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28 July 1887 — Dublin | |
Thursday. 28th July [1887]. Up & ready to go out with Sir Wm at 10. He took us a drive in an open cab to the Phoenix Park & showed us the shop opposite the Viceregal Lodge where Lord Fd Cavendish & Mr Burke were murdered. The Park tho’ burnt up from the dry season was lovely & the views of distant hills beautiful. We went to see Christchurch cathedral which had been restored by the great distiller Mr Roe. It is beautifully done & most interesting. Mr R. was enormously rich & gave £200,000 for the work—at the same time he settled such an enormous sum of money on a mistress that he left his wife & family penniless, became bankrupt & died ruined. His daughter married to my cousin Lord Granville Gordon was suddenly thereby left penniless. She & her husband sold No 1 Queen Anne St which we bought & the brave little woman set up a bonnet shop in London by which means she supports her self, husband & children! We went at 1.30 to the station & by train to Bray. There Mr Doyle met us & took us to Bresslin’s hotel & gave us an excellent lunch. At 3 Mr Bresslin himself drove us in his own private waggonette to Powerscourt through a lovely country. The family was away from Powerscourt but we went over the house wh has a great many pretty things in it, Lord Powerscourt being a man of great taste & culture– The gardens & grounds are also lovely. We saw 2 of the little children in their perambulator. Lady Powerscourt had been married 17 years before she had any children. Mr Bresslin was a most amusing & interesting old man. He began life as a donkey boy & then became a domestic servant in a house where he gradually rose & now owns a fine hotel at Bray, is a magistrate & much respected. Hearing who Mr Doyle’s guests were to be he insisted on driving us in his own carriage & was very pleasant. He told us that Mrs Parnell—mother of the Irish M.P. was now staying at his hotel & that he had had a long political talk to her last night—that she denounced the Irish Land League & expressed her dislike of the Irish members of Parliament & said that as soon as her son had obtained Home rule for Ireland he would at once retire– We returned to Dublin in time for 7 o’cl dinner & Henry & I dined at the hotel at a small table during table d’hôte & Patience. | |
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