The Irish standard., 1893-11-04


and this lady, grandmother of the pres
ent Lord Dunraven, brought to his fam
lily one Of the finest landed properties in
Wales, upon which is situated, amid
scenery OF SURPRISING beauty, the ances-
tral home of the Wyndhams. The name
of Wyndham was adopted in addition to
that pf Quin. This article refers later on
to the residence Of the earl, but the real
Dunraven mansion in Ireland is meant,
and not this Wales property.
The latest challenger for the America 8
cup was brought up in part of the
south of Ireland which affords unusual
facilities Tor the development Of natural
taste5for sports. Among his first recol--
leo ions the cry OF the fox hound in the
openj the crack Of the rifle over the
autul nm stubble, the swish of the anglers
line along the banks of the wellstocked
stream were welcome and familiar
sounds. Thus he early learned to be
fearless on the hunting field, keen shot
after5grouse or pheasant and a success
full, enthusiastic fisherman. Nor was
this all. His capacity for outdoor re Gre
alton extended to the skilful manipula-
ton Of sail and rudder on the wide wat.
ers OF the lordly Shannon, so that in time
he crew to be regarded as an authority
on yachting matters. Those who have
been intimate with him from days Of boy
hood recall the circumstance Of his hav-
in bsen dubbed skipper" by his com
panions because Of his predilection for
everything aquatic. Constant to his first
love we see that he has thus attained an
international celebrity as yachtsman,
his beautiful craft, the Valkyrie, being
the perfected realization of ambitious
youthful dreams. .....
AS man of action his versatility has
shown itself in many other ways. Soldier,
stateAman, war correspondent and litter
ateur, he has not hidden any of his tel-
ents beneath bushel. Assistant secre-
tary of state for the colonies under for
mer administration of Mr.. Gladstone, he
had previously braved the perils OF the
France German war of 1870 as repressn-
tatiye of the London Telegraph. From
his grandfather and his father he inher-
tied a taste for architectural studies
which has borne fruit in his thoughtful
treatlse on s.Irish Architecture" The
late earl was great antiquarian, tire
less explorer of the mysteries OF Irish
antiquities. His work upon the cele-
.brated round towers of Ireland received
posthumous publication and was edited
by a learned countrywoman to whom he
bequeathed the task-Miss Stokes, ,daugh
ter of the great Dublin physician of that
name, whose writings upon medical
subjects are students text books
throughout the world. 1t was to this
Lord Dunraven that Montelambert de-
dicated the first volume of his "Monks
OF the West" in recognition of his valu-
able services in the cause OF antiquarian
research. During this nobleman's life
time the Dunraven peerage received the
additional dignity of the barony of Ksnry,
which confers a seat in the House of
Lords.
The earl is 8 great traveller. There
are few parts of the world whore game,
big or small, is to be found that the
Earl of Dunraven has not explored. In
this way he has wandered from pole to
pole, frozen IN Arctic and melted IN
tropic latitudes. The two large ravens
that support his armorial shield look
upon scroll which bears motto we'll
expressing the character of the man,
"Qua sursum volo videre,' which per-
haps may be freely translated. II am
willing to see what stands before me-"
Ana now q word or two about the
Dunraven residence. Adare Manor lies
in a beautiful valley in the south of
Ireland about eight miles from the city
OF Limerick. This entire section OF the
country is rich in historic ruins, among
them the remains of Desmond Castle,
the stronghold of the famous Geraldines
who played such stirring part in the
drama of Irish history. This was the
fortress which 'smuch incommoded" the
troops of Queen Elizabeth. The ruins
are still preserved of the abbey founded
at Adare by the friars of the Holy Trim
ity for the redemption of the crusaders
who in the reign of Edward had been
captured by the infdel in Palestine. In
the choir of the chapel lie the remains of
Thomas Gera' dine, Earl of Kildare, and
OF Joan, his wife, who endowed the mon
astery. These and many other ruins
were restored by the last Lord Dunra-
ven, who has thus insured their perman-
ent preservation. Two old abbeys adorn
the village, which probably date from
the early part Of the eighteenth century.
The late esrl and countess restored
these, and gave them to the Catholics