1 88 A HISTORY OF 



Tickell required ^200 per annum on the determination 

 of Kiernan's lease, his interest in which the latter 

 agreed to sell for ^800, giving instant possession. In 

 1804, Major Tickell assigned to the Society all his 

 interest in the ground for a sum of ji8oo. Not 

 alone the beauty of the site, but the historical interest 

 of the neighbourhood, must have told in favour of 

 its selection. Delville, the home of Delany, the friend 

 of Swift and Stella, was close by, and Parnell the 

 poet resided in Glasnevin. 



The name of Tickell at once recalls that of Addi- 

 son, and the connection of the two is generally supposed 

 to have made the site of the Botanic Garden classic 

 ground, as the former had a residence there which it 

 was believed had been frequently visited by Addison. 

 Mr. Herbert Wood, assistant keeper of the records, 

 in a charming and instructive paper, Addison s Connection 

 with Ireland? shows how erroneous is this supposition, 

 for, though the house in which the curator of the 

 Botanic Garden now resides was once inhabited by 

 Thomas Tickell, he did not occupy it for some years 

 after the death of Addison, which occurred in 1719. 

 A shady path in the garden has long been named 

 " Addison's Walk," but it may have been so called by 

 Tickell in memory of his friend, who never himself 

 paced the walk. Dr. Elrington Ball 2 places the matter 

 beyond dispute. He shows that Tickell had been under 

 secretary to Addison while he was Secretary of State, 

 and as such must have been known to Lord Carteret, 

 who appointed him Under Secretary in Ireland. In a 

 letter to Bishop Nicholson, Bishop Downes mentions 

 " that Tickell landed in Ireland on ist June (1724), and 

 refers to his being entirely unacquainted with that 



1 Journal R.S. A. /., xxxiv. 133. 



2 Correspondence of Swift^ iii. 198 n. 



