150 OUR ENGLISH LAND MUDDLE. 



The simple stone buildings surrounded on three 

 sides a little court ; the line of masonry was 

 broken in two places by gates of hammered iron, 

 work of an old-time Irish craftsman on the 

 estate, and worthy of the days of Benvenuto 

 Cellini. These gates gave entrance to a " wild 

 garden " of mingled grace and ruggedness, and 

 an orchard which, with just the help of glass 

 shelters, grew many sub-tropical fruits. Within 

 the house, old Irish oak panelling, old Irish 

 pottery, glass, and silver, old Irish paintings and 

 embroidery, told at once of the patriotism of the 

 owner and of the high cultivation which his 

 country had reached centuries ago. There were 

 many relics, too, of the romance of the past : 

 quaint ship lanterns, posts of teak, Spanish 

 weapons, telling of times when foreign ships 

 found death on the Atlantic coast near by — not 

 always without assistance from the hands of 

 man, for wrecking was an ancient industry of 

 these parts. In the coachhouse rested the old 

 family ark, in which the ancestors of the owner 

 had toured Europe before railways were dreamt 

 of. The high position of the house, approached 

 only by a narrow, steep road, the presence of 



