“’Tis pleasant through the loopholes of retreat
To peep at the great world—to see the stir
Of the great Babel, and not feel the crowd.”

Plas Newydd, situated at the east end of the town of Llangollen, has long been the residence of two eminently distinguished ladies, the Right Hon. Lady Eleanor Butler and the Hon. Miss Ponsonby, who came to Llangollen, and after a time purchased the domain, and planted and decorated the grounds. It has attained its present beauty under their own superintendance.

Many years have elapsed since these ladies withdrew from the world, to which, from their rank and accomplishments, they would have been distinguished ornaments, and secluded themselves in this beautiful retreat, where they have uniformly been the benefactresses of the poor, the encouragers of the industrious, and the friends of all in their neighbourhood. The peculiar taste and beauty with which these noble and highly distinguished ladies have decorated and adorned both the exterior and the interior of their far-famed retreat, excites universal admiration from the first characters and families, who are continually visiting them.

A palisade, ornamented with antique and grotesque figures, carved in oak, encloses the front, before which a profusion of the choicest flowers and shrubs is tastefully arranged. The entrance and the windows, which are formed after the manner of ancient religious houses, are decorated with carving in the same material. The entrance-door is unique, and a great curiosity, being beautifully ornamented with well polished carved figures; the whole of which are of black oak, and kept particularly bright, giving the retreat a very uncommon appearance. The entrance-hall, stairs, and passages, are chastely in character; and the windows are ornamented with painted glass in the most appropriate manner.

The gardens, in which nature and art are judiciously united, are extensive, and display much taste. The thick and umbrageous foliage of the lofty forest trees, that occupy a part of the lawn and gardens, is the safe asylum of numerous birds, which in this calm seclusion revel unmolested. A pair of beautiful wood-owls have found a safe and quiet shelter in the trunk of an old ivy-covered tree; and on a lawn a little further, is erected a pretty moss-covered alcove, furnished with a few well-selected books: it is nearly in the centre of the garden, and is open in front. The confidence of the birds is shown by some of them every year building their nests in this recess: indeed, these airy inhabitants appear to be quite tame and familiarized by the kindness of their amiable protectors. I believe the birds have much the larger portion of the produce of these beautiful gardens, as none of them are suffered to be molested.

Through the lower part of the shrubbery, a brook, called Cyflymen, i.e. Speedy, murmurs o’er its pebbly bed, and is crossed by a rustic bridge, which leads to a bank covered with lichens, and furnished with appropriate seats, near which rises a pure fountain, whose waters are as clear as the crystal glasses which ornament its margin: in short, the beauty of the scenery, aided by a little enthusiam, might inspire the idea that

“Here in cool grot and mossy cell,
The rural fays and fairies dwell:
Though rarely seen by mortal eye,
When the pale moon, ascending high,
Darts through yon limes her quiv’ring beams,
They frisk it near these crystal streams.”

The carved stone brought from the Abbey Crucis, and mentioned as being dug up at the time the bodies were discovered, stands near the entrance.

CONCLUSION.

I have thus completed the circuit I proposed at the commencement of my labours. To hope the attainment of perfection in a work of this nature would with justice be deemed presumptuous; but I trust any inaccuracy will be treated with lenity, and that due allowance will be made for the disadvantage under which verbal information is at all times collected by a person who does not understand the native language. Thus far I can with truth say, that, from a desire to combine correctness with intelligence, I have in no case given that on hearsay, which might be readily ascertained by ocular demonstration.

With regard to the quotations which I have thought proper to introduce, I must here again draw upon the kind indulgence of my readers. Not having an extensive library at my command, I have sometimes been obliged to quote from memory. This will also, in some degree, account for omissions of which I may in places be deemed guilty.

I will now take leave of my friends, assuring them that, if I have not done all I might for their information and amusement, it must be attributed to any other cause rather than a want of desire and endeavour on my part. It would, indeed, be unpardonable in me to deserve such an imputation, after having received so many marks of attention from friends whom I have had occasion more than once to consult in the progress of my researches, and being furnished with information from quarters where I had not the least claim.