The Southern Literary Messenger, Vol. I., No. 11, July, 1835Various
General
The Southern Literary Messenger, Vol. I., No. 11, July, 1835
Various
American literature -- 19th century -- Periodicals
knight and gentle maiden, of the humble and the great, in
indiscriminate oblivion. The proud mansion of the Herberts, still in
fine keeping--the long vistas opening in every direction on some
cultivated villa or rich demesne; the town of Killarney, with its
spires and undulating lines of white buildings; the mansions of the
Kenmares, the Cronins, and O'Connells,--all seen in distant
perspective, afford a coup d'oeil unsurpassed in beauty and natural
munificence by any in the world. As I revisited these scenes which my
boyhood loved to trace, there stole upon my heart a melancholy joy; it
was indeed "pleasant but mournful to the soul." The friends with whom
I had enjoyed these scenes were gone, or hurried far apart by the
varying engagements of busy life. To one of those friends this journey
was devoted, and his virtues and his fate rose before me in vivid
colors. The tear rose unbidden to my eye, and dimmed for awhile the
bright scene before me. Thus attuned to melancholy, I approached about
ten o'clock the residence of Colonel McCarthy. The modest but tasteful
dwelling was situated on a small eminence in the centre of a basin,
formed by a hill in the rear, and two projecting wings, open and
expanding to the south and southeast, having in full view before it
the ancient castles of Dunloe and Desmond--the beautiful lower lake
and its crowning ornament, the island of Innisfallen--Ross, the
majestic castle of the O'Donoghues--and to the right the bold Mountain
of Tornies, with its foaming cataract, appearing to the distant eye
like the giant guardian of the place, with his silvery beard flowing
on his venerable breast. The grounds were tastefully laid out, and the
regularity and order that was observable in all the decorations of the
place, gave evidence of a superintending mind trained to discipline;
while the surrounding scenery bespoke it an appropriate refuge for the
warrior worn with toil and years.
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