MR. PARNELL AT HOME.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XVI, Issue 31, 23 November 1888, Page 27

MR. PARNELL AT HOME.

Foe the following stori< b about Mr. Parnell's home and private life, the Nert Yoik Press is responsible .—. — Paineil's home is extremely p-clurcquc. Down in the " Garden of Ireland." Avund.ile rustles in the heait of a country unsurpassed forlovelmtss. Hurt', *nu views dissolving into great forests of green, there extending over wide reaches of meidow and corn lands, the Tippling of the Avon is the o.ily tound which breaks the undisturbed stillness of the Bcenu. Under the shadow i_f the far-tamed Wicklosv Mountains lus the Lome of Charles Stewart Parnell, who wa- born there forty- wo }(.ars ago. Ie is a spot designed by nature foi the birth of v. liader of mm. From the root of that mansion, whose lead coping iirui the young Parueli iv days gone by with tne perilous enthusirißtn for fahbuumg bullet", the eye rests upon the heights which, iv the v lniug da>b of 98, defied the chaiges aad beffl d the strategy i f ihu li.iUdU forces. XJym those mountains whicli wie eu 1 ke a majtvtie wah tmvar ib LU ( . b.,uln. brave .Miles Byrne k ut the rodconts «t bay while all tne lest, ol nc'.i d hy pro-ie tit th" fe«-t of a mili ary t\'r .nnj . To r.gl t and lefc lies the couatry, every inc'i ol which is a ruunuoient tv tl c valour and n. ioisui ot id li mi iMic^a 1 Dwyer ; and in tin disiai.ee is Aiklu.\, who ", at the head of 2U,UUU men, Fattier John and Mil Dill Murphy inflicted th • neavus aim bloo.iiest dele it upon ihe itnt s i arms wli eh tho tonnes of the Irish cause bad v ail tuat .im>' >-us ,nn. d. Here vale and wier, mead .iu<l hill, tell in lllu-traied pages of the most cruel, as well as the most thrilling, luculens of one ot the darkest chapters of Iribh history. la position most, c ju*ma idmg, and m situation strikingly picturesque, Avondale is in s yle plain aud modest ; yet there is a 6ta'ely air about it which maiks unmvßtakabl7 the ancestral mansion

from the most pretentious dwelling-house. Square, low, and white the bui di ig is pUin ; but iis pUniess, in a region sj beautiful, makes it attractive, alth )ugn bo h nisi le an 1 oa'. onj s^e< trac33 oE neglect which marked tha pjriol waan t ie pr;se it o<vnir was atill a minor. Should Mr. Parncilnot ba at home, thare will bj no lack of interesting obj jets io tha b>mi to »ttra^t attonti jo. In tos hall illuininatad addresses dividj tbe will spaca wita pika-heais, aad hinorio bAuucri tha^ havj stirring ais jciatijas w.th voluitjer days. There are here mauy rdlics of ih.it tim^, aul parhips tae m.)9t interesting is a cavalry ensiga of thick snk, nculy ejabroidered on bath sides.

In stiap-j it is of the kind ko jwn as a burgee — toat is, aa obi m^ flig with a triaugu a." pieji taken from its outer ed;e. Oa ona Bids the colour of the ensign a red and oa i h. 3 other yell )<v. It is 3fs by 2Et. In a centre pieci at one side appears a representation of the Irish wolf- lo^', wi h nmmio'uii, ii vi io i irnvd an 1 n >.[ >w if, ofi" Velom et acer et filelti amioit "—"" — " s-vift aad sharp, aud fiichful to friends." In » similar diviai m appears the lnscnptioa of tae centre-piece, "Indepeadeut Wicklow — For-i. Lt. Dra^s," which last means Foresters' Light Dragoons. On the obverse is an oval centre-piece depicting a harp, witn crown surmounting aca9 ellated structure, and fitted into tne cjruers, a word in evjh, iha following : ''July — An.io — i om. — 1779," showing the data at which the " Independent Wickloir Foresters' Light Uragojns " were orgamz d. A Bimilar device to this obvt rse oui v pain e1 on thj ocaer tin, i largi mftilry etnign of t.nn silk, now decaying from tha ravigei of tiaas. Svery roam has its collection of the preijnts which have baea received from admirers. Among tne caskets is oae of Irish bog- oak, silver mounted, and oae containing the freedom of Dublin city ; another of similar style holding the freedom of Limerick city, aai a third, chiefly oC silver, from historic Drogheda, coutaimns? the freedom of that borough. There, among the guts which the Irish le ider received wuile a prisoner in Kilmaiuham, are— an Blaster egg of valuable metal, which enoompassed one hundred sovereigns, and which came on Easter Sunday from Liverpool la lies ; a very handsome musical box from the same fair donors, a great armchair, a box of tools from the ladies of Bathdrum, and a very beiutnul quilt of green satin.

If ihd Irish leader is at home ha will probably be fouud examining some of the works wnich are being constructed upon his estates. Ie is not generally known that Mr. Parnell, besides being a landlord, is a comp iratively extensive employer of labour. Tuere ara about 250 men employed on the various works which he has set on foot ; aDd if Mr. Parnell is anywhere ou the grounds you will see him, dressed in loose shoot iug-jac tot of rough homespun, and wearing a soft round hat, talking wtiti Mr. K^rr, his m ma^er, when he is not chatting with one of Lis <vorkmen. by whom he is idolised. Perhaps he is examining, with the critical eye of oae who is not, an amateur in practical luechinics and tmilding, the great cutle-shed now nearly completed. lush woikmen hive done a 1 the work, and the plans were prepared by Mr. Ke r, uadur tlie supervision of Mr. Parnell. Then there is a large siw-mi.l, which is constantly kept gji ig, and besides these in'lustiicß several m- a a^-e employed regularly in miuiog operatious upon tne es ate. Mr, Parnell has great confidence inthe subterranean wealth of his propoity, and oac shafc which he has sunk is nearly 400 fe> t deep. The quirries are the most imposing of his material works. About 150 men ara employed upon them. The stone is inexhaustible, and the qua.Ly of the best for paving purposes, as witness his contract to iuruisn Dubhn-a coutract whicti was suspiciously viewed on account of his position. There are ex eneive farming and cattle producing optrations conducted upon his estate, and tbere are a number of conaoiodiou4 i,ew labourers' cottages, just built, with office houses ou tne ous- approved plaus. The precepts which Mr. Parnell enforces in public aie here exemplified in private practice. Each of his labourers gets half an acre of land wuh hi* cottage.

Mr. Parnell's mloor life at Avomlale is in strict conformity with the habits of th s man, which are plain and unpretentious. At one of the windows ot his hoiary is a writ n^-deik. That desk has not a busy or vis uibed lo >k. It remmid you that the Irish leader iB a strong supporter of Talle> raid's advice to the man in doubt as to wneiher ue n'mniia write a letter or not : " Don'r." Mr. Parnell is not a voluminous letter- writer. But ih j .re is a second writing-desk in the room, at a window which looks upon another view of the lawn. This is wuere Mr. Pamell's industry nevei fligs. Lying ou the desk is aa unfinished drawing, apparently of some oil of machinery, and there are pi ms and spe lficatioDS strewn over the table, suggesting the officj of a Duiidmg surveyor or civil engineer in good practice. Mr. Parnell is not * man of large literary reading, although h» received a sound classical education, and has a retentive memory; bat he it a severe aad constant student of scientific subjects, and is especially devoip itj mechanics. It is h^.e he has thought out so many hard problems of polrical warfa-e, and here his few familiars have enjoyed his rare conversational powers. There is a fa^ciaation in Mr. Parnell's companionship whicn accounts for the enthusiastic devotion of hii colleagues, and it is in hu capacuy of host that his manner if moat enticing.