“That ever ’gainst that season comes
Wherein our Saviour’s birth is celebrated,
The bird of dawning singeth all night long;
And then they say no spirit walks abroad;
The nights are wholesome, then no planets strike;
No fairy takes, no witch hath power to charm;
So hallowed and so gracious is the time.”
Except two or three marble monuments in the Church, there are no other remarkable objects; but in the church-yard are many very neat and handsome freestone tombs. Some of those recently erected are in the sarcophagus form, and are very nicely executed.
Nearly opposite the south door of the Church stands a triangular gothic column of freestone, surrounded by a light iron railing, erected over the grave of a highly respected domestic of the Right Hon. Lady E. Butler, and the Hon. Miss Ponsonby. The pillar is executed in good taste, and on one of the three facades are the following lines, doing much honour to the heart as well as to the head of the composer:—
In Memory of
Mrs. MARY CAROL,
Deceased the 22nd of November, 1809,
This Monument is erected,
By Eleanor Butler and Sarah Ponsonby,
Of Plas Newydd, in this Parish.Released from earth, and all its transient woes,
She whose remains beneath this stone repose,
Steadfast in faith, resign’d her parting breath,
Look’d up with Christian zeal, and smiled in death;
Patient, industrious, faithful, gen’rous, kind,
Her conduct left the proudest far behind;
Her virtues dignified her humble birth,
And raised her mind beyond this sordid earth.
Attachment, sacred bond of grateful breasts,
Extinguish’d but with life this tomb attests,
Rear’d by two friends, who will her loss bemoan,
Till with her ashes here shall rest their own.
The poor of Llangollen have much reason to pray that period may be far distant; for the benevolence of these retired ladies is extensive and discriminate; and it may justly be said there is not a poor deserving object in this little town, who does not participate in their bounty. I shall conclude with a brief notice of their residence.
PLAS NEWYDD.
“’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, [99] 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 superintendence.
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, exites 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.