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Castles for Rent
| Article
# : |
12520 |
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Section : |
LIFE
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| Issue
Date : |
7 / 1987 |
2,064 Words |
| Author
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Elgy Gillespie
Elgy Gillespie is a free-lance writer living in San Francisco,
California. |
This castle hath a pleasant seat; the
air
Nimbly and sweetly recommends
itself
Unto our senses (Macbeth, I.vi).
Oh, to be the lord of a manor...to sink into a winged arm-chair before a huge fire glowing under a chimneypiece, crested with the baronial shield of your ancestors, and flanked with your favorite hunting hounds. At suppertime you would take your place above the salt and hoist pewter mugs or Regency silverware. And if ghosts become bothersome, there is always the back pantry or the kitchen garden to retreat to; or failing that, the library alcove with the secret panel door.
Thousands of castellated stronghouses, keeps and castles - in varying degrees of disrepair - still jut into the European skyline. In Ireland's County Clare alone, there are over 400 castles dating back six centuries to Norman times, some elaborate, others in ruins.
Castles were once cold, uncomfortable places to live, without central heating and plumbing. Inhabitants wore several layers of clothing to keep warm, and rarely changed or washed. Sometimes, children were even sewn into their clothes to keep them warm.
Nowadays, there are modernized castles all over the European community - their civilized additions of warmth and comfort adding greatly to the cost of upkeep.
The owner of
... (1998 of 12238 Characters)
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