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Royall Tyler to Mildred Barnes, September 16, 1904

Birr Castle,Birr Castle, in County Offaly (formerly King’s County), Republic of Ireland, has been the seat of the Parsonses, the earls of Rosse, since 1620.

Kings County,

Friday

Dear Mildred.

I was very much hurried yesterday, and hadn’t time to do more than scribble a line. Now, after considering your last note I have decided to leave Birr tomorrow afternoon at 5, arriving in town about 6 on Sunday morning. So will you have a note to meet me at the Burlington Hotel,Burlington Hotel, 30 Old Burlington Street in Westminster, London. telling me whether I may come to Claridge’sClaridge's, a luxury hotel in Mayfair, central London. at 10:40 on Sunday morning and take you to Farm St. Church of the Immaculate Conception, Farm Street, a Jesuit church in the Mayfair district of London. See also letters of August 19, 1903, and October 10, 1904. for Mass. I am very much annoyed that your stay in town is to be limited, but really after Sharon I can’t deplore my fate. However,

“nescius aurae fallacis” “Unaware of the fickle breeze,” from Horace, Ode to Pyrrha, 23 BCE.

I had encouraged visions of ten days in London with you, including perhaps a visit to Harrow.

Lady MurielLady Muriel Frances Mary Parsons (1876–1927). is very charming, I think. She rides beautifully, shoots straight—albeit with a cigarette always between her lips, and I think has a wonderful eye for people. Her motherFrances Cassandra Hawke-Harvey Parsons (1851–1921). and fatherLaurence Parsons4th Earl of Rosse (1840–1908). too, just the sort of people whose lack we were speaking of in America. The George Vanderbilts George Washington Vanderbilt II (1862–1914) and his wife, Edith Stuyvesant Dresser Vanderbilt (1873–1958), were members of the prominent Vanderbilt family, which had amassed a fortune through steamboats, railroads, and other business enterprises. Between 1889 and 1895, the Vanderbilts built Biltmore, a 250-room estate near Ashville, North Carolina. were here last week. I can’t begin to describe the castle.Birr Castle, in County Offaly (formerly King’s County), Republic of Ireland, has been the seat of the Parsonses, the earls of Rosse, since 1620.

Yrs. sincerely

Royall Tyler.