The Man Who Laughs | Page 8

drives in his coach-and-six, preceded by two outriders, as becomes a
peer of England.
"Charles Beauclerc, Duke of St. Albans, Earl of Burford, Baron
Hedington, Grand Falconer of England, has an abode at Windsor, regal
even by the side of the king's.
"Charles Bodville Robartes, Baron Robartes of Truro, Viscount
Bodmin and Earl of Radnor, owns Wimpole in Cambridgeshire, which
is as three palaces in one, having three façades, one bowed and two
triangular. The approach is by an avenue of trees four deep.
"The most noble and most puissant Lord Philip, Baron Herbert of
Cardiff, Earl of Montgomery and of Pembroke, Ross of Kendall, Parr,
Fitzhugh, Marmion, St. Quentin, and Herbert of Shurland, Warden of
the Stannaries in the counties of Cornwall and Devon, hereditary visitor
of Jesus College, possesses the wonderful gardens at Wilton, where
there are two sheaf-like fountains, finer than those of his most Christian
Majesty King Louis XIV. at Versailles.
"Charles Somerset, Duke of Somerset, owns Somerset House on the
Thames, which is equal to the Villa Pamphili at Rome. On the
chimney-piece are seen two porcelain vases of the dynasty of the Yuens,
which are worth half a million in French money.
"In Yorkshire, Arthur, Lord Ingram, Viscount Irwin, has Temple
Newsain, which is entered under a triumphal arch and which has large
wide roofs resembling Moorish terraces.
"Robert, Lord Ferrers of Chartly, Bourchier, and Lonvaine, has
Staunton Harold in Leicestershire, of which the park is geometrically
planned in the shape of a temple with a façade, and in front of the piece
of water is the great church with the square belfry, which belongs to his
lordship.

"In the county of Northampton, Charles Spencer, Earl of Sunderland,
member of his Majesty's Privy Council, possesses Althorp, at the
entrance of which is a railing with four columns surmounted by groups
in marble.
"Laurence Hyde, Earl of Rochester, has, in Surrey, New Park, rendered
magnificent by its sculptured pinnacles, its circular lawn belted by trees,
and its woodland, at the extremity of which is a little mountain,
artistically rounded, and surmounted by a large oak, which can be seen
from afar.
"Philip Stanhope, Earl of Chesterfield, possesses Bretby Hall in
Derbyshire, with a splendid clock tower, falconries, warrens, and very
fine sheets of water, long, square, and oval, one of which is shaped like
a mirror, and has two jets, which throw the water to a great height.
"Charles Cornwallis, Baron Cornwallis of Eye, owns Broome Hall, a
palace of the fourteenth century.
"The most noble Algernon Capel, Viscount Maiden, Earl of Essex, has
Cashiobury in Hertfordshire, a seat which has the shape of a capital H,
and which rejoices sportsmen with its abundance of game.
"Charles, Lord Ossulston, owns Darnley in Middlesex, approached by
Italian gardens.
"James Cecil, Earl of Salisbury, has, seven leagues from London,
Hatfield House, with its four lordly pavilions, its belfry in the centre,
and its grand courtyard of black and white slabs, like that of St.
Germain. This palace, which has a frontage 272 feet in length, was built
in the reign of James I. by the Lord High Treasurer of England, the
great-grandfather of the present earl. To be seen there is the bed of one
of the Countesses of Salisbury: it is of inestimable value and made
entirely of Brazilian wood, which is a panacea against the bites of
serpents, and which is called milhombres--that is to say, a thousand
men. On this bed is inscribed, Honi soit qui mal y pense.
"Edward Rich, Earl of Warwick and Holland, is owner of Warwick

Castle, where whole oaks are burnt in the fireplaces.
"In the parish of Sevenoaks, Charles Sackville, Baron Buckhurst, Baron
Cranfield, Earl of Dorset and Middlesex, is owner of Knowle, which is
as large as a town and is composed of three palaces standing parallel
one behind the other, like ranks of infantry. There are six covered
flights of steps on the principal frontage, and a gate under a keep with
four towers.
"Thomas Thynne, Baron Thynne of Warminster, and Viscount
Weymouth, possesses Longleat, in which there are as many chimneys,
cupolas, pinnacles, pepper-boxes pavilions, and turrets as at Chambord,
in France, which belongs to the king.
"Henry Howard, Earl of Suffolk, owns, twelve leagues from London,
the palace of Audley End in Essex, which in grandeur and dignity
scarcely yields the palm to the Escorial of the King of Spain.
"In Bedfordshire, Wrest House and Park, which is a whole district,
enclosed by ditches, walls, woodlands, rivers, and hills, belongs to
Henry, Marquis of Kent.
"Hampton Court, in Herefordshire, with its strong embattled keep, and
its gardens bounded by a piece of water which divides them from the
forest, belongs to Thomas, Lord Coningsby.
"Grimsthorp, in Lincolnshire, with its long façade intersected by turrets
in pale,