ANTE-ROOM, WEST OF STAIR-CASE. The Palmister. Two Soldiers Gaming. Pietro da Vecchia. William III. in his Robes. The Duke of Monmouth in Armour. Dobson. DRESSING ROOM, EAST FRONT. Magdalen reading, with a Scull on her Knee. E. Sirani, Guido's favourite pupil. Landscape. Salvator Rosa. BILLIARD ROOM. King George IV., by Lawrence. Duplicate at Windsor. The late Lady Lonsdale. Lawrence. There are some stanzas by Southey, in which he describes the sorrowful feelings that had once pervaded his mind, arising from his belief that the age had produced no buildings which would deserve to survive it. These stanzas conclude thus : The sun those widespread battlements shall crest, And silent years unharming shall go by, Till centuries in their course invest Thy towers with sanctity. But thou the while shalt bear To aftertimes an old and honour'd name, And to remote posterity declare Thy founder's virtuous fame. Fair structure! worthy the triumphant age And happiness thy dower!" The capabilities of the situation which the park afforded had been publicly noticed by Lord Macartney, who, in describing a romantic scene in the imperial park at Gehol, in China, observed, that "it reminded him of Lowther in Westmorland, which, from the extent of prospect, the grand surrounding objects, the noble situation, the diversities of surface, the extensive woods and command of water, might be rendered, by a man of sense, spirit, and taste, the finest scene in the British dominions." How far his Lordship's views have been realised, the visitor will judge. The park has been much admired for the profusion of fine forest trees which embellish its banks and braes. It is watered by the Lowther, the pellucid clearness of which fully justifies its supposed etymological derivation. The grey and tree-crowned crags, the transparent stream, and the graceful windings of its course, add greatly to the charms of its scenery. It was one of the greatest pleasures of the poet Wordsworth, in his boyhood, to wander through these fair domains "And muse in rocky cell and sylvan tent, Beside swift flowing Lowther's current clear." One portion, lying on the banks of the river, has, from its extreme beauty, acquired the name of that happy region to which the Sybil led Æneas, so that, if the stranger choose, he may, like Yorick, the Sentimental Traveller, possess "a clearer idea of the Elysian Fields than of heaven." We are sorry that we have no space for Mr. Monckton Milne's verses upon this spot. Near the Castle there is a grassy terrace, shaded by fine trees nearly a mile long, from which the prospect is most charming, and Askham Church, Askham Hall, and Lowther Church, are seen from many parts of the park with beautiful effect. The Lowther family is of great antiquity, the names of William de Lowther and Thomas de Lowther being subscribed as witnesses to a grant of lands in the reign of Henry II. The family name is probably derived from the river, the word being British and signifying clear water. Sir Hugh de Lowther was Attorney-General to Edward III., and afterwards one of his Justices itinerant. Another Sir Hugh was engaged at the battle of Agincourt, under the Fifth Harry, as well as two others of the same family. In the reign of Queen Elizabeth, Sir Richard Lowther, Knt., held the office of Lord Warden of the West Marches, and being High Sheriff of Cumberland, when Queen Mary, fleeing into England, arrived Sir at Workington, 1568, he conveyed her, by the direction of Elizabeth, to Carlisle Castle. This incident is mentioned in Sir Walter Scott's novel of the Abbot. John Lowther, first Viscount Lonsdale, distinguished himself by influencing the counties of Westmorland and Cumberland in favour of King William at the memorable era of 1688; in return for which service that king created him a Viscount, and conferred upon him many other honours. Sir James Lowther, first Earl of Lonsdale, succeeded to the three great inheritances of Mauds Meaburn, Lowther, and Whitehaven, which came to him from different branches of the family. When a commoner, he was thirty years M. P. for Westmorland or Cumberland, and in1761 was returned for both counties. He was also Lord-Lieutenant of the two counties, and succeeded to the two millions left by his kinsman, Sir James Lowther of Whitehaven, 1755. Of his immense wealth, the distribution of which by will was said to give universal satisfaction, "a small portion in gold," £50,000, was found in his houses. He married a granddaughter of the celebrated Lady Mary Montague, but died without issue. He was remarkable for his eccentricity and caprice. In the words of the English OpiumEater, "he was a true feudal chieftain; and in the very approaches to his mansion, in the style of his equipage, or whatever else was likely to meet the public eye, he delighted to express his disdain of modern refinements by the haughty carelessness of his magnificence. The coach in which he used to visit Penrith was old and neglected; his horses fine, and untrimmed; and such was the impression diffused about him by his gloomy temper and his habits of oppression, that, according to the declaration of a Penrith contemporary of the old despot, the streets were silent as he traversed them, and an awe sat upon many faces. In his park you saw some of the most magnificent timber in the kingdom— trees that were coeval with the feuds of York and Lancaster-yews that perhaps had furnished bows to Cœur de Lion, and oaks that might have built a navy. All was savage grandeur about these native forests-their sweeping lawns and glades had been unapproached for centuries, it might be, by the hand of art, and amongst them roamed, not the timid fallow deer, but thundering droves of wild horses. Lord Lonsdale (in the words of an old English writer) "was sometimes in London, because there only he found a greater man than himself; but not often, because at home he was allowed to forget that there was such a man." Mr. Pitt was first brought into Parliament for Appleby, one of the boroughs of Lord Lonsdale, then Sir James Lowther. When Pitt became Prime Minister, Sir James was rewarded for his services by being raised to the dignity of an Earl. "Yet so indignant was he," says Nathaniel Wraxall, "at finding himself last on the list of newly-created earls-though the three individuals who preceded him were already barons of many centuries old-that he actually attempted to reject the peerage, preferring to remain a commoner rather than submit to so great a mortification." The present Earl is the third possessor of the Earldom, and a son of the first Earl's cousin. GREYSTOCK CASTLE, the seat of Henry Howard, Esq., formerly the property of the Dukes of Norfolk, who still enjoy the dignity of Baron of Greystock, stands in a park of 5000 acres. The present mansion was erected within the last hundred years, near the site of the ancient Castle, which, being garrisoned for the King in 1648, was taken and destroyed by a detachment of the Parliamentarian army. It is built in an exaggerated style of massiveness, but late improvements have caused it to assume an appearance of considerable elegance. Views of the distant lake mountains are commanded from the windows, and the grounds adjacent to the mansion are well laid out. In the hall there hangs some 66 armour of the invincible knights of old," emblazoned shields, and several pairs of horns. One pair is of enormous magnitude, and weighs forty-two pounds. There is also in the hall a large painting, by Lonsdale, of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, in which several family portraits are introduced. A balustrading on one side separates the Hall from the Long Gallery, in which are placed many ancient family portraits. The library contains a chimney-piece of richly carved oak. Two of the principal designs are Sampson and Delilah, and Jephthah and his daughter, each having appropriate legends. Amongst the paintings the following may be enumerated as of peculiar interest : Erasmus and Archbishop Warham; both by Holbein. John, Duke of Norfolk, who was killed on Bosworth Field, the subject of the lines, "Jocky of Norfolk, be not so bold, For Dickon thy master is bought and sold." Thomas, Third Duke of Norfolk, Lord High Treasurer to Henry VIII. Ann Dacre, Countess of Arundel, who brought Greystock from the Dacres to the Howards. Elizabeth, daughter to the last Duke of Lennox, and wife of Henry Frederick, Earl of Arundel. Henry, Earl of Arundel, and his Countess, the Lady Alathea Talbot. Henry, Sixth Duke of Norfolk, when a boy. Vandyke. Lady Catharine Howard, daughter of Henry Frederick, Earl of Arundel. Vandyke. James I. Mytens. Charles II. and James II. Prince Charles Edward, in a Highland Costume. Mary Queen of Scots, two pictures, one in a crimson dress, the other in mourning. View of Venice. Canaletti. Two Views of Rome. Wilson. A Piece of Needlework, by Mary Queen of Scots, representing the Crucifixion, will be inspected with interest. Those who have not previously seen Ulleswater, will now take the opportunity of visiting that romantic lake, of which, and of the road to Patterdale and Ambleside, we shall give a detailed description hereafter. The tourist will also be highly gratified by an EXCURSION TO HAWES WATER. This lake, three miles long by half a mile broad, lies embosomed in lofty mountains, thirteen and a half |