Part 1 (1/2)
The ”Ladies of Llangollen”
by John Hicklin
Froe of Cah-born Myfanwy Fechan awoke the passion and the poesy of her adlin to the modern days of the more huollen, ”that sweetest of vales,” seems to have been associated with recollections of tender and romantic interest Our narrative, however, albeit it relates to the Ladies of Llangollen, refers not to whispered vows and allant chiefs and damsels of noble birth; nor to sentie; but it is rather devoted to the records of a friendshi+p, whose incidents and eccentricities have engaged the attention of many eminent _literati_ and tourists Most persons who take any interest in the scenery or topography of North Wales, have either seen or read of that singular residence, Plas Newydd, at Llangollen, for so many years the home of Lady Eleanor Butler and Miss Ponsonby
About the year 1778, these ladies, impelled by a desire to lead a secluded life of celibacy, forsook the gay and fashi+onable circles in which they hadspot, on which to pass their days together in devoted friendshi+p to each other, and in acts of benevolence and charity to their neighbours, they visited Llangollen
Ra, when the tranquil beauty of the lovely valley was lighted up by the e that stood on a gentle ee; and there they resolved to fix their abode
They accordingly purchased the estate; built a new cottage on the site of the old one, in a rerotesque style of architecture; and laid out gardens, pleasure grounds, and rural walks with grottoes, tees, and other accessories for enjoying, in the undisturbed quiet of their own domain, the natural charular, and their costume stillthat ofcloth coats, rather like ladies' riding habits), they soon attracted the attention of the h North Wales; and as they kept up an extensive and active correspondence with several eminent authors and persons of distinction, the ”Ladies of Llangollen,” for so they were always designated, reater sensation in their seclusion, thanin the business and bustle of society Hence es were made to the recluses of Plas Newydd; and the ”even tenor” of their as often diversified by the calls of the illustrious, the learned, and the curious; fro in politics, literature, and general gossip, as were their visitors desirous of having a peep within the charmed circle of thisthis romantic seclusion is thus stated in ”Steward's Collections and Recollections:”--
”Lady Eleanor Butler and Miss Ponsonby were young ladies of beauty and rank, who loved each other with so true an affection, that they could never bear the afflicting idea of a separation, which the ht occasion They therefore resolved on lives of celibacy, and refusingdeaf to the persuasions of their friends, they retired to the beautiful Yale of Llangollen, to enjoy the happiness of each other's coht be perpetuated through life The traveller, in passing by the celebrated abode of these interesting woh that excessive friendshi+p which could tear frohtest ornaments, to bury theem, of purest ray serene, The dark unfathom'd caves of ocean bear; Full many a flower is born to blush unseen, And waste its sweetness on the desert air'
”It is on this subject Miss Seward eollen Vale'--The following is an account of these celebrated ladies, extracted from a periodical work published in the year 1796 'Miss Butler and Miss Ponsonby are now retired froollen in Wales, where they have resided seventeen years Miss Butler is of the Ore, all of which she rejected As Miss Ponsonby, her particular friend and companion, was supposed to have been the bar to her ht proper to separate them, and Miss Butler was confined The two ladies, however, found ht back to their respective relations Many atteh in vain; nota small sum with her The place of their retreat was confided to a female servant of the house Here they lived ers, otherwise than by the appellation of the 'Ladies of the Vale' No persuasions could ever get them from this retreat A lady fro anecdote relative to these fe to be travelling in the neighbourhood of Llangollen Vale, and having heard much of Lady E
Butler and Miss Ponsonby, felt a desire to see and converse with them But how he could obtain this pleasure (as the ladies seldom or never saw company, and were fond of a recluse life) was the question
At length he bethought himself of a method the most likely to answer the purpose, without the appearance of forwardness or indelicacy He sent his servant with the following verbal hbourhood, sends his respectful compliments to Miss Butler and Miss Ponsonby, and infor for Ireland, and would be happy to be the bearer of any coe had the effect which his lordshi+p desired He received, in return, a kind and friendly invitation to take tea with the ladies, which he, of course, accepted with al (the collector's informant added) was peculiarly char enthusiasts of friendshi+p He found not in thein recluses, but the ease of liveliness, and animated conversation of happy, cultivated, and polished minds”
On June 2, 1829, death severed the faithful friendshi+p which had existed for so many years between the eccentric residents at Plas Newydd, by re from this earthly scene Lady Eleanor Butler, who had attained the advanced age of 90; and in December 9, 1831, Miss Ponsonby, as seldom seen (except by her domestics) after the decease of her attached co hoollen, where a stone monument is erected to theirht Honourable_ LADY ELEANOR CHARLOTTE BUTLER, Late of Plas Newydd in this Parish
_Deceased_ 2_nd June_, 1829, Aged 90 Years
_Daughter of the Sixteenth_, _Sister of the Seventeenth_ _EARLS OF ORMONDE AND OSSORY_
Aunt to the late, and to the present MARQUESS OF ORMONDE
_Endeared to her friends by an almost unequalled excellence of heart_, _and by manners worthy of her illustrious birth_, _the adht of a very numerous acquaintance from a brilliant vivacity of ed existence_ _Her arateful attach and so extensively experienced_ _Her various perfections crowned by the most pious and cheerful submission to the Divine Will_, _can only be appreciated_, _where it is hu their Eternal Reward_, _and by her of whom for more than fifty years_, _they constituted that happiness_, _which through our Blessed Redeemer_, _she trusts will be renehen THIS TOMB _shall have closed over its latest tenant_
”Sorrow not as others who have no hope”
1 _Thess_ _Chap_ 4 _v_ 13
SARAH PONSONBY departed this Life on the 9th Dece survive her beloved Companion LADY ELEANOR BUTLER_, _hom she had lived in this valley for more than half a century of uninterrupted friendshi+p_ ”_But they shall no more return to their House_, _neither shall their place know them any more_”
_Job_, _Chap_ 7 _v_ 10
_Reader pause for a moment and reflect not on the uncertainty of human life but upon the certainty of its termination_, _and take comfort from the assurance that_ ”_As it is appointed unto ment_: _so Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many_; _and unto them that look for Him_, _shall He appear the second time without sin unto salvation_” _Heb_ _Chap_ 9 _v_ 27, 28
On the sa inscription, to the memory of a faithful servant, who accompanied ”the Ladies” from Ireland, the country of their nativity
In Memory of MRS MARY CARRYL, _Deceased 22 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 rened her parting breath_, _Looked up with Christian joy and smiled in death_