Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1895-08-04
in the locality

The abbey is said to have been Dul.I
bv one MacCarthy, Prince OF desmond
in 1440. The family vault is still point
ed ont also the burial places OF otner'
irish chieftains. including such names
as O'Sullivan Moore and ODcnognues.
The plan is that of nave and cholr
with a low. square tower. On the south
side of the nave is a transept and on the
north side the clOisters which to me
were the chief attraction. They are in
the form of a piazza with symmetrical
columns and arches and vaulted apart
ments. In the centre Of the little court
Is the finest
IRISH VIEW TREE I EVER
saw. It's girth a couple of yards above
the ground is thirteen feet. It's limbs
and branches spread out and over that
part of the structure in all directions.
Some parts of the walls are completely
enveloped in ivy which materially adds
to the picturesqueness and quamtness
of the place, but at the same time has
tening the utter decay and complete
destruction of the walls. AT one or two
points where the trunk of the ivy was
as thick as ones thigh, 1t had been cut
in twain by the woodlands axe; the
caretaker realizing no doubt that the
powerful sinuous embrace of this noble.
plant. was too much for the ancient and
lettering walls. AS | stood deeply i'm
pressed at the scene before me the
song of Ivy Green in Pickwick was
wildly recalled, particularly the first
verse:
oh. dainty plant is the Ivy green,
That creepeth Ger ruins old
OF right choice food are his meals / ween,
In his cell so lone and cold.
The wall must be crumbled, the stone de-
cayed,
To pleasure his dainty whim
And the moldering dust that years have
made,
Is a merry meal for him.
Creeping where no life is seen,
A rare old plant is the Ivy green.
It is a mooted question whether the
wv preserves or Injuries old walls. To
nv mind the question is well settled
that too much of it is hurtful, although
absence certainly deracts from the pic
turesqueness and grace of the object
which it envelopes Perhaps there is no
place in the world where this is so pro-
nounced as the ruins
OF THE COLOSSEUM AT ROME.
A proper appreciation of Byron's de-
sciption of those grand walls enveloped
in ivy. is lost to the latter day visitor
as the walls have been stripped by the
local authorities of all the vast clusters
of ivy for their better preservation.
Before leaving Muckross the guide
emnbasized the lonely and wierd inter
ior by remarking as we passed through
the dark refectory, that a few years
ago a hermit ended his days in this
room. He had occupied it for eleven
wears and every night he slept in the
coffin which rested on that shelf, and
in which he was buried"
The feature of the stay at the lakes
is the trip through the Gap of Dunloe,
thence into the pleasant little valley at
the foot of the MacGhaeuddy Reeks,
finally embarking in row-boat at the
head of the Upper lake; the rowers urg-
ing their craft through all the lakes,
after which in due course the original
starting point is reached. This trip oc-
cupies the best part of day and the
varied scenery and experience keeps the
mind in a constant state Of exercise and
interest. We boarded a jaunting car at
Muckross Hotel and for an hour and
half drove along a most excellent and
beautiful road. circling the lower lake,