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diff --git a/43428-0.txt b/43428-0.txt index a99d329..ede65dc 100644 --- a/43428-0.txt +++ b/43428-0.txt @@ -1,25 +1,4 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Kensington Palace, the birthplace of the -Queen, by Ernest Law - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: Kensington Palace, the birthplace of the Queen - being an historical guide to the state rooms, pictures and gardens - -Author: Ernest Law - -Release Date: August 9, 2013 [EBook #43428] - -Language: English - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK KENSINGTON PALACE *** - - - +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 43428 *** Produced by Delphine Lettau, Chuck Greif and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net @@ -4671,364 +4650,4 @@ born on February 23rd, 1779 {pg 106} End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Kensington Palace, the birthplace of the Queen, by Ernest Law -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK KENSINGTON PALACE *** - -***** This file should be named 43428-8.txt or 43428-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/3/4/2/43428/ - -Produced by Delphine Lettau, Chuck Greif and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: Kensington Palace, the birthplace of the Queen - being an historical guide to the state rooms, pictures and gardens - -Author: Ernest Law - -Release Date: August 9, 2013 [EBook #43428] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK KENSINGTON PALACE *** - - - - -Produced by Delphine Lettau, Chuck Greif and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - - - [The words between equals signs (=) appear in Old English type in the -original. A few typographical errors have been made; a list follows the - etext. (note of etext transcriber.)] - - - - - =Kensington Palace: the Birthplace of the Queen.= - - =Illustrated.= - -[Illustration: THIS MINIATURE REPRESENTS THE QUEEN AT THE AGE OF EIGHT] - - 1819 MAY 24TH 1899 - - [Illustration: H.R.H. THE PRINCESS VICTORIA AT THE AGE OF FOUR. - - (From a Painting by Denning.)] - - - - - =Kensington Palace= - - THE BIRTHPLACE OF THE QUEEN - - _ILLUSTRATED_ - - BEING AN - HISTORICAL GUIDE - TO THE STATE ROOMS, PICTURES, AND GARDENS - - BY - - =Ernest Law, B.A.= - BARRISTER-AT-LAW - _Author of "The History of Hampton Court Palace;" "The Royal - Gallery of Hampton Court;" "Vandyck's Pictures - at Windsor Castle," etc._ - - [Illustration: colophon] - - _Notice._--This Catalogue and Guide are copyright, and immediate - proceedings in Chancery will be taken against any infringers thereof. - - LONDON - GEORGE BELL AND SONS - 1899 - -[Illustration: Decoration] - - -=Notice to Visitors.= - -The State Rooms of Kensington Palace, and likewise Queen Anne's -Orangery, will be open to the public every day in the week throughout -the year, except Wednesdays, unless notice be, at any time, given to the -contrary. - -The hours of opening will be 10 o'clock in the morning on week days, and -2 o'clock in the afternoon on Sundays. - -The hours of closing will be 6 o'clock in the evening from the 1st of -April to the 30th of September, both days inclusive, and 4 o'clock -during the winter months. - -They will be closed on Christmas Day and Good Friday. - -[Illustration: Decoration] - -[Illustration: KENSINGTON PALACE AND GARDENS IN THE REIGN OF QUEEN -ANNE.] - -[Illustration: Decoration] - - - - -=Contents.= - - - PAGE - FRONTISPIECE. H.R.H. THE PRINCESS VICTORIA AT - THE AGE OF FOUR 4 - NOTICE TO VISITORS 6 - _Plate_--KENSINGTON PALACE AND GARDENS IN THE - REIGN OF QUEEN ANNE 8 - PREFACE 14 - - - =Historical Sketch.= - - EARLY HISTORY OF KENSINGTON 17 - BUILDING OF THE PALACE 18 - DEATHS OF QUEEN MARY AND KING WILLIAM 19 - QUEEN ANNE AT KENSINGTON PALACE 20 - DEATH OF PRINCE GEORGE OF DENMARK 22 - DEATH OF QUEEN ANNE 22 - GEORGE I. AT KENSINGTON PALACE 23 - GEORGE II. AT KENSINGTON PALACE 24 - KENSINGTON IN GEORGE III.'S REIGN 25 - BIRTH OF QUEEN VICTORIA 26 - _Plate_--THE DUCHESS OF KENT WITH PRINCESS VICTORIA (AGED - TWO YEARS) 27 - QUEEN VICTORIA'S EARLY YEARS AT KENSINGTON 29 - THE QUEEN'S CHILDHOOD AT KENSINGTON PALACE 30 - _Plate_--THE PRINCESS VICTORIA IN 1825 31 - PRINCESS VICTORIA BECOMES HEIRESS TO THE THRONE 34 - QUEEN VICTORIA'S ACCESSION 36 - QUEEN VICTORIA'S FIRST COUNCIL 37 - KENSINGTON PALACE IN RECENT YEARS 40 - RESTORATION OF THE STATE ROOMS 41 - METHODS OF RESTORATION 42 - ARRANGEMENT OF THE PICTURES 44 - ASSOCIATIONS WITH QUEEN VICTORIA 45 - - - =Descriptive and Historical Guide.= - - OLD KENSINGTON PALACE GARDENS 47 - QUEEN ANNE'S GARDENS 49 - QUEEN ANNE'S ORANGERY 51 - TERRACE OF QUEEN ANNE'S ORANGERY 53 - EXTERIOR OF QUEEN ANNE'S ORANGERY 54 - INTERIOR OF QUEEN ANNE'S ORANGERY 55 - THE ALCOVES OF QUEEN ANNE'S ORANGERY 56 - RESTORATION OF QUEEN ANNE'S ORANGERY 56 - KENSINGTON GARDENS 58 - QUEEN CAROLINE'S IMPROVEMENTS IN KENSINGTON GARDENS 58 - KENSINGTON GARDENS IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY 59 - _Plate_--SOUTH FRONT OF KENSINGTON PALACE IN 1819--AFTER - WESTALL 61 - SOUTH FRONT OF THE PALACE 63 - WREN'S DOMESTIC STYLE 63 - EAST FRONT OF THE PALACE 64 - _Plate_--PLAN OF THE STATE ROOMS 66 - PUBLIC ENTRANCE TO THE PALACE 67 - QUEEN'S STAIRCASE 68 - OLD OAK WAINSCOTING OF THE STAIRCASE 69 - WINDOW SASHES OF THE STAIRCASE 69 - QUEEN MARY'S GALLERY 70 - WAINSCOTING AND CARVINGS OF QUEEN MARY'S GALLERY 71 - PICTURES IN QUEEN MARY'S GALLERY. PORTRAITS OF THE TIME - OF WILLIAM AND MARY TO GEORGE II 73 - QUEEN'S CLOSET 77 - PICTURES OF "OLD LONDON" 77 - QUEEN ANNE'S PRIVATE DINING ROOM 80 - PICTURES IN QUEEN ANNE'S PRIVATE DINING ROOM 81 - QUEEN MARY'S PRIVY CHAMBER 83 - PICTURES IN QUEEN MARY'S PRIVY CHAMBER 83 - QUEEN CAROLINE'S DRAWING ROOM 87 - PAINTED CEILING OF THE QUEEN'S DRAWING ROOM 88 - CONTEMPORARY FRENCH AND GERMAN PORTRAITS 88 - THE CUPOLA OR CUBE ROOM 93 - THE PAINTED CEILING OF THE CUBE ROOM 94 - _Plate_--THE CUPOLA OR CUBE ROOM AS IT WAS WHEN THE QUEEN - WAS BAPTIZED IN IT 95 - PAINTED WALLS OF THE CUBE ROOM 96 - GENERAL APPEARANCE OF THE CUPOLA ROOM 98 - KING'S DRAWING ROOM 99 - PAINTED CEILING OF THE KING'S DRAWING ROOM 99 - WILLIAM KENT, THE ROYAL AND FASHIONABLE DECORATOR 100 - _Plate_--KING'S DRAWING ROOM 101 - KENT THE FATHER OF MODERN GARDENING 103 - WEST'S PICTURES IN THE KING'S DRAWING ROOM 104 - KING'S PRIVY CHAMBER 108 - PORTRAITS OF GEORGE III.'S TIME 108 - THE NURSERY 113 - Pictures and Prints illustrative of the Queen's Life and - Reign 113 - ANTE-ROOM 114 - PRINTS ILLUSTRATIVE OF THE LIFE AND REIGN OF THE QUEEN 114 - QUEEN VICTORIA'S BEDROOM 115 - PRINTS OF THE LIFE AND REIGN OF THE QUEEN 116 - MEMENTOES AND RELICS OF THE QUEEN'S CHILDHOOD COLLECTED - IN "QUEEN VICTORIA'S BEDROOM" 116 - KING'S GALLERY 117 - DECORATIVE CARVINGS IN THE "KING'S GALLERY" 117 - CHIMNEY-PIECE, MAP AND DIAL 118 - _Plate_--THE KING'S GALLERY 119 - PAINTING OF THE CEILING AND WAINSCOT OF THE KING'S GALLERY 121 - NAVAL PICTURES IN THE KING'S GALLERY 122 - KING'S GRAND STAIRCASE 129 - KENT'S ALTERATIONS IN THE KING'S GRAND STAIRCASE 130 - _Plate_--THE KING'S GRAND STAIRCASE 131 - PAINTED WALLS OF THE KING'S GRAND STAIRCASE 133 - PAINTED CEILING OF THE KING'S GRAND STAIRCASE 135 - PRESENCE CHAMBER 137 - PAINTED CEILING OF THE PRESENCE CHAMBER 138 - CEREMONIAL PICTURES OF QUEEN VICTORIA'S REIGN 139 - -[Illustration: Decoration] - -[Illustration: Decoration] - - - - -=Preface.= - - -The following pages, compiled under the sanction of the Lord Chamberlain -of Her Majesty's Household and the First Commissioner of Her Majesty's -Works and Buildings, are intended to meet the requirements of visitors -to the State Rooms of Kensington Palace, now open by command of the -Queen to the inspection of the public during Her Majesty's pleasure. -This little book, therefore, is to be understood as aiming only at a -descriptive and historical account of the particular parts of the -building on view--not, in any sense, as attempting a general history of -the Palace. Nevertheless, the author may, perhaps, be permitted to say -that, as far as his object extends, he has endeavoured to render the -information here given as accurate and complete as possible, by devoting -the same amount of time and labour to research and verification, as -though he had been writing a book of a critical nature for a restricted -circle of readers, instead of a mere handbook for ordinary sightseers. - -In this way, the writer conceives, can he best promote the object which, -it may be assumed, the Queen and Her Majesty's Government have had in -view in restoring and opening these State Rooms to the public--namely, -that they should serve as an object-lesson in history and art, and a -refining influence of popular culture and education. - -In pursuance of this design the author has had recourse not only to such -well-known standard authorities on his subject as Pyne's "History of -Royal Residences," 1819; Faulkner's "History of Kensington," 1820; Leigh -Hunt's "Old Court Suburb," 1853; and Mr. Loftie's -"Kensington--Picturesque and Historical," 1887; but also to a large -number of earlier and less known historical and topographical works, -which have served to illustrate many things connected with the history -of this interesting old building. - -His main sources of information, however, have been the old manuscripts, -parchment rolls, and state papers, preserved in the British Museum and -Record Office--especially the "Declared Accounts" and "Treasury Papers," -containing the original estimates, accounts and reports of Sir -Christopher Wren and his successors, relating to the works and buildings -at Kensington. None of these have ever before been examined or -published; and they throw much light on the art and decoration of this -palace, while also, for the first time, setting at rest many hitherto -debatable points. - -The author must here once again--as in works of a similar nature -elsewhere--express his obligations for the kind assistance he has -received from all those who have charge of the Queen's palaces--the Hon. -Sir Spencer Ponsonby Fane, G.C.B., Comptroller of Her Majesty's -Household; the Hon. Reginald Brett, C.B., Secretary of Her Majesty's -Board of Works and Buildings; Sir John Taylor, K.C.B., Consulting -Architect and Surveyor to the Board; and Mr. Philip, Clerk of the Works -at Kensington Palace. - -At the same time he wishes to make it clear that for the information -contained herein, and for the opinions and views expressed, he himself -is alone responsible. - -Here also the author must make his acknowledgments to the editor of "The -Gentlewoman," who has kindly lent him the blocks for the portraits of -the Queen. - -It may be as well to take this opportunity of emphasizing what is more -fully insisted on in subsequent pages, that Kensington Palace, as a -public resort, is not to be considered in the light of an Art Gallery, -but as a Palace with historical pictures in it. The clear understanding -of this may prevent misapprehension as to the scheme followed in -restoring the state rooms to their original state, where the -pictures--and their frames--are arranged on the walls as a part only of -their furniture and decoration. - -Finally, it may be observed that though the outline of the history of -the Palace, prefixed to the description of the State Rooms, has -necessarily been brief, the Queen's early life, and the interesting -events that took place here in June 1837, seemed to require a fuller -treatment. These, therefore, have been described in detail, mainly in -the words of eye-witnesses, which, though they have often been printed -before, may, being repeated here, acquire--the compiler has thought--a -new vividness and interest, when read on the very spot where they were -enacted; and thus insure for these famous scenes an even wider -popularity than before. - -[Illustration: Decoration] - -[Illustration: Decoration] - - - - -HISTORICAL SKETCH. - -=Early History of Kensington.= - - -Kensington Palace, built by William and Mary, occupied by Queen Anne as -one of her favourite residences, enlarged by George I. and greatly -appreciated by George II. and his queen, Caroline, has received a -greater renown and more interesting associations from having been the -birthplace and early home of Queen Victoria. In celebration of the -eightieth anniversary of that ever-memorable and auspicious event, Her -Majesty decided on opening the State Apartments free to the public on -the 24th of May, 1899, during Her Majesty's pleasure. - -Before recapitulating the events of the Queen's early life here, we must -give a brief outline of the history of the Palace since it became a -royal residence. - -The original building, of which it is probable that a good deal still -stands, was erected mainly by Sir Heneage Finch, Lord Chancellor and -Earl of Nottingham, who acquired the estate, including some hundred and -fifty acres of meadow and park--now Kensington Gardens--from his brother -Sir John Finch. Hence it was known as Nottingham House; and under that -title it was bought from Daniel Finch, the second earl, for the sum of -18,000 guineas, in the summer or autumn of 1689, by King William III., -who was anxious to have a convenient residence near enough to Whitehall -for the transaction of business, and yet sufficiently far to be out of -the smoky atmosphere, in which he found it impossible to breathe. The -King, assisted by his Queen, at once set about enlarging and -embellishing the mansion, and laying out new gardens. - - -=Building of the Palace.= - -The works seem to have been begun on or very soon after the 1st of -October, 1689. We learn this from the enrolled account of "Thomas Lloyd, -Paymaster of Their Majesties Workes and Buildinges," made up from -"paybookes subscribed with the handes of Sir Christopher Wren, Knight -Surveyor of the workes; William Talman, Comptroller; John Oliver, Master -Mason; and Matthew Bankes, Master Carpenter, and with the hand of -Nicolas Hawkesmore, clerke of the said workes, according to the ancient -usual and due course of the office of their Majesties workes." - -In the second week of November a news-letter informs us that the new -apartment, then being built, "suddenly fell flat to the ground, killing -seven or eight workmen and labourers. The Queen had been in that -apartment but a little while before." - -By February 25th, 1690, they were sufficiently advanced for Evelyn to -record in his diary: "I went to Kensington, which King William has -bought of Lord Nottingham, and altered, but was yet a patched building, -but with the garden, it is a very sweete villa, having to it the Park, -and a straight new way through this Park." The making of this new road -cost just about 8,000. - -Building operations were continued during the King's absence in Ireland; -and the day before the news of the battle of the Boyne reached Queen -Mary she spent a few quiet hours in the gardens here, writing the same -evening, July 5th, to William: "The place made me think how happy I was -there when I had your dear company." Until his return she continued to -overlook the building, and on August 6th following, writes again as to -the progress of the building: "The outside of the house is fiddling -work, which takes up more time than can be imagined; and while the -_schafolds_ are up, the windows must be boarded up, but as soon as that -is done, your own apartment may be furnished." And a week after: "I have -been this day to Kensington, which looks really very well, at least to a -poor body like me, who have been so long condemned to this place -(Whitehall) and see nothing but water and wall." - -The work of improving Kensington House continued for another year or -more, costing during this period 60,000. It was, however, far from -finished, when, in November, 1691, a serious fire occurred, -necessitating re-building at a cost of upwards of 6,000. From the year -1691 to 1696 another 35,000 was spent in further "altering the old -house," and in additional works of decoration in the galleries and other -rooms--details as to which will be given in our description of those -apartments. - -Extensive alterations and improvements were also in progress at the same -time in the gardens, which at this period were confined to the ground -east and south of the Palace, as to which we shall refer again. - - -=Deaths of Queen Mary and King William.= - -Ere the work, however, was completed, Queen Mary was taken ill at -Kensington with small pox in December, 1694. On learning the nature of -her illness she locked herself in her closet, burned some papers, and -calmly awaited her fate, which quickly came a few days after, the 28th -of December. - -Evelyn visited Kensington again in 1696, and speaks of it then as "noble -but not greate," commending especially the King's Gallery, which was -then filled with the finest pictures in the royal collection, "a greate -collection of Porcelain, and a pretty private library. The gardens about -it very delicious." Peter the Great's visit to William III. in this same -gallery is referred to in our description of it below. - -The next event of moment is William III.'s own death at Kensington -Palace, after his accident in Hampton Court Park. "Je tirs vers ma fin," -said he to Albemarle, who had hurried from Holland to his master's -bedside; and to his physician: "I know that you have done all that skill -and learning could do for me; but the case is beyond your art, I must -submit." "Can this," he said soon after, "last long?" He was told that -the end was approaching. He swallowed a cordial, and asked for Bentinck. -Those were his last articulate words. "Bentinck instantly came to the -bedside, bent down, and placed his ear close to the King's mouth. The -lips of the dying man moved, but nothing could be heard. The King took -the hand of his earliest friend and pressed it tenderly to his heart. In -that moment, no doubt, all that had cast a slight passing cloud over -their long pure friendship was forgotten. It was now between seven and -eight in the morning. He closed his eyes, and gasped for breath. The -bishops knelt down and read the commendatory prayer. When it ended -William was no more. When his remains were laid out, it was found that -he wore next to his skin a small piece of black silk ribbon. The lords -in waiting ordered it to be taken off. It contained a gold ring and a -lock of the hair of Mary." - - -=Queen Anne at Kensington Palace.= - -Fond as William and Mary had been of Kensington, Queen Anne was even -more attached to it still;--and it became her usual residence whenever -it was necessary for her to be near the great offices of state. She -seems to have remained satisfied with the palace as it had been finished -by her predecessors, except for the addition of one or two small rooms -"in the little court behind the gallery," perhaps because King William -bequeathed to her a debt of upwards of 4,000 for his buildings at -Kensington. - -She devoted, however, a great deal of care and expense to the improving -and enlarging of the Palace gardens--as to which we shall have more to -say when we come to describe them. Queen Anne, indeed, was, in this -respect, thoroughly English. She loved her plants and flowers, and would -spend hours pottering about her gardens at Kensington. The appearance of -her gardens will best be seen from our reduced facsimile of Kip's large -engraving, published about 1714 in his "Britannia Illustrata." In the -right distance is seen that most beautiful building called the -"Orangery" or green-house, erected by her orders--which we shall fully -describe on a subsequent page. - -Besides enlarging the gardens round about the Palace, Queen Anne greatly -extended the area of the park-like enclosed grounds attached to -Kensington Palace. Mr. Loftie has declared that "neither Queen Anne nor -Queen Caroline took an acre from Hyde Park." But this we have found not -to be the fact. In an old report on the "State of the Royal Gardens and -Plantations at Ladyday, 1713," among the Treasury Papers in the Record -Office, there is a distinct reference to "The Paddock joyning to the -Gardens, _taken from Hyde Park in 1705_, and stocked with fine deer and -antelopes;" and again in another document, dated May 26th in the same -year, being a memorial to the Lord High Treasurer from Henry Portman, -Ranger of Hyde Park, it is stated that "near 100 acres had been enclosed -from the park of Kensington, whereby the profits he had by herbage were -much reduced." Later on, in George II.'s reign, in 1729, we find a grant -of 200 made to William, Earl of Essex, Ranger of Hyde Park, "in -consideration of loss of herbage of that part of the said park which is -laid into his Majesty's gardens at Kensington." - - -=Death of Prince George of Denmark.= - -It was at Kensington Palace that Anne's husband, Prince George of -Denmark, at length succumbed, in 1708, to a prolonged illness of gout -and asthma. During his last sickness and death, Anne had the -"consolation" of the Duchess of Marlborough's "sympathy." Her Grace's -deportment, according to an eye-witness, "while the Prince was actually -dying, was of such a nature that the Queen, then in the height of her -grief, was not able to bear it." She actually forced her way, as -Mistress of the Robes, to the poor Prince's deathbed, and only drew into -the background when peremptorily ordered by the heart-broken wife to -leave the room. After Prince George had breathed his last, she stepped -forward again, and when all the others had left, insisted on remaining -with poor Anne, who was "weeping and _clapping_ her hands together, and -swaying herself backwards and forwards" in an agony of grief. The Queen -was at length induced to accede to the Duchess's advice to leave "_that -dismal body_" and remove to St. James's. - -Two years later, in these very same state rooms of Kensington Palace -took place the famous final interview between the Queen and her whilom -favourite, also subsequently noticed in our description of "Queen Anne's -Private Dining Room." - - -=Death of Queen Anne.= - -In the summer of the year 1714 Queen Anne was seized, at Kensington -Palace, with apoplexy, brought on by political worries. She had been -failing in health for some time; and on July 27th had an attack of blood -to the head, while presiding at her Cabinet Council, and was carried in -a dead faint to her bed. Four days after, Charles Ford, an official of -the government and a correspondent of Swift, wrote: "I am just come from -Kensington, where I have spent these two days. At present the Queen is -alive, and better than could have been expected; her disorder began -about eight or nine yesterday morning. The doctors ordered her head to -be shaved; while it was being done, the Queen fell into convulsions, or, -as they say, a fit of apoplexy, which lasted two hours, during which she -showed but little sign of life." At six in the evening of the same day, -another anxious watcher within the palace walls, says Miss Strickland, -wrote to Swift: "At the time I am writing, the breath is _said_ to be in -the Queen's nostrils, but that is all. No hopes of her recovery,"--and -in effect she breathed her last the following day, in the fiftieth year -of her age. "Her life would have lasted longer," wrote Roger Coke, in -his "Detection," "if she had not eaten so much.... She supped too much -chocolate, and died monstrously fat; insomuch that the coffin wherein -her remains were deposited was almost square, and was bigger than that -of the Prince, her husband, who was known to be a fat, bulky man." - - -=George I. at Kensington Palace.= - -The day after the death of Queen Anne, King George was proclaimed her -successor; and soon after his accession he entered into possession of -Kensington Palace. Taking, on his part, also, a fancy to the place, he -decided, about the year 1721, to erect a new and additional suite of -state rooms, the building of which was intrusted to William Kent, as we -shall fully explain in our description of the new state rooms -constructed by him. Otherwise, we hear scarcely anything of George I. in -connection with Kensington. He lived here, indeed, in the greatest -seclusion with his German favourites, and was scarcely ever seen, even -in the gardens, which in his reign first became the fashionable -promenade, where, in the words of Tickell, who wrote a poem on the -subject, in imitation of Pope's "Rape of the Lock"-- - - "The dames of Britain oft in crowds repair - To groves and lawns, and unpolluted air, - Here, while the town in damps and darkness lies, - They breathe in sunshine, and see azure skies." - - -=George II. at Kensington Palace.= - -In the reign of George II. Kensington became more than ever the -favourite residence of the court, and much insight into life within the -walls of the Palace at this time is afforded us by such books as Lady -Suffolk's "Memoirs," Lady Sundon's "Letters," Walpole's "Reminiscences," -and, above all, of course, by Lord Hervey's "Memoirs." Here is a -malignant little sketch drawn by that treacherous, satiric hand: "His -Majesty stayed about five minutes in the gallery; snubbed the Queen, who -was drinking chocolate, for being always 'stuffing;' the Princess Emily -for not hearing him; the Princess Caroline for being grown fat; the Duke -of Cumberland for standing awkwardly; Lord Hervey for not knowing what -relation the Prince of Sultzbach was to the Elector Palatine; and then -carried the Queen to walk, and be re-snubbed, in the garden." - -It was the Princess Emily just mentioned who played a practical joke one -evening at Kensington on Lady Deloraine, by drawing her chair from under -her just as she was going to sit down to cards, thus sending her -sprawling on the floor. The King burst out laughing, and, to revenge -herself, Lady Deloraine played his august Majesty the same trick soon -after, which not unnaturally led to her being forbidden the court for -some time. - -Although Queen Caroline had to put up with a good deal of snubbing, she -managed, at the same time, usually to get her own way. She was very fond -of art; and it was she who discovered, stowed away in a drawer at -Kensington Palace, the famous series of Holbein's drawings. These she -had brought out, and she arranged all the pictures in the State Rooms -according to her liking. Her substituting good pictures for bad in the -great Drawing-Room during one of the King's absences in Hanover, led to -the famous and oft-quoted scene between Lord Hervey and his Majesty, -who, nevertheless, did not interfere with the Queen's alterations. - -Caroline was also devoted to the then fashionable craze of gardening, -and was continually planning and altering at Kensington. It was at her -instance--as we shall see presently in greater detail--that the large -extent of land, formerly the park of old Nottingham House, and also a -portion of Hyde Park, was laid out, planted, and improved into what we -now know as "Kensington Gardens." - -Queen Caroline died in 1737, while George II. survived her twenty-three -years, expiring at Kensington Palace on the morning of the 25th of -October, 1760, at the age of seventy-eight. His end was extremely -sudden. He appeared to be in his usual health, when a heavy fall was -heard in his dressing-room after breakfast. The attendants hurried in, -to find the King lying on the floor, with his head cut open by falling -against a bureau. The right ventricle of his heart had burst. - - -=Kensington in George III.'s Reign.= - -George II. was the last sovereign to occupy Kensington Palace, which -thenceforth, during the long reign of George III., was left almost -entirely neglected and deserted. Several members of the royal family, -however, occupied, at various periods, suites of apartments in the -Palace. Among others, Caroline of Brunswick, when Princess of Wales, -lived for a short time here with her mother. Her behaviour greatly -scandalized the sober-minded inhabitants of the old court suburb. "She -kept a sort of open house, receiving visitors in a dressing-gown, and -sitting and talking about herself with strangers, on the benches in the -garden, at the risk of being discovered." - -Another but more worthy occupant of the Palace in George III.'s reign -was our present Queen's uncle, the Duke of Sussex, who collected a -magnificent library here of nearly fifty thousand volumes, which he -spent the last years of his life in arranging and cataloguing. - -Destined, however, to invest Kensington Palace with associations and -memories far transcending any that have gone before, was the advent here -of the Duke and Duchess of Kent, seven months after their marriage. They -occupied most of the old state rooms on the first and second floors of -the easternmost portion of the Palace. Three lives then stood between -the duke and the throne, and little could the newly-married pair have -imagined that from their union would spring the future Queen and Empress -of such a vast and mighty empire as now owns the sway of their first and -only child. - - -=Birth of Queen Victoria.= - -The Queen was born on the 24th of May, 1819, at a quarter past four in -the morning. "Some doubt," says Mr. Loftie, "has been thrown on the -identification of the room in which the future Queen was born; but the -late lamented Dr. Merriman, whose father attended the Duchess, had no -doubt that a spacious chamber, which has been marked with a brass plate, -was that in which the happy event took place." This room, which is on -the first floor, exactly under the "King's Privy Chamber"--the State -Rooms being on the second floor--has a low ceiling, and three windows, -facing east, looking into the "Private Gardens." It has been identified -by the Queen as the one Her Majesty was always told she was born in. The -brass plate, put up at the time of the first Jubilee, in 1887, states: -_In this room Queen Victoria was born, May 24th, 1819_. - -[Illustration: THE DUCHESS OF KENT WITH PRINCESS VICTORIA (AGED TWO -YEARS). - -(After a picture by Sir William Beechey.)] - -Faulkner, writing the year after the event, confirms this -identification, insomuch that he says: "_The lower apartments_ in the -south-east part of the Palace, beneath the King's Gallery, have been -for some years occupied by His Royal Highness the Duke of Kent, whose -premature decease--eight months after the birth of his daughter--this -nation has so recently and deeply lamented; and they are still the -residence of Her Royal Highness the Duchess." - -This is how the event was noticed in the "Memoirs" of Baron Stockmar: "A -pretty little Princess, plump as a partridge, was born. The Duke of Kent -was delighted with his child, and liked to show her constantly to his -companions and intimate friends with the words: 'Take care of her, for -she will be Queen of England.'" - -An interesting letter of the Duke of Kent's, written a few weeks after -to his chaplain, Dr. Thomas Prince, who had addressed a letter of -congratulation to him while, at the same time, somewhat condoling with -him that a daughter and not a son had been born to him, was published in -the "Times" at the time of the Jubilee of 1897. In it the duke remarked: -"As to the circumstance of that child not proving to be a son instead of -a daughter, I feel it due to myself to declare that such sentiments are -not in unison with my own; for I am decidedly of opinion that the -decrees of Providence are at all times wisest and best." - - -=Queen Victoria's Early Years at Kensington.= - -The next reference we have found to the future Queen, is in a letter, -written on 21st of July, 1820, when, consequently, Her Majesty was a -little more than a year old, by Mr. Wilberforce, who mentions being -received at Kensington Palace by the Duchess of Kent that morning. "She -received me with her fine animated child on the floor, by her side, with -its playthings, of which I soon became one." - -Most of the future Queen's early years were passed at Kensington Palace -in great privacy and retirement. She was often seen, however, in -Kensington Gardens, her constant companion in her walks being Miss, -afterwards Baroness Lehzen. - -Leigh Hunt, referring to this period, mentions in his "Old Court -Suburb," having seen her "coming up a cross path from the Bayswater -Gate, with a girl of her own age by her side"--probably the Princess -Feodore, her beloved half-sister and constant companion of her -girlhood--"whose hand she was holding, as if she loved her.... A -magnificent footman in scarlet came behind her." - -The youthful Princess was sometimes driven in a goat or donkey carriage -in the park and gardens, and, as she grew older, in a small phton, -drawn by two diminutive ponies. The following gives a little glimpse of -our Queen at this early period of her life: - -"A party consisting of several ladies, a young child, and two men -servants, having in charge a donkey gaily caparisoned with blue ribbons, -and accoutered for the use of the infant ... who skipped along between -her mother and sister, the Princess Feodore, holding a hand of each." - - -=The Queen's Childhood at Kensington Palace.= - -In further illustration of the Queen's life as a little girl with her -mother at Kensington Palace, we cannot do better than quote what Mr. -Holmes, writing with authority as the Queen's Librarian at Windsor -Castle, tells us in his interesting work, "Queen Victoria," which, as he -remarks, presents for the first time an accurate account of the -childhood of the Queen. "During these early years, and before a regular -course of studies had been attempted, the family life at the Palace was -simple and regular. Breakfast was served in summer at eight o'clock, -the Princess Victoria having her bread and milk and fruit on a little -table by her mother's side. After breakfast the Princess Feodore studied -with her governess, Miss Lehzen, and the Princess Victoria went out for -a walk or drive. It has been repeatedly said that at this time she was -instructed by her mother; but this is not the case, as the Duchess never -gave her daughter any lessons. At two there was a plain dinner, when the -Duchess had her luncheon. In the afternoon was the usual walk or drive. -At the time of her mother's dinner the Princess had her supper laid at -her side. At nine she was accustomed to retire to her bed, which was -placed close to her mother's...." - -[Illustration: THE PRINCESS VICTORIA IN 1825. - -(After a picture by G. Fowler.)] - -"It was not till the Princess had entered her fifth year that she began -to receive any regular instruction.... In this determination not to -force her daughter's mind, the Duchess of Kent acted on the counsel of -her mother, who had advised her 'not to tease her little puss with -learning while she was so young.' The advice was justified by results, -for the Princess made rapid progress." - -The Earl of Albemarle, who was in attendance on the Duke of Sussex at -Kensington, thus describes in his "Recollections" the appearance of the -Princess when seven years old: "One of my occupations on a morning, -while waiting for the Duke, was to watch from the window the movements -of a bright, pretty little girl, seven years of age. She was in the -habit of watering the plants immediately under the window. It was -amusing to see how impartially she divided the contents of the watering -pot between the flowers and her own little feet. Her simple but becoming -dress contrasted favourably with the gorgeous apparel now worn by the -little damsels of the rising generation--a large straw hat and a suit of -white cotton; a coloured _fichu_ round the neck was the only ornament -she wore." - -Her education was now conducted on a regular system. Writing, -arithmetic, singing lessons, dancing lessons by Madam Bourdin, "to whose -teaching may be due in some measure the grace of gesture and dignity of -bearing which have always distinguished Her Majesty," drawing, and the -French language. "German was not allowed to be spoken; English was -always insisted upon, though a knowledge of the German language was -imparted by M. Barez. The lessons, however, which were most enjoyed -were those in riding, which has always been since one of the Queen's -greatest pleasures." - - -=Princess Victoria becomes Heiress to the Throne.= - -The death of the Duke of York, and the remote probability of the Duke -and Duchess of Clarence having any offspring, drew increasing attention -to the movements of the Duchess of Kent and her daughter. "Many stories -are current," continues Mr. Holmes, "of the behaviour and appearance of -the young Princess. The simplicity of her tastes was particularly -noticed and admired. It was this simplicity of living and careful -training in home life, which endeared not only the Princess, but her -mother also, to the hearts of the whole nation." Charles Knight, as well -as Leigh Hunt, whom we have already quoted, has recorded the pleasing -impression made upon him by the young Princess. In his "Passages of a -Working Life" he says: "I delighted to walk in Kensington Gardens. As I -passed along the broad central walk, I saw a group on the lawn before -the Palace.... The Duchess of Kent and her daughter, whose years then -numbered nine, were breakfasting in the open air.... What a beautiful -characteristic, it seemed to me, of the training of this royal girl, -that she should not have been taught to shrink from the public eye; that -she should not have been burdened with a premature conception of her -probable high destiny; that she should enjoy the freedom and simplicity -of a child's nature; that she should not be restrained when she starts -up from the breakfast table and runs to gather a flower in the adjoining -pasture; that her merry laugh should be fearless as the notes of the -thrush in the groves around her. I passed on and blessed her; and I -thank God that I have lived to see the golden fruits of such a -training." - -The Queen was just on the eve of her ninth birthday when, on May 19th, -1828, Sir Walter Scott dined at Kensington Palace with the Duchess of -Kent. He records in his diary: "I was very kindly received by Prince -Leopold, and presented to the little Princess Victoria, the -heir-apparent to the Crown, as things stand.... This little lady is -educated with much care, and watched so closely, that no busy maid has a -moment to whisper, 'You are heir of England.' I suspect, if we could -dissect the little heart, we should find some pigeon or other bird of -the air had carried the matter." - -Sir Walter's surmise, Mr. Holmes informs us, was not altogether without -foundation; and two years later, when, by the death of her uncle, George -IV., only the life of William IV. stood between her and the throne, she -was formally made acquainted with her position. - -"The early part of the year 1833 was passed at Kensington. There the -course of study was kept up as before, but the Princess now went out -more into society and was seen more in public.... The Princess's -amusements were her pets, and her walks and drives, and during the -spring and summer she much enjoyed riding." - -It was at Kensington, in the summer of 1836, that the Queen first saw -her future husband. The Prince in his diary recorded that his aunt, the -Duchess of Kent, "gave a brilliant ball here at Kensington Palace, at -which the gentlemen appeared in uniform and the ladies in so-called -fancy dresses. We remained until four o'clock.... Dear Aunt is very kind -to us, and does everything she can to please us, and our cousin also is -very amiable." - -The Princess Victoria was at Kensington when she attained her majority, -on the 24th of May, 1837. She was awakened by a serenade; she received -many presents, and the day was kept as a general holiday at Kensington. - - -=Queen Victoria's Accession.= - -Less than a month after, King William IV. died at Windsor at twelve -minutes past two on the morning of June 20th. As soon as possible the -Archbishop of Canterbury, with Lord Conyngham (the Lord Chamberlain), -started to convey the news to Kensington, where they arrived at five -o'clock in the morning. - -"They knocked, they rang, they thumped," says "The Diary of a Lady of -Quality," "for a considerable time before they could rouse the porter at -the gate; they were again kept waiting in the courtyard; they hurried -into one of the lower rooms, where they seemed forgotten by everybody. -They rang the bell, desired that the attendant of the Princess Victoria -might be sent to inform Her Royal Highness that they requested an -audience on business of importance. After another delay, and another -ringing to inquire the cause, the attendant was summoned, who stated -that the Princess was in such a sweet sleep, she could not venture to -disturb her. Then they said, 'We are come to the _Queen_ on business of -State, and her sleep must give way to that.'" - -"In a few minutes she came into the room," says Mr. Holmes, "a shawl -thrown over her dressing-gown, her feet in slippers, and her hair -falling down her back. She had been awakened by the Duchess of Kent, who -told Her Majesty she must get up; she went alone into the room where -Lord Conyngham and the archbishop were waiting. The Lord Chamberlain -then knelt down, and presented a paper, announcing the death of her -uncle, to the Queen; and the archbishop said he had come by desire of -Queen Adelaide, who thought the Queen would like to hear in what a -peaceful state the King had been at the last." - - -=Queen Victoria's First Council.= - -At nine o'clock the Prime Minister was received in audience alone; and -soon afterwards an informal gathering of Privy Councillors, including -the Queen's uncle, the Duke of Sussex, the Duke of Wellington, and a -dozen or so of ministers, prelates, and officials, was held in the -anteroom to the Council Chamber, when an address of fealty and homage -was read aloud and signed by those present. - -After this the doors were opened, "disclosing"--to quote the words of -Mr. Barrett Lennard, now the sole survivor of the scene, except the -Queen herself--"a large State Saloon, close to whose threshold there -stood unattended a small, slight, fair-complexioned young lady, -apparently fifteen years of age. She was attired in a close-fitting -dress of black silk, her light hair parted and drawn from her forehead; -she wore no ornament whatever on her dress or person. The Duke of Sussex -advanced, embraced and kissed her--his niece the Queen. Lord Melbourne -and others kissed hands in the usual form, and the Usher taking the -address, closed the doors, and the Queen disappeared from our gaze. No -word was uttered by Her Majesty or by any present, and no sound broke -the silence, which seemed to me to add to the impressive solemnity of -the scene." - -The room where this took place is low and rather dark and gloomy, with -pillars in it, supporting the floor of the "Cube Room" above. - -The subsequent meeting of the Queen's first Council, which took place at -eleven o'clock, is familiar to everyone from Wilkie's well-known -picture--"though, at the expense of truth he has emphasized the -principal figure by painting her in a white dress instead of the black -which was actually worn." Her Majesty was introduced to the Council -Chamber by her uncles, the Dukes of Cumberland and Sussex, and at once -took her seat on a chair at the head of the table. - -In describing this famous scene, it is useless to attempt anything -beyond quoting once more--often as it has been quoted--the admirable -account given by Charles Greville, Clerk of the Council: - -"Never was anything like the first impression she produced, or the -chorus of praise and admiration which is raised about her manner and -behaviour, and certainly not without justice. It was very extraordinary, -and something far beyond what was looked for. Her extreme youth and -inexperience, and the ignorance of the world concerning her, naturally -excited intense curiosity to see how she would act on this trying -occasion, and there was a considerable assemblage at the Palace, -notwithstanding the short notice which was given.... She bowed to the -Lords, took her seat, and then read her speech in a clear, distinct and -audible voice, and without any appearance of fear or embarrassment. She -was quite plainly dressed and in mourning. - -"After she had read her speech, and taken and signed the oath for the -security of the Church of Scotland, the Privy Councillors were sworn, -the two Royal Dukes (of Cumberland and Sussex) first, by themselves; and -as these two old men, her uncles, knelt before her, swearing allegiance -and kissing her hand, I saw her blush up to the eyes, as if she felt the -contrast between their civil and their natural relations, and this was -the only sign of emotion she evinced. Her manner to them was very -graceful and engaging: she kissed them both, and rose from her chair and -moved towards the Duke of Sussex, who was farthest from her and too -infirm to reach her. She seemed rather bewildered at the multitude of -men who were sworn, and who came one after the other to kiss her hand, -but she did not speak to anybody, nor did she make the slightest -difference in her manner, or show any in her countenance, to any -individual of any rank, station or party. I particularly watched her -when Melbourne and the Ministers and the Duke of Wellington and Peel -approached her. She went through the whole ceremony--occasionally -looking at Melbourne for instruction when she had any doubt what to do, -which hardly ever occurred--with perfect calmness and self-possession, -but at the same time with a graceful modesty and propriety particularly -interesting and ingratiating. When the business was done she retired as -she had entered. - -"Peel said how amazed he was at her manner and behaviour, at her -apparent deep sense of her situation, her modesty, and at the same time -her firmness. She appeared, in fact, to be awed, but not daunted, and -afterwards the Duke of Wellington told me the same thing, and added that -if she had been his own daughter he could not have desired to see her -perform her part better." - -This description of Charles Greville's, whose pen was given to anything -but flattery, is confirmed by the testimony of many others present. Earl -Grey wrote to Princess Lieven: "When called upon for the first time to -appear before the Privy Council, and to take upon herself the awful -duties with which at so early an age she has been so suddenly charged, -there was in her appearance and demeanour a composure, a propriety, an -_aplomb_, which were quite extraordinary. She never was in the least -degree confused, embarrassed or hurried; read the declaration -beautifully; went through the forms of business as if she had been -accustomed to them all her life." Lord Palmerston says in a letter to -Lord Granville: "The Queen went through her task with great dignity and -self-possession; one saw she felt much inward emotion, but it was fully -controlled. Her articulation was particularly good, her voice remarkably -pleasing." - -Next day, the 21st of June, at ten o'clock in the morning, Her Majesty -was formally proclaimed Queen of Great Britain and Ireland at St. -James's Palace, when a salute was fired in the Park, and she appeared at -the window of the Presence Chamber, returning afterwards to Kensington -Palace. On the 13th of July the Queen, accompanied by her mother, the -Duchess of Kent, took her final departure from the place of her birth -and the home of her childhood. - - -=Kensington Palace in recent Years.= - -Since the accession of the Queen, Kensington Palace has had a quiet and -uneventful history--though Her Majesty has frequently, in the course of -her reign, privately revisited her old home, where the Duchess of Kent -retained her rooms until her death in 1861; and where, soon after that -date, Princess Mary and the Duke of Teck also came to reside for a -period. Here their daughter, Princess May, now the Duchess of York, was -born in the State Room called "the Nursery," in 1867. - -In the meanwhile, the apartments in the south-west corner of the Palace, -occupied by the Duke of Sussex until his death in 1843, were afterwards -tenanted by his widow, the Duchess of Inverness, who died in 1873, when -they were granted by the Queen to Princess Louise and the Marquis of -Lorne, who still reside in them. - -During all these sixty years the Palace had been suffered gradually more -and more to fall into a deplorable state of disrepair. The walls were -bulging in many places, and merely remained standing by being shored up; -the rafters of the roof were beginning to rot away, tiles and slates -were broken and slipping off, so that it was becoming increasingly -difficult to keep the rain and wind at bay. The floors, also, were -everywhere deteriorating, the old panelled walls and painted ceilings of -the grand reception rooms slowly, but surely, crumbling to decay. - -"More than once," said a leading article in "The Times" of January 12th, -1898, "it has been seriously proposed to pull the whole building down, -and to deal otherwise with the land, and Her Majesty's subjects ought to -be grateful to her for having strenuously resisted such an act of -Vandalism, and for having declared that, while she lived, the palace in -which she was born should not be destroyed." - - -=Restoration of the State Rooms.= - -The Queen, it is believed, had long desired that her people's wish to be -admitted to inspect the Palace of her ancestors, and her own birthplace -and early home, should be gratified; and it seemed a fitting memorial of -the Diamond Jubilee that this should be done. An obdurate Treasury, -which, as we have hinted, had looked forward rather to demolition than -restoration, was at length induced to recommend the expenditure -necessary to prepare the State Rooms for the admission of the public, -and thus, on the 11th of January, 1898, it was possible to make the -following gratifying announcement in the press: - - "Her Majesty, in her desire to gratify the wishes of Her people, - has directed that the State Rooms at Kensington Palace, in the - central part of the building, which have been closed and unoccupied - since 1760, together with Sir Christopher Wren's Banqueting Room, - attached to the Palace, shall after careful restoration be opened - to the public, during her pleasure; and the Government will - forthwith submit to Parliament an estimate of the cost of - restoration." - -Accordingly the Board of Works proceeded to prepare estimates and on -March 4th following, the First Commissioner, Mr. Akers Douglas, M.P., -submitted a vote of 23,000 for the purpose. By a unanimous vote of the -House of Commons on April 1st, the amount required was at once agreed -to, and great gratification was on all sides expressed that so happy -solution had at length been arrived at. Forthwith, the restorations were -put in hand--the most pressing repairs having, indeed, been begun in -anticipation, previous to the passing of the vote--and for many months -they consisted entirely in solid structural works, which scarcely seemed -to affect the appearance of the building at all. It was found necessary -to rebuild and underpin walls, to reslate practically the whole of the -roof over the State Apartments and renew the timbers that carried it; -and also almost all the floors. After these heavy works, and those -consequent on the installation of the hot-water warming apparatus, were -completed, the more interesting, but much more difficult, business -involved in the restoration of the old decorative ironwork, woodwork, -and paintings of the State Rooms was taken in hand. - -The more substantial but less salient work having been carried out, the -decorative works were next proceeded with, under the constant -supervision of Sir John Taylor, K.C.B., Consulting Architect and -Surveyor to H.M.'s Board of Works, and the continual and immediate -control of Mr. Philip, temporary Clerk of the Works for Kensington -Palace. Moreover, the Hon. Reginald Brett, C.B., Secretary of the Board, -to whose initiative the whole scheme of the restoration, we may say, has -been mainly due, has given a constant close personal attention to -everything that has been done. Nor has any trouble, labour, or research -been spared to render everything as historically and archologically -correct as possible. - - -=Methods of Restoration.= - -The principles on which the restorations have been carried out will more -fully appear, in the description we give in our subsequent pages, in -regard to every detail of the work. Here we need only say that the most -studied care has been taken never to renew any decoration where it was -possible to preserve it--least of all ever to attempt to "improve" old -work into new. On the contrary, repairing, patching, mending, piecing, -cleaning, have been the main occupations of the decorators, to an extent -that would render some impatient, slapdash builders and surveyors -frantic. Yet it has been all this minute--though no doubt sometimes -costly--attention to details, this laborious piecing together of old -fragments, this reverential saving of original material and work, this -almost-sentimental imitation of the old style and taste where patching -in by modern hands was inevitable, which has produced a result and -effect likely, we think, to arouse the admiration of all who relish the -inimitable charm of antique time-mellowed work. - -Never before, we may safely say, has the restoration of any historic -public building been carried out with quite the same amount of loving -care as has been lavished on Kensington Palace. The spirit has been -rather that of a private owner reverentially restoring his ancestral -home, than that of an ordinary public official, with an energy callous -to all sentiment, sweeping away the old to replace it with a -spick-and-span new building. This method of treatment has nowhere been -applied more scrupulously, and we venture to think with greater success, -than in the treatment of the old oak panelling and the beautiful -carving, all of which had been covered over with numerous coats of -paint, so long ago--we have discovered from the old accounts in the -Record Office--as 1724. In the cleaning off of these dirty -incrustations, various processes have been resorted to, as they suited -the nature of the work, and so thoroughly has this been done that the -closest inspection would give us no inkling that any part, either of the -flat surface or of the most delicate carving, had ever been painted at -all. Equal pains were taken in finishing the surface with oil and wax -polish--no stain whatever being used on the panelling, doors or -cornices--so that the real true colour of the wood is seen, varying only -with its natural variation, and exhibiting all its richness of tone, and -its fullness of grain. It makes one almost glad it should have suffered -so many years of long neglect--that when at last it has been taken in -hand, it should have been done when the historical significance and the -technical and artistic value of such things are more truly appreciated -than formerly. There can be little doubt that if an early nineteenth -century upholsterer had got hold of this Palace, most of the beautiful -old work would have been cleared out to make way for vulgar plaster-work -of white and gold. - -Substantially the same principles have been followed in the cleaning and -restoration of the painted walls and ceilings, which work has been -executed with the utmost sympathy for the old work, and the most careful -efforts to preserve it. There has not been a touch of paint applied -except to make good portions absolutely destroyed, so that these -ceilings--whatever their merits or demerits--remain exactly as they -were when first completed, save for the more subdued and modulated tone -they have taken on from the softening hand of Time. - - -=Arrangement of the Pictures.= - -A word should now be said about the pictures, which have been brought -from various Royal residences to furnish these State Apartments, and to -illustrate the history of this Palace. The bulk of them have come from -Hampton Court, and a large number are pieces which were removed when the -State Rooms were dismantled by George IV. and William IV., from the very -walls where they now once again hang. Their return here from Hampton -Court, in the overcrowded galleries of which it has been impossible ever -properly to display them, has been a most auspicious thing for that -Palace, and has rendered feasible many long-desired rearrangements and -improvements. - -In selecting the pictures which seemed most suitable for hanging at -Kensington, the principle has been followed of restricting them almost -entirely to portraits and historical compositions belonging to the epoch -with which the Palace is connected--the reigns of William and Mary, -Queen Anne, and the Georges, and, finally, of course that of Queen -Victoria. - -In the carrying out of this plan an endeavour has been made to group the -pictures together in the various apartments as far as possible according -to the periods to which they belong--making separate collections, at the -same time, of the curious topographical subjects relating to "Old -London," in the Queen's Closet; of the interesting series of Georgian -sea-pieces, sea-fights, and dockyards, in the King's Gallery--where for -the first time they may now at last be really seen and examined--and the -ceremonial and other pictures, relating to the Queen's reign, in the -"Presence Chamber" and the actual rooms originally occupied by Her -Majesty in her youth. - -Having given these general indications as to the arrangements, it will -not be necessary to do more than refer to our subsequent pages for the -details of the scheme. Nor need we dwell on what will at once be only -too obvious to the connoisseur, that anyone who expects to behold in -this Palace a fine collection of choice works of art will certainly be -disappointed. Kneller and Zeeman, Paton and Pocock, Huggins and Serres, -West and Beechey, are not exactly names to conjure with--nor even, -indeed, Scott, Monamy, Drouais, or Hoppner, in their somewhat -second-rate productions here. Moreover, it is to be clearly understood, -that it is not as an Art Gallery that these rooms are opened to the -inspection of the public, but as a Royal Palace, with pictures hung in -it illustrative of its history and associations, and as furniture to its -walls. - -Nevertheless, it is not high art only, nor great imaginative works, -which can interest and instruct; and, historically, these bewigged, -ponderous, puffy personages of the unromantic eighteenth century, whose -portraits decorate these walls, are more in accord with their setting, -than would be the finer, simpler, and nobler creations of the great -epochs of art. - - -=Associations with Queen Victoria.= - -On the other hand, the Victorian pictures, and the apartments in which -they are arranged, stand apart on a different footing of their own. It -is to the three small, plain and simple rooms, with their contents, in -the south-eastern corner of the building, that all visitors to the -Palace will turn with the liveliest interest, and with the keenest, the -most thrilling emotion. Romance, and all the thoughts and feelings of -tender, natural affection, which appear to have been smothered in the -preceding century and a half of powder and gold-lace, seem to awaken and -revive once more with the child born in this Palace eighty years ago, in -the little girl playing about in these rooms and in these gardens, in -the youthful Queen, who stepped forth from her simple chamber here to -take possession of the greatest throne in the world! - -It is as the scene of such memorable events that Kensington Palace -possesses, and will hereafter ever possess, abiding interests and -engrossing charms altogether its own; and that it will ever inspire, -among those who come to visit it, thoughts and memories moving and deep. -And not to us only in these islands; not to us only of this age; but to -thousands and thousands likewise across the seas; to countless millions -yet unborn, will this ancient structure become, now and in the ages yet -to be, a revered place of loving pilgrimage as the birthplace and early -home of Queen Victoria. - -[Illustration: Decoration] - -[Illustration: Decoration] - - - - -DESCRIPTIVE AND HISTORICAL GUIDE. - -=Old Kensington Palace Gardens.= - - -Before making our way to the public entrance to the state rooms of the -Palace, let us take a glance at the history of the gardens lying round -it, and the exterior of the building; and first as to the gardens on the -east and south of the building. The whole ground here down to the -highway was laid out quite early in the reign of William and Mary; but -its present uninteresting appearance gives us but little idea of how it -looked at that time. We find from the old accounts that large sums, -amounting to several thousands of pounds, were expended on garden -works--for levelling, gravelling, and planting, all in the formal Dutch -style, with figured beds and clipped trees--and also much ornamental -work, such as urns, stone vases, statues, and seats. There are, for -instance, many items such as these: - - "To Edward Pearce for carving a chaire for the garden with a canopy - of drapery, 43 16_s._; more for carving 4 chairs and 2 seats with - Dolphins, scollop shells, etc., and other works done about the said - gardens, 43 2_s._ 4_d._--in both 86 18_s._ 4_d._" - -We have also a contemporary account of the gardens as formed by William -and Mary, in a "View of the Gardens near London," dated December, 1691: -"Kensington Gardens are not great, nor abounding with fine plants. The -orange, lemon, myrtle, and what other trees they had there in summer, -were all removed to Mr. London's and Mr. Wise's greenhouse at Brompton -Park, a little mile from them. But the walks and grass laid very fine; -and they were digging up a flat of four or five acres to enlarge the -garden." - -The northern boundary of King William's gardens is marked by two piers -of excellent red brickwork, evidently erected by Wren at that time. They -are surmounted by very fine vases of carved Portland stone; and are -perhaps two of the "Four great fflower-pots of Portland stone, richly -carved," for which, we find from the old bills, the statuary Gabriel -Cibber, the father of Colley Cibber, was paid 187 5_s._ Between these -piers, which stand 39 feet apart, there was probably, in old days, a -screen and gates of fine wrought iron. They stand at the south end of -what was called "Brazen Face Walk," and between them the visitor passes -to the public entrance to the Palace. The fencing in of this part of the -gardens is perhaps referred to in the following entry belonging to the -years 1692-95: - - "William Wheatley for makeing and setting up Pallizadoes and gates - in and about the said Palace--152 5_s._ 10_d._" - -To the north of these piers lies the north-west corner of the now -so-called "Kensington Gardens," where were formerly situated that part -of the old gardens appurtenant to the Palace, laid out by Queen Anne. -The present bare uninteresting appearance of the ground round about is -now entirely different from what it then was. - -[Illustration: Decoration] - - -=Queen Anne's Gardens.= - -Bowack, in his "Antiquities of Middlesex," writing in the reign of Queen -Anne, in 1705, tells us of her improvements: "There is a noble -collection of foreign plants and fine neat greens, which makes it -pleasant all the year, and the contrivance, variety, and disposition of -the whole is extremely pleasing, and so frugal have they been of the -room they had, that there was not an inch but what is well improved, the -whole with the house not being above twenty-six acres. Her Majesty has -been pleased lately to plant near thirty acres more towards the north, -separated from the rest by a stately green-house, not yet finished; upon -this spot is near one hundred men daily at work, and so great is the -progress they have made, that in less than nine months the whole is -levelled, laid out, and planted, and when finished will be very fine. -Her Majesty's gardener had the management of this." Of Queen Anne's -"stately green-house" we shall speak in a moment. - -Addison, also, in No. 477 of the "Spectator," expatiated on the beauties -of the gardens: "Wise and London are our heroick poets; and if, as a -critic, I may single out any passage of their works to commend, I shall -take notice of that part in the upper garden, at Kensington, which was -at first nothing but a gravel pit. It must have been a fine genius for -gardening, that could have thought of forming such an unsightly hollow -into so beautiful an area, and to have hit the eye with so uncommon and -agreeable a scene as that which it is now wrought into." - -The cost of these improvements amounted to several thousands of -pounds--in levelling, planting, turfing, gravelling. The appearance of -the east and south gardens in the reign of Queen Anne will, as we have -already said, best be conveyed by Kip's plate; the general plan of the -new enclosed garden to the north, north-east, and north-west, by -Rocque's engraving, published in 1736. From this we see that Queen -Caroline, who embarked in so many gardening enterprises, left Queen -Anne's new gardens substantially intact; though she made a clean sweep -of all the old fantastic figured flower beds and formal walks of William -III.'s _parterres_ to the south and east of the Palace; substituting -therefor bare and blank expanses of lawn and wide gravel paths. - -During the reigns of George III. and George IV. all the gardens were -allowed to become more and more uncared for; and at last those to the -north of the Palace were destroyed altogether. The "old Wilderness" and -"old Gravel Pit" of Queen Anne and the early Georges now exist no -longer--converted by an insane utilitarianism partly into park land, the -rest into meadow. - -The old gardens to the east, already flattened out and spoilt by Queen -Caroline, now exist but in part; the small portion, which has not been -covered with hideous forcing houses and frames, is, however, to a -certain extent nicely shrubbed, and closed in by trees and hedges. The -site of the old south gardens, curtailed now to a small enclosure, which -retains little of the old English picturesque air, might with advantage, -we think, be less stiff and bare. There is here little more than a clump -or two of trees and shrubs, a wide gravel path, and two large vacant -lawns, separated from the public walk by a wire fence, and between this -and High Street mere expanses of grass. Fortunately, the devastating -notions of the "landscape gardener" whose one idea was so to arrange the -ground surrounding a house as to look as if it stood plump in the middle -of a park--for all the world like a lunatic asylum--are not quite so -much in favour as they were. - -The blankness and barrenness of all the ground between the south front -and the street was even more painfully apparent in Leigh Hunt's time, -who in his "Old Court Suburb" drew attention to this salient defect -nearly fifty years ago. "The house," he remarked, "nominally possesses -'gardens' that are miles in circumference.... There is room enough for -very pleasant bowers in the spaces to the east and south, that are now -grassed and railed in from the public path; nor would the look of the -Palace be injured with the spectator, but rescued from its insipidity." -His suggestion has been acted on to a certain extent in recent times, -but too partially in our view. - - -=Queen Anne's Orangery.= - -Queen Anne is the sovereign to whom we owe the erection of this -exceedingly fine specimen of garden architecture--one of the most -beautiful examples of the art of the Renaissance in London, if not in -England. If we could say with truth that there ever was a "Queen Anne -style," this would, indeed, be a representative and unrivalled example -of it--as it certainly is of Sir Christopher Wren's, which, developing -in the reign of Charles II., was definitely formed and fixed in that of -William and Mary. - -To an artist like Wren to beautify the ordinary and useful was to give -expression to one of the highest functions of architecture; and -therefore in this mere store-house for the Queen's treasured plants and -flowers, probably also a place where Queen Anne liked to sit and have -tea, we have a building--unimportant though its object may be -considered--which attains the very acme of his art, exhibiting all his -well-balanced judgment of proportion, all the richness of his -imagination in design. - -The building of this greenhouse was begun in the summer of the year -1704. A plan, prepared by Sir Christopher at Queen Anne's express -orders, was submitted to and approved by her, and the original estimate, -which is still in the Record Office, dated June 10th, 1704--probably -drawn up by Richard Stacey, master bricklayer, and entitled: "For -building a Greenhouse at Kensington" at a cost of 2,599 5_s._ -1_d._--was accordingly laid before the officers of Her Majesty's Works, -Sir Christopher Wren, John Vanbrugh, Benjamin Jackson, and Matthew -Bankes, for a report thereon. Their opinion, after "considering the -measures and prices," was that "it may be finished soe as not to exceed -the sum therein expressed, viz., 2,599;" and the Lord Treasurer was -accordingly prayed "to pay 2,000 into the Office of Works that it may -be covered in before winter, according to Her Majesties expectation." - -The work was consequently put in hand forthwith, but there is some -reason to suspect that Wren's original intentions were departed from, -and that the estimate approved by the Board of Works was afterwards cut -down by the Treasury by a thousand pounds or so. This appears probable -from the fact that Richard Stacey, the bricklayer who contracted for the -work, and who, in a petition dated September 13th, was clamouring for -payment of 800, on account of money then already disbursed by him, -referred to that sum as part of a total of 1,560, "lately altered from -the first estimate." - -Whether this is so or not, the details of the original estimate are -interesting. The bricklayer's charges came to 697; mason's, to 102; -"Glass windows, doors, and the window shutters, 340; Glazier for Crowne -Glass, 74; Carpenter, 363," etc.; added to which was: "More to be laid -out the next year: The mason to pave it with stone fine-sanded, 246; -more for stone steps to go up into it, 72; more for wainscoting and -painting the Inside up to the top, 264." - -The last item is especially noteworthy, proving, as it does, that the -woodwork was originally painted. - -The beauty of Wren's masterpiece of garden architecture seems to have -been thoroughly appreciated in the time immediately succeeding its -erection; but with the steady decline in taste during the Georgian -epoch, it fell more and more into disregard, until, when the court -deserted Kensington in 1760, it was abandoned to complete neglect. -Britton and Brayley, writing in 1810 in their "Beauties of England," -refer to it regretfully: "The whole is now sinking into a state of -unheeded decay." Soon after this, however, it seems to have undergone -some sort of repair, so, at least, wrote Faulkner, ten years after, who -added: "It is now filled with a collection of His Majesty's exotic -plants." He called it a "superb building," and clearly regarded it with -a much more appreciative eye than did its official guardians, who -probably about this time perpetrated the barbarism of cutting windows in -the north wall, right through the fine panelling and cornice! - -Faulkner, nevertheless, was of course quite wrong in declaring, as he -did, that "it was originally built by Queen Anne for a Banqueting House, -and frequently used by Her Majesty as such." There is absolutely no -foundation whatever for either part of this statement, though it has -often been repeated and was improved upon by Leigh Hunt, who asserted -that "balls and suppers certainly took place in it." Funny "balls" they -must have been on the old brick floor! Hunt has nothing more to say of -it than rather scornfully to call it "a long kind of out-house, never -designed for anything else but what it is, a greenhouse." In so great -contempt, indeed, does it appear to have been held about this time, that -it is said the idea was once seriously entertained by some official -wiseacre of pulling it down and carting it away as rubbish! And this -while the State was annually devoting hundreds of thousands of pounds to -art education, art schools, art teachers, and art collections, leaving -one of our most precious monuments to perish from decay! "Out-house" and -"greenhouse" though it be, we would rather see it preserved than half -the buildings of recent times. - - -=Terrace of Queen Anne's Orangery.= - -Before examining the orangery in detail, let us stand a moment in front -of it, on the terrace, platform, or _estrade_--by whichever name we may -call it--of Portland stone, with steps going down from it in front and -at both ends. Here formerly stood, in the summer, some of Queen Anne's -choicest exotics; and here Her Majesty doubtless often sat to have tea, -gossiping with the Duchess of Marlborough or Abigail Hill. In front the -steps led down into a formal parterre. - -Now, however, the most prominent objects to the eye here, are the -glass-houses, and the tops of the forcing frames, in which the whole -stock for the bedding out in the park and gardens has been reared for -the last thirty or forty years. It is truly an amazing thing that a -piece of ground, situated as this is, close under the windows of the -Palace, and opposite this orangery, should have been appropriated to so -grossly disfiguring a use. This particular spot is the very last, one -would have supposed, which would have been pitched on for the purpose. -It will not be long, we trust, before the whole ground will be cleared, -and devoted once more to an old-fashioned sunk formal garden, with such -quaint devices as clipped shrubs, trimmed box, figured beds, sundials, -leaden vases--such as still survive in many an old country house. - -Nor do we see why such restorations should stop here, nor why much of -the ground around the Palace should not be laid out in the old English -style, with some, at any rate, of the many embellishments for which -Evelyn pleaded as suitable for a royal garden: "Knots, trayle work, -parterres, compartments, borders, banks, embossments, labyrinths, -ddals, cabinets, cradles, close walks, galleries, pavilions, porticoes, -lanthorns, and other _relievos_ of topiary and horticulan architecture, -fountaines, jettes, cascades, pisceries, rocks, grottoes, crypt, -mounts, precipices, and ventiducts; gazon theatres, artificial echoes, -automate and hydraulic music!" - -Barring the last half dozen items, something in the antique formal style -would, indeed, be a relief from the tedious monotony of modern -"landscape" gardening. - - -=Exterior of Queen Anne's Orangery.= - -As a specimen of an unaffectedly ornamented exterior of brick, this -elevation to the south, aiming rather at simplicity and plain dignity -than magnificence or grandeur, is to our view admirable. - -In the centre is a compartment, more decoratively treated than the rest, -with four rusticated piers or pillars of brick, supporting an -entablature of the Doric order, mainly in stone. The cornice, though -probably modelled on the original, must be modern, for it is in Roman -cement, a material which did not come into use in England until about a -hundred years ago; and it so happens that the date, 1805, has been found -on part of the woodwork adjoining. Above the cornice, over the central -window, or rather doorway, is a semi-circular window, apparently to give -light into the roof. On each side of the central compartment are four -high windows, with sashes filled with small panes; and at each end are -slightly projecting wings, or bays, with window-doors, extra high, and -reaching to the floor level, to admit tall-grown oranges and other -plants. These are flanked by plain rusticated piers of bright red -brick; beyond which are plain brick niches, with small brackets above -them. - -A very similar arrangement of windows and niches is repeated at the east -and west return ends of the building; where, however, the large window -is surmounted by a small semi-circular recess or panel, and the whole -overhung by the deep, wide eave of the gable of the roof. - -The total exterior length of the building is 171 feet, the width 32 -feet. - - -=Interior of Queen Anne's Orangery.= - -It is not, however, the exterior of this building, but the interior, -which will arouse in those who behold it the greatest admiration, for it -is here that we can appreciate Wren's imaginative and constructive -genius at its very best. The longer we know and contemplate it, the more -supremely beautiful does it strike us, both in the mass and in its -details. We will not describe it with any minuteness; but content -ourselves with recording that the central portion of each wall, is -treated more elaborately than the rest, being ornamented with Corinthian -columns, supporting a richly carved entablature. The rest of the walls, -both between the windows on the south side, and on the unbroken surface -of the opposite north side, are panelled in deal wood, with beautiful -carved cornices above. At each end, both east and west, there is an -arch, flanked with panelled niches, and surmounted by festoons of -Gibbons' carving. These, we may observe in passing, proved, after being -cleaned, to be so worm-eaten, as to necessitate their being -repainted--mere staining not being sufficient to prevent their falling -to pieces. They are now in fact, held together by the coatings of new -paint. - -The dimensions of this main portion of the interior are: 112 feet long -and 24 feet wide between the brick walls, three inches less each way -between the woodwork. The height to the ceiling is 24 feet 6 inches, and -to the top of the cornice 22 feet 9 inches. - - -=The Alcoves of Queen Anne's Orangery.= - -Fine, however, as is the main and central portion of this interior, the -alcoves, into which we pass through the arches at each end of it, -impress us still more with their admirable proportions, their supreme -grace of design, the exquisite beauty of their decorative detail. - -Their shape is circular, with fluted Corinthian columns, supporting -highly-carved architraves and cornices, and flanking the entrances, the -windows opposite these and on the south, and the panelled spaces on the -north wall. There are also intervening niches with semicircular heads, -springing from richly carved imposts. The ceilings, which are circular, -rising in coves from behind the cornices, are "saucer-domed." - -The dimensions of these alcoves are: east one, diameter, 24 feet, west -one, 24 feet 4-1/2 inches; height to the centre of the dome, 24 feet 2 -inches, to the top of the cornice 20 feet. - - -=Restoration of Queen Anne's Orangery.= - -The whole of this beautiful interior, however, now presents a very -different appearance from what it did when taken in hand about a year -ago. - -This is how it was described in an interesting article in "The Times" on -the 28th of January, 1898: "The exquisite interior has been the victim -not merely of neglect, but of chronic outrage. For, as the little garden -between this and the Palace has been found a convenient place on which -to put up the glasshouses, frames and potting-sheds necessary for the -park gardeners, what more natural, to the official eye, than that the -Orangery close by should be pressed into the same service? Accordingly, -at some time or other, which cannot have been very many years ago, more -than half the beautiful high panelling of this building was torn down -and has disappeared, the gardeners' stands have been let into the walls, -and there the daily work has proceeded with no thought that it was daily -desecration." - -The work of restoring all these beautiful carvings, which has been in -progress during the last fifteen months, has now put an entirely -different aspect on this interior, and not in vain has every piece of -old carving been treasured up, cleaned, repaired, and patched in, with -scrupulous care. - -When this work was completed, the question arose, whether the woodwork -was to be all painted over white, as it doubtless originally was, or -merely lightly stained. White painting would, perhaps, have been -artistically, as well as archologically, the preferable course. But it -was thought that white paint, in the smoky, foggy atmosphere of modern -Kensington, and with the clouds of dust particles from the tread of -numberless visitors, would soon take on the dirty tinge of London mud; -and thus have required such frequent renewal as eventually to choke up -again all the sharpness of the delicate chiselling of the foliated -capitals, architraves and cornices. - -The decision eventually come to, therefore, was to stain it, with a tone -of colour like oak, which gives full prominence and clearness to the -carved surfaces. This staining alone, apart from the previous cleaning, -has involved no less than eight distinct processes: (1) washing down; -(2) vinegaring over to take out lime stains; (3) the same repeated; (4) -sizing to keep the stain from penetrating the wood; (5) the same -repeated; (6) staining; (7) varnishing; (8) flat-varnishing. - -[Illustration: Decoration] - - -=Kensington Gardens.= - -The modern so-called "Kensington Gardens" are, as we have already -explained, identical with the original domain of old Nottingham House, -increased by the addition of some hundred acres or more taken from Hyde -Park. When William III. first acquired the Nottingham estate he -appointed his favourite, Bentinck, Earl of Portland, "Superintendent of -Their Majesties' Gardens and Plantations within the boundary lines of -Their Majesties' said house at Kensington"--an office distinct from that -of Ranger of Hyde Park--and some planting and other improvements seem to -have been carried out at that time in these "plantations." - -Queen Anne's inclosure of a hundred acres from Hyde Park to form a -paddock for deer we have already noted. - -Faulkner's exaggerated statement that nearly three hundred acres were -taken in and added to Kensington Gardens by Queen Caroline has been -confuted by Mr. Loftie; but he has gone to the other extreme in -declaring that no alteration whatever was, at any time, made in the -boundary between the park and the gardens. Nevertheless, it is still -doubtful whether Queen Caroline is to be held responsible for any -"rectification" of these frontiers. The reference already quoted, in the -Treasury Papers of the year 1729, for an allowance of 200 to the ranger -"in consideration of loss of herbage of that part of the said park, -which is laid into His Majesty's gardens at Kensington," may of course -refer to the portion previously taken in by Queen Anne. - - -=Queen Caroline's Improvements in Kensington Gardens.= - -To Queen Caroline, however, is certainly due the main credit of the -creation of Kensington Gardens, as we now know them; for it was her -reforming and transforming zeal which made the great "Basin" or "Round -Pond;" turned a string of small ponds, in the course of the "West -Bourne," into the Serpentine; laid out the "Broad Walk," and designed -the diverging and converging vistas and avenues of trees intersecting -the grounds in all directions. - -In all these extensive works of improvement Charles Bridgeman, the -King's gardener, was employed; and we find from the old Treasury Minute -Book that in 1729 no less a sum than 5,000 was due to him "for works in -the paddock and gardens at Kensington." - -About the same date, Queen Caroline, during one of George II.'s absences -in Hanover, issued an order that: - - "The King's ministers being very much incommoded by the dustiness - of the road leading through Hyde Park, now they are obliged to - attend Her Majesty at Kensington, it was her pleasure that the - whole of the said road be kept constantly watered, instead of the - ring in the Park; and that no coaches other than those of the - nobility and gentry be suffered to go into or pass through the - Park." - - -Kensington Gardens in the Nineteenth Century. - -At that period the gardens were opened to the public only on Saturdays, -when the company appeared in full dress. This was the time of the great -fashionable promenade. During the reign of George III. they were opened -every day in the week, summer and winter, under certain regulations, -"and the number of the gatekeepers," says Faulkner, writing in 1819, -"have lately been increased, who are uniformly clothed in green." He -adds: "The great South Walk, leading to the Palace, is crowded on Sunday -mornings in the spring and summer with a display of all the beauty and -fashion of the great metropolis, and affords a most gratifying -spectacle, not to be equalled in Europe." - -In the middle of this century the tide of fashion set back towards -Rotten Row and Hyde Park Corner; and Kensington Gardens have, for the -last sixty or eighty years, been very little frequented by the "world." -Their attractions, however, have not suffered on this account in the -view of the poet, the artist, and the lover of nature. "Here in -Kensington," wrote Haydon the painter, "are some of the most poetical -bits of trees and stump, and sunny brown and green glens and tawny -earth." - -But it is not within the scope of these pages, confined as they are to -topics directly connected with Kensington Palace as a new public resort, -to describe these two hundred and fifty acres of delightful verdant -lawns, sylvan glades, and grassy slopes. We must resist the temptation, -therefore, to wander away into the attractive prospect, which unfolds -itself beneath our gaze when looking out from the windows of the state -rooms, or into which we can saunter when we quit the Palace. Moreover, -their charms, as they were and are, have been drawn by too many master -hands--by Tickell, Leigh Hunt, Thackeray, Disraeli--to encourage any -attempt at their description here. In our own day they have still been -the favourite resort of many a jaded Londoner, in which to snatch a few -hours of quiet and repose, out of the whirl of the great city around. -Matthew Arnold's charming poem, "Lines written in Kensington Gardens," -will occur to many, especially that stanza: - - "In this lone open glade I lie, - Screen'd by deep boughs on either hand; - And at its end to stay the eye, - Those black-crown'd, red-boled pine trees stand." - -[Illustration: Decoration] - -[Illustration: SOUTH FRONT OF KENSINGTON PALACE IN 1819. - -(After Westall.)] - - -=South Front of the Palace.= - -We may look upon this faade as architecturally the most interesting -portion of the existent Palace of Kensington, for it shows us the -exterior almost exactly as finished by Wren for William and Mary, about -the year 1691. While unpretentious and plain, it is well and solidly -built, and altogether appropriate to the purpose which it was intended -to serve, namely, that of a comfortable, homely, suburban residence for -the King and Queen and the court. - -The long lower building of two main storeys, in deep purple-red brick, -to the left, forms the south range of the chief courtyard; and there is -every reason to believe that it is a part of the original Nottingham -House, altered and improved by Wren. The loftier building, to the right, -of three storeys, in bright red brick, is unquestionably entirely -Wren's, and in the old accounts is referred to as "the new Gallery -Building." All the windows on the top or second floor here, except the -two on the extreme right, are those of the "King's Gallery" (described -on page 117). The floor beneath consisted, and consists, of the -sovereign's private apartments. The four fine carved vases of Portland -stone, surmounting the four pilasters of the same, are probably those -mentioned in the old accounts as carved by Gabriel Cibber for __787 -5_s._ - - -Wren's Domestic Style. - -Those who are at all acquainted with Wren's style and inclinations will -not be surprised at the marked plainness of his work here--so little -accordant with ordinary pompous preconceived notions of what befits a -regal dwelling-house. In planning habitable buildings we find he always -mainly considered use and convenience--adapting his external -architectural effects to the exigencies of his interiors. Ever ready, -indeed, to devote the full range of his great constructive genius to -the commonest works, rendering whatever he designed a model for the use -to which it was to be put, he was, in these respects, essentially a -"builder" before all; not only a designer of elevations and a drawer of -plans, but a practical worker, thinking nothing useful beneath his -notice. There was, in fact, nothing of the lofty, hoity-toity architect -about him; on the contrary, absorbed with questions of adaptability and -convenience; searching into details of material and workmanship; we find -him in his seat at the head of the Board of Works rigorously testing, -sifting and discussing estimates, values, specifications and -"quantities." It is due to this side of his mind that so much of his -work has endured intact to this day; while we owe it to his positive -intuitive genius for rendering his creations well-proportioned and -dignified, as well as convenient and comfortable; to his wonderful skill -in arranging positions, sizes, and shapes to meet the exigencies of -light and air, that his houses still remain so habitable, and are -distinguished by so homelike an air. - - -=East Front of the Palace.= - -This aspect of Kensington Palace, which we almost hesitate to dignify -with the name of "Front" consists mainly of two distinct portions: -first, the "return" or end of Wren's "Gallery Building," on the left, -distinguished by its fine red brickwork and its deep cornice, similar to -the same on the south side; and on the right, the building tacked on to -it, built for George I. by Kent, as already mentioned on page 23, and -further referred to on pages 86, 93, and 99. We must frankly say--and -few are likely to differ from us--that Kent's building here is about as -ugly and inartistic as anything of the sort could be. It is not alone -the common, dirty, yellow, stock brick with which it is built, but the -whole shape and design, with its pretentious pediment, ponderous and -hideous, the prototype of acres upon acres of ghastly modern London -structures in the solid "workhouse" style. It is amazing that Kent, -with so excellent a model of plainness and simplicity in Wren's -buildings on each side, should have stuck in this ill-formed, abortive -block between them. Fortunately, his taste as a decorator was greatly -superior to his powers as an architect, so that the interior portions of -this building of his, which consists of additional state-rooms, are not -entirely deficient in merit, as we shall see. The three central windows -are those of the "King's Drawing Room," (see page 99). - -[Illustration: PLAN OF THE STATE ROOMS KENSINGTON PALACE.] - -To the north-west of the structure comprising Kent's state apartments -lies another of the older parts of the Palace, a low building of two -storeys, in deep russet brick, of uniform appearance, with fifteen -windows in a row on the first floor. This range, built, or, at any rate, -altered and improved by Wren, and forming the east side of Princess's -Court, comprises the state and habitable rooms of Queen Mary and Queen -Anne. At its extreme north end is the "Queen's Staircase," now the -public entrance to the state rooms. - - -=Public Entrance to the Palace.= - -Access to the state rooms open to the public being by way of the -"Queen's" or "Denmark Staircase," situated in the northernmost angle of -the building, visitors approach it from the north-west corner of -"Kensington Gardens," where, as we have already explained, were formerly -situated those parts of the old formal gardens attached to the Palace, -which were laid out by Queen Anne, called the "Old Gravel Pit," the -"Wilderness," etc. The path here, leading straight up to the present -public entrance, was then known as "Brazen-face Walk." Going along it -southwards, we pass between a pair of fine gate-posts of red brick, -surmounted by richly-carved vases of Portland stone, evidently designed -by Wren, already referred to in our account of "Old Kensington Palace -Gardens" on page 48; and then between a privet hedge and a wire fence up -to the public doorway into the "Queen's Staircase." - -This doorway, on the north wall, is very commonplace; with a porch in -the later Georgian style, consisting of a couple of pillars of Portland -stone, glazed between, and supporting a hood above. - -Round the corner, however, on the east wall, is a very different -doorway, both interesting and picturesque. It is the one which -originally gave access to the staircase, and was designed and built by -Sir Christopher Wren, probably in the year 1691. The space within the -hood or circular pediment above the door is filled with beautiful stone -carving, in the centre of which is a shield or panel bearing the -initials W. M. R. Above this is a brick niche with a bracket, on which -stands an old urn or flower-pot. Something very similar probably stood -here formerly, and was thus charged for in the old parchment accounts -for the years 1689-91: - - "Henry Long for a large vase of earth (terra-cotta) wrought with - handles and festoons painted with gilt 6 10_s._" - - -=Queen's Staircase.= - -This forms the entrance by which the public are admitted into the State -Rooms. Built by Sir Christopher Wren for Queen Mary on the "Queen's -Side" of the Palace, it was called the "Queen's Staircase," while being -situated in that part of the Palace which was at one time occupied by -Queen Anne and her husband, Prince George of Denmark, it has also been -occasionally known as the "Denmark Staircase," as this portion of the -building itself has been called the "Denmark Wing." - - * * * * * - -In the view of the ordinary Londoner, with eye too much dazzled and -demoralized by the tawdry vulgarities of the over-gilded, -over-looking-glassed, blazing, modern "Restaurant" style of decoration, -this beautiful staircase, in its just proportions and its subdued -simplicity, may appear plain, if not mean. - -Yet as an example of the genuine, unaffected old English treatment of -oak wainscoting, as a cover and ornament to large wall spaces, nothing -could be more pleasing and more appropriate. The deep rich, almost -ruddy, tone of colour of the wood, the admirable proportion and balance -of the stiles and rails to the sizes of the panels, their adjustment to -the rise of the stairs, and their fitment to the various spaces on the -walls, produce an effect of soundness and comfort, most admirable and -nowhere to be matched. - - -Old Oak Wainscoting of the Staircase. - -When the work of cleaning down this woodwork was taken in hand last -autumn, it was, as the phrase is, "as black as your hat;" and it was -then supposed to have been smeared over, at some time or other, with a -black stain. It proved, however, to be only ingrained with dirt and -dust, which had been coated over with red-lead and boiled oil, and which -quickly yielded to cleansing. - -Nevertheless, the oak is not English, but probably Norwegian, which -seems to be richer in the grain than our own native tree. It is clear -that the wood must have been carefully cut in such a way as to show as -much "figure" as possible--the cuttings being, with this distinct -object, as nearly as possible radiating from the centre of the trunk of -the tree--the "medullary rays" of the wood being, in fact, sliced -through, instead of intersected transversely. This has the effect of -displaying the largest amount of the grain. - - -Window Sashes of the Staircase. - -The visitor should notice the difference in the sashes of the two -windows on the left-hand side of the stairs as you go up, as compared -with the other two on the landing at the top. The first two windows have -had large panes of glass--2 feet 1 inch high by 1 foot 2-1/2 inches -wide--and thin bars, substituted for the original smaller panes--12-1/2 -inches high by 9-1/2 inches wide--and the thick moulded bars, which -still remain in the landing windows. This side by side comparison -enables us to estimate how deplorable and stupid was the want of taste, -which led to the destruction here, as elsewhere in this Palace, of the -picturesque, well-proportioned spacings of the window panes, to insert -instead ill-proportioned panes and thin bars. - -Not until the time of George II. did this foolish, inartistic fancy come -into vogue. Wren, of course, knew what he was about when he selected the -sizes of the spaces and bars. He determined them on definite principles -of scale and proportion, according to the sashes they were intended to -fill, and according, also, to the dimensions of the room, and the plan -and shape of the surrounding wainscot. He had, in fact, eight or ten -different types of sashes--the mouldings, as well as the widths and -sizes of the bars varying, and the shapes of the panes--square or -upright--varying also; not like your ingenious modern builder, who runs -out "mouldings" at so much a foot, mitres them up into equal spaces, -and, regardless of scale and proportion, sticks in the same sized -sashes, panes, and bars everywhere, in large lofty rooms or small low -ones--all alike. - -The dimensions of this staircase are 24 feet 3 inches long by 22 feet 10 -inches wide, and 25 feet high. - - -=Queen Mary's Gallery.= - -Queen Mary and Queen Anne are the sovereigns with whom this gallery is -mainly associated; and indeed, it is now--since the restorations of the -last twelve months, which have mainly consisted in repairing the -panelling, and removing the paint with which it was all smeared over in -the reign of George I.--to be seen for the first time for a hundred and -seventy-four years, exactly as it appeared in their time. It remains, -indeed, more intact than any other room in the Palace; and with its -beautiful deep-toned oak panelling, its richly-carved cornice, its -low-coved ceiling, and its closely-spaced, thick-barred window-sashes, -it has a most comfortable, old-fashioned air. - -There is no storey above this gallery, but only a span roof; and it was -originally--we do not know exactly when--a true "gallery" in the old -English meaning of the word, that is, a long chamber with windows on -both sides. The window spaces or recesses, on the right or west side, -still remain behind the panelling, and are exactly opposite the existent -windows on the left or east side. We may observe, also, that the room -seems at one time to have terminated just beyond the sixth window, -reckoning from the entrance, the line of the wall behind the wainscot on -the right, setting back at this point about a foot; while on the left -side, both inside and out, there is a straight joint in the brickwork, -and a break in the line of the wall. - - -Wainscoting and Carvings of Queen Mary's Gallery. - -The wainscoting, as we have already indicated, was fixed here in the -early years of the reign of Queen Mary. The panels, which are very thin -and of unusual breadth, nevertheless have remained but little twisted or -buckled to this day, owing to Wren's particular and invariable -insistence that only the best seasoned wood should be used in all the -work under his charge. In the course of the restorations, it has, -however, been necessary to take it all to pieces in order to repair the -injuries of nearly two centuries of misusage and neglect. Here, as in -the staircase, are to be noticed the extreme richness in grain of the -old oak, and its deep warm tone of colour. - -From the old enrolled parchment accounts of the years 1689-1691, we find -that Henry Hobb and Alexander Forst were the joiners who made the -wainscoting, as well as the "shashes," shutters, window-boards, -chimney-pieces, picture frames, shelves, etc.; while Nicolas Alcocke, -William Emet, and Grinling Gibbons carved "1,405 feet Ionick medallion -and hollow cornish; 942 feet of picture frame over the doors and -chimneys, and 89 feet of astragall moulding, about the glasses in the -chimneys." Another item of payment in the same accounts, also relating -to the work here, is the following: - - "To Gerard Johnson, Cabinet maker, for severall pannells of - wainscot, covered with looking-glass for chimney pieces in the - King's dining-roome, the gallerie, and over the doors, and for - putting them up--100." - -Among others here referred to were doubtless =the looking-glasses= over -the two chimney-pieces in this gallery. These are particularly fine and -worthy of notice. When the restorations were begun last summer, they -were literally dropping to pieces, falling in shreds, we might say. The -greatest care has been taken to piece the bits together; and to replace -the missing portions. Only such patched and added parts have been -regilt; the old gilding still remaining almost as bright and untarnished -as when these glasses were first put up, two hundred years ago, by -Gerard Johnson, cabinet maker, and Robert Streeter, serjeant painter. -Honour to their names, as two good old English handicraftsmen, whose -honest work thus survives to this day! - -Over each of the four doors are long richly-carved brackets of oak, -similar to those on which rest the looking-glasses over the -chimney-pieces. We know from Pyne's drawing in 1818, that these brackets -over the doors then still supported looking-glasses, with richly carved -frames. Unfortunately, all trace of them has now disappeared. - -=The chimney-piece= of the first fire-place on the right as you enter -the gallery is the original one of Wren's design, of marble streaked and -veined blue-grey. The second, of white marble streaked with red, -technically known as "Breche-violett-antico," is new--copied from the -first. This fire-place was, until last summer, filled with a common -cooking range, inserted many years ago for the use of the soldiers, when -this gallery was used as a barrack! - -=The window-sashes= in this gallery are of the charming old-fashioned -type, divided by thick, deeply moulded bars, into small rectangular -spaces. Through these windows we have a pleasant view eastward of the -private gardens of the Palace, and of Kensington Gardens beyond. - -The dimensions of this gallery are: 88 feet 4 inches long by 22 feet -broad by 13 feet 3-1/2 inches high to the top of the cornice, and 17 -feet 13 inches high to the highest part of the ceiling. - - -=Pictures in Queen Mary's Gallery. Portraits of the Time of William and -Mary to George II.= - -1 Queen Mary . . . . . KNELLER. - - Full-length, standing, in royal robes; her left hand lifting her - ermine cloak; her right holding the orb on the table by her side, - on which also is the crown on a cushion. In the right distance is - seen the parapet of the roof of Wren's building at Hampton Court. - - This and its companion piece of King William, at the other end of - this gallery, were painted by Kneller about 1692, in which year he - was knighted. - -2 George II. (_718_) . . . . . _By Shackleton, after_ KNELLER. - - Seated, in robes of the Garter, facing to the left. - -3 _Unassigned._ - -4 Frederick, Prince of Wales (_619_) . . . . . VANLOO. - - Full-length, face turned to the right. His right hand is extended, - his left holds back his crimson and ermine cloak. His dress is blue - with rich gold lace. He has a short wig. On canvas, 7 ft. 9 in. - high, by 4 ft. 9 in. wide. - - Vanloo came to England in 1737, and this portrait was probably - painted about two years after. He became a very popular artist, and - made a great deal of money, for, as his French biographer - observes:--"L'Angleterre est le pays o il se fait le plus de - portraits et o ils sont mieux pays." Engraved by Baron. - - This picture, therefore, dates from the time when the Prince was - about thirty-one years of age, and had been expelled from St. - James's Palace, and was in declared enmity with his father. His - insignificant character, which excited contempt rather than - dislike, is very happily satirized in the famous epitaph: - - "Here lies Fred, - Who was alive and is dead; - Had it been his father, - I had much rather; - Had it been his brother, - Still better than another; - Had it been his sister, - No one would have missed her; - Had it been the whole generation, - Still better for the nation; - But since 'tis only Fred, - Who was alive and is dead, - There's no more to be said." - -5 _Unassigned._ - -6 Caroline, Queen of George II. (_784_) . . . . . ZEEMAN? - - Full-length, standing, figure to the left, face a little to the - right. Her left hand holds up her cloak, her right is on a table, - on which is a crown and sceptre. She wears a blue velvet dress - trimmed with broad gold braid, and a white satin skirt, richly - worked with gold and jewels. Her hair is short and powdered. On - canvas, 7 ft. 9 in. high, by 4 ft. 9 in. wide. - - This was formerly attributed to Kneller, but it cannot be by him, - as she is represented as queen, while Kneller died four years - before her accession. Caroline was forty-five when her husband - became king. - - "Her leves," says Coxes, "were a strange picture of the motley - character and manners of a queen and a learned woman. She received - company while she was at her toilette; prayers and sometimes a - sermon were read; learned men and divines were intermixed with - courtiers and ladies of the household; the conversation turned on - metaphysical subjects, blended with repartees, sallies of mirth, - and the tittle-tattle of a drawing-room." - -7 _Unassigned._ - -8 Portrait of George I. (_782_) . . . . . KNELLER. - - Seated, facing in front. He is in the robes of the Order of the - Garter. His left hand on the arm of the chair, his right on a - table, whereon are a crown and a plumed helmet. On canvas, 7 ft. 9 - in. high, by 4 ft. 9 in. wide. - - George I. was the tenth sovereign who sat to Kneller, and for this - portrait, which was painted soon after his accession, the king made - him baronet. Addison refers to it in his "Lines to Sir Godfrey - Kneller on his picture of the King," beginning: - - "Kneller, with silence and surprise - We see Britannia's monarch rise, - A godlike form, by thee displayed - In all the force of light and shade; - And, awed by thy delusive hand, - As in the Presence Chamber stand." - - - -9 William III. when Prince of Orange (_864_) . . . . . KNELLER. - - Half-length, facing to the right, with his right hand extended. - -10 George II. in his Old Age (_598_) . . . . . _By Shackleton, after_ -PINE. - - Full-length; in a rich dress, with the Order of the Garter, his - left hand on his sword, his right in his bosom. His eyes are cast - upwards. - -11 Peter the Great, Czar of Russia (_60_) . . . . . KNELLER. - - Full-length, in armour, with a truncheon in his left hand, and his - right hand on his hip. From his shoulders hangs a mantle lined with - ermine and embroidered with the double eagle. To the left is a - table, on which is the crown imperial. The background, which shows - some ships, is said to be signed by _W. Vandevelde_, but no trace - of this exists. On canvas, 7 ft. 9 in. high, by 4 ft. 9 in. wide. - There is also an inscription, of which I can only make out the - words: "_Petrus Alexander Magnus Domimus Csar & Magnus Dux - Moscoui ... Eques. Pinxit 1698_." Engraved by Smith. - - This picture was painted for William III. during Peter the Great's - visit to England, in the early part of 1698, and probably in the - house in Norfolk Street, where he took up his residence and lived - in close seclusion. It is considered one of the best portraits of - the Czar extant, and well portrays "his stately form, his - intellectual forehead, his piercing black eyes, and his Tartar nose - and mouth." His age was then twenty-six years. He naturally excited - the greatest curiosity, and became the principal topic of - conversation. Every one was full of stories of him; "of the immense - quantities of meat which he devoured, the pints of brandy which he - drank, the fool who jabbered at his feet, the monkey which grinned - at the back of his chair," and last, but not least, of his filthy - habits. When he went to stay at Evelyn's house, Sayes Court, at - Deptford, in order to more conveniently indulge in his favourite - pursuit of shipbuilding, Evelyn's servant writes to him:--"There is - a house full of people, and right nasty. The Czar lies next your - Library, and dines in the parlour next your study. He dines at ten - o'clock and six at night, is very seldom home a whole day, very - often in the King's Yard or by water, dressed in several dresses." - Evelyn himself afterwards remarked "how miserably the Czar had left - his house, after three months making it his Court." - - Peter visited King William in Kensington Palace, as we have noted - in our "Historical Sketch," and as we shall notice again in our - account of the King's Gallery. - -12 King William III . . . . . KNELLER. - - Full-length, in royal garter robes; his left hand by his sword, his - right on his hip. The crown and orb are on a table on his left; - pillars and a curtain behind. - - This is a companion piece to the portrait of Queen Mary at the - other end of this gallery. - -13 Portrait of Mrs. Elliott . . . . . JOHN RILEY. - - Half-length, seated; turned to the left, but facing in front. She - is dressed in black; her right hand rests on the arm of the chair; - she holds a handkerchief on her lap in her left. - - This was in Queen Anne's catalogue, No. 331:--"Mrs. Elliott at - half-length." It is a good specimen of a portrait-painter who - flourished in the time of Charles II. and James II., and whose - talents have hardly had justice done them. - - Mrs. Elliott was the wife of Mr. Elliott, Gentleman of the - Bedchamber to Charles II., and sister to Secretary Craggs. - -14 Two Daughters of George II . . . . . MAINGAUD. - - The eldest is to the left, standing, her right arm clasping a stem - of tree, round which twines a vine; her left hand giving a rose to - her younger sister; she is dressed in white. Her sister is kneeling - to the right, facing in front, and takes the rose with her left - hand; her right rests on a lictor's fasces. On canvas, 4 ft. 6 in. - high, by 3 ft. 7 in. wide. - -[Illustration: Decoration] - - -=Queen's Closet.= - -This small room, which is but 23 feet 3 inches long by 12 feet wide, and -12 feet 9 inches high, is called in Pyne's drawing, published in 1817, -"The Queen's Closet,"--and this most probably is its correct -designation, though in Faulkner's "History of Kensington," published but -three years after, it is described as the "Queen's Dressing Room." Its -walls were at that time still entirely panelled with the oak wainscot -with which Wren had covered them. Afterwards all this was removed and -the walls plastered and distempered, the room being used as a kitchen. -The existent oak chair-rail and cornice, inserted during the last few -months, are copied from old models in this palace. - - * * * * * - -Across the angle, where was originally the fire-place, is temporarily -fixed a very beautiful =stone chimney-piece=, formerly in Westminster -Palace, in one of the rooms on the north side of Westminster Hall. When -the old law-courts on that side were removed, this chimney-piece was -preserved by the Office of Works. It is one of the finest specimens -extant of a late Tudor domestic chimney-piece work, bearing the initial -and crown of Queen Elizabeth. - - -Pictures of Old London. - -In this chamber are collected various pictures of Old London, moved from -Hampton Court and other royal palaces. Few of them, excepting one or two -attributed to Scott, have much artistic merit, but they are interesting -as representations of the topography of London, and especially of the -banks of the Thames. - -20 View of the Horse Guards from St. James's Park -(_1022_) . . . . . JAMES. - - The buildings of the Horse Guards are seen on the right, and in the - centre distance, Westminster. - -21 View on the Thames--Old London Bridge and Fishmongers' Hall -(_1044_) . . . . . JAMES. - - The view is taken eastward; and right across the picture is the old - bridge, with the houses built on it. On the left are Fishmongers' - Hall and the column on Fish Street Hill. - - These are two of a series of views of Old London from the Thames, - by William James, an imitator and probably a pupil of Canaletti's, - though he resembles him in little except his mechanical precision. - His works, however, are interesting to the antiquarian, as they are - almost photographic in their accuracy. - -22 View on the Thames--Old Somerset House and Temple Gardens -(_1023_) . . . . . JAMES. - - The north bank of the Thames is seen, looking eastward, from about - the position of the middle of the present Waterloo bridge. On the - extreme left is old Somerset House, with its landing-stairs, next - comes the Temple, and in the distance St. Paul's. Behind are seen - the spires of St. Mary-le-Strand, St. Clement Danes, St. Bride's, - Fleet Street, etc. On canvas, 2 ft. high, by 3 ft. 8 in. wide. - -23 View on the Thames--The Savoy, the Temple, &c. -(_1031_) . . . . . JAMES. - - On the left is the old Savoy Palace with its curious chequered - brickwork; more in the middle old Somerset House, the Temple, etc. - On the right is seen a portion of the south bank of the Thames. - -24 View on the Thames--Old Fleet Ditch (_1043_) . . . . . JAMES. - - The mouth of the Fleet Ditch is in the centre of the picture, - crossed by a stone foot-bridge of a single arch. On both sides of - it are large buildings. - - -25 View on the Thames--The Adelphi, Whitehall, and Westminster -(_1032_) . . . . . JAMES. - - The view is of the north bank looking westward, and shows, on the - right, Inigo Jones' water-gate; next the octagonal tower of the - waterworks, then Whitehall, and beyond, Westminster Abbey and the - old bridge. - -26 View on the Thames--Greenwich Hospital (_1079_) . . . . . JAMES. - - The view is taken eastward, and shows Greenwich Hospital on the - left, and the church to the right. - -27 View on the Thames--Old Savoy Palace (_1045_) . . . . . SCOTT? - - The view is the same as No. 23. In an old inventory there is an - entry relating to it:--"Rec^{d}. 23^{rd} March 1819. View of the - Savoy, with old Somerset House, on the banks of the Thames, painted - by Scott, the English Canaletti. Bought of Colnaghi, 265." Samuel - Scott, the marine painter, is the artist referred to. He was a - companion of Hogarth's, and a jovial one too--but he was also much - more, being an admirable painter of marine and topographical - subjects. There are three characteristic views of London by him in - the National Gallery, where is also his own portrait by Hudson. - -28 The Thames from the Hill above Greenwich (_1016_) . . . . . DANCKERS. - - To the left is the Observatory rising high up. Below is Greenwich - and the Hospital, and the river winding round the "Isle of Dogs," - and London seen in the distance. Though hitherto unnamed, this is - doubtless:--"The Landscape of Greenwich, the prospect to London; by - Danckers," in James II.'s catalogue, No. 195. (_Royal Catalogue._) - -[Illustration: Decoration] - - -=Queen Anne's Private Dining Room.= - -This picturesque little room remains almost exactly in the same state as -it was when finished about 1690 for Queen Mary, who, perhaps, as well as -Queen Anne, used it as a private dining room. It is, indeed, a very -characteristic example of one of Wren's comfortable and eminently -habitable rooms. The protruding doorway in the right-hand corner, the -picturesque recess on the left-hand side of the fireplace, and the -porch-like treatment of the similar recess on the other side--where is -the doorway into the Queen's Closet--all show how the accidents of -construction and convenience may be so judiciously laid hold of, as to -render what would otherwise have been a mere uninteresting commonplace -room, a charmingly homelike and picturesque one. Such an example as this -of Wren's artistic adaptability should be a most valuable -"object-lesson" to modern builders, who, when not planning exactly -rectangular rooms, go to the other extreme of straining after a designed -and artificial "quaintness." - - The coved ceiling, rising from behind the oak cornice, adds greatly - to the apparent height of the room. - - The dimensions are: 17 feet 9 inches long by 14 feet wide. - -It was in this and the similar adjoining rooms that took place those -many curious intimate conversations between Queen Anne and the Duchess -of Marlborough, both when "Mrs. Morley" and her "dear Mrs. Freeman," -were all in all to each other, and also when "Atossa" vainly endeavoured -by fury, invective, and torrents of reproaches and tears, to regain her -fast-waning influence over the dull and feeble, but stolid and -obstinate, mind of the Queen. It was at Kensington Palace too, and -perhaps in this very room, that took place their famous interview, one -April afternoon in the year 1710, when the only reply which the great -Duchess Sarah could get to her inquiring entreaties was the phrase "You -desired no answer and you shall have none,"--reiterated with -exasperating and callous monotony by her whilom friend and mistress. - - -Pictures in Queen Anne's Private Dining Room. - -40 Installation of Knights of the Garter at Kensington Palace, on August -4th, 1713, by Queen Anne . . . . . PETER ANGELIS. - - There has been some question as to the exact ceremony, which is - depicted here, but there can be but little doubt that it represents - the Chapter of the Order of the Garter, held by Queen Anne at - Kensington Palace on August 4th, 1713, when Henry Grey, Duke of - Kent, Robert Harley, first Earl of Oxford, Charles Mordaunt, third - Earl of Peterborough, and John, Earl Poulett, were installed as - Knights of the Garter. The chapter was the last held by Queen Anne, - and was held at Kensington, and not at Windsor, owing to her - physical infirmities. Two of these noblemen kneel on the lowest - step of the throne, and have already been invested with the mantle - and collar of the Order and the Garter itself. The Queen places her - hand upon the joined hand of the two Knights of the Garter. It is - uncertain which of the noblemen are represented here, but the - Knight kneeling on the right of the picture would appear to - represent Harley. One of these noblemen is attended by a page boy - in grey silk, and the other has two black boys supporting his long - blue mantle. Among the Knights of the Garter in attendance, and - they all wear their full robes and collars, one figure is prominent - holding a long slender wand. This is probably Charles Talbot, Duke - of Shrewsbury, who was Lord Chamberlain of the Household, Lord - Lieutenant of Ireland, and for a brief period Lord High Treasurer. - Two yeoman of the Guard, in the well-known costume, but without - ruffs or rosettes to their shoes, holding halberds, stand - prominently forth on the extreme left. Through a wide door, in the - distant apartments, may be seen a crowd of courtiers waiting for - admission, and through the large square panes of the window in a - garden are seen clustered various persons in dark and formal - attire, peering anxiously through the glass as if to obtain a - sight of the ceremonial. - - On canvas, 2 ft. 5-1/4 in. high by 1 ft. 11-3/4 in. wide. Lent by - the Trustees of the National Portrait Gallery. - -41 William, Duke of Gloucester, son of Queen Anne -(_885_) . . . . . KNELLER. - - Bust; in an oval turned to the left, face seen in full. He is in - armour, and has a blue ermine-lined cape. On canvas, 2-1/2 ft. - high, by 2 ft. wide. - - The young duke, though of feeble constitution, was not deficient in - martial spirit. When but a boy of six years old, he came to meet - his uncle William of Orange, who had just returned from a campaign, - with a little musket on his shoulder, and presented arms, saying, - "I am learning my drill, that I may help you beat the French." The - king was so pleased that he made him a knight of the Garter a few - days after. Many men have received that honour for less. He died in - July 1700. - -42 Prince George of Denmark, Husband of Queen Anne (_884_) . . . . . DAHL. - - In an oval, to the shoulders; in armour.--His death in this Palace - has been mentioned on page 22. - -43 John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough . . . . . JAN WYCK. - - Three-quarters length, in armour; face turned three-quarters to the - left. His left hand is on his hip, his right on a table by his - side, on which is a plumed helmet. A battle scene is shown in the - lower right background. On canvas, 3 ft. high, by 2 ft. 4 in. wide. - Lent by the Trustees of the National Portrait Gallery. - - This portrait would seem to represent him as a comparatively young - man--about twenty-three--after he had distinguished himself at - Maestricht, when he was nicknamed by Turenne "the handsome - Englishman." It was the period of his famous _liaison_ with the - Duchess of Cleveland, who had fallen a willing victim to his beauty - and his charm of manner. Lord Wolseley, in his "Life of - Marlborough," describes his appearance at this period as: - "Strikingly handsome, with a profusion of fair hair, - strongly-marked, well-shaped eyebrows, long eyelashes, blue eyes, - and refined, clearly-cut features. A wart on his right upper-lip - though large, did not detract from his good looks. He was tall, and - his figure was remarkably graceful, although a contemporary says: - 'Il avait l'air trop indolent, et la taille trop effil.'" - - -=Queen Mary's Privy Chamber.= - -Except for the oak panelling, which covered the walls of this room as -late as the beginning of this century, but which was removed now many -years ago, we see it exactly as it was finished for Queen Mary. Her -initial, with that of her husband, King William, appears in the fine -carved oak cornice. The ceiling is coved. - -At one time this room was called "The Admiral's Gallery," on account of -the series of copies of portraits of British Admirals by Kneller and -Dahl, which formerly hung here--until their removal in 1835 to Hampton -Court, whence they have now been brought back to decorate again the -walls of these state rooms at Kensington. They are now hung, as we shall -see, in "The King's Gallery." - -The dimensions of this room are: 25 feet long by 17 feet 10 inches wide, -by 12 feet 7 inches high to the top of the cornice, 15 feet 8 inches to -the highest part of the ceiling. - - -Pictures in Queen Mary's Privy Chamber. - -50 Queen Mary, when Princess of Orange (_23_) . . . . . W. WISSING. - - Seated, nearly full length. She is dressed in blue in the costume - of a lady of the time, and with a crimson mantle edged with ermine. - Her left hand rests on a table, over which her mantle falls. - Engraved by John Verkolje. - - This picture is signed on the left-hand side, and is the original - of many replicas or copies at St. James's Palace, at - Burley-on-the-Hill, Woburn, The Grove, etc. It was painted for - James II., who sent Wissing over to the Hague for the purpose. His - popularity as a portrait-painter was great, and was partly due no - doubt to his making such flattering likenesses. "When any lady - came to sit to him whose complexion was any ways pale, he would - commonly take her by the hand and dance her about the room till she - became warmer." - -51 William III. when Prince of Orange . . . . . W. WISSING. - - Three-quarters length, standing; facing to the right, in a rich - dress. This is the companion piece to the foregoing. - -52 Portrait of James Stuart the Pretender (_664_) . . . . . B. LUTI. - - Half-length; facing in front, inclined to the right; his right hand - only is seen. He is in the robes of the Order of the Garter, of - which the jewel hangs on his breast, and has a long full-bottomed - wig, a lace cravat and cuffs. On his left is a table on which is - the royal crown of England. The background is gray, with a red - curtain. On canvas, 3 ft. 3 in. high, by 2 ft. 6 in. wide. - - The canvas is new. Behind was formerly this inscription:--"_James - son of James II.; by the Cavaliere Benedetto Luti, from the - Cardinal of York's collection at Frascati._" (Note in the _Royal - Inventory_.) This picture and No. 839 were bequeathed to George - III. by Cardinal York, the old Pretender's son, and the last of the - Stuarts, who died in 1807. - - It was no doubt painted at Rome, some time between the year 1718, - when Prince James accepted the asylum in the Eternal City offered - him by the Pope, and the year 1724, when Luti died there. In 1720 - he was married to the Princess Sobieski, and at the end of the same - year the young Pretender was born. - - The Pretender's countenance has that heavy, sodden appearance, and - that weak dejected look, which were due partly to his inert - character, partly to his misfortunes, and not less to the debauched - and indolent life he led. His person, indeed, was never impressive; - and even an adherent, writing of the events at Perth in 1715, - admits:--"I must not conceal, that when we saw the man, whom they - called our King, we found ourselves not at all animated by his - presence, and if he was disappointed in us, we were tenfold more so - in him. We saw nothing in him that looked like spirit. He never - appeared with cheerfulness and vigour to animate us. Our men began - to despise him; some asked him if he could speak." - - Gray the poet gives a similar account of him some years after:--"He - is a thin, ill-made man, extremely tall and awkward, of a most - unpromising countenance, a good deal resembling King James II., and - has extremely the air and look of an idiot, particularly when he - laughs or prays; the first he does not do often, the latter - continually." Horace Walpole observed that "enthusiasm and - disappointment have stamped a solemnity on his person, which rather - creates pity than respect." - -53 Frederick, Prince of Wales, at a Party (_606_) . . . . . M. LAROON? - - The Prince is at the head of the table, round which eight ladies - and gentlemen are seated. He is pouring wine into a glass. Some - thirteen persons, attendants, and a clergyman, are also in the - room. Most of them are probably portraits. Altogether twenty-three - small figures. On canvas, 3 ft. high, by 2 ft. 10 in. wide. - - This picture, though long labelled "Vanderbank," is probably by - Marcellus Laroon, the younger, to whom it is attributed in an old - catalogue. The likelihood that he is the painter is greatly - strengthened by the close resemblance in style between it and the - similar piece that follows--the personages evidently being the - same. - - It is not certain what is the subject represented; though it has - borne the above title for many years. In one of the Lord - Chamberlain's old inventories it is stated to represent "a fte in - honour of the marriage of the Duke of Wharton." - -54 A Royal Assembly in Kew Palace . . . . . MARCELLUS LAROON. - - This represents some Royal assembly, apparently Augusta of - Saxe-Gotha, the wife of Frederick, Prince of Wales, and her - friends, in Kew Palace. The Princess in blue is pouring out the - tea; a lady in white is singing; Handel is at the harpsichord, and - "Orator" Henley close by. The equestrian portrait on the wall - appears to be George II. - - Signed _Mar. Laroon_, and dated _1740_. Lent by Mr. Humphry Ward. - -55 Matthew Prior . . . . . _By Thomas Hudson, after_ JONATHAN -RICHARDSON. - - Half-length, seated, almost in profile to the right. On canvas, 3 - ft. 4 in. high, by 2 ft. 9 in. wide. Lent by the Trustees of the - National Portrait Gallery. - - Prior--poet, statesman, and diplomatist--published with Charles - Montagu, afterwards Earl of Halifax, in 1689, "The City Mouse and - the Country Mouse," intended to ridicule Dryden's "Hind and - Panther." He was patronized by Dorset, who introduced him to the - Court; and he was often employed in diplomatic offices. - -56 Flower-Piece--_over the mantelpiece_ (_826_) . . . . . BAPTISTE. - - A green glass vase with chrysanthemums, poppies, honeysuckles, etc. - Baptiste was a _protg_ of Queen Mary, and painted a great number - of flower-pieces to decorate Kensington and Hampton Court. - -57 Portrait of Robert Boyle the Philosopher (_56_) . . . . . KERSEBOOM. - - Nearly full-length, seated in a big armchair; turned to the right, - but facing in front. He leans his right arm on the chair; his left - is turning over the leaves of a book on a table in front of him. He - wears a large full-bottomed wig. This picture has been engraved by - Baron several times. - - Boyle, the famous chemist and experimental philosopher, was the - seventh son of the first Lord Cork, and from him received a fortune - of __3,000 a year, which he devoted in a great measure to - scientific research and the promotion of the Christian religion. He - was never married, being of opinion that "a man must have very low - and narrow thoughts of happiness or misery who can expect either - from a woman's conduct." For his life, see his _Philaretus_. - - Frederic Kerseboom was a native of Germany, who worked at Paris and - Rome under Le Brun and Poussin. He was in England during William - III.'s reign, and painted a few indifferent portraits. - -58 Portrait of John Locke (_947_) . . . . . KNELLER. - - Half-length, standing; turned to the right, but facing in front. He - rests his left hand on a table, on which are an inkstand and a pen; - his right hand in front of him. He wears a plain black coat, with - part of his shirt showing; and he is without his wig, and shows his - long white hair. - - This is one of Kneller's best portraits. It was evidently painted - in the philosopher's later years, for he looks here on the point of - dying of the asthma to which he succumbed in 1704. "Pray," said - Locke in a letter to Collins, "get Sir Godfrey to write on the back - of my picture 'John Locke;' it is necessary to be done, or else the - pictures of private persons are lost in two or three generations." - -59 Sir Isaac Newton (_957_) . . . . . KNELLER. - - Three-quarters length; turned to the left, facing in front. His - right arm is by his side, his left leans on a table, on which are a - globe and a book. He wears a dark, loose robe, and a large wig. On - the left is inscribed: "_I Newton Esq^{re} tatis_ 47. 1689." - - There is a similar portrait to this at Petworth, which is engraved - in Lodge. Newton was at this time member of the Convention - Parliament, for the University of Cambridge. - -59A King William III. (_779_) . . . . . KNELLER. - - Three-quarters length in armour, directed to the right; face turned - round to the left. He wears a blue and gold sash. In the left - background is a black servant, perhaps the one whose marble bust is - now in this palace. - - -=Queen Caroline's Drawing Room.= - -In entering this room we pass from the portion of the palace built in -1690 by Sir Christopher Wren for William and Mary, to that constructed -by William Kent about 1723 for George I. The visitor has thus a good -opportunity of comparing the styles and tastes of the two architects and -of gauging their relative powers. Wren had been driven from his office, -in 1718, by a shameful backstair intrigue; and two years afterwards, -Kent, doubtless by the influence of his patron, the Earl of Burlington, -was commissioned to build a set of new state rooms. - -How very mediocre were his talents, the exterior of his addition to -Wren's work will, as we have already said, ever remain a palpable proof; -and though for internal construction he shows less incapacity, still -this room exhibits all his false ideas of pseudo-classicism--developed, -as we shall see, to a most extravagant extent in the adjoining "Cube or -Cupola Room." - -Examining the decoration in detail, we perceive everywhere evidences of -his awkward, graceless style. The doorways, for instance, are -unnecessarily lofty and gaunt, and with their heavy cumbrous -architraves, flat moulded, with little light and shade, greatly impair -the proportions of the room. In the tall semi-circular headed central -window also, surmounted by a purposeless oak bracket--even in such -details as the mouldings of the panelling and of the framing of the -doors, and the flatness of the raised panels and their relative sizes to -the width of the rails and "stiles,"--we detect his marked inferiority -to Wren in the designing of such fittings. - -The =chimney-piece=, which is one of Kent's plainer and less ponderous -ones, is of a choice marble, veined black and gold. - -The dimensions of this room are: 32 feet 9-1/2 inches long, 24 feet 2 -inches wide, and 19 feet 2 inches high to the top of the cornice, 24 -feet to the ceiling. - - -Painted Ceiling of Queen Caroline's Drawing Room. - -But it is by the ceiling especially, with its great heavy oval frame of -plasterwork, and its appearance of overhanging crushing weight, that we -can most accurately appreciate Kent. The central recessed panel, -containing an allegorical representation of Minerva, attended by History -and the Arts, gives us a measure of his powers as a pictorial artist. -The decorative painting of the cove of the ceiling, above the oaken -cornice, is more satisfactory. In the four angles, and in the middle of -each side, are classical pediments with volutes. - -Besides, the workmanship of the wainscoting being very good, and the -original rawness of the ceiling somewhat faded, this room, with its new -oak floor, its gorgeous paper, its Georgian furniture, probably designed -by Kent, and the magnificent frames of some of the pictures on its -walls, presents a fine and stately appearance. - - -Contemporary French and German Portraits. - -60 Madame de Pompadour (_986_) . . . . . DROUAIS. - - Half-length, seated, turned to the left. She wears a dress of - figured brocade, worked with coloured flowers and foliage on a - white ground, and trimmed with white ribbons; her sleeves are short - and edged with lace. On her head is a sort of mob cap, or headdress - of lace, tied under the chin with a striped ribbon; her hair is - short and powdered. In front of her is a frame of embroidery called - tambour-work, which she is working, her right hand being above, and - her left under the canvas. The background is grey, with a red - curtain to the right. Painted in an oval. On canvas, 2 ft. 7-1/2 - in. high, by 2 ft. wide. - - This picture has been attributed, but quite unwarrantably, to - Greuze, who does not appear to have painted Louis XV.'s mistress at - all, and certainly could not have done so when she was as young as - she is here represented. It is in fact a replica (and by no means a - bad one) of a portrait by Drouais, of which a great many - repetitions are extant, and of which the original--a - full-length--is now at Mentmore, Lord Rosebery's. The Mentmore - picture was purchased for 1,000. - - Drouais was an indifferent artist whose name would long have passed - into oblivion, had he not painted princes and princesses. Diderot - drew this just estimate of his works:--"Tous les visages de cet - homme-l ne sont que le rouge vermillon le plus prcieux, - artistement couch sur la craie la plus fine et la plus blanche.... - Il n'y en a pas une de laide, et pas une qui ne dplt sur la - toile. Ce n'est pas de la chair; car, o est la vie, l'onctueux, le - transparent, les tons, les dgradations, les nuances?" And Larousse - endorses this view with the following remarks:--"Toutes ces - peintures, habilement traites d'ailleurs comme mtier, n'ont rien - de saillant, aucune puissance, aucune originalit. Les ttes sont - banales, ternes, sans physionomie. L'allure est gauche et pnible. - Les personnages sont fort mal habills, bien que les draperies - soient excutes en trompe-l'oeil et avec magnificence." - - Madame de Pompadour is here represented at about the age of - thirty-five, a period when, having lost the influence of a lover - over the debauched and fickle Louis XV., she endeavoured to retain - her power by ministering to his pleasures and vices. Her appearance - completely tallies with the account given of her:--"Elle tait - assez grande, bien faite, les cheveux, chtain clair, tres-beaux, - avec une peau d'une grande finesse et d'une blancheur clatante. - Mais elle avait un genre de beaut qui se fane vite: ses chairs - molles s'infiltraient, s'enflammaient aisment; elle avait des - langueurs et des pleurs maladives." - - The tambour-work at which she is engaged was one of her favourite - occupations; and it is pleasant to remember, with the shocking - record of her extraordinary career, that she created that style in - decoration, furniture, dress, literature, and even art, which is - known by the name of Louis XV., a style which, wanting as it is in - the simplicity of medivalism, and stamped though it be with the - character of its meretricious inventor, is yet always pleasing from - a certain refinement and artificial beauty. - -61 Mademoiselle de Clermont (_984_) . . . . . _unnamed._ - - Half-length, facing in front, hands not seen. She is dressed in a - white dress, with a garland of flowers across it from under her - left arm to her right shoulder. Behind her she has a blue scarf. - Her hair is powdered and done high up. On canvas, 2 ft. 5 in. high, - by 2 ft. wide. - - Behind is written:--"_Marianne. de. bourbon. nommeo. Mademoiselle. - de. Clermont._" - - She was born in Paris in October, 1697, and was the daughter of - Louis, the third Duke of Bourbon, and his wife Louise Franoise de - Bourbon, Mademoiselle de Nantes, a natural daughter of Louis XV. In - 1725 she was appointed "Surintendante de la Maison de la Reine." - The story of her and her lover, M. de Melun, and his tragic end, - forms the basis of Madame de Genlis' charming little novel, - "Mademoiselle de Clermont." - - This portrait is painted in the style of Nattier. - -62 Louis XVI. in his Coronation Robes (_516_) . . . . . CALLET. - - Full-length, standing, facing to the left. His left hand holds his - hat by his side, his right leans on his sceptre. He is attired in - the royal robes of France, a purple mantle embroidered with - fleurs-de-lys, and an ermine tippet, etc. He has a small wig; his - face is shaven. Behind him is his throne, with a figure of Justice. - On canvas, 9 ft. high, by 6 ft. 5 in. wide. - - This is the original presentation frame, decorated with - fleurs-de-lys. - - Though formerly labelled "Greuze," it is really a replica of - Callet's well-known portrait, of which, besides the original at - Versailles, there are other repetitions at Madrid and elsewhere, - distributed to the various courts of Europe on the king's - accession. The original was engraved by Bervic, the greatest of - French engravers, the plate being lettered with the painter's name, - "Callet Peintre du Roi." - -63 Portrait of Louis XV. when young (_925_) . . . . . RIGAUD. - - Half-length, turned to the left; his left hand is in his sash, his - right holds a marshal's bton. His dress is a fawn-coloured doublet - with a cuirass, a blue sash, and a blue mantle embroidered with a - fleur-de-lys over it. Short hair, beardless face. On canvas, 3 ft. - high, by 2 ft. 5 in. wide. - - This portrait was painted by Rigaud, as the contemporary mezzotint - engraving by J. Simon proves, and not, as has been said, by - Mignard, who had been dead thirty years. He is considered one of - the best French portrait-painters of that period. Louis XV. - conferred several favours on him, and decorated him with the Order - of St. Michael, in 1727, soon after this portrait was painted. This - distinction was given, as he said, "tant en considration de la - rputation acquise dans son art, que pour avoir peint la famille - royalle jusqu' la quatrime gnration." - -64 Marianne, Duchess of Bourbon (_985_) . . . . . SANTERRE? - - Half-length, facing in front; her hands not seen. Her hair is dark, - and dressed high, with a blue ribbon fastened over with a red - jewel, and carried to the front. Her dress is yellow brocade with - red drapery. On canvas, 2 ft. 5 in. high, by 2 ft. wide. - - Behind is written in ink:--"_Marianne. de. bourbon. fille. de. - Monsieur. le. prince. de. Conty. famme. de. Monsieur. le. duc. de. - bourbon._" - - She married, in 1713, Louis Henri de Bourbon, brother of - Mademoiselle de Clermont (see No. 61), and died in 1720. There is a - portrait of her husband at Paris, by Drouais. - - The portrait before us is very possibly by Jean Baptiste Santerre, - a good painter whose works are rare. He died in 1717. - -65 The Emperor Paul of Russia (_894_) . . . . . ----? - - Bust, turned to the left, eyes looking at the spectator. He is in a - green uniform with red facing; and on his breast three stars and a - green ribbon across from his right shoulder to his left. His hair - is curled and powdered. On canvas, 2 ft. 4 in. high, by 1 ft. - 10-1/2 in. wide. - - Behind the picture is inscribed:--"_Kopal T. Ep. K. E._ (?) 1799" - and "_Catalogue No. 545, Emperor Paul of Russia._." - - This portrait represents the emperor in the forty-fifth year of his - age, three years after his accession, and two years before his - assassination. - -66 Louis XIV., when young (_396_) . . . . . MIGNARD? - - Three-quarters length, facing in front. His left hand hangs by his - side, right is on his hip. He is clad in armour, over which is a - purplish robe, lined with yellow. He has a long brown wig. On - canvas, 5 ft. high, by 3 ft. 7 in. wide. - - If this is really by Mignard, it must, on account of the age of the - king, be one of the first pictures he painted in 1658, on his - introduction to the French Court. - -67 Stanislaus, King of Poland (_895_) . . . . . LAMPI. - - Bust, turned slightly to the left. He is dressed in a purple velvet - coat, across which is a light blue sash, and on the left side of - his breast a star. He wears a small wig and pigtail; his face is - shaven. On canvas, 2 ft. 4 in. high, by 1 ft 10-1/2 in. wide. - - Behind in ink is written:--"Cavalieri Lampi de Vienna." - - In an old inventory, dated 1819, is this entry:--"Half-length - portrait of the King of Poland, purple velvet coat, etc., painted - by Lampi, member of the Academy of Vienna. Bought of Colnaghi for - 21." - - Stanislaus-Augustus Poniatowski was proclaimed King of Poland on - the 7th of September, 1764, having owed his election to his lover - the Empress Catherine. It was during his reign that the infamous - partition of Poland was perpetrated, to which he lent a passive - assistance. He died in 1798. - -68 Queen of Prussia (_907_) . . . . . ANTON GRAFF? - - Seated in a high-backed armchair covered with blue velvet; she is - turned to the left, but faces in front. Her right hand rests on a - table beside her, and points to a book; her left hangs by her side. - She is dressed in black trimmed with ermine, and her head is - covered with a black lace veil. Her hair is white. On canvas, 4 ft. - 7 in. high, by 3 ft. 3 in. wide. - - This is attributed in the _Royal Inventory_ to Graff, a German - painter who flourished at the end of the last century. - - Is she Sophia Dorothea, sister of George II., who married, in 1706, - William I., King of Prussia, and who died in 1757? - -69 Frederick, Prince of Wales (_789_) . . . . . ZEEMAN? - - Small full-length; turned to the right. His right hand pointing in - front of him, his left on his breast. He wears a red coat, leather - boots to the knees, and a long wig. - - Though this has long been known as Frederick, Prince of Wales, - there are reasons to suspect that it is really his Brother William, - Duke of Cumberland. - -70 Louis XIV. on Horseback (_853_) . . . . . CHARLES LE BRUN? - - He is shown the size of life, on a cream-coloured charger, rising - on its hind legs, and turned to the left. His dress is an - embroidered coat, with jack boots and scarlet breeches. In his - right hand he holds a bton. On his head is a black laced hat; he - has long flowing hair and curls. In the distance under the horse's - forelegs an attack of cavalry is seen. On canvas, 8 ft. 3 in. high, - by 6 ft. 2 in. wide. - - This has been attributed to Van der Meulen, but there is a similar - picture at Versailles by Charles le Brun of which this is perhaps a - replica. - -71 Frederick the Great (_555_) . . . . . ANTOINE PESNE. - - Full-length, standing, turned to the left, but facing round to the - front. His left hand points to a battle in the distance; his right - holds a marshal's truncheon. He is in armour, over which is a - crimson ermine-lined mantle; he has a small close-curled wig; his - helmet is on the ground in front of him. On canvas, 8 ft. 7 in. - high, by 5 ft. 7 in. wide. - - "To this admirable painter (_i.e._ Pesne) I am inclined to - attribute the portrait of Frederick the Great. The king, who is - still in youthful years, is pointing to a battlefield in the - background, probably in allusion to the Silesian war. A picture of - considerable merit."--_Waagen._ The painter is well remembered by - the following couplet by Frederick the Great:-- - - "Quel spectacle tonnant vient de frapper mes yeux, - Cher Pesne, ton pinceau t'gale au rang des Dieux," - - which Voltaire interpreted thus:--"Le roi ne regardant jamais le - peintre, ce dernier tait pour lui invisible comme Dieu." - - Pesne, who was a Frenchman and studied in Paris, was in England in - 1724. He afterwards went to Berlin, where he became court painter - to Frederick the Great. He died in 1757, the year of the Battle of - Prague. - - The frame is doubtless a presentation one. - -72 Frederick the Great (_978_) . . . . . _unnamed._ - - Bust, turned to the left, facing in front; his hands not seen. He - wears a small wig and a dark-blue coat, with the star of the Order - of the Black Eagle. - -73 Charles XII. of Sweden (_977_) . . . . . MAGNUS DU BLAIRE? - - Bust; wearing a blue coat and a black choker; grey hair, and a - beardless face. - - A small whole length, 49 in. by 39 in., of which this appears to be - an enlarged copy of part, was in the Hamilton Palace collection, - No. 1031, attributed to Magnus du Blaire, and inscribed: "In fatum - Scandici Die XXX Nov. MDCCXVII." - - "David Krafft, a Swedish painter, born in 1655, painted the - portrait of Charles XII. at the command of his sister, afterwards - Queen Ulrica Elanora; but this monarch, who objected to being - portrayed, was so displeased at the accuracy of the picture, that - he cut out the head. It had, however, already been transferred to - copper, and also etched by several engravers."--_Bryan._ - -74 Flower Piece . . . . . BAPTISTE. - -75 Flower Piece . . . . . BAPTISTE. - -76 Flower Piece . . . . . BAPTISTE. - - -=The Cupola or Cube Room.= - -In this sumptuous and gorgeous chamber, with its marble-pillared -doorways, its painted and gilded walls, its niches, brackets, slabs, and -pediments of white marble, its gilt antique statues, its gaudy domed -ceiling of blue and gold, we have the very acme and essence of the style -and art of William Kent, triumphant and rampant. After our remarks on -his work in the foregoing room, we shall not be expected to lose -ourselves in admiration over this masterpiece of his pseudo-classic -design and decoration. Yet little as we may agree with his theories of -art, little as we may admire the way he carried them into practice, it -is not to be denied that, viewed as a whole, there is considerable -grandeur and stateliness, and a certain degree of fine proportion, about -this highly-emblazoned saloon. - -Though called the "Cube" Room, its dimensions are not exactly of that -mathematical figure, the walls being only 26 feet 2 inches high, to the -top of the cornice, and 34 feet 7 inches to the centre of the ceiling, -though each side is 37 feet long. - - -The Painted Ceiling of the Cube Room. - -The ceiling seems to have been the first portion of the work undertaken -by Kent, and to have been finished by him by the spring of the year -1722. That he was employed to do this work occasioned much very -justifiable heart-burning. Sir James Thornhill was at that time -serjeant-painter to the King, and in virtue of his office was entitled -to receive the commission for painting this ceiling. Indeed, it appears -from a "Memorial of Sir Thomas Hewett, Knt., Surveyor-General of His -Majesties Works," addressed to the Lords of the Treasury, dated 14th -February, 1722-3, and "relating to the painting of the large Square Room -at Kensington," that in the foregoing autumn the King had commanded -Hewett's attendance at Kensington "about finishing the Three Large Rooms -in the New Building," and that Hewett then showed the King "several -sketches of mosaic work, etc., for painting the ceiling of the Great -Square Room." The Memorial proceeds to state: - - "His Majesty chose one of them; and after I ordered a model to be - made, and Sir James Thornhill painted it, which His Majesty saw and - approved of; and commanded me to tell the Vice-Chamberlain he - should treat with Sir James Thornhill for the Price, and that it - should be done out of Hand, which is all I know of the matter." - -Nevertheless, for some reason or other--probably owing to some backstair -intrigue--Kent was employed to do the work instead. But before he had -half finished it the officers of works were directed by the Treasury "to -view and take care that the particulars of Mr. Kent's proposal for -painting the ceiling of the Great Chamber at Kensington be well -answer'd, and the work in the best manner performed with -l'Ultra-Marine." They accordingly commissioned several of the best -artists of the day "to view and carefully to consider the same and -report in writing." - -[Illustration: THE CUPOLA OR CUBE ROOM, AS IT WAS WHEN THE QUEEN WAS -BAPTIZED IN IT.] - -The artists, or rather critics as they became--and trust an artist to be -no too lenient a critic of a fellow artist's work--were John van Vaart, -Alex^{r} Nisbett, and Jacob Rambour. Their report is dated May 22nd, -1722, and in it they state as follows: - - "We have been to Kensington and carefully view'd and considered the - said painting, which we did find better than half done: But having - examin'd the particulars thereof, we have observed, and 'tis our - opinion, that the Perspective is not just; that the principal of - the work, which consists in ornaments and architecture, is not done - as such a place requires. Mr. Nesbot adds that the Boys, Masks, - Mouldings, etc., far from being well, he has seen very few worse - for such a place: and Mr. Rambour affirms that the said work, far - from being done in the best manner, as mentioned in your letter, it - is not so much as tolerably well perform'd. As for the quality of - the Blew used in the work, Mr. Vandewart and Mr. Rambour declare - that they can't judge whether it is true ultramarine, because it - does not look fine enough, but Mr. Nesbot's opinion is that it is - nothing but Prussian Blew, in which perhaps there may be some - Ultra-marine mixt." - -Nevertheless, the colours have endured unfaded until to-day; and the -gilding also, both on the ceiling and the walls, has required but little -renewing, only cleaning and an occasional application of modern leaf -gold, and retouching with the paint brush, where the old surface had -been injured. - -Much of the woodwork, however, had to be repaired, especially the -capitals of the pilasters, some of which had to be renewed. - -The shape of the ceiling is slightly domed, the four coved sides -terminating above in a flat centre, painted with a gigantic star of the -Order of the Garter. The coved sides themselves are painted with -octagonal panels, diminishing upwards to simulate a lofty pierced dome. -Kent himself seems to have been so well satisfied with the work, that he -made use of almost exactly the same design when painting the Queen's -Staircase at Hampton Court some twelve years after. Across, part of the -north cove of the ceiling is painted a deep shadow, to indicate that -cast by the wall and cornice above the windows. - - -The Painted Walls of the Cube Room. - -Kent, after finishing the ceiling, proceeded to decorate the walls with -painting and gilding. There is a letter in the Record Office, from Lord -Grafton, to the Lords of the Treasury, dated 29th of May, 1725, ordering -payment of "344 2_s._ 7_d._ to Mr. Kent, for painting the sides of the -Cube Room at Kensington with ornaments enriched with gold." - -These walls, including the four pilasters on each, are of oak, painted -with a light olive-green colour as a ground, embellished with niches of -white marble, surmounted by brackets of the same, let into the woodwork. - -In the =six niches= are well-designed statues of classical -deities--Ceres, Mercury, Venus, Minerva, Bacchus, Apollo, in cast lead, -somewhat under life-size. These were so dirty and tarnished as to -necessitate their being entirely new-gilt. Above them, standing on -brackets in flat rectangular niches, were formerly busts representing -Roman poets, now unfortunately no longer to be found. - -The two =doorways= opposite each other are likewise of the same fine -polished marble, with pilasters and pillars of the Ionic order, -supporting heavy entablatures, on the apexes of which are antique busts. - -The =chimney-place= is of the same design in miniature, of polished -"dove-coloured" white-veined marble, similar to that at Marlborough -House. On the apex was formerly a gilt bust of Cleopatra, now missing. -Within the fireplace itself are very fine panelled and moulded "covings" -or sides, of the same "dove-coloured" marble, discovered during the -progress of the restorations. - -Above the chimney-piece is a large =bas-relief= in statuary marble -representing a Roman marriage, sculptured by the statuary Rysbach. It is -a fine work, but one feels rather as if standing in front of a -sepultural monument in some foreign _campo santo_ than before an English -fireside. - -Rysbach, who was a native of Antwerp, came over to England in 1720, four -or five years before he executed this work. His talents were for some -time--as have been those of many an unsuspecting foreigner--exploited by -a commercializing British impresario, Gibbs. Two-thirds of the prices -paid for his work found its way into the pockets of the unscrupulous -intermediary, until Rysbach, at last shaking himself free from this -bondage, took commissions on his own account, and, becoming the rage, he -was able to exact great prices for his work. It is possible that he -designed the gilt statues in the niches, which seem too good for Kent's -narrow invention. - - -General appearance of the Cupola Room. - -Such was the decoration of this famous Cupola or Cube Room when finished -by Kent, such it appeared in 1818, when Pyne's drawing, from which our -illustration is taken, was made, and such it appears to this day, save -for the large musical clock which then stood in its centre, for the -console tables against the walls, and the four large chandeliers that -hung from the ceiling. These last were most essential features in this -saloon, for its windows, abutting northwards on the private gardens, -admit but very insufficient light; and only when illuminated by a blaze -of candlelight can full justice have been done to the extravagant -glories of its walls and ceilings. - -It was, in fact, intended essentially as a room for grand evening -entertainments, and Kent evidently bore this in mind when he constructed -it; for he contrived a very ingenious method, whereby the double doors -in the doorways between it and the two drawing-rooms, with which it -communicates, fold back, when opened, into the door jambs, in which they -lie flush, offering no projecting hindrance to the movement of guests -passing either way. This is a point never thought of by modern -architects, who might do worse, when designing great reception rooms, -than take a hint in this matter from the much contemned Kent, and so -obviate the usual "crush" at the too narrow doorways. - - * * * * * - -It seems to have been in this Cupola Room that took place, on the 24th -of June, 1819, the baptism of the infant Princess Victoria. Faulkner -records that "the Royal Gold Font was brought from the Tower and fitted -up in the Grand Saloon, with crimson velvet covering from the Chapel -Royal, St. James's. The ceremony was performed by the Archbishop of -Canterbury, assisted by the Bishop of London.... The Prince Regent and -nearly all the Royal Family were present at the ceremony, or at the -dinner in the evening." - -Exactly underneath this room is the famous pillared "Council Chamber" in -which, as we have already stated, the Queen held her first council. - - -=King's Drawing Room.= - -Built at the same time as the two preceding rooms by command of King -George I., William Kent here again reigns supreme in the design and -decoration. "It was on the walls of this drawing-room," we are told by -Pyne, writing in 1818, "that the then new art of paper-hangings, in -imitation of the old velvet flock, was displayed, with an effect that -soon led to the adoption of so cheap and elegant a manufacture, in -preference to the original rich material from which it was copied." - -The paper that now covers the walls is a copy of an old pattern, and has -been supplied by Messrs. Bertram, the decorators. - -We may again notice here the five lofty doorways, surmounted by flat -architraves, and the oak pilasters in the dado as characteristic of -Kent. There was originally one of his great massive marble -chimney-pieces in this room, long since replaced by the present plain -insignificant one. - -The dimensions of this room are 39 feet 6 inches long (from east to -west), 28 feet wide, and 22 feet 8 inches high to the top of the -cornice. - - -Painted Ceiling of the King's Drawing Room. - -This is another of Kent's artistic efforts. There is in the Record -Office a letter from Lord Grafton dated June 26th, 1725, conveying his -majesty's commands that "their Lordships of the Treasury would give -orders to Mr. William Kent to paint the ceilings, etc. in the new -apartments at Kensington"--including this one. - -The cove of the ceiling, or portion nearest the cornice, is elaborately -decorated with scroll-work and architectural ornaments, richly gilt and -painted, and with medallions in the middle of each side supported by -female figures. In the centre is a large projecting heavy oval frame of -plaster, with the panel within it recessed about three feet. This is -painted with the story of Jupiter and Semele, the God appearing in a -thunder-cloud, and Semele, in a ridiculous attitude, on a couch. No -painting could be worse. The signature of the artist, "_William Kent -pinxit_, 1725," has been found a little to the left of the right foot of -Semele. - -When the restoration of this room was taken in hand last winter, the -ceiling was so begrimed with the dirt, dust, smoke, and smuts of upwards -of a hundred and fifty years of London atmosphere, as to be nearly -black. The cleaning was carried out with the most scrupulous care, and -practically no re-painting or re-gilding has been necessary. - - -William Kent, the Royal and Fashionable Decorator. - -The whole effect of this ceiling _if you do not look at it_ is rich and -striking, and with the fine paper and the pictures on the walls will -pass muster as a suitable decorative treatment of a grand state -reception room. George I. and George II. at any rate had no hesitation -in extending an unqualified approval to Kent's work. After having -finished this suite he grew into greater favour than ever. He was soon -after appointed "Master Carpenter, Architect, Keeper of the Pictures, -and Principal Painter to the Crown, the whole, including a pension of -100 a year, which was given him for his works at Kensington, -producing--according to Walpole--600 a year." From the Court his vogue -extended to a large circle of patrons and votaries. "He was not only -consulted for furniture, as frames of pictures, glasses, tables, chairs, -etc., but for plate, for a barge, for a cradle; and so impetuous was -fashion, that two great ladies prevailed on him to make designs for -their birthday gowns. The one he dressed in a petticoat decorated with -columns of the five orders; the other like a bronze, in a -copper-coloured satin, with ornaments of gold!" - -[Illustration: KING'S DRAWING ROOM.] - - -Kent, the "Father of Modern Gardening." - -Kent also had a great reputation as a horticulturist, and was generally -designated, at the end of last century, as the "Father of Modern -Gardening"--his ghastly progeny consisting of the destructive and -desolating "landscape-gardening" enterprises of "Capability Brown," -Repton, and their followers. His hand doubtless fell heavy on the old -Queen Anne formal gardens about Kensington Palace. We can see the -influence of his taste, which was followed with enthusiasm by Queen -Caroline and her gardener Bridgman, in the barrenness and commonplace -appearance of the grounds that lie immediately below in front of us, as -we look out of the windows of this room, and in the entire absence of -planting or gardening in the large expanse surrounding the "Round Pond." - -This =Round Pond=, or "=the Basin=" as it used to be called, is, by the -bye, not round at all, but of a geometrical figure, more of an oval form -than circular, and with the four sides flattened and the intermediate -portions of the circumference bent into "ogees." In thus shaping this -basin the designer, whether Kent or Bridgman, has overstepped artistic -discretion; for from no point of view, neither in Kensington Gardens, -from the ground beside it, nor even from this window is its real shape -to be made out--only from Rocque's plan or bird's-eye view, of 1736, can -it be seen to be so eccentric. - -The distant =view=, however, beyond the private gardens, across the -Round Pond and Kensington Gardens, over grassy slopes and ancient trees -to Hyde Park, a mile away, is one of the pleasantest in the metropolis. -Not a street, not a road, not a house, not a roof is to be seen. In the -spring and early summer, when the foliage is fresh and green, one might -imagine oneself in the depths of the country, in some old house -overlooking midland pastures and woods. - - -West's Pictures in the King's Drawing Room. - -In this room are hung the paintings of West, all of which were executed -for George III., who greatly admired them, and extended to him a most -liberal patronage. He was equally in favour with the public, who lauded -his performances to the skies, and with his fellow-artists, who made him -President of the Royal Academy. We now hardly know which to wonder at -most--an obscure lad in the wilds of Pennsylvania, who took his earliest -lessons in painting from a tribe of Cherokees, accomplishing what he -did; or the English fetish, Public Opinion, having been so deluded as to -regard his efforts as masterpieces of Art. The depreciation which has -overtaken him may be judged when we hear that an "Annunciation," for -which 800 was originally paid, was knocked down in 1840 for 10! His -portraits, nevertheless, are interesting. - -80 The Death of General Wolfe (_497_) . . . . . WEST. - - Wolfe lies in the centre, to the right, supported by three - officers. In front of him is a wounded officer, standing, supported - by others, to hear his dying injunctions. At his feet is an Indian - warrior in his war-paint, gazing at him to see how an English chief - will die. On the extreme left is a messenger running, and on the - left ships with soldiers disembarking. On canvas, 5 ft. high, by 8 - ft. wide. - - Wolfe was killed on the 13th September, 1759, in the moment of - victory before Quebec. "The fall of Wolfe was noble indeed. He - received a wound in the head, but covered it from his soldiers with - his handkerchief. A second ball struck him in the belly, but that - too he dissembled. A third hitting him in the breast, he sank under - the anguish, and was carried behind the ranks. Yet, fast as life - ebbed out, his whole anxiety centred on the fortune of the day. He - begged to be borne nearer to the action, but his sight being dimmed - by the approach of death, he entreated to be told what they who - supported him saw: he was answered, that the enemy gave ground. He - eagerly repeated the question, heard the enemy was totally routed, - cried 'I am satisfied,' and expired." (Walpole's _Memoirs_.) - - "In this picture, which was painted in 1771, West introduced the - sensible innovation of dressing the characters in their proper - costume; previous to that time it was the common practice with - painters to dress their figures in historical compositions of any - kind, in the Greek or Roman costume. Sir Joshua Reynolds was one - of those who were averse to the innovation, but when the picture - was finished, he changed his opinion. After a careful examination - of the picture, he observed to the Archbishop of York, who was with - him at the time, 'West has conquered; he has treated his subject as - it ought to be treated; I retract my objections. I foresee that - this picture will not only become one of the most popular, but will - occasion a revolution in the art.' When West related this to the - King, he said, 'I wish I had known all this before, for the - objection has been the means of Lord Grosvenor getting the picture, - but you shall make a copy for me.'" - - This is the copy ordered by George III., for which the painter - received 315. The original is at Grosvenor House, and has been - finely engraved by Woollett. There are several other repetitions of - it. - -81 Prince of Wales (George IV.), and Duke of York -(_500_) . . . . . WEST. - - The Prince is on the left, in yellow satin, his right hand on his - hip, his left on his brother's shoulder, who leans against a table. - They are both in the robes of the Garter and St. Andrew. On canvas, - 9 ft. high, by 7 ft. wide. - - The Prince of Wales was born on August 12th, 1762; Frederick, Duke - of York, on August 16th, 1763. This picture represents them when - they were about fifteen and fourteen years old, therefore, about - 1777. - - Soon afterwards the Duke of York proceeded to Prussia for the - purpose of being educated as a soldier. - -82 Dukes of Cumberland, Sussex, and Cambridge, and the Princesses -Augusta-Sophia, Elizabeth, and Mary (_488_). - - The Duke of Cumberland is on the left, standing; the Duke of Sussex - is lying down near his sister Elizabeth, who holds on her lap the - infant Princess Mary (?). Kneeling by them is the Duke of - Cambridge, and behind is the Princess Augusta-Sophia. Signed and - dated 1776. On canvas, 6 ft. 7 in. high, by 7 ft. 10 in. wide. - - Prince Ernest Augustus, afterwards Duke of Cumberland and King of - Hanover, and grandfather of her Royal Highness Princess Frederica, - was born June 5th, 1771; Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex, - on January 27th, 1773; and Prince Adolphus Frederick, Duke of - Cambridge, on February 24th, 1774. Princess Augusta-Sophia was born - on November 8th, 1768; Princess Elizabeth, on May 22nd, 1770; and - Princess Mary, on April 25th, 1776. - - The Princesses have long been wrongly called, Charlotte, Augusta, - and Sophia; the correct names, as given above, are derived from the - contemporary mezzotint by V. Green; besides, when this picture was - painted the Princess Sophia was not born. - -83 Queen Charlotte, aged 36, with her thirteen children in the -background (_498_) . . . . . WEST. - - Standing; dressed in white, her hair powdered and piled up high. - The thirteen children are seen in the distance to the left, in a - picture which is now at Windsor Castle. On canvas, 9 ft. 6 in. - high, by 7 ft. wide. - -84 George III.; Lords Amherst and Lothian behind (_494_) . . . . . WEST. - - He is standing, facing to the right, in full regimentals. He holds - a scroll of paper in his hands in front of him. Behind him is his - crown and sceptre; and in the background the two peers, and a view - of Coxheath Camp. On canvas, 9 ft. 6 in. high, by 7 ft. wide. - - It appears from West's own memoranda that this picture was painted - before 1779, consequently the King cannot have been more than - forty. - -85 Duke of Cambridge, and Princesses Charlotte and Augusta -(_487_) . . . . . WEST. - - The Duke, in a maroon-coloured suit, is standing on the right. - Princess Charlotte is sitting on a stool, with her sister on her - lap. In the background are a curtain, a column, and Kew Gardens - with the Pagoda. Signed on the top in the left hand corner; and - dated 1778. On canvas, 9 ft. high, by 6 ft. wide. - - Princess Charlotte, George III.'s eldest daughter, afterwards Queen - of Wirtemburg, was born on September 29th, 1766; and Princess - Augusta, on November 8th, 1768. It is doubtful whether the names - are correct. - -86 =Apotheosis of the Infant Princes Octavius and Alfred= (_503_). - - Alfred, the younger of the two, is seated on clouds, with his hands - out-stretched to his brother, who is being conducted up to him by - an angel. - - Prince Octavius was born on February 23rd, 1779, and Prince Alfred - on September 22nd, 1780. Alfred died on August 20th, 1782. "I am - very sorry for Alfred," said the King, "but had it been Octavius I - should have died too." - - Octavius followed his brother to the grave on May 2nd, 1783. For - this picture West received 315. Engraved by Sir Robert Strange. - -87 =Queen Charlotte and the Princess Royal= (_492_) . . . . . WEST. - - The Queen is sitting on a sofa, with embroidery on her lap. The - Princess stands on the right, by her side, and holds the - embroidery. Dated 1776. On canvas, 5 ft. 5 in. high, by 6 ft. 8 in. - wide. - -88 Duke of Clarence (William IV.), and Duke of Kent -(_502_) . . . . . WEST. - - The Duke of Clarence is on the left, dressed in a blue coat with a - white vest; he has his right hand on a globe, his left on his hip. - The Duke of Kent is in red turned full to the front, but looking at - his brother; his right hand is on his brother's left hand, his left - is pointing upwards. On canvas, 9 ft. 6 in. high, by 7 ft. wide. - - Prince William Henry, Duke of Clarence, afterwards William IV., was - born August 21st, 1765. Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, father of her - present Most Gracious Majesty, was born November 2nd, 1767. This - picture was painted when they were about thirteen and eleven years. - In 1780, the Duke of Clarence went to sea as a midshipman. West - received 250 guineas for the picture. - -89 George III. Reviewing the Tenth Dragoons in Hyde Park in 1797 -(_168_) . . . . . BEECHEY. - - The King is in front on a white horse, whose head is turned to the - left. He is in full regimentals, with a cocked hat. Just behind him - is the Prince of Wales, in the uniform of the 10th, holding up his - sword and giving the word of command. To the left of the King is - the Duke of York, with Generals Goldsworthy and Sir David Dundas; - Sir William Fawcett is standing in front of them. The King is - turning round to speak to them, and points with his right hand to - the cavalry charge in the left distance. On canvas, 13 ft. 8 in. - high, by 16-1/2 ft. wide. - - The 10th Light Dragoons (now the 10th Hussars) were frequently - reviewed by George III. in company with the Prince of Wales, who - entered the army as brevet-colonel, November 19th, 1782, and after - whom the regiment was called "The Prince of Wales's Own," on - Michaelmas Day, 1783. In 1793 he was appointed colonel-commandant - of the corps, and succeeded as colonel on July 18th, 1796. The - review commemorated here took place not long after that date, for - the picture is mentioned in a biographical sketch of Sir William - Beechey in _The London Monthly Mirror_ for July, 1798, where we are - told that the King rewarded him for it with the honour of - knighthood. The names of the officers were derived from an account - of a review, which took place in 1799, and which this picture was - formerly supposed to represent; it is therefore doubtful whether - they are quite correct. (See _Notes and Queries_.) - - This picture is regarded as Beechey's masterpiece, and was very - much admired at the time. But "although a clever and showy group of - portraits, it has little of real nature, and is full of the - painter's artifices. Thus the King's white horse forms the - principal light, and comes off the Prince of Wales's dark horse, - and so on; the light and shadow of all the heads being the light - and shadow of the studio, and not of the field."--(Redgrave's - _Century of Painters_.) The King had several copies taken of it; in - one, which he gave to Lord Sidmouth, the figure of the Prince was - omitted by the King's own desire, a curious proof of his dislike of - his son. When the Prince became King he hinted that it should be - restored, but this was evaded. Benjamin Smith engraved the portrait - of George III. from this picture. - - -=King's Privy Chamber.= - -Although this room formed part of the state apartments built by Kent, it -was much transformed in the reign of George III., so that it bears -little trace of its original decoration. Indeed, it is so commonplace in -appearance, that, except for the pictures which now hang on its walls, -it looks more like an ordinary bedroom in an old-fashioned country inn -than a king's chamber in a palace. The plain deal dado, the common -chimney-piece of black veined marble, the wood and plaster cornice, the -shutters and windows, are all of the most ordinary and inartistic -pattern. - -The dimensions of this room are 31 feet long, 24 feet wide, and 17 feet -high. - - -=Portraits of the Time of George III.= - -90 Portrait of Francis, 5th Duke of Bedford (_961_) . . . . . J. -HOPPNER. - - Full-length, turned to the left, looking to the front. He is - dressed in a peer's full robes. His left hand is on his hip, his - right holds a scroll of paper. He is bareheaded, face close-shaven, - and his hair short. Behind him is a red curtain, and in the - distance on the left a statue of Hercules. On canvas, 8 ft. 3 in. - high, by 5 ft. 2 in. wide. - - Behind is written:--"Received, 7th April, 1810, from Mrs. Hoppner." - The duke, who was born in 1765, died on March 2nd, 1802. - - "More dignified and well painted than the similar one at - Woburn."--_Sir George Scharf._ - -91 Francis Hastings, Earl of Moira (_950_) . . . . . HOPPNER. - - Full-length, figure slightly to the right, but the face turned - round to the left. Dressed in uniform, with the Ribbon and Star of - the Garter. His right hand holds a scroll of paper by his side; - his left rests on a document on a table. Background, a green - curtain, and sky on the right. On canvas, 7 ft. 10 in. high, by 4 - ft. 10 in. wide. - - Behind is painted "R.A. 1794," the year of Hoppner's election, and - "The Star and Garter added 1812," in June of which year Lord Moira, - after failing to form a ministry, accepted the Garter, "but," says - Lord Spencer in a letter to Lord Buckingham, "whether as a calm to - his honour or his understanding, it is not for me to say." This - picture was received from Hoppner's widow, in June, 1810, a few - months after his death. - -92 Portrait of John Hely, Lord Hutchinson (_872_) . . . . . PHILLIPS, R.A. - - Three-quarters length, seated, turned to the left, and looking - downwards. His left leg is crossed over his right, and in his left - hand he holds a map of Egypt; his right holds an eyeglass on his - breast. He is in his uniform. In front of him on a table are - writing materials. On canvas, 4 ft. high, by 3-1/2 ft. wide. - - John Hely was born in 1757, and in 1774 went into the army. In the - expedition to Egypt in 1801 he was appointed second in command to - Sir Ralph Abercrombie; on whose death the chief command devolved on - Hely, then a major-general. For his admirable conduct of the - campaign, in which he drove the French from Egypt, he received the - thanks of both Houses, and was raised to the peerage in 1813. In - 1823 he succeeded his brother to the earldom of Donoughmore. He - died in 1832. - -93 Christian VII. of Denmark (_976_) . . . . . DANCE. - - A head, in an oval, turned to the right; dressed in a red uniform - trimmed with gold; on his breast a blue ribbon. His hair is - powdered and brushed back. - - This was formerly unnamed, but the mezzotint engraving after it by - Fisher shows it to have been painted by Dance; doubtless when the - King was over here in 1767 for his marriage to Princess Matilda. He - was then eighteen years old. - - Their domestic life was not happy. In politics he distinguished - himself by granting liberty of the press to his subjects; in reward - for which Voltaire addressed the famous lines to him, in which he - tells him: "Je me jette tes pieds au nom du genre humain." - - He afterwards went out of his mind, and died in 1808. - - He was the son of Princess Louisa, the daughter of George II., and - succeeded to the throne in 1766. The engraving after this picture - by G. Fisher is dated 1769. - -94 Portrait of Richard Brinsley Sheridan (_891_) . . . . . K. A. HICKEL? - - Bust; face turned slightly to the right. He has a blue coat and a - yellow waistcoat. His face is close-shaven. On canvas, 2 ft. high, - by 1 ft. 8 in wide. - - "Whatever Sheridan has done, or chosen to do, has been _par - excellence_ always the best of its kind. He has written the best - comedy, the best farce, and the best address ('Monologue on - Garrick'), and, to crown all, delivered the very best oration (the - famous Begum speech) ever conceived or heard in this - country."--_Byron._ - - This appears to be the study for, or a replica of, the head of - Sheridan in the picture of the Interior of the old House of Commons - in 1793, painted by Karl Anton Hickel, and now in the National - Portrait Gallery. - -95 Portrait of Spencer Perceval (_890_) . . . . . JOSEPH. - - Half-length, turned to the left. In his left hand he holds a paper. - He wears a blue coat and a white waistcoat. His face is shaven, his - hair grey, and his head bald in front. On canvas, 2-1/2 ft. high, - by 2 ft. wide. - - Behind is written:--"Received from Mrs. Joseph, 18th June, 1814." - - This is a posthumous likeness, taken from a mask after death, but - considered by all who knew him to be a faithful resemblance. When - Queen Charlotte went to see it, and the curtain which covered it - was withdrawn, she was so struck with its truth, that she burst - into tears. Many copies with slight variations were executed; one - of them is now in the National Portrait Gallery. It is engraved in - mezzotint by Turner. It is a fair specimen of George Francis - Joseph, an indifferent artist, who was elected an associate of the - Royal Academy after painting this portrait. He died in 1846. - - Perceval, who became Prime Minister in October, 1809, was - assassinated in the lobby of the House of Commons by Bellingham, on - May 11th, 1812. The official documents he holds in his hand remind - us that his state papers were not at all to the taste of the Prince - Regent, who remarked, "that it was a great misfortune to Mr. - Perceval to write in a style which would disgrace a respectable - washerwoman." - -96 Mary Granville, Mrs. Delany (_944_) . . . . . OPIE. - - Bust, turned to the left. She is dressed in a black silk dress, - trimmed with lace, and having a hood over her white widow's cap. - Round her neck is a locket. On canvas, 2 ft. 6 in. high. - - This portrait represents her as a very old woman, and was probably - painted not many years before her death, in 1788, at the age of - eighty-eight. She was the eldest daughter of Bernard Granville, - grandson of Sir Bevil Granville, the Royalist leader, and was born - in 1700. She was educated under the care of her uncle, Lord - Lansdowne, and married in 1717 Alexander Pendarves. She was - intimate with Swift, through whom she became acquainted with her - second husband, Dr. Delany. After his death she spent most of her - time with her friend, the Duchess of Portland, and when she died, - George III., who, with the Queen, became very intimate with the old - lady, gave her a pension and a house at Windsor. She occupied her - declining years in copying flowers in paper, and executed as many - as 980. She died in 1788. Her autobiography was published in 1861; - it contains a great many reminiscences of the court and family of - George III. - - This picture first brought Opie into notice. A replica painted for - the Countess of Bute is in the National Portrait Gallery. - -97 Brownlow North, Bishop of Winchester (_888_) . . . . . _after_ DANCE. - - Bust, nearly a full face, slightly inclined to the right. He is - seated in a purple-covered chair, in the robes of a Chancellor of - the Garter, with the chain of the order on his breast. On canvas, 2 - ft. 8 in. high, by 2 ft. 2 in. wide. - - He was a half-brother of Lord North, the Prime Minister; was born - in 1741; and was successively appointed Bishop of Lichfield and - Coventry, Worcester and Winchester, and died in 1820. - -98 Portrait of Hurd, Bishop of Worcester (_889_) . . . . . GAINSBOROUGH. - - Bust, turned to the left, facing and looking in front. Dressed in a - bishop's canonicals, with a small, but full, curly wig. Painted in - an oval. On canvas, 2 ft. 6 in. high, by 2 ft. 1 in. wide. Compare - No. 371. - -99 Richard Hurd, Bishop of Worcester (_887_) . . . . . GAINSBOROUGH. - - Bust, to the right, looking to the front His left hand is on his - breast, holding his gown. Dressed in canonicals, with a bushy wig. - On canvas, 2 ft. 6 in. high, by 2 ft. 1 in. wide. - - He was the son of a farmer at Congreve, Staffordshire, and was born - in 1720. He was appointed preceptor to the Prince of Wales and the - Duke of York, and was nominated Bishop of Worcester in 1781; but - declined the primacy offered by George III., with whom he was a - great favourite. He wrote many moral and religious works, long - since relegated to the limbo of insipid mediocrities. Engraved by - Holl in 1774? Perhaps the picture exhibited in 1781. - -100 A Rabbi (_266_) . . . . . _after Rembrandt, by_ GAINSBOROUGH. - - Bust, to the right. He wears a dark dress, and cap with flaps; his - beard is long. On canvas, 2 ft. 6 in. high, by 2 ft. 1 in. wide. - - This was in Gainsborough's possession at his death, and was - exhibited at Schomberg House, 1789. - -101 Portrait of C. F. Abel, the Musician (_938_) . . . . . ROBINEAU. - - Half-length; seated at a piano or spinet, turned towards the right, - but his face looking behind him, over his shoulder to the left. He - is dressed in a red coat and has a small wig. On canvas, 2 ft. 1 - in. high, by 1 ft. 8 in. wide. Signed on the left-hand side:--"_C. - Robineau 1780._" - - Charles Frederick Abel was a pupil of Bach's, and at one time - belonged to the royal band at Dresden. He came to England about - 1765, and was appointed master of Queen Charlotte's band. Although - he wrote music, he was more celebrated for his playing than his - compositions. Abel was a very passionate man, and much addicted to - the bottle,--peculiarities which the visitor would suspect him of, - from his flushed face and red nose. He died in 1787, after being - three days in a sort of drunken torpor. - -Robineau was a portrait-painter who practised in Paris and London. - -102 Duchess of Brunswick, Sister of George III . . . . . A. KAUFFMAN. - - Full-length, turned to the right. She holds a child in her arms on - an altar in front of her. She is dressed in white with an - orange-coloured mantle, lined with light blue; she wears sandals. - On canvas, 8 ft. 11 in. high, by 5 ft. 11 in. wide. - - On the left at the foot of the column is the signature:--"_Angelica - Pinx A_. 1767." To the left, on a vase, the inscription:-- - - _Carol._ ILLE _de Bruns. & Pri. Hered_. - A. MDCCLX M. _Jul. apud Enisdorff_ VICTORIA. - _et_ A. MDCCLXIV M. _Jan. apud Lond._ AMORE. _Coron._ - - Augusta, the eldest daughter of Frederick, Prince of Wales, was - born on the 31st of July, 1737, and was married to the Duke of - Brunswick on the 17th of January, 1764. By him she became the - mother, among other children, of Caroline, Princess of Wales, and - of Duke William Frederick, "Brunswick's fated chieftain," who fell - at Quatre-Bras. In 1767, when this portrait was painted, she was in - England on a visit. - - The child in her arms must be her eldest son Charles George - Augustus, who was born 8th February, 1766, and died in 1806. - -103. Frederick, Prince of Wales (_893_) . . . . . VANLOO? - - Bust, turned to the left, facing in front. He wears a blue sash - over his coat. See _ante_, No. 4. - -104. George III., when Prince of Wales, aged 12, and Prince Edward -Augustus, Duke of York and Albany, aged 11 . . . . . RICHARD WILSON, -R.A. - - Seated figures, on a couch by a table, the Prince of Wales on the - left. On canvas, 3 feet 3-1/2 inches high, by 4 feet 1-1/2 inches - wide. Lent by the trustees of the National Portrait Gallery. - - The Duke of York was born in 1739, became an admiral in 1759, and - died at Monaco in 1767. - - -=The Nursery.= - -The designation of "The Nursery" has been for many years applied to this -room, having, it appears, been so used at one time by Queen Victoria, -whose doll-house is now placed here. It was afterwards occupied by the -late Duchess of Teck, and it was here that Princess May, now Duchess of -York, was born, on May 26th, 1867. - -Its associations are, therefore, exclusively Victorian, with which its -decoration--so far as it can be said to have any--accords. The "shell" -of the room, however, is part of Kent's addition to the State Rooms. - -The dimensions of this room are 30 feet 7 inches long by 23 feet 5 -inches wide, and 17 feet high to the highest point of the ceiling, 15 -feet 2 inches to the top of the cornice. - - -Pictures and Prints illustrative of the Queen's Life and Reign. - -A collection is here being formed by Mr. Holmes, the Queen's Librarian, -of various prints, illustrative of Her Majesty's Life and Reign. Among -them are old prints of the Queen as a child, and as the young Princess -Victoria, Heiress to the Throne; also of the marriage of the Prince of -Wales in St. George's Chapel, the Baptism of the Princess Royal, etc.; -and also the Jubilee Celebration of 1887 in Westminster Abbey, from the -painting by W. E. Lockhart, R.S.A. - -110 The Queen's First Council in the pillared Council Chamber at -Kensington Palace on 20th of June, 1837 . . . . . _After_ WILKIE. - - For an account of this famous scene, _see_ page 37. - - -=Ante-Room.= - -As we go through the door of "The Nursery" into this ante-room, we pass -from the portion of the Palace built by Kent, to the original block -erected by Wren, this ante-room being a part of what was formerly one of -William III.'s state rooms. - -Through this lobby it was that the Queen passed to the adjoining -staircase when she went downstairs to receive the news of her accession. - -The dimensions of this room are: 19 feet 3 inches long, 10 feet 2 inches -wide, and 16 feet high. - - -Prints illustrative of the Life and Reign of the Queen. - -The wall space here will be devoted to further prints illustrative of -the Queen's Life and Reign. - -[Illustration: Decoration] - - -=Queen Victoria's Bedroom.= - -To future ages, if not indeed already to the present one, this plain, -modestly-decorated chamber must have an interest far transcending that -of the more gorgeous Georgian saloons, which we have just traversed. -For, it was for many years the bedroom of our own Queen, when as a -little girl of tender age she lived in quiet simplicity at Kensington -Palace with her mother, the Duchess of Kent. - -From the windows of this room we can imagine the little princess, when -she rose in the morning, gazing out over the gardens and the Park -beyond, as the beams of the eastern sun struggled through the mists and -smoke of distant London, musing on the mighty destiny awaiting her; or -in the evening hour, when the flower-scented air of the garden beneath -floated in at the casement, looking out where the far-off lights of the -great town twinkled among the trees, her mind filled with solemn -thoughts of the awful responsibility that was to be hers. - -Even now, when the building octopus, with its stucco tentacles, has -clutched and sucked in so many a fair surrounding green field, from -these windows not a roof, not a chimney meets the eye; not an echo, -even, of the ceaseless roar of the traffic strikes the ear. - -It was in this room that the Queen was sleeping on the memorable morning -of the 20th of June, 1837, when she was awakened by her mother, the -Duchess of Kent, to go to the Drawing Room downstairs, where Lord -Conyngham and the Archbishop of Canterbury were awaiting to inform her -of her accession to the throne. - -The dimensions of this room are: 23 feet 3 inches long, 19 feet 3 inches -wide, and 16 feet high. - - -Prints of the Life and Reign of the Queen. - -Prints in continuation of the series commenced in "The Nursery," are in -process of being arranged in this room. - - -Mementoes and Relics of the Queen's Childhood, collected in "Queen -Victoria's Bedroom." - -Here also will be arranged some of the Queen's toys, with which she -played as a little girl in these rooms; and perhaps other similar -objects of interest. Labels will, doubtless, be affixed to explain, what -these are. - -[Illustration: Decoration] - - -=King's Gallery.= - -This magnificent gallery, the finest of all the state rooms at -Kensington Palace, was designed and built by Sir Christopher Wren for -William III. about the year 1693. It owes much of its architectural -effect to the great architect's wonderful knowledge and appreciation of -proportion--an element too often disregarded in buildings of modern -times. Its length is 96 feet, its breadth 21 feet 6 inches, and its -height 18 feet to the top of the cornice, and 19 feet 8 inches to the -highest point of the ceiling. It is, therefore, 12 feet longer than the -already-described Queen Mary's Gallery, 2 feet higher, but of the same -width. Compared with it, the "King's or Cartoon Gallery" at Hampton -Court, built by Wren almost exactly at the same time, it is 21 feet less -long, 3 feet less wide, and 10 feet less high. - -In relation to it the following items from the old accounts, dating from -about the year 1693, are interesting: - - "Item to Richard Hawkesmore, Clerk of the Workes, for making up an - account [an estimate?] of the King's New Gallery at - Kensington--5." - - "More to him for Pasteboard and other Materialls for making a - modell of the said Gallery for the King--5 2_s._" - - "Cha: Houghton for rating, casting up, and engrossing the Books of - the said Building for the Auditor--5." - - -Decorative Carvings in "the King's Gallery." - -The oak cornice and the oak doors of this gallery, especially the -beautiful architraves of the doors, are among the finest specimens -anywhere existing of Wren's decorative art, designed by him and carried -out under the superintendence of Gibbons. Relating to this work we find -the following item in the accounts for the years 1691 to 1696: - - "To Grinling Gibbons, carver, for worke done in the new Gallery - building, in the King's great and Little Closet, in three Roomes - under the King's apartment, in the King's Gallery, and other places - about the said Pallace--839 0_s._ 4_d._" - -In other respects the appearance of this room has been much altered; for -the oak panelling, which appears originally to have entirely covered its -walls was removed, it would seem, in the reign of George I. or of George -II.; when also the ceiling, which was originally plain, was painted as -we see it now. - - -Chimney-Piece, Map and Dial. - -At the same time a new chimney-piece was inserted. Part of the original -over-mantel, however, of the time of William III., still remains, -especially a very curious map of the north-west of Europe, showing the -names of various towns, especially in the north of France, the -Netherlands, and the British Isles. Relating to it we have discovered, -in the course of our researches among the old parchment rolls in the -Record Office, the following entry, dating from about, the year 1694: - - "To Rob^{t} Norden for his paines in drawing a map for the - chimney-piece and for attending the painters--5." - -Round the circumference of the map are the points of the compass; and an -old =dial-hand= or pointer, still remains, which was actuated by an iron -rod connected with a vane, still existing above the roof. This enabled -King William to know from which quarter the wind was blowing; whether, -therefore, it was safe for him, with his asthma, to venture out of -doors, or whether the wind was favourable for wafting him away from this -hated climate to his own dearly-loved country of Holland. - -It was this dial which so greatly interested Peter the Great, when he -privately visited William III. in this palace in 1698, being admitted by -a back door. "It was afterwards known," says Macaulay, but unfortunately -without giving his authority, "that he took no notice of the fine -pictures, with which the palace was adorned. But over the chimney in -the royal sitting-room was a plate which, by an ingenious machinery, -indicated the direction of the wind; and with this plate he was in -raptures." - -[Illustration: THE KING'S GALLERY.] - -This old dial is fixed in a square carved and gilt frame, probably the -one referred to in the following item in the old accounts of the years -1691-96: - - "To Rene Cousins gilder for a large frame carved and gilt with - burnished gold--10." - -The outer frame of deal wood surrounding this gilt one is, on the other -hand, of a later date, evidently designed by Kent, as was also the -decorated panel above it, itself surmounted by a pediment, richly -carved, doubtless by men trained in the school of Wren and Gibbons. - -In the centre of this fine "Kentian" panel is a medallion picture of the -"Virgin and Child," painted in fresco, of the school of Raphael, and -inscribed behind with the date, 1583. - -All this over-mantel was, in the time of George I., painted over white -with enrichments of gold. It so remained until last winter, when the -thick coats of filthy paint were cleaned off. It has been thought best -to leave the deal wood in its natural state, unpainted, only applying a -little stain to tone it into harmony with the colour of the surrounding -oak carvings. - -Although this carved over-mantel is an addition, and as far as the -pediment is concerned, very out of place so close to the cornice, yet it -is very beautiful and of much interest as being one of the finest -examples of decorative design executed in England during the reigns of -the first two Georges. In it we trace the influence of the lighter -French taste of Louis XV., which Kent had no doubt become acquainted -with when travelling abroad. The marble chimney-piece below, on the -other hand, is in that architect's regular massive, heavy style. - - * * * * * - -Almost at once, after this gallery was finished by Wren, it became the -receptacle of some of the finest works of art in the Royal collection. -Among the manuscripts in the British Museum is the original list of -William III.'s pictures, placed "in Kensington House, 1697"--some -seventy pieces being mentioned as then hanging on its walls. - -It was in the year following that Peter the Great was in England; when, -besides his private interview with the King, mentioned above, he was a -spectator at a ball given in this same gallery on the birthday of -Princess Anne, not publicly, however, but peeping through one of the -doors, in a closet prepared for him on purpose. - -In this room, King William, in the month of March, 1702, after his -accident, and a few days before his death, "took several turns" to -exercise himself; but soon becoming fatigued, he reclined upon a couch -and fell asleep, "but soon to awake in a shivering fit, which was the -beginning of a fever, attended with serious symptoms, from which he -never recovered." - - -Painting of the Ceiling and Wainscot of the King's Gallery. - -This gallery was also a favourite sitting-room of Queen Anne and her -husband, and of George I. It was by command of the latter monarch that -Kent, about the year 1724, undertook the painting of the ceiling, his -charge for which, with similar work in "the little closets," amounted to -__850. Although the richness of the colouring and gilding give it a -gorgeous appearance, neither the design nor the ornaments, least of all -the panels, painted with mythological subjects, are interesting. It is -divided into seven compartments, surrounded by elaborate classic scroll -and arabesque work, and allegorical figures. The centre medallion is -oval, the other six oblong or lozenge shaped. The officers of Works in -their Report, dated 30th of September, 1725, to the "Lords Commissioners -of His Majesty's Treasury," on this work, added: - - "We have caused an estimate to be made of the charge of painting - the wainscot of the sd. Gallery and little closets in the same - manner as the Bedchamber and closets are already painted, amounting - to 32: 16: - - Gilding the same--154: 4: - - Providing Scaffolds for the Painters and covering the floors with - Boards to prevent their being damaged, etc., 233: 3:" - -They further added: - - "We crave leave to lay before your Lordships a letter that we have - received from Sir James Thornhill, Serj^{t} Painter to his Majesty, - in which he complains that the gilding of the cornishes, which hath - hitherto been done by himself, and his predecessors, is by my Lord - Chamberlain's Letter directed to be done by another person, which - letter we have hereunto annexed." - -On October 5th, accordingly, an order was made to the Board of Works to -commission Sir J. Thornhill to do the gilding of the cornices. - -On the barbarity of painting the beautiful oak work in this gallery, and -especially the exquisitely carved oak architraves and cornices, we need -not dwell. They remained painted until last autumn, when with infinite -trouble and pains, the paint was cleaned off, and all the delicate -chiselling of Gibbons and his assistants revealed to the eye, after -being obscured for a hundred and seventy-four years. The visitor can -judge for himself with what success this has been accomplished. No stain -has been used in this restoration; and only after repeated experiments -was the method adopted of treating it simply with wax polish. - -The old panelling of Wren's time was probably removed in the time of -George II., in order to afford more wall-space for hanging pictures -on--which was Queen Caroline's great hobby. - -An even worse barbarism was perpetrated in this superb gallery at the -beginning of the century--when it was divided by partitions into three -distinct rooms--in which state it remained until the restorations were -begun last year. One of these subdivisions was used by Queen Victoria, -when a little girl, for her toys. - - -Naval Pictures in the King's Gallery. - -In this gallery have now been collected a large number of sea-pieces, -sea-fights, dockyards, and admirals, mainly of the time of the Georges, -to illustrate the history of the British Navy. Though but very few--for -instance, those by Monamy and Scott--can be considered fine works of -art, yet all of them will be found interesting and curious; and no one, -who has known them only when hanging in bad lights on dark screens in -the overcrowded rooms at Hampton Court, would have suspected how much -there is to be studied in them, now that they are at length properly -displayed. - -201 The Dockyard at Sheerness (_1055_) . . . . . R. PATON. - - The dock is on the left, terminated by a fort in the centre of the - picture. On the left are a large man-of-war and a disabled ship - towed by a barque. - - This and Nos. 204, 232, 233, and 236 are pieces of dockyards, - painted by Paton more than a hundred years ago. They are each on - canvas, 3 ft. 4 in. high, by 4 ft. 10 in. wide. - - -202 Close of the Action, November 4th, 1805, Sir R. Strachan's Victory -(_1037_). [See Companion Piece, No. 234.] . . . . . N. POCOCK. - - On the left are three French vessels,? The Formidable, Scipion, - Mont Blanc, or Duguay Trouin, two of them utterly dismantled; to - the right is the English fleet. - - The engagement took place off Ferrol, about a fortnight after - Trafalgar, the French ships being under the command of Rear-Admiral - Dumanoir, who had escaped from that battle. - -203 George III. Reviewing the Fleet at Portsmouth (_1011_). [See No. -235.] . . . . . D. SERRES. - - In the centre is a large man-of-war, the "Barfleur": near it the - "Worcester" firing a salute, and beyond a line of men-of-war, the - "Royal Oak" and "Lennox" being distinguishable on the right. On - canvas, 4 ft. 10 in. high, by 7 ft. wide. Signed "D. Serres, 1776." - -204 The Dockyard at Deptford (_1000_). [See No. 201] . . . . . R. PATON. - - Greenwich is seen in the background; the dock buildings on the - right; and on the left various ships, one firing a salute. - -205 Ships in a Dockyard (_999_) . . . . . _unnamed._ - -206 A Sea-piece (_1046_) . . . . . D. SERRES. - - A large vessel is seen broadside, and in front an officer's gig; - other vessels are behind. Signed in lower right-hand corner, "D. - Serres, 1789." - -207 Action between the "Arethusa" and "Belle Poule" -(_673_) . . . . . _unnamed._ - - The "Arethusa," with its stern to the spectator, is to the left; - "La Belle Poule" is on the right. They are discharging heavy - broadsides at each other. The moon is seen in the distance between - them. - - The action took place on the 17th of July, 1778, off the Lizard, - and lasted two hours at close quarters without intermission. The - "Belle Poule" got away, though the English had got the best of the - fight. - -208 Sea Piece (_1078_) . . . . . BROOKING. - - On the right is an English frigate bearing away; on the left one - coming in. A fair specimen of this good marine painter. - -209 George III. Reviewing the Fleet at Portsmouth (_1012_). [See No. -235.] . . . . . D. SERRES. - - A large man-of-war in the centre; smaller craft on each side. - -210 The Royal Yacht which brought Queen Charlotte to England in 1761, to -be married to George III., in a storm (_1001_) . . . . . WRIGHT. - - The Royal Yacht is in the centre of the picture, attended by a - convoy of twelve vessels. It had been re-named "The Royal - Charlotte," and was newly ornamented with a profusion of carving - and gilding for the occasion. They embarked at Stade on the 24th of - August, and landed at Harwich on September 6th. - - Richard Wright was a painter of marine subjects. - -211 A Small Sea-Piece (_1080_) . . . . . P. MONAMY. - - In the centre, towards the left, is an English man-of-war firing a - salute; other smaller craft are to the right and left. 1 ft. 8 in. - high, by 2 ft. 11 in. wide. - - This is an excellent specimen of Peter Monamy, an imitator, and - probably pupil, of the Vandeveldes. Though much cracked, it is - beautifully painted, "showing a fine quality of texture, with great - precision of touch; the calm plane of the ocean level receding into - the extreme distance, without that set scenic effect of passing - cloud-shadows, which even the best masters have used to obtain the - appearance of recession and distance; this work well deserves - notice, and might puzzle the best painters of such subjects to - rival."--(Redgrave's _Century of Painters_.) - -212 His Majesty's Yacht in Portsmouth Harbour (_1035_) . . . . . J. T. -SERRES. - - She has twenty-six guns, and lies across the picture; other craft - are to the right and left. Behind is seen Portsmouth. Signed "_J. - T. Serres_, 1820." - -213 Shipping . . . . . _unnamed._ - -214 On the Thames--The Tower of London (_1024_) . . . . . _unnamed._ - -215 A Man-of-War engaged with two Vessels (_1015_) . . . . . MONAMY. - - A man-of-war is on the left engaged with two of the enemy's - vessels; behind are others shown in action. (See No. 219.) - -216 Rear-Admiral Sir Charles Knowles's Squadron attacking Port Louis in -St. Domingo (? Hispaniola) March 8th, 1748 (_998_) . . . . . R. PATON? - - To the left is an English vessel, the "Cornwall," firing at a fort - in the centre of the picture. More to the left is a small ship - burning; on the right are other vessels attacking the fort. - - The fire-ship of the enemy was towed clear of the squadron by the - boats, and left to burn and blow up at a distance from the fleet. - The fort surrendered in the evening, and was blown up. The English - lost seventy men. - -217 Battle of Trafalgar--Close of the Action (_1058_). [See Companion -Piece, No. 224.] . . . . . HUGGINS. - - In the centre is a large vessel (? the "Victory") with rigging much - shot away and torn. Others are seen behind in action. - - These are two of three pictures, painted for William IV.; the third - is now at St. James's Palace. - -218 Rear-Admiral Sir Charles Knowles's Action with a Spanish Squadron -off the Havannah, October 1st, 1748 (_1002_) . . . . . R. PATON? - - In the background is the battle-line of the enemy, under - Vice-Admiral Reggio, against which the British fleet is bearing. - The action began at two o'clock. Although defeated, nearly all the - Spaniards got into port; they lost eighty-six men. Knowles, when he - came home, was tried by court-martial for not pursuing the enemy - with more vigour, and was reprimanded. - -219 Sea Fight--A Man-of-War attacked by Boats (_226_) . . . . . MONAMY. - - The vessel is surrounded by boats, and is responding to their - musketry by a fierce cannonade. 3 ft. 4 in. high, by 4 ft. 2 in. - wide. - -220 Admiral Viscount Keith . . . . . T. PHILLIPS, R.A. - - Half length, in robes, turned to the left. His right hand holds up - his cloak, his left is seen underneath. His hair is gray. - - He commanded the fleet which, in 1795, captured the Cape of Good - Hope, and performed other brilliant services. He died in 1823. - -221 Shipping on the Thames--Temple Gardens (_1026_) . . . . . _unnamed._ - -222 Sea-Piece--The British Fleet (_1017_) . . . . . ELLIOT. - - In front are some eight large vessels, some with the yards manned, - others with their sails partly set; other ships are seen behind. - - On the frame in front is written:--"_To the R^{t}. Hon^{ble}. - W^{m}. Pitt this view of the British Fleet, which secured to - England the uninterrupted navigation of the Southern Ocean is - dedicated_." William Elliot was a bad marine painter in the style - of Serres. - -223 Battle of Camperdown--Close of the Action (_1064_). [See Companion -Piece, No. 225.] . . . . . J. T. SERRES. - - In the centre is a British flag-ship, shown at the end of a long - line of vessels. On the right is one of the enemy on fire, to which - boats are hastening. On the left is a ship with the name - "WASSANAER." - -224 The Day after the Battle of Trafalgar (_1057_). [See Companion -Piece, No. 217.] . . . . . HUGGINS. - - It represents the storm which separated the squadron the day after - the battle. On the right is a dismantled vessel rolling over; on - the left is the "Victory." On canvas, 8 ft. high, by 10 ft. wide. - -225 Battle of Camperdown--Lord Duncan's Victory (_1053_). [See Companion -Piece, No. 223.] . . . . . J. T. SERRES. - - The English fleet is ranged in three lines about to begin the - action by breaking the line of the enemy ranged beyond them. The - enemy have already opened fire. On canvas, 3 ft. high, by 4 ft. - wide. Signed, "J. T. Serres, 1793." - - John Thomas Serres was the son of Dominic Serres, who brought him - up as a marine painter. In the year in which this picture was - painted he succeeded, on his father's death, to the office of - marine painter to the King, and one of his duties in this post was - to make sketches of the harbours on the enemy's coast. He married - the _soi-disant_ Princess Olive of Cumberland, who lost him his - appointment, and brought him to misery, destitution, imprisonment, - and madness. (Redgrave's _Dict. of Artists_.) - -226 Equipment of the English Fleet in 1790 (_1033_) . . . . . ELLIOTT. - - Three full-rigged men-of-war and others partially rigged are in - front; beyond is a port. In front is a label:--"_To the Earl of - Chatham this view of the expeditious equipment of the British Fleet - in 1790 is dedicated_." - -227 A Man-of-War going out to Sea (_1034_) . . . . . _unnamed._ - - Crossing the picture to the left, following another going into the - picture. - -228 Admiral Lord Anson (_19_) . . . . . _After Hudson by_ BOCKMAN. - - This appears to be a copy of a picture in Lord Lichfield's - possession at Shugborough in Staffordshire, by Thomas Hudson, a - portrait painter, who flourished from 1701 to 1779, and who is - chiefly remembered now as the master of Reynolds. - - Anson was a victorious admiral in the reign of George II., well - known for his famous voyage round the world in the years 1740-44, - and for his great exploit of capturing, in 1743, the Spanish - galleon "Manilla," which had a cargo on board valued at 313,000. - He was created a peer in 1747 for his victory over the French - fleet, and was First Lord of the Admiralty during the Seven Years' - War. - - He is here represented in peer's robes, which approximately fixes - the date of the picture. - - Bockman, by profession a mezzotint engraver, was in England about - 1745-50, when he executed copies of various portraits of admirals, - which had been painted by Kneller for James II., and G. Dahl, a - Swedish painter, for William III. The originals were presented by - William IV. in 1835 to Greenwich Hospital. - -229. Shipping (_1025_) . . . . . _unnamed._ - -230. A Ship (_381_) . . . . . _unnamed._ - -231 George III. Reviewing the Fleet at Portsmouth (_1013_). [See No. -235.] . . . . . D. SERRES. - - In the centre is a large three-masted vessel, with the Union Jack - flying, and the royal party on board. Many others are behind. - -232 The Dockyard at Portsmouth (_1051_). [See No. 201.] . . . . . R. -PATON. - - On the left is a large vessel about to be launched; the dock - buildings are behind. - -233 The Dockyard at Chatham (_1062_). [See No. 201.] . . . . . R. PATON. - - The dock is on rising ground to the right; on the left is seen the - Medway. Various ships are on the river. - -234 Commencement of Sir Robert Calder's Action, July 22nd, 1805 -(_1038_). [See Companion Piece, No. 202.] . . . . . N. POCOCK. - - A small English ship is engaging two French vessels on the left. - - On the 19th of July, Calder had received despatches from Nelson - stating that the combined Franco-Spanish fleet was on its return - from the West Indies, and he cruised about off Cape Finisterre in - the hope of intercepting it. Though both sides lost heavily, the - action had no very decided result. The small English ship is - probably the "Hero," the van-ship of the British, which began the - attack. - - Nicholas Pocock, like D. Serres, acquired his knowledge of the sea - in the navy, which he gave up to adopt marine painting as a - profession. - -235 George III. Reviewing the Fleet at Portsmouth (_1014_) . . . . . D. -SERRES. - - To the right is a large line-of-battle ship firing a salute. - Several yachts with officers and spectators on board are seen. - - This, and Nos. 203, 209, and 231 pieces were painted by Dominic - Serres, a native of Gascony, who, after running away from home, - becoming a sailor, and then master of a trading vessel, and being - captured by an English frigate, settled in England and took to - painting marine pieces to earn a living. He was one of the original - members of the Royal Academy, and frequently exhibited. He is to be - distinguished from his son, J. T. Serres (see No. 225). - -236 The Dockyard at Woolwich (_1066_) . . . . . [See No. 201.] R. PATON. - - Woolwich church is seen in the centre background; the dock - buildings are on the right. - -237 Admiral Sir John Jennings (_11_) . . . . . _After Kneller by_ BOCKMAN. - - Knighted by Queen Anne in 1704, died in 1743, and is buried in - Westminster Abbey. - -238 Admiral John Benbow . . . . . _After Kneller by_ BOCKMAN. - - He was given the command of a ship by James, Duke of York, for his - bravery. In 1702, when in command of the West India squadron, he - sustained, almost alone, the fire of the whole French fleet under - Du Casse; his cowardly officers, two of whom were afterwards tried - by court-martial and shot, having basely deserted him. He died at - Jamaica very soon afterwards from a wound received in the action. - -239 Admiral George Churchill (_10_) . . . . . _After Kneller by_ BOCKMAN. - - A brother of the Duke of Marlborough's. He died in 1708. - -240 Admiral Sir G. Bing, Viscount Torrington (_7_) . . . . . _After -Kneller by_ BOCKMAN. - - The celebrated admiral of the reigns of Queen Anne and George I. He - was especially distinguished for his services against the - Pretender, and for his great victory over the Spanish off Sicily in - 1718. His son was the famous Admiral Byng, who was shot, as - Voltaire said, "pour encourager les autres." - -241 Admiral Edward Russell, Earl of Orford (_27_) . . . . . SIR G. -KNELLER. - - Half length, to the right; in blue. His left hand is on his hip, - his right has a bton. - - This is the famous admiral in the reign of William and Mary, who - gained the victory of La Hogue against the French fleet under - Tourville. - - This portrait is one of the series of admirals painted for William - III. - -242 Portrait of General Spalken (_910_) . . . . . _unnamed._ - - Three-quarters in length. Bareheaded, with grey hair. His right arm - rests on a table, on which is his cocked hat; his left is in his - belt. He wears a general's uniform, a red coat with blue facings, a - long white waistcoat with brass buttons, and white breeches. - - I can find nothing about Spalken. - -243 Admiral Sir Thomas Dilks (_9_) . . . . . _After Kneller by_ BOCKMAN. - - This is the hero of a brilliant action in Cancalli Bay in 1703, - when a small English squadron attacked a fleet of forty-three - French merchantmen with three men-of-war, and captured them all. - -244 Admiral Sir Stafford Fairbourne (_18_) . . . . . _After Kneller by_ -BOCKMAN. - - Lived in the reigns of William III. and Anne. - -245 Admiral Sir John Gradin (_8_) . . . . . _After Kneller by_ BOCKMAN. - - Served in the reign of Queen Anne, and was dismissed for - over-caution. - -246 Admiral Beaumont (_1_) . . . . . _After Dahl by_ BOCKMAN. - - He perished on the Goodwin Sands in the great storm "such as of - late o'er pale Britannia passed," in 1703. - - -=King's Grand Staircase.= - -Sir Christopher Wren was the original builder of this staircase, -although Kent's name has usually alone been associated with it. To the -great architect, however, we certainly owe the "shell" of the building, -its proportions, the black marble steps, the black and white chequered -marble on the landings, and the fine balustrade of wrought iron. This -ironwork was doubtless designed by Jean Tijou, whose name we have found -in the contemporary accounts relating to this palace, and in whose style -the design certainly is. As to the stair-treads, it is worthy of note -that in an estimate of Wren's for the completion of the King's Great -Staircase at Hampton Court, in 1699, he proposed that they should be -made "of Irish stone such as are at Kensington, but longer and easier," -which, in fact, they are. - -In King William's time the windows must have been of a different type to -those now here, which are in the style of Kent. As to the walls, they -were then probably painted with simple ornaments. Among the Kensington -accounts for the year 1692, we have found the following record of a -payment relating to such work: - - "To Robt. Streeter, Serg^{t} Painter, for japanning, gilding and - painting several Roomes and Lodgings in the said Pallace, painting - severall staircase, and the Guard Chamber, and other places in and - about the said Pallace--3,599." - - -Kent's Alterations in the King's Grand Staircase. - -Kent's improvements, which must have been carried out about 1725, -included--besides the painting of the walls and ceiling--the alteration -of the approach to the staircase on the ground floor, where he inserted, -in the area or "well," an arcade of two plain arches, which support, or -rather appear to support, the landing above. Under the first arch begins -the wide flight of black marble steps, with two landings in the ascent, -paved with alternate squares of black and white marble, as is also the -long top landing or balcony. The balusters are now painted blue, their -original colour, found under successive coats of more recent paint. The -hand-rail of oak has had its dirty paint cleaned off. - -[Illustration: THE KING'S GRAND STAIRCASE.] - -No one who did not see this staircase before the restorations were begun -can conceive the woeful state of dust, filth, decay and rot which it -then presented. With the fine iron balusters broken, damp oozing from -the walls, the paintings indistinguishable from incrustations of -smoke, and strips of the painted canvas hanging from the walls in -shreds--it seemed impossible that it could ever be restored to its -pristine splendour. The visitor must judge for himself whether this -result has not been triumphantly accomplished. - - -The Painted Walls of the King's Grand Staircase. - -Opposite the balustrade, on the right side as one goes down the stairs, -is a low wainscot of plain moulded panelling; and above this, level with -the top of the second landing, is painted a large Vitruvian scroll. The -square space thus formed beside the first landing, and the spandril -space beside the rise of the stairs, are filled with representations, in -chiaro-oscuro, of sea-horses, armorial trophies and other devices, and -scroll-work, heightened by gilding. These, as well as similar paintings -on the arcade, opposite and under the stairs, show that Kent's taste and -skill as a decorative artist were by no means contemptible, whereas as a -painter of subjects or figures he was no artist at all. - -The two walls of the staircase above the Vitruvian scroll are painted to -represent a gallery, behind a colonnade of the Scamozzian Ionic order, -supporting a corresponding entablature, with a frieze embellished with -unicorns' heads, masks of lions, and festoons of foliage, divided by -fleurs-de-lys, richly heightened with gold. Between these columns is -painted a balustrade; with numerous figures of personages of George I.'s -court, looking over it. - -In =the first and second compartments= on the left are yeomen of the -guard and various ladies and gentlemen; and a young man in a Polish -dress representing a certain Mr. Ulric, a page of the King's, "and -admired by the court," says Pyne, "for the elegance and beauty of his -person;" while the youth standing on the plinth outside the balcony is a -page of Lady Suffolk's. In the third or right-hand compartment on the -same wall are seen, among many other unidentified persons, a Quaker and -an old man in spectacles. - -Two other servants of the court appear in this group, Mahomet and -Mustapha, who were taken prisoners by the Imperialists in Hungary. At -the raising of the siege of Vienna in 1685, George I., then elector of -Hanover, was wounded, and was attended by these two Turks, who had been -retained in his service, and who were said to have saved his life. -Mahomet apostatized from the faith of his fathers and became a -Christian; married a Hanoverian woman and had several children. King -George, on his accession to the British throne, brought these two -faithful servants with him to England in his suite. They were constantly -about his person, and were credited with obtaining large sums of money -from persons who purchased their influence to obtain places about the -court. Mahomet, however, in whatever way he may have obtained his -wealth, made a noble and benevolent use of it; for among many other -recorded acts of benevolence, he released from prison about three -hundred poor debtors by paying their harsh creditors. - -Pope, at any rate, believed in Mahomet's integrity, for he mentions him -in his Epistle to Martha Blount in these lines: - - "From peer or bishop 'tis no easy thing - To draw the man who loves his God or King. - Alas! I copy (or, my draught would fail,) - From honest Mahomet or plain Parson Hale." - -Mahomet died of dropsy in 1726, just after these walls were painted. -Mustapha, after the death of George I., continued in the service of his -successor, and is supposed to have died in Hanover. - -In the same group are also a Highlander, and a youth known as "Peter the -Wild Boy." He was found in the woods of Hamelin, near Hanover, in 1725, -and when first discovered was walking on his hands and feet, climbing -trees with the agility of a squirrel, and feeding upon grass and moss of -trees. He was supposed to be about thirteen years of age. He was -presented to George I., then in Hanover, when at dinner, and the King -made him taste of the different dishes at table. We get this information -from Pyne, who adds: - - "He was sent over to England in April, 1726, and once more brought - before his Majesty and many of the nobility. He could not speak, - and scarcely appeared to have any idea of things, but was pleased - with the ticking of a watch, the splendid dresses of the King and - princess, and endeavoured to put on his own hand a glove that was - given to him by her royal highness. He was dressed in gaudy - habiliments, but at first disliked this confinement, and much - difficulty was found in making him lie on a bed: he, however, soon - walked upright, and often sat for his picture. He was at first - entrusted to the care of the philosophical Dr. Arbuthnot, who had - him baptized Peter; but notwithstanding all the doctor's pains, he - was unable to bring him to the use of speech, or to the - pronunciation of words.... He resisted all instruction, and existed - on a pension allowed in succession by the three sovereigns in whose - reigns he lived. He resided latterly at a farmer's near - Berkhampstead in Hertfordshire, till February, 1785, where he died, - at the supposed age of nearly ninety." - -The =east wall= of the staircase is painted as far as the width of the -second landing with a continuation of the arcade, showing a fourth -compartment, in which are again figures of yeomen of the guard and -ladies--one holding an infant in her arms over the balustrade. Further -up, on the same wall, is painted a pedimented niche, with a figure of a -Roman emperor; and higher up still, on the top landing or balcony, are -figures of Hercules, Diana, Apollo, and Minerva. - -All these paintings are on canvas, stretched on battens fixed to the -wall. - - -Painted Ceiling of the King's Grand Staircase. - -The ceiling of the staircase being square and flat, it did not afford -much scope for the exercise of imaginative design, and Kent was obliged -to content himself with a very commonplace pattern--sufficiently -apparent in the accompanying plate. In the four corners are a sort of -double oblong panels, with similar square ones intervening between them. -The ground colour is gray. The oblongs are painted with ornamental -scroll-work and horses' heads, the squares with human heads. These -panels are bordered with very heavy projecting frames of plaster work, -white and gilt, as is also the great square compartment in the middle. -The panel of this last is painted with a representation of a circle, -within which are four semicircular spaces or apertures, apparently -intended to portray a pierced dome with galleries--but they are all in -quite impossible perspective. In three of these spaces are seen -musicians playing on various instruments, and spectators looking down -upon the company below. In the fourth "the painter," says Pyne, "has -introduced his own portrait, holding a palette and pencils, with two of -his pupils, who assisted him in the decoration of the walls, and a -female of a very pleasing countenance, which is supposed to be a -resemblance of an actress with whom he lived in the habits of peculiar -friendship, and to whom he left a part of his fortune." - -All these decorations--including "the female of a very pleasing -countenance"--the visitor can make out, if he thinks it worth while to -incur a stiff neck in doing so; but, in truth, the figures, as well as -the perspective, are all so badly drawn and painted, that the less they -are examined the better. They prove to us once more that Kent, as a -pictorial artist, was beneath contempt. If, however, we are content to -look on his paintings on this staircase as mere formless colour -decoration, the general effect is rich and sumptuous enough. - -The paintings of the staircase were finished, as we have said, about -1726. Three years after we find among the records the following warrant: - - "For the delivery of the following for the King's service at - Kensington, viz. for the Great Staircase 6 lanthorns, 12 inches - square and 17 high, with a shade over each, an iron scroll and 2 - flat sockets for candles, 1 lanthorn for a pattern 11 inches square - and 19-1/2 inches high, with scrolls, etc." - -Our illustration, taken from Pyne's drawing dated 1818, shows these -lanthorns still in it. Except for these, which disappeared a long time -ago, and the tall German stove, which was only removed a few months ago, -the staircase appears exactly the same to-day. - - -=Presence Chamber.= - -In this room we have a blending of the style of Wren, who originally -built and designed it, and of Kent, who redecorated it for George I. The -chimney-piece and over-mantel, with its fine Gibbons carving of foliage, -fruit, and flowers, the beautifully designed and richly carved oak -cornice and the panelled dado are Wren's; whereas the painted ceiling -and the doors are Kent's. It was, doubtless, he also who altered the -spacing of the window sashes, and substituted the present ugly large -panes for the originally picturesque small ones. There is record of this -being done in 1723, among the old accounts. - -The walls appear originally to have been entirely lined, like most of -Wren's rooms, with oak wainscot, but this had entirely disappeared long -before the beginning of this century, when they were covered with -tapestry, over which were nailed a great quantity of pictures--among -them several which have now been brought back here from Hampton Court. -At the same period, in 1818, there was still hanging between the windows -"a looking-glass of large dimensions, tastefully decorated with festoons -of flowers, painted with great truth and spirit by Jean Baptiste -Monnoyer.... Queen Mary sat by the painter during the greatest part of -the time he was employed in painting it." - -This looking-glass has disappeared. =Gibbons' fine carving=, however, -over the chimney-piece, of foliage, fruit, and flowers in lime wood -fortunately remains. When recently cleaned and repaired, it was found to -be so fragile and friable as to necessitate its being all painted over -in order to hold the fragments together. An oaken colour, "flatted," in -accord with the prevailing tone of the panelling in the room was thought -most suitable. - -The two windows of this room, the sashes of which were altered by Kent, -look into a small courtyard. - -The dimensions of the room are 27 feet 4 inches long, 26 feet 10 inches -wide, by 16 feet 4 inches high to the top of the cornice, 18 feet to the -highest part of the ceiling. - -We presume it to have been in this room that William III. in May, 1698, -received the Count de Bonde, Ambassador Extraordinary from the Court of -Sweden, when he returned to the King the insignia of the Order of the -Garter, which had belonged to Charles XI., King of Sweden. "The -Sovereign assembled the Knights Companions upon this occasion in the -Presence Chamber, and all appeared in their mantles, caps, and feathers, -attended by the officers of the order in their mantles, and the heralds -in their coats." - - -Painted Ceiling of the Presence Chamber. - -The ceiling of this room, like most of those in the state apartments -built by Wren, is "coved" or "saucer-domed," and was no doubt originally -quite plainly-coloured, with a light cream-tinted wash. As we see it -now, it gives the idea of an attempt by Kent to imitate Raphael's Loggie -in the Vatican. The paintings have been stated to be in imitation of -those "then recently discovered on the ruined walls of Herculaneum and -Pompeii," but these were not unearthed until twenty-five years after. -Kent has, however, carefully followed what indications he could get of -the decorative treatment of Roman classic art. The colours are -bright-reds and blues, enriched with gilding on a white ground. The -ceiling, or rather the plaster behind the cornice, bears the date, 1724. -Faulkner, in his "History of Kensington," considers that "a proof of his -liberal zeal for the interest of his profession is clearly evinced by -his adopting this antique ornament rather than his own historical -compositions." Why this should be the case, however, he does not deign -to explain. - - -Ceremonial Pictures of the Queen's Reign. - -In this room are arranged the ceremonial pictures of the reign of the -Queen, copied from well-known pictures by British artists. They afford -most accurate representations of the events depicted, and no doubt will -live to remotest history, as interesting and curious specimens of early -Victorian art. The scenes, and the participants in them are all too well -known to require explanation. Perhaps later on the numbered "key-plans" -will be put up to assist in the identification of each personage. - -271 Coronation of the Queen in Westminster Abbey, June 28th, 1838. Her -Majesty taking the Sacrament . . . . . _After_ C. R. LESLIE, R.A. - - When the Queen had been formally invested with the insignia of her - sovereignty, and had received the homage of the peers, she laid - aside the crown and sceptre, and following the Archbishop, advanced - to the altar to receive the sacrament. - -272 Marriage of the Queen and Prince Albert at the Chapel Royal, St. -James's, 10th February, 1840 . . . . . _After_ HAYTER. - -273 Christening of the Princess Royal at Buckingham Palace, 10th -February, 1841 . . . . . _After_ C. R. LESLIE, R.A. - -274 Marriage of the Princess Royal to Prince Frederick William of -Prussia in the Chapel Royal, St. James's, 25th January, -1858 . . . . . _After_ J. PHILLIP, R.A. - -275 Christening of the Prince of Wales in St. George's Chapel, Windsor -Castle, 28th of January, 1842 . . . . . _After_ HAYTER. - - -276 Marriage of the Prince of Wales and the Princess Alexandra of -Denmark in St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, 10th March, -1863 . . . . . _After_ W. P. FRITH, R.A. - -277 A Sketch of the Queen leaving Westminster Abbey after her -Coronation . . . . . _By_ CAMILLE ROQUEPLAN. - - Camille Roqueplan was a French artist sent over by Louis Philippe - to make sketches at the Queen's Coronation. - -278 The Marriage of H.R.H. the Duke of Connaught and Strathearn and -H.R.H. Princess Louise Margaret of Prussia in St. George's Chapel, -Windsor, 13th March, 1879 . . . . . _After_ SIDNEY P. HALL. - -[Illustration: Decoration] - -[Illustration: Decoration] - - CHISWICK PRESS:--CHARLES WHITTINGHAM AND CO. - TOOKS COURT, CHANCERY LANE, LONDON. - - * * * * * - -Typographical errors corrected by the etext transcriber: - -William Talman, Comptroler=> William Talman, Comptroller {pg 18} - -his exernal architectural effect=> his external architectural effect {pg -63} - -being situate=> being situated {pg 68} - -his face his shaven=> his face is shaven {pg 91} - -Prince Octavious was born on February 23rd, 1779=> Prince Octavius was -born on February 23rd, 1779 {pg 106} - - - - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Kensington Palace, the birthplace of -the Queen, by Ernest Law - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK KENSINGTON PALACE *** - -***** This file should be named 43428-8.txt or 43428-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/3/4/2/43428/ - -Produced by Delphine Lettau, Chuck Greif and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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Thus, we do not necessarily -keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. - - -Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: - - http://www.gutenberg.org - -This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. diff --git a/43428-8.zip b/43428-8.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 4bb7ead..0000000 --- a/43428-8.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/43428-h.zip b/43428-h.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 8b7bf8e..0000000 --- a/43428-h.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/43428.txt b/43428.txt deleted file mode 100644 index a204aaf..0000000 --- a/43428.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,5036 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Kensington Palace, the birthplace of the -Queen, by Ernest Law - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: Kensington Palace, the birthplace of the Queen - being an historical guide to the state rooms, pictures and gardens - -Author: Ernest Law - -Release Date: August 9, 2013 [EBook #43428] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK KENSINGTON PALACE *** - - - - -Produced by Delphine Lettau, Chuck Greif and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - - - [The words between equals signs (=) appear in Old English type in the -original. A few typographical errors have been made; a list follows the - etext. (note of etext transcriber.)] - - - - - =Kensington Palace: the Birthplace of the Queen.= - - =Illustrated.= - -[Illustration: THIS MINIATURE REPRESENTS THE QUEEN AT THE AGE OF EIGHT] - - 1819 MAY 24TH 1899 - - [Illustration: H.R.H. THE PRINCESS VICTORIA AT THE AGE OF FOUR. - - (From a Painting by Denning.)] - - - - - =Kensington Palace= - - THE BIRTHPLACE OF THE QUEEN - - _ILLUSTRATED_ - - BEING AN - HISTORICAL GUIDE - TO THE STATE ROOMS, PICTURES, AND GARDENS - - BY - - =Ernest Law, B.A.= - BARRISTER-AT-LAW - _Author of "The History of Hampton Court Palace;" "The Royal - Gallery of Hampton Court;" "Vandyck's Pictures - at Windsor Castle," etc._ - - [Illustration: colophon] - - _Notice._--This Catalogue and Guide are copyright, and immediate - proceedings in Chancery will be taken against any infringers thereof. - - LONDON - GEORGE BELL AND SONS - 1899 - -[Illustration: Decoration] - - -=Notice to Visitors.= - -The State Rooms of Kensington Palace, and likewise Queen Anne's -Orangery, will be open to the public every day in the week throughout -the year, except Wednesdays, unless notice be, at any time, given to the -contrary. - -The hours of opening will be 10 o'clock in the morning on week days, and -2 o'clock in the afternoon on Sundays. - -The hours of closing will be 6 o'clock in the evening from the 1st of -April to the 30th of September, both days inclusive, and 4 o'clock -during the winter months. - -They will be closed on Christmas Day and Good Friday. - -[Illustration: Decoration] - -[Illustration: KENSINGTON PALACE AND GARDENS IN THE REIGN OF QUEEN -ANNE.] - -[Illustration: Decoration] - - - - -=Contents.= - - - PAGE - FRONTISPIECE. H.R.H. THE PRINCESS VICTORIA AT - THE AGE OF FOUR 4 - NOTICE TO VISITORS 6 - _Plate_--KENSINGTON PALACE AND GARDENS IN THE - REIGN OF QUEEN ANNE 8 - PREFACE 14 - - - =Historical Sketch.= - - EARLY HISTORY OF KENSINGTON 17 - BUILDING OF THE PALACE 18 - DEATHS OF QUEEN MARY AND KING WILLIAM 19 - QUEEN ANNE AT KENSINGTON PALACE 20 - DEATH OF PRINCE GEORGE OF DENMARK 22 - DEATH OF QUEEN ANNE 22 - GEORGE I. AT KENSINGTON PALACE 23 - GEORGE II. AT KENSINGTON PALACE 24 - KENSINGTON IN GEORGE III.'S REIGN 25 - BIRTH OF QUEEN VICTORIA 26 - _Plate_--THE DUCHESS OF KENT WITH PRINCESS VICTORIA (AGED - TWO YEARS) 27 - QUEEN VICTORIA'S EARLY YEARS AT KENSINGTON 29 - THE QUEEN'S CHILDHOOD AT KENSINGTON PALACE 30 - _Plate_--THE PRINCESS VICTORIA IN 1825 31 - PRINCESS VICTORIA BECOMES HEIRESS TO THE THRONE 34 - QUEEN VICTORIA'S ACCESSION 36 - QUEEN VICTORIA'S FIRST COUNCIL 37 - KENSINGTON PALACE IN RECENT YEARS 40 - RESTORATION OF THE STATE ROOMS 41 - METHODS OF RESTORATION 42 - ARRANGEMENT OF THE PICTURES 44 - ASSOCIATIONS WITH QUEEN VICTORIA 45 - - - =Descriptive and Historical Guide.= - - OLD KENSINGTON PALACE GARDENS 47 - QUEEN ANNE'S GARDENS 49 - QUEEN ANNE'S ORANGERY 51 - TERRACE OF QUEEN ANNE'S ORANGERY 53 - EXTERIOR OF QUEEN ANNE'S ORANGERY 54 - INTERIOR OF QUEEN ANNE'S ORANGERY 55 - THE ALCOVES OF QUEEN ANNE'S ORANGERY 56 - RESTORATION OF QUEEN ANNE'S ORANGERY 56 - KENSINGTON GARDENS 58 - QUEEN CAROLINE'S IMPROVEMENTS IN KENSINGTON GARDENS 58 - KENSINGTON GARDENS IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY 59 - _Plate_--SOUTH FRONT OF KENSINGTON PALACE IN 1819--AFTER - WESTALL 61 - SOUTH FRONT OF THE PALACE 63 - WREN'S DOMESTIC STYLE 63 - EAST FRONT OF THE PALACE 64 - _Plate_--PLAN OF THE STATE ROOMS 66 - PUBLIC ENTRANCE TO THE PALACE 67 - QUEEN'S STAIRCASE 68 - OLD OAK WAINSCOTING OF THE STAIRCASE 69 - WINDOW SASHES OF THE STAIRCASE 69 - QUEEN MARY'S GALLERY 70 - WAINSCOTING AND CARVINGS OF QUEEN MARY'S GALLERY 71 - PICTURES IN QUEEN MARY'S GALLERY. PORTRAITS OF THE TIME - OF WILLIAM AND MARY TO GEORGE II 73 - QUEEN'S CLOSET 77 - PICTURES OF "OLD LONDON" 77 - QUEEN ANNE'S PRIVATE DINING ROOM 80 - PICTURES IN QUEEN ANNE'S PRIVATE DINING ROOM 81 - QUEEN MARY'S PRIVY CHAMBER 83 - PICTURES IN QUEEN MARY'S PRIVY CHAMBER 83 - QUEEN CAROLINE'S DRAWING ROOM 87 - PAINTED CEILING OF THE QUEEN'S DRAWING ROOM 88 - CONTEMPORARY FRENCH AND GERMAN PORTRAITS 88 - THE CUPOLA OR CUBE ROOM 93 - THE PAINTED CEILING OF THE CUBE ROOM 94 - _Plate_--THE CUPOLA OR CUBE ROOM AS IT WAS WHEN THE QUEEN - WAS BAPTIZED IN IT 95 - PAINTED WALLS OF THE CUBE ROOM 96 - GENERAL APPEARANCE OF THE CUPOLA ROOM 98 - KING'S DRAWING ROOM 99 - PAINTED CEILING OF THE KING'S DRAWING ROOM 99 - WILLIAM KENT, THE ROYAL AND FASHIONABLE DECORATOR 100 - _Plate_--KING'S DRAWING ROOM 101 - KENT THE FATHER OF MODERN GARDENING 103 - WEST'S PICTURES IN THE KING'S DRAWING ROOM 104 - KING'S PRIVY CHAMBER 108 - PORTRAITS OF GEORGE III.'S TIME 108 - THE NURSERY 113 - Pictures and Prints illustrative of the Queen's Life and - Reign 113 - ANTE-ROOM 114 - PRINTS ILLUSTRATIVE OF THE LIFE AND REIGN OF THE QUEEN 114 - QUEEN VICTORIA'S BEDROOM 115 - PRINTS OF THE LIFE AND REIGN OF THE QUEEN 116 - MEMENTOES AND RELICS OF THE QUEEN'S CHILDHOOD COLLECTED - IN "QUEEN VICTORIA'S BEDROOM" 116 - KING'S GALLERY 117 - DECORATIVE CARVINGS IN THE "KING'S GALLERY" 117 - CHIMNEY-PIECE, MAP AND DIAL 118 - _Plate_--THE KING'S GALLERY 119 - PAINTING OF THE CEILING AND WAINSCOT OF THE KING'S GALLERY 121 - NAVAL PICTURES IN THE KING'S GALLERY 122 - KING'S GRAND STAIRCASE 129 - KENT'S ALTERATIONS IN THE KING'S GRAND STAIRCASE 130 - _Plate_--THE KING'S GRAND STAIRCASE 131 - PAINTED WALLS OF THE KING'S GRAND STAIRCASE 133 - PAINTED CEILING OF THE KING'S GRAND STAIRCASE 135 - PRESENCE CHAMBER 137 - PAINTED CEILING OF THE PRESENCE CHAMBER 138 - CEREMONIAL PICTURES OF QUEEN VICTORIA'S REIGN 139 - -[Illustration: Decoration] - -[Illustration: Decoration] - - - - -=Preface.= - - -The following pages, compiled under the sanction of the Lord Chamberlain -of Her Majesty's Household and the First Commissioner of Her Majesty's -Works and Buildings, are intended to meet the requirements of visitors -to the State Rooms of Kensington Palace, now open by command of the -Queen to the inspection of the public during Her Majesty's pleasure. -This little book, therefore, is to be understood as aiming only at a -descriptive and historical account of the particular parts of the -building on view--not, in any sense, as attempting a general history of -the Palace. Nevertheless, the author may, perhaps, be permitted to say -that, as far as his object extends, he has endeavoured to render the -information here given as accurate and complete as possible, by devoting -the same amount of time and labour to research and verification, as -though he had been writing a book of a critical nature for a restricted -circle of readers, instead of a mere handbook for ordinary sightseers. - -In this way, the writer conceives, can he best promote the object which, -it may be assumed, the Queen and Her Majesty's Government have had in -view in restoring and opening these State Rooms to the public--namely, -that they should serve as an object-lesson in history and art, and a -refining influence of popular culture and education. - -In pursuance of this design the author has had recourse not only to such -well-known standard authorities on his subject as Pyne's "History of -Royal Residences," 1819; Faulkner's "History of Kensington," 1820; Leigh -Hunt's "Old Court Suburb," 1853; and Mr. Loftie's -"Kensington--Picturesque and Historical," 1887; but also to a large -number of earlier and less known historical and topographical works, -which have served to illustrate many things connected with the history -of this interesting old building. - -His main sources of information, however, have been the old manuscripts, -parchment rolls, and state papers, preserved in the British Museum and -Record Office--especially the "Declared Accounts" and "Treasury Papers," -containing the original estimates, accounts and reports of Sir -Christopher Wren and his successors, relating to the works and buildings -at Kensington. None of these have ever before been examined or -published; and they throw much light on the art and decoration of this -palace, while also, for the first time, setting at rest many hitherto -debatable points. - -The author must here once again--as in works of a similar nature -elsewhere--express his obligations for the kind assistance he has -received from all those who have charge of the Queen's palaces--the Hon. -Sir Spencer Ponsonby Fane, G.C.B., Comptroller of Her Majesty's -Household; the Hon. Reginald Brett, C.B., Secretary of Her Majesty's -Board of Works and Buildings; Sir John Taylor, K.C.B., Consulting -Architect and Surveyor to the Board; and Mr. Philip, Clerk of the Works -at Kensington Palace. - -At the same time he wishes to make it clear that for the information -contained herein, and for the opinions and views expressed, he himself -is alone responsible. - -Here also the author must make his acknowledgments to the editor of "The -Gentlewoman," who has kindly lent him the blocks for the portraits of -the Queen. - -It may be as well to take this opportunity of emphasizing what is more -fully insisted on in subsequent pages, that Kensington Palace, as a -public resort, is not to be considered in the light of an Art Gallery, -but as a Palace with historical pictures in it. The clear understanding -of this may prevent misapprehension as to the scheme followed in -restoring the state rooms to their original state, where the -pictures--and their frames--are arranged on the walls as a part only of -their furniture and decoration. - -Finally, it may be observed that though the outline of the history of -the Palace, prefixed to the description of the State Rooms, has -necessarily been brief, the Queen's early life, and the interesting -events that took place here in June 1837, seemed to require a fuller -treatment. These, therefore, have been described in detail, mainly in -the words of eye-witnesses, which, though they have often been printed -before, may, being repeated here, acquire--the compiler has thought--a -new vividness and interest, when read on the very spot where they were -enacted; and thus insure for these famous scenes an even wider -popularity than before. - -[Illustration: Decoration] - -[Illustration: Decoration] - - - - -HISTORICAL SKETCH. - -=Early History of Kensington.= - - -Kensington Palace, built by William and Mary, occupied by Queen Anne as -one of her favourite residences, enlarged by George I. and greatly -appreciated by George II. and his queen, Caroline, has received a -greater renown and more interesting associations from having been the -birthplace and early home of Queen Victoria. In celebration of the -eightieth anniversary of that ever-memorable and auspicious event, Her -Majesty decided on opening the State Apartments free to the public on -the 24th of May, 1899, during Her Majesty's pleasure. - -Before recapitulating the events of the Queen's early life here, we must -give a brief outline of the history of the Palace since it became a -royal residence. - -The original building, of which it is probable that a good deal still -stands, was erected mainly by Sir Heneage Finch, Lord Chancellor and -Earl of Nottingham, who acquired the estate, including some hundred and -fifty acres of meadow and park--now Kensington Gardens--from his brother -Sir John Finch. Hence it was known as Nottingham House; and under that -title it was bought from Daniel Finch, the second earl, for the sum of -18,000 guineas, in the summer or autumn of 1689, by King William III., -who was anxious to have a convenient residence near enough to Whitehall -for the transaction of business, and yet sufficiently far to be out of -the smoky atmosphere, in which he found it impossible to breathe. The -King, assisted by his Queen, at once set about enlarging and -embellishing the mansion, and laying out new gardens. - - -=Building of the Palace.= - -The works seem to have been begun on or very soon after the 1st of -October, 1689. We learn this from the enrolled account of "Thomas Lloyd, -Paymaster of Their Majesties Workes and Buildinges," made up from -"paybookes subscribed with the handes of Sir Christopher Wren, Knight -Surveyor of the workes; William Talman, Comptroller; John Oliver, Master -Mason; and Matthew Bankes, Master Carpenter, and with the hand of -Nicolas Hawkesmore, clerke of the said workes, according to the ancient -usual and due course of the office of their Majesties workes." - -In the second week of November a news-letter informs us that the new -apartment, then being built, "suddenly fell flat to the ground, killing -seven or eight workmen and labourers. The Queen had been in that -apartment but a little while before." - -By February 25th, 1690, they were sufficiently advanced for Evelyn to -record in his diary: "I went to Kensington, which King William has -bought of Lord Nottingham, and altered, but was yet a patched building, -but with the garden, it is a very sweete villa, having to it the Park, -and a straight new way through this Park." The making of this new road -cost just about L8,000. - -Building operations were continued during the King's absence in Ireland; -and the day before the news of the battle of the Boyne reached Queen -Mary she spent a few quiet hours in the gardens here, writing the same -evening, July 5th, to William: "The place made me think how happy I was -there when I had your dear company." Until his return she continued to -overlook the building, and on August 6th following, writes again as to -the progress of the building: "The outside of the house is fiddling -work, which takes up more time than can be imagined; and while the -_schafolds_ are up, the windows must be boarded up, but as soon as that -is done, your own apartment may be furnished." And a week after: "I have -been this day to Kensington, which looks really very well, at least to a -poor body like me, who have been so long condemned to this place -(Whitehall) and see nothing but water and wall." - -The work of improving Kensington House continued for another year or -more, costing during this period L60,000. It was, however, far from -finished, when, in November, 1691, a serious fire occurred, -necessitating re-building at a cost of upwards of L6,000. From the year -1691 to 1696 another L35,000 was spent in further "altering the old -house," and in additional works of decoration in the galleries and other -rooms--details as to which will be given in our description of those -apartments. - -Extensive alterations and improvements were also in progress at the same -time in the gardens, which at this period were confined to the ground -east and south of the Palace, as to which we shall refer again. - - -=Deaths of Queen Mary and King William.= - -Ere the work, however, was completed, Queen Mary was taken ill at -Kensington with small pox in December, 1694. On learning the nature of -her illness she locked herself in her closet, burned some papers, and -calmly awaited her fate, which quickly came a few days after, the 28th -of December. - -Evelyn visited Kensington again in 1696, and speaks of it then as "noble -but not greate," commending especially the King's Gallery, which was -then filled with the finest pictures in the royal collection, "a greate -collection of Porcelain, and a pretty private library. The gardens about -it very delicious." Peter the Great's visit to William III. in this same -gallery is referred to in our description of it below. - -The next event of moment is William III.'s own death at Kensington -Palace, after his accident in Hampton Court Park. "Je tirs vers ma fin," -said he to Albemarle, who had hurried from Holland to his master's -bedside; and to his physician: "I know that you have done all that skill -and learning could do for me; but the case is beyond your art, I must -submit." "Can this," he said soon after, "last long?" He was told that -the end was approaching. He swallowed a cordial, and asked for Bentinck. -Those were his last articulate words. "Bentinck instantly came to the -bedside, bent down, and placed his ear close to the King's mouth. The -lips of the dying man moved, but nothing could be heard. The King took -the hand of his earliest friend and pressed it tenderly to his heart. In -that moment, no doubt, all that had cast a slight passing cloud over -their long pure friendship was forgotten. It was now between seven and -eight in the morning. He closed his eyes, and gasped for breath. The -bishops knelt down and read the commendatory prayer. When it ended -William was no more. When his remains were laid out, it was found that -he wore next to his skin a small piece of black silk ribbon. The lords -in waiting ordered it to be taken off. It contained a gold ring and a -lock of the hair of Mary." - - -=Queen Anne at Kensington Palace.= - -Fond as William and Mary had been of Kensington, Queen Anne was even -more attached to it still;--and it became her usual residence whenever -it was necessary for her to be near the great offices of state. She -seems to have remained satisfied with the palace as it had been finished -by her predecessors, except for the addition of one or two small rooms -"in the little court behind the gallery," perhaps because King William -bequeathed to her a debt of upwards of L4,000 for his buildings at -Kensington. - -She devoted, however, a great deal of care and expense to the improving -and enlarging of the Palace gardens--as to which we shall have more to -say when we come to describe them. Queen Anne, indeed, was, in this -respect, thoroughly English. She loved her plants and flowers, and would -spend hours pottering about her gardens at Kensington. The appearance of -her gardens will best be seen from our reduced facsimile of Kip's large -engraving, published about 1714 in his "Britannia Illustrata." In the -right distance is seen that most beautiful building called the -"Orangery" or green-house, erected by her orders--which we shall fully -describe on a subsequent page. - -Besides enlarging the gardens round about the Palace, Queen Anne greatly -extended the area of the park-like enclosed grounds attached to -Kensington Palace. Mr. Loftie has declared that "neither Queen Anne nor -Queen Caroline took an acre from Hyde Park." But this we have found not -to be the fact. In an old report on the "State of the Royal Gardens and -Plantations at Ladyday, 1713," among the Treasury Papers in the Record -Office, there is a distinct reference to "The Paddock joyning to the -Gardens, _taken from Hyde Park in 1705_, and stocked with fine deer and -antelopes;" and again in another document, dated May 26th in the same -year, being a memorial to the Lord High Treasurer from Henry Portman, -Ranger of Hyde Park, it is stated that "near 100 acres had been enclosed -from the park of Kensington, whereby the profits he had by herbage were -much reduced." Later on, in George II.'s reign, in 1729, we find a grant -of L200 made to William, Earl of Essex, Ranger of Hyde Park, "in -consideration of loss of herbage of that part of the said park which is -laid into his Majesty's gardens at Kensington." - - -=Death of Prince George of Denmark.= - -It was at Kensington Palace that Anne's husband, Prince George of -Denmark, at length succumbed, in 1708, to a prolonged illness of gout -and asthma. During his last sickness and death, Anne had the -"consolation" of the Duchess of Marlborough's "sympathy." Her Grace's -deportment, according to an eye-witness, "while the Prince was actually -dying, was of such a nature that the Queen, then in the height of her -grief, was not able to bear it." She actually forced her way, as -Mistress of the Robes, to the poor Prince's deathbed, and only drew into -the background when peremptorily ordered by the heart-broken wife to -leave the room. After Prince George had breathed his last, she stepped -forward again, and when all the others had left, insisted on remaining -with poor Anne, who was "weeping and _clapping_ her hands together, and -swaying herself backwards and forwards" in an agony of grief. The Queen -was at length induced to accede to the Duchess's advice to leave "_that -dismal body_" and remove to St. James's. - -Two years later, in these very same state rooms of Kensington Palace -took place the famous final interview between the Queen and her whilom -favourite, also subsequently noticed in our description of "Queen Anne's -Private Dining Room." - - -=Death of Queen Anne.= - -In the summer of the year 1714 Queen Anne was seized, at Kensington -Palace, with apoplexy, brought on by political worries. She had been -failing in health for some time; and on July 27th had an attack of blood -to the head, while presiding at her Cabinet Council, and was carried in -a dead faint to her bed. Four days after, Charles Ford, an official of -the government and a correspondent of Swift, wrote: "I am just come from -Kensington, where I have spent these two days. At present the Queen is -alive, and better than could have been expected; her disorder began -about eight or nine yesterday morning. The doctors ordered her head to -be shaved; while it was being done, the Queen fell into convulsions, or, -as they say, a fit of apoplexy, which lasted two hours, during which she -showed but little sign of life." At six in the evening of the same day, -another anxious watcher within the palace walls, says Miss Strickland, -wrote to Swift: "At the time I am writing, the breath is _said_ to be in -the Queen's nostrils, but that is all. No hopes of her recovery,"--and -in effect she breathed her last the following day, in the fiftieth year -of her age. "Her life would have lasted longer," wrote Roger Coke, in -his "Detection," "if she had not eaten so much.... She supped too much -chocolate, and died monstrously fat; insomuch that the coffin wherein -her remains were deposited was almost square, and was bigger than that -of the Prince, her husband, who was known to be a fat, bulky man." - - -=George I. at Kensington Palace.= - -The day after the death of Queen Anne, King George was proclaimed her -successor; and soon after his accession he entered into possession of -Kensington Palace. Taking, on his part, also, a fancy to the place, he -decided, about the year 1721, to erect a new and additional suite of -state rooms, the building of which was intrusted to William Kent, as we -shall fully explain in our description of the new state rooms -constructed by him. Otherwise, we hear scarcely anything of George I. in -connection with Kensington. He lived here, indeed, in the greatest -seclusion with his German favourites, and was scarcely ever seen, even -in the gardens, which in his reign first became the fashionable -promenade, where, in the words of Tickell, who wrote a poem on the -subject, in imitation of Pope's "Rape of the Lock"-- - - "The dames of Britain oft in crowds repair - To groves and lawns, and unpolluted air, - Here, while the town in damps and darkness lies, - They breathe in sunshine, and see azure skies." - - -=George II. at Kensington Palace.= - -In the reign of George II. Kensington became more than ever the -favourite residence of the court, and much insight into life within the -walls of the Palace at this time is afforded us by such books as Lady -Suffolk's "Memoirs," Lady Sundon's "Letters," Walpole's "Reminiscences," -and, above all, of course, by Lord Hervey's "Memoirs." Here is a -malignant little sketch drawn by that treacherous, satiric hand: "His -Majesty stayed about five minutes in the gallery; snubbed the Queen, who -was drinking chocolate, for being always 'stuffing;' the Princess Emily -for not hearing him; the Princess Caroline for being grown fat; the Duke -of Cumberland for standing awkwardly; Lord Hervey for not knowing what -relation the Prince of Sultzbach was to the Elector Palatine; and then -carried the Queen to walk, and be re-snubbed, in the garden." - -It was the Princess Emily just mentioned who played a practical joke one -evening at Kensington on Lady Deloraine, by drawing her chair from under -her just as she was going to sit down to cards, thus sending her -sprawling on the floor. The King burst out laughing, and, to revenge -herself, Lady Deloraine played his august Majesty the same trick soon -after, which not unnaturally led to her being forbidden the court for -some time. - -Although Queen Caroline had to put up with a good deal of snubbing, she -managed, at the same time, usually to get her own way. She was very fond -of art; and it was she who discovered, stowed away in a drawer at -Kensington Palace, the famous series of Holbein's drawings. These she -had brought out, and she arranged all the pictures in the State Rooms -according to her liking. Her substituting good pictures for bad in the -great Drawing-Room during one of the King's absences in Hanover, led to -the famous and oft-quoted scene between Lord Hervey and his Majesty, -who, nevertheless, did not interfere with the Queen's alterations. - -Caroline was also devoted to the then fashionable craze of gardening, -and was continually planning and altering at Kensington. It was at her -instance--as we shall see presently in greater detail--that the large -extent of land, formerly the park of old Nottingham House, and also a -portion of Hyde Park, was laid out, planted, and improved into what we -now know as "Kensington Gardens." - -Queen Caroline died in 1737, while George II. survived her twenty-three -years, expiring at Kensington Palace on the morning of the 25th of -October, 1760, at the age of seventy-eight. His end was extremely -sudden. He appeared to be in his usual health, when a heavy fall was -heard in his dressing-room after breakfast. The attendants hurried in, -to find the King lying on the floor, with his head cut open by falling -against a bureau. The right ventricle of his heart had burst. - - -=Kensington in George III.'s Reign.= - -George II. was the last sovereign to occupy Kensington Palace, which -thenceforth, during the long reign of George III., was left almost -entirely neglected and deserted. Several members of the royal family, -however, occupied, at various periods, suites of apartments in the -Palace. Among others, Caroline of Brunswick, when Princess of Wales, -lived for a short time here with her mother. Her behaviour greatly -scandalized the sober-minded inhabitants of the old court suburb. "She -kept a sort of open house, receiving visitors in a dressing-gown, and -sitting and talking about herself with strangers, on the benches in the -garden, at the risk of being discovered." - -Another but more worthy occupant of the Palace in George III.'s reign -was our present Queen's uncle, the Duke of Sussex, who collected a -magnificent library here of nearly fifty thousand volumes, which he -spent the last years of his life in arranging and cataloguing. - -Destined, however, to invest Kensington Palace with associations and -memories far transcending any that have gone before, was the advent here -of the Duke and Duchess of Kent, seven months after their marriage. They -occupied most of the old state rooms on the first and second floors of -the easternmost portion of the Palace. Three lives then stood between -the duke and the throne, and little could the newly-married pair have -imagined that from their union would spring the future Queen and Empress -of such a vast and mighty empire as now owns the sway of their first and -only child. - - -=Birth of Queen Victoria.= - -The Queen was born on the 24th of May, 1819, at a quarter past four in -the morning. "Some doubt," says Mr. Loftie, "has been thrown on the -identification of the room in which the future Queen was born; but the -late lamented Dr. Merriman, whose father attended the Duchess, had no -doubt that a spacious chamber, which has been marked with a brass plate, -was that in which the happy event took place." This room, which is on -the first floor, exactly under the "King's Privy Chamber"--the State -Rooms being on the second floor--has a low ceiling, and three windows, -facing east, looking into the "Private Gardens." It has been identified -by the Queen as the one Her Majesty was always told she was born in. The -brass plate, put up at the time of the first Jubilee, in 1887, states: -_In this room Queen Victoria was born, May 24th, 1819_. - -[Illustration: THE DUCHESS OF KENT WITH PRINCESS VICTORIA (AGED TWO -YEARS). - -(After a picture by Sir William Beechey.)] - -Faulkner, writing the year after the event, confirms this -identification, insomuch that he says: "_The lower apartments_ in the -south-east part of the Palace, beneath the King's Gallery, have been -for some years occupied by His Royal Highness the Duke of Kent, whose -premature decease--eight months after the birth of his daughter--this -nation has so recently and deeply lamented; and they are still the -residence of Her Royal Highness the Duchess." - -This is how the event was noticed in the "Memoirs" of Baron Stockmar: "A -pretty little Princess, plump as a partridge, was born. The Duke of Kent -was delighted with his child, and liked to show her constantly to his -companions and intimate friends with the words: 'Take care of her, for -she will be Queen of England.'" - -An interesting letter of the Duke of Kent's, written a few weeks after -to his chaplain, Dr. Thomas Prince, who had addressed a letter of -congratulation to him while, at the same time, somewhat condoling with -him that a daughter and not a son had been born to him, was published in -the "Times" at the time of the Jubilee of 1897. In it the duke remarked: -"As to the circumstance of that child not proving to be a son instead of -a daughter, I feel it due to myself to declare that such sentiments are -not in unison with my own; for I am decidedly of opinion that the -decrees of Providence are at all times wisest and best." - - -=Queen Victoria's Early Years at Kensington.= - -The next reference we have found to the future Queen, is in a letter, -written on 21st of July, 1820, when, consequently, Her Majesty was a -little more than a year old, by Mr. Wilberforce, who mentions being -received at Kensington Palace by the Duchess of Kent that morning. "She -received me with her fine animated child on the floor, by her side, with -its playthings, of which I soon became one." - -Most of the future Queen's early years were passed at Kensington Palace -in great privacy and retirement. She was often seen, however, in -Kensington Gardens, her constant companion in her walks being Miss, -afterwards Baroness Lehzen. - -Leigh Hunt, referring to this period, mentions in his "Old Court -Suburb," having seen her "coming up a cross path from the Bayswater -Gate, with a girl of her own age by her side"--probably the Princess -Feodore, her beloved half-sister and constant companion of her -girlhood--"whose hand she was holding, as if she loved her.... A -magnificent footman in scarlet came behind her." - -The youthful Princess was sometimes driven in a goat or donkey carriage -in the park and gardens, and, as she grew older, in a small phaeton, -drawn by two diminutive ponies. The following gives a little glimpse of -our Queen at this early period of her life: - -"A party consisting of several ladies, a young child, and two men -servants, having in charge a donkey gaily caparisoned with blue ribbons, -and accoutered for the use of the infant ... who skipped along between -her mother and sister, the Princess Feodore, holding a hand of each." - - -=The Queen's Childhood at Kensington Palace.= - -In further illustration of the Queen's life as a little girl with her -mother at Kensington Palace, we cannot do better than quote what Mr. -Holmes, writing with authority as the Queen's Librarian at Windsor -Castle, tells us in his interesting work, "Queen Victoria," which, as he -remarks, presents for the first time an accurate account of the -childhood of the Queen. "During these early years, and before a regular -course of studies had been attempted, the family life at the Palace was -simple and regular. Breakfast was served in summer at eight o'clock, -the Princess Victoria having her bread and milk and fruit on a little -table by her mother's side. After breakfast the Princess Feodore studied -with her governess, Miss Lehzen, and the Princess Victoria went out for -a walk or drive. It has been repeatedly said that at this time she was -instructed by her mother; but this is not the case, as the Duchess never -gave her daughter any lessons. At two there was a plain dinner, when the -Duchess had her luncheon. In the afternoon was the usual walk or drive. -At the time of her mother's dinner the Princess had her supper laid at -her side. At nine she was accustomed to retire to her bed, which was -placed close to her mother's...." - -[Illustration: THE PRINCESS VICTORIA IN 1825. - -(After a picture by G. Fowler.)] - -"It was not till the Princess had entered her fifth year that she began -to receive any regular instruction.... In this determination not to -force her daughter's mind, the Duchess of Kent acted on the counsel of -her mother, who had advised her 'not to tease her little puss with -learning while she was so young.' The advice was justified by results, -for the Princess made rapid progress." - -The Earl of Albemarle, who was in attendance on the Duke of Sussex at -Kensington, thus describes in his "Recollections" the appearance of the -Princess when seven years old: "One of my occupations on a morning, -while waiting for the Duke, was to watch from the window the movements -of a bright, pretty little girl, seven years of age. She was in the -habit of watering the plants immediately under the window. It was -amusing to see how impartially she divided the contents of the watering -pot between the flowers and her own little feet. Her simple but becoming -dress contrasted favourably with the gorgeous apparel now worn by the -little damsels of the rising generation--a large straw hat and a suit of -white cotton; a coloured _fichu_ round the neck was the only ornament -she wore." - -Her education was now conducted on a regular system. Writing, -arithmetic, singing lessons, dancing lessons by Madam Bourdin, "to whose -teaching may be due in some measure the grace of gesture and dignity of -bearing which have always distinguished Her Majesty," drawing, and the -French language. "German was not allowed to be spoken; English was -always insisted upon, though a knowledge of the German language was -imparted by M. Barez. The lessons, however, which were most enjoyed -were those in riding, which has always been since one of the Queen's -greatest pleasures." - - -=Princess Victoria becomes Heiress to the Throne.= - -The death of the Duke of York, and the remote probability of the Duke -and Duchess of Clarence having any offspring, drew increasing attention -to the movements of the Duchess of Kent and her daughter. "Many stories -are current," continues Mr. Holmes, "of the behaviour and appearance of -the young Princess. The simplicity of her tastes was particularly -noticed and admired. It was this simplicity of living and careful -training in home life, which endeared not only the Princess, but her -mother also, to the hearts of the whole nation." Charles Knight, as well -as Leigh Hunt, whom we have already quoted, has recorded the pleasing -impression made upon him by the young Princess. In his "Passages of a -Working Life" he says: "I delighted to walk in Kensington Gardens. As I -passed along the broad central walk, I saw a group on the lawn before -the Palace.... The Duchess of Kent and her daughter, whose years then -numbered nine, were breakfasting in the open air.... What a beautiful -characteristic, it seemed to me, of the training of this royal girl, -that she should not have been taught to shrink from the public eye; that -she should not have been burdened with a premature conception of her -probable high destiny; that she should enjoy the freedom and simplicity -of a child's nature; that she should not be restrained when she starts -up from the breakfast table and runs to gather a flower in the adjoining -pasture; that her merry laugh should be fearless as the notes of the -thrush in the groves around her. I passed on and blessed her; and I -thank God that I have lived to see the golden fruits of such a -training." - -The Queen was just on the eve of her ninth birthday when, on May 19th, -1828, Sir Walter Scott dined at Kensington Palace with the Duchess of -Kent. He records in his diary: "I was very kindly received by Prince -Leopold, and presented to the little Princess Victoria, the -heir-apparent to the Crown, as things stand.... This little lady is -educated with much care, and watched so closely, that no busy maid has a -moment to whisper, 'You are heir of England.' I suspect, if we could -dissect the little heart, we should find some pigeon or other bird of -the air had carried the matter." - -Sir Walter's surmise, Mr. Holmes informs us, was not altogether without -foundation; and two years later, when, by the death of her uncle, George -IV., only the life of William IV. stood between her and the throne, she -was formally made acquainted with her position. - -"The early part of the year 1833 was passed at Kensington. There the -course of study was kept up as before, but the Princess now went out -more into society and was seen more in public.... The Princess's -amusements were her pets, and her walks and drives, and during the -spring and summer she much enjoyed riding." - -It was at Kensington, in the summer of 1836, that the Queen first saw -her future husband. The Prince in his diary recorded that his aunt, the -Duchess of Kent, "gave a brilliant ball here at Kensington Palace, at -which the gentlemen appeared in uniform and the ladies in so-called -fancy dresses. We remained until four o'clock.... Dear Aunt is very kind -to us, and does everything she can to please us, and our cousin also is -very amiable." - -The Princess Victoria was at Kensington when she attained her majority, -on the 24th of May, 1837. She was awakened by a serenade; she received -many presents, and the day was kept as a general holiday at Kensington. - - -=Queen Victoria's Accession.= - -Less than a month after, King William IV. died at Windsor at twelve -minutes past two on the morning of June 20th. As soon as possible the -Archbishop of Canterbury, with Lord Conyngham (the Lord Chamberlain), -started to convey the news to Kensington, where they arrived at five -o'clock in the morning. - -"They knocked, they rang, they thumped," says "The Diary of a Lady of -Quality," "for a considerable time before they could rouse the porter at -the gate; they were again kept waiting in the courtyard; they hurried -into one of the lower rooms, where they seemed forgotten by everybody. -They rang the bell, desired that the attendant of the Princess Victoria -might be sent to inform Her Royal Highness that they requested an -audience on business of importance. After another delay, and another -ringing to inquire the cause, the attendant was summoned, who stated -that the Princess was in such a sweet sleep, she could not venture to -disturb her. Then they said, 'We are come to the _Queen_ on business of -State, and her sleep must give way to that.'" - -"In a few minutes she came into the room," says Mr. Holmes, "a shawl -thrown over her dressing-gown, her feet in slippers, and her hair -falling down her back. She had been awakened by the Duchess of Kent, who -told Her Majesty she must get up; she went alone into the room where -Lord Conyngham and the archbishop were waiting. The Lord Chamberlain -then knelt down, and presented a paper, announcing the death of her -uncle, to the Queen; and the archbishop said he had come by desire of -Queen Adelaide, who thought the Queen would like to hear in what a -peaceful state the King had been at the last." - - -=Queen Victoria's First Council.= - -At nine o'clock the Prime Minister was received in audience alone; and -soon afterwards an informal gathering of Privy Councillors, including -the Queen's uncle, the Duke of Sussex, the Duke of Wellington, and a -dozen or so of ministers, prelates, and officials, was held in the -anteroom to the Council Chamber, when an address of fealty and homage -was read aloud and signed by those present. - -After this the doors were opened, "disclosing"--to quote the words of -Mr. Barrett Lennard, now the sole survivor of the scene, except the -Queen herself--"a large State Saloon, close to whose threshold there -stood unattended a small, slight, fair-complexioned young lady, -apparently fifteen years of age. She was attired in a close-fitting -dress of black silk, her light hair parted and drawn from her forehead; -she wore no ornament whatever on her dress or person. The Duke of Sussex -advanced, embraced and kissed her--his niece the Queen. Lord Melbourne -and others kissed hands in the usual form, and the Usher taking the -address, closed the doors, and the Queen disappeared from our gaze. No -word was uttered by Her Majesty or by any present, and no sound broke -the silence, which seemed to me to add to the impressive solemnity of -the scene." - -The room where this took place is low and rather dark and gloomy, with -pillars in it, supporting the floor of the "Cube Room" above. - -The subsequent meeting of the Queen's first Council, which took place at -eleven o'clock, is familiar to everyone from Wilkie's well-known -picture--"though, at the expense of truth he has emphasized the -principal figure by painting her in a white dress instead of the black -which was actually worn." Her Majesty was introduced to the Council -Chamber by her uncles, the Dukes of Cumberland and Sussex, and at once -took her seat on a chair at the head of the table. - -In describing this famous scene, it is useless to attempt anything -beyond quoting once more--often as it has been quoted--the admirable -account given by Charles Greville, Clerk of the Council: - -"Never was anything like the first impression she produced, or the -chorus of praise and admiration which is raised about her manner and -behaviour, and certainly not without justice. It was very extraordinary, -and something far beyond what was looked for. Her extreme youth and -inexperience, and the ignorance of the world concerning her, naturally -excited intense curiosity to see how she would act on this trying -occasion, and there was a considerable assemblage at the Palace, -notwithstanding the short notice which was given.... She bowed to the -Lords, took her seat, and then read her speech in a clear, distinct and -audible voice, and without any appearance of fear or embarrassment. She -was quite plainly dressed and in mourning. - -"After she had read her speech, and taken and signed the oath for the -security of the Church of Scotland, the Privy Councillors were sworn, -the two Royal Dukes (of Cumberland and Sussex) first, by themselves; and -as these two old men, her uncles, knelt before her, swearing allegiance -and kissing her hand, I saw her blush up to the eyes, as if she felt the -contrast between their civil and their natural relations, and this was -the only sign of emotion she evinced. Her manner to them was very -graceful and engaging: she kissed them both, and rose from her chair and -moved towards the Duke of Sussex, who was farthest from her and too -infirm to reach her. She seemed rather bewildered at the multitude of -men who were sworn, and who came one after the other to kiss her hand, -but she did not speak to anybody, nor did she make the slightest -difference in her manner, or show any in her countenance, to any -individual of any rank, station or party. I particularly watched her -when Melbourne and the Ministers and the Duke of Wellington and Peel -approached her. She went through the whole ceremony--occasionally -looking at Melbourne for instruction when she had any doubt what to do, -which hardly ever occurred--with perfect calmness and self-possession, -but at the same time with a graceful modesty and propriety particularly -interesting and ingratiating. When the business was done she retired as -she had entered. - -"Peel said how amazed he was at her manner and behaviour, at her -apparent deep sense of her situation, her modesty, and at the same time -her firmness. She appeared, in fact, to be awed, but not daunted, and -afterwards the Duke of Wellington told me the same thing, and added that -if she had been his own daughter he could not have desired to see her -perform her part better." - -This description of Charles Greville's, whose pen was given to anything -but flattery, is confirmed by the testimony of many others present. Earl -Grey wrote to Princess Lieven: "When called upon for the first time to -appear before the Privy Council, and to take upon herself the awful -duties with which at so early an age she has been so suddenly charged, -there was in her appearance and demeanour a composure, a propriety, an -_aplomb_, which were quite extraordinary. She never was in the least -degree confused, embarrassed or hurried; read the declaration -beautifully; went through the forms of business as if she had been -accustomed to them all her life." Lord Palmerston says in a letter to -Lord Granville: "The Queen went through her task with great dignity and -self-possession; one saw she felt much inward emotion, but it was fully -controlled. Her articulation was particularly good, her voice remarkably -pleasing." - -Next day, the 21st of June, at ten o'clock in the morning, Her Majesty -was formally proclaimed Queen of Great Britain and Ireland at St. -James's Palace, when a salute was fired in the Park, and she appeared at -the window of the Presence Chamber, returning afterwards to Kensington -Palace. On the 13th of July the Queen, accompanied by her mother, the -Duchess of Kent, took her final departure from the place of her birth -and the home of her childhood. - - -=Kensington Palace in recent Years.= - -Since the accession of the Queen, Kensington Palace has had a quiet and -uneventful history--though Her Majesty has frequently, in the course of -her reign, privately revisited her old home, where the Duchess of Kent -retained her rooms until her death in 1861; and where, soon after that -date, Princess Mary and the Duke of Teck also came to reside for a -period. Here their daughter, Princess May, now the Duchess of York, was -born in the State Room called "the Nursery," in 1867. - -In the meanwhile, the apartments in the south-west corner of the Palace, -occupied by the Duke of Sussex until his death in 1843, were afterwards -tenanted by his widow, the Duchess of Inverness, who died in 1873, when -they were granted by the Queen to Princess Louise and the Marquis of -Lorne, who still reside in them. - -During all these sixty years the Palace had been suffered gradually more -and more to fall into a deplorable state of disrepair. The walls were -bulging in many places, and merely remained standing by being shored up; -the rafters of the roof were beginning to rot away, tiles and slates -were broken and slipping off, so that it was becoming increasingly -difficult to keep the rain and wind at bay. The floors, also, were -everywhere deteriorating, the old panelled walls and painted ceilings of -the grand reception rooms slowly, but surely, crumbling to decay. - -"More than once," said a leading article in "The Times" of January 12th, -1898, "it has been seriously proposed to pull the whole building down, -and to deal otherwise with the land, and Her Majesty's subjects ought to -be grateful to her for having strenuously resisted such an act of -Vandalism, and for having declared that, while she lived, the palace in -which she was born should not be destroyed." - - -=Restoration of the State Rooms.= - -The Queen, it is believed, had long desired that her people's wish to be -admitted to inspect the Palace of her ancestors, and her own birthplace -and early home, should be gratified; and it seemed a fitting memorial of -the Diamond Jubilee that this should be done. An obdurate Treasury, -which, as we have hinted, had looked forward rather to demolition than -restoration, was at length induced to recommend the expenditure -necessary to prepare the State Rooms for the admission of the public, -and thus, on the 11th of January, 1898, it was possible to make the -following gratifying announcement in the press: - - "Her Majesty, in her desire to gratify the wishes of Her people, - has directed that the State Rooms at Kensington Palace, in the - central part of the building, which have been closed and unoccupied - since 1760, together with Sir Christopher Wren's Banqueting Room, - attached to the Palace, shall after careful restoration be opened - to the public, during her pleasure; and the Government will - forthwith submit to Parliament an estimate of the cost of - restoration." - -Accordingly the Board of Works proceeded to prepare estimates and on -March 4th following, the First Commissioner, Mr. Akers Douglas, M.P., -submitted a vote of L23,000 for the purpose. By a unanimous vote of the -House of Commons on April 1st, the amount required was at once agreed -to, and great gratification was on all sides expressed that so happy -solution had at length been arrived at. Forthwith, the restorations were -put in hand--the most pressing repairs having, indeed, been begun in -anticipation, previous to the passing of the vote--and for many months -they consisted entirely in solid structural works, which scarcely seemed -to affect the appearance of the building at all. It was found necessary -to rebuild and underpin walls, to reslate practically the whole of the -roof over the State Apartments and renew the timbers that carried it; -and also almost all the floors. After these heavy works, and those -consequent on the installation of the hot-water warming apparatus, were -completed, the more interesting, but much more difficult, business -involved in the restoration of the old decorative ironwork, woodwork, -and paintings of the State Rooms was taken in hand. - -The more substantial but less salient work having been carried out, the -decorative works were next proceeded with, under the constant -supervision of Sir John Taylor, K.C.B., Consulting Architect and -Surveyor to H.M.'s Board of Works, and the continual and immediate -control of Mr. Philip, temporary Clerk of the Works for Kensington -Palace. Moreover, the Hon. Reginald Brett, C.B., Secretary of the Board, -to whose initiative the whole scheme of the restoration, we may say, has -been mainly due, has given a constant close personal attention to -everything that has been done. Nor has any trouble, labour, or research -been spared to render everything as historically and archaeologically -correct as possible. - - -=Methods of Restoration.= - -The principles on which the restorations have been carried out will more -fully appear, in the description we give in our subsequent pages, in -regard to every detail of the work. Here we need only say that the most -studied care has been taken never to renew any decoration where it was -possible to preserve it--least of all ever to attempt to "improve" old -work into new. On the contrary, repairing, patching, mending, piecing, -cleaning, have been the main occupations of the decorators, to an extent -that would render some impatient, slapdash builders and surveyors -frantic. Yet it has been all this minute--though no doubt sometimes -costly--attention to details, this laborious piecing together of old -fragments, this reverential saving of original material and work, this -almost-sentimental imitation of the old style and taste where patching -in by modern hands was inevitable, which has produced a result and -effect likely, we think, to arouse the admiration of all who relish the -inimitable charm of antique time-mellowed work. - -Never before, we may safely say, has the restoration of any historic -public building been carried out with quite the same amount of loving -care as has been lavished on Kensington Palace. The spirit has been -rather that of a private owner reverentially restoring his ancestral -home, than that of an ordinary public official, with an energy callous -to all sentiment, sweeping away the old to replace it with a -spick-and-span new building. This method of treatment has nowhere been -applied more scrupulously, and we venture to think with greater success, -than in the treatment of the old oak panelling and the beautiful -carving, all of which had been covered over with numerous coats of -paint, so long ago--we have discovered from the old accounts in the -Record Office--as 1724. In the cleaning off of these dirty -incrustations, various processes have been resorted to, as they suited -the nature of the work, and so thoroughly has this been done that the -closest inspection would give us no inkling that any part, either of the -flat surface or of the most delicate carving, had ever been painted at -all. Equal pains were taken in finishing the surface with oil and wax -polish--no stain whatever being used on the panelling, doors or -cornices--so that the real true colour of the wood is seen, varying only -with its natural variation, and exhibiting all its richness of tone, and -its fullness of grain. It makes one almost glad it should have suffered -so many years of long neglect--that when at last it has been taken in -hand, it should have been done when the historical significance and the -technical and artistic value of such things are more truly appreciated -than formerly. There can be little doubt that if an early nineteenth -century upholsterer had got hold of this Palace, most of the beautiful -old work would have been cleared out to make way for vulgar plaster-work -of white and gold. - -Substantially the same principles have been followed in the cleaning and -restoration of the painted walls and ceilings, which work has been -executed with the utmost sympathy for the old work, and the most careful -efforts to preserve it. There has not been a touch of paint applied -except to make good portions absolutely destroyed, so that these -ceilings--whatever their merits or demerits--remain exactly as they -were when first completed, save for the more subdued and modulated tone -they have taken on from the softening hand of Time. - - -=Arrangement of the Pictures.= - -A word should now be said about the pictures, which have been brought -from various Royal residences to furnish these State Apartments, and to -illustrate the history of this Palace. The bulk of them have come from -Hampton Court, and a large number are pieces which were removed when the -State Rooms were dismantled by George IV. and William IV., from the very -walls where they now once again hang. Their return here from Hampton -Court, in the overcrowded galleries of which it has been impossible ever -properly to display them, has been a most auspicious thing for that -Palace, and has rendered feasible many long-desired rearrangements and -improvements. - -In selecting the pictures which seemed most suitable for hanging at -Kensington, the principle has been followed of restricting them almost -entirely to portraits and historical compositions belonging to the epoch -with which the Palace is connected--the reigns of William and Mary, -Queen Anne, and the Georges, and, finally, of course that of Queen -Victoria. - -In the carrying out of this plan an endeavour has been made to group the -pictures together in the various apartments as far as possible according -to the periods to which they belong--making separate collections, at the -same time, of the curious topographical subjects relating to "Old -London," in the Queen's Closet; of the interesting series of Georgian -sea-pieces, sea-fights, and dockyards, in the King's Gallery--where for -the first time they may now at last be really seen and examined--and the -ceremonial and other pictures, relating to the Queen's reign, in the -"Presence Chamber" and the actual rooms originally occupied by Her -Majesty in her youth. - -Having given these general indications as to the arrangements, it will -not be necessary to do more than refer to our subsequent pages for the -details of the scheme. Nor need we dwell on what will at once be only -too obvious to the connoisseur, that anyone who expects to behold in -this Palace a fine collection of choice works of art will certainly be -disappointed. Kneller and Zeeman, Paton and Pocock, Huggins and Serres, -West and Beechey, are not exactly names to conjure with--nor even, -indeed, Scott, Monamy, Drouais, or Hoppner, in their somewhat -second-rate productions here. Moreover, it is to be clearly understood, -that it is not as an Art Gallery that these rooms are opened to the -inspection of the public, but as a Royal Palace, with pictures hung in -it illustrative of its history and associations, and as furniture to its -walls. - -Nevertheless, it is not high art only, nor great imaginative works, -which can interest and instruct; and, historically, these bewigged, -ponderous, puffy personages of the unromantic eighteenth century, whose -portraits decorate these walls, are more in accord with their setting, -than would be the finer, simpler, and nobler creations of the great -epochs of art. - - -=Associations with Queen Victoria.= - -On the other hand, the Victorian pictures, and the apartments in which -they are arranged, stand apart on a different footing of their own. It -is to the three small, plain and simple rooms, with their contents, in -the south-eastern corner of the building, that all visitors to the -Palace will turn with the liveliest interest, and with the keenest, the -most thrilling emotion. Romance, and all the thoughts and feelings of -tender, natural affection, which appear to have been smothered in the -preceding century and a half of powder and gold-lace, seem to awaken and -revive once more with the child born in this Palace eighty years ago, in -the little girl playing about in these rooms and in these gardens, in -the youthful Queen, who stepped forth from her simple chamber here to -take possession of the greatest throne in the world! - -It is as the scene of such memorable events that Kensington Palace -possesses, and will hereafter ever possess, abiding interests and -engrossing charms altogether its own; and that it will ever inspire, -among those who come to visit it, thoughts and memories moving and deep. -And not to us only in these islands; not to us only of this age; but to -thousands and thousands likewise across the seas; to countless millions -yet unborn, will this ancient structure become, now and in the ages yet -to be, a revered place of loving pilgrimage as the birthplace and early -home of Queen Victoria. - -[Illustration: Decoration] - -[Illustration: Decoration] - - - - -DESCRIPTIVE AND HISTORICAL GUIDE. - -=Old Kensington Palace Gardens.= - - -Before making our way to the public entrance to the state rooms of the -Palace, let us take a glance at the history of the gardens lying round -it, and the exterior of the building; and first as to the gardens on the -east and south of the building. The whole ground here down to the -highway was laid out quite early in the reign of William and Mary; but -its present uninteresting appearance gives us but little idea of how it -looked at that time. We find from the old accounts that large sums, -amounting to several thousands of pounds, were expended on garden -works--for levelling, gravelling, and planting, all in the formal Dutch -style, with figured beds and clipped trees--and also much ornamental -work, such as urns, stone vases, statues, and seats. There are, for -instance, many items such as these: - - "To Edward Pearce for carving a chaire for the garden with a canopy - of drapery, L43 16_s._; more for carving 4 chairs and 2 seats with - Dolphins, scollop shells, etc., and other works done about the said - gardens, L43 2_s._ 4_d._--in both L86 18_s._ 4_d._" - -We have also a contemporary account of the gardens as formed by William -and Mary, in a "View of the Gardens near London," dated December, 1691: -"Kensington Gardens are not great, nor abounding with fine plants. The -orange, lemon, myrtle, and what other trees they had there in summer, -were all removed to Mr. London's and Mr. Wise's greenhouse at Brompton -Park, a little mile from them. But the walks and grass laid very fine; -and they were digging up a flat of four or five acres to enlarge the -garden." - -The northern boundary of King William's gardens is marked by two piers -of excellent red brickwork, evidently erected by Wren at that time. They -are surmounted by very fine vases of carved Portland stone; and are -perhaps two of the "Four great fflower-pots of Portland stone, richly -carved," for which, we find from the old bills, the statuary Gabriel -Cibber, the father of Colley Cibber, was paid L187 5_s._ Between these -piers, which stand 39 feet apart, there was probably, in old days, a -screen and gates of fine wrought iron. They stand at the south end of -what was called "Brazen Face Walk," and between them the visitor passes -to the public entrance to the Palace. The fencing in of this part of the -gardens is perhaps referred to in the following entry belonging to the -years 1692-95: - - "William Wheatley for makeing and setting up Pallizadoes and gates - in and about the said Palace--L152 5_s._ 10_d._" - -To the north of these piers lies the north-west corner of the now -so-called "Kensington Gardens," where were formerly situated that part -of the old gardens appurtenant to the Palace, laid out by Queen Anne. -The present bare uninteresting appearance of the ground round about is -now entirely different from what it then was. - -[Illustration: Decoration] - - -=Queen Anne's Gardens.= - -Bowack, in his "Antiquities of Middlesex," writing in the reign of Queen -Anne, in 1705, tells us of her improvements: "There is a noble -collection of foreign plants and fine neat greens, which makes it -pleasant all the year, and the contrivance, variety, and disposition of -the whole is extremely pleasing, and so frugal have they been of the -room they had, that there was not an inch but what is well improved, the -whole with the house not being above twenty-six acres. Her Majesty has -been pleased lately to plant near thirty acres more towards the north, -separated from the rest by a stately green-house, not yet finished; upon -this spot is near one hundred men daily at work, and so great is the -progress they have made, that in less than nine months the whole is -levelled, laid out, and planted, and when finished will be very fine. -Her Majesty's gardener had the management of this." Of Queen Anne's -"stately green-house" we shall speak in a moment. - -Addison, also, in No. 477 of the "Spectator," expatiated on the beauties -of the gardens: "Wise and London are our heroick poets; and if, as a -critic, I may single out any passage of their works to commend, I shall -take notice of that part in the upper garden, at Kensington, which was -at first nothing but a gravel pit. It must have been a fine genius for -gardening, that could have thought of forming such an unsightly hollow -into so beautiful an area, and to have hit the eye with so uncommon and -agreeable a scene as that which it is now wrought into." - -The cost of these improvements amounted to several thousands of -pounds--in levelling, planting, turfing, gravelling. The appearance of -the east and south gardens in the reign of Queen Anne will, as we have -already said, best be conveyed by Kip's plate; the general plan of the -new enclosed garden to the north, north-east, and north-west, by -Rocque's engraving, published in 1736. From this we see that Queen -Caroline, who embarked in so many gardening enterprises, left Queen -Anne's new gardens substantially intact; though she made a clean sweep -of all the old fantastic figured flower beds and formal walks of William -III.'s _parterres_ to the south and east of the Palace; substituting -therefor bare and blank expanses of lawn and wide gravel paths. - -During the reigns of George III. and George IV. all the gardens were -allowed to become more and more uncared for; and at last those to the -north of the Palace were destroyed altogether. The "old Wilderness" and -"old Gravel Pit" of Queen Anne and the early Georges now exist no -longer--converted by an insane utilitarianism partly into park land, the -rest into meadow. - -The old gardens to the east, already flattened out and spoilt by Queen -Caroline, now exist but in part; the small portion, which has not been -covered with hideous forcing houses and frames, is, however, to a -certain extent nicely shrubbed, and closed in by trees and hedges. The -site of the old south gardens, curtailed now to a small enclosure, which -retains little of the old English picturesque air, might with advantage, -we think, be less stiff and bare. There is here little more than a clump -or two of trees and shrubs, a wide gravel path, and two large vacant -lawns, separated from the public walk by a wire fence, and between this -and High Street mere expanses of grass. Fortunately, the devastating -notions of the "landscape gardener" whose one idea was so to arrange the -ground surrounding a house as to look as if it stood plump in the middle -of a park--for all the world like a lunatic asylum--are not quite so -much in favour as they were. - -The blankness and barrenness of all the ground between the south front -and the street was even more painfully apparent in Leigh Hunt's time, -who in his "Old Court Suburb" drew attention to this salient defect -nearly fifty years ago. "The house," he remarked, "nominally possesses -'gardens' that are miles in circumference.... There is room enough for -very pleasant bowers in the spaces to the east and south, that are now -grassed and railed in from the public path; nor would the look of the -Palace be injured with the spectator, but rescued from its insipidity." -His suggestion has been acted on to a certain extent in recent times, -but too partially in our view. - - -=Queen Anne's Orangery.= - -Queen Anne is the sovereign to whom we owe the erection of this -exceedingly fine specimen of garden architecture--one of the most -beautiful examples of the art of the Renaissance in London, if not in -England. If we could say with truth that there ever was a "Queen Anne -style," this would, indeed, be a representative and unrivalled example -of it--as it certainly is of Sir Christopher Wren's, which, developing -in the reign of Charles II., was definitely formed and fixed in that of -William and Mary. - -To an artist like Wren to beautify the ordinary and useful was to give -expression to one of the highest functions of architecture; and -therefore in this mere store-house for the Queen's treasured plants and -flowers, probably also a place where Queen Anne liked to sit and have -tea, we have a building--unimportant though its object may be -considered--which attains the very acme of his art, exhibiting all his -well-balanced judgment of proportion, all the richness of his -imagination in design. - -The building of this greenhouse was begun in the summer of the year -1704. A plan, prepared by Sir Christopher at Queen Anne's express -orders, was submitted to and approved by her, and the original estimate, -which is still in the Record Office, dated June 10th, 1704--probably -drawn up by Richard Stacey, master bricklayer, and entitled: "For -building a Greenhouse at Kensington" at a cost of L2,599 5_s._ -1_d._--was accordingly laid before the officers of Her Majesty's Works, -Sir Christopher Wren, John Vanbrugh, Benjamin Jackson, and Matthew -Bankes, for a report thereon. Their opinion, after "considering the -measures and prices," was that "it may be finished soe as not to exceed -the sum therein expressed, viz., L2,599;" and the Lord Treasurer was -accordingly prayed "to pay L2,000 into the Office of Works that it may -be covered in before winter, according to Her Majesties expectation." - -The work was consequently put in hand forthwith, but there is some -reason to suspect that Wren's original intentions were departed from, -and that the estimate approved by the Board of Works was afterwards cut -down by the Treasury by a thousand pounds or so. This appears probable -from the fact that Richard Stacey, the bricklayer who contracted for the -work, and who, in a petition dated September 13th, was clamouring for -payment of L800, on account of money then already disbursed by him, -referred to that sum as part of a total of L1,560, "lately altered from -the first estimate." - -Whether this is so or not, the details of the original estimate are -interesting. The bricklayer's charges came to L697; mason's, to L102; -"Glass windows, doors, and the window shutters, L340; Glazier for Crowne -Glass, L74; Carpenter, L363," etc.; added to which was: "More to be laid -out the next year: The mason to pave it with stone fine-sanded, L246; -more for stone steps to go up into it, L72; more for wainscoting and -painting the Inside up to the top, L264." - -The last item is especially noteworthy, proving, as it does, that the -woodwork was originally painted. - -The beauty of Wren's masterpiece of garden architecture seems to have -been thoroughly appreciated in the time immediately succeeding its -erection; but with the steady decline in taste during the Georgian -epoch, it fell more and more into disregard, until, when the court -deserted Kensington in 1760, it was abandoned to complete neglect. -Britton and Brayley, writing in 1810 in their "Beauties of England," -refer to it regretfully: "The whole is now sinking into a state of -unheeded decay." Soon after this, however, it seems to have undergone -some sort of repair, so, at least, wrote Faulkner, ten years after, who -added: "It is now filled with a collection of His Majesty's exotic -plants." He called it a "superb building," and clearly regarded it with -a much more appreciative eye than did its official guardians, who -probably about this time perpetrated the barbarism of cutting windows in -the north wall, right through the fine panelling and cornice! - -Faulkner, nevertheless, was of course quite wrong in declaring, as he -did, that "it was originally built by Queen Anne for a Banqueting House, -and frequently used by Her Majesty as such." There is absolutely no -foundation whatever for either part of this statement, though it has -often been repeated and was improved upon by Leigh Hunt, who asserted -that "balls and suppers certainly took place in it." Funny "balls" they -must have been on the old brick floor! Hunt has nothing more to say of -it than rather scornfully to call it "a long kind of out-house, never -designed for anything else but what it is, a greenhouse." In so great -contempt, indeed, does it appear to have been held about this time, that -it is said the idea was once seriously entertained by some official -wiseacre of pulling it down and carting it away as rubbish! And this -while the State was annually devoting hundreds of thousands of pounds to -art education, art schools, art teachers, and art collections, leaving -one of our most precious monuments to perish from decay! "Out-house" and -"greenhouse" though it be, we would rather see it preserved than half -the buildings of recent times. - - -=Terrace of Queen Anne's Orangery.= - -Before examining the orangery in detail, let us stand a moment in front -of it, on the terrace, platform, or _estrade_--by whichever name we may -call it--of Portland stone, with steps going down from it in front and -at both ends. Here formerly stood, in the summer, some of Queen Anne's -choicest exotics; and here Her Majesty doubtless often sat to have tea, -gossiping with the Duchess of Marlborough or Abigail Hill. In front the -steps led down into a formal parterre. - -Now, however, the most prominent objects to the eye here, are the -glass-houses, and the tops of the forcing frames, in which the whole -stock for the bedding out in the park and gardens has been reared for -the last thirty or forty years. It is truly an amazing thing that a -piece of ground, situated as this is, close under the windows of the -Palace, and opposite this orangery, should have been appropriated to so -grossly disfiguring a use. This particular spot is the very last, one -would have supposed, which would have been pitched on for the purpose. -It will not be long, we trust, before the whole ground will be cleared, -and devoted once more to an old-fashioned sunk formal garden, with such -quaint devices as clipped shrubs, trimmed box, figured beds, sundials, -leaden vases--such as still survive in many an old country house. - -Nor do we see why such restorations should stop here, nor why much of -the ground around the Palace should not be laid out in the old English -style, with some, at any rate, of the many embellishments for which -Evelyn pleaded as suitable for a royal garden: "Knots, trayle work, -parterres, compartments, borders, banks, embossments, labyrinths, -daedals, cabinets, cradles, close walks, galleries, pavilions, porticoes, -lanthorns, and other _relievos_ of topiary and horticulan architecture, -fountaines, jettes, cascades, pisceries, rocks, grottoes, cryptae, -mounts, precipices, and ventiducts; gazon theatres, artificial echoes, -automate and hydraulic music!" - -Barring the last half dozen items, something in the antique formal style -would, indeed, be a relief from the tedious monotony of modern -"landscape" gardening. - - -=Exterior of Queen Anne's Orangery.= - -As a specimen of an unaffectedly ornamented exterior of brick, this -elevation to the south, aiming rather at simplicity and plain dignity -than magnificence or grandeur, is to our view admirable. - -In the centre is a compartment, more decoratively treated than the rest, -with four rusticated piers or pillars of brick, supporting an -entablature of the Doric order, mainly in stone. The cornice, though -probably modelled on the original, must be modern, for it is in Roman -cement, a material which did not come into use in England until about a -hundred years ago; and it so happens that the date, 1805, has been found -on part of the woodwork adjoining. Above the cornice, over the central -window, or rather doorway, is a semi-circular window, apparently to give -light into the roof. On each side of the central compartment are four -high windows, with sashes filled with small panes; and at each end are -slightly projecting wings, or bays, with window-doors, extra high, and -reaching to the floor level, to admit tall-grown oranges and other -plants. These are flanked by plain rusticated piers of bright red -brick; beyond which are plain brick niches, with small brackets above -them. - -A very similar arrangement of windows and niches is repeated at the east -and west return ends of the building; where, however, the large window -is surmounted by a small semi-circular recess or panel, and the whole -overhung by the deep, wide eave of the gable of the roof. - -The total exterior length of the building is 171 feet, the width 32 -feet. - - -=Interior of Queen Anne's Orangery.= - -It is not, however, the exterior of this building, but the interior, -which will arouse in those who behold it the greatest admiration, for it -is here that we can appreciate Wren's imaginative and constructive -genius at its very best. The longer we know and contemplate it, the more -supremely beautiful does it strike us, both in the mass and in its -details. We will not describe it with any minuteness; but content -ourselves with recording that the central portion of each wall, is -treated more elaborately than the rest, being ornamented with Corinthian -columns, supporting a richly carved entablature. The rest of the walls, -both between the windows on the south side, and on the unbroken surface -of the opposite north side, are panelled in deal wood, with beautiful -carved cornices above. At each end, both east and west, there is an -arch, flanked with panelled niches, and surmounted by festoons of -Gibbons' carving. These, we may observe in passing, proved, after being -cleaned, to be so worm-eaten, as to necessitate their being -repainted--mere staining not being sufficient to prevent their falling -to pieces. They are now in fact, held together by the coatings of new -paint. - -The dimensions of this main portion of the interior are: 112 feet long -and 24 feet wide between the brick walls, three inches less each way -between the woodwork. The height to the ceiling is 24 feet 6 inches, and -to the top of the cornice 22 feet 9 inches. - - -=The Alcoves of Queen Anne's Orangery.= - -Fine, however, as is the main and central portion of this interior, the -alcoves, into which we pass through the arches at each end of it, -impress us still more with their admirable proportions, their supreme -grace of design, the exquisite beauty of their decorative detail. - -Their shape is circular, with fluted Corinthian columns, supporting -highly-carved architraves and cornices, and flanking the entrances, the -windows opposite these and on the south, and the panelled spaces on the -north wall. There are also intervening niches with semicircular heads, -springing from richly carved imposts. The ceilings, which are circular, -rising in coves from behind the cornices, are "saucer-domed." - -The dimensions of these alcoves are: east one, diameter, 24 feet, west -one, 24 feet 4-1/2 inches; height to the centre of the dome, 24 feet 2 -inches, to the top of the cornice 20 feet. - - -=Restoration of Queen Anne's Orangery.= - -The whole of this beautiful interior, however, now presents a very -different appearance from what it did when taken in hand about a year -ago. - -This is how it was described in an interesting article in "The Times" on -the 28th of January, 1898: "The exquisite interior has been the victim -not merely of neglect, but of chronic outrage. For, as the little garden -between this and the Palace has been found a convenient place on which -to put up the glasshouses, frames and potting-sheds necessary for the -park gardeners, what more natural, to the official eye, than that the -Orangery close by should be pressed into the same service? Accordingly, -at some time or other, which cannot have been very many years ago, more -than half the beautiful high panelling of this building was torn down -and has disappeared, the gardeners' stands have been let into the walls, -and there the daily work has proceeded with no thought that it was daily -desecration." - -The work of restoring all these beautiful carvings, which has been in -progress during the last fifteen months, has now put an entirely -different aspect on this interior, and not in vain has every piece of -old carving been treasured up, cleaned, repaired, and patched in, with -scrupulous care. - -When this work was completed, the question arose, whether the woodwork -was to be all painted over white, as it doubtless originally was, or -merely lightly stained. White painting would, perhaps, have been -artistically, as well as archaeologically, the preferable course. But it -was thought that white paint, in the smoky, foggy atmosphere of modern -Kensington, and with the clouds of dust particles from the tread of -numberless visitors, would soon take on the dirty tinge of London mud; -and thus have required such frequent renewal as eventually to choke up -again all the sharpness of the delicate chiselling of the foliated -capitals, architraves and cornices. - -The decision eventually come to, therefore, was to stain it, with a tone -of colour like oak, which gives full prominence and clearness to the -carved surfaces. This staining alone, apart from the previous cleaning, -has involved no less than eight distinct processes: (1) washing down; -(2) vinegaring over to take out lime stains; (3) the same repeated; (4) -sizing to keep the stain from penetrating the wood; (5) the same -repeated; (6) staining; (7) varnishing; (8) flat-varnishing. - -[Illustration: Decoration] - - -=Kensington Gardens.= - -The modern so-called "Kensington Gardens" are, as we have already -explained, identical with the original domain of old Nottingham House, -increased by the addition of some hundred acres or more taken from Hyde -Park. When William III. first acquired the Nottingham estate he -appointed his favourite, Bentinck, Earl of Portland, "Superintendent of -Their Majesties' Gardens and Plantations within the boundary lines of -Their Majesties' said house at Kensington"--an office distinct from that -of Ranger of Hyde Park--and some planting and other improvements seem to -have been carried out at that time in these "plantations." - -Queen Anne's inclosure of a hundred acres from Hyde Park to form a -paddock for deer we have already noted. - -Faulkner's exaggerated statement that nearly three hundred acres were -taken in and added to Kensington Gardens by Queen Caroline has been -confuted by Mr. Loftie; but he has gone to the other extreme in -declaring that no alteration whatever was, at any time, made in the -boundary between the park and the gardens. Nevertheless, it is still -doubtful whether Queen Caroline is to be held responsible for any -"rectification" of these frontiers. The reference already quoted, in the -Treasury Papers of the year 1729, for an allowance of L200 to the ranger -"in consideration of loss of herbage of that part of the said park, -which is laid into His Majesty's gardens at Kensington," may of course -refer to the portion previously taken in by Queen Anne. - - -=Queen Caroline's Improvements in Kensington Gardens.= - -To Queen Caroline, however, is certainly due the main credit of the -creation of Kensington Gardens, as we now know them; for it was her -reforming and transforming zeal which made the great "Basin" or "Round -Pond;" turned a string of small ponds, in the course of the "West -Bourne," into the Serpentine; laid out the "Broad Walk," and designed -the diverging and converging vistas and avenues of trees intersecting -the grounds in all directions. - -In all these extensive works of improvement Charles Bridgeman, the -King's gardener, was employed; and we find from the old Treasury Minute -Book that in 1729 no less a sum than L5,000 was due to him "for works in -the paddock and gardens at Kensington." - -About the same date, Queen Caroline, during one of George II.'s absences -in Hanover, issued an order that: - - "The King's ministers being very much incommoded by the dustiness - of the road leading through Hyde Park, now they are obliged to - attend Her Majesty at Kensington, it was her pleasure that the - whole of the said road be kept constantly watered, instead of the - ring in the Park; and that no coaches other than those of the - nobility and gentry be suffered to go into or pass through the - Park." - - -Kensington Gardens in the Nineteenth Century. - -At that period the gardens were opened to the public only on Saturdays, -when the company appeared in full dress. This was the time of the great -fashionable promenade. During the reign of George III. they were opened -every day in the week, summer and winter, under certain regulations, -"and the number of the gatekeepers," says Faulkner, writing in 1819, -"have lately been increased, who are uniformly clothed in green." He -adds: "The great South Walk, leading to the Palace, is crowded on Sunday -mornings in the spring and summer with a display of all the beauty and -fashion of the great metropolis, and affords a most gratifying -spectacle, not to be equalled in Europe." - -In the middle of this century the tide of fashion set back towards -Rotten Row and Hyde Park Corner; and Kensington Gardens have, for the -last sixty or eighty years, been very little frequented by the "world." -Their attractions, however, have not suffered on this account in the -view of the poet, the artist, and the lover of nature. "Here in -Kensington," wrote Haydon the painter, "are some of the most poetical -bits of trees and stump, and sunny brown and green glens and tawny -earth." - -But it is not within the scope of these pages, confined as they are to -topics directly connected with Kensington Palace as a new public resort, -to describe these two hundred and fifty acres of delightful verdant -lawns, sylvan glades, and grassy slopes. We must resist the temptation, -therefore, to wander away into the attractive prospect, which unfolds -itself beneath our gaze when looking out from the windows of the state -rooms, or into which we can saunter when we quit the Palace. Moreover, -their charms, as they were and are, have been drawn by too many master -hands--by Tickell, Leigh Hunt, Thackeray, Disraeli--to encourage any -attempt at their description here. In our own day they have still been -the favourite resort of many a jaded Londoner, in which to snatch a few -hours of quiet and repose, out of the whirl of the great city around. -Matthew Arnold's charming poem, "Lines written in Kensington Gardens," -will occur to many, especially that stanza: - - "In this lone open glade I lie, - Screen'd by deep boughs on either hand; - And at its end to stay the eye, - Those black-crown'd, red-boled pine trees stand." - -[Illustration: Decoration] - -[Illustration: SOUTH FRONT OF KENSINGTON PALACE IN 1819. - -(After Westall.)] - - -=South Front of the Palace.= - -We may look upon this facade as architecturally the most interesting -portion of the existent Palace of Kensington, for it shows us the -exterior almost exactly as finished by Wren for William and Mary, about -the year 1691. While unpretentious and plain, it is well and solidly -built, and altogether appropriate to the purpose which it was intended -to serve, namely, that of a comfortable, homely, suburban residence for -the King and Queen and the court. - -The long lower building of two main storeys, in deep purple-red brick, -to the left, forms the south range of the chief courtyard; and there is -every reason to believe that it is a part of the original Nottingham -House, altered and improved by Wren. The loftier building, to the right, -of three storeys, in bright red brick, is unquestionably entirely -Wren's, and in the old accounts is referred to as "the new Gallery -Building." All the windows on the top or second floor here, except the -two on the extreme right, are those of the "King's Gallery" (described -on page 117). The floor beneath consisted, and consists, of the -sovereign's private apartments. The four fine carved vases of Portland -stone, surmounting the four pilasters of the same, are probably those -mentioned in the old accounts as carved by Gabriel Cibber for _L_787 -5_s._ - - -Wren's Domestic Style. - -Those who are at all acquainted with Wren's style and inclinations will -not be surprised at the marked plainness of his work here--so little -accordant with ordinary pompous preconceived notions of what befits a -regal dwelling-house. In planning habitable buildings we find he always -mainly considered use and convenience--adapting his external -architectural effects to the exigencies of his interiors. Ever ready, -indeed, to devote the full range of his great constructive genius to -the commonest works, rendering whatever he designed a model for the use -to which it was to be put, he was, in these respects, essentially a -"builder" before all; not only a designer of elevations and a drawer of -plans, but a practical worker, thinking nothing useful beneath his -notice. There was, in fact, nothing of the lofty, hoity-toity architect -about him; on the contrary, absorbed with questions of adaptability and -convenience; searching into details of material and workmanship; we find -him in his seat at the head of the Board of Works rigorously testing, -sifting and discussing estimates, values, specifications and -"quantities." It is due to this side of his mind that so much of his -work has endured intact to this day; while we owe it to his positive -intuitive genius for rendering his creations well-proportioned and -dignified, as well as convenient and comfortable; to his wonderful skill -in arranging positions, sizes, and shapes to meet the exigencies of -light and air, that his houses still remain so habitable, and are -distinguished by so homelike an air. - - -=East Front of the Palace.= - -This aspect of Kensington Palace, which we almost hesitate to dignify -with the name of "Front" consists mainly of two distinct portions: -first, the "return" or end of Wren's "Gallery Building," on the left, -distinguished by its fine red brickwork and its deep cornice, similar to -the same on the south side; and on the right, the building tacked on to -it, built for George I. by Kent, as already mentioned on page 23, and -further referred to on pages 86, 93, and 99. We must frankly say--and -few are likely to differ from us--that Kent's building here is about as -ugly and inartistic as anything of the sort could be. It is not alone -the common, dirty, yellow, stock brick with which it is built, but the -whole shape and design, with its pretentious pediment, ponderous and -hideous, the prototype of acres upon acres of ghastly modern London -structures in the solid "workhouse" style. It is amazing that Kent, -with so excellent a model of plainness and simplicity in Wren's -buildings on each side, should have stuck in this ill-formed, abortive -block between them. Fortunately, his taste as a decorator was greatly -superior to his powers as an architect, so that the interior portions of -this building of his, which consists of additional state-rooms, are not -entirely deficient in merit, as we shall see. The three central windows -are those of the "King's Drawing Room," (see page 99). - -[Illustration: PLAN OF THE STATE ROOMS KENSINGTON PALACE.] - -To the north-west of the structure comprising Kent's state apartments -lies another of the older parts of the Palace, a low building of two -storeys, in deep russet brick, of uniform appearance, with fifteen -windows in a row on the first floor. This range, built, or, at any rate, -altered and improved by Wren, and forming the east side of Princess's -Court, comprises the state and habitable rooms of Queen Mary and Queen -Anne. At its extreme north end is the "Queen's Staircase," now the -public entrance to the state rooms. - - -=Public Entrance to the Palace.= - -Access to the state rooms open to the public being by way of the -"Queen's" or "Denmark Staircase," situated in the northernmost angle of -the building, visitors approach it from the north-west corner of -"Kensington Gardens," where, as we have already explained, were formerly -situated those parts of the old formal gardens attached to the Palace, -which were laid out by Queen Anne, called the "Old Gravel Pit," the -"Wilderness," etc. The path here, leading straight up to the present -public entrance, was then known as "Brazen-face Walk." Going along it -southwards, we pass between a pair of fine gate-posts of red brick, -surmounted by richly-carved vases of Portland stone, evidently designed -by Wren, already referred to in our account of "Old Kensington Palace -Gardens" on page 48; and then between a privet hedge and a wire fence up -to the public doorway into the "Queen's Staircase." - -This doorway, on the north wall, is very commonplace; with a porch in -the later Georgian style, consisting of a couple of pillars of Portland -stone, glazed between, and supporting a hood above. - -Round the corner, however, on the east wall, is a very different -doorway, both interesting and picturesque. It is the one which -originally gave access to the staircase, and was designed and built by -Sir Christopher Wren, probably in the year 1691. The space within the -hood or circular pediment above the door is filled with beautiful stone -carving, in the centre of which is a shield or panel bearing the -initials W. M. R. Above this is a brick niche with a bracket, on which -stands an old urn or flower-pot. Something very similar probably stood -here formerly, and was thus charged for in the old parchment accounts -for the years 1689-91: - - "Henry Long for a large vase of earth (terra-cotta) wrought with - handles and festoons painted with gilt L6 10_s._" - - -=Queen's Staircase.= - -This forms the entrance by which the public are admitted into the State -Rooms. Built by Sir Christopher Wren for Queen Mary on the "Queen's -Side" of the Palace, it was called the "Queen's Staircase," while being -situated in that part of the Palace which was at one time occupied by -Queen Anne and her husband, Prince George of Denmark, it has also been -occasionally known as the "Denmark Staircase," as this portion of the -building itself has been called the "Denmark Wing." - - * * * * * - -In the view of the ordinary Londoner, with eye too much dazzled and -demoralized by the tawdry vulgarities of the over-gilded, -over-looking-glassed, blazing, modern "Restaurant" style of decoration, -this beautiful staircase, in its just proportions and its subdued -simplicity, may appear plain, if not mean. - -Yet as an example of the genuine, unaffected old English treatment of -oak wainscoting, as a cover and ornament to large wall spaces, nothing -could be more pleasing and more appropriate. The deep rich, almost -ruddy, tone of colour of the wood, the admirable proportion and balance -of the stiles and rails to the sizes of the panels, their adjustment to -the rise of the stairs, and their fitment to the various spaces on the -walls, produce an effect of soundness and comfort, most admirable and -nowhere to be matched. - - -Old Oak Wainscoting of the Staircase. - -When the work of cleaning down this woodwork was taken in hand last -autumn, it was, as the phrase is, "as black as your hat;" and it was -then supposed to have been smeared over, at some time or other, with a -black stain. It proved, however, to be only ingrained with dirt and -dust, which had been coated over with red-lead and boiled oil, and which -quickly yielded to cleansing. - -Nevertheless, the oak is not English, but probably Norwegian, which -seems to be richer in the grain than our own native tree. It is clear -that the wood must have been carefully cut in such a way as to show as -much "figure" as possible--the cuttings being, with this distinct -object, as nearly as possible radiating from the centre of the trunk of -the tree--the "medullary rays" of the wood being, in fact, sliced -through, instead of intersected transversely. This has the effect of -displaying the largest amount of the grain. - - -Window Sashes of the Staircase. - -The visitor should notice the difference in the sashes of the two -windows on the left-hand side of the stairs as you go up, as compared -with the other two on the landing at the top. The first two windows have -had large panes of glass--2 feet 1 inch high by 1 foot 2-1/2 inches -wide--and thin bars, substituted for the original smaller panes--12-1/2 -inches high by 9-1/2 inches wide--and the thick moulded bars, which -still remain in the landing windows. This side by side comparison -enables us to estimate how deplorable and stupid was the want of taste, -which led to the destruction here, as elsewhere in this Palace, of the -picturesque, well-proportioned spacings of the window panes, to insert -instead ill-proportioned panes and thin bars. - -Not until the time of George II. did this foolish, inartistic fancy come -into vogue. Wren, of course, knew what he was about when he selected the -sizes of the spaces and bars. He determined them on definite principles -of scale and proportion, according to the sashes they were intended to -fill, and according, also, to the dimensions of the room, and the plan -and shape of the surrounding wainscot. He had, in fact, eight or ten -different types of sashes--the mouldings, as well as the widths and -sizes of the bars varying, and the shapes of the panes--square or -upright--varying also; not like your ingenious modern builder, who runs -out "mouldings" at so much a foot, mitres them up into equal spaces, -and, regardless of scale and proportion, sticks in the same sized -sashes, panes, and bars everywhere, in large lofty rooms or small low -ones--all alike. - -The dimensions of this staircase are 24 feet 3 inches long by 22 feet 10 -inches wide, and 25 feet high. - - -=Queen Mary's Gallery.= - -Queen Mary and Queen Anne are the sovereigns with whom this gallery is -mainly associated; and indeed, it is now--since the restorations of the -last twelve months, which have mainly consisted in repairing the -panelling, and removing the paint with which it was all smeared over in -the reign of George I.--to be seen for the first time for a hundred and -seventy-four years, exactly as it appeared in their time. It remains, -indeed, more intact than any other room in the Palace; and with its -beautiful deep-toned oak panelling, its richly-carved cornice, its -low-coved ceiling, and its closely-spaced, thick-barred window-sashes, -it has a most comfortable, old-fashioned air. - -There is no storey above this gallery, but only a span roof; and it was -originally--we do not know exactly when--a true "gallery" in the old -English meaning of the word, that is, a long chamber with windows on -both sides. The window spaces or recesses, on the right or west side, -still remain behind the panelling, and are exactly opposite the existent -windows on the left or east side. We may observe, also, that the room -seems at one time to have terminated just beyond the sixth window, -reckoning from the entrance, the line of the wall behind the wainscot on -the right, setting back at this point about a foot; while on the left -side, both inside and out, there is a straight joint in the brickwork, -and a break in the line of the wall. - - -Wainscoting and Carvings of Queen Mary's Gallery. - -The wainscoting, as we have already indicated, was fixed here in the -early years of the reign of Queen Mary. The panels, which are very thin -and of unusual breadth, nevertheless have remained but little twisted or -buckled to this day, owing to Wren's particular and invariable -insistence that only the best seasoned wood should be used in all the -work under his charge. In the course of the restorations, it has, -however, been necessary to take it all to pieces in order to repair the -injuries of nearly two centuries of misusage and neglect. Here, as in -the staircase, are to be noticed the extreme richness in grain of the -old oak, and its deep warm tone of colour. - -From the old enrolled parchment accounts of the years 1689-1691, we find -that Henry Hobb and Alexander Forst were the joiners who made the -wainscoting, as well as the "shashes," shutters, window-boards, -chimney-pieces, picture frames, shelves, etc.; while Nicolas Alcocke, -William Emet, and Grinling Gibbons carved "1,405 feet Ionick medallion -and hollow cornish; 942 feet of picture frame over the doors and -chimneys, and 89 feet of astragall moulding, about the glasses in the -chimneys." Another item of payment in the same accounts, also relating -to the work here, is the following: - - "To Gerard Johnson, Cabinet maker, for severall pannells of - wainscot, covered with looking-glass for chimney pieces in the - King's dining-roome, the gallerie, and over the doors, and for - putting them up--L100." - -Among others here referred to were doubtless =the looking-glasses= over -the two chimney-pieces in this gallery. These are particularly fine and -worthy of notice. When the restorations were begun last summer, they -were literally dropping to pieces, falling in shreds, we might say. The -greatest care has been taken to piece the bits together; and to replace -the missing portions. Only such patched and added parts have been -regilt; the old gilding still remaining almost as bright and untarnished -as when these glasses were first put up, two hundred years ago, by -Gerard Johnson, cabinet maker, and Robert Streeter, serjeant painter. -Honour to their names, as two good old English handicraftsmen, whose -honest work thus survives to this day! - -Over each of the four doors are long richly-carved brackets of oak, -similar to those on which rest the looking-glasses over the -chimney-pieces. We know from Pyne's drawing in 1818, that these brackets -over the doors then still supported looking-glasses, with richly carved -frames. Unfortunately, all trace of them has now disappeared. - -=The chimney-piece= of the first fire-place on the right as you enter -the gallery is the original one of Wren's design, of marble streaked and -veined blue-grey. The second, of white marble streaked with red, -technically known as "Breche-violett-antico," is new--copied from the -first. This fire-place was, until last summer, filled with a common -cooking range, inserted many years ago for the use of the soldiers, when -this gallery was used as a barrack! - -=The window-sashes= in this gallery are of the charming old-fashioned -type, divided by thick, deeply moulded bars, into small rectangular -spaces. Through these windows we have a pleasant view eastward of the -private gardens of the Palace, and of Kensington Gardens beyond. - -The dimensions of this gallery are: 88 feet 4 inches long by 22 feet -broad by 13 feet 3-1/2 inches high to the top of the cornice, and 17 -feet 13 inches high to the highest part of the ceiling. - - -=Pictures in Queen Mary's Gallery. Portraits of the Time of William and -Mary to George II.= - -1 Queen Mary . . . . . KNELLER. - - Full-length, standing, in royal robes; her left hand lifting her - ermine cloak; her right holding the orb on the table by her side, - on which also is the crown on a cushion. In the right distance is - seen the parapet of the roof of Wren's building at Hampton Court. - - This and its companion piece of King William, at the other end of - this gallery, were painted by Kneller about 1692, in which year he - was knighted. - -2 George II. (_718_) . . . . . _By Shackleton, after_ KNELLER. - - Seated, in robes of the Garter, facing to the left. - -3 _Unassigned._ - -4 Frederick, Prince of Wales (_619_) . . . . . VANLOO. - - Full-length, face turned to the right. His right hand is extended, - his left holds back his crimson and ermine cloak. His dress is blue - with rich gold lace. He has a short wig. On canvas, 7 ft. 9 in. - high, by 4 ft. 9 in. wide. - - Vanloo came to England in 1737, and this portrait was probably - painted about two years after. He became a very popular artist, and - made a great deal of money, for, as his French biographer - observes:--"L'Angleterre est le pays ou il se fait le plus de - portraits et ou ils sont mieux payes." Engraved by Baron. - - This picture, therefore, dates from the time when the Prince was - about thirty-one years of age, and had been expelled from St. - James's Palace, and was in declared enmity with his father. His - insignificant character, which excited contempt rather than - dislike, is very happily satirized in the famous epitaph: - - "Here lies Fred, - Who was alive and is dead; - Had it been his father, - I had much rather; - Had it been his brother, - Still better than another; - Had it been his sister, - No one would have missed her; - Had it been the whole generation, - Still better for the nation; - But since 'tis only Fred, - Who was alive and is dead, - There's no more to be said." - -5 _Unassigned._ - -6 Caroline, Queen of George II. (_784_) . . . . . ZEEMAN? - - Full-length, standing, figure to the left, face a little to the - right. Her left hand holds up her cloak, her right is on a table, - on which is a crown and sceptre. She wears a blue velvet dress - trimmed with broad gold braid, and a white satin skirt, richly - worked with gold and jewels. Her hair is short and powdered. On - canvas, 7 ft. 9 in. high, by 4 ft. 9 in. wide. - - This was formerly attributed to Kneller, but it cannot be by him, - as she is represented as queen, while Kneller died four years - before her accession. Caroline was forty-five when her husband - became king. - - "Her levees," says Coxes, "were a strange picture of the motley - character and manners of a queen and a learned woman. She received - company while she was at her toilette; prayers and sometimes a - sermon were read; learned men and divines were intermixed with - courtiers and ladies of the household; the conversation turned on - metaphysical subjects, blended with repartees, sallies of mirth, - and the tittle-tattle of a drawing-room." - -7 _Unassigned._ - -8 Portrait of George I. (_782_) . . . . . KNELLER. - - Seated, facing in front. He is in the robes of the Order of the - Garter. His left hand on the arm of the chair, his right on a - table, whereon are a crown and a plumed helmet. On canvas, 7 ft. 9 - in. high, by 4 ft. 9 in. wide. - - George I. was the tenth sovereign who sat to Kneller, and for this - portrait, which was painted soon after his accession, the king made - him baronet. Addison refers to it in his "Lines to Sir Godfrey - Kneller on his picture of the King," beginning: - - "Kneller, with silence and surprise - We see Britannia's monarch rise, - A godlike form, by thee displayed - In all the force of light and shade; - And, awed by thy delusive hand, - As in the Presence Chamber stand." - - - -9 William III. when Prince of Orange (_864_) . . . . . KNELLER. - - Half-length, facing to the right, with his right hand extended. - -10 George II. in his Old Age (_598_) . . . . . _By Shackleton, after_ -PINE. - - Full-length; in a rich dress, with the Order of the Garter, his - left hand on his sword, his right in his bosom. His eyes are cast - upwards. - -11 Peter the Great, Czar of Russia (_60_) . . . . . KNELLER. - - Full-length, in armour, with a truncheon in his left hand, and his - right hand on his hip. From his shoulders hangs a mantle lined with - ermine and embroidered with the double eagle. To the left is a - table, on which is the crown imperial. The background, which shows - some ships, is said to be signed by _W. Vandevelde_, but no trace - of this exists. On canvas, 7 ft. 9 in. high, by 4 ft. 9 in. wide. - There is also an inscription, of which I can only make out the - words: "_Petrus Alexander Magnus Domimus Caesar & Magnus Dux - Moscouiae ... Eques. Pinxit 1698_." Engraved by Smith. - - This picture was painted for William III. during Peter the Great's - visit to England, in the early part of 1698, and probably in the - house in Norfolk Street, where he took up his residence and lived - in close seclusion. It is considered one of the best portraits of - the Czar extant, and well portrays "his stately form, his - intellectual forehead, his piercing black eyes, and his Tartar nose - and mouth." His age was then twenty-six years. He naturally excited - the greatest curiosity, and became the principal topic of - conversation. Every one was full of stories of him; "of the immense - quantities of meat which he devoured, the pints of brandy which he - drank, the fool who jabbered at his feet, the monkey which grinned - at the back of his chair," and last, but not least, of his filthy - habits. When he went to stay at Evelyn's house, Sayes Court, at - Deptford, in order to more conveniently indulge in his favourite - pursuit of shipbuilding, Evelyn's servant writes to him:--"There is - a house full of people, and right nasty. The Czar lies next your - Library, and dines in the parlour next your study. He dines at ten - o'clock and six at night, is very seldom home a whole day, very - often in the King's Yard or by water, dressed in several dresses." - Evelyn himself afterwards remarked "how miserably the Czar had left - his house, after three months making it his Court." - - Peter visited King William in Kensington Palace, as we have noted - in our "Historical Sketch," and as we shall notice again in our - account of the King's Gallery. - -12 King William III . . . . . KNELLER. - - Full-length, in royal garter robes; his left hand by his sword, his - right on his hip. The crown and orb are on a table on his left; - pillars and a curtain behind. - - This is a companion piece to the portrait of Queen Mary at the - other end of this gallery. - -13 Portrait of Mrs. Elliott . . . . . JOHN RILEY. - - Half-length, seated; turned to the left, but facing in front. She - is dressed in black; her right hand rests on the arm of the chair; - she holds a handkerchief on her lap in her left. - - This was in Queen Anne's catalogue, No. 331:--"Mrs. Elliott at - half-length." It is a good specimen of a portrait-painter who - flourished in the time of Charles II. and James II., and whose - talents have hardly had justice done them. - - Mrs. Elliott was the wife of Mr. Elliott, Gentleman of the - Bedchamber to Charles II., and sister to Secretary Craggs. - -14 Two Daughters of George II . . . . . MAINGAUD. - - The eldest is to the left, standing, her right arm clasping a stem - of tree, round which twines a vine; her left hand giving a rose to - her younger sister; she is dressed in white. Her sister is kneeling - to the right, facing in front, and takes the rose with her left - hand; her right rests on a lictor's fasces. On canvas, 4 ft. 6 in. - high, by 3 ft. 7 in. wide. - -[Illustration: Decoration] - - -=Queen's Closet.= - -This small room, which is but 23 feet 3 inches long by 12 feet wide, and -12 feet 9 inches high, is called in Pyne's drawing, published in 1817, -"The Queen's Closet,"--and this most probably is its correct -designation, though in Faulkner's "History of Kensington," published but -three years after, it is described as the "Queen's Dressing Room." Its -walls were at that time still entirely panelled with the oak wainscot -with which Wren had covered them. Afterwards all this was removed and -the walls plastered and distempered, the room being used as a kitchen. -The existent oak chair-rail and cornice, inserted during the last few -months, are copied from old models in this palace. - - * * * * * - -Across the angle, where was originally the fire-place, is temporarily -fixed a very beautiful =stone chimney-piece=, formerly in Westminster -Palace, in one of the rooms on the north side of Westminster Hall. When -the old law-courts on that side were removed, this chimney-piece was -preserved by the Office of Works. It is one of the finest specimens -extant of a late Tudor domestic chimney-piece work, bearing the initial -and crown of Queen Elizabeth. - - -Pictures of Old London. - -In this chamber are collected various pictures of Old London, moved from -Hampton Court and other royal palaces. Few of them, excepting one or two -attributed to Scott, have much artistic merit, but they are interesting -as representations of the topography of London, and especially of the -banks of the Thames. - -20 View of the Horse Guards from St. James's Park -(_1022_) . . . . . JAMES. - - The buildings of the Horse Guards are seen on the right, and in the - centre distance, Westminster. - -21 View on the Thames--Old London Bridge and Fishmongers' Hall -(_1044_) . . . . . JAMES. - - The view is taken eastward; and right across the picture is the old - bridge, with the houses built on it. On the left are Fishmongers' - Hall and the column on Fish Street Hill. - - These are two of a series of views of Old London from the Thames, - by William James, an imitator and probably a pupil of Canaletti's, - though he resembles him in little except his mechanical precision. - His works, however, are interesting to the antiquarian, as they are - almost photographic in their accuracy. - -22 View on the Thames--Old Somerset House and Temple Gardens -(_1023_) . . . . . JAMES. - - The north bank of the Thames is seen, looking eastward, from about - the position of the middle of the present Waterloo bridge. On the - extreme left is old Somerset House, with its landing-stairs, next - comes the Temple, and in the distance St. Paul's. Behind are seen - the spires of St. Mary-le-Strand, St. Clement Danes, St. Bride's, - Fleet Street, etc. On canvas, 2 ft. high, by 3 ft. 8 in. wide. - -23 View on the Thames--The Savoy, the Temple, &c. -(_1031_) . . . . . JAMES. - - On the left is the old Savoy Palace with its curious chequered - brickwork; more in the middle old Somerset House, the Temple, etc. - On the right is seen a portion of the south bank of the Thames. - -24 View on the Thames--Old Fleet Ditch (_1043_) . . . . . JAMES. - - The mouth of the Fleet Ditch is in the centre of the picture, - crossed by a stone foot-bridge of a single arch. On both sides of - it are large buildings. - - -25 View on the Thames--The Adelphi, Whitehall, and Westminster -(_1032_) . . . . . JAMES. - - The view is of the north bank looking westward, and shows, on the - right, Inigo Jones' water-gate; next the octagonal tower of the - waterworks, then Whitehall, and beyond, Westminster Abbey and the - old bridge. - -26 View on the Thames--Greenwich Hospital (_1079_) . . . . . JAMES. - - The view is taken eastward, and shows Greenwich Hospital on the - left, and the church to the right. - -27 View on the Thames--Old Savoy Palace (_1045_) . . . . . SCOTT? - - The view is the same as No. 23. In an old inventory there is an - entry relating to it:--"Rec^{d}. 23^{rd} March 1819. View of the - Savoy, with old Somerset House, on the banks of the Thames, painted - by Scott, the English Canaletti. Bought of Colnaghi, L265." Samuel - Scott, the marine painter, is the artist referred to. He was a - companion of Hogarth's, and a jovial one too--but he was also much - more, being an admirable painter of marine and topographical - subjects. There are three characteristic views of London by him in - the National Gallery, where is also his own portrait by Hudson. - -28 The Thames from the Hill above Greenwich (_1016_) . . . . . DANCKERS. - - To the left is the Observatory rising high up. Below is Greenwich - and the Hospital, and the river winding round the "Isle of Dogs," - and London seen in the distance. Though hitherto unnamed, this is - doubtless:--"The Landscape of Greenwich, the prospect to London; by - Danckers," in James II.'s catalogue, No. 195. (_Royal Catalogue._) - -[Illustration: Decoration] - - -=Queen Anne's Private Dining Room.= - -This picturesque little room remains almost exactly in the same state as -it was when finished about 1690 for Queen Mary, who, perhaps, as well as -Queen Anne, used it as a private dining room. It is, indeed, a very -characteristic example of one of Wren's comfortable and eminently -habitable rooms. The protruding doorway in the right-hand corner, the -picturesque recess on the left-hand side of the fireplace, and the -porch-like treatment of the similar recess on the other side--where is -the doorway into the Queen's Closet--all show how the accidents of -construction and convenience may be so judiciously laid hold of, as to -render what would otherwise have been a mere uninteresting commonplace -room, a charmingly homelike and picturesque one. Such an example as this -of Wren's artistic adaptability should be a most valuable -"object-lesson" to modern builders, who, when not planning exactly -rectangular rooms, go to the other extreme of straining after a designed -and artificial "quaintness." - - The coved ceiling, rising from behind the oak cornice, adds greatly - to the apparent height of the room. - - The dimensions are: 17 feet 9 inches long by 14 feet wide. - -It was in this and the similar adjoining rooms that took place those -many curious intimate conversations between Queen Anne and the Duchess -of Marlborough, both when "Mrs. Morley" and her "dear Mrs. Freeman," -were all in all to each other, and also when "Atossa" vainly endeavoured -by fury, invective, and torrents of reproaches and tears, to regain her -fast-waning influence over the dull and feeble, but stolid and -obstinate, mind of the Queen. It was at Kensington Palace too, and -perhaps in this very room, that took place their famous interview, one -April afternoon in the year 1710, when the only reply which the great -Duchess Sarah could get to her inquiring entreaties was the phrase "You -desired no answer and you shall have none,"--reiterated with -exasperating and callous monotony by her whilom friend and mistress. - - -Pictures in Queen Anne's Private Dining Room. - -40 Installation of Knights of the Garter at Kensington Palace, on August -4th, 1713, by Queen Anne . . . . . PETER ANGELIS. - - There has been some question as to the exact ceremony, which is - depicted here, but there can be but little doubt that it represents - the Chapter of the Order of the Garter, held by Queen Anne at - Kensington Palace on August 4th, 1713, when Henry Grey, Duke of - Kent, Robert Harley, first Earl of Oxford, Charles Mordaunt, third - Earl of Peterborough, and John, Earl Poulett, were installed as - Knights of the Garter. The chapter was the last held by Queen Anne, - and was held at Kensington, and not at Windsor, owing to her - physical infirmities. Two of these noblemen kneel on the lowest - step of the throne, and have already been invested with the mantle - and collar of the Order and the Garter itself. The Queen places her - hand upon the joined hand of the two Knights of the Garter. It is - uncertain which of the noblemen are represented here, but the - Knight kneeling on the right of the picture would appear to - represent Harley. One of these noblemen is attended by a page boy - in grey silk, and the other has two black boys supporting his long - blue mantle. Among the Knights of the Garter in attendance, and - they all wear their full robes and collars, one figure is prominent - holding a long slender wand. This is probably Charles Talbot, Duke - of Shrewsbury, who was Lord Chamberlain of the Household, Lord - Lieutenant of Ireland, and for a brief period Lord High Treasurer. - Two yeoman of the Guard, in the well-known costume, but without - ruffs or rosettes to their shoes, holding halberds, stand - prominently forth on the extreme left. Through a wide door, in the - distant apartments, may be seen a crowd of courtiers waiting for - admission, and through the large square panes of the window in a - garden are seen clustered various persons in dark and formal - attire, peering anxiously through the glass as if to obtain a - sight of the ceremonial. - - On canvas, 2 ft. 5-1/4 in. high by 1 ft. 11-3/4 in. wide. Lent by - the Trustees of the National Portrait Gallery. - -41 William, Duke of Gloucester, son of Queen Anne -(_885_) . . . . . KNELLER. - - Bust; in an oval turned to the left, face seen in full. He is in - armour, and has a blue ermine-lined cape. On canvas, 2-1/2 ft. - high, by 2 ft. wide. - - The young duke, though of feeble constitution, was not deficient in - martial spirit. When but a boy of six years old, he came to meet - his uncle William of Orange, who had just returned from a campaign, - with a little musket on his shoulder, and presented arms, saying, - "I am learning my drill, that I may help you beat the French." The - king was so pleased that he made him a knight of the Garter a few - days after. Many men have received that honour for less. He died in - July 1700. - -42 Prince George of Denmark, Husband of Queen Anne (_884_) . . . . . DAHL. - - In an oval, to the shoulders; in armour.--His death in this Palace - has been mentioned on page 22. - -43 John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough . . . . . JAN WYCK. - - Three-quarters length, in armour; face turned three-quarters to the - left. His left hand is on his hip, his right on a table by his - side, on which is a plumed helmet. A battle scene is shown in the - lower right background. On canvas, 3 ft. high, by 2 ft. 4 in. wide. - Lent by the Trustees of the National Portrait Gallery. - - This portrait would seem to represent him as a comparatively young - man--about twenty-three--after he had distinguished himself at - Maestricht, when he was nicknamed by Turenne "the handsome - Englishman." It was the period of his famous _liaison_ with the - Duchess of Cleveland, who had fallen a willing victim to his beauty - and his charm of manner. Lord Wolseley, in his "Life of - Marlborough," describes his appearance at this period as: - "Strikingly handsome, with a profusion of fair hair, - strongly-marked, well-shaped eyebrows, long eyelashes, blue eyes, - and refined, clearly-cut features. A wart on his right upper-lip - though large, did not detract from his good looks. He was tall, and - his figure was remarkably graceful, although a contemporary says: - 'Il avait l'air trop indolent, et la taille trop effile.'" - - -=Queen Mary's Privy Chamber.= - -Except for the oak panelling, which covered the walls of this room as -late as the beginning of this century, but which was removed now many -years ago, we see it exactly as it was finished for Queen Mary. Her -initial, with that of her husband, King William, appears in the fine -carved oak cornice. The ceiling is coved. - -At one time this room was called "The Admiral's Gallery," on account of -the series of copies of portraits of British Admirals by Kneller and -Dahl, which formerly hung here--until their removal in 1835 to Hampton -Court, whence they have now been brought back to decorate again the -walls of these state rooms at Kensington. They are now hung, as we shall -see, in "The King's Gallery." - -The dimensions of this room are: 25 feet long by 17 feet 10 inches wide, -by 12 feet 7 inches high to the top of the cornice, 15 feet 8 inches to -the highest part of the ceiling. - - -Pictures in Queen Mary's Privy Chamber. - -50 Queen Mary, when Princess of Orange (_23_) . . . . . W. WISSING. - - Seated, nearly full length. She is dressed in blue in the costume - of a lady of the time, and with a crimson mantle edged with ermine. - Her left hand rests on a table, over which her mantle falls. - Engraved by John Verkolje. - - This picture is signed on the left-hand side, and is the original - of many replicas or copies at St. James's Palace, at - Burley-on-the-Hill, Woburn, The Grove, etc. It was painted for - James II., who sent Wissing over to the Hague for the purpose. His - popularity as a portrait-painter was great, and was partly due no - doubt to his making such flattering likenesses. "When any lady - came to sit to him whose complexion was any ways pale, he would - commonly take her by the hand and dance her about the room till she - became warmer." - -51 William III. when Prince of Orange . . . . . W. WISSING. - - Three-quarters length, standing; facing to the right, in a rich - dress. This is the companion piece to the foregoing. - -52 Portrait of James Stuart the Pretender (_664_) . . . . . B. LUTI. - - Half-length; facing in front, inclined to the right; his right hand - only is seen. He is in the robes of the Order of the Garter, of - which the jewel hangs on his breast, and has a long full-bottomed - wig, a lace cravat and cuffs. On his left is a table on which is - the royal crown of England. The background is gray, with a red - curtain. On canvas, 3 ft. 3 in. high, by 2 ft. 6 in. wide. - - The canvas is new. Behind was formerly this inscription:--"_James - son of James II.; by the Cavaliere Benedetto Luti, from the - Cardinal of York's collection at Frascati._" (Note in the _Royal - Inventory_.) This picture and No. 839 were bequeathed to George - III. by Cardinal York, the old Pretender's son, and the last of the - Stuarts, who died in 1807. - - It was no doubt painted at Rome, some time between the year 1718, - when Prince James accepted the asylum in the Eternal City offered - him by the Pope, and the year 1724, when Luti died there. In 1720 - he was married to the Princess Sobieski, and at the end of the same - year the young Pretender was born. - - The Pretender's countenance has that heavy, sodden appearance, and - that weak dejected look, which were due partly to his inert - character, partly to his misfortunes, and not less to the debauched - and indolent life he led. His person, indeed, was never impressive; - and even an adherent, writing of the events at Perth in 1715, - admits:--"I must not conceal, that when we saw the man, whom they - called our King, we found ourselves not at all animated by his - presence, and if he was disappointed in us, we were tenfold more so - in him. We saw nothing in him that looked like spirit. He never - appeared with cheerfulness and vigour to animate us. Our men began - to despise him; some asked him if he could speak." - - Gray the poet gives a similar account of him some years after:--"He - is a thin, ill-made man, extremely tall and awkward, of a most - unpromising countenance, a good deal resembling King James II., and - has extremely the air and look of an idiot, particularly when he - laughs or prays; the first he does not do often, the latter - continually." Horace Walpole observed that "enthusiasm and - disappointment have stamped a solemnity on his person, which rather - creates pity than respect." - -53 Frederick, Prince of Wales, at a Party (_606_) . . . . . M. LAROON? - - The Prince is at the head of the table, round which eight ladies - and gentlemen are seated. He is pouring wine into a glass. Some - thirteen persons, attendants, and a clergyman, are also in the - room. Most of them are probably portraits. Altogether twenty-three - small figures. On canvas, 3 ft. high, by 2 ft. 10 in. wide. - - This picture, though long labelled "Vanderbank," is probably by - Marcellus Laroon, the younger, to whom it is attributed in an old - catalogue. The likelihood that he is the painter is greatly - strengthened by the close resemblance in style between it and the - similar piece that follows--the personages evidently being the - same. - - It is not certain what is the subject represented; though it has - borne the above title for many years. In one of the Lord - Chamberlain's old inventories it is stated to represent "a fete in - honour of the marriage of the Duke of Wharton." - -54 A Royal Assembly in Kew Palace . . . . . MARCELLUS LAROON. - - This represents some Royal assembly, apparently Augusta of - Saxe-Gotha, the wife of Frederick, Prince of Wales, and her - friends, in Kew Palace. The Princess in blue is pouring out the - tea; a lady in white is singing; Handel is at the harpsichord, and - "Orator" Henley close by. The equestrian portrait on the wall - appears to be George II. - - Signed _Mar. Laroon_, and dated _1740_. Lent by Mr. Humphry Ward. - -55 Matthew Prior . . . . . _By Thomas Hudson, after_ JONATHAN -RICHARDSON. - - Half-length, seated, almost in profile to the right. On canvas, 3 - ft. 4 in. high, by 2 ft. 9 in. wide. Lent by the Trustees of the - National Portrait Gallery. - - Prior--poet, statesman, and diplomatist--published with Charles - Montagu, afterwards Earl of Halifax, in 1689, "The City Mouse and - the Country Mouse," intended to ridicule Dryden's "Hind and - Panther." He was patronized by Dorset, who introduced him to the - Court; and he was often employed in diplomatic offices. - -56 Flower-Piece--_over the mantelpiece_ (_826_) . . . . . BAPTISTE. - - A green glass vase with chrysanthemums, poppies, honeysuckles, etc. - Baptiste was a _protege_ of Queen Mary, and painted a great number - of flower-pieces to decorate Kensington and Hampton Court. - -57 Portrait of Robert Boyle the Philosopher (_56_) . . . . . KERSEBOOM. - - Nearly full-length, seated in a big armchair; turned to the right, - but facing in front. He leans his right arm on the chair; his left - is turning over the leaves of a book on a table in front of him. He - wears a large full-bottomed wig. This picture has been engraved by - Baron several times. - - Boyle, the famous chemist and experimental philosopher, was the - seventh son of the first Lord Cork, and from him received a fortune - of _L_3,000 a year, which he devoted in a great measure to - scientific research and the promotion of the Christian religion. He - was never married, being of opinion that "a man must have very low - and narrow thoughts of happiness or misery who can expect either - from a woman's conduct." For his life, see his _Philaretus_. - - Frederic Kerseboom was a native of Germany, who worked at Paris and - Rome under Le Brun and Poussin. He was in England during William - III.'s reign, and painted a few indifferent portraits. - -58 Portrait of John Locke (_947_) . . . . . KNELLER. - - Half-length, standing; turned to the right, but facing in front. He - rests his left hand on a table, on which are an inkstand and a pen; - his right hand in front of him. He wears a plain black coat, with - part of his shirt showing; and he is without his wig, and shows his - long white hair. - - This is one of Kneller's best portraits. It was evidently painted - in the philosopher's later years, for he looks here on the point of - dying of the asthma to which he succumbed in 1704. "Pray," said - Locke in a letter to Collins, "get Sir Godfrey to write on the back - of my picture 'John Locke;' it is necessary to be done, or else the - pictures of private persons are lost in two or three generations." - -59 Sir Isaac Newton (_957_) . . . . . KNELLER. - - Three-quarters length; turned to the left, facing in front. His - right arm is by his side, his left leans on a table, on which are a - globe and a book. He wears a dark, loose robe, and a large wig. On - the left is inscribed: "_I Newton Esq^{re} AEtatis_ 47. 1689." - - There is a similar portrait to this at Petworth, which is engraved - in Lodge. Newton was at this time member of the Convention - Parliament, for the University of Cambridge. - -59A King William III. (_779_) . . . . . KNELLER. - - Three-quarters length in armour, directed to the right; face turned - round to the left. He wears a blue and gold sash. In the left - background is a black servant, perhaps the one whose marble bust is - now in this palace. - - -=Queen Caroline's Drawing Room.= - -In entering this room we pass from the portion of the palace built in -1690 by Sir Christopher Wren for William and Mary, to that constructed -by William Kent about 1723 for George I. The visitor has thus a good -opportunity of comparing the styles and tastes of the two architects and -of gauging their relative powers. Wren had been driven from his office, -in 1718, by a shameful backstair intrigue; and two years afterwards, -Kent, doubtless by the influence of his patron, the Earl of Burlington, -was commissioned to build a set of new state rooms. - -How very mediocre were his talents, the exterior of his addition to -Wren's work will, as we have already said, ever remain a palpable proof; -and though for internal construction he shows less incapacity, still -this room exhibits all his false ideas of pseudo-classicism--developed, -as we shall see, to a most extravagant extent in the adjoining "Cube or -Cupola Room." - -Examining the decoration in detail, we perceive everywhere evidences of -his awkward, graceless style. The doorways, for instance, are -unnecessarily lofty and gaunt, and with their heavy cumbrous -architraves, flat moulded, with little light and shade, greatly impair -the proportions of the room. In the tall semi-circular headed central -window also, surmounted by a purposeless oak bracket--even in such -details as the mouldings of the panelling and of the framing of the -doors, and the flatness of the raised panels and their relative sizes to -the width of the rails and "stiles,"--we detect his marked inferiority -to Wren in the designing of such fittings. - -The =chimney-piece=, which is one of Kent's plainer and less ponderous -ones, is of a choice marble, veined black and gold. - -The dimensions of this room are: 32 feet 9-1/2 inches long, 24 feet 2 -inches wide, and 19 feet 2 inches high to the top of the cornice, 24 -feet to the ceiling. - - -Painted Ceiling of Queen Caroline's Drawing Room. - -But it is by the ceiling especially, with its great heavy oval frame of -plasterwork, and its appearance of overhanging crushing weight, that we -can most accurately appreciate Kent. The central recessed panel, -containing an allegorical representation of Minerva, attended by History -and the Arts, gives us a measure of his powers as a pictorial artist. -The decorative painting of the cove of the ceiling, above the oaken -cornice, is more satisfactory. In the four angles, and in the middle of -each side, are classical pediments with volutes. - -Besides, the workmanship of the wainscoting being very good, and the -original rawness of the ceiling somewhat faded, this room, with its new -oak floor, its gorgeous paper, its Georgian furniture, probably designed -by Kent, and the magnificent frames of some of the pictures on its -walls, presents a fine and stately appearance. - - -Contemporary French and German Portraits. - -60 Madame de Pompadour (_986_) . . . . . DROUAIS. - - Half-length, seated, turned to the left. She wears a dress of - figured brocade, worked with coloured flowers and foliage on a - white ground, and trimmed with white ribbons; her sleeves are short - and edged with lace. On her head is a sort of mob cap, or headdress - of lace, tied under the chin with a striped ribbon; her hair is - short and powdered. In front of her is a frame of embroidery called - tambour-work, which she is working, her right hand being above, and - her left under the canvas. The background is grey, with a red - curtain to the right. Painted in an oval. On canvas, 2 ft. 7-1/2 - in. high, by 2 ft. wide. - - This picture has been attributed, but quite unwarrantably, to - Greuze, who does not appear to have painted Louis XV.'s mistress at - all, and certainly could not have done so when she was as young as - she is here represented. It is in fact a replica (and by no means a - bad one) of a portrait by Drouais, of which a great many - repetitions are extant, and of which the original--a - full-length--is now at Mentmore, Lord Rosebery's. The Mentmore - picture was purchased for L1,000. - - Drouais was an indifferent artist whose name would long have passed - into oblivion, had he not painted princes and princesses. Diderot - drew this just estimate of his works:--"Tous les visages de cet - homme-la ne sont que le rouge vermillon le plus precieux, - artistement couche sur la craie la plus fine et la plus blanche.... - Il n'y en a pas une de laide, et pas une qui ne deplut sur la - toile. Ce n'est pas de la chair; car, ou est la vie, l'onctueux, le - transparent, les tons, les degradations, les nuances?" And Larousse - endorses this view with the following remarks:--"Toutes ces - peintures, habilement traitees d'ailleurs comme metier, n'ont rien - de saillant, aucune puissance, aucune originalite. Les tetes sont - banales, ternes, sans physionomie. L'allure est gauche et penible. - Les personnages sont fort mal habilles, bien que les draperies - soient executees en trompe-l'oeil et avec magnificence." - - Madame de Pompadour is here represented at about the age of - thirty-five, a period when, having lost the influence of a lover - over the debauched and fickle Louis XV., she endeavoured to retain - her power by ministering to his pleasures and vices. Her appearance - completely tallies with the account given of her:--"Elle etait - assez grande, bien faite, les cheveux, chatain clair, tres-beaux, - avec une peau d'une grande finesse et d'une blancheur eclatante. - Mais elle avait un genre de beaute qui se fane vite: ses chairs - molles s'infiltraient, s'enflammaient aisement; elle avait des - langueurs et des paleurs maladives." - - The tambour-work at which she is engaged was one of her favourite - occupations; and it is pleasant to remember, with the shocking - record of her extraordinary career, that she created that style in - decoration, furniture, dress, literature, and even art, which is - known by the name of Louis XV., a style which, wanting as it is in - the simplicity of mediaevalism, and stamped though it be with the - character of its meretricious inventor, is yet always pleasing from - a certain refinement and artificial beauty. - -61 Mademoiselle de Clermont (_984_) . . . . . _unnamed._ - - Half-length, facing in front, hands not seen. She is dressed in a - white dress, with a garland of flowers across it from under her - left arm to her right shoulder. Behind her she has a blue scarf. - Her hair is powdered and done high up. On canvas, 2 ft. 5 in. high, - by 2 ft. wide. - - Behind is written:--"_Marianne. de. bourbon. nommeo. Mademoiselle. - de. Clermont._" - - She was born in Paris in October, 1697, and was the daughter of - Louis, the third Duke of Bourbon, and his wife Louise Francoise de - Bourbon, Mademoiselle de Nantes, a natural daughter of Louis XV. In - 1725 she was appointed "Surintendante de la Maison de la Reine." - The story of her and her lover, M. de Melun, and his tragic end, - forms the basis of Madame de Genlis' charming little novel, - "Mademoiselle de Clermont." - - This portrait is painted in the style of Nattier. - -62 Louis XVI. in his Coronation Robes (_516_) . . . . . CALLET. - - Full-length, standing, facing to the left. His left hand holds his - hat by his side, his right leans on his sceptre. He is attired in - the royal robes of France, a purple mantle embroidered with - fleurs-de-lys, and an ermine tippet, etc. He has a small wig; his - face is shaven. Behind him is his throne, with a figure of Justice. - On canvas, 9 ft. high, by 6 ft. 5 in. wide. - - This is the original presentation frame, decorated with - fleurs-de-lys. - - Though formerly labelled "Greuze," it is really a replica of - Callet's well-known portrait, of which, besides the original at - Versailles, there are other repetitions at Madrid and elsewhere, - distributed to the various courts of Europe on the king's - accession. The original was engraved by Bervic, the greatest of - French engravers, the plate being lettered with the painter's name, - "Callet Peintre du Roi." - -63 Portrait of Louis XV. when young (_925_) . . . . . RIGAUD. - - Half-length, turned to the left; his left hand is in his sash, his - right holds a marshal's baton. His dress is a fawn-coloured doublet - with a cuirass, a blue sash, and a blue mantle embroidered with a - fleur-de-lys over it. Short hair, beardless face. On canvas, 3 ft. - high, by 2 ft. 5 in. wide. - - This portrait was painted by Rigaud, as the contemporary mezzotint - engraving by J. Simon proves, and not, as has been said, by - Mignard, who had been dead thirty years. He is considered one of - the best French portrait-painters of that period. Louis XV. - conferred several favours on him, and decorated him with the Order - of St. Michael, in 1727, soon after this portrait was painted. This - distinction was given, as he said, "tant en consideration de la - reputation acquise dans son art, que pour avoir peint la famille - royalle jusqu'a la quatrieme generation." - -64 Marianne, Duchess of Bourbon (_985_) . . . . . SANTERRE? - - Half-length, facing in front; her hands not seen. Her hair is dark, - and dressed high, with a blue ribbon fastened over with a red - jewel, and carried to the front. Her dress is yellow brocade with - red drapery. On canvas, 2 ft. 5 in. high, by 2 ft. wide. - - Behind is written in ink:--"_Marianne. de. bourbon. fille. de. - Monsieur. le. prince. de. Conty. famme. de. Monsieur. le. duc. de. - bourbon._" - - She married, in 1713, Louis Henri de Bourbon, brother of - Mademoiselle de Clermont (see No. 61), and died in 1720. There is a - portrait of her husband at Paris, by Drouais. - - The portrait before us is very possibly by Jean Baptiste Santerre, - a good painter whose works are rare. He died in 1717. - -65 The Emperor Paul of Russia (_894_) . . . . . ----? - - Bust, turned to the left, eyes looking at the spectator. He is in a - green uniform with red facing; and on his breast three stars and a - green ribbon across from his right shoulder to his left. His hair - is curled and powdered. On canvas, 2 ft. 4 in. high, by 1 ft. - 10-1/2 in. wide. - - Behind the picture is inscribed:--"_Kopal T. Ep. K. E._ (?) 1799" - and "_Catalogue No. 545, Emperor Paul of Russia._." - - This portrait represents the emperor in the forty-fifth year of his - age, three years after his accession, and two years before his - assassination. - -66 Louis XIV., when young (_396_) . . . . . MIGNARD? - - Three-quarters length, facing in front. His left hand hangs by his - side, right is on his hip. He is clad in armour, over which is a - purplish robe, lined with yellow. He has a long brown wig. On - canvas, 5 ft. high, by 3 ft. 7 in. wide. - - If this is really by Mignard, it must, on account of the age of the - king, be one of the first pictures he painted in 1658, on his - introduction to the French Court. - -67 Stanislaus, King of Poland (_895_) . . . . . LAMPI. - - Bust, turned slightly to the left. He is dressed in a purple velvet - coat, across which is a light blue sash, and on the left side of - his breast a star. He wears a small wig and pigtail; his face is - shaven. On canvas, 2 ft. 4 in. high, by 1 ft 10-1/2 in. wide. - - Behind in ink is written:--"Cavalieri Lampi de Vienna." - - In an old inventory, dated 1819, is this entry:--"Half-length - portrait of the King of Poland, purple velvet coat, etc., painted - by Lampi, member of the Academy of Vienna. Bought of Colnaghi for - L21." - - Stanislaus-Augustus Poniatowski was proclaimed King of Poland on - the 7th of September, 1764, having owed his election to his lover - the Empress Catherine. It was during his reign that the infamous - partition of Poland was perpetrated, to which he lent a passive - assistance. He died in 1798. - -68 Queen of Prussia (_907_) . . . . . ANTON GRAFF? - - Seated in a high-backed armchair covered with blue velvet; she is - turned to the left, but faces in front. Her right hand rests on a - table beside her, and points to a book; her left hangs by her side. - She is dressed in black trimmed with ermine, and her head is - covered with a black lace veil. Her hair is white. On canvas, 4 ft. - 7 in. high, by 3 ft. 3 in. wide. - - This is attributed in the _Royal Inventory_ to Graff, a German - painter who flourished at the end of the last century. - - Is she Sophia Dorothea, sister of George II., who married, in 1706, - William I., King of Prussia, and who died in 1757? - -69 Frederick, Prince of Wales (_789_) . . . . . ZEEMAN? - - Small full-length; turned to the right. His right hand pointing in - front of him, his left on his breast. He wears a red coat, leather - boots to the knees, and a long wig. - - Though this has long been known as Frederick, Prince of Wales, - there are reasons to suspect that it is really his Brother William, - Duke of Cumberland. - -70 Louis XIV. on Horseback (_853_) . . . . . CHARLES LE BRUN? - - He is shown the size of life, on a cream-coloured charger, rising - on its hind legs, and turned to the left. His dress is an - embroidered coat, with jack boots and scarlet breeches. In his - right hand he holds a baton. On his head is a black laced hat; he - has long flowing hair and curls. In the distance under the horse's - forelegs an attack of cavalry is seen. On canvas, 8 ft. 3 in. high, - by 6 ft. 2 in. wide. - - This has been attributed to Van der Meulen, but there is a similar - picture at Versailles by Charles le Brun of which this is perhaps a - replica. - -71 Frederick the Great (_555_) . . . . . ANTOINE PESNE. - - Full-length, standing, turned to the left, but facing round to the - front. His left hand points to a battle in the distance; his right - holds a marshal's truncheon. He is in armour, over which is a - crimson ermine-lined mantle; he has a small close-curled wig; his - helmet is on the ground in front of him. On canvas, 8 ft. 7 in. - high, by 5 ft. 7 in. wide. - - "To this admirable painter (_i.e._ Pesne) I am inclined to - attribute the portrait of Frederick the Great. The king, who is - still in youthful years, is pointing to a battlefield in the - background, probably in allusion to the Silesian war. A picture of - considerable merit."--_Waagen._ The painter is well remembered by - the following couplet by Frederick the Great:-- - - "Quel spectacle etonnant vient de frapper mes yeux, - Cher Pesne, ton pinceau t'egale au rang des Dieux," - - which Voltaire interpreted thus:--"Le roi ne regardant jamais le - peintre, ce dernier etait pour lui invisible comme Dieu." - - Pesne, who was a Frenchman and studied in Paris, was in England in - 1724. He afterwards went to Berlin, where he became court painter - to Frederick the Great. He died in 1757, the year of the Battle of - Prague. - - The frame is doubtless a presentation one. - -72 Frederick the Great (_978_) . . . . . _unnamed._ - - Bust, turned to the left, facing in front; his hands not seen. He - wears a small wig and a dark-blue coat, with the star of the Order - of the Black Eagle. - -73 Charles XII. of Sweden (_977_) . . . . . MAGNUS DU BLAIRE? - - Bust; wearing a blue coat and a black choker; grey hair, and a - beardless face. - - A small whole length, 49 in. by 39 in., of which this appears to be - an enlarged copy of part, was in the Hamilton Palace collection, - No. 1031, attributed to Magnus du Blaire, and inscribed: "In fatum - Scandici Die XXX Nov. MDCCXVII." - - "David Krafft, a Swedish painter, born in 1655, painted the - portrait of Charles XII. at the command of his sister, afterwards - Queen Ulrica Eleanora; but this monarch, who objected to being - portrayed, was so displeased at the accuracy of the picture, that - he cut out the head. It had, however, already been transferred to - copper, and also etched by several engravers."--_Bryan._ - -74 Flower Piece . . . . . BAPTISTE. - -75 Flower Piece . . . . . BAPTISTE. - -76 Flower Piece . . . . . BAPTISTE. - - -=The Cupola or Cube Room.= - -In this sumptuous and gorgeous chamber, with its marble-pillared -doorways, its painted and gilded walls, its niches, brackets, slabs, and -pediments of white marble, its gilt antique statues, its gaudy domed -ceiling of blue and gold, we have the very acme and essence of the style -and art of William Kent, triumphant and rampant. After our remarks on -his work in the foregoing room, we shall not be expected to lose -ourselves in admiration over this masterpiece of his pseudo-classic -design and decoration. Yet little as we may agree with his theories of -art, little as we may admire the way he carried them into practice, it -is not to be denied that, viewed as a whole, there is considerable -grandeur and stateliness, and a certain degree of fine proportion, about -this highly-emblazoned saloon. - -Though called the "Cube" Room, its dimensions are not exactly of that -mathematical figure, the walls being only 26 feet 2 inches high, to the -top of the cornice, and 34 feet 7 inches to the centre of the ceiling, -though each side is 37 feet long. - - -The Painted Ceiling of the Cube Room. - -The ceiling seems to have been the first portion of the work undertaken -by Kent, and to have been finished by him by the spring of the year -1722. That he was employed to do this work occasioned much very -justifiable heart-burning. Sir James Thornhill was at that time -serjeant-painter to the King, and in virtue of his office was entitled -to receive the commission for painting this ceiling. Indeed, it appears -from a "Memorial of Sir Thomas Hewett, Knt., Surveyor-General of His -Majesties Works," addressed to the Lords of the Treasury, dated 14th -February, 1722-3, and "relating to the painting of the large Square Room -at Kensington," that in the foregoing autumn the King had commanded -Hewett's attendance at Kensington "about finishing the Three Large Rooms -in the New Building," and that Hewett then showed the King "several -sketches of mosaic work, etc., for painting the ceiling of the Great -Square Room." The Memorial proceeds to state: - - "His Majesty chose one of them; and after I ordered a model to be - made, and Sir James Thornhill painted it, which His Majesty saw and - approved of; and commanded me to tell the Vice-Chamberlain he - should treat with Sir James Thornhill for the Price, and that it - should be done out of Hand, which is all I know of the matter." - -Nevertheless, for some reason or other--probably owing to some backstair -intrigue--Kent was employed to do the work instead. But before he had -half finished it the officers of works were directed by the Treasury "to -view and take care that the particulars of Mr. Kent's proposal for -painting the ceiling of the Great Chamber at Kensington be well -answer'd, and the work in the best manner performed with -l'Ultra-Marine." They accordingly commissioned several of the best -artists of the day "to view and carefully to consider the same and -report in writing." - -[Illustration: THE CUPOLA OR CUBE ROOM, AS IT WAS WHEN THE QUEEN WAS -BAPTIZED IN IT.] - -The artists, or rather critics as they became--and trust an artist to be -no too lenient a critic of a fellow artist's work--were John van Vaart, -Alex^{r} Nisbett, and Jacob Rambour. Their report is dated May 22nd, -1722, and in it they state as follows: - - "We have been to Kensington and carefully view'd and considered the - said painting, which we did find better than half done: But having - examin'd the particulars thereof, we have observed, and 'tis our - opinion, that the Perspective is not just; that the principal of - the work, which consists in ornaments and architecture, is not done - as such a place requires. Mr. Nesbot adds that the Boys, Masks, - Mouldings, etc., far from being well, he has seen very few worse - for such a place: and Mr. Rambour affirms that the said work, far - from being done in the best manner, as mentioned in your letter, it - is not so much as tolerably well perform'd. As for the quality of - the Blew used in the work, Mr. Vandewart and Mr. Rambour declare - that they can't judge whether it is true ultramarine, because it - does not look fine enough, but Mr. Nesbot's opinion is that it is - nothing but Prussian Blew, in which perhaps there may be some - Ultra-marine mixt." - -Nevertheless, the colours have endured unfaded until to-day; and the -gilding also, both on the ceiling and the walls, has required but little -renewing, only cleaning and an occasional application of modern leaf -gold, and retouching with the paint brush, where the old surface had -been injured. - -Much of the woodwork, however, had to be repaired, especially the -capitals of the pilasters, some of which had to be renewed. - -The shape of the ceiling is slightly domed, the four coved sides -terminating above in a flat centre, painted with a gigantic star of the -Order of the Garter. The coved sides themselves are painted with -octagonal panels, diminishing upwards to simulate a lofty pierced dome. -Kent himself seems to have been so well satisfied with the work, that he -made use of almost exactly the same design when painting the Queen's -Staircase at Hampton Court some twelve years after. Across, part of the -north cove of the ceiling is painted a deep shadow, to indicate that -cast by the wall and cornice above the windows. - - -The Painted Walls of the Cube Room. - -Kent, after finishing the ceiling, proceeded to decorate the walls with -painting and gilding. There is a letter in the Record Office, from Lord -Grafton, to the Lords of the Treasury, dated 29th of May, 1725, ordering -payment of "L344 2_s._ 7_d._ to Mr. Kent, for painting the sides of the -Cube Room at Kensington with ornaments enriched with gold." - -These walls, including the four pilasters on each, are of oak, painted -with a light olive-green colour as a ground, embellished with niches of -white marble, surmounted by brackets of the same, let into the woodwork. - -In the =six niches= are well-designed statues of classical -deities--Ceres, Mercury, Venus, Minerva, Bacchus, Apollo, in cast lead, -somewhat under life-size. These were so dirty and tarnished as to -necessitate their being entirely new-gilt. Above them, standing on -brackets in flat rectangular niches, were formerly busts representing -Roman poets, now unfortunately no longer to be found. - -The two =doorways= opposite each other are likewise of the same fine -polished marble, with pilasters and pillars of the Ionic order, -supporting heavy entablatures, on the apexes of which are antique busts. - -The =chimney-place= is of the same design in miniature, of polished -"dove-coloured" white-veined marble, similar to that at Marlborough -House. On the apex was formerly a gilt bust of Cleopatra, now missing. -Within the fireplace itself are very fine panelled and moulded "covings" -or sides, of the same "dove-coloured" marble, discovered during the -progress of the restorations. - -Above the chimney-piece is a large =bas-relief= in statuary marble -representing a Roman marriage, sculptured by the statuary Rysbach. It is -a fine work, but one feels rather as if standing in front of a -sepultural monument in some foreign _campo santo_ than before an English -fireside. - -Rysbach, who was a native of Antwerp, came over to England in 1720, four -or five years before he executed this work. His talents were for some -time--as have been those of many an unsuspecting foreigner--exploited by -a commercializing British impresario, Gibbs. Two-thirds of the prices -paid for his work found its way into the pockets of the unscrupulous -intermediary, until Rysbach, at last shaking himself free from this -bondage, took commissions on his own account, and, becoming the rage, he -was able to exact great prices for his work. It is possible that he -designed the gilt statues in the niches, which seem too good for Kent's -narrow invention. - - -General appearance of the Cupola Room. - -Such was the decoration of this famous Cupola or Cube Room when finished -by Kent, such it appeared in 1818, when Pyne's drawing, from which our -illustration is taken, was made, and such it appears to this day, save -for the large musical clock which then stood in its centre, for the -console tables against the walls, and the four large chandeliers that -hung from the ceiling. These last were most essential features in this -saloon, for its windows, abutting northwards on the private gardens, -admit but very insufficient light; and only when illuminated by a blaze -of candlelight can full justice have been done to the extravagant -glories of its walls and ceilings. - -It was, in fact, intended essentially as a room for grand evening -entertainments, and Kent evidently bore this in mind when he constructed -it; for he contrived a very ingenious method, whereby the double doors -in the doorways between it and the two drawing-rooms, with which it -communicates, fold back, when opened, into the door jambs, in which they -lie flush, offering no projecting hindrance to the movement of guests -passing either way. This is a point never thought of by modern -architects, who might do worse, when designing great reception rooms, -than take a hint in this matter from the much contemned Kent, and so -obviate the usual "crush" at the too narrow doorways. - - * * * * * - -It seems to have been in this Cupola Room that took place, on the 24th -of June, 1819, the baptism of the infant Princess Victoria. Faulkner -records that "the Royal Gold Font was brought from the Tower and fitted -up in the Grand Saloon, with crimson velvet covering from the Chapel -Royal, St. James's. The ceremony was performed by the Archbishop of -Canterbury, assisted by the Bishop of London.... The Prince Regent and -nearly all the Royal Family were present at the ceremony, or at the -dinner in the evening." - -Exactly underneath this room is the famous pillared "Council Chamber" in -which, as we have already stated, the Queen held her first council. - - -=King's Drawing Room.= - -Built at the same time as the two preceding rooms by command of King -George I., William Kent here again reigns supreme in the design and -decoration. "It was on the walls of this drawing-room," we are told by -Pyne, writing in 1818, "that the then new art of paper-hangings, in -imitation of the old velvet flock, was displayed, with an effect that -soon led to the adoption of so cheap and elegant a manufacture, in -preference to the original rich material from which it was copied." - -The paper that now covers the walls is a copy of an old pattern, and has -been supplied by Messrs. Bertram, the decorators. - -We may again notice here the five lofty doorways, surmounted by flat -architraves, and the oak pilasters in the dado as characteristic of -Kent. There was originally one of his great massive marble -chimney-pieces in this room, long since replaced by the present plain -insignificant one. - -The dimensions of this room are 39 feet 6 inches long (from east to -west), 28 feet wide, and 22 feet 8 inches high to the top of the -cornice. - - -Painted Ceiling of the King's Drawing Room. - -This is another of Kent's artistic efforts. There is in the Record -Office a letter from Lord Grafton dated June 26th, 1725, conveying his -majesty's commands that "their Lordships of the Treasury would give -orders to Mr. William Kent to paint the ceilings, etc. in the new -apartments at Kensington"--including this one. - -The cove of the ceiling, or portion nearest the cornice, is elaborately -decorated with scroll-work and architectural ornaments, richly gilt and -painted, and with medallions in the middle of each side supported by -female figures. In the centre is a large projecting heavy oval frame of -plaster, with the panel within it recessed about three feet. This is -painted with the story of Jupiter and Semele, the God appearing in a -thunder-cloud, and Semele, in a ridiculous attitude, on a couch. No -painting could be worse. The signature of the artist, "_William Kent -pinxit_, 1725," has been found a little to the left of the right foot of -Semele. - -When the restoration of this room was taken in hand last winter, the -ceiling was so begrimed with the dirt, dust, smoke, and smuts of upwards -of a hundred and fifty years of London atmosphere, as to be nearly -black. The cleaning was carried out with the most scrupulous care, and -practically no re-painting or re-gilding has been necessary. - - -William Kent, the Royal and Fashionable Decorator. - -The whole effect of this ceiling _if you do not look at it_ is rich and -striking, and with the fine paper and the pictures on the walls will -pass muster as a suitable decorative treatment of a grand state -reception room. George I. and George II. at any rate had no hesitation -in extending an unqualified approval to Kent's work. After having -finished this suite he grew into greater favour than ever. He was soon -after appointed "Master Carpenter, Architect, Keeper of the Pictures, -and Principal Painter to the Crown, the whole, including a pension of -L100 a year, which was given him for his works at Kensington, -producing--according to Walpole--L600 a year." From the Court his vogue -extended to a large circle of patrons and votaries. "He was not only -consulted for furniture, as frames of pictures, glasses, tables, chairs, -etc., but for plate, for a barge, for a cradle; and so impetuous was -fashion, that two great ladies prevailed on him to make designs for -their birthday gowns. The one he dressed in a petticoat decorated with -columns of the five orders; the other like a bronze, in a -copper-coloured satin, with ornaments of gold!" - -[Illustration: KING'S DRAWING ROOM.] - - -Kent, the "Father of Modern Gardening." - -Kent also had a great reputation as a horticulturist, and was generally -designated, at the end of last century, as the "Father of Modern -Gardening"--his ghastly progeny consisting of the destructive and -desolating "landscape-gardening" enterprises of "Capability Brown," -Repton, and their followers. His hand doubtless fell heavy on the old -Queen Anne formal gardens about Kensington Palace. We can see the -influence of his taste, which was followed with enthusiasm by Queen -Caroline and her gardener Bridgman, in the barrenness and commonplace -appearance of the grounds that lie immediately below in front of us, as -we look out of the windows of this room, and in the entire absence of -planting or gardening in the large expanse surrounding the "Round Pond." - -This =Round Pond=, or "=the Basin=" as it used to be called, is, by the -bye, not round at all, but of a geometrical figure, more of an oval form -than circular, and with the four sides flattened and the intermediate -portions of the circumference bent into "ogees." In thus shaping this -basin the designer, whether Kent or Bridgman, has overstepped artistic -discretion; for from no point of view, neither in Kensington Gardens, -from the ground beside it, nor even from this window is its real shape -to be made out--only from Rocque's plan or bird's-eye view, of 1736, can -it be seen to be so eccentric. - -The distant =view=, however, beyond the private gardens, across the -Round Pond and Kensington Gardens, over grassy slopes and ancient trees -to Hyde Park, a mile away, is one of the pleasantest in the metropolis. -Not a street, not a road, not a house, not a roof is to be seen. In the -spring and early summer, when the foliage is fresh and green, one might -imagine oneself in the depths of the country, in some old house -overlooking midland pastures and woods. - - -West's Pictures in the King's Drawing Room. - -In this room are hung the paintings of West, all of which were executed -for George III., who greatly admired them, and extended to him a most -liberal patronage. He was equally in favour with the public, who lauded -his performances to the skies, and with his fellow-artists, who made him -President of the Royal Academy. We now hardly know which to wonder at -most--an obscure lad in the wilds of Pennsylvania, who took his earliest -lessons in painting from a tribe of Cherokees, accomplishing what he -did; or the English fetish, Public Opinion, having been so deluded as to -regard his efforts as masterpieces of Art. The depreciation which has -overtaken him may be judged when we hear that an "Annunciation," for -which L800 was originally paid, was knocked down in 1840 for L10! His -portraits, nevertheless, are interesting. - -80 The Death of General Wolfe (_497_) . . . . . WEST. - - Wolfe lies in the centre, to the right, supported by three - officers. In front of him is a wounded officer, standing, supported - by others, to hear his dying injunctions. At his feet is an Indian - warrior in his war-paint, gazing at him to see how an English chief - will die. On the extreme left is a messenger running, and on the - left ships with soldiers disembarking. On canvas, 5 ft. high, by 8 - ft. wide. - - Wolfe was killed on the 13th September, 1759, in the moment of - victory before Quebec. "The fall of Wolfe was noble indeed. He - received a wound in the head, but covered it from his soldiers with - his handkerchief. A second ball struck him in the belly, but that - too he dissembled. A third hitting him in the breast, he sank under - the anguish, and was carried behind the ranks. Yet, fast as life - ebbed out, his whole anxiety centred on the fortune of the day. He - begged to be borne nearer to the action, but his sight being dimmed - by the approach of death, he entreated to be told what they who - supported him saw: he was answered, that the enemy gave ground. He - eagerly repeated the question, heard the enemy was totally routed, - cried 'I am satisfied,' and expired." (Walpole's _Memoirs_.) - - "In this picture, which was painted in 1771, West introduced the - sensible innovation of dressing the characters in their proper - costume; previous to that time it was the common practice with - painters to dress their figures in historical compositions of any - kind, in the Greek or Roman costume. Sir Joshua Reynolds was one - of those who were averse to the innovation, but when the picture - was finished, he changed his opinion. After a careful examination - of the picture, he observed to the Archbishop of York, who was with - him at the time, 'West has conquered; he has treated his subject as - it ought to be treated; I retract my objections. I foresee that - this picture will not only become one of the most popular, but will - occasion a revolution in the art.' When West related this to the - King, he said, 'I wish I had known all this before, for the - objection has been the means of Lord Grosvenor getting the picture, - but you shall make a copy for me.'" - - This is the copy ordered by George III., for which the painter - received L315. The original is at Grosvenor House, and has been - finely engraved by Woollett. There are several other repetitions of - it. - -81 Prince of Wales (George IV.), and Duke of York -(_500_) . . . . . WEST. - - The Prince is on the left, in yellow satin, his right hand on his - hip, his left on his brother's shoulder, who leans against a table. - They are both in the robes of the Garter and St. Andrew. On canvas, - 9 ft. high, by 7 ft. wide. - - The Prince of Wales was born on August 12th, 1762; Frederick, Duke - of York, on August 16th, 1763. This picture represents them when - they were about fifteen and fourteen years old, therefore, about - 1777. - - Soon afterwards the Duke of York proceeded to Prussia for the - purpose of being educated as a soldier. - -82 Dukes of Cumberland, Sussex, and Cambridge, and the Princesses -Augusta-Sophia, Elizabeth, and Mary (_488_). - - The Duke of Cumberland is on the left, standing; the Duke of Sussex - is lying down near his sister Elizabeth, who holds on her lap the - infant Princess Mary (?). Kneeling by them is the Duke of - Cambridge, and behind is the Princess Augusta-Sophia. Signed and - dated 1776. On canvas, 6 ft. 7 in. high, by 7 ft. 10 in. wide. - - Prince Ernest Augustus, afterwards Duke of Cumberland and King of - Hanover, and grandfather of her Royal Highness Princess Frederica, - was born June 5th, 1771; Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex, - on January 27th, 1773; and Prince Adolphus Frederick, Duke of - Cambridge, on February 24th, 1774. Princess Augusta-Sophia was born - on November 8th, 1768; Princess Elizabeth, on May 22nd, 1770; and - Princess Mary, on April 25th, 1776. - - The Princesses have long been wrongly called, Charlotte, Augusta, - and Sophia; the correct names, as given above, are derived from the - contemporary mezzotint by V. Green; besides, when this picture was - painted the Princess Sophia was not born. - -83 Queen Charlotte, aged 36, with her thirteen children in the -background (_498_) . . . . . WEST. - - Standing; dressed in white, her hair powdered and piled up high. - The thirteen children are seen in the distance to the left, in a - picture which is now at Windsor Castle. On canvas, 9 ft. 6 in. - high, by 7 ft. wide. - -84 George III.; Lords Amherst and Lothian behind (_494_) . . . . . WEST. - - He is standing, facing to the right, in full regimentals. He holds - a scroll of paper in his hands in front of him. Behind him is his - crown and sceptre; and in the background the two peers, and a view - of Coxheath Camp. On canvas, 9 ft. 6 in. high, by 7 ft. wide. - - It appears from West's own memoranda that this picture was painted - before 1779, consequently the King cannot have been more than - forty. - -85 Duke of Cambridge, and Princesses Charlotte and Augusta -(_487_) . . . . . WEST. - - The Duke, in a maroon-coloured suit, is standing on the right. - Princess Charlotte is sitting on a stool, with her sister on her - lap. In the background are a curtain, a column, and Kew Gardens - with the Pagoda. Signed on the top in the left hand corner; and - dated 1778. On canvas, 9 ft. high, by 6 ft. wide. - - Princess Charlotte, George III.'s eldest daughter, afterwards Queen - of Wirtemburg, was born on September 29th, 1766; and Princess - Augusta, on November 8th, 1768. It is doubtful whether the names - are correct. - -86 =Apotheosis of the Infant Princes Octavius and Alfred= (_503_). - - Alfred, the younger of the two, is seated on clouds, with his hands - out-stretched to his brother, who is being conducted up to him by - an angel. - - Prince Octavius was born on February 23rd, 1779, and Prince Alfred - on September 22nd, 1780. Alfred died on August 20th, 1782. "I am - very sorry for Alfred," said the King, "but had it been Octavius I - should have died too." - - Octavius followed his brother to the grave on May 2nd, 1783. For - this picture West received L315. Engraved by Sir Robert Strange. - -87 =Queen Charlotte and the Princess Royal= (_492_) . . . . . WEST. - - The Queen is sitting on a sofa, with embroidery on her lap. The - Princess stands on the right, by her side, and holds the - embroidery. Dated 1776. On canvas, 5 ft. 5 in. high, by 6 ft. 8 in. - wide. - -88 Duke of Clarence (William IV.), and Duke of Kent -(_502_) . . . . . WEST. - - The Duke of Clarence is on the left, dressed in a blue coat with a - white vest; he has his right hand on a globe, his left on his hip. - The Duke of Kent is in red turned full to the front, but looking at - his brother; his right hand is on his brother's left hand, his left - is pointing upwards. On canvas, 9 ft. 6 in. high, by 7 ft. wide. - - Prince William Henry, Duke of Clarence, afterwards William IV., was - born August 21st, 1765. Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, father of her - present Most Gracious Majesty, was born November 2nd, 1767. This - picture was painted when they were about thirteen and eleven years. - In 1780, the Duke of Clarence went to sea as a midshipman. West - received 250 guineas for the picture. - -89 George III. Reviewing the Tenth Dragoons in Hyde Park in 1797 -(_168_) . . . . . BEECHEY. - - The King is in front on a white horse, whose head is turned to the - left. He is in full regimentals, with a cocked hat. Just behind him - is the Prince of Wales, in the uniform of the 10th, holding up his - sword and giving the word of command. To the left of the King is - the Duke of York, with Generals Goldsworthy and Sir David Dundas; - Sir William Fawcett is standing in front of them. The King is - turning round to speak to them, and points with his right hand to - the cavalry charge in the left distance. On canvas, 13 ft. 8 in. - high, by 16-1/2 ft. wide. - - The 10th Light Dragoons (now the 10th Hussars) were frequently - reviewed by George III. in company with the Prince of Wales, who - entered the army as brevet-colonel, November 19th, 1782, and after - whom the regiment was called "The Prince of Wales's Own," on - Michaelmas Day, 1783. In 1793 he was appointed colonel-commandant - of the corps, and succeeded as colonel on July 18th, 1796. The - review commemorated here took place not long after that date, for - the picture is mentioned in a biographical sketch of Sir William - Beechey in _The London Monthly Mirror_ for July, 1798, where we are - told that the King rewarded him for it with the honour of - knighthood. The names of the officers were derived from an account - of a review, which took place in 1799, and which this picture was - formerly supposed to represent; it is therefore doubtful whether - they are quite correct. (See _Notes and Queries_.) - - This picture is regarded as Beechey's masterpiece, and was very - much admired at the time. But "although a clever and showy group of - portraits, it has little of real nature, and is full of the - painter's artifices. Thus the King's white horse forms the - principal light, and comes off the Prince of Wales's dark horse, - and so on; the light and shadow of all the heads being the light - and shadow of the studio, and not of the field."--(Redgrave's - _Century of Painters_.) The King had several copies taken of it; in - one, which he gave to Lord Sidmouth, the figure of the Prince was - omitted by the King's own desire, a curious proof of his dislike of - his son. When the Prince became King he hinted that it should be - restored, but this was evaded. Benjamin Smith engraved the portrait - of George III. from this picture. - - -=King's Privy Chamber.= - -Although this room formed part of the state apartments built by Kent, it -was much transformed in the reign of George III., so that it bears -little trace of its original decoration. Indeed, it is so commonplace in -appearance, that, except for the pictures which now hang on its walls, -it looks more like an ordinary bedroom in an old-fashioned country inn -than a king's chamber in a palace. The plain deal dado, the common -chimney-piece of black veined marble, the wood and plaster cornice, the -shutters and windows, are all of the most ordinary and inartistic -pattern. - -The dimensions of this room are 31 feet long, 24 feet wide, and 17 feet -high. - - -=Portraits of the Time of George III.= - -90 Portrait of Francis, 5th Duke of Bedford (_961_) . . . . . J. -HOPPNER. - - Full-length, turned to the left, looking to the front. He is - dressed in a peer's full robes. His left hand is on his hip, his - right holds a scroll of paper. He is bareheaded, face close-shaven, - and his hair short. Behind him is a red curtain, and in the - distance on the left a statue of Hercules. On canvas, 8 ft. 3 in. - high, by 5 ft. 2 in. wide. - - Behind is written:--"Received, 7th April, 1810, from Mrs. Hoppner." - The duke, who was born in 1765, died on March 2nd, 1802. - - "More dignified and well painted than the similar one at - Woburn."--_Sir George Scharf._ - -91 Francis Hastings, Earl of Moira (_950_) . . . . . HOPPNER. - - Full-length, figure slightly to the right, but the face turned - round to the left. Dressed in uniform, with the Ribbon and Star of - the Garter. His right hand holds a scroll of paper by his side; - his left rests on a document on a table. Background, a green - curtain, and sky on the right. On canvas, 7 ft. 10 in. high, by 4 - ft. 10 in. wide. - - Behind is painted "R.A. 1794," the year of Hoppner's election, and - "The Star and Garter added 1812," in June of which year Lord Moira, - after failing to form a ministry, accepted the Garter, "but," says - Lord Spencer in a letter to Lord Buckingham, "whether as a calm to - his honour or his understanding, it is not for me to say." This - picture was received from Hoppner's widow, in June, 1810, a few - months after his death. - -92 Portrait of John Hely, Lord Hutchinson (_872_) . . . . . PHILLIPS, R.A. - - Three-quarters length, seated, turned to the left, and looking - downwards. His left leg is crossed over his right, and in his left - hand he holds a map of Egypt; his right holds an eyeglass on his - breast. He is in his uniform. In front of him on a table are - writing materials. On canvas, 4 ft. high, by 3-1/2 ft. wide. - - John Hely was born in 1757, and in 1774 went into the army. In the - expedition to Egypt in 1801 he was appointed second in command to - Sir Ralph Abercrombie; on whose death the chief command devolved on - Hely, then a major-general. For his admirable conduct of the - campaign, in which he drove the French from Egypt, he received the - thanks of both Houses, and was raised to the peerage in 1813. In - 1823 he succeeded his brother to the earldom of Donoughmore. He - died in 1832. - -93 Christian VII. of Denmark (_976_) . . . . . DANCE. - - A head, in an oval, turned to the right; dressed in a red uniform - trimmed with gold; on his breast a blue ribbon. His hair is - powdered and brushed back. - - This was formerly unnamed, but the mezzotint engraving after it by - Fisher shows it to have been painted by Dance; doubtless when the - King was over here in 1767 for his marriage to Princess Matilda. He - was then eighteen years old. - - Their domestic life was not happy. In politics he distinguished - himself by granting liberty of the press to his subjects; in reward - for which Voltaire addressed the famous lines to him, in which he - tells him: "Je me jette a tes pieds au nom du genre humain." - - He afterwards went out of his mind, and died in 1808. - - He was the son of Princess Louisa, the daughter of George II., and - succeeded to the throne in 1766. The engraving after this picture - by G. Fisher is dated 1769. - -94 Portrait of Richard Brinsley Sheridan (_891_) . . . . . K. A. HICKEL? - - Bust; face turned slightly to the right. He has a blue coat and a - yellow waistcoat. His face is close-shaven. On canvas, 2 ft. high, - by 1 ft. 8 in wide. - - "Whatever Sheridan has done, or chosen to do, has been _par - excellence_ always the best of its kind. He has written the best - comedy, the best farce, and the best address ('Monologue on - Garrick'), and, to crown all, delivered the very best oration (the - famous Begum speech) ever conceived or heard in this - country."--_Byron._ - - This appears to be the study for, or a replica of, the head of - Sheridan in the picture of the Interior of the old House of Commons - in 1793, painted by Karl Anton Hickel, and now in the National - Portrait Gallery. - -95 Portrait of Spencer Perceval (_890_) . . . . . JOSEPH. - - Half-length, turned to the left. In his left hand he holds a paper. - He wears a blue coat and a white waistcoat. His face is shaven, his - hair grey, and his head bald in front. On canvas, 2-1/2 ft. high, - by 2 ft. wide. - - Behind is written:--"Received from Mrs. Joseph, 18th June, 1814." - - This is a posthumous likeness, taken from a mask after death, but - considered by all who knew him to be a faithful resemblance. When - Queen Charlotte went to see it, and the curtain which covered it - was withdrawn, she was so struck with its truth, that she burst - into tears. Many copies with slight variations were executed; one - of them is now in the National Portrait Gallery. It is engraved in - mezzotint by Turner. It is a fair specimen of George Francis - Joseph, an indifferent artist, who was elected an associate of the - Royal Academy after painting this portrait. He died in 1846. - - Perceval, who became Prime Minister in October, 1809, was - assassinated in the lobby of the House of Commons by Bellingham, on - May 11th, 1812. The official documents he holds in his hand remind - us that his state papers were not at all to the taste of the Prince - Regent, who remarked, "that it was a great misfortune to Mr. - Perceval to write in a style which would disgrace a respectable - washerwoman." - -96 Mary Granville, Mrs. Delany (_944_) . . . . . OPIE. - - Bust, turned to the left. She is dressed in a black silk dress, - trimmed with lace, and having a hood over her white widow's cap. - Round her neck is a locket. On canvas, 2 ft. 6 in. high. - - This portrait represents her as a very old woman, and was probably - painted not many years before her death, in 1788, at the age of - eighty-eight. She was the eldest daughter of Bernard Granville, - grandson of Sir Bevil Granville, the Royalist leader, and was born - in 1700. She was educated under the care of her uncle, Lord - Lansdowne, and married in 1717 Alexander Pendarves. She was - intimate with Swift, through whom she became acquainted with her - second husband, Dr. Delany. After his death she spent most of her - time with her friend, the Duchess of Portland, and when she died, - George III., who, with the Queen, became very intimate with the old - lady, gave her a pension and a house at Windsor. She occupied her - declining years in copying flowers in paper, and executed as many - as 980. She died in 1788. Her autobiography was published in 1861; - it contains a great many reminiscences of the court and family of - George III. - - This picture first brought Opie into notice. A replica painted for - the Countess of Bute is in the National Portrait Gallery. - -97 Brownlow North, Bishop of Winchester (_888_) . . . . . _after_ DANCE. - - Bust, nearly a full face, slightly inclined to the right. He is - seated in a purple-covered chair, in the robes of a Chancellor of - the Garter, with the chain of the order on his breast. On canvas, 2 - ft. 8 in. high, by 2 ft. 2 in. wide. - - He was a half-brother of Lord North, the Prime Minister; was born - in 1741; and was successively appointed Bishop of Lichfield and - Coventry, Worcester and Winchester, and died in 1820. - -98 Portrait of Hurd, Bishop of Worcester (_889_) . . . . . GAINSBOROUGH. - - Bust, turned to the left, facing and looking in front. Dressed in a - bishop's canonicals, with a small, but full, curly wig. Painted in - an oval. On canvas, 2 ft. 6 in. high, by 2 ft. 1 in. wide. Compare - No. 371. - -99 Richard Hurd, Bishop of Worcester (_887_) . . . . . GAINSBOROUGH. - - Bust, to the right, looking to the front His left hand is on his - breast, holding his gown. Dressed in canonicals, with a bushy wig. - On canvas, 2 ft. 6 in. high, by 2 ft. 1 in. wide. - - He was the son of a farmer at Congreve, Staffordshire, and was born - in 1720. He was appointed preceptor to the Prince of Wales and the - Duke of York, and was nominated Bishop of Worcester in 1781; but - declined the primacy offered by George III., with whom he was a - great favourite. He wrote many moral and religious works, long - since relegated to the limbo of insipid mediocrities. Engraved by - Holl in 1774? Perhaps the picture exhibited in 1781. - -100 A Rabbi (_266_) . . . . . _after Rembrandt, by_ GAINSBOROUGH. - - Bust, to the right. He wears a dark dress, and cap with flaps; his - beard is long. On canvas, 2 ft. 6 in. high, by 2 ft. 1 in. wide. - - This was in Gainsborough's possession at his death, and was - exhibited at Schomberg House, 1789. - -101 Portrait of C. F. Abel, the Musician (_938_) . . . . . ROBINEAU. - - Half-length; seated at a piano or spinet, turned towards the right, - but his face looking behind him, over his shoulder to the left. He - is dressed in a red coat and has a small wig. On canvas, 2 ft. 1 - in. high, by 1 ft. 8 in. wide. Signed on the left-hand side:--"_C. - Robineau 1780._" - - Charles Frederick Abel was a pupil of Bach's, and at one time - belonged to the royal band at Dresden. He came to England about - 1765, and was appointed master of Queen Charlotte's band. Although - he wrote music, he was more celebrated for his playing than his - compositions. Abel was a very passionate man, and much addicted to - the bottle,--peculiarities which the visitor would suspect him of, - from his flushed face and red nose. He died in 1787, after being - three days in a sort of drunken torpor. - -Robineau was a portrait-painter who practised in Paris and London. - -102 Duchess of Brunswick, Sister of George III . . . . . A. KAUFFMAN. - - Full-length, turned to the right. She holds a child in her arms on - an altar in front of her. She is dressed in white with an - orange-coloured mantle, lined with light blue; she wears sandals. - On canvas, 8 ft. 11 in. high, by 5 ft. 11 in. wide. - - On the left at the foot of the column is the signature:--"_Angelica - Pinx A_. 1767." To the left, on a vase, the inscription:-- - - _Carol._ ILLE _de Bruns. & Prin. Hered_. - A. MDCCLX M. _Jul. apud Enisdorff_ VICTORIA. - _et_ A. MDCCLXIV M. _Jan. apud Lond._ AMORE. _Coron._ - - Augusta, the eldest daughter of Frederick, Prince of Wales, was - born on the 31st of July, 1737, and was married to the Duke of - Brunswick on the 17th of January, 1764. By him she became the - mother, among other children, of Caroline, Princess of Wales, and - of Duke William Frederick, "Brunswick's fated chieftain," who fell - at Quatre-Bras. In 1767, when this portrait was painted, she was in - England on a visit. - - The child in her arms must be her eldest son Charles George - Augustus, who was born 8th February, 1766, and died in 1806. - -103. Frederick, Prince of Wales (_893_) . . . . . VANLOO? - - Bust, turned to the left, facing in front. He wears a blue sash - over his coat. See _ante_, No. 4. - -104. George III., when Prince of Wales, aged 12, and Prince Edward -Augustus, Duke of York and Albany, aged 11 . . . . . RICHARD WILSON, -R.A. - - Seated figures, on a couch by a table, the Prince of Wales on the - left. On canvas, 3 feet 3-1/2 inches high, by 4 feet 1-1/2 inches - wide. Lent by the trustees of the National Portrait Gallery. - - The Duke of York was born in 1739, became an admiral in 1759, and - died at Monaco in 1767. - - -=The Nursery.= - -The designation of "The Nursery" has been for many years applied to this -room, having, it appears, been so used at one time by Queen Victoria, -whose doll-house is now placed here. It was afterwards occupied by the -late Duchess of Teck, and it was here that Princess May, now Duchess of -York, was born, on May 26th, 1867. - -Its associations are, therefore, exclusively Victorian, with which its -decoration--so far as it can be said to have any--accords. The "shell" -of the room, however, is part of Kent's addition to the State Rooms. - -The dimensions of this room are 30 feet 7 inches long by 23 feet 5 -inches wide, and 17 feet high to the highest point of the ceiling, 15 -feet 2 inches to the top of the cornice. - - -Pictures and Prints illustrative of the Queen's Life and Reign. - -A collection is here being formed by Mr. Holmes, the Queen's Librarian, -of various prints, illustrative of Her Majesty's Life and Reign. Among -them are old prints of the Queen as a child, and as the young Princess -Victoria, Heiress to the Throne; also of the marriage of the Prince of -Wales in St. George's Chapel, the Baptism of the Princess Royal, etc.; -and also the Jubilee Celebration of 1887 in Westminster Abbey, from the -painting by W. E. Lockhart, R.S.A. - -110 The Queen's First Council in the pillared Council Chamber at -Kensington Palace on 20th of June, 1837 . . . . . _After_ WILKIE. - - For an account of this famous scene, _see_ page 37. - - -=Ante-Room.= - -As we go through the door of "The Nursery" into this ante-room, we pass -from the portion of the Palace built by Kent, to the original block -erected by Wren, this ante-room being a part of what was formerly one of -William III.'s state rooms. - -Through this lobby it was that the Queen passed to the adjoining -staircase when she went downstairs to receive the news of her accession. - -The dimensions of this room are: 19 feet 3 inches long, 10 feet 2 inches -wide, and 16 feet high. - - -Prints illustrative of the Life and Reign of the Queen. - -The wall space here will be devoted to further prints illustrative of -the Queen's Life and Reign. - -[Illustration: Decoration] - - -=Queen Victoria's Bedroom.= - -To future ages, if not indeed already to the present one, this plain, -modestly-decorated chamber must have an interest far transcending that -of the more gorgeous Georgian saloons, which we have just traversed. -For, it was for many years the bedroom of our own Queen, when as a -little girl of tender age she lived in quiet simplicity at Kensington -Palace with her mother, the Duchess of Kent. - -From the windows of this room we can imagine the little princess, when -she rose in the morning, gazing out over the gardens and the Park -beyond, as the beams of the eastern sun struggled through the mists and -smoke of distant London, musing on the mighty destiny awaiting her; or -in the evening hour, when the flower-scented air of the garden beneath -floated in at the casement, looking out where the far-off lights of the -great town twinkled among the trees, her mind filled with solemn -thoughts of the awful responsibility that was to be hers. - -Even now, when the building octopus, with its stucco tentacles, has -clutched and sucked in so many a fair surrounding green field, from -these windows not a roof, not a chimney meets the eye; not an echo, -even, of the ceaseless roar of the traffic strikes the ear. - -It was in this room that the Queen was sleeping on the memorable morning -of the 20th of June, 1837, when she was awakened by her mother, the -Duchess of Kent, to go to the Drawing Room downstairs, where Lord -Conyngham and the Archbishop of Canterbury were awaiting to inform her -of her accession to the throne. - -The dimensions of this room are: 23 feet 3 inches long, 19 feet 3 inches -wide, and 16 feet high. - - -Prints of the Life and Reign of the Queen. - -Prints in continuation of the series commenced in "The Nursery," are in -process of being arranged in this room. - - -Mementoes and Relics of the Queen's Childhood, collected in "Queen -Victoria's Bedroom." - -Here also will be arranged some of the Queen's toys, with which she -played as a little girl in these rooms; and perhaps other similar -objects of interest. Labels will, doubtless, be affixed to explain, what -these are. - -[Illustration: Decoration] - - -=King's Gallery.= - -This magnificent gallery, the finest of all the state rooms at -Kensington Palace, was designed and built by Sir Christopher Wren for -William III. about the year 1693. It owes much of its architectural -effect to the great architect's wonderful knowledge and appreciation of -proportion--an element too often disregarded in buildings of modern -times. Its length is 96 feet, its breadth 21 feet 6 inches, and its -height 18 feet to the top of the cornice, and 19 feet 8 inches to the -highest point of the ceiling. It is, therefore, 12 feet longer than the -already-described Queen Mary's Gallery, 2 feet higher, but of the same -width. Compared with it, the "King's or Cartoon Gallery" at Hampton -Court, built by Wren almost exactly at the same time, it is 21 feet less -long, 3 feet less wide, and 10 feet less high. - -In relation to it the following items from the old accounts, dating from -about the year 1693, are interesting: - - "Item to Richard Hawkesmore, Clerk of the Workes, for making up an - account [an estimate?] of the King's New Gallery at - Kensington--L5." - - "More to him for Pasteboard and other Materialls for making a - modell of the said Gallery for the King--L5 2_s._" - - "Cha: Houghton for rating, casting up, and engrossing the Books of - the said Building for the Auditor--L5." - - -Decorative Carvings in "the King's Gallery." - -The oak cornice and the oak doors of this gallery, especially the -beautiful architraves of the doors, are among the finest specimens -anywhere existing of Wren's decorative art, designed by him and carried -out under the superintendence of Gibbons. Relating to this work we find -the following item in the accounts for the years 1691 to 1696: - - "To Grinling Gibbons, carver, for worke done in the new Gallery - building, in the King's great and Little Closet, in three Roomes - under the King's apartment, in the King's Gallery, and other places - about the said Pallace--L839 0_s._ 4_d._" - -In other respects the appearance of this room has been much altered; for -the oak panelling, which appears originally to have entirely covered its -walls was removed, it would seem, in the reign of George I. or of George -II.; when also the ceiling, which was originally plain, was painted as -we see it now. - - -Chimney-Piece, Map and Dial. - -At the same time a new chimney-piece was inserted. Part of the original -over-mantel, however, of the time of William III., still remains, -especially a very curious map of the north-west of Europe, showing the -names of various towns, especially in the north of France, the -Netherlands, and the British Isles. Relating to it we have discovered, -in the course of our researches among the old parchment rolls in the -Record Office, the following entry, dating from about, the year 1694: - - "To Rob^{t} Norden for his paines in drawing a map for the - chimney-piece and for attending the painters--L5." - -Round the circumference of the map are the points of the compass; and an -old =dial-hand= or pointer, still remains, which was actuated by an iron -rod connected with a vane, still existing above the roof. This enabled -King William to know from which quarter the wind was blowing; whether, -therefore, it was safe for him, with his asthma, to venture out of -doors, or whether the wind was favourable for wafting him away from this -hated climate to his own dearly-loved country of Holland. - -It was this dial which so greatly interested Peter the Great, when he -privately visited William III. in this palace in 1698, being admitted by -a back door. "It was afterwards known," says Macaulay, but unfortunately -without giving his authority, "that he took no notice of the fine -pictures, with which the palace was adorned. But over the chimney in -the royal sitting-room was a plate which, by an ingenious machinery, -indicated the direction of the wind; and with this plate he was in -raptures." - -[Illustration: THE KING'S GALLERY.] - -This old dial is fixed in a square carved and gilt frame, probably the -one referred to in the following item in the old accounts of the years -1691-96: - - "To Rene Cousins gilder for a large frame carved and gilt with - burnished gold--L10." - -The outer frame of deal wood surrounding this gilt one is, on the other -hand, of a later date, evidently designed by Kent, as was also the -decorated panel above it, itself surmounted by a pediment, richly -carved, doubtless by men trained in the school of Wren and Gibbons. - -In the centre of this fine "Kentian" panel is a medallion picture of the -"Virgin and Child," painted in fresco, of the school of Raphael, and -inscribed behind with the date, 1583. - -All this over-mantel was, in the time of George I., painted over white -with enrichments of gold. It so remained until last winter, when the -thick coats of filthy paint were cleaned off. It has been thought best -to leave the deal wood in its natural state, unpainted, only applying a -little stain to tone it into harmony with the colour of the surrounding -oak carvings. - -Although this carved over-mantel is an addition, and as far as the -pediment is concerned, very out of place so close to the cornice, yet it -is very beautiful and of much interest as being one of the finest -examples of decorative design executed in England during the reigns of -the first two Georges. In it we trace the influence of the lighter -French taste of Louis XV., which Kent had no doubt become acquainted -with when travelling abroad. The marble chimney-piece below, on the -other hand, is in that architect's regular massive, heavy style. - - * * * * * - -Almost at once, after this gallery was finished by Wren, it became the -receptacle of some of the finest works of art in the Royal collection. -Among the manuscripts in the British Museum is the original list of -William III.'s pictures, placed "in Kensington House, 1697"--some -seventy pieces being mentioned as then hanging on its walls. - -It was in the year following that Peter the Great was in England; when, -besides his private interview with the King, mentioned above, he was a -spectator at a ball given in this same gallery on the birthday of -Princess Anne, not publicly, however, but peeping through one of the -doors, in a closet prepared for him on purpose. - -In this room, King William, in the month of March, 1702, after his -accident, and a few days before his death, "took several turns" to -exercise himself; but soon becoming fatigued, he reclined upon a couch -and fell asleep, "but soon to awake in a shivering fit, which was the -beginning of a fever, attended with serious symptoms, from which he -never recovered." - - -Painting of the Ceiling and Wainscot of the King's Gallery. - -This gallery was also a favourite sitting-room of Queen Anne and her -husband, and of George I. It was by command of the latter monarch that -Kent, about the year 1724, undertook the painting of the ceiling, his -charge for which, with similar work in "the little closets," amounted to -_L_850. Although the richness of the colouring and gilding give it a -gorgeous appearance, neither the design nor the ornaments, least of all -the panels, painted with mythological subjects, are interesting. It is -divided into seven compartments, surrounded by elaborate classic scroll -and arabesque work, and allegorical figures. The centre medallion is -oval, the other six oblong or lozenge shaped. The officers of Works in -their Report, dated 30th of September, 1725, to the "Lords Commissioners -of His Majesty's Treasury," on this work, added: - - "We have caused an estimate to be made of the charge of painting - the wainscot of the sd. Gallery and little closets in the same - manner as the Bedchamber and closets are already painted, amounting - to L32: 16: - - Gilding the same--L154: 4: - - Providing Scaffolds for the Painters and covering the floors with - Boards to prevent their being damaged, etc., L233: 3:" - -They further added: - - "We crave leave to lay before your Lordships a letter that we have - received from Sir James Thornhill, Serj^{t} Painter to his Majesty, - in which he complains that the gilding of the cornishes, which hath - hitherto been done by himself, and his predecessors, is by my Lord - Chamberlain's Letter directed to be done by another person, which - letter we have hereunto annexed." - -On October 5th, accordingly, an order was made to the Board of Works to -commission Sir J. Thornhill to do the gilding of the cornices. - -On the barbarity of painting the beautiful oak work in this gallery, and -especially the exquisitely carved oak architraves and cornices, we need -not dwell. They remained painted until last autumn, when with infinite -trouble and pains, the paint was cleaned off, and all the delicate -chiselling of Gibbons and his assistants revealed to the eye, after -being obscured for a hundred and seventy-four years. The visitor can -judge for himself with what success this has been accomplished. No stain -has been used in this restoration; and only after repeated experiments -was the method adopted of treating it simply with wax polish. - -The old panelling of Wren's time was probably removed in the time of -George II., in order to afford more wall-space for hanging pictures -on--which was Queen Caroline's great hobby. - -An even worse barbarism was perpetrated in this superb gallery at the -beginning of the century--when it was divided by partitions into three -distinct rooms--in which state it remained until the restorations were -begun last year. One of these subdivisions was used by Queen Victoria, -when a little girl, for her toys. - - -Naval Pictures in the King's Gallery. - -In this gallery have now been collected a large number of sea-pieces, -sea-fights, dockyards, and admirals, mainly of the time of the Georges, -to illustrate the history of the British Navy. Though but very few--for -instance, those by Monamy and Scott--can be considered fine works of -art, yet all of them will be found interesting and curious; and no one, -who has known them only when hanging in bad lights on dark screens in -the overcrowded rooms at Hampton Court, would have suspected how much -there is to be studied in them, now that they are at length properly -displayed. - -201 The Dockyard at Sheerness (_1055_) . . . . . R. PATON. - - The dock is on the left, terminated by a fort in the centre of the - picture. On the left are a large man-of-war and a disabled ship - towed by a barque. - - This and Nos. 204, 232, 233, and 236 are pieces of dockyards, - painted by Paton more than a hundred years ago. They are each on - canvas, 3 ft. 4 in. high, by 4 ft. 10 in. wide. - - -202 Close of the Action, November 4th, 1805, Sir R. Strachan's Victory -(_1037_). [See Companion Piece, No. 234.] . . . . . N. POCOCK. - - On the left are three French vessels,? The Formidable, Scipion, - Mont Blanc, or Duguay Trouin, two of them utterly dismantled; to - the right is the English fleet. - - The engagement took place off Ferrol, about a fortnight after - Trafalgar, the French ships being under the command of Rear-Admiral - Dumanoir, who had escaped from that battle. - -203 George III. Reviewing the Fleet at Portsmouth (_1011_). [See No. -235.] . . . . . D. SERRES. - - In the centre is a large man-of-war, the "Barfleur": near it the - "Worcester" firing a salute, and beyond a line of men-of-war, the - "Royal Oak" and "Lennox" being distinguishable on the right. On - canvas, 4 ft. 10 in. high, by 7 ft. wide. Signed "D. Serres, 1776." - -204 The Dockyard at Deptford (_1000_). [See No. 201] . . . . . R. PATON. - - Greenwich is seen in the background; the dock buildings on the - right; and on the left various ships, one firing a salute. - -205 Ships in a Dockyard (_999_) . . . . . _unnamed._ - -206 A Sea-piece (_1046_) . . . . . D. SERRES. - - A large vessel is seen broadside, and in front an officer's gig; - other vessels are behind. Signed in lower right-hand corner, "D. - Serres, 1789." - -207 Action between the "Arethusa" and "Belle Poule" -(_673_) . . . . . _unnamed._ - - The "Arethusa," with its stern to the spectator, is to the left; - "La Belle Poule" is on the right. They are discharging heavy - broadsides at each other. The moon is seen in the distance between - them. - - The action took place on the 17th of July, 1778, off the Lizard, - and lasted two hours at close quarters without intermission. The - "Belle Poule" got away, though the English had got the best of the - fight. - -208 Sea Piece (_1078_) . . . . . BROOKING. - - On the right is an English frigate bearing away; on the left one - coming in. A fair specimen of this good marine painter. - -209 George III. Reviewing the Fleet at Portsmouth (_1012_). [See No. -235.] . . . . . D. SERRES. - - A large man-of-war in the centre; smaller craft on each side. - -210 The Royal Yacht which brought Queen Charlotte to England in 1761, to -be married to George III., in a storm (_1001_) . . . . . WRIGHT. - - The Royal Yacht is in the centre of the picture, attended by a - convoy of twelve vessels. It had been re-named "The Royal - Charlotte," and was newly ornamented with a profusion of carving - and gilding for the occasion. They embarked at Stade on the 24th of - August, and landed at Harwich on September 6th. - - Richard Wright was a painter of marine subjects. - -211 A Small Sea-Piece (_1080_) . . . . . P. MONAMY. - - In the centre, towards the left, is an English man-of-war firing a - salute; other smaller craft are to the right and left. 1 ft. 8 in. - high, by 2 ft. 11 in. wide. - - This is an excellent specimen of Peter Monamy, an imitator, and - probably pupil, of the Vandeveldes. Though much cracked, it is - beautifully painted, "showing a fine quality of texture, with great - precision of touch; the calm plane of the ocean level receding into - the extreme distance, without that set scenic effect of passing - cloud-shadows, which even the best masters have used to obtain the - appearance of recession and distance; this work well deserves - notice, and might puzzle the best painters of such subjects to - rival."--(Redgrave's _Century of Painters_.) - -212 His Majesty's Yacht in Portsmouth Harbour (_1035_) . . . . . J. T. -SERRES. - - She has twenty-six guns, and lies across the picture; other craft - are to the right and left. Behind is seen Portsmouth. Signed "_J. - T. Serres_, 1820." - -213 Shipping . . . . . _unnamed._ - -214 On the Thames--The Tower of London (_1024_) . . . . . _unnamed._ - -215 A Man-of-War engaged with two Vessels (_1015_) . . . . . MONAMY. - - A man-of-war is on the left engaged with two of the enemy's - vessels; behind are others shown in action. (See No. 219.) - -216 Rear-Admiral Sir Charles Knowles's Squadron attacking Port Louis in -St. Domingo (? Hispaniola) March 8th, 1748 (_998_) . . . . . R. PATON? - - To the left is an English vessel, the "Cornwall," firing at a fort - in the centre of the picture. More to the left is a small ship - burning; on the right are other vessels attacking the fort. - - The fire-ship of the enemy was towed clear of the squadron by the - boats, and left to burn and blow up at a distance from the fleet. - The fort surrendered in the evening, and was blown up. The English - lost seventy men. - -217 Battle of Trafalgar--Close of the Action (_1058_). [See Companion -Piece, No. 224.] . . . . . HUGGINS. - - In the centre is a large vessel (? the "Victory") with rigging much - shot away and torn. Others are seen behind in action. - - These are two of three pictures, painted for William IV.; the third - is now at St. James's Palace. - -218 Rear-Admiral Sir Charles Knowles's Action with a Spanish Squadron -off the Havannah, October 1st, 1748 (_1002_) . . . . . R. PATON? - - In the background is the battle-line of the enemy, under - Vice-Admiral Reggio, against which the British fleet is bearing. - The action began at two o'clock. Although defeated, nearly all the - Spaniards got into port; they lost eighty-six men. Knowles, when he - came home, was tried by court-martial for not pursuing the enemy - with more vigour, and was reprimanded. - -219 Sea Fight--A Man-of-War attacked by Boats (_226_) . . . . . MONAMY. - - The vessel is surrounded by boats, and is responding to their - musketry by a fierce cannonade. 3 ft. 4 in. high, by 4 ft. 2 in. - wide. - -220 Admiral Viscount Keith . . . . . T. PHILLIPS, R.A. - - Half length, in robes, turned to the left. His right hand holds up - his cloak, his left is seen underneath. His hair is gray. - - He commanded the fleet which, in 1795, captured the Cape of Good - Hope, and performed other brilliant services. He died in 1823. - -221 Shipping on the Thames--Temple Gardens (_1026_) . . . . . _unnamed._ - -222 Sea-Piece--The British Fleet (_1017_) . . . . . ELLIOT. - - In front are some eight large vessels, some with the yards manned, - others with their sails partly set; other ships are seen behind. - - On the frame in front is written:--"_To the R^{t}. Hon^{ble}. - W^{m}. Pitt this view of the British Fleet, which secured to - England the uninterrupted navigation of the Southern Ocean is - dedicated_." William Elliot was a bad marine painter in the style - of Serres. - -223 Battle of Camperdown--Close of the Action (_1064_). [See Companion -Piece, No. 225.] . . . . . J. T. SERRES. - - In the centre is a British flag-ship, shown at the end of a long - line of vessels. On the right is one of the enemy on fire, to which - boats are hastening. On the left is a ship with the name - "WASSANAER." - -224 The Day after the Battle of Trafalgar (_1057_). [See Companion -Piece, No. 217.] . . . . . HUGGINS. - - It represents the storm which separated the squadron the day after - the battle. On the right is a dismantled vessel rolling over; on - the left is the "Victory." On canvas, 8 ft. high, by 10 ft. wide. - -225 Battle of Camperdown--Lord Duncan's Victory (_1053_). [See Companion -Piece, No. 223.] . . . . . J. T. SERRES. - - The English fleet is ranged in three lines about to begin the - action by breaking the line of the enemy ranged beyond them. The - enemy have already opened fire. On canvas, 3 ft. high, by 4 ft. - wide. Signed, "J. T. Serres, 1793." - - John Thomas Serres was the son of Dominic Serres, who brought him - up as a marine painter. In the year in which this picture was - painted he succeeded, on his father's death, to the office of - marine painter to the King, and one of his duties in this post was - to make sketches of the harbours on the enemy's coast. He married - the _soi-disant_ Princess Olive of Cumberland, who lost him his - appointment, and brought him to misery, destitution, imprisonment, - and madness. (Redgrave's _Dict. of Artists_.) - -226 Equipment of the English Fleet in 1790 (_1033_) . . . . . ELLIOTT. - - Three full-rigged men-of-war and others partially rigged are in - front; beyond is a port. In front is a label:--"_To the Earl of - Chatham this view of the expeditious equipment of the British Fleet - in 1790 is dedicated_." - -227 A Man-of-War going out to Sea (_1034_) . . . . . _unnamed._ - - Crossing the picture to the left, following another going into the - picture. - -228 Admiral Lord Anson (_19_) . . . . . _After Hudson by_ BOCKMAN. - - This appears to be a copy of a picture in Lord Lichfield's - possession at Shugborough in Staffordshire, by Thomas Hudson, a - portrait painter, who flourished from 1701 to 1779, and who is - chiefly remembered now as the master of Reynolds. - - Anson was a victorious admiral in the reign of George II., well - known for his famous voyage round the world in the years 1740-44, - and for his great exploit of capturing, in 1743, the Spanish - galleon "Manilla," which had a cargo on board valued at L313,000. - He was created a peer in 1747 for his victory over the French - fleet, and was First Lord of the Admiralty during the Seven Years' - War. - - He is here represented in peer's robes, which approximately fixes - the date of the picture. - - Bockman, by profession a mezzotint engraver, was in England about - 1745-50, when he executed copies of various portraits of admirals, - which had been painted by Kneller for James II., and G. Dahl, a - Swedish painter, for William III. The originals were presented by - William IV. in 1835 to Greenwich Hospital. - -229. Shipping (_1025_) . . . . . _unnamed._ - -230. A Ship (_381_) . . . . . _unnamed._ - -231 George III. Reviewing the Fleet at Portsmouth (_1013_). [See No. -235.] . . . . . D. SERRES. - - In the centre is a large three-masted vessel, with the Union Jack - flying, and the royal party on board. Many others are behind. - -232 The Dockyard at Portsmouth (_1051_). [See No. 201.] . . . . . R. -PATON. - - On the left is a large vessel about to be launched; the dock - buildings are behind. - -233 The Dockyard at Chatham (_1062_). [See No. 201.] . . . . . R. PATON. - - The dock is on rising ground to the right; on the left is seen the - Medway. Various ships are on the river. - -234 Commencement of Sir Robert Calder's Action, July 22nd, 1805 -(_1038_). [See Companion Piece, No. 202.] . . . . . N. POCOCK. - - A small English ship is engaging two French vessels on the left. - - On the 19th of July, Calder had received despatches from Nelson - stating that the combined Franco-Spanish fleet was on its return - from the West Indies, and he cruised about off Cape Finisterre in - the hope of intercepting it. Though both sides lost heavily, the - action had no very decided result. The small English ship is - probably the "Hero," the van-ship of the British, which began the - attack. - - Nicholas Pocock, like D. Serres, acquired his knowledge of the sea - in the navy, which he gave up to adopt marine painting as a - profession. - -235 George III. Reviewing the Fleet at Portsmouth (_1014_) . . . . . D. -SERRES. - - To the right is a large line-of-battle ship firing a salute. - Several yachts with officers and spectators on board are seen. - - This, and Nos. 203, 209, and 231 pieces were painted by Dominic - Serres, a native of Gascony, who, after running away from home, - becoming a sailor, and then master of a trading vessel, and being - captured by an English frigate, settled in England and took to - painting marine pieces to earn a living. He was one of the original - members of the Royal Academy, and frequently exhibited. He is to be - distinguished from his son, J. T. Serres (see No. 225). - -236 The Dockyard at Woolwich (_1066_) . . . . . [See No. 201.] R. PATON. - - Woolwich church is seen in the centre background; the dock - buildings are on the right. - -237 Admiral Sir John Jennings (_11_) . . . . . _After Kneller by_ BOCKMAN. - - Knighted by Queen Anne in 1704, died in 1743, and is buried in - Westminster Abbey. - -238 Admiral John Benbow . . . . . _After Kneller by_ BOCKMAN. - - He was given the command of a ship by James, Duke of York, for his - bravery. In 1702, when in command of the West India squadron, he - sustained, almost alone, the fire of the whole French fleet under - Du Casse; his cowardly officers, two of whom were afterwards tried - by court-martial and shot, having basely deserted him. He died at - Jamaica very soon afterwards from a wound received in the action. - -239 Admiral George Churchill (_10_) . . . . . _After Kneller by_ BOCKMAN. - - A brother of the Duke of Marlborough's. He died in 1708. - -240 Admiral Sir G. Bing, Viscount Torrington (_7_) . . . . . _After -Kneller by_ BOCKMAN. - - The celebrated admiral of the reigns of Queen Anne and George I. He - was especially distinguished for his services against the - Pretender, and for his great victory over the Spanish off Sicily in - 1718. His son was the famous Admiral Byng, who was shot, as - Voltaire said, "pour encourager les autres." - -241 Admiral Edward Russell, Earl of Orford (_27_) . . . . . SIR G. -KNELLER. - - Half length, to the right; in blue. His left hand is on his hip, - his right has a baton. - - This is the famous admiral in the reign of William and Mary, who - gained the victory of La Hogue against the French fleet under - Tourville. - - This portrait is one of the series of admirals painted for William - III. - -242 Portrait of General Spalken (_910_) . . . . . _unnamed._ - - Three-quarters in length. Bareheaded, with grey hair. His right arm - rests on a table, on which is his cocked hat; his left is in his - belt. He wears a general's uniform, a red coat with blue facings, a - long white waistcoat with brass buttons, and white breeches. - - I can find nothing about Spalken. - -243 Admiral Sir Thomas Dilks (_9_) . . . . . _After Kneller by_ BOCKMAN. - - This is the hero of a brilliant action in Cancalli Bay in 1703, - when a small English squadron attacked a fleet of forty-three - French merchantmen with three men-of-war, and captured them all. - -244 Admiral Sir Stafford Fairbourne (_18_) . . . . . _After Kneller by_ -BOCKMAN. - - Lived in the reigns of William III. and Anne. - -245 Admiral Sir John Gradin (_8_) . . . . . _After Kneller by_ BOCKMAN. - - Served in the reign of Queen Anne, and was dismissed for - over-caution. - -246 Admiral Beaumont (_1_) . . . . . _After Dahl by_ BOCKMAN. - - He perished on the Goodwin Sands in the great storm "such as of - late o'er pale Britannia passed," in 1703. - - -=King's Grand Staircase.= - -Sir Christopher Wren was the original builder of this staircase, -although Kent's name has usually alone been associated with it. To the -great architect, however, we certainly owe the "shell" of the building, -its proportions, the black marble steps, the black and white chequered -marble on the landings, and the fine balustrade of wrought iron. This -ironwork was doubtless designed by Jean Tijou, whose name we have found -in the contemporary accounts relating to this palace, and in whose style -the design certainly is. As to the stair-treads, it is worthy of note -that in an estimate of Wren's for the completion of the King's Great -Staircase at Hampton Court, in 1699, he proposed that they should be -made "of Irish stone such as are at Kensington, but longer and easier," -which, in fact, they are. - -In King William's time the windows must have been of a different type to -those now here, which are in the style of Kent. As to the walls, they -were then probably painted with simple ornaments. Among the Kensington -accounts for the year 1692, we have found the following record of a -payment relating to such work: - - "To Robt. Streeter, Serg^{t} Painter, for japanning, gilding and - painting several Roomes and Lodgings in the said Pallace, painting - severall staircase, and the Guard Chamber, and other places in and - about the said Pallace--L3,599." - - -Kent's Alterations in the King's Grand Staircase. - -Kent's improvements, which must have been carried out about 1725, -included--besides the painting of the walls and ceiling--the alteration -of the approach to the staircase on the ground floor, where he inserted, -in the area or "well," an arcade of two plain arches, which support, or -rather appear to support, the landing above. Under the first arch begins -the wide flight of black marble steps, with two landings in the ascent, -paved with alternate squares of black and white marble, as is also the -long top landing or balcony. The balusters are now painted blue, their -original colour, found under successive coats of more recent paint. The -hand-rail of oak has had its dirty paint cleaned off. - -[Illustration: THE KING'S GRAND STAIRCASE.] - -No one who did not see this staircase before the restorations were begun -can conceive the woeful state of dust, filth, decay and rot which it -then presented. With the fine iron balusters broken, damp oozing from -the walls, the paintings indistinguishable from incrustations of -smoke, and strips of the painted canvas hanging from the walls in -shreds--it seemed impossible that it could ever be restored to its -pristine splendour. The visitor must judge for himself whether this -result has not been triumphantly accomplished. - - -The Painted Walls of the King's Grand Staircase. - -Opposite the balustrade, on the right side as one goes down the stairs, -is a low wainscot of plain moulded panelling; and above this, level with -the top of the second landing, is painted a large Vitruvian scroll. The -square space thus formed beside the first landing, and the spandril -space beside the rise of the stairs, are filled with representations, in -chiaro-oscuro, of sea-horses, armorial trophies and other devices, and -scroll-work, heightened by gilding. These, as well as similar paintings -on the arcade, opposite and under the stairs, show that Kent's taste and -skill as a decorative artist were by no means contemptible, whereas as a -painter of subjects or figures he was no artist at all. - -The two walls of the staircase above the Vitruvian scroll are painted to -represent a gallery, behind a colonnade of the Scamozzian Ionic order, -supporting a corresponding entablature, with a frieze embellished with -unicorns' heads, masks of lions, and festoons of foliage, divided by -fleurs-de-lys, richly heightened with gold. Between these columns is -painted a balustrade; with numerous figures of personages of George I.'s -court, looking over it. - -In =the first and second compartments= on the left are yeomen of the -guard and various ladies and gentlemen; and a young man in a Polish -dress representing a certain Mr. Ulric, a page of the King's, "and -admired by the court," says Pyne, "for the elegance and beauty of his -person;" while the youth standing on the plinth outside the balcony is a -page of Lady Suffolk's. In the third or right-hand compartment on the -same wall are seen, among many other unidentified persons, a Quaker and -an old man in spectacles. - -Two other servants of the court appear in this group, Mahomet and -Mustapha, who were taken prisoners by the Imperialists in Hungary. At -the raising of the siege of Vienna in 1685, George I., then elector of -Hanover, was wounded, and was attended by these two Turks, who had been -retained in his service, and who were said to have saved his life. -Mahomet apostatized from the faith of his fathers and became a -Christian; married a Hanoverian woman and had several children. King -George, on his accession to the British throne, brought these two -faithful servants with him to England in his suite. They were constantly -about his person, and were credited with obtaining large sums of money -from persons who purchased their influence to obtain places about the -court. Mahomet, however, in whatever way he may have obtained his -wealth, made a noble and benevolent use of it; for among many other -recorded acts of benevolence, he released from prison about three -hundred poor debtors by paying their harsh creditors. - -Pope, at any rate, believed in Mahomet's integrity, for he mentions him -in his Epistle to Martha Blount in these lines: - - "From peer or bishop 'tis no easy thing - To draw the man who loves his God or King. - Alas! I copy (or, my draught would fail,) - From honest Mahomet or plain Parson Hale." - -Mahomet died of dropsy in 1726, just after these walls were painted. -Mustapha, after the death of George I., continued in the service of his -successor, and is supposed to have died in Hanover. - -In the same group are also a Highlander, and a youth known as "Peter the -Wild Boy." He was found in the woods of Hamelin, near Hanover, in 1725, -and when first discovered was walking on his hands and feet, climbing -trees with the agility of a squirrel, and feeding upon grass and moss of -trees. He was supposed to be about thirteen years of age. He was -presented to George I., then in Hanover, when at dinner, and the King -made him taste of the different dishes at table. We get this information -from Pyne, who adds: - - "He was sent over to England in April, 1726, and once more brought - before his Majesty and many of the nobility. He could not speak, - and scarcely appeared to have any idea of things, but was pleased - with the ticking of a watch, the splendid dresses of the King and - princess, and endeavoured to put on his own hand a glove that was - given to him by her royal highness. He was dressed in gaudy - habiliments, but at first disliked this confinement, and much - difficulty was found in making him lie on a bed: he, however, soon - walked upright, and often sat for his picture. He was at first - entrusted to the care of the philosophical Dr. Arbuthnot, who had - him baptized Peter; but notwithstanding all the doctor's pains, he - was unable to bring him to the use of speech, or to the - pronunciation of words.... He resisted all instruction, and existed - on a pension allowed in succession by the three sovereigns in whose - reigns he lived. He resided latterly at a farmer's near - Berkhampstead in Hertfordshire, till February, 1785, where he died, - at the supposed age of nearly ninety." - -The =east wall= of the staircase is painted as far as the width of the -second landing with a continuation of the arcade, showing a fourth -compartment, in which are again figures of yeomen of the guard and -ladies--one holding an infant in her arms over the balustrade. Further -up, on the same wall, is painted a pedimented niche, with a figure of a -Roman emperor; and higher up still, on the top landing or balcony, are -figures of Hercules, Diana, Apollo, and Minerva. - -All these paintings are on canvas, stretched on battens fixed to the -wall. - - -Painted Ceiling of the King's Grand Staircase. - -The ceiling of the staircase being square and flat, it did not afford -much scope for the exercise of imaginative design, and Kent was obliged -to content himself with a very commonplace pattern--sufficiently -apparent in the accompanying plate. In the four corners are a sort of -double oblong panels, with similar square ones intervening between them. -The ground colour is gray. The oblongs are painted with ornamental -scroll-work and horses' heads, the squares with human heads. These -panels are bordered with very heavy projecting frames of plaster work, -white and gilt, as is also the great square compartment in the middle. -The panel of this last is painted with a representation of a circle, -within which are four semicircular spaces or apertures, apparently -intended to portray a pierced dome with galleries--but they are all in -quite impossible perspective. In three of these spaces are seen -musicians playing on various instruments, and spectators looking down -upon the company below. In the fourth "the painter," says Pyne, "has -introduced his own portrait, holding a palette and pencils, with two of -his pupils, who assisted him in the decoration of the walls, and a -female of a very pleasing countenance, which is supposed to be a -resemblance of an actress with whom he lived in the habits of peculiar -friendship, and to whom he left a part of his fortune." - -All these decorations--including "the female of a very pleasing -countenance"--the visitor can make out, if he thinks it worth while to -incur a stiff neck in doing so; but, in truth, the figures, as well as -the perspective, are all so badly drawn and painted, that the less they -are examined the better. They prove to us once more that Kent, as a -pictorial artist, was beneath contempt. If, however, we are content to -look on his paintings on this staircase as mere formless colour -decoration, the general effect is rich and sumptuous enough. - -The paintings of the staircase were finished, as we have said, about -1726. Three years after we find among the records the following warrant: - - "For the delivery of the following for the King's service at - Kensington, viz. for the Great Staircase 6 lanthorns, 12 inches - square and 17 high, with a shade over each, an iron scroll and 2 - flat sockets for candles, 1 lanthorn for a pattern 11 inches square - and 19-1/2 inches high, with scrolls, etc." - -Our illustration, taken from Pyne's drawing dated 1818, shows these -lanthorns still in it. Except for these, which disappeared a long time -ago, and the tall German stove, which was only removed a few months ago, -the staircase appears exactly the same to-day. - - -=Presence Chamber.= - -In this room we have a blending of the style of Wren, who originally -built and designed it, and of Kent, who redecorated it for George I. The -chimney-piece and over-mantel, with its fine Gibbons carving of foliage, -fruit, and flowers, the beautifully designed and richly carved oak -cornice and the panelled dado are Wren's; whereas the painted ceiling -and the doors are Kent's. It was, doubtless, he also who altered the -spacing of the window sashes, and substituted the present ugly large -panes for the originally picturesque small ones. There is record of this -being done in 1723, among the old accounts. - -The walls appear originally to have been entirely lined, like most of -Wren's rooms, with oak wainscot, but this had entirely disappeared long -before the beginning of this century, when they were covered with -tapestry, over which were nailed a great quantity of pictures--among -them several which have now been brought back here from Hampton Court. -At the same period, in 1818, there was still hanging between the windows -"a looking-glass of large dimensions, tastefully decorated with festoons -of flowers, painted with great truth and spirit by Jean Baptiste -Monnoyer.... Queen Mary sat by the painter during the greatest part of -the time he was employed in painting it." - -This looking-glass has disappeared. =Gibbons' fine carving=, however, -over the chimney-piece, of foliage, fruit, and flowers in lime wood -fortunately remains. When recently cleaned and repaired, it was found to -be so fragile and friable as to necessitate its being all painted over -in order to hold the fragments together. An oaken colour, "flatted," in -accord with the prevailing tone of the panelling in the room was thought -most suitable. - -The two windows of this room, the sashes of which were altered by Kent, -look into a small courtyard. - -The dimensions of the room are 27 feet 4 inches long, 26 feet 10 inches -wide, by 16 feet 4 inches high to the top of the cornice, 18 feet to the -highest part of the ceiling. - -We presume it to have been in this room that William III. in May, 1698, -received the Count de Bonde, Ambassador Extraordinary from the Court of -Sweden, when he returned to the King the insignia of the Order of the -Garter, which had belonged to Charles XI., King of Sweden. "The -Sovereign assembled the Knights Companions upon this occasion in the -Presence Chamber, and all appeared in their mantles, caps, and feathers, -attended by the officers of the order in their mantles, and the heralds -in their coats." - - -Painted Ceiling of the Presence Chamber. - -The ceiling of this room, like most of those in the state apartments -built by Wren, is "coved" or "saucer-domed," and was no doubt originally -quite plainly-coloured, with a light cream-tinted wash. As we see it -now, it gives the idea of an attempt by Kent to imitate Raphael's Loggie -in the Vatican. The paintings have been stated to be in imitation of -those "then recently discovered on the ruined walls of Herculaneum and -Pompeii," but these were not unearthed until twenty-five years after. -Kent has, however, carefully followed what indications he could get of -the decorative treatment of Roman classic art. The colours are -bright-reds and blues, enriched with gilding on a white ground. The -ceiling, or rather the plaster behind the cornice, bears the date, 1724. -Faulkner, in his "History of Kensington," considers that "a proof of his -liberal zeal for the interest of his profession is clearly evinced by -his adopting this antique ornament rather than his own historical -compositions." Why this should be the case, however, he does not deign -to explain. - - -Ceremonial Pictures of the Queen's Reign. - -In this room are arranged the ceremonial pictures of the reign of the -Queen, copied from well-known pictures by British artists. They afford -most accurate representations of the events depicted, and no doubt will -live to remotest history, as interesting and curious specimens of early -Victorian art. The scenes, and the participants in them are all too well -known to require explanation. Perhaps later on the numbered "key-plans" -will be put up to assist in the identification of each personage. - -271 Coronation of the Queen in Westminster Abbey, June 28th, 1838. Her -Majesty taking the Sacrament . . . . . _After_ C. R. LESLIE, R.A. - - When the Queen had been formally invested with the insignia of her - sovereignty, and had received the homage of the peers, she laid - aside the crown and sceptre, and following the Archbishop, advanced - to the altar to receive the sacrament. - -272 Marriage of the Queen and Prince Albert at the Chapel Royal, St. -James's, 10th February, 1840 . . . . . _After_ HAYTER. - -273 Christening of the Princess Royal at Buckingham Palace, 10th -February, 1841 . . . . . _After_ C. R. LESLIE, R.A. - -274 Marriage of the Princess Royal to Prince Frederick William of -Prussia in the Chapel Royal, St. James's, 25th January, -1858 . . . . . _After_ J. PHILLIP, R.A. - -275 Christening of the Prince of Wales in St. George's Chapel, Windsor -Castle, 28th of January, 1842 . . . . . _After_ HAYTER. - - -276 Marriage of the Prince of Wales and the Princess Alexandra of -Denmark in St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, 10th March, -1863 . . . . . _After_ W. P. FRITH, R.A. - -277 A Sketch of the Queen leaving Westminster Abbey after her -Coronation . . . . . _By_ CAMILLE ROQUEPLAN. - - Camille Roqueplan was a French artist sent over by Louis Philippe - to make sketches at the Queen's Coronation. - -278 The Marriage of H.R.H. the Duke of Connaught and Strathearn and -H.R.H. Princess Louise Margaret of Prussia in St. George's Chapel, -Windsor, 13th March, 1879 . . . . . _After_ SIDNEY P. HALL. - -[Illustration: Decoration] - -[Illustration: Decoration] - - CHISWICK PRESS:--CHARLES WHITTINGHAM AND CO. - TOOKS COURT, CHANCERY LANE, LONDON. - - * * * * * - -Typographical errors corrected by the etext transcriber: - -William Talman, Comptroler=> William Talman, Comptroller {pg 18} - -his exernal architectural effect=> his external architectural effect {pg -63} - -being situate=> being situated {pg 68} - -his face his shaven=> his face is shaven {pg 91} - -Prince Octavious was born on February 23rd, 1779=> Prince Octavius was -born on February 23rd, 1779 {pg 106} - - - - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Kensington Palace, the birthplace of -the Queen, by Ernest Law - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK KENSINGTON PALACE *** - -***** This file should be named 43428.txt or 43428.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/3/4/2/43428/ - -Produced by Delphine Lettau, Chuck Greif and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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Thus, we do not necessarily -keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. - - -Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: - - http://www.gutenberg.org - -This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. diff --git a/43428.zip b/43428.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 7426fa5..0000000 --- a/43428.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/43428-8.txt b/old/43428-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 1cfb5b8..0000000 --- a/old/43428-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,5036 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Kensington Palace, the birthplace of the -Queen, by Ernest Law - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: Kensington Palace, the birthplace of the Queen - being an historical guide to the state rooms, pictures and gardens - -Author: Ernest Law - -Release Date: August 9, 2013 [EBook #43428] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK KENSINGTON PALACE *** - - - - -Produced by Delphine Lettau, Chuck Greif and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - - - [The words between equals signs (=) appear in Old English type in the -original. A few typographical errors have been made; a list follows the - etext. (note of etext transcriber.)] - - - - - =Kensington Palace: the Birthplace of the Queen.= - - =Illustrated.= - -[Illustration: THIS MINIATURE REPRESENTS THE QUEEN AT THE AGE OF EIGHT] - - 1819 MAY 24TH 1899 - - [Illustration: H.R.H. THE PRINCESS VICTORIA AT THE AGE OF FOUR. - - (From a Painting by Denning.)] - - - - - =Kensington Palace= - - THE BIRTHPLACE OF THE QUEEN - - _ILLUSTRATED_ - - BEING AN - HISTORICAL GUIDE - TO THE STATE ROOMS, PICTURES, AND GARDENS - - BY - - =Ernest Law, B.A.= - BARRISTER-AT-LAW - _Author of "The History of Hampton Court Palace;" "The Royal - Gallery of Hampton Court;" "Vandyck's Pictures - at Windsor Castle," etc._ - - [Illustration: colophon] - - _Notice._--This Catalogue and Guide are copyright, and immediate - proceedings in Chancery will be taken against any infringers thereof. - - LONDON - GEORGE BELL AND SONS - 1899 - -[Illustration: Decoration] - - -=Notice to Visitors.= - -The State Rooms of Kensington Palace, and likewise Queen Anne's -Orangery, will be open to the public every day in the week throughout -the year, except Wednesdays, unless notice be, at any time, given to the -contrary. - -The hours of opening will be 10 o'clock in the morning on week days, and -2 o'clock in the afternoon on Sundays. - -The hours of closing will be 6 o'clock in the evening from the 1st of -April to the 30th of September, both days inclusive, and 4 o'clock -during the winter months. - -They will be closed on Christmas Day and Good Friday. - -[Illustration: Decoration] - -[Illustration: KENSINGTON PALACE AND GARDENS IN THE REIGN OF QUEEN -ANNE.] - -[Illustration: Decoration] - - - - -=Contents.= - - - PAGE - FRONTISPIECE. H.R.H. THE PRINCESS VICTORIA AT - THE AGE OF FOUR 4 - NOTICE TO VISITORS 6 - _Plate_--KENSINGTON PALACE AND GARDENS IN THE - REIGN OF QUEEN ANNE 8 - PREFACE 14 - - - =Historical Sketch.= - - EARLY HISTORY OF KENSINGTON 17 - BUILDING OF THE PALACE 18 - DEATHS OF QUEEN MARY AND KING WILLIAM 19 - QUEEN ANNE AT KENSINGTON PALACE 20 - DEATH OF PRINCE GEORGE OF DENMARK 22 - DEATH OF QUEEN ANNE 22 - GEORGE I. AT KENSINGTON PALACE 23 - GEORGE II. AT KENSINGTON PALACE 24 - KENSINGTON IN GEORGE III.'S REIGN 25 - BIRTH OF QUEEN VICTORIA 26 - _Plate_--THE DUCHESS OF KENT WITH PRINCESS VICTORIA (AGED - TWO YEARS) 27 - QUEEN VICTORIA'S EARLY YEARS AT KENSINGTON 29 - THE QUEEN'S CHILDHOOD AT KENSINGTON PALACE 30 - _Plate_--THE PRINCESS VICTORIA IN 1825 31 - PRINCESS VICTORIA BECOMES HEIRESS TO THE THRONE 34 - QUEEN VICTORIA'S ACCESSION 36 - QUEEN VICTORIA'S FIRST COUNCIL 37 - KENSINGTON PALACE IN RECENT YEARS 40 - RESTORATION OF THE STATE ROOMS 41 - METHODS OF RESTORATION 42 - ARRANGEMENT OF THE PICTURES 44 - ASSOCIATIONS WITH QUEEN VICTORIA 45 - - - =Descriptive and Historical Guide.= - - OLD KENSINGTON PALACE GARDENS 47 - QUEEN ANNE'S GARDENS 49 - QUEEN ANNE'S ORANGERY 51 - TERRACE OF QUEEN ANNE'S ORANGERY 53 - EXTERIOR OF QUEEN ANNE'S ORANGERY 54 - INTERIOR OF QUEEN ANNE'S ORANGERY 55 - THE ALCOVES OF QUEEN ANNE'S ORANGERY 56 - RESTORATION OF QUEEN ANNE'S ORANGERY 56 - KENSINGTON GARDENS 58 - QUEEN CAROLINE'S IMPROVEMENTS IN KENSINGTON GARDENS 58 - KENSINGTON GARDENS IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY 59 - _Plate_--SOUTH FRONT OF KENSINGTON PALACE IN 1819--AFTER - WESTALL 61 - SOUTH FRONT OF THE PALACE 63 - WREN'S DOMESTIC STYLE 63 - EAST FRONT OF THE PALACE 64 - _Plate_--PLAN OF THE STATE ROOMS 66 - PUBLIC ENTRANCE TO THE PALACE 67 - QUEEN'S STAIRCASE 68 - OLD OAK WAINSCOTING OF THE STAIRCASE 69 - WINDOW SASHES OF THE STAIRCASE 69 - QUEEN MARY'S GALLERY 70 - WAINSCOTING AND CARVINGS OF QUEEN MARY'S GALLERY 71 - PICTURES IN QUEEN MARY'S GALLERY. PORTRAITS OF THE TIME - OF WILLIAM AND MARY TO GEORGE II 73 - QUEEN'S CLOSET 77 - PICTURES OF "OLD LONDON" 77 - QUEEN ANNE'S PRIVATE DINING ROOM 80 - PICTURES IN QUEEN ANNE'S PRIVATE DINING ROOM 81 - QUEEN MARY'S PRIVY CHAMBER 83 - PICTURES IN QUEEN MARY'S PRIVY CHAMBER 83 - QUEEN CAROLINE'S DRAWING ROOM 87 - PAINTED CEILING OF THE QUEEN'S DRAWING ROOM 88 - CONTEMPORARY FRENCH AND GERMAN PORTRAITS 88 - THE CUPOLA OR CUBE ROOM 93 - THE PAINTED CEILING OF THE CUBE ROOM 94 - _Plate_--THE CUPOLA OR CUBE ROOM AS IT WAS WHEN THE QUEEN - WAS BAPTIZED IN IT 95 - PAINTED WALLS OF THE CUBE ROOM 96 - GENERAL APPEARANCE OF THE CUPOLA ROOM 98 - KING'S DRAWING ROOM 99 - PAINTED CEILING OF THE KING'S DRAWING ROOM 99 - WILLIAM KENT, THE ROYAL AND FASHIONABLE DECORATOR 100 - _Plate_--KING'S DRAWING ROOM 101 - KENT THE FATHER OF MODERN GARDENING 103 - WEST'S PICTURES IN THE KING'S DRAWING ROOM 104 - KING'S PRIVY CHAMBER 108 - PORTRAITS OF GEORGE III.'S TIME 108 - THE NURSERY 113 - Pictures and Prints illustrative of the Queen's Life and - Reign 113 - ANTE-ROOM 114 - PRINTS ILLUSTRATIVE OF THE LIFE AND REIGN OF THE QUEEN 114 - QUEEN VICTORIA'S BEDROOM 115 - PRINTS OF THE LIFE AND REIGN OF THE QUEEN 116 - MEMENTOES AND RELICS OF THE QUEEN'S CHILDHOOD COLLECTED - IN "QUEEN VICTORIA'S BEDROOM" 116 - KING'S GALLERY 117 - DECORATIVE CARVINGS IN THE "KING'S GALLERY" 117 - CHIMNEY-PIECE, MAP AND DIAL 118 - _Plate_--THE KING'S GALLERY 119 - PAINTING OF THE CEILING AND WAINSCOT OF THE KING'S GALLERY 121 - NAVAL PICTURES IN THE KING'S GALLERY 122 - KING'S GRAND STAIRCASE 129 - KENT'S ALTERATIONS IN THE KING'S GRAND STAIRCASE 130 - _Plate_--THE KING'S GRAND STAIRCASE 131 - PAINTED WALLS OF THE KING'S GRAND STAIRCASE 133 - PAINTED CEILING OF THE KING'S GRAND STAIRCASE 135 - PRESENCE CHAMBER 137 - PAINTED CEILING OF THE PRESENCE CHAMBER 138 - CEREMONIAL PICTURES OF QUEEN VICTORIA'S REIGN 139 - -[Illustration: Decoration] - -[Illustration: Decoration] - - - - -=Preface.= - - -The following pages, compiled under the sanction of the Lord Chamberlain -of Her Majesty's Household and the First Commissioner of Her Majesty's -Works and Buildings, are intended to meet the requirements of visitors -to the State Rooms of Kensington Palace, now open by command of the -Queen to the inspection of the public during Her Majesty's pleasure. -This little book, therefore, is to be understood as aiming only at a -descriptive and historical account of the particular parts of the -building on view--not, in any sense, as attempting a general history of -the Palace. Nevertheless, the author may, perhaps, be permitted to say -that, as far as his object extends, he has endeavoured to render the -information here given as accurate and complete as possible, by devoting -the same amount of time and labour to research and verification, as -though he had been writing a book of a critical nature for a restricted -circle of readers, instead of a mere handbook for ordinary sightseers. - -In this way, the writer conceives, can he best promote the object which, -it may be assumed, the Queen and Her Majesty's Government have had in -view in restoring and opening these State Rooms to the public--namely, -that they should serve as an object-lesson in history and art, and a -refining influence of popular culture and education. - -In pursuance of this design the author has had recourse not only to such -well-known standard authorities on his subject as Pyne's "History of -Royal Residences," 1819; Faulkner's "History of Kensington," 1820; Leigh -Hunt's "Old Court Suburb," 1853; and Mr. Loftie's -"Kensington--Picturesque and Historical," 1887; but also to a large -number of earlier and less known historical and topographical works, -which have served to illustrate many things connected with the history -of this interesting old building. - -His main sources of information, however, have been the old manuscripts, -parchment rolls, and state papers, preserved in the British Museum and -Record Office--especially the "Declared Accounts" and "Treasury Papers," -containing the original estimates, accounts and reports of Sir -Christopher Wren and his successors, relating to the works and buildings -at Kensington. None of these have ever before been examined or -published; and they throw much light on the art and decoration of this -palace, while also, for the first time, setting at rest many hitherto -debatable points. - -The author must here once again--as in works of a similar nature -elsewhere--express his obligations for the kind assistance he has -received from all those who have charge of the Queen's palaces--the Hon. -Sir Spencer Ponsonby Fane, G.C.B., Comptroller of Her Majesty's -Household; the Hon. Reginald Brett, C.B., Secretary of Her Majesty's -Board of Works and Buildings; Sir John Taylor, K.C.B., Consulting -Architect and Surveyor to the Board; and Mr. Philip, Clerk of the Works -at Kensington Palace. - -At the same time he wishes to make it clear that for the information -contained herein, and for the opinions and views expressed, he himself -is alone responsible. - -Here also the author must make his acknowledgments to the editor of "The -Gentlewoman," who has kindly lent him the blocks for the portraits of -the Queen. - -It may be as well to take this opportunity of emphasizing what is more -fully insisted on in subsequent pages, that Kensington Palace, as a -public resort, is not to be considered in the light of an Art Gallery, -but as a Palace with historical pictures in it. The clear understanding -of this may prevent misapprehension as to the scheme followed in -restoring the state rooms to their original state, where the -pictures--and their frames--are arranged on the walls as a part only of -their furniture and decoration. - -Finally, it may be observed that though the outline of the history of -the Palace, prefixed to the description of the State Rooms, has -necessarily been brief, the Queen's early life, and the interesting -events that took place here in June 1837, seemed to require a fuller -treatment. These, therefore, have been described in detail, mainly in -the words of eye-witnesses, which, though they have often been printed -before, may, being repeated here, acquire--the compiler has thought--a -new vividness and interest, when read on the very spot where they were -enacted; and thus insure for these famous scenes an even wider -popularity than before. - -[Illustration: Decoration] - -[Illustration: Decoration] - - - - -HISTORICAL SKETCH. - -=Early History of Kensington.= - - -Kensington Palace, built by William and Mary, occupied by Queen Anne as -one of her favourite residences, enlarged by George I. and greatly -appreciated by George II. and his queen, Caroline, has received a -greater renown and more interesting associations from having been the -birthplace and early home of Queen Victoria. In celebration of the -eightieth anniversary of that ever-memorable and auspicious event, Her -Majesty decided on opening the State Apartments free to the public on -the 24th of May, 1899, during Her Majesty's pleasure. - -Before recapitulating the events of the Queen's early life here, we must -give a brief outline of the history of the Palace since it became a -royal residence. - -The original building, of which it is probable that a good deal still -stands, was erected mainly by Sir Heneage Finch, Lord Chancellor and -Earl of Nottingham, who acquired the estate, including some hundred and -fifty acres of meadow and park--now Kensington Gardens--from his brother -Sir John Finch. Hence it was known as Nottingham House; and under that -title it was bought from Daniel Finch, the second earl, for the sum of -18,000 guineas, in the summer or autumn of 1689, by King William III., -who was anxious to have a convenient residence near enough to Whitehall -for the transaction of business, and yet sufficiently far to be out of -the smoky atmosphere, in which he found it impossible to breathe. The -King, assisted by his Queen, at once set about enlarging and -embellishing the mansion, and laying out new gardens. - - -=Building of the Palace.= - -The works seem to have been begun on or very soon after the 1st of -October, 1689. We learn this from the enrolled account of "Thomas Lloyd, -Paymaster of Their Majesties Workes and Buildinges," made up from -"paybookes subscribed with the handes of Sir Christopher Wren, Knight -Surveyor of the workes; William Talman, Comptroller; John Oliver, Master -Mason; and Matthew Bankes, Master Carpenter, and with the hand of -Nicolas Hawkesmore, clerke of the said workes, according to the ancient -usual and due course of the office of their Majesties workes." - -In the second week of November a news-letter informs us that the new -apartment, then being built, "suddenly fell flat to the ground, killing -seven or eight workmen and labourers. The Queen had been in that -apartment but a little while before." - -By February 25th, 1690, they were sufficiently advanced for Evelyn to -record in his diary: "I went to Kensington, which King William has -bought of Lord Nottingham, and altered, but was yet a patched building, -but with the garden, it is a very sweete villa, having to it the Park, -and a straight new way through this Park." The making of this new road -cost just about 8,000. - -Building operations were continued during the King's absence in Ireland; -and the day before the news of the battle of the Boyne reached Queen -Mary she spent a few quiet hours in the gardens here, writing the same -evening, July 5th, to William: "The place made me think how happy I was -there when I had your dear company." Until his return she continued to -overlook the building, and on August 6th following, writes again as to -the progress of the building: "The outside of the house is fiddling -work, which takes up more time than can be imagined; and while the -_schafolds_ are up, the windows must be boarded up, but as soon as that -is done, your own apartment may be furnished." And a week after: "I have -been this day to Kensington, which looks really very well, at least to a -poor body like me, who have been so long condemned to this place -(Whitehall) and see nothing but water and wall." - -The work of improving Kensington House continued for another year or -more, costing during this period 60,000. It was, however, far from -finished, when, in November, 1691, a serious fire occurred, -necessitating re-building at a cost of upwards of 6,000. From the year -1691 to 1696 another 35,000 was spent in further "altering the old -house," and in additional works of decoration in the galleries and other -rooms--details as to which will be given in our description of those -apartments. - -Extensive alterations and improvements were also in progress at the same -time in the gardens, which at this period were confined to the ground -east and south of the Palace, as to which we shall refer again. - - -=Deaths of Queen Mary and King William.= - -Ere the work, however, was completed, Queen Mary was taken ill at -Kensington with small pox in December, 1694. On learning the nature of -her illness she locked herself in her closet, burned some papers, and -calmly awaited her fate, which quickly came a few days after, the 28th -of December. - -Evelyn visited Kensington again in 1696, and speaks of it then as "noble -but not greate," commending especially the King's Gallery, which was -then filled with the finest pictures in the royal collection, "a greate -collection of Porcelain, and a pretty private library. The gardens about -it very delicious." Peter the Great's visit to William III. in this same -gallery is referred to in our description of it below. - -The next event of moment is William III.'s own death at Kensington -Palace, after his accident in Hampton Court Park. "Je tirs vers ma fin," -said he to Albemarle, who had hurried from Holland to his master's -bedside; and to his physician: "I know that you have done all that skill -and learning could do for me; but the case is beyond your art, I must -submit." "Can this," he said soon after, "last long?" He was told that -the end was approaching. He swallowed a cordial, and asked for Bentinck. -Those were his last articulate words. "Bentinck instantly came to the -bedside, bent down, and placed his ear close to the King's mouth. The -lips of the dying man moved, but nothing could be heard. The King took -the hand of his earliest friend and pressed it tenderly to his heart. In -that moment, no doubt, all that had cast a slight passing cloud over -their long pure friendship was forgotten. It was now between seven and -eight in the morning. He closed his eyes, and gasped for breath. The -bishops knelt down and read the commendatory prayer. When it ended -William was no more. When his remains were laid out, it was found that -he wore next to his skin a small piece of black silk ribbon. The lords -in waiting ordered it to be taken off. It contained a gold ring and a -lock of the hair of Mary." - - -=Queen Anne at Kensington Palace.= - -Fond as William and Mary had been of Kensington, Queen Anne was even -more attached to it still;--and it became her usual residence whenever -it was necessary for her to be near the great offices of state. She -seems to have remained satisfied with the palace as it had been finished -by her predecessors, except for the addition of one or two small rooms -"in the little court behind the gallery," perhaps because King William -bequeathed to her a debt of upwards of 4,000 for his buildings at -Kensington. - -She devoted, however, a great deal of care and expense to the improving -and enlarging of the Palace gardens--as to which we shall have more to -say when we come to describe them. Queen Anne, indeed, was, in this -respect, thoroughly English. She loved her plants and flowers, and would -spend hours pottering about her gardens at Kensington. The appearance of -her gardens will best be seen from our reduced facsimile of Kip's large -engraving, published about 1714 in his "Britannia Illustrata." In the -right distance is seen that most beautiful building called the -"Orangery" or green-house, erected by her orders--which we shall fully -describe on a subsequent page. - -Besides enlarging the gardens round about the Palace, Queen Anne greatly -extended the area of the park-like enclosed grounds attached to -Kensington Palace. Mr. Loftie has declared that "neither Queen Anne nor -Queen Caroline took an acre from Hyde Park." But this we have found not -to be the fact. In an old report on the "State of the Royal Gardens and -Plantations at Ladyday, 1713," among the Treasury Papers in the Record -Office, there is a distinct reference to "The Paddock joyning to the -Gardens, _taken from Hyde Park in 1705_, and stocked with fine deer and -antelopes;" and again in another document, dated May 26th in the same -year, being a memorial to the Lord High Treasurer from Henry Portman, -Ranger of Hyde Park, it is stated that "near 100 acres had been enclosed -from the park of Kensington, whereby the profits he had by herbage were -much reduced." Later on, in George II.'s reign, in 1729, we find a grant -of 200 made to William, Earl of Essex, Ranger of Hyde Park, "in -consideration of loss of herbage of that part of the said park which is -laid into his Majesty's gardens at Kensington." - - -=Death of Prince George of Denmark.= - -It was at Kensington Palace that Anne's husband, Prince George of -Denmark, at length succumbed, in 1708, to a prolonged illness of gout -and asthma. During his last sickness and death, Anne had the -"consolation" of the Duchess of Marlborough's "sympathy." Her Grace's -deportment, according to an eye-witness, "while the Prince was actually -dying, was of such a nature that the Queen, then in the height of her -grief, was not able to bear it." She actually forced her way, as -Mistress of the Robes, to the poor Prince's deathbed, and only drew into -the background when peremptorily ordered by the heart-broken wife to -leave the room. After Prince George had breathed his last, she stepped -forward again, and when all the others had left, insisted on remaining -with poor Anne, who was "weeping and _clapping_ her hands together, and -swaying herself backwards and forwards" in an agony of grief. The Queen -was at length induced to accede to the Duchess's advice to leave "_that -dismal body_" and remove to St. James's. - -Two years later, in these very same state rooms of Kensington Palace -took place the famous final interview between the Queen and her whilom -favourite, also subsequently noticed in our description of "Queen Anne's -Private Dining Room." - - -=Death of Queen Anne.= - -In the summer of the year 1714 Queen Anne was seized, at Kensington -Palace, with apoplexy, brought on by political worries. She had been -failing in health for some time; and on July 27th had an attack of blood -to the head, while presiding at her Cabinet Council, and was carried in -a dead faint to her bed. Four days after, Charles Ford, an official of -the government and a correspondent of Swift, wrote: "I am just come from -Kensington, where I have spent these two days. At present the Queen is -alive, and better than could have been expected; her disorder began -about eight or nine yesterday morning. The doctors ordered her head to -be shaved; while it was being done, the Queen fell into convulsions, or, -as they say, a fit of apoplexy, which lasted two hours, during which she -showed but little sign of life." At six in the evening of the same day, -another anxious watcher within the palace walls, says Miss Strickland, -wrote to Swift: "At the time I am writing, the breath is _said_ to be in -the Queen's nostrils, but that is all. No hopes of her recovery,"--and -in effect she breathed her last the following day, in the fiftieth year -of her age. "Her life would have lasted longer," wrote Roger Coke, in -his "Detection," "if she had not eaten so much.... She supped too much -chocolate, and died monstrously fat; insomuch that the coffin wherein -her remains were deposited was almost square, and was bigger than that -of the Prince, her husband, who was known to be a fat, bulky man." - - -=George I. at Kensington Palace.= - -The day after the death of Queen Anne, King George was proclaimed her -successor; and soon after his accession he entered into possession of -Kensington Palace. Taking, on his part, also, a fancy to the place, he -decided, about the year 1721, to erect a new and additional suite of -state rooms, the building of which was intrusted to William Kent, as we -shall fully explain in our description of the new state rooms -constructed by him. Otherwise, we hear scarcely anything of George I. in -connection with Kensington. He lived here, indeed, in the greatest -seclusion with his German favourites, and was scarcely ever seen, even -in the gardens, which in his reign first became the fashionable -promenade, where, in the words of Tickell, who wrote a poem on the -subject, in imitation of Pope's "Rape of the Lock"-- - - "The dames of Britain oft in crowds repair - To groves and lawns, and unpolluted air, - Here, while the town in damps and darkness lies, - They breathe in sunshine, and see azure skies." - - -=George II. at Kensington Palace.= - -In the reign of George II. Kensington became more than ever the -favourite residence of the court, and much insight into life within the -walls of the Palace at this time is afforded us by such books as Lady -Suffolk's "Memoirs," Lady Sundon's "Letters," Walpole's "Reminiscences," -and, above all, of course, by Lord Hervey's "Memoirs." Here is a -malignant little sketch drawn by that treacherous, satiric hand: "His -Majesty stayed about five minutes in the gallery; snubbed the Queen, who -was drinking chocolate, for being always 'stuffing;' the Princess Emily -for not hearing him; the Princess Caroline for being grown fat; the Duke -of Cumberland for standing awkwardly; Lord Hervey for not knowing what -relation the Prince of Sultzbach was to the Elector Palatine; and then -carried the Queen to walk, and be re-snubbed, in the garden." - -It was the Princess Emily just mentioned who played a practical joke one -evening at Kensington on Lady Deloraine, by drawing her chair from under -her just as she was going to sit down to cards, thus sending her -sprawling on the floor. The King burst out laughing, and, to revenge -herself, Lady Deloraine played his august Majesty the same trick soon -after, which not unnaturally led to her being forbidden the court for -some time. - -Although Queen Caroline had to put up with a good deal of snubbing, she -managed, at the same time, usually to get her own way. She was very fond -of art; and it was she who discovered, stowed away in a drawer at -Kensington Palace, the famous series of Holbein's drawings. These she -had brought out, and she arranged all the pictures in the State Rooms -according to her liking. Her substituting good pictures for bad in the -great Drawing-Room during one of the King's absences in Hanover, led to -the famous and oft-quoted scene between Lord Hervey and his Majesty, -who, nevertheless, did not interfere with the Queen's alterations. - -Caroline was also devoted to the then fashionable craze of gardening, -and was continually planning and altering at Kensington. It was at her -instance--as we shall see presently in greater detail--that the large -extent of land, formerly the park of old Nottingham House, and also a -portion of Hyde Park, was laid out, planted, and improved into what we -now know as "Kensington Gardens." - -Queen Caroline died in 1737, while George II. survived her twenty-three -years, expiring at Kensington Palace on the morning of the 25th of -October, 1760, at the age of seventy-eight. His end was extremely -sudden. He appeared to be in his usual health, when a heavy fall was -heard in his dressing-room after breakfast. The attendants hurried in, -to find the King lying on the floor, with his head cut open by falling -against a bureau. The right ventricle of his heart had burst. - - -=Kensington in George III.'s Reign.= - -George II. was the last sovereign to occupy Kensington Palace, which -thenceforth, during the long reign of George III., was left almost -entirely neglected and deserted. Several members of the royal family, -however, occupied, at various periods, suites of apartments in the -Palace. Among others, Caroline of Brunswick, when Princess of Wales, -lived for a short time here with her mother. Her behaviour greatly -scandalized the sober-minded inhabitants of the old court suburb. "She -kept a sort of open house, receiving visitors in a dressing-gown, and -sitting and talking about herself with strangers, on the benches in the -garden, at the risk of being discovered." - -Another but more worthy occupant of the Palace in George III.'s reign -was our present Queen's uncle, the Duke of Sussex, who collected a -magnificent library here of nearly fifty thousand volumes, which he -spent the last years of his life in arranging and cataloguing. - -Destined, however, to invest Kensington Palace with associations and -memories far transcending any that have gone before, was the advent here -of the Duke and Duchess of Kent, seven months after their marriage. They -occupied most of the old state rooms on the first and second floors of -the easternmost portion of the Palace. Three lives then stood between -the duke and the throne, and little could the newly-married pair have -imagined that from their union would spring the future Queen and Empress -of such a vast and mighty empire as now owns the sway of their first and -only child. - - -=Birth of Queen Victoria.= - -The Queen was born on the 24th of May, 1819, at a quarter past four in -the morning. "Some doubt," says Mr. Loftie, "has been thrown on the -identification of the room in which the future Queen was born; but the -late lamented Dr. Merriman, whose father attended the Duchess, had no -doubt that a spacious chamber, which has been marked with a brass plate, -was that in which the happy event took place." This room, which is on -the first floor, exactly under the "King's Privy Chamber"--the State -Rooms being on the second floor--has a low ceiling, and three windows, -facing east, looking into the "Private Gardens." It has been identified -by the Queen as the one Her Majesty was always told she was born in. The -brass plate, put up at the time of the first Jubilee, in 1887, states: -_In this room Queen Victoria was born, May 24th, 1819_. - -[Illustration: THE DUCHESS OF KENT WITH PRINCESS VICTORIA (AGED TWO -YEARS). - -(After a picture by Sir William Beechey.)] - -Faulkner, writing the year after the event, confirms this -identification, insomuch that he says: "_The lower apartments_ in the -south-east part of the Palace, beneath the King's Gallery, have been -for some years occupied by His Royal Highness the Duke of Kent, whose -premature decease--eight months after the birth of his daughter--this -nation has so recently and deeply lamented; and they are still the -residence of Her Royal Highness the Duchess." - -This is how the event was noticed in the "Memoirs" of Baron Stockmar: "A -pretty little Princess, plump as a partridge, was born. The Duke of Kent -was delighted with his child, and liked to show her constantly to his -companions and intimate friends with the words: 'Take care of her, for -she will be Queen of England.'" - -An interesting letter of the Duke of Kent's, written a few weeks after -to his chaplain, Dr. Thomas Prince, who had addressed a letter of -congratulation to him while, at the same time, somewhat condoling with -him that a daughter and not a son had been born to him, was published in -the "Times" at the time of the Jubilee of 1897. In it the duke remarked: -"As to the circumstance of that child not proving to be a son instead of -a daughter, I feel it due to myself to declare that such sentiments are -not in unison with my own; for I am decidedly of opinion that the -decrees of Providence are at all times wisest and best." - - -=Queen Victoria's Early Years at Kensington.= - -The next reference we have found to the future Queen, is in a letter, -written on 21st of July, 1820, when, consequently, Her Majesty was a -little more than a year old, by Mr. Wilberforce, who mentions being -received at Kensington Palace by the Duchess of Kent that morning. "She -received me with her fine animated child on the floor, by her side, with -its playthings, of which I soon became one." - -Most of the future Queen's early years were passed at Kensington Palace -in great privacy and retirement. She was often seen, however, in -Kensington Gardens, her constant companion in her walks being Miss, -afterwards Baroness Lehzen. - -Leigh Hunt, referring to this period, mentions in his "Old Court -Suburb," having seen her "coming up a cross path from the Bayswater -Gate, with a girl of her own age by her side"--probably the Princess -Feodore, her beloved half-sister and constant companion of her -girlhood--"whose hand she was holding, as if she loved her.... A -magnificent footman in scarlet came behind her." - -The youthful Princess was sometimes driven in a goat or donkey carriage -in the park and gardens, and, as she grew older, in a small phton, -drawn by two diminutive ponies. The following gives a little glimpse of -our Queen at this early period of her life: - -"A party consisting of several ladies, a young child, and two men -servants, having in charge a donkey gaily caparisoned with blue ribbons, -and accoutered for the use of the infant ... who skipped along between -her mother and sister, the Princess Feodore, holding a hand of each." - - -=The Queen's Childhood at Kensington Palace.= - -In further illustration of the Queen's life as a little girl with her -mother at Kensington Palace, we cannot do better than quote what Mr. -Holmes, writing with authority as the Queen's Librarian at Windsor -Castle, tells us in his interesting work, "Queen Victoria," which, as he -remarks, presents for the first time an accurate account of the -childhood of the Queen. "During these early years, and before a regular -course of studies had been attempted, the family life at the Palace was -simple and regular. Breakfast was served in summer at eight o'clock, -the Princess Victoria having her bread and milk and fruit on a little -table by her mother's side. After breakfast the Princess Feodore studied -with her governess, Miss Lehzen, and the Princess Victoria went out for -a walk or drive. It has been repeatedly said that at this time she was -instructed by her mother; but this is not the case, as the Duchess never -gave her daughter any lessons. At two there was a plain dinner, when the -Duchess had her luncheon. In the afternoon was the usual walk or drive. -At the time of her mother's dinner the Princess had her supper laid at -her side. At nine she was accustomed to retire to her bed, which was -placed close to her mother's...." - -[Illustration: THE PRINCESS VICTORIA IN 1825. - -(After a picture by G. Fowler.)] - -"It was not till the Princess had entered her fifth year that she began -to receive any regular instruction.... In this determination not to -force her daughter's mind, the Duchess of Kent acted on the counsel of -her mother, who had advised her 'not to tease her little puss with -learning while she was so young.' The advice was justified by results, -for the Princess made rapid progress." - -The Earl of Albemarle, who was in attendance on the Duke of Sussex at -Kensington, thus describes in his "Recollections" the appearance of the -Princess when seven years old: "One of my occupations on a morning, -while waiting for the Duke, was to watch from the window the movements -of a bright, pretty little girl, seven years of age. She was in the -habit of watering the plants immediately under the window. It was -amusing to see how impartially she divided the contents of the watering -pot between the flowers and her own little feet. Her simple but becoming -dress contrasted favourably with the gorgeous apparel now worn by the -little damsels of the rising generation--a large straw hat and a suit of -white cotton; a coloured _fichu_ round the neck was the only ornament -she wore." - -Her education was now conducted on a regular system. Writing, -arithmetic, singing lessons, dancing lessons by Madam Bourdin, "to whose -teaching may be due in some measure the grace of gesture and dignity of -bearing which have always distinguished Her Majesty," drawing, and the -French language. "German was not allowed to be spoken; English was -always insisted upon, though a knowledge of the German language was -imparted by M. Barez. The lessons, however, which were most enjoyed -were those in riding, which has always been since one of the Queen's -greatest pleasures." - - -=Princess Victoria becomes Heiress to the Throne.= - -The death of the Duke of York, and the remote probability of the Duke -and Duchess of Clarence having any offspring, drew increasing attention -to the movements of the Duchess of Kent and her daughter. "Many stories -are current," continues Mr. Holmes, "of the behaviour and appearance of -the young Princess. The simplicity of her tastes was particularly -noticed and admired. It was this simplicity of living and careful -training in home life, which endeared not only the Princess, but her -mother also, to the hearts of the whole nation." Charles Knight, as well -as Leigh Hunt, whom we have already quoted, has recorded the pleasing -impression made upon him by the young Princess. In his "Passages of a -Working Life" he says: "I delighted to walk in Kensington Gardens. As I -passed along the broad central walk, I saw a group on the lawn before -the Palace.... The Duchess of Kent and her daughter, whose years then -numbered nine, were breakfasting in the open air.... What a beautiful -characteristic, it seemed to me, of the training of this royal girl, -that she should not have been taught to shrink from the public eye; that -she should not have been burdened with a premature conception of her -probable high destiny; that she should enjoy the freedom and simplicity -of a child's nature; that she should not be restrained when she starts -up from the breakfast table and runs to gather a flower in the adjoining -pasture; that her merry laugh should be fearless as the notes of the -thrush in the groves around her. I passed on and blessed her; and I -thank God that I have lived to see the golden fruits of such a -training." - -The Queen was just on the eve of her ninth birthday when, on May 19th, -1828, Sir Walter Scott dined at Kensington Palace with the Duchess of -Kent. He records in his diary: "I was very kindly received by Prince -Leopold, and presented to the little Princess Victoria, the -heir-apparent to the Crown, as things stand.... This little lady is -educated with much care, and watched so closely, that no busy maid has a -moment to whisper, 'You are heir of England.' I suspect, if we could -dissect the little heart, we should find some pigeon or other bird of -the air had carried the matter." - -Sir Walter's surmise, Mr. Holmes informs us, was not altogether without -foundation; and two years later, when, by the death of her uncle, George -IV., only the life of William IV. stood between her and the throne, she -was formally made acquainted with her position. - -"The early part of the year 1833 was passed at Kensington. There the -course of study was kept up as before, but the Princess now went out -more into society and was seen more in public.... The Princess's -amusements were her pets, and her walks and drives, and during the -spring and summer she much enjoyed riding." - -It was at Kensington, in the summer of 1836, that the Queen first saw -her future husband. The Prince in his diary recorded that his aunt, the -Duchess of Kent, "gave a brilliant ball here at Kensington Palace, at -which the gentlemen appeared in uniform and the ladies in so-called -fancy dresses. We remained until four o'clock.... Dear Aunt is very kind -to us, and does everything she can to please us, and our cousin also is -very amiable." - -The Princess Victoria was at Kensington when she attained her majority, -on the 24th of May, 1837. She was awakened by a serenade; she received -many presents, and the day was kept as a general holiday at Kensington. - - -=Queen Victoria's Accession.= - -Less than a month after, King William IV. died at Windsor at twelve -minutes past two on the morning of June 20th. As soon as possible the -Archbishop of Canterbury, with Lord Conyngham (the Lord Chamberlain), -started to convey the news to Kensington, where they arrived at five -o'clock in the morning. - -"They knocked, they rang, they thumped," says "The Diary of a Lady of -Quality," "for a considerable time before they could rouse the porter at -the gate; they were again kept waiting in the courtyard; they hurried -into one of the lower rooms, where they seemed forgotten by everybody. -They rang the bell, desired that the attendant of the Princess Victoria -might be sent to inform Her Royal Highness that they requested an -audience on business of importance. After another delay, and another -ringing to inquire the cause, the attendant was summoned, who stated -that the Princess was in such a sweet sleep, she could not venture to -disturb her. Then they said, 'We are come to the _Queen_ on business of -State, and her sleep must give way to that.'" - -"In a few minutes she came into the room," says Mr. Holmes, "a shawl -thrown over her dressing-gown, her feet in slippers, and her hair -falling down her back. She had been awakened by the Duchess of Kent, who -told Her Majesty she must get up; she went alone into the room where -Lord Conyngham and the archbishop were waiting. The Lord Chamberlain -then knelt down, and presented a paper, announcing the death of her -uncle, to the Queen; and the archbishop said he had come by desire of -Queen Adelaide, who thought the Queen would like to hear in what a -peaceful state the King had been at the last." - - -=Queen Victoria's First Council.= - -At nine o'clock the Prime Minister was received in audience alone; and -soon afterwards an informal gathering of Privy Councillors, including -the Queen's uncle, the Duke of Sussex, the Duke of Wellington, and a -dozen or so of ministers, prelates, and officials, was held in the -anteroom to the Council Chamber, when an address of fealty and homage -was read aloud and signed by those present. - -After this the doors were opened, "disclosing"--to quote the words of -Mr. Barrett Lennard, now the sole survivor of the scene, except the -Queen herself--"a large State Saloon, close to whose threshold there -stood unattended a small, slight, fair-complexioned young lady, -apparently fifteen years of age. She was attired in a close-fitting -dress of black silk, her light hair parted and drawn from her forehead; -she wore no ornament whatever on her dress or person. The Duke of Sussex -advanced, embraced and kissed her--his niece the Queen. Lord Melbourne -and others kissed hands in the usual form, and the Usher taking the -address, closed the doors, and the Queen disappeared from our gaze. No -word was uttered by Her Majesty or by any present, and no sound broke -the silence, which seemed to me to add to the impressive solemnity of -the scene." - -The room where this took place is low and rather dark and gloomy, with -pillars in it, supporting the floor of the "Cube Room" above. - -The subsequent meeting of the Queen's first Council, which took place at -eleven o'clock, is familiar to everyone from Wilkie's well-known -picture--"though, at the expense of truth he has emphasized the -principal figure by painting her in a white dress instead of the black -which was actually worn." Her Majesty was introduced to the Council -Chamber by her uncles, the Dukes of Cumberland and Sussex, and at once -took her seat on a chair at the head of the table. - -In describing this famous scene, it is useless to attempt anything -beyond quoting once more--often as it has been quoted--the admirable -account given by Charles Greville, Clerk of the Council: - -"Never was anything like the first impression she produced, or the -chorus of praise and admiration which is raised about her manner and -behaviour, and certainly not without justice. It was very extraordinary, -and something far beyond what was looked for. Her extreme youth and -inexperience, and the ignorance of the world concerning her, naturally -excited intense curiosity to see how she would act on this trying -occasion, and there was a considerable assemblage at the Palace, -notwithstanding the short notice which was given.... She bowed to the -Lords, took her seat, and then read her speech in a clear, distinct and -audible voice, and without any appearance of fear or embarrassment. She -was quite plainly dressed and in mourning. - -"After she had read her speech, and taken and signed the oath for the -security of the Church of Scotland, the Privy Councillors were sworn, -the two Royal Dukes (of Cumberland and Sussex) first, by themselves; and -as these two old men, her uncles, knelt before her, swearing allegiance -and kissing her hand, I saw her blush up to the eyes, as if she felt the -contrast between their civil and their natural relations, and this was -the only sign of emotion she evinced. Her manner to them was very -graceful and engaging: she kissed them both, and rose from her chair and -moved towards the Duke of Sussex, who was farthest from her and too -infirm to reach her. She seemed rather bewildered at the multitude of -men who were sworn, and who came one after the other to kiss her hand, -but she did not speak to anybody, nor did she make the slightest -difference in her manner, or show any in her countenance, to any -individual of any rank, station or party. I particularly watched her -when Melbourne and the Ministers and the Duke of Wellington and Peel -approached her. She went through the whole ceremony--occasionally -looking at Melbourne for instruction when she had any doubt what to do, -which hardly ever occurred--with perfect calmness and self-possession, -but at the same time with a graceful modesty and propriety particularly -interesting and ingratiating. When the business was done she retired as -she had entered. - -"Peel said how amazed he was at her manner and behaviour, at her -apparent deep sense of her situation, her modesty, and at the same time -her firmness. She appeared, in fact, to be awed, but not daunted, and -afterwards the Duke of Wellington told me the same thing, and added that -if she had been his own daughter he could not have desired to see her -perform her part better." - -This description of Charles Greville's, whose pen was given to anything -but flattery, is confirmed by the testimony of many others present. Earl -Grey wrote to Princess Lieven: "When called upon for the first time to -appear before the Privy Council, and to take upon herself the awful -duties with which at so early an age she has been so suddenly charged, -there was in her appearance and demeanour a composure, a propriety, an -_aplomb_, which were quite extraordinary. She never was in the least -degree confused, embarrassed or hurried; read the declaration -beautifully; went through the forms of business as if she had been -accustomed to them all her life." Lord Palmerston says in a letter to -Lord Granville: "The Queen went through her task with great dignity and -self-possession; one saw she felt much inward emotion, but it was fully -controlled. Her articulation was particularly good, her voice remarkably -pleasing." - -Next day, the 21st of June, at ten o'clock in the morning, Her Majesty -was formally proclaimed Queen of Great Britain and Ireland at St. -James's Palace, when a salute was fired in the Park, and she appeared at -the window of the Presence Chamber, returning afterwards to Kensington -Palace. On the 13th of July the Queen, accompanied by her mother, the -Duchess of Kent, took her final departure from the place of her birth -and the home of her childhood. - - -=Kensington Palace in recent Years.= - -Since the accession of the Queen, Kensington Palace has had a quiet and -uneventful history--though Her Majesty has frequently, in the course of -her reign, privately revisited her old home, where the Duchess of Kent -retained her rooms until her death in 1861; and where, soon after that -date, Princess Mary and the Duke of Teck also came to reside for a -period. Here their daughter, Princess May, now the Duchess of York, was -born in the State Room called "the Nursery," in 1867. - -In the meanwhile, the apartments in the south-west corner of the Palace, -occupied by the Duke of Sussex until his death in 1843, were afterwards -tenanted by his widow, the Duchess of Inverness, who died in 1873, when -they were granted by the Queen to Princess Louise and the Marquis of -Lorne, who still reside in them. - -During all these sixty years the Palace had been suffered gradually more -and more to fall into a deplorable state of disrepair. The walls were -bulging in many places, and merely remained standing by being shored up; -the rafters of the roof were beginning to rot away, tiles and slates -were broken and slipping off, so that it was becoming increasingly -difficult to keep the rain and wind at bay. The floors, also, were -everywhere deteriorating, the old panelled walls and painted ceilings of -the grand reception rooms slowly, but surely, crumbling to decay. - -"More than once," said a leading article in "The Times" of January 12th, -1898, "it has been seriously proposed to pull the whole building down, -and to deal otherwise with the land, and Her Majesty's subjects ought to -be grateful to her for having strenuously resisted such an act of -Vandalism, and for having declared that, while she lived, the palace in -which she was born should not be destroyed." - - -=Restoration of the State Rooms.= - -The Queen, it is believed, had long desired that her people's wish to be -admitted to inspect the Palace of her ancestors, and her own birthplace -and early home, should be gratified; and it seemed a fitting memorial of -the Diamond Jubilee that this should be done. An obdurate Treasury, -which, as we have hinted, had looked forward rather to demolition than -restoration, was at length induced to recommend the expenditure -necessary to prepare the State Rooms for the admission of the public, -and thus, on the 11th of January, 1898, it was possible to make the -following gratifying announcement in the press: - - "Her Majesty, in her desire to gratify the wishes of Her people, - has directed that the State Rooms at Kensington Palace, in the - central part of the building, which have been closed and unoccupied - since 1760, together with Sir Christopher Wren's Banqueting Room, - attached to the Palace, shall after careful restoration be opened - to the public, during her pleasure; and the Government will - forthwith submit to Parliament an estimate of the cost of - restoration." - -Accordingly the Board of Works proceeded to prepare estimates and on -March 4th following, the First Commissioner, Mr. Akers Douglas, M.P., -submitted a vote of 23,000 for the purpose. By a unanimous vote of the -House of Commons on April 1st, the amount required was at once agreed -to, and great gratification was on all sides expressed that so happy -solution had at length been arrived at. Forthwith, the restorations were -put in hand--the most pressing repairs having, indeed, been begun in -anticipation, previous to the passing of the vote--and for many months -they consisted entirely in solid structural works, which scarcely seemed -to affect the appearance of the building at all. It was found necessary -to rebuild and underpin walls, to reslate practically the whole of the -roof over the State Apartments and renew the timbers that carried it; -and also almost all the floors. After these heavy works, and those -consequent on the installation of the hot-water warming apparatus, were -completed, the more interesting, but much more difficult, business -involved in the restoration of the old decorative ironwork, woodwork, -and paintings of the State Rooms was taken in hand. - -The more substantial but less salient work having been carried out, the -decorative works were next proceeded with, under the constant -supervision of Sir John Taylor, K.C.B., Consulting Architect and -Surveyor to H.M.'s Board of Works, and the continual and immediate -control of Mr. Philip, temporary Clerk of the Works for Kensington -Palace. Moreover, the Hon. Reginald Brett, C.B., Secretary of the Board, -to whose initiative the whole scheme of the restoration, we may say, has -been mainly due, has given a constant close personal attention to -everything that has been done. Nor has any trouble, labour, or research -been spared to render everything as historically and archologically -correct as possible. - - -=Methods of Restoration.= - -The principles on which the restorations have been carried out will more -fully appear, in the description we give in our subsequent pages, in -regard to every detail of the work. Here we need only say that the most -studied care has been taken never to renew any decoration where it was -possible to preserve it--least of all ever to attempt to "improve" old -work into new. On the contrary, repairing, patching, mending, piecing, -cleaning, have been the main occupations of the decorators, to an extent -that would render some impatient, slapdash builders and surveyors -frantic. Yet it has been all this minute--though no doubt sometimes -costly--attention to details, this laborious piecing together of old -fragments, this reverential saving of original material and work, this -almost-sentimental imitation of the old style and taste where patching -in by modern hands was inevitable, which has produced a result and -effect likely, we think, to arouse the admiration of all who relish the -inimitable charm of antique time-mellowed work. - -Never before, we may safely say, has the restoration of any historic -public building been carried out with quite the same amount of loving -care as has been lavished on Kensington Palace. The spirit has been -rather that of a private owner reverentially restoring his ancestral -home, than that of an ordinary public official, with an energy callous -to all sentiment, sweeping away the old to replace it with a -spick-and-span new building. This method of treatment has nowhere been -applied more scrupulously, and we venture to think with greater success, -than in the treatment of the old oak panelling and the beautiful -carving, all of which had been covered over with numerous coats of -paint, so long ago--we have discovered from the old accounts in the -Record Office--as 1724. In the cleaning off of these dirty -incrustations, various processes have been resorted to, as they suited -the nature of the work, and so thoroughly has this been done that the -closest inspection would give us no inkling that any part, either of the -flat surface or of the most delicate carving, had ever been painted at -all. Equal pains were taken in finishing the surface with oil and wax -polish--no stain whatever being used on the panelling, doors or -cornices--so that the real true colour of the wood is seen, varying only -with its natural variation, and exhibiting all its richness of tone, and -its fullness of grain. It makes one almost glad it should have suffered -so many years of long neglect--that when at last it has been taken in -hand, it should have been done when the historical significance and the -technical and artistic value of such things are more truly appreciated -than formerly. There can be little doubt that if an early nineteenth -century upholsterer had got hold of this Palace, most of the beautiful -old work would have been cleared out to make way for vulgar plaster-work -of white and gold. - -Substantially the same principles have been followed in the cleaning and -restoration of the painted walls and ceilings, which work has been -executed with the utmost sympathy for the old work, and the most careful -efforts to preserve it. There has not been a touch of paint applied -except to make good portions absolutely destroyed, so that these -ceilings--whatever their merits or demerits--remain exactly as they -were when first completed, save for the more subdued and modulated tone -they have taken on from the softening hand of Time. - - -=Arrangement of the Pictures.= - -A word should now be said about the pictures, which have been brought -from various Royal residences to furnish these State Apartments, and to -illustrate the history of this Palace. The bulk of them have come from -Hampton Court, and a large number are pieces which were removed when the -State Rooms were dismantled by George IV. and William IV., from the very -walls where they now once again hang. Their return here from Hampton -Court, in the overcrowded galleries of which it has been impossible ever -properly to display them, has been a most auspicious thing for that -Palace, and has rendered feasible many long-desired rearrangements and -improvements. - -In selecting the pictures which seemed most suitable for hanging at -Kensington, the principle has been followed of restricting them almost -entirely to portraits and historical compositions belonging to the epoch -with which the Palace is connected--the reigns of William and Mary, -Queen Anne, and the Georges, and, finally, of course that of Queen -Victoria. - -In the carrying out of this plan an endeavour has been made to group the -pictures together in the various apartments as far as possible according -to the periods to which they belong--making separate collections, at the -same time, of the curious topographical subjects relating to "Old -London," in the Queen's Closet; of the interesting series of Georgian -sea-pieces, sea-fights, and dockyards, in the King's Gallery--where for -the first time they may now at last be really seen and examined--and the -ceremonial and other pictures, relating to the Queen's reign, in the -"Presence Chamber" and the actual rooms originally occupied by Her -Majesty in her youth. - -Having given these general indications as to the arrangements, it will -not be necessary to do more than refer to our subsequent pages for the -details of the scheme. Nor need we dwell on what will at once be only -too obvious to the connoisseur, that anyone who expects to behold in -this Palace a fine collection of choice works of art will certainly be -disappointed. Kneller and Zeeman, Paton and Pocock, Huggins and Serres, -West and Beechey, are not exactly names to conjure with--nor even, -indeed, Scott, Monamy, Drouais, or Hoppner, in their somewhat -second-rate productions here. Moreover, it is to be clearly understood, -that it is not as an Art Gallery that these rooms are opened to the -inspection of the public, but as a Royal Palace, with pictures hung in -it illustrative of its history and associations, and as furniture to its -walls. - -Nevertheless, it is not high art only, nor great imaginative works, -which can interest and instruct; and, historically, these bewigged, -ponderous, puffy personages of the unromantic eighteenth century, whose -portraits decorate these walls, are more in accord with their setting, -than would be the finer, simpler, and nobler creations of the great -epochs of art. - - -=Associations with Queen Victoria.= - -On the other hand, the Victorian pictures, and the apartments in which -they are arranged, stand apart on a different footing of their own. It -is to the three small, plain and simple rooms, with their contents, in -the south-eastern corner of the building, that all visitors to the -Palace will turn with the liveliest interest, and with the keenest, the -most thrilling emotion. Romance, and all the thoughts and feelings of -tender, natural affection, which appear to have been smothered in the -preceding century and a half of powder and gold-lace, seem to awaken and -revive once more with the child born in this Palace eighty years ago, in -the little girl playing about in these rooms and in these gardens, in -the youthful Queen, who stepped forth from her simple chamber here to -take possession of the greatest throne in the world! - -It is as the scene of such memorable events that Kensington Palace -possesses, and will hereafter ever possess, abiding interests and -engrossing charms altogether its own; and that it will ever inspire, -among those who come to visit it, thoughts and memories moving and deep. -And not to us only in these islands; not to us only of this age; but to -thousands and thousands likewise across the seas; to countless millions -yet unborn, will this ancient structure become, now and in the ages yet -to be, a revered place of loving pilgrimage as the birthplace and early -home of Queen Victoria. - -[Illustration: Decoration] - -[Illustration: Decoration] - - - - -DESCRIPTIVE AND HISTORICAL GUIDE. - -=Old Kensington Palace Gardens.= - - -Before making our way to the public entrance to the state rooms of the -Palace, let us take a glance at the history of the gardens lying round -it, and the exterior of the building; and first as to the gardens on the -east and south of the building. The whole ground here down to the -highway was laid out quite early in the reign of William and Mary; but -its present uninteresting appearance gives us but little idea of how it -looked at that time. We find from the old accounts that large sums, -amounting to several thousands of pounds, were expended on garden -works--for levelling, gravelling, and planting, all in the formal Dutch -style, with figured beds and clipped trees--and also much ornamental -work, such as urns, stone vases, statues, and seats. There are, for -instance, many items such as these: - - "To Edward Pearce for carving a chaire for the garden with a canopy - of drapery, 43 16_s._; more for carving 4 chairs and 2 seats with - Dolphins, scollop shells, etc., and other works done about the said - gardens, 43 2_s._ 4_d._--in both 86 18_s._ 4_d._" - -We have also a contemporary account of the gardens as formed by William -and Mary, in a "View of the Gardens near London," dated December, 1691: -"Kensington Gardens are not great, nor abounding with fine plants. The -orange, lemon, myrtle, and what other trees they had there in summer, -were all removed to Mr. London's and Mr. Wise's greenhouse at Brompton -Park, a little mile from them. But the walks and grass laid very fine; -and they were digging up a flat of four or five acres to enlarge the -garden." - -The northern boundary of King William's gardens is marked by two piers -of excellent red brickwork, evidently erected by Wren at that time. They -are surmounted by very fine vases of carved Portland stone; and are -perhaps two of the "Four great fflower-pots of Portland stone, richly -carved," for which, we find from the old bills, the statuary Gabriel -Cibber, the father of Colley Cibber, was paid 187 5_s._ Between these -piers, which stand 39 feet apart, there was probably, in old days, a -screen and gates of fine wrought iron. They stand at the south end of -what was called "Brazen Face Walk," and between them the visitor passes -to the public entrance to the Palace. The fencing in of this part of the -gardens is perhaps referred to in the following entry belonging to the -years 1692-95: - - "William Wheatley for makeing and setting up Pallizadoes and gates - in and about the said Palace--152 5_s._ 10_d._" - -To the north of these piers lies the north-west corner of the now -so-called "Kensington Gardens," where were formerly situated that part -of the old gardens appurtenant to the Palace, laid out by Queen Anne. -The present bare uninteresting appearance of the ground round about is -now entirely different from what it then was. - -[Illustration: Decoration] - - -=Queen Anne's Gardens.= - -Bowack, in his "Antiquities of Middlesex," writing in the reign of Queen -Anne, in 1705, tells us of her improvements: "There is a noble -collection of foreign plants and fine neat greens, which makes it -pleasant all the year, and the contrivance, variety, and disposition of -the whole is extremely pleasing, and so frugal have they been of the -room they had, that there was not an inch but what is well improved, the -whole with the house not being above twenty-six acres. Her Majesty has -been pleased lately to plant near thirty acres more towards the north, -separated from the rest by a stately green-house, not yet finished; upon -this spot is near one hundred men daily at work, and so great is the -progress they have made, that in less than nine months the whole is -levelled, laid out, and planted, and when finished will be very fine. -Her Majesty's gardener had the management of this." Of Queen Anne's -"stately green-house" we shall speak in a moment. - -Addison, also, in No. 477 of the "Spectator," expatiated on the beauties -of the gardens: "Wise and London are our heroick poets; and if, as a -critic, I may single out any passage of their works to commend, I shall -take notice of that part in the upper garden, at Kensington, which was -at first nothing but a gravel pit. It must have been a fine genius for -gardening, that could have thought of forming such an unsightly hollow -into so beautiful an area, and to have hit the eye with so uncommon and -agreeable a scene as that which it is now wrought into." - -The cost of these improvements amounted to several thousands of -pounds--in levelling, planting, turfing, gravelling. The appearance of -the east and south gardens in the reign of Queen Anne will, as we have -already said, best be conveyed by Kip's plate; the general plan of the -new enclosed garden to the north, north-east, and north-west, by -Rocque's engraving, published in 1736. From this we see that Queen -Caroline, who embarked in so many gardening enterprises, left Queen -Anne's new gardens substantially intact; though she made a clean sweep -of all the old fantastic figured flower beds and formal walks of William -III.'s _parterres_ to the south and east of the Palace; substituting -therefor bare and blank expanses of lawn and wide gravel paths. - -During the reigns of George III. and George IV. all the gardens were -allowed to become more and more uncared for; and at last those to the -north of the Palace were destroyed altogether. The "old Wilderness" and -"old Gravel Pit" of Queen Anne and the early Georges now exist no -longer--converted by an insane utilitarianism partly into park land, the -rest into meadow. - -The old gardens to the east, already flattened out and spoilt by Queen -Caroline, now exist but in part; the small portion, which has not been -covered with hideous forcing houses and frames, is, however, to a -certain extent nicely shrubbed, and closed in by trees and hedges. The -site of the old south gardens, curtailed now to a small enclosure, which -retains little of the old English picturesque air, might with advantage, -we think, be less stiff and bare. There is here little more than a clump -or two of trees and shrubs, a wide gravel path, and two large vacant -lawns, separated from the public walk by a wire fence, and between this -and High Street mere expanses of grass. Fortunately, the devastating -notions of the "landscape gardener" whose one idea was so to arrange the -ground surrounding a house as to look as if it stood plump in the middle -of a park--for all the world like a lunatic asylum--are not quite so -much in favour as they were. - -The blankness and barrenness of all the ground between the south front -and the street was even more painfully apparent in Leigh Hunt's time, -who in his "Old Court Suburb" drew attention to this salient defect -nearly fifty years ago. "The house," he remarked, "nominally possesses -'gardens' that are miles in circumference.... There is room enough for -very pleasant bowers in the spaces to the east and south, that are now -grassed and railed in from the public path; nor would the look of the -Palace be injured with the spectator, but rescued from its insipidity." -His suggestion has been acted on to a certain extent in recent times, -but too partially in our view. - - -=Queen Anne's Orangery.= - -Queen Anne is the sovereign to whom we owe the erection of this -exceedingly fine specimen of garden architecture--one of the most -beautiful examples of the art of the Renaissance in London, if not in -England. If we could say with truth that there ever was a "Queen Anne -style," this would, indeed, be a representative and unrivalled example -of it--as it certainly is of Sir Christopher Wren's, which, developing -in the reign of Charles II., was definitely formed and fixed in that of -William and Mary. - -To an artist like Wren to beautify the ordinary and useful was to give -expression to one of the highest functions of architecture; and -therefore in this mere store-house for the Queen's treasured plants and -flowers, probably also a place where Queen Anne liked to sit and have -tea, we have a building--unimportant though its object may be -considered--which attains the very acme of his art, exhibiting all his -well-balanced judgment of proportion, all the richness of his -imagination in design. - -The building of this greenhouse was begun in the summer of the year -1704. A plan, prepared by Sir Christopher at Queen Anne's express -orders, was submitted to and approved by her, and the original estimate, -which is still in the Record Office, dated June 10th, 1704--probably -drawn up by Richard Stacey, master bricklayer, and entitled: "For -building a Greenhouse at Kensington" at a cost of 2,599 5_s._ -1_d._--was accordingly laid before the officers of Her Majesty's Works, -Sir Christopher Wren, John Vanbrugh, Benjamin Jackson, and Matthew -Bankes, for a report thereon. Their opinion, after "considering the -measures and prices," was that "it may be finished soe as not to exceed -the sum therein expressed, viz., 2,599;" and the Lord Treasurer was -accordingly prayed "to pay 2,000 into the Office of Works that it may -be covered in before winter, according to Her Majesties expectation." - -The work was consequently put in hand forthwith, but there is some -reason to suspect that Wren's original intentions were departed from, -and that the estimate approved by the Board of Works was afterwards cut -down by the Treasury by a thousand pounds or so. This appears probable -from the fact that Richard Stacey, the bricklayer who contracted for the -work, and who, in a petition dated September 13th, was clamouring for -payment of 800, on account of money then already disbursed by him, -referred to that sum as part of a total of 1,560, "lately altered from -the first estimate." - -Whether this is so or not, the details of the original estimate are -interesting. The bricklayer's charges came to 697; mason's, to 102; -"Glass windows, doors, and the window shutters, 340; Glazier for Crowne -Glass, 74; Carpenter, 363," etc.; added to which was: "More to be laid -out the next year: The mason to pave it with stone fine-sanded, 246; -more for stone steps to go up into it, 72; more for wainscoting and -painting the Inside up to the top, 264." - -The last item is especially noteworthy, proving, as it does, that the -woodwork was originally painted. - -The beauty of Wren's masterpiece of garden architecture seems to have -been thoroughly appreciated in the time immediately succeeding its -erection; but with the steady decline in taste during the Georgian -epoch, it fell more and more into disregard, until, when the court -deserted Kensington in 1760, it was abandoned to complete neglect. -Britton and Brayley, writing in 1810 in their "Beauties of England," -refer to it regretfully: "The whole is now sinking into a state of -unheeded decay." Soon after this, however, it seems to have undergone -some sort of repair, so, at least, wrote Faulkner, ten years after, who -added: "It is now filled with a collection of His Majesty's exotic -plants." He called it a "superb building," and clearly regarded it with -a much more appreciative eye than did its official guardians, who -probably about this time perpetrated the barbarism of cutting windows in -the north wall, right through the fine panelling and cornice! - -Faulkner, nevertheless, was of course quite wrong in declaring, as he -did, that "it was originally built by Queen Anne for a Banqueting House, -and frequently used by Her Majesty as such." There is absolutely no -foundation whatever for either part of this statement, though it has -often been repeated and was improved upon by Leigh Hunt, who asserted -that "balls and suppers certainly took place in it." Funny "balls" they -must have been on the old brick floor! Hunt has nothing more to say of -it than rather scornfully to call it "a long kind of out-house, never -designed for anything else but what it is, a greenhouse." In so great -contempt, indeed, does it appear to have been held about this time, that -it is said the idea was once seriously entertained by some official -wiseacre of pulling it down and carting it away as rubbish! And this -while the State was annually devoting hundreds of thousands of pounds to -art education, art schools, art teachers, and art collections, leaving -one of our most precious monuments to perish from decay! "Out-house" and -"greenhouse" though it be, we would rather see it preserved than half -the buildings of recent times. - - -=Terrace of Queen Anne's Orangery.= - -Before examining the orangery in detail, let us stand a moment in front -of it, on the terrace, platform, or _estrade_--by whichever name we may -call it--of Portland stone, with steps going down from it in front and -at both ends. Here formerly stood, in the summer, some of Queen Anne's -choicest exotics; and here Her Majesty doubtless often sat to have tea, -gossiping with the Duchess of Marlborough or Abigail Hill. In front the -steps led down into a formal parterre. - -Now, however, the most prominent objects to the eye here, are the -glass-houses, and the tops of the forcing frames, in which the whole -stock for the bedding out in the park and gardens has been reared for -the last thirty or forty years. It is truly an amazing thing that a -piece of ground, situated as this is, close under the windows of the -Palace, and opposite this orangery, should have been appropriated to so -grossly disfiguring a use. This particular spot is the very last, one -would have supposed, which would have been pitched on for the purpose. -It will not be long, we trust, before the whole ground will be cleared, -and devoted once more to an old-fashioned sunk formal garden, with such -quaint devices as clipped shrubs, trimmed box, figured beds, sundials, -leaden vases--such as still survive in many an old country house. - -Nor do we see why such restorations should stop here, nor why much of -the ground around the Palace should not be laid out in the old English -style, with some, at any rate, of the many embellishments for which -Evelyn pleaded as suitable for a royal garden: "Knots, trayle work, -parterres, compartments, borders, banks, embossments, labyrinths, -ddals, cabinets, cradles, close walks, galleries, pavilions, porticoes, -lanthorns, and other _relievos_ of topiary and horticulan architecture, -fountaines, jettes, cascades, pisceries, rocks, grottoes, crypt, -mounts, precipices, and ventiducts; gazon theatres, artificial echoes, -automate and hydraulic music!" - -Barring the last half dozen items, something in the antique formal style -would, indeed, be a relief from the tedious monotony of modern -"landscape" gardening. - - -=Exterior of Queen Anne's Orangery.= - -As a specimen of an unaffectedly ornamented exterior of brick, this -elevation to the south, aiming rather at simplicity and plain dignity -than magnificence or grandeur, is to our view admirable. - -In the centre is a compartment, more decoratively treated than the rest, -with four rusticated piers or pillars of brick, supporting an -entablature of the Doric order, mainly in stone. The cornice, though -probably modelled on the original, must be modern, for it is in Roman -cement, a material which did not come into use in England until about a -hundred years ago; and it so happens that the date, 1805, has been found -on part of the woodwork adjoining. Above the cornice, over the central -window, or rather doorway, is a semi-circular window, apparently to give -light into the roof. On each side of the central compartment are four -high windows, with sashes filled with small panes; and at each end are -slightly projecting wings, or bays, with window-doors, extra high, and -reaching to the floor level, to admit tall-grown oranges and other -plants. These are flanked by plain rusticated piers of bright red -brick; beyond which are plain brick niches, with small brackets above -them. - -A very similar arrangement of windows and niches is repeated at the east -and west return ends of the building; where, however, the large window -is surmounted by a small semi-circular recess or panel, and the whole -overhung by the deep, wide eave of the gable of the roof. - -The total exterior length of the building is 171 feet, the width 32 -feet. - - -=Interior of Queen Anne's Orangery.= - -It is not, however, the exterior of this building, but the interior, -which will arouse in those who behold it the greatest admiration, for it -is here that we can appreciate Wren's imaginative and constructive -genius at its very best. The longer we know and contemplate it, the more -supremely beautiful does it strike us, both in the mass and in its -details. We will not describe it with any minuteness; but content -ourselves with recording that the central portion of each wall, is -treated more elaborately than the rest, being ornamented with Corinthian -columns, supporting a richly carved entablature. The rest of the walls, -both between the windows on the south side, and on the unbroken surface -of the opposite north side, are panelled in deal wood, with beautiful -carved cornices above. At each end, both east and west, there is an -arch, flanked with panelled niches, and surmounted by festoons of -Gibbons' carving. These, we may observe in passing, proved, after being -cleaned, to be so worm-eaten, as to necessitate their being -repainted--mere staining not being sufficient to prevent their falling -to pieces. They are now in fact, held together by the coatings of new -paint. - -The dimensions of this main portion of the interior are: 112 feet long -and 24 feet wide between the brick walls, three inches less each way -between the woodwork. The height to the ceiling is 24 feet 6 inches, and -to the top of the cornice 22 feet 9 inches. - - -=The Alcoves of Queen Anne's Orangery.= - -Fine, however, as is the main and central portion of this interior, the -alcoves, into which we pass through the arches at each end of it, -impress us still more with their admirable proportions, their supreme -grace of design, the exquisite beauty of their decorative detail. - -Their shape is circular, with fluted Corinthian columns, supporting -highly-carved architraves and cornices, and flanking the entrances, the -windows opposite these and on the south, and the panelled spaces on the -north wall. There are also intervening niches with semicircular heads, -springing from richly carved imposts. The ceilings, which are circular, -rising in coves from behind the cornices, are "saucer-domed." - -The dimensions of these alcoves are: east one, diameter, 24 feet, west -one, 24 feet 4-1/2 inches; height to the centre of the dome, 24 feet 2 -inches, to the top of the cornice 20 feet. - - -=Restoration of Queen Anne's Orangery.= - -The whole of this beautiful interior, however, now presents a very -different appearance from what it did when taken in hand about a year -ago. - -This is how it was described in an interesting article in "The Times" on -the 28th of January, 1898: "The exquisite interior has been the victim -not merely of neglect, but of chronic outrage. For, as the little garden -between this and the Palace has been found a convenient place on which -to put up the glasshouses, frames and potting-sheds necessary for the -park gardeners, what more natural, to the official eye, than that the -Orangery close by should be pressed into the same service? Accordingly, -at some time or other, which cannot have been very many years ago, more -than half the beautiful high panelling of this building was torn down -and has disappeared, the gardeners' stands have been let into the walls, -and there the daily work has proceeded with no thought that it was daily -desecration." - -The work of restoring all these beautiful carvings, which has been in -progress during the last fifteen months, has now put an entirely -different aspect on this interior, and not in vain has every piece of -old carving been treasured up, cleaned, repaired, and patched in, with -scrupulous care. - -When this work was completed, the question arose, whether the woodwork -was to be all painted over white, as it doubtless originally was, or -merely lightly stained. White painting would, perhaps, have been -artistically, as well as archologically, the preferable course. But it -was thought that white paint, in the smoky, foggy atmosphere of modern -Kensington, and with the clouds of dust particles from the tread of -numberless visitors, would soon take on the dirty tinge of London mud; -and thus have required such frequent renewal as eventually to choke up -again all the sharpness of the delicate chiselling of the foliated -capitals, architraves and cornices. - -The decision eventually come to, therefore, was to stain it, with a tone -of colour like oak, which gives full prominence and clearness to the -carved surfaces. This staining alone, apart from the previous cleaning, -has involved no less than eight distinct processes: (1) washing down; -(2) vinegaring over to take out lime stains; (3) the same repeated; (4) -sizing to keep the stain from penetrating the wood; (5) the same -repeated; (6) staining; (7) varnishing; (8) flat-varnishing. - -[Illustration: Decoration] - - -=Kensington Gardens.= - -The modern so-called "Kensington Gardens" are, as we have already -explained, identical with the original domain of old Nottingham House, -increased by the addition of some hundred acres or more taken from Hyde -Park. When William III. first acquired the Nottingham estate he -appointed his favourite, Bentinck, Earl of Portland, "Superintendent of -Their Majesties' Gardens and Plantations within the boundary lines of -Their Majesties' said house at Kensington"--an office distinct from that -of Ranger of Hyde Park--and some planting and other improvements seem to -have been carried out at that time in these "plantations." - -Queen Anne's inclosure of a hundred acres from Hyde Park to form a -paddock for deer we have already noted. - -Faulkner's exaggerated statement that nearly three hundred acres were -taken in and added to Kensington Gardens by Queen Caroline has been -confuted by Mr. Loftie; but he has gone to the other extreme in -declaring that no alteration whatever was, at any time, made in the -boundary between the park and the gardens. Nevertheless, it is still -doubtful whether Queen Caroline is to be held responsible for any -"rectification" of these frontiers. The reference already quoted, in the -Treasury Papers of the year 1729, for an allowance of 200 to the ranger -"in consideration of loss of herbage of that part of the said park, -which is laid into His Majesty's gardens at Kensington," may of course -refer to the portion previously taken in by Queen Anne. - - -=Queen Caroline's Improvements in Kensington Gardens.= - -To Queen Caroline, however, is certainly due the main credit of the -creation of Kensington Gardens, as we now know them; for it was her -reforming and transforming zeal which made the great "Basin" or "Round -Pond;" turned a string of small ponds, in the course of the "West -Bourne," into the Serpentine; laid out the "Broad Walk," and designed -the diverging and converging vistas and avenues of trees intersecting -the grounds in all directions. - -In all these extensive works of improvement Charles Bridgeman, the -King's gardener, was employed; and we find from the old Treasury Minute -Book that in 1729 no less a sum than 5,000 was due to him "for works in -the paddock and gardens at Kensington." - -About the same date, Queen Caroline, during one of George II.'s absences -in Hanover, issued an order that: - - "The King's ministers being very much incommoded by the dustiness - of the road leading through Hyde Park, now they are obliged to - attend Her Majesty at Kensington, it was her pleasure that the - whole of the said road be kept constantly watered, instead of the - ring in the Park; and that no coaches other than those of the - nobility and gentry be suffered to go into or pass through the - Park." - - -Kensington Gardens in the Nineteenth Century. - -At that period the gardens were opened to the public only on Saturdays, -when the company appeared in full dress. This was the time of the great -fashionable promenade. During the reign of George III. they were opened -every day in the week, summer and winter, under certain regulations, -"and the number of the gatekeepers," says Faulkner, writing in 1819, -"have lately been increased, who are uniformly clothed in green." He -adds: "The great South Walk, leading to the Palace, is crowded on Sunday -mornings in the spring and summer with a display of all the beauty and -fashion of the great metropolis, and affords a most gratifying -spectacle, not to be equalled in Europe." - -In the middle of this century the tide of fashion set back towards -Rotten Row and Hyde Park Corner; and Kensington Gardens have, for the -last sixty or eighty years, been very little frequented by the "world." -Their attractions, however, have not suffered on this account in the -view of the poet, the artist, and the lover of nature. "Here in -Kensington," wrote Haydon the painter, "are some of the most poetical -bits of trees and stump, and sunny brown and green glens and tawny -earth." - -But it is not within the scope of these pages, confined as they are to -topics directly connected with Kensington Palace as a new public resort, -to describe these two hundred and fifty acres of delightful verdant -lawns, sylvan glades, and grassy slopes. We must resist the temptation, -therefore, to wander away into the attractive prospect, which unfolds -itself beneath our gaze when looking out from the windows of the state -rooms, or into which we can saunter when we quit the Palace. Moreover, -their charms, as they were and are, have been drawn by too many master -hands--by Tickell, Leigh Hunt, Thackeray, Disraeli--to encourage any -attempt at their description here. In our own day they have still been -the favourite resort of many a jaded Londoner, in which to snatch a few -hours of quiet and repose, out of the whirl of the great city around. -Matthew Arnold's charming poem, "Lines written in Kensington Gardens," -will occur to many, especially that stanza: - - "In this lone open glade I lie, - Screen'd by deep boughs on either hand; - And at its end to stay the eye, - Those black-crown'd, red-boled pine trees stand." - -[Illustration: Decoration] - -[Illustration: SOUTH FRONT OF KENSINGTON PALACE IN 1819. - -(After Westall.)] - - -=South Front of the Palace.= - -We may look upon this faade as architecturally the most interesting -portion of the existent Palace of Kensington, for it shows us the -exterior almost exactly as finished by Wren for William and Mary, about -the year 1691. While unpretentious and plain, it is well and solidly -built, and altogether appropriate to the purpose which it was intended -to serve, namely, that of a comfortable, homely, suburban residence for -the King and Queen and the court. - -The long lower building of two main storeys, in deep purple-red brick, -to the left, forms the south range of the chief courtyard; and there is -every reason to believe that it is a part of the original Nottingham -House, altered and improved by Wren. The loftier building, to the right, -of three storeys, in bright red brick, is unquestionably entirely -Wren's, and in the old accounts is referred to as "the new Gallery -Building." All the windows on the top or second floor here, except the -two on the extreme right, are those of the "King's Gallery" (described -on page 117). The floor beneath consisted, and consists, of the -sovereign's private apartments. The four fine carved vases of Portland -stone, surmounting the four pilasters of the same, are probably those -mentioned in the old accounts as carved by Gabriel Cibber for __787 -5_s._ - - -Wren's Domestic Style. - -Those who are at all acquainted with Wren's style and inclinations will -not be surprised at the marked plainness of his work here--so little -accordant with ordinary pompous preconceived notions of what befits a -regal dwelling-house. In planning habitable buildings we find he always -mainly considered use and convenience--adapting his external -architectural effects to the exigencies of his interiors. Ever ready, -indeed, to devote the full range of his great constructive genius to -the commonest works, rendering whatever he designed a model for the use -to which it was to be put, he was, in these respects, essentially a -"builder" before all; not only a designer of elevations and a drawer of -plans, but a practical worker, thinking nothing useful beneath his -notice. There was, in fact, nothing of the lofty, hoity-toity architect -about him; on the contrary, absorbed with questions of adaptability and -convenience; searching into details of material and workmanship; we find -him in his seat at the head of the Board of Works rigorously testing, -sifting and discussing estimates, values, specifications and -"quantities." It is due to this side of his mind that so much of his -work has endured intact to this day; while we owe it to his positive -intuitive genius for rendering his creations well-proportioned and -dignified, as well as convenient and comfortable; to his wonderful skill -in arranging positions, sizes, and shapes to meet the exigencies of -light and air, that his houses still remain so habitable, and are -distinguished by so homelike an air. - - -=East Front of the Palace.= - -This aspect of Kensington Palace, which we almost hesitate to dignify -with the name of "Front" consists mainly of two distinct portions: -first, the "return" or end of Wren's "Gallery Building," on the left, -distinguished by its fine red brickwork and its deep cornice, similar to -the same on the south side; and on the right, the building tacked on to -it, built for George I. by Kent, as already mentioned on page 23, and -further referred to on pages 86, 93, and 99. We must frankly say--and -few are likely to differ from us--that Kent's building here is about as -ugly and inartistic as anything of the sort could be. It is not alone -the common, dirty, yellow, stock brick with which it is built, but the -whole shape and design, with its pretentious pediment, ponderous and -hideous, the prototype of acres upon acres of ghastly modern London -structures in the solid "workhouse" style. It is amazing that Kent, -with so excellent a model of plainness and simplicity in Wren's -buildings on each side, should have stuck in this ill-formed, abortive -block between them. Fortunately, his taste as a decorator was greatly -superior to his powers as an architect, so that the interior portions of -this building of his, which consists of additional state-rooms, are not -entirely deficient in merit, as we shall see. The three central windows -are those of the "King's Drawing Room," (see page 99). - -[Illustration: PLAN OF THE STATE ROOMS KENSINGTON PALACE.] - -To the north-west of the structure comprising Kent's state apartments -lies another of the older parts of the Palace, a low building of two -storeys, in deep russet brick, of uniform appearance, with fifteen -windows in a row on the first floor. This range, built, or, at any rate, -altered and improved by Wren, and forming the east side of Princess's -Court, comprises the state and habitable rooms of Queen Mary and Queen -Anne. At its extreme north end is the "Queen's Staircase," now the -public entrance to the state rooms. - - -=Public Entrance to the Palace.= - -Access to the state rooms open to the public being by way of the -"Queen's" or "Denmark Staircase," situated in the northernmost angle of -the building, visitors approach it from the north-west corner of -"Kensington Gardens," where, as we have already explained, were formerly -situated those parts of the old formal gardens attached to the Palace, -which were laid out by Queen Anne, called the "Old Gravel Pit," the -"Wilderness," etc. The path here, leading straight up to the present -public entrance, was then known as "Brazen-face Walk." Going along it -southwards, we pass between a pair of fine gate-posts of red brick, -surmounted by richly-carved vases of Portland stone, evidently designed -by Wren, already referred to in our account of "Old Kensington Palace -Gardens" on page 48; and then between a privet hedge and a wire fence up -to the public doorway into the "Queen's Staircase." - -This doorway, on the north wall, is very commonplace; with a porch in -the later Georgian style, consisting of a couple of pillars of Portland -stone, glazed between, and supporting a hood above. - -Round the corner, however, on the east wall, is a very different -doorway, both interesting and picturesque. It is the one which -originally gave access to the staircase, and was designed and built by -Sir Christopher Wren, probably in the year 1691. The space within the -hood or circular pediment above the door is filled with beautiful stone -carving, in the centre of which is a shield or panel bearing the -initials W. M. R. Above this is a brick niche with a bracket, on which -stands an old urn or flower-pot. Something very similar probably stood -here formerly, and was thus charged for in the old parchment accounts -for the years 1689-91: - - "Henry Long for a large vase of earth (terra-cotta) wrought with - handles and festoons painted with gilt 6 10_s._" - - -=Queen's Staircase.= - -This forms the entrance by which the public are admitted into the State -Rooms. Built by Sir Christopher Wren for Queen Mary on the "Queen's -Side" of the Palace, it was called the "Queen's Staircase," while being -situated in that part of the Palace which was at one time occupied by -Queen Anne and her husband, Prince George of Denmark, it has also been -occasionally known as the "Denmark Staircase," as this portion of the -building itself has been called the "Denmark Wing." - - * * * * * - -In the view of the ordinary Londoner, with eye too much dazzled and -demoralized by the tawdry vulgarities of the over-gilded, -over-looking-glassed, blazing, modern "Restaurant" style of decoration, -this beautiful staircase, in its just proportions and its subdued -simplicity, may appear plain, if not mean. - -Yet as an example of the genuine, unaffected old English treatment of -oak wainscoting, as a cover and ornament to large wall spaces, nothing -could be more pleasing and more appropriate. The deep rich, almost -ruddy, tone of colour of the wood, the admirable proportion and balance -of the stiles and rails to the sizes of the panels, their adjustment to -the rise of the stairs, and their fitment to the various spaces on the -walls, produce an effect of soundness and comfort, most admirable and -nowhere to be matched. - - -Old Oak Wainscoting of the Staircase. - -When the work of cleaning down this woodwork was taken in hand last -autumn, it was, as the phrase is, "as black as your hat;" and it was -then supposed to have been smeared over, at some time or other, with a -black stain. It proved, however, to be only ingrained with dirt and -dust, which had been coated over with red-lead and boiled oil, and which -quickly yielded to cleansing. - -Nevertheless, the oak is not English, but probably Norwegian, which -seems to be richer in the grain than our own native tree. It is clear -that the wood must have been carefully cut in such a way as to show as -much "figure" as possible--the cuttings being, with this distinct -object, as nearly as possible radiating from the centre of the trunk of -the tree--the "medullary rays" of the wood being, in fact, sliced -through, instead of intersected transversely. This has the effect of -displaying the largest amount of the grain. - - -Window Sashes of the Staircase. - -The visitor should notice the difference in the sashes of the two -windows on the left-hand side of the stairs as you go up, as compared -with the other two on the landing at the top. The first two windows have -had large panes of glass--2 feet 1 inch high by 1 foot 2-1/2 inches -wide--and thin bars, substituted for the original smaller panes--12-1/2 -inches high by 9-1/2 inches wide--and the thick moulded bars, which -still remain in the landing windows. This side by side comparison -enables us to estimate how deplorable and stupid was the want of taste, -which led to the destruction here, as elsewhere in this Palace, of the -picturesque, well-proportioned spacings of the window panes, to insert -instead ill-proportioned panes and thin bars. - -Not until the time of George II. did this foolish, inartistic fancy come -into vogue. Wren, of course, knew what he was about when he selected the -sizes of the spaces and bars. He determined them on definite principles -of scale and proportion, according to the sashes they were intended to -fill, and according, also, to the dimensions of the room, and the plan -and shape of the surrounding wainscot. He had, in fact, eight or ten -different types of sashes--the mouldings, as well as the widths and -sizes of the bars varying, and the shapes of the panes--square or -upright--varying also; not like your ingenious modern builder, who runs -out "mouldings" at so much a foot, mitres them up into equal spaces, -and, regardless of scale and proportion, sticks in the same sized -sashes, panes, and bars everywhere, in large lofty rooms or small low -ones--all alike. - -The dimensions of this staircase are 24 feet 3 inches long by 22 feet 10 -inches wide, and 25 feet high. - - -=Queen Mary's Gallery.= - -Queen Mary and Queen Anne are the sovereigns with whom this gallery is -mainly associated; and indeed, it is now--since the restorations of the -last twelve months, which have mainly consisted in repairing the -panelling, and removing the paint with which it was all smeared over in -the reign of George I.--to be seen for the first time for a hundred and -seventy-four years, exactly as it appeared in their time. It remains, -indeed, more intact than any other room in the Palace; and with its -beautiful deep-toned oak panelling, its richly-carved cornice, its -low-coved ceiling, and its closely-spaced, thick-barred window-sashes, -it has a most comfortable, old-fashioned air. - -There is no storey above this gallery, but only a span roof; and it was -originally--we do not know exactly when--a true "gallery" in the old -English meaning of the word, that is, a long chamber with windows on -both sides. The window spaces or recesses, on the right or west side, -still remain behind the panelling, and are exactly opposite the existent -windows on the left or east side. We may observe, also, that the room -seems at one time to have terminated just beyond the sixth window, -reckoning from the entrance, the line of the wall behind the wainscot on -the right, setting back at this point about a foot; while on the left -side, both inside and out, there is a straight joint in the brickwork, -and a break in the line of the wall. - - -Wainscoting and Carvings of Queen Mary's Gallery. - -The wainscoting, as we have already indicated, was fixed here in the -early years of the reign of Queen Mary. The panels, which are very thin -and of unusual breadth, nevertheless have remained but little twisted or -buckled to this day, owing to Wren's particular and invariable -insistence that only the best seasoned wood should be used in all the -work under his charge. In the course of the restorations, it has, -however, been necessary to take it all to pieces in order to repair the -injuries of nearly two centuries of misusage and neglect. Here, as in -the staircase, are to be noticed the extreme richness in grain of the -old oak, and its deep warm tone of colour. - -From the old enrolled parchment accounts of the years 1689-1691, we find -that Henry Hobb and Alexander Forst were the joiners who made the -wainscoting, as well as the "shashes," shutters, window-boards, -chimney-pieces, picture frames, shelves, etc.; while Nicolas Alcocke, -William Emet, and Grinling Gibbons carved "1,405 feet Ionick medallion -and hollow cornish; 942 feet of picture frame over the doors and -chimneys, and 89 feet of astragall moulding, about the glasses in the -chimneys." Another item of payment in the same accounts, also relating -to the work here, is the following: - - "To Gerard Johnson, Cabinet maker, for severall pannells of - wainscot, covered with looking-glass for chimney pieces in the - King's dining-roome, the gallerie, and over the doors, and for - putting them up--100." - -Among others here referred to were doubtless =the looking-glasses= over -the two chimney-pieces in this gallery. These are particularly fine and -worthy of notice. When the restorations were begun last summer, they -were literally dropping to pieces, falling in shreds, we might say. The -greatest care has been taken to piece the bits together; and to replace -the missing portions. Only such patched and added parts have been -regilt; the old gilding still remaining almost as bright and untarnished -as when these glasses were first put up, two hundred years ago, by -Gerard Johnson, cabinet maker, and Robert Streeter, serjeant painter. -Honour to their names, as two good old English handicraftsmen, whose -honest work thus survives to this day! - -Over each of the four doors are long richly-carved brackets of oak, -similar to those on which rest the looking-glasses over the -chimney-pieces. We know from Pyne's drawing in 1818, that these brackets -over the doors then still supported looking-glasses, with richly carved -frames. Unfortunately, all trace of them has now disappeared. - -=The chimney-piece= of the first fire-place on the right as you enter -the gallery is the original one of Wren's design, of marble streaked and -veined blue-grey. The second, of white marble streaked with red, -technically known as "Breche-violett-antico," is new--copied from the -first. This fire-place was, until last summer, filled with a common -cooking range, inserted many years ago for the use of the soldiers, when -this gallery was used as a barrack! - -=The window-sashes= in this gallery are of the charming old-fashioned -type, divided by thick, deeply moulded bars, into small rectangular -spaces. Through these windows we have a pleasant view eastward of the -private gardens of the Palace, and of Kensington Gardens beyond. - -The dimensions of this gallery are: 88 feet 4 inches long by 22 feet -broad by 13 feet 3-1/2 inches high to the top of the cornice, and 17 -feet 13 inches high to the highest part of the ceiling. - - -=Pictures in Queen Mary's Gallery. Portraits of the Time of William and -Mary to George II.= - -1 Queen Mary . . . . . KNELLER. - - Full-length, standing, in royal robes; her left hand lifting her - ermine cloak; her right holding the orb on the table by her side, - on which also is the crown on a cushion. In the right distance is - seen the parapet of the roof of Wren's building at Hampton Court. - - This and its companion piece of King William, at the other end of - this gallery, were painted by Kneller about 1692, in which year he - was knighted. - -2 George II. (_718_) . . . . . _By Shackleton, after_ KNELLER. - - Seated, in robes of the Garter, facing to the left. - -3 _Unassigned._ - -4 Frederick, Prince of Wales (_619_) . . . . . VANLOO. - - Full-length, face turned to the right. His right hand is extended, - his left holds back his crimson and ermine cloak. His dress is blue - with rich gold lace. He has a short wig. On canvas, 7 ft. 9 in. - high, by 4 ft. 9 in. wide. - - Vanloo came to England in 1737, and this portrait was probably - painted about two years after. He became a very popular artist, and - made a great deal of money, for, as his French biographer - observes:--"L'Angleterre est le pays o il se fait le plus de - portraits et o ils sont mieux pays." Engraved by Baron. - - This picture, therefore, dates from the time when the Prince was - about thirty-one years of age, and had been expelled from St. - James's Palace, and was in declared enmity with his father. His - insignificant character, which excited contempt rather than - dislike, is very happily satirized in the famous epitaph: - - "Here lies Fred, - Who was alive and is dead; - Had it been his father, - I had much rather; - Had it been his brother, - Still better than another; - Had it been his sister, - No one would have missed her; - Had it been the whole generation, - Still better for the nation; - But since 'tis only Fred, - Who was alive and is dead, - There's no more to be said." - -5 _Unassigned._ - -6 Caroline, Queen of George II. (_784_) . . . . . ZEEMAN? - - Full-length, standing, figure to the left, face a little to the - right. Her left hand holds up her cloak, her right is on a table, - on which is a crown and sceptre. She wears a blue velvet dress - trimmed with broad gold braid, and a white satin skirt, richly - worked with gold and jewels. Her hair is short and powdered. On - canvas, 7 ft. 9 in. high, by 4 ft. 9 in. wide. - - This was formerly attributed to Kneller, but it cannot be by him, - as she is represented as queen, while Kneller died four years - before her accession. Caroline was forty-five when her husband - became king. - - "Her leves," says Coxes, "were a strange picture of the motley - character and manners of a queen and a learned woman. She received - company while she was at her toilette; prayers and sometimes a - sermon were read; learned men and divines were intermixed with - courtiers and ladies of the household; the conversation turned on - metaphysical subjects, blended with repartees, sallies of mirth, - and the tittle-tattle of a drawing-room." - -7 _Unassigned._ - -8 Portrait of George I. (_782_) . . . . . KNELLER. - - Seated, facing in front. He is in the robes of the Order of the - Garter. His left hand on the arm of the chair, his right on a - table, whereon are a crown and a plumed helmet. On canvas, 7 ft. 9 - in. high, by 4 ft. 9 in. wide. - - George I. was the tenth sovereign who sat to Kneller, and for this - portrait, which was painted soon after his accession, the king made - him baronet. Addison refers to it in his "Lines to Sir Godfrey - Kneller on his picture of the King," beginning: - - "Kneller, with silence and surprise - We see Britannia's monarch rise, - A godlike form, by thee displayed - In all the force of light and shade; - And, awed by thy delusive hand, - As in the Presence Chamber stand." - - - -9 William III. when Prince of Orange (_864_) . . . . . KNELLER. - - Half-length, facing to the right, with his right hand extended. - -10 George II. in his Old Age (_598_) . . . . . _By Shackleton, after_ -PINE. - - Full-length; in a rich dress, with the Order of the Garter, his - left hand on his sword, his right in his bosom. His eyes are cast - upwards. - -11 Peter the Great, Czar of Russia (_60_) . . . . . KNELLER. - - Full-length, in armour, with a truncheon in his left hand, and his - right hand on his hip. From his shoulders hangs a mantle lined with - ermine and embroidered with the double eagle. To the left is a - table, on which is the crown imperial. The background, which shows - some ships, is said to be signed by _W. Vandevelde_, but no trace - of this exists. On canvas, 7 ft. 9 in. high, by 4 ft. 9 in. wide. - There is also an inscription, of which I can only make out the - words: "_Petrus Alexander Magnus Domimus Csar & Magnus Dux - Moscoui ... Eques. Pinxit 1698_." Engraved by Smith. - - This picture was painted for William III. during Peter the Great's - visit to England, in the early part of 1698, and probably in the - house in Norfolk Street, where he took up his residence and lived - in close seclusion. It is considered one of the best portraits of - the Czar extant, and well portrays "his stately form, his - intellectual forehead, his piercing black eyes, and his Tartar nose - and mouth." His age was then twenty-six years. He naturally excited - the greatest curiosity, and became the principal topic of - conversation. Every one was full of stories of him; "of the immense - quantities of meat which he devoured, the pints of brandy which he - drank, the fool who jabbered at his feet, the monkey which grinned - at the back of his chair," and last, but not least, of his filthy - habits. When he went to stay at Evelyn's house, Sayes Court, at - Deptford, in order to more conveniently indulge in his favourite - pursuit of shipbuilding, Evelyn's servant writes to him:--"There is - a house full of people, and right nasty. The Czar lies next your - Library, and dines in the parlour next your study. He dines at ten - o'clock and six at night, is very seldom home a whole day, very - often in the King's Yard or by water, dressed in several dresses." - Evelyn himself afterwards remarked "how miserably the Czar had left - his house, after three months making it his Court." - - Peter visited King William in Kensington Palace, as we have noted - in our "Historical Sketch," and as we shall notice again in our - account of the King's Gallery. - -12 King William III . . . . . KNELLER. - - Full-length, in royal garter robes; his left hand by his sword, his - right on his hip. The crown and orb are on a table on his left; - pillars and a curtain behind. - - This is a companion piece to the portrait of Queen Mary at the - other end of this gallery. - -13 Portrait of Mrs. Elliott . . . . . JOHN RILEY. - - Half-length, seated; turned to the left, but facing in front. She - is dressed in black; her right hand rests on the arm of the chair; - she holds a handkerchief on her lap in her left. - - This was in Queen Anne's catalogue, No. 331:--"Mrs. Elliott at - half-length." It is a good specimen of a portrait-painter who - flourished in the time of Charles II. and James II., and whose - talents have hardly had justice done them. - - Mrs. Elliott was the wife of Mr. Elliott, Gentleman of the - Bedchamber to Charles II., and sister to Secretary Craggs. - -14 Two Daughters of George II . . . . . MAINGAUD. - - The eldest is to the left, standing, her right arm clasping a stem - of tree, round which twines a vine; her left hand giving a rose to - her younger sister; she is dressed in white. Her sister is kneeling - to the right, facing in front, and takes the rose with her left - hand; her right rests on a lictor's fasces. On canvas, 4 ft. 6 in. - high, by 3 ft. 7 in. wide. - -[Illustration: Decoration] - - -=Queen's Closet.= - -This small room, which is but 23 feet 3 inches long by 12 feet wide, and -12 feet 9 inches high, is called in Pyne's drawing, published in 1817, -"The Queen's Closet,"--and this most probably is its correct -designation, though in Faulkner's "History of Kensington," published but -three years after, it is described as the "Queen's Dressing Room." Its -walls were at that time still entirely panelled with the oak wainscot -with which Wren had covered them. Afterwards all this was removed and -the walls plastered and distempered, the room being used as a kitchen. -The existent oak chair-rail and cornice, inserted during the last few -months, are copied from old models in this palace. - - * * * * * - -Across the angle, where was originally the fire-place, is temporarily -fixed a very beautiful =stone chimney-piece=, formerly in Westminster -Palace, in one of the rooms on the north side of Westminster Hall. When -the old law-courts on that side were removed, this chimney-piece was -preserved by the Office of Works. It is one of the finest specimens -extant of a late Tudor domestic chimney-piece work, bearing the initial -and crown of Queen Elizabeth. - - -Pictures of Old London. - -In this chamber are collected various pictures of Old London, moved from -Hampton Court and other royal palaces. Few of them, excepting one or two -attributed to Scott, have much artistic merit, but they are interesting -as representations of the topography of London, and especially of the -banks of the Thames. - -20 View of the Horse Guards from St. James's Park -(_1022_) . . . . . JAMES. - - The buildings of the Horse Guards are seen on the right, and in the - centre distance, Westminster. - -21 View on the Thames--Old London Bridge and Fishmongers' Hall -(_1044_) . . . . . JAMES. - - The view is taken eastward; and right across the picture is the old - bridge, with the houses built on it. On the left are Fishmongers' - Hall and the column on Fish Street Hill. - - These are two of a series of views of Old London from the Thames, - by William James, an imitator and probably a pupil of Canaletti's, - though he resembles him in little except his mechanical precision. - His works, however, are interesting to the antiquarian, as they are - almost photographic in their accuracy. - -22 View on the Thames--Old Somerset House and Temple Gardens -(_1023_) . . . . . JAMES. - - The north bank of the Thames is seen, looking eastward, from about - the position of the middle of the present Waterloo bridge. On the - extreme left is old Somerset House, with its landing-stairs, next - comes the Temple, and in the distance St. Paul's. Behind are seen - the spires of St. Mary-le-Strand, St. Clement Danes, St. Bride's, - Fleet Street, etc. On canvas, 2 ft. high, by 3 ft. 8 in. wide. - -23 View on the Thames--The Savoy, the Temple, &c. -(_1031_) . . . . . JAMES. - - On the left is the old Savoy Palace with its curious chequered - brickwork; more in the middle old Somerset House, the Temple, etc. - On the right is seen a portion of the south bank of the Thames. - -24 View on the Thames--Old Fleet Ditch (_1043_) . . . . . JAMES. - - The mouth of the Fleet Ditch is in the centre of the picture, - crossed by a stone foot-bridge of a single arch. On both sides of - it are large buildings. - - -25 View on the Thames--The Adelphi, Whitehall, and Westminster -(_1032_) . . . . . JAMES. - - The view is of the north bank looking westward, and shows, on the - right, Inigo Jones' water-gate; next the octagonal tower of the - waterworks, then Whitehall, and beyond, Westminster Abbey and the - old bridge. - -26 View on the Thames--Greenwich Hospital (_1079_) . . . . . JAMES. - - The view is taken eastward, and shows Greenwich Hospital on the - left, and the church to the right. - -27 View on the Thames--Old Savoy Palace (_1045_) . . . . . SCOTT? - - The view is the same as No. 23. In an old inventory there is an - entry relating to it:--"Rec^{d}. 23^{rd} March 1819. View of the - Savoy, with old Somerset House, on the banks of the Thames, painted - by Scott, the English Canaletti. Bought of Colnaghi, 265." Samuel - Scott, the marine painter, is the artist referred to. He was a - companion of Hogarth's, and a jovial one too--but he was also much - more, being an admirable painter of marine and topographical - subjects. There are three characteristic views of London by him in - the National Gallery, where is also his own portrait by Hudson. - -28 The Thames from the Hill above Greenwich (_1016_) . . . . . DANCKERS. - - To the left is the Observatory rising high up. Below is Greenwich - and the Hospital, and the river winding round the "Isle of Dogs," - and London seen in the distance. Though hitherto unnamed, this is - doubtless:--"The Landscape of Greenwich, the prospect to London; by - Danckers," in James II.'s catalogue, No. 195. (_Royal Catalogue._) - -[Illustration: Decoration] - - -=Queen Anne's Private Dining Room.= - -This picturesque little room remains almost exactly in the same state as -it was when finished about 1690 for Queen Mary, who, perhaps, as well as -Queen Anne, used it as a private dining room. It is, indeed, a very -characteristic example of one of Wren's comfortable and eminently -habitable rooms. The protruding doorway in the right-hand corner, the -picturesque recess on the left-hand side of the fireplace, and the -porch-like treatment of the similar recess on the other side--where is -the doorway into the Queen's Closet--all show how the accidents of -construction and convenience may be so judiciously laid hold of, as to -render what would otherwise have been a mere uninteresting commonplace -room, a charmingly homelike and picturesque one. Such an example as this -of Wren's artistic adaptability should be a most valuable -"object-lesson" to modern builders, who, when not planning exactly -rectangular rooms, go to the other extreme of straining after a designed -and artificial "quaintness." - - The coved ceiling, rising from behind the oak cornice, adds greatly - to the apparent height of the room. - - The dimensions are: 17 feet 9 inches long by 14 feet wide. - -It was in this and the similar adjoining rooms that took place those -many curious intimate conversations between Queen Anne and the Duchess -of Marlborough, both when "Mrs. Morley" and her "dear Mrs. Freeman," -were all in all to each other, and also when "Atossa" vainly endeavoured -by fury, invective, and torrents of reproaches and tears, to regain her -fast-waning influence over the dull and feeble, but stolid and -obstinate, mind of the Queen. It was at Kensington Palace too, and -perhaps in this very room, that took place their famous interview, one -April afternoon in the year 1710, when the only reply which the great -Duchess Sarah could get to her inquiring entreaties was the phrase "You -desired no answer and you shall have none,"--reiterated with -exasperating and callous monotony by her whilom friend and mistress. - - -Pictures in Queen Anne's Private Dining Room. - -40 Installation of Knights of the Garter at Kensington Palace, on August -4th, 1713, by Queen Anne . . . . . PETER ANGELIS. - - There has been some question as to the exact ceremony, which is - depicted here, but there can be but little doubt that it represents - the Chapter of the Order of the Garter, held by Queen Anne at - Kensington Palace on August 4th, 1713, when Henry Grey, Duke of - Kent, Robert Harley, first Earl of Oxford, Charles Mordaunt, third - Earl of Peterborough, and John, Earl Poulett, were installed as - Knights of the Garter. The chapter was the last held by Queen Anne, - and was held at Kensington, and not at Windsor, owing to her - physical infirmities. Two of these noblemen kneel on the lowest - step of the throne, and have already been invested with the mantle - and collar of the Order and the Garter itself. The Queen places her - hand upon the joined hand of the two Knights of the Garter. It is - uncertain which of the noblemen are represented here, but the - Knight kneeling on the right of the picture would appear to - represent Harley. One of these noblemen is attended by a page boy - in grey silk, and the other has two black boys supporting his long - blue mantle. Among the Knights of the Garter in attendance, and - they all wear their full robes and collars, one figure is prominent - holding a long slender wand. This is probably Charles Talbot, Duke - of Shrewsbury, who was Lord Chamberlain of the Household, Lord - Lieutenant of Ireland, and for a brief period Lord High Treasurer. - Two yeoman of the Guard, in the well-known costume, but without - ruffs or rosettes to their shoes, holding halberds, stand - prominently forth on the extreme left. Through a wide door, in the - distant apartments, may be seen a crowd of courtiers waiting for - admission, and through the large square panes of the window in a - garden are seen clustered various persons in dark and formal - attire, peering anxiously through the glass as if to obtain a - sight of the ceremonial. - - On canvas, 2 ft. 5-1/4 in. high by 1 ft. 11-3/4 in. wide. Lent by - the Trustees of the National Portrait Gallery. - -41 William, Duke of Gloucester, son of Queen Anne -(_885_) . . . . . KNELLER. - - Bust; in an oval turned to the left, face seen in full. He is in - armour, and has a blue ermine-lined cape. On canvas, 2-1/2 ft. - high, by 2 ft. wide. - - The young duke, though of feeble constitution, was not deficient in - martial spirit. When but a boy of six years old, he came to meet - his uncle William of Orange, who had just returned from a campaign, - with a little musket on his shoulder, and presented arms, saying, - "I am learning my drill, that I may help you beat the French." The - king was so pleased that he made him a knight of the Garter a few - days after. Many men have received that honour for less. He died in - July 1700. - -42 Prince George of Denmark, Husband of Queen Anne (_884_) . . . . . DAHL. - - In an oval, to the shoulders; in armour.--His death in this Palace - has been mentioned on page 22. - -43 John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough . . . . . JAN WYCK. - - Three-quarters length, in armour; face turned three-quarters to the - left. His left hand is on his hip, his right on a table by his - side, on which is a plumed helmet. A battle scene is shown in the - lower right background. On canvas, 3 ft. high, by 2 ft. 4 in. wide. - Lent by the Trustees of the National Portrait Gallery. - - This portrait would seem to represent him as a comparatively young - man--about twenty-three--after he had distinguished himself at - Maestricht, when he was nicknamed by Turenne "the handsome - Englishman." It was the period of his famous _liaison_ with the - Duchess of Cleveland, who had fallen a willing victim to his beauty - and his charm of manner. Lord Wolseley, in his "Life of - Marlborough," describes his appearance at this period as: - "Strikingly handsome, with a profusion of fair hair, - strongly-marked, well-shaped eyebrows, long eyelashes, blue eyes, - and refined, clearly-cut features. A wart on his right upper-lip - though large, did not detract from his good looks. He was tall, and - his figure was remarkably graceful, although a contemporary says: - 'Il avait l'air trop indolent, et la taille trop effil.'" - - -=Queen Mary's Privy Chamber.= - -Except for the oak panelling, which covered the walls of this room as -late as the beginning of this century, but which was removed now many -years ago, we see it exactly as it was finished for Queen Mary. Her -initial, with that of her husband, King William, appears in the fine -carved oak cornice. The ceiling is coved. - -At one time this room was called "The Admiral's Gallery," on account of -the series of copies of portraits of British Admirals by Kneller and -Dahl, which formerly hung here--until their removal in 1835 to Hampton -Court, whence they have now been brought back to decorate again the -walls of these state rooms at Kensington. They are now hung, as we shall -see, in "The King's Gallery." - -The dimensions of this room are: 25 feet long by 17 feet 10 inches wide, -by 12 feet 7 inches high to the top of the cornice, 15 feet 8 inches to -the highest part of the ceiling. - - -Pictures in Queen Mary's Privy Chamber. - -50 Queen Mary, when Princess of Orange (_23_) . . . . . W. WISSING. - - Seated, nearly full length. She is dressed in blue in the costume - of a lady of the time, and with a crimson mantle edged with ermine. - Her left hand rests on a table, over which her mantle falls. - Engraved by John Verkolje. - - This picture is signed on the left-hand side, and is the original - of many replicas or copies at St. James's Palace, at - Burley-on-the-Hill, Woburn, The Grove, etc. It was painted for - James II., who sent Wissing over to the Hague for the purpose. His - popularity as a portrait-painter was great, and was partly due no - doubt to his making such flattering likenesses. "When any lady - came to sit to him whose complexion was any ways pale, he would - commonly take her by the hand and dance her about the room till she - became warmer." - -51 William III. when Prince of Orange . . . . . W. WISSING. - - Three-quarters length, standing; facing to the right, in a rich - dress. This is the companion piece to the foregoing. - -52 Portrait of James Stuart the Pretender (_664_) . . . . . B. LUTI. - - Half-length; facing in front, inclined to the right; his right hand - only is seen. He is in the robes of the Order of the Garter, of - which the jewel hangs on his breast, and has a long full-bottomed - wig, a lace cravat and cuffs. On his left is a table on which is - the royal crown of England. The background is gray, with a red - curtain. On canvas, 3 ft. 3 in. high, by 2 ft. 6 in. wide. - - The canvas is new. Behind was formerly this inscription:--"_James - son of James II.; by the Cavaliere Benedetto Luti, from the - Cardinal of York's collection at Frascati._" (Note in the _Royal - Inventory_.) This picture and No. 839 were bequeathed to George - III. by Cardinal York, the old Pretender's son, and the last of the - Stuarts, who died in 1807. - - It was no doubt painted at Rome, some time between the year 1718, - when Prince James accepted the asylum in the Eternal City offered - him by the Pope, and the year 1724, when Luti died there. In 1720 - he was married to the Princess Sobieski, and at the end of the same - year the young Pretender was born. - - The Pretender's countenance has that heavy, sodden appearance, and - that weak dejected look, which were due partly to his inert - character, partly to his misfortunes, and not less to the debauched - and indolent life he led. His person, indeed, was never impressive; - and even an adherent, writing of the events at Perth in 1715, - admits:--"I must not conceal, that when we saw the man, whom they - called our King, we found ourselves not at all animated by his - presence, and if he was disappointed in us, we were tenfold more so - in him. We saw nothing in him that looked like spirit. He never - appeared with cheerfulness and vigour to animate us. Our men began - to despise him; some asked him if he could speak." - - Gray the poet gives a similar account of him some years after:--"He - is a thin, ill-made man, extremely tall and awkward, of a most - unpromising countenance, a good deal resembling King James II., and - has extremely the air and look of an idiot, particularly when he - laughs or prays; the first he does not do often, the latter - continually." Horace Walpole observed that "enthusiasm and - disappointment have stamped a solemnity on his person, which rather - creates pity than respect." - -53 Frederick, Prince of Wales, at a Party (_606_) . . . . . M. LAROON? - - The Prince is at the head of the table, round which eight ladies - and gentlemen are seated. He is pouring wine into a glass. Some - thirteen persons, attendants, and a clergyman, are also in the - room. Most of them are probably portraits. Altogether twenty-three - small figures. On canvas, 3 ft. high, by 2 ft. 10 in. wide. - - This picture, though long labelled "Vanderbank," is probably by - Marcellus Laroon, the younger, to whom it is attributed in an old - catalogue. The likelihood that he is the painter is greatly - strengthened by the close resemblance in style between it and the - similar piece that follows--the personages evidently being the - same. - - It is not certain what is the subject represented; though it has - borne the above title for many years. In one of the Lord - Chamberlain's old inventories it is stated to represent "a fte in - honour of the marriage of the Duke of Wharton." - -54 A Royal Assembly in Kew Palace . . . . . MARCELLUS LAROON. - - This represents some Royal assembly, apparently Augusta of - Saxe-Gotha, the wife of Frederick, Prince of Wales, and her - friends, in Kew Palace. The Princess in blue is pouring out the - tea; a lady in white is singing; Handel is at the harpsichord, and - "Orator" Henley close by. The equestrian portrait on the wall - appears to be George II. - - Signed _Mar. Laroon_, and dated _1740_. Lent by Mr. Humphry Ward. - -55 Matthew Prior . . . . . _By Thomas Hudson, after_ JONATHAN -RICHARDSON. - - Half-length, seated, almost in profile to the right. On canvas, 3 - ft. 4 in. high, by 2 ft. 9 in. wide. Lent by the Trustees of the - National Portrait Gallery. - - Prior--poet, statesman, and diplomatist--published with Charles - Montagu, afterwards Earl of Halifax, in 1689, "The City Mouse and - the Country Mouse," intended to ridicule Dryden's "Hind and - Panther." He was patronized by Dorset, who introduced him to the - Court; and he was often employed in diplomatic offices. - -56 Flower-Piece--_over the mantelpiece_ (_826_) . . . . . BAPTISTE. - - A green glass vase with chrysanthemums, poppies, honeysuckles, etc. - Baptiste was a _protg_ of Queen Mary, and painted a great number - of flower-pieces to decorate Kensington and Hampton Court. - -57 Portrait of Robert Boyle the Philosopher (_56_) . . . . . KERSEBOOM. - - Nearly full-length, seated in a big armchair; turned to the right, - but facing in front. He leans his right arm on the chair; his left - is turning over the leaves of a book on a table in front of him. He - wears a large full-bottomed wig. This picture has been engraved by - Baron several times. - - Boyle, the famous chemist and experimental philosopher, was the - seventh son of the first Lord Cork, and from him received a fortune - of __3,000 a year, which he devoted in a great measure to - scientific research and the promotion of the Christian religion. He - was never married, being of opinion that "a man must have very low - and narrow thoughts of happiness or misery who can expect either - from a woman's conduct." For his life, see his _Philaretus_. - - Frederic Kerseboom was a native of Germany, who worked at Paris and - Rome under Le Brun and Poussin. He was in England during William - III.'s reign, and painted a few indifferent portraits. - -58 Portrait of John Locke (_947_) . . . . . KNELLER. - - Half-length, standing; turned to the right, but facing in front. He - rests his left hand on a table, on which are an inkstand and a pen; - his right hand in front of him. He wears a plain black coat, with - part of his shirt showing; and he is without his wig, and shows his - long white hair. - - This is one of Kneller's best portraits. It was evidently painted - in the philosopher's later years, for he looks here on the point of - dying of the asthma to which he succumbed in 1704. "Pray," said - Locke in a letter to Collins, "get Sir Godfrey to write on the back - of my picture 'John Locke;' it is necessary to be done, or else the - pictures of private persons are lost in two or three generations." - -59 Sir Isaac Newton (_957_) . . . . . KNELLER. - - Three-quarters length; turned to the left, facing in front. His - right arm is by his side, his left leans on a table, on which are a - globe and a book. He wears a dark, loose robe, and a large wig. On - the left is inscribed: "_I Newton Esq^{re} tatis_ 47. 1689." - - There is a similar portrait to this at Petworth, which is engraved - in Lodge. Newton was at this time member of the Convention - Parliament, for the University of Cambridge. - -59A King William III. (_779_) . . . . . KNELLER. - - Three-quarters length in armour, directed to the right; face turned - round to the left. He wears a blue and gold sash. In the left - background is a black servant, perhaps the one whose marble bust is - now in this palace. - - -=Queen Caroline's Drawing Room.= - -In entering this room we pass from the portion of the palace built in -1690 by Sir Christopher Wren for William and Mary, to that constructed -by William Kent about 1723 for George I. The visitor has thus a good -opportunity of comparing the styles and tastes of the two architects and -of gauging their relative powers. Wren had been driven from his office, -in 1718, by a shameful backstair intrigue; and two years afterwards, -Kent, doubtless by the influence of his patron, the Earl of Burlington, -was commissioned to build a set of new state rooms. - -How very mediocre were his talents, the exterior of his addition to -Wren's work will, as we have already said, ever remain a palpable proof; -and though for internal construction he shows less incapacity, still -this room exhibits all his false ideas of pseudo-classicism--developed, -as we shall see, to a most extravagant extent in the adjoining "Cube or -Cupola Room." - -Examining the decoration in detail, we perceive everywhere evidences of -his awkward, graceless style. The doorways, for instance, are -unnecessarily lofty and gaunt, and with their heavy cumbrous -architraves, flat moulded, with little light and shade, greatly impair -the proportions of the room. In the tall semi-circular headed central -window also, surmounted by a purposeless oak bracket--even in such -details as the mouldings of the panelling and of the framing of the -doors, and the flatness of the raised panels and their relative sizes to -the width of the rails and "stiles,"--we detect his marked inferiority -to Wren in the designing of such fittings. - -The =chimney-piece=, which is one of Kent's plainer and less ponderous -ones, is of a choice marble, veined black and gold. - -The dimensions of this room are: 32 feet 9-1/2 inches long, 24 feet 2 -inches wide, and 19 feet 2 inches high to the top of the cornice, 24 -feet to the ceiling. - - -Painted Ceiling of Queen Caroline's Drawing Room. - -But it is by the ceiling especially, with its great heavy oval frame of -plasterwork, and its appearance of overhanging crushing weight, that we -can most accurately appreciate Kent. The central recessed panel, -containing an allegorical representation of Minerva, attended by History -and the Arts, gives us a measure of his powers as a pictorial artist. -The decorative painting of the cove of the ceiling, above the oaken -cornice, is more satisfactory. In the four angles, and in the middle of -each side, are classical pediments with volutes. - -Besides, the workmanship of the wainscoting being very good, and the -original rawness of the ceiling somewhat faded, this room, with its new -oak floor, its gorgeous paper, its Georgian furniture, probably designed -by Kent, and the magnificent frames of some of the pictures on its -walls, presents a fine and stately appearance. - - -Contemporary French and German Portraits. - -60 Madame de Pompadour (_986_) . . . . . DROUAIS. - - Half-length, seated, turned to the left. She wears a dress of - figured brocade, worked with coloured flowers and foliage on a - white ground, and trimmed with white ribbons; her sleeves are short - and edged with lace. On her head is a sort of mob cap, or headdress - of lace, tied under the chin with a striped ribbon; her hair is - short and powdered. In front of her is a frame of embroidery called - tambour-work, which she is working, her right hand being above, and - her left under the canvas. The background is grey, with a red - curtain to the right. Painted in an oval. On canvas, 2 ft. 7-1/2 - in. high, by 2 ft. wide. - - This picture has been attributed, but quite unwarrantably, to - Greuze, who does not appear to have painted Louis XV.'s mistress at - all, and certainly could not have done so when she was as young as - she is here represented. It is in fact a replica (and by no means a - bad one) of a portrait by Drouais, of which a great many - repetitions are extant, and of which the original--a - full-length--is now at Mentmore, Lord Rosebery's. The Mentmore - picture was purchased for 1,000. - - Drouais was an indifferent artist whose name would long have passed - into oblivion, had he not painted princes and princesses. Diderot - drew this just estimate of his works:--"Tous les visages de cet - homme-l ne sont que le rouge vermillon le plus prcieux, - artistement couch sur la craie la plus fine et la plus blanche.... - Il n'y en a pas une de laide, et pas une qui ne dplt sur la - toile. Ce n'est pas de la chair; car, o est la vie, l'onctueux, le - transparent, les tons, les dgradations, les nuances?" And Larousse - endorses this view with the following remarks:--"Toutes ces - peintures, habilement traites d'ailleurs comme mtier, n'ont rien - de saillant, aucune puissance, aucune originalit. Les ttes sont - banales, ternes, sans physionomie. L'allure est gauche et pnible. - Les personnages sont fort mal habills, bien que les draperies - soient excutes en trompe-l'oeil et avec magnificence." - - Madame de Pompadour is here represented at about the age of - thirty-five, a period when, having lost the influence of a lover - over the debauched and fickle Louis XV., she endeavoured to retain - her power by ministering to his pleasures and vices. Her appearance - completely tallies with the account given of her:--"Elle tait - assez grande, bien faite, les cheveux, chtain clair, tres-beaux, - avec une peau d'une grande finesse et d'une blancheur clatante. - Mais elle avait un genre de beaut qui se fane vite: ses chairs - molles s'infiltraient, s'enflammaient aisment; elle avait des - langueurs et des pleurs maladives." - - The tambour-work at which she is engaged was one of her favourite - occupations; and it is pleasant to remember, with the shocking - record of her extraordinary career, that she created that style in - decoration, furniture, dress, literature, and even art, which is - known by the name of Louis XV., a style which, wanting as it is in - the simplicity of medivalism, and stamped though it be with the - character of its meretricious inventor, is yet always pleasing from - a certain refinement and artificial beauty. - -61 Mademoiselle de Clermont (_984_) . . . . . _unnamed._ - - Half-length, facing in front, hands not seen. She is dressed in a - white dress, with a garland of flowers across it from under her - left arm to her right shoulder. Behind her she has a blue scarf. - Her hair is powdered and done high up. On canvas, 2 ft. 5 in. high, - by 2 ft. wide. - - Behind is written:--"_Marianne. de. bourbon. nommeo. Mademoiselle. - de. Clermont._" - - She was born in Paris in October, 1697, and was the daughter of - Louis, the third Duke of Bourbon, and his wife Louise Franoise de - Bourbon, Mademoiselle de Nantes, a natural daughter of Louis XV. In - 1725 she was appointed "Surintendante de la Maison de la Reine." - The story of her and her lover, M. de Melun, and his tragic end, - forms the basis of Madame de Genlis' charming little novel, - "Mademoiselle de Clermont." - - This portrait is painted in the style of Nattier. - -62 Louis XVI. in his Coronation Robes (_516_) . . . . . CALLET. - - Full-length, standing, facing to the left. His left hand holds his - hat by his side, his right leans on his sceptre. He is attired in - the royal robes of France, a purple mantle embroidered with - fleurs-de-lys, and an ermine tippet, etc. He has a small wig; his - face is shaven. Behind him is his throne, with a figure of Justice. - On canvas, 9 ft. high, by 6 ft. 5 in. wide. - - This is the original presentation frame, decorated with - fleurs-de-lys. - - Though formerly labelled "Greuze," it is really a replica of - Callet's well-known portrait, of which, besides the original at - Versailles, there are other repetitions at Madrid and elsewhere, - distributed to the various courts of Europe on the king's - accession. The original was engraved by Bervic, the greatest of - French engravers, the plate being lettered with the painter's name, - "Callet Peintre du Roi." - -63 Portrait of Louis XV. when young (_925_) . . . . . RIGAUD. - - Half-length, turned to the left; his left hand is in his sash, his - right holds a marshal's bton. His dress is a fawn-coloured doublet - with a cuirass, a blue sash, and a blue mantle embroidered with a - fleur-de-lys over it. Short hair, beardless face. On canvas, 3 ft. - high, by 2 ft. 5 in. wide. - - This portrait was painted by Rigaud, as the contemporary mezzotint - engraving by J. Simon proves, and not, as has been said, by - Mignard, who had been dead thirty years. He is considered one of - the best French portrait-painters of that period. Louis XV. - conferred several favours on him, and decorated him with the Order - of St. Michael, in 1727, soon after this portrait was painted. This - distinction was given, as he said, "tant en considration de la - rputation acquise dans son art, que pour avoir peint la famille - royalle jusqu' la quatrime gnration." - -64 Marianne, Duchess of Bourbon (_985_) . . . . . SANTERRE? - - Half-length, facing in front; her hands not seen. Her hair is dark, - and dressed high, with a blue ribbon fastened over with a red - jewel, and carried to the front. Her dress is yellow brocade with - red drapery. On canvas, 2 ft. 5 in. high, by 2 ft. wide. - - Behind is written in ink:--"_Marianne. de. bourbon. fille. de. - Monsieur. le. prince. de. Conty. famme. de. Monsieur. le. duc. de. - bourbon._" - - She married, in 1713, Louis Henri de Bourbon, brother of - Mademoiselle de Clermont (see No. 61), and died in 1720. There is a - portrait of her husband at Paris, by Drouais. - - The portrait before us is very possibly by Jean Baptiste Santerre, - a good painter whose works are rare. He died in 1717. - -65 The Emperor Paul of Russia (_894_) . . . . . ----? - - Bust, turned to the left, eyes looking at the spectator. He is in a - green uniform with red facing; and on his breast three stars and a - green ribbon across from his right shoulder to his left. His hair - is curled and powdered. On canvas, 2 ft. 4 in. high, by 1 ft. - 10-1/2 in. wide. - - Behind the picture is inscribed:--"_Kopal T. Ep. K. E._ (?) 1799" - and "_Catalogue No. 545, Emperor Paul of Russia._." - - This portrait represents the emperor in the forty-fifth year of his - age, three years after his accession, and two years before his - assassination. - -66 Louis XIV., when young (_396_) . . . . . MIGNARD? - - Three-quarters length, facing in front. His left hand hangs by his - side, right is on his hip. He is clad in armour, over which is a - purplish robe, lined with yellow. He has a long brown wig. On - canvas, 5 ft. high, by 3 ft. 7 in. wide. - - If this is really by Mignard, it must, on account of the age of the - king, be one of the first pictures he painted in 1658, on his - introduction to the French Court. - -67 Stanislaus, King of Poland (_895_) . . . . . LAMPI. - - Bust, turned slightly to the left. He is dressed in a purple velvet - coat, across which is a light blue sash, and on the left side of - his breast a star. He wears a small wig and pigtail; his face is - shaven. On canvas, 2 ft. 4 in. high, by 1 ft 10-1/2 in. wide. - - Behind in ink is written:--"Cavalieri Lampi de Vienna." - - In an old inventory, dated 1819, is this entry:--"Half-length - portrait of the King of Poland, purple velvet coat, etc., painted - by Lampi, member of the Academy of Vienna. Bought of Colnaghi for - 21." - - Stanislaus-Augustus Poniatowski was proclaimed King of Poland on - the 7th of September, 1764, having owed his election to his lover - the Empress Catherine. It was during his reign that the infamous - partition of Poland was perpetrated, to which he lent a passive - assistance. He died in 1798. - -68 Queen of Prussia (_907_) . . . . . ANTON GRAFF? - - Seated in a high-backed armchair covered with blue velvet; she is - turned to the left, but faces in front. Her right hand rests on a - table beside her, and points to a book; her left hangs by her side. - She is dressed in black trimmed with ermine, and her head is - covered with a black lace veil. Her hair is white. On canvas, 4 ft. - 7 in. high, by 3 ft. 3 in. wide. - - This is attributed in the _Royal Inventory_ to Graff, a German - painter who flourished at the end of the last century. - - Is she Sophia Dorothea, sister of George II., who married, in 1706, - William I., King of Prussia, and who died in 1757? - -69 Frederick, Prince of Wales (_789_) . . . . . ZEEMAN? - - Small full-length; turned to the right. His right hand pointing in - front of him, his left on his breast. He wears a red coat, leather - boots to the knees, and a long wig. - - Though this has long been known as Frederick, Prince of Wales, - there are reasons to suspect that it is really his Brother William, - Duke of Cumberland. - -70 Louis XIV. on Horseback (_853_) . . . . . CHARLES LE BRUN? - - He is shown the size of life, on a cream-coloured charger, rising - on its hind legs, and turned to the left. His dress is an - embroidered coat, with jack boots and scarlet breeches. In his - right hand he holds a bton. On his head is a black laced hat; he - has long flowing hair and curls. In the distance under the horse's - forelegs an attack of cavalry is seen. On canvas, 8 ft. 3 in. high, - by 6 ft. 2 in. wide. - - This has been attributed to Van der Meulen, but there is a similar - picture at Versailles by Charles le Brun of which this is perhaps a - replica. - -71 Frederick the Great (_555_) . . . . . ANTOINE PESNE. - - Full-length, standing, turned to the left, but facing round to the - front. His left hand points to a battle in the distance; his right - holds a marshal's truncheon. He is in armour, over which is a - crimson ermine-lined mantle; he has a small close-curled wig; his - helmet is on the ground in front of him. On canvas, 8 ft. 7 in. - high, by 5 ft. 7 in. wide. - - "To this admirable painter (_i.e._ Pesne) I am inclined to - attribute the portrait of Frederick the Great. The king, who is - still in youthful years, is pointing to a battlefield in the - background, probably in allusion to the Silesian war. A picture of - considerable merit."--_Waagen._ The painter is well remembered by - the following couplet by Frederick the Great:-- - - "Quel spectacle tonnant vient de frapper mes yeux, - Cher Pesne, ton pinceau t'gale au rang des Dieux," - - which Voltaire interpreted thus:--"Le roi ne regardant jamais le - peintre, ce dernier tait pour lui invisible comme Dieu." - - Pesne, who was a Frenchman and studied in Paris, was in England in - 1724. He afterwards went to Berlin, where he became court painter - to Frederick the Great. He died in 1757, the year of the Battle of - Prague. - - The frame is doubtless a presentation one. - -72 Frederick the Great (_978_) . . . . . _unnamed._ - - Bust, turned to the left, facing in front; his hands not seen. He - wears a small wig and a dark-blue coat, with the star of the Order - of the Black Eagle. - -73 Charles XII. of Sweden (_977_) . . . . . MAGNUS DU BLAIRE? - - Bust; wearing a blue coat and a black choker; grey hair, and a - beardless face. - - A small whole length, 49 in. by 39 in., of which this appears to be - an enlarged copy of part, was in the Hamilton Palace collection, - No. 1031, attributed to Magnus du Blaire, and inscribed: "In fatum - Scandici Die XXX Nov. MDCCXVII." - - "David Krafft, a Swedish painter, born in 1655, painted the - portrait of Charles XII. at the command of his sister, afterwards - Queen Ulrica Elanora; but this monarch, who objected to being - portrayed, was so displeased at the accuracy of the picture, that - he cut out the head. It had, however, already been transferred to - copper, and also etched by several engravers."--_Bryan._ - -74 Flower Piece . . . . . BAPTISTE. - -75 Flower Piece . . . . . BAPTISTE. - -76 Flower Piece . . . . . BAPTISTE. - - -=The Cupola or Cube Room.= - -In this sumptuous and gorgeous chamber, with its marble-pillared -doorways, its painted and gilded walls, its niches, brackets, slabs, and -pediments of white marble, its gilt antique statues, its gaudy domed -ceiling of blue and gold, we have the very acme and essence of the style -and art of William Kent, triumphant and rampant. After our remarks on -his work in the foregoing room, we shall not be expected to lose -ourselves in admiration over this masterpiece of his pseudo-classic -design and decoration. Yet little as we may agree with his theories of -art, little as we may admire the way he carried them into practice, it -is not to be denied that, viewed as a whole, there is considerable -grandeur and stateliness, and a certain degree of fine proportion, about -this highly-emblazoned saloon. - -Though called the "Cube" Room, its dimensions are not exactly of that -mathematical figure, the walls being only 26 feet 2 inches high, to the -top of the cornice, and 34 feet 7 inches to the centre of the ceiling, -though each side is 37 feet long. - - -The Painted Ceiling of the Cube Room. - -The ceiling seems to have been the first portion of the work undertaken -by Kent, and to have been finished by him by the spring of the year -1722. That he was employed to do this work occasioned much very -justifiable heart-burning. Sir James Thornhill was at that time -serjeant-painter to the King, and in virtue of his office was entitled -to receive the commission for painting this ceiling. Indeed, it appears -from a "Memorial of Sir Thomas Hewett, Knt., Surveyor-General of His -Majesties Works," addressed to the Lords of the Treasury, dated 14th -February, 1722-3, and "relating to the painting of the large Square Room -at Kensington," that in the foregoing autumn the King had commanded -Hewett's attendance at Kensington "about finishing the Three Large Rooms -in the New Building," and that Hewett then showed the King "several -sketches of mosaic work, etc., for painting the ceiling of the Great -Square Room." The Memorial proceeds to state: - - "His Majesty chose one of them; and after I ordered a model to be - made, and Sir James Thornhill painted it, which His Majesty saw and - approved of; and commanded me to tell the Vice-Chamberlain he - should treat with Sir James Thornhill for the Price, and that it - should be done out of Hand, which is all I know of the matter." - -Nevertheless, for some reason or other--probably owing to some backstair -intrigue--Kent was employed to do the work instead. But before he had -half finished it the officers of works were directed by the Treasury "to -view and take care that the particulars of Mr. Kent's proposal for -painting the ceiling of the Great Chamber at Kensington be well -answer'd, and the work in the best manner performed with -l'Ultra-Marine." They accordingly commissioned several of the best -artists of the day "to view and carefully to consider the same and -report in writing." - -[Illustration: THE CUPOLA OR CUBE ROOM, AS IT WAS WHEN THE QUEEN WAS -BAPTIZED IN IT.] - -The artists, or rather critics as they became--and trust an artist to be -no too lenient a critic of a fellow artist's work--were John van Vaart, -Alex^{r} Nisbett, and Jacob Rambour. Their report is dated May 22nd, -1722, and in it they state as follows: - - "We have been to Kensington and carefully view'd and considered the - said painting, which we did find better than half done: But having - examin'd the particulars thereof, we have observed, and 'tis our - opinion, that the Perspective is not just; that the principal of - the work, which consists in ornaments and architecture, is not done - as such a place requires. Mr. Nesbot adds that the Boys, Masks, - Mouldings, etc., far from being well, he has seen very few worse - for such a place: and Mr. Rambour affirms that the said work, far - from being done in the best manner, as mentioned in your letter, it - is not so much as tolerably well perform'd. As for the quality of - the Blew used in the work, Mr. Vandewart and Mr. Rambour declare - that they can't judge whether it is true ultramarine, because it - does not look fine enough, but Mr. Nesbot's opinion is that it is - nothing but Prussian Blew, in which perhaps there may be some - Ultra-marine mixt." - -Nevertheless, the colours have endured unfaded until to-day; and the -gilding also, both on the ceiling and the walls, has required but little -renewing, only cleaning and an occasional application of modern leaf -gold, and retouching with the paint brush, where the old surface had -been injured. - -Much of the woodwork, however, had to be repaired, especially the -capitals of the pilasters, some of which had to be renewed. - -The shape of the ceiling is slightly domed, the four coved sides -terminating above in a flat centre, painted with a gigantic star of the -Order of the Garter. The coved sides themselves are painted with -octagonal panels, diminishing upwards to simulate a lofty pierced dome. -Kent himself seems to have been so well satisfied with the work, that he -made use of almost exactly the same design when painting the Queen's -Staircase at Hampton Court some twelve years after. Across, part of the -north cove of the ceiling is painted a deep shadow, to indicate that -cast by the wall and cornice above the windows. - - -The Painted Walls of the Cube Room. - -Kent, after finishing the ceiling, proceeded to decorate the walls with -painting and gilding. There is a letter in the Record Office, from Lord -Grafton, to the Lords of the Treasury, dated 29th of May, 1725, ordering -payment of "344 2_s._ 7_d._ to Mr. Kent, for painting the sides of the -Cube Room at Kensington with ornaments enriched with gold." - -These walls, including the four pilasters on each, are of oak, painted -with a light olive-green colour as a ground, embellished with niches of -white marble, surmounted by brackets of the same, let into the woodwork. - -In the =six niches= are well-designed statues of classical -deities--Ceres, Mercury, Venus, Minerva, Bacchus, Apollo, in cast lead, -somewhat under life-size. These were so dirty and tarnished as to -necessitate their being entirely new-gilt. Above them, standing on -brackets in flat rectangular niches, were formerly busts representing -Roman poets, now unfortunately no longer to be found. - -The two =doorways= opposite each other are likewise of the same fine -polished marble, with pilasters and pillars of the Ionic order, -supporting heavy entablatures, on the apexes of which are antique busts. - -The =chimney-place= is of the same design in miniature, of polished -"dove-coloured" white-veined marble, similar to that at Marlborough -House. On the apex was formerly a gilt bust of Cleopatra, now missing. -Within the fireplace itself are very fine panelled and moulded "covings" -or sides, of the same "dove-coloured" marble, discovered during the -progress of the restorations. - -Above the chimney-piece is a large =bas-relief= in statuary marble -representing a Roman marriage, sculptured by the statuary Rysbach. It is -a fine work, but one feels rather as if standing in front of a -sepultural monument in some foreign _campo santo_ than before an English -fireside. - -Rysbach, who was a native of Antwerp, came over to England in 1720, four -or five years before he executed this work. His talents were for some -time--as have been those of many an unsuspecting foreigner--exploited by -a commercializing British impresario, Gibbs. Two-thirds of the prices -paid for his work found its way into the pockets of the unscrupulous -intermediary, until Rysbach, at last shaking himself free from this -bondage, took commissions on his own account, and, becoming the rage, he -was able to exact great prices for his work. It is possible that he -designed the gilt statues in the niches, which seem too good for Kent's -narrow invention. - - -General appearance of the Cupola Room. - -Such was the decoration of this famous Cupola or Cube Room when finished -by Kent, such it appeared in 1818, when Pyne's drawing, from which our -illustration is taken, was made, and such it appears to this day, save -for the large musical clock which then stood in its centre, for the -console tables against the walls, and the four large chandeliers that -hung from the ceiling. These last were most essential features in this -saloon, for its windows, abutting northwards on the private gardens, -admit but very insufficient light; and only when illuminated by a blaze -of candlelight can full justice have been done to the extravagant -glories of its walls and ceilings. - -It was, in fact, intended essentially as a room for grand evening -entertainments, and Kent evidently bore this in mind when he constructed -it; for he contrived a very ingenious method, whereby the double doors -in the doorways between it and the two drawing-rooms, with which it -communicates, fold back, when opened, into the door jambs, in which they -lie flush, offering no projecting hindrance to the movement of guests -passing either way. This is a point never thought of by modern -architects, who might do worse, when designing great reception rooms, -than take a hint in this matter from the much contemned Kent, and so -obviate the usual "crush" at the too narrow doorways. - - * * * * * - -It seems to have been in this Cupola Room that took place, on the 24th -of June, 1819, the baptism of the infant Princess Victoria. Faulkner -records that "the Royal Gold Font was brought from the Tower and fitted -up in the Grand Saloon, with crimson velvet covering from the Chapel -Royal, St. James's. The ceremony was performed by the Archbishop of -Canterbury, assisted by the Bishop of London.... The Prince Regent and -nearly all the Royal Family were present at the ceremony, or at the -dinner in the evening." - -Exactly underneath this room is the famous pillared "Council Chamber" in -which, as we have already stated, the Queen held her first council. - - -=King's Drawing Room.= - -Built at the same time as the two preceding rooms by command of King -George I., William Kent here again reigns supreme in the design and -decoration. "It was on the walls of this drawing-room," we are told by -Pyne, writing in 1818, "that the then new art of paper-hangings, in -imitation of the old velvet flock, was displayed, with an effect that -soon led to the adoption of so cheap and elegant a manufacture, in -preference to the original rich material from which it was copied." - -The paper that now covers the walls is a copy of an old pattern, and has -been supplied by Messrs. Bertram, the decorators. - -We may again notice here the five lofty doorways, surmounted by flat -architraves, and the oak pilasters in the dado as characteristic of -Kent. There was originally one of his great massive marble -chimney-pieces in this room, long since replaced by the present plain -insignificant one. - -The dimensions of this room are 39 feet 6 inches long (from east to -west), 28 feet wide, and 22 feet 8 inches high to the top of the -cornice. - - -Painted Ceiling of the King's Drawing Room. - -This is another of Kent's artistic efforts. There is in the Record -Office a letter from Lord Grafton dated June 26th, 1725, conveying his -majesty's commands that "their Lordships of the Treasury would give -orders to Mr. William Kent to paint the ceilings, etc. in the new -apartments at Kensington"--including this one. - -The cove of the ceiling, or portion nearest the cornice, is elaborately -decorated with scroll-work and architectural ornaments, richly gilt and -painted, and with medallions in the middle of each side supported by -female figures. In the centre is a large projecting heavy oval frame of -plaster, with the panel within it recessed about three feet. This is -painted with the story of Jupiter and Semele, the God appearing in a -thunder-cloud, and Semele, in a ridiculous attitude, on a couch. No -painting could be worse. The signature of the artist, "_William Kent -pinxit_, 1725," has been found a little to the left of the right foot of -Semele. - -When the restoration of this room was taken in hand last winter, the -ceiling was so begrimed with the dirt, dust, smoke, and smuts of upwards -of a hundred and fifty years of London atmosphere, as to be nearly -black. The cleaning was carried out with the most scrupulous care, and -practically no re-painting or re-gilding has been necessary. - - -William Kent, the Royal and Fashionable Decorator. - -The whole effect of this ceiling _if you do not look at it_ is rich and -striking, and with the fine paper and the pictures on the walls will -pass muster as a suitable decorative treatment of a grand state -reception room. George I. and George II. at any rate had no hesitation -in extending an unqualified approval to Kent's work. After having -finished this suite he grew into greater favour than ever. He was soon -after appointed "Master Carpenter, Architect, Keeper of the Pictures, -and Principal Painter to the Crown, the whole, including a pension of -100 a year, which was given him for his works at Kensington, -producing--according to Walpole--600 a year." From the Court his vogue -extended to a large circle of patrons and votaries. "He was not only -consulted for furniture, as frames of pictures, glasses, tables, chairs, -etc., but for plate, for a barge, for a cradle; and so impetuous was -fashion, that two great ladies prevailed on him to make designs for -their birthday gowns. The one he dressed in a petticoat decorated with -columns of the five orders; the other like a bronze, in a -copper-coloured satin, with ornaments of gold!" - -[Illustration: KING'S DRAWING ROOM.] - - -Kent, the "Father of Modern Gardening." - -Kent also had a great reputation as a horticulturist, and was generally -designated, at the end of last century, as the "Father of Modern -Gardening"--his ghastly progeny consisting of the destructive and -desolating "landscape-gardening" enterprises of "Capability Brown," -Repton, and their followers. His hand doubtless fell heavy on the old -Queen Anne formal gardens about Kensington Palace. We can see the -influence of his taste, which was followed with enthusiasm by Queen -Caroline and her gardener Bridgman, in the barrenness and commonplace -appearance of the grounds that lie immediately below in front of us, as -we look out of the windows of this room, and in the entire absence of -planting or gardening in the large expanse surrounding the "Round Pond." - -This =Round Pond=, or "=the Basin=" as it used to be called, is, by the -bye, not round at all, but of a geometrical figure, more of an oval form -than circular, and with the four sides flattened and the intermediate -portions of the circumference bent into "ogees." In thus shaping this -basin the designer, whether Kent or Bridgman, has overstepped artistic -discretion; for from no point of view, neither in Kensington Gardens, -from the ground beside it, nor even from this window is its real shape -to be made out--only from Rocque's plan or bird's-eye view, of 1736, can -it be seen to be so eccentric. - -The distant =view=, however, beyond the private gardens, across the -Round Pond and Kensington Gardens, over grassy slopes and ancient trees -to Hyde Park, a mile away, is one of the pleasantest in the metropolis. -Not a street, not a road, not a house, not a roof is to be seen. In the -spring and early summer, when the foliage is fresh and green, one might -imagine oneself in the depths of the country, in some old house -overlooking midland pastures and woods. - - -West's Pictures in the King's Drawing Room. - -In this room are hung the paintings of West, all of which were executed -for George III., who greatly admired them, and extended to him a most -liberal patronage. He was equally in favour with the public, who lauded -his performances to the skies, and with his fellow-artists, who made him -President of the Royal Academy. We now hardly know which to wonder at -most--an obscure lad in the wilds of Pennsylvania, who took his earliest -lessons in painting from a tribe of Cherokees, accomplishing what he -did; or the English fetish, Public Opinion, having been so deluded as to -regard his efforts as masterpieces of Art. The depreciation which has -overtaken him may be judged when we hear that an "Annunciation," for -which 800 was originally paid, was knocked down in 1840 for 10! His -portraits, nevertheless, are interesting. - -80 The Death of General Wolfe (_497_) . . . . . WEST. - - Wolfe lies in the centre, to the right, supported by three - officers. In front of him is a wounded officer, standing, supported - by others, to hear his dying injunctions. At his feet is an Indian - warrior in his war-paint, gazing at him to see how an English chief - will die. On the extreme left is a messenger running, and on the - left ships with soldiers disembarking. On canvas, 5 ft. high, by 8 - ft. wide. - - Wolfe was killed on the 13th September, 1759, in the moment of - victory before Quebec. "The fall of Wolfe was noble indeed. He - received a wound in the head, but covered it from his soldiers with - his handkerchief. A second ball struck him in the belly, but that - too he dissembled. A third hitting him in the breast, he sank under - the anguish, and was carried behind the ranks. Yet, fast as life - ebbed out, his whole anxiety centred on the fortune of the day. He - begged to be borne nearer to the action, but his sight being dimmed - by the approach of death, he entreated to be told what they who - supported him saw: he was answered, that the enemy gave ground. He - eagerly repeated the question, heard the enemy was totally routed, - cried 'I am satisfied,' and expired." (Walpole's _Memoirs_.) - - "In this picture, which was painted in 1771, West introduced the - sensible innovation of dressing the characters in their proper - costume; previous to that time it was the common practice with - painters to dress their figures in historical compositions of any - kind, in the Greek or Roman costume. Sir Joshua Reynolds was one - of those who were averse to the innovation, but when the picture - was finished, he changed his opinion. After a careful examination - of the picture, he observed to the Archbishop of York, who was with - him at the time, 'West has conquered; he has treated his subject as - it ought to be treated; I retract my objections. I foresee that - this picture will not only become one of the most popular, but will - occasion a revolution in the art.' When West related this to the - King, he said, 'I wish I had known all this before, for the - objection has been the means of Lord Grosvenor getting the picture, - but you shall make a copy for me.'" - - This is the copy ordered by George III., for which the painter - received 315. The original is at Grosvenor House, and has been - finely engraved by Woollett. There are several other repetitions of - it. - -81 Prince of Wales (George IV.), and Duke of York -(_500_) . . . . . WEST. - - The Prince is on the left, in yellow satin, his right hand on his - hip, his left on his brother's shoulder, who leans against a table. - They are both in the robes of the Garter and St. Andrew. On canvas, - 9 ft. high, by 7 ft. wide. - - The Prince of Wales was born on August 12th, 1762; Frederick, Duke - of York, on August 16th, 1763. This picture represents them when - they were about fifteen and fourteen years old, therefore, about - 1777. - - Soon afterwards the Duke of York proceeded to Prussia for the - purpose of being educated as a soldier. - -82 Dukes of Cumberland, Sussex, and Cambridge, and the Princesses -Augusta-Sophia, Elizabeth, and Mary (_488_). - - The Duke of Cumberland is on the left, standing; the Duke of Sussex - is lying down near his sister Elizabeth, who holds on her lap the - infant Princess Mary (?). Kneeling by them is the Duke of - Cambridge, and behind is the Princess Augusta-Sophia. Signed and - dated 1776. On canvas, 6 ft. 7 in. high, by 7 ft. 10 in. wide. - - Prince Ernest Augustus, afterwards Duke of Cumberland and King of - Hanover, and grandfather of her Royal Highness Princess Frederica, - was born June 5th, 1771; Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex, - on January 27th, 1773; and Prince Adolphus Frederick, Duke of - Cambridge, on February 24th, 1774. Princess Augusta-Sophia was born - on November 8th, 1768; Princess Elizabeth, on May 22nd, 1770; and - Princess Mary, on April 25th, 1776. - - The Princesses have long been wrongly called, Charlotte, Augusta, - and Sophia; the correct names, as given above, are derived from the - contemporary mezzotint by V. Green; besides, when this picture was - painted the Princess Sophia was not born. - -83 Queen Charlotte, aged 36, with her thirteen children in the -background (_498_) . . . . . WEST. - - Standing; dressed in white, her hair powdered and piled up high. - The thirteen children are seen in the distance to the left, in a - picture which is now at Windsor Castle. On canvas, 9 ft. 6 in. - high, by 7 ft. wide. - -84 George III.; Lords Amherst and Lothian behind (_494_) . . . . . WEST. - - He is standing, facing to the right, in full regimentals. He holds - a scroll of paper in his hands in front of him. Behind him is his - crown and sceptre; and in the background the two peers, and a view - of Coxheath Camp. On canvas, 9 ft. 6 in. high, by 7 ft. wide. - - It appears from West's own memoranda that this picture was painted - before 1779, consequently the King cannot have been more than - forty. - -85 Duke of Cambridge, and Princesses Charlotte and Augusta -(_487_) . . . . . WEST. - - The Duke, in a maroon-coloured suit, is standing on the right. - Princess Charlotte is sitting on a stool, with her sister on her - lap. In the background are a curtain, a column, and Kew Gardens - with the Pagoda. Signed on the top in the left hand corner; and - dated 1778. On canvas, 9 ft. high, by 6 ft. wide. - - Princess Charlotte, George III.'s eldest daughter, afterwards Queen - of Wirtemburg, was born on September 29th, 1766; and Princess - Augusta, on November 8th, 1768. It is doubtful whether the names - are correct. - -86 =Apotheosis of the Infant Princes Octavius and Alfred= (_503_). - - Alfred, the younger of the two, is seated on clouds, with his hands - out-stretched to his brother, who is being conducted up to him by - an angel. - - Prince Octavius was born on February 23rd, 1779, and Prince Alfred - on September 22nd, 1780. Alfred died on August 20th, 1782. "I am - very sorry for Alfred," said the King, "but had it been Octavius I - should have died too." - - Octavius followed his brother to the grave on May 2nd, 1783. For - this picture West received 315. Engraved by Sir Robert Strange. - -87 =Queen Charlotte and the Princess Royal= (_492_) . . . . . WEST. - - The Queen is sitting on a sofa, with embroidery on her lap. The - Princess stands on the right, by her side, and holds the - embroidery. Dated 1776. On canvas, 5 ft. 5 in. high, by 6 ft. 8 in. - wide. - -88 Duke of Clarence (William IV.), and Duke of Kent -(_502_) . . . . . WEST. - - The Duke of Clarence is on the left, dressed in a blue coat with a - white vest; he has his right hand on a globe, his left on his hip. - The Duke of Kent is in red turned full to the front, but looking at - his brother; his right hand is on his brother's left hand, his left - is pointing upwards. On canvas, 9 ft. 6 in. high, by 7 ft. wide. - - Prince William Henry, Duke of Clarence, afterwards William IV., was - born August 21st, 1765. Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, father of her - present Most Gracious Majesty, was born November 2nd, 1767. This - picture was painted when they were about thirteen and eleven years. - In 1780, the Duke of Clarence went to sea as a midshipman. West - received 250 guineas for the picture. - -89 George III. Reviewing the Tenth Dragoons in Hyde Park in 1797 -(_168_) . . . . . BEECHEY. - - The King is in front on a white horse, whose head is turned to the - left. He is in full regimentals, with a cocked hat. Just behind him - is the Prince of Wales, in the uniform of the 10th, holding up his - sword and giving the word of command. To the left of the King is - the Duke of York, with Generals Goldsworthy and Sir David Dundas; - Sir William Fawcett is standing in front of them. The King is - turning round to speak to them, and points with his right hand to - the cavalry charge in the left distance. On canvas, 13 ft. 8 in. - high, by 16-1/2 ft. wide. - - The 10th Light Dragoons (now the 10th Hussars) were frequently - reviewed by George III. in company with the Prince of Wales, who - entered the army as brevet-colonel, November 19th, 1782, and after - whom the regiment was called "The Prince of Wales's Own," on - Michaelmas Day, 1783. In 1793 he was appointed colonel-commandant - of the corps, and succeeded as colonel on July 18th, 1796. The - review commemorated here took place not long after that date, for - the picture is mentioned in a biographical sketch of Sir William - Beechey in _The London Monthly Mirror_ for July, 1798, where we are - told that the King rewarded him for it with the honour of - knighthood. The names of the officers were derived from an account - of a review, which took place in 1799, and which this picture was - formerly supposed to represent; it is therefore doubtful whether - they are quite correct. (See _Notes and Queries_.) - - This picture is regarded as Beechey's masterpiece, and was very - much admired at the time. But "although a clever and showy group of - portraits, it has little of real nature, and is full of the - painter's artifices. Thus the King's white horse forms the - principal light, and comes off the Prince of Wales's dark horse, - and so on; the light and shadow of all the heads being the light - and shadow of the studio, and not of the field."--(Redgrave's - _Century of Painters_.) The King had several copies taken of it; in - one, which he gave to Lord Sidmouth, the figure of the Prince was - omitted by the King's own desire, a curious proof of his dislike of - his son. When the Prince became King he hinted that it should be - restored, but this was evaded. Benjamin Smith engraved the portrait - of George III. from this picture. - - -=King's Privy Chamber.= - -Although this room formed part of the state apartments built by Kent, it -was much transformed in the reign of George III., so that it bears -little trace of its original decoration. Indeed, it is so commonplace in -appearance, that, except for the pictures which now hang on its walls, -it looks more like an ordinary bedroom in an old-fashioned country inn -than a king's chamber in a palace. The plain deal dado, the common -chimney-piece of black veined marble, the wood and plaster cornice, the -shutters and windows, are all of the most ordinary and inartistic -pattern. - -The dimensions of this room are 31 feet long, 24 feet wide, and 17 feet -high. - - -=Portraits of the Time of George III.= - -90 Portrait of Francis, 5th Duke of Bedford (_961_) . . . . . J. -HOPPNER. - - Full-length, turned to the left, looking to the front. He is - dressed in a peer's full robes. His left hand is on his hip, his - right holds a scroll of paper. He is bareheaded, face close-shaven, - and his hair short. Behind him is a red curtain, and in the - distance on the left a statue of Hercules. On canvas, 8 ft. 3 in. - high, by 5 ft. 2 in. wide. - - Behind is written:--"Received, 7th April, 1810, from Mrs. Hoppner." - The duke, who was born in 1765, died on March 2nd, 1802. - - "More dignified and well painted than the similar one at - Woburn."--_Sir George Scharf._ - -91 Francis Hastings, Earl of Moira (_950_) . . . . . HOPPNER. - - Full-length, figure slightly to the right, but the face turned - round to the left. Dressed in uniform, with the Ribbon and Star of - the Garter. His right hand holds a scroll of paper by his side; - his left rests on a document on a table. Background, a green - curtain, and sky on the right. On canvas, 7 ft. 10 in. high, by 4 - ft. 10 in. wide. - - Behind is painted "R.A. 1794," the year of Hoppner's election, and - "The Star and Garter added 1812," in June of which year Lord Moira, - after failing to form a ministry, accepted the Garter, "but," says - Lord Spencer in a letter to Lord Buckingham, "whether as a calm to - his honour or his understanding, it is not for me to say." This - picture was received from Hoppner's widow, in June, 1810, a few - months after his death. - -92 Portrait of John Hely, Lord Hutchinson (_872_) . . . . . PHILLIPS, R.A. - - Three-quarters length, seated, turned to the left, and looking - downwards. His left leg is crossed over his right, and in his left - hand he holds a map of Egypt; his right holds an eyeglass on his - breast. He is in his uniform. In front of him on a table are - writing materials. On canvas, 4 ft. high, by 3-1/2 ft. wide. - - John Hely was born in 1757, and in 1774 went into the army. In the - expedition to Egypt in 1801 he was appointed second in command to - Sir Ralph Abercrombie; on whose death the chief command devolved on - Hely, then a major-general. For his admirable conduct of the - campaign, in which he drove the French from Egypt, he received the - thanks of both Houses, and was raised to the peerage in 1813. In - 1823 he succeeded his brother to the earldom of Donoughmore. He - died in 1832. - -93 Christian VII. of Denmark (_976_) . . . . . DANCE. - - A head, in an oval, turned to the right; dressed in a red uniform - trimmed with gold; on his breast a blue ribbon. His hair is - powdered and brushed back. - - This was formerly unnamed, but the mezzotint engraving after it by - Fisher shows it to have been painted by Dance; doubtless when the - King was over here in 1767 for his marriage to Princess Matilda. He - was then eighteen years old. - - Their domestic life was not happy. In politics he distinguished - himself by granting liberty of the press to his subjects; in reward - for which Voltaire addressed the famous lines to him, in which he - tells him: "Je me jette tes pieds au nom du genre humain." - - He afterwards went out of his mind, and died in 1808. - - He was the son of Princess Louisa, the daughter of George II., and - succeeded to the throne in 1766. The engraving after this picture - by G. Fisher is dated 1769. - -94 Portrait of Richard Brinsley Sheridan (_891_) . . . . . K. A. HICKEL? - - Bust; face turned slightly to the right. He has a blue coat and a - yellow waistcoat. His face is close-shaven. On canvas, 2 ft. high, - by 1 ft. 8 in wide. - - "Whatever Sheridan has done, or chosen to do, has been _par - excellence_ always the best of its kind. He has written the best - comedy, the best farce, and the best address ('Monologue on - Garrick'), and, to crown all, delivered the very best oration (the - famous Begum speech) ever conceived or heard in this - country."--_Byron._ - - This appears to be the study for, or a replica of, the head of - Sheridan in the picture of the Interior of the old House of Commons - in 1793, painted by Karl Anton Hickel, and now in the National - Portrait Gallery. - -95 Portrait of Spencer Perceval (_890_) . . . . . JOSEPH. - - Half-length, turned to the left. In his left hand he holds a paper. - He wears a blue coat and a white waistcoat. His face is shaven, his - hair grey, and his head bald in front. On canvas, 2-1/2 ft. high, - by 2 ft. wide. - - Behind is written:--"Received from Mrs. Joseph, 18th June, 1814." - - This is a posthumous likeness, taken from a mask after death, but - considered by all who knew him to be a faithful resemblance. When - Queen Charlotte went to see it, and the curtain which covered it - was withdrawn, she was so struck with its truth, that she burst - into tears. Many copies with slight variations were executed; one - of them is now in the National Portrait Gallery. It is engraved in - mezzotint by Turner. It is a fair specimen of George Francis - Joseph, an indifferent artist, who was elected an associate of the - Royal Academy after painting this portrait. He died in 1846. - - Perceval, who became Prime Minister in October, 1809, was - assassinated in the lobby of the House of Commons by Bellingham, on - May 11th, 1812. The official documents he holds in his hand remind - us that his state papers were not at all to the taste of the Prince - Regent, who remarked, "that it was a great misfortune to Mr. - Perceval to write in a style which would disgrace a respectable - washerwoman." - -96 Mary Granville, Mrs. Delany (_944_) . . . . . OPIE. - - Bust, turned to the left. She is dressed in a black silk dress, - trimmed with lace, and having a hood over her white widow's cap. - Round her neck is a locket. On canvas, 2 ft. 6 in. high. - - This portrait represents her as a very old woman, and was probably - painted not many years before her death, in 1788, at the age of - eighty-eight. She was the eldest daughter of Bernard Granville, - grandson of Sir Bevil Granville, the Royalist leader, and was born - in 1700. She was educated under the care of her uncle, Lord - Lansdowne, and married in 1717 Alexander Pendarves. She was - intimate with Swift, through whom she became acquainted with her - second husband, Dr. Delany. After his death she spent most of her - time with her friend, the Duchess of Portland, and when she died, - George III., who, with the Queen, became very intimate with the old - lady, gave her a pension and a house at Windsor. She occupied her - declining years in copying flowers in paper, and executed as many - as 980. She died in 1788. Her autobiography was published in 1861; - it contains a great many reminiscences of the court and family of - George III. - - This picture first brought Opie into notice. A replica painted for - the Countess of Bute is in the National Portrait Gallery. - -97 Brownlow North, Bishop of Winchester (_888_) . . . . . _after_ DANCE. - - Bust, nearly a full face, slightly inclined to the right. He is - seated in a purple-covered chair, in the robes of a Chancellor of - the Garter, with the chain of the order on his breast. On canvas, 2 - ft. 8 in. high, by 2 ft. 2 in. wide. - - He was a half-brother of Lord North, the Prime Minister; was born - in 1741; and was successively appointed Bishop of Lichfield and - Coventry, Worcester and Winchester, and died in 1820. - -98 Portrait of Hurd, Bishop of Worcester (_889_) . . . . . GAINSBOROUGH. - - Bust, turned to the left, facing and looking in front. Dressed in a - bishop's canonicals, with a small, but full, curly wig. Painted in - an oval. On canvas, 2 ft. 6 in. high, by 2 ft. 1 in. wide. Compare - No. 371. - -99 Richard Hurd, Bishop of Worcester (_887_) . . . . . GAINSBOROUGH. - - Bust, to the right, looking to the front His left hand is on his - breast, holding his gown. Dressed in canonicals, with a bushy wig. - On canvas, 2 ft. 6 in. high, by 2 ft. 1 in. wide. - - He was the son of a farmer at Congreve, Staffordshire, and was born - in 1720. He was appointed preceptor to the Prince of Wales and the - Duke of York, and was nominated Bishop of Worcester in 1781; but - declined the primacy offered by George III., with whom he was a - great favourite. He wrote many moral and religious works, long - since relegated to the limbo of insipid mediocrities. Engraved by - Holl in 1774? Perhaps the picture exhibited in 1781. - -100 A Rabbi (_266_) . . . . . _after Rembrandt, by_ GAINSBOROUGH. - - Bust, to the right. He wears a dark dress, and cap with flaps; his - beard is long. On canvas, 2 ft. 6 in. high, by 2 ft. 1 in. wide. - - This was in Gainsborough's possession at his death, and was - exhibited at Schomberg House, 1789. - -101 Portrait of C. F. Abel, the Musician (_938_) . . . . . ROBINEAU. - - Half-length; seated at a piano or spinet, turned towards the right, - but his face looking behind him, over his shoulder to the left. He - is dressed in a red coat and has a small wig. On canvas, 2 ft. 1 - in. high, by 1 ft. 8 in. wide. Signed on the left-hand side:--"_C. - Robineau 1780._" - - Charles Frederick Abel was a pupil of Bach's, and at one time - belonged to the royal band at Dresden. He came to England about - 1765, and was appointed master of Queen Charlotte's band. Although - he wrote music, he was more celebrated for his playing than his - compositions. Abel was a very passionate man, and much addicted to - the bottle,--peculiarities which the visitor would suspect him of, - from his flushed face and red nose. He died in 1787, after being - three days in a sort of drunken torpor. - -Robineau was a portrait-painter who practised in Paris and London. - -102 Duchess of Brunswick, Sister of George III . . . . . A. KAUFFMAN. - - Full-length, turned to the right. She holds a child in her arms on - an altar in front of her. She is dressed in white with an - orange-coloured mantle, lined with light blue; she wears sandals. - On canvas, 8 ft. 11 in. high, by 5 ft. 11 in. wide. - - On the left at the foot of the column is the signature:--"_Angelica - Pinx A_. 1767." To the left, on a vase, the inscription:-- - - _Carol._ ILLE _de Bruns. & Pri. Hered_. - A. MDCCLX M. _Jul. apud Enisdorff_ VICTORIA. - _et_ A. MDCCLXIV M. _Jan. apud Lond._ AMORE. _Coron._ - - Augusta, the eldest daughter of Frederick, Prince of Wales, was - born on the 31st of July, 1737, and was married to the Duke of - Brunswick on the 17th of January, 1764. By him she became the - mother, among other children, of Caroline, Princess of Wales, and - of Duke William Frederick, "Brunswick's fated chieftain," who fell - at Quatre-Bras. In 1767, when this portrait was painted, she was in - England on a visit. - - The child in her arms must be her eldest son Charles George - Augustus, who was born 8th February, 1766, and died in 1806. - -103. Frederick, Prince of Wales (_893_) . . . . . VANLOO? - - Bust, turned to the left, facing in front. He wears a blue sash - over his coat. See _ante_, No. 4. - -104. George III., when Prince of Wales, aged 12, and Prince Edward -Augustus, Duke of York and Albany, aged 11 . . . . . RICHARD WILSON, -R.A. - - Seated figures, on a couch by a table, the Prince of Wales on the - left. On canvas, 3 feet 3-1/2 inches high, by 4 feet 1-1/2 inches - wide. Lent by the trustees of the National Portrait Gallery. - - The Duke of York was born in 1739, became an admiral in 1759, and - died at Monaco in 1767. - - -=The Nursery.= - -The designation of "The Nursery" has been for many years applied to this -room, having, it appears, been so used at one time by Queen Victoria, -whose doll-house is now placed here. It was afterwards occupied by the -late Duchess of Teck, and it was here that Princess May, now Duchess of -York, was born, on May 26th, 1867. - -Its associations are, therefore, exclusively Victorian, with which its -decoration--so far as it can be said to have any--accords. The "shell" -of the room, however, is part of Kent's addition to the State Rooms. - -The dimensions of this room are 30 feet 7 inches long by 23 feet 5 -inches wide, and 17 feet high to the highest point of the ceiling, 15 -feet 2 inches to the top of the cornice. - - -Pictures and Prints illustrative of the Queen's Life and Reign. - -A collection is here being formed by Mr. Holmes, the Queen's Librarian, -of various prints, illustrative of Her Majesty's Life and Reign. Among -them are old prints of the Queen as a child, and as the young Princess -Victoria, Heiress to the Throne; also of the marriage of the Prince of -Wales in St. George's Chapel, the Baptism of the Princess Royal, etc.; -and also the Jubilee Celebration of 1887 in Westminster Abbey, from the -painting by W. E. Lockhart, R.S.A. - -110 The Queen's First Council in the pillared Council Chamber at -Kensington Palace on 20th of June, 1837 . . . . . _After_ WILKIE. - - For an account of this famous scene, _see_ page 37. - - -=Ante-Room.= - -As we go through the door of "The Nursery" into this ante-room, we pass -from the portion of the Palace built by Kent, to the original block -erected by Wren, this ante-room being a part of what was formerly one of -William III.'s state rooms. - -Through this lobby it was that the Queen passed to the adjoining -staircase when she went downstairs to receive the news of her accession. - -The dimensions of this room are: 19 feet 3 inches long, 10 feet 2 inches -wide, and 16 feet high. - - -Prints illustrative of the Life and Reign of the Queen. - -The wall space here will be devoted to further prints illustrative of -the Queen's Life and Reign. - -[Illustration: Decoration] - - -=Queen Victoria's Bedroom.= - -To future ages, if not indeed already to the present one, this plain, -modestly-decorated chamber must have an interest far transcending that -of the more gorgeous Georgian saloons, which we have just traversed. -For, it was for many years the bedroom of our own Queen, when as a -little girl of tender age she lived in quiet simplicity at Kensington -Palace with her mother, the Duchess of Kent. - -From the windows of this room we can imagine the little princess, when -she rose in the morning, gazing out over the gardens and the Park -beyond, as the beams of the eastern sun struggled through the mists and -smoke of distant London, musing on the mighty destiny awaiting her; or -in the evening hour, when the flower-scented air of the garden beneath -floated in at the casement, looking out where the far-off lights of the -great town twinkled among the trees, her mind filled with solemn -thoughts of the awful responsibility that was to be hers. - -Even now, when the building octopus, with its stucco tentacles, has -clutched and sucked in so many a fair surrounding green field, from -these windows not a roof, not a chimney meets the eye; not an echo, -even, of the ceaseless roar of the traffic strikes the ear. - -It was in this room that the Queen was sleeping on the memorable morning -of the 20th of June, 1837, when she was awakened by her mother, the -Duchess of Kent, to go to the Drawing Room downstairs, where Lord -Conyngham and the Archbishop of Canterbury were awaiting to inform her -of her accession to the throne. - -The dimensions of this room are: 23 feet 3 inches long, 19 feet 3 inches -wide, and 16 feet high. - - -Prints of the Life and Reign of the Queen. - -Prints in continuation of the series commenced in "The Nursery," are in -process of being arranged in this room. - - -Mementoes and Relics of the Queen's Childhood, collected in "Queen -Victoria's Bedroom." - -Here also will be arranged some of the Queen's toys, with which she -played as a little girl in these rooms; and perhaps other similar -objects of interest. Labels will, doubtless, be affixed to explain, what -these are. - -[Illustration: Decoration] - - -=King's Gallery.= - -This magnificent gallery, the finest of all the state rooms at -Kensington Palace, was designed and built by Sir Christopher Wren for -William III. about the year 1693. It owes much of its architectural -effect to the great architect's wonderful knowledge and appreciation of -proportion--an element too often disregarded in buildings of modern -times. Its length is 96 feet, its breadth 21 feet 6 inches, and its -height 18 feet to the top of the cornice, and 19 feet 8 inches to the -highest point of the ceiling. It is, therefore, 12 feet longer than the -already-described Queen Mary's Gallery, 2 feet higher, but of the same -width. Compared with it, the "King's or Cartoon Gallery" at Hampton -Court, built by Wren almost exactly at the same time, it is 21 feet less -long, 3 feet less wide, and 10 feet less high. - -In relation to it the following items from the old accounts, dating from -about the year 1693, are interesting: - - "Item to Richard Hawkesmore, Clerk of the Workes, for making up an - account [an estimate?] of the King's New Gallery at - Kensington--5." - - "More to him for Pasteboard and other Materialls for making a - modell of the said Gallery for the King--5 2_s._" - - "Cha: Houghton for rating, casting up, and engrossing the Books of - the said Building for the Auditor--5." - - -Decorative Carvings in "the King's Gallery." - -The oak cornice and the oak doors of this gallery, especially the -beautiful architraves of the doors, are among the finest specimens -anywhere existing of Wren's decorative art, designed by him and carried -out under the superintendence of Gibbons. Relating to this work we find -the following item in the accounts for the years 1691 to 1696: - - "To Grinling Gibbons, carver, for worke done in the new Gallery - building, in the King's great and Little Closet, in three Roomes - under the King's apartment, in the King's Gallery, and other places - about the said Pallace--839 0_s._ 4_d._" - -In other respects the appearance of this room has been much altered; for -the oak panelling, which appears originally to have entirely covered its -walls was removed, it would seem, in the reign of George I. or of George -II.; when also the ceiling, which was originally plain, was painted as -we see it now. - - -Chimney-Piece, Map and Dial. - -At the same time a new chimney-piece was inserted. Part of the original -over-mantel, however, of the time of William III., still remains, -especially a very curious map of the north-west of Europe, showing the -names of various towns, especially in the north of France, the -Netherlands, and the British Isles. Relating to it we have discovered, -in the course of our researches among the old parchment rolls in the -Record Office, the following entry, dating from about, the year 1694: - - "To Rob^{t} Norden for his paines in drawing a map for the - chimney-piece and for attending the painters--5." - -Round the circumference of the map are the points of the compass; and an -old =dial-hand= or pointer, still remains, which was actuated by an iron -rod connected with a vane, still existing above the roof. This enabled -King William to know from which quarter the wind was blowing; whether, -therefore, it was safe for him, with his asthma, to venture out of -doors, or whether the wind was favourable for wafting him away from this -hated climate to his own dearly-loved country of Holland. - -It was this dial which so greatly interested Peter the Great, when he -privately visited William III. in this palace in 1698, being admitted by -a back door. "It was afterwards known," says Macaulay, but unfortunately -without giving his authority, "that he took no notice of the fine -pictures, with which the palace was adorned. But over the chimney in -the royal sitting-room was a plate which, by an ingenious machinery, -indicated the direction of the wind; and with this plate he was in -raptures." - -[Illustration: THE KING'S GALLERY.] - -This old dial is fixed in a square carved and gilt frame, probably the -one referred to in the following item in the old accounts of the years -1691-96: - - "To Rene Cousins gilder for a large frame carved and gilt with - burnished gold--10." - -The outer frame of deal wood surrounding this gilt one is, on the other -hand, of a later date, evidently designed by Kent, as was also the -decorated panel above it, itself surmounted by a pediment, richly -carved, doubtless by men trained in the school of Wren and Gibbons. - -In the centre of this fine "Kentian" panel is a medallion picture of the -"Virgin and Child," painted in fresco, of the school of Raphael, and -inscribed behind with the date, 1583. - -All this over-mantel was, in the time of George I., painted over white -with enrichments of gold. It so remained until last winter, when the -thick coats of filthy paint were cleaned off. It has been thought best -to leave the deal wood in its natural state, unpainted, only applying a -little stain to tone it into harmony with the colour of the surrounding -oak carvings. - -Although this carved over-mantel is an addition, and as far as the -pediment is concerned, very out of place so close to the cornice, yet it -is very beautiful and of much interest as being one of the finest -examples of decorative design executed in England during the reigns of -the first two Georges. In it we trace the influence of the lighter -French taste of Louis XV., which Kent had no doubt become acquainted -with when travelling abroad. The marble chimney-piece below, on the -other hand, is in that architect's regular massive, heavy style. - - * * * * * - -Almost at once, after this gallery was finished by Wren, it became the -receptacle of some of the finest works of art in the Royal collection. -Among the manuscripts in the British Museum is the original list of -William III.'s pictures, placed "in Kensington House, 1697"--some -seventy pieces being mentioned as then hanging on its walls. - -It was in the year following that Peter the Great was in England; when, -besides his private interview with the King, mentioned above, he was a -spectator at a ball given in this same gallery on the birthday of -Princess Anne, not publicly, however, but peeping through one of the -doors, in a closet prepared for him on purpose. - -In this room, King William, in the month of March, 1702, after his -accident, and a few days before his death, "took several turns" to -exercise himself; but soon becoming fatigued, he reclined upon a couch -and fell asleep, "but soon to awake in a shivering fit, which was the -beginning of a fever, attended with serious symptoms, from which he -never recovered." - - -Painting of the Ceiling and Wainscot of the King's Gallery. - -This gallery was also a favourite sitting-room of Queen Anne and her -husband, and of George I. It was by command of the latter monarch that -Kent, about the year 1724, undertook the painting of the ceiling, his -charge for which, with similar work in "the little closets," amounted to -__850. Although the richness of the colouring and gilding give it a -gorgeous appearance, neither the design nor the ornaments, least of all -the panels, painted with mythological subjects, are interesting. It is -divided into seven compartments, surrounded by elaborate classic scroll -and arabesque work, and allegorical figures. The centre medallion is -oval, the other six oblong or lozenge shaped. The officers of Works in -their Report, dated 30th of September, 1725, to the "Lords Commissioners -of His Majesty's Treasury," on this work, added: - - "We have caused an estimate to be made of the charge of painting - the wainscot of the sd. Gallery and little closets in the same - manner as the Bedchamber and closets are already painted, amounting - to 32: 16: - - Gilding the same--154: 4: - - Providing Scaffolds for the Painters and covering the floors with - Boards to prevent their being damaged, etc., 233: 3:" - -They further added: - - "We crave leave to lay before your Lordships a letter that we have - received from Sir James Thornhill, Serj^{t} Painter to his Majesty, - in which he complains that the gilding of the cornishes, which hath - hitherto been done by himself, and his predecessors, is by my Lord - Chamberlain's Letter directed to be done by another person, which - letter we have hereunto annexed." - -On October 5th, accordingly, an order was made to the Board of Works to -commission Sir J. Thornhill to do the gilding of the cornices. - -On the barbarity of painting the beautiful oak work in this gallery, and -especially the exquisitely carved oak architraves and cornices, we need -not dwell. They remained painted until last autumn, when with infinite -trouble and pains, the paint was cleaned off, and all the delicate -chiselling of Gibbons and his assistants revealed to the eye, after -being obscured for a hundred and seventy-four years. The visitor can -judge for himself with what success this has been accomplished. No stain -has been used in this restoration; and only after repeated experiments -was the method adopted of treating it simply with wax polish. - -The old panelling of Wren's time was probably removed in the time of -George II., in order to afford more wall-space for hanging pictures -on--which was Queen Caroline's great hobby. - -An even worse barbarism was perpetrated in this superb gallery at the -beginning of the century--when it was divided by partitions into three -distinct rooms--in which state it remained until the restorations were -begun last year. One of these subdivisions was used by Queen Victoria, -when a little girl, for her toys. - - -Naval Pictures in the King's Gallery. - -In this gallery have now been collected a large number of sea-pieces, -sea-fights, dockyards, and admirals, mainly of the time of the Georges, -to illustrate the history of the British Navy. Though but very few--for -instance, those by Monamy and Scott--can be considered fine works of -art, yet all of them will be found interesting and curious; and no one, -who has known them only when hanging in bad lights on dark screens in -the overcrowded rooms at Hampton Court, would have suspected how much -there is to be studied in them, now that they are at length properly -displayed. - -201 The Dockyard at Sheerness (_1055_) . . . . . R. PATON. - - The dock is on the left, terminated by a fort in the centre of the - picture. On the left are a large man-of-war and a disabled ship - towed by a barque. - - This and Nos. 204, 232, 233, and 236 are pieces of dockyards, - painted by Paton more than a hundred years ago. They are each on - canvas, 3 ft. 4 in. high, by 4 ft. 10 in. wide. - - -202 Close of the Action, November 4th, 1805, Sir R. Strachan's Victory -(_1037_). [See Companion Piece, No. 234.] . . . . . N. POCOCK. - - On the left are three French vessels,? The Formidable, Scipion, - Mont Blanc, or Duguay Trouin, two of them utterly dismantled; to - the right is the English fleet. - - The engagement took place off Ferrol, about a fortnight after - Trafalgar, the French ships being under the command of Rear-Admiral - Dumanoir, who had escaped from that battle. - -203 George III. Reviewing the Fleet at Portsmouth (_1011_). [See No. -235.] . . . . . D. SERRES. - - In the centre is a large man-of-war, the "Barfleur": near it the - "Worcester" firing a salute, and beyond a line of men-of-war, the - "Royal Oak" and "Lennox" being distinguishable on the right. On - canvas, 4 ft. 10 in. high, by 7 ft. wide. Signed "D. Serres, 1776." - -204 The Dockyard at Deptford (_1000_). [See No. 201] . . . . . R. PATON. - - Greenwich is seen in the background; the dock buildings on the - right; and on the left various ships, one firing a salute. - -205 Ships in a Dockyard (_999_) . . . . . _unnamed._ - -206 A Sea-piece (_1046_) . . . . . D. SERRES. - - A large vessel is seen broadside, and in front an officer's gig; - other vessels are behind. Signed in lower right-hand corner, "D. - Serres, 1789." - -207 Action between the "Arethusa" and "Belle Poule" -(_673_) . . . . . _unnamed._ - - The "Arethusa," with its stern to the spectator, is to the left; - "La Belle Poule" is on the right. They are discharging heavy - broadsides at each other. The moon is seen in the distance between - them. - - The action took place on the 17th of July, 1778, off the Lizard, - and lasted two hours at close quarters without intermission. The - "Belle Poule" got away, though the English had got the best of the - fight. - -208 Sea Piece (_1078_) . . . . . BROOKING. - - On the right is an English frigate bearing away; on the left one - coming in. A fair specimen of this good marine painter. - -209 George III. Reviewing the Fleet at Portsmouth (_1012_). [See No. -235.] . . . . . D. SERRES. - - A large man-of-war in the centre; smaller craft on each side. - -210 The Royal Yacht which brought Queen Charlotte to England in 1761, to -be married to George III., in a storm (_1001_) . . . . . WRIGHT. - - The Royal Yacht is in the centre of the picture, attended by a - convoy of twelve vessels. It had been re-named "The Royal - Charlotte," and was newly ornamented with a profusion of carving - and gilding for the occasion. They embarked at Stade on the 24th of - August, and landed at Harwich on September 6th. - - Richard Wright was a painter of marine subjects. - -211 A Small Sea-Piece (_1080_) . . . . . P. MONAMY. - - In the centre, towards the left, is an English man-of-war firing a - salute; other smaller craft are to the right and left. 1 ft. 8 in. - high, by 2 ft. 11 in. wide. - - This is an excellent specimen of Peter Monamy, an imitator, and - probably pupil, of the Vandeveldes. Though much cracked, it is - beautifully painted, "showing a fine quality of texture, with great - precision of touch; the calm plane of the ocean level receding into - the extreme distance, without that set scenic effect of passing - cloud-shadows, which even the best masters have used to obtain the - appearance of recession and distance; this work well deserves - notice, and might puzzle the best painters of such subjects to - rival."--(Redgrave's _Century of Painters_.) - -212 His Majesty's Yacht in Portsmouth Harbour (_1035_) . . . . . J. T. -SERRES. - - She has twenty-six guns, and lies across the picture; other craft - are to the right and left. Behind is seen Portsmouth. Signed "_J. - T. Serres_, 1820." - -213 Shipping . . . . . _unnamed._ - -214 On the Thames--The Tower of London (_1024_) . . . . . _unnamed._ - -215 A Man-of-War engaged with two Vessels (_1015_) . . . . . MONAMY. - - A man-of-war is on the left engaged with two of the enemy's - vessels; behind are others shown in action. (See No. 219.) - -216 Rear-Admiral Sir Charles Knowles's Squadron attacking Port Louis in -St. Domingo (? Hispaniola) March 8th, 1748 (_998_) . . . . . R. PATON? - - To the left is an English vessel, the "Cornwall," firing at a fort - in the centre of the picture. More to the left is a small ship - burning; on the right are other vessels attacking the fort. - - The fire-ship of the enemy was towed clear of the squadron by the - boats, and left to burn and blow up at a distance from the fleet. - The fort surrendered in the evening, and was blown up. The English - lost seventy men. - -217 Battle of Trafalgar--Close of the Action (_1058_). [See Companion -Piece, No. 224.] . . . . . HUGGINS. - - In the centre is a large vessel (? the "Victory") with rigging much - shot away and torn. Others are seen behind in action. - - These are two of three pictures, painted for William IV.; the third - is now at St. James's Palace. - -218 Rear-Admiral Sir Charles Knowles's Action with a Spanish Squadron -off the Havannah, October 1st, 1748 (_1002_) . . . . . R. PATON? - - In the background is the battle-line of the enemy, under - Vice-Admiral Reggio, against which the British fleet is bearing. - The action began at two o'clock. Although defeated, nearly all the - Spaniards got into port; they lost eighty-six men. Knowles, when he - came home, was tried by court-martial for not pursuing the enemy - with more vigour, and was reprimanded. - -219 Sea Fight--A Man-of-War attacked by Boats (_226_) . . . . . MONAMY. - - The vessel is surrounded by boats, and is responding to their - musketry by a fierce cannonade. 3 ft. 4 in. high, by 4 ft. 2 in. - wide. - -220 Admiral Viscount Keith . . . . . T. PHILLIPS, R.A. - - Half length, in robes, turned to the left. His right hand holds up - his cloak, his left is seen underneath. His hair is gray. - - He commanded the fleet which, in 1795, captured the Cape of Good - Hope, and performed other brilliant services. He died in 1823. - -221 Shipping on the Thames--Temple Gardens (_1026_) . . . . . _unnamed._ - -222 Sea-Piece--The British Fleet (_1017_) . . . . . ELLIOT. - - In front are some eight large vessels, some with the yards manned, - others with their sails partly set; other ships are seen behind. - - On the frame in front is written:--"_To the R^{t}. Hon^{ble}. - W^{m}. Pitt this view of the British Fleet, which secured to - England the uninterrupted navigation of the Southern Ocean is - dedicated_." William Elliot was a bad marine painter in the style - of Serres. - -223 Battle of Camperdown--Close of the Action (_1064_). [See Companion -Piece, No. 225.] . . . . . J. T. SERRES. - - In the centre is a British flag-ship, shown at the end of a long - line of vessels. On the right is one of the enemy on fire, to which - boats are hastening. On the left is a ship with the name - "WASSANAER." - -224 The Day after the Battle of Trafalgar (_1057_). [See Companion -Piece, No. 217.] . . . . . HUGGINS. - - It represents the storm which separated the squadron the day after - the battle. On the right is a dismantled vessel rolling over; on - the left is the "Victory." On canvas, 8 ft. high, by 10 ft. wide. - -225 Battle of Camperdown--Lord Duncan's Victory (_1053_). [See Companion -Piece, No. 223.] . . . . . J. T. SERRES. - - The English fleet is ranged in three lines about to begin the - action by breaking the line of the enemy ranged beyond them. The - enemy have already opened fire. On canvas, 3 ft. high, by 4 ft. - wide. Signed, "J. T. Serres, 1793." - - John Thomas Serres was the son of Dominic Serres, who brought him - up as a marine painter. In the year in which this picture was - painted he succeeded, on his father's death, to the office of - marine painter to the King, and one of his duties in this post was - to make sketches of the harbours on the enemy's coast. He married - the _soi-disant_ Princess Olive of Cumberland, who lost him his - appointment, and brought him to misery, destitution, imprisonment, - and madness. (Redgrave's _Dict. of Artists_.) - -226 Equipment of the English Fleet in 1790 (_1033_) . . . . . ELLIOTT. - - Three full-rigged men-of-war and others partially rigged are in - front; beyond is a port. In front is a label:--"_To the Earl of - Chatham this view of the expeditious equipment of the British Fleet - in 1790 is dedicated_." - -227 A Man-of-War going out to Sea (_1034_) . . . . . _unnamed._ - - Crossing the picture to the left, following another going into the - picture. - -228 Admiral Lord Anson (_19_) . . . . . _After Hudson by_ BOCKMAN. - - This appears to be a copy of a picture in Lord Lichfield's - possession at Shugborough in Staffordshire, by Thomas Hudson, a - portrait painter, who flourished from 1701 to 1779, and who is - chiefly remembered now as the master of Reynolds. - - Anson was a victorious admiral in the reign of George II., well - known for his famous voyage round the world in the years 1740-44, - and for his great exploit of capturing, in 1743, the Spanish - galleon "Manilla," which had a cargo on board valued at 313,000. - He was created a peer in 1747 for his victory over the French - fleet, and was First Lord of the Admiralty during the Seven Years' - War. - - He is here represented in peer's robes, which approximately fixes - the date of the picture. - - Bockman, by profession a mezzotint engraver, was in England about - 1745-50, when he executed copies of various portraits of admirals, - which had been painted by Kneller for James II., and G. Dahl, a - Swedish painter, for William III. The originals were presented by - William IV. in 1835 to Greenwich Hospital. - -229. Shipping (_1025_) . . . . . _unnamed._ - -230. A Ship (_381_) . . . . . _unnamed._ - -231 George III. Reviewing the Fleet at Portsmouth (_1013_). [See No. -235.] . . . . . D. SERRES. - - In the centre is a large three-masted vessel, with the Union Jack - flying, and the royal party on board. Many others are behind. - -232 The Dockyard at Portsmouth (_1051_). [See No. 201.] . . . . . R. -PATON. - - On the left is a large vessel about to be launched; the dock - buildings are behind. - -233 The Dockyard at Chatham (_1062_). [See No. 201.] . . . . . R. PATON. - - The dock is on rising ground to the right; on the left is seen the - Medway. Various ships are on the river. - -234 Commencement of Sir Robert Calder's Action, July 22nd, 1805 -(_1038_). [See Companion Piece, No. 202.] . . . . . N. POCOCK. - - A small English ship is engaging two French vessels on the left. - - On the 19th of July, Calder had received despatches from Nelson - stating that the combined Franco-Spanish fleet was on its return - from the West Indies, and he cruised about off Cape Finisterre in - the hope of intercepting it. Though both sides lost heavily, the - action had no very decided result. The small English ship is - probably the "Hero," the van-ship of the British, which began the - attack. - - Nicholas Pocock, like D. Serres, acquired his knowledge of the sea - in the navy, which he gave up to adopt marine painting as a - profession. - -235 George III. Reviewing the Fleet at Portsmouth (_1014_) . . . . . D. -SERRES. - - To the right is a large line-of-battle ship firing a salute. - Several yachts with officers and spectators on board are seen. - - This, and Nos. 203, 209, and 231 pieces were painted by Dominic - Serres, a native of Gascony, who, after running away from home, - becoming a sailor, and then master of a trading vessel, and being - captured by an English frigate, settled in England and took to - painting marine pieces to earn a living. He was one of the original - members of the Royal Academy, and frequently exhibited. He is to be - distinguished from his son, J. T. Serres (see No. 225). - -236 The Dockyard at Woolwich (_1066_) . . . . . [See No. 201.] R. PATON. - - Woolwich church is seen in the centre background; the dock - buildings are on the right. - -237 Admiral Sir John Jennings (_11_) . . . . . _After Kneller by_ BOCKMAN. - - Knighted by Queen Anne in 1704, died in 1743, and is buried in - Westminster Abbey. - -238 Admiral John Benbow . . . . . _After Kneller by_ BOCKMAN. - - He was given the command of a ship by James, Duke of York, for his - bravery. In 1702, when in command of the West India squadron, he - sustained, almost alone, the fire of the whole French fleet under - Du Casse; his cowardly officers, two of whom were afterwards tried - by court-martial and shot, having basely deserted him. He died at - Jamaica very soon afterwards from a wound received in the action. - -239 Admiral George Churchill (_10_) . . . . . _After Kneller by_ BOCKMAN. - - A brother of the Duke of Marlborough's. He died in 1708. - -240 Admiral Sir G. Bing, Viscount Torrington (_7_) . . . . . _After -Kneller by_ BOCKMAN. - - The celebrated admiral of the reigns of Queen Anne and George I. He - was especially distinguished for his services against the - Pretender, and for his great victory over the Spanish off Sicily in - 1718. His son was the famous Admiral Byng, who was shot, as - Voltaire said, "pour encourager les autres." - -241 Admiral Edward Russell, Earl of Orford (_27_) . . . . . SIR G. -KNELLER. - - Half length, to the right; in blue. His left hand is on his hip, - his right has a bton. - - This is the famous admiral in the reign of William and Mary, who - gained the victory of La Hogue against the French fleet under - Tourville. - - This portrait is one of the series of admirals painted for William - III. - -242 Portrait of General Spalken (_910_) . . . . . _unnamed._ - - Three-quarters in length. Bareheaded, with grey hair. His right arm - rests on a table, on which is his cocked hat; his left is in his - belt. He wears a general's uniform, a red coat with blue facings, a - long white waistcoat with brass buttons, and white breeches. - - I can find nothing about Spalken. - -243 Admiral Sir Thomas Dilks (_9_) . . . . . _After Kneller by_ BOCKMAN. - - This is the hero of a brilliant action in Cancalli Bay in 1703, - when a small English squadron attacked a fleet of forty-three - French merchantmen with three men-of-war, and captured them all. - -244 Admiral Sir Stafford Fairbourne (_18_) . . . . . _After Kneller by_ -BOCKMAN. - - Lived in the reigns of William III. and Anne. - -245 Admiral Sir John Gradin (_8_) . . . . . _After Kneller by_ BOCKMAN. - - Served in the reign of Queen Anne, and was dismissed for - over-caution. - -246 Admiral Beaumont (_1_) . . . . . _After Dahl by_ BOCKMAN. - - He perished on the Goodwin Sands in the great storm "such as of - late o'er pale Britannia passed," in 1703. - - -=King's Grand Staircase.= - -Sir Christopher Wren was the original builder of this staircase, -although Kent's name has usually alone been associated with it. To the -great architect, however, we certainly owe the "shell" of the building, -its proportions, the black marble steps, the black and white chequered -marble on the landings, and the fine balustrade of wrought iron. This -ironwork was doubtless designed by Jean Tijou, whose name we have found -in the contemporary accounts relating to this palace, and in whose style -the design certainly is. As to the stair-treads, it is worthy of note -that in an estimate of Wren's for the completion of the King's Great -Staircase at Hampton Court, in 1699, he proposed that they should be -made "of Irish stone such as are at Kensington, but longer and easier," -which, in fact, they are. - -In King William's time the windows must have been of a different type to -those now here, which are in the style of Kent. As to the walls, they -were then probably painted with simple ornaments. Among the Kensington -accounts for the year 1692, we have found the following record of a -payment relating to such work: - - "To Robt. Streeter, Serg^{t} Painter, for japanning, gilding and - painting several Roomes and Lodgings in the said Pallace, painting - severall staircase, and the Guard Chamber, and other places in and - about the said Pallace--3,599." - - -Kent's Alterations in the King's Grand Staircase. - -Kent's improvements, which must have been carried out about 1725, -included--besides the painting of the walls and ceiling--the alteration -of the approach to the staircase on the ground floor, where he inserted, -in the area or "well," an arcade of two plain arches, which support, or -rather appear to support, the landing above. Under the first arch begins -the wide flight of black marble steps, with two landings in the ascent, -paved with alternate squares of black and white marble, as is also the -long top landing or balcony. The balusters are now painted blue, their -original colour, found under successive coats of more recent paint. The -hand-rail of oak has had its dirty paint cleaned off. - -[Illustration: THE KING'S GRAND STAIRCASE.] - -No one who did not see this staircase before the restorations were begun -can conceive the woeful state of dust, filth, decay and rot which it -then presented. With the fine iron balusters broken, damp oozing from -the walls, the paintings indistinguishable from incrustations of -smoke, and strips of the painted canvas hanging from the walls in -shreds--it seemed impossible that it could ever be restored to its -pristine splendour. The visitor must judge for himself whether this -result has not been triumphantly accomplished. - - -The Painted Walls of the King's Grand Staircase. - -Opposite the balustrade, on the right side as one goes down the stairs, -is a low wainscot of plain moulded panelling; and above this, level with -the top of the second landing, is painted a large Vitruvian scroll. The -square space thus formed beside the first landing, and the spandril -space beside the rise of the stairs, are filled with representations, in -chiaro-oscuro, of sea-horses, armorial trophies and other devices, and -scroll-work, heightened by gilding. These, as well as similar paintings -on the arcade, opposite and under the stairs, show that Kent's taste and -skill as a decorative artist were by no means contemptible, whereas as a -painter of subjects or figures he was no artist at all. - -The two walls of the staircase above the Vitruvian scroll are painted to -represent a gallery, behind a colonnade of the Scamozzian Ionic order, -supporting a corresponding entablature, with a frieze embellished with -unicorns' heads, masks of lions, and festoons of foliage, divided by -fleurs-de-lys, richly heightened with gold. Between these columns is -painted a balustrade; with numerous figures of personages of George I.'s -court, looking over it. - -In =the first and second compartments= on the left are yeomen of the -guard and various ladies and gentlemen; and a young man in a Polish -dress representing a certain Mr. Ulric, a page of the King's, "and -admired by the court," says Pyne, "for the elegance and beauty of his -person;" while the youth standing on the plinth outside the balcony is a -page of Lady Suffolk's. In the third or right-hand compartment on the -same wall are seen, among many other unidentified persons, a Quaker and -an old man in spectacles. - -Two other servants of the court appear in this group, Mahomet and -Mustapha, who were taken prisoners by the Imperialists in Hungary. At -the raising of the siege of Vienna in 1685, George I., then elector of -Hanover, was wounded, and was attended by these two Turks, who had been -retained in his service, and who were said to have saved his life. -Mahomet apostatized from the faith of his fathers and became a -Christian; married a Hanoverian woman and had several children. King -George, on his accession to the British throne, brought these two -faithful servants with him to England in his suite. They were constantly -about his person, and were credited with obtaining large sums of money -from persons who purchased their influence to obtain places about the -court. Mahomet, however, in whatever way he may have obtained his -wealth, made a noble and benevolent use of it; for among many other -recorded acts of benevolence, he released from prison about three -hundred poor debtors by paying their harsh creditors. - -Pope, at any rate, believed in Mahomet's integrity, for he mentions him -in his Epistle to Martha Blount in these lines: - - "From peer or bishop 'tis no easy thing - To draw the man who loves his God or King. - Alas! I copy (or, my draught would fail,) - From honest Mahomet or plain Parson Hale." - -Mahomet died of dropsy in 1726, just after these walls were painted. -Mustapha, after the death of George I., continued in the service of his -successor, and is supposed to have died in Hanover. - -In the same group are also a Highlander, and a youth known as "Peter the -Wild Boy." He was found in the woods of Hamelin, near Hanover, in 1725, -and when first discovered was walking on his hands and feet, climbing -trees with the agility of a squirrel, and feeding upon grass and moss of -trees. He was supposed to be about thirteen years of age. He was -presented to George I., then in Hanover, when at dinner, and the King -made him taste of the different dishes at table. We get this information -from Pyne, who adds: - - "He was sent over to England in April, 1726, and once more brought - before his Majesty and many of the nobility. He could not speak, - and scarcely appeared to have any idea of things, but was pleased - with the ticking of a watch, the splendid dresses of the King and - princess, and endeavoured to put on his own hand a glove that was - given to him by her royal highness. He was dressed in gaudy - habiliments, but at first disliked this confinement, and much - difficulty was found in making him lie on a bed: he, however, soon - walked upright, and often sat for his picture. He was at first - entrusted to the care of the philosophical Dr. Arbuthnot, who had - him baptized Peter; but notwithstanding all the doctor's pains, he - was unable to bring him to the use of speech, or to the - pronunciation of words.... He resisted all instruction, and existed - on a pension allowed in succession by the three sovereigns in whose - reigns he lived. He resided latterly at a farmer's near - Berkhampstead in Hertfordshire, till February, 1785, where he died, - at the supposed age of nearly ninety." - -The =east wall= of the staircase is painted as far as the width of the -second landing with a continuation of the arcade, showing a fourth -compartment, in which are again figures of yeomen of the guard and -ladies--one holding an infant in her arms over the balustrade. Further -up, on the same wall, is painted a pedimented niche, with a figure of a -Roman emperor; and higher up still, on the top landing or balcony, are -figures of Hercules, Diana, Apollo, and Minerva. - -All these paintings are on canvas, stretched on battens fixed to the -wall. - - -Painted Ceiling of the King's Grand Staircase. - -The ceiling of the staircase being square and flat, it did not afford -much scope for the exercise of imaginative design, and Kent was obliged -to content himself with a very commonplace pattern--sufficiently -apparent in the accompanying plate. In the four corners are a sort of -double oblong panels, with similar square ones intervening between them. -The ground colour is gray. The oblongs are painted with ornamental -scroll-work and horses' heads, the squares with human heads. These -panels are bordered with very heavy projecting frames of plaster work, -white and gilt, as is also the great square compartment in the middle. -The panel of this last is painted with a representation of a circle, -within which are four semicircular spaces or apertures, apparently -intended to portray a pierced dome with galleries--but they are all in -quite impossible perspective. In three of these spaces are seen -musicians playing on various instruments, and spectators looking down -upon the company below. In the fourth "the painter," says Pyne, "has -introduced his own portrait, holding a palette and pencils, with two of -his pupils, who assisted him in the decoration of the walls, and a -female of a very pleasing countenance, which is supposed to be a -resemblance of an actress with whom he lived in the habits of peculiar -friendship, and to whom he left a part of his fortune." - -All these decorations--including "the female of a very pleasing -countenance"--the visitor can make out, if he thinks it worth while to -incur a stiff neck in doing so; but, in truth, the figures, as well as -the perspective, are all so badly drawn and painted, that the less they -are examined the better. They prove to us once more that Kent, as a -pictorial artist, was beneath contempt. If, however, we are content to -look on his paintings on this staircase as mere formless colour -decoration, the general effect is rich and sumptuous enough. - -The paintings of the staircase were finished, as we have said, about -1726. Three years after we find among the records the following warrant: - - "For the delivery of the following for the King's service at - Kensington, viz. for the Great Staircase 6 lanthorns, 12 inches - square and 17 high, with a shade over each, an iron scroll and 2 - flat sockets for candles, 1 lanthorn for a pattern 11 inches square - and 19-1/2 inches high, with scrolls, etc." - -Our illustration, taken from Pyne's drawing dated 1818, shows these -lanthorns still in it. Except for these, which disappeared a long time -ago, and the tall German stove, which was only removed a few months ago, -the staircase appears exactly the same to-day. - - -=Presence Chamber.= - -In this room we have a blending of the style of Wren, who originally -built and designed it, and of Kent, who redecorated it for George I. The -chimney-piece and over-mantel, with its fine Gibbons carving of foliage, -fruit, and flowers, the beautifully designed and richly carved oak -cornice and the panelled dado are Wren's; whereas the painted ceiling -and the doors are Kent's. It was, doubtless, he also who altered the -spacing of the window sashes, and substituted the present ugly large -panes for the originally picturesque small ones. There is record of this -being done in 1723, among the old accounts. - -The walls appear originally to have been entirely lined, like most of -Wren's rooms, with oak wainscot, but this had entirely disappeared long -before the beginning of this century, when they were covered with -tapestry, over which were nailed a great quantity of pictures--among -them several which have now been brought back here from Hampton Court. -At the same period, in 1818, there was still hanging between the windows -"a looking-glass of large dimensions, tastefully decorated with festoons -of flowers, painted with great truth and spirit by Jean Baptiste -Monnoyer.... Queen Mary sat by the painter during the greatest part of -the time he was employed in painting it." - -This looking-glass has disappeared. =Gibbons' fine carving=, however, -over the chimney-piece, of foliage, fruit, and flowers in lime wood -fortunately remains. When recently cleaned and repaired, it was found to -be so fragile and friable as to necessitate its being all painted over -in order to hold the fragments together. An oaken colour, "flatted," in -accord with the prevailing tone of the panelling in the room was thought -most suitable. - -The two windows of this room, the sashes of which were altered by Kent, -look into a small courtyard. - -The dimensions of the room are 27 feet 4 inches long, 26 feet 10 inches -wide, by 16 feet 4 inches high to the top of the cornice, 18 feet to the -highest part of the ceiling. - -We presume it to have been in this room that William III. in May, 1698, -received the Count de Bonde, Ambassador Extraordinary from the Court of -Sweden, when he returned to the King the insignia of the Order of the -Garter, which had belonged to Charles XI., King of Sweden. "The -Sovereign assembled the Knights Companions upon this occasion in the -Presence Chamber, and all appeared in their mantles, caps, and feathers, -attended by the officers of the order in their mantles, and the heralds -in their coats." - - -Painted Ceiling of the Presence Chamber. - -The ceiling of this room, like most of those in the state apartments -built by Wren, is "coved" or "saucer-domed," and was no doubt originally -quite plainly-coloured, with a light cream-tinted wash. As we see it -now, it gives the idea of an attempt by Kent to imitate Raphael's Loggie -in the Vatican. The paintings have been stated to be in imitation of -those "then recently discovered on the ruined walls of Herculaneum and -Pompeii," but these were not unearthed until twenty-five years after. -Kent has, however, carefully followed what indications he could get of -the decorative treatment of Roman classic art. The colours are -bright-reds and blues, enriched with gilding on a white ground. The -ceiling, or rather the plaster behind the cornice, bears the date, 1724. -Faulkner, in his "History of Kensington," considers that "a proof of his -liberal zeal for the interest of his profession is clearly evinced by -his adopting this antique ornament rather than his own historical -compositions." Why this should be the case, however, he does not deign -to explain. - - -Ceremonial Pictures of the Queen's Reign. - -In this room are arranged the ceremonial pictures of the reign of the -Queen, copied from well-known pictures by British artists. They afford -most accurate representations of the events depicted, and no doubt will -live to remotest history, as interesting and curious specimens of early -Victorian art. The scenes, and the participants in them are all too well -known to require explanation. Perhaps later on the numbered "key-plans" -will be put up to assist in the identification of each personage. - -271 Coronation of the Queen in Westminster Abbey, June 28th, 1838. Her -Majesty taking the Sacrament . . . . . _After_ C. R. LESLIE, R.A. - - When the Queen had been formally invested with the insignia of her - sovereignty, and had received the homage of the peers, she laid - aside the crown and sceptre, and following the Archbishop, advanced - to the altar to receive the sacrament. - -272 Marriage of the Queen and Prince Albert at the Chapel Royal, St. -James's, 10th February, 1840 . . . . . _After_ HAYTER. - -273 Christening of the Princess Royal at Buckingham Palace, 10th -February, 1841 . . . . . _After_ C. R. LESLIE, R.A. - -274 Marriage of the Princess Royal to Prince Frederick William of -Prussia in the Chapel Royal, St. James's, 25th January, -1858 . . . . . _After_ J. PHILLIP, R.A. - -275 Christening of the Prince of Wales in St. George's Chapel, Windsor -Castle, 28th of January, 1842 . . . . . _After_ HAYTER. - - -276 Marriage of the Prince of Wales and the Princess Alexandra of -Denmark in St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, 10th March, -1863 . . . . . _After_ W. P. FRITH, R.A. - -277 A Sketch of the Queen leaving Westminster Abbey after her -Coronation . . . . . _By_ CAMILLE ROQUEPLAN. - - Camille Roqueplan was a French artist sent over by Louis Philippe - to make sketches at the Queen's Coronation. - -278 The Marriage of H.R.H. the Duke of Connaught and Strathearn and -H.R.H. Princess Louise Margaret of Prussia in St. George's Chapel, -Windsor, 13th March, 1879 . . . . . _After_ SIDNEY P. HALL. - -[Illustration: Decoration] - -[Illustration: Decoration] - - CHISWICK PRESS:--CHARLES WHITTINGHAM AND CO. - TOOKS COURT, CHANCERY LANE, LONDON. - - * * * * * - -Typographical errors corrected by the etext transcriber: - -William Talman, Comptroler=> William Talman, Comptroller {pg 18} - -his exernal architectural effect=> his external architectural effect {pg -63} - -being situate=> being situated {pg 68} - -his face his shaven=> his face is shaven {pg 91} - -Prince Octavious was born on February 23rd, 1779=> Prince Octavius was -born on February 23rd, 1779 {pg 106} - - - - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Kensington Palace, the birthplace of -the Queen, by Ernest Law - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK KENSINGTON PALACE *** - -***** This file should be named 43428-8.txt or 43428-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/3/4/2/43428/ - -Produced by Delphine Lettau, Chuck Greif and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: Kensington Palace, the birthplace of the Queen - being an historical guide to the state rooms, pictures and gardens - -Author: Ernest Law - -Release Date: August 9, 2013 [EBook #43428] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK KENSINGTON PALACE *** - - - - -Produced by Delphine Lettau, Chuck Greif and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - -</pre> - -<hr class="full" /> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/cover.jpg" -class="caption" width="365" height="500" alt="bookcover" title="bookcover" /> -</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/title_sml.jpg" width="500" height="85" alt="Kensington Palace: the Birthplace of the Queen." title="Kensington Palace: the Birthplace of the Queen." /> -</p> - -<p><a name="page_001" id="page_001"></a></p> - -<p class="engp">Illustrated.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/i001_lg.jpg"> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" -height="14" /></a><br /> -<a href="images/i001_lg.jpg"> -<img class="caption" src="images/i001_sml.jpg" width="200" height="197" -alt="Image not available: THIS MINIATURE REPRESENTS THE QUEEN AT THE AGE OF EIGHT" -title="THIS MINIATURE REPRESENTS THE QUEEN AT THE AGE OF EIGHT" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">THIS MINIATURE REPRESENTS THE QUEEN<br /> -AT THE AGE OF EIGHT</span> -</p> - -<p class="cb">1819 -<span style="margin-left: 2em;margin-right: 2em;">M<small>AY</small> 24<small>TH</small></span> -1899</p> - -<p><a name="page_002" id="page_002"></a></p> - -<p><a name="page_003" id="page_003"></a></p> - -<p><a name="page_004" id="page_004"></a></p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/i002_lg.jpg"> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" -height="14" /></a><br /> -<a href="images/i002_lg.jpg"> -<img class="caption" src="images/i002_sml.jpg" width="388" height="500" -alt="Image not available: H.R.H. THE PRINCESS VICTORIA AT THE AGE OF FOUR. -(From a Painting by Denning.)" -title="H.R.H. THE PRINCESS VICTORIA AT THE AGE OF FOUR. -(From a Painting by Denning.)" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">H.R.H. THE PRINCESS VICTORIA AT THE AGE OF FOUR.<br /> -(From a Painting by Denning.)</span> -</p> - -<p><a name="page_005" id="page_005"></a></p> - -<h1> -<img src="images/i002a_sml.jpg" class="eng" - width="500" height="118" alt="Kensington Palace" title="Kensington Palace" /> -</h1> - -<p class="c"><b>THE BIRTHPLACE OF THE QUEEN</b><br /> -<br /> -<i><big>ILLUSTRATED</big></i><br /> -<br /> -BEING AN<br /> -<big>H I S T O R I C A L G U I D E</big><br /> -TO THE STATE ROOMS, PICTURES, AND GARDENS<br /> -<br /> -<small>BY</small><br /> -<span class="eng">Ernest Law, B.A.</span><br /> -<span class="smcap">Barrister-at-Law</span><br /> -<i>Author of “The History of Hampton Court Palace;” “The Royal<br /> -Gallery of Hampton Court;” “Vandyck’s Pictures<br /> -at Windsor Castle,” etc.</i><br /> -<br /> -<img src="images/colophon.jpg" -width="40" -height="48" -alt="" -title="" -/> -<br /> -<br /> -<i>Notice.</i>—This Catalogue and Guide are copyright, and immediate proceedings in<br /> -Chancery will be taken against any infringers thereof.<br /> -<br /> -LONDON<br /> -GEORGE BELL AND SONS<br /> -1899<br /> -</p> - -<p><a name="page_006" id="page_006"></a></p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/i003_sml.jpg" width="483" height="131" -class="caption" alt="Decoration of the text not available" title="Decoration" /> -</p> - -<p class="headd"><a name="Notice_to_Visitors" id="Notice_to_Visitors"></a> -<img src="images/i003a_sml.jpg" class="eng" width="359" height="85" alt="Notice to Visitors." title="Notice to Visitors." /> -</p> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra"><img src="images/i003b.jpg" -width="80" -height="80" -alt="T" -title="T" -/></span>HE State Rooms of Kensington Palace, and likewise Queen Anne’s -Orangery, will be open to the public every day in the week throughout -the year, except Wednesdays, unless notice be, at any time, given to the -contrary.</p> - -<p>The hours of opening will be 10 o’clock in the morning on week days, and -2 o’clock in the afternoon on Sundays.</p> - -<p>The hours of closing will be 6 o’clock in the evening from the 1st of -April to the 30th of September, both days inclusive, and 4 o’clock -during the winter months.</p> - -<p>They will be closed on Christmas Day and Good Friday.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/i003c_sml.jpg" width="106" height="97" -class="caption" alt="Decoration of the text not available" title="Decoration" /> -</p> - -<p><a name="page_007" id="page_007"></a></p> - -<p><a name="page_008" id="page_008"></a></p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/i004_lg.jpg"> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" -height="14" /></a> -<a href="images/i004_giant.jpg"> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="30" -height="23" /></a> -<br /> -<a href="images/i004_lg.jpg"> -<img class="caption" src="images/i004_sml.jpg" width="595" height="352" -alt="Image not available: KENSINGTON PALACE AND GARDENS IN THE REIGN OF QUEEN ANNE." -title="KENSINGTON PALACE AND GARDENS IN THE REIGN OF QUEEN ANNE." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">KENSINGTON PALACE AND GARDENS IN THE REIGN OF QUEEN ANNE.</span> -</p> - -<p><a name="page_009" id="page_009"></a></p> - -<p><a name="page_010" id="page_010"></a></p> - -<p><a name="page_011" id="page_011"></a></p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/i005_sml.jpg" width="500" height="117" -class="caption" alt="Decoration of the text not available" title="Decoration" /> -</p> - -<h2><a name="Contents" id="Contents"></a> -<img src="images/i005a_sml.jpg" width="195" height="83" alt="Contents." title="Contents." /> -</h2> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="" -style="margin:auto auto;max-width:80%;"> - -<tr><td align="right" colspan="3"><small>PAGE</small></td></tr> -<tr><td rowspan="4" valign="top"><span class="letra"><img src="images/contF.jpg" -width="100" -height="111" -alt="F" -title="F" -/></span></td><td>RONTISPIECE. H.R.H. the Princess Victoria at the age of Four</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_004">4</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="smcap">Notice to Visitors</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_006">6</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="smcap"><i>Plate</i>—Kensington Palace and Gardens in the Reign of Queen Anne</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_008">8</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="smcap">Preface</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_014">14</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td colspan="3"> </td></tr> - -<tr><td colspan="3" align="center"><span class="eng">Historical Sketch.</span></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="smcap" colspan="2">Early History of Kensington</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_017">17</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="smcap" colspan="2">Building of the Palace</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_018">18</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="smcap" colspan="2">Deaths of Queen Mary and King William</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_019">19</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="smcap" colspan="2">Queen Anne at Kensington Palace</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_020">20</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="smcap" colspan="2">Death of Prince George of Denmark</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_022">22</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="smcap" colspan="2">Death of Queen Anne</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_022">22</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="smcap" colspan="2">George I. at Kensington Palace</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_023">23</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="smcap" colspan="2">George II. at Kensington Palace</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_024">24</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="smcap" colspan="2">Kensington in George III.’s Reign</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_025">25</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="smcap" colspan="2">Birth of Queen Victoria</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_026">26</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="smcap" colspan="2"> <i>Plate</i>—The Duchess of Kent with Princess Victoria (aged Two Years)</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_027">27</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="smcap" colspan="2">Queen Victoria’s Early Years at Kensington</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_029">29</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="smcap" colspan="2">The Queen’s Childhood at Kensington Palace</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_030">30</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="smcap" colspan="2"> <i>Plate</i>—The Princess Victoria in 1825</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_031">31</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="smcap" colspan="2">Princess Victoria becomes Heiress to the Throne</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_034">34</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="smcap" colspan="2">Queen Victoria’s Accession</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_036">36</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="smcap" colspan="2">Queen Victoria’s First Council</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_037">37</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="smcap" colspan="2">Kensington Palace in Recent Years</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_040">40</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="smcap" colspan="2">Restoration of the State Rooms</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_041">41</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="smcap" colspan="2">Methods of Restoration</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_042">42</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="smcap" colspan="2">Arrangement of the Pictures</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_044">44</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="smcap" colspan="2">Associations with Queen Victoria</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_045">45</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td colspan="3"> </td></tr> -<tr><td colspan="3" align="center"><span class="eng">Descriptive and Historical Guide.</span></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="smcap" colspan="2">Old Kensington Palace Gardens</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_047">47</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="smcap" colspan="2">Queen Anne’s Gardens</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_049">49</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="smcap" colspan="2">Queen Anne’s Orangery</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_051">51</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="smcap" colspan="2"> Terrace of Queen Anne’s Orangery</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_053">53</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="smcap" colspan="2"> Exterior of Queen Anne’s Orangery</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_054">54</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="smcap" colspan="2"> Interior of Queen Anne’s Orangery</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_055">55</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="smcap" colspan="2"> The Alcoves of Queen Anne’s Orangery</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_056">56</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="smcap" colspan="2"> Restoration of Queen Anne’s Orangery</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_056">56</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="smcap" colspan="2">Kensington Gardens</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_058">58</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="smcap" colspan="2"> Queen Caroline’s Improvements in Kensington Gardens</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_058">58</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="smcap" colspan="2"> Kensington Gardens in the Nineteenth Century</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_059">59</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="smcap" colspan="2"> <i>Plate</i>—South Front of Kensington Palace in 1819—after Westall</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_061">61</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="smcap" colspan="2">South Front of the Palace</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_063">63</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="smcap" colspan="2"> Wren’s Domestic Style</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_063">63</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="smcap" colspan="2">East Front of the Palace</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_064">64</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="smcap" colspan="2"> <i>Plate</i>—Plan of the State Rooms</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_066">66</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="smcap" colspan="2">Public Entrance to the Palace</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_067">67</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="smcap" colspan="2">Queen’s Staircase</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_068">68</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="smcap" colspan="2"> Old Oak Wainscoting of the Staircase</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_069">69</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="smcap" colspan="2"> Window Sashes of the Staircase</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_069">69</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="smcap" colspan="2">Queen Mary’s Gallery</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_070">70</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="smcap" colspan="2"> Wainscoting and Carvings of Queen Mary’s Gallery</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_071">71</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="smcap" colspan="2"> Pictures in Queen Mary’s Gallery. Portraits of the Time of William and Mary to George II</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_073">73</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="smcap" colspan="2">Queen’s Closet</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_077">77</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="smcap" colspan="2"> Pictures of “Old London”</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_077">77</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="smcap" colspan="2">Queen Anne’s Private Dining Room</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_080">80</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="smcap" colspan="2"> Pictures in Queen Anne’s Private Dining Room</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_081">81</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="smcap" colspan="2">Queen Mary’s Privy Chamber</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_083">83</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="smcap" colspan="2"> Pictures in Queen Mary’s Privy Chamber</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_083">83</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="smcap" colspan="2">Queen Caroline’s Drawing Room</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_087">87</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="smcap" colspan="2"> Painted Ceiling of the Queen’s Drawing Room</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_088">88</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="smcap" colspan="2"> Contemporary French and German Portraits</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_088">88</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="smcap" colspan="2">The Cupola or Cube Room</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_093">93</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="smcap" colspan="2"> The Painted Ceiling of the Cube Room</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_094">94</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="smcap" colspan="2"> <i>Plate</i>—The Cupola or Cube Room as it was when the Queen was Baptized in it</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_095">95</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="smcap" colspan="2"> Painted Walls of the Cube Room</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_096">96</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="smcap" colspan="2"> General Appearance of the Cupola Room</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_098">98</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="smcap" colspan="2">King’s Drawing Room</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_099">99</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="smcap" colspan="2"> Painted Ceiling of the King’s Drawing Room</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_099">99</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="smcap" colspan="2"> William Kent, the Royal and Fashionable Decorator</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_100">100</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="smcap" colspan="2"> <i>Plate</i>—King’s Drawing Room</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_101">101</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="smcap" colspan="2"> Kent the Father of Modern Gardening</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_103">103</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="smcap" colspan="2"> West’s Pictures in the King’s Drawing Room</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_104">104</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="smcap" colspan="2">King’s Privy Chamber</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_108">108</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="smcap" colspan="2"> Portraits of George III.’s Time</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_108">108</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="smcap" colspan="2">The Nursery</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_113">113</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="smcap" colspan="2"> Pictures and Prints illustrative of the Queen’s Life and Reign</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_113">113</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="smcap" colspan="2">Ante-Room</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_114">114</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="smcap" colspan="2"> Prints illustrative of the Life and Reign of the Queen</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_114">114</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="smcap" colspan="2">Queen Victoria’s Bedroom</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_115">115</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="smcap" colspan="2"> Prints of the Life and Reign of the Queen</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_116">116</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="smcap" colspan="2"> Mementoes and Relics of the Queen’s Childhood collected in “Queen Victoria’s Bedroom”</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_116">116</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="smcap" colspan="2">King’s Gallery</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_117">117</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="smcap" colspan="2"> Decorative Carvings in the “King’s Gallery”</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_117">117</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="smcap" colspan="2"> Chimney-Piece, Map and Dial</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_118">118</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="smcap" colspan="2"> <i>Plate</i>—The King’s Gallery</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_119">119</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="smcap" colspan="2"> Painting of the Ceiling and Wainscot of the King’s Gallery</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_121">121</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="smcap" colspan="2"> Naval Pictures in the King’s Gallery</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_122">122</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="smcap" colspan="2">King’s Grand Staircase</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_129">129</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="smcap" colspan="2"> Kent’s Alterations in the King’s Grand Staircase</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_130">130</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="smcap" colspan="2"> <i>Plate</i>—The King’s Grand Staircase</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_131">131</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="smcap" colspan="2"> Painted Walls of the King’s Grand Staircase</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_133">133</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="smcap" colspan="2"> Painted Ceiling of the King’s Grand Staircase</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_135">135</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="smcap" colspan="2">Presence Chamber</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_137">137</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="smcap" colspan="2"> Painted Ceiling of the Presence Chamber</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_138">138</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="smcap" colspan="2"> Ceremonial Pictures of Queen Victoria’s Reign</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_139">139</a></td></tr> -</table> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/i006_sml.jpg" width="99" height="65" -class="caption" alt="Decoration of the text not available" title="Decoration" /> -</p> - -<p><a name="page_014" id="page_014"></a></p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/i007_sml.jpg" width="473" height="134" -class="caption" alt="Decoration of the text not available" title="Decoration" /> -</p> - -<p class="headd"><a name="Preface" id="Preface"></a> -<img src="images/i007a_sml.jpg" width="153" height="69" alt="Preface." title="Preface." /> -</p> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra"><img src="images/prefT.jpg" -width="100" -height="105" -alt="T" -title="T" -/></span>HE following pages, compiled under the sanction of the Lord Chamberlain -of Her Majesty’s Household and the First Commissioner of Her Majesty’s -Works and Buildings, are intended to meet the requirements of visitors -to the State Rooms of Kensington Palace, now open by command of the -Queen to the inspection of the public during Her Majesty’s pleasure. -This little book, therefore, is to be understood as aiming only at a -descriptive and historical account of the particular parts of the -building on view—not, in any sense, as attempting a general history of -the Palace. Nevertheless, the author may, perhaps, be permitted to say -that, as far as his object extends, he has endeavoured to render the -information here given as accurate and complete as possible, by devoting -the same amount of time and labour to research and verification, as -though he had been writing a book of a critical nature for a restricted -circle of readers, instead of a mere handbook for ordinary sightseers.</p> - -<p>In this way, the writer conceives, can he best promote the object which, -it may be assumed, the Queen and Her Majesty’s Government have had in -view in restoring and opening these State Rooms<a name="page_015" id="page_015"></a> to the public—namely, -that they should serve as an object-lesson in history and art, and a -refining influence of popular culture and education.</p> - -<p>In pursuance of this design the author has had recourse not only to such -well-known standard authorities on his subject as Pyne’s “History of -Royal Residences,” 1819; Faulkner’s “History of Kensington,” 1820; Leigh -Hunt’s “Old Court Suburb,” 1853; and Mr. Loftie’s -“Kensington—Picturesque and Historical,” 1887; but also to a large -number of earlier and less known historical and topographical works, -which have served to illustrate many things connected with the history -of this interesting old building.</p> - -<p>His main sources of information, however, have been the old manuscripts, -parchment rolls, and state papers, preserved in the British Museum and -Record Office—especially the “Declared Accounts” and “Treasury Papers,” -containing the original estimates, accounts and reports of Sir -Christopher Wren and his successors, relating to the works and buildings -at Kensington. None of these have ever before been examined or -published; and they throw much light on the art and decoration of this -palace, while also, for the first time, setting at rest many hitherto -debatable points.</p> - -<p>The author must here once again—as in works of a similar nature -elsewhere—express his obligations for the kind assistance he has -received from all those who have charge of the Queen’s palaces—the Hon. -Sir Spencer Ponsonby Fane, G.C.B., Comptroller of Her Majesty’s -Household; the Hon. Reginald Brett, C.B., Secretary of Her Majesty’s -Board of Works and Buildings; Sir John Taylor, K.C.B., Consulting -Architect and Surveyor to the Board; and Mr. Philip, Clerk of the Works -at Kensington Palace.</p> - -<p>At the same time he wishes to make it clear that for the information -contained herein, and for the opinions and views expressed, he himself -is alone responsible.<a name="page_016" id="page_016"></a></p> - -<p>Here also the author must make his acknowledgments to the editor of “The -Gentlewoman,” who has kindly lent him the blocks for the portraits of -the Queen.</p> - -<p>It may be as well to take this opportunity of emphasizing what is more -fully insisted on in subsequent pages, that Kensington Palace, as a -public resort, is not to be considered in the light of an Art Gallery, -but as a Palace with historical pictures in it. The clear understanding -of this may prevent misapprehension as to the scheme followed in -restoring the state rooms to their original state, where the -pictures—and their frames—are arranged on the walls as a part only of -their furniture and decoration.</p> - -<p>Finally, it may be observed that though the outline of the history of -the Palace, prefixed to the description of the State Rooms, has -necessarily been brief, the Queen’s early life, and the interesting -events that took place here in June 1837, seemed to require a fuller -treatment. These, therefore, have been described in detail, mainly in -the words of eye-witnesses, which, though they have often been printed -before, may, being repeated here, acquire—the compiler has thought—a -new vividness and interest, when read on the very spot where they were -enacted; and thus insure for these famous scenes an even wider -popularity than before.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/i008_sml.jpg" width="95" height="68" -class="caption" alt="Decoration of the text not available" title="Decoration" /> -</p> - -<p><a name="page_017" id="page_017"></a></p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/i008a_sml.jpg" width="475" height="151" -class="caption" alt="Decoration of the text not available" title="Decoration" /> -</p> - -<h2>H I S T O R I C A L S K E T C H.</h2> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/i008b_sml.jpg" width="544" height="70" alt="Early History of Kensington." title="Early History of Kensington." /> -</p> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra"><img src="images/i008c.jpg" -width="80" -height="82" -alt="K" -title="K" -/></span>ENSINGTON PALACE, built by William and Mary, occupied by Queen Anne as -one of her favourite residences, enlarged by George I. and greatly -appreciated by George II. and his queen, Caroline, has received a -greater renown and more interesting associations from having been the -birthplace and early home of Queen Victoria. In celebration of the -eightieth anniversary of that ever-memorable and auspicious event, Her -Majesty decided on opening the State Apartments free to the public on -the 24th of May, 1899, during Her Majesty’s pleasure.</p> - -<p>Before recapitulating the events of the Queen’s early life here, we must -give a brief outline of the history of the Palace since it became a -royal residence.</p> - -<p>The original building, of which it is probable that a good deal still -stands, was erected mainly by Sir Heneage Finch, Lord Chancellor and -Earl of Nottingham, who acquired the estate, including some hundred and -fifty acres of meadow and park—now Kensington Gardens—from his brother -Sir John Finch. Hence it was known as Nottingham House; and under that -title it was bought from Daniel Finch, the second earl, for the sum of -18,000<a name="page_018" id="page_018"></a> guineas, in the summer or autumn of 1689, by King William III., -who was anxious to have a convenient residence near enough to Whitehall -for the transaction of business, and yet sufficiently far to be out of -the smoky atmosphere, in which he found it impossible to breathe. The -King, assisted by his Queen, at once set about enlarging and -embellishing the mansion, and laying out new gardens.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/i009_sml.jpg" width="417" height="71" alt="Building of the Palace." title="Building of the Palace." /> -</p> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra"><img src="images/i003b.jpg" -width="80" -height="80" -alt="T" -title="T" -/></span><small>HE</small> works seem to have been begun on or very soon after the 1st of -October, 1689. We learn this from the enrolled account of “Thomas Lloyd, -Paymaster of Their Majesties Workes and Buildinges,” made up from -“paybookes subscribed with the handes of Sir Christopher Wren, Knight -Surveyor of the workes; William Talman, Comptroller; John Oliver, Master -Mason; and Matthew Bankes, Master Carpenter, and with the hand of -Nicolas Hawkesmore, clerke of the said workes, according to the ancient -usual and due course of the office of their Majesties workes.”</p> - -<p>In the second week of November a news-letter informs us that the new -apartment, then being built, “suddenly fell flat to the ground, killing -seven or eight workmen and labourers. The Queen had been in that -apartment but a little while before.”</p> - -<p>By February 25th, 1690, they were sufficiently advanced for Evelyn to -record in his diary: “I went to Kensington, which King William has -bought of Lord Nottingham, and altered, but was yet a patched building, -but with the garden, it is a very sweete villa, having to it the Park, -and a straight new way through this Park.” The making of this new road -cost just about £8,000.</p> - -<p>Building operations were continued during the King’s absence in Ireland; -and the day before the news of the battle of the Boyne reached Queen -Mary she spent a few quiet hours in the gardens here, writing the same -evening, July 5th, to William: “The place made me think how happy I was -there when I had your dear<a name="page_019" id="page_019"></a> company.” Until his return she continued to -overlook the building, and on August 6th following, writes again as to -the progress of the building: “The outside of the house is fiddling -work, which takes up more time than can be imagined; and while the -<i>schafolds</i> are up, the windows must be boarded up, but as soon as that -is done, your own apartment may be furnished.” And a week after: “I have -been this day to Kensington, which looks really very well, at least to a -poor body like me, who have been so long condemned to this place -(Whitehall) and see nothing but water and wall.”</p> - -<p>The work of improving Kensington House continued for another year or -more, costing during this period £60,000. It was, however, far from -finished, when, in November, 1691, a serious fire occurred, -necessitating re-building at a cost of upwards of £6,000. From the year -1691 to 1696 another £35,000 was spent in further “altering the old -house,” and in additional works of decoration in the galleries and other -rooms—details as to which will be given in our description of those -apartments.</p> - -<p>Extensive alterations and improvements were also in progress at the same -time in the gardens, which at this period were confined to the ground -east and south of the Palace, as to which we shall refer again.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/i009b_sml.jpg" width="500" height="115" alt="Deaths of Queen Mary and King William." title="Deaths of Queen Mary and King William." /> -</p> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra"><img src="images/i009c.jpg" -width="80" -height="81" -alt="E" -title="E" -/></span>RE the work, however, was completed, Queen Mary was taken ill at -Kensington with small pox in December, 1694. On learning the nature of -her illness she locked herself in her closet, burned some papers, and -calmly awaited her fate, which quickly came a few days after, the 28th -of December.</p> - -<p>Evelyn visited Kensington again in 1696, and speaks of it then as “noble -but not greate,” commending especially the King’s Gallery,<a name="page_020" id="page_020"></a> which was -then filled with the finest pictures in the royal collection, “a greate -collection of Porcelain, and a pretty private library. The gardens about -it very delicious.” Peter the Great’s visit to William III. in this same -gallery is referred to in our description of it below.</p> - -<p>The next event of moment is William III.’s own death at Kensington -Palace, after his accident in Hampton Court Park. “Je tirs vers ma fin,” -said he to Albemarle, who had hurried from Holland to his master’s -bedside; and to his physician: “I know that you have done all that skill -and learning could do for me; but the case is beyond your art, I must -submit.” “Can this,” he said soon after, “last long?” He was told that -the end was approaching. He swallowed a cordial, and asked for Bentinck. -Those were his last articulate words. “Bentinck instantly came to the -bedside, bent down, and placed his ear close to the King’s mouth. The -lips of the dying man moved, but nothing could be heard. The King took -the hand of his earliest friend and pressed it tenderly to his heart. In -that moment, no doubt, all that had cast a slight passing cloud over -their long pure friendship was forgotten. It was now between seven and -eight in the morning. He closed his eyes, and gasped for breath. The -bishops knelt down and read the commendatory prayer. When it ended -William was no more. When his remains were laid out, it was found that -he wore next to his skin a small piece of black silk ribbon. The lords -in waiting ordered it to be taken off. It contained a gold ring and a -lock of the hair of Mary.”</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/i010_sml.jpg" width="500" height="60" alt="Queen Anne at Kensington Palace." title="Queen Anne at Kensington Palace." /> -</p> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra"><img src="images/i005b.jpg" -width="80" -height="89" -alt="F" -title="F" -/></span>OND as William and Mary had been of Kensington, Queen Anne was even -more attached to it still;—and it became her usual residence whenever -it was necessary for her to be near the great offices of state. She -seems to have remained satisfied with the palace as it had been finished -by her<a name="page_021" id="page_021"></a> predecessors, except for the addition of one or two small rooms -“in the little court behind the gallery,” perhaps because King William -bequeathed to her a debt of upwards of £4,000 for his buildings at -Kensington.</p> - -<p>She devoted, however, a great deal of care and expense to the improving -and enlarging of the Palace gardens—as to which we shall have more to -say when we come to describe them. Queen Anne, indeed, was, in this -respect, thoroughly English. She loved her plants and flowers, and would -spend hours pottering about her gardens at Kensington. The appearance of -her gardens will best be seen from our reduced facsimile of Kip’s large -engraving, published about 1714 in his “Britannia Illustrata.” In the -right distance is seen that most beautiful building called the -“Orangery” or green-house, erected by her orders—which we shall fully -describe on a subsequent page.</p> - -<p>Besides enlarging the gardens round about the Palace, Queen Anne greatly -extended the area of the park-like enclosed grounds attached to -Kensington Palace. Mr. Loftie has declared that “neither Queen Anne nor -Queen Caroline took an acre from Hyde Park.” But this we have found not -to be the fact. In an old report on the “State of the Royal Gardens and -Plantations at Ladyday, 1713,” among the Treasury Papers in the Record -Office, there is a distinct reference to “The Paddock joyning to the -Gardens, <i>taken from Hyde Park in 1705</i>, and stocked with fine deer and -antelopes;” and again in another document, dated May 26th in the same -year, being a memorial to the Lord High Treasurer from Henry Portman, -Ranger of Hyde Park, it is stated that “near 100 acres had been enclosed -from the park of Kensington, whereby the profits he had by herbage were -much reduced.” Later on, in George II.’s reign, in 1729, we find a grant -of £200 made to William, Earl of Essex, Ranger of Hyde Park, “in -consideration of loss of herbage of that part of the said park which is -laid into his Majesty’s gardens at Kensington.<a name="page_022" id="page_022"></a>”</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/i011_sml.jpg" width="500" height="64" alt="Death of Prince George of Denmark." title="Death of Prince George of Denmark." /> -</p> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra"><img src="images/i011a.jpg" -width="80" -height="81" -alt="I" -title="I" -/></span>T was at Kensington Palace that Anne’s husband, Prince George of -Denmark, at length succumbed, in 1708, to a prolonged illness of gout -and asthma. During his last sickness and death, Anne had the -“consolation” of the Duchess of Marlborough’s “sympathy.” Her Grace’s -deportment, according to an eye-witness, “while the Prince was actually -dying, was of such a nature that the Queen, then in the height of her -grief, was not able to bear it.” She actually forced her way, as -Mistress of the Robes, to the poor Prince’s deathbed, and only drew into -the background when peremptorily ordered by the heart-broken wife to -leave the room. After Prince George had breathed his last, she stepped -forward again, and when all the others had left, insisted on remaining -with poor Anne, who was “weeping and <i>clapping</i> her hands together, and -swaying herself backwards and forwards” in an agony of grief. The Queen -was at length induced to accede to the Duchess’s advice to leave “<i>that -dismal body</i>” and remove to St. James’s.</p> - -<p>Two years later, in these very same state rooms of Kensington Palace -took place the famous final interview between the Queen and her whilom -favourite, also subsequently noticed in our description of “Queen Anne’s -Private Dining Room.”</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/i011b_sml.jpg" width="435" height="80" alt="Death of Queen Anne." title="Death of Queen Anne." /> -</p> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra"><img src="images/i011c.jpg" -width="80" -height="81" -alt="I" -title="I" -/></span>N the summer of the year 1714 Queen Anne was seized, at Kensington -Palace, with apoplexy, brought on by political worries. She had been -failing in health for some time; and on July 27th had an attack of blood -to the head, while presiding at her Cabinet Council, and was carried in -a<a name="page_023" id="page_023"></a> dead faint to her bed. Four days after, Charles Ford, an official of -the government and a correspondent of Swift, wrote: “I am just come from -Kensington, where I have spent these two days. At present the Queen is -alive, and better than could have been expected; her disorder began -about eight or nine yesterday morning. The doctors ordered her head to -be shaved; while it was being done, the Queen fell into convulsions, or, -as they say, a fit of apoplexy, which lasted two hours, during which she -showed but little sign of life.” At six in the evening of the same day, -another anxious watcher within the palace walls, says Miss Strickland, -wrote to Swift: “At the time I am writing, the breath is <i>said</i> to be in -the Queen’s nostrils, but that is all. No hopes of her recovery,”—and -in effect she breathed her last the following day, in the fiftieth year -of her age. “Her life would have lasted longer,” wrote Roger Coke, in -his “Detection,” “if she had not eaten so much.... She supped too much -chocolate, and died monstrously fat; insomuch that the coffin wherein -her remains were deposited was almost square, and was bigger than that -of the Prince, her husband, who was known to be a fat, bulky man.”</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/i011d_sml.jpg" width="500" height="70" alt="George I. at Kensington Palace." title="George I. at Kensington Palace." /> -</p> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra"><img src="images/i011e.jpg" -width="80" -height="79" -alt="T" -title="T" -/></span>HE day after the death of Queen Anne, King George was proclaimed her -successor; and soon after his accession he entered into possession of -Kensington Palace. Taking, on his part, also, a fancy to the place, he -decided, about the year 1721, to erect a new and additional suite of -state rooms, the building of which was intrusted to William Kent, as we -shall fully explain in our description of the new state rooms -constructed by him. Otherwise, we hear scarcely anything of George I. in -connection with Kensington. He lived here, indeed, in the greatest -seclusion with his German favourites, and was scarcely ever seen, even -in the gardens, which in his reign first became the fashionable<a name="page_024" id="page_024"></a> -promenade, where, in the words of Tickell, who wrote a poem on the -subject, in imitation of Pope’s “Rape of the Lock”—</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“The dames of Britain oft in crowds repair<br /></span> -<span class="i0">To groves and lawns, and unpolluted air,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Here, while the town in damps and darkness lies,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">They breathe in sunshine, and see azure skies.”<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/i012_sml.jpg" width="500" height="62" alt="George II. at Kensington Palace." title="George II. at Kensington Palace." /> -</p> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra"><img src="images/i012a.jpg" -width="80" -height="80" -alt="I" -title="I" -/></span>N the reign of George II. Kensington became more than ever the -favourite residence of the court, and much insight into life within the -walls of the Palace at this time is afforded us by such books as Lady -Suffolk’s “Memoirs,” Lady Sundon’s “Letters,” Walpole’s “Reminiscences,” -and, above all, of course, by Lord Hervey’s “Memoirs.” Here is a -malignant little sketch drawn by that treacherous, satiric hand: “His -Majesty stayed about five minutes in the gallery; snubbed the Queen, who -was drinking chocolate, for being always ‘stuffing;’ the Princess Emily -for not hearing him; the Princess Caroline for being grown fat; the Duke -of Cumberland for standing awkwardly; Lord Hervey for not knowing what -relation the Prince of Sultzbach was to the Elector Palatine; and then -carried the Queen to walk, and be re-snubbed, in the garden.”</p> - -<p>It was the Princess Emily just mentioned who played a practical joke one -evening at Kensington on Lady Deloraine, by drawing her chair from under -her just as she was going to sit down to cards, thus sending her -sprawling on the floor. The King burst out laughing, and, to revenge -herself, Lady Deloraine played his august Majesty the same trick soon -after, which not unnaturally led to her being forbidden the court for -some time.</p> - -<p>Although Queen Caroline had to put up with a good deal of snubbing, she -managed, at the same time, usually to get her own way. She was very fond -of art; and it was she who discovered, stowed away in a drawer at -Kensington Palace, the famous series <a name="page_025" id="page_025"></a>of Holbein’s drawings. These she -had brought out, and she arranged all the pictures in the State Rooms -according to her liking. Her substituting good pictures for bad in the -great Drawing-Room during one of the King’s absences in Hanover, led to -the famous and oft-quoted scene between Lord Hervey and his Majesty, -who, nevertheless, did not interfere with the Queen’s alterations.</p> - -<p>Caroline was also devoted to the then fashionable craze of gardening, -and was continually planning and altering at Kensington. It was at her -instance—as we shall see presently in greater detail—that the large -extent of land, formerly the park of old Nottingham House, and also a -portion of Hyde Park, was laid out, planted, and improved into what we -now know as “Kensington Gardens.”</p> - -<p>Queen Caroline died in 1737, while George II. survived her twenty-three -years, expiring at Kensington Palace on the morning of the 25th of -October, 1760, at the age of seventy-eight. His end was extremely -sudden. He appeared to be in his usual health, when a heavy fall was -heard in his dressing-room after breakfast. The attendants hurried in, -to find the King lying on the floor, with his head cut open by falling -against a bureau. The right ventricle of his heart had burst.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/i012b_sml.jpg" width="500" height="58" alt="Kensington in George III.’s Reign." title="Kensington in George III.’s Reign." /> -</p> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra"><img src="images/i012c.jpg" -width="80" -height="80" -alt="G" -title="G" -/></span>EORGE II. was the last sovereign to occupy Kensington Palace, which -thenceforth, during the long reign of George III., was left almost -entirely neglected and deserted. Several members of the royal family, -however, occupied, at various periods, suites of apartments in the -Palace. Among others, Caroline of Brunswick, when Princess of Wales, -lived for a short time here with her mother. Her behaviour greatly -scandalized the sober-minded inhabitants of the old court suburb. “She -kept a sort of open house, receiving visitors in a dressing-gown, and -sitting and talking about herself with strangers, on the benches in the -garden, at the risk of being discovered.<a name="page_026" id="page_026"></a>”</p> - -<p>Another but more worthy occupant of the Palace in George III.’s reign -was our present Queen’s uncle, the Duke of Sussex, who collected a -magnificent library here of nearly fifty thousand volumes, which he -spent the last years of his life in arranging and cataloguing.</p> - -<p>Destined, however, to invest Kensington Palace with associations and -memories far transcending any that have gone before, was the advent here -of the Duke and Duchess of Kent, seven months after their marriage. They -occupied most of the old state rooms on the first and second floors of -the easternmost portion of the Palace. Three lives then stood between -the duke and the throne, and little could the newly-married pair have -imagined that from their union would spring the future Queen and Empress -of such a vast and mighty empire as now owns the sway of their first and -only child.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/i013_sml.jpg" width="463" height="80" alt="Birth of Queen Victoria." title="Birth of Queen Victoria." /> -</p> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra"><img src="images/i013a.jpg" -width="80" -height="80" -alt="T" -title="T" -/></span>HE Queen was born on the 24th of May, 1819, at a quarter past four in -the morning. “Some doubt,” says Mr. Loftie, “has been thrown on the -identification of the room in which the future Queen was born; but the -late lamented Dr. Merriman, whose father attended the Duchess, had no -doubt that a spacious chamber, which has been marked with a brass plate, -was that in which the happy event took place.” This room, which is on -the first floor, exactly under the “King’s Privy Chamber”—the State -Rooms being on the second floor—has a low ceiling, and three windows, -facing east, looking into the “Private Gardens.” It has been identified -by the Queen as the one Her Majesty was always told she was born in. The -brass plate, put up at the time of the first Jubilee, in 1887, states: -<i>In this room Queen Victoria was born, May 24th, 1819</i>.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/i013d_lg.jpg"> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" -height="14" /></a> -<br /> -<a href="images/i013d_lg.jpg"> -<img class="caption" src="images/i013d_sml.jpg" width="388" height="500" -alt="Image not available: THE DUCHESS OF KENT WITH PRINCESS VICTORIA (AGED TWO -YEARS)." -title="THE DUCHESS OF KENT WITH PRINCESS VICTORIA (AGED TWO -YEARS)." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">THE DUCHESS OF KENT WITH PRINCESS VICTORIA<br /> -(AGED TWO YEARS).<br /> -(After a picture by Sir William Beechey.)</span> -</p> - -<p>Faulkner, writing the year after the event, confirms this -identification, insomuch that he says: “<i>The lower apartments</i> in the -south-east part of the Palace, beneath the King’s Gallery, have been -for<a name="page_027" id="page_027"></a><a name="page_028" id="page_028"></a><a name="page_029" id="page_029"></a> -some years occupied by His Royal Highness the Duke of Kent, whose -premature decease—eight months after the birth of his daughter—this -nation has so recently and deeply lamented; and they are still the -residence of Her Royal Highness the Duchess.”</p> - -<p>This is how the event was noticed in the “Memoirs” of Baron Stockmar: “A -pretty little Princess, plump as a partridge, was born. The Duke of Kent -was delighted with his child, and liked to show her constantly to his -companions and intimate friends with the words: ‘Take care of her, for -she will be Queen of England.’”</p> - -<p>An interesting letter of the Duke of Kent’s, written a few weeks after -to his chaplain, Dr. Thomas Prince, who had addressed a letter of -congratulation to him while, at the same time, somewhat condoling with -him that a daughter and not a son had been born to him, was published in -the “Times” at the time of the Jubilee of 1897. In it the duke remarked: -“As to the circumstance of that child not proving to be a son instead of -a daughter, I feel it due to myself to declare that such sentiments are -not in unison with my own; for I am decidedly of opinion that the -decrees of Providence are at all times wisest and best.”</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/i014_sml.jpg" width="500" height="111" alt="Queen Victoria’s Early Years at Kensington." title="Queen Victoria’s Early Years at Kensington." /> -</p> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra"><img src="images/i014a.jpg" -width="80" -height="79" -alt="T" -title="T" -/></span>HE next reference we have found to the future Queen, is in a letter, -written on 21st of July, 1820, when, consequently, Her Majesty was a -little more than a year old, by Mr. Wilberforce, who mentions being -received at Kensington Palace by the Duchess of Kent that morning. “She -received me with her fine animated child on the floor, by her side, with -its playthings, of which I soon became one.”</p> - -<p>Most of the future Queen’s early years were passed at Kensington<a name="page_030" id="page_030"></a> Palace -in great privacy and retirement. She was often seen, however, in -Kensington Gardens, her constant companion in her walks being Miss, -afterwards Baroness Lehzen.</p> - -<p>Leigh Hunt, referring to this period, mentions in his “Old Court -Suburb,” having seen her “coming up a cross path from the Bayswater -Gate, with a girl of her own age by her side”—probably the Princess -Feodore, her beloved half-sister and constant companion of her -girlhood—“whose hand she was holding, as if she loved her.... A -magnificent footman in scarlet came behind her.”</p> - -<p>The youthful Princess was sometimes driven in a goat or donkey carriage -in the park and gardens, and, as she grew older, in a small phæton, -drawn by two diminutive ponies. The following gives a little glimpse of -our Queen at this early period of her life:</p> - -<p>“A party consisting of several ladies, a young child, and two men -servants, having in charge a donkey gaily caparisoned with blue ribbons, -and accoutered for the use of the infant ... who skipped along between -her mother and sister, the Princess Feodore, holding a hand of each.”</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/i014_sml.jpg" width="500" height="111" alt="The Queen’s Childhood at Kensington Palace." title="The Queen’s Childhood at Kensington Palace." /> -</p> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra"><img src="images/i015a.jpg" -width="80" -height="80" -alt="I" -title="I" -/></span>N further illustration of the Queen’s life as a little girl with her -mother at Kensington Palace, we cannot do better than quote what Mr. -Holmes, writing with authority as the Queen’s Librarian at Windsor -Castle, tells us in his interesting work, “Queen Victoria,” which, as he -remarks, presents for the first time an accurate account of the -childhood of the Queen. “During these early years, and before a regular -course of studies had been attempted, the family life at the Palace was -simple and regular. Breakfast was served in summer at eight o’clock, -the<a name="page_031" id="page_031"></a><a name="page_032" id="page_032"></a><a name="page_033" id="page_033"></a> -Princess Victoria having her bread and milk and fruit on a little -table by her mother’s side. After breakfast the Princess Feodore studied -with her governess, Miss Lehzen, and the Princess Victoria went out for -a walk or drive. It has been repeatedly said that at this time she was -instructed by her mother; but this is not the case, as the Duchess never -gave her daughter any lessons. At two there was a plain dinner, when the -Duchess had her luncheon. In the afternoon was the usual walk or drive. -At the time of her mother’s dinner the Princess had her supper laid at -her side. At nine she was accustomed to retire to her bed, which was -placed close to her mother’s....”</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/i015_lg.jpg"> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" -height="14" /></a> -<br /> -<a href="images/i015_lg.jpg"> -<img class="caption" src="images/i015_sml.jpg" width="399" height="500" -alt="Image not available: THE PRINCESS VICTORIA IN 1825. -(After a picture by G. Fowler.)" -title="THE PRINCESS VICTORIA IN 1825. -(After a picture by G. Fowler.)" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">THE PRINCESS VICTORIA IN 1825.<br /> -(After a picture by G. Fowler.)</span> -</p> - -<p>“It was not till the Princess had entered her fifth year that she began -to receive any regular instruction.... In this determination not to -force her daughter’s mind, the Duchess of Kent acted on the counsel of -her mother, who had advised her ‘not to tease her little puss with -learning while she was so young.’ The advice was justified by results, -for the Princess made rapid progress.”</p> - -<p>The Earl of Albemarle, who was in attendance on the Duke of Sussex at -Kensington, thus describes in his “Recollections” the appearance of the -Princess when seven years old: “One of my occupations on a morning, -while waiting for the Duke, was to watch from the window the movements -of a bright, pretty little girl, seven years of age. She was in the -habit of watering the plants immediately under the window. It was -amusing to see how impartially she divided the contents of the watering -pot between the flowers and her own little feet. Her simple but becoming -dress contrasted favourably with the gorgeous apparel now worn by the -little damsels of the rising generation—a large straw hat and a suit of -white cotton; a coloured <i>fichu</i> round the neck was the only ornament -she wore.”</p> - -<p>Her education was now conducted on a regular system. Writing, -arithmetic, singing lessons, dancing lessons by Madam Bourdin, “to whose -teaching may be due in some measure the grace of gesture and dignity of -bearing which have always distinguished Her Majesty,” drawing, and the -French language. “German was not allowed to be spoken; English was -always insisted upon, though a knowledge of the German language was -imparted by<a name="page_034" id="page_034"></a> M. Barez. The lessons, however, which were most enjoyed -were those in riding, which has always been since one of the Queen’s -greatest pleasures.”</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/i016_sml.jpg" width="500" height="113" alt="Princess Victoria becomes Heiress to the Throne." title="Princess Victoria becomes Heiress to the Throne." /> -</p> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra"><img src="images/i016a.jpg" -width="80" -height="80" -alt="T" -title="T" -/></span>HE death of the Duke of York, and the remote probability of the Duke -and Duchess of Clarence having any offspring, drew increasing attention -to the movements of the Duchess of Kent and her daughter. “Many stories -are current,” continues Mr. Holmes, “of the behaviour and appearance of -the young Princess. The simplicity of her tastes was particularly -noticed and admired. It was this simplicity of living and careful -training in home life, which endeared not only the Princess, but her -mother also, to the hearts of the whole nation.” Charles Knight, as well -as Leigh Hunt, whom we have already quoted, has recorded the pleasing -impression made upon him by the young Princess. In his “Passages of a -Working Life” he says: “I delighted to walk in Kensington Gardens. As I -passed along the broad central walk, I saw a group on the lawn before -the Palace.... The Duchess of Kent and her daughter, whose years then -numbered nine, were breakfasting in the open air.... What a beautiful -characteristic, it seemed to me, of the training of this royal girl, -that she should not have been taught to shrink from the public eye; that -she should not have been burdened with a premature conception of her -probable high destiny; that she should enjoy the freedom and simplicity -of a child’s nature; that she should not be restrained when she starts -up from the breakfast table and runs to gather a flower in the adjoining -pasture; that her merry laugh should be fearless as the notes of the -thrush in the groves around<a name="page_035" id="page_035"></a> her. I passed on and blessed her; and I -thank God that I have lived to see the golden fruits of such a -training.”</p> - -<p>The Queen was just on the eve of her ninth birthday when, on May 19th, -1828, Sir Walter Scott dined at Kensington Palace with the Duchess of -Kent. He records in his diary: “I was very kindly received by Prince -Leopold, and presented to the little Princess Victoria, the -heir-apparent to the Crown, as things stand.... This little lady is -educated with much care, and watched so closely, that no busy maid has a -moment to whisper, ‘You are heir of England.’ I suspect, if we could -dissect the little heart, we should find some pigeon or other bird of -the air had carried the matter.”</p> - -<p>Sir Walter’s surmise, Mr. Holmes informs us, was not altogether without -foundation; and two years later, when, by the death of her uncle, George -IV., only the life of William IV. stood between her and the throne, she -was formally made acquainted with her position.</p> - -<p>“The early part of the year 1833 was passed at Kensington. There the -course of study was kept up as before, but the Princess now went out -more into society and was seen more in public.... The Princess’s -amusements were her pets, and her walks and drives, and during the -spring and summer she much enjoyed riding.”</p> - -<p>It was at Kensington, in the summer of 1836, that the Queen first saw -her future husband. The Prince in his diary recorded that his aunt, the -Duchess of Kent, “gave a brilliant ball here at Kensington Palace, at -which the gentlemen appeared in uniform and the ladies in so-called -fancy dresses. We remained until four o’clock.... Dear Aunt is very kind -to us, and does everything she can to please us, and our cousin also is -very amiable.”</p> - -<p>The Princess Victoria was at Kensington when she attained her majority, -on the 24th of May, 1837. She was awakened by a serenade; she received -many presents, and the day was kept as a general holiday at Kensington.<a name="page_036" id="page_036"></a></p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/i017_sml.jpg" width="500" height="83" alt="Queen Victoria’s Accession." title="Queen Victoria’s Accession." /> -</p> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra"><img src="images/i017a.jpg" -width="80" -height="80" -alt="L" -title="L" -/></span>ESS than a month after, King William IV. died at Windsor at twelve -minutes past two on the morning of June 20th. As soon as possible the -Archbishop of Canterbury, with Lord Conyngham (the Lord Chamberlain), -started to convey the news to Kensington, where they arrived at five -o’clock in the morning.</p> - -<p>“They knocked, they rang, they thumped,” says “The Diary of a Lady of -Quality,” “for a considerable time before they could rouse the porter at -the gate; they were again kept waiting in the courtyard; they hurried -into one of the lower rooms, where they seemed forgotten by everybody. -They rang the bell, desired that the attendant of the Princess Victoria -might be sent to inform Her Royal Highness that they requested an -audience on business of importance. After another delay, and another -ringing to inquire the cause, the attendant was summoned, who stated -that the Princess was in such a sweet sleep, she could not venture to -disturb her. Then they said, ‘We are come to the <i>Queen</i> on business of -State, and her sleep must give way to that.’”</p> - -<p>“In a few minutes she came into the room,” says Mr. Holmes, “a shawl -thrown over her dressing-gown, her feet in slippers, and her hair -falling down her back. She had been awakened by the Duchess of Kent, who -told Her Majesty she must get up; she went alone into the room where -Lord Conyngham and the archbishop were waiting. The Lord Chamberlain -then knelt down, and presented a paper, announcing the death of her -uncle, to the Queen; and the archbishop said he had come by desire of -Queen Adelaide, who thought the Queen would like to hear in what a -peaceful state the King had been at the last.<a name="page_037" id="page_037"></a>”</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/i017b_sml.jpg" width="500" height="61" alt="Queen Victoria’s First Council." title="Queen Victoria’s First Council." /> -</p> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra"><img src="images/i017c.jpg" -width="80" -height="83" -alt="A" -title="A" -/></span>T nine o’clock the Prime Minister was received in audience alone; and -soon afterwards an informal gathering of Privy Councillors, including -the Queen’s uncle, the Duke of Sussex, the Duke of Wellington, and a -dozen or so of ministers, prelates, and officials, was held in the -anteroom to the Council Chamber, when an address of fealty and homage -was read aloud and signed by those present.</p> - -<p>After this the doors were opened, “disclosing”—to quote the words of -Mr. Barrett Lennard, now the sole survivor of the scene, except the -Queen herself—“a large State Saloon, close to whose threshold there -stood unattended a small, slight, fair-complexioned young lady, -apparently fifteen years of age. She was attired in a close-fitting -dress of black silk, her light hair parted and drawn from her forehead; -she wore no ornament whatever on her dress or person. The Duke of Sussex -advanced, embraced and kissed her—his niece the Queen. Lord Melbourne -and others kissed hands in the usual form, and the Usher taking the -address, closed the doors, and the Queen disappeared from our gaze. No -word was uttered by Her Majesty or by any present, and no sound broke -the silence, which seemed to me to add to the impressive solemnity of -the scene.”</p> - -<p>The room where this took place is low and rather dark and gloomy, with -pillars in it, supporting the floor of the “Cube Room” above.</p> - -<p>The subsequent meeting of the Queen’s first Council, which took place at -eleven o’clock, is familiar to everyone from Wilkie’s well-known -picture—“though, at the expense of truth he has emphasized the -principal figure by painting her in a white dress instead of the black -which was actually worn.” Her Majesty was introduced to the Council -Chamber by her uncles, the Dukes of Cumberland and<a name="page_038" id="page_038"></a> Sussex, and at once -took her seat on a chair at the head of the table.</p> - -<p>In describing this famous scene, it is useless to attempt anything -beyond quoting once more—often as it has been quoted—the admirable -account given by Charles Greville, Clerk of the Council:</p> - -<p>“Never was anything like the first impression she produced, or the -chorus of praise and admiration which is raised about her manner and -behaviour, and certainly not without justice. It was very extraordinary, -and something far beyond what was looked for. Her extreme youth and -inexperience, and the ignorance of the world concerning her, naturally -excited intense curiosity to see how she would act on this trying -occasion, and there was a considerable assemblage at the Palace, -notwithstanding the short notice which was given.... She bowed to the -Lords, took her seat, and then read her speech in a clear, distinct and -audible voice, and without any appearance of fear or embarrassment. She -was quite plainly dressed and in mourning.</p> - -<p>“After she had read her speech, and taken and signed the oath for the -security of the Church of Scotland, the Privy Councillors were sworn, -the two Royal Dukes (of Cumberland and Sussex) first, by themselves; and -as these two old men, her uncles, knelt before her, swearing allegiance -and kissing her hand, I saw her blush up to the eyes, as if she felt the -contrast between their civil and their natural relations, and this was -the only sign of emotion she evinced. Her manner to them was very -graceful and engaging: she kissed them both, and rose from her chair and -moved towards the Duke of Sussex, who was farthest from her and too -infirm to reach her. She seemed rather bewildered at the multitude of -men who were sworn, and who came one after the other to kiss her hand, -but she did not speak to anybody, nor did she make the slightest -difference in her manner, or show any in her countenance, to any -individual of any rank, station or party. I particularly watched her -when Melbourne and the Ministers and the Duke of Wellington and Peel -approached her. She went through the whole ceremony—occasionally -looking at Melbourne for instruction when she had any doubt what to do, -which hardly ever occurred—with perfect calmness and self-possession, -but at the same time with a<a name="page_039" id="page_039"></a> graceful modesty and propriety particularly -interesting and ingratiating. When the business was done she retired as -she had entered.</p> - -<p>“Peel said how amazed he was at her manner and behaviour, at her -apparent deep sense of her situation, her modesty, and at the same time -her firmness. She appeared, in fact, to be awed, but not daunted, and -afterwards the Duke of Wellington told me the same thing, and added that -if she had been his own daughter he could not have desired to see her -perform her part better.”</p> - -<p>This description of Charles Greville’s, whose pen was given to anything -but flattery, is confirmed by the testimony of many others present. Earl -Grey wrote to Princess Lieven: “When called upon for the first time to -appear before the Privy Council, and to take upon herself the awful -duties with which at so early an age she has been so suddenly charged, -there was in her appearance and demeanour a composure, a propriety, an -<i>aplomb</i>, which were quite extraordinary. She never was in the least -degree confused, embarrassed or hurried; read the declaration -beautifully; went through the forms of business as if she had been -accustomed to them all her life.” Lord Palmerston says in a letter to -Lord Granville: “The Queen went through her task with great dignity and -self-possession; one saw she felt much inward emotion, but it was fully -controlled. Her articulation was particularly good, her voice remarkably -pleasing.”</p> - -<p>Next day, the 21st of June, at ten o’clock in the morning, Her Majesty -was formally proclaimed Queen of Great Britain and Ireland at St. -James’s Palace, when a salute was fired in the Park, and she appeared at -the window of the Presence Chamber, returning afterwards to Kensington -Palace. On the 13th of July the Queen, accompanied by her mother, the -Duchess of Kent, took her final departure from the place of her birth -and the home of her childhood.<a name="page_040" id="page_040"></a></p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/i018_sml.jpg" width="500" height="59" alt="Kensington Palace in recent Years." title="Kensington Palace in recent Years." /> -</p> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra"><img src="images/i018a.jpg" -width="80" -height="83" -alt="S" -title="S" -/></span>INCE the accession of the Queen, Kensington Palace has had a quiet and -uneventful history—though Her Majesty has frequently, in the course of -her reign, privately revisited her old home, where the Duchess of Kent -retained her rooms until her death in 1861; and where, soon after that -date, Princess Mary and the Duke of Teck also came to reside for a -period. Here their daughter, Princess May, now the Duchess of York, was -born in the State Room called “the Nursery,” in 1867.</p> - -<p>In the meanwhile, the apartments in the south-west corner of the Palace, -occupied by the Duke of Sussex until his death in 1843, were afterwards -tenanted by his widow, the Duchess of Inverness, who died in 1873, when -they were granted by the Queen to Princess Louise and the Marquis of -Lorne, who still reside in them.</p> - -<p>During all these sixty years the Palace had been suffered gradually more -and more to fall into a deplorable state of disrepair. The walls were -bulging in many places, and merely remained standing by being shored up; -the rafters of the roof were beginning to rot away, tiles and slates -were broken and slipping off, so that it was becoming increasingly -difficult to keep the rain and wind at bay. The floors, also, were -everywhere deteriorating, the old panelled walls and painted ceilings of -the grand reception rooms slowly, but surely, crumbling to decay.</p> - -<p>“More than once,” said a leading article in “The Times” of January 12th, -1898, “it has been seriously proposed to pull the whole building down, -and to deal otherwise with the land, and Her Majesty’s subjects ought to -be grateful to her for having strenuously resisted such an act of -Vandalism, and for having declared that, while she lived, the palace in -which she was born should not be destroyed.<a name="page_041" id="page_041"></a>”</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/i018b_sml.jpg" width="500" height="57" alt="Restoration of the State Rooms." title="Restoration of the State Rooms." /> -</p> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra"><img src="images/i018c.jpg" -width="80" -height="78" -alt="T" -title="T" -/></span>HE Queen, it is believed, had long desired that her people’s wish to be -admitted to inspect the Palace of her ancestors, and her own birthplace -and early home, should be gratified; and it seemed a fitting memorial of -the Diamond Jubilee that this should be done. An obdurate Treasury, -which, as we have hinted, had looked forward rather to demolition than -restoration, was at length induced to recommend the expenditure -necessary to prepare the State Rooms for the admission of the public, -and thus, on the 11th of January, 1898, it was possible to make the -following gratifying announcement in the press:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>“Her Majesty, in her desire to gratify the wishes of Her people, -has directed that the State Rooms at Kensington Palace, in the -central part of the building, which have been closed and unoccupied -since 1760, together with Sir Christopher Wren’s Banqueting Room, -attached to the Palace, shall after careful restoration be opened -to the public, during her pleasure; and the Government will -forthwith submit to Parliament an estimate of the cost of -restoration.”</p></div> - -<p>Accordingly the Board of Works proceeded to prepare estimates and on -March 4th following, the First Commissioner, Mr. Akers Douglas, M.P., -submitted a vote of £23,000 for the purpose. By a unanimous vote of the -House of Commons on April 1st, the amount required was at once agreed -to, and great gratification was on all sides expressed that so happy -solution had at length been arrived at. Forthwith, the restorations were -put in hand—the most pressing repairs having, indeed, been begun in -anticipation, previous to the passing of the vote—and for many months -they consisted entirely in solid structural works, which scarcely seemed -to affect the appearance of the building at all. It was found necessary -to rebuild and underpin walls, to reslate practically the whole of the -roof over the State Apartments and renew the timbers that carried it; -and also almost all the floors. After these heavy works, and<a name="page_042" id="page_042"></a> those -consequent on the installation of the hot-water warming apparatus, were -completed, the more interesting, but much more difficult, business -involved in the restoration of the old decorative ironwork, woodwork, -and paintings of the State Rooms was taken in hand.</p> - -<p>The more substantial but less salient work having been carried out, the -decorative works were next proceeded with, under the constant -supervision of Sir John Taylor, K.C.B., Consulting Architect and -Surveyor to H.M.’s Board of Works, and the continual and immediate -control of Mr. Philip, temporary Clerk of the Works for Kensington -Palace. Moreover, the Hon. Reginald Brett, C.B., Secretary of the Board, -to whose initiative the whole scheme of the restoration, we may say, has -been mainly due, has given a constant close personal attention to -everything that has been done. Nor has any trouble, labour, or research -been spared to render everything as historically and archæologically -correct as possible.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/i019_sml.jpg" width="425" height="67" alt="Methods of Restoration." title="Methods of Restoration." /> -</p> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra"><img src="images/i019a.jpg" -width="80" -height="78" -alt="T" -title="T" -/></span>HE principles on which the restorations have been carried out will more -fully appear, in the description we give in our subsequent pages, in -regard to every detail of the work. Here we need only say that the most -studied care has been taken never to renew any decoration where it was -possible to preserve it—least of all ever to attempt to “improve” old -work into new. On the contrary, repairing, patching, mending, piecing, -cleaning, have been the main occupations of the decorators, to an extent -that would render some impatient, slapdash builders and surveyors -frantic. Yet it has been all this minute—though no doubt sometimes -costly—attention to details, this laborious piecing together of old -fragments, this reverential saving of original material and work, this -almost-sentimental imitation of the old style and taste where patching -in by modern hands was inevitable, which has produced a result and -effect likely, we think, to arouse the admiration<a name="page_043" id="page_043"></a> of all who relish the -inimitable charm of antique time-mellowed work.</p> - -<p>Never before, we may safely say, has the restoration of any historic -public building been carried out with quite the same amount of loving -care as has been lavished on Kensington Palace. The spirit has been -rather that of a private owner reverentially restoring his ancestral -home, than that of an ordinary public official, with an energy callous -to all sentiment, sweeping away the old to replace it with a -spick-and-span new building. This method of treatment has nowhere been -applied more scrupulously, and we venture to think with greater success, -than in the treatment of the old oak panelling and the beautiful -carving, all of which had been covered over with numerous coats of -paint, so long ago—we have discovered from the old accounts in the -Record Office—as 1724. In the cleaning off of these dirty -incrustations, various processes have been resorted to, as they suited -the nature of the work, and so thoroughly has this been done that the -closest inspection would give us no inkling that any part, either of the -flat surface or of the most delicate carving, had ever been painted at -all. Equal pains were taken in finishing the surface with oil and wax -polish—no stain whatever being used on the panelling, doors or -cornices—so that the real true colour of the wood is seen, varying only -with its natural variation, and exhibiting all its richness of tone, and -its fullness of grain. It makes one almost glad it should have suffered -so many years of long neglect—that when at last it has been taken in -hand, it should have been done when the historical significance and the -technical and artistic value of such things are more truly appreciated -than formerly. There can be little doubt that if an early nineteenth -century upholsterer had got hold of this Palace, most of the beautiful -old work would have been cleared out to make way for vulgar plaster-work -of white and gold.</p> - -<p>Substantially the same principles have been followed in the cleaning and -restoration of the painted walls and ceilings, which work has been -executed with the utmost sympathy for the old work, and the most careful -efforts to preserve it. There has not been a touch of paint applied -except to make good portions absolutely destroyed, so that these -ceilings—whatever their merits or demerits<a name="page_044" id="page_044"></a>—remain exactly as they -were when first completed, save for the more subdued and modulated tone -they have taken on from the softening hand of Time.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/i020_sml.jpg" width="500" height="77" alt="Arrangement of the Pictures." title="Arrangement of the Pictures." /> -</p> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra"><img src="images/i020a.jpg" -width="80" -height="83" -alt="A" -title="A" -/></span> <small>WORD</small> should now be said about the pictures, which have been brought -from various Royal residences to furnish these State Apartments, and to -illustrate the history of this Palace. The bulk of them have come from -Hampton Court, and a large number are pieces which were removed when the -State Rooms were dismantled by George IV. and William IV., from the very -walls where they now once again hang. Their return here from Hampton -Court, in the overcrowded galleries of which it has been impossible ever -properly to display them, has been a most auspicious thing for that -Palace, and has rendered feasible many long-desired rearrangements and -improvements.</p> - -<p>In selecting the pictures which seemed most suitable for hanging at -Kensington, the principle has been followed of restricting them almost -entirely to portraits and historical compositions belonging to the epoch -with which the Palace is connected—the reigns of William and Mary, -Queen Anne, and the Georges, and, finally, of course that of Queen -Victoria.</p> - -<p>In the carrying out of this plan an endeavour has been made to group the -pictures together in the various apartments as far as possible according -to the periods to which they belong—making separate collections, at the -same time, of the curious topographical subjects relating to “Old -London,” in the Queen’s Closet; of the interesting series of Georgian -sea-pieces, sea-fights, and dockyards, in the King’s Gallery—where for -the first time they may now at last be really seen and examined—and the -ceremonial and other pictures, relating to the Queen’s reign, in the -“Presence Chamber” and the actual rooms originally occupied by Her -Majesty in her youth.<a name="page_045" id="page_045"></a></p> - -<p>Having given these general indications as to the arrangements, it will -not be necessary to do more than refer to our subsequent pages for the -details of the scheme. Nor need we dwell on what will at once be only -too obvious to the connoisseur, that anyone who expects to behold in -this Palace a fine collection of choice works of art will certainly be -disappointed. Kneller and Zeeman, Paton and Pocock, Huggins and Serres, -West and Beechey, are not exactly names to conjure with—nor even, -indeed, Scott, Monamy, Drouais, or Hoppner, in their somewhat -second-rate productions here. Moreover, it is to be clearly understood, -that it is not as an Art Gallery that these rooms are opened to the -inspection of the public, but as a Royal Palace, with pictures hung in -it illustrative of its history and associations, and as furniture to its -walls.</p> - -<p>Nevertheless, it is not high art only, nor great imaginative works, -which can interest and instruct; and, historically, these bewigged, -ponderous, puffy personages of the unromantic eighteenth century, whose -portraits decorate these walls, are more in accord with their setting, -than would be the finer, simpler, and nobler creations of the great -epochs of art.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/i020b_sml.jpg" width="500" height="59" alt="Associations with Queen Victoria." title="Associations with Queen Victoria." /> -</p> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra"><img src="images/i020c.jpg" -width="80" -height="75" -alt="O" -title="O" -/></span>N the other hand, the Victorian pictures, and the apartments in which -they are arranged, stand apart on a different footing of their own. It -is to the three small, plain and simple rooms, with their contents, in -the south-eastern corner of the building, that all visitors to the -Palace will turn with the liveliest interest, and with the keenest, the -most thrilling emotion. Romance, and all the thoughts and feelings of -tender, natural affection, which appear to have been smothered in the -preceding century and a half of powder and gold-lace, seem to awaken and -revive once more with the child born in this Palace eighty years ago, in -the little girl playing about in these rooms and in these gardens, in -the youthful Queen, who stepped forth from her simple chamber here to -take possession of the greatest throne in the world!<a name="page_046" id="page_046"></a></p> - -<p>It is as the scene of such memorable events that Kensington Palace -possesses, and will hereafter ever possess, abiding interests and -engrossing charms altogether its own; and that it will ever inspire, -among those who come to visit it, thoughts and memories moving and deep. -And not to us only in these islands; not to us only of this age; but to -thousands and thousands likewise across the seas; to countless millions -yet unborn, will this ancient structure become, now and in the ages yet -to be, a revered place of loving pilgrimage as the birthplace and early -home of Queen Victoria.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/i021_sml.jpg" width="150" height="119" -class="caption" alt="Decoration of the text not available" title="Decoration" /> -</p> - -<p><a name="page_047" id="page_047"></a></p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/i021a_sml.jpg" width="462" height="128" -class="caption" alt="Decoration of the text not available" title="Decoration" /> -</p> - -<h2><a name="DESCRIPTIVE_AND_HISTORICAL_GUIDE" -id="DESCRIPTIVE_AND_HISTORICAL_GUIDE"></a>D E S C R I P T I V E - A N D - H I S T O R I C A L<br /> - G U I D E.</h2> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/i021b_sml.jpg" width="500" height="68" alt="Old Kensington Palace Gardens." title="Old Kensington Palace Gardens." /> -</p> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra"><img src="images/i039a.jpg" -width="80" -height="79" -alt="B" -title="B" -/></span>EFORE making our way to the public entrance to the state rooms of the -Palace, let us take a glance at the history of the gardens lying round -it, and the exterior of the building; and first as to the gardens on the -east and south of the building. The whole ground here down to the -highway was laid out quite early in the reign of William and Mary; but -its present uninteresting appearance gives us but little idea of how it -looked at that time. We find from the old accounts that large sums, -amounting to several thousands of pounds, were expended on garden -works—for levelling, gravelling, and planting, all in the formal Dutch -style, with figured beds and clipped trees—and also much ornamental -work, such as urns, stone vases, statues, and seats. There are, for -instance, many items such as these:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>“To Edward Pearce for carving a chaire for the garden with a canopy -of drapery, £43 16<i>s.</i>; more for carving 4 chairs and 2 seats with -Dolphins, scollop shells, etc., and other works done about the said -gardens, £43 2<i>s.</i> 4<i>d.</i>—in both £86 18<i>s.</i> 4<i>d.</i>”</p></div> - -<p>We have also a contemporary account of the gardens as formed by William -and Mary, in a “View of the Gardens near London,” dated<a name="page_048" id="page_048"></a> December, 1691: -“Kensington Gardens are not great, nor abounding with fine plants. The -orange, lemon, myrtle, and what other trees they had there in summer, -were all removed to Mr. London’s and Mr. Wise’s greenhouse at Brompton -Park, a little mile from them. But the walks and grass laid very fine; -and they were digging up a flat of four or five acres to enlarge the -garden.”</p> - -<p>The northern boundary of King William’s gardens is marked by two piers -of excellent red brickwork, evidently erected by Wren at that time. They -are surmounted by very fine vases of carved Portland stone; and are -perhaps two of the “Four great fflower-pots of Portland stone, richly -carved,” for which, we find from the old bills, the statuary Gabriel -Cibber, the father of Colley Cibber, was paid £187 5<i>s.</i> Between these -piers, which stand 39 feet apart, there was probably, in old days, a -screen and gates of fine wrought iron. They stand at the south end of -what was called “Brazen Face Walk,” and between them the visitor passes -to the public entrance to the Palace. The fencing in of this part of the -gardens is perhaps referred to in the following entry belonging to the -years 1692-95:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>“William Wheatley for makeing and setting up Pallizadoes and gates -in and about the said Palace—£152 5<i>s.</i> 10<i>d.</i>”</p></div> - -<p>To the north of these piers lies the north-west corner of the now -so-called “Kensington Gardens,” where were formerly situated that part -of the old gardens appurtenant to the Palace, laid out by Queen Anne. -The present bare uninteresting appearance of the ground round about is -now entirely different from what it then was.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/i006_sml.jpg" width="99" height="65" -class="caption" alt="Decoration of the text not available" title="Decoration" /> -</p> - -<p><a name="page_049" id="page_049"></a></p> - -<p class="headd"><a name="Queen_Annes_Gardens" id="Queen_Annes_Gardens"></a> -<img src="images/i022a_sml.jpg" width="461" height="74" alt="Queen Anne’s Gardens." title="Queen Anne’s Gardens." /> -</p> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra"><img src="images/i039a.jpg" -width="80" -height="79" -alt="B" -title="B" -/></span>OWACK, in his “Antiquities of Middlesex,” writing in the reign of Queen -Anne, in 1705, tells us of her improvements: “There is a noble -collection of foreign plants and fine neat greens, which makes it -pleasant all the year, and the contrivance, variety, and disposition of -the whole is extremely pleasing, and so frugal have they been of the -room they had, that there was not an inch but what is well improved, the -whole with the house not being above twenty-six acres. Her Majesty has -been pleased lately to plant near thirty acres more towards the north, -separated from the rest by a stately green-house, not yet finished; upon -this spot is near one hundred men daily at work, and so great is the -progress they have made, that in less than nine months the whole is -levelled, laid out, and planted, and when finished will be very fine. -Her Majesty’s gardener had the management of this.” Of Queen Anne’s -“stately green-house” we shall speak in a moment.</p> - -<p>Addison, also, in No. 477 of the “Spectator,” expatiated on the beauties -of the gardens: “Wise and London are our heroick poets; and if, as a -critic, I may single out any passage of their works to commend, I shall -take notice of that part in the upper garden, at Kensington, which was -at first nothing but a gravel pit. It must have been a fine genius for -gardening, that could have thought of forming such an unsightly hollow -into so beautiful an area, and to have hit the eye with so uncommon and -agreeable a scene as that which it is now wrought into.”</p> - -<p>The cost of these improvements amounted to several thousands of -pounds—in levelling, planting, turfing, gravelling. The appearance of -the east and south gardens in the reign of Queen Anne will, as we have -already said, best be conveyed by Kip’s plate; the general plan of the -new enclosed garden to the north, north-east, and north-west, by -Rocque’s engraving, published in 1736. From this we see that Queen -Caroline, who embarked in so many gardening<a name="page_050" id="page_050"></a> enterprises, left Queen -Anne’s new gardens substantially intact; though she made a clean sweep -of all the old fantastic figured flower beds and formal walks of William -III.’s <i>parterres</i> to the south and east of the Palace; substituting -therefor bare and blank expanses of lawn and wide gravel paths.</p> - -<p>During the reigns of George III. and George IV. all the gardens were -allowed to become more and more uncared for; and at last those to the -north of the Palace were destroyed altogether. The “old Wilderness” and -“old Gravel Pit” of Queen Anne and the early Georges now exist no -longer—converted by an insane utilitarianism partly into park land, the -rest into meadow.</p> - -<p>The old gardens to the east, already flattened out and spoilt by Queen -Caroline, now exist but in part; the small portion, which has not been -covered with hideous forcing houses and frames, is, however, to a -certain extent nicely shrubbed, and closed in by trees and hedges. The -site of the old south gardens, curtailed now to a small enclosure, which -retains little of the old English picturesque air, might with advantage, -we think, be less stiff and bare. There is here little more than a clump -or two of trees and shrubs, a wide gravel path, and two large vacant -lawns, separated from the public walk by a wire fence, and between this -and High Street mere expanses of grass. Fortunately, the devastating -notions of the “landscape gardener” whose one idea was so to arrange the -ground surrounding a house as to look as if it stood plump in the middle -of a park—for all the world like a lunatic asylum—are not quite so -much in favour as they were.</p> - -<p>The blankness and barrenness of all the ground between the south front -and the street was even more painfully apparent in Leigh Hunt’s time, -who in his “Old Court Suburb” drew attention to this salient defect -nearly fifty years ago. “The house,” he remarked, “nominally possesses -‘gardens’ that are miles in circumference.... There is room enough for -very pleasant bowers in the spaces to the east and south, that are now -grassed and railed in from the public path; nor would the look of the -Palace be injured with the spectator, but rescued from its insipidity.” -His suggestion has been acted on to a certain extent in recent times, -but too partially in our view.<a name="page_051" id="page_051"></a></p> - -<p class="headd"><a name="Queen_Annes_Orangery" id="Queen_Annes_Orangery"></a> -<img src="images/i023_sml.jpg" width="470" height="73" alt="Queen Anne’s Orangery." title="Queen Anne’s Orangery." /> -</p> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra"><img src="images/i023a.jpg" -width="80" -height="82" -alt="Q" -title="Q" -/></span>UEEN ANNE is the sovereign to whom we owe the erection of this -exceedingly fine specimen of garden architecture—one of the most -beautiful examples of the art of the Renaissance in London, if not in -England. If we could say with truth that there ever was a “Queen Anne -style,” this would, indeed, be a representative and unrivalled example -of it—as it certainly is of Sir Christopher Wren’s, which, developing -in the reign of Charles II., was definitely formed and fixed in that of -William and Mary.</p> - -<p>To an artist like Wren to beautify the ordinary and useful was to give -expression to one of the highest functions of architecture; and -therefore in this mere store-house for the Queen’s treasured plants and -flowers, probably also a place where Queen Anne liked to sit and have -tea, we have a building—unimportant though its object may be -considered—which attains the very acme of his art, exhibiting all his -well-balanced judgment of proportion, all the richness of his -imagination in design.</p> - -<p>The building of this greenhouse was begun in the summer of the year -1704. A plan, prepared by Sir Christopher at Queen Anne’s express -orders, was submitted to and approved by her, and the original estimate, -which is still in the Record Office, dated June 10th, 1704—probably -drawn up by Richard Stacey, master bricklayer, and entitled: “For -building a Greenhouse at Kensington” at a cost of £2,599 5<i>s.</i> -1<i>d.</i>—was accordingly laid before the officers of Her Majesty’s Works, -Sir Christopher Wren, John Vanbrugh, Benjamin Jackson, and Matthew -Bankes, for a report thereon. Their opinion, after “considering the -measures and prices,” was that “it may be finished soe as not to exceed -the sum therein expressed, viz., £2,599;” and the Lord Treasurer was -accordingly prayed “to pay £2,000 into the Office of Works that it may -be covered in before winter, according to Her Majesties expectation.”</p> - -<p>The work was consequently put in hand forthwith, but there is<a name="page_052" id="page_052"></a> some -reason to suspect that Wren’s original intentions were departed from, -and that the estimate approved by the Board of Works was afterwards cut -down by the Treasury by a thousand pounds or so. This appears probable -from the fact that Richard Stacey, the bricklayer who contracted for the -work, and who, in a petition dated September 13th, was clamouring for -payment of £800, on account of money then already disbursed by him, -referred to that sum as part of a total of £1,560, “lately altered from -the first estimate.”</p> - -<p>Whether this is so or not, the details of the original estimate are -interesting. The bricklayer’s charges came to £697; mason’s, to £102; -“Glass windows, doors, and the window shutters, £340; Glazier for Crowne -Glass, £74; Carpenter, £363,” etc.; added to which was: “More to be laid -out the next year: The mason to pave it with stone fine-sanded, £246; -more for stone steps to go up into it, £72; more for wainscoting and -painting the Inside up to the top, £264.”</p> - -<p>The last item is especially noteworthy, proving, as it does, that the -woodwork was originally painted.</p> - -<p>The beauty of Wren’s masterpiece of garden architecture seems to have -been thoroughly appreciated in the time immediately succeeding its -erection; but with the steady decline in taste during the Georgian -epoch, it fell more and more into disregard, until, when the court -deserted Kensington in 1760, it was abandoned to complete neglect. -Britton and Brayley, writing in 1810 in their “Beauties of England,” -refer to it regretfully: “The whole is now sinking into a state of -unheeded decay.” Soon after this, however, it seems to have undergone -some sort of repair, so, at least, wrote Faulkner, ten years after, who -added: “It is now filled with a collection of His Majesty’s exotic -plants.” He called it a “superb building,” and clearly regarded it with -a much more appreciative eye than did its official guardians, who -probably about this time perpetrated the barbarism of cutting windows in -the north wall, right through the fine panelling and cornice!</p> - -<p>Faulkner, nevertheless, was of course quite wrong in declaring, as he -did, that “it was originally built by Queen Anne for a Banqueting House, -and frequently used by Her Majesty as such.” There is absolutely<a name="page_053" id="page_053"></a> no -foundation whatever for either part of this statement, though it has -often been repeated and was improved upon by Leigh Hunt, who asserted -that “balls and suppers certainly took place in it.” Funny “balls” they -must have been on the old brick floor! Hunt has nothing more to say of -it than rather scornfully to call it “a long kind of out-house, never -designed for anything else but what it is, a greenhouse.” In so great -contempt, indeed, does it appear to have been held about this time, that -it is said the idea was once seriously entertained by some official -wiseacre of pulling it down and carting it away as rubbish! And this -while the State was annually devoting hundreds of thousands of pounds to -art education, art schools, art teachers, and art collections, leaving -one of our most precious monuments to perish from decay! “Out-house” and -“greenhouse” though it be, we would rather see it preserved than half -the buildings of recent times.</p> - -<p class="engp">Terrace of Queen Anne’s Orangery.</p> - -<p class="nind">B<small>EFORE</small> examining the orangery in detail, let us stand a moment in front -of it, on the terrace, platform, or <i>estrade</i>—by whichever name we may -call it—of Portland stone, with steps going down from it in front and -at both ends. Here formerly stood, in the summer, some of Queen Anne’s -choicest exotics; and here Her Majesty doubtless often sat to have tea, -gossiping with the Duchess of Marlborough or Abigail Hill. In front the -steps led down into a formal parterre.</p> - -<p>Now, however, the most prominent objects to the eye here, are the -glass-houses, and the tops of the forcing frames, in which the whole -stock for the bedding out in the park and gardens has been reared for -the last thirty or forty years. It is truly an amazing thing that a -piece of ground, situated as this is, close under the windows of the -Palace, and opposite this orangery, should have been appropriated to so -grossly disfiguring a use. This particular spot is the very last, one -would have supposed, which would have been pitched on for the purpose. -It will not be long, we trust, before the whole ground will be cleared, -and devoted once more to an<a name="page_054" id="page_054"></a> old-fashioned sunk formal garden, with such -quaint devices as clipped shrubs, trimmed box, figured beds, sundials, -leaden vases—such as still survive in many an old country house.</p> - -<p>Nor do we see why such restorations should stop here, nor why much of -the ground around the Palace should not be laid out in the old English -style, with some, at any rate, of the many embellishments for which -Evelyn pleaded as suitable for a royal garden: “Knots, trayle work, -parterres, compartments, borders, banks, embossments, labyrinths, -dædals, cabinets, cradles, close walks, galleries, pavilions, porticoes, -lanthorns, and other <i>relievos</i> of topiary and horticulan architecture, -fountaines, jettes, cascades, pisceries, rocks, grottoes, cryptæ, -mounts, precipices, and ventiducts; gazon theatres, artificial echoes, -automate and hydraulic music!”</p> - -<p>Barring the last half dozen items, something in the antique formal style -would, indeed, be a relief from the tedious monotony of modern -“landscape” gardening.</p> - -<p class="engp">Exterior of Queen Anne’s Orangery.</p> - -<p class="nind">A<small>S</small> a specimen of an unaffectedly ornamented exterior of brick, this -elevation to the south, aiming rather at simplicity and plain dignity -than magnificence or grandeur, is to our view admirable.</p> - -<p>In the centre is a compartment, more decoratively treated than the rest, -with four rusticated piers or pillars of brick, supporting an -entablature of the Doric order, mainly in stone. The cornice, though -probably modelled on the original, must be modern, for it is in Roman -cement, a material which did not come into use in England until about a -hundred years ago; and it so happens that the date, 1805, has been found -on part of the woodwork adjoining. Above the cornice, over the central -window, or rather doorway, is a semi-circular window, apparently to give -light into the roof. On each side of the central compartment are four -high windows, with sashes filled with small panes; and at each end are -slightly projecting wings, or bays, with window-doors, extra high, and -reaching to the floor level, to admit tall-grown oranges and other -plants. These<a name="page_055" id="page_055"></a> are flanked by plain rusticated piers of bright red -brick; beyond which are plain brick niches, with small brackets above -them.</p> - -<p>A very similar arrangement of windows and niches is repeated at the east -and west return ends of the building; where, however, the large window -is surmounted by a small semi-circular recess or panel, and the whole -overhung by the deep, wide eave of the gable of the roof.</p> - -<p>The total exterior length of the building is 171 feet, the width 32 -feet.</p> - -<p class="engp">Interior of Queen Anne’s Orangery.</p> - -<p class="nind">I<small>T</small> is not, however, the exterior of this building, but the interior, -which will arouse in those who behold it the greatest admiration, for it -is here that we can appreciate Wren’s imaginative and constructive -genius at its very best. The longer we know and contemplate it, the more -supremely beautiful does it strike us, both in the mass and in its -details. We will not describe it with any minuteness; but content -ourselves with recording that the central portion of each wall, is -treated more elaborately than the rest, being ornamented with Corinthian -columns, supporting a richly carved entablature. The rest of the walls, -both between the windows on the south side, and on the unbroken surface -of the opposite north side, are panelled in deal wood, with beautiful -carved cornices above. At each end, both east and west, there is an -arch, flanked with panelled niches, and surmounted by festoons of -Gibbons’ carving. These, we may observe in passing, proved, after being -cleaned, to be so worm-eaten, as to necessitate their being -repainted—mere staining not being sufficient to prevent their falling -to pieces. They are now in fact, held together by the coatings of new -paint.</p> - -<p>The dimensions of this main portion of the interior are: 112 feet long -and 24 feet wide between the brick walls, three inches less each way -between the woodwork. The height to the ceiling is 24 feet 6 inches, and -to the top of the cornice 22 feet 9 inches.<a name="page_056" id="page_056"></a></p> - -<p class="engp">The Alcoves of Queen Anne’s Orangery.</p> - -<p class="nind">F<small>INE</small>, however, as is the main and central portion of this interior, the -alcoves, into which we pass through the arches at each end of it, -impress us still more with their admirable proportions, their supreme -grace of design, the exquisite beauty of their decorative detail.</p> - -<p>Their shape is circular, with fluted Corinthian columns, supporting -highly-carved architraves and cornices, and flanking the entrances, the -windows opposite these and on the south, and the panelled spaces on the -north wall. There are also intervening niches with semicircular heads, -springing from richly carved imposts. The ceilings, which are circular, -rising in coves from behind the cornices, are “saucer-domed.”</p> - -<p>The dimensions of these alcoves are: east one, diameter, 24 feet, west -one, 24 feet 4½ inches; height to the centre of the dome, 24 feet 2 -inches, to the top of the cornice 20 feet.</p> - -<p class="engp">Restoration of Queen Anne’s Orangery.</p> - -<p class="nind">T<small>HE</small> whole of this beautiful interior, however, now presents a very -different appearance from what it did when taken in hand about a year -ago.</p> - -<p>This is how it was described in an interesting article in “The Times” on -the 28th of January, 1898: “The exquisite interior has been the victim -not merely of neglect, but of chronic outrage. For, as the little garden -between this and the Palace has been found a convenient place on which -to put up the glasshouses, frames and potting-sheds necessary for the -park gardeners, what more natural, to the official eye, than that the -Orangery close by should be pressed<a name="page_057" id="page_057"></a> into the same service? Accordingly, -at some time or other, which cannot have been very many years ago, more -than half the beautiful high panelling of this building was torn down -and has disappeared, the gardeners’ stands have been let into the walls, -and there the daily work has proceeded with no thought that it was daily -desecration.”</p> - -<p>The work of restoring all these beautiful carvings, which has been in -progress during the last fifteen months, has now put an entirely -different aspect on this interior, and not in vain has every piece of -old carving been treasured up, cleaned, repaired, and patched in, with -scrupulous care.</p> - -<p>When this work was completed, the question arose, whether the woodwork -was to be all painted over white, as it doubtless originally was, or -merely lightly stained. White painting would, perhaps, have been -artistically, as well as archæologically, the preferable course. But it -was thought that white paint, in the smoky, foggy atmosphere of modern -Kensington, and with the clouds of dust particles from the tread of -numberless visitors, would soon take on the dirty tinge of London mud; -and thus have required such frequent renewal as eventually to choke up -again all the sharpness of the delicate chiselling of the foliated -capitals, architraves and cornices.</p> - -<p>The decision eventually come to, therefore, was to stain it, with a tone -of colour like oak, which gives full prominence and clearness to the -carved surfaces. This staining alone, apart from the previous cleaning, -has involved no less than eight distinct processes: (1) washing down; -(2) vinegaring over to take out lime stains; (3) the same repeated; (4) -sizing to keep the stain from penetrating the wood; (5) the same -repeated; (6) staining; (7) varnishing; (8) flat-varnishing.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/i032_sml.jpg" width="109" height="67" -class="caption" alt="Decoration of the text not available" title="Decoration" /> -</p> - -<p><a name="page_058" id="page_058"></a></p> - -<p class="headd"><a name="Kensington_Gardens" id="Kensington_Gardens"></a> -<img src="images/i025_sml.jpg" width="379" height="75" alt="Kensington Gardens." title="Kensington Gardens." /> -</p> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra"><img src="images/i019a.jpg" -width="80" -height="78" -alt="T" -title="T" -/></span>HE modern so-called “Kensington Gardens” are, as we have already -explained, identical with the original domain of old Nottingham House, -increased by the addition of some hundred acres or more taken from Hyde -Park. When William III. first acquired the Nottingham estate he -appointed his favourite, Bentinck, Earl of Portland, “Superintendent of -Their Majesties’ Gardens and Plantations within the boundary lines of -Their Majesties’ said house at Kensington”—an office distinct from that -of Ranger of Hyde Park—and some planting and other improvements seem to -have been carried out at that time in these “plantations.”</p> - -<p>Queen Anne’s inclosure of a hundred acres from Hyde Park to form a -paddock for deer we have already noted.</p> - -<p>Faulkner’s exaggerated statement that nearly three hundred acres were -taken in and added to Kensington Gardens by Queen Caroline has been -confuted by Mr. Loftie; but he has gone to the other extreme in -declaring that no alteration whatever was, at any time, made in the -boundary between the park and the gardens. Nevertheless, it is still -doubtful whether Queen Caroline is to be held responsible for any -“rectification” of these frontiers. The reference already quoted, in the -Treasury Papers of the year 1729, for an allowance of £200 to the ranger -“in consideration of loss of herbage of that part of the said park, -which is laid into His Majesty’s gardens at Kensington,” may of course -refer to the portion previously taken in by Queen Anne.</p> - -<p class="engp">Queen Caroline’s Improvements in Kensington Gardens.</p> - -<p class="nind">T<small>O</small> Queen Caroline, however, is certainly due the main credit of the -creation of Kensington Gardens, as we now know them; for it<a name="page_059" id="page_059"></a> was her -reforming and transforming zeal which made the great “Basin” or “Round -Pond;” turned a string of small ponds, in the course of the “West -Bourne,” into the Serpentine; laid out the “Broad Walk,” and designed -the diverging and converging vistas and avenues of trees intersecting -the grounds in all directions.</p> - -<p>In all these extensive works of improvement Charles Bridgeman, the -King’s gardener, was employed; and we find from the old Treasury Minute -Book that in 1729 no less a sum than £5,000 was due to him “for works in -the paddock and gardens at Kensington.”</p> - -<p>About the same date, Queen Caroline, during one of George II.’s absences -in Hanover, issued an order that:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>“The King’s ministers being very much incommoded by the dustiness -of the road leading through Hyde Park, now they are obliged to -attend Her Majesty at Kensington, it was her pleasure that the -whole of the said road be kept constantly watered, instead of the -ring in the Park; and that no coaches other than those of the -nobility and gentry be suffered to go into or pass through the -Park.”</p></div> - -<p class="engp">Kensington Gardens in the Nineteenth Century.</p> - -<p class="nind">A<small>T</small> that period the gardens were opened to the public only on Saturdays, -when the company appeared in full dress. This was the time of the great -fashionable promenade. During the reign of George III. they were opened -every day in the week, summer and winter, under certain regulations, -“and the number of the gatekeepers,” says Faulkner, writing in 1819, -“have lately been increased, who are uniformly clothed in green.” He -adds: “The great South Walk, leading to the Palace, is crowded on Sunday -mornings in the spring and summer with a display of all the beauty and -fashion of the great metropolis, and affords a most gratifying -spectacle, not to be equalled in Europe.”</p> - -<p>In the middle of this century the tide of fashion set back towards<a name="page_060" id="page_060"></a> -Rotten Row and Hyde Park Corner; and Kensington Gardens have, for the -last sixty or eighty years, been very little frequented by the “world.” -Their attractions, however, have not suffered on this account in the -view of the poet, the artist, and the lover of nature. “Here in -Kensington,” wrote Haydon the painter, “are some of the most poetical -bits of trees and stump, and sunny brown and green glens and tawny -earth.”</p> - -<p>But it is not within the scope of these pages, confined as they are to -topics directly connected with Kensington Palace as a new public resort, -to describe these two hundred and fifty acres of delightful verdant -lawns, sylvan glades, and grassy slopes. We must resist the temptation, -therefore, to wander away into the attractive prospect, which unfolds -itself beneath our gaze when looking out from the windows of the state -rooms, or into which we can saunter when we quit the Palace. Moreover, -their charms, as they were and are, have been drawn by too many master -hands—by Tickell, Leigh Hunt, Thackeray, Disraeli—to encourage any -attempt at their description here. In our own day they have still been -the favourite resort of many a jaded Londoner, in which to snatch a few -hours of quiet and repose, out of the whirl of the great city around. -Matthew Arnold’s charming poem, “Lines written in Kensington Gardens,” -will occur to many, especially that stanza:</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“In this lone open glade I lie,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Screen’d by deep boughs on either hand;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And at its end to stay the eye,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Those black-crown’d, red-boled pine trees stand.”<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/i003c_sml.jpg" width="106" height="97" -class="caption" alt="Decoration of the text not available" title="Decoration" /> -</p> - -<p><a name="page_061" id="page_061"></a></p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/i026_lg.jpg"> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" -height="14" /></a> -<a href="images/i026_giant.jpg"> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="30" -height="23" /></a> -<br /> -<a href="images/i026_lg.jpg"> -<img class="caption" src="images/i026_sml.jpg" width="447" height="325" -alt="Image not available: SOUTH FRONT OF KENSINGTON PALACE IN 1819. -(After Westall.)" -title="SOUTH FRONT OF KENSINGTON PALACE IN 1819. -(After Westall.)" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">SOUTH FRONT OF KENSINGTON PALACE IN 1819.<br /> -(After Westall.)</span> -</p> - -<p><a name="page_062" id="page_062"></a></p> - -<p><a name="page_063" id="page_063"></a></p> - -<p class="headd"><a name="South_Front_of_the_Palace" id="South_Front_of_the_Palace"></a> -<img src="images/i027_sml.jpg" width="500" height="79" alt="South Front of the Palace." title="South Front of the Palace." /> -</p> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra"><img src="images/i027a.jpg" -width="80" -height="76" -alt="W" -title="W" -/></span>E may look upon this façade as architecturally the most interesting -portion of the existent Palace of Kensington, for it shows us the -exterior almost exactly as finished by Wren for William and Mary, about -the year 1691. While unpretentious and plain, it is well and solidly -built, and altogether appropriate to the purpose which it was intended -to serve, namely, that of a comfortable, homely, suburban residence for -the King and Queen and the court.</p> - -<p>The long lower building of two main storeys, in deep purple-red brick, -to the left, forms the south range of the chief courtyard; and there is -every reason to believe that it is a part of the original Nottingham -House, altered and improved by Wren. The loftier building, to the right, -of three storeys, in bright red brick, is unquestionably entirely -Wren’s, and in the old accounts is referred to as “the new Gallery -Building.” All the windows on the top or second floor here, except the -two on the extreme right, are those of the “King’s Gallery” (described -on page 117). The floor beneath consisted, and consists, of the -sovereign’s private apartments. The four fine carved vases of Portland -stone, surmounting the four pilasters of the same, are probably those -mentioned in the old accounts as carved by Gabriel Cibber for <i>£</i>787 -5<i>s.</i></p> - -<p class="engp">Wren’s Domestic Style.</p> - -<p class="nind">T<small>HOSE</small> who are at all acquainted with Wren’s style and inclinations will -not be surprised at the marked plainness of his work here—so little -accordant with ordinary pompous preconceived notions of what befits a -regal dwelling-house. In planning habitable buildings we find he always -mainly considered use and convenience—adapting his external -architectural effects to the exigencies of his interiors. Ever ready, -indeed, to devote the full range of his great constructive<a name="page_064" id="page_064"></a> genius to -the commonest works, rendering whatever he designed a model for the use -to which it was to be put, he was, in these respects, essentially a -“builder” before all; not only a designer of elevations and a drawer of -plans, but a practical worker, thinking nothing useful beneath his -notice. There was, in fact, nothing of the lofty, hoity-toity architect -about him; on the contrary, absorbed with questions of adaptability and -convenience; searching into details of material and workmanship; we find -him in his seat at the head of the Board of Works rigorously testing, -sifting and discussing estimates, values, specifications and -“quantities.” It is due to this side of his mind that so much of his -work has endured intact to this day; while we owe it to his positive -intuitive genius for rendering his creations well-proportioned and -dignified, as well as convenient and comfortable; to his wonderful skill -in arranging positions, sizes, and shapes to meet the exigencies of -light and air, that his houses still remain so habitable, and are -distinguished by so homelike an air.</p> - -<p class="headd"><a name="East_Front_of_the_Palace" id="East_Front_of_the_Palace"></a> -<img src="images/i028_sml.jpg" width="500" height="76" alt="East Front of the Palace." title="East Front of the Palace." /> -</p> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra"><img src="images/i019a.jpg" -width="80" -height="78" -alt="T" -title="T" -/></span>HIS aspect of Kensington Palace, which we almost hesitate to dignify -with the name of “Front” consists mainly of two distinct portions: -first, the “return” or end of Wren’s “Gallery Building,” on the left, -distinguished by its fine red brickwork and its deep cornice, similar to -the same on the south side; and on the right, the building tacked on to -it, built for George I. by Kent, as already mentioned on <a href="#page_023">page 23</a>, and -further referred to on pages 86, 93, and 99. We must frankly say—and -few are likely to differ from us—that Kent’s building here is about as -ugly and inartistic as anything of the sort could be. It is not alone -the common, dirty, yellow, stock brick with which it is built, but the -whole shape and design, with its pretentious pediment, ponderous and -hideous, the prototype of acres upon acres of ghastly modern London -structures in the solid “workhouse” style. It is amazing<a name="page_065" id="page_065"></a><a name="page_066" id="page_066"></a><a name="page_067" id="page_067"></a> -that Kent, with so excellent a model of plainness and simplicity in Wren’s -buildings on each side, should have stuck in this ill-formed, abortive -block between them. Fortunately, his taste as a decorator was greatly -superior to his powers as an architect, so that the interior portions of -this building of his, which consists of additional state-rooms, are not -entirely deficient in merit, as we shall see. The three central windows -are those of the “King’s Drawing Room,” (see <a href="#page_099">page 99</a>).</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/i029_lg.jpg"> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" -height="14" /></a> -<a href="images/i029_giant.jpg"> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="30" -height="23" /></a> -<br /> -<a href="images/i029_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/i029_sml.jpg" width="284" height="500" -alt="PLAN OF THE STATE ROOMS KENSINGTON PALACE." -title="PLAN OF THE STATE ROOMS KENSINGTON PALACE." /></a> -</p> - -<p>To the north-west of the structure comprising Kent’s state apartments -lies another of the older parts of the Palace, a low building of two -storeys, in deep russet brick, of uniform appearance, with fifteen -windows in a row on the first floor. This range, built, or, at any rate, -altered and improved by Wren, and forming the east side of Princess’s -Court, comprises the state and habitable rooms of Queen Mary and Queen -Anne. At its extreme north end is the “Queen’s Staircase,” now the -public entrance to the state rooms.</p> - -<p class="headd"><a name="Public_Entrance_to_the_Palace" id="Public_Entrance_to_the_Palace"></a> -<img src="images/i029b_sml.jpg" width="500" height="67" alt="Public Entrance to the Palace." title="Public Entrance to the Palace." /> -</p> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra"><img src="images/i020a.jpg" -width="80" -height="83" -alt="A" -title="A" -/></span><small>CCESS</small> to the state rooms open to the public being by way of the -“Queen’s” or “Denmark Staircase,” situated in the northernmost angle of -the building, visitors approach it from the north-west corner of -“Kensington Gardens,” where, as we have already explained, were formerly -situated those parts of the old formal gardens attached to the Palace, -which were laid out by Queen Anne, called the “Old Gravel Pit,” the -“Wilderness,” etc. The path here, leading straight up to the present -public entrance, was then known as “Brazen-face Walk.” Going along it -southwards, we pass between a pair of fine gate-posts of red brick, -surmounted by richly-carved vases of Portland stone, evidently designed -by Wren, already referred to in our account of “Old Kensington Palace -Gardens” on page 48; and then between a privet hedge and a wire fence up -to the public doorway into the “Queen’s Staircase.<a name="page_068" id="page_068"></a>”</p> - -<p>This doorway, on the north wall, is very commonplace; with a porch in -the later Georgian style, consisting of a couple of pillars of Portland -stone, glazed between, and supporting a hood above.</p> - -<p>Round the corner, however, on the east wall, is a very different -doorway, both interesting and picturesque. It is the one which -originally gave access to the staircase, and was designed and built by -Sir Christopher Wren, probably in the year 1691. The space within the -hood or circular pediment above the door is filled with beautiful stone -carving, in the centre of which is a shield or panel bearing the -initials W. M. R. Above this is a brick niche with a bracket, on which -stands an old urn or flower-pot. Something very similar probably stood -here formerly, and was thus charged for in the old parchment accounts -for the years 1689-91:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>“Henry Long for a large vase of earth (terra-cotta) wrought with -handles and festoons painted with gilt £6 10<i>s.</i>”</p></div> - -<p class="headd"><a name="Queens_Staircase" id="Queens_Staircase"></a> -<img src="images/i030_sml.jpg" width="355" height="76" alt="Queen’s Staircase." title="Queen’s Staircase." /> -</p> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra"><img src="images/i028a.jpg" -width="80" -height="80" -alt="T" -title="T" -/></span>HIS forms the entrance by which the public are admitted into the State -Rooms. Built by Sir Christopher Wren for Queen Mary on the “Queen’s -Side” of the Palace, it was called the “Queen’s Staircase,” while being -situated in that part of the Palace which was at one time occupied by -Queen Anne and her husband, Prince George of Denmark, it has also been -occasionally known as the “Denmark Staircase,” as this portion of the -building itself has been called the “Denmark Wing.”</p> - -<p> </p> - -<p>In the view of the ordinary Londoner, with eye too much dazzled and -demoralized by the tawdry vulgarities of the over-gilded, -over-looking-glassed, blazing, modern “Restaurant” style of decoration, -this beautiful staircase, in its just proportions and its subdued -simplicity, may appear plain, if not mean.<a name="page_069" id="page_069"></a></p> - -<p>Yet as an example of the genuine, unaffected old English treatment of -oak wainscoting, as a cover and ornament to large wall spaces, nothing -could be more pleasing and more appropriate. The deep rich, almost -ruddy, tone of colour of the wood, the admirable proportion and balance -of the stiles and rails to the sizes of the panels, their adjustment to -the rise of the stairs, and their fitment to the various spaces on the -walls, produce an effect of soundness and comfort, most admirable and -nowhere to be matched.</p> - -<p class="engp">Old Oak Wainscoting of the Staircase.</p> - -<p class="nind">W<small>HEN</small> the work of cleaning down this woodwork was taken in hand last -autumn, it was, as the phrase is, “as black as your hat;” and it was -then supposed to have been smeared over, at some time or other, with a -black stain. It proved, however, to be only ingrained with dirt and -dust, which had been coated over with red-lead and boiled oil, and which -quickly yielded to cleansing.</p> - -<p>Nevertheless, the oak is not English, but probably Norwegian, which -seems to be richer in the grain than our own native tree. It is clear -that the wood must have been carefully cut in such a way as to show as -much “figure” as possible—the cuttings being, with this distinct -object, as nearly as possible radiating from the centre of the trunk of -the tree—the “medullary rays” of the wood being, in fact, sliced -through, instead of intersected transversely. This has the effect of -displaying the largest amount of the grain.</p> - -<p class="engp">Window Sashes of the Staircase.</p> - -<p class="nind">T<small>HE</small> visitor should notice the difference in the sashes of the two -windows on the left-hand side of the stairs as you go up, as compared -with the other two on the landing at the top. The first two windows have -had large panes of glass—2 feet 1 inch high by 1 foot 2½ inches -wide—and thin bars, substituted for the original smaller panes—12½ -inches high by 9½ inches wide—and the thick moulded bars, which -still remain in the landing windows. This<a name="page_070" id="page_070"></a> side by side comparison -enables us to estimate how deplorable and stupid was the want of taste, -which led to the destruction here, as elsewhere in this Palace, of the -picturesque, well-proportioned spacings of the window panes, to insert -instead ill-proportioned panes and thin bars.</p> - -<p>Not until the time of George II. did this foolish, inartistic fancy come -into vogue. Wren, of course, knew what he was about when he selected the -sizes of the spaces and bars. He determined them on definite principles -of scale and proportion, according to the sashes they were intended to -fill, and according, also, to the dimensions of the room, and the plan -and shape of the surrounding wainscot. He had, in fact, eight or ten -different types of sashes—the mouldings, as well as the widths and -sizes of the bars varying, and the shapes of the panes—square or -upright—varying also; not like your ingenious modern builder, who runs -out “mouldings” at so much a foot, mitres them up into equal spaces, -and, regardless of scale and proportion, sticks in the same sized -sashes, panes, and bars everywhere, in large lofty rooms or small low -ones—all alike.</p> - -<p>The dimensions of this staircase are 24 feet 3 inches long by 22 feet 10 -inches wide, and 25 feet high.</p> - -<p class="headd"><a name="Queen_Marys_Gallery" id="Queen_Marys_Gallery"></a> -<img src="images/i031_sml.jpg" width="449" height="83" alt="Queen Mary’s Gallery." title="Queen Mary’s Gallery." /> - -</p> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra"><img src="images/i031a.jpg" -width="80" -height="84" -alt="Q" -title="Q" -/></span>UEEN MARY and Queen Anne are the sovereigns with whom this gallery is -mainly associated; and indeed, it is now—since the restorations of the -last twelve months, which have mainly consisted in repairing the -panelling, and removing the paint with which it was all smeared over in -the reign of George I.—to be seen for the first time for a hundred and -seventy-four years, exactly as it appeared in their time. It remains, -indeed, more intact than any other room in the Palace; and with its -beautiful deep-toned oak panelling, its richly-carved cornice, its -low-coved ceiling, and its closely-spaced, thick-barred window-sashes, -it has a most comfortable, old-fashioned air.<a name="page_071" id="page_071"></a></p> - -<p>There is no storey above this gallery, but only a span roof; and it was -originally—we do not know exactly when—a true “gallery” in the old -English meaning of the word, that is, a long chamber with windows on -both sides. The window spaces or recesses, on the right or west side, -still remain behind the panelling, and are exactly opposite the existent -windows on the left or east side. We may observe, also, that the room -seems at one time to have terminated just beyond the sixth window, -reckoning from the entrance, the line of the wall behind the wainscot on -the right, setting back at this point about a foot; while on the left -side, both inside and out, there is a straight joint in the brickwork, -and a break in the line of the wall.</p> - -<p class="engp">Wainscoting and Carvings of Queen Mary’s Gallery.</p> - -<p>The wainscoting, as we have already indicated, was fixed here in the -early years of the reign of Queen Mary. The panels, which are very thin -and of unusual breadth, nevertheless have remained but little twisted or -buckled to this day, owing to Wren’s particular and invariable -insistence that only the best seasoned wood should be used in all the -work under his charge. In the course of the restorations, it has, -however, been necessary to take it all to pieces in order to repair the -injuries of nearly two centuries of misusage and neglect. Here, as in -the staircase, are to be noticed the extreme richness in grain of the -old oak, and its deep warm tone of colour.</p> - -<p>From the old enrolled parchment accounts of the years 1689-1691, we find -that Henry Hobb and Alexander Forst were the joiners who made the -wainscoting, as well as the “shashes,” shutters, window-boards, -chimney-pieces, picture frames, shelves, etc.; while Nicolas Alcocke, -William Emet, and Grinling Gibbons carved “1,405 feet Ionick medallion -and hollow cornish; 942 feet of picture frame over the doors and -chimneys, and 89 feet of astragall moulding, about the glasses in the -chimneys.” Another item of payment in the same accounts, also relating -to the work here, is the following:<a name="page_072" id="page_072"></a></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>“To Gerard Johnson, Cabinet maker, for severall pannells of -wainscot, covered with looking-glass for chimney pieces in the -King’s dining-roome, the gallerie, and over the doors, and for -putting them up—£100.”</p></div> - -<p>Among others here referred to were doubtless <span class="engf">the looking-glasses</span> over -the two chimney-pieces in this gallery. These are particularly fine and -worthy of notice. When the restorations were begun last summer, they -were literally dropping to pieces, falling in shreds, we might say. The -greatest care has been taken to piece the bits together; and to replace -the missing portions. Only such patched and added parts have been -regilt; the old gilding still remaining almost as bright and untarnished -as when these glasses were first put up, two hundred years ago, by -Gerard Johnson, cabinet maker, and Robert Streeter, serjeant painter. -Honour to their names, as two good old English handicraftsmen, whose -honest work thus survives to this day!</p> - -<p>Over each of the four doors are long richly-carved brackets of oak, -similar to those on which rest the looking-glasses over the -chimney-pieces. We know from Pyne’s drawing in 1818, that these brackets -over the doors then still supported looking-glasses, with richly carved -frames. Unfortunately, all trace of them has now disappeared.</p> - -<p><span class="engf">The chimney-piece</span> of the first fire-place on the right as you enter the -gallery is the original one of Wren’s design, of marble streaked and -veined blue-grey. The second, of white marble streaked with red, -technically known as “Breche-violett-antico,” is new—copied from the -first. This fire-place was, until last summer, filled with a common -cooking range, inserted many years ago for the use of the soldiers, when -this gallery was used as a barrack!</p> - -<p><span class="engf">The window-sashes</span> in this gallery are of the charming old-fashioned -type, divided by thick, deeply moulded bars, into small rectangular -spaces. Through these windows we have a pleasant view eastward of the -private gardens of the Palace, and of Kensington Gardens beyond.</p> - -<p>The dimensions of this gallery are: 88 feet 4 inches long by 22 feet -broad by 13 feet 3½ inches high to the top of the cornice, and 17 -feet 13 inches high to the highest part of the ceiling.<a name="page_073" id="page_073"></a></p> - -<p class="engp">Pictures in Queen Mary’s Gallery. Portraits of the Time of William and Mary to George II.</p> - -<p class="lt"><b>1 Queen Mary</b> . . . . . <span class="smcap">Kneller.</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Full-length, standing, in royal robes; her left hand lifting her -ermine cloak; her right holding the orb on the table by her side, -on which also is the crown on a cushion. In the right distance is -seen the parapet of the roof of Wren’s building at Hampton Court.</p> - -<p>This and its companion piece of King William, at the other end of -this gallery, were painted by Kneller about 1692, in which year he -was knighted.</p></div> - -<p class="lt"><b>2 George II.</b> (<i>718</i>) . . . . . <i>By Shackleton, after</i> <span class="smcap">Kneller</span>.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Seated, in robes of the Garter, facing to the left.</p></div> - -<p class="lt"><b>3</b> <i>Unassigned.</i></p> - -<p class="lt"><b>4 Frederick, Prince of Wales</b> (<i>619</i>) . . . . . <span class="smcap">Vanloo.</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Full-length, face turned to the right. His right hand is extended, -his left holds back his crimson and ermine cloak. His dress is blue -with rich gold lace. He has a short wig. On canvas, 7 ft. 9 in. -high, by 4 ft. 9 in. wide.</p> - -<p>Vanloo came to England in 1737, and this portrait was probably -painted about two years after. He became a very popular artist, and -made a great deal of money, for, as his French biographer -observes:—“L’Angleterre est le pays où il se fait le plus de -portraits et où ils sont mieux payés.” Engraved by Baron.</p> - -<p>This picture, therefore, dates from the time when the Prince was -about thirty-one years of age, and had been expelled from St. -James’s Palace, and was in declared enmity with his father. His -insignificant character,<a name="page_074" id="page_074"></a> which excited contempt rather than -dislike, is very happily satirized in the famous epitaph:</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Here lies Fred,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Who was alive and is dead;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Had it been his father,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">I had much rather;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Had it been his brother,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Still better than another;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Had it been his sister,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">No one would have missed her;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Had it been the whole generation,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Still better for the nation;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">But since ’tis only Fred,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Who was alive and is dead,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">There’s no more to be said.”<br /></span> -</div></div></div> - -<p class="lt"><b>5</b> <i>Unassigned.</i></p> - -<p class="lt"><b>6 Caroline, Queen of George II.</b> (<i>784</i>) . . . . . <span class="smcap">Zeeman?</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Full-length, standing, figure to the left, face a little to the -right. Her left hand holds up her cloak, her right is on a table, -on which is a crown and sceptre. She wears a blue velvet dress -trimmed with broad gold braid, and a white satin skirt, richly -worked with gold and jewels. Her hair is short and powdered. On -canvas, 7 ft. 9 in. high, by 4 ft. 9 in. wide.</p> - -<p>This was formerly attributed to Kneller, but it cannot be by him, -as she is represented as queen, while Kneller died four years -before her accession. Caroline was forty-five when her husband -became king.</p> - -<p>“Her levées,” says Coxes, “were a strange picture of the motley -character and manners of a queen and a learned woman. She received -company while she was at her toilette; prayers and sometimes a -sermon were read; learned men and divines were intermixed with -courtiers and ladies of the household; the conversation turned on -metaphysical subjects, blended with repartees, sallies of mirth, -and the tittle-tattle of a drawing-room.”</p></div> - -<p class="lt"><b>7</b> <i>Unassigned.</i></p> - -<p class="lt"><b>8 Portrait of George I.</b> (<i>782</i>). . . . . <span class="smcap">Kneller.</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Seated, facing in front. He is in the robes of the Order of the -Garter. His left hand on the arm of the chair, his right on a -table, whereon are a crown and a plumed helmet. On canvas, 7 ft. 9 -in. high, by 4 ft. 9 in. wide.</p> - -<p>George I. was the tenth sovereign who sat to Kneller, and for this<a name="page_075" id="page_075"></a> -portrait, which was painted soon after his accession, the king made -him baronet. Addison refers to it in his “Lines to Sir Godfrey -Kneller on his picture of the King,” beginning:</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Kneller, with silence and surprise<br /></span> -<span class="i0">We see Britannia’s monarch rise,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">A godlike form, by thee displayed<br /></span> -<span class="i0">In all the force of light and shade;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And, awed by thy delusive hand,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">As in the Presence Chamber stand.”<br /></span> -</div></div></div> - -<p class="lt"><b>9 William III. when Prince of Orange</b> (<i>864</i>). . . . . <span class="smcap">Kneller.</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Half-length, facing to the right, with his right hand extended.</p></div> - -<p class="lt"><b>10 George II. in his Old Age</b> (<i>598</i>) . . . . . <i>By Shackleton, after</i> -<span class="smcap">Pine</span>.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Full-length; in a rich dress, with the Order of the Garter, his -left hand on his sword, his right in his bosom. His eyes are cast -upwards.</p></div> - -<p class="lt"><b>11 Peter the Great, Czar of Russia</b> (<i>60</i>). . . . . <span class="smcap">Kneller.</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Full-length, in armour, with a truncheon in his left hand, and his -right hand on his hip. From his shoulders hangs a mantle lined with -ermine and embroidered with the double eagle. To the left is a -table, on which is the crown imperial. The background, which shows -some ships, is said to be signed by <i>W. Vandevelde</i>, but no trace -of this exists. On canvas, 7 ft. 9 in. high, by 4 ft. 9 in. wide. -There is also an inscription, of which I can only make out the -words: “<i>Petrus Alexander Magnus Domimus Cæsar & Magnus Dux -Moscouiæ ... Eques. Pinxit 1698</i>.” Engraved by Smith.</p> - -<p>This picture was painted for William III. during Peter the Great’s -visit to England, in the early part of 1698, and probably in the -house in Norfolk Street, where he took up his residence and lived -in close seclusion. It is considered one of the best portraits of -the Czar extant, and well portrays “his stately form, his -intellectual forehead, his piercing black eyes, and his Tartar nose -and mouth.” His age was then twenty-six years. He naturally excited -the greatest curiosity, and became the principal topic of -conversation. Every one was full of stories of him; “of the immense -quantities of meat which he devoured, the pints of brandy which he -drank, the fool who jabbered at his feet, the monkey which grinned -at the back of his chair,” and last, but not least, of his filthy -habits. When he went to stay at Evelyn’s house, Sayes Court, at -Deptford, in order to<a name="page_076" id="page_076"></a> more conveniently indulge in his favourite -pursuit of shipbuilding, Evelyn’s servant writes to him:—“There is -a house full of people, and right nasty. The Czar lies next your -Library, and dines in the parlour next your study. He dines at ten -o’clock and six at night, is very seldom home a whole day, very -often in the King’s Yard or by water, dressed in several dresses.” -Evelyn himself afterwards remarked “how miserably the Czar had left -his house, after three months making it his Court.”</p> - -<p>Peter visited King William in Kensington Palace, as we have noted -in our “Historical Sketch,” and as we shall notice again in our -account of the King’s Gallery.</p></div> - -<p class="lt"><b>12 King William III</b> . . . . . . <span class="smcap">Kneller.</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Full-length, in royal garter robes; his left hand by his sword, his -right on his hip. The crown and orb are on a table on his left; -pillars and a curtain behind.</p> - -<p>This is a companion piece to the portrait of Queen Mary at the -other end of this gallery.</p></div> - -<p class="lt"><b>13 Portrait of Mrs. Elliott</b> . . . . . <span class="smcap">John Riley.</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Half-length, seated; turned to the left, but facing in front. She -is dressed in black; her right hand rests on the arm of the chair; -she holds a handkerchief on her lap in her left.</p> - -<p>This was in Queen Anne’s catalogue, No. 331:—“Mrs. Elliott at -half-length.” It is a good specimen of a portrait-painter who -flourished in the time of Charles II. and James II., and whose -talents have hardly had justice done them.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Elliott was the wife of Mr. Elliott, Gentleman of the -Bedchamber to Charles II., and sister to Secretary Craggs.</p></div> - -<p class="lt"><b>14 Two Daughters of George II</b> . . . . . . <span class="smcap">Maingaud.</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>The eldest is to the left, standing, her right arm clasping a stem -of tree, round which twines a vine; her left hand giving a rose to -her younger sister; she is dressed in white. Her sister is kneeling -to the right, facing in front, and takes the rose with her left -hand; her right rests on a lictor’s fasces. On canvas, 4 ft. 6 in. -high, by 3 ft. 7 in. wide.</p></div> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/i032_sml.jpg" width="109" height="67" -class="caption" alt="Decoration of the text not available" title="Decoration" /> -</p> - -<p><a name="page_077" id="page_077"></a></p> - -<p class="headd"><a name="Queens_Closet" id="Queens_Closet"></a> -<img src="images/i032a_sml.jpg" width="301" height="75" alt="Queen’s Closet." title="Queen’s Closet." /> -</p> - -<p>This small room, which is but 23 feet 3 inches long by 12 feet wide, and -12 feet 9 inches high, is called in Pyne’s drawing, published in 1817, -“The Queen’s Closet,”—and this most probably is its correct -designation, though in Faulkner’s “History of Kensington,” published but -three years after, it is described as the “Queen’s Dressing Room.” Its -walls were at that time still entirely panelled with the oak wainscot -with which Wren had covered them. Afterwards all this was removed and -the walls plastered and distempered, the room being used as a kitchen. -The existent oak chair-rail and cornice, inserted during the last few -months, are copied from old models in this palace.</p> - -<p> </p> - -<p>Across the angle, where was originally the fire-place, is temporarily -fixed a very beautiful <span class="engf">stone chimney-piece</span>, formerly in Westminster -Palace, in one of the rooms on the north side of Westminster Hall. When -the old law-courts on that side were removed, this chimney-piece was -preserved by the Office of Works. It is one of the finest specimens -extant of a late Tudor domestic chimney-piece work, bearing the initial -and crown of Queen Elizabeth.</p> - -<p class="engp">Pictures of Old London.</p> - -<p class="nind">I<small>N</small> this chamber are collected various pictures of Old London, moved from -Hampton Court and other royal palaces. Few of them, excepting one or two -attributed to Scott, have much artistic merit, but they are interesting -as representations of the topography of London, and especially of the -banks of the Thames.<a name="page_078" id="page_078"></a></p> - -<p class="lt"><b>20 View of the Horse Guards from St. James’s Park</b> (<i>1022</i>). . . . . <span class="smcap">James.</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>The buildings of the Horse Guards are seen on the right, and in the -centre distance, Westminster.</p></div> - -<p class="lt"><b>21 View on the Thames—Old London Bridge and Fishmongers’ Hall</b> (<i>1044</i>). . . . . <span class="smcap">James.</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>The view is taken eastward; and right across the picture is the old -bridge, with the houses built on it. On the left are Fishmongers’ -Hall and the column on Fish Street Hill.</p> - -<p>These are two of a series of views of Old London from the Thames, -by William James, an imitator and probably a pupil of Canaletti’s, -though he resembles him in little except his mechanical precision. -His works, however, are interesting to the antiquarian, as they are -almost photographic in their accuracy.</p></div> - -<p class="lt"><b>22 View on the Thames—Old Somerset House and Temple Gardens</b> (<i>1023</i>). . . . . <span class="smcap">James.</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>The north bank of the Thames is seen, looking eastward, from about -the position of the middle of the present Waterloo bridge. On the -extreme left is old Somerset House, with its landing-stairs, next -comes the Temple, and in the distance St. Paul’s. Behind are seen -the spires of St. Mary-le-Strand, St. Clement Danes, St. Bride’s, -Fleet Street, etc. On canvas, 2 ft. high, by 3 ft. 8 in. wide.</p></div> - -<p class="lt"><b>23 View on the Thames—The Savoy, the Temple, &c.</b> (<i>1031</i>). . . . . <span class="smcap">James.</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>On the left is the old Savoy Palace with its curious chequered -brickwork; more in the middle old Somerset House, the Temple, etc. -On the right is seen a portion of the south bank of the Thames.</p></div> - -<p class="lt"><b>24 View on the Thames—Old Fleet Ditch</b> (<i>1043</i>). . . . . <span class="smcap">James.</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>The mouth of the Fleet Ditch is in the centre of the picture, -crossed by a stone foot-bridge of a single arch. On both sides of -it are large buildings.</p></div> - -<p><a name="page_079" id="page_079"></a></p> - -<p class="lt"><b>25 View on the Thames—The Adelphi, Whitehall, and Westminster</b> (<i>1032</i>). . . . . <span class="smcap">James.</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>The view is of the north bank looking westward, and shows, on the -right, Inigo Jones’ water-gate; next the octagonal tower of the -waterworks, then Whitehall, and beyond, Westminster Abbey and the -old bridge.</p></div> - -<p class="lt"><b>26 View on the Thames—Greenwich Hospital</b> (<i>1079</i>). . . . . <span class="smcap">James.</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>The view is taken eastward, and shows Greenwich Hospital on the -left, and the church to the right.</p></div> - -<p class="lt"><b>27 View on the Thames—Old Savoy Palace</b> (<i>1045</i>). . . . . <span class="smcap">Scott?</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>The view is the same as No. 23. In an old inventory there is an -entry relating to it:—“Rec<sup>d</sup>. 23<sup>rd</sup> March 1819. View of the -Savoy, with old Somerset House, on the banks of the Thames, painted -by Scott, the English Canaletti. Bought of Colnaghi, £265.” Samuel -Scott, the marine painter, is the artist referred to. He was a -companion of Hogarth’s, and a jovial one too—but he was also much -more, being an admirable painter of marine and topographical -subjects. There are three characteristic views of London by him in -the National Gallery, where is also his own portrait by Hudson.</p></div> - -<p class="lt"><b>28 The Thames from the Hill above Greenwich</b> (<i>1016</i>). . . . . <span class="smcap">Danckers.</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>To the left is the Observatory rising high up. Below is Greenwich -and the Hospital, and the river winding round the “Isle of Dogs,” -and London seen in the distance. Though hitherto unnamed, this is -doubtless:—“The Landscape of Greenwich, the prospect to London; by -Danckers,” in James II.’s catalogue, No. 195. (<i>Royal Catalogue.</i>)</p></div> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/i033_sml.jpg" width="88" height="72" -class="caption" alt="Decoration of the text not available" title="Decoration" /> -</p> - -<p><a name="page_080" id="page_080"></a></p> - -<p class="headd"><a name="Queen_Annes_Private_Dining_Room" id="Queen_Annes_Private_Dining_Room"></a> -<img src="images/i034_sml.jpg" width="500" height="126" alt="Queen Anne’s Private Dining Room." title="Queen Anne’s Private Dining Room." /> -</p> - -<p>This picturesque little room remains almost exactly in the same state as -it was when finished about 1690 for Queen Mary, who, perhaps, as well as -Queen Anne, used it as a private dining room. It is, indeed, a very -characteristic example of one of Wren’s comfortable and eminently -habitable rooms. The protruding doorway in the right-hand corner, the -picturesque recess on the left-hand side of the fireplace, and the -porch-like treatment of the similar recess on the other side—where is -the doorway into the Queen’s Closet—all show how the accidents of -construction and convenience may be so judiciously laid hold of, as to -render what would otherwise have been a mere uninteresting commonplace -room, a charmingly homelike and picturesque one. Such an example as this -of Wren’s artistic adaptability should be a most valuable -“object-lesson” to modern builders, who, when not planning exactly -rectangular rooms, go to the other extreme of straining after a designed -and artificial “quaintness.”</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>The coved ceiling, rising from behind the oak cornice, adds greatly -to the apparent height of the room.</p></div> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>The dimensions are: 17 feet 9 inches long by 14 feet wide.</p></div> - -<p>It was in this and the similar adjoining rooms that took place those -many curious intimate conversations between Queen Anne and the Duchess -of Marlborough, both when “Mrs. Morley” and her “dear Mrs. Freeman,” -were all in all to each other, and also when “Atossa” vainly endeavoured -by fury, invective, and torrents<a name="page_081" id="page_081"></a> of reproaches and tears, to regain her -fast-waning influence over the dull and feeble, but stolid and -obstinate, mind of the Queen. It was at Kensington Palace too, and -perhaps in this very room, that took place their famous interview, one -April afternoon in the year 1710, when the only reply which the great -Duchess Sarah could get to her inquiring entreaties was the phrase “You -desired no answer and you shall have none,”—reiterated with -exasperating and callous monotony by her whilom friend and mistress.</p> - -<p class="engp">Pictures in Queen Anne’s Private Dining Room.</p> - -<p class="lt"><b>40 Installation of Knights of the Garter at Kensington Palace, on August -4th, 1713, by Queen Anne</b> . . . . . <span class="smcap">Peter Angelis.</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>There has been some question as to the exact ceremony, which is -depicted here, but there can be but little doubt that it represents -the Chapter of the Order of the Garter, held by Queen Anne at -Kensington Palace on August 4th, 1713, when Henry Grey, Duke of -Kent, Robert Harley, first Earl of Oxford, Charles Mordaunt, third -Earl of Peterborough, and John, Earl Poulett, were installed as -Knights of the Garter. The chapter was the last held by Queen Anne, -and was held at Kensington, and not at Windsor, owing to her -physical infirmities. Two of these noblemen kneel on the lowest -step of the throne, and have already been invested with the mantle -and collar of the Order and the Garter itself. The Queen places her -hand upon the joined hand of the two Knights of the Garter. It is -uncertain which of the noblemen are represented here, but the -Knight kneeling on the right of the picture would appear to -represent Harley. One of these noblemen is attended by a page boy -in grey silk, and the other has two black boys supporting his long -blue mantle. Among the Knights of the Garter in attendance, and -they all wear their full robes and collars, one figure is prominent -holding a long slender wand. This is probably Charles Talbot, Duke -of Shrewsbury, who was Lord Chamberlain of the Household, Lord -Lieutenant of Ireland, and for a brief period Lord High Treasurer. -Two yeoman of the Guard, in the well-known costume, but without -ruffs or rosettes to their shoes, holding halberds, stand -prominently forth on the extreme left. Through a wide door, in the -distant apartments, may be seen a crowd of courtiers waiting for -admission, and through the large square panes of the window in a -garden are seen clustered various persons in dark and formal -attire,<a name="page_082" id="page_082"></a> peering anxiously through the glass as if to obtain a -sight of the ceremonial.</p> - -<p>On canvas, 2 ft. 5¼ in. high by 1 ft. 11¾ in. wide. Lent by -the Trustees of the National Portrait Gallery.</p></div> - -<p class="lt"><b>41 William, Duke of Gloucester, son of Queen Anne</b> (<i>885</i>). . . . . <span class="smcap">Kneller.</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Bust; in an oval turned to the left, face seen in full. He is in -armour, and has a blue ermine-lined cape. On canvas, 2½ ft. -high, by 2 ft. wide.</p> - -<p>The young duke, though of feeble constitution, was not deficient in -martial spirit. When but a boy of six years old, he came to meet -his uncle William of Orange, who had just returned from a campaign, -with a little musket on his shoulder, and presented arms, saying, -“I am learning my drill, that I may help you beat the French.” The -king was so pleased that he made him a knight of the Garter a few -days after. Many men have received that honour for less. He died in -July 1700.</p></div> - -<p class="lt"><b>42 Prince George of Denmark, Husband of Queen Anne</b> (<i>884</i>). . . . . <span class="smcap">Dahl.</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>In an oval, to the shoulders; in armour.—His death in this Palace -has been mentioned on <a href="#page_022">page 22</a>.</p></div> - -<p class="lt"><b>43 John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough</b> . . . . . <span class="smcap">Jan Wyck.</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Three-quarters length, in armour; face turned three-quarters to the -left. His left hand is on his hip, his right on a table by his -side, on which is a plumed helmet. A battle scene is shown in the -lower right background. On canvas, 3 ft. high, by 2 ft. 4 in. wide. -Lent by the Trustees of the National Portrait Gallery.</p> - -<p>This portrait would seem to represent him as a comparatively young -man—about twenty-three—after he had distinguished himself at -Maestricht, when he was nicknamed by Turenne “the handsome -Englishman.” It was the period of his famous <i>liaison</i> with the -Duchess of Cleveland, who had fallen a willing victim to his beauty -and his charm of manner. Lord Wolseley, in his “Life of -Marlborough,” describes his appearance at this period as: -“Strikingly handsome, with a profusion of fair hair, -strongly-marked, well-shaped eyebrows, long eyelashes, blue eyes, -and refined, clearly-cut features. A wart on his right upper-lip -though large, did not detract from his good looks. He was tall, and -his figure was remarkably graceful, although a contemporary says: -‘Il avait l’air trop indolent, et la taille trop effilé.’”</p></div> - -<p><a name="page_083" id="page_083"></a></p> - -<p class="headd"><a name="Queen_Marys_Privy_Chamber" id="Queen_Marys_Privy_Chamber"></a> -<img src="images/i035_sml.jpg" width="500" height="69" alt="Queen Mary’s Privy Chamber." title="Queen Mary’s Privy Chamber." /> -</p> - -<p>Except for the oak panelling, which covered the walls of this room as -late as the beginning of this century, but which was removed now many -years ago, we see it exactly as it was finished for Queen Mary. Her -initial, with that of her husband, King William, appears in the fine -carved oak cornice. The ceiling is coved.</p> - -<p>At one time this room was called “The Admiral’s Gallery,” on account of -the series of copies of portraits of British Admirals by Kneller and -Dahl, which formerly hung here—until their removal in 1835 to Hampton -Court, whence they have now been brought back to decorate again the -walls of these state rooms at Kensington. They are now hung, as we shall -see, in “The King’s Gallery.”</p> - -<p>The dimensions of this room are: 25 feet long by 17 feet 10 inches wide, -by 12 feet 7 inches high to the top of the cornice, 15 feet 8 inches to -the highest part of the ceiling.</p> - -<p class="engp">Pictures in Queen Mary’s Privy Chamber.</p> - -<p class="lt"><b>50 Queen Mary, when Princess of Orange</b> (<i>23</i>). . . . . <span class="smcap">W. Wissing.</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Seated, nearly full length. She is dressed in blue in the costume -of a lady of the time, and with a crimson mantle edged with ermine. -Her left hand rests on a table, over which her mantle falls. -Engraved by John Verkolje.</p> - -<p>This picture is signed on the left-hand side, and is the original -of many replicas or copies at St. James’s Palace, at -Burley-on-the-Hill, Woburn, The Grove, etc. It was painted for -James II., who sent Wissing over to the Hague for the purpose. His -popularity as a portrait-painter was great, and was partly due no -doubt to his making such flattering likenesses.<a name="page_084" id="page_084"></a> “When any lady -came to sit to him whose complexion was any ways pale, he would -commonly take her by the hand and dance her about the room till she -became warmer.”</p></div> - -<p class="lt"><b>51 William III. when Prince of Orange</b> . . . . . <span class="smcap">W. Wissing.</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Three-quarters length, standing; facing to the right, in a rich -dress. This is the companion piece to the foregoing.</p></div> - -<p class="lt"><b>52 Portrait of James Stuart the Pretender</b> (<i>664</i>). . . . . <span class="smcap">B. Luti.</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Half-length; facing in front, inclined to the right; his right hand -only is seen. He is in the robes of the Order of the Garter, of -which the jewel hangs on his breast, and has a long full-bottomed -wig, a lace cravat and cuffs. On his left is a table on which is -the royal crown of England. The background is gray, with a red -curtain. On canvas, 3 ft. 3 in. high, by 2 ft. 6 in. wide.</p> - -<p>The canvas is new. Behind was formerly this inscription:—“<i>James -son of James II.; by the Cavaliere Benedetto Luti, from the -Cardinal of York’s collection at Frascati.</i>” (Note in the <i>Royal -Inventory</i>.) This picture and No. 839 were bequeathed to George -III. by Cardinal York, the old Pretender’s son, and the last of the -Stuarts, who died in 1807.</p> - -<p>It was no doubt painted at Rome, some time between the year 1718, -when Prince James accepted the asylum in the Eternal City offered -him by the Pope, and the year 1724, when Luti died there. In 1720 -he was married to the Princess Sobieski, and at the end of the same -year the young Pretender was born.</p> - -<p>The Pretender’s countenance has that heavy, sodden appearance, and -that weak dejected look, which were due partly to his inert -character, partly to his misfortunes, and not less to the debauched -and indolent life he led. His person, indeed, was never impressive; -and even an adherent, writing of the events at Perth in 1715, -admits:—“I must not conceal, that when we saw the man, whom they -called our King, we found ourselves not at all animated by his -presence, and if he was disappointed in us, we were tenfold more so -in him. We saw nothing in him that looked like spirit. He never -appeared with cheerfulness and vigour to animate us. Our men began -to despise him; some asked him if he could speak.”</p> - -<p>Gray the poet gives a similar account of him some years after:—“He -is a thin, ill-made man, extremely tall and awkward, of a most -unpromising countenance, a good deal resembling King James II., and -has extremely the air and look of an idiot, particularly when he -laughs or prays; the first he does not do often, the latter -continually.” Horace Walpole observed that “enthusiasm and -disappointment have stamped a solemnity on his person, which rather -creates pity than respect.”</p></div> - -<p><a name="page_085" id="page_085"></a></p> - -<p class="lt"><b>53 Frederick, Prince of Wales, at a Party</b> (<i>606</i>). . . . . <span class="smcap">M. Laroon?</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>The Prince is at the head of the table, round which eight ladies -and gentlemen are seated. He is pouring wine into a glass. Some -thirteen persons, attendants, and a clergyman, are also in the -room. Most of them are probably portraits. Altogether twenty-three -small figures. On canvas, 3 ft. high, by 2 ft. 10 in. wide.</p> - -<p>This picture, though long labelled “Vanderbank,” is probably by -Marcellus Laroon, the younger, to whom it is attributed in an old -catalogue. The likelihood that he is the painter is greatly -strengthened by the close resemblance in style between it and the -similar piece that follows—the personages evidently being the -same.</p> - -<p>It is not certain what is the subject represented; though it has -borne the above title for many years. In one of the Lord -Chamberlain’s old inventories it is stated to represent “a fête in -honour of the marriage of the Duke of Wharton.”</p></div> - -<p class="lt"><b>54 A Royal Assembly in Kew Palace</b> . . . . . <span class="smcap">Marcellus Laroon.</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>This represents some Royal assembly, apparently Augusta of -Saxe-Gotha, the wife of Frederick, Prince of Wales, and her -friends, in Kew Palace. The Princess in blue is pouring out the -tea; a lady in white is singing; Handel is at the harpsichord, and -“Orator” Henley close by. The equestrian portrait on the wall -appears to be George II.</p> - -<p>Signed <i>Mar. Laroon</i>, and dated <i>1740</i>. Lent by Mr. Humphry Ward.</p></div> - -<p class="lt"><b>55 Matthew Prior</b> . . . . . . <i>By Thomas Hudson, after</i> <span class="smcap">Jonathan -Richardson</span>.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Half-length, seated, almost in profile to the right. On canvas, 3 -ft. 4 in. high, by 2 ft. 9 in. wide. Lent by the Trustees of the -National Portrait Gallery.</p> - -<p>Prior—poet, statesman, and diplomatist—published with Charles -Montagu, afterwards Earl of Halifax, in 1689, “The City Mouse and -the Country Mouse,” intended to ridicule Dryden’s “Hind and -Panther.” He was patronized by Dorset, who introduced him to the -Court; and he was often employed in diplomatic offices.</p></div> - -<p class="lt"><b>56 Flower-Piece—<i>over the mantelpiece</i></b> (<i>826</i>). . . . . <span class="smcap">Baptiste.</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>A green glass vase with chrysanthemums, poppies, honeysuckles, etc. -Baptiste was a <i>protégé</i> of Queen Mary, and painted a great number -of flower-pieces to decorate Kensington and Hampton Court.</p></div> - -<p><a name="page_086" id="page_086"></a></p> - -<p class="lt"><b>57 Portrait of Robert Boyle the Philosopher</b> (<i>56</i>). . . . . <span class="smcap">Kerseboom.</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Nearly full-length, seated in a big armchair; turned to the right, -but facing in front. He leans his right arm on the chair; his left -is turning over the leaves of a book on a table in front of him. He -wears a large full-bottomed wig. This picture has been engraved by -Baron several times.</p> - -<p>Boyle, the famous chemist and experimental philosopher, was the -seventh son of the first Lord Cork, and from him received a fortune -of <i>£</i>3,000 a year, which he devoted in a great measure to -scientific research and the promotion of the Christian religion. He -was never married, being of opinion that “a man must have very low -and narrow thoughts of happiness or misery who can expect either -from a woman’s conduct.” For his life, see his <i>Philaretus</i>.</p> - -<p>Frederic Kerseboom was a native of Germany, who worked at Paris and -Rome under Le Brun and Poussin. He was in England during William -III.’s reign, and painted a few indifferent portraits.</p></div> - -<p class="lt"><b>58 Portrait of John Locke</b> (<i>947</i>). . . . . <span class="smcap">Kneller.</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Half-length, standing; turned to the right, but facing in front. He -rests his left hand on a table, on which are an inkstand and a pen; -his right hand in front of him. He wears a plain black coat, with -part of his shirt showing; and he is without his wig, and shows his -long white hair.</p> - -<p>This is one of Kneller’s best portraits. It was evidently painted -in the philosopher’s later years, for he looks here on the point of -dying of the asthma to which he succumbed in 1704. “Pray,” said -Locke in a letter to Collins, “get Sir Godfrey to write on the back -of my picture ‘John Locke;’ it is necessary to be done, or else the -pictures of private persons are lost in two or three generations.”</p></div> - -<p class="lt"><b>59 Sir Isaac Newton</b> (<i>957</i>). . . . . <span class="smcap">Kneller.</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Three-quarters length; turned to the left, facing in front. His -right arm is by his side, his left leans on a table, on which are a -globe and a book. He wears a dark, loose robe, and a large wig. On -the left is inscribed: “<i>I Newton Esq<sup>re</sup> Ætatis</i> 47. 1689.”</p> - -<p>There is a similar portrait to this at Petworth, which is engraved -in Lodge. Newton was at this time member of the Convention -Parliament, for the University of Cambridge.</p></div> - -<p class="lt"><b>59A King William III.</b> (<i>779</i>) . . . . . <span class="smcap">Kneller.</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Three-quarters length in armour, directed to the right; face turned -round to the left. He wears a blue and gold sash. In the left -background is a black servant, perhaps the one whose marble bust is -now in this palace.</p></div> - -<p><a name="page_087" id="page_087"></a></p> - -<p class="headd"><a name="Queen_Carolines_Drawing_Room" id="Queen_Carolines_Drawing_Room"></a> -<img src="images/i036_sml.jpg" width="500" height="68" alt="Queen Caroline’s Drawing Room." title="Queen Caroline’s Drawing Room." /> -</p> - -<p>In entering this room we pass from the portion of the palace built in -1690 by Sir Christopher Wren for William and Mary, to that constructed -by William Kent about 1723 for George I. The visitor has thus a good -opportunity of comparing the styles and tastes of the two architects and -of gauging their relative powers. Wren had been driven from his office, -in 1718, by a shameful backstair intrigue; and two years afterwards, -Kent, doubtless by the influence of his patron, the Earl of Burlington, -was commissioned to build a set of new state rooms.</p> - -<p>How very mediocre were his talents, the exterior of his addition to -Wren’s work will, as we have already said, ever remain a palpable proof; -and though for internal construction he shows less incapacity, still -this room exhibits all his false ideas of pseudo-classicism—developed, -as we shall see, to a most extravagant extent in the adjoining “Cube or -Cupola Room.”</p> - -<p>Examining the decoration in detail, we perceive everywhere evidences of -his awkward, graceless style. The doorways, for instance, are -unnecessarily lofty and gaunt, and with their heavy cumbrous -architraves, flat moulded, with little light and shade, greatly impair -the proportions of the room. In the tall semi-circular headed central -window also, surmounted by a purposeless oak bracket—even in such -details as the mouldings of the panelling and of the framing of the -doors, and the flatness of the raised panels and their relative sizes to -the width of the rails and “stiles,”—we detect his marked inferiority -to Wren in the designing of such fittings.</p> - -<p>The <span class="engf">chimney-piece</span>, which is one of Kent’s plainer and less ponderous -ones, is of a choice marble, veined black and gold.</p> - -<p>The dimensions of this room are: 32 feet 9½ inches long, 24 feet 2 -inches wide, and 19 feet 2 inches high to the top of the cornice, 24 -feet to the ceiling.<a name="page_088" id="page_088"></a></p> - -<p class="engp">Painted Ceiling of Queen Caroline’s<br /> -Drawing Room.</p> - -<p class="nind">B<small>UT</small> it is by the ceiling especially, with its great heavy oval frame of -plasterwork, and its appearance of overhanging crushing weight, that we -can most accurately appreciate Kent. The central recessed panel, -containing an allegorical representation of Minerva, attended by History -and the Arts, gives us a measure of his powers as a pictorial artist. -The decorative painting of the cove of the ceiling, above the oaken -cornice, is more satisfactory. In the four angles, and in the middle of -each side, are classical pediments with volutes.</p> - -<p>Besides, the workmanship of the wainscoting being very good, and the -original rawness of the ceiling somewhat faded, this room, with its new -oak floor, its gorgeous paper, its Georgian furniture, probably designed -by Kent, and the magnificent frames of some of the pictures on its -walls, presents a fine and stately appearance.</p> - -<p class="engp">Contemporary French and German Portraits.</p> - -<p class="lt"><b>60 Madame de Pompadour</b> (<i>986</i>). . . . . <span class="smcap">Drouais.</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Half-length, seated, turned to the left. She wears a dress of -figured brocade, worked with coloured flowers and foliage on a -white ground, and trimmed with white ribbons; her sleeves are short -and edged with lace. On her head is a sort of mob cap, or headdress -of lace, tied under the chin with a striped ribbon; her hair is -short and powdered. In front of her is a frame of embroidery called -tambour-work, which she is working, her right hand being above, and -her left under the canvas. The background is grey, with a red -curtain to the right. Painted in an oval. On canvas, 2 ft. 7½ -in. high, by 2 ft. wide.</p> - -<p>This picture has been attributed, but quite unwarrantably, to -Greuze, who does not appear to have painted Louis XV.’s mistress at -all, and certainly could not have done so when she was as young as -she is here represented. It is in fact a replica (and by no means a -bad one) of a portrait by Drouais, of which a great many -repetitions are extant, and of which the original—a -full-length—is now at Mentmore, Lord Rosebery’s. The Mentmore -picture was purchased for £1,000.<a name="page_089" id="page_089"></a></p> - -<p>Drouais was an indifferent artist whose name would long have passed -into oblivion, had he not painted princes and princesses. Diderot -drew this just estimate of his works:—“Tous les visages de cet -homme-là ne sont que le rouge vermillon le plus précieux, -artistement couché sur la craie la plus fine et la plus blanche.... -Il n’y en a pas une de laide, et pas une qui ne déplût sur la -toile. Ce n’est pas de la chair; car, où est la vie, l’onctueux, le -transparent, les tons, les dégradations, les nuances?” And Larousse -endorses this view with the following remarks:—“Toutes ces -peintures, habilement traitées d’ailleurs comme métier, n’ont rien -de saillant, aucune puissance, aucune originalité. Les têtes sont -banales, ternes, sans physionomie. L’allure est gauche et pénible. -Les personnages sont fort mal habillés, bien que les draperies -soient exécutées en trompe-l’œil et avec magnificence.”</p> - -<p>Madame de Pompadour is here represented at about the age of -thirty-five, a period when, having lost the influence of a lover -over the debauched and fickle Louis XV., she endeavoured to retain -her power by ministering to his pleasures and vices. Her appearance -completely tallies with the account given of her:—“Elle était -assez grande, bien faite, les cheveux, châtain clair, tres-beaux, -avec une peau d’une grande finesse et d’une blancheur éclatante. -Mais elle avait un genre de beauté qui se fane vite: ses chairs -molles s’infiltraient, s’enflammaient aisément; elle avait des -langueurs et des pâleurs maladives.”</p> - -<p>The tambour-work at which she is engaged was one of her favourite -occupations; and it is pleasant to remember, with the shocking -record of her extraordinary career, that she created that style in -decoration, furniture, dress, literature, and even art, which is -known by the name of Louis XV., a style which, wanting as it is in -the simplicity of mediævalism, and stamped though it be with the -character of its meretricious inventor, is yet always pleasing from -a certain refinement and artificial beauty.</p></div> - -<p class="lt"><b>61 Mademoiselle de Clermont</b> (<i>984</i>). . . . . <i>unnamed.</i></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Half-length, facing in front, hands not seen. She is dressed in a -white dress, with a garland of flowers across it from under her -left arm to her right shoulder. Behind her she has a blue scarf. -Her hair is powdered and done high up. On canvas, 2 ft. 5 in. high, -by 2 ft. wide.</p> - -<p>Behind is written:—“<i>Marianne. de. bourbon. nommeo. Mademoiselle. -de. Clermont.</i>”</p> - -<p>She was born in Paris in October, 1697, and was the daughter of -Louis, the third Duke of Bourbon, and his wife Louise Françoise de -Bourbon, Mademoiselle de Nantes, a natural daughter of Louis XV. In -1725 she was appointed “Surintendante de la Maison de la Reine.” -The story of her and her lover, M. de Melun, and his tragic end, -forms the basis of Madame de Genlis’ charming little novel, -“Mademoiselle de Clermont.”</p> - -<p>This portrait is painted in the style of Nattier.</p></div> - -<p><a name="page_090" id="page_090"></a></p> - -<p class="lt"><b>62 Louis XVI. in his Coronation Robes</b> (<i>516</i>). . . . . <span class="smcap">Callet.</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Full-length, standing, facing to the left. His left hand holds his -hat by his side, his right leans on his sceptre. He is attired in -the royal robes of France, a purple mantle embroidered with -fleurs-de-lys, and an ermine tippet, etc. He has a small wig; his -face is shaven. Behind him is his throne, with a figure of Justice. -On canvas, 9 ft. high, by 6 ft. 5 in. wide.</p> - -<p>This is the original presentation frame, decorated with -fleurs-de-lys.</p> - -<p>Though formerly labelled “Greuze,” it is really a replica of -Callet’s well-known portrait, of which, besides the original at -Versailles, there are other repetitions at Madrid and elsewhere, -distributed to the various courts of Europe on the king’s -accession. The original was engraved by Bervic, the greatest of -French engravers, the plate being lettered with the painter’s name, -“Callet Peintre du Roi.”</p></div> - -<p class="lt"><b>63 Portrait of Louis XV. when young</b> (<i>925</i>). . . . . <span class="smcap">Rigaud.</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Half-length, turned to the left; his left hand is in his sash, his -right holds a marshal’s bâton. His dress is a fawn-coloured doublet -with a cuirass, a blue sash, and a blue mantle embroidered with a -fleur-de-lys over it. Short hair, beardless face. On canvas, 3 ft. -high, by 2 ft. 5 in. wide.</p> - -<p>This portrait was painted by Rigaud, as the contemporary mezzotint -engraving by J. Simon proves, and not, as has been said, by -Mignard, who had been dead thirty years. He is considered one of -the best French portrait-painters of that period. Louis XV. -conferred several favours on him, and decorated him with the Order -of St. Michael, in 1727, soon after this portrait was painted. This -distinction was given, as he said, “tant en considération de la -réputation acquise dans son art, que pour avoir peint la famille -royalle jusqu’à la quatrième génération.”</p></div> - -<p class="lt"><b>64 Marianne, Duchess of Bourbon</b> (<i>985</i>). . . . . <span class="smcap">Santerre?</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Half-length, facing in front; her hands not seen. Her hair is dark, -and dressed high, with a blue ribbon fastened over with a red -jewel, and carried to the front. Her dress is yellow brocade with -red drapery. On canvas, 2 ft. 5 in. high, by 2 ft. wide.</p> - -<p>Behind is written in ink:—“<i>Marianne. de. bourbon. fille. de. -Monsieur. le. prince. de. Conty. famme. de. Monsieur. le. duc. de. -bourbon.</i>”</p> - -<p>She married, in 1713, Louis Henri de Bourbon, brother of -Mademoiselle de Clermont (see No. 61), and died in 1720. There is a -portrait of her husband at Paris, by Drouais.</p> - -<p>The portrait before us is very possibly by Jean Baptiste Santerre, -a good painter whose works are rare. He died in 1717.</p></div> - -<p><a name="page_091" id="page_091"></a></p> - -<p class="lt"><b>65 The Emperor Paul of Russia</b> (<i>894</i>). . . . . ——?</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Bust, turned to the left, eyes looking at the spectator. He is in a -green uniform with red facing; and on his breast three stars and a -green ribbon across from his right shoulder to his left. His hair -is curled and powdered. On canvas, 2 ft. 4 in. high, by 1 ft. -10½ in. wide.</p> - -<p>Behind the picture is inscribed:—“<i>Kopal T. Ep. K. E.</i> (?) 1799” -and “<i>Catalogue No. 545, Emperor Paul of Russia.</i>.”</p> - -<p>This portrait represents the emperor in the forty-fifth year of his -age, three years after his accession, and two years before his -assassination.</p></div> - -<p class="lt"><b>66 Louis XIV., when young</b> (<i>396</i>). . . . . <span class="smcap">Mignard?</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Three-quarters length, facing in front. His left hand hangs by his -side, right is on his hip. He is clad in armour, over which is a -purplish robe, lined with yellow. He has a long brown wig. On -canvas, 5 ft. high, by 3 ft. 7 in. wide.</p> - -<p>If this is really by Mignard, it must, on account of the age of the -king, be one of the first pictures he painted in 1658, on his -introduction to the French Court.</p></div> - -<p class="lt"><b>67 Stanislaus, King of Poland</b> (<i>895</i>). . . . . <span class="smcap">Lampi.</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Bust, turned slightly to the left. He is dressed in a purple velvet -coat, across which is a light blue sash, and on the left side of -his breast a star. He wears a small wig and pigtail; his face is -shaven. On canvas, 2 ft. 4 in. high, by 1 ft 10½ in. wide.</p> - -<p>Behind in ink is written:—“Cavalieri Lampi de Vienna.”</p> - -<p>In an old inventory, dated 1819, is this entry:—“Half-length -portrait of the King of Poland, purple velvet coat, etc., painted -by Lampi, member of the Academy of Vienna. Bought of Colnaghi for -£21.”</p> - -<p>Stanislaus-Augustus Poniatowski was proclaimed King of Poland on -the 7th of September, 1764, having owed his election to his lover -the Empress Catherine. It was during his reign that the infamous -partition of Poland was perpetrated, to which he lent a passive -assistance. He died in 1798.</p></div> - -<p class="lt"><b>68 Queen of Prussia</b> (<i>907</i>). . . . . <span class="smcap">Anton Graff?</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Seated in a high-backed armchair covered with blue velvet; she is -turned to the left, but faces in front. Her right hand rests on a -table beside her, and points to a book; her left hangs by her side. -She is dressed in black trimmed with ermine, and her head is -covered with a black lace veil. Her hair is white. On canvas, 4 ft. -7 in. high, by 3 ft. 3 in. wide.<a name="page_092" id="page_092"></a></p> - -<p>This is attributed in the <i>Royal Inventory</i> to Graff, a German -painter who flourished at the end of the last century.</p> - -<p>Is she Sophia Dorothea, sister of George II., who married, in 1706, -William I., King of Prussia, and who died in 1757?</p></div> - -<p class="lt"><b>69 Frederick, Prince of Wales</b> (<i>789</i>). . . . . <span class="smcap">Zeeman?</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Small full-length; turned to the right. His right hand pointing in -front of him, his left on his breast. He wears a red coat, leather -boots to the knees, and a long wig.</p> - -<p>Though this has long been known as Frederick, Prince of Wales, -there are reasons to suspect that it is really his Brother William, -Duke of Cumberland.</p></div> - -<p class="lt"><b>70 Louis XIV. on Horseback</b> (<i>853</i>). . . . . <span class="smcap">Charles le Brun?</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>He is shown the size of life, on a cream-coloured charger, rising -on its hind legs, and turned to the left. His dress is an -embroidered coat, with jack boots and scarlet breeches. In his -right hand he holds a bâton. On his head is a black laced hat; he -has long flowing hair and curls. In the distance under the horse’s -forelegs an attack of cavalry is seen. On canvas, 8 ft. 3 in. high, -by 6 ft. 2 in. wide.</p> - -<p>This has been attributed to Van der Meulen, but there is a similar -picture at Versailles by Charles le Brun of which this is perhaps a -replica.</p></div> - -<p class="lt"><b>71 Frederick the Great</b> (<i>555</i>). . . . . <span class="smcap">Antoine Pesne.</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Full-length, standing, turned to the left, but facing round to the -front. His left hand points to a battle in the distance; his right -holds a marshal’s truncheon. He is in armour, over which is a -crimson ermine-lined mantle; he has a small close-curled wig; his -helmet is on the ground in front of him. On canvas, 8 ft. 7 in. -high, by 5 ft. 7 in. wide.</p> - -<p>“To this admirable painter (<i>i.e.</i> Pesne) I am inclined to -attribute the portrait of Frederick the Great. The king, who is -still in youthful years, is pointing to a battlefield in the -background, probably in allusion to the Silesian war. A picture of -considerable merit.”—<i>Waagen.</i> The painter is well remembered by -the following couplet by Frederick the Great:—</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Quel spectacle étonnant vient de frapper mes yeux,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Cher Pesne, ton pinceau t’égale au rang des Dieux,”<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<p class="nind">which Voltaire interpreted thus:—“Le roi ne regardant jamais le -peintre, ce dernier était pour lui invisible comme Dieu.”</p> - -<p>Pesne, who was a Frenchman and studied in Paris, was in England in -1724. He afterwards went to Berlin, where he became court painter -to Frederick the Great. He died in 1757, the year of the Battle of -Prague.</p> - -<p>The frame is doubtless a presentation one.</p></div> - -<p><a name="page_093" id="page_093"></a></p> - -<p class="lt"><b>72 Frederick the Great</b> (<i>978</i>). . . . . <i>unnamed.</i></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Bust, turned to the left, facing in front; his hands not seen. He -wears a small wig and a dark-blue coat, with the star of the Order -of the Black Eagle.</p></div> - -<p class="lt"><b>73 Charles XII. of Sweden</b> (<i>977</i>). . . . . <span class="smcap">Magnus du Blaire?</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Bust; wearing a blue coat and a black choker; grey hair, and a -beardless face.</p> - -<p>A small whole length, 49 in. by 39 in., of which this appears to be -an enlarged copy of part, was in the Hamilton Palace collection, -No. 1031, attributed to Magnus du Blaire, and inscribed: “In fatum -Scandici Die <span class="smcap">XXX</span> Nov. <span class="smcap">MDCCXVII</span>.”</p> - -<p>“David Krafft, a Swedish painter, born in 1655, painted the -portrait of Charles XII. at the command of his sister, afterwards -Queen Ulrica Eléanora; but this monarch, who objected to being -portrayed, was so displeased at the accuracy of the picture, that -he cut out the head. It had, however, already been transferred to -copper, and also etched by several engravers.”—<i>Bryan.</i></p></div> - -<p class="lt"><b>74 Flower Piece</b> . . . . . <span class="smcap">Baptiste.</span></p> - -<p class="lt"><b>75 Flower Piece</b> . . . . . <span class="smcap">Baptiste.</span></p> - -<p class="lt"><b>76 Flower Piece</b> . . . . . <span class="smcap">Baptiste.</span></p> - -<p class="headd"><a name="The_Cupola_or_Cube_Room" id="The_Cupola_or_Cube_Room"></a> -<img src="images/i037_sml.jpg" width="500" height="67" alt="The Cupola or Cube Room." title="The Cupola or Cube Room." /> -</p> - -<p>In this sumptuous and gorgeous chamber, with its marble-pillared -doorways, its painted and gilded walls, its niches, brackets, slabs, and -pediments of white marble, its gilt antique statues, its gaudy domed -ceiling of blue and gold, we have the very acme and essence of the style -and art of William Kent, triumphant and rampant. After our remarks on -his work in the foregoing room, we shall not be expected to lose -ourselves in admiration over this masterpiece of his pseudo-classic -design and decoration. Yet little as we may agree with his theories of -art, little as we may admire the way he carried them into practice,<a name="page_094" id="page_094"></a> it -is not to be denied that, viewed as a whole, there is considerable -grandeur and stateliness, and a certain degree of fine proportion, about -this highly-emblazoned saloon.</p> - -<p>Though called the “Cube” Room, its dimensions are not exactly of that -mathematical figure, the walls being only 26 feet 2 inches high, to the -top of the cornice, and 34 feet 7 inches to the centre of the ceiling, -though each side is 37 feet long.</p> - -<p class="engp">The Painted Ceiling of the Cube Room.</p> - -<p class="nind">T<small>HE</small> ceiling seems to have been the first portion of the work undertaken -by Kent, and to have been finished by him by the spring of the year -1722. That he was employed to do this work occasioned much very -justifiable heart-burning. Sir James Thornhill was at that time -serjeant-painter to the King, and in virtue of his office was entitled -to receive the commission for painting this ceiling. Indeed, it appears -from a “Memorial of Sir Thomas Hewett, Knt., Surveyor-General of His -Majesties Works,” addressed to the Lords of the Treasury, dated 14th -February, 1722-3, and “relating to the painting of the large Square Room -at Kensington,” that in the foregoing autumn the King had commanded -Hewett’s attendance at Kensington “about finishing the Three Large Rooms -in the New Building,” and that Hewett then showed the King “several -sketches of mosaic work, etc., for painting the ceiling of the Great -Square Room.” The Memorial proceeds to state:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>“His Majesty chose one of them; and after I ordered a model to be -made, and Sir James Thornhill painted it, which His Majesty saw and -approved of; and commanded me to tell the Vice-Chamberlain he -should treat with Sir James Thornhill for the Price, and that it -should be done out of Hand, which is all I know of the matter.”</p></div> - -<p>Nevertheless, for some reason or other—probably owing to some backstair -intrigue—Kent was employed to do the work instead. But before he had -half finished it the officers of works were directed by the Treasury “to -view and take care that the particulars of Mr. Kent’s proposal for -painting the ceiling of the Great Chamber<a name="page_095" id="page_095"></a> at Kensington be well -answer’d, and the work in the best manner performed with -l’Ultra-Marine.” They accordingly commissioned several of the best -artists of the day “to view and carefully to consider the same and -report in writing.”</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/i038_lg.jpg"> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" -height="14" /></a> -<a href="images/i038_giant.jpg"> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="30" -height="23" /></a> -<br /> -<a href="images/i038_lg.jpg"> -<img class="caption" src="images/i038_sml.jpg" width="461" height="373" -alt="Image not available: THE CUPOLA OR CUBE ROOM, AS IT WAS WHEN THE QUEEN WAS -BAPTIZED IN IT." -title="THE CUPOLA OR CUBE ROOM, AS IT WAS WHEN THE QUEEN WAS -BAPTIZED IN IT." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">THE CUPOLA OR CUBE ROOM, AS IT WAS WHEN THE QUEEN WAS<br /> -BAPTIZED IN IT.</span> -</p> - -<p>The artists, or rather critics as they became—and trust an artist to be -no too lenient a critic of a fellow artist’s work—were John van Vaart, -Alex<sup>r</sup> Nisbett, and Jacob Rambour. Their report is dated May 22nd, -1722, and in it they state as follows:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>“We have been to Kensington and carefully view’d and considered the -said painting, which we did find better than half done: But having -examin’d the<a name="page_096" id="page_096"></a> particulars thereof, we have observed, and ’tis our -opinion, that the Perspective is not just; that the principal of -the work, which consists in ornaments and architecture, is not done -as such a place requires. Mr. Nesbot adds that the Boys, Masks, -Mouldings, etc., far from being well, he has seen very few worse -for such a place: and Mr. Rambour affirms that the said work, far -from being done in the best manner, as mentioned in your letter, it -is not so much as tolerably well perform’d. As for the quality of -the Blew used in the work, Mr. Vandewart and Mr. Rambour declare -that they can’t judge whether it is true ultramarine, because it -does not look fine enough, but Mr. Nesbot’s opinion is that it is -nothing but Prussian Blew, in which perhaps there may be some -Ultra-marine mixt.”</p></div> - -<p>Nevertheless, the colours have endured unfaded until to-day; and the -gilding also, both on the ceiling and the walls, has required but little -renewing, only cleaning and an occasional application of modern leaf -gold, and retouching with the paint brush, where the old surface had -been injured.</p> - -<p>Much of the woodwork, however, had to be repaired, especially the -capitals of the pilasters, some of which had to be renewed.</p> - -<p>The shape of the ceiling is slightly domed, the four coved sides -terminating above in a flat centre, painted with a gigantic star of the -Order of the Garter. The coved sides themselves are painted with -octagonal panels, diminishing upwards to simulate a lofty pierced dome. -Kent himself seems to have been so well satisfied with the work, that he -made use of almost exactly the same design when painting the Queen’s -Staircase at Hampton Court some twelve years after. Across, part of the -north cove of the ceiling is painted a deep shadow, to indicate that -cast by the wall and cornice above the windows.</p> - -<p class="engp">The Painted Walls of the Cube Room.</p> - -<p class="nind">K<small>ENT</small>, after finishing the ceiling, proceeded to decorate the walls with -painting and gilding. There is a letter in the Record Office, from Lord -Grafton, to the Lords of the Treasury, dated 29th of May, 1725, ordering -payment of “£344 2<i>s.</i> 7<i>d.</i> to Mr. Kent, for painting the sides of the -Cube Room at Kensington with ornaments enriched with gold.<a name="page_097" id="page_097"></a>”</p> - -<p>These walls, including the four pilasters on each, are of oak, painted -with a light olive-green colour as a ground, embellished with niches of -white marble, surmounted by brackets of the same, let into the woodwork.</p> - -<p>In the <span class="engf">six niches</span> are well-designed statues of classical deities—Ceres, -Mercury, Venus, Minerva, Bacchus, Apollo, in cast lead, somewhat under -life-size. These were so dirty and tarnished as to necessitate their -being entirely new-gilt. Above them, standing on brackets in flat -rectangular niches, were formerly busts representing Roman poets, now -unfortunately no longer to be found.</p> - -<p>The two <span class="engf">doorways</span> opposite each other are likewise of the same fine -polished marble, with pilasters and pillars of the Ionic order, -supporting heavy entablatures, on the apexes of which are antique busts.</p> - -<p>The <span class="engf">chimney-place</span> is of the same design in miniature, of polished -“dove-coloured” white-veined marble, similar to that at Marlborough -House. On the apex was formerly a gilt bust of Cleopatra, now missing. -Within the fireplace itself are very fine panelled and moulded “covings” -or sides, of the same “dove-coloured” marble, discovered during the -progress of the restorations.</p> - -<p>Above the chimney-piece is a large <span class="engf">bas-relief</span> in statuary marble -representing a Roman marriage, sculptured by the statuary Rysbach. It is -a fine work, but one feels rather as if standing in front of a -sepultural monument in some foreign <i>campo santo</i> than before an English -fireside.</p> - -<p>Rysbach, who was a native of Antwerp, came over to England in 1720, four -or five years before he executed this work. His talents were for some -time—as have been those of many an unsuspecting foreigner—exploited by -a commercializing British impresario, Gibbs. Two-thirds of the prices -paid for his work found its way into the pockets of the unscrupulous -intermediary, until Rysbach, at last shaking himself free from this -bondage, took commissions on his own account, and, becoming the rage, he -was able to exact great prices for his work. It is possible that he -designed the gilt statues in the niches, which seem too good for Kent’s -narrow invention.<a name="page_098" id="page_098"></a></p> - -<p class="engp">General appearance of the Cupola Room.</p> - -<p class="nind">S<small>UCH</small> was the decoration of this famous Cupola or Cube Room when finished -by Kent, such it appeared in 1818, when Pyne’s drawing, from which our -illustration is taken, was made, and such it appears to this day, save -for the large musical clock which then stood in its centre, for the -console tables against the walls, and the four large chandeliers that -hung from the ceiling. These last were most essential features in this -saloon, for its windows, abutting northwards on the private gardens, -admit but very insufficient light; and only when illuminated by a blaze -of candlelight can full justice have been done to the extravagant -glories of its walls and ceilings.</p> - -<p>It was, in fact, intended essentially as a room for grand evening -entertainments, and Kent evidently bore this in mind when he constructed -it; for he contrived a very ingenious method, whereby the double doors -in the doorways between it and the two drawing-rooms, with which it -communicates, fold back, when opened, into the door jambs, in which they -lie flush, offering no projecting hindrance to the movement of guests -passing either way. This is a point never thought of by modern -architects, who might do worse, when designing great reception rooms, -than take a hint in this matter from the much contemned Kent, and so -obviate the usual “crush” at the too narrow doorways.</p> - -<p> </p> - -<p>It seems to have been in this Cupola Room that took place, on the 24th -of June, 1819, the baptism of the infant Princess Victoria. Faulkner -records that “the Royal Gold Font was brought from the Tower and fitted -up in the Grand Saloon, with crimson velvet covering from the Chapel -Royal, St. James’s. The ceremony was performed by the Archbishop of -Canterbury, assisted by the Bishop of London.... The Prince Regent and -nearly all the Royal Family were present at the ceremony, or at the -dinner in the evening.”</p> - -<p>Exactly underneath this room is the famous pillared “Council Chamber” in -which, as we have already stated, the Queen held her first council.<a name="page_099" id="page_099"></a></p> - -<p class="headd"><a name="Kings_Drawing_Room" id="Kings_Drawing_Room"></a> -<img src="images/i039_sml.jpg" width="449" height="82" alt="King’s Drawing Room." title="King’s Drawing Room." /> -</p> - -<p>Built at the same time as the two preceding rooms by command of King -George I., William Kent here again reigns supreme in the design and -decoration. “It was on the walls of this drawing-room,” we are told by -Pyne, writing in 1818, “that the then new art of paper-hangings, in -imitation of the old velvet flock, was displayed, with an effect that -soon led to the adoption of so cheap and elegant a manufacture, in -preference to the original rich material from which it was copied.”</p> - -<p>The paper that now covers the walls is a copy of an old pattern, and has -been supplied by Messrs. Bertram, the decorators.</p> - -<p>We may again notice here the five lofty doorways, surmounted by flat -architraves, and the oak pilasters in the dado as characteristic of -Kent. There was originally one of his great massive marble -chimney-pieces in this room, long since replaced by the present plain -insignificant one.</p> - -<p>The dimensions of this room are 39 feet 6 inches long (from east to -west), 28 feet wide, and 22 feet 8 inches high to the top of the -cornice.</p> - -<p class="engp">Painted Ceiling of the King’s Drawing Room.</p> - -<p class="nind">T<small>HIS</small> is another of Kent’s artistic efforts. There is in the Record -Office a letter from Lord Grafton dated June 26th, 1725, conveying his -majesty’s commands that “their Lordships of the Treasury would give -orders to Mr. William Kent to paint the ceilings, etc. in the new -apartments at Kensington”—including this one.</p> - -<p>The cove of the ceiling, or portion nearest the cornice, is elaborately -decorated with scroll-work and architectural ornaments, richly gilt and -painted, and with medallions in the middle of each side supported by -female figures. In the centre is a large projecting <a name="page_100" id="page_100"></a>heavy oval frame of -plaster, with the panel within it recessed about three feet. This is -painted with the story of Jupiter and Semele, the God appearing in a -thunder-cloud, and Semele, in a ridiculous attitude, on a couch. No -painting could be worse. The signature of the artist, “<i>William Kent -pinxit</i>, 1725,” has been found a little to the left of the right foot of -Semele.</p> - -<p>When the restoration of this room was taken in hand last winter, the -ceiling was so begrimed with the dirt, dust, smoke, and smuts of upwards -of a hundred and fifty years of London atmosphere, as to be nearly -black. The cleaning was carried out with the most scrupulous care, and -practically no re-painting or re-gilding has been necessary.</p> - -<p class="engp">William Kent, the Royal and Fashionable Decorator.</p> - -<p class="nind">T<small>HE</small> whole effect of this ceiling <i>if you do not look at it</i> is rich and -striking, and with the fine paper and the pictures on the walls will -pass muster as a suitable decorative treatment of a grand state -reception room. George I. and George II. at any rate had no hesitation -in extending an unqualified approval to Kent’s work. After having -finished this suite he grew into greater favour than ever. He was soon -after appointed “Master Carpenter, Architect, Keeper of the Pictures, -and Principal Painter to the Crown, the whole, including a pension of -£100 a year, which was given him for his works at Kensington, -producing—according to Walpole—£600 a year.” From the Court his vogue -extended to a large circle of patrons and votaries. “He was not only -consulted for furniture, as frames of pictures, glasses, tables, chairs, -etc., but for plate, for a barge, for a cradle; and so impetuous was -fashion, that two great ladies prevailed on him to make designs for -their birthday gowns. The one he dressed in a petticoat decorated with -columns of the five orders; the other like a bronze, in a -copper-coloured satin, with ornaments of gold!<a name="page_101" id="page_101"></a>”</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/i040_lg.jpg"> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" -height="14" /></a> -<a href="images/i040_giant.jpg"> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="30" -height="23" /></a> -<br /> -<a href="images/i040_lg.jpg"> -<img class="caption" src="images/i040_sml.jpg" width="461" height="565" -alt="Image not available: KING’S DRAWING ROOM." -title="KING’S DRAWING ROOM." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">KING’S DRAWING ROOM.</span> -</p> - -<p><a name="page_102" id="page_102"></a></p> - -<p><a name="page_103" id="page_103"></a></p> - -<p class="engp">Kent, the “Father of Modern Gardening.”</p> - -<p class="nind">K<small>ENT</small> also had a great reputation as a horticulturist, and was generally -designated, at the end of last century, as the “Father of Modern -Gardening”—his ghastly progeny consisting of the destructive and -desolating “landscape-gardening” enterprises of “Capability Brown,” -Repton, and their followers. His hand doubtless fell heavy on the old -Queen Anne formal gardens about Kensington Palace. We can see the -influence of his taste, which was followed with enthusiasm by Queen -Caroline and her gardener Bridgman, in the barrenness and commonplace -appearance of the grounds that lie immediately below in front of us, as -we look out of the windows of this room, and in the entire absence of -planting or gardening in the large expanse surrounding the “Round Pond.”</p> - -<p>This <span class="engf">Round Pond</span>, or “<span class="engf">the Basin</span>” as it used to be called, is, by the bye, -not round at all, but of a geometrical figure, more of an oval form than -circular, and with the four sides flattened and the intermediate -portions of the circumference bent into “ogees.” In thus shaping this -basin the designer, whether Kent or Bridgman, has overstepped artistic -discretion; for from no point of view, neither in Kensington Gardens, -from the ground beside it, nor even from this window is its real shape -to be made out—only from Rocque’s plan or bird’s-eye view, of 1736, can -it be seen to be so eccentric.</p> - -<p>The distant <span class="engf">view</span>, however, beyond the private gardens, across the Round -Pond and Kensington Gardens, over grassy slopes and ancient trees to -Hyde Park, a mile away, is one of the pleasantest in the metropolis. Not -a street, not a road, not a house, not a roof is to be seen. In the -spring and early summer, when the foliage is fresh and green, one might -imagine oneself in the depths of the country, in some old house -overlooking midland pastures and woods.<a name="page_104" id="page_104"></a></p> - -<p class="engp">West’s Pictures in the King’s Drawing Room.</p> - -<p class="nind">I<small>N</small> this room are hung the paintings of West, all of which were executed -for George III., who greatly admired them, and extended to him a most -liberal patronage. He was equally in favour with the public, who lauded -his performances to the skies, and with his fellow-artists, who made him -President of the Royal Academy. We now hardly know which to wonder at -most—an obscure lad in the wilds of Pennsylvania, who took his earliest -lessons in painting from a tribe of Cherokees, accomplishing what he -did; or the English fetish, Public Opinion, having been so deluded as to -regard his efforts as masterpieces of Art. The depreciation which has -overtaken him may be judged when we hear that an “Annunciation,” for -which £800 was originally paid, was knocked down in 1840 for £10! His -portraits, nevertheless, are interesting.</p> - -<p class="lt"><b>80 The Death of General Wolfe</b> (<i>497</i>). . . . . <span class="smcap">West.</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Wolfe lies in the centre, to the right, supported by three -officers. In front of him is a wounded officer, standing, supported -by others, to hear his dying injunctions. At his feet is an Indian -warrior in his war-paint, gazing at him to see how an English chief -will die. On the extreme left is a messenger running, and on the -left ships with soldiers disembarking. On canvas, 5 ft. high, by 8 -ft. wide.</p> - -<p>Wolfe was killed on the 13th September, 1759, in the moment of -victory before Quebec. “The fall of Wolfe was noble indeed. He -received a wound in the head, but covered it from his soldiers with -his handkerchief. A second ball struck him in the belly, but that -too he dissembled. A third hitting him in the breast, he sank under -the anguish, and was carried behind the ranks. Yet, fast as life -ebbed out, his whole anxiety centred on the fortune of the day. He -begged to be borne nearer to the action, but his sight being dimmed -by the approach of death, he entreated to be told what they who -supported him saw: he was answered, that the enemy gave ground. He -eagerly repeated the question, heard the enemy was totally routed, -cried ‘I am satisfied,’ and expired.” (Walpole’s <i>Memoirs</i>.)</p> - -<p>“In this picture, which was painted in 1771, West introduced the -sensible innovation of dressing the characters in their proper -costume; previous to that time it was the common practice with -painters to dress their figures in historical compositions of any -kind, in the Greek or Roman<a name="page_105" id="page_105"></a> costume. Sir Joshua Reynolds was one -of those who were averse to the innovation, but when the picture -was finished, he changed his opinion. After a careful examination -of the picture, he observed to the Archbishop of York, who was with -him at the time, ‘West has conquered; he has treated his subject as -it ought to be treated; I retract my objections. I foresee that -this picture will not only become one of the most popular, but will -occasion a revolution in the art.’ When West related this to the -King, he said, ‘I wish I had known all this before, for the -objection has been the means of Lord Grosvenor getting the picture, -but you shall make a copy for me.’”</p> - -<p>This is the copy ordered by George III., for which the painter -received £315. The original is at Grosvenor House, and has been -finely engraved by Woollett. There are several other repetitions of -it.</p></div> - -<p class="lt"><b>81 Prince of Wales (George IV.), and Duke of York</b> (<i>500</i>). . . . . . <span class="smcap">West.</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>The Prince is on the left, in yellow satin, his right hand on his -hip, his left on his brother’s shoulder, who leans against a table. -They are both in the robes of the Garter and St. Andrew. On canvas, -9 ft. high, by 7 ft. wide.</p> - -<p>The Prince of Wales was born on August 12th, 1762; Frederick, Duke -of York, on August 16th, 1763. This picture represents them when -they were about fifteen and fourteen years old, therefore, about -1777.</p> - -<p>Soon afterwards the Duke of York proceeded to Prussia for the -purpose of being educated as a soldier.</p></div> - -<p class="lt"><b>82 Dukes of Cumberland, Sussex, and Cambridge, and the Princesses -Augusta-Sophia, Elizabeth, and Mary</b> (<i>488</i>).</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>The Duke of Cumberland is on the left, standing; the Duke of Sussex -is lying down near his sister Elizabeth, who holds on her lap the -infant Princess Mary (?). Kneeling by them is the Duke of -Cambridge, and behind is the Princess Augusta-Sophia. Signed and -dated 1776. On canvas, 6 ft. 7 in. high, by 7 ft. 10 in. wide.</p> - -<p>Prince Ernest Augustus, afterwards Duke of Cumberland and King of -Hanover, and grandfather of her Royal Highness Princess Frederica, -was born June 5th, 1771; Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex, -on January 27th, 1773; and Prince Adolphus Frederick, Duke of -Cambridge, on February 24th, 1774. Princess Augusta-Sophia was born -on November 8th, 1768; Princess Elizabeth, on May 22nd, 1770; and -Princess Mary, on April 25th, 1776.</p> - -<p>The Princesses have long been wrongly called, Charlotte, Augusta, -and Sophia; the correct names, as given above, are derived from the -contemporary mezzotint by V. Green; besides, when this picture was -painted the Princess Sophia was not born.</p></div> - -<p><a name="page_106" id="page_106"></a></p> - -<p class="lt"><b>83 Queen Charlotte, aged 36, with her thirteen children in the -background</b> (<i>498</i>) . . . . . <span class="smcap">West.</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Standing; dressed in white, her hair powdered and piled up high. -The thirteen children are seen in the distance to the left, in a -picture which is now at Windsor Castle. On canvas, 9 ft. 6 in. -high, by 7 ft. wide.</p></div> - -<p class="lt"><b>84 George III.; Lords Amherst and Lothian behind</b> (<i>494</i>). . . . . . <span class="smcap">West.</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>He is standing, facing to the right, in full regimentals. He holds -a scroll of paper in his hands in front of him. Behind him is his -crown and sceptre; and in the background the two peers, and a view -of Coxheath Camp. On canvas, 9 ft. 6 in. high, by 7 ft. wide.</p> - -<p>It appears from West’s own memoranda that this picture was painted -before 1779, consequently the King cannot have been more than -forty.</p></div> - -<p class="lt"><b>85 Duke of Cambridge, and Princesses Charlotte and Augusta</b> (<i>487</i>). . . . . <span class="smcap">West.</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>The Duke, in a maroon-coloured suit, is standing on the right. -Princess Charlotte is sitting on a stool, with her sister on her -lap. In the background are a curtain, a column, and Kew Gardens -with the Pagoda. Signed on the top in the left hand corner; and -dated 1778. On canvas, 9 ft. high, by 6 ft. wide.</p> - -<p>Princess Charlotte, George III.’s eldest daughter, afterwards Queen -of Wirtemburg, was born on September 29th, 1766; and Princess -Augusta, on November 8th, 1768. It is doubtful whether the names -are correct.</p></div> - -<p class="lt">86 <b>Apotheosis of the Infant Princes Octavius and Alfred</b> (<i>503</i>).</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Alfred, the younger of the two, is seated on clouds, with his hands -out-stretched to his brother, who is being conducted up to him by -an angel.</p> - -<p>Prince Octavius was born on February 23rd, 1779, and Prince Alfred -on September 22nd, 1780. Alfred died on August 20th, 1782. “I am -very sorry for Alfred,” said the King, “but had it been Octavius I -should have died too.”</p> - -<p>Octavius followed his brother to the grave on May 2nd, 1783. For -this picture West received £315. Engraved by Sir Robert Strange.</p></div> - -<p class="lt"><b>87 Queen Charlotte and the Princess Royal</b> (<i>492</i>). . . . . <span class="smcap">West.</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>The Queen is sitting on a sofa, with embroidery on her lap. The -Princess stands on the right, by her side, and holds the -embroidery. Dated 1776. On canvas, 5 ft. 5 in. high, by 6 ft. 8 in. -wide.</p></div> - -<p><a name="page_107" id="page_107"></a></p> - -<p class="lt"><b>88 Duke of Clarence (William IV.), and Duke of Kent</b> (<i>502</i>). . . . . . <span class="smcap">West</span>.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>The Duke of Clarence is on the left, dressed in a blue coat with a -white vest; he has his right hand on a globe, his left on his hip. -The Duke of Kent is in red turned full to the front, but looking at -his brother; his right hand is on his brother’s left hand, his left -is pointing upwards. On canvas, 9 ft. 6 in. high, by 7 ft. wide.</p> - -<p>Prince William Henry, Duke of Clarence, afterwards William IV., was -born August 21st, 1765. Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, father of her -present Most Gracious Majesty, was born November 2nd, 1767. This -picture was painted when they were about thirteen and eleven years. -In 1780, the Duke of Clarence went to sea as a midshipman. West -received 250 guineas for the picture.</p></div> - -<p class="lt"><b>89 George III. Reviewing the Tenth Dragoons in Hyde Park in 1797</b> (<i>168</i>). . . . . <span class="smcap">Beechey.</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>The King is in front on a white horse, whose head is turned to the -left. He is in full regimentals, with a cocked hat. Just behind him -is the Prince of Wales, in the uniform of the 10th, holding up his -sword and giving the word of command. To the left of the King is -the Duke of York, with Generals Goldsworthy and Sir David Dundas; -Sir William Fawcett is standing in front of them. The King is -turning round to speak to them, and points with his right hand to -the cavalry charge in the left distance. On canvas, 13 ft. 8 in. -high, by 16½ ft. wide.</p> - -<p>The 10th Light Dragoons (now the 10th Hussars) were frequently -reviewed by George III. in company with the Prince of Wales, who -entered the army as brevet-colonel, November 19th, 1782, and after -whom the regiment was called “The Prince of Wales’s Own,” on -Michaelmas Day, 1783. In 1793 he was appointed colonel-commandant -of the corps, and succeeded as colonel on July 18th, 1796. The -review commemorated here took place not long after that date, for -the picture is mentioned in a biographical sketch of Sir William -Beechey in <i>The London Monthly Mirror</i> for July, 1798, where we are -told that the King rewarded him for it with the honour of -knighthood. The names of the officers were derived from an account -of a review, which took place in 1799, and which this picture was -formerly supposed to represent; it is therefore doubtful whether -they are quite correct. (See <i>Notes and Queries</i>.)</p> - -<p>This picture is regarded as Beechey’s masterpiece, and was very -much admired at the time. But “although a clever and showy group of -portraits, it has little of real nature, and is full of the -painter’s artifices. Thus the King’s white horse forms the -principal light, and comes off the Prince of Wales’s dark horse, -and so on; the light and shadow of all the heads being the light -and shadow of the studio, and not of the field.”—(Redgrave’s<a name="page_108" id="page_108"></a> -<i>Century of Painters</i>.) The King had several copies taken of it; in -one, which he gave to Lord Sidmouth, the figure of the Prince was -omitted by the King’s own desire, a curious proof of his dislike of -his son. When the Prince became King he hinted that it should be -restored, but this was evaded. Benjamin Smith engraved the portrait -of George III. from this picture.</p></div> - -<p class="headd"><a name="Kings_Privy_Chamber" id="Kings_Privy_Chamber"></a> -<img src="images/i041_sml.jpg" width="458" height="78" alt="King’s Privy Chamber." title="King’s Privy Chamber." /> -</p> - -<p>Although this room formed part of the state apartments built by Kent, it -was much transformed in the reign of George III., so that it bears -little trace of its original decoration. Indeed, it is so commonplace in -appearance, that, except for the pictures which now hang on its walls, -it looks more like an ordinary bedroom in an old-fashioned country inn -than a king’s chamber in a palace. The plain deal dado, the common -chimney-piece of black veined marble, the wood and plaster cornice, the -shutters and windows, are all of the most ordinary and inartistic -pattern.</p> - -<p>The dimensions of this room are 31 feet long, 24 feet wide, and 17 feet -high.</p> - -<p class="engp">Portraits of the Time of George III.</p> - -<p class="lt"><b>90 Portrait of Francis, 5th Duke of Bedford</b> (<i>961</i>). . . . . . <span class="smcap">J. -Hoppner.</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Full-length, turned to the left, looking to the front. He is -dressed in a peer’s full robes. His left hand is on his hip, his -right holds a scroll of paper. He is bareheaded, face close-shaven, -and his hair short. Behind him is a red curtain, and in the -distance on the left a statue of Hercules. On canvas, 8 ft. 3 in. -high, by 5 ft. 2 in. wide.</p> - -<p>Behind is written:—“Received, 7th April, 1810, from Mrs. Hoppner.” -The duke, who was born in 1765, died on March 2nd, 1802.</p> - -<p>“More dignified and well painted than the similar one at -Woburn.”—<i>Sir George Scharf.</i></p></div> - -<p class="lt"><b>91 Francis Hastings, Earl of Moira</b> (<i>950</i>). . . . . <span class="smcap">Hoppner.</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Full-length, figure slightly to the right, but the face turned -round to the left. Dressed in uniform, with the Ribbon and Star of -the Garter. His<a name="page_109" id="page_109"></a> right hand holds a scroll of paper by his side; -his left rests on a document on a table. Background, a green -curtain, and sky on the right. On canvas, 7 ft. 10 in. high, by 4 -ft. 10 in. wide.</p> - -<p>Behind is painted “R.A. 1794,” the year of Hoppner’s election, and -“The Star and Garter added 1812,” in June of which year Lord Moira, -after failing to form a ministry, accepted the Garter, “but,” says -Lord Spencer in a letter to Lord Buckingham, “whether as a calm to -his honour or his understanding, it is not for me to say.” This -picture was received from Hoppner’s widow, in June, 1810, a few -months after his death.</p></div> - -<p class="lt"><b>92 Portrait of John Hely, Lord Hutchinson</b> (<i>872</i>) . . . . . <span class="smcap">Phillips, -R.A.</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Three-quarters length, seated, turned to the left, and looking -downwards. His left leg is crossed over his right, and in his left -hand he holds a map of Egypt; his right holds an eyeglass on his -breast. He is in his uniform. In front of him on a table are -writing materials. On canvas, 4 ft. high, by 3½ ft. wide.</p> - -<p>John Hely was born in 1757, and in 1774 went into the army. In the -expedition to Egypt in 1801 he was appointed second in command to -Sir Ralph Abercrombie; on whose death the chief command devolved on -Hely, then a major-general. For his admirable conduct of the -campaign, in which he drove the French from Egypt, he received the -thanks of both Houses, and was raised to the peerage in 1813. In -1823 he succeeded his brother to the earldom of Donoughmore. He -died in 1832.</p></div> - -<p class="lt"><b>93 Christian VII. of Denmark</b> (<i>976</i>). . . . . <span class="smcap">Dance.</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>A head, in an oval, turned to the right; dressed in a red uniform -trimmed with gold; on his breast a blue ribbon. His hair is -powdered and brushed back.</p> - -<p>This was formerly unnamed, but the mezzotint engraving after it by -Fisher shows it to have been painted by Dance; doubtless when the -King was over here in 1767 for his marriage to Princess Matilda. He -was then eighteen years old.</p> - -<p>Their domestic life was not happy. In politics he distinguished -himself by granting liberty of the press to his subjects; in reward -for which Voltaire addressed the famous lines to him, in which he -tells him: “Je me jette à tes pieds au nom du genre humain.”</p> - -<p>He afterwards went out of his mind, and died in 1808.</p> - -<p>He was the son of Princess Louisa, the daughter of George II., and -succeeded to the throne in 1766. The engraving after this picture -by G. Fisher is dated 1769.</p></div> - -<p class="lt"><b>94 Portrait of Richard Brinsley Sheridan</b> (<i>891</i>). . . . . . <span class="smcap">K. A. Hickel?</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Bust; face turned slightly to the right. He has a blue coat and a -yellow waistcoat. His face is close-shaven. On canvas, 2 ft. high, -by 1 ft. 8 in wide.<a name="page_110" id="page_110"></a></p> - -<p>“Whatever Sheridan has done, or chosen to do, has been <i>par -excellence</i> always the best of its kind. He has written the best -comedy, the best farce, and the best address (‘Monologue on -Garrick’), and, to crown all, delivered the very best oration (the -famous Begum speech) ever conceived or heard in this -country.”—<i>Byron.</i></p> - -<p>This appears to be the study for, or a replica of, the head of -Sheridan in the picture of the Interior of the old House of Commons -in 1793, painted by Karl Anton Hickel, and now in the National -Portrait Gallery.</p></div> - -<p class="lt"><b>95 Portrait of Spencer Perceval</b> (<i>890</i>). . . . . <span class="smcap">Joseph.</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Half-length, turned to the left. In his left hand he holds a paper. -He wears a blue coat and a white waistcoat. His face is shaven, his -hair grey, and his head bald in front. On canvas, 2½ ft. high, -by 2 ft. wide.</p> - -<p>Behind is written:—“Received from Mrs. Joseph, 18th June, 1814.”</p> - -<p>This is a posthumous likeness, taken from a mask after death, but -considered by all who knew him to be a faithful resemblance. When -Queen Charlotte went to see it, and the curtain which covered it -was withdrawn, she was so struck with its truth, that she burst -into tears. Many copies with slight variations were executed; one -of them is now in the National Portrait Gallery. It is engraved in -mezzotint by Turner. It is a fair specimen of George Francis -Joseph, an indifferent artist, who was elected an associate of the -Royal Academy after painting this portrait. He died in 1846.</p> - -<p>Perceval, who became Prime Minister in October, 1809, was -assassinated in the lobby of the House of Commons by Bellingham, on -May 11th, 1812. The official documents he holds in his hand remind -us that his state papers were not at all to the taste of the Prince -Regent, who remarked, “that it was a great misfortune to Mr. -Perceval to write in a style which would disgrace a respectable -washerwoman.”</p></div> - -<p class="lt"><b>96 Mary Granville, Mrs. Delany</b> (<i>944</i>). . . . . <span class="smcap">Opie.</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Bust, turned to the left. She is dressed in a black silk dress, -trimmed with lace, and having a hood over her white widow’s cap. -Round her neck is a locket. On canvas, 2 ft. 6 in. high.</p> - -<p>This portrait represents her as a very old woman, and was probably -painted not many years before her death, in 1788, at the age of -eighty-eight. She was the eldest daughter of Bernard Granville, -grandson of Sir Bevil Granville, the Royalist leader, and was born -in 1700. She was educated under the care of her uncle, Lord -Lansdowne, and married in 1717 Alexander Pendarves. She was -intimate with Swift, through whom she became acquainted with her -second husband, Dr. Delany. After his death she spent most of her -time with her friend, the Duchess of Portland, and when she died, -George III., who, with the Queen, became very intimate with the old -lady, gave her a pension and a house at Windsor. She occupied her -declining years in copying flowers in paper, and<a name="page_111" id="page_111"></a> executed as many -as 980. She died in 1788. Her autobiography was published in 1861; -it contains a great many reminiscences of the court and family of -George III.</p> - -<p>This picture first brought Opie into notice. A replica painted for -the Countess of Bute is in the National Portrait Gallery.</p></div> - -<p class="lt"><b>97 Brownlow North, Bishop of Winchester</b> (<i>888</i>). . . . . . <i>after</i> <span class="smcap">Dance</span>.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Bust, nearly a full face, slightly inclined to the right. He is -seated in a purple-covered chair, in the robes of a Chancellor of -the Garter, with the chain of the order on his breast. On canvas, 2 -ft. 8 in. high, by 2 ft. 2 in. wide.</p> - -<p>He was a half-brother of Lord North, the Prime Minister; was born -in 1741; and was successively appointed Bishop of Lichfield and -Coventry, Worcester and Winchester, and died in 1820.</p></div> - -<p class="lt"><b>98 Portrait of Hurd, Bishop of Worcester</b> (<i>889</i>). . . . . <span class="smcap">Gainsborough.</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Bust, turned to the left, facing and looking in front. Dressed in a -bishop’s canonicals, with a small, but full, curly wig. Painted in -an oval. On canvas, 2 ft. 6 in. high, by 2 ft. 1 in. wide. Compare -No. 371.</p></div> - -<p class="lt"><b>99 Richard Hurd, Bishop of Worcester</b> (<i>887</i>). . . . . <span class="smcap">Gainsborough.</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Bust, to the right, looking to the front His left hand is on his -breast, holding his gown. Dressed in canonicals, with a bushy wig. -On canvas, 2 ft. 6 in. high, by 2 ft. 1 in. wide.</p> - -<p>He was the son of a farmer at Congreve, Staffordshire, and was born -in 1720. He was appointed preceptor to the Prince of Wales and the -Duke of York, and was nominated Bishop of Worcester in 1781; but -declined the primacy offered by George III., with whom he was a -great favourite. He wrote many moral and religious works, long -since relegated to the limbo of insipid mediocrities. Engraved by -Holl in 1774? Perhaps the picture exhibited in 1781.</p></div> - -<p class="lt"><b>100 A Rabbi</b> (<i>266</i>). . . . . <i>after Rembrandt, by</i> <span class="smcap">Gainsborough</span>.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Bust, to the right. He wears a dark dress, and cap with flaps; his -beard is long. On canvas, 2 ft. 6 in. high, by 2 ft. 1 in. wide.</p> - -<p>This was in Gainsborough’s possession at his death, and was -exhibited at Schomberg House, 1789.</p></div> - -<p class="lt"><b>101 Portrait of C. F. Abel, the Musician</b> (<i>938</i>). . . . . <span class="smcap">Robineau.</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Half-length; seated at a piano or spinet, turned towards the right, -but his face looking behind him, over his shoulder to the left. He -is dressed in a red coat and has a small wig. On canvas, 2 ft. 1 -in. high, by 1 ft. 8 in. wide. Signed on the left-hand side:—“<i>C. -Robineau 1780.</i><a name="page_112" id="page_112"></a>”</p> - -<p>Charles Frederick Abel was a pupil of Bach’s, and at one time -belonged to the royal band at Dresden. He came to England about -1765, and was appointed master of Queen Charlotte’s band. Although -he wrote music, he was more celebrated for his playing than his -compositions. Abel was a very passionate man, and much addicted to -the bottle,—peculiarities which the visitor would suspect him of, -from his flushed face and red nose. He died in 1787, after being -three days in a sort of drunken torpor.</p></div> - -<p>Robineau was a portrait-painter who practised in Paris and London.</p> - -<p class="lt"><b>102 Duchess of Brunswick, Sister of George III.</b> . . . . . <span class="smcap">A. Kauffman.</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Full-length, turned to the right. She holds a child in her arms on -an altar in front of her. She is dressed in white with an -orange-coloured mantle, lined with light blue; she wears sandals. -On canvas, 8 ft. 11 in. high, by 5 ft. 11 in. wide.</p> - -<p>On the left at the foot of the column is the signature:—“<i>Angelica -Pinx Aº</i>. 1767.” To the left, on a vase, the inscription:—</p> - -<p> -<i>Carol.</i> <span class="smcap">ILLE</span> <i>de Bruns. & Priñ. Hered</i>.<br /> -<span class="smcap">A. MDCCLX M.</span> <i>Jul. apud Enisdorff</i> <span class="smcap">VICTORIA</span>.<br /> -<i>et</i> <span class="smcap">A. MDCCLXIV M.</span> <i>Jan. apud Lond.</i> <span class="smcap">AMORE.</span> <i>Coron.</i><br /> -</p> - -<p>Augusta, the eldest daughter of Frederick, Prince of Wales, was -born on the 31st of July, 1737, and was married to the Duke of -Brunswick on the 17th of January, 1764. By him she became the -mother, among other children, of Caroline, Princess of Wales, and -of Duke William Frederick, “Brunswick’s fated chieftain,” who fell -at Quatre-Bras. In 1767, when this portrait was painted, she was in -England on a visit.</p> - -<p>The child in her arms must be her eldest son Charles George -Augustus, who was born 8th February, 1766, and died in 1806.</p></div> - -<p class="lt"><b>103. Frederick, Prince of Wales</b> (<i>893</i>) . . . . . <span class="smcap">Vanloo</span>?</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Bust, turned to the left, facing in front. He wears a blue sash -over his coat. See <i>ante</i>, No. 4.</p></div> - -<p class="lt"><b>104. George III., when Prince of Wales, aged 12, and Prince Edward -Augustus, Duke of York and Albany, aged 11</b> . . . . . . <span class="smcap">Richard Wilson, -R.A.</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Seated figures, on a couch by a table, the Prince of Wales on the -left. On canvas, 3 feet 3½ inches high, by 4 feet 1½ inches -wide. Lent by the trustees of the National Portrait Gallery.</p> - -<p>The Duke of York was born in 1739, became an admiral in 1759, and -died at Monaco in 1767.</p></div> - -<p><a name="page_113" id="page_113"></a></p> - -<p class="headd"><a name="The_Nursery" id="The_Nursery"></a> -<img src="images/i042_sml.jpg" width="271" height="76" alt="The Nursery." title="The Nursery." /> -</p> - -<p>The designation of “The Nursery” has been for many years applied to this -room, having, it appears, been so used at one time by Queen Victoria, -whose doll-house is now placed here. It was afterwards occupied by the -late Duchess of Teck, and it was here that Princess May, now Duchess of -York, was born, on May 26th, 1867.</p> - -<p>Its associations are, therefore, exclusively Victorian, with which its -decoration—so far as it can be said to have any—accords. The “shell” -of the room, however, is part of Kent’s addition to the State Rooms.</p> - -<p>The dimensions of this room are 30 feet 7 inches long by 23 feet 5 -inches wide, and 17 feet high to the highest point of the ceiling, 15 -feet 2 inches to the top of the cornice.</p> - -<p class="engp">Pictures and Prints illustrative of the Queen’s Life and Reign.</p> - -<p class="nind">A <small>COLLECTION</small> is here being formed by Mr. Holmes, the Queen’s Librarian, -of various prints, illustrative of Her Majesty’s Life and Reign. Among -them are old prints of the Queen as a child, and as the young Princess -Victoria, Heiress to the Throne; also of the marriage of the Prince of -Wales in St. George’s Chapel, the Baptism of the Princess Royal, etc.; -and also the Jubilee Celebration of 1887 in Westminster Abbey, from the -painting by W. E. Lockhart, R.S.A.</p> - -<p class="lt"><b>110 The Queen’s First Council in the pillared Council Chamber at -Kensington Palace on 20th of June, 1837</b> . . . . . <i>After</i> <span class="smcap">Wilkie</span>.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>For an account of this famous scene, <i>see</i> <a href="#page_037">page 37</a>.</p></div> - -<p><a name="page_114" id="page_114"></a></p> - -<p class="headd"><a name="Ante-Room" id="Ante-Room"></a> -<img src="images/i043_sml.jpg" width="238" height="79" alt="Ante-Room." title="Ante-Room." /> -</p> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra"><img src="images/i029c.jpg" -width="80" -height="83" -alt="A" -title="A" -/></span>S we go through the door of “The Nursery” into this ante-room, we pass -from the portion of the Palace built by Kent, to the original block -erected by Wren, this ante-room being a part of what was formerly one of -William III.’s state rooms.</p> - -<p>Through this lobby it was that the Queen passed to the adjoining -staircase when she went downstairs to receive the news of her accession.</p> - -<p>The dimensions of this room are: 19 feet 3 inches long, 10 feet 2 inches -wide, and 16 feet high.</p> - -<p class="engp">Prints illustrative of the Life and Reign of the Queen.</p> - -<p class="nind">T<small>HE</small> wall space here will be devoted to further prints illustrative of -the Queen’s Life and Reign.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/i032_sml.jpg" width="109" height="67" -class="caption" alt="Decoration of the text not available" title="Decoration" /> -</p> - -<p><a name="page_115" id="page_115"></a></p> - -<p class="headd"><a name="Queen_Victorias_Bedroom" id="Queen_Victorias_Bedroom"></a> -<img src="images/i043c_sml.jpg" width="496" height="81" alt="Queen Victoria’s Bedroom." title="Queen Victoria’s Bedroom." /> -</p> - -<p>To future ages, if not indeed already to the present one, this plain, -modestly-decorated chamber must have an interest far transcending that -of the more gorgeous Georgian saloons, which we have just traversed. -For, it was for many years the bedroom of our own Queen, when as a -little girl of tender age she lived in quiet simplicity at Kensington -Palace with her mother, the Duchess of Kent.</p> - -<p>From the windows of this room we can imagine the little princess, when -she rose in the morning, gazing out over the gardens and the Park -beyond, as the beams of the eastern sun struggled through the mists and -smoke of distant London, musing on the mighty destiny awaiting her; or -in the evening hour, when the flower-scented air of the garden beneath -floated in at the casement, looking out where the far-off lights of the -great town twinkled among the trees, her mind filled with solemn -thoughts of the awful responsibility that was to be hers.</p> - -<p>Even now, when the building octopus, with its stucco tentacles, has -clutched and sucked in so many a fair surrounding green field, from -these windows not a roof, not a chimney meets the eye; not an echo, -even, of the ceaseless roar of the traffic strikes the ear.</p> - -<p>It was in this room that the Queen was sleeping on the memorable morning -of the 20th of June, 1837, when she was awakened by her mother, the -Duchess of Kent, to go to the Drawing Room downstairs, where Lord -Conyngham and the Archbishop of Canterbury were awaiting to inform her -of her accession to the throne.</p> - -<p>The dimensions of this room are: 23 feet 3 inches long, 19 feet 3 inches -wide, and 16 feet high.<a name="page_116" id="page_116"></a></p> - -<p class="engp">Prints of the Life and Reign of the Queen.</p> - -<p class="nind">P<small>RINTS</small> in continuation of the series commenced in “The Nursery,” are in -process of being arranged in this room.</p> - -<p class="engp">Mementoes and Relics of the Queen’s Childhood, collected in “Queen Victoria’s Bedroom.”</p> - -<p class="nind">H<small>ERE</small> also will be arranged some of the Queen’s toys, with which she -played as a little girl in these rooms; and perhaps other similar -objects of interest. Labels will, doubtless, be affixed to explain, what -these are.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/i003c_sml.jpg" width="106" height="97" -class="caption" alt="Decoration of the text not available" title="Decoration" /> -</p> - -<p><a name="page_117" id="page_117"></a></p> - -<p class="eng"><a name="Kings_Gallery" id="Kings_Gallery"></a><img src="images/i008c.jpg" -width="40" -height="40" -alt="K" -title="K" -/>ing’s <img src="images/i012c.jpg" -width="40" -height="40" -alt="G" -title="G" -/>allery.</p> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra"><img src="images/i016a.jpg" -width="80" -height="80" -alt="T" -title="T" -/></span>HIS magnificent gallery, the finest of all the state rooms at -Kensington Palace, was designed and built by Sir Christopher Wren for -William III. about the year 1693. It owes much of its architectural -effect to the great architect’s wonderful knowledge and appreciation of -proportion—an element too often disregarded in buildings of modern -times. Its length is 96 feet, its breadth 21 feet 6 inches, and its -height 18 feet to the top of the cornice, and 19 feet 8 inches to the -highest point of the ceiling. It is, therefore, 12 feet longer than the -already-described Queen Mary’s Gallery, 2 feet higher, but of the same -width. Compared with it, the “King’s or Cartoon Gallery” at Hampton -Court, built by Wren almost exactly at the same time, it is 21 feet less -long, 3 feet less wide, and 10 feet less high.</p> - -<p>In relation to it the following items from the old accounts, dating from -about the year 1693, are interesting:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>“Item to Richard Hawkesmore, Clerk of the Workes, for making up an -account [an estimate?] of the King’s New Gallery at -Kensington—£5.”</p> - -<p>“More to him for Pasteboard and other Materialls for making a -modell of the said Gallery for the King—£5 2<i>s.</i>”</p> - -<p>“Cha: Houghton for rating, casting up, and engrossing the Books of -the said Building for the Auditor—£5.”</p></div> - -<p class="engp">Decorative Carvings in “the King’s Gallery.”</p> - -<p class="nind">T<small>HE</small> oak cornice and the oak doors of this gallery, especially the -beautiful architraves of the doors, are among the finest specimens -anywhere existing of Wren’s decorative art, designed by him and carried -out under the superintendence of Gibbons. Relating to this work we find -the following item in the accounts for the years 1691 to 1696:<a name="page_118" id="page_118"></a></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>“To Grinling Gibbons, carver, for worke done in the new Gallery -building, in the King’s great and Little Closet, in three Roomes -under the King’s apartment, in the King’s Gallery, and other places -about the said Pallace—£839 0<i>s.</i> 4<i>d.</i>”</p></div> - -<p>In other respects the appearance of this room has been much altered; for -the oak panelling, which appears originally to have entirely covered its -walls was removed, it would seem, in the reign of George I. or of George -II.; when also the ceiling, which was originally plain, was painted as -we see it now.</p> - -<p class="engp">Chimney-Piece, Map and Dial.</p> - -<p class="nind">A<small>T</small> the same time a new chimney-piece was inserted. Part of the original -over-mantel, however, of the time of William III., still remains, -especially a very curious map of the north-west of Europe, showing the -names of various towns, especially in the north of France, the -Netherlands, and the British Isles. Relating to it we have discovered, -in the course of our researches among the old parchment rolls in the -Record Office, the following entry, dating from about, the year 1694:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>“To Rob<sup>t</sup> Norden for his paines in drawing a map for the -chimney-piece and for attending the painters—£5.”</p></div> - -<p>Round the circumference of the map are the points of the compass; and an -old <span class="engf">dial-hand</span> or pointer, still remains, which was actuated by an iron -rod connected with a vane, still existing above the roof. This enabled -King William to know from which quarter the wind was blowing; whether, -therefore, it was safe for him, with his asthma, to venture out of -doors, or whether the wind was favourable for wafting him away from this -hated climate to his own dearly-loved country of Holland.</p> - -<p>It was this dial which so greatly interested Peter the Great, when he -privately visited William III. in this palace in 1698, being admitted by -a back door. “It was afterwards known,” says Macaulay, but unfortunately -without giving his authority, “that he took no notice of the fine -pictures, with which the palace was adorned. But<a name="page_119" id="page_119"></a> over the chimney in -the royal sitting-room was a plate which, by an ingenious machinery, -indicated the direction of the wind; and with this plate he was in -raptures.”</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/i044_lg.jpg"> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" -height="14" /></a> -<a href="images/i044_giant.jpg"> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="30" -height="23" /></a> -<br /> -<a href="images/i044_lg.jpg"> -<img class="caption" src="images/i044_sml.jpg" width="463" height="381" -alt="Image not available: THE KING’S GALLERY." -title="THE KING’S GALLERY." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">THE KING’S GALLERY.</span> -</p> - -<p>This old dial is fixed in a square carved and gilt frame, probably the -one referred to in the following item in the old accounts of the years -1691-96:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>“To Rene Cousins gilder for a large frame carved and gilt with -burnished gold—£10.”</p></div> - -<p><a name="page_120" id="page_120"></a></p> - -<p>The outer frame of deal wood surrounding this gilt one is, on the other -hand, of a later date, evidently designed by Kent, as was also the -decorated panel above it, itself surmounted by a pediment, richly -carved, doubtless by men trained in the school of Wren and Gibbons.</p> - -<p>In the centre of this fine “Kentian” panel is a medallion picture of the -“Virgin and Child,” painted in fresco, of the school of Raphael, and -inscribed behind with the date, 1583.</p> - -<p>All this over-mantel was, in the time of George I., painted over white -with enrichments of gold. It so remained until last winter, when the -thick coats of filthy paint were cleaned off. It has been thought best -to leave the deal wood in its natural state, unpainted, only applying a -little stain to tone it into harmony with the colour of the surrounding -oak carvings.</p> - -<p>Although this carved over-mantel is an addition, and as far as the -pediment is concerned, very out of place so close to the cornice, yet it -is very beautiful and of much interest as being one of the finest -examples of decorative design executed in England during the reigns of -the first two Georges. In it we trace the influence of the lighter -French taste of Louis XV., which Kent had no doubt become acquainted -with when travelling abroad. The marble chimney-piece below, on the -other hand, is in that architect’s regular massive, heavy style.</p> - -<p> </p> - -<p>Almost at once, after this gallery was finished by Wren, it became the -receptacle of some of the finest works of art in the Royal collection. -Among the manuscripts in the British Museum is the original list of -William III.’s pictures, placed “in Kensington House, 1697”—some -seventy pieces being mentioned as then hanging on its walls.</p> - -<p>It was in the year following that Peter the Great was in England; when, -besides his private interview with the King, mentioned above, he was a -spectator at a ball given in this same gallery on the birthday of -Princess Anne, not publicly, however, but peeping through one of the -doors, in a closet prepared for him on purpose.</p> - -<p>In this room, King William, in the month of March, 1702, after his -accident, and a few days before his death, “took several turns” to -exercise himself; but soon becoming fatigued, he reclined<a name="page_121" id="page_121"></a> upon a couch -and fell asleep, “but soon to awake in a shivering fit, which was the -beginning of a fever, attended with serious symptoms, from which he -never recovered.”</p> - -<p class="engp">Painting of the Ceiling and Wainscot of the King’s Gallery.</p> - -<p class="nind">T<small>HIS</small> gallery was also a favourite sitting-room of Queen Anne and her -husband, and of George I. It was by command of the latter monarch that -Kent, about the year 1724, undertook the painting of the ceiling, his -charge for which, with similar work in “the little closets,” amounted to -<i>£</i>850. Although the richness of the colouring and gilding give it a -gorgeous appearance, neither the design nor the ornaments, least of all -the panels, painted with mythological subjects, are interesting. It is -divided into seven compartments, surrounded by elaborate classic scroll -and arabesque work, and allegorical figures. The centre medallion is -oval, the other six oblong or lozenge shaped. The officers of Works in -their Report, dated 30th of September, 1725, to the “Lords Commissioners -of His Majesty’s Treasury,” on this work, added:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>“We have caused an estimate to be made of the charge of painting -the wainscot of the sd. Gallery and little closets in the same -manner as the Bedchamber and closets are already painted, amounting -to £32: 16:</p> - -<p>Gilding the same—£154: 4:</p> - -<p>Providing Scaffolds for the Painters and covering the floors with -Boards to prevent their being damaged, etc., £233: 3:”</p></div> - -<p>They further added:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>“We crave leave to lay before your Lordships a letter that we have -received from Sir James Thornhill, Serj<sup>t</sup> Painter to his Majesty, -in which he complains that the gilding of the cornishes, which hath -hitherto been done by himself, and his predecessors, is by my Lord -Chamberlain’s Letter directed to be done by another person, which -letter we have hereunto annexed.”</p></div> - -<p>On October 5th, accordingly, an order was made to the Board of Works to -commission Sir J. Thornhill to do the gilding of the cornices.<a name="page_122" id="page_122"></a></p> - -<p>On the barbarity of painting the beautiful oak work in this gallery, and -especially the exquisitely carved oak architraves and cornices, we need -not dwell. They remained painted until last autumn, when with infinite -trouble and pains, the paint was cleaned off, and all the delicate -chiselling of Gibbons and his assistants revealed to the eye, after -being obscured for a hundred and seventy-four years. The visitor can -judge for himself with what success this has been accomplished. No stain -has been used in this restoration; and only after repeated experiments -was the method adopted of treating it simply with wax polish.</p> - -<p>The old panelling of Wren’s time was probably removed in the time of -George II., in order to afford more wall-space for hanging pictures -on—which was Queen Caroline’s great hobby.</p> - -<p>An even worse barbarism was perpetrated in this superb gallery at the -beginning of the century—when it was divided by partitions into three -distinct rooms—in which state it remained until the restorations were -begun last year. One of these subdivisions was used by Queen Victoria, -when a little girl, for her toys.</p> - -<p class="engp">Naval Pictures in the King’s Gallery.</p> - -<p class="nind">I<small>N</small> this gallery have now been collected a large number of sea-pieces, -sea-fights, dockyards, and admirals, mainly of the time of the Georges, -to illustrate the history of the British Navy. Though but very few—for -instance, those by Monamy and Scott—can be considered fine works of -art, yet all of them will be found interesting and curious; and no one, -who has known them only when hanging in bad lights on dark screens in -the overcrowded rooms at Hampton Court, would have suspected how much -there is to be studied in them, now that they are at length properly -displayed.</p> - -<p class="lt"><b>201 The Dockyard at Sheerness</b> (<i>1055</i>). . . . . <span class="smcap">R. Paton.</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>The dock is on the left, terminated by a fort in the centre of the -picture. On the left are a large man-of-war and a disabled ship -towed by a barque.</p> - -<p>This and Nos. 204, 232, 233, and 236 are pieces of dockyards, -painted by Paton more than a hundred years ago. They are each on -canvas, 3 ft. 4 in. high, by 4 ft. 10 in. wide.</p></div> - -<p><a name="page_123" id="page_123"></a></p> - -<p class="lt"><b>202 Close of the Action, November 4th, 1805, Sir R. Strachan’s Victory</b> -(<i>1037</i>). [See Companion Piece, No. 234.] . . . . . <span class="smcap">N. Pocock.</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>On the left are three French vessels,? The Formidable, Scipion, -Mont Blanc, or Duguay Trouin, two of them utterly dismantled; to -the right is the English fleet.</p> - -<p>The engagement took place off Ferrol, about a fortnight after -Trafalgar, the French ships being under the command of Rear-Admiral -Dumanoir, who had escaped from that battle.</p></div> - -<p class="lt"><b>203 George III. Reviewing the Fleet at Portsmouth</b> (<i>1011</i>). [See No. -235.] . . . . . <span class="smcap">D. Serres.</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>In the centre is a large man-of-war, the “Barfleur”: near it the -“Worcester” firing a salute, and beyond a line of men-of-war, the -“Royal Oak” and “Lennox” being distinguishable on the right. On -canvas, 4 ft. 10 in. high, by 7 ft. wide. Signed “D. Serres, 1776.”</p></div> - -<p class="lt"><b>204 The Dockyard at Deptford</b> (<i>1000</i>). [See No. 201]. . . . . . <span class="smcap">R. Paton.</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Greenwich is seen in the background; the dock buildings on the -right; and on the left various ships, one firing a salute.</p></div> - -<p class="lt"><b>205 Ships in a Dockyard</b> (<i>999</i>). . . . . <i>unnamed.</i></p> - -<p class="lt"><b>206 A Sea-piece</b> (<i>1046</i>). . . . . <span class="smcap">D. Serres.</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>A large vessel is seen broadside, and in front an officer’s gig; -other vessels are behind. Signed in lower right-hand corner, “D. -Serres, 1789.”</p></div> - -<p class="lt"><b>207 Action between the “Arethusa” and “Belle Poule”</b> (<i>673</i>). . . . . <i>unnamed.</i></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>The “Arethusa,” with its stern to the spectator, is to the left; -“La Belle Poule” is on the right. They are discharging heavy -broadsides at each other. The moon is seen in the distance between -them.</p> - -<p>The action took place on the 17th of July, 1778, off the Lizard, -and lasted two hours at close quarters without intermission. The -“Belle Poule” got away, though the English had got the best of the -fight.</p></div> - -<p class="lt"><b>208 Sea Piece</b> (<i>1078</i>). . . . . <span class="smcap">Brooking.</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>On the right is an English frigate bearing away; on the left one -coming in. A fair specimen of this good marine painter.</p></div> - -<p><a name="page_124" id="page_124"></a></p> - -<p class="lt"><b>209 George III. Reviewing the Fleet at Portsmouth</b> (<i>1012</i>). [See No. -235.] . . . . . <span class="smcap">D. Serres.</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>A large man-of-war in the centre; smaller craft on each side.</p></div> - -<p class="lt"><b>210 The Royal Yacht which brought Queen Charlotte to England in 1761, to -be married to George III., in a storm</b> (<i>1001</i>) . . . . . <span class="smcap">Wright.</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>The Royal Yacht is in the centre of the picture, attended by a -convoy of twelve vessels. It had been re-named “The Royal -Charlotte,” and was newly ornamented with a profusion of carving -and gilding for the occasion. They embarked at Stade on the 24th of -August, and landed at Harwich on September 6th.</p> - -<p>Richard Wright was a painter of marine subjects.</p></div> - -<p class="lt"><b>211 A Small Sea-Piece</b> (<i>1080</i>). . . . . <span class="smcap">P. Monamy.</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>In the centre, towards the left, is an English man-of-war firing a -salute; other smaller craft are to the right and left. 1 ft. 8 in. -high, by 2 ft. 11 in. wide.</p> - -<p>This is an excellent specimen of Peter Monamy, an imitator, and -probably pupil, of the Vandeveldes. Though much cracked, it is -beautifully painted, “showing a fine quality of texture, with great -precision of touch; the calm plane of the ocean level receding into -the extreme distance, without that set scenic effect of passing -cloud-shadows, which even the best masters have used to obtain the -appearance of recession and distance; this work well deserves -notice, and might puzzle the best painters of such subjects to -rival.”—(Redgrave’s <i>Century of Painters</i>.)</p></div> - -<p class="lt"><b>212 His Majesty’s Yacht in Portsmouth Harbour</b> (<i>1035</i>) . . . . . <span class="smcap">J. T. -Serres.</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>She has twenty-six guns, and lies across the picture; other craft -are to the right and left. Behind is seen Portsmouth. Signed “<i>J. -T. Serres</i>, 1820.”</p></div> - -<p class="lt"><b>213 Shipping</b> . . . . . <i>unnamed.</i></p> - -<p class="lt"><b>214 On the Thames—The Tower of London</b> (<i>1024</i>). . . . . <i>unnamed.</i></p> - -<p class="lt"><b>215 A Man-of-War engaged with two Vessels</b> (<i>1015</i>)....<span class="smcap">Monamy.</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>A man-of-war is on the left engaged with two of the enemy’s -vessels; behind are others shown in action. (See No. 219.)</p></div> - -<p><a name="page_125" id="page_125"></a></p> - -<p class="lt"><b>216 Rear-Admiral Sir Charles Knowles’s Squadron attacking Port Louis in -St. Domingo (? Hispaniola) March 8th, 1748</b> (<i>998</i>)....<span class="smcap">R. Paton?</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>To the left is an English vessel, the “Cornwall,” firing at a fort -in the centre of the picture. More to the left is a small ship -burning; on the right are other vessels attacking the fort.</p> - -<p>The fire-ship of the enemy was towed clear of the squadron by the -boats, and left to burn and blow up at a distance from the fleet. -The fort surrendered in the evening, and was blown up. The English -lost seventy men.</p></div> - -<p class="lt"><b>217 Battle of Trafalgar—Close of the Action</b> (<i>1058</i>). [See Companion -Piece, No. 224.] . . . . . <span class="smcap">Huggins.</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>In the centre is a large vessel (? the “Victory”) with rigging much -shot away and torn. Others are seen behind in action.</p> - -<p>These are two of three pictures, painted for William IV.; the third -is now at St. James’s Palace.</p></div> - -<p class="lt"><b>218 Rear-Admiral Sir Charles Knowles’s Action with a Spanish Squadron -off the Havannah, October 1st, 1748</b> (<i>1002</i>) . . . . . <span class="smcap">R. Paton?</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>In the background is the battle-line of the enemy, under -Vice-Admiral Reggio, against which the British fleet is bearing. -The action began at two o’clock. Although defeated, nearly all the -Spaniards got into port; they lost eighty-six men. Knowles, when he -came home, was tried by court-martial for not pursuing the enemy -with more vigour, and was reprimanded.</p></div> - -<p class="lt"><b>219 Sea Fight—A Man-of-War attacked by Boats</b> (<i>226</i>). . . . . <span class="smcap">Monamy.</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>The vessel is surrounded by boats, and is responding to their -musketry by a fierce cannonade. 3 ft. 4 in. high, by 4 ft. 2 in. -wide.</p></div> - -<p class="lt"><b>220 Admiral Viscount Keith</b> . . . . . <span class="smcap">T. Phillips, R.A.</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Half length, in robes, turned to the left. His right hand holds up -his cloak, his left is seen underneath. His hair is gray.</p> - -<p>He commanded the fleet which, in 1795, captured the Cape of Good -Hope, and performed other brilliant services. He died in 1823.</p></div> - -<p class="lt"><b>221 Shipping on the Thames—Temple Gardens</b> (<i>1026</i>)<a name="page_126" id="page_126"></a> . . . . . <i>unnamed.</i></p> - -<p class="lt"><b>222 Sea-Piece—The British Fleet</b> (<i>1017</i>). . . . . <span class="smcap">Elliot.</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>In front are some eight large vessels, some with the yards manned, -others with their sails partly set; other ships are seen behind.</p> - -<p>On the frame in front is written:—“<i>To the R<sup>t</sup>. Hon<sup>ble</sup>. -W<sup>m</sup>. Pitt this view of the British Fleet, which secured to -England the uninterrupted navigation of the Southern Ocean is -dedicated</i>.” William Elliot was a bad marine painter in the style -of Serres.</p></div> - -<p class="lt"><b>223 Battle of Camperdown—Close of the Action</b> (<i>1064</i>). [See Companion -Piece, No. 225.] . . . . . <span class="smcap">J. T. Serres.</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>In the centre is a British flag-ship, shown at the end of a long -line of vessels. On the right is one of the enemy on fire, to which -boats are hastening. On the left is a ship with the name -“<span class="smcap">WASSANAER</span>.”</p></div> - -<p class="lt"><b>224 The Day after the Battle of Trafalgar</b> (<i>1057</i>). [See Companion -Piece, No. 217.] . . . . . <span class="smcap">Huggins.</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>It represents the storm which separated the squadron the day after -the battle. On the right is a dismantled vessel rolling over; on -the left is the “Victory.” On canvas, 8 ft. high, by 10 ft. wide.</p></div> - -<p class="lt"><b>225 Battle of Camperdown—Lord Duncan’s Victory</b> (<i>1053</i>). [See Companion -Piece, No. 223.] . . . . . <span class="smcap">J. T. Serres.</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>The English fleet is ranged in three lines about to begin the -action by breaking the line of the enemy ranged beyond them. The -enemy have already opened fire. On canvas, 3 ft. high, by 4 ft. -wide. Signed, “J. T. Serres, 1793.”</p> - -<p>John Thomas Serres was the son of Dominic Serres, who brought him -up as a marine painter. In the year in which this picture was -painted he succeeded, on his father’s death, to the office of -marine painter to the King, and one of his duties in this post was -to make sketches of the harbours on the enemy’s coast. He married -the <i>soi-disant</i> Princess Olive of Cumberland, who lost him his -appointment, and brought him to misery, destitution, imprisonment, -and madness. (Redgrave’s <i>Dict. of Artists</i>.)</p></div> - -<p class="lt"><b>226 Equipment of the English Fleet in 1790</b> (<i>1033</i>). . . . . <span class="smcap">Elliott.</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Three full-rigged men-of-war and others partially rigged are in -front; beyond is a port. In front is a label:—“<i>To the Earl of -Chatham this view of the expeditious equipment of the British Fleet -in 1790 is dedicated</i>.”</p></div> - -<p><a name="page_127" id="page_127"></a></p> - -<p class="lt"><b>227 A Man-of-War going out to Sea</b> (<i>1034</i>). . . . . <i>unnamed.</i></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Crossing the picture to the left, following another going into the -picture.</p></div> - -<p class="lt"><b>228 Admiral Lord Anson</b> (<i>19</i>). . . . . <i>After Hudson by</i> <span class="smcap">Bockman</span>.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>This appears to be a copy of a picture in Lord Lichfield’s -possession at Shugborough in Staffordshire, by Thomas Hudson, a -portrait painter, who flourished from 1701 to 1779, and who is -chiefly remembered now as the master of Reynolds.</p> - -<p>Anson was a victorious admiral in the reign of George II., well -known for his famous voyage round the world in the years 1740-44, -and for his great exploit of capturing, in 1743, the Spanish -galleon “Manilla,” which had a cargo on board valued at £313,000. -He was created a peer in 1747 for his victory over the French -fleet, and was First Lord of the Admiralty during the Seven Years’ -War.</p> - -<p>He is here represented in peer’s robes, which approximately fixes -the date of the picture.</p> - -<p>Bockman, by profession a mezzotint engraver, was in England about -1745-50, when he executed copies of various portraits of admirals, -which had been painted by Kneller for James II., and G. Dahl, a -Swedish painter, for William III. The originals were presented by -William IV. in 1835 to Greenwich Hospital.</p></div> - -<p class="lt"><b>229. Shipping</b> (<i>1025</i>) . . . . . <i>unnamed.</i></p> - -<p class="lt"><b>230. A Ship</b> (<i>381</i>) . . . . . <i>unnamed.</i></p> - -<p class="lt"><b>231 George III. Reviewing the Fleet at Portsmouth</b> (<i>1013</i>). [See No. -235.] . . . . . <span class="smcap">D. Serres.</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>In the centre is a large three-masted vessel, with the Union Jack -flying, and the royal party on board. Many others are behind.</p></div> - -<p class="lt"><b>232 The Dockyard at Portsmouth</b> (<i>1051</i>). [See No. 201.] . . . . . <span class="smcap">R. -Paton.</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>On the left is a large vessel about to be launched; the dock -buildings are behind.</p></div> - -<p class="lt"><b>233 The Dockyard at Chatham</b> (<i>1062</i>). [See No. 201.] . . . . . <span class="smcap">R. Paton.</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>The dock is on rising ground to the right; on the left is seen the -Medway. Various ships are on the river.</p></div> - -<p class="lt"><b>234 Commencement of Sir Robert Calder’s Action, July 22nd, 1805</b> -(<i>1038</i>). [See Companion Piece, No. 202.] . . . . . <span class="smcap">N. Pocock.</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>A small English ship is engaging two French vessels on the left.</p> - -<p>On the 19th of July, Calder had received despatches from Nelson -stating that the combined Franco-Spanish fleet was on its return -from<a name="page_128" id="page_128"></a> the West Indies, and he cruised about off Cape Finisterre in -the hope of intercepting it. Though both sides lost heavily, the -action had no very decided result. The small English ship is -probably the “Hero,” the van-ship of the British, which began the -attack.</p> - -<p>Nicholas Pocock, like D. Serres, acquired his knowledge of the sea -in the navy, which he gave up to adopt marine painting as a -profession.</p></div> - -<p class="lt"><b>235 George III. Reviewing the Fleet at Portsmouth</b> (<i>1014</i>). . . . . . <span class="smcap">D. -Serres.</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>To the right is a large line-of-battle ship firing a salute. -Several yachts with officers and spectators on board are seen.</p> - -<p>This, and Nos. 203, 209, and 231 pieces were painted by Dominic -Serres, a native of Gascony, who, after running away from home, -becoming a sailor, and then master of a trading vessel, and being -captured by an English frigate, settled in England and took to -painting marine pieces to earn a living. He was one of the original -members of the Royal Academy, and frequently exhibited. He is to be -distinguished from his son, J. T. Serres (see No. 225).</p></div> - -<p class="lt"><b>236 The Dockyard at Woolwich</b> (<i>1066</i>). . . . . [See No. 201.] <span class="smcap">R. Paton.</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Woolwich church is seen in the centre background; the dock -buildings are on the right.</p></div> - -<p class="lt"><b>237 Admiral Sir John Jennings</b> (<i>11</i>) . . . . . <i>After Kneller by</i> -<span class="smcap">Bockman</span>.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Knighted by Queen Anne in 1704, died in 1743, and is buried in -Westminster Abbey.</p></div> - -<p class="lt"><b>238 Admiral John Benbow</b> . . . . . <i>After Kneller by</i> <span class="smcap">Bockman</span>.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>He was given the command of a ship by James, Duke of York, for his -bravery. In 1702, when in command of the West India squadron, he -sustained, almost alone, the fire of the whole French fleet under -Du Casse; his cowardly officers, two of whom were afterwards tried -by court-martial and shot, having basely deserted him. He died at -Jamaica very soon afterwards from a wound received in the action.</p></div> - -<p class="lt"><b>239 Admiral George Churchill</b> (<i>10</i>). . . . . <i>After Kneller by</i> <span class="smcap">Bockman</span>.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>A brother of the Duke of Marlborough’s. He died in 1708.</p></div> - -<p class="lt"><b>240 Admiral Sir G. Bing, Viscount Torrington</b> (<i>7</i>) . . . . . <i>After -Kneller by</i> <span class="smcap">Bockman</span>.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>The celebrated admiral of the reigns of Queen Anne and George I. He -was especially distinguished for his services against the -Pretender, and for his great victory over the Spanish off Sicily in -1718. His son was the famous Admiral Byng, who was shot, as -Voltaire said, “pour encourager les autres.”</p></div> - -<p><a name="page_129" id="page_129"></a></p> - -<p class="lt"><b>241 Admiral Edward Russell, Earl of Orford</b> (<i>27</i>) . . . . . <span class="smcap">Sir G. -Kneller.</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Half length, to the right; in blue. His left hand is on his hip, -his right has a bâton.</p> - -<p>This is the famous admiral in the reign of William and Mary, who -gained the victory of La Hogue against the French fleet under -Tourville.</p> - -<p>This portrait is one of the series of admirals painted for William -III.</p></div> - -<p class="lt"><b>242 Portrait of General Spalken</b> (<i>910</i>). . . . . <i>unnamed.</i></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Three-quarters in length. Bareheaded, with grey hair. His right arm -rests on a table, on which is his cocked hat; his left is in his -belt. He wears a general’s uniform, a red coat with blue facings, a -long white waistcoat with brass buttons, and white breeches.</p> - -<p>I can find nothing about Spalken.</p></div> - -<p class="lt"><b>243 Admiral Sir Thomas Dilks</b> (<i>9</i>). . . . . <i>After Kneller by</i> <span class="smcap">Bockman</span>.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>This is the hero of a brilliant action in Cancalli Bay in 1703, -when a small English squadron attacked a fleet of forty-three -French merchantmen with three men-of-war, and captured them all.</p></div> - -<p class="lt"><b>244 Admiral Sir Stafford Fairbourne</b> (<i>18</i>) . . . . . <i>After Kneller by</i> -<span class="smcap">Bockman</span>.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Lived in the reigns of William III. and Anne.</p></div> - -<p class="lt"><b>245 Admiral Sir John Gradin</b> (<i>8</i>). . . . . <i>After Kneller by</i> <span class="smcap">Bockman</span>.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Served in the reign of Queen Anne, and was dismissed for -over-caution.</p></div> - -<p class="lt"><b>246 Admiral Beaumont</b> (<i>1</i>). . . . . <i>After Dahl by</i> <span class="smcap">Bockman</span>.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>He perished on the Goodwin Sands in the great storm “such as of -late o’er pale Britannia passed,” in 1703.</p></div> - -<p class="headd"><a name="Kings_Grand_Staircase" id="Kings_Grand_Staircase"></a> -<img src="images/i045_sml.jpg" width="472" height="82" alt="King’s Grand Staircase." title="King’s Grand Staircase." /> -</p> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra"><img src="images/i018a.jpg" -width="80" -height="83" -alt="S" -title="S" -/></span>IR Christopher Wren was the original builder of this staircase, -although Kent’s name has usually alone been associated with it. To the -great architect, however, we certainly owe the “shell” of the building, -its proportions, the black marble steps, the black and white chequered -marble on<a name="page_130" id="page_130"></a> the landings, and the fine balustrade of wrought iron. This -ironwork was doubtless designed by Jean Tijou, whose name we have found -in the contemporary accounts relating to this palace, and in whose style -the design certainly is. As to the stair-treads, it is worthy of note -that in an estimate of Wren’s for the completion of the King’s Great -Staircase at Hampton Court, in 1699, he proposed that they should be -made “of Irish stone such as are at Kensington, but longer and easier,” -which, in fact, they are.</p> - -<p>In King William’s time the windows must have been of a different type to -those now here, which are in the style of Kent. As to the walls, they -were then probably painted with simple ornaments. Among the Kensington -accounts for the year 1692, we have found the following record of a -payment relating to such work:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>“To Robt. Streeter, Serg<sup>t</sup> Painter, for japanning, gilding and -painting several Roomes and Lodgings in the said Pallace, painting -severall staircase, and the Guard Chamber, and other places in and -about the said Pallace—£3,599.”</p></div> - -<p class="engp">Kent’s Alterations in the King’s Grand Staircase.</p> - -<p class="nind">K<small>ENT’S</small> improvements, which must have been carried out about 1725, -included—besides the painting of the walls and ceiling—the alteration -of the approach to the staircase on the ground floor, where he inserted, -in the area or “well,” an arcade of two plain arches, which support, or -rather appear to support, the landing above. Under the first arch begins -the wide flight of black marble steps, with two landings in the ascent, -paved with alternate squares of black and white marble, as is also the -long top landing or balcony. The balusters are now painted blue, their -original colour, found under successive coats of more recent paint. The -hand-rail of oak has had its dirty paint cleaned off.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/i046_lg.jpg"> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" -height="14" /></a> -<a href="images/i046_giant.jpg"> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="30" -height="23" /></a> -<br /> -<a href="images/i046_lg.jpg"> -<img class="caption" src="images/i046_sml.jpg" width="448" height="555" -alt="Image not available: THE KING’S GRAND STAIRCASE." -title="THE KING’S GRAND STAIRCASE." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">THE KING’S GRAND STAIRCASE.</span> -</p> - -<p>No one who did not see this staircase before the restorations were begun -can conceive the woeful state of dust, filth, decay and rot which it -then presented. With the fine iron balusters broken, damp oozing from -the walls, the paintings indistinguishable from<a name="page_131" id="page_131"></a><a name="page_132" id="page_132"></a><a name="page_133" id="page_133"></a> -incrustations of smoke, and strips of the painted canvas hanging from the walls in -shreds—it seemed impossible that it could ever be restored to its -pristine splendour. The visitor must judge for himself whether this -result has not been triumphantly accomplished.</p> - -<p class="engp">The Painted Walls of the King’s Grand Staircase.</p> - -<p class="nind">O<small>PPOSITE</small> the balustrade, on the right side as one goes down the stairs, -is a low wainscot of plain moulded panelling; and above this, level with -the top of the second landing, is painted a large Vitruvian scroll. The -square space thus formed beside the first landing, and the spandril -space beside the rise of the stairs, are filled with representations, in -chiaro-oscuro, of sea-horses, armorial trophies and other devices, and -scroll-work, heightened by gilding. These, as well as similar paintings -on the arcade, opposite and under the stairs, show that Kent’s taste and -skill as a decorative artist were by no means contemptible, whereas as a -painter of subjects or figures he was no artist at all.</p> - -<p>The two walls of the staircase above the Vitruvian scroll are painted to -represent a gallery, behind a colonnade of the Scamozzian Ionic order, -supporting a corresponding entablature, with a frieze embellished with -unicorns’ heads, masks of lions, and festoons of foliage, divided by -fleurs-de-lys, richly heightened with gold. Between these columns is -painted a balustrade; with numerous figures of personages of George I.’s -court, looking over it.</p> - -<p>In <span class="engf">the first and second compartments</span> on the left are yeomen of the guard -and various ladies and gentlemen; and a young man in a Polish dress -representing a certain Mr. Ulric, a page of the King’s, “and admired by -the court,” says Pyne, “for the elegance and beauty of his person;” -while the youth standing on the plinth outside the balcony is a page of -Lady Suffolk’s. In the third or right-hand compartment on the same wall -are seen, among many other unidentified persons, a Quaker and an old man -in spectacles.<a name="page_134" id="page_134"></a></p> - -<p>Two other servants of the court appear in this group, Mahomet and -Mustapha, who were taken prisoners by the Imperialists in Hungary. At -the raising of the siege of Vienna in 1685, George I., then elector of -Hanover, was wounded, and was attended by these two Turks, who had been -retained in his service, and who were said to have saved his life. -Mahomet apostatized from the faith of his fathers and became a -Christian; married a Hanoverian woman and had several children. King -George, on his accession to the British throne, brought these two -faithful servants with him to England in his suite. They were constantly -about his person, and were credited with obtaining large sums of money -from persons who purchased their influence to obtain places about the -court. Mahomet, however, in whatever way he may have obtained his -wealth, made a noble and benevolent use of it; for among many other -recorded acts of benevolence, he released from prison about three -hundred poor debtors by paying their harsh creditors.</p> - -<p>Pope, at any rate, believed in Mahomet’s integrity, for he mentions him -in his Epistle to Martha Blount in these lines:</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“From peer or bishop ’tis no easy thing<br /></span> -<span class="i0">To draw the man who loves his God or King.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Alas! I copy (or, my draught would fail,)<br /></span> -<span class="i0">From honest Mahomet or plain Parson Hale.”<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<p>Mahomet died of dropsy in 1726, just after these walls were painted. -Mustapha, after the death of George I., continued in the service of his -successor, and is supposed to have died in Hanover.</p> - -<p>In the same group are also a Highlander, and a youth known as “Peter the -Wild Boy.” He was found in the woods of Hamelin, near Hanover, in 1725, -and when first discovered was walking on his hands and feet, climbing -trees with the agility of a squirrel, and feeding upon grass and moss of -trees. He was supposed to be about thirteen years of age. He was -presented to George I., then in Hanover, when at dinner, and the King -made him taste of the different dishes at table. We get this information -from Pyne, who adds:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>“He was sent over to England in April, 1726, and once more brought -before his Majesty and many of the nobility. He could not speak, -and scarcely<a name="page_135" id="page_135"></a> appeared to have any idea of things, but was pleased -with the ticking of a watch, the splendid dresses of the King and -princess, and endeavoured to put on his own hand a glove that was -given to him by her royal highness. He was dressed in gaudy -habiliments, but at first disliked this confinement, and much -difficulty was found in making him lie on a bed: he, however, soon -walked upright, and often sat for his picture. He was at first -entrusted to the care of the philosophical Dr. Arbuthnot, who had -him baptized Peter; but notwithstanding all the doctor’s pains, he -was unable to bring him to the use of speech, or to the -pronunciation of words.... He resisted all instruction, and existed -on a pension allowed in succession by the three sovereigns in whose -reigns he lived. He resided latterly at a farmer’s near -Berkhampstead in Hertfordshire, till February, 1785, where he died, -at the supposed age of nearly ninety.”</p></div> - -<p>The <span class="engf">east wall</span> of the staircase is painted as far as the width of the -second landing with a continuation of the arcade, showing a fourth -compartment, in which are again figures of yeomen of the guard and -ladies—one holding an infant in her arms over the balustrade. Further -up, on the same wall, is painted a pedimented niche, with a figure of a -Roman emperor; and higher up still, on the top landing or balcony, are -figures of Hercules, Diana, Apollo, and Minerva.</p> - -<p>All these paintings are on canvas, stretched on battens fixed to the -wall.</p> - -<p class="engp">Painted Ceiling of the King’s Grand Staircase.</p> - -<p class="nind">T<small>HE</small> ceiling of the staircase being square and flat, it did not afford -much scope for the exercise of imaginative design, and Kent was obliged -to content himself with a very commonplace pattern—sufficiently -apparent in the accompanying plate. In the four corners are a sort of -double oblong panels, with similar square ones intervening between them. -The ground colour is gray. The oblongs are painted with ornamental -scroll-work and horses’ heads, the squares with human heads. These -panels are bordered with very heavy projecting frames of plaster work, -white and gilt, as is also the great square compartment in the middle. -The panel of this last is painted with a representation of a circle, -within which<a name="page_136" id="page_136"></a> are four semicircular spaces or apertures, apparently -intended to portray a pierced dome with galleries—but they are all in -quite impossible perspective. In three of these spaces are seen -musicians playing on various instruments, and spectators looking down -upon the company below. In the fourth “the painter,” says Pyne, “has -introduced his own portrait, holding a palette and pencils, with two of -his pupils, who assisted him in the decoration of the walls, and a -female of a very pleasing countenance, which is supposed to be a -resemblance of an actress with whom he lived in the habits of peculiar -friendship, and to whom he left a part of his fortune.”</p> - -<p>All these decorations—including “the female of a very pleasing -countenance”—the visitor can make out, if he thinks it worth while to -incur a stiff neck in doing so; but, in truth, the figures, as well as -the perspective, are all so badly drawn and painted, that the less they -are examined the better. They prove to us once more that Kent, as a -pictorial artist, was beneath contempt. If, however, we are content to -look on his paintings on this staircase as mere formless colour -decoration, the general effect is rich and sumptuous enough.</p> - -<p>The paintings of the staircase were finished, as we have said, about -1726. Three years after we find among the records the following warrant:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>“For the delivery of the following for the King’s service at -Kensington, viz. for the Great Staircase 6 lanthorns, 12 inches -square and 17 high, with a shade over each, an iron scroll and 2 -flat sockets for candles, 1 lanthorn for a pattern 11 inches square -and 19½ inches high, with scrolls, etc.”</p></div> - -<p>Our illustration, taken from Pyne’s drawing dated 1818, shows these -lanthorns still in it. Except for these, which disappeared a long time -ago, and the tall German stove, which was only removed a few months ago, -the staircase appears exactly the same to-day.<a name="page_137" id="page_137"></a></p> - -<p class="headd"><a name="Presence_Chamber" id="Presence_Chamber"></a> -<img src="images/i047_sml.jpg" width="359" height="91" alt="Presence Chamber." title="Presence Chamber." /> -</p> - -<p>In this room we have a blending of the style of Wren, who originally -built and designed it, and of Kent, who redecorated it for George I. The -chimney-piece and over-mantel, with its fine Gibbons carving of foliage, -fruit, and flowers, the beautifully designed and richly carved oak -cornice and the panelled dado are Wren’s; whereas the painted ceiling -and the doors are Kent’s. It was, doubtless, he also who altered the -spacing of the window sashes, and substituted the present ugly large -panes for the originally picturesque small ones. There is record of this -being done in 1723, among the old accounts.</p> - -<p>The walls appear originally to have been entirely lined, like most of -Wren’s rooms, with oak wainscot, but this had entirely disappeared long -before the beginning of this century, when they were covered with -tapestry, over which were nailed a great quantity of pictures—among -them several which have now been brought back here from Hampton Court. -At the same period, in 1818, there was still hanging between the windows -“a looking-glass of large dimensions, tastefully decorated with festoons -of flowers, painted with great truth and spirit by Jean Baptiste -Monnoyer.... Queen Mary sat by the painter during the greatest part of -the time he was employed in painting it.”</p> - -<p>This looking-glass has disappeared. <span class="engf">Gibbons’ fine carving</span>, however, over -the chimney-piece, of foliage, fruit, and flowers in lime wood -fortunately remains. When recently cleaned and repaired, it was found to -be so fragile and friable as to necessitate its being all painted over -in order to hold the fragments together. An oaken colour, “flatted,” in -accord with the prevailing tone of the panelling in the room was thought -most suitable.<a name="page_138" id="page_138"></a></p> - -<p>The two windows of this room, the sashes of which were altered by Kent, -look into a small courtyard.</p> - -<p>The dimensions of the room are 27 feet 4 inches long, 26 feet 10 inches -wide, by 16 feet 4 inches high to the top of the cornice, 18 feet to the -highest part of the ceiling.</p> - -<p>We presume it to have been in this room that William III. in May, 1698, -received the Count de Bonde, Ambassador Extraordinary from the Court of -Sweden, when he returned to the King the insignia of the Order of the -Garter, which had belonged to Charles XI., King of Sweden. “The -Sovereign assembled the Knights Companions upon this occasion in the -Presence Chamber, and all appeared in their mantles, caps, and feathers, -attended by the officers of the order in their mantles, and the heralds -in their coats.”</p> - -<p class="engp">Painted Ceiling of the Presence Chamber.</p> - -<p class="nind">T<small>HE</small> ceiling of this room, like most of those in the state apartments -built by Wren, is “coved” or “saucer-domed,” and was no doubt originally -quite plainly-coloured, with a light cream-tinted wash. As we see it -now, it gives the idea of an attempt by Kent to imitate Raphael’s Loggie -in the Vatican. The paintings have been stated to be in imitation of -those “then recently discovered on the ruined walls of Herculaneum and -Pompeii,” but these were not unearthed until twenty-five years after. -Kent has, however, carefully followed what indications he could get of -the decorative treatment of Roman classic art. The colours are -bright-reds and blues, enriched with gilding on a white ground. The -ceiling, or rather the plaster behind the cornice, bears the date, 1724. -Faulkner, in his “History of Kensington,” considers that “a proof of his -liberal zeal for the interest of his profession is clearly evinced by -his adopting this antique ornament rather than his own historical -compositions.” Why this should be the case, however, he does not deign -to explain.<a name="page_139" id="page_139"></a></p> - -<p class="engp">Ceremonial Pictures of the Queen’s Reign.</p> - -<p class="nind">I<small>N</small> this room are arranged the ceremonial pictures of the reign of the -Queen, copied from well-known pictures by British artists. They afford -most accurate representations of the events depicted, and no doubt will -live to remotest history, as interesting and curious specimens of early -Victorian art. The scenes, and the participants in them are all too well -known to require explanation. Perhaps later on the numbered “key-plans” -will be put up to assist in the identification of each personage.</p> - -<p class="lt"><b>271 Coronation of the Queen in Westminster Abbey, June 28th, 1838. Her -Majesty taking the Sacrament</b> . . . . . <i>After</i> <span class="smcap">C. R. Leslie, R.A.</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>When the Queen had been formally invested with the insignia of her -sovereignty, and had received the homage of the peers, she laid -aside the crown and sceptre, and following the Archbishop, advanced -to the altar to receive the sacrament.</p></div> - -<p class="lt"><b>272 Marriage of the Queen and Prince Albert at the Chapel Royal, St. -James’s, 10th February, 1840</b> . . . . . <i>After</i> <span class="smcap">Hayter</span>.</p> - -<p class="lt"><b>273 Christening of the Princess Royal at Buckingham Palace, 10th -February, 1841</b> . . . . . <i>After</i> <span class="smcap">C. R. Leslie, R.A</span>.</p> - -<p class="lt"><b>274 Marriage of the Princess Royal to Prince Frederick William of Prussia -in the Chapel Royal, St. James’s, 25th January, 1858</b> . . . . . <i>After</i> <span class="smcap">J. Phillip, R.A</span>.</p> - -<p class="lt"><b>275 Christening of the Prince of Wales in St. George’s Chapel, Windsor -Castle, 28th of January, 1842</b><a name="page_140" id="page_140"></a> . . . . . <i>After</i> <span class="smcap">Hayter</span>.</p> - -<p class="lt"><b>276 Marriage of the Prince of Wales and the Princess Alexandra of -Denmark in St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, 10th March, 1863</b> . . . . . <i>After</i> <span class="smcap">W. P. Frith, R.A</span>.</p> - -<p class="lt"><b>277 A Sketch of the Queen leaving Westminster Abbey after her -Coronation</b> . . . . . . <i>By</i> <span class="smcap">Camille Roqueplan</span>.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Camille Roqueplan was a French artist sent over by Louis Philippe -to make sketches at the Queen’s Coronation.</p></div> - -<p class="lt"><b>278 The Marriage of H.R.H. the Duke of Connaught and Strathearn and -H.R.H. Princess Louise Margaret of Prussia in St. George’s Chapel, -Windsor, 13th March, 1879</b> . . . . . <i>After</i> <span class="smcap">Sidney P. Hall</span>.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/i048_sml.jpg" width="150" height="104" -class="caption" alt="Decoration of the text not available" title="Decoration" /> -</p> - -<p><a name="page_141" id="page_141"></a></p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/i048a_sml.jpg" width="150" height="197" -class="caption" alt="Decoration of the text not available" title="Decoration" /> -</p> - -<p class="c"><small>CHISWICK PRESS:—CHARLES WHITTINGHAM AND CO.<br /> -TOOKS COURT, CHANCERY LANE, LONDON.</small></p> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="" -style="padding:2%;border:3px dotted gray;"> -<tr><th align="center">Typographical errors corrected by the etext transcriber:</th></tr> -<tr><td align="center">William Talman, <span class="errata">Comptroler</span>=> William Talman, Comptroller {pg 18}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">his <span class="errata">exernal</span> architectural effect=> his external architectural effect {pg 63}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">being <span class="errata">situate</span>=> being situated {pg 68}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">his face <span class="errata">his</span> shaven=> his face is shaven {pg 91}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">Prince <span class="errata">Octavious</span> was born on February 23rd, 1779=> Prince Octavius was born on February 23rd, 1779 {pg 106}</td></tr> -</table> - -<hr class="full" /> - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Kensington Palace, the birthplace of -the Queen, by Ernest Law - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK KENSINGTON PALACE *** - -***** This file should be named 43428-h.htm or 43428-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/3/4/2/43428/ - -Produced by Delphine Lettau, Chuck Greif and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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mode 100644 index a204aaf..0000000 --- a/old/43428.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,5036 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Kensington Palace, the birthplace of the -Queen, by Ernest Law - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: Kensington Palace, the birthplace of the Queen - being an historical guide to the state rooms, pictures and gardens - -Author: Ernest Law - -Release Date: August 9, 2013 [EBook #43428] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK KENSINGTON PALACE *** - - - - -Produced by Delphine Lettau, Chuck Greif and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - - - [The words between equals signs (=) appear in Old English type in the -original. A few typographical errors have been made; a list follows the - etext. (note of etext transcriber.)] - - - - - =Kensington Palace: the Birthplace of the Queen.= - - =Illustrated.= - -[Illustration: THIS MINIATURE REPRESENTS THE QUEEN AT THE AGE OF EIGHT] - - 1819 MAY 24TH 1899 - - [Illustration: H.R.H. THE PRINCESS VICTORIA AT THE AGE OF FOUR. - - (From a Painting by Denning.)] - - - - - =Kensington Palace= - - THE BIRTHPLACE OF THE QUEEN - - _ILLUSTRATED_ - - BEING AN - HISTORICAL GUIDE - TO THE STATE ROOMS, PICTURES, AND GARDENS - - BY - - =Ernest Law, B.A.= - BARRISTER-AT-LAW - _Author of "The History of Hampton Court Palace;" "The Royal - Gallery of Hampton Court;" "Vandyck's Pictures - at Windsor Castle," etc._ - - [Illustration: colophon] - - _Notice._--This Catalogue and Guide are copyright, and immediate - proceedings in Chancery will be taken against any infringers thereof. - - LONDON - GEORGE BELL AND SONS - 1899 - -[Illustration: Decoration] - - -=Notice to Visitors.= - -The State Rooms of Kensington Palace, and likewise Queen Anne's -Orangery, will be open to the public every day in the week throughout -the year, except Wednesdays, unless notice be, at any time, given to the -contrary. - -The hours of opening will be 10 o'clock in the morning on week days, and -2 o'clock in the afternoon on Sundays. - -The hours of closing will be 6 o'clock in the evening from the 1st of -April to the 30th of September, both days inclusive, and 4 o'clock -during the winter months. - -They will be closed on Christmas Day and Good Friday. - -[Illustration: Decoration] - -[Illustration: KENSINGTON PALACE AND GARDENS IN THE REIGN OF QUEEN -ANNE.] - -[Illustration: Decoration] - - - - -=Contents.= - - - PAGE - FRONTISPIECE. H.R.H. THE PRINCESS VICTORIA AT - THE AGE OF FOUR 4 - NOTICE TO VISITORS 6 - _Plate_--KENSINGTON PALACE AND GARDENS IN THE - REIGN OF QUEEN ANNE 8 - PREFACE 14 - - - =Historical Sketch.= - - EARLY HISTORY OF KENSINGTON 17 - BUILDING OF THE PALACE 18 - DEATHS OF QUEEN MARY AND KING WILLIAM 19 - QUEEN ANNE AT KENSINGTON PALACE 20 - DEATH OF PRINCE GEORGE OF DENMARK 22 - DEATH OF QUEEN ANNE 22 - GEORGE I. AT KENSINGTON PALACE 23 - GEORGE II. AT KENSINGTON PALACE 24 - KENSINGTON IN GEORGE III.'S REIGN 25 - BIRTH OF QUEEN VICTORIA 26 - _Plate_--THE DUCHESS OF KENT WITH PRINCESS VICTORIA (AGED - TWO YEARS) 27 - QUEEN VICTORIA'S EARLY YEARS AT KENSINGTON 29 - THE QUEEN'S CHILDHOOD AT KENSINGTON PALACE 30 - _Plate_--THE PRINCESS VICTORIA IN 1825 31 - PRINCESS VICTORIA BECOMES HEIRESS TO THE THRONE 34 - QUEEN VICTORIA'S ACCESSION 36 - QUEEN VICTORIA'S FIRST COUNCIL 37 - KENSINGTON PALACE IN RECENT YEARS 40 - RESTORATION OF THE STATE ROOMS 41 - METHODS OF RESTORATION 42 - ARRANGEMENT OF THE PICTURES 44 - ASSOCIATIONS WITH QUEEN VICTORIA 45 - - - =Descriptive and Historical Guide.= - - OLD KENSINGTON PALACE GARDENS 47 - QUEEN ANNE'S GARDENS 49 - QUEEN ANNE'S ORANGERY 51 - TERRACE OF QUEEN ANNE'S ORANGERY 53 - EXTERIOR OF QUEEN ANNE'S ORANGERY 54 - INTERIOR OF QUEEN ANNE'S ORANGERY 55 - THE ALCOVES OF QUEEN ANNE'S ORANGERY 56 - RESTORATION OF QUEEN ANNE'S ORANGERY 56 - KENSINGTON GARDENS 58 - QUEEN CAROLINE'S IMPROVEMENTS IN KENSINGTON GARDENS 58 - KENSINGTON GARDENS IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY 59 - _Plate_--SOUTH FRONT OF KENSINGTON PALACE IN 1819--AFTER - WESTALL 61 - SOUTH FRONT OF THE PALACE 63 - WREN'S DOMESTIC STYLE 63 - EAST FRONT OF THE PALACE 64 - _Plate_--PLAN OF THE STATE ROOMS 66 - PUBLIC ENTRANCE TO THE PALACE 67 - QUEEN'S STAIRCASE 68 - OLD OAK WAINSCOTING OF THE STAIRCASE 69 - WINDOW SASHES OF THE STAIRCASE 69 - QUEEN MARY'S GALLERY 70 - WAINSCOTING AND CARVINGS OF QUEEN MARY'S GALLERY 71 - PICTURES IN QUEEN MARY'S GALLERY. PORTRAITS OF THE TIME - OF WILLIAM AND MARY TO GEORGE II 73 - QUEEN'S CLOSET 77 - PICTURES OF "OLD LONDON" 77 - QUEEN ANNE'S PRIVATE DINING ROOM 80 - PICTURES IN QUEEN ANNE'S PRIVATE DINING ROOM 81 - QUEEN MARY'S PRIVY CHAMBER 83 - PICTURES IN QUEEN MARY'S PRIVY CHAMBER 83 - QUEEN CAROLINE'S DRAWING ROOM 87 - PAINTED CEILING OF THE QUEEN'S DRAWING ROOM 88 - CONTEMPORARY FRENCH AND GERMAN PORTRAITS 88 - THE CUPOLA OR CUBE ROOM 93 - THE PAINTED CEILING OF THE CUBE ROOM 94 - _Plate_--THE CUPOLA OR CUBE ROOM AS IT WAS WHEN THE QUEEN - WAS BAPTIZED IN IT 95 - PAINTED WALLS OF THE CUBE ROOM 96 - GENERAL APPEARANCE OF THE CUPOLA ROOM 98 - KING'S DRAWING ROOM 99 - PAINTED CEILING OF THE KING'S DRAWING ROOM 99 - WILLIAM KENT, THE ROYAL AND FASHIONABLE DECORATOR 100 - _Plate_--KING'S DRAWING ROOM 101 - KENT THE FATHER OF MODERN GARDENING 103 - WEST'S PICTURES IN THE KING'S DRAWING ROOM 104 - KING'S PRIVY CHAMBER 108 - PORTRAITS OF GEORGE III.'S TIME 108 - THE NURSERY 113 - Pictures and Prints illustrative of the Queen's Life and - Reign 113 - ANTE-ROOM 114 - PRINTS ILLUSTRATIVE OF THE LIFE AND REIGN OF THE QUEEN 114 - QUEEN VICTORIA'S BEDROOM 115 - PRINTS OF THE LIFE AND REIGN OF THE QUEEN 116 - MEMENTOES AND RELICS OF THE QUEEN'S CHILDHOOD COLLECTED - IN "QUEEN VICTORIA'S BEDROOM" 116 - KING'S GALLERY 117 - DECORATIVE CARVINGS IN THE "KING'S GALLERY" 117 - CHIMNEY-PIECE, MAP AND DIAL 118 - _Plate_--THE KING'S GALLERY 119 - PAINTING OF THE CEILING AND WAINSCOT OF THE KING'S GALLERY 121 - NAVAL PICTURES IN THE KING'S GALLERY 122 - KING'S GRAND STAIRCASE 129 - KENT'S ALTERATIONS IN THE KING'S GRAND STAIRCASE 130 - _Plate_--THE KING'S GRAND STAIRCASE 131 - PAINTED WALLS OF THE KING'S GRAND STAIRCASE 133 - PAINTED CEILING OF THE KING'S GRAND STAIRCASE 135 - PRESENCE CHAMBER 137 - PAINTED CEILING OF THE PRESENCE CHAMBER 138 - CEREMONIAL PICTURES OF QUEEN VICTORIA'S REIGN 139 - -[Illustration: Decoration] - -[Illustration: Decoration] - - - - -=Preface.= - - -The following pages, compiled under the sanction of the Lord Chamberlain -of Her Majesty's Household and the First Commissioner of Her Majesty's -Works and Buildings, are intended to meet the requirements of visitors -to the State Rooms of Kensington Palace, now open by command of the -Queen to the inspection of the public during Her Majesty's pleasure. -This little book, therefore, is to be understood as aiming only at a -descriptive and historical account of the particular parts of the -building on view--not, in any sense, as attempting a general history of -the Palace. Nevertheless, the author may, perhaps, be permitted to say -that, as far as his object extends, he has endeavoured to render the -information here given as accurate and complete as possible, by devoting -the same amount of time and labour to research and verification, as -though he had been writing a book of a critical nature for a restricted -circle of readers, instead of a mere handbook for ordinary sightseers. - -In this way, the writer conceives, can he best promote the object which, -it may be assumed, the Queen and Her Majesty's Government have had in -view in restoring and opening these State Rooms to the public--namely, -that they should serve as an object-lesson in history and art, and a -refining influence of popular culture and education. - -In pursuance of this design the author has had recourse not only to such -well-known standard authorities on his subject as Pyne's "History of -Royal Residences," 1819; Faulkner's "History of Kensington," 1820; Leigh -Hunt's "Old Court Suburb," 1853; and Mr. Loftie's -"Kensington--Picturesque and Historical," 1887; but also to a large -number of earlier and less known historical and topographical works, -which have served to illustrate many things connected with the history -of this interesting old building. - -His main sources of information, however, have been the old manuscripts, -parchment rolls, and state papers, preserved in the British Museum and -Record Office--especially the "Declared Accounts" and "Treasury Papers," -containing the original estimates, accounts and reports of Sir -Christopher Wren and his successors, relating to the works and buildings -at Kensington. None of these have ever before been examined or -published; and they throw much light on the art and decoration of this -palace, while also, for the first time, setting at rest many hitherto -debatable points. - -The author must here once again--as in works of a similar nature -elsewhere--express his obligations for the kind assistance he has -received from all those who have charge of the Queen's palaces--the Hon. -Sir Spencer Ponsonby Fane, G.C.B., Comptroller of Her Majesty's -Household; the Hon. Reginald Brett, C.B., Secretary of Her Majesty's -Board of Works and Buildings; Sir John Taylor, K.C.B., Consulting -Architect and Surveyor to the Board; and Mr. Philip, Clerk of the Works -at Kensington Palace. - -At the same time he wishes to make it clear that for the information -contained herein, and for the opinions and views expressed, he himself -is alone responsible. - -Here also the author must make his acknowledgments to the editor of "The -Gentlewoman," who has kindly lent him the blocks for the portraits of -the Queen. - -It may be as well to take this opportunity of emphasizing what is more -fully insisted on in subsequent pages, that Kensington Palace, as a -public resort, is not to be considered in the light of an Art Gallery, -but as a Palace with historical pictures in it. The clear understanding -of this may prevent misapprehension as to the scheme followed in -restoring the state rooms to their original state, where the -pictures--and their frames--are arranged on the walls as a part only of -their furniture and decoration. - -Finally, it may be observed that though the outline of the history of -the Palace, prefixed to the description of the State Rooms, has -necessarily been brief, the Queen's early life, and the interesting -events that took place here in June 1837, seemed to require a fuller -treatment. These, therefore, have been described in detail, mainly in -the words of eye-witnesses, which, though they have often been printed -before, may, being repeated here, acquire--the compiler has thought--a -new vividness and interest, when read on the very spot where they were -enacted; and thus insure for these famous scenes an even wider -popularity than before. - -[Illustration: Decoration] - -[Illustration: Decoration] - - - - -HISTORICAL SKETCH. - -=Early History of Kensington.= - - -Kensington Palace, built by William and Mary, occupied by Queen Anne as -one of her favourite residences, enlarged by George I. and greatly -appreciated by George II. and his queen, Caroline, has received a -greater renown and more interesting associations from having been the -birthplace and early home of Queen Victoria. In celebration of the -eightieth anniversary of that ever-memorable and auspicious event, Her -Majesty decided on opening the State Apartments free to the public on -the 24th of May, 1899, during Her Majesty's pleasure. - -Before recapitulating the events of the Queen's early life here, we must -give a brief outline of the history of the Palace since it became a -royal residence. - -The original building, of which it is probable that a good deal still -stands, was erected mainly by Sir Heneage Finch, Lord Chancellor and -Earl of Nottingham, who acquired the estate, including some hundred and -fifty acres of meadow and park--now Kensington Gardens--from his brother -Sir John Finch. Hence it was known as Nottingham House; and under that -title it was bought from Daniel Finch, the second earl, for the sum of -18,000 guineas, in the summer or autumn of 1689, by King William III., -who was anxious to have a convenient residence near enough to Whitehall -for the transaction of business, and yet sufficiently far to be out of -the smoky atmosphere, in which he found it impossible to breathe. The -King, assisted by his Queen, at once set about enlarging and -embellishing the mansion, and laying out new gardens. - - -=Building of the Palace.= - -The works seem to have been begun on or very soon after the 1st of -October, 1689. We learn this from the enrolled account of "Thomas Lloyd, -Paymaster of Their Majesties Workes and Buildinges," made up from -"paybookes subscribed with the handes of Sir Christopher Wren, Knight -Surveyor of the workes; William Talman, Comptroller; John Oliver, Master -Mason; and Matthew Bankes, Master Carpenter, and with the hand of -Nicolas Hawkesmore, clerke of the said workes, according to the ancient -usual and due course of the office of their Majesties workes." - -In the second week of November a news-letter informs us that the new -apartment, then being built, "suddenly fell flat to the ground, killing -seven or eight workmen and labourers. The Queen had been in that -apartment but a little while before." - -By February 25th, 1690, they were sufficiently advanced for Evelyn to -record in his diary: "I went to Kensington, which King William has -bought of Lord Nottingham, and altered, but was yet a patched building, -but with the garden, it is a very sweete villa, having to it the Park, -and a straight new way through this Park." The making of this new road -cost just about L8,000. - -Building operations were continued during the King's absence in Ireland; -and the day before the news of the battle of the Boyne reached Queen -Mary she spent a few quiet hours in the gardens here, writing the same -evening, July 5th, to William: "The place made me think how happy I was -there when I had your dear company." Until his return she continued to -overlook the building, and on August 6th following, writes again as to -the progress of the building: "The outside of the house is fiddling -work, which takes up more time than can be imagined; and while the -_schafolds_ are up, the windows must be boarded up, but as soon as that -is done, your own apartment may be furnished." And a week after: "I have -been this day to Kensington, which looks really very well, at least to a -poor body like me, who have been so long condemned to this place -(Whitehall) and see nothing but water and wall." - -The work of improving Kensington House continued for another year or -more, costing during this period L60,000. It was, however, far from -finished, when, in November, 1691, a serious fire occurred, -necessitating re-building at a cost of upwards of L6,000. From the year -1691 to 1696 another L35,000 was spent in further "altering the old -house," and in additional works of decoration in the galleries and other -rooms--details as to which will be given in our description of those -apartments. - -Extensive alterations and improvements were also in progress at the same -time in the gardens, which at this period were confined to the ground -east and south of the Palace, as to which we shall refer again. - - -=Deaths of Queen Mary and King William.= - -Ere the work, however, was completed, Queen Mary was taken ill at -Kensington with small pox in December, 1694. On learning the nature of -her illness she locked herself in her closet, burned some papers, and -calmly awaited her fate, which quickly came a few days after, the 28th -of December. - -Evelyn visited Kensington again in 1696, and speaks of it then as "noble -but not greate," commending especially the King's Gallery, which was -then filled with the finest pictures in the royal collection, "a greate -collection of Porcelain, and a pretty private library. The gardens about -it very delicious." Peter the Great's visit to William III. in this same -gallery is referred to in our description of it below. - -The next event of moment is William III.'s own death at Kensington -Palace, after his accident in Hampton Court Park. "Je tirs vers ma fin," -said he to Albemarle, who had hurried from Holland to his master's -bedside; and to his physician: "I know that you have done all that skill -and learning could do for me; but the case is beyond your art, I must -submit." "Can this," he said soon after, "last long?" He was told that -the end was approaching. He swallowed a cordial, and asked for Bentinck. -Those were his last articulate words. "Bentinck instantly came to the -bedside, bent down, and placed his ear close to the King's mouth. The -lips of the dying man moved, but nothing could be heard. The King took -the hand of his earliest friend and pressed it tenderly to his heart. In -that moment, no doubt, all that had cast a slight passing cloud over -their long pure friendship was forgotten. It was now between seven and -eight in the morning. He closed his eyes, and gasped for breath. The -bishops knelt down and read the commendatory prayer. When it ended -William was no more. When his remains were laid out, it was found that -he wore next to his skin a small piece of black silk ribbon. The lords -in waiting ordered it to be taken off. It contained a gold ring and a -lock of the hair of Mary." - - -=Queen Anne at Kensington Palace.= - -Fond as William and Mary had been of Kensington, Queen Anne was even -more attached to it still;--and it became her usual residence whenever -it was necessary for her to be near the great offices of state. She -seems to have remained satisfied with the palace as it had been finished -by her predecessors, except for the addition of one or two small rooms -"in the little court behind the gallery," perhaps because King William -bequeathed to her a debt of upwards of L4,000 for his buildings at -Kensington. - -She devoted, however, a great deal of care and expense to the improving -and enlarging of the Palace gardens--as to which we shall have more to -say when we come to describe them. Queen Anne, indeed, was, in this -respect, thoroughly English. She loved her plants and flowers, and would -spend hours pottering about her gardens at Kensington. The appearance of -her gardens will best be seen from our reduced facsimile of Kip's large -engraving, published about 1714 in his "Britannia Illustrata." In the -right distance is seen that most beautiful building called the -"Orangery" or green-house, erected by her orders--which we shall fully -describe on a subsequent page. - -Besides enlarging the gardens round about the Palace, Queen Anne greatly -extended the area of the park-like enclosed grounds attached to -Kensington Palace. Mr. Loftie has declared that "neither Queen Anne nor -Queen Caroline took an acre from Hyde Park." But this we have found not -to be the fact. In an old report on the "State of the Royal Gardens and -Plantations at Ladyday, 1713," among the Treasury Papers in the Record -Office, there is a distinct reference to "The Paddock joyning to the -Gardens, _taken from Hyde Park in 1705_, and stocked with fine deer and -antelopes;" and again in another document, dated May 26th in the same -year, being a memorial to the Lord High Treasurer from Henry Portman, -Ranger of Hyde Park, it is stated that "near 100 acres had been enclosed -from the park of Kensington, whereby the profits he had by herbage were -much reduced." Later on, in George II.'s reign, in 1729, we find a grant -of L200 made to William, Earl of Essex, Ranger of Hyde Park, "in -consideration of loss of herbage of that part of the said park which is -laid into his Majesty's gardens at Kensington." - - -=Death of Prince George of Denmark.= - -It was at Kensington Palace that Anne's husband, Prince George of -Denmark, at length succumbed, in 1708, to a prolonged illness of gout -and asthma. During his last sickness and death, Anne had the -"consolation" of the Duchess of Marlborough's "sympathy." Her Grace's -deportment, according to an eye-witness, "while the Prince was actually -dying, was of such a nature that the Queen, then in the height of her -grief, was not able to bear it." She actually forced her way, as -Mistress of the Robes, to the poor Prince's deathbed, and only drew into -the background when peremptorily ordered by the heart-broken wife to -leave the room. After Prince George had breathed his last, she stepped -forward again, and when all the others had left, insisted on remaining -with poor Anne, who was "weeping and _clapping_ her hands together, and -swaying herself backwards and forwards" in an agony of grief. The Queen -was at length induced to accede to the Duchess's advice to leave "_that -dismal body_" and remove to St. James's. - -Two years later, in these very same state rooms of Kensington Palace -took place the famous final interview between the Queen and her whilom -favourite, also subsequently noticed in our description of "Queen Anne's -Private Dining Room." - - -=Death of Queen Anne.= - -In the summer of the year 1714 Queen Anne was seized, at Kensington -Palace, with apoplexy, brought on by political worries. She had been -failing in health for some time; and on July 27th had an attack of blood -to the head, while presiding at her Cabinet Council, and was carried in -a dead faint to her bed. Four days after, Charles Ford, an official of -the government and a correspondent of Swift, wrote: "I am just come from -Kensington, where I have spent these two days. At present the Queen is -alive, and better than could have been expected; her disorder began -about eight or nine yesterday morning. The doctors ordered her head to -be shaved; while it was being done, the Queen fell into convulsions, or, -as they say, a fit of apoplexy, which lasted two hours, during which she -showed but little sign of life." At six in the evening of the same day, -another anxious watcher within the palace walls, says Miss Strickland, -wrote to Swift: "At the time I am writing, the breath is _said_ to be in -the Queen's nostrils, but that is all. No hopes of her recovery,"--and -in effect she breathed her last the following day, in the fiftieth year -of her age. "Her life would have lasted longer," wrote Roger Coke, in -his "Detection," "if she had not eaten so much.... She supped too much -chocolate, and died monstrously fat; insomuch that the coffin wherein -her remains were deposited was almost square, and was bigger than that -of the Prince, her husband, who was known to be a fat, bulky man." - - -=George I. at Kensington Palace.= - -The day after the death of Queen Anne, King George was proclaimed her -successor; and soon after his accession he entered into possession of -Kensington Palace. Taking, on his part, also, a fancy to the place, he -decided, about the year 1721, to erect a new and additional suite of -state rooms, the building of which was intrusted to William Kent, as we -shall fully explain in our description of the new state rooms -constructed by him. Otherwise, we hear scarcely anything of George I. in -connection with Kensington. He lived here, indeed, in the greatest -seclusion with his German favourites, and was scarcely ever seen, even -in the gardens, which in his reign first became the fashionable -promenade, where, in the words of Tickell, who wrote a poem on the -subject, in imitation of Pope's "Rape of the Lock"-- - - "The dames of Britain oft in crowds repair - To groves and lawns, and unpolluted air, - Here, while the town in damps and darkness lies, - They breathe in sunshine, and see azure skies." - - -=George II. at Kensington Palace.= - -In the reign of George II. Kensington became more than ever the -favourite residence of the court, and much insight into life within the -walls of the Palace at this time is afforded us by such books as Lady -Suffolk's "Memoirs," Lady Sundon's "Letters," Walpole's "Reminiscences," -and, above all, of course, by Lord Hervey's "Memoirs." Here is a -malignant little sketch drawn by that treacherous, satiric hand: "His -Majesty stayed about five minutes in the gallery; snubbed the Queen, who -was drinking chocolate, for being always 'stuffing;' the Princess Emily -for not hearing him; the Princess Caroline for being grown fat; the Duke -of Cumberland for standing awkwardly; Lord Hervey for not knowing what -relation the Prince of Sultzbach was to the Elector Palatine; and then -carried the Queen to walk, and be re-snubbed, in the garden." - -It was the Princess Emily just mentioned who played a practical joke one -evening at Kensington on Lady Deloraine, by drawing her chair from under -her just as she was going to sit down to cards, thus sending her -sprawling on the floor. The King burst out laughing, and, to revenge -herself, Lady Deloraine played his august Majesty the same trick soon -after, which not unnaturally led to her being forbidden the court for -some time. - -Although Queen Caroline had to put up with a good deal of snubbing, she -managed, at the same time, usually to get her own way. She was very fond -of art; and it was she who discovered, stowed away in a drawer at -Kensington Palace, the famous series of Holbein's drawings. These she -had brought out, and she arranged all the pictures in the State Rooms -according to her liking. Her substituting good pictures for bad in the -great Drawing-Room during one of the King's absences in Hanover, led to -the famous and oft-quoted scene between Lord Hervey and his Majesty, -who, nevertheless, did not interfere with the Queen's alterations. - -Caroline was also devoted to the then fashionable craze of gardening, -and was continually planning and altering at Kensington. It was at her -instance--as we shall see presently in greater detail--that the large -extent of land, formerly the park of old Nottingham House, and also a -portion of Hyde Park, was laid out, planted, and improved into what we -now know as "Kensington Gardens." - -Queen Caroline died in 1737, while George II. survived her twenty-three -years, expiring at Kensington Palace on the morning of the 25th of -October, 1760, at the age of seventy-eight. His end was extremely -sudden. He appeared to be in his usual health, when a heavy fall was -heard in his dressing-room after breakfast. The attendants hurried in, -to find the King lying on the floor, with his head cut open by falling -against a bureau. The right ventricle of his heart had burst. - - -=Kensington in George III.'s Reign.= - -George II. was the last sovereign to occupy Kensington Palace, which -thenceforth, during the long reign of George III., was left almost -entirely neglected and deserted. Several members of the royal family, -however, occupied, at various periods, suites of apartments in the -Palace. Among others, Caroline of Brunswick, when Princess of Wales, -lived for a short time here with her mother. Her behaviour greatly -scandalized the sober-minded inhabitants of the old court suburb. "She -kept a sort of open house, receiving visitors in a dressing-gown, and -sitting and talking about herself with strangers, on the benches in the -garden, at the risk of being discovered." - -Another but more worthy occupant of the Palace in George III.'s reign -was our present Queen's uncle, the Duke of Sussex, who collected a -magnificent library here of nearly fifty thousand volumes, which he -spent the last years of his life in arranging and cataloguing. - -Destined, however, to invest Kensington Palace with associations and -memories far transcending any that have gone before, was the advent here -of the Duke and Duchess of Kent, seven months after their marriage. They -occupied most of the old state rooms on the first and second floors of -the easternmost portion of the Palace. Three lives then stood between -the duke and the throne, and little could the newly-married pair have -imagined that from their union would spring the future Queen and Empress -of such a vast and mighty empire as now owns the sway of their first and -only child. - - -=Birth of Queen Victoria.= - -The Queen was born on the 24th of May, 1819, at a quarter past four in -the morning. "Some doubt," says Mr. Loftie, "has been thrown on the -identification of the room in which the future Queen was born; but the -late lamented Dr. Merriman, whose father attended the Duchess, had no -doubt that a spacious chamber, which has been marked with a brass plate, -was that in which the happy event took place." This room, which is on -the first floor, exactly under the "King's Privy Chamber"--the State -Rooms being on the second floor--has a low ceiling, and three windows, -facing east, looking into the "Private Gardens." It has been identified -by the Queen as the one Her Majesty was always told she was born in. The -brass plate, put up at the time of the first Jubilee, in 1887, states: -_In this room Queen Victoria was born, May 24th, 1819_. - -[Illustration: THE DUCHESS OF KENT WITH PRINCESS VICTORIA (AGED TWO -YEARS). - -(After a picture by Sir William Beechey.)] - -Faulkner, writing the year after the event, confirms this -identification, insomuch that he says: "_The lower apartments_ in the -south-east part of the Palace, beneath the King's Gallery, have been -for some years occupied by His Royal Highness the Duke of Kent, whose -premature decease--eight months after the birth of his daughter--this -nation has so recently and deeply lamented; and they are still the -residence of Her Royal Highness the Duchess." - -This is how the event was noticed in the "Memoirs" of Baron Stockmar: "A -pretty little Princess, plump as a partridge, was born. The Duke of Kent -was delighted with his child, and liked to show her constantly to his -companions and intimate friends with the words: 'Take care of her, for -she will be Queen of England.'" - -An interesting letter of the Duke of Kent's, written a few weeks after -to his chaplain, Dr. Thomas Prince, who had addressed a letter of -congratulation to him while, at the same time, somewhat condoling with -him that a daughter and not a son had been born to him, was published in -the "Times" at the time of the Jubilee of 1897. In it the duke remarked: -"As to the circumstance of that child not proving to be a son instead of -a daughter, I feel it due to myself to declare that such sentiments are -not in unison with my own; for I am decidedly of opinion that the -decrees of Providence are at all times wisest and best." - - -=Queen Victoria's Early Years at Kensington.= - -The next reference we have found to the future Queen, is in a letter, -written on 21st of July, 1820, when, consequently, Her Majesty was a -little more than a year old, by Mr. Wilberforce, who mentions being -received at Kensington Palace by the Duchess of Kent that morning. "She -received me with her fine animated child on the floor, by her side, with -its playthings, of which I soon became one." - -Most of the future Queen's early years were passed at Kensington Palace -in great privacy and retirement. She was often seen, however, in -Kensington Gardens, her constant companion in her walks being Miss, -afterwards Baroness Lehzen. - -Leigh Hunt, referring to this period, mentions in his "Old Court -Suburb," having seen her "coming up a cross path from the Bayswater -Gate, with a girl of her own age by her side"--probably the Princess -Feodore, her beloved half-sister and constant companion of her -girlhood--"whose hand she was holding, as if she loved her.... A -magnificent footman in scarlet came behind her." - -The youthful Princess was sometimes driven in a goat or donkey carriage -in the park and gardens, and, as she grew older, in a small phaeton, -drawn by two diminutive ponies. The following gives a little glimpse of -our Queen at this early period of her life: - -"A party consisting of several ladies, a young child, and two men -servants, having in charge a donkey gaily caparisoned with blue ribbons, -and accoutered for the use of the infant ... who skipped along between -her mother and sister, the Princess Feodore, holding a hand of each." - - -=The Queen's Childhood at Kensington Palace.= - -In further illustration of the Queen's life as a little girl with her -mother at Kensington Palace, we cannot do better than quote what Mr. -Holmes, writing with authority as the Queen's Librarian at Windsor -Castle, tells us in his interesting work, "Queen Victoria," which, as he -remarks, presents for the first time an accurate account of the -childhood of the Queen. "During these early years, and before a regular -course of studies had been attempted, the family life at the Palace was -simple and regular. Breakfast was served in summer at eight o'clock, -the Princess Victoria having her bread and milk and fruit on a little -table by her mother's side. After breakfast the Princess Feodore studied -with her governess, Miss Lehzen, and the Princess Victoria went out for -a walk or drive. It has been repeatedly said that at this time she was -instructed by her mother; but this is not the case, as the Duchess never -gave her daughter any lessons. At two there was a plain dinner, when the -Duchess had her luncheon. In the afternoon was the usual walk or drive. -At the time of her mother's dinner the Princess had her supper laid at -her side. At nine she was accustomed to retire to her bed, which was -placed close to her mother's...." - -[Illustration: THE PRINCESS VICTORIA IN 1825. - -(After a picture by G. Fowler.)] - -"It was not till the Princess had entered her fifth year that she began -to receive any regular instruction.... In this determination not to -force her daughter's mind, the Duchess of Kent acted on the counsel of -her mother, who had advised her 'not to tease her little puss with -learning while she was so young.' The advice was justified by results, -for the Princess made rapid progress." - -The Earl of Albemarle, who was in attendance on the Duke of Sussex at -Kensington, thus describes in his "Recollections" the appearance of the -Princess when seven years old: "One of my occupations on a morning, -while waiting for the Duke, was to watch from the window the movements -of a bright, pretty little girl, seven years of age. She was in the -habit of watering the plants immediately under the window. It was -amusing to see how impartially she divided the contents of the watering -pot between the flowers and her own little feet. Her simple but becoming -dress contrasted favourably with the gorgeous apparel now worn by the -little damsels of the rising generation--a large straw hat and a suit of -white cotton; a coloured _fichu_ round the neck was the only ornament -she wore." - -Her education was now conducted on a regular system. Writing, -arithmetic, singing lessons, dancing lessons by Madam Bourdin, "to whose -teaching may be due in some measure the grace of gesture and dignity of -bearing which have always distinguished Her Majesty," drawing, and the -French language. "German was not allowed to be spoken; English was -always insisted upon, though a knowledge of the German language was -imparted by M. Barez. The lessons, however, which were most enjoyed -were those in riding, which has always been since one of the Queen's -greatest pleasures." - - -=Princess Victoria becomes Heiress to the Throne.= - -The death of the Duke of York, and the remote probability of the Duke -and Duchess of Clarence having any offspring, drew increasing attention -to the movements of the Duchess of Kent and her daughter. "Many stories -are current," continues Mr. Holmes, "of the behaviour and appearance of -the young Princess. The simplicity of her tastes was particularly -noticed and admired. It was this simplicity of living and careful -training in home life, which endeared not only the Princess, but her -mother also, to the hearts of the whole nation." Charles Knight, as well -as Leigh Hunt, whom we have already quoted, has recorded the pleasing -impression made upon him by the young Princess. In his "Passages of a -Working Life" he says: "I delighted to walk in Kensington Gardens. As I -passed along the broad central walk, I saw a group on the lawn before -the Palace.... The Duchess of Kent and her daughter, whose years then -numbered nine, were breakfasting in the open air.... What a beautiful -characteristic, it seemed to me, of the training of this royal girl, -that she should not have been taught to shrink from the public eye; that -she should not have been burdened with a premature conception of her -probable high destiny; that she should enjoy the freedom and simplicity -of a child's nature; that she should not be restrained when she starts -up from the breakfast table and runs to gather a flower in the adjoining -pasture; that her merry laugh should be fearless as the notes of the -thrush in the groves around her. I passed on and blessed her; and I -thank God that I have lived to see the golden fruits of such a -training." - -The Queen was just on the eve of her ninth birthday when, on May 19th, -1828, Sir Walter Scott dined at Kensington Palace with the Duchess of -Kent. He records in his diary: "I was very kindly received by Prince -Leopold, and presented to the little Princess Victoria, the -heir-apparent to the Crown, as things stand.... This little lady is -educated with much care, and watched so closely, that no busy maid has a -moment to whisper, 'You are heir of England.' I suspect, if we could -dissect the little heart, we should find some pigeon or other bird of -the air had carried the matter." - -Sir Walter's surmise, Mr. Holmes informs us, was not altogether without -foundation; and two years later, when, by the death of her uncle, George -IV., only the life of William IV. stood between her and the throne, she -was formally made acquainted with her position. - -"The early part of the year 1833 was passed at Kensington. There the -course of study was kept up as before, but the Princess now went out -more into society and was seen more in public.... The Princess's -amusements were her pets, and her walks and drives, and during the -spring and summer she much enjoyed riding." - -It was at Kensington, in the summer of 1836, that the Queen first saw -her future husband. The Prince in his diary recorded that his aunt, the -Duchess of Kent, "gave a brilliant ball here at Kensington Palace, at -which the gentlemen appeared in uniform and the ladies in so-called -fancy dresses. We remained until four o'clock.... Dear Aunt is very kind -to us, and does everything she can to please us, and our cousin also is -very amiable." - -The Princess Victoria was at Kensington when she attained her majority, -on the 24th of May, 1837. She was awakened by a serenade; she received -many presents, and the day was kept as a general holiday at Kensington. - - -=Queen Victoria's Accession.= - -Less than a month after, King William IV. died at Windsor at twelve -minutes past two on the morning of June 20th. As soon as possible the -Archbishop of Canterbury, with Lord Conyngham (the Lord Chamberlain), -started to convey the news to Kensington, where they arrived at five -o'clock in the morning. - -"They knocked, they rang, they thumped," says "The Diary of a Lady of -Quality," "for a considerable time before they could rouse the porter at -the gate; they were again kept waiting in the courtyard; they hurried -into one of the lower rooms, where they seemed forgotten by everybody. -They rang the bell, desired that the attendant of the Princess Victoria -might be sent to inform Her Royal Highness that they requested an -audience on business of importance. After another delay, and another -ringing to inquire the cause, the attendant was summoned, who stated -that the Princess was in such a sweet sleep, she could not venture to -disturb her. Then they said, 'We are come to the _Queen_ on business of -State, and her sleep must give way to that.'" - -"In a few minutes she came into the room," says Mr. Holmes, "a shawl -thrown over her dressing-gown, her feet in slippers, and her hair -falling down her back. She had been awakened by the Duchess of Kent, who -told Her Majesty she must get up; she went alone into the room where -Lord Conyngham and the archbishop were waiting. The Lord Chamberlain -then knelt down, and presented a paper, announcing the death of her -uncle, to the Queen; and the archbishop said he had come by desire of -Queen Adelaide, who thought the Queen would like to hear in what a -peaceful state the King had been at the last." - - -=Queen Victoria's First Council.= - -At nine o'clock the Prime Minister was received in audience alone; and -soon afterwards an informal gathering of Privy Councillors, including -the Queen's uncle, the Duke of Sussex, the Duke of Wellington, and a -dozen or so of ministers, prelates, and officials, was held in the -anteroom to the Council Chamber, when an address of fealty and homage -was read aloud and signed by those present. - -After this the doors were opened, "disclosing"--to quote the words of -Mr. Barrett Lennard, now the sole survivor of the scene, except the -Queen herself--"a large State Saloon, close to whose threshold there -stood unattended a small, slight, fair-complexioned young lady, -apparently fifteen years of age. She was attired in a close-fitting -dress of black silk, her light hair parted and drawn from her forehead; -she wore no ornament whatever on her dress or person. The Duke of Sussex -advanced, embraced and kissed her--his niece the Queen. Lord Melbourne -and others kissed hands in the usual form, and the Usher taking the -address, closed the doors, and the Queen disappeared from our gaze. No -word was uttered by Her Majesty or by any present, and no sound broke -the silence, which seemed to me to add to the impressive solemnity of -the scene." - -The room where this took place is low and rather dark and gloomy, with -pillars in it, supporting the floor of the "Cube Room" above. - -The subsequent meeting of the Queen's first Council, which took place at -eleven o'clock, is familiar to everyone from Wilkie's well-known -picture--"though, at the expense of truth he has emphasized the -principal figure by painting her in a white dress instead of the black -which was actually worn." Her Majesty was introduced to the Council -Chamber by her uncles, the Dukes of Cumberland and Sussex, and at once -took her seat on a chair at the head of the table. - -In describing this famous scene, it is useless to attempt anything -beyond quoting once more--often as it has been quoted--the admirable -account given by Charles Greville, Clerk of the Council: - -"Never was anything like the first impression she produced, or the -chorus of praise and admiration which is raised about her manner and -behaviour, and certainly not without justice. It was very extraordinary, -and something far beyond what was looked for. Her extreme youth and -inexperience, and the ignorance of the world concerning her, naturally -excited intense curiosity to see how she would act on this trying -occasion, and there was a considerable assemblage at the Palace, -notwithstanding the short notice which was given.... She bowed to the -Lords, took her seat, and then read her speech in a clear, distinct and -audible voice, and without any appearance of fear or embarrassment. She -was quite plainly dressed and in mourning. - -"After she had read her speech, and taken and signed the oath for the -security of the Church of Scotland, the Privy Councillors were sworn, -the two Royal Dukes (of Cumberland and Sussex) first, by themselves; and -as these two old men, her uncles, knelt before her, swearing allegiance -and kissing her hand, I saw her blush up to the eyes, as if she felt the -contrast between their civil and their natural relations, and this was -the only sign of emotion she evinced. Her manner to them was very -graceful and engaging: she kissed them both, and rose from her chair and -moved towards the Duke of Sussex, who was farthest from her and too -infirm to reach her. She seemed rather bewildered at the multitude of -men who were sworn, and who came one after the other to kiss her hand, -but she did not speak to anybody, nor did she make the slightest -difference in her manner, or show any in her countenance, to any -individual of any rank, station or party. I particularly watched her -when Melbourne and the Ministers and the Duke of Wellington and Peel -approached her. She went through the whole ceremony--occasionally -looking at Melbourne for instruction when she had any doubt what to do, -which hardly ever occurred--with perfect calmness and self-possession, -but at the same time with a graceful modesty and propriety particularly -interesting and ingratiating. When the business was done she retired as -she had entered. - -"Peel said how amazed he was at her manner and behaviour, at her -apparent deep sense of her situation, her modesty, and at the same time -her firmness. She appeared, in fact, to be awed, but not daunted, and -afterwards the Duke of Wellington told me the same thing, and added that -if she had been his own daughter he could not have desired to see her -perform her part better." - -This description of Charles Greville's, whose pen was given to anything -but flattery, is confirmed by the testimony of many others present. Earl -Grey wrote to Princess Lieven: "When called upon for the first time to -appear before the Privy Council, and to take upon herself the awful -duties with which at so early an age she has been so suddenly charged, -there was in her appearance and demeanour a composure, a propriety, an -_aplomb_, which were quite extraordinary. She never was in the least -degree confused, embarrassed or hurried; read the declaration -beautifully; went through the forms of business as if she had been -accustomed to them all her life." Lord Palmerston says in a letter to -Lord Granville: "The Queen went through her task with great dignity and -self-possession; one saw she felt much inward emotion, but it was fully -controlled. Her articulation was particularly good, her voice remarkably -pleasing." - -Next day, the 21st of June, at ten o'clock in the morning, Her Majesty -was formally proclaimed Queen of Great Britain and Ireland at St. -James's Palace, when a salute was fired in the Park, and she appeared at -the window of the Presence Chamber, returning afterwards to Kensington -Palace. On the 13th of July the Queen, accompanied by her mother, the -Duchess of Kent, took her final departure from the place of her birth -and the home of her childhood. - - -=Kensington Palace in recent Years.= - -Since the accession of the Queen, Kensington Palace has had a quiet and -uneventful history--though Her Majesty has frequently, in the course of -her reign, privately revisited her old home, where the Duchess of Kent -retained her rooms until her death in 1861; and where, soon after that -date, Princess Mary and the Duke of Teck also came to reside for a -period. Here their daughter, Princess May, now the Duchess of York, was -born in the State Room called "the Nursery," in 1867. - -In the meanwhile, the apartments in the south-west corner of the Palace, -occupied by the Duke of Sussex until his death in 1843, were afterwards -tenanted by his widow, the Duchess of Inverness, who died in 1873, when -they were granted by the Queen to Princess Louise and the Marquis of -Lorne, who still reside in them. - -During all these sixty years the Palace had been suffered gradually more -and more to fall into a deplorable state of disrepair. The walls were -bulging in many places, and merely remained standing by being shored up; -the rafters of the roof were beginning to rot away, tiles and slates -were broken and slipping off, so that it was becoming increasingly -difficult to keep the rain and wind at bay. The floors, also, were -everywhere deteriorating, the old panelled walls and painted ceilings of -the grand reception rooms slowly, but surely, crumbling to decay. - -"More than once," said a leading article in "The Times" of January 12th, -1898, "it has been seriously proposed to pull the whole building down, -and to deal otherwise with the land, and Her Majesty's subjects ought to -be grateful to her for having strenuously resisted such an act of -Vandalism, and for having declared that, while she lived, the palace in -which she was born should not be destroyed." - - -=Restoration of the State Rooms.= - -The Queen, it is believed, had long desired that her people's wish to be -admitted to inspect the Palace of her ancestors, and her own birthplace -and early home, should be gratified; and it seemed a fitting memorial of -the Diamond Jubilee that this should be done. An obdurate Treasury, -which, as we have hinted, had looked forward rather to demolition than -restoration, was at length induced to recommend the expenditure -necessary to prepare the State Rooms for the admission of the public, -and thus, on the 11th of January, 1898, it was possible to make the -following gratifying announcement in the press: - - "Her Majesty, in her desire to gratify the wishes of Her people, - has directed that the State Rooms at Kensington Palace, in the - central part of the building, which have been closed and unoccupied - since 1760, together with Sir Christopher Wren's Banqueting Room, - attached to the Palace, shall after careful restoration be opened - to the public, during her pleasure; and the Government will - forthwith submit to Parliament an estimate of the cost of - restoration." - -Accordingly the Board of Works proceeded to prepare estimates and on -March 4th following, the First Commissioner, Mr. Akers Douglas, M.P., -submitted a vote of L23,000 for the purpose. By a unanimous vote of the -House of Commons on April 1st, the amount required was at once agreed -to, and great gratification was on all sides expressed that so happy -solution had at length been arrived at. Forthwith, the restorations were -put in hand--the most pressing repairs having, indeed, been begun in -anticipation, previous to the passing of the vote--and for many months -they consisted entirely in solid structural works, which scarcely seemed -to affect the appearance of the building at all. It was found necessary -to rebuild and underpin walls, to reslate practically the whole of the -roof over the State Apartments and renew the timbers that carried it; -and also almost all the floors. After these heavy works, and those -consequent on the installation of the hot-water warming apparatus, were -completed, the more interesting, but much more difficult, business -involved in the restoration of the old decorative ironwork, woodwork, -and paintings of the State Rooms was taken in hand. - -The more substantial but less salient work having been carried out, the -decorative works were next proceeded with, under the constant -supervision of Sir John Taylor, K.C.B., Consulting Architect and -Surveyor to H.M.'s Board of Works, and the continual and immediate -control of Mr. Philip, temporary Clerk of the Works for Kensington -Palace. Moreover, the Hon. Reginald Brett, C.B., Secretary of the Board, -to whose initiative the whole scheme of the restoration, we may say, has -been mainly due, has given a constant close personal attention to -everything that has been done. Nor has any trouble, labour, or research -been spared to render everything as historically and archaeologically -correct as possible. - - -=Methods of Restoration.= - -The principles on which the restorations have been carried out will more -fully appear, in the description we give in our subsequent pages, in -regard to every detail of the work. Here we need only say that the most -studied care has been taken never to renew any decoration where it was -possible to preserve it--least of all ever to attempt to "improve" old -work into new. On the contrary, repairing, patching, mending, piecing, -cleaning, have been the main occupations of the decorators, to an extent -that would render some impatient, slapdash builders and surveyors -frantic. Yet it has been all this minute--though no doubt sometimes -costly--attention to details, this laborious piecing together of old -fragments, this reverential saving of original material and work, this -almost-sentimental imitation of the old style and taste where patching -in by modern hands was inevitable, which has produced a result and -effect likely, we think, to arouse the admiration of all who relish the -inimitable charm of antique time-mellowed work. - -Never before, we may safely say, has the restoration of any historic -public building been carried out with quite the same amount of loving -care as has been lavished on Kensington Palace. The spirit has been -rather that of a private owner reverentially restoring his ancestral -home, than that of an ordinary public official, with an energy callous -to all sentiment, sweeping away the old to replace it with a -spick-and-span new building. This method of treatment has nowhere been -applied more scrupulously, and we venture to think with greater success, -than in the treatment of the old oak panelling and the beautiful -carving, all of which had been covered over with numerous coats of -paint, so long ago--we have discovered from the old accounts in the -Record Office--as 1724. In the cleaning off of these dirty -incrustations, various processes have been resorted to, as they suited -the nature of the work, and so thoroughly has this been done that the -closest inspection would give us no inkling that any part, either of the -flat surface or of the most delicate carving, had ever been painted at -all. Equal pains were taken in finishing the surface with oil and wax -polish--no stain whatever being used on the panelling, doors or -cornices--so that the real true colour of the wood is seen, varying only -with its natural variation, and exhibiting all its richness of tone, and -its fullness of grain. It makes one almost glad it should have suffered -so many years of long neglect--that when at last it has been taken in -hand, it should have been done when the historical significance and the -technical and artistic value of such things are more truly appreciated -than formerly. There can be little doubt that if an early nineteenth -century upholsterer had got hold of this Palace, most of the beautiful -old work would have been cleared out to make way for vulgar plaster-work -of white and gold. - -Substantially the same principles have been followed in the cleaning and -restoration of the painted walls and ceilings, which work has been -executed with the utmost sympathy for the old work, and the most careful -efforts to preserve it. There has not been a touch of paint applied -except to make good portions absolutely destroyed, so that these -ceilings--whatever their merits or demerits--remain exactly as they -were when first completed, save for the more subdued and modulated tone -they have taken on from the softening hand of Time. - - -=Arrangement of the Pictures.= - -A word should now be said about the pictures, which have been brought -from various Royal residences to furnish these State Apartments, and to -illustrate the history of this Palace. The bulk of them have come from -Hampton Court, and a large number are pieces which were removed when the -State Rooms were dismantled by George IV. and William IV., from the very -walls where they now once again hang. Their return here from Hampton -Court, in the overcrowded galleries of which it has been impossible ever -properly to display them, has been a most auspicious thing for that -Palace, and has rendered feasible many long-desired rearrangements and -improvements. - -In selecting the pictures which seemed most suitable for hanging at -Kensington, the principle has been followed of restricting them almost -entirely to portraits and historical compositions belonging to the epoch -with which the Palace is connected--the reigns of William and Mary, -Queen Anne, and the Georges, and, finally, of course that of Queen -Victoria. - -In the carrying out of this plan an endeavour has been made to group the -pictures together in the various apartments as far as possible according -to the periods to which they belong--making separate collections, at the -same time, of the curious topographical subjects relating to "Old -London," in the Queen's Closet; of the interesting series of Georgian -sea-pieces, sea-fights, and dockyards, in the King's Gallery--where for -the first time they may now at last be really seen and examined--and the -ceremonial and other pictures, relating to the Queen's reign, in the -"Presence Chamber" and the actual rooms originally occupied by Her -Majesty in her youth. - -Having given these general indications as to the arrangements, it will -not be necessary to do more than refer to our subsequent pages for the -details of the scheme. Nor need we dwell on what will at once be only -too obvious to the connoisseur, that anyone who expects to behold in -this Palace a fine collection of choice works of art will certainly be -disappointed. Kneller and Zeeman, Paton and Pocock, Huggins and Serres, -West and Beechey, are not exactly names to conjure with--nor even, -indeed, Scott, Monamy, Drouais, or Hoppner, in their somewhat -second-rate productions here. Moreover, it is to be clearly understood, -that it is not as an Art Gallery that these rooms are opened to the -inspection of the public, but as a Royal Palace, with pictures hung in -it illustrative of its history and associations, and as furniture to its -walls. - -Nevertheless, it is not high art only, nor great imaginative works, -which can interest and instruct; and, historically, these bewigged, -ponderous, puffy personages of the unromantic eighteenth century, whose -portraits decorate these walls, are more in accord with their setting, -than would be the finer, simpler, and nobler creations of the great -epochs of art. - - -=Associations with Queen Victoria.= - -On the other hand, the Victorian pictures, and the apartments in which -they are arranged, stand apart on a different footing of their own. It -is to the three small, plain and simple rooms, with their contents, in -the south-eastern corner of the building, that all visitors to the -Palace will turn with the liveliest interest, and with the keenest, the -most thrilling emotion. Romance, and all the thoughts and feelings of -tender, natural affection, which appear to have been smothered in the -preceding century and a half of powder and gold-lace, seem to awaken and -revive once more with the child born in this Palace eighty years ago, in -the little girl playing about in these rooms and in these gardens, in -the youthful Queen, who stepped forth from her simple chamber here to -take possession of the greatest throne in the world! - -It is as the scene of such memorable events that Kensington Palace -possesses, and will hereafter ever possess, abiding interests and -engrossing charms altogether its own; and that it will ever inspire, -among those who come to visit it, thoughts and memories moving and deep. -And not to us only in these islands; not to us only of this age; but to -thousands and thousands likewise across the seas; to countless millions -yet unborn, will this ancient structure become, now and in the ages yet -to be, a revered place of loving pilgrimage as the birthplace and early -home of Queen Victoria. - -[Illustration: Decoration] - -[Illustration: Decoration] - - - - -DESCRIPTIVE AND HISTORICAL GUIDE. - -=Old Kensington Palace Gardens.= - - -Before making our way to the public entrance to the state rooms of the -Palace, let us take a glance at the history of the gardens lying round -it, and the exterior of the building; and first as to the gardens on the -east and south of the building. The whole ground here down to the -highway was laid out quite early in the reign of William and Mary; but -its present uninteresting appearance gives us but little idea of how it -looked at that time. We find from the old accounts that large sums, -amounting to several thousands of pounds, were expended on garden -works--for levelling, gravelling, and planting, all in the formal Dutch -style, with figured beds and clipped trees--and also much ornamental -work, such as urns, stone vases, statues, and seats. There are, for -instance, many items such as these: - - "To Edward Pearce for carving a chaire for the garden with a canopy - of drapery, L43 16_s._; more for carving 4 chairs and 2 seats with - Dolphins, scollop shells, etc., and other works done about the said - gardens, L43 2_s._ 4_d._--in both L86 18_s._ 4_d._" - -We have also a contemporary account of the gardens as formed by William -and Mary, in a "View of the Gardens near London," dated December, 1691: -"Kensington Gardens are not great, nor abounding with fine plants. The -orange, lemon, myrtle, and what other trees they had there in summer, -were all removed to Mr. London's and Mr. Wise's greenhouse at Brompton -Park, a little mile from them. But the walks and grass laid very fine; -and they were digging up a flat of four or five acres to enlarge the -garden." - -The northern boundary of King William's gardens is marked by two piers -of excellent red brickwork, evidently erected by Wren at that time. They -are surmounted by very fine vases of carved Portland stone; and are -perhaps two of the "Four great fflower-pots of Portland stone, richly -carved," for which, we find from the old bills, the statuary Gabriel -Cibber, the father of Colley Cibber, was paid L187 5_s._ Between these -piers, which stand 39 feet apart, there was probably, in old days, a -screen and gates of fine wrought iron. They stand at the south end of -what was called "Brazen Face Walk," and between them the visitor passes -to the public entrance to the Palace. The fencing in of this part of the -gardens is perhaps referred to in the following entry belonging to the -years 1692-95: - - "William Wheatley for makeing and setting up Pallizadoes and gates - in and about the said Palace--L152 5_s._ 10_d._" - -To the north of these piers lies the north-west corner of the now -so-called "Kensington Gardens," where were formerly situated that part -of the old gardens appurtenant to the Palace, laid out by Queen Anne. -The present bare uninteresting appearance of the ground round about is -now entirely different from what it then was. - -[Illustration: Decoration] - - -=Queen Anne's Gardens.= - -Bowack, in his "Antiquities of Middlesex," writing in the reign of Queen -Anne, in 1705, tells us of her improvements: "There is a noble -collection of foreign plants and fine neat greens, which makes it -pleasant all the year, and the contrivance, variety, and disposition of -the whole is extremely pleasing, and so frugal have they been of the -room they had, that there was not an inch but what is well improved, the -whole with the house not being above twenty-six acres. Her Majesty has -been pleased lately to plant near thirty acres more towards the north, -separated from the rest by a stately green-house, not yet finished; upon -this spot is near one hundred men daily at work, and so great is the -progress they have made, that in less than nine months the whole is -levelled, laid out, and planted, and when finished will be very fine. -Her Majesty's gardener had the management of this." Of Queen Anne's -"stately green-house" we shall speak in a moment. - -Addison, also, in No. 477 of the "Spectator," expatiated on the beauties -of the gardens: "Wise and London are our heroick poets; and if, as a -critic, I may single out any passage of their works to commend, I shall -take notice of that part in the upper garden, at Kensington, which was -at first nothing but a gravel pit. It must have been a fine genius for -gardening, that could have thought of forming such an unsightly hollow -into so beautiful an area, and to have hit the eye with so uncommon and -agreeable a scene as that which it is now wrought into." - -The cost of these improvements amounted to several thousands of -pounds--in levelling, planting, turfing, gravelling. The appearance of -the east and south gardens in the reign of Queen Anne will, as we have -already said, best be conveyed by Kip's plate; the general plan of the -new enclosed garden to the north, north-east, and north-west, by -Rocque's engraving, published in 1736. From this we see that Queen -Caroline, who embarked in so many gardening enterprises, left Queen -Anne's new gardens substantially intact; though she made a clean sweep -of all the old fantastic figured flower beds and formal walks of William -III.'s _parterres_ to the south and east of the Palace; substituting -therefor bare and blank expanses of lawn and wide gravel paths. - -During the reigns of George III. and George IV. all the gardens were -allowed to become more and more uncared for; and at last those to the -north of the Palace were destroyed altogether. The "old Wilderness" and -"old Gravel Pit" of Queen Anne and the early Georges now exist no -longer--converted by an insane utilitarianism partly into park land, the -rest into meadow. - -The old gardens to the east, already flattened out and spoilt by Queen -Caroline, now exist but in part; the small portion, which has not been -covered with hideous forcing houses and frames, is, however, to a -certain extent nicely shrubbed, and closed in by trees and hedges. The -site of the old south gardens, curtailed now to a small enclosure, which -retains little of the old English picturesque air, might with advantage, -we think, be less stiff and bare. There is here little more than a clump -or two of trees and shrubs, a wide gravel path, and two large vacant -lawns, separated from the public walk by a wire fence, and between this -and High Street mere expanses of grass. Fortunately, the devastating -notions of the "landscape gardener" whose one idea was so to arrange the -ground surrounding a house as to look as if it stood plump in the middle -of a park--for all the world like a lunatic asylum--are not quite so -much in favour as they were. - -The blankness and barrenness of all the ground between the south front -and the street was even more painfully apparent in Leigh Hunt's time, -who in his "Old Court Suburb" drew attention to this salient defect -nearly fifty years ago. "The house," he remarked, "nominally possesses -'gardens' that are miles in circumference.... There is room enough for -very pleasant bowers in the spaces to the east and south, that are now -grassed and railed in from the public path; nor would the look of the -Palace be injured with the spectator, but rescued from its insipidity." -His suggestion has been acted on to a certain extent in recent times, -but too partially in our view. - - -=Queen Anne's Orangery.= - -Queen Anne is the sovereign to whom we owe the erection of this -exceedingly fine specimen of garden architecture--one of the most -beautiful examples of the art of the Renaissance in London, if not in -England. If we could say with truth that there ever was a "Queen Anne -style," this would, indeed, be a representative and unrivalled example -of it--as it certainly is of Sir Christopher Wren's, which, developing -in the reign of Charles II., was definitely formed and fixed in that of -William and Mary. - -To an artist like Wren to beautify the ordinary and useful was to give -expression to one of the highest functions of architecture; and -therefore in this mere store-house for the Queen's treasured plants and -flowers, probably also a place where Queen Anne liked to sit and have -tea, we have a building--unimportant though its object may be -considered--which attains the very acme of his art, exhibiting all his -well-balanced judgment of proportion, all the richness of his -imagination in design. - -The building of this greenhouse was begun in the summer of the year -1704. A plan, prepared by Sir Christopher at Queen Anne's express -orders, was submitted to and approved by her, and the original estimate, -which is still in the Record Office, dated June 10th, 1704--probably -drawn up by Richard Stacey, master bricklayer, and entitled: "For -building a Greenhouse at Kensington" at a cost of L2,599 5_s._ -1_d._--was accordingly laid before the officers of Her Majesty's Works, -Sir Christopher Wren, John Vanbrugh, Benjamin Jackson, and Matthew -Bankes, for a report thereon. Their opinion, after "considering the -measures and prices," was that "it may be finished soe as not to exceed -the sum therein expressed, viz., L2,599;" and the Lord Treasurer was -accordingly prayed "to pay L2,000 into the Office of Works that it may -be covered in before winter, according to Her Majesties expectation." - -The work was consequently put in hand forthwith, but there is some -reason to suspect that Wren's original intentions were departed from, -and that the estimate approved by the Board of Works was afterwards cut -down by the Treasury by a thousand pounds or so. This appears probable -from the fact that Richard Stacey, the bricklayer who contracted for the -work, and who, in a petition dated September 13th, was clamouring for -payment of L800, on account of money then already disbursed by him, -referred to that sum as part of a total of L1,560, "lately altered from -the first estimate." - -Whether this is so or not, the details of the original estimate are -interesting. The bricklayer's charges came to L697; mason's, to L102; -"Glass windows, doors, and the window shutters, L340; Glazier for Crowne -Glass, L74; Carpenter, L363," etc.; added to which was: "More to be laid -out the next year: The mason to pave it with stone fine-sanded, L246; -more for stone steps to go up into it, L72; more for wainscoting and -painting the Inside up to the top, L264." - -The last item is especially noteworthy, proving, as it does, that the -woodwork was originally painted. - -The beauty of Wren's masterpiece of garden architecture seems to have -been thoroughly appreciated in the time immediately succeeding its -erection; but with the steady decline in taste during the Georgian -epoch, it fell more and more into disregard, until, when the court -deserted Kensington in 1760, it was abandoned to complete neglect. -Britton and Brayley, writing in 1810 in their "Beauties of England," -refer to it regretfully: "The whole is now sinking into a state of -unheeded decay." Soon after this, however, it seems to have undergone -some sort of repair, so, at least, wrote Faulkner, ten years after, who -added: "It is now filled with a collection of His Majesty's exotic -plants." He called it a "superb building," and clearly regarded it with -a much more appreciative eye than did its official guardians, who -probably about this time perpetrated the barbarism of cutting windows in -the north wall, right through the fine panelling and cornice! - -Faulkner, nevertheless, was of course quite wrong in declaring, as he -did, that "it was originally built by Queen Anne for a Banqueting House, -and frequently used by Her Majesty as such." There is absolutely no -foundation whatever for either part of this statement, though it has -often been repeated and was improved upon by Leigh Hunt, who asserted -that "balls and suppers certainly took place in it." Funny "balls" they -must have been on the old brick floor! Hunt has nothing more to say of -it than rather scornfully to call it "a long kind of out-house, never -designed for anything else but what it is, a greenhouse." In so great -contempt, indeed, does it appear to have been held about this time, that -it is said the idea was once seriously entertained by some official -wiseacre of pulling it down and carting it away as rubbish! And this -while the State was annually devoting hundreds of thousands of pounds to -art education, art schools, art teachers, and art collections, leaving -one of our most precious monuments to perish from decay! "Out-house" and -"greenhouse" though it be, we would rather see it preserved than half -the buildings of recent times. - - -=Terrace of Queen Anne's Orangery.= - -Before examining the orangery in detail, let us stand a moment in front -of it, on the terrace, platform, or _estrade_--by whichever name we may -call it--of Portland stone, with steps going down from it in front and -at both ends. Here formerly stood, in the summer, some of Queen Anne's -choicest exotics; and here Her Majesty doubtless often sat to have tea, -gossiping with the Duchess of Marlborough or Abigail Hill. In front the -steps led down into a formal parterre. - -Now, however, the most prominent objects to the eye here, are the -glass-houses, and the tops of the forcing frames, in which the whole -stock for the bedding out in the park and gardens has been reared for -the last thirty or forty years. It is truly an amazing thing that a -piece of ground, situated as this is, close under the windows of the -Palace, and opposite this orangery, should have been appropriated to so -grossly disfiguring a use. This particular spot is the very last, one -would have supposed, which would have been pitched on for the purpose. -It will not be long, we trust, before the whole ground will be cleared, -and devoted once more to an old-fashioned sunk formal garden, with such -quaint devices as clipped shrubs, trimmed box, figured beds, sundials, -leaden vases--such as still survive in many an old country house. - -Nor do we see why such restorations should stop here, nor why much of -the ground around the Palace should not be laid out in the old English -style, with some, at any rate, of the many embellishments for which -Evelyn pleaded as suitable for a royal garden: "Knots, trayle work, -parterres, compartments, borders, banks, embossments, labyrinths, -daedals, cabinets, cradles, close walks, galleries, pavilions, porticoes, -lanthorns, and other _relievos_ of topiary and horticulan architecture, -fountaines, jettes, cascades, pisceries, rocks, grottoes, cryptae, -mounts, precipices, and ventiducts; gazon theatres, artificial echoes, -automate and hydraulic music!" - -Barring the last half dozen items, something in the antique formal style -would, indeed, be a relief from the tedious monotony of modern -"landscape" gardening. - - -=Exterior of Queen Anne's Orangery.= - -As a specimen of an unaffectedly ornamented exterior of brick, this -elevation to the south, aiming rather at simplicity and plain dignity -than magnificence or grandeur, is to our view admirable. - -In the centre is a compartment, more decoratively treated than the rest, -with four rusticated piers or pillars of brick, supporting an -entablature of the Doric order, mainly in stone. The cornice, though -probably modelled on the original, must be modern, for it is in Roman -cement, a material which did not come into use in England until about a -hundred years ago; and it so happens that the date, 1805, has been found -on part of the woodwork adjoining. Above the cornice, over the central -window, or rather doorway, is a semi-circular window, apparently to give -light into the roof. On each side of the central compartment are four -high windows, with sashes filled with small panes; and at each end are -slightly projecting wings, or bays, with window-doors, extra high, and -reaching to the floor level, to admit tall-grown oranges and other -plants. These are flanked by plain rusticated piers of bright red -brick; beyond which are plain brick niches, with small brackets above -them. - -A very similar arrangement of windows and niches is repeated at the east -and west return ends of the building; where, however, the large window -is surmounted by a small semi-circular recess or panel, and the whole -overhung by the deep, wide eave of the gable of the roof. - -The total exterior length of the building is 171 feet, the width 32 -feet. - - -=Interior of Queen Anne's Orangery.= - -It is not, however, the exterior of this building, but the interior, -which will arouse in those who behold it the greatest admiration, for it -is here that we can appreciate Wren's imaginative and constructive -genius at its very best. The longer we know and contemplate it, the more -supremely beautiful does it strike us, both in the mass and in its -details. We will not describe it with any minuteness; but content -ourselves with recording that the central portion of each wall, is -treated more elaborately than the rest, being ornamented with Corinthian -columns, supporting a richly carved entablature. The rest of the walls, -both between the windows on the south side, and on the unbroken surface -of the opposite north side, are panelled in deal wood, with beautiful -carved cornices above. At each end, both east and west, there is an -arch, flanked with panelled niches, and surmounted by festoons of -Gibbons' carving. These, we may observe in passing, proved, after being -cleaned, to be so worm-eaten, as to necessitate their being -repainted--mere staining not being sufficient to prevent their falling -to pieces. They are now in fact, held together by the coatings of new -paint. - -The dimensions of this main portion of the interior are: 112 feet long -and 24 feet wide between the brick walls, three inches less each way -between the woodwork. The height to the ceiling is 24 feet 6 inches, and -to the top of the cornice 22 feet 9 inches. - - -=The Alcoves of Queen Anne's Orangery.= - -Fine, however, as is the main and central portion of this interior, the -alcoves, into which we pass through the arches at each end of it, -impress us still more with their admirable proportions, their supreme -grace of design, the exquisite beauty of their decorative detail. - -Their shape is circular, with fluted Corinthian columns, supporting -highly-carved architraves and cornices, and flanking the entrances, the -windows opposite these and on the south, and the panelled spaces on the -north wall. There are also intervening niches with semicircular heads, -springing from richly carved imposts. The ceilings, which are circular, -rising in coves from behind the cornices, are "saucer-domed." - -The dimensions of these alcoves are: east one, diameter, 24 feet, west -one, 24 feet 4-1/2 inches; height to the centre of the dome, 24 feet 2 -inches, to the top of the cornice 20 feet. - - -=Restoration of Queen Anne's Orangery.= - -The whole of this beautiful interior, however, now presents a very -different appearance from what it did when taken in hand about a year -ago. - -This is how it was described in an interesting article in "The Times" on -the 28th of January, 1898: "The exquisite interior has been the victim -not merely of neglect, but of chronic outrage. For, as the little garden -between this and the Palace has been found a convenient place on which -to put up the glasshouses, frames and potting-sheds necessary for the -park gardeners, what more natural, to the official eye, than that the -Orangery close by should be pressed into the same service? Accordingly, -at some time or other, which cannot have been very many years ago, more -than half the beautiful high panelling of this building was torn down -and has disappeared, the gardeners' stands have been let into the walls, -and there the daily work has proceeded with no thought that it was daily -desecration." - -The work of restoring all these beautiful carvings, which has been in -progress during the last fifteen months, has now put an entirely -different aspect on this interior, and not in vain has every piece of -old carving been treasured up, cleaned, repaired, and patched in, with -scrupulous care. - -When this work was completed, the question arose, whether the woodwork -was to be all painted over white, as it doubtless originally was, or -merely lightly stained. White painting would, perhaps, have been -artistically, as well as archaeologically, the preferable course. But it -was thought that white paint, in the smoky, foggy atmosphere of modern -Kensington, and with the clouds of dust particles from the tread of -numberless visitors, would soon take on the dirty tinge of London mud; -and thus have required such frequent renewal as eventually to choke up -again all the sharpness of the delicate chiselling of the foliated -capitals, architraves and cornices. - -The decision eventually come to, therefore, was to stain it, with a tone -of colour like oak, which gives full prominence and clearness to the -carved surfaces. This staining alone, apart from the previous cleaning, -has involved no less than eight distinct processes: (1) washing down; -(2) vinegaring over to take out lime stains; (3) the same repeated; (4) -sizing to keep the stain from penetrating the wood; (5) the same -repeated; (6) staining; (7) varnishing; (8) flat-varnishing. - -[Illustration: Decoration] - - -=Kensington Gardens.= - -The modern so-called "Kensington Gardens" are, as we have already -explained, identical with the original domain of old Nottingham House, -increased by the addition of some hundred acres or more taken from Hyde -Park. When William III. first acquired the Nottingham estate he -appointed his favourite, Bentinck, Earl of Portland, "Superintendent of -Their Majesties' Gardens and Plantations within the boundary lines of -Their Majesties' said house at Kensington"--an office distinct from that -of Ranger of Hyde Park--and some planting and other improvements seem to -have been carried out at that time in these "plantations." - -Queen Anne's inclosure of a hundred acres from Hyde Park to form a -paddock for deer we have already noted. - -Faulkner's exaggerated statement that nearly three hundred acres were -taken in and added to Kensington Gardens by Queen Caroline has been -confuted by Mr. Loftie; but he has gone to the other extreme in -declaring that no alteration whatever was, at any time, made in the -boundary between the park and the gardens. Nevertheless, it is still -doubtful whether Queen Caroline is to be held responsible for any -"rectification" of these frontiers. The reference already quoted, in the -Treasury Papers of the year 1729, for an allowance of L200 to the ranger -"in consideration of loss of herbage of that part of the said park, -which is laid into His Majesty's gardens at Kensington," may of course -refer to the portion previously taken in by Queen Anne. - - -=Queen Caroline's Improvements in Kensington Gardens.= - -To Queen Caroline, however, is certainly due the main credit of the -creation of Kensington Gardens, as we now know them; for it was her -reforming and transforming zeal which made the great "Basin" or "Round -Pond;" turned a string of small ponds, in the course of the "West -Bourne," into the Serpentine; laid out the "Broad Walk," and designed -the diverging and converging vistas and avenues of trees intersecting -the grounds in all directions. - -In all these extensive works of improvement Charles Bridgeman, the -King's gardener, was employed; and we find from the old Treasury Minute -Book that in 1729 no less a sum than L5,000 was due to him "for works in -the paddock and gardens at Kensington." - -About the same date, Queen Caroline, during one of George II.'s absences -in Hanover, issued an order that: - - "The King's ministers being very much incommoded by the dustiness - of the road leading through Hyde Park, now they are obliged to - attend Her Majesty at Kensington, it was her pleasure that the - whole of the said road be kept constantly watered, instead of the - ring in the Park; and that no coaches other than those of the - nobility and gentry be suffered to go into or pass through the - Park." - - -Kensington Gardens in the Nineteenth Century. - -At that period the gardens were opened to the public only on Saturdays, -when the company appeared in full dress. This was the time of the great -fashionable promenade. During the reign of George III. they were opened -every day in the week, summer and winter, under certain regulations, -"and the number of the gatekeepers," says Faulkner, writing in 1819, -"have lately been increased, who are uniformly clothed in green." He -adds: "The great South Walk, leading to the Palace, is crowded on Sunday -mornings in the spring and summer with a display of all the beauty and -fashion of the great metropolis, and affords a most gratifying -spectacle, not to be equalled in Europe." - -In the middle of this century the tide of fashion set back towards -Rotten Row and Hyde Park Corner; and Kensington Gardens have, for the -last sixty or eighty years, been very little frequented by the "world." -Their attractions, however, have not suffered on this account in the -view of the poet, the artist, and the lover of nature. "Here in -Kensington," wrote Haydon the painter, "are some of the most poetical -bits of trees and stump, and sunny brown and green glens and tawny -earth." - -But it is not within the scope of these pages, confined as they are to -topics directly connected with Kensington Palace as a new public resort, -to describe these two hundred and fifty acres of delightful verdant -lawns, sylvan glades, and grassy slopes. We must resist the temptation, -therefore, to wander away into the attractive prospect, which unfolds -itself beneath our gaze when looking out from the windows of the state -rooms, or into which we can saunter when we quit the Palace. Moreover, -their charms, as they were and are, have been drawn by too many master -hands--by Tickell, Leigh Hunt, Thackeray, Disraeli--to encourage any -attempt at their description here. In our own day they have still been -the favourite resort of many a jaded Londoner, in which to snatch a few -hours of quiet and repose, out of the whirl of the great city around. -Matthew Arnold's charming poem, "Lines written in Kensington Gardens," -will occur to many, especially that stanza: - - "In this lone open glade I lie, - Screen'd by deep boughs on either hand; - And at its end to stay the eye, - Those black-crown'd, red-boled pine trees stand." - -[Illustration: Decoration] - -[Illustration: SOUTH FRONT OF KENSINGTON PALACE IN 1819. - -(After Westall.)] - - -=South Front of the Palace.= - -We may look upon this facade as architecturally the most interesting -portion of the existent Palace of Kensington, for it shows us the -exterior almost exactly as finished by Wren for William and Mary, about -the year 1691. While unpretentious and plain, it is well and solidly -built, and altogether appropriate to the purpose which it was intended -to serve, namely, that of a comfortable, homely, suburban residence for -the King and Queen and the court. - -The long lower building of two main storeys, in deep purple-red brick, -to the left, forms the south range of the chief courtyard; and there is -every reason to believe that it is a part of the original Nottingham -House, altered and improved by Wren. The loftier building, to the right, -of three storeys, in bright red brick, is unquestionably entirely -Wren's, and in the old accounts is referred to as "the new Gallery -Building." All the windows on the top or second floor here, except the -two on the extreme right, are those of the "King's Gallery" (described -on page 117). The floor beneath consisted, and consists, of the -sovereign's private apartments. The four fine carved vases of Portland -stone, surmounting the four pilasters of the same, are probably those -mentioned in the old accounts as carved by Gabriel Cibber for _L_787 -5_s._ - - -Wren's Domestic Style. - -Those who are at all acquainted with Wren's style and inclinations will -not be surprised at the marked plainness of his work here--so little -accordant with ordinary pompous preconceived notions of what befits a -regal dwelling-house. In planning habitable buildings we find he always -mainly considered use and convenience--adapting his external -architectural effects to the exigencies of his interiors. Ever ready, -indeed, to devote the full range of his great constructive genius to -the commonest works, rendering whatever he designed a model for the use -to which it was to be put, he was, in these respects, essentially a -"builder" before all; not only a designer of elevations and a drawer of -plans, but a practical worker, thinking nothing useful beneath his -notice. There was, in fact, nothing of the lofty, hoity-toity architect -about him; on the contrary, absorbed with questions of adaptability and -convenience; searching into details of material and workmanship; we find -him in his seat at the head of the Board of Works rigorously testing, -sifting and discussing estimates, values, specifications and -"quantities." It is due to this side of his mind that so much of his -work has endured intact to this day; while we owe it to his positive -intuitive genius for rendering his creations well-proportioned and -dignified, as well as convenient and comfortable; to his wonderful skill -in arranging positions, sizes, and shapes to meet the exigencies of -light and air, that his houses still remain so habitable, and are -distinguished by so homelike an air. - - -=East Front of the Palace.= - -This aspect of Kensington Palace, which we almost hesitate to dignify -with the name of "Front" consists mainly of two distinct portions: -first, the "return" or end of Wren's "Gallery Building," on the left, -distinguished by its fine red brickwork and its deep cornice, similar to -the same on the south side; and on the right, the building tacked on to -it, built for George I. by Kent, as already mentioned on page 23, and -further referred to on pages 86, 93, and 99. We must frankly say--and -few are likely to differ from us--that Kent's building here is about as -ugly and inartistic as anything of the sort could be. It is not alone -the common, dirty, yellow, stock brick with which it is built, but the -whole shape and design, with its pretentious pediment, ponderous and -hideous, the prototype of acres upon acres of ghastly modern London -structures in the solid "workhouse" style. It is amazing that Kent, -with so excellent a model of plainness and simplicity in Wren's -buildings on each side, should have stuck in this ill-formed, abortive -block between them. Fortunately, his taste as a decorator was greatly -superior to his powers as an architect, so that the interior portions of -this building of his, which consists of additional state-rooms, are not -entirely deficient in merit, as we shall see. The three central windows -are those of the "King's Drawing Room," (see page 99). - -[Illustration: PLAN OF THE STATE ROOMS KENSINGTON PALACE.] - -To the north-west of the structure comprising Kent's state apartments -lies another of the older parts of the Palace, a low building of two -storeys, in deep russet brick, of uniform appearance, with fifteen -windows in a row on the first floor. This range, built, or, at any rate, -altered and improved by Wren, and forming the east side of Princess's -Court, comprises the state and habitable rooms of Queen Mary and Queen -Anne. At its extreme north end is the "Queen's Staircase," now the -public entrance to the state rooms. - - -=Public Entrance to the Palace.= - -Access to the state rooms open to the public being by way of the -"Queen's" or "Denmark Staircase," situated in the northernmost angle of -the building, visitors approach it from the north-west corner of -"Kensington Gardens," where, as we have already explained, were formerly -situated those parts of the old formal gardens attached to the Palace, -which were laid out by Queen Anne, called the "Old Gravel Pit," the -"Wilderness," etc. The path here, leading straight up to the present -public entrance, was then known as "Brazen-face Walk." Going along it -southwards, we pass between a pair of fine gate-posts of red brick, -surmounted by richly-carved vases of Portland stone, evidently designed -by Wren, already referred to in our account of "Old Kensington Palace -Gardens" on page 48; and then between a privet hedge and a wire fence up -to the public doorway into the "Queen's Staircase." - -This doorway, on the north wall, is very commonplace; with a porch in -the later Georgian style, consisting of a couple of pillars of Portland -stone, glazed between, and supporting a hood above. - -Round the corner, however, on the east wall, is a very different -doorway, both interesting and picturesque. It is the one which -originally gave access to the staircase, and was designed and built by -Sir Christopher Wren, probably in the year 1691. The space within the -hood or circular pediment above the door is filled with beautiful stone -carving, in the centre of which is a shield or panel bearing the -initials W. M. R. Above this is a brick niche with a bracket, on which -stands an old urn or flower-pot. Something very similar probably stood -here formerly, and was thus charged for in the old parchment accounts -for the years 1689-91: - - "Henry Long for a large vase of earth (terra-cotta) wrought with - handles and festoons painted with gilt L6 10_s._" - - -=Queen's Staircase.= - -This forms the entrance by which the public are admitted into the State -Rooms. Built by Sir Christopher Wren for Queen Mary on the "Queen's -Side" of the Palace, it was called the "Queen's Staircase," while being -situated in that part of the Palace which was at one time occupied by -Queen Anne and her husband, Prince George of Denmark, it has also been -occasionally known as the "Denmark Staircase," as this portion of the -building itself has been called the "Denmark Wing." - - * * * * * - -In the view of the ordinary Londoner, with eye too much dazzled and -demoralized by the tawdry vulgarities of the over-gilded, -over-looking-glassed, blazing, modern "Restaurant" style of decoration, -this beautiful staircase, in its just proportions and its subdued -simplicity, may appear plain, if not mean. - -Yet as an example of the genuine, unaffected old English treatment of -oak wainscoting, as a cover and ornament to large wall spaces, nothing -could be more pleasing and more appropriate. The deep rich, almost -ruddy, tone of colour of the wood, the admirable proportion and balance -of the stiles and rails to the sizes of the panels, their adjustment to -the rise of the stairs, and their fitment to the various spaces on the -walls, produce an effect of soundness and comfort, most admirable and -nowhere to be matched. - - -Old Oak Wainscoting of the Staircase. - -When the work of cleaning down this woodwork was taken in hand last -autumn, it was, as the phrase is, "as black as your hat;" and it was -then supposed to have been smeared over, at some time or other, with a -black stain. It proved, however, to be only ingrained with dirt and -dust, which had been coated over with red-lead and boiled oil, and which -quickly yielded to cleansing. - -Nevertheless, the oak is not English, but probably Norwegian, which -seems to be richer in the grain than our own native tree. It is clear -that the wood must have been carefully cut in such a way as to show as -much "figure" as possible--the cuttings being, with this distinct -object, as nearly as possible radiating from the centre of the trunk of -the tree--the "medullary rays" of the wood being, in fact, sliced -through, instead of intersected transversely. This has the effect of -displaying the largest amount of the grain. - - -Window Sashes of the Staircase. - -The visitor should notice the difference in the sashes of the two -windows on the left-hand side of the stairs as you go up, as compared -with the other two on the landing at the top. The first two windows have -had large panes of glass--2 feet 1 inch high by 1 foot 2-1/2 inches -wide--and thin bars, substituted for the original smaller panes--12-1/2 -inches high by 9-1/2 inches wide--and the thick moulded bars, which -still remain in the landing windows. This side by side comparison -enables us to estimate how deplorable and stupid was the want of taste, -which led to the destruction here, as elsewhere in this Palace, of the -picturesque, well-proportioned spacings of the window panes, to insert -instead ill-proportioned panes and thin bars. - -Not until the time of George II. did this foolish, inartistic fancy come -into vogue. Wren, of course, knew what he was about when he selected the -sizes of the spaces and bars. He determined them on definite principles -of scale and proportion, according to the sashes they were intended to -fill, and according, also, to the dimensions of the room, and the plan -and shape of the surrounding wainscot. He had, in fact, eight or ten -different types of sashes--the mouldings, as well as the widths and -sizes of the bars varying, and the shapes of the panes--square or -upright--varying also; not like your ingenious modern builder, who runs -out "mouldings" at so much a foot, mitres them up into equal spaces, -and, regardless of scale and proportion, sticks in the same sized -sashes, panes, and bars everywhere, in large lofty rooms or small low -ones--all alike. - -The dimensions of this staircase are 24 feet 3 inches long by 22 feet 10 -inches wide, and 25 feet high. - - -=Queen Mary's Gallery.= - -Queen Mary and Queen Anne are the sovereigns with whom this gallery is -mainly associated; and indeed, it is now--since the restorations of the -last twelve months, which have mainly consisted in repairing the -panelling, and removing the paint with which it was all smeared over in -the reign of George I.--to be seen for the first time for a hundred and -seventy-four years, exactly as it appeared in their time. It remains, -indeed, more intact than any other room in the Palace; and with its -beautiful deep-toned oak panelling, its richly-carved cornice, its -low-coved ceiling, and its closely-spaced, thick-barred window-sashes, -it has a most comfortable, old-fashioned air. - -There is no storey above this gallery, but only a span roof; and it was -originally--we do not know exactly when--a true "gallery" in the old -English meaning of the word, that is, a long chamber with windows on -both sides. The window spaces or recesses, on the right or west side, -still remain behind the panelling, and are exactly opposite the existent -windows on the left or east side. We may observe, also, that the room -seems at one time to have terminated just beyond the sixth window, -reckoning from the entrance, the line of the wall behind the wainscot on -the right, setting back at this point about a foot; while on the left -side, both inside and out, there is a straight joint in the brickwork, -and a break in the line of the wall. - - -Wainscoting and Carvings of Queen Mary's Gallery. - -The wainscoting, as we have already indicated, was fixed here in the -early years of the reign of Queen Mary. The panels, which are very thin -and of unusual breadth, nevertheless have remained but little twisted or -buckled to this day, owing to Wren's particular and invariable -insistence that only the best seasoned wood should be used in all the -work under his charge. In the course of the restorations, it has, -however, been necessary to take it all to pieces in order to repair the -injuries of nearly two centuries of misusage and neglect. Here, as in -the staircase, are to be noticed the extreme richness in grain of the -old oak, and its deep warm tone of colour. - -From the old enrolled parchment accounts of the years 1689-1691, we find -that Henry Hobb and Alexander Forst were the joiners who made the -wainscoting, as well as the "shashes," shutters, window-boards, -chimney-pieces, picture frames, shelves, etc.; while Nicolas Alcocke, -William Emet, and Grinling Gibbons carved "1,405 feet Ionick medallion -and hollow cornish; 942 feet of picture frame over the doors and -chimneys, and 89 feet of astragall moulding, about the glasses in the -chimneys." Another item of payment in the same accounts, also relating -to the work here, is the following: - - "To Gerard Johnson, Cabinet maker, for severall pannells of - wainscot, covered with looking-glass for chimney pieces in the - King's dining-roome, the gallerie, and over the doors, and for - putting them up--L100." - -Among others here referred to were doubtless =the looking-glasses= over -the two chimney-pieces in this gallery. These are particularly fine and -worthy of notice. When the restorations were begun last summer, they -were literally dropping to pieces, falling in shreds, we might say. The -greatest care has been taken to piece the bits together; and to replace -the missing portions. Only such patched and added parts have been -regilt; the old gilding still remaining almost as bright and untarnished -as when these glasses were first put up, two hundred years ago, by -Gerard Johnson, cabinet maker, and Robert Streeter, serjeant painter. -Honour to their names, as two good old English handicraftsmen, whose -honest work thus survives to this day! - -Over each of the four doors are long richly-carved brackets of oak, -similar to those on which rest the looking-glasses over the -chimney-pieces. We know from Pyne's drawing in 1818, that these brackets -over the doors then still supported looking-glasses, with richly carved -frames. Unfortunately, all trace of them has now disappeared. - -=The chimney-piece= of the first fire-place on the right as you enter -the gallery is the original one of Wren's design, of marble streaked and -veined blue-grey. The second, of white marble streaked with red, -technically known as "Breche-violett-antico," is new--copied from the -first. This fire-place was, until last summer, filled with a common -cooking range, inserted many years ago for the use of the soldiers, when -this gallery was used as a barrack! - -=The window-sashes= in this gallery are of the charming old-fashioned -type, divided by thick, deeply moulded bars, into small rectangular -spaces. Through these windows we have a pleasant view eastward of the -private gardens of the Palace, and of Kensington Gardens beyond. - -The dimensions of this gallery are: 88 feet 4 inches long by 22 feet -broad by 13 feet 3-1/2 inches high to the top of the cornice, and 17 -feet 13 inches high to the highest part of the ceiling. - - -=Pictures in Queen Mary's Gallery. Portraits of the Time of William and -Mary to George II.= - -1 Queen Mary . . . . . KNELLER. - - Full-length, standing, in royal robes; her left hand lifting her - ermine cloak; her right holding the orb on the table by her side, - on which also is the crown on a cushion. In the right distance is - seen the parapet of the roof of Wren's building at Hampton Court. - - This and its companion piece of King William, at the other end of - this gallery, were painted by Kneller about 1692, in which year he - was knighted. - -2 George II. (_718_) . . . . . _By Shackleton, after_ KNELLER. - - Seated, in robes of the Garter, facing to the left. - -3 _Unassigned._ - -4 Frederick, Prince of Wales (_619_) . . . . . VANLOO. - - Full-length, face turned to the right. His right hand is extended, - his left holds back his crimson and ermine cloak. His dress is blue - with rich gold lace. He has a short wig. On canvas, 7 ft. 9 in. - high, by 4 ft. 9 in. wide. - - Vanloo came to England in 1737, and this portrait was probably - painted about two years after. He became a very popular artist, and - made a great deal of money, for, as his French biographer - observes:--"L'Angleterre est le pays ou il se fait le plus de - portraits et ou ils sont mieux payes." Engraved by Baron. - - This picture, therefore, dates from the time when the Prince was - about thirty-one years of age, and had been expelled from St. - James's Palace, and was in declared enmity with his father. His - insignificant character, which excited contempt rather than - dislike, is very happily satirized in the famous epitaph: - - "Here lies Fred, - Who was alive and is dead; - Had it been his father, - I had much rather; - Had it been his brother, - Still better than another; - Had it been his sister, - No one would have missed her; - Had it been the whole generation, - Still better for the nation; - But since 'tis only Fred, - Who was alive and is dead, - There's no more to be said." - -5 _Unassigned._ - -6 Caroline, Queen of George II. (_784_) . . . . . ZEEMAN? - - Full-length, standing, figure to the left, face a little to the - right. Her left hand holds up her cloak, her right is on a table, - on which is a crown and sceptre. She wears a blue velvet dress - trimmed with broad gold braid, and a white satin skirt, richly - worked with gold and jewels. Her hair is short and powdered. On - canvas, 7 ft. 9 in. high, by 4 ft. 9 in. wide. - - This was formerly attributed to Kneller, but it cannot be by him, - as she is represented as queen, while Kneller died four years - before her accession. Caroline was forty-five when her husband - became king. - - "Her levees," says Coxes, "were a strange picture of the motley - character and manners of a queen and a learned woman. She received - company while she was at her toilette; prayers and sometimes a - sermon were read; learned men and divines were intermixed with - courtiers and ladies of the household; the conversation turned on - metaphysical subjects, blended with repartees, sallies of mirth, - and the tittle-tattle of a drawing-room." - -7 _Unassigned._ - -8 Portrait of George I. (_782_) . . . . . KNELLER. - - Seated, facing in front. He is in the robes of the Order of the - Garter. His left hand on the arm of the chair, his right on a - table, whereon are a crown and a plumed helmet. On canvas, 7 ft. 9 - in. high, by 4 ft. 9 in. wide. - - George I. was the tenth sovereign who sat to Kneller, and for this - portrait, which was painted soon after his accession, the king made - him baronet. Addison refers to it in his "Lines to Sir Godfrey - Kneller on his picture of the King," beginning: - - "Kneller, with silence and surprise - We see Britannia's monarch rise, - A godlike form, by thee displayed - In all the force of light and shade; - And, awed by thy delusive hand, - As in the Presence Chamber stand." - - - -9 William III. when Prince of Orange (_864_) . . . . . KNELLER. - - Half-length, facing to the right, with his right hand extended. - -10 George II. in his Old Age (_598_) . . . . . _By Shackleton, after_ -PINE. - - Full-length; in a rich dress, with the Order of the Garter, his - left hand on his sword, his right in his bosom. His eyes are cast - upwards. - -11 Peter the Great, Czar of Russia (_60_) . . . . . KNELLER. - - Full-length, in armour, with a truncheon in his left hand, and his - right hand on his hip. From his shoulders hangs a mantle lined with - ermine and embroidered with the double eagle. To the left is a - table, on which is the crown imperial. The background, which shows - some ships, is said to be signed by _W. Vandevelde_, but no trace - of this exists. On canvas, 7 ft. 9 in. high, by 4 ft. 9 in. wide. - There is also an inscription, of which I can only make out the - words: "_Petrus Alexander Magnus Domimus Caesar & Magnus Dux - Moscouiae ... Eques. Pinxit 1698_." Engraved by Smith. - - This picture was painted for William III. during Peter the Great's - visit to England, in the early part of 1698, and probably in the - house in Norfolk Street, where he took up his residence and lived - in close seclusion. It is considered one of the best portraits of - the Czar extant, and well portrays "his stately form, his - intellectual forehead, his piercing black eyes, and his Tartar nose - and mouth." His age was then twenty-six years. He naturally excited - the greatest curiosity, and became the principal topic of - conversation. Every one was full of stories of him; "of the immense - quantities of meat which he devoured, the pints of brandy which he - drank, the fool who jabbered at his feet, the monkey which grinned - at the back of his chair," and last, but not least, of his filthy - habits. When he went to stay at Evelyn's house, Sayes Court, at - Deptford, in order to more conveniently indulge in his favourite - pursuit of shipbuilding, Evelyn's servant writes to him:--"There is - a house full of people, and right nasty. The Czar lies next your - Library, and dines in the parlour next your study. He dines at ten - o'clock and six at night, is very seldom home a whole day, very - often in the King's Yard or by water, dressed in several dresses." - Evelyn himself afterwards remarked "how miserably the Czar had left - his house, after three months making it his Court." - - Peter visited King William in Kensington Palace, as we have noted - in our "Historical Sketch," and as we shall notice again in our - account of the King's Gallery. - -12 King William III . . . . . KNELLER. - - Full-length, in royal garter robes; his left hand by his sword, his - right on his hip. The crown and orb are on a table on his left; - pillars and a curtain behind. - - This is a companion piece to the portrait of Queen Mary at the - other end of this gallery. - -13 Portrait of Mrs. Elliott . . . . . JOHN RILEY. - - Half-length, seated; turned to the left, but facing in front. She - is dressed in black; her right hand rests on the arm of the chair; - she holds a handkerchief on her lap in her left. - - This was in Queen Anne's catalogue, No. 331:--"Mrs. Elliott at - half-length." It is a good specimen of a portrait-painter who - flourished in the time of Charles II. and James II., and whose - talents have hardly had justice done them. - - Mrs. Elliott was the wife of Mr. Elliott, Gentleman of the - Bedchamber to Charles II., and sister to Secretary Craggs. - -14 Two Daughters of George II . . . . . MAINGAUD. - - The eldest is to the left, standing, her right arm clasping a stem - of tree, round which twines a vine; her left hand giving a rose to - her younger sister; she is dressed in white. Her sister is kneeling - to the right, facing in front, and takes the rose with her left - hand; her right rests on a lictor's fasces. On canvas, 4 ft. 6 in. - high, by 3 ft. 7 in. wide. - -[Illustration: Decoration] - - -=Queen's Closet.= - -This small room, which is but 23 feet 3 inches long by 12 feet wide, and -12 feet 9 inches high, is called in Pyne's drawing, published in 1817, -"The Queen's Closet,"--and this most probably is its correct -designation, though in Faulkner's "History of Kensington," published but -three years after, it is described as the "Queen's Dressing Room." Its -walls were at that time still entirely panelled with the oak wainscot -with which Wren had covered them. Afterwards all this was removed and -the walls plastered and distempered, the room being used as a kitchen. -The existent oak chair-rail and cornice, inserted during the last few -months, are copied from old models in this palace. - - * * * * * - -Across the angle, where was originally the fire-place, is temporarily -fixed a very beautiful =stone chimney-piece=, formerly in Westminster -Palace, in one of the rooms on the north side of Westminster Hall. When -the old law-courts on that side were removed, this chimney-piece was -preserved by the Office of Works. It is one of the finest specimens -extant of a late Tudor domestic chimney-piece work, bearing the initial -and crown of Queen Elizabeth. - - -Pictures of Old London. - -In this chamber are collected various pictures of Old London, moved from -Hampton Court and other royal palaces. Few of them, excepting one or two -attributed to Scott, have much artistic merit, but they are interesting -as representations of the topography of London, and especially of the -banks of the Thames. - -20 View of the Horse Guards from St. James's Park -(_1022_) . . . . . JAMES. - - The buildings of the Horse Guards are seen on the right, and in the - centre distance, Westminster. - -21 View on the Thames--Old London Bridge and Fishmongers' Hall -(_1044_) . . . . . JAMES. - - The view is taken eastward; and right across the picture is the old - bridge, with the houses built on it. On the left are Fishmongers' - Hall and the column on Fish Street Hill. - - These are two of a series of views of Old London from the Thames, - by William James, an imitator and probably a pupil of Canaletti's, - though he resembles him in little except his mechanical precision. - His works, however, are interesting to the antiquarian, as they are - almost photographic in their accuracy. - -22 View on the Thames--Old Somerset House and Temple Gardens -(_1023_) . . . . . JAMES. - - The north bank of the Thames is seen, looking eastward, from about - the position of the middle of the present Waterloo bridge. On the - extreme left is old Somerset House, with its landing-stairs, next - comes the Temple, and in the distance St. Paul's. Behind are seen - the spires of St. Mary-le-Strand, St. Clement Danes, St. Bride's, - Fleet Street, etc. On canvas, 2 ft. high, by 3 ft. 8 in. wide. - -23 View on the Thames--The Savoy, the Temple, &c. -(_1031_) . . . . . JAMES. - - On the left is the old Savoy Palace with its curious chequered - brickwork; more in the middle old Somerset House, the Temple, etc. - On the right is seen a portion of the south bank of the Thames. - -24 View on the Thames--Old Fleet Ditch (_1043_) . . . . . JAMES. - - The mouth of the Fleet Ditch is in the centre of the picture, - crossed by a stone foot-bridge of a single arch. On both sides of - it are large buildings. - - -25 View on the Thames--The Adelphi, Whitehall, and Westminster -(_1032_) . . . . . JAMES. - - The view is of the north bank looking westward, and shows, on the - right, Inigo Jones' water-gate; next the octagonal tower of the - waterworks, then Whitehall, and beyond, Westminster Abbey and the - old bridge. - -26 View on the Thames--Greenwich Hospital (_1079_) . . . . . JAMES. - - The view is taken eastward, and shows Greenwich Hospital on the - left, and the church to the right. - -27 View on the Thames--Old Savoy Palace (_1045_) . . . . . SCOTT? - - The view is the same as No. 23. In an old inventory there is an - entry relating to it:--"Rec^{d}. 23^{rd} March 1819. View of the - Savoy, with old Somerset House, on the banks of the Thames, painted - by Scott, the English Canaletti. Bought of Colnaghi, L265." Samuel - Scott, the marine painter, is the artist referred to. He was a - companion of Hogarth's, and a jovial one too--but he was also much - more, being an admirable painter of marine and topographical - subjects. There are three characteristic views of London by him in - the National Gallery, where is also his own portrait by Hudson. - -28 The Thames from the Hill above Greenwich (_1016_) . . . . . DANCKERS. - - To the left is the Observatory rising high up. Below is Greenwich - and the Hospital, and the river winding round the "Isle of Dogs," - and London seen in the distance. Though hitherto unnamed, this is - doubtless:--"The Landscape of Greenwich, the prospect to London; by - Danckers," in James II.'s catalogue, No. 195. (_Royal Catalogue._) - -[Illustration: Decoration] - - -=Queen Anne's Private Dining Room.= - -This picturesque little room remains almost exactly in the same state as -it was when finished about 1690 for Queen Mary, who, perhaps, as well as -Queen Anne, used it as a private dining room. It is, indeed, a very -characteristic example of one of Wren's comfortable and eminently -habitable rooms. The protruding doorway in the right-hand corner, the -picturesque recess on the left-hand side of the fireplace, and the -porch-like treatment of the similar recess on the other side--where is -the doorway into the Queen's Closet--all show how the accidents of -construction and convenience may be so judiciously laid hold of, as to -render what would otherwise have been a mere uninteresting commonplace -room, a charmingly homelike and picturesque one. Such an example as this -of Wren's artistic adaptability should be a most valuable -"object-lesson" to modern builders, who, when not planning exactly -rectangular rooms, go to the other extreme of straining after a designed -and artificial "quaintness." - - The coved ceiling, rising from behind the oak cornice, adds greatly - to the apparent height of the room. - - The dimensions are: 17 feet 9 inches long by 14 feet wide. - -It was in this and the similar adjoining rooms that took place those -many curious intimate conversations between Queen Anne and the Duchess -of Marlborough, both when "Mrs. Morley" and her "dear Mrs. Freeman," -were all in all to each other, and also when "Atossa" vainly endeavoured -by fury, invective, and torrents of reproaches and tears, to regain her -fast-waning influence over the dull and feeble, but stolid and -obstinate, mind of the Queen. It was at Kensington Palace too, and -perhaps in this very room, that took place their famous interview, one -April afternoon in the year 1710, when the only reply which the great -Duchess Sarah could get to her inquiring entreaties was the phrase "You -desired no answer and you shall have none,"--reiterated with -exasperating and callous monotony by her whilom friend and mistress. - - -Pictures in Queen Anne's Private Dining Room. - -40 Installation of Knights of the Garter at Kensington Palace, on August -4th, 1713, by Queen Anne . . . . . PETER ANGELIS. - - There has been some question as to the exact ceremony, which is - depicted here, but there can be but little doubt that it represents - the Chapter of the Order of the Garter, held by Queen Anne at - Kensington Palace on August 4th, 1713, when Henry Grey, Duke of - Kent, Robert Harley, first Earl of Oxford, Charles Mordaunt, third - Earl of Peterborough, and John, Earl Poulett, were installed as - Knights of the Garter. The chapter was the last held by Queen Anne, - and was held at Kensington, and not at Windsor, owing to her - physical infirmities. Two of these noblemen kneel on the lowest - step of the throne, and have already been invested with the mantle - and collar of the Order and the Garter itself. The Queen places her - hand upon the joined hand of the two Knights of the Garter. It is - uncertain which of the noblemen are represented here, but the - Knight kneeling on the right of the picture would appear to - represent Harley. One of these noblemen is attended by a page boy - in grey silk, and the other has two black boys supporting his long - blue mantle. Among the Knights of the Garter in attendance, and - they all wear their full robes and collars, one figure is prominent - holding a long slender wand. This is probably Charles Talbot, Duke - of Shrewsbury, who was Lord Chamberlain of the Household, Lord - Lieutenant of Ireland, and for a brief period Lord High Treasurer. - Two yeoman of the Guard, in the well-known costume, but without - ruffs or rosettes to their shoes, holding halberds, stand - prominently forth on the extreme left. Through a wide door, in the - distant apartments, may be seen a crowd of courtiers waiting for - admission, and through the large square panes of the window in a - garden are seen clustered various persons in dark and formal - attire, peering anxiously through the glass as if to obtain a - sight of the ceremonial. - - On canvas, 2 ft. 5-1/4 in. high by 1 ft. 11-3/4 in. wide. Lent by - the Trustees of the National Portrait Gallery. - -41 William, Duke of Gloucester, son of Queen Anne -(_885_) . . . . . KNELLER. - - Bust; in an oval turned to the left, face seen in full. He is in - armour, and has a blue ermine-lined cape. On canvas, 2-1/2 ft. - high, by 2 ft. wide. - - The young duke, though of feeble constitution, was not deficient in - martial spirit. When but a boy of six years old, he came to meet - his uncle William of Orange, who had just returned from a campaign, - with a little musket on his shoulder, and presented arms, saying, - "I am learning my drill, that I may help you beat the French." The - king was so pleased that he made him a knight of the Garter a few - days after. Many men have received that honour for less. He died in - July 1700. - -42 Prince George of Denmark, Husband of Queen Anne (_884_) . . . . . DAHL. - - In an oval, to the shoulders; in armour.--His death in this Palace - has been mentioned on page 22. - -43 John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough . . . . . JAN WYCK. - - Three-quarters length, in armour; face turned three-quarters to the - left. His left hand is on his hip, his right on a table by his - side, on which is a plumed helmet. A battle scene is shown in the - lower right background. On canvas, 3 ft. high, by 2 ft. 4 in. wide. - Lent by the Trustees of the National Portrait Gallery. - - This portrait would seem to represent him as a comparatively young - man--about twenty-three--after he had distinguished himself at - Maestricht, when he was nicknamed by Turenne "the handsome - Englishman." It was the period of his famous _liaison_ with the - Duchess of Cleveland, who had fallen a willing victim to his beauty - and his charm of manner. Lord Wolseley, in his "Life of - Marlborough," describes his appearance at this period as: - "Strikingly handsome, with a profusion of fair hair, - strongly-marked, well-shaped eyebrows, long eyelashes, blue eyes, - and refined, clearly-cut features. A wart on his right upper-lip - though large, did not detract from his good looks. He was tall, and - his figure was remarkably graceful, although a contemporary says: - 'Il avait l'air trop indolent, et la taille trop effile.'" - - -=Queen Mary's Privy Chamber.= - -Except for the oak panelling, which covered the walls of this room as -late as the beginning of this century, but which was removed now many -years ago, we see it exactly as it was finished for Queen Mary. Her -initial, with that of her husband, King William, appears in the fine -carved oak cornice. The ceiling is coved. - -At one time this room was called "The Admiral's Gallery," on account of -the series of copies of portraits of British Admirals by Kneller and -Dahl, which formerly hung here--until their removal in 1835 to Hampton -Court, whence they have now been brought back to decorate again the -walls of these state rooms at Kensington. They are now hung, as we shall -see, in "The King's Gallery." - -The dimensions of this room are: 25 feet long by 17 feet 10 inches wide, -by 12 feet 7 inches high to the top of the cornice, 15 feet 8 inches to -the highest part of the ceiling. - - -Pictures in Queen Mary's Privy Chamber. - -50 Queen Mary, when Princess of Orange (_23_) . . . . . W. WISSING. - - Seated, nearly full length. She is dressed in blue in the costume - of a lady of the time, and with a crimson mantle edged with ermine. - Her left hand rests on a table, over which her mantle falls. - Engraved by John Verkolje. - - This picture is signed on the left-hand side, and is the original - of many replicas or copies at St. James's Palace, at - Burley-on-the-Hill, Woburn, The Grove, etc. It was painted for - James II., who sent Wissing over to the Hague for the purpose. His - popularity as a portrait-painter was great, and was partly due no - doubt to his making such flattering likenesses. "When any lady - came to sit to him whose complexion was any ways pale, he would - commonly take her by the hand and dance her about the room till she - became warmer." - -51 William III. when Prince of Orange . . . . . W. WISSING. - - Three-quarters length, standing; facing to the right, in a rich - dress. This is the companion piece to the foregoing. - -52 Portrait of James Stuart the Pretender (_664_) . . . . . B. LUTI. - - Half-length; facing in front, inclined to the right; his right hand - only is seen. He is in the robes of the Order of the Garter, of - which the jewel hangs on his breast, and has a long full-bottomed - wig, a lace cravat and cuffs. On his left is a table on which is - the royal crown of England. The background is gray, with a red - curtain. On canvas, 3 ft. 3 in. high, by 2 ft. 6 in. wide. - - The canvas is new. Behind was formerly this inscription:--"_James - son of James II.; by the Cavaliere Benedetto Luti, from the - Cardinal of York's collection at Frascati._" (Note in the _Royal - Inventory_.) This picture and No. 839 were bequeathed to George - III. by Cardinal York, the old Pretender's son, and the last of the - Stuarts, who died in 1807. - - It was no doubt painted at Rome, some time between the year 1718, - when Prince James accepted the asylum in the Eternal City offered - him by the Pope, and the year 1724, when Luti died there. In 1720 - he was married to the Princess Sobieski, and at the end of the same - year the young Pretender was born. - - The Pretender's countenance has that heavy, sodden appearance, and - that weak dejected look, which were due partly to his inert - character, partly to his misfortunes, and not less to the debauched - and indolent life he led. His person, indeed, was never impressive; - and even an adherent, writing of the events at Perth in 1715, - admits:--"I must not conceal, that when we saw the man, whom they - called our King, we found ourselves not at all animated by his - presence, and if he was disappointed in us, we were tenfold more so - in him. We saw nothing in him that looked like spirit. He never - appeared with cheerfulness and vigour to animate us. Our men began - to despise him; some asked him if he could speak." - - Gray the poet gives a similar account of him some years after:--"He - is a thin, ill-made man, extremely tall and awkward, of a most - unpromising countenance, a good deal resembling King James II., and - has extremely the air and look of an idiot, particularly when he - laughs or prays; the first he does not do often, the latter - continually." Horace Walpole observed that "enthusiasm and - disappointment have stamped a solemnity on his person, which rather - creates pity than respect." - -53 Frederick, Prince of Wales, at a Party (_606_) . . . . . M. LAROON? - - The Prince is at the head of the table, round which eight ladies - and gentlemen are seated. He is pouring wine into a glass. Some - thirteen persons, attendants, and a clergyman, are also in the - room. Most of them are probably portraits. Altogether twenty-three - small figures. On canvas, 3 ft. high, by 2 ft. 10 in. wide. - - This picture, though long labelled "Vanderbank," is probably by - Marcellus Laroon, the younger, to whom it is attributed in an old - catalogue. The likelihood that he is the painter is greatly - strengthened by the close resemblance in style between it and the - similar piece that follows--the personages evidently being the - same. - - It is not certain what is the subject represented; though it has - borne the above title for many years. In one of the Lord - Chamberlain's old inventories it is stated to represent "a fete in - honour of the marriage of the Duke of Wharton." - -54 A Royal Assembly in Kew Palace . . . . . MARCELLUS LAROON. - - This represents some Royal assembly, apparently Augusta of - Saxe-Gotha, the wife of Frederick, Prince of Wales, and her - friends, in Kew Palace. The Princess in blue is pouring out the - tea; a lady in white is singing; Handel is at the harpsichord, and - "Orator" Henley close by. The equestrian portrait on the wall - appears to be George II. - - Signed _Mar. Laroon_, and dated _1740_. Lent by Mr. Humphry Ward. - -55 Matthew Prior . . . . . _By Thomas Hudson, after_ JONATHAN -RICHARDSON. - - Half-length, seated, almost in profile to the right. On canvas, 3 - ft. 4 in. high, by 2 ft. 9 in. wide. Lent by the Trustees of the - National Portrait Gallery. - - Prior--poet, statesman, and diplomatist--published with Charles - Montagu, afterwards Earl of Halifax, in 1689, "The City Mouse and - the Country Mouse," intended to ridicule Dryden's "Hind and - Panther." He was patronized by Dorset, who introduced him to the - Court; and he was often employed in diplomatic offices. - -56 Flower-Piece--_over the mantelpiece_ (_826_) . . . . . BAPTISTE. - - A green glass vase with chrysanthemums, poppies, honeysuckles, etc. - Baptiste was a _protege_ of Queen Mary, and painted a great number - of flower-pieces to decorate Kensington and Hampton Court. - -57 Portrait of Robert Boyle the Philosopher (_56_) . . . . . KERSEBOOM. - - Nearly full-length, seated in a big armchair; turned to the right, - but facing in front. He leans his right arm on the chair; his left - is turning over the leaves of a book on a table in front of him. He - wears a large full-bottomed wig. This picture has been engraved by - Baron several times. - - Boyle, the famous chemist and experimental philosopher, was the - seventh son of the first Lord Cork, and from him received a fortune - of _L_3,000 a year, which he devoted in a great measure to - scientific research and the promotion of the Christian religion. He - was never married, being of opinion that "a man must have very low - and narrow thoughts of happiness or misery who can expect either - from a woman's conduct." For his life, see his _Philaretus_. - - Frederic Kerseboom was a native of Germany, who worked at Paris and - Rome under Le Brun and Poussin. He was in England during William - III.'s reign, and painted a few indifferent portraits. - -58 Portrait of John Locke (_947_) . . . . . KNELLER. - - Half-length, standing; turned to the right, but facing in front. He - rests his left hand on a table, on which are an inkstand and a pen; - his right hand in front of him. He wears a plain black coat, with - part of his shirt showing; and he is without his wig, and shows his - long white hair. - - This is one of Kneller's best portraits. It was evidently painted - in the philosopher's later years, for he looks here on the point of - dying of the asthma to which he succumbed in 1704. "Pray," said - Locke in a letter to Collins, "get Sir Godfrey to write on the back - of my picture 'John Locke;' it is necessary to be done, or else the - pictures of private persons are lost in two or three generations." - -59 Sir Isaac Newton (_957_) . . . . . KNELLER. - - Three-quarters length; turned to the left, facing in front. His - right arm is by his side, his left leans on a table, on which are a - globe and a book. He wears a dark, loose robe, and a large wig. On - the left is inscribed: "_I Newton Esq^{re} AEtatis_ 47. 1689." - - There is a similar portrait to this at Petworth, which is engraved - in Lodge. Newton was at this time member of the Convention - Parliament, for the University of Cambridge. - -59A King William III. (_779_) . . . . . KNELLER. - - Three-quarters length in armour, directed to the right; face turned - round to the left. He wears a blue and gold sash. In the left - background is a black servant, perhaps the one whose marble bust is - now in this palace. - - -=Queen Caroline's Drawing Room.= - -In entering this room we pass from the portion of the palace built in -1690 by Sir Christopher Wren for William and Mary, to that constructed -by William Kent about 1723 for George I. The visitor has thus a good -opportunity of comparing the styles and tastes of the two architects and -of gauging their relative powers. Wren had been driven from his office, -in 1718, by a shameful backstair intrigue; and two years afterwards, -Kent, doubtless by the influence of his patron, the Earl of Burlington, -was commissioned to build a set of new state rooms. - -How very mediocre were his talents, the exterior of his addition to -Wren's work will, as we have already said, ever remain a palpable proof; -and though for internal construction he shows less incapacity, still -this room exhibits all his false ideas of pseudo-classicism--developed, -as we shall see, to a most extravagant extent in the adjoining "Cube or -Cupola Room." - -Examining the decoration in detail, we perceive everywhere evidences of -his awkward, graceless style. The doorways, for instance, are -unnecessarily lofty and gaunt, and with their heavy cumbrous -architraves, flat moulded, with little light and shade, greatly impair -the proportions of the room. In the tall semi-circular headed central -window also, surmounted by a purposeless oak bracket--even in such -details as the mouldings of the panelling and of the framing of the -doors, and the flatness of the raised panels and their relative sizes to -the width of the rails and "stiles,"--we detect his marked inferiority -to Wren in the designing of such fittings. - -The =chimney-piece=, which is one of Kent's plainer and less ponderous -ones, is of a choice marble, veined black and gold. - -The dimensions of this room are: 32 feet 9-1/2 inches long, 24 feet 2 -inches wide, and 19 feet 2 inches high to the top of the cornice, 24 -feet to the ceiling. - - -Painted Ceiling of Queen Caroline's Drawing Room. - -But it is by the ceiling especially, with its great heavy oval frame of -plasterwork, and its appearance of overhanging crushing weight, that we -can most accurately appreciate Kent. The central recessed panel, -containing an allegorical representation of Minerva, attended by History -and the Arts, gives us a measure of his powers as a pictorial artist. -The decorative painting of the cove of the ceiling, above the oaken -cornice, is more satisfactory. In the four angles, and in the middle of -each side, are classical pediments with volutes. - -Besides, the workmanship of the wainscoting being very good, and the -original rawness of the ceiling somewhat faded, this room, with its new -oak floor, its gorgeous paper, its Georgian furniture, probably designed -by Kent, and the magnificent frames of some of the pictures on its -walls, presents a fine and stately appearance. - - -Contemporary French and German Portraits. - -60 Madame de Pompadour (_986_) . . . . . DROUAIS. - - Half-length, seated, turned to the left. She wears a dress of - figured brocade, worked with coloured flowers and foliage on a - white ground, and trimmed with white ribbons; her sleeves are short - and edged with lace. On her head is a sort of mob cap, or headdress - of lace, tied under the chin with a striped ribbon; her hair is - short and powdered. In front of her is a frame of embroidery called - tambour-work, which she is working, her right hand being above, and - her left under the canvas. The background is grey, with a red - curtain to the right. Painted in an oval. On canvas, 2 ft. 7-1/2 - in. high, by 2 ft. wide. - - This picture has been attributed, but quite unwarrantably, to - Greuze, who does not appear to have painted Louis XV.'s mistress at - all, and certainly could not have done so when she was as young as - she is here represented. It is in fact a replica (and by no means a - bad one) of a portrait by Drouais, of which a great many - repetitions are extant, and of which the original--a - full-length--is now at Mentmore, Lord Rosebery's. The Mentmore - picture was purchased for L1,000. - - Drouais was an indifferent artist whose name would long have passed - into oblivion, had he not painted princes and princesses. Diderot - drew this just estimate of his works:--"Tous les visages de cet - homme-la ne sont que le rouge vermillon le plus precieux, - artistement couche sur la craie la plus fine et la plus blanche.... - Il n'y en a pas une de laide, et pas une qui ne deplut sur la - toile. Ce n'est pas de la chair; car, ou est la vie, l'onctueux, le - transparent, les tons, les degradations, les nuances?" And Larousse - endorses this view with the following remarks:--"Toutes ces - peintures, habilement traitees d'ailleurs comme metier, n'ont rien - de saillant, aucune puissance, aucune originalite. Les tetes sont - banales, ternes, sans physionomie. L'allure est gauche et penible. - Les personnages sont fort mal habilles, bien que les draperies - soient executees en trompe-l'oeil et avec magnificence." - - Madame de Pompadour is here represented at about the age of - thirty-five, a period when, having lost the influence of a lover - over the debauched and fickle Louis XV., she endeavoured to retain - her power by ministering to his pleasures and vices. Her appearance - completely tallies with the account given of her:--"Elle etait - assez grande, bien faite, les cheveux, chatain clair, tres-beaux, - avec une peau d'une grande finesse et d'une blancheur eclatante. - Mais elle avait un genre de beaute qui se fane vite: ses chairs - molles s'infiltraient, s'enflammaient aisement; elle avait des - langueurs et des paleurs maladives." - - The tambour-work at which she is engaged was one of her favourite - occupations; and it is pleasant to remember, with the shocking - record of her extraordinary career, that she created that style in - decoration, furniture, dress, literature, and even art, which is - known by the name of Louis XV., a style which, wanting as it is in - the simplicity of mediaevalism, and stamped though it be with the - character of its meretricious inventor, is yet always pleasing from - a certain refinement and artificial beauty. - -61 Mademoiselle de Clermont (_984_) . . . . . _unnamed._ - - Half-length, facing in front, hands not seen. She is dressed in a - white dress, with a garland of flowers across it from under her - left arm to her right shoulder. Behind her she has a blue scarf. - Her hair is powdered and done high up. On canvas, 2 ft. 5 in. high, - by 2 ft. wide. - - Behind is written:--"_Marianne. de. bourbon. nommeo. Mademoiselle. - de. Clermont._" - - She was born in Paris in October, 1697, and was the daughter of - Louis, the third Duke of Bourbon, and his wife Louise Francoise de - Bourbon, Mademoiselle de Nantes, a natural daughter of Louis XV. In - 1725 she was appointed "Surintendante de la Maison de la Reine." - The story of her and her lover, M. de Melun, and his tragic end, - forms the basis of Madame de Genlis' charming little novel, - "Mademoiselle de Clermont." - - This portrait is painted in the style of Nattier. - -62 Louis XVI. in his Coronation Robes (_516_) . . . . . CALLET. - - Full-length, standing, facing to the left. His left hand holds his - hat by his side, his right leans on his sceptre. He is attired in - the royal robes of France, a purple mantle embroidered with - fleurs-de-lys, and an ermine tippet, etc. He has a small wig; his - face is shaven. Behind him is his throne, with a figure of Justice. - On canvas, 9 ft. high, by 6 ft. 5 in. wide. - - This is the original presentation frame, decorated with - fleurs-de-lys. - - Though formerly labelled "Greuze," it is really a replica of - Callet's well-known portrait, of which, besides the original at - Versailles, there are other repetitions at Madrid and elsewhere, - distributed to the various courts of Europe on the king's - accession. The original was engraved by Bervic, the greatest of - French engravers, the plate being lettered with the painter's name, - "Callet Peintre du Roi." - -63 Portrait of Louis XV. when young (_925_) . . . . . RIGAUD. - - Half-length, turned to the left; his left hand is in his sash, his - right holds a marshal's baton. His dress is a fawn-coloured doublet - with a cuirass, a blue sash, and a blue mantle embroidered with a - fleur-de-lys over it. Short hair, beardless face. On canvas, 3 ft. - high, by 2 ft. 5 in. wide. - - This portrait was painted by Rigaud, as the contemporary mezzotint - engraving by J. Simon proves, and not, as has been said, by - Mignard, who had been dead thirty years. He is considered one of - the best French portrait-painters of that period. Louis XV. - conferred several favours on him, and decorated him with the Order - of St. Michael, in 1727, soon after this portrait was painted. This - distinction was given, as he said, "tant en consideration de la - reputation acquise dans son art, que pour avoir peint la famille - royalle jusqu'a la quatrieme generation." - -64 Marianne, Duchess of Bourbon (_985_) . . . . . SANTERRE? - - Half-length, facing in front; her hands not seen. Her hair is dark, - and dressed high, with a blue ribbon fastened over with a red - jewel, and carried to the front. Her dress is yellow brocade with - red drapery. On canvas, 2 ft. 5 in. high, by 2 ft. wide. - - Behind is written in ink:--"_Marianne. de. bourbon. fille. de. - Monsieur. le. prince. de. Conty. famme. de. Monsieur. le. duc. de. - bourbon._" - - She married, in 1713, Louis Henri de Bourbon, brother of - Mademoiselle de Clermont (see No. 61), and died in 1720. There is a - portrait of her husband at Paris, by Drouais. - - The portrait before us is very possibly by Jean Baptiste Santerre, - a good painter whose works are rare. He died in 1717. - -65 The Emperor Paul of Russia (_894_) . . . . . ----? - - Bust, turned to the left, eyes looking at the spectator. He is in a - green uniform with red facing; and on his breast three stars and a - green ribbon across from his right shoulder to his left. His hair - is curled and powdered. On canvas, 2 ft. 4 in. high, by 1 ft. - 10-1/2 in. wide. - - Behind the picture is inscribed:--"_Kopal T. Ep. K. E._ (?) 1799" - and "_Catalogue No. 545, Emperor Paul of Russia._." - - This portrait represents the emperor in the forty-fifth year of his - age, three years after his accession, and two years before his - assassination. - -66 Louis XIV., when young (_396_) . . . . . MIGNARD? - - Three-quarters length, facing in front. His left hand hangs by his - side, right is on his hip. He is clad in armour, over which is a - purplish robe, lined with yellow. He has a long brown wig. On - canvas, 5 ft. high, by 3 ft. 7 in. wide. - - If this is really by Mignard, it must, on account of the age of the - king, be one of the first pictures he painted in 1658, on his - introduction to the French Court. - -67 Stanislaus, King of Poland (_895_) . . . . . LAMPI. - - Bust, turned slightly to the left. He is dressed in a purple velvet - coat, across which is a light blue sash, and on the left side of - his breast a star. He wears a small wig and pigtail; his face is - shaven. On canvas, 2 ft. 4 in. high, by 1 ft 10-1/2 in. wide. - - Behind in ink is written:--"Cavalieri Lampi de Vienna." - - In an old inventory, dated 1819, is this entry:--"Half-length - portrait of the King of Poland, purple velvet coat, etc., painted - by Lampi, member of the Academy of Vienna. Bought of Colnaghi for - L21." - - Stanislaus-Augustus Poniatowski was proclaimed King of Poland on - the 7th of September, 1764, having owed his election to his lover - the Empress Catherine. It was during his reign that the infamous - partition of Poland was perpetrated, to which he lent a passive - assistance. He died in 1798. - -68 Queen of Prussia (_907_) . . . . . ANTON GRAFF? - - Seated in a high-backed armchair covered with blue velvet; she is - turned to the left, but faces in front. Her right hand rests on a - table beside her, and points to a book; her left hangs by her side. - She is dressed in black trimmed with ermine, and her head is - covered with a black lace veil. Her hair is white. On canvas, 4 ft. - 7 in. high, by 3 ft. 3 in. wide. - - This is attributed in the _Royal Inventory_ to Graff, a German - painter who flourished at the end of the last century. - - Is she Sophia Dorothea, sister of George II., who married, in 1706, - William I., King of Prussia, and who died in 1757? - -69 Frederick, Prince of Wales (_789_) . . . . . ZEEMAN? - - Small full-length; turned to the right. His right hand pointing in - front of him, his left on his breast. He wears a red coat, leather - boots to the knees, and a long wig. - - Though this has long been known as Frederick, Prince of Wales, - there are reasons to suspect that it is really his Brother William, - Duke of Cumberland. - -70 Louis XIV. on Horseback (_853_) . . . . . CHARLES LE BRUN? - - He is shown the size of life, on a cream-coloured charger, rising - on its hind legs, and turned to the left. His dress is an - embroidered coat, with jack boots and scarlet breeches. In his - right hand he holds a baton. On his head is a black laced hat; he - has long flowing hair and curls. In the distance under the horse's - forelegs an attack of cavalry is seen. On canvas, 8 ft. 3 in. high, - by 6 ft. 2 in. wide. - - This has been attributed to Van der Meulen, but there is a similar - picture at Versailles by Charles le Brun of which this is perhaps a - replica. - -71 Frederick the Great (_555_) . . . . . ANTOINE PESNE. - - Full-length, standing, turned to the left, but facing round to the - front. His left hand points to a battle in the distance; his right - holds a marshal's truncheon. He is in armour, over which is a - crimson ermine-lined mantle; he has a small close-curled wig; his - helmet is on the ground in front of him. On canvas, 8 ft. 7 in. - high, by 5 ft. 7 in. wide. - - "To this admirable painter (_i.e._ Pesne) I am inclined to - attribute the portrait of Frederick the Great. The king, who is - still in youthful years, is pointing to a battlefield in the - background, probably in allusion to the Silesian war. A picture of - considerable merit."--_Waagen._ The painter is well remembered by - the following couplet by Frederick the Great:-- - - "Quel spectacle etonnant vient de frapper mes yeux, - Cher Pesne, ton pinceau t'egale au rang des Dieux," - - which Voltaire interpreted thus:--"Le roi ne regardant jamais le - peintre, ce dernier etait pour lui invisible comme Dieu." - - Pesne, who was a Frenchman and studied in Paris, was in England in - 1724. He afterwards went to Berlin, where he became court painter - to Frederick the Great. He died in 1757, the year of the Battle of - Prague. - - The frame is doubtless a presentation one. - -72 Frederick the Great (_978_) . . . . . _unnamed._ - - Bust, turned to the left, facing in front; his hands not seen. He - wears a small wig and a dark-blue coat, with the star of the Order - of the Black Eagle. - -73 Charles XII. of Sweden (_977_) . . . . . MAGNUS DU BLAIRE? - - Bust; wearing a blue coat and a black choker; grey hair, and a - beardless face. - - A small whole length, 49 in. by 39 in., of which this appears to be - an enlarged copy of part, was in the Hamilton Palace collection, - No. 1031, attributed to Magnus du Blaire, and inscribed: "In fatum - Scandici Die XXX Nov. MDCCXVII." - - "David Krafft, a Swedish painter, born in 1655, painted the - portrait of Charles XII. at the command of his sister, afterwards - Queen Ulrica Eleanora; but this monarch, who objected to being - portrayed, was so displeased at the accuracy of the picture, that - he cut out the head. It had, however, already been transferred to - copper, and also etched by several engravers."--_Bryan._ - -74 Flower Piece . . . . . BAPTISTE. - -75 Flower Piece . . . . . BAPTISTE. - -76 Flower Piece . . . . . BAPTISTE. - - -=The Cupola or Cube Room.= - -In this sumptuous and gorgeous chamber, with its marble-pillared -doorways, its painted and gilded walls, its niches, brackets, slabs, and -pediments of white marble, its gilt antique statues, its gaudy domed -ceiling of blue and gold, we have the very acme and essence of the style -and art of William Kent, triumphant and rampant. After our remarks on -his work in the foregoing room, we shall not be expected to lose -ourselves in admiration over this masterpiece of his pseudo-classic -design and decoration. Yet little as we may agree with his theories of -art, little as we may admire the way he carried them into practice, it -is not to be denied that, viewed as a whole, there is considerable -grandeur and stateliness, and a certain degree of fine proportion, about -this highly-emblazoned saloon. - -Though called the "Cube" Room, its dimensions are not exactly of that -mathematical figure, the walls being only 26 feet 2 inches high, to the -top of the cornice, and 34 feet 7 inches to the centre of the ceiling, -though each side is 37 feet long. - - -The Painted Ceiling of the Cube Room. - -The ceiling seems to have been the first portion of the work undertaken -by Kent, and to have been finished by him by the spring of the year -1722. That he was employed to do this work occasioned much very -justifiable heart-burning. Sir James Thornhill was at that time -serjeant-painter to the King, and in virtue of his office was entitled -to receive the commission for painting this ceiling. Indeed, it appears -from a "Memorial of Sir Thomas Hewett, Knt., Surveyor-General of His -Majesties Works," addressed to the Lords of the Treasury, dated 14th -February, 1722-3, and "relating to the painting of the large Square Room -at Kensington," that in the foregoing autumn the King had commanded -Hewett's attendance at Kensington "about finishing the Three Large Rooms -in the New Building," and that Hewett then showed the King "several -sketches of mosaic work, etc., for painting the ceiling of the Great -Square Room." The Memorial proceeds to state: - - "His Majesty chose one of them; and after I ordered a model to be - made, and Sir James Thornhill painted it, which His Majesty saw and - approved of; and commanded me to tell the Vice-Chamberlain he - should treat with Sir James Thornhill for the Price, and that it - should be done out of Hand, which is all I know of the matter." - -Nevertheless, for some reason or other--probably owing to some backstair -intrigue--Kent was employed to do the work instead. But before he had -half finished it the officers of works were directed by the Treasury "to -view and take care that the particulars of Mr. Kent's proposal for -painting the ceiling of the Great Chamber at Kensington be well -answer'd, and the work in the best manner performed with -l'Ultra-Marine." They accordingly commissioned several of the best -artists of the day "to view and carefully to consider the same and -report in writing." - -[Illustration: THE CUPOLA OR CUBE ROOM, AS IT WAS WHEN THE QUEEN WAS -BAPTIZED IN IT.] - -The artists, or rather critics as they became--and trust an artist to be -no too lenient a critic of a fellow artist's work--were John van Vaart, -Alex^{r} Nisbett, and Jacob Rambour. Their report is dated May 22nd, -1722, and in it they state as follows: - - "We have been to Kensington and carefully view'd and considered the - said painting, which we did find better than half done: But having - examin'd the particulars thereof, we have observed, and 'tis our - opinion, that the Perspective is not just; that the principal of - the work, which consists in ornaments and architecture, is not done - as such a place requires. Mr. Nesbot adds that the Boys, Masks, - Mouldings, etc., far from being well, he has seen very few worse - for such a place: and Mr. Rambour affirms that the said work, far - from being done in the best manner, as mentioned in your letter, it - is not so much as tolerably well perform'd. As for the quality of - the Blew used in the work, Mr. Vandewart and Mr. Rambour declare - that they can't judge whether it is true ultramarine, because it - does not look fine enough, but Mr. Nesbot's opinion is that it is - nothing but Prussian Blew, in which perhaps there may be some - Ultra-marine mixt." - -Nevertheless, the colours have endured unfaded until to-day; and the -gilding also, both on the ceiling and the walls, has required but little -renewing, only cleaning and an occasional application of modern leaf -gold, and retouching with the paint brush, where the old surface had -been injured. - -Much of the woodwork, however, had to be repaired, especially the -capitals of the pilasters, some of which had to be renewed. - -The shape of the ceiling is slightly domed, the four coved sides -terminating above in a flat centre, painted with a gigantic star of the -Order of the Garter. The coved sides themselves are painted with -octagonal panels, diminishing upwards to simulate a lofty pierced dome. -Kent himself seems to have been so well satisfied with the work, that he -made use of almost exactly the same design when painting the Queen's -Staircase at Hampton Court some twelve years after. Across, part of the -north cove of the ceiling is painted a deep shadow, to indicate that -cast by the wall and cornice above the windows. - - -The Painted Walls of the Cube Room. - -Kent, after finishing the ceiling, proceeded to decorate the walls with -painting and gilding. There is a letter in the Record Office, from Lord -Grafton, to the Lords of the Treasury, dated 29th of May, 1725, ordering -payment of "L344 2_s._ 7_d._ to Mr. Kent, for painting the sides of the -Cube Room at Kensington with ornaments enriched with gold." - -These walls, including the four pilasters on each, are of oak, painted -with a light olive-green colour as a ground, embellished with niches of -white marble, surmounted by brackets of the same, let into the woodwork. - -In the =six niches= are well-designed statues of classical -deities--Ceres, Mercury, Venus, Minerva, Bacchus, Apollo, in cast lead, -somewhat under life-size. These were so dirty and tarnished as to -necessitate their being entirely new-gilt. Above them, standing on -brackets in flat rectangular niches, were formerly busts representing -Roman poets, now unfortunately no longer to be found. - -The two =doorways= opposite each other are likewise of the same fine -polished marble, with pilasters and pillars of the Ionic order, -supporting heavy entablatures, on the apexes of which are antique busts. - -The =chimney-place= is of the same design in miniature, of polished -"dove-coloured" white-veined marble, similar to that at Marlborough -House. On the apex was formerly a gilt bust of Cleopatra, now missing. -Within the fireplace itself are very fine panelled and moulded "covings" -or sides, of the same "dove-coloured" marble, discovered during the -progress of the restorations. - -Above the chimney-piece is a large =bas-relief= in statuary marble -representing a Roman marriage, sculptured by the statuary Rysbach. It is -a fine work, but one feels rather as if standing in front of a -sepultural monument in some foreign _campo santo_ than before an English -fireside. - -Rysbach, who was a native of Antwerp, came over to England in 1720, four -or five years before he executed this work. His talents were for some -time--as have been those of many an unsuspecting foreigner--exploited by -a commercializing British impresario, Gibbs. Two-thirds of the prices -paid for his work found its way into the pockets of the unscrupulous -intermediary, until Rysbach, at last shaking himself free from this -bondage, took commissions on his own account, and, becoming the rage, he -was able to exact great prices for his work. It is possible that he -designed the gilt statues in the niches, which seem too good for Kent's -narrow invention. - - -General appearance of the Cupola Room. - -Such was the decoration of this famous Cupola or Cube Room when finished -by Kent, such it appeared in 1818, when Pyne's drawing, from which our -illustration is taken, was made, and such it appears to this day, save -for the large musical clock which then stood in its centre, for the -console tables against the walls, and the four large chandeliers that -hung from the ceiling. These last were most essential features in this -saloon, for its windows, abutting northwards on the private gardens, -admit but very insufficient light; and only when illuminated by a blaze -of candlelight can full justice have been done to the extravagant -glories of its walls and ceilings. - -It was, in fact, intended essentially as a room for grand evening -entertainments, and Kent evidently bore this in mind when he constructed -it; for he contrived a very ingenious method, whereby the double doors -in the doorways between it and the two drawing-rooms, with which it -communicates, fold back, when opened, into the door jambs, in which they -lie flush, offering no projecting hindrance to the movement of guests -passing either way. This is a point never thought of by modern -architects, who might do worse, when designing great reception rooms, -than take a hint in this matter from the much contemned Kent, and so -obviate the usual "crush" at the too narrow doorways. - - * * * * * - -It seems to have been in this Cupola Room that took place, on the 24th -of June, 1819, the baptism of the infant Princess Victoria. Faulkner -records that "the Royal Gold Font was brought from the Tower and fitted -up in the Grand Saloon, with crimson velvet covering from the Chapel -Royal, St. James's. The ceremony was performed by the Archbishop of -Canterbury, assisted by the Bishop of London.... The Prince Regent and -nearly all the Royal Family were present at the ceremony, or at the -dinner in the evening." - -Exactly underneath this room is the famous pillared "Council Chamber" in -which, as we have already stated, the Queen held her first council. - - -=King's Drawing Room.= - -Built at the same time as the two preceding rooms by command of King -George I., William Kent here again reigns supreme in the design and -decoration. "It was on the walls of this drawing-room," we are told by -Pyne, writing in 1818, "that the then new art of paper-hangings, in -imitation of the old velvet flock, was displayed, with an effect that -soon led to the adoption of so cheap and elegant a manufacture, in -preference to the original rich material from which it was copied." - -The paper that now covers the walls is a copy of an old pattern, and has -been supplied by Messrs. Bertram, the decorators. - -We may again notice here the five lofty doorways, surmounted by flat -architraves, and the oak pilasters in the dado as characteristic of -Kent. There was originally one of his great massive marble -chimney-pieces in this room, long since replaced by the present plain -insignificant one. - -The dimensions of this room are 39 feet 6 inches long (from east to -west), 28 feet wide, and 22 feet 8 inches high to the top of the -cornice. - - -Painted Ceiling of the King's Drawing Room. - -This is another of Kent's artistic efforts. There is in the Record -Office a letter from Lord Grafton dated June 26th, 1725, conveying his -majesty's commands that "their Lordships of the Treasury would give -orders to Mr. William Kent to paint the ceilings, etc. in the new -apartments at Kensington"--including this one. - -The cove of the ceiling, or portion nearest the cornice, is elaborately -decorated with scroll-work and architectural ornaments, richly gilt and -painted, and with medallions in the middle of each side supported by -female figures. In the centre is a large projecting heavy oval frame of -plaster, with the panel within it recessed about three feet. This is -painted with the story of Jupiter and Semele, the God appearing in a -thunder-cloud, and Semele, in a ridiculous attitude, on a couch. No -painting could be worse. The signature of the artist, "_William Kent -pinxit_, 1725," has been found a little to the left of the right foot of -Semele. - -When the restoration of this room was taken in hand last winter, the -ceiling was so begrimed with the dirt, dust, smoke, and smuts of upwards -of a hundred and fifty years of London atmosphere, as to be nearly -black. The cleaning was carried out with the most scrupulous care, and -practically no re-painting or re-gilding has been necessary. - - -William Kent, the Royal and Fashionable Decorator. - -The whole effect of this ceiling _if you do not look at it_ is rich and -striking, and with the fine paper and the pictures on the walls will -pass muster as a suitable decorative treatment of a grand state -reception room. George I. and George II. at any rate had no hesitation -in extending an unqualified approval to Kent's work. After having -finished this suite he grew into greater favour than ever. He was soon -after appointed "Master Carpenter, Architect, Keeper of the Pictures, -and Principal Painter to the Crown, the whole, including a pension of -L100 a year, which was given him for his works at Kensington, -producing--according to Walpole--L600 a year." From the Court his vogue -extended to a large circle of patrons and votaries. "He was not only -consulted for furniture, as frames of pictures, glasses, tables, chairs, -etc., but for plate, for a barge, for a cradle; and so impetuous was -fashion, that two great ladies prevailed on him to make designs for -their birthday gowns. The one he dressed in a petticoat decorated with -columns of the five orders; the other like a bronze, in a -copper-coloured satin, with ornaments of gold!" - -[Illustration: KING'S DRAWING ROOM.] - - -Kent, the "Father of Modern Gardening." - -Kent also had a great reputation as a horticulturist, and was generally -designated, at the end of last century, as the "Father of Modern -Gardening"--his ghastly progeny consisting of the destructive and -desolating "landscape-gardening" enterprises of "Capability Brown," -Repton, and their followers. His hand doubtless fell heavy on the old -Queen Anne formal gardens about Kensington Palace. We can see the -influence of his taste, which was followed with enthusiasm by Queen -Caroline and her gardener Bridgman, in the barrenness and commonplace -appearance of the grounds that lie immediately below in front of us, as -we look out of the windows of this room, and in the entire absence of -planting or gardening in the large expanse surrounding the "Round Pond." - -This =Round Pond=, or "=the Basin=" as it used to be called, is, by the -bye, not round at all, but of a geometrical figure, more of an oval form -than circular, and with the four sides flattened and the intermediate -portions of the circumference bent into "ogees." In thus shaping this -basin the designer, whether Kent or Bridgman, has overstepped artistic -discretion; for from no point of view, neither in Kensington Gardens, -from the ground beside it, nor even from this window is its real shape -to be made out--only from Rocque's plan or bird's-eye view, of 1736, can -it be seen to be so eccentric. - -The distant =view=, however, beyond the private gardens, across the -Round Pond and Kensington Gardens, over grassy slopes and ancient trees -to Hyde Park, a mile away, is one of the pleasantest in the metropolis. -Not a street, not a road, not a house, not a roof is to be seen. In the -spring and early summer, when the foliage is fresh and green, one might -imagine oneself in the depths of the country, in some old house -overlooking midland pastures and woods. - - -West's Pictures in the King's Drawing Room. - -In this room are hung the paintings of West, all of which were executed -for George III., who greatly admired them, and extended to him a most -liberal patronage. He was equally in favour with the public, who lauded -his performances to the skies, and with his fellow-artists, who made him -President of the Royal Academy. We now hardly know which to wonder at -most--an obscure lad in the wilds of Pennsylvania, who took his earliest -lessons in painting from a tribe of Cherokees, accomplishing what he -did; or the English fetish, Public Opinion, having been so deluded as to -regard his efforts as masterpieces of Art. The depreciation which has -overtaken him may be judged when we hear that an "Annunciation," for -which L800 was originally paid, was knocked down in 1840 for L10! His -portraits, nevertheless, are interesting. - -80 The Death of General Wolfe (_497_) . . . . . WEST. - - Wolfe lies in the centre, to the right, supported by three - officers. In front of him is a wounded officer, standing, supported - by others, to hear his dying injunctions. At his feet is an Indian - warrior in his war-paint, gazing at him to see how an English chief - will die. On the extreme left is a messenger running, and on the - left ships with soldiers disembarking. On canvas, 5 ft. high, by 8 - ft. wide. - - Wolfe was killed on the 13th September, 1759, in the moment of - victory before Quebec. "The fall of Wolfe was noble indeed. He - received a wound in the head, but covered it from his soldiers with - his handkerchief. A second ball struck him in the belly, but that - too he dissembled. A third hitting him in the breast, he sank under - the anguish, and was carried behind the ranks. Yet, fast as life - ebbed out, his whole anxiety centred on the fortune of the day. He - begged to be borne nearer to the action, but his sight being dimmed - by the approach of death, he entreated to be told what they who - supported him saw: he was answered, that the enemy gave ground. He - eagerly repeated the question, heard the enemy was totally routed, - cried 'I am satisfied,' and expired." (Walpole's _Memoirs_.) - - "In this picture, which was painted in 1771, West introduced the - sensible innovation of dressing the characters in their proper - costume; previous to that time it was the common practice with - painters to dress their figures in historical compositions of any - kind, in the Greek or Roman costume. Sir Joshua Reynolds was one - of those who were averse to the innovation, but when the picture - was finished, he changed his opinion. After a careful examination - of the picture, he observed to the Archbishop of York, who was with - him at the time, 'West has conquered; he has treated his subject as - it ought to be treated; I retract my objections. I foresee that - this picture will not only become one of the most popular, but will - occasion a revolution in the art.' When West related this to the - King, he said, 'I wish I had known all this before, for the - objection has been the means of Lord Grosvenor getting the picture, - but you shall make a copy for me.'" - - This is the copy ordered by George III., for which the painter - received L315. The original is at Grosvenor House, and has been - finely engraved by Woollett. There are several other repetitions of - it. - -81 Prince of Wales (George IV.), and Duke of York -(_500_) . . . . . WEST. - - The Prince is on the left, in yellow satin, his right hand on his - hip, his left on his brother's shoulder, who leans against a table. - They are both in the robes of the Garter and St. Andrew. On canvas, - 9 ft. high, by 7 ft. wide. - - The Prince of Wales was born on August 12th, 1762; Frederick, Duke - of York, on August 16th, 1763. This picture represents them when - they were about fifteen and fourteen years old, therefore, about - 1777. - - Soon afterwards the Duke of York proceeded to Prussia for the - purpose of being educated as a soldier. - -82 Dukes of Cumberland, Sussex, and Cambridge, and the Princesses -Augusta-Sophia, Elizabeth, and Mary (_488_). - - The Duke of Cumberland is on the left, standing; the Duke of Sussex - is lying down near his sister Elizabeth, who holds on her lap the - infant Princess Mary (?). Kneeling by them is the Duke of - Cambridge, and behind is the Princess Augusta-Sophia. Signed and - dated 1776. On canvas, 6 ft. 7 in. high, by 7 ft. 10 in. wide. - - Prince Ernest Augustus, afterwards Duke of Cumberland and King of - Hanover, and grandfather of her Royal Highness Princess Frederica, - was born June 5th, 1771; Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex, - on January 27th, 1773; and Prince Adolphus Frederick, Duke of - Cambridge, on February 24th, 1774. Princess Augusta-Sophia was born - on November 8th, 1768; Princess Elizabeth, on May 22nd, 1770; and - Princess Mary, on April 25th, 1776. - - The Princesses have long been wrongly called, Charlotte, Augusta, - and Sophia; the correct names, as given above, are derived from the - contemporary mezzotint by V. Green; besides, when this picture was - painted the Princess Sophia was not born. - -83 Queen Charlotte, aged 36, with her thirteen children in the -background (_498_) . . . . . WEST. - - Standing; dressed in white, her hair powdered and piled up high. - The thirteen children are seen in the distance to the left, in a - picture which is now at Windsor Castle. On canvas, 9 ft. 6 in. - high, by 7 ft. wide. - -84 George III.; Lords Amherst and Lothian behind (_494_) . . . . . WEST. - - He is standing, facing to the right, in full regimentals. He holds - a scroll of paper in his hands in front of him. Behind him is his - crown and sceptre; and in the background the two peers, and a view - of Coxheath Camp. On canvas, 9 ft. 6 in. high, by 7 ft. wide. - - It appears from West's own memoranda that this picture was painted - before 1779, consequently the King cannot have been more than - forty. - -85 Duke of Cambridge, and Princesses Charlotte and Augusta -(_487_) . . . . . WEST. - - The Duke, in a maroon-coloured suit, is standing on the right. - Princess Charlotte is sitting on a stool, with her sister on her - lap. In the background are a curtain, a column, and Kew Gardens - with the Pagoda. Signed on the top in the left hand corner; and - dated 1778. On canvas, 9 ft. high, by 6 ft. wide. - - Princess Charlotte, George III.'s eldest daughter, afterwards Queen - of Wirtemburg, was born on September 29th, 1766; and Princess - Augusta, on November 8th, 1768. It is doubtful whether the names - are correct. - -86 =Apotheosis of the Infant Princes Octavius and Alfred= (_503_). - - Alfred, the younger of the two, is seated on clouds, with his hands - out-stretched to his brother, who is being conducted up to him by - an angel. - - Prince Octavius was born on February 23rd, 1779, and Prince Alfred - on September 22nd, 1780. Alfred died on August 20th, 1782. "I am - very sorry for Alfred," said the King, "but had it been Octavius I - should have died too." - - Octavius followed his brother to the grave on May 2nd, 1783. For - this picture West received L315. Engraved by Sir Robert Strange. - -87 =Queen Charlotte and the Princess Royal= (_492_) . . . . . WEST. - - The Queen is sitting on a sofa, with embroidery on her lap. The - Princess stands on the right, by her side, and holds the - embroidery. Dated 1776. On canvas, 5 ft. 5 in. high, by 6 ft. 8 in. - wide. - -88 Duke of Clarence (William IV.), and Duke of Kent -(_502_) . . . . . WEST. - - The Duke of Clarence is on the left, dressed in a blue coat with a - white vest; he has his right hand on a globe, his left on his hip. - The Duke of Kent is in red turned full to the front, but looking at - his brother; his right hand is on his brother's left hand, his left - is pointing upwards. On canvas, 9 ft. 6 in. high, by 7 ft. wide. - - Prince William Henry, Duke of Clarence, afterwards William IV., was - born August 21st, 1765. Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, father of her - present Most Gracious Majesty, was born November 2nd, 1767. This - picture was painted when they were about thirteen and eleven years. - In 1780, the Duke of Clarence went to sea as a midshipman. West - received 250 guineas for the picture. - -89 George III. Reviewing the Tenth Dragoons in Hyde Park in 1797 -(_168_) . . . . . BEECHEY. - - The King is in front on a white horse, whose head is turned to the - left. He is in full regimentals, with a cocked hat. Just behind him - is the Prince of Wales, in the uniform of the 10th, holding up his - sword and giving the word of command. To the left of the King is - the Duke of York, with Generals Goldsworthy and Sir David Dundas; - Sir William Fawcett is standing in front of them. The King is - turning round to speak to them, and points with his right hand to - the cavalry charge in the left distance. On canvas, 13 ft. 8 in. - high, by 16-1/2 ft. wide. - - The 10th Light Dragoons (now the 10th Hussars) were frequently - reviewed by George III. in company with the Prince of Wales, who - entered the army as brevet-colonel, November 19th, 1782, and after - whom the regiment was called "The Prince of Wales's Own," on - Michaelmas Day, 1783. In 1793 he was appointed colonel-commandant - of the corps, and succeeded as colonel on July 18th, 1796. The - review commemorated here took place not long after that date, for - the picture is mentioned in a biographical sketch of Sir William - Beechey in _The London Monthly Mirror_ for July, 1798, where we are - told that the King rewarded him for it with the honour of - knighthood. The names of the officers were derived from an account - of a review, which took place in 1799, and which this picture was - formerly supposed to represent; it is therefore doubtful whether - they are quite correct. (See _Notes and Queries_.) - - This picture is regarded as Beechey's masterpiece, and was very - much admired at the time. But "although a clever and showy group of - portraits, it has little of real nature, and is full of the - painter's artifices. Thus the King's white horse forms the - principal light, and comes off the Prince of Wales's dark horse, - and so on; the light and shadow of all the heads being the light - and shadow of the studio, and not of the field."--(Redgrave's - _Century of Painters_.) The King had several copies taken of it; in - one, which he gave to Lord Sidmouth, the figure of the Prince was - omitted by the King's own desire, a curious proof of his dislike of - his son. When the Prince became King he hinted that it should be - restored, but this was evaded. Benjamin Smith engraved the portrait - of George III. from this picture. - - -=King's Privy Chamber.= - -Although this room formed part of the state apartments built by Kent, it -was much transformed in the reign of George III., so that it bears -little trace of its original decoration. Indeed, it is so commonplace in -appearance, that, except for the pictures which now hang on its walls, -it looks more like an ordinary bedroom in an old-fashioned country inn -than a king's chamber in a palace. The plain deal dado, the common -chimney-piece of black veined marble, the wood and plaster cornice, the -shutters and windows, are all of the most ordinary and inartistic -pattern. - -The dimensions of this room are 31 feet long, 24 feet wide, and 17 feet -high. - - -=Portraits of the Time of George III.= - -90 Portrait of Francis, 5th Duke of Bedford (_961_) . . . . . J. -HOPPNER. - - Full-length, turned to the left, looking to the front. He is - dressed in a peer's full robes. His left hand is on his hip, his - right holds a scroll of paper. He is bareheaded, face close-shaven, - and his hair short. Behind him is a red curtain, and in the - distance on the left a statue of Hercules. On canvas, 8 ft. 3 in. - high, by 5 ft. 2 in. wide. - - Behind is written:--"Received, 7th April, 1810, from Mrs. Hoppner." - The duke, who was born in 1765, died on March 2nd, 1802. - - "More dignified and well painted than the similar one at - Woburn."--_Sir George Scharf._ - -91 Francis Hastings, Earl of Moira (_950_) . . . . . HOPPNER. - - Full-length, figure slightly to the right, but the face turned - round to the left. Dressed in uniform, with the Ribbon and Star of - the Garter. His right hand holds a scroll of paper by his side; - his left rests on a document on a table. Background, a green - curtain, and sky on the right. On canvas, 7 ft. 10 in. high, by 4 - ft. 10 in. wide. - - Behind is painted "R.A. 1794," the year of Hoppner's election, and - "The Star and Garter added 1812," in June of which year Lord Moira, - after failing to form a ministry, accepted the Garter, "but," says - Lord Spencer in a letter to Lord Buckingham, "whether as a calm to - his honour or his understanding, it is not for me to say." This - picture was received from Hoppner's widow, in June, 1810, a few - months after his death. - -92 Portrait of John Hely, Lord Hutchinson (_872_) . . . . . PHILLIPS, R.A. - - Three-quarters length, seated, turned to the left, and looking - downwards. His left leg is crossed over his right, and in his left - hand he holds a map of Egypt; his right holds an eyeglass on his - breast. He is in his uniform. In front of him on a table are - writing materials. On canvas, 4 ft. high, by 3-1/2 ft. wide. - - John Hely was born in 1757, and in 1774 went into the army. In the - expedition to Egypt in 1801 he was appointed second in command to - Sir Ralph Abercrombie; on whose death the chief command devolved on - Hely, then a major-general. For his admirable conduct of the - campaign, in which he drove the French from Egypt, he received the - thanks of both Houses, and was raised to the peerage in 1813. In - 1823 he succeeded his brother to the earldom of Donoughmore. He - died in 1832. - -93 Christian VII. of Denmark (_976_) . . . . . DANCE. - - A head, in an oval, turned to the right; dressed in a red uniform - trimmed with gold; on his breast a blue ribbon. His hair is - powdered and brushed back. - - This was formerly unnamed, but the mezzotint engraving after it by - Fisher shows it to have been painted by Dance; doubtless when the - King was over here in 1767 for his marriage to Princess Matilda. He - was then eighteen years old. - - Their domestic life was not happy. In politics he distinguished - himself by granting liberty of the press to his subjects; in reward - for which Voltaire addressed the famous lines to him, in which he - tells him: "Je me jette a tes pieds au nom du genre humain." - - He afterwards went out of his mind, and died in 1808. - - He was the son of Princess Louisa, the daughter of George II., and - succeeded to the throne in 1766. The engraving after this picture - by G. Fisher is dated 1769. - -94 Portrait of Richard Brinsley Sheridan (_891_) . . . . . K. A. HICKEL? - - Bust; face turned slightly to the right. He has a blue coat and a - yellow waistcoat. His face is close-shaven. On canvas, 2 ft. high, - by 1 ft. 8 in wide. - - "Whatever Sheridan has done, or chosen to do, has been _par - excellence_ always the best of its kind. He has written the best - comedy, the best farce, and the best address ('Monologue on - Garrick'), and, to crown all, delivered the very best oration (the - famous Begum speech) ever conceived or heard in this - country."--_Byron._ - - This appears to be the study for, or a replica of, the head of - Sheridan in the picture of the Interior of the old House of Commons - in 1793, painted by Karl Anton Hickel, and now in the National - Portrait Gallery. - -95 Portrait of Spencer Perceval (_890_) . . . . . JOSEPH. - - Half-length, turned to the left. In his left hand he holds a paper. - He wears a blue coat and a white waistcoat. His face is shaven, his - hair grey, and his head bald in front. On canvas, 2-1/2 ft. high, - by 2 ft. wide. - - Behind is written:--"Received from Mrs. Joseph, 18th June, 1814." - - This is a posthumous likeness, taken from a mask after death, but - considered by all who knew him to be a faithful resemblance. When - Queen Charlotte went to see it, and the curtain which covered it - was withdrawn, she was so struck with its truth, that she burst - into tears. Many copies with slight variations were executed; one - of them is now in the National Portrait Gallery. It is engraved in - mezzotint by Turner. It is a fair specimen of George Francis - Joseph, an indifferent artist, who was elected an associate of the - Royal Academy after painting this portrait. He died in 1846. - - Perceval, who became Prime Minister in October, 1809, was - assassinated in the lobby of the House of Commons by Bellingham, on - May 11th, 1812. The official documents he holds in his hand remind - us that his state papers were not at all to the taste of the Prince - Regent, who remarked, "that it was a great misfortune to Mr. - Perceval to write in a style which would disgrace a respectable - washerwoman." - -96 Mary Granville, Mrs. Delany (_944_) . . . . . OPIE. - - Bust, turned to the left. She is dressed in a black silk dress, - trimmed with lace, and having a hood over her white widow's cap. - Round her neck is a locket. On canvas, 2 ft. 6 in. high. - - This portrait represents her as a very old woman, and was probably - painted not many years before her death, in 1788, at the age of - eighty-eight. She was the eldest daughter of Bernard Granville, - grandson of Sir Bevil Granville, the Royalist leader, and was born - in 1700. She was educated under the care of her uncle, Lord - Lansdowne, and married in 1717 Alexander Pendarves. She was - intimate with Swift, through whom she became acquainted with her - second husband, Dr. Delany. After his death she spent most of her - time with her friend, the Duchess of Portland, and when she died, - George III., who, with the Queen, became very intimate with the old - lady, gave her a pension and a house at Windsor. She occupied her - declining years in copying flowers in paper, and executed as many - as 980. She died in 1788. Her autobiography was published in 1861; - it contains a great many reminiscences of the court and family of - George III. - - This picture first brought Opie into notice. A replica painted for - the Countess of Bute is in the National Portrait Gallery. - -97 Brownlow North, Bishop of Winchester (_888_) . . . . . _after_ DANCE. - - Bust, nearly a full face, slightly inclined to the right. He is - seated in a purple-covered chair, in the robes of a Chancellor of - the Garter, with the chain of the order on his breast. On canvas, 2 - ft. 8 in. high, by 2 ft. 2 in. wide. - - He was a half-brother of Lord North, the Prime Minister; was born - in 1741; and was successively appointed Bishop of Lichfield and - Coventry, Worcester and Winchester, and died in 1820. - -98 Portrait of Hurd, Bishop of Worcester (_889_) . . . . . GAINSBOROUGH. - - Bust, turned to the left, facing and looking in front. Dressed in a - bishop's canonicals, with a small, but full, curly wig. Painted in - an oval. On canvas, 2 ft. 6 in. high, by 2 ft. 1 in. wide. Compare - No. 371. - -99 Richard Hurd, Bishop of Worcester (_887_) . . . . . GAINSBOROUGH. - - Bust, to the right, looking to the front His left hand is on his - breast, holding his gown. Dressed in canonicals, with a bushy wig. - On canvas, 2 ft. 6 in. high, by 2 ft. 1 in. wide. - - He was the son of a farmer at Congreve, Staffordshire, and was born - in 1720. He was appointed preceptor to the Prince of Wales and the - Duke of York, and was nominated Bishop of Worcester in 1781; but - declined the primacy offered by George III., with whom he was a - great favourite. He wrote many moral and religious works, long - since relegated to the limbo of insipid mediocrities. Engraved by - Holl in 1774? Perhaps the picture exhibited in 1781. - -100 A Rabbi (_266_) . . . . . _after Rembrandt, by_ GAINSBOROUGH. - - Bust, to the right. He wears a dark dress, and cap with flaps; his - beard is long. On canvas, 2 ft. 6 in. high, by 2 ft. 1 in. wide. - - This was in Gainsborough's possession at his death, and was - exhibited at Schomberg House, 1789. - -101 Portrait of C. F. Abel, the Musician (_938_) . . . . . ROBINEAU. - - Half-length; seated at a piano or spinet, turned towards the right, - but his face looking behind him, over his shoulder to the left. He - is dressed in a red coat and has a small wig. On canvas, 2 ft. 1 - in. high, by 1 ft. 8 in. wide. Signed on the left-hand side:--"_C. - Robineau 1780._" - - Charles Frederick Abel was a pupil of Bach's, and at one time - belonged to the royal band at Dresden. He came to England about - 1765, and was appointed master of Queen Charlotte's band. Although - he wrote music, he was more celebrated for his playing than his - compositions. Abel was a very passionate man, and much addicted to - the bottle,--peculiarities which the visitor would suspect him of, - from his flushed face and red nose. He died in 1787, after being - three days in a sort of drunken torpor. - -Robineau was a portrait-painter who practised in Paris and London. - -102 Duchess of Brunswick, Sister of George III . . . . . A. KAUFFMAN. - - Full-length, turned to the right. She holds a child in her arms on - an altar in front of her. She is dressed in white with an - orange-coloured mantle, lined with light blue; she wears sandals. - On canvas, 8 ft. 11 in. high, by 5 ft. 11 in. wide. - - On the left at the foot of the column is the signature:--"_Angelica - Pinx A_. 1767." To the left, on a vase, the inscription:-- - - _Carol._ ILLE _de Bruns. & Prin. Hered_. - A. MDCCLX M. _Jul. apud Enisdorff_ VICTORIA. - _et_ A. MDCCLXIV M. _Jan. apud Lond._ AMORE. _Coron._ - - Augusta, the eldest daughter of Frederick, Prince of Wales, was - born on the 31st of July, 1737, and was married to the Duke of - Brunswick on the 17th of January, 1764. By him she became the - mother, among other children, of Caroline, Princess of Wales, and - of Duke William Frederick, "Brunswick's fated chieftain," who fell - at Quatre-Bras. In 1767, when this portrait was painted, she was in - England on a visit. - - The child in her arms must be her eldest son Charles George - Augustus, who was born 8th February, 1766, and died in 1806. - -103. Frederick, Prince of Wales (_893_) . . . . . VANLOO? - - Bust, turned to the left, facing in front. He wears a blue sash - over his coat. See _ante_, No. 4. - -104. George III., when Prince of Wales, aged 12, and Prince Edward -Augustus, Duke of York and Albany, aged 11 . . . . . RICHARD WILSON, -R.A. - - Seated figures, on a couch by a table, the Prince of Wales on the - left. On canvas, 3 feet 3-1/2 inches high, by 4 feet 1-1/2 inches - wide. Lent by the trustees of the National Portrait Gallery. - - The Duke of York was born in 1739, became an admiral in 1759, and - died at Monaco in 1767. - - -=The Nursery.= - -The designation of "The Nursery" has been for many years applied to this -room, having, it appears, been so used at one time by Queen Victoria, -whose doll-house is now placed here. It was afterwards occupied by the -late Duchess of Teck, and it was here that Princess May, now Duchess of -York, was born, on May 26th, 1867. - -Its associations are, therefore, exclusively Victorian, with which its -decoration--so far as it can be said to have any--accords. The "shell" -of the room, however, is part of Kent's addition to the State Rooms. - -The dimensions of this room are 30 feet 7 inches long by 23 feet 5 -inches wide, and 17 feet high to the highest point of the ceiling, 15 -feet 2 inches to the top of the cornice. - - -Pictures and Prints illustrative of the Queen's Life and Reign. - -A collection is here being formed by Mr. Holmes, the Queen's Librarian, -of various prints, illustrative of Her Majesty's Life and Reign. Among -them are old prints of the Queen as a child, and as the young Princess -Victoria, Heiress to the Throne; also of the marriage of the Prince of -Wales in St. George's Chapel, the Baptism of the Princess Royal, etc.; -and also the Jubilee Celebration of 1887 in Westminster Abbey, from the -painting by W. E. Lockhart, R.S.A. - -110 The Queen's First Council in the pillared Council Chamber at -Kensington Palace on 20th of June, 1837 . . . . . _After_ WILKIE. - - For an account of this famous scene, _see_ page 37. - - -=Ante-Room.= - -As we go through the door of "The Nursery" into this ante-room, we pass -from the portion of the Palace built by Kent, to the original block -erected by Wren, this ante-room being a part of what was formerly one of -William III.'s state rooms. - -Through this lobby it was that the Queen passed to the adjoining -staircase when she went downstairs to receive the news of her accession. - -The dimensions of this room are: 19 feet 3 inches long, 10 feet 2 inches -wide, and 16 feet high. - - -Prints illustrative of the Life and Reign of the Queen. - -The wall space here will be devoted to further prints illustrative of -the Queen's Life and Reign. - -[Illustration: Decoration] - - -=Queen Victoria's Bedroom.= - -To future ages, if not indeed already to the present one, this plain, -modestly-decorated chamber must have an interest far transcending that -of the more gorgeous Georgian saloons, which we have just traversed. -For, it was for many years the bedroom of our own Queen, when as a -little girl of tender age she lived in quiet simplicity at Kensington -Palace with her mother, the Duchess of Kent. - -From the windows of this room we can imagine the little princess, when -she rose in the morning, gazing out over the gardens and the Park -beyond, as the beams of the eastern sun struggled through the mists and -smoke of distant London, musing on the mighty destiny awaiting her; or -in the evening hour, when the flower-scented air of the garden beneath -floated in at the casement, looking out where the far-off lights of the -great town twinkled among the trees, her mind filled with solemn -thoughts of the awful responsibility that was to be hers. - -Even now, when the building octopus, with its stucco tentacles, has -clutched and sucked in so many a fair surrounding green field, from -these windows not a roof, not a chimney meets the eye; not an echo, -even, of the ceaseless roar of the traffic strikes the ear. - -It was in this room that the Queen was sleeping on the memorable morning -of the 20th of June, 1837, when she was awakened by her mother, the -Duchess of Kent, to go to the Drawing Room downstairs, where Lord -Conyngham and the Archbishop of Canterbury were awaiting to inform her -of her accession to the throne. - -The dimensions of this room are: 23 feet 3 inches long, 19 feet 3 inches -wide, and 16 feet high. - - -Prints of the Life and Reign of the Queen. - -Prints in continuation of the series commenced in "The Nursery," are in -process of being arranged in this room. - - -Mementoes and Relics of the Queen's Childhood, collected in "Queen -Victoria's Bedroom." - -Here also will be arranged some of the Queen's toys, with which she -played as a little girl in these rooms; and perhaps other similar -objects of interest. Labels will, doubtless, be affixed to explain, what -these are. - -[Illustration: Decoration] - - -=King's Gallery.= - -This magnificent gallery, the finest of all the state rooms at -Kensington Palace, was designed and built by Sir Christopher Wren for -William III. about the year 1693. It owes much of its architectural -effect to the great architect's wonderful knowledge and appreciation of -proportion--an element too often disregarded in buildings of modern -times. Its length is 96 feet, its breadth 21 feet 6 inches, and its -height 18 feet to the top of the cornice, and 19 feet 8 inches to the -highest point of the ceiling. It is, therefore, 12 feet longer than the -already-described Queen Mary's Gallery, 2 feet higher, but of the same -width. Compared with it, the "King's or Cartoon Gallery" at Hampton -Court, built by Wren almost exactly at the same time, it is 21 feet less -long, 3 feet less wide, and 10 feet less high. - -In relation to it the following items from the old accounts, dating from -about the year 1693, are interesting: - - "Item to Richard Hawkesmore, Clerk of the Workes, for making up an - account [an estimate?] of the King's New Gallery at - Kensington--L5." - - "More to him for Pasteboard and other Materialls for making a - modell of the said Gallery for the King--L5 2_s._" - - "Cha: Houghton for rating, casting up, and engrossing the Books of - the said Building for the Auditor--L5." - - -Decorative Carvings in "the King's Gallery." - -The oak cornice and the oak doors of this gallery, especially the -beautiful architraves of the doors, are among the finest specimens -anywhere existing of Wren's decorative art, designed by him and carried -out under the superintendence of Gibbons. Relating to this work we find -the following item in the accounts for the years 1691 to 1696: - - "To Grinling Gibbons, carver, for worke done in the new Gallery - building, in the King's great and Little Closet, in three Roomes - under the King's apartment, in the King's Gallery, and other places - about the said Pallace--L839 0_s._ 4_d._" - -In other respects the appearance of this room has been much altered; for -the oak panelling, which appears originally to have entirely covered its -walls was removed, it would seem, in the reign of George I. or of George -II.; when also the ceiling, which was originally plain, was painted as -we see it now. - - -Chimney-Piece, Map and Dial. - -At the same time a new chimney-piece was inserted. Part of the original -over-mantel, however, of the time of William III., still remains, -especially a very curious map of the north-west of Europe, showing the -names of various towns, especially in the north of France, the -Netherlands, and the British Isles. Relating to it we have discovered, -in the course of our researches among the old parchment rolls in the -Record Office, the following entry, dating from about, the year 1694: - - "To Rob^{t} Norden for his paines in drawing a map for the - chimney-piece and for attending the painters--L5." - -Round the circumference of the map are the points of the compass; and an -old =dial-hand= or pointer, still remains, which was actuated by an iron -rod connected with a vane, still existing above the roof. This enabled -King William to know from which quarter the wind was blowing; whether, -therefore, it was safe for him, with his asthma, to venture out of -doors, or whether the wind was favourable for wafting him away from this -hated climate to his own dearly-loved country of Holland. - -It was this dial which so greatly interested Peter the Great, when he -privately visited William III. in this palace in 1698, being admitted by -a back door. "It was afterwards known," says Macaulay, but unfortunately -without giving his authority, "that he took no notice of the fine -pictures, with which the palace was adorned. But over the chimney in -the royal sitting-room was a plate which, by an ingenious machinery, -indicated the direction of the wind; and with this plate he was in -raptures." - -[Illustration: THE KING'S GALLERY.] - -This old dial is fixed in a square carved and gilt frame, probably the -one referred to in the following item in the old accounts of the years -1691-96: - - "To Rene Cousins gilder for a large frame carved and gilt with - burnished gold--L10." - -The outer frame of deal wood surrounding this gilt one is, on the other -hand, of a later date, evidently designed by Kent, as was also the -decorated panel above it, itself surmounted by a pediment, richly -carved, doubtless by men trained in the school of Wren and Gibbons. - -In the centre of this fine "Kentian" panel is a medallion picture of the -"Virgin and Child," painted in fresco, of the school of Raphael, and -inscribed behind with the date, 1583. - -All this over-mantel was, in the time of George I., painted over white -with enrichments of gold. It so remained until last winter, when the -thick coats of filthy paint were cleaned off. It has been thought best -to leave the deal wood in its natural state, unpainted, only applying a -little stain to tone it into harmony with the colour of the surrounding -oak carvings. - -Although this carved over-mantel is an addition, and as far as the -pediment is concerned, very out of place so close to the cornice, yet it -is very beautiful and of much interest as being one of the finest -examples of decorative design executed in England during the reigns of -the first two Georges. In it we trace the influence of the lighter -French taste of Louis XV., which Kent had no doubt become acquainted -with when travelling abroad. The marble chimney-piece below, on the -other hand, is in that architect's regular massive, heavy style. - - * * * * * - -Almost at once, after this gallery was finished by Wren, it became the -receptacle of some of the finest works of art in the Royal collection. -Among the manuscripts in the British Museum is the original list of -William III.'s pictures, placed "in Kensington House, 1697"--some -seventy pieces being mentioned as then hanging on its walls. - -It was in the year following that Peter the Great was in England; when, -besides his private interview with the King, mentioned above, he was a -spectator at a ball given in this same gallery on the birthday of -Princess Anne, not publicly, however, but peeping through one of the -doors, in a closet prepared for him on purpose. - -In this room, King William, in the month of March, 1702, after his -accident, and a few days before his death, "took several turns" to -exercise himself; but soon becoming fatigued, he reclined upon a couch -and fell asleep, "but soon to awake in a shivering fit, which was the -beginning of a fever, attended with serious symptoms, from which he -never recovered." - - -Painting of the Ceiling and Wainscot of the King's Gallery. - -This gallery was also a favourite sitting-room of Queen Anne and her -husband, and of George I. It was by command of the latter monarch that -Kent, about the year 1724, undertook the painting of the ceiling, his -charge for which, with similar work in "the little closets," amounted to -_L_850. Although the richness of the colouring and gilding give it a -gorgeous appearance, neither the design nor the ornaments, least of all -the panels, painted with mythological subjects, are interesting. It is -divided into seven compartments, surrounded by elaborate classic scroll -and arabesque work, and allegorical figures. The centre medallion is -oval, the other six oblong or lozenge shaped. The officers of Works in -their Report, dated 30th of September, 1725, to the "Lords Commissioners -of His Majesty's Treasury," on this work, added: - - "We have caused an estimate to be made of the charge of painting - the wainscot of the sd. Gallery and little closets in the same - manner as the Bedchamber and closets are already painted, amounting - to L32: 16: - - Gilding the same--L154: 4: - - Providing Scaffolds for the Painters and covering the floors with - Boards to prevent their being damaged, etc., L233: 3:" - -They further added: - - "We crave leave to lay before your Lordships a letter that we have - received from Sir James Thornhill, Serj^{t} Painter to his Majesty, - in which he complains that the gilding of the cornishes, which hath - hitherto been done by himself, and his predecessors, is by my Lord - Chamberlain's Letter directed to be done by another person, which - letter we have hereunto annexed." - -On October 5th, accordingly, an order was made to the Board of Works to -commission Sir J. Thornhill to do the gilding of the cornices. - -On the barbarity of painting the beautiful oak work in this gallery, and -especially the exquisitely carved oak architraves and cornices, we need -not dwell. They remained painted until last autumn, when with infinite -trouble and pains, the paint was cleaned off, and all the delicate -chiselling of Gibbons and his assistants revealed to the eye, after -being obscured for a hundred and seventy-four years. The visitor can -judge for himself with what success this has been accomplished. No stain -has been used in this restoration; and only after repeated experiments -was the method adopted of treating it simply with wax polish. - -The old panelling of Wren's time was probably removed in the time of -George II., in order to afford more wall-space for hanging pictures -on--which was Queen Caroline's great hobby. - -An even worse barbarism was perpetrated in this superb gallery at the -beginning of the century--when it was divided by partitions into three -distinct rooms--in which state it remained until the restorations were -begun last year. One of these subdivisions was used by Queen Victoria, -when a little girl, for her toys. - - -Naval Pictures in the King's Gallery. - -In this gallery have now been collected a large number of sea-pieces, -sea-fights, dockyards, and admirals, mainly of the time of the Georges, -to illustrate the history of the British Navy. Though but very few--for -instance, those by Monamy and Scott--can be considered fine works of -art, yet all of them will be found interesting and curious; and no one, -who has known them only when hanging in bad lights on dark screens in -the overcrowded rooms at Hampton Court, would have suspected how much -there is to be studied in them, now that they are at length properly -displayed. - -201 The Dockyard at Sheerness (_1055_) . . . . . R. PATON. - - The dock is on the left, terminated by a fort in the centre of the - picture. On the left are a large man-of-war and a disabled ship - towed by a barque. - - This and Nos. 204, 232, 233, and 236 are pieces of dockyards, - painted by Paton more than a hundred years ago. They are each on - canvas, 3 ft. 4 in. high, by 4 ft. 10 in. wide. - - -202 Close of the Action, November 4th, 1805, Sir R. Strachan's Victory -(_1037_). [See Companion Piece, No. 234.] . . . . . N. POCOCK. - - On the left are three French vessels,? The Formidable, Scipion, - Mont Blanc, or Duguay Trouin, two of them utterly dismantled; to - the right is the English fleet. - - The engagement took place off Ferrol, about a fortnight after - Trafalgar, the French ships being under the command of Rear-Admiral - Dumanoir, who had escaped from that battle. - -203 George III. Reviewing the Fleet at Portsmouth (_1011_). [See No. -235.] . . . . . D. SERRES. - - In the centre is a large man-of-war, the "Barfleur": near it the - "Worcester" firing a salute, and beyond a line of men-of-war, the - "Royal Oak" and "Lennox" being distinguishable on the right. On - canvas, 4 ft. 10 in. high, by 7 ft. wide. Signed "D. Serres, 1776." - -204 The Dockyard at Deptford (_1000_). [See No. 201] . . . . . R. PATON. - - Greenwich is seen in the background; the dock buildings on the - right; and on the left various ships, one firing a salute. - -205 Ships in a Dockyard (_999_) . . . . . _unnamed._ - -206 A Sea-piece (_1046_) . . . . . D. SERRES. - - A large vessel is seen broadside, and in front an officer's gig; - other vessels are behind. Signed in lower right-hand corner, "D. - Serres, 1789." - -207 Action between the "Arethusa" and "Belle Poule" -(_673_) . . . . . _unnamed._ - - The "Arethusa," with its stern to the spectator, is to the left; - "La Belle Poule" is on the right. They are discharging heavy - broadsides at each other. The moon is seen in the distance between - them. - - The action took place on the 17th of July, 1778, off the Lizard, - and lasted two hours at close quarters without intermission. The - "Belle Poule" got away, though the English had got the best of the - fight. - -208 Sea Piece (_1078_) . . . . . BROOKING. - - On the right is an English frigate bearing away; on the left one - coming in. A fair specimen of this good marine painter. - -209 George III. Reviewing the Fleet at Portsmouth (_1012_). [See No. -235.] . . . . . D. SERRES. - - A large man-of-war in the centre; smaller craft on each side. - -210 The Royal Yacht which brought Queen Charlotte to England in 1761, to -be married to George III., in a storm (_1001_) . . . . . WRIGHT. - - The Royal Yacht is in the centre of the picture, attended by a - convoy of twelve vessels. It had been re-named "The Royal - Charlotte," and was newly ornamented with a profusion of carving - and gilding for the occasion. They embarked at Stade on the 24th of - August, and landed at Harwich on September 6th. - - Richard Wright was a painter of marine subjects. - -211 A Small Sea-Piece (_1080_) . . . . . P. MONAMY. - - In the centre, towards the left, is an English man-of-war firing a - salute; other smaller craft are to the right and left. 1 ft. 8 in. - high, by 2 ft. 11 in. wide. - - This is an excellent specimen of Peter Monamy, an imitator, and - probably pupil, of the Vandeveldes. Though much cracked, it is - beautifully painted, "showing a fine quality of texture, with great - precision of touch; the calm plane of the ocean level receding into - the extreme distance, without that set scenic effect of passing - cloud-shadows, which even the best masters have used to obtain the - appearance of recession and distance; this work well deserves - notice, and might puzzle the best painters of such subjects to - rival."--(Redgrave's _Century of Painters_.) - -212 His Majesty's Yacht in Portsmouth Harbour (_1035_) . . . . . J. T. -SERRES. - - She has twenty-six guns, and lies across the picture; other craft - are to the right and left. Behind is seen Portsmouth. Signed "_J. - T. Serres_, 1820." - -213 Shipping . . . . . _unnamed._ - -214 On the Thames--The Tower of London (_1024_) . . . . . _unnamed._ - -215 A Man-of-War engaged with two Vessels (_1015_) . . . . . MONAMY. - - A man-of-war is on the left engaged with two of the enemy's - vessels; behind are others shown in action. (See No. 219.) - -216 Rear-Admiral Sir Charles Knowles's Squadron attacking Port Louis in -St. Domingo (? Hispaniola) March 8th, 1748 (_998_) . . . . . R. PATON? - - To the left is an English vessel, the "Cornwall," firing at a fort - in the centre of the picture. More to the left is a small ship - burning; on the right are other vessels attacking the fort. - - The fire-ship of the enemy was towed clear of the squadron by the - boats, and left to burn and blow up at a distance from the fleet. - The fort surrendered in the evening, and was blown up. The English - lost seventy men. - -217 Battle of Trafalgar--Close of the Action (_1058_). [See Companion -Piece, No. 224.] . . . . . HUGGINS. - - In the centre is a large vessel (? the "Victory") with rigging much - shot away and torn. Others are seen behind in action. - - These are two of three pictures, painted for William IV.; the third - is now at St. James's Palace. - -218 Rear-Admiral Sir Charles Knowles's Action with a Spanish Squadron -off the Havannah, October 1st, 1748 (_1002_) . . . . . R. PATON? - - In the background is the battle-line of the enemy, under - Vice-Admiral Reggio, against which the British fleet is bearing. - The action began at two o'clock. Although defeated, nearly all the - Spaniards got into port; they lost eighty-six men. Knowles, when he - came home, was tried by court-martial for not pursuing the enemy - with more vigour, and was reprimanded. - -219 Sea Fight--A Man-of-War attacked by Boats (_226_) . . . . . MONAMY. - - The vessel is surrounded by boats, and is responding to their - musketry by a fierce cannonade. 3 ft. 4 in. high, by 4 ft. 2 in. - wide. - -220 Admiral Viscount Keith . . . . . T. PHILLIPS, R.A. - - Half length, in robes, turned to the left. His right hand holds up - his cloak, his left is seen underneath. His hair is gray. - - He commanded the fleet which, in 1795, captured the Cape of Good - Hope, and performed other brilliant services. He died in 1823. - -221 Shipping on the Thames--Temple Gardens (_1026_) . . . . . _unnamed._ - -222 Sea-Piece--The British Fleet (_1017_) . . . . . ELLIOT. - - In front are some eight large vessels, some with the yards manned, - others with their sails partly set; other ships are seen behind. - - On the frame in front is written:--"_To the R^{t}. Hon^{ble}. - W^{m}. Pitt this view of the British Fleet, which secured to - England the uninterrupted navigation of the Southern Ocean is - dedicated_." William Elliot was a bad marine painter in the style - of Serres. - -223 Battle of Camperdown--Close of the Action (_1064_). [See Companion -Piece, No. 225.] . . . . . J. T. SERRES. - - In the centre is a British flag-ship, shown at the end of a long - line of vessels. On the right is one of the enemy on fire, to which - boats are hastening. On the left is a ship with the name - "WASSANAER." - -224 The Day after the Battle of Trafalgar (_1057_). [See Companion -Piece, No. 217.] . . . . . HUGGINS. - - It represents the storm which separated the squadron the day after - the battle. On the right is a dismantled vessel rolling over; on - the left is the "Victory." On canvas, 8 ft. high, by 10 ft. wide. - -225 Battle of Camperdown--Lord Duncan's Victory (_1053_). [See Companion -Piece, No. 223.] . . . . . J. T. SERRES. - - The English fleet is ranged in three lines about to begin the - action by breaking the line of the enemy ranged beyond them. The - enemy have already opened fire. On canvas, 3 ft. high, by 4 ft. - wide. Signed, "J. T. Serres, 1793." - - John Thomas Serres was the son of Dominic Serres, who brought him - up as a marine painter. In the year in which this picture was - painted he succeeded, on his father's death, to the office of - marine painter to the King, and one of his duties in this post was - to make sketches of the harbours on the enemy's coast. He married - the _soi-disant_ Princess Olive of Cumberland, who lost him his - appointment, and brought him to misery, destitution, imprisonment, - and madness. (Redgrave's _Dict. of Artists_.) - -226 Equipment of the English Fleet in 1790 (_1033_) . . . . . ELLIOTT. - - Three full-rigged men-of-war and others partially rigged are in - front; beyond is a port. In front is a label:--"_To the Earl of - Chatham this view of the expeditious equipment of the British Fleet - in 1790 is dedicated_." - -227 A Man-of-War going out to Sea (_1034_) . . . . . _unnamed._ - - Crossing the picture to the left, following another going into the - picture. - -228 Admiral Lord Anson (_19_) . . . . . _After Hudson by_ BOCKMAN. - - This appears to be a copy of a picture in Lord Lichfield's - possession at Shugborough in Staffordshire, by Thomas Hudson, a - portrait painter, who flourished from 1701 to 1779, and who is - chiefly remembered now as the master of Reynolds. - - Anson was a victorious admiral in the reign of George II., well - known for his famous voyage round the world in the years 1740-44, - and for his great exploit of capturing, in 1743, the Spanish - galleon "Manilla," which had a cargo on board valued at L313,000. - He was created a peer in 1747 for his victory over the French - fleet, and was First Lord of the Admiralty during the Seven Years' - War. - - He is here represented in peer's robes, which approximately fixes - the date of the picture. - - Bockman, by profession a mezzotint engraver, was in England about - 1745-50, when he executed copies of various portraits of admirals, - which had been painted by Kneller for James II., and G. Dahl, a - Swedish painter, for William III. The originals were presented by - William IV. in 1835 to Greenwich Hospital. - -229. Shipping (_1025_) . . . . . _unnamed._ - -230. A Ship (_381_) . . . . . _unnamed._ - -231 George III. Reviewing the Fleet at Portsmouth (_1013_). [See No. -235.] . . . . . D. SERRES. - - In the centre is a large three-masted vessel, with the Union Jack - flying, and the royal party on board. Many others are behind. - -232 The Dockyard at Portsmouth (_1051_). [See No. 201.] . . . . . R. -PATON. - - On the left is a large vessel about to be launched; the dock - buildings are behind. - -233 The Dockyard at Chatham (_1062_). [See No. 201.] . . . . . R. PATON. - - The dock is on rising ground to the right; on the left is seen the - Medway. Various ships are on the river. - -234 Commencement of Sir Robert Calder's Action, July 22nd, 1805 -(_1038_). [See Companion Piece, No. 202.] . . . . . N. POCOCK. - - A small English ship is engaging two French vessels on the left. - - On the 19th of July, Calder had received despatches from Nelson - stating that the combined Franco-Spanish fleet was on its return - from the West Indies, and he cruised about off Cape Finisterre in - the hope of intercepting it. Though both sides lost heavily, the - action had no very decided result. The small English ship is - probably the "Hero," the van-ship of the British, which began the - attack. - - Nicholas Pocock, like D. Serres, acquired his knowledge of the sea - in the navy, which he gave up to adopt marine painting as a - profession. - -235 George III. Reviewing the Fleet at Portsmouth (_1014_) . . . . . D. -SERRES. - - To the right is a large line-of-battle ship firing a salute. - Several yachts with officers and spectators on board are seen. - - This, and Nos. 203, 209, and 231 pieces were painted by Dominic - Serres, a native of Gascony, who, after running away from home, - becoming a sailor, and then master of a trading vessel, and being - captured by an English frigate, settled in England and took to - painting marine pieces to earn a living. He was one of the original - members of the Royal Academy, and frequently exhibited. He is to be - distinguished from his son, J. T. Serres (see No. 225). - -236 The Dockyard at Woolwich (_1066_) . . . . . [See No. 201.] R. PATON. - - Woolwich church is seen in the centre background; the dock - buildings are on the right. - -237 Admiral Sir John Jennings (_11_) . . . . . _After Kneller by_ BOCKMAN. - - Knighted by Queen Anne in 1704, died in 1743, and is buried in - Westminster Abbey. - -238 Admiral John Benbow . . . . . _After Kneller by_ BOCKMAN. - - He was given the command of a ship by James, Duke of York, for his - bravery. In 1702, when in command of the West India squadron, he - sustained, almost alone, the fire of the whole French fleet under - Du Casse; his cowardly officers, two of whom were afterwards tried - by court-martial and shot, having basely deserted him. He died at - Jamaica very soon afterwards from a wound received in the action. - -239 Admiral George Churchill (_10_) . . . . . _After Kneller by_ BOCKMAN. - - A brother of the Duke of Marlborough's. He died in 1708. - -240 Admiral Sir G. Bing, Viscount Torrington (_7_) . . . . . _After -Kneller by_ BOCKMAN. - - The celebrated admiral of the reigns of Queen Anne and George I. He - was especially distinguished for his services against the - Pretender, and for his great victory over the Spanish off Sicily in - 1718. His son was the famous Admiral Byng, who was shot, as - Voltaire said, "pour encourager les autres." - -241 Admiral Edward Russell, Earl of Orford (_27_) . . . . . SIR G. -KNELLER. - - Half length, to the right; in blue. His left hand is on his hip, - his right has a baton. - - This is the famous admiral in the reign of William and Mary, who - gained the victory of La Hogue against the French fleet under - Tourville. - - This portrait is one of the series of admirals painted for William - III. - -242 Portrait of General Spalken (_910_) . . . . . _unnamed._ - - Three-quarters in length. Bareheaded, with grey hair. His right arm - rests on a table, on which is his cocked hat; his left is in his - belt. He wears a general's uniform, a red coat with blue facings, a - long white waistcoat with brass buttons, and white breeches. - - I can find nothing about Spalken. - -243 Admiral Sir Thomas Dilks (_9_) . . . . . _After Kneller by_ BOCKMAN. - - This is the hero of a brilliant action in Cancalli Bay in 1703, - when a small English squadron attacked a fleet of forty-three - French merchantmen with three men-of-war, and captured them all. - -244 Admiral Sir Stafford Fairbourne (_18_) . . . . . _After Kneller by_ -BOCKMAN. - - Lived in the reigns of William III. and Anne. - -245 Admiral Sir John Gradin (_8_) . . . . . _After Kneller by_ BOCKMAN. - - Served in the reign of Queen Anne, and was dismissed for - over-caution. - -246 Admiral Beaumont (_1_) . . . . . _After Dahl by_ BOCKMAN. - - He perished on the Goodwin Sands in the great storm "such as of - late o'er pale Britannia passed," in 1703. - - -=King's Grand Staircase.= - -Sir Christopher Wren was the original builder of this staircase, -although Kent's name has usually alone been associated with it. To the -great architect, however, we certainly owe the "shell" of the building, -its proportions, the black marble steps, the black and white chequered -marble on the landings, and the fine balustrade of wrought iron. This -ironwork was doubtless designed by Jean Tijou, whose name we have found -in the contemporary accounts relating to this palace, and in whose style -the design certainly is. As to the stair-treads, it is worthy of note -that in an estimate of Wren's for the completion of the King's Great -Staircase at Hampton Court, in 1699, he proposed that they should be -made "of Irish stone such as are at Kensington, but longer and easier," -which, in fact, they are. - -In King William's time the windows must have been of a different type to -those now here, which are in the style of Kent. As to the walls, they -were then probably painted with simple ornaments. Among the Kensington -accounts for the year 1692, we have found the following record of a -payment relating to such work: - - "To Robt. Streeter, Serg^{t} Painter, for japanning, gilding and - painting several Roomes and Lodgings in the said Pallace, painting - severall staircase, and the Guard Chamber, and other places in and - about the said Pallace--L3,599." - - -Kent's Alterations in the King's Grand Staircase. - -Kent's improvements, which must have been carried out about 1725, -included--besides the painting of the walls and ceiling--the alteration -of the approach to the staircase on the ground floor, where he inserted, -in the area or "well," an arcade of two plain arches, which support, or -rather appear to support, the landing above. Under the first arch begins -the wide flight of black marble steps, with two landings in the ascent, -paved with alternate squares of black and white marble, as is also the -long top landing or balcony. The balusters are now painted blue, their -original colour, found under successive coats of more recent paint. The -hand-rail of oak has had its dirty paint cleaned off. - -[Illustration: THE KING'S GRAND STAIRCASE.] - -No one who did not see this staircase before the restorations were begun -can conceive the woeful state of dust, filth, decay and rot which it -then presented. With the fine iron balusters broken, damp oozing from -the walls, the paintings indistinguishable from incrustations of -smoke, and strips of the painted canvas hanging from the walls in -shreds--it seemed impossible that it could ever be restored to its -pristine splendour. The visitor must judge for himself whether this -result has not been triumphantly accomplished. - - -The Painted Walls of the King's Grand Staircase. - -Opposite the balustrade, on the right side as one goes down the stairs, -is a low wainscot of plain moulded panelling; and above this, level with -the top of the second landing, is painted a large Vitruvian scroll. The -square space thus formed beside the first landing, and the spandril -space beside the rise of the stairs, are filled with representations, in -chiaro-oscuro, of sea-horses, armorial trophies and other devices, and -scroll-work, heightened by gilding. These, as well as similar paintings -on the arcade, opposite and under the stairs, show that Kent's taste and -skill as a decorative artist were by no means contemptible, whereas as a -painter of subjects or figures he was no artist at all. - -The two walls of the staircase above the Vitruvian scroll are painted to -represent a gallery, behind a colonnade of the Scamozzian Ionic order, -supporting a corresponding entablature, with a frieze embellished with -unicorns' heads, masks of lions, and festoons of foliage, divided by -fleurs-de-lys, richly heightened with gold. Between these columns is -painted a balustrade; with numerous figures of personages of George I.'s -court, looking over it. - -In =the first and second compartments= on the left are yeomen of the -guard and various ladies and gentlemen; and a young man in a Polish -dress representing a certain Mr. Ulric, a page of the King's, "and -admired by the court," says Pyne, "for the elegance and beauty of his -person;" while the youth standing on the plinth outside the balcony is a -page of Lady Suffolk's. In the third or right-hand compartment on the -same wall are seen, among many other unidentified persons, a Quaker and -an old man in spectacles. - -Two other servants of the court appear in this group, Mahomet and -Mustapha, who were taken prisoners by the Imperialists in Hungary. At -the raising of the siege of Vienna in 1685, George I., then elector of -Hanover, was wounded, and was attended by these two Turks, who had been -retained in his service, and who were said to have saved his life. -Mahomet apostatized from the faith of his fathers and became a -Christian; married a Hanoverian woman and had several children. King -George, on his accession to the British throne, brought these two -faithful servants with him to England in his suite. They were constantly -about his person, and were credited with obtaining large sums of money -from persons who purchased their influence to obtain places about the -court. Mahomet, however, in whatever way he may have obtained his -wealth, made a noble and benevolent use of it; for among many other -recorded acts of benevolence, he released from prison about three -hundred poor debtors by paying their harsh creditors. - -Pope, at any rate, believed in Mahomet's integrity, for he mentions him -in his Epistle to Martha Blount in these lines: - - "From peer or bishop 'tis no easy thing - To draw the man who loves his God or King. - Alas! I copy (or, my draught would fail,) - From honest Mahomet or plain Parson Hale." - -Mahomet died of dropsy in 1726, just after these walls were painted. -Mustapha, after the death of George I., continued in the service of his -successor, and is supposed to have died in Hanover. - -In the same group are also a Highlander, and a youth known as "Peter the -Wild Boy." He was found in the woods of Hamelin, near Hanover, in 1725, -and when first discovered was walking on his hands and feet, climbing -trees with the agility of a squirrel, and feeding upon grass and moss of -trees. He was supposed to be about thirteen years of age. He was -presented to George I., then in Hanover, when at dinner, and the King -made him taste of the different dishes at table. We get this information -from Pyne, who adds: - - "He was sent over to England in April, 1726, and once more brought - before his Majesty and many of the nobility. He could not speak, - and scarcely appeared to have any idea of things, but was pleased - with the ticking of a watch, the splendid dresses of the King and - princess, and endeavoured to put on his own hand a glove that was - given to him by her royal highness. He was dressed in gaudy - habiliments, but at first disliked this confinement, and much - difficulty was found in making him lie on a bed: he, however, soon - walked upright, and often sat for his picture. He was at first - entrusted to the care of the philosophical Dr. Arbuthnot, who had - him baptized Peter; but notwithstanding all the doctor's pains, he - was unable to bring him to the use of speech, or to the - pronunciation of words.... He resisted all instruction, and existed - on a pension allowed in succession by the three sovereigns in whose - reigns he lived. He resided latterly at a farmer's near - Berkhampstead in Hertfordshire, till February, 1785, where he died, - at the supposed age of nearly ninety." - -The =east wall= of the staircase is painted as far as the width of the -second landing with a continuation of the arcade, showing a fourth -compartment, in which are again figures of yeomen of the guard and -ladies--one holding an infant in her arms over the balustrade. Further -up, on the same wall, is painted a pedimented niche, with a figure of a -Roman emperor; and higher up still, on the top landing or balcony, are -figures of Hercules, Diana, Apollo, and Minerva. - -All these paintings are on canvas, stretched on battens fixed to the -wall. - - -Painted Ceiling of the King's Grand Staircase. - -The ceiling of the staircase being square and flat, it did not afford -much scope for the exercise of imaginative design, and Kent was obliged -to content himself with a very commonplace pattern--sufficiently -apparent in the accompanying plate. In the four corners are a sort of -double oblong panels, with similar square ones intervening between them. -The ground colour is gray. The oblongs are painted with ornamental -scroll-work and horses' heads, the squares with human heads. These -panels are bordered with very heavy projecting frames of plaster work, -white and gilt, as is also the great square compartment in the middle. -The panel of this last is painted with a representation of a circle, -within which are four semicircular spaces or apertures, apparently -intended to portray a pierced dome with galleries--but they are all in -quite impossible perspective. In three of these spaces are seen -musicians playing on various instruments, and spectators looking down -upon the company below. In the fourth "the painter," says Pyne, "has -introduced his own portrait, holding a palette and pencils, with two of -his pupils, who assisted him in the decoration of the walls, and a -female of a very pleasing countenance, which is supposed to be a -resemblance of an actress with whom he lived in the habits of peculiar -friendship, and to whom he left a part of his fortune." - -All these decorations--including "the female of a very pleasing -countenance"--the visitor can make out, if he thinks it worth while to -incur a stiff neck in doing so; but, in truth, the figures, as well as -the perspective, are all so badly drawn and painted, that the less they -are examined the better. They prove to us once more that Kent, as a -pictorial artist, was beneath contempt. If, however, we are content to -look on his paintings on this staircase as mere formless colour -decoration, the general effect is rich and sumptuous enough. - -The paintings of the staircase were finished, as we have said, about -1726. Three years after we find among the records the following warrant: - - "For the delivery of the following for the King's service at - Kensington, viz. for the Great Staircase 6 lanthorns, 12 inches - square and 17 high, with a shade over each, an iron scroll and 2 - flat sockets for candles, 1 lanthorn for a pattern 11 inches square - and 19-1/2 inches high, with scrolls, etc." - -Our illustration, taken from Pyne's drawing dated 1818, shows these -lanthorns still in it. Except for these, which disappeared a long time -ago, and the tall German stove, which was only removed a few months ago, -the staircase appears exactly the same to-day. - - -=Presence Chamber.= - -In this room we have a blending of the style of Wren, who originally -built and designed it, and of Kent, who redecorated it for George I. The -chimney-piece and over-mantel, with its fine Gibbons carving of foliage, -fruit, and flowers, the beautifully designed and richly carved oak -cornice and the panelled dado are Wren's; whereas the painted ceiling -and the doors are Kent's. It was, doubtless, he also who altered the -spacing of the window sashes, and substituted the present ugly large -panes for the originally picturesque small ones. There is record of this -being done in 1723, among the old accounts. - -The walls appear originally to have been entirely lined, like most of -Wren's rooms, with oak wainscot, but this had entirely disappeared long -before the beginning of this century, when they were covered with -tapestry, over which were nailed a great quantity of pictures--among -them several which have now been brought back here from Hampton Court. -At the same period, in 1818, there was still hanging between the windows -"a looking-glass of large dimensions, tastefully decorated with festoons -of flowers, painted with great truth and spirit by Jean Baptiste -Monnoyer.... Queen Mary sat by the painter during the greatest part of -the time he was employed in painting it." - -This looking-glass has disappeared. =Gibbons' fine carving=, however, -over the chimney-piece, of foliage, fruit, and flowers in lime wood -fortunately remains. When recently cleaned and repaired, it was found to -be so fragile and friable as to necessitate its being all painted over -in order to hold the fragments together. An oaken colour, "flatted," in -accord with the prevailing tone of the panelling in the room was thought -most suitable. - -The two windows of this room, the sashes of which were altered by Kent, -look into a small courtyard. - -The dimensions of the room are 27 feet 4 inches long, 26 feet 10 inches -wide, by 16 feet 4 inches high to the top of the cornice, 18 feet to the -highest part of the ceiling. - -We presume it to have been in this room that William III. in May, 1698, -received the Count de Bonde, Ambassador Extraordinary from the Court of -Sweden, when he returned to the King the insignia of the Order of the -Garter, which had belonged to Charles XI., King of Sweden. "The -Sovereign assembled the Knights Companions upon this occasion in the -Presence Chamber, and all appeared in their mantles, caps, and feathers, -attended by the officers of the order in their mantles, and the heralds -in their coats." - - -Painted Ceiling of the Presence Chamber. - -The ceiling of this room, like most of those in the state apartments -built by Wren, is "coved" or "saucer-domed," and was no doubt originally -quite plainly-coloured, with a light cream-tinted wash. As we see it -now, it gives the idea of an attempt by Kent to imitate Raphael's Loggie -in the Vatican. The paintings have been stated to be in imitation of -those "then recently discovered on the ruined walls of Herculaneum and -Pompeii," but these were not unearthed until twenty-five years after. -Kent has, however, carefully followed what indications he could get of -the decorative treatment of Roman classic art. The colours are -bright-reds and blues, enriched with gilding on a white ground. The -ceiling, or rather the plaster behind the cornice, bears the date, 1724. -Faulkner, in his "History of Kensington," considers that "a proof of his -liberal zeal for the interest of his profession is clearly evinced by -his adopting this antique ornament rather than his own historical -compositions." Why this should be the case, however, he does not deign -to explain. - - -Ceremonial Pictures of the Queen's Reign. - -In this room are arranged the ceremonial pictures of the reign of the -Queen, copied from well-known pictures by British artists. They afford -most accurate representations of the events depicted, and no doubt will -live to remotest history, as interesting and curious specimens of early -Victorian art. The scenes, and the participants in them are all too well -known to require explanation. Perhaps later on the numbered "key-plans" -will be put up to assist in the identification of each personage. - -271 Coronation of the Queen in Westminster Abbey, June 28th, 1838. Her -Majesty taking the Sacrament . . . . . _After_ C. R. LESLIE, R.A. - - When the Queen had been formally invested with the insignia of her - sovereignty, and had received the homage of the peers, she laid - aside the crown and sceptre, and following the Archbishop, advanced - to the altar to receive the sacrament. - -272 Marriage of the Queen and Prince Albert at the Chapel Royal, St. -James's, 10th February, 1840 . . . . . _After_ HAYTER. - -273 Christening of the Princess Royal at Buckingham Palace, 10th -February, 1841 . . . . . _After_ C. R. LESLIE, R.A. - -274 Marriage of the Princess Royal to Prince Frederick William of -Prussia in the Chapel Royal, St. James's, 25th January, -1858 . . . . . _After_ J. PHILLIP, R.A. - -275 Christening of the Prince of Wales in St. George's Chapel, Windsor -Castle, 28th of January, 1842 . . . . . _After_ HAYTER. - - -276 Marriage of the Prince of Wales and the Princess Alexandra of -Denmark in St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, 10th March, -1863 . . . . . _After_ W. P. FRITH, R.A. - -277 A Sketch of the Queen leaving Westminster Abbey after her -Coronation . . . . . _By_ CAMILLE ROQUEPLAN. - - Camille Roqueplan was a French artist sent over by Louis Philippe - to make sketches at the Queen's Coronation. - -278 The Marriage of H.R.H. the Duke of Connaught and Strathearn and -H.R.H. Princess Louise Margaret of Prussia in St. George's Chapel, -Windsor, 13th March, 1879 . . . . . _After_ SIDNEY P. HALL. - -[Illustration: Decoration] - -[Illustration: Decoration] - - CHISWICK PRESS:--CHARLES WHITTINGHAM AND CO. - TOOKS COURT, CHANCERY LANE, LONDON. - - * * * * * - -Typographical errors corrected by the etext transcriber: - -William Talman, Comptroler=> William Talman, Comptroller {pg 18} - -his exernal architectural effect=> his external architectural effect {pg -63} - -being situate=> being situated {pg 68} - -his face his shaven=> his face is shaven {pg 91} - -Prince Octavious was born on February 23rd, 1779=> Prince Octavius was -born on February 23rd, 1779 {pg 106} - - - - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Kensington Palace, the birthplace of -the Queen, by Ernest Law - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK KENSINGTON PALACE *** - -***** This file should be named 43428.txt or 43428.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/3/4/2/43428/ - -Produced by Delphine Lettau, Chuck Greif and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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