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22' GRAND NATIONAL ILLUSTRATIONS.
for pardon; but, says Stanihurst, “ Parens ira excanduit, ct unicum filinm, districto ense,
adeo violenter subter umbilicum secuit, ut viscera et exta ab adolescentis alvo, sangumem
miserabiliter stillantia, profluerant: atque ita confectus et saucius vitam dimisit.”
This passage fully explains the meaning of the half-length figure; neither does it
appear to have been broken, but is finished quite round with as much accuracy as the
full length figure of Strongbow which lies by its side.
DUBLIN FROM i“PH(ENIX PARK.
There is a great variety of agreeable scenery to be found in the Park. The grounds
are naturally of a graceful undulating character. Many pleasant glens and deep dells,
.1, r overshadowed by the weeping ash and birch, and by various forest trees, occupy the
i 1 northern side, while the centre is spread out into great level areas, encompassed occasion-
l f e .: ally by noble full-grown elms and limes, disposed in judicious groups, and picturesquely
A . ‘ clustered, and the noble vistas, through which the public avenues pass, remind the
ii‘ i visiter sometimes of Windsor forest.-The supply of water is but small: however, art
has assisted in alleviating the grievance, by the detention of what nature does bestow, in
two large pools, called the Upper and Lower Ponds. These artificial lakes are tolerably
extensive, of considerable depth, well supplied with fish, and are adorned by gracefully
sloping banks planted with shrubs and trees, with occasionally a cottage or a moss-house
‘ hanging over the margin.
‘ I The distant views, or Off-skips, from Phoenix Park, are particularly grand; to the
‘ south, the high grounds of Kilmainham, many villas, and part of the City suburbs,
backed by the lofty and beautiful mountains of VVicklow, form a very sublime sccne-
while to the East, the Liffey is seen winding her silvery course beneath the Rialto
‘ l of DUBLIN, then passing away from view beneath the Royal bridge, amongst dense
masses of building, “ where the murmuring of her waters is unheeded ;” while the mid-
dle distance and background of the picture are occupied by the roof, the tower, the spire,
the dome, and by all those monuments of vanity and of ambition, with which the abodes
of “ man, proud man,” are ever replete.
Our foreground is a fine specimen of the broken wavy surface which beautifies the
Park: akeeper’s lodge lies below the rugged bank in the centre, and the VVellington
. ‘ Memorial stands on the summit of a commanding eminence on the left. Sarah's Arch is
“y; “ no where so beautiful or so conspicuous, embracing the Whole surface of the river, hav-
ing the barracks of “Island Bridge” on the right, above which the steeple of the Royal
, " The derivation of the term Phoenix has perplexed the antiquarian. It is supposed, by some, to have been given
by the Knights Templars, placed by Strongbow in the Priory of Kiimainham in 1174 referring to their Phenician
. , , ' 7 7
V 1 ‘ 3 C;1?!1f%Xkl0n.'-(-)tI.zers‘:ier1ve it from Phenian, a seat of learning: but it is, more probably, derived from Fion-uisg
V i3 1 l 5:151’) Sllfnlfymg fenny water,” the precise character of the Phoenix Spa, which springs out of a. fen or marsh
. in e a.r .