and Shakspeare. This palace became a
favorite residence of Henry VIII. Edward VI. was born here; Queen Mary
spent her honeymoon here, after her marriage with Philip of Spain;
Queen Elizabeth held many great festivals here; James I. lived and Queen
Anne his wife died here; Charles I. retired here first from the Plague,
and afterwards to escape the just resentment of London in the time of
the Great Rebellion. After his capture, he was imprisoned here. Cromwell
saw one daughter married and another die during his residence in this
palace. William III., Queen Anne, George I. and George II. occasionally
resided here; but it has not been a regal residence since the death of
the latter. Yet the grounds are still admirably kept; the shrubbery,
park, fish-pond, &c. are quite attractive; while a famous grape-vine, 83
years old, bears some 1,100 pounds per annum of the choicest "Black
Hamburghs," which are reserved for the royal table, and (being under
glass) are said to keep fresh and sweet on the vine till February. A
fine avenue of trees leads down to the Thames, and the grounds are gay
with the flowers of the season. The Park is very large, and the location
one of the healthiest in the kingdom.

Hampton Court Palace, though surrounded by guards and other
appurtenances of Royalty, is only inhabited by decayed servants of the
Court, impoverished and broken-down scions of the Aristocracy, &c. to
whom the royal generosity proffers a subsistence within its walls. I
suppose about two-thirds of it are thus occupied, while the residue is
thrown open at certain hours to the public. I spent two hours in
wandering through this portion, consisting of thirty-four rooms, mainly
attractive by reason of the Paintings and other works of Art displayed
on their walls. As a whole, the collection is by no means good, the best
having been gradually abstracted to adorn those Palaces which Royalty
still condescends to inhabit, while worse and worst are removed from
those and deposited here; yet it was interesting to me to gaze at
undoubted originals by Raphael, Titian, Poussin, Rembrandt, Teniers,
Albert Durer, Leonardo da Vinci, Tintoretto, Kneller, Lely, &c., though
not their master-pieces. The whole number of pictures, &c. here
exhibited is something over One Thousand, probably five-sixths
Portraits. Some of these have a strong Historical interest apart from
their artistic merit. Loyola, Queen Elizabeth, Anne Boleyn, Admiral
Benbow, William III., M