“. . . Now to introduce the castle to you, and all its inhabitants, a numerous tribe, I assure you. The castle is very pleasantly situated, and commands the kind of prospect I most admire. Near the house, literally speaking, is a cloud-capped hill, and altogether the country is pleasant, and would please me when anything of the kind could rouse my attention. But my spirits have been in continual agitation, and when they will be at rest, heaven only knows. I fear I am not equal to the task I have been persuaded to undertake, and this fear worries me.
“Lady K. is a
clever woman, and a well-meaning one, but not of the order of being that I
could love. With his Lordship I have had
little conversation, but his countenance does not promise more than good
humour, and a little fun not refined. Another face in
the house appears to me more interesting, a pale one, no other than the author of ‘Shepherds I have lost my love.’ His wife is with him—a gentle
pleasing creature, and her sister, a beauty and a sensible woman into the
bargain. Besides them and several visitors, we have resident here
Lady K.’s stepmother, and her three daughters,
fine girls, just going to market, as their brother says. I have committed to my
care three girls, the eldest fourteen, by no means handsome, yet a sweet girl.
She has a wonderful
| LIFE IN IRELAND. | 187 |
