On the Banks of the Danube,

By JOHN Duke of MARLBOROUGH,

The Hero not only of this Nation, but of this Age; Whose Glory was equal in the Council and in the Field; Who by Wisdom, Justice, Candour, and Address, Reconciled various, and even opposite, Interests; Acquired an Influence

Which no Rank, no Authority can give,
Nor any Force, but that of superior Virtue :
Became the fixed important Centre,
Which united in one common Cause
The principal States of Europe;

Who by Military Knowledge, and irresistible Valour,
In a long Series of uninterrupted Triumphs,
Broke the Power of France,

When raised the highest, when exerted the most; Rescued the Empire from Desolation;

Asserted and confirmed the Liberties of Europe.

The House itself was built at the public expense: but the Bridge, the Column just mentioned, and the Portal contiguous to the Town, were erected solely at the charge of Sarah Duchess Dowager of Marlborough.

NUNEHAM-COURTENAY,

THE SEAT OF

EARL HARCOURT.

AT the general survey this manor belonged to Richard de Curcy afterwards to the Family of Riparys, or Redvers. Mary, youngest daughter of William de Redvers, Earl of Devon, (who, as well as his uncle William, was surnamed de Vernon,) married Robert de Courtenay, Baron of Okehampton, in 1214.-It is probable, that by this marriage the manor of Nuneham was carried into the Family of Courtenay, and thence assumed the name of Nuneham-Courtenay.

After them succeeded (the Pollards) Sir John Pollard of Devon. From them it came to

Court of Wards, called the Rich Audley.

Audley of the

From him to Robert Wright, Bishop of Litchfield, whose son, Calvert Wright, sold it to John Robinson, of London, Merchant, (temp. Ol. Cromwell,) knighted in 1660, by King Charles II. and made Lieutenant of the Tower.

From the Robinsons it descended to David Earl of Wemys, (who married Mary, daughter and coheiress of Sir John Robinson, Baronet,) from whom it was purchased in the year 1710, by Simon, first Lord Harcourt, Lord High Chancellor of England.

The house was built by the late Earl, but has since been much altered and enlarged (by the addition of a Court of Offices, &c.) according to the plans of Mr. Brown: it stands in a park of six miles and a half in

eircumference, well wooded, and containing near twelve hundred acres, in which "are Scenes" worthy of the bold pencil of Reubens, or to be subjects for the tranquil sunshines of Claude Lorrain." The Gardens contain thirty-eight acres, and, except the Terrace and Flower-Garden, were laid out by Mr. Brown.

From the centre window of the Breakfast Room, round the south side of the Garden, and back again, is half a mile and sixteen poles.

From the same place along the Terrace, round the hill, at the termination of it, and back again, is a mile and a furlong.

In entering the House you pass through a Vestibule, which is ornamented with Doric Columns, and Casts of antique Statues; and ascend by an oval Geometrical Stair-case to

THE SALOON,

30 feet by 16, and 18 and a half high, hung with blue Damask, and the following Pictures:

Over one of the Chimneys, Susannah and the Elders, by Annibal Caracci. Over the other, two Beggar Boys, by Murillio. It came from Penshurst.

The following eight Heads hang on either side of them: William fifth Lord Paget, by Sir Peter Lely; Lady Ann Finch, second daughter of Sir Thomas Finch, Bart, and first Earl of Winchelsea, wife to Sir William Waller, General of the Parliament Army in the Civil War, by Vandyck. A Portrait of one of the Harcourt Family, by Mirevelt; fine. George Simon Viscount

See Mr. Walpole's Anecdotes of Painters, octavo Edition, Volume the second, p. 145.

Nuneham, (late Earl Harcourt,) at the age of seventeen, by Sir Joshua Reynolds, capital.

Another Portrait of one of the Harcourt Family, which, as well as the former, was a present from Harcourt Powell, Esq.; Simon Harcourt (afterwards Viscount and Earl), only son of the Hon. Simon Harcourt; the Head by Sir Godfrey Kneller; Mrs. Siddons, the celebrated Actress, in the character of Isabella in the Fatal Marriage, by Hamilton; Elizabeth, daughter of King James the First, Electress Palatine and Queen of Bohemia, by Honthorst; a present from her to Sir Simon Harcourt. Over the centre Door, a Nymph with Cupids, representing Evening, by Valerio Castelli. Over the other two Doors, Aubrey Vere, twentieth and last Earl of Oxford of that House, by Walker. Baron Rhynwick, by Mirevelt; a very good Portrait; the Hands remarkably fine. At one end of the room, Henrietta Maria, Queen to King Charles the First, by Vandyck; under it the Nativity, by Pietro da Pietri. At the other end of the room, Lady Mary Tufton, fifth daughter of John, second Earl of Thanet, first wife to Sir William Walter, Bart. of Sarsden in Oxfordshire, by Sir Peter Lely; under it, Dead Game, by Fytt, from the collection of Mr. Bagnols. THE ANTE-ROOM,

24 feet by 15, and 18 and a half high.

Over the Chimney, Sarah, daughter of Richard Jennings, Esq. of Sandridge in Hertfordshire, wife to John Churchill, first Duke of Marlborough, by Sir Godfrey Kneller; a present from her to the first Lord Harcourt. Over one Arch a View of part of the Quay and Bay of Naples, by Gaspar Occhiali. Over the other Arch, a View of part of Rome and the Tiber, by the same hand.

Under them, two Heads, by Cornelius Jansen. At one end of the room, King William, hunting, with several Figures, by Wotton. Under it the two following Pictures: a Herdsman with Cattle, by Peter Vander Leuw ; from the collection of Mr. Bagnols: a Landscape, with Cattle, by Rogman. At the other end, a ruined Bridge, with Figures, by Crabetje. Under it the two following Pictures: Christ driving the Money-Changers out of the Temple, on marble, by Bassan; the Holy Family, by Albano. Over one Door, the Hon. Simon Harcourt, only son of Simon first Viscount Harcourt, by Sir Godfrey Kneller. Over the other Door, Elizabeth, daughter of John Evelyn, Esq. of Wooton in Surrey, his Wife, by Dahl.

THE LIBRARY,

32 feet 4 by 19, and 14 feet 4 inches high.

Over the Chimney, Mary, eldest daughter of William Danby, Esq. of Swinton in Yorkshire, wife to the Hon. William Harcourt, by Opie, after Sir Joshua Reynolds; a very fine Head of Mr. Prior, by old Dahl; Mr. Pope, a fine Portrait, by Sir Godfrey Kneller; a present from the former to the first Lord Harcourt: George Bussy Villiers, fourth Earl of Jersey, by Brompton, after Angelica. Mrs. Pritchard, the celebrated Actress, in the character of Hermione in the Winter's Tale, Scene the last, by Pine. William Whitehead, Esq. late Poet Laureat, by Wilson. Georgiana, daughter of the Right Hon. Stephen Poyntz, Esq. wife to John Earl Spencer, by Gogain, after Gainsborough. Richard Grenville, Esq. (afterwards Earl Temple,) at the age of nineteen, by Rosalba; a legacy from Anna Chamber, late Countess Temple. Lady Elizabeth, daughter of Simon, Earl of