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in--Ilfracombe--Morte Point--Morthoe--Barnstaple--Bideford--Clovelly--Lundy Island--Cornwall--Tintagel--Launceston--Liskeard--Fowey--Lizard Peninsula--Falmouth--Pendennis Castle--Helston--Mullyon Cove--Smuggling--Kynance Cove--The Post-Office--Old Lizard Head--Polpeor--St. Michael's Mount--Penzance--Pilchard Fishery--Penwith--Land's End. ASCOT AND BEARWOOD. Leaving London by the South-western Railway, and skirting along the edge of Windsor Park, we pass Virginia Water, the largest artificial lake in England. Upon its bosom float miniature frigates, and its banks are bordered by a Chinese fishing temple, and a colonnade which was brought from the African coast near Tunis. Here also are a hermitage overlooking the lake, and the triangular turreted building known as the Belvedere, where a battery of guns is kept that was used in the wars of the last century. Not far beyond is Sunninghill, near which was Pope's early home, and in the garden of the vicarage are three trees planted by Burke, Chesterfield, and Bolingbroke. Farther westward is the famous Ascot race-course on Ascot Heath, where the races are run in June upon a circular course of about two miles, the neighborhood containing many handsome villas. Still journeying westward, the route passes Wokingham, where Gay, Swift, Pope, and Arbuthnot were on one occasion detained at the Rose Inn in wet weather, and whiled away the time by composing the song of "Molly Mog." [Illustration: BEARWOOD.] Just beyond Wokingham is the fine estate of Bearwood, the seat of John Walter, Esq., the proprietor of the London _Times_, one of the stately rural homes of England. Here, in a large and beautiful park which retains much of its original forest character, and standing upon the terraced bank of a lovely lake, Bearwood House has within a few years been entirely rebuilt, its feature being the central picture-gallery containing a fine collection of paintings, around which clusters a suite of grand apartments. The estate includes several thousand acres, and in the many pleasant cottages scattered over it and the homes at Bearwood village many of the aged and infirm employes of the _Times_ pass their declining years. The _Times_, which was founded January 1, 1788, by the grandfather of the present proprietor, has steadily grown in commanding influence until it occupies the front rank in English journalism and is the leading newspaper of the kingdom.
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