Page:Notable Irishwomen.djvu/78

 V.

, 1739-1829.

, 1755-1831.

ISITORS to the beautiful little village of Llangollen, in North Wales, cannot fail to be struck by the numerous photographs in the shop windows of two extraordinary figures with short-cropped hair, high hats, starched neckcloths and riding habits. These represent the celebrated Ladies of Llangollen, and their picturesque old house, Plas Newydd, with its treasures of oak carving on porch and staircase, is just above the village. Most people are aware that these two friends, who elected to run away from their respective homes and to spend their lives together, were Irishwomen by birth and education. Lady Eleanor Butler, the elder of the two by sixteen years, was the daughter of Walter, sixteenth Earl of Ormonde, while Miss Sarah Ponsonby was the daughter of Chambre Ponsonby, and niece of Lady Betty Fownes, by whom she was adopted. It has often been said that there is no real friendship between women, but the life-long