +their cabin, and kept a horse, two cows, a goat, and a good-sized +donkey! And then, they had relations who were very well off in the +world--in particular, some fourth cousins, who kept a draper's shop in +Waterford, who, though they never visited the country Mullowneys, +couldn't help being an honor to the family. So it was little wonder +that "Peggy Mullowney Walsh," as she always insisted on being called, +held her pretty nose rather high, and curled her red lip a little +scornfully, as she stepped into the neat, but humble cabin of her +handsome young husband. Old Mr. Walsh felt for Patrick, and in order +to make his fortune equal the goods and the honors which his wife had +brought him, he made over to him the farm and all his possessions, and +left himself a pennyless dependent upon his son and daughter-in-law. + +All went well for a few years, for Patrick honored and loved his +father, and did all that he could to make him happy and comfortable. +But I am sorry to say that Mrs. Peggy never was very kind to him. With +her high notions, she rather looked down upon him than felt grateful to +him for being simple enough to give up all his property to his son. +Then she was selfish and violent tempered, and did not like "the bother +of an ould body like him about the cabin." Still, she bore with him, +for he made himself quite useful, mostly in taking care of the +children, especially of the oldest boy, Andy. This child was all the +comfort the old grandfather had. _He_ was always gentle and loving to +him, and made him as little trouble as possible. Sometimes, when the +poor old man was lying awake at night, grieving over the hard, scornful +treatment of his proud daughter-in-law, and praying God to take him to +a home of peace and love, where he would never be "in the way" any +more, little Andy would hear his low sobs, and go to him, creep close +to his desolate old heart, and whisper-- + +"Don't cry, gran'daddy--I love you wid all my heart, _avourneen_." + +But the older and more feeble her father-in-law grew, the more unkindly +Mrs. Peggy treated him, till she made the cabin such a scene of +constant storm and confusion that everybody in it was wretched. At +last, old Mr. Walsh came to a resolution to put an end to all this +trouble. He would take to the road--that is, go a-begging. "The Lord +will take care of me," he said: "He who feeds the sparrows will put it +into the hearts of good Christians to give me all that I need." + +Of course, Patrick was sad at the thought of his old father becoming a +mendicant; but he was a peaceable man and ruled by his wife; he was +tired of her scolding and complaints, and so, at last, consented. + +As for Mrs. Peggy, she was very glad; she thought it was the best thing +the "ould body" could do, and set about making a beggar's bag for him +at once. He was to start the next morning. + +Little Andy heard all the talk, but did not say any thing. He sat in a +corner, busily at work, sewing up his bib. + +"What's that yer doing, Andy, darling?" said his father. + +The child looked up at him sadly and reproachfully, and +answered,--"_Making a bag for you to go beg--when you're as old as +gran'daddy_." + +Patrick Walsh burst into tears, flung his arms around his old father's +neck, and begged his forgiveness. And even the proud Peggy was so +affected that she fell upon her knees and asked pardon of God, of her +husband and his father, for her undutiful conduct. For his part, the +good old man forgave her at once. I need hardly say that he never went +on the road; for, from that hour, Peggy was a better and gentler woman, +and tried hard to make her house a happy home for her father-in-law, +and so, for all her family. To be sure, her besetting sins--pride and +temper--would break out once in a while, but God was stronger than +either; she prayed to Him, and He gave her strength to get the better +of them at last. + +Grandfather Walsh lived in comfort and content several years, and on +his peaceful death-bed, blessed his son and daughter, and their +children, very solemnly and lovingly. When all thought that he was +gone, little Andy, who had been very quiet till then, began to cry +aloud. The good old man, whose soul was just at the gates of heaven, +heard him, opened his eyes, reached out his hand, and blessed his +darling once more. Then he died. + + + + +Wicklow. + +TIM O'DALY AND THE CLERICAUNE + +After leaving Limerick, we returned to Dublin, and there took a +carriage, for a little tour in the neighboring county of Wicklow. + +Wicklow has been called "The Garden of Ireland," for the beauty of its +scenery and the high cultivation of a large portion of its lands. It +is full of romantic valleys and streams, lakes, glens, and +waterfalls--varied by rugged, untamable wilds, and bleak, barren +mountains. + +We first visited "the Dargle," or Glenislorane River, upon Lord +Powerscourt's domain. This would be thought "a small specimen" of a +river with us, as, except when the waters are swollen with a freshet, +it is but a narrow and shallow mountain stream. But in Ireland it +passes at such times for a mighty torrent, and at all times is greatly +admired and respected. + +It runs very rapidly, with bright sparkles and pleasant murmurs, down a +deep rocky ravine, whose jagged sides are overgrown with moss and +ferns, and overhung with luxuriant foliage. + +A path leads up the glen to the waterfall. This is considered by the +people here a sublime and magnificent cataract, and it is very fine in +its way, and abundantly makes up in beauty for what it lacks in +awfulness; it is a charming thing to look at, and listen to, and ramble +about; and though it does not thunder and plunge and roar, like +Niagara, it glads the hearts of all who behold it--it manufactures +quite as radiant bows in the sunshine, and makes soft, musical, lulling +sounds enough to soothe all the peevish and restless children in the +world to sleep. + +The entire descent at this fall is said to be about three hundred feet; +but it is only when the stream has been reinforced and encouraged by +heavy winter rains, that it takes the whole great jump at once. + +The next stopping-place of much interest was Glendalough, which means, +"The Glen of the Two Lakes." This is usually called "The Valley of the +Seven Churches;" for here, in a very small space, are the ruins of that +number of rude little churches, and several other edifices, most of +them said to have been built as early as the sixth century, by St. +Keven. + +The place reminds one of "The Valley of the Shadow of Death," in +"Pilgrim's Progress," and it is hard to believe that any thing like a +"city" ever stood on so gloomy and desolate a spot. Yet history says +so; and it is certain the O'Tooles and MacTooles, for centuries kings +of all this region, lived here, or near here, in old-fashioned Irish +state, and were buried generation after generation of them in the +Church of Rhefeart. + +The two lakes are small and quiet; but the water seems very deep, and +is remarkably dark-colored. There is something really awful in the +look of the lower lake, which is shut in by steep black mountains. On +the side of one of these, Lugduff, about thirty feet above the water, +is a singular little cave, which looks as though it had been hewn from +the solid rock, and is called St. Keven's Bed. The legend about it is, +that when St. Keven was a handsome young man of twenty, he made up his +mind to be a priest, and a saint--so, gave up all thoughts of love and +marriage, and devoted himself to a life of loneliness, privation, and +penance. It unluckily happened that a certain noble young lady, named +Kathleen, (the last name has not come down to us--perhaps it was +O'Toole,) took a great fancy to him, and offered him her hand, with a +very respectable property. To her surprise and mortification, he not +only did not accept, but actually ran away from her. He went to +Glendalough, then a wilderness, and scooped out this little den in the +rock--a place very difficult of access, both from the mountain and the +lake. Here he hid, laughing to himself that he had outwitted Kathleen. +But, one morning, he was wakened by hearing his name called, very +softly, and opening his eyes, who should he see but Miss Kathleen, +standing at the opening of the little cave, and smiling at him--as much +as to say, "Ah, you rogue, you see you can't escape me." + +Shocked at the impropriety of her conduct, and provoked at being found +out, he put his feet against her, and kicked her into the lake! where, +I am sorry to say, she drowned in a very short time. In our day, there +would have been a hue and cry raised--a coroner's inquest--a great talk +in the newspapers--a trial--and, if the jury agreed, a hanging; but +there was nothing of the kind in that benighted time--nobody arrested +Keven, or punished him, and he went on his pious way in peace, building +churches and monasteries, and working miracles, or what passed for +such, till he got to be a very famous saint indeed. But my opinion is, +that it took more than the working of all the miracles assigned to him, +and the building of those miserable little edifices at Glendalough, to +atone for the drowning of that poor, foolish girl, Kathleen. + +Mr. and Mrs. S. C. Hall, in their admirable work On Ireland, give +several other anecdotes, told by their guide, Wynder, which illustrate +the saint's goodness of heart in rather an improbable way. "One day, +when he had retired to keep the forty days of Lent, in fasting, +meditation, and prayer, as he was holding his hand out of the window, a +blackbird came and laid her four eggs in it; and the saint, pitying the +bird, and unwilling to disturb her, never drew in his hand, but kept it +stretched out until she had brought forth her young, and they were +fully fledged and flew off with a chirping quartette of thanks to the +holy man, for his _convaynience_." Another is of "how he was once +going up Derrybawn, when he met a woman that carried five loaves in her +apron. 'What have you there, good woman?' said the saint. 'I have +five stones,' said she. 'If they are stones,' said he, 'I pray that +they may be bread; and if they are bread, I pray that they may be +stones.' So with that, the woman let them fall; and sure enough, +stones they were, and stones they are to this day." Our guide told us +this same anecdote, in a queer, half jesting, half believing way, and +pointed out the stones to us. I thought to myself that if they had not +been stones in the first place, they must have been very _heavy +bread_--too hard fare even for a saint. + +We clambered up the rock, and crawled into the cave, which we found all +carved and written over with names--among them a few of distinguished +persons, such as Thomas Moore, Maria Edgeworth, Mr. and Mrs. S. C. +Hall, and Walter Scott. + +After leaving Glendalough, we visited the "Sweet Vale of Avoca," which +the poet Moore has rendered famous by a song, called "The Meeting of +the Waters." + +It is a little green valley, in which meet two streams--the Avonmore +and the Avonbeg--a pretty place enough, but hardly coming up to Mr. +Moore's description. + +The next day we explored "The Devil's Glen," an exceedingly beautiful +place, for all its naughty name. It is somewhat like the Dargle, but +more wild and romantic. It also has its rugged hills, its stream, and +its waterfall--or its mountains, river, and cataract; as, being in a +foreign country, I suppose we should be polite enough to call them, +instead of letting ourselves be carried away by conceit in our +Mississippis and Niagaras, and being "stuck up" on our Alleghanies and +Mount Washingtons. + +Our last day in Wicklow was spent at the beautiful and romantic country +seat of Sir Philip Crampton, or Lough Bray, a wild, lonely little +mountain lake, whose shores are all black peat, or barren rock, except +where flourish the pleasant plantations and shrubberies of Sir Philip, +growing upon manufactured ground, and looking like the enchanted +gardens we read of in fairy tales. + +The Lough is a smooth dark sheet of water, so deep in the centre that +it cannot be sounded. There is a pretty pebbly beach at one end, and +all around the other shores the waves make a peculiar musical sound +against the precipitous rocks. It is a charming little lake for +boating, and in fine weather, Sir Philip Crampton always gives his +guests the pleasure of a trip in his pretty row-boat. There are great +numbers of duck and other water-fowl about the lake, which Sir Philip, +who is a kind, genial, delightful old gentleman, has tamed, by feeding +them with crumbs of bread, which he always carries about him when he +goes on the water. No sooner does he make his appearance, than his +winged pets are after him in flocks, all clamoring eagerly for their +"daily bread." + +Sir Philip Crampton told me that when his friend, Sir Walter Scott, was +at Lough Bray, on his last visit, a boat excursion was proposed. Sir +Walter had always been passionately fond of boating, and now his eye +brightened, and he smiled gladly at the thought of his favorite +amusement. But just as the party were about stepping into the boat, +Mrs. Scott, Sir Walter's young daughter-in-law, drew back, and declared +that she was afraid to go. Everybody urged her and reasoned with her, +but she could not be persuaded--she would not go--she would stay where +she was. Sir Walter did not seem at all vexed with her, though he +laughed at her childish fears, but insisted on staying with her; and as +the boat pushed off, he sat down on the shore beside her, and plucked +flowers for her hair, and tried his best to entertain her--the good, +kind great man! When the laughter and songs of his merry friends came +to him across the water, he would smile cheerily, and wave his hat to +them, and never once said how sorry he was not to be with them. I have +heard many noble things about Sir Walter Scott, but nothing that speaks +better for his generous, tender heart, than this little anecdote. + +I should like to describe further this strange and charming place, but +I fear I have no room for any more descriptions of scenery. I will now +try to give you some idea of the fairy lore and superstitions of this +part of Ireland. + +The fairies, or "good people," according to the belief of the peasants, +are not confined to any locality; they are all over the country, +wherever they can find pleasant, secluded nooks, flowers, and green +grass. Their meeting-places are said to be the "Raths," which are +singular artificial mounds, supposed to have been built by the Danes, +away back in the heathen ages. Fairies have the reputation of being in +general good-humored and kindly, though full of merry pranks and +frolicsome tricks; yet the peasants are very careful not to offend them +by intruding upon their haunts at night, or speaking disrespectfully of +their little mightinesses--for they say, "they have tempers of their +own, and not having a Christian _idication_, can't be blamed for not +behaving in a Christian-like fashion--poor _craturs_." + +The _Phooka_ is said to be a half-wicked, half-mischievous spirit, who +takes the form of many strange animals, but oftenest assumes that of a +wild horse. His great object then, is to get a rider, and when he has +persuaded a poor fellow to mount him, he never lets him off till he has +treated him to a ride long and hard enough to last him his lifetime. +Over bogs and moors, ditches and walls, across streams, up and down +mountains, he gallops, leaps, and plunges, making the welkin ring with +his horrible horse-laugh, and snorting fire from his nostrils. + +There is a funny story told of one Jerry Deasy, who paid the Phooka +well for such a ride. The next night, he provided himself with a +"_shillalah_," or big stick, and put on a pair of sharp spurs, and when +the Phooka appeared, and invited him to take another little excursion, +he mounted, and so belabored the head and cut up the sides of the +beast, that he was quite subdued, and trotted home, with Jerry, to his +own cabin door. + +The "_Banshee_" is a gloomy, foreboding spirit, of rather aristocratic +tastes, as she is only attached to highly respectable old families. +She never appears but to announce some great misfortune, or the death +of a member of the household. She does this by howling and shrieking +in the night; and sometimes, they say, she is seen--a tall, pale woman, +in long white robes, with black hair flying in the wind. + +The most amusing of these supernatural creatures is the Leprehawn, or +Luriceen, or Clericaune, the brogue-maker of the "good people." This +fairy cobbler is said to have inexhaustible concealed treasure; and +sometimes, when he is busily at work, he is surprised and caught. Then +he can be made to give up his riches, if his captor keeps his eye fixed +on him all the time. But he is almost sure to divert attention, and +then is off like a flash. While we are on this subject, I will tell +you a little story. + + +TIM O'DALY AND THE CLERICAUNE. + +Tim O'Daly was an under-gamekeeper upon Lord Powerscourt's estate, and +lived in a nice comfortable cottage, near the Dargle. He had a tidy, +thrifty, good-tempered wife, and half a dozen fine, hearty boys and +girls--the eldest nearly young men and women. Tim, himself, was honest +and industrious, and very much trusted by his master, and yet he was +not a happy man. He was _discontented_, because he was poor, and +obliged to work for a living. He longed for wealth and ease--to see +his wife ride in her carriage, and to make his sons and daughters +gentlemen and ladies. In short, he thought that riches were all that +was needed to put the O'Dalys where they deserved to be in the world, +and make them great and happy. So much did he think of these things, +that he was always on the look-out for the _Clericaune_, determined, if +ever he should see him, to catch him, and make him deliver up his +treasure. + +One evening, as he was going home through the Dargle, he sat down on a +mossy stone, and fell to thinking of his hard lot, and wondering what +Providence had against the O'Dalys, that he had not been made a lord, +or at least, a rich squire. + +All at once, he heard the click, click, of the _Clericaune's_ little +hammer on his lapstone! He rose softly--parted the bushes, and there +sat the wee brogue-maker, busily at work. + +The next moment, Tim had him fast in his fist, and fast he held him, +till the elf showed him where his treasure was hid. + +Then, after loading himself with gold and jewels, he set the fairy +free, and went home dancing and singing in a very strange and +indecorous way. The news and the treasure he brought set his sober +family wild with joy. They had a great feast and dance over it--all to +themselves, for they were grown too grand to associate with their poor +neighbors. + +Then Tim went and bought a castle, a real old castle, from an +impoverished lord--with fine furniture, pictures, horses, hounds, +plate, wines, whiskey, and a famous Banshee, who lived in an old +turret, especially built for her accommodation. + +Tim took his family to this castle, and set up a splendid style of +living. Nobody was troubled with work or care now, except in the +pursuit of pleasure; and yet, to poor Tim's astonishment, nobody was +happy. He was most miserable of all, for he found it hardest to get +used to rich clothes, rich food, authority, and idleness. His wife had +her carriage--but she was always driving about in it--never at home +with him. His daughters put on fine airs, with fine clothes, and +learned to despise their ignorant old father, His sons took to bad +company, drinking, rioting, and fox-chasing--and, as they did not know +much about riding, they were always getting tumbles, and breaking their +necks. His old friends were too humble to come near him in his +grandeur, and the gentry too proud to notice such a rough, vulgar +fellow, who had got rich in some sudden, suspicious way. He had hoped +that Lord Powerscourt, at least, would visit him, "for the sake of old +times, and out of neighborly feeling just,"--and Mrs. O'Daly counted +confidently on a "betther acquaintance with her Ladyship." "An' sure," +she said, "our young folk will be mighty thick directly, and what +should hinder the young lord from taking a fancy to our Peggy? Arrah! +they would make an ilegant match, by raison of his height an' her +shortness,--an' thin, haven't they hair of the same lively shade of +red?" + +But Lord Powerscourt, who had always been a kind and affable master, +seemed put upon the very tallest stilts of his dignity, when he met his +old servant now; and though he congratulated him on his good fortune, +never honored him with either a formal or friendly call--while Lady +Powerscourt and her daughters, who had often visited the cottage by the +Dargle, in times of sickness and trouble, were never seen driving up +the avenue of O'Daly Castle,--and as for the young lord, he went +abroad, about these days, and was lost to Miss Peggy O'Daly forever. + +Tim's new neighbors laughed at him for his pretensions, and the +blunders his family made in "aping their betters,"--his servants +imposed on him, and there was nothing but coldness, discord, and wicked +waste in his grand old castle, so unlike the humble, happy home of the +game-keeper. + +Even the Banshee, in whom he had felt so much pride, was no +consolation; for, being indignant that low-born peasants had dared to +take the place of the ancient and noble family she had so long +patronized, she did nothing but howl about the castle, every night of +her life. + +At length, things got to such a desperate pass, that Tim could endure +them no longer, but took the few fairy jewels and guineas that +remained, and went with them to the place where he had caught the +_Clericaune_. + +There he was again, and he looked up at Tim with a wicked twinkle in +his eye, for he knew, the rascal, what trouble unearned riches bring +upon one. Tim emptied his pockets of gold and precious stones, and +flung them at the little brogue-maker's head--crying out-- + +"There, take back yer dirty treasure, and bad luck to you, you spalpeen +of a fairy, for decaying a Christian!" + +He threw with such force, that he flung himself off the stone--_and +that woke him!_ + +Yes, the capture of the _Clericaune_, his wealth, his grand castle, and +all his trouble were _a dream_. He got up and looked about him, a +little bewildered at first, but soon recollected himself, and set out +for home, a wiser and happier man than when he entered the Dargle that +afternoon. + +It was late and supper was waiting for him. His good wife smiled when +he came in, and put by her sewing; his sons and daughters had all come +from their work or school, and greeted him affectionately. As he sat +down with them to their simple evening meal of bread, milk, and +potatoes, they noticed that he said grace with unusual fervor, and then +looked round upon them all with tears in his eyes. + +His home was as humble as ever--but somehow, it had grown beautiful to +him, for the sunshine of _contentment_ was over every thing. His wife +was as far from riding in her carriage, and his boys and girls from +being gentlemen and ladies, as ever; but he loved them and was proud of +them for their goodness and honesty, and he felt that God had done +better for them than he could do, with all the riches in the world. + + + + +Antrim--The Giant's Causeway. + +THE POOR SCHOOLMASTER. + +The county of Antrim is not only one of the most picturesque, but most +prosperous in all Ireland. It is also remarkable for being entirely +surrounded by water--by the ocean, Lough Neagh, and the rivers Bann and +Lagan. In this county vast quantities of flax are raised and +manufactured into linen---chiefly at Belfast, the handsomest and most +important commercial town in the north of Ireland. + +Belfast is particularly dear to me as a place where I spent many +pleasant days, with some warm-hearted Irish friends, whose constant +kindness and affectionate care made me feel as though my long voyage +across the stormy sea was only a troubled dream, and that I was still +at home, surrounded by the dear ones I had loved and clung to always. + +In sight of this town is a large hill, which is remarkable for +presenting at a particular point of view, a most gigantic likeness to +the first Napoleon. Certain swells and ledges of the summit form the +great profile very distinctly. He seems to be lying on his back, +asleep, or in a meditative mood, and the face has such a dejected, +melancholy look that one might suppose the likeness had been taken when +the Emperor was a prisoner at St. Helena. There was one of the +Bonapartes at Belfast, at the time I was there--attending the meeting +of the British Association, a celebrated scientific society. This was +Lucien, Prince of Canino, a grand-nephew of the Emperor. He recognized +the likeness in the great rocky profile, when it was pointed out to +him, and professed to be a good deal affected by it, and many people +saw a strong family likeness between him and the old hill. This +Bonaparte, unlike most princes, is fond of learning and science--is +what is called a _savant_--but unlike most _savants_, he is stout and +jovial-looking, and extremely fond of children, which is the best thing +I can say for him. + +Near Belfast is a famous "Druidical circle," or a large amphitheatre, +enclosed by high mounds of earth, where the ancient Druids used to meet +for their heathen worship. As we stood in that great circle, beside a +rude altar of stones, it made us shudder to think that hundreds of +human beings had probably been cruelly sacrificed there as offerings to +the gods of the Druids. What a happy, blessed thing it is to know that +such dreadful crimes can never again be committed here, under the name +of religion. + +I should like to tell you about some of the admirable charitable +institutions of Belfast--in which I became interested--and describe +some of the beautiful scenery of the neighborhood, but I have so many +things and places to speak of in this chapter, that I must not allow +myself to linger longer here. + +While at Belfast, we made a delightful excursion to Shane's Castle, the +seat of Lord O'Neil. + +The O'Neils were for many centuries kings of Ulster, and were a very +proud and warlike race. There is a curious tradition of the manner in +which they came into possession of their kingdom: "In an ancient +expedition for the conquest of Ireland, the leader declared that +whoever of his followers should first touch the shore, should possess +the territory. One of them, the founder of the O'Neils, seeing that +another boat was likely to reach the land before him, seized an axe and +with it cut off his left hand, which he flung on shore, and so, was the +first to 'touch' it." + +Shane's Castle and the O'Neil estate are situated upon Lough Neagh, the +largest lake in Great Britain. There is a legend that this sheet of +water covers land that was once cultivated--cottages, castles, and even +villages. The peasants say that there was once a well in the midst of +this country--an enchanted well--which was always kept covered with a +heavy stone, lest its waters should rise and overwhelm the land. One +day, a careless woman went to this well to get water to boil her +potatoes in, and hearing her baby cry, ran home without waiting to +cover the well--which presently began to leap up in a great column, +like a water-spout of an under-ground sea--and poured out so fast and +furious, that before many hours the whole valley was overflowed, and +that night, the moon smiled to see herself reflected in a new lake. + +On our route from Belfast to the Giant's Causeway, we passed through +several towns, of little importance now, though of some historical +note--such as Carrickfergus, Larne, and Glenarm. This last is a +beautifully situated town, with a pleasant little bay, which usually +affords a safe shelter for shipping on a coast somewhat renowned for +wrecks and disasters. Here is a fine castle--the seat of the ancient +family of the MacDonnels--Earls of Antrim. + +Scarcely any thing in the world can be grander or more beautiful than +the coast road all the way from Glenarm to the Giant's Causeway. It is +altogether too fine to be described--it should be painted, not written +about. + +One of the grandest points in the scenery is the great promontory of +Benmore, or Fairhead. From the sea it rises an immense precipice, +formed of a multitude of enormous basaltic columns, at the highest +point more than five hundred feet above the water. + +We reached the Causeway late in the evening--so hungry and tired that +we were very glad to get our supper and go to bed, without putting our +heads out of doors. In the morning early we engaged a guide, and set +out on our tour of sight-seeing. + +The Causeway is formed by a vast collection of rocky columns--mostly as +regular in shape as though cut by masonry--five-sided, six-sided, seven +or eight-sided--piled and packed together, varying much in height, but +little in size. Some form a floor almost as even as a city +pavement--some form gradual steps leading down to the sea--and some +tower upward, like spires and turrets. + +There is a very singular collection of these columns on the side of the +highest cliff, a hundred and twenty feet in height, called "the Giant's +Organ," from their resemblance to the pipes of that instrument. + +According to tradition, the mighty Giant, Fin Mac Cual, was musical in +his taste, and used to give himself "a little innocent divarsion" here, +after his hard labors in building the Causeway. Even now, when the sea +roars, and the deep thunder rolls along the rocky coast, they say--"the +giant is playing on his big stone organ under the cliff." + +Sometimes they say,--"Listen to Fin, now!--he's at his avening +devotions--Heaven help us, an' him, poor cratur!" and then they cross +themselves, for Fin was but a miserable heathen, and can have no part +now, they think, in the true church. + +By the way, I was told while here, a ludicrous little anecdote of the +great Fin, from which it seems that he was not, after all, quite as +brave as a giant should be. It is said that when he had finished the +Causeway, he went up on a high point and shouted across the channel to +the Scotch Giant, Benandonner, to come over and fight him, if he dared. +Bold Benandonner accepted the challenge, and began to wade +across--threatening and bullying his Irish enemy. As he drew near, he +seemed to grow so much bigger, that Fin got frightened, and turned and +ran into his house, which stood near the cliff. + +"What's the matter, Fin?" said his wife, who saw what a tremble he was +in, and how pale he looked. + +"Ah, my darling," said he, "there's big Benandonner coming over to have +a fight--and as I'm not very well to-day, I don't like to meet him." + +Now, Mrs. Mac Cual was really very much ashamed of her husband for +being such a booby; but like the good wife she was, she kept her +contempt to herself, just then, and told him to lie down in the cradle, +and keep quiet, and she would attend to the Scotch Giant. Fin did as +he was bid--his wife covered him up in the cradle, and commenced +rocking and singing to him. Presently, Benandonner came stamping and +storming in, and asked for "that rascal, Fin Mac Cual." + +"If you'll please sit down and rock my baby a minute--I'll go and look +for him," said Mrs. Mac Cual. Benandonner looked down into the cradle, +and seeing that enormous giant lying there, with his feet hanging over +the foot-board, thought to himself, "if Fin's baby is so big, what must +Fin himself be!"--and became so frightened that he turned and hurried +back home, much quicker than he came. It is a foolish little +tradition, but I have related it as a specimen of the stories which are +told to amuse the children of Irish peasants. + +There are two caves near the Causeway, which are entered from the sea. +Our visits to these were the most interesting and exciting incidents of +the day. Though the waves ran high, our skilful boatmen rowed us +safely in--and though the roar of the sea and the reverberation of some +fire-arms discharged by the guides, were rather awful, we certainly +enjoyed the sight of those ocean temples, gloomy, rude, and jagged +though they were. + +From the Causeway we went to Dunluce Castle--a grand old ruin, which +stands on an insulated rock, a hundred feet above the sea. It is +separated from the land by a chasm twenty feet wide, which is crossed +by an arch only about eighteen inches broad. + +This castle was once the stronghold of a very powerful, proud, and +warlike family--the Mac Donnels. They had a whole regiment of +retainers; they had their bard, an elderly gentleman, with a long white +beard, who spent most of his time in singing songs in praise of their +glory and great exploits, to the music of a rude harp--and they had +their Banshee, who occupied a choice apartment in one of the turrets, +and doubtless howled as seldom as possible. But all this glory has +passed away, and now, the rooks and sea-birds have the famous old +castle all to themselves--wheel fearlessly about the lofty black +precipices, and scream back the shrillest shriek of the storm-winds. +Now, no bard, however poor, ever visits that once hospitable hall, to +"sing for his supper," and even the gloomy Banshee has retired from her +turret in disgust. + +A branch of the Mac Donnels clung to the haunted, dilapidated, old +castle as long as possible, to keep up the family credit, I suppose. +It was within this century, I think, that a frightful accident +happened, which drove the last of them away. In a terrible storm, one +winter afternoon, the part of the castle containing the kitchen was +blown down, and tumbled over the precipice into the sea, with the +family stores of meat and potatoes, and Biddy, the cook, who was +preparing dinner, and Teddy, the little scullion, who was turning the +spit. The Mac Donnels, for all their pride, were shocked and afflicted +by this misfortune,--for Biddy was an excellent cook, and Teddy, her +son, though careless and lazy, and given to little thefts and large +stories, had his good points, as what Irish boy has not. So they, the +Mac Donnels, sought out some other home,--safer and more comfortable, +if not quite so grand in its isolated, ancient gentility,--and it may +be, took the Banshee with them for their comfort. Trouble, I believe, +always goes with people in this world, wherever they move to,--in some +form or other, it travels with them, and settles down with them,--as +sorrow, ill-luck, disease, disgrace, discontent, fear, or remorse,--and +if we may credit Irish traditions, the old nobility and gentry had to +endure howling Banshees in addition. No wonder they wasted away under +their aristocratic infliction. + +In my story, I shall make bold to turn my back on the Causeway, Dunluce +Castle, the Mac Donnels, Banshees, and all,--return to the beautiful +neighborhood of Glenarm, and relate a little incident in the lives of +some humble peasant people there. + + +THE POOR SCHOOLMASTER. + +Some forty or fifty years ago, there lived at Glenarm, near the castle, +a poor schoolmaster, named Philip O'Flaherty. + +Philip, though a very quiet, well meaning man, was singularly +unfortunate in all but one thing--he had an excellent wife. Yet she, +poor woman, was but "a weakly body," while, as for Philip, if any +sickness whatever was going about, he was sure to catch it. He was a +sort of Irish "Murad the Unlucky," nothing seemed to prosper with him. +His potatoe-crop always fell short--if he took a fancy to keep a few +ducks, or geese, a thieving fox carried them on--his pigs ran away, and +he had not even "the poor man's blessing"--children, to comfort him. +One after another, his babes were borne to the churchyard, and his +cabin was left silent and lonely. + +Poor Philip, though a schoolmaster, was not very remarkable for +learning. In truth, he was a good deal behind the times, and his few +scholars, if at all clever, soon got beyond him, and left him. When +his wife was well, she did more than her part toward their support, and +when she was ill, they fared very poorly, I assure you. + +One September night, Philip and his wife sat alone in their cabin, more +than usually dejected and sorrowful. They had just buried their last +child--a baby-boy, only a few months old, but as dear to them as though +he had grown to their hearts for years. + +There was a terrible storm on the coast that night; the winds almost +shook their old cabin to pieces, and torrents of rain were fast +quenching the peat fire upon the hearth. Suddenly they were startled +by hearing the sound of a gun, above the roaring of the sea. "There's +a ship in distress!" cried Philip--"God help the poor creatures, for +it's an awful night to be on the deep!" "Amen!" said Nelly, solemnly. + +Soon after they heard the shouts of fishermen and cottagers, hurrying +to the shore, and, protecting themselves as well as they could, they +joined their neighbors--hoping to do some good upon the beach. + +They arrived just in time to see the distressed vessel dashed upon a +rock, and to witness a still more dreadful sight--the falling of a bolt +of fire, from the black sky, right on to the ship--which in a few +moments was enveloped in flames! No boatman, however brave, dared put +out through the wild breakers to rescue the passengers and crew--and in +the morning it was announced along that coast, that an unknown ship had +gone down, in storm and fire, with every soul on board! But no--one +little babe had been taken from the arms of its dead mother, and though +apparently lifeless, was restored, by Nelly O'Flaherty, the +schoolmaster's wife, who took it home to her cabin, where it was doing +well. There was no mark upon the few fragments of clothing which +remained upon the mother and child, when they reached the shore, by +which it could be told who or what they were--but they both had a +delicate look, which made the peasants think that they belonged to "the +quality." + +Nelly took the poor foundling at once to her heart--clad him in her +dead baby's clothes, and would not hear to his being taken to the +almshouse. "God," she said, "knew what was the best almshouse for the +pretty little cherub, when He sent it to cheer the lone cabin of the +childless." + +As a matter of course, unlucky Philip took cold from the exposure of +that stormy night, and had one of his fevers, which confined him +several weeks. The first day that he was able to get out, he walked +down to the bay, with his wife, to say good-bye to some friends, who +were going to America. After the ship had set sail, they sat for a +long time on the shore, watching it sadly and silently. "Ah, Nelly," +said Philip at last, "if it weren't for my faver and your being +burdened with that strange baby, sure we might work and earn enough to +take us to America. Faith, that shipwreck was a misfortune to us, +entirely!" + +"Sure, and it was no such thing," said Nelly; "what's a faver more or +less to you, avourneen; and has it not given us a beautiful boy, to +take the place of our little dead Phil? 'Twas the Lord sent him, and +He'll not let him bring us any trouble." + +"The Lord,--why, Nelly, woman, do you suppose _He_ ever busies himself +with the likes of us?" said the schoolmaster, bitterly. + +"Philip, avick, what do you mean?" exclaimed Nelly, in astonishment. + +"I mean," replied her husband, "that our cabin is so small and poor, +and the castle near by so big and grand, that it's natural Providence +should overlook us just, and attend to the affairs of the quality. +It's the way of the world." + +"It may be the way of the world, but it's no the way with God, Philip. +Our cabin is bigger than a sparrow's nest, afther all, and we--even +you, miserable sinner, as ye are, 'are of more value than many +sparrows.' 'The likes of us,' indade! Have ye ever come yet to +sleeping in a stable in Bethlehem, among cows and sheep and asses? +Answer me that! Ah, it's ashamed of you, I am, Philip O'Flaherty." + +The next morning, this poor couple sat down to a breakfast of only half +a dozen potatoes and a little salt. + +"Philip, dear," said Nelly, sadly, when they had finished, "these are +our last potatoes--I have sold all the rest to pay our rent, and the +Doctor's little account, just." + +"Blessed Saints!" exclaimed Philip, "what'll we do?" + +"I'm afraid we must ask charity, till we can get work," said Nelly. + +"No, no! I can't do that! I will die first!" cried Philip; then +laying his face down on the table, he burst into tears and sobbed +out--"Oh Nelly, darling, I wish I were dead and out of your way!--sure +I'm no use in the world." + +Nelly clasped the "strange baby" to her heart and murmured--"God help +us!" Just at that moment, there came a knock at the cabin door--she +opened it and dropped a respectful curtesy. It was the Earl, and a +gentleman in mourning, who as soon as he saw the baby that Nelly held, +caught it in his arms and began kissing it, and weeping over it, crying +out that he had found his boy! The Earl explained that the stranger +was a kinsman of his, a Scotch Laird, whose wife had been lost in the +wreck, a few weeks before, while on her way to visit her relatives at +the castle, with her child and servants. He said, they had not +received the letter announcing her coming--so had not thought of +looking for friends among the drowned and burned who were washed ashore +after the wreck; but they had heard of the child so miraculously saved, +and hoped that it might be their kinsman's son. + +When Nelly fully realized that she must lose her adopted child, she +fell at the feet of the father, crying with tears and sobs,--"Oh, sir, +I cannot let him go! I warmed him out of the death-chill at my +heart--I gave him my own dead darling's place! It will kill me, just, +to part with him!" + +"And you shall not part with him, my good woman," said the Laird--"the +child must have a nurse--he should have none but you. I will take you +and your husband with me to Scotland, if you will come!" + +So, to make a long story short, the poor schoolmaster and his wife were +provided with a comfortable home for the rest of their days, for their +kindness to the little shipwrecked boy, who was always dear to them, +and always returned their love. + +Many others may adopt poor foundlings and care for them tenderly, and +yet never have rich lords come to claim their charges and reward them +so generously; but the Lord of all will not fail to ask for his "little +ones" at last,--and to those who do good to "the least of these" He has +promised rewards more glorious than the greatest earthly monarch could +give--and _He will keep his word_. + + * * * * * + +Here end my stories and legends of dear old Ireland. I returned from +visiting the Causeway, to Belfast, from which place, after a few weeks +of rest and quiet social enjoyment, I passed over to Scotland. And +now, may I not hope that all the dear young readers who have gone with +me thus far, in my wanderings, will wish to bear me company yet +further? In another volume, I will describe what I saw, and tell +appropriate histories and legends of the rugged, but beautiful land of +Wallace and Bruce--of Burns and Scott. So, for the present, I will +only bid you a _short_ farewell--or as the French say, when they part +with the hope of meeting again--_au revoir_. + +GRACE GREENWOOD. + + + + + + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Stories and Legends of Travel and +History, for Children, by Grace Greenwood + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK STORIES, LEGENDS--TRAVEL, HISTORY *** + +***** This file should be named 26735.txt or 26735.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/2/6/7/3/26735/ + +Produced by Al Haines + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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