Passing through an ante-room, we arrive at the Portrait Gallery, where are placed the portraits of several worthies of George III.'s reign, as well as some older portraits, amongst which may be noticed

882. Sir Peter Lely, by himself. 883. A good old portrait of a man with his hand on his breast. 892. Sir Jeffrey Hudson, Queen Henrietta Maria's dwarf, by Mytens. "His adventures would make a romance. He was served up in a pie, shot a man in a duel, was sold as a slave in Barbary, served as a captain of horse in the civil wars, and being imprisoned on account of the Popish plot in 1682, died a prisoner at the age of sixty-three."-Mrs. Jameson. 897. Portrait of a gentleman. 902. Portrait of a man with a watch, by Peter van Aelst. 905. A Venetian Gentleman, by Giorgione. 906. Portrait of a man holding a paper. 873-881. The Triumphs of Julius Cæsar, nine water-colour pictures, forming a frieze 81 feet long, painted in distemper on linen by Andrea Mantegna for the Marquis of Mantua in 1476. "Not only his finest work, and in itself a most admirable performance, but interesting as forming an epoch in the history of art, and as being the most important work in the historical style which was produced before the frescoes of Michael Angelo and Raphael."

The Queen's Guard-Chamber.

944. Mrs. Delany, by Opie. lished, although she died in 1788. 697. Sir Isaac Newton, by Kneller. Marquis del Gnasto and his page, by Titian. 981. Cleopatra, by Lud. Caracci. Still Life, by Roestraten.

This lady's memoirs have only been recently pub947. John Locke the philosopher, by Kneller. 959. A wild boar hunt, by Snyders. 964. The 982

The Ante-Room and Queen's Presence-Chamber

contain some naval pictures, which would be better placed at Greenwich Hospital than here.

Descending the stairs into the quadrangle, we may next proceed to the Great Hall, designed by Wolsey, and finished by Henry VIII., when Anne Boleyn was queen. It is in the Gothic style, 106 feet long, 40 wide, and 60 high. The roof is richly carved and decorated with the arms and cognizances of Henry VIII. The oriel window on the south side is eminently beautiful from its proportions and Gothic canopy. It has been filled with stained glass, bearing the king's devices, as well as those of Jane Seymour, and of the several bishoprics held by Wolsey. The other windows of the hall have been filled with modern stained glass, six of which exhibit the armorial pedigrees of the six wives of bluff Hal. Seven other windows contain the heraldic badges of the king. The walls are hung with tapestry, in which are wrought designs by some German or Flemish artist, representing in eight compartments the events connected with the history of Abraham. The tapestry placed near the entrance is

of earlier date; it pictures Justice and Mercy pleading before

judges.

The architecture and the decorations of this hall, the mailclad figures, the arms, the banners, the carvings, the richlycoloured glass, the subdued light, combine to produce a very imposing effect, and admirably realise the grand hall of a royal palace. In the time of Elizabeth and James I. it is said that some of Shakspere's plays were acted here. George I. caused it to be fitted up as a theatre, and Shakspere's drama of Henry VIII. or the Fall of Wolsey, was represented. From the upper end of the hall we pass into the Withdrawing Room, which looks extremely bald after the splendours we have been dwelling upon. The tapestry is much faded, and hardly interesting to any but the antiquary. In a recess is placed a recumbent marble sculpture of Venus; and on the table is a model of an Indian prince's palace designed by an officer of engineers. Over the fire-place is empanelled a likeness of Wolsey, whose portrait, motto, etc., appear in the stained glass of the oriel window.

We now hasten to the Gardens, which were laid out by Loudon and Wise, gardeners to William III. A broad walk passes Wren's east front, leading in one direction to the "Flower-pot Gates" in the Kingston Road (which are not opened, as they might properly be, for the entrance of the public), and in the other to the banks of the Thames. Green sward, with beds of flowers and groups of noble trees, extend alongside the walk, and notwithstanding the dead level of the ground, compose a charming scene. The Private Garden is entered by a door on the south side of the palace. Here there is an arcade of clipped limes in the olden style; a conservatory with some large orange trees, and a vinery in which may be seen what is considered the largest vine in Europe. It is more than 110 feet long, and the stem three feet from the ground has a circumference of 30 inches. It is of the black Hamburgh kind, and is very productive, in some years the yield being 2500 bunches. Returning to the broad walk, and passing the palace front and the tennis court, we arrive at a door leading into the Wilderness, planted by William III. with the intention of concealing the irregular aspect of the north side of the palace. Here are shady winding walks, and here is the Maze, a green labyrinth which affords much amusement to the young in attempting to discover the right path to the central compartment. This is not far from the Lion Gates in

the Kingston Road. If we quit the gardens of the palace by these gates we shall be near the entrance to Bushey Park, a flat expanse of ground through which there is a public drive, a mile long, to the Teddington Road. The avenue of horse chestnut trees is striking at any time, but particularly so in June when they are in flower. At the Hampton Court end there is a circular basin of water, and the straight lines of the avenue are here bent into curves concentric with this basin. There are one or two houses in this park retired from the road, one of which was the residence of the late Queen Adelaide.

WINDSOR CASTLE,

The only residence of the English sovereigns worthy of the nation, is situate about 22 miles from London, in the county of Berks, and may be reached either by the Great Western Railway (Paddington Station), diverging from the main line at Slough, or by the Windsor Railway from the Waterloo Station. The Windsor terminus of the former is in George Street, five minutes' walk from the Castle; the terminus of the latter is in Thames Street, ten minutes' walk from that edifice.

The State Apartments are open gratuitously to the public on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, on production of the Lord Chamberlain's tickets, which may be obtained in London of P. and D. Colnaghi, 14 Pall Mall East, or Mr. Mitchell, bookseller, 33 Old Bond Street. At either place may be obtained (price one penny) a "Companion through the State Apartments." The tickets are only available for one week from the day they are issued. They are not transferable, and no payment can be demanded for them. From the 1st of April to the end of October the hours of admission are from 11 to 4; during the rest of the year, from 11 to 3.

hill, and is a conThe name of the

The stately castle crowns the apex of a spicuous object from a considerable distance. place is thought to be a corruption of the Saxon appellation Windleshora, which signified a winding shore. William the Conqueror, struck with the situation, erected here some buildings which are referred to in Domesday-book. Henry I. and Henry III. both made extensive additions. Edward III. was born here, and after he succeeded to the crown, he built largely, William of Wykeham being his surveyor, and founded the College or Free

Chapel of St. George. Here he instituted the order of the garter in 1349. Geoffrey Chaucer, the greatest of our early poets, was appointed clerk of the works to the chapel in the reign of the second Richard, at a salary of two shillings a day. The existing collegiate chapel, one of the finest examples of the perpendicular style we possess, was built by Edward IV; the architect being Richard Beauchamp, Bishop of Salisbury, who, on his death, was succeeded by Sir Reginald Bray, the architect of Henry VII.'s Chapel. That monarch added something to the castle, and part of his structure may be seen near the entrance to the state apartments. This is still called after him, and the principal room is now used as a library. Adjoining this is a part added by Queen Elizabeth, who also formed the terraces, one of the most attractive features of the castle. Cromwell was an occasional resident here, and so was Charles II., under whom Sir C. Wren made many alterations. What was subsequently done, until George IV.'s time, was in a mean taste, except that his father restored the chapel. George IV., being desirous of removing the unsightly buildings that formed the palace, prevailed on Parliament in 1824, to grant him £300,000 on account of the works, and Jeffrey Wyatt was the architect employed to construct a new edifice. The first stone of what is known as George IV.'s Gateway was laid by the king himself, and the architect received the royal permission to change his name to Wyattville. The king took posession of the private apartments in 1828, but the works continued to be prosecuted after his death, until a total sum of £771,000 had been expended upon them. New stables, including a riding-house 200 feet long, have been erected during the present reign, on which £70,000 have been laid out. They are in the immediate neighbourhood of the castle on its south side, but concealed from view by an artificial mound. To view them, apply for a ticket to the clerk of the stables, and go there between one and half-past two o'clock.

Although by no means beyond the reach of criticism, the general effect of the castle is certainly striking and noble, marked by bold features and well defined masses, over which the round tower grandly presides. The private Royal Apartments which cannot be seen except during the absence of the Court, and then only by very special permission, are on the east side near the Victoria Tower. The State Apartments, to which visitors are admitted as before mentioned, are at the west end of the