ed for several generations, until, in 1773, the seventh
earl was promoted to the rank of marquis, and now Robert Cecil, the
third Marquis of Salisbury and one of the leaders of the Conservative
party, presides over the estates at Hatfield. The chief entrance to
Hatfield House is on the northern side, and above it rises a cupola. The
buildings form three sides of an oblong, the longer line fronting the
north and the two wings pointing towards the south. They are of brick,
with stone dressings and facings, and are admired as a faithful example
of the excellent domestic architecture of the early part of the
seventeenth century. The approach through the park from the town is of
great beauty, the grand avenue, bordered by stately trees, conducting
the visitor to a court in front of the house enclosed by a balustrade
with handsome gates. Within the building the most remarkable features
are the galleries, extending along the entire southern front. The
gallery on the ground floor was formerly a corridor, open on one side
to the air; but at a comparatively recent period this has been enclosed
with glass, and thus converted into a gallery paved with black and white
marble, and ornamented with arms and armor, some being trophies from the
Armada and others from the Crimea. Here is the rich saddle-cloth used on
the white steed that Queen Elizabeth rode at Tilbury. There are a fine
chapel and attractive state-apartments, but around the old house there
lingers a tale of sorrow. The western wing was burned in 1835, and the
dowager marchioness, the grandmother of the present marquis, then five
years old, perished in the flames, which originated in her chamber. This
wing has been finely restored, and the room in which she was burned
contains her portrait, an oval medallion let into the wall over the
fireplace. It is the sweet and sunny face of a young girl, and her
tragic fate in helpless age reminds of Solon's warning as we look at the
picture: "Count no one happy till he dies." In the gallery at Hatfield
are portraits of King Henry VIII. and all six of his wives. In the
library, which is rich in historical documents, is the pedigree of Queen
Elizabeth, emblazoned in 1559, and tracing her ancestry in a direct line
back to Adam! The state bedrooms have been occupied by King James,
Cromwell, and Queen Victoria. In the gardens, not far from the house, is
the site of the old episcopal palace of Bishops Hatfield, of which one
side remains stan