Page:Notable Irishwomen.djvu/136

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NOTABLE IRISHWOMEN.

in 1816, and it was printed in Philadelphia in 1813. An edition appeared as lately as 1853. It might not be a bad speculation to bring out a new edition at the present time. It would certainly show that the beautiful scenery of the County Wicklow did inspire one poetic mind.

Mrs. Tighe was too much of an idealist to write ballads of her own day; but one such may be found among her posthumous works. It is the tale of the murder of a loyal yeoman in one of the Wicklow glens during the rebellion of '98, and it shows that her heart did beat for the unfortunate, and did kindle into indignation at injustice done at her very doors. It was said that with the profits of "Psyche," Mrs. Tighe built an addition to the Orphan Asylum at Wicklow, which was afterwards known as the Psyche Ward. I should very much like to know if this is really the case, as another account states that the profits went to the Home of Refuge in Dublin, founded by her mother, Mrs. Blachford. It is very difficult at this distance of time to disentangle the true from the false. It is certain that Mrs. Blachford, who survived her daughter many years, was deeply interested in the Home of Refuge, which she wrote was " prospering beyond her hopes and expectations," and it seems probable that she would have devoted everything she could get to the purpose to which she had given so much of her life and energies.