THE LEMON-PLANT. 269 



reared one from a cutting, to perfume my little 

 study. The growth of cur friendship, however, 

 outstripped that of the plant, so that before the 

 slip had taken root, Marie and I were daily com- 

 panions. 



Our earliest walks were beside a river, the 

 banks of which were fringed with tall trees ; or 

 along a road, where the lofty mountain of Slieve- 

 na-man towered, many a mile to the right, while 

 in nearer prospect, across the river, was one of 

 the proudest and most ancient of Ireland's embat- 

 tled castles. After a while, we became so ena- 

 moured of the precincts within that castle's wails, 

 that our more extended rambles were given up, for 

 the delightful privilege of sauntering beneath the 

 rich foliage of its venerable trees, and talking over 

 tales of the olden time, dear to the children of 

 Erin. The noble proprietors, on leaving the 

 country for a time, had given me the privilege of 

 free entrance at all hours, by a private door, into 

 the grounds ; with permission to extend my 

 rambles into every room of the castle. Often 

 have we availed ourselves of this indulgence to 

 gaze on the antique tapestry, to examine the curi- 

 ous reliques of other days, when one of the purest 

 patriots that ever drew Irish breath, held vice-regal 

 state beneath those battlements ; or to promenade 

 the long saloon, enriched by the portraits of many 

 generations, and terminating in a projecting window, 



23* 



