The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1892-10-22
A RARE OLD RELIC
An Irish Historic Curiosity to be
Sent From Youghal to the
Worlds Fair.
SIR WALTER RALEIGH'S HOME
The Ancient Residence of the Late
Sir John Pope Hennessy, Mem
ber for Kilkenny.

Sir Walter Raleigh's old house at
Yougha} is going to your Worlds Fair,
says Miss Katharine lyman in the Chi
cago Herald. It is to be taken from the
dreamy old garden where he first looked
into El Dorado through the blue smoke
Of the Virginian weed, and set up in it's
old world stateliness in the midst Of all
your noise and whirl. You will sec for
yourselves, amid such strange surround.
ings, the wonderful oak -paneled room, in
an exquisite oriel Of which Sir Walter
sat caressing his beard, while Speneer
read to him the MS.of the Faerie Queene.
In the myrtle garden below the four
twisted yews in whose shade Sir Walter
was smoking when the maid drenched
him, a friend of mine said to me, looking
up at the ancient house: "It is SO old it
has quite lost it's witsr' 1t was an a,l-
tumn evening, gray and FULL of eerie
shadows. Over there in the dusk was
st. Mary's church, full of illustrious
dead, and the green graveyard about it
with the graves arising in terraces. A
little to the right was the old massyard
of the Dominicans-it, too, sown thickly
with the dead. The whole air of the
place was sinexpresibly eerie and haunted,
and the old house, with it's twisted Chin
neys, it's gables, it's irregular windows
and all it's ragged outlines of ivy, had,
indeed, something crazy and demented
in it's aspect, as il it were very old and
had seen SO many die. .
Within the house it was all as eerie. A
pair OF wax candles and dying fire were
in the pritnly paneled dining-room, with
it's square windows. The room snelt
earthly, and no wonder, for in one corner
the flooring lifted to reveal subterran-
can passage ilto the church. Earlier in
habitants than Sir John Pope Hennes-
sy's mother and sister had split cart
load of earth into it's gaping mouth. One
smelt the clay as though one stood over
an open grave.
Upstairs in Sir Walters study the wax
candles made the darkness visible. The
oak of the ceiling and wall and floor is
black with age. The chimneypiece rises
up, masterpiece of carving, with great
figures of Faith, Hope and Charity be
tween the pediments. There was an
oaken settle in one corner Of the room;
the chairs we're OF the same somber wood;
tall oaken dresser was by the oriel, blue
china ranged on it's shelves, along which
ran carved lettering. It was the motto
OF Richard Boyle, earl OF Cork, Goods
Providence Is My Inheritance" This
arch-adventurer it was who jockeyed Sir
Walter out of his Irish estates before he
sailed on that last melancholy voyage to
the Indies in hope of gaining treasure
which might appease his implacable enc
mics.
Sir Walters handsome and dominant
face looked ut one from all the paneling;
now hook-eyed and rapacious in some
old print; again splendid in oils, with
doublet Of white silk to show of his skin
of gold olive and a fine carcanet of gems
upon his breast. Sir John Pope Hen
messy preserved the Raleigh house with
admirable taste and knowledge. Save
for the many portraits Of himself there
was nothing in the room that Sir Wal
ter's brilliant eyes might not have gazed
upon in those far-away days.
It is 90 strange to place this king of
dandies in Youghal. The admixture in
the man of this feminine love of fnery
with the heroic qualities he truly pos
sessed despite his filibustering adds one
more to Walter Raleigh's long list of fas-
cinations. Surely he is one Of the gay
est and most splendid figures Of all time.
He had nearly as many suits as his royal
mistress, whose wardrobes held 5000
dresses when she died. She could ap-
preclate all his fine charm and gallantry,
and had Elizabeth Tudor lived instead
Of the worthless James, Walter Ra-
leigh's head had scarcely fallen in Lon
don tower. There is one picture Of him
with vest Of white satin, close-sleeved
to the wrist; over that 9 doublet Of
brown velvet sewn with pearls. The
feather Of his hat is held IN place BY 9
large ruby and q pearl; his hose and
breeches were Of while silk, his yellow
shoes tied with white ribbon. On great
court ydays he used TO wear shoes flaming
with jewels, the value q which was esti-
mated q f6, ,000 He poeseaBed . suit of
arnoar off aolid silyer, the sword and belt