New-York tribune., 1908-09-07

tailed estates that sgo with the earldom
tremely valuable but. moreover the late earl drew
royalties from all sorts of useful inventions; added
to which the widowed Countess of Rose was
the only child and heiress of the late Lord Hawke.
and such inherited a fortune which is esti-
mated at some $4,000 year.
WHERE THE s125ooo PAINTING WAS FOUND.
The castle of Malahide where superb painting
by Franz Halls has recently been discovered. hidden
away In some lumber room In q shocking state, all
covered with dust and CRIME. and which has just
been purchased by the British government for s25,-
600 for the National Gallery, in London, is the an
cestra home Of Lord Talbot de Malahde and Is the
most ancient inhabited stronghold In Ireland. only
! portions of the castle having been modernized 1t
has been in the possession of the family of Lord
Talbot de Malahde without interruption since 1174,
when Malahide, picturesque place nine miles
from Dublin. granted to Richard Talbot by
King Henry II The grounds, nobly wooded, con-
tain many magnificent oaks. dating from the days
of the Tudors. The hall of the castle one of the
purest specimens of Norman architecture In the
Kingdom, Is of the twelfth century, while over the
mantelpece of the superb oak room. the panels of
which are black with age. there is ancient carv-
ing of the coronation of the Blessed Virgin which,
according to old Irish legend. mraculously disap-
peared when after the execution of Charles L the
castle was seized by the regcide Miles Corbett re
appearing in equally miraculous manner after
| the unholy tenant had fed
1t is in the oak that is kept the suit Of
mail, the breastplate pierced by lance thrust.
which was his wedding day by young Lord
Galtrin1. the bridegroom of Lady Maude Talbot of
Malahide, who IN the fifteenth century became
widow her wedding day Her tragic story has
been inmortalized by the poet Gerald Griffin in
the verses in which he describes how the bridal
feast is disturbed by the that the foe is ON the
border; how the bridegroom, with the wedding
guests, sprang to arms to defend the threatened
| town Of Maahide; how, toward evening of
the defeat of the enemy reaches the castle how
the bride, beside herself with joy. goes forth to
welcome the bridegroom, meeting the procession
which was bearing him home dead on his shield of
battle:
Sinks meadow in one morning
A wife and a widow. a maid and a bride
The Lady Maude's tomb remains to this day one
Of the features of the ancient chapel and burying
ground OF the castle sentinelled by two giant
medieval sycamores. In the drawing room the
chief of the many masterpieces is undoubtedly a
/ triptych by Albert Durer which formerly hung in
the oratory Of Mary Queen OF Scots, and was
bought long afterward by her great-grandson,
Charles H. for $4,000 for his fair friend Louise
de Querouailles, Duchess of Portsmouth and an
! cestress of the Duke of Richmond. the duchess
presenting 1t. In turn TO the Lady Talbot Of her
day. In fact, there is end to the wonderful
treasures of Malafide Castle CT which are
! perhaps still hidden away in unexpored vaults.
garrets and lum Der of the huge old structure
like this Franz Halls, which discovered by
mere chance when Buttery, the we'll known picture
cleaner and restorer, was summoned by Lord Tai
to the castle in order TO consult him the
cleaning and restoration of a number of other
paintings. 1t that the painting so COW
cred with CRIME and dust that it required the prac-
! tised eye of man like Buttery to realize that
there was something OF real value beneath the ac-
cumulaton of the dirt of centuries, and how mag
niicent the picture really is is demonstrated by
the that the funds of the directors of the
| National Gallery were sufficient to pay the
purchase price the government authorized spe-
cial grant from the Treasury for the purpose.
How the picture got the Castle of Malahide,
how long 1t had lain there hidden away-in fact,
its history-is altogether thus far unknown.
Though the peerage now owned by Lord Talbot
of Maahide is relatively modern, having been ere
ated in favor of the wife of Richard Talbot of
Malahide Castle by William ". yet the Talbots of
Talbot famfly-senior, indeed. to that branch of
premier earl OF England and the hereditary Lord
High Steward Of Ireland, is the chief AS such
Lord Shrewsbury in the line of succession to the
Malahide Castle and estates, we'll as to the dig
nifty of Lord High Admiral of Malahide and OF
the seas adjoining" conferred by King Edward
" by patent bearing his signature, which is still
preserved at the castle The present Lord Talbot.
who is g poet of mean order and who has pub
Hshed several volumes of verse some service
as an officer of the 9Th Lancers and has been twice
married his present wife having been the widow
of John C;urney of Sprowton Hall. Norwich He
has extensive estates in Canada, owing TO which
fact he often crosses the Atlantic with his wife,
J usually travelling to Canada by way or New YORK
MARQUISE DE FONTENOY.