us details in a
mere country house. And this was managed with no mean skill; and he must
have been a stern critic who could have canvassed too rigidly the merit
of appliances so manifestly provided for his own enjoyment. Books
and pictures--the Penates of domesticity--were there, and everything
possible was done to give a semblance of long habitation to that which
but a few weeks back had been a dreary ruin.

A critical eye might have detected in many instances the evidences of a
more refined taste than Mr. Linton's, and so was it Miss Leicester had
frequently aided him by her advice and suggestions, and every day, when
the weather permitted, saw old Mr. Corrigan and his granddaughter repair
to Tubbermore, whose progress they watched with a degree of interest
only felt by those whose retirement admits few sources of amusement
There was a secret cause of pride, too, in seeing the old residence of
the family--marred as had been its proportions by frequent and tasteless
additions--resume something of its once grandeur. Mary, whose earliest
lessons in infancy had been the tales of her powerful ancestors, who
lorded over an almost princely tract, entered heart and soul into
a course which favored so many of fancy's pleasantest fictions. Her
greatest delight, however, was in the restoration of one part of the
building, which all former innovators had apparently despaired of, and
left as a species of storehouse for every kind of lumber. This was a
great square tower, with an adjoining chapel, the floor of which was
formed by the tombstones of her earliest ancestors. One compartment of
a stained-glass window showed "the helmet and torch," the arms of the
O'Regans, from which the family, by a corruption, took the name of
Corrigan; and various other mementos abounded to prove the high station
they had once supported.

Strongly imbued with a knowledge of the tales and customs of the period,
Mary restored the chapel to all the emblazoned splendor of the sixteenth
century. The rich carvings that modern research has discovered and
carried away from the chateaux of the Low Countries were adapted to the
place, and speedily the interior put on an air of highly preserved and
cherished antiquity.

The tower adjoining was also converted into a great chamber of
audience,--a "Ritter-Saal,"--hung round with weapons of the chase and
war, while great buffets displayed a wealth of antique plate and china,
of gem-wrought cups and massive flago