Wild Times in Ireland--Landlord and Tenant--Evictions--Boycott at
Bannow House--The Parson and the Legacy--The Priest and the
Whipping--Burial in Cement--Departure from Bannow House--Kilkenny
and her Cats--The Mountains of Wicklow--Powers Court and a Week
End--Run to Dublin and an Encounter by the Way--The Irish
Constabulary--Motor Runs in the Mountains--Lord H.
Ireland has seen strange wild times, and no section of it more than this
remote County Wexford. As I have stated, this estate of Bannow is
eighteen miles from a railroad station now, but in another month a new
line three miles away opens for traffic, and though a good thing for the
property of all in the county, it will sound the knell of probably all
the quaint and curious customs still in vogue here. If that railway
company is wise it will build a seaside hotel in this neighbourhood. The
climate is for most of the year delightful and is rarely subject to the
howling tempests which so constantly sweep the west coast for half the
year. Wexford abounds in beautiful scenery and almost every valley holds
a charming home while quaint towns crowd the river banks and ruined
towers crown the hills on either side.
[Illustration: Tom Moore's Tree
Vale of Ovoca]
The maintenance of many of these Irish estates becomes each year more
and more difficult unless the whole is strictly entailed. This is
especially the case with places of small income, say two or three
thousand pounds sterling. In the days when rents were good and five per
cent. obtained it was well enough, but to-day when three per cent. is
all that can be hoped for and yet the old charges for dowers and
legacies must be paid, the owner is perforce a poor man. At present the
landlord seems to have no rights. His tenants may and do absolutely
refuse to pay him rent and he is reduced to poverty. There is a case I
know of where the tenants are amply able to pay him, but they simply
_won't_. His only resource is eviction, which is slow, expensive, and
brings down wrath upon his head. So he is forced to give up his home and
retire to a cottage, while his tenants laugh at him.
In the case of the peasants, eviction is not only expensive but useless.
No man will rent the hut of those turned out, no matter how many years
drift by, and some landlords are reinstating their evicted tenants.
Better them than empty farms.
With the new Land Act the tenants dictate that they will buy or nothing.
Of course there have arisen the usual number of scoundrels who get
behind these peasants, buy out their rights, and in the end get the land
for a song. There are several instances where such men who at one time
broke stones on the highway are now landowners of considerable extent. I
heard of one the other day who was just adding a billiard-room to his
"mansion."
There is much said over here about the corruption of our city
governments, especially those of Chicago and New York, but I also hear
that that of the city of Dublin is to say the very least nothing to
boast of, and that graft has even penetrated London itself.
Home rule for the peasants of Ireland, so it is stated here, would be
about as sensible as a rule of the blacks in America. When the leaders
in Parliament found they could make no more money by the disturbances,
they called them off, and one of the members of that august body was
kicked all the way down this peaceful avenue before me here and out
yonder gate for abuse of the late Queen.
During the boycott, Bannow House was in a state of siege and its owner
forced to start a store on the lawn for his own workmen, who could not
purchase anywhere. These provisions were brought from London under
guard.
After his death--in 1881--his grave, guarded by policemen for
twenty-four hours--until the concrete in which his coffin had been
buried had set,--was surrounded all the time by a howling mob who would
have promptly "had him out" otherwise.
He hated the parson and so left the church's legacy of two thousand
pounds to the "next incumbent," or rather the interest thereof, but the
parson was equal to the occasion, and, resigning, got himself
re-elected, and so became the "next incumbent" and secured the interest.
There was another instance here where the holy man, this time a priest,
did not fare so well. He had attacked a member of his parish from the
pulpit, and thereby aroused the ire of the wife. She was about six feet
tall, and following the priest into the vestry-room flogged him soundly.
It was a foolish thing to do, as it roused the whole country round about
and she and her household almost starved from the boycott which promptly
followed. On her death it was necessary to bury her also in cement, to
prevent desecration, every man at the funeral carrying a gun.
Fortunately those days are gone by, let us hope for all time, but with a
people so ignorant and superstitious anything may happen and if that
cattle driving does not cease old times will come again.
It is quiet enough here this morning; the peace of the country is
intense, yet to me it is never a solitude, never lonely, and it is
delicious to awake in the early light and feel the cool, damp air blow
in upon one through the open window, while even at this hour of dawn
yonder old reprobate of a wood pigeon is earnestly entreating Paddy to
follow the way of the transgressor,--"_two_ coos, Paddy," "two coos."
One can almost hear the stealthy rustle of the departing beasts and the
soft footfall of Paddy. Far beyond the trees where the pigeons hide, the
fair blue of heaven has been rain-washed during the night, and white
clouds drift lazily off towards the sea murmuring in the distance.
To-day brings my stay at Bannow House to a close, I trust not for all
time. After luncheon, bidding our hostess farewell, we roll away through
the avenue of rhododendrons, over the meadows, through the forest, where
the insistent birds try for the last time to corrupt my honesty, and so
out on the highway and off to the north.
Our route takes us past the site of Scullaboyne House, a spot sadly
famous.
In the dark days of the rebellion of 1798, New Ross and this vicinity of
Bannow suffered horribly. Indeed the battle at the former town was the
most sanguinary of that period, and an event which followed it here too
horrible to be passed over without notice even at this late date.
Scullaboyne House, but lately deserted by its owner, Capt. King, and
seized by the rebels, was in use as a prison. In the house itself were
confined some thirty-seven men and women and in the adjoining barn were
over one hundred men, women, and children, chiefly, but not exclusively,
Protestants. After their defeat at New Ross the rebels sent word to
destroy these prisoners. Those in the house were called one by one to
the door and shot down, but a worse fate awaited those in the barn,
where firebrands thrown into and upon its roof soon turned the whole
into a red hot furnace. Children were tossed out of the windows to save
them, but only to be impaled upon the pikes of the outlaws. Some
authorities claim that two hundred and thirty persons met their deaths
in Scullaboyne. Certainly the French Revolution can show nothing more
horrible.
[Illustration: One of the Seven Churches of Clonmines
County Wexford]
There is little left here now to recall the event save a few blackened
fragments, which the rich grass and creeping vines are daily covering
more and more each passing year.
It is claimed by the insurgent party that they had nothing to do with
the slaughter--that it was the act of outlaws, such as are always to be
found dogging the footsteps of contending forces. However that may be,
the result was absolute ruin to the cause of the rebels. Be it recorded
to the credit of the intelligent priests of the day that they at all
times did what they could to prevent like occurrences and save human
life and that amongst the sixty-six persons executed in Wexford, after
that period, for murder and rebellion, only one was a priest.
But let us hasten away from all this.
The roadways are superb all over this section of Ireland, and indeed I
have so far encountered none which could be called bad the (worst were
better than we have around most of our cities), and we are at the
extreme south, having circled the island.
To-day we meet but few motors. Others are not so fortunate, as we
discover by a disturbed roadbed and some fragments of cars lying around.
The other day, Lord Blank and a friend of his, driving their cars here
on roads running at right angles and shaded by tall hedges,--the noise
of each motor drowned in that of the other,--came together, "sociable
like," at the junction. Result, two cars gone to smash, but bless you
that's "all in a lifetime" in this blessed isle.
Bicyclists also appear to meet with trouble now and then, as we have
just passed an inn bearing the sign "Broken down cyclists rest free."
The road from Bannow via New Ross to Kilkenny passes through Inistiogey,
Thomastown, and Bennett's Bridge, and is fine all the way and through
lovely scenery, most of the time by the banks of the Barrow.
We reach Kilkenny about three P. M., two hours and five minutes out,
about fifty miles, which is good time on Irish routes, because of their
narrowness and the frequent stoppages rendered necessary through
stubborn donkeys and young cattle.
The approach to Kilkenny is marked, as is most appropriate, by an
increase in the number of cats, sorry looking specimens, most of them. I
must congratulate the town upon her very clean and comfortable Club
Hotel.
Kilkenny Castle is not of interest save its stately appearance from the
bridge. It has been modernised into a comfortable dwelling-place,
prosaic in the extreme.
I find in Ireland that the interesting abodes are of two classes only,
the very ancient castle or the square manor-house; the latter, while
appearing modern, have some centuries to their credit and are
characteristic of the country. I certainly have never seen them
elsewhere. Castles such as Kilkenny and Lismore (the Duke of
Devonshire's), while holding somewhere in their vastness remnants of the
ancient strongholds, have, as I have stated, been brought up to date and
out of all interest.
The same holds with the cathedral here. Even the round tower looks new.
Rolling onward we pass again through the Vale of Ovoca, but have no time
now for more than a glance as the day wanes and rain threatens.
Entering amongst the mountains of Wicklow, our car balks once or twice
at the grades, but finally makes up its mind to go ahead and so puffs
and pulls and stews with less noise than most motors would be guilty of,
until finally, with a last effort, the highest point is reached, and the
vale beyond is open to our view, with the demesne of Powerscourt
nestling on its farther side. There are few more enchanting prospects in
the British Isles. It would seem from here to be a great bowl, so
completely enclosed in the mountains as to be accessible only by wings.
The billowy foliage is broken at one point by a waterfall some three
hundred feet high, which plunges down into the celebrated glen, "the
Dargle."
Half-way up the mountain stands the huge mansion of Powerscourt House,
as though it were the royal box in this vast opera-house of nature.
Dublin has many beautiful points in her neighbourhood, more in fact I
think than any other city of Europe, but none so beautiful as this
before us.
The temptation to linger is strong, but it is late, and there are miles
yet to go. The route drops rapidly downward and then upward until barred
by the gates of the home park, which we are allowed to enter once it is
certain that we are "going to the house" and are not tourists.
When we reach there every one is abroad in motors, and it is too late
for tea, but not too late for a whiskey and soda, which, being assured
that we are expected,--hosts have been known to forget their
invitations,--is accepted and thoroughly enjoyed.
Powerscourt, the seat of Viscount Powerscourt came into possession of
the family during the reign of Elizabeth, and is one of the largest
estates in Ireland, having some twenty-six thousand acres within its
bounds. Probably its scenery is more varied and beautiful than that of
any other estate in the kingdom.
[Illustration: Funeral Crosses by the Wayside
County Wexford]
One enters a hallway of large dimensions, whose walls and ceilings are
laden with trophies of the chase from all over the world. Skins of every
description cover walls and floors, while chandeliers formed of antlers
hang by the dozens from the ceilings.
Doffing our coats and rugs on its great table and trying to appear like
white men after our hundred-mile run through rain and mud, we pass into
the morning room and so out on to the terrace beyond, which on this side
of the house stretches along the entire front, while below terrace after
terrace drops downward to a stone balustrade overlooking the lake,
beyond which the land rises tier after tier until the higher mountains
outline against the sky.
The rain has ceased and the setting sun is casting long shafts of light
into the quivering forests whose leaves are thicker than ever they were
in Vallombrosa.
But it is chilly and we hunt out the smoking-room where a bright fire
works its will with the winds driven through us all day and we are found
half asleep when host and hostess return.
These Irish places are not so gorgeous as many in England but an Irish
welcome is something one does not meet with either in England or any
other land, and to-day holds no exception to that rule. They are glad to
see us and the usual stiffness of an entry in a strange house and
amongst strange people is altogether lacking. The time passes so quickly
that the dressing gong sounds all too soon.
As I mount the stair portraits of the former owners look down upon me,
from those long dead to that of the present owner, presented by his
tenants upon his coming of age, which by the way must have occurred very
lately, as he is the youngest looking man to be the father of two
children that I have ever seen.
There is another portrait in yonder corner of a man who looks as though
_he_ would like a whiskey and soda on this damp evening, but he must
long since have passed to the land where such things are not.
At the head of this main stairway, one enters a vast hall supported by
columns. George the Fourth strutted through here in all his gorgeousness
in 1821. As far as Royalty is concerned, that monarch and his successor
certainly marked its lowest stage--the latter the worse of the two, as
he was common. The rebound since then has been so tremendous that one
feels as though gazing from the top of a mountain downward upon the
marshes by the sea.
One of the late owners of Powerscourt evidently felt great interest in
the house as he placed tablets in many of the rooms indicating what they
were and had been. I am told to go where I like and examine the whole,
but of course I do not penetrate behind closed doors where evidently
there is much of interest. But I do get lost actually as far as the body
is concerned and mentally in a picture of a lady in the dark corner of a
distant gallery, and have to be hunted out when the gong sounds for
dinner. In the dining-room my eye is attracted by a portrait on the
opposite wall. It proves to be one of Lady Jane Grey when a child of
eight or nine years of age, but has a very Dutch appearance and the
original could never have developed into the graceful greyhound-like
creature so familiar to all in the later portraits.
The living-rooms in these European country houses are so homelike and
comfortable that similar rooms in our Newport houses must strike a
foreigner as very stiff and new, and generally they are just that, for
with few exceptions they are but temporary abiding-places for a few
weeks in summer.
The drawing-room in Powerscourt is a wide, sunny apartment; in the
daytime its windows, giving on to the terrace, hold a marvellous
panorama framed for one's benefit, but to-night the curtains are dropped
and a bright fire blazes on the hearth around which runs a rail topped
with a broad leather cushion, which forms a most comfortable perch
promptly appropriated by the men, while the ladies are on low seats.
The walls are covered by pictures of great value and there is much else
of interest around one, yet it is all so homelike and comfortable that
one scarcely remembers any of the details but simply a charming picture
of the whole; and so the time passes until the ladies having vanished we
are again in the smoking-room, where Boyse starts in to talk and would
have kept it up until grey dawn, but I for one am sleepy and detect the
same symptoms in our host, so we suppress Boyse and go to bed. He may
talk to the fire if he likes, but not to us.
The next day being Sunday I wanted to go to church, but it is intimated
that my presence is not desired. So Boyse and I roll off to Dublin for
letters and en route back break down and nearly miss luncheon in
consequence.
On our return we encountered one of the rare cases of hatred, pure and
simple, for those of the upper ranks which I have noted in Ireland. The
avenues between Bray and the city were crowded with Sunday
excursionists, and at one point, a van having stopped, the occupants
covered all the roadway and two men stood facing us exactly in the
centre of our only course. Moving at a snail's pace, we trumpeted
constantly and finally stopped directly in front of these men. I have
never noted more malignant snarls on human countenances than these bore
as they grudgingly gave way. "Do ye think ye own the whole shop?" The
fact that we appeared unconscious of their existence only enraged them
the more, and had they dared strike they would have done so, but one is
always sure of the presence of some of those splendid specimens of men,
the Irish constabulary, than whom the world holds of their kind none
better. All over six feet in stature, they are not merely policemen,
ignorant or not as the case may be, but men of education and who must
keep up that education by further study for higher examinations, which
unpassed will cost them their positions. There are three here to-day,
hence those lowering brows and clenched hands disappear. However, we
have encountered but little of that state of feeling in Ireland, the
instances have been few and far between,--a contrast indeed to France,
where a well-dressed man is often impressed with the belief that those
around him would like to erect a guillotine for his express enjoyment
and would do so upon the smallest provocation.
[Illustration: Photo by W. Leonard
Powerscourt House
Seat of Viscount Powerscourt]
All the afternoon is spent out of doors. Other guests have arrived, one
with three motors and another with one. Lord P. has several and ours has
been polished up to look its best, but we finally leave it behind, and
stowed away in the others the whole cavalcades spend the afternoon in
wild flights over the hills and mountains. In the rushes through the
valleys we are well together, but in climbing the ascents which around
here are very steep the cars of greater power vanish in the distance and
we do not see them again and only know of their passage by the general
state of wild confusion reigning amongst dogs, geese, and chickens,
which knowing there must be more of us have not as yet returned to the
centre of the highways; except the geese--it takes more than a motor to
keep those doughty birds off the road.
Those are wonderful fowls. They measure the width of an approaching car
to a nicety, and retreat just beyond that. So near in fact that we have
been struck by their indignant wings several times.
To-day I am in an enclosed car belonging to Mr. G. Whilst very
comfortable, especially for ladies in a city, I do not think that they
are pleasant to ride in. The constant rumble and roar becomes very
unpleasant, something one never experiences in an open car; also one
loses entirely that sensation of flying so delicious in an open car.
This one makes my head ache, and it is not a matter of regret when, the
ride over, I am out on the lake with Lord H., attempting to tug a duck
house out of the mud. I am quite convinced that I did most of the work,
but I believe he denies that fact.
I cannot but regret as I look at this young man, certainly not more than
twenty-five years of age, that we have not something like a school for
the study of diplomacy. We might even have such scholarships, now that
we have decided to become a world power in which diplomats are so
necessary. I asked what was the future of this man in question and was
told, "Oh, he will be an ambassador some day, that is what he is working
for," and working for that means the attainment of perfection in all
things necessary for an educated man,--perfection in everything, not a
mere smattering in a few things. This man speaks all the modern
languages of Europe with equal facility. If music is necessary for his
career he has it at his fingers' ends. He is wealthy, but his money will
be used to further his progress, not to kill it. Nothing will interfere
with that.
I cannot but contrast him with one I know of whose prospects appeared
equally bright, though his education was not at all the equal of this
man's. However, he might have done much with his life, but marrying a
rich wife he promptly resigned and "sat down to good dinners," amounting
now to absolutely nothing, his career ended.
Abandoning the rescue of the duck house together with graver questions,
we adjourn to the gardens and consume half an hour, and also a lot of
the biggest strawberries I have ever eaten.
Time flies. Tea on the terrace, to which more motors have brought other
guests, dinner, and the night are over and gone, and we have rolled
away, waving thanks to our host and hostess for the pleasant "week end"
at Powerscourt House.