s of white freestone, pleasantly age-coloured, with a
south front that opens to a formal and beautiful Italian garden with
terraced walks and graceful marble fountains. Beyond, reached by stone
staircases, spreads the great lake, which covers eighty-seven acres. On
this may be seen a gay full-masted frigate, the aspect of which in this
tranquil and richly wooded country strikes a somewhat bizarre note. The
park contains four thousand acres, and in the neighbourhood of the house
may be seen many handsome cedars and yews. The finest view is obtainable
from the opposite bank of the lake, or from near the head, where stands
the home farmstead of Hardwick.

[Illustration: CLUMBER]

The house, though not one of the most impressive in its exterior aspect,
contains treasures of priceless worth. The pillared entrance hall has
several fine statues, notably one of Napoleon and another of the author
of _The Seasons_. All the state chambers are extremely handsome, and in
the large drawing-room may be seen five ebony cabinets and four
pedestals surmounted with crystal chandeliers, which were brought from
the Doge's Palace. Perhaps the most notable is the dining-room, 60 feet
long, 34 feet wide, and 30 feet high. We are told that it can easily
accommodate one hundred and fifty guests at dinner. The library, a fine
room panelled with mahogany, contains many treasures, notably three
Caxtons--_The History of Reynard the Fox_, 1481; _The Chronicles of
England_, 1482; and _The Golden Legend_, 1493: the first and second
folios of Shakespeare: and many examples--one printed on vellum--of
Froissart's _Chronicles_. There is also a fifteenth-century manuscript
of Gower's _Confessio Amantis_. In the smoking-room is to be seen a
remarkable chimney-piece of carved marble, which once stood in Fonthill
Abbey, the house of the author of _Vathek_. To the antiquarian, perhaps
the most interesting objects are four funeral cysts, dating from two
thousand years ago. There is a fine collection of pictures, chiefly of
old masters of distinction, amongst which may be found portraits by
Holbein, Vandyke, Lely, and Hogarth, of folk intimately associated with
the history of our country.

Near by stands the Church of the Holy Virgin, built by the present Duke
of Newcastle. Its walls and spire are of rich red and yellowish
sandstone, in the fourteenth-century style. This is probably one of the
most ornately beautiful churches in the kingdom, and the view from t