ese
people. They would not stay a day in a house which they did not like,
but their pleasant manners and company make them acceptable, and
friends are charmed to have them.

One of the special recommendations of a great country-house is that
you need not see too much of any one. There is no necessary meeting
except at meals--in many houses then even only at dinner--and in the
evening. Many sit a great deal in their own rooms if they have writing
or work to do; some will be in the billiard-room, others in the
library, others in the drawing-room: the host's great friend will be
with him in his own private room, whilst the hostess's will pass most
of the time in that lady's boudoir.[A]

[Footnote A: Perhaps the most charming idea of a country-house was
that conceived by Mr. Mathew of Thomastown--a huge mansion still
extant, now the property of the count de Jarnac, to whom it descended.
This gentleman, who was an ancestor of the celebrated Temperance
leader, probably had as much claret drunk in his house as any one in
his country; which is saying a good deal.

He had an income which would be equivalent to one hundred and
twenty-five thousand dollars a year in our money, and for several
years traveled abroad and spent very little. On his return with an
ample sum of ready money, he carried into execution a long-cherished
scheme of country life.

He arranged his immense mansion after the fashion of an inn. The
guests arrived, were shown to their rooms, and treated as though they
were in the most perfectly-appointed hotel. They ordered dinner when
they pleased, dined together or alone as suited them, hunted, shot,
played billiards, cards, etc. at will, and kept their own horses.
There was a regular bar, where drinks of the finest quality were
always served. The host never appeared in that character: he was just
like any other gentleman in the house.

The only difference from a hotel lay in the choice character of the
company, and the fact that not a farthing might be disbursed. The
servants were all paid extra, with the strict understanding that they
did not accept a farthing, and that any dereliction from this rule
would be punished by instant dismissal.

Unlike most Irish establishments, especially at that date (about the
middle of the last century), this was managed with the greatest order,
method and economy.

Among the notable guests was Dean Swift, whose astonishment at the
magnitude of the place, with the light