and arrangements were made for the evening's sojourn, and then 

 the party left for the mountain, passing through the village, with its 

 neat cottages, terraces, and gardens, they soon reached the demesne 

 of Donard Lodge, the residence of Lady Annesley, and situated 

 between the village and the mountain. The grounds are not 

 extensive, but possess a variety of scenery rarely met with within 

 the compass of larger estates ; and so close to the town that a few 

 minutes will be sufficient to go to any part of the demesne, where 

 scenery will be found for every taste. The wild pathless moun- 

 tain peaks, and the soft green lawn ; the wild purple heather, and 

 the cultured flowery shrub; the artificial jet, scattering spray over 

 flowers and arbours, and the rapid torrent bounding over its rocky 

 bed with rejoicing freedom from the mountain to the sea. Donard 

 Lodge itself nestles in a mass of richest foliage, and is surrounded 

 by all that taste desires or wealth commands ; and yonder is the 

 lone hermit's cave, decorated with fern fronds and moss, and 

 cheered only by the everlasting murmuring of the passing stream. 

 Rockeries, natural and artificial, fern brakes and flowers, rustic 

 seats and fancy bridges, fountains and spas, plantations, woods, 

 and endless paths, with charming and extensive views over land 

 and sea, combine to make this demesne as attractive to the visitor 

 as it is worthy of its noble proprietor. Fortunately, these beauties 

 and attractions are not bound by park walls and forbidding gate- 

 ways. They are as free to the stranger as they are to the owner. 

 Thanks to the generosity of her ladyship, the gates are open. No 

 cards of admission are demanded. The Belfast merchant and the 

 farmer's family from Kilkeel enjoy with equal freedom the pleasures 

 of the place. Children may paddle in the stream unchecked, or 

 ramble through the shrubbery without being captured by officious 

 gardeners and carried by the collar outside the gate in terror and 

 disgrace. There are no threatening notices to be " prosecuted 

 according to law" for trespass offensively prominent at every turn : 

 you are not so much as asked to " keep off the grass ;" and hence 

 the very confidence placed in visitors should be in itself the safe- 

 guard of the place, and a protection against that class of aspiring 

 nobodies who would scratch their names on grotto walls, or carve 



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