329 GENTLEMEN'S SEATS. It would be impossible in the present work to notice one in a hundred of the beautiful seats of noblemen and gentlemen in Ireland deserving of notice-at the same time that they are numerous, it is not very easy to select many which stand particularly pre-eminent above the rest. As a specimen, the attention of the reader is called to Powerscourt-House, KilrudderyHouse, Malahide-Castle, and Farnham. POWERSCOURT-HOUSE. Powerscourt-House is a large and nearly square building, the design of Mr. Cassels, architect of the National Bank, and of Rusborough-House, the seat of the Earl of Miltown, in the west of the county of Wicklow; it is built entirely of cut stone, and is rather substantial than beautiful. The hall is a large area of 80 feet by 40, but the height disproportioned, having double arcades on either side, decorated with stucco work; the ceiling is divided into square compartments, each division being enclosed in shell-work of stucco, and the same pattern being continued round the heads of the arches on each side. In the parlour, at the end of the hall, are two admirable paintings, the Rape of the Sabines, and Mutius Scævola holding his hand in the flame in presence of Porsenna; the artists names are not known. On this floor, is a suite of apartments laid out in very elegant taste, and commanding a most unrivalled prospect. In the next story is the grand ball-room, of the same dimensions as the hall, but double the height: on each side a row of eight fluted pillars supports a gallery, ornamented with triple arches, with intervening skreens; at the angles are placed pilasters corresponding; the floor is of walnut wood, disposed in diamonds and lozenges. It was in this splendid and princely apartment his Majesty King George IV. was entertained at dinner by the present Viscount, on the day of his embarkation at Kings town, after his visit to this country in August, 1821, and the chair which the illustrious visiter occupied during the banquet remains in the room. The suite of apartments on this floor communicates with the great saloon by a large gate at the end; here a series of elegant apartments, splendidly furnished, succeeds; and in one of the pavilions, at the extremity of the range, is an octagonal room, entirely lined with cedar. KILRUDDERY-HOUSE. Kilruddery-House represents the style of architecture of the latter end of Henry's and beginning of Elizabeth's reign, that style which superseded the florid gothic, and is now called the Old English: many specimens are to be seen in England, but not a single instance in this country. The exterior here is richly decorated with ornamental carving; bower windows are surmounted by open-work balustrades, the summits of each pier being ornamented with armorial bearings. The entrance is beneath an octagonal tower, crowned with a cupola, rising in the centre of the north front. Ascending, then, a broad flight of steps, the great hall is entered. This splendid apartment, which rises to the height of the building, is an admirable specimen of the ancient Baronial-hall, the scene of noble-minded hospitality and grandeur, where minstrels Poured to Lord and Lady gay The walls are wainscotted with oak, to about one-third of their height, at which level a gothic cornice and frieze, filled with armorial bearings, runs round the chamber. Above this the light is admitted, on one side, by a row of lofty windows, glazed with stained glass. An open arcade is continued round the remaining sides; the arches of which corresponding with the windows preserve continuity and uniformity. The ceiling is supported by carved oak-beams, resting on open-work brackets, springing from goshawks, the family crest, carved in dark oak. The grand staircase opens from the hall, and is richly and beautifully decorated. The recep tion rooms, which are in suite, open on the great hall; they consist of a morning-parlour, dining-room, library, and great drawing-room: the last-mentioned apartment, which is 44 feet in length, is subdivided by two skreens of porphyritic columns, supporting a rich entablature. There is, besides, a small drawing-room, |