MISS BRADDON ON IRELAND.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume II, Issue 80, 7 November 1874, Page 11

MISS BRADDON ON IRELAND.

AN INTERESTING ARTICLE. wmap^ea DD r f m%he 11 Ju I tß> '' "f* *Pg a »"* md-U. P a P« wWA oi Mhs BiSddon Ju & r T be * of 'Belgravia,' from the graphic pen column^he first no JT 6 ha ™ g reat P le *<"»° in transferring to our U^S^JSHS^ artiCl6 ' - hic^e have noToubt will En e lilh t hXi he »T d ° f *?* nd the were fadbg in the fortnight Tat the SSl ™ aT* f ° r Our Irish holida y> " Btric * d *° • We lift plSrno^ V^ dd c dd > et . 6rmined to make the most of our time. ThU enabled «f?n^ *J? 1° tbe afternoon, a comfortable hour, i™L^SfpJi -^ de8 P atchfcbe day's business before starting. An 2S '** ZT* * B P lendid r *te. andafct*o o'clock in the chiefly under In? ° UMd ™ afc Mi^d Haven, when a few steps been sunr em «W ' J° Ug S U9 from the station *> the boat. We had ■eriSs of P nZ WW ° mfortable in °™ railway carriage, indulging in a SaScJer Tdl? T Bummndin g 8 »™ were positively palatial in SS?fei^JJ* lllpto ll^? dwfl «» «**& finish of the careimvleloome 25^ £ Well ' laid su PPer-table was by no means an ™MS °\ after °<« mne hours' spin on the admirably Zeenew^SL I-ur W ° Wert> On board the Gilford, one of the r8 l bU fl lfc . ?' ; thefl « t Western Kailroad Company, ST 8y fitt6 J for ,P asse °ffer traffic. The marble-framed fortableand^l T"" 10 tiles and fining steel fender ; the comfinish of everv^ B °l "' S™*" 1 With dark g reeQ ™ lvet i the P erfecfc wh'chfhe numJT ?** eV6ry moul^ n g5 the circular hall, from 12 ftSt°l 8 B7tatero°mßopen;B 7 tatero °mßopen ; the broad and easy staircase, Thdr shaTe of a^°^ cry tO ,, CaII a these claimed 2tM»tfti?\ On VV ißhedi Bhed8 hed for the fortune of a WestSeasurevach^ Za '-° be able *<> charter just such a boat, for a dowJ The y SuS~^ Cruiße g ß^ ab «ut the Mediteranean with a run down ( theSu e^, and across the Bed Sea, to the spicy isles of Ind. velvet «ff JS i . ? .. P - cr ' d anofchCT Beries <*'■ a^ on the green ud theiuiJ £«? UU ilBi 18 a br V gh<: Ma^ morain & «>d steaming erav mounter, " ee^ Bl ° pinß banka clad with and with coo? WaterforJ Trfrf * h I dlßtao ?. e - At ten, or a little later, we are in the Dan« l b r ? reefcand the^ay, stands tbe tower of Reginald Ihich uselKC f aJ ' ? Qd B }°»!-°™ of the three original towers Tr«i of fiftll f at angles of the city walls, enclosing! triangular striked ? ?r«SV?°^ h , aDd Oldaß itlook8 » itßha s beenreconSnh^Tn^i W tbe J f r orite word here-within the present wkh a SS? t T ' the 8h ° ps and warehouses well occupied, and W!th a sufficiently prosperous air. There is not that neatness or freshness of pamt about the business premises to which: our English eyes are accußtomed, but there is no appearance of squalor, or even poverty. The people seem comfortably clad and cheeriul of aspect: there are no ragged gutter children about the streets, and onlyTere and there, leaning luxuriously against the doorway, basking in the sun, we see that typical Irishman who loofca as if he had just walked out of a picture by Mr Nicol. The women here, and indeed wherever we go, ZIZ wf£ cloatß ,^^ capacaous hoods, something like the clolks worn by the women of Bruges, but rarely or never of silk. Seen from a little distance, these cloaks have a curious effect, for the women look like cowled monks stalking grimly along the street, foregathering at a corner. We do not see many pretty girls during that drive through the wide, airy streets of Waterford, with their tall, straight housls, which have something like of a foreign look ; but wo do see plenty of pretty children— blue-eyed, bright haired, rosy-cheeked, well fed and iiappy— and one grand looking peasant woman of colossal mould, who looks like Conolanus's mother, and stands on the quay with a basket on her arm gossiping for a half an hour at a stretch, pending the departure of a steamer, in whose passengers she appears to have only the most fortuitous interest. J " The city explored, we cross the Suir, and drive along the country road on the Kilkenny side-a hilly road, well wooded, and with a handsome mansion here and there standing far off the highway in its 2 ! ?i gr ° U^ \* Here> *? tbe fi"»ttime,we see the ferns which abound throughout the south of Ireland, more richly even than in Devonshire. Every hedge and bank is a natural fernery, rough Mucks of .tone heaped up as if w ? th careful eye to effect, and the tender green ferns thrusting forth their wnocentfronds from every corner. Herf, too, ye first hear the nameof Maleomson, whichisapower throughout Waterford.andfarawaytoEilkee'srugged shore at the western point oflr e l BB d. The brothers Malcomson are merchants, shipowners, manufartuters, land owners, country gentlemem-' tout cc que vous voulez.' To our ignorant ears everything seams to belong to these fortunate brothers of so many fine houses and well-cared-for estates are they proprietors This first day in Waterford is rather a lazy CSw^Jr?2*SS Wworkmg class of tounsts, and, perhaps, wa-te a little of our time We lay down the hues of our campaign, dine comfortably at the AdelTi Where Mrs Keogh, the propnetoiesß, treats us with as much care and considerate for our well-being as if we were her most valued friends and comes to our rooms to see with her owa eyes that chambermaids have done their duty, is careful to provide us with our cold baths fw of th« W ft T g n ? made T* the biU ' Bnd P roves herself al'ogether'one of the best of hos esses. It seems curious to put our watches buck half an hour to-night, and to know that when we get up at eS o clock to-morrow motmeg, Irish time, it will be hllf-paft e%£ a

home. The long evening strikes us too— more especially a little later on, when it is light till nearly ten o'clock. Next morning we start betimes on a jaunting car hired from the livery stables, altogether a superior vehicle with less tendency to jerk one off face foremost upon the pavement, or to send one flying at corners, than the ordinary street oar— to explore the sister watering-places of Dunmore and Tramore. We go to Dunraore first by a lovely road, which carries us past tha finest suburb of Waterford— a road along the crest of a lull, and commanding the river and the green slopes of Kilkenny for many a mile ot rich and various country. Ifc is almost a Devonshire landscape, ana the hedgerows and ferny banks are enough in there selves to afford delight. The ten mile drive is not a whit too long. About half way we turn our backs upon the river, and now there are the hills on either side ot us—a noble range— and at one point a lake spreading broad and blue under the blue sky. In all the ten miles we pass no such thing as a hamlet, only a homestead here and there, or a cabin cleanly whitewashed. Throughout the south of Ireland whitewash reigns triumphant, gmng an external air of cleanliness? which may not, perhaps, be fully borne out by the state of things within. The Hibernian mind seems to have a prejudioe against stairs. Among all the cabins we see there is no such thing as a dwelling with an upper story. There ia your street door, and your single window on each side, and from the glance one can get within the general impression conveyed is of an interior composed of one room. But be the cabin ever so dilapidated, the thatch ever so weedy, there is one piece of furniture rarely wanting, and this is a kitchen dresser big enough for a ten-roomed house and amply provided with crockery ware. This is evidently the altar of the Irishwoman 8 household gods. The cottages, if not luxurious, have a pleasing effect on the landscape— their white walls cleamine here and there among the universal green. "Fertility is the chief charm of the scene. There is no high farming here— there are no bleak bare tracts of cornfield unshadowed by a tree ; no hedgeless deserts of turnip or mangle. Small meadows with rich hedge-rows, where the pink and white hawthorns blossom abundantly— their bloom is at least a fortnight later than ia Bngland, Low stone walls sometimes, but even the walls are made picturesque by their irregularity and the ferns and mosses which bind the rough stones together instead of mortar. It is a fact to be noted that fw« i Tv * T l? % assi ? n for di8 P la J r in the w& y of £ ates - In9 tead ot England s humble five barred gate of rough timber, we behold massive stone pillars and grandiose iron portals to meadows half a dozen acres or so in extent. . " W , e S°. U P hiU and Sown hill, and then up hill again, the horse going splendidly— we never had a bad horse all the time we were in Ireland—and now Dunmore lies before us, a viUage that might lie in the palm of the tamous Irish giant's hand; a few white- walled cabins and villas scattered along a curve of the shore, a bright blue bay a snug harbor, where a few mackerel boats and a single yacht lie at anchor, a stono pier, and a green background of hill and wood. To our mind, Dunmore seems the most charming little seaside place in the world— very quiet, very lonely, very destitute of what is called attraction ma watering place, but just the most tranquil, lovable spot upon earth— a place where the world-weary spirit might find rest, the sick and tired recover freshness and bloom- a place full of sheltered cover for hardy bathers, and boasting a sandy haven under the boldly jutting cliffs which to children must be paradise. There are numerous clean-looking cottages to be let— moat of them entirely on one floor— at rents ranging from eight pounds a month to twenty. August and September are the fashionable months, and many of the houses we saw were already let for that season. '• We were sorry enough to leave tranquil Dunmore, but we had m m m " e m dr «c across country to the more populous and fashionable liamore. This favorite and^fashionable resort lies on the side of a hill, and seen from the distance looks like Ventnor, but on examination js discovered to be less sophisticated. Here there is a fine hotel arid plenty of houses less primitive in their architecture than the one story cottages of Dunmore. Here the wealthy cituen has built his villa, and walled m his three or four acres of well-kept garden the flowers growing as lurumntly as in the Isle of Wight. Here there ia a grassy tearace at the top of the cliff provided with comfortable seats tor the idler, and commanding a noble sweep of ocean. Here there are baths and all the amenities of civilization except a pastry cook's shop, for which our party, intent upon some light refreshment looked in vain. There is a railway from Waterford to Tramore, with traina every hour, and the road between the city and its sea-coast suburb ig a capital one ; indeed all the roads in this part of Ireland are remarkable for their excellence. " We et&Yted next morning for Cahir, the railway carrying us through a charming country on the banks of the Suir, past Portiaw where the all-puissant Malcomsons have their cotton factory • r>Zl many a pleasant homestead and domain-the De la Poer and Bernal Osboir&e seats notable among these— and between two ranees of hills. Those ever-present hills give a charm and a nobility to«£ landscape which one sorely missea on returning to English scenery Our plan was to drive from Cahir to Listnore by car, stopnimr th£ night at Lismore, and going on to Youghal next day by steamer down the Blackwater-a stream of which the Irish are particularly pS and which has been called the Irish Ehine. At Bahir we made J bond with the driver of the mail car, who went no further than CioeheTn whitber he was wil ing to convey us for a moderate consideration and who pledged himself to find us a car at Clogheen to carry us the rafc of our way. This gentleman gave us half an hour to dispose of as wa listed in the streets of Cahir. It afforded us just time enough to i*Z?\ down to the bridge, where there is a pretty bit for the paintV-iS™. flowing with a gentle curve, a goodly row of elms, behind which iZrl screen stands a terrace of old fashioned houses, a ruined castle domin ating the scene, its rugged ivy manned wall reflected in a tideless noni that washes its base. This medijeral fortress held out for ten rf« against the Earl of Essex— Elizabeth's fated favorite— and all ft army. It was invested nearly a century later by Lord luchinauin when it surrendered m a few hours. Fortresa and state are now the property of Mr Malcomspn. ne

"We take jusfc one peep into the courtyard of the castle, approached by a path between banks of rockwork where the young ferns are sprouting abundantly. A comfortable house and garden nestle snugly in the stone wall quadrangle, guarded by a ponderous old door ■with ancient iron latch and primitive iron knocker. Here within these castle walls, with roses growing where erst paced the mailed feet of ■warriors, a country gentleman might doze away life pleasantly enough. There are chambers worth seeing in the remnant of the oldf fortress, the care-taker tells us j but ifc is not be supposed Her Majesty's mail car will w ait, 10 we stroll back through the little town, wondering somewhat, m this whiskey-producing land, to see rows of brandy bottles bristling in the grocers' windows.