Page images
PDF
EPUB

of the Church above the Trees in the oppofite Boun

dary.

LOCK E.

Who made the whole internal World his own, And fhew'd confefs'd to Reafon's purged Eye, That Nature's first beft Gift was Liberty. (The fifft line is from Thompfon; part of the fecond, and the whole of the third, from Mason).

THE TEMPLE OF FLORA.

The defign taken from a Doric Portico at Athens: in the centre of the back Wall is a Medallion of Flora, from the Antique, in white Marble, and under it this Infcription from Ariofto:

Vaghi boschetti di foavi Allori,

Di Palme, e d'ameniffime Mortelle,
Cedri, et Aranci, c'havean frutti e fiori,
Contefti in varie forme e tutte belle,
Facean riparo a i fervidi calori

Di giorni eftivi con lor fpeffe ombrelle:
E tra quei rami con ficuri voli,

Cantando fe ne giano i Roffignoli.

A Buft of FAUNUS on one fide of the Temple.
Faunus would oft, as Horace fings,

Delighted with his rural feats,

Forfake Arcadia's groves and fprings,

For foft Lueretile's retreats.

'Twas Beauty charm'd, what wonder then,

Enamour'd of a fairer scene,

The changeful God fhould change again,
And here for ever fix his reign?

WM.

W HITEHEAD,

EsQ

A Buft of PAN on the other fide.

Here univerfal Pan,

Knit with the Graces, and the Hours in Dance,

Leads on th' eternal Spring.

MILTON.

BUST

BUST OF VENUS.

Thee, Goddess, thee the Clouds and Tempests fear, And at thy pleafing prefence difappear:

For thee the Land in fragrant Flow'rs is drefs'd. DRYDEN, from Lucretius.

BUST OF APOLLO.

Lucido Dio,

Per cui l'April fiorifee.

THE BOWER.

METASTASIO,

Is a fquare Building, twelve feet by ten, the Ceiling is coved, and the whole painted green: the Front is covered with a Treillage of the fame colour, against which are planted Rofes, Woodbines, Jeffamines, and feveral kinds of Creepers, and appears like three Arches cut through the Shrubbery, within is a Caft of Cupid and Pfyche from the Antique, and on a Tablet above the centre Arch are infcribed the following Verses. Fair Quiet, have I found thee here, With Innocence, thy fifter dear! Mistaken long, I fought thee then, In bufy Companies of Men;

Your facred Plants, at length I know,

Will only in Retirement grow.

Society is all but rude,

To this delicious Solitude,

Where all the Flowers and Trees do clofe

To weave the Garland of Repose.

AND. MARVELL

BUST OF PRIOR.

See, Friend, in fome few fleeting Hours,
See yonder what a change is made!
Ah me! the blooming pride of May,
And that of Beauty are but one;
At Morn, both flourish, bright and gay,
Both fade at Evening, pale and gone.

[blocks in formation]

THE URN,

Placed on an Altar, encircled with Cypreffes, ftands within a Recefs in the Shrubbery that furrounds the Garden. The Bank that rifes behind is planted with Flowers, and, a Weeping Willow, large Weymouth Pines, and other Evergreens, form the back Ground.

Sacred

To the Memory of FRANCES POOLE,
Viscountess Palmerfton.

Here fhall our ling'ring Footsteps oft be found,
This is her Shrine, and confecrates the Ground.
Here living fweets around her Altar rise,'
And breathe perpetual Incense to the Skies.
Here too the thoughtless and the young may tread,
Who fhun the drearier Manfions of the Dead ;
May here be taught what worth the World has known.
Her Wit, her Senfe, her Virtues were her own;
To her peculiar-and for ever loft

To thofe who knew, and therefore lov'd her moft.
O! if kind Pity fteal on Virtue's Eye,

Check not the Tear, nor ftop the useful Sigh;
From foft Humanity's ingenuous Flame
A wifh may rife to emulate her Fame,

And fome faint Image of her worth reflore,
When those who now lament her are no more.

George Simon Harcourt, and the Hon. Elizabeth Vernon, Viscount and Viscountefs Nuneham, erected this Urn in the year 1771, and William Whitehead, Efq. Poet-Laureat, wrote the Verses.

The CONSERVATORY, 50 feet by 15, is planted with Bergamont, Cedrati, Limoncelli, and Orange-Trees, of various kinds and fizes. In Summer, the Front, Sides, and Roof of the Building are entirely removed, and the Trees appear to ftand in the natural Ground; the back Wall is covered with a Treillage, against which are planted Lemon, Citron, and Pomegranate Trees, intermixed with all the different forts of Jeffamines,

THE

14

THE STATUE OF HEBE

Terminates the principal Glade, and fronts the Temple of Flora. On the Pedestal are the following Verfes : Hebe, from thy cup divine,

Shed, O fhed, nectareous Dews,
Here o'er Nature's living fhrine,
Th' immortal drops diffufe:
Here while ev'ry bloom's difplay'd,
Shining fair in vernal pride,
Catch the colours ere they fade,

And check the green Blood's ebbing tide,
Till Youth eternal like thine own prevail,
Safe from the night's damp wing or day's infidious gale,
WM. WHITEHEAD, ESQ.

THE CHURCH

Is a beautiful Building of the Ionic order, in the style of an antique Temple: it was erected in the year 1764, at the fole expenfe of Simon Earl of Harcourt, who gave the original Defign, which afterwards received a fmall alteration from Mr. Stuart.

The principal Portico, which confifts of fix Columns, has no communication with the Church, but ferves for a feat in the Garden; the públic Entrance is on the oppofite fide, and that to the Family-Clofet through the femicircular Portico, at the weft end. The infide has been furnished and decorated by the prefent Earl. The Altar-piece, which represents the Parable of the good Samaritan, was defigned and painted by Mr. Mafon.

The Piece of Tapestry at the weft end (which is framed like a Picture) represents the Chiefs of the twelve Tribes of Ifrael at the Paffover.

[ocr errors]
[blocks in formation]
[blocks in formation]

A

GRAND Flight of Steps, adorned with twa Lions on the Pedestals, leads us to the Portico, from whence we enter

THE SALOON,

Which is a grand apartment, hung with Tapeftry, res prefenting the Functions of the Cavalry. The dimen fions of this Room are 43 feet by 22: the Furniture is Crimson, ornamented with two marble Bufts, a rich Cabinet, and fine China Jars.

The Pictures are,

A Landfcape; a Flower-piece; a Fruit-piece.

[blocks in formation]

Is a fpacious room, 36 feet by 22 and an half; defigned and painted by Kent. Its Ceiling is enriched with the Signs of the Zodiac ; and the Walls are adorned with Feftoons of Flowers, &c.

Over the Chimney is a curious Piece of Alto-Relievo, the Story of which is Darius's Tent: here are allo eleven marble Bufts, properly difpofed; and a Statue of Narciffus.

THE DINING-ROOM

Is a well-proportioned apartment, 30 feet by 21, in which

« PreviousContinue »