Many have been the strange visitors received by English monarchs, but few more curious scenes have been witnessed than the reception of Grana Uaile by Queen Elizabeth at Hampton Court. On the voyage home from England a very striking and romantic incident occurred, which gives some idea of the state of society in those days (it was 1575), and of the character of the Princess of Clare Island. On leaving the English coast severe weather was encountered, and instead of sailing at once north-west for her island home, Grana was driven across the Channel to the coast of the county Dublin. On the northern shore of the beautiful Dublin Bay the peninsula of Howth runs out into the sea, at the extremity of which was in ancient times a fortress often used by the Northmen, whose name for the promontory, Hoved, or head, has been corrupted into Howth. The Hill of Howth, as it is called, came into the possession of the family of St. Lawrence in the early times after the English conquest of Ireland; or rather its partial conquest, for it was not until after the reign of Elizabeth that the English authority was anything more than nominal, except along the eastern coast, in the part known as the English pale. The family of St. Lawrence were Barons (now Earls) of Howth, and had built their castle on the north-western slope of the hill, facing the mainland, and close to the isthmus which unites the hill to the main part of the county of Dublin. To the shelter afforded by the Hill of Howth, Grana Uaile and her ships were driven. She sought hospitality at the Castle, but on reaching it found the gates closed. The family were at dinner. Full of anger at this, she turned again to her ships, and on the way she chanced to find the heir of the St. Lawrences, then a little child, playing by the seashore. Here was a chance of revenge for the insult she had met with, and one which Grana would not be slow to avail herself of. The boy was captured by her retainers, placed on board her ship, and with this precious booty she made haste to reach her island home. Great, we may well believe, was the anger and consternation of the family to find themselves robbed of their son and heir. There was not much use in appealing to the English Government, for the Queen’s writ could hardly be said to “run” in Western Mayo in the days of Elizabeth, any more than it sometimes does now in Kerry or Galway, so recourse had to be had to negotiation. After a considerable delay, Grana consented to release her captive, and this curious condition was attached to a substantial sum of money paid as ransom:—Whenever the family went to dinner, the gates of the Castle were to be thrown wide open, and a place was to be laid for one more guest than was expected! In making this provision, she clearly intended that no subsequent wayfarer should go hungry or empty away from Howth Castle. This curious custom was, I believe, continued in the family down to quite recent times.