41
d feline tribes, that Lady Eleanor Butler possessed a favourite dog of the turnspit-breed, called "Trust;" that Miss Ponsonby had a small white poodle, named "Busy;" and that they had a joint interest in a popular cat, answering to the name of "Meggins;" all of which four-footed domestics were especial pets in their garden walks or at their quiet fire-side.
The little domain of Plas-Newydd, if situated in some localities, would be esteemed a miniature paradise, but planted as it is amidst so many scenes of surpassing loveliness, its limited and somewhat formal characteristics suffer by comparison. The arrangement of the ground might have suited the peculiar tastes and habits of the "recluses;" but it is certainly very far inferior to the picturesque effect, which landscape gardening in the present day could _there_ produce. The prettiest portions of these much-vaunted precints are the shady knoll, overhanging a romantic glen, down which a brawling streamlet leaps its frothing course over a craggy bed; and the rural walk by the gothic fount, into which a pellucid mountain-rill pours its refreshing waters. Among the remembrances of former days, is the effigy of a guardian 'lion,' (which, under the name of a 'bear,' has been noted by an author whom we have quoted;) the melancholy quadruped is now considerably "used up," and excites a laugh at the burlesque on the monarch of the forest, which his attenuated figure and shrivelled hide present. Plas-Newydd is unquestionably a delightful residence; and its adjacent pleasure grounds and gardens afford most inviting facilities for those who love to make a practical study of horticulture; to ruminate amidst its tranquil retreats over the published works of some favourite authors; or to "meditate," like the patriarch, at "even-tide" on the wonders and glories of Eternal Power. Apart therefore from the romantic recollections, with which the singular history of the "Ladies of Llangollen" has invested this fair spot of earth, it presents to the tourist certain attractio