Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-07-16
'1HOLLAND| IN IRELAND"
Smiling Oasis in the Most Dis
tressful Country.
REGION OF SMALL GARDENS
Memories of the Great Cromwell
Massacres.
OLD HOME OF ST. PATRICK
Ruins of Monasterboice Are One OF
the Great Attractions
for Tourists.
REGION OF SMALL GARDENS
OLD HOME OF ST. PATRICK
RY WILLIAM T. CURTIS.

BY WILLIAM F. CURTIS.
sna,fa, CORRESPONDENCE OF The Star and the
Chicago Record Herald
DROGHEDA. July 10. 1908,
One of the lovelest railway or autofno-
bile rides in Ireland is from Dublin north
ward to the ancient town OF Drosheda
pronounced Drawdah). The highway
runs along the shore of St Georges chan-
mel touching several popular seaside re-
sorts. fishing settlements and busy fi,ahu-
featuring towns, alternating with beau'i-
ful pastures filled with sleek cattle ana
unshorn sheep, and here and there IVY
clad towers and little groups OF CHIMNEY
pots that rise above the 1ollage. ne
pastures and meadows are blazing Win
yellow buttercups and look IKE tLe
Field of the Cloth of Gold. They are ol-
yided into small plots by hedges OF nav
thorn twelve and fifteen feet hlsh'
which. Just now, are as white as paiihs
of snow and so fragrant that the per-
sflrle floats into the car windows
Between the meadows and the pastures
here and there are plots OF cultiNd.eu
ground gardens of potatoes, cappases
and other vegetables and glorious groves
1t isn't a bit like the Ireland one expects
to see alter reading newspaper acco"4ito
OF the terrible conditions that the poll-
ticians complain OF. Ii Is not couhtiS
of downtrodden peasants ana oppressed
wretched tenantTy crushed ufSer tne
heels of oppressive landlords. Right Is
not upon the Scafold in this section ol
Ireland, nor is wrong upon the throne.
by a very large majority On the con-
trary, every evidence of prosperity anu
contentment and happiness abounds. The
neatly whitewashed. straw thatcheo cot
tages are surrounded with gay gardens
filled with old-fashioned flowers. such as
you in Massachusetts ana Ne"
Hampshire. Large stables and store
houses are attached to almost every one,
which indicates that the farmer has
something TO put in them. You CANNOT
see the mansions of the rich men because
they are hidden in glorious parks ana pro-
tected BY high walls. Occasionally you
see in the distance the towers of an
Gent castles, each having romance or
a tragedy and sometimes several OF Doth
entwined in its history.
We unloaded at Malehide forty or nifty
golf players with kits of clubs slung over
their shoulders, for there are two INKS
near the town: one for the exclusive
class of rich DublinerS and the other Tor
any one who is able to pay half crown
for the privilege of chasing little gutta
percha ball over the grass. Malehide Is
lovely place, situated on the seasnore
at the mouth of little stream called
Meadow Water. with hotels OF All graoes
and prices, fashionable and unfashlon-
able, and some of them are open Tor
healthseekerS the year around
The chief attraction to tourists is the
ancient castle of the Talbot family, who
have owned and occupied it continuously
for more than seven hundred years, an
unusual record for Ireland or for any
where else. The original castle, quilt
about 1850 in the reign of Henry III, is
still standing although modern restOra-
tions and additions have changed 1t
much The exterior has suffered more
than the interior. The dining hall.
very large apartment, is considered one
of the finest rooms in Ireland. The
wainscoating and the ceiling are of oak.
richly carved and mellowed by exposure
for more than six hundred years. Inc
chimney piece, an exquisite example Oh
fourteenth century carving, represents
the conception. From 1863 to 1860 the
castle was inhabited by Miles Corbet, the
regicide, and the very night he took pos
session the figure of the Blessed Virgin
was detached from the rest OF the carv-
ing and disappeared until the night after
the unholy tenant fed from the place,
when it was miraculously restored.
Village of Swords.
There is a fine collection of paintings in
the castle, including portraits by Van
Dyck and other famous artists, three
panels of Scripture subjects by Albert
Druer, which formerly belonged to Mary
Queen of Scots and were purchased by
Charles ii for G2,Ooo. The library Is
treasure house of old tones and manu-
scripts and upon the wall, in heavy
oaken frame hangs the original patent
by which the estate was granted TO the
Talbot family by King Edward ~.
Within the roof1ess walls Of an ancient
abbey nearby is the altar tomb OF Maud
Plunkett her husband Sir Richard Tai
bot who, according to the eritaph. fell
in a fray Immediately after the wedding
breakfast. thus making her maid. wife
and widow in q single day.
The village of Swords. three miles dis
tant has another ancient castle, ana 1t
was there that the bodies of Brian BOru
and his son Morrough rested for the first
night after the battle of Klontarf. while
they were being carried 10 their maj
tomb at Armagh.
All these little towns are associated
with ST. Patrick and ST. Columbia who
spent more or less time here an founded
monasteries and built churches. One OF
the monasteries, called The Golden Pre-
bend. because Il was so rich was held
by William Wykeham in 1866 and was
the seat OF a cardinal for century or
two.
"A mile and a half from the Min line be-
yend Swords is the village of Portraine.
where Dean Swift's stella used to live
and where a branch of tae insane asy
l'in he founded in Dublin has since been
erected II stands upon lands given by
Sitryg of the Silken Beard. the Danish
King of Dublin, for the endowment of a
Christian church. Toe house was oc-
cupied for many years by the nuns of
ST Augustine where The Womankind
q. the most part of the whole Englisher
OF this land are brought up in virtue.
learning and IN the English tongue and
behavior"
The little town Of Rush. famous for
its early potatoes md its tulip bulbs is
called Holland in Ireland" II has an
old church with beautiful pointed arches
which dates back 10 the sixteenth CEN
tury. with a richly decorated monument
70 Sir Christopher Barnwell and his be-