Hampton Court

Hampton Court, is delightfully situated on the north bank of the river Thames, about two miles from Kingston, and at a small distance from a village called Hampton. This palace was magnificently built with brick by Cardinal Wolsey, who here set up two hundred and eighty silk beds for strangers only, and richly stored it with gold and silver plate; but it raised so much envy against him, that to screen himself from its effects, he gave it to King Henry VIII. who, in return, suffered him to live in his palace of Richmond. King Henry greatly enlarged it, and it had then five spacious courts adorned with buildings, which in that age were so greatly admired by all foreigners as well as the natives, that the learned Grotius says of this place:

Si quis opes nescit (sed quis tamen ille?) Britannus,
Hampton Curia, tuos consultat ille Lares;
Contulerit toto cum sparsa palatia mundo,
Dicet, Ibi Reges, hic habitare Deos.

That is,

If e’er a Briton what is wealth don’t know; let him repair to Hampton Court, and then view all the palaces of the earth, when he will say, Those are the residence of Kings, but this of the Gods.

In order to give a more perfect idea of this grandeur, we shall give a description of the ornaments of this palace, as they appeared in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, from an author who describes what he himself saw.

“The chief area, says he, is paved with square stone; in its center is a fountain that throws up water, covered with a gilt crown, on the top of which is a statue of Justice, supported by columns of black and white marble. The chapel of this palace is most splendid, in which the Queen’s closet is quite transparent, having its windows of crystal. We were led into two chambers called the presence, or chambers of audience, which shone with tapestry of gold and silver, and silk of different colours: under the canopy of state are these words embroidered in pearl, Vivat Henricus Octavus. Here is besides a small chapel richly hung with tapestry, where the Queen performs her devotions. In her bedchamber the bed was covered with very costly coverlids of silk. At no great distance from this room we were shewn a bed, the teaster of which was worked by Anne Boleyn, and presented by her to her husband Henry VIII. All the other rooms being very numerous, are adorned with tapestry of gold, silver, and velvet, in some of which were woven history pieces, in others Turkish and American dresses, all extremely natural.

“In the hall are these curiosities: a very clear looking glass, ornamented with columns and little images of alabaster; a portrait of Edward VI. brother to Queen Elizabeth; the true portrait of Lucretia; a picture of the battle of Pavia; the history of Christ’s passion, carved in mother of pearl; the portrait of Mary Queen of Scots; the picture of Ferdinand Prince of Spain, and of Philip his son; that of Henry VIII. under which was placed the Bible curiously written upon parchment; an artificial sphere; several musical instruments: in the tapestry are represented negroes riding upon elephants; the bed in which Edward VI. is said to have been born, and where his mother Jane Seymour died in childbed. In one chamber were several excessively rich tapestries, which are hung up when the Queen gives audience to foreign ambassadors; there were numbers of cushions ornamented with gold and silver; many counterpanes and coverlids of beds lined with ermine. In short, all the walls of the palace shine with gold and silver. Here is besides a certain cabinet called Paradise, where besides that every thing glitters so with silver, gold, and jewels, as to dazzle one’s eyes, there is a musical instrument made all of glass, except the strings. Afterwards we were led into the gardens, which are most pleasant.”

Hentzner’s Journey into England.

This palace, which was afterwards the prison of King Charles I. is, with the parks, encompassed in a semicircle by the Thames. King William and Queen Mary were so greatly pleased with its situation, which rendered it capable of great improvements, and of being made one of the noblest palaces in Europe, that while the former was causing the old apartments to be pulled down, and rebuilt in the more beautiful manner in which they now appear, her Majesty impatient to enjoy so agreeable a retreat, fixed upon a building near the river, called the Water Gallery, and suiting it to her convenience, adorned it with the utmost elegance, though its situation would not allow it to stand after the principal building was completed.

Since the pulling down of the Water Gallery, which stood before the fine stone front that faces the river, the ground to the south west received considerable improvements. This spot is laid out in small inclosures, surrounded with tall hedges, in order to break the violence of the winds, and render them proper for the reception of such exotic plants as were moved thither in summer out of the conservatories. Here are two basons constantly supplied with water, for the support of these plants in dry weather; and as these are situated near the great apartments, most of the plants may be viewed from the window.

At a small distance to the west, stood a large hot house, for preserving such tender exotic plants as require a greater share of warmth than is generally felt in this climate. Of this part of gardening Queen Mary was so fond, that she allowed a handsome salary to Dr. Plukenet, a very learned botanist, for overlooking and registering the curious collection of plants she caused to be brought into the garden; but since her Majesty’s death they have been much neglected, and very few of the most curious plants are now to be found there.

The park and gardens, with the ground on which the palace now stands, are about three miles in circumference. On a pediment at the front of the palace on this side, is a bas-relief of the triumphs of Hercules over Envy; and facing it a large oval bason, answering to the form of this part of the garden, which is a large oval divided into gravel walks and parterres, laid out in an elegant manner, by those two eminent gardeners, London and Wise.

At the entrance of the grand walk, are two large marble vases, of exquisite workmanship, one said to be performed by Mr. Cibber, the father of the poet laureat, and the other by a foreigner; these pieces are reported to be done as a trial of skill; but it is difficult to determine which is the finest performance. They are beautifully adorned with bas-relief; that on the right hand, representing the triumphs of Bacchus, and the other on the left, Amphitrite and the Nereides. At the bottom of this walk, facing a large canal which runs into the park, are two other large vases, the bas-relief on one representing the judgment of Paris; and that of the other, Meleager hunting the wild boar.

In four of the parterres are four fine brass statues. The first is a gladiator, which formerly stood in the parade of St. James’s Park, at the foot of the canal, and was removed thither in the reign of Queen Anne. The original was performed by Agasias Desitheus of Ephesus, and is in the Borghesian palace at Rome. The second is a young Apollo; the third a Diana; and the fourth, Saturn going to devour one of his children: all after fine originals.

On the south side of the palace is the privy garden, which was sunk ten feet, to open a view from the apartments to the river Thames; in this garden is a fine fountain, and two grand terrace walks.

On the north side of the palace is a tennis court; and beyond that a gate which leads into the wilderness: farther on is the great gate of the gardens, on the sides of which are large stone piers, with the lion and unicorn couchant, in stone.

We shall now, leaving the gardens, take a view of the palace, and several apartments, with their noble furniture and fine paintings, performed by the most eminent masters.

To begin with the first entrance into the palace, at the gates of which are four large brick piers, adorned with the lion and unicorn, each of them holding a shield, whereon are the arms of Great Britain, with several trophies of war well carved on stone.

Passing through a long court yard, on each side of which are stabling for the officers of his Majesty’s houshold, we come next to the first portal, which is strongly built of brick, and decorated by Wolfey with the heads of four of the Cæsars, Trajan and Adrian on one side, and on the other Tiberius and Vitellius.

Thro’ this portal we pass into a large quadrangle, remarkable for nothing extraordinary, but its spaciousness and uniformity. This leads to a second quadrangle, where over the portal is a beautiful astronomical clock, made by the celebrated Tompion, on which are curiously represented the twelve signs of the zodiac, with the rising and setting of the sun, the various phases of the moon, and other ornaments, and indications of time.

On the left hand of this quadrangle is the great old hall, in which, by her late Majesty’s command, was erected a theatre, wherein it was intended that two plays should have been acted every week, during the time of the court’s continuance there; but Mr. Colley Cibber observes, that only seven plays were performed in it, by the players from Drury lane, the summer when it was raised, and one afterwards for the entertainment of the Duke of Lorrain, afterwards Emperor of Germany. In the front is a portal of brick decorated with four Cæsars heads without names.

On the opposite side of this quadrangle is a stone colonade of fourteen columns, and two pilasters of the Ionic order, with an entablature and balustrade at the top, adorned in the middle with two large vases.

This leads to the great stair case, adorned with iron balusters curiously wrought and gilt, the whole erected on porphyry. From the ceiling hangs by a strong brass chain gilt, a large glass lanthorn which holds sixteen candles, and has an imperial crown at the top. This staircase, with the ceiling, were painted by Signor Verrio, an Italian, by order of King William III.

At the top, on the left side, are Apollo and the nine Muses, at whose feet sits the God Pan with his unequal reeds, and a little below them the Goddess Ceres, holding in one hand a wheat sheaf, and with the other pointing to loaves of bread; at her feet is Flora, surrounded by her attendants, and holding in her right hand a chaplet of flowers; near her are the two river Gods Thame and Isis with their urns; and a large table in the middle, upon which is a quantity of rich plate, decorated with flowers.

On the ceiling are Jupiter and Juno, with Ganymede riding on Jupiter’s eagle, and offering the cup. Juno’s peacock is in the front: one of the Parcæ, with her scissors in her hand, seems to wait for Jove’s orders to cut the thread of life. These figures are covered with a fine canopy surrounded with the signs of the zodiac, and by several zephyrs, with flowers in their hands; and on one side of them is Fame with her two trumpets.

Beneath is a beautiful figure of Venus riding on a swan, Mars addressing himself to her as a lover, and Cupid riding on another swan.

On the right hand are Pluto and Proserpine, Cœlus and Terra, Cybele crowned with a tower, and others. Neptune and Amphitrite are in the front, and two attendants are serving them with nectar and fruit. Bacchus is leaning on a rich ewer, and, being accompanied by his attendants, places his left hand on the head of Silenus, who sits on an ass that is fallen down, he seeming to catch at a table, to which Diana above is pointing. The table is supported by eagles; on one side of it sits Romulus, the founder of Rome, with a wolf; and on the other side of it is Hercules leaning on his club. Peace in her right hand holds a laurel, and in her left a palm over the head of Æneas, who seems inviting the twelve Cæsars, among whom is Spurina the soothsayer, to a celestial banquet. Over their heads hovers the genius of Rome with a flaming sword, the emblem of destruction, and a bridle, the emblem of government, both in her right hand.

The next is the Emperor Julian writing at a table, while Mercury dictates to him.

Over the door at the head of the stairs is a funeral pile, done in stone colour; and under the above paintings are thirty-six panels, representing trophies of war, and other decorations in the same colour.

From the stair case we pass into the guard chamber, which is very large and spacious, it being upwards of sixty feet long, and forty feet wide. This room contains arms for 5000 men, curiously placed in various forms. There are here pilasters of pikes and bayonet on each side sixteen panels that go round the room; with variety of other ornaments, as muskets in chequer work, stars made of bayonets, swords, &c.

The next is the King’s first presence chamber, which is hung with rich old tapestry. The ceiling is vaulted, and from the center hangs a fine lustre of nineteen branches. Fronting the door are the canopy and chair of state, which, as well as the stools, are of crimson damask; on the back part of the canopy are the King’s arms, and round the vallance, a crown and cypher embroidered in gold.

On the left hand of the entrance, behind the door is a fine picture about eighteen feet by fifteen, by Sir Godfrey Kneller. King William III. is in armour on a stately grey horse, trampling on trophies of war, by which lies a flaming torch. At the top in the clouds Mercury and Peace support his helmet, decorated with laurel, and a Cupid holds a scroll. On the bottom part of the picture appear Neptune and his attendants by the side of a rock, welcoming the hero on shore; and at a distance is seen a fleet of ships, their sails swelled with the east wind. In the front ground Plenty with her cornucopia offers him an olive branch, and Flora presents flowers.

Over the chimney is a whole length of the Marquis of Hamilton, Lord Steward of the houshold to King Charles I. by Van Somer; and over the doors are two pieces of architecture, finely executed by Rosso.

The next room, which is called the second presence chamber, is spacious, and has a vaulted ceiling, from the centre of which hangs a gilt chandelier of twelve branches. The tapestry is ancient but very rich, the lights being all gold, and the shadows silk; the subjects are, Hercules and the Hydra, and Midas with his ass’s ears. The chair of state and stools are of crimson damask fringed with the same colour. Over the chimney is a whole length of Christiern IV. King of Denmark, by Van Somer. This picture, as most of the large ones are, is decorated round the frame on the outside with festoons of fruit and flowers, finely carved in high-relief. Over the three doors are pieces of ruins and landscapes, by Rosso. In this room are also two fine marble tables, with two pier glasses, and two pair of gilt stands.

The fourth room is very lofty; in the middle hangs a beautiful chased silver chandelier of sixteen branches. Here is a fine canopy of state, with the window curtains, chair and stools, of rich crimson damask laced and fringed with gold. The tapestry, which represents part of the story of Abraham, is fine; over the chimney is a whole length picture of Elizabeth Queen of Bohemia, the daughter of King James I. and over each of the two doors is a Madona, by Domenico Fetti.

In the fifth room is also a chair of state, and stools; the window curtains are tissue with a silver ground; there are silver sconces fastened to the tapestry, which is richly woven with gold, but is very ancient; the subject is Abraham sending his servants to get a wife for Isaac. Over the chimney piece is an admirable whole length picture of King Charles I. by Van Dyck; and over the doors are two capital pictures, the first is David with Goliath’s head, by Fetti; the other the holy family, by Correggio.

In the King’s state bed chamber is a crimson velvet bed, laced with gold, having plumes of white feathers on the top. This room, which is very spacious, is hung round with tapestry representing the history of Joshua, about which are eight silver sconces chased with the Judgment of Solomon. The ceiling, which was painted by Verrio, represents Endymion lying with his head in the lap of Morpheus, and Diana admiring him as he sleeps. On another part of the ceiling is a fine figure of Somnus, or Sleep, with his attendants, and in the border are four landscapes, and four boys with baskets of flowers intermixed with poppies. Over the doors are two flower pieces, finely painted by Baptist; and over the chimney is a whole length of the Dutchess of York, by Van Somer.

In the King’s private bed chamber, the bed is of crimson damask, and the room hung with fine tapestry, the subject of which is Solbay fight.

The King’s dressing room, which is about twelve feet long, and six feet wide, has the ceiling painted by Verrio. Mars is sleeping in Venus’s lap, while several Cupids steal away his armour, sword and spear, and others are binding his legs and arms with fetters of roses. The borders are decorated with jessamin, orange trees in pots, and several sorts of birds. Over the doors are fine flower pieces, by Baptist. The room is hung with straw-coloured India damask, and the chair, stools and screen, are covered with the same.

The King’s writing closet is of a triangular form, and has two windows. The hangings and stools are of a pea-green India damask. A glass is here so placed, as to shew all the rooms on that side of the building in one view. Over each door is a flower piece by Baptist, and over the chimney a fine picture of a great variety of birds, by Bougdane. There is here a fine collection of china.

Queen Mary’s closet is hung with needle work, said to be wrought with her own hand; there are also an easy chair, four others, and a screen, all said to be the work of that excellent Queen. The work is extremely neat; the figures are well shadowed, perhaps equal to the best tapestry, and shew great judgment in drawing. Over the chimney piece is an old painting, said to be Raphael’s, representing Jupiter’s throne, by which is the thunder, and his eagle in the clouds.

The Queen’s gallery, which is about seventy feet long, and twenty-five feet wide, is hung with seven beautiful pieces of tapestry, representing the history of Alexander the Great, and done after the famous paintings of Le Brun; they are however not placed according to chronology, for some of the last actions of Alexander’s life are placed before those which preceded them. Under that part of the tapestry which represents the story of Alexander and Diogenes, and which is placed over the chimney piece, is a very neat bust of a Venus in alabaster standing upon an oval looking-glass, under which are two doves billing in basso relievo. Among the other furniture in this gallery, are two very fine tables of Egyptian marble.

The ceiling of the Queen’s state bed chamber is finely painted by Sir J. Thorn-hill, who has represented Aurora rising out of the ocean in her golden chariot, drawn by four white horses. The bed is of crimson damask; and besides other furniture, the room is adorned with a glass lustre with silver sockets. Over a large marble chimney piece is a whole length of King James I. by Van Somer. At his right hand, over one of the doors, is Queen Anne his consort; on his left, their daughter the Princess Elizabeth, afterwards Queen of Bohemia; both by Van Somer. Over the other door is a beautiful whole length of Henry Prince of Wales, their eldest son, by Van Dyck. In the cornice are four other portraits, one on each side, viz. his late Majesty K. George I. his present Majesty King George II. the late Queen Caroline, and the late Prince of Wales.

The Queen’s drawing room has the ceiling painted by Signor Verrio; in the middle of which is the late Queen Anne, under the character of Justice, holding the scales in one hand, and the sword in the other: she is dressed in a purple robe lined with ermine; and Neptune and Britannia are holding a crown over her head. The room is hung with green damask, upon which are placed nine pictures, three on each side of the room, and three at the end. These were formerly all in one piece of a great length, as may be very plainly seen from some of the figures being cut asunder, and placed in different pieces. The whole is the triumph of Julius Cæsar, and was a long procession of soldiers, priests, officers of state, &c. at the end of which that Emperor appears in his triumphal chariot, with Victory holding a laurel crown over his head. It is painted in water colours upon canvas, by Andrea Mantegna.

The Queen’s state audience room is hung with rich tapestry, representing the children of Israel carrying the twelve stones to the river Jordan, as mentioned in Joshua iv. Here is a fine canopy of state, and five pictures at full length, the Duke, Dutchess, and Marchioness of Brunswick their daughter; the Dutchess of Lenox, and Margaret Queen of Scots, all by Holbein.

The Prince of Wales’s presence chamber is hung with tapestry wrought with the story of Tobit and Tobias. Here is a canopy of state of green damask: over one of the doors is Guzman, and over another Gundamor, two Spanish ambassadors: over the third is Madam Chatillon, the French Admiral’s lady; and over the chimney, Lewis XIII. of France, with a walking stick in his hand, and a dog by his side, all by Holbein.

The Prince of Wales’s drawing room is hung with tapestry, representing Elymas the sorcerer struck with blindness; this is taken from one of the cartons. Over the chimney piece is the Duke of Wirtemburg: over one of the doors is a whole length of the wife of Philip II. King of Spain; and over the other, a whole length of Count Mansfield, General of the Spaniards in the Low Countries, all by Holbein.

The Prince of Wales’s bed chamber has a bed of green damask, and four pictures also done by Holbein, viz. over the chimney piece is a whole length of the Duke of Lunenbourg, great grandfather to his present Majesty; over one of the doors Philip II. King of Spain; over another, the consort of Christiern IV. King of Denmark; and over the third, a whole length of the Prince of Parma, Governor of the Netherlands.

In the private dining room are four pictures of the defeat of the Spanish Armada, by Vande Velde; and over the chimney a very fine one, by Van Dyck, of the Lord Effingham Howard, Lord High Admiral of England.

In the Admiral’s gallery are the pictures of the following celebrated Admirals, Sir George Rooke, Sir Cloudsley Shovel, Sir John Leake, the Lord Torrington, Admiral Churchill, Sir Stafford Fairborne, Sir John Jennings, Sir Thomas Hopson, Admiral Beaumont, Sir Thomas Dilks, Admiral Bembo, Admiral Whetstone, Admiral Wishart, Admiral Graydon, Admiral Munden; all painted by Dahl, and Sir Godfrey Kneller.

In the room of Beauties, nine ladies are placed in the following order: the Lady Peterborough, the Lady Ranelagh, the Lady Middleton, Miss Pitt, the Duchess of St. Alban’s, Lady Essex, Lady Dorset, Queen Mary, and the Duchess of Grafton. Q. Mary was painted by Wissing, and all the rest by Sir Godfrey Kneller.

In the Carton gallery are the celebrated cartons of Raphael Urbino, so called from their being painted on paper. These are seven pieces of sacred history, taken from the New Testament, and were at first designed only as patterns for tapestry. For these admirable pieces Lewis XIV. is said to have offered 100,000 louis d’ors.

These pictures, which may be properly termed coloured drawings on paper, as big as the life, are painted with great delicacy and beauty in water colours. The first is the miraculous draught of fishes, in which Christ appears in the boat with an air of divine gentleness. A very ingenious modern author, whose words we shall chiefly follow in the description of these admirable pieces, observes, that the exotic birds, the magnificent large fowl placed on the shore in the fore ground, have a sea wildness in them; and, as their food was fish, contribute to express the business in hand, which is fishing; and being thus placed on the shore, prevents the heaviness which that part would otherwise have had, by breaking the parallel lines that would have been made by the boat, and the base of the picture.

However in this carton Raphael has made a boat too little to hold the figures he has placed in it; but had he made it large enough for those figures, the picture would have been all boat; and to have made his figures small enough for a vessel of that size, would have rendered them unsuitable to the rest of the set, and less considerable: there would have been too much boat, and too little figure.

The second, which is the delivery of the keys, has received some injury, and is not now what Raphael made it. As this is the appearance of our Saviour after the resurrection, present authority, late suffering, humility and majesty, despotic command, and divine love, are at once visible in his celestial aspect. He is wrapt only in one large piece of white drapery, his left arm and breast are bare, and part of his legs naked, which was undoubtedly done to denote his appearing in his resurrection body, and not as before his crucifixion, when this dress would have been altogether improper. The figures of the eleven apostles all express the same passion of admiration, but discover it differently according to their characters. Peter receives his master’s orders on his knees, with an admiration mixed with a more particular attention; the words used on that occasion are expressed by our Saviour’s pointing to a flock of sheep, and St. Peter’s having just received two keys. The two next express a more open ecstasy, though still constrained by their awe of the divine presence. The beloved disciple has in his countenance wonder drowned in love; and the last personage, whose back is towards the presence, one would fancy to be St. Thomas, whose perplexed concern could not be better drawn, than by this acknowledgment of the difficulty to describe it. The apostle who stands in profile immediately behind St. John, has a yellow garment with red sleeves, which connects the figure with St. Peter and St. John, whose draperies are of the same species of colours; next is a loose changeable drapery, then another different yellow with shadows bearing on the purple, all which produce wonderful harmony.

The third is the miracle of healing the cripple at the Beautiful Gate of the temple. All the figures are admirably performed; the boys are done with great judgment, and by being naked make a fine contrast. The figures are placed at one end near the corner, which varies the side of the picture, and gives an opportunity to enlarge the building with a fine portico, the like of which you must imagine must be on the other side of the main structure, all which together make a noble piece of architecture.

The fourth is the history of the death of Ananias. Here is the greatest dignity in the apostles; they are however only a subordinate group, because the principal action relates to the criminal; thither the eye is directed by almost all the figures in the picture; what a horror and reverence is visible in the whole assembly on this mercenary man’s falling down dead!

The fifth is Elymas the sorcerer struck with blindness. His whole body from head to foot expresses his being blind. How admirably are terror and astonishment expressed in the people present? and how variously according to their several characters? the Proconsul has these sentiments but as a Roman and a gentleman, the rest in several degrees and manners. The same sentiments appear in Ananias’s death, together with those of joy and triumph, which naturally arise in good minds upon the fight of the divine justice and the victory of truth.

What grace and majesty is seen in the great apostle of the gentiles, in all his actions, preaching, rending his garments, denouncing vengeance on the sorcerer! The Proconsul Sergius Paulus has a greatness and grace superior to his character; and equal to what one can suppose in Cæsar, Augustus, or Trajan.

The sixth is the sacrifice to Paul and Barnabas by the people of Lycaonia. The occasion of this is finely told; the man healed of his lameness, to express his sense of the divine power which appeared in these apostles, and to shew it to be him, not only a crutch is under his feet on the ground, but an old man takes up the lappet of his garment, and looks upon the limb he remembers to have been crippled, expressing great devotion and amazement; which are sentiments seen in the other, with a mixture of joy.

The group of the ox and popa are taken from a bass relievo in the Villa de Medici.

The seventh is St. Paul preaching to the Athenians. The divine orator is the chief figure; but with what wonderful art are almost all the different tempers of mankind represented in that elegant audience! one is eminently distinguished as a believer, holding out his hands in rapture, and has the second place in the picture; another is wrapped up in deep suspense; another saying there is some reason in what he says; another angry and malicious at his destroying some favourite opinion; others attentive and reasoning on the matter within themselves, or with one another; while the generality attend, and wait for the opinion of those who are leading characters in the assembly. Some are placed before the apostle, some behind, not only as caring less for the preacher or the doctrine, but to raise the apostolic character, which would lose something of its dignity, if his maligners were supposed to be able to look him in the face.

This picture is conducted with the greatest judgment. The attitude of St. Paul is as fine as possible, pointing out his hands to the statue of Mercury, alluding to their idolatry; for the men of Lystra would call him by that name, and worship him as a God presiding over eloquence. Thus the picture shews the subject of his preaching. The little drapery thrown over the apostle’s shoulder, and hanging down to his waist, poises the figure, which otherwise would seem ready to tumble forwards. The drapery is red and green, the back ground is expressive of the superstition St. Paul was preaching against, as above-mentioned. No historian, orator or poet, can possibly give so great an idea of the eloquent and zealous apostle as this figure does: for there we see a person, whose face and action no words can sufficiently describe; but which assure us as much as those can, that that divine man must speak with good sense and to the purpose.

There were in all twelve of these pieces, two of which are in the possession of the French King: the King of Sardinia has two of the others, and one belonged to a gentleman in England, who pledged it for a sum of money: but when the person who had taken this valuable deposit found it was to be redeemed, being very unwilling to part with it, he greatly damaged the drawing; for which the gentleman brought his action, and it was tried in Westminster hall, where the picture was produced. The subject was Herod’s cruelty, and indeed, the cruel malice of the person sued, seemed to flow from a principle perhaps equally diabolical and inexcusable.

Over the chimney piece in this gallery is a fine bas-relief in white marble of Venus drawn in her chariot, and attended by several Cupids.

We come next to the Queen’s staircase, where the ceiling is painted by Vick. Here is King Charles II. and Catharine his Queen, with the Duke of Buckingham representing Science in the habit of Mercury, while Envy is struck down by naked boys. There are also other ornaments done by Mr. Kent.

From the Queen’s stair case, we descend into a new quadrangle, in the middle of which is a round bason, and four large lamps on pedestals of iron work; and on the right hand over the windows, are the twelve labours of Hercules done in fresco.

We shall conclude our account with observing, that the whole palace consists of three quadrangles. The first and second are Gothic, but in the latter is a most beautiful colonade of the Ionic order, the columns in couplets, built by Sir Christopher Wren. Through this, as was before observed, you pass into the third court or quadrangle, in which are the royal apartments, which are magnificently built of brick and stone by King William III. The print shews two sides of these new buildings. The gardens are not in the present natural stile, but in that which prevailed some years ago, when mathematical figures were preferred to natural forms.