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Hants, and Herts, are open to the eye; Kent, Middlesex, and Oxford; Surrey, Sussex, and Wiltshire. Windsor lies below, and Eton with its venerable college, rich in associations. Poets, divines, statesmen, and warriors, have there prepared themselves for their lofty course; sir Robert Walpole, Harley, earl Camden, earl of Chatham, Boyle, Lyttleton, Gray, Horace Walpole, Waller, West, Fox, Canning, the marquis Wellesley, Hallam, and Wellington. Yonder is the mount where the Montem is held; and what a glorious extent of green turf is that to gaze on, which stretches itself below the terrace and the trees!

The broad banner, twelve yards long and eight yards broad, which flaunts in the air from the flag-staff when royalty resides at the castle, is not now flying. The battery of seventeen pieces of cannon, is rather a pageant than a necessary defence, but it adds to the imposing aspect of this princely pile. The massive walls and mighty bulwarks of castles, appear clothed with power, even when in a state of repose; what, then, when bristling with the weapons of armed men, and hurling forth their destructive thunders!

In the round tower, the constable of the castle used to reside; and the earl of Surrey, Mareschal de Belleisle, John king of France, and Da

vid and James I., kings of Scotland, were among the captives who have here been confined. What strange extremes meet in a royal palace! The glittering throne and the gloomy dungeon, the monarch and the prisoner, the revel of the conqueror and the moaning of the vanquished. After all, there is a luxury in going back again from the exciting atmosphere of a palace, to the quiet and repose of domestic life. Monarchs, keep your crowns, your pomp, your splendour, and your power, and let me gratefully partake of my bits and drops in tranquillity and peace; for "better is an handful with quietness, than both the hands full, with travail and vexation of spi-. rit," Eccles. iv. 6.

I am now leaving the chapel of St. George, built by Edward III., enlarged by Edward IV., and enriched by Henry VII., with solemn impressions, after pausing at every monument and pondering on the records of the dead. In the royal tombhouse, which was erected by Henry VII., lie interred the remains of the princess Amelia, princess Charlotte, queen Charlotte, the duke of Kent, George III., the duke of York, George IV., and William 1v.; and the several smaller chapels of Lincoln, Oxenbridge, Bray, Beaufort, Rutland, and Hastings, are the resting places of other distinguished personages.

The cenotaph of the princess Charlotte is full of interest, and the splendid monument erected by Wyatt is admirably executed. The body of the deceased princess, lying on a bier, is covered with drapery; so that the face is hidden: but the outline of the figure is preserved with great truth. The weeping mourners are also completely covered with drapery. As, however, the thoughts and emotions of the spectator are somewhat confused by the sight of two representations of the princess, the one dead, and the other, which has a bodily rather than an unsubstantial appearance, living and rising from the tomb, so the whole is less impressive than it otherwise would have been.

But though St. George's chapel arrests the attention of the spectator, by its splendid stained glass, the beauty of its western window, and the general grandeur of its architecture, it is on entering the choir, where Divine service is performed, and where the ceremony of installing the knights of the garter takes place, that the mind is most impressed with the pomp of power, and the solemnity of death. The richness of the roof, the elaborate carvings, the great painted window, the wainscoting of the altar, the dark stalls of the knights, and the marble pavement, are solemnly influential. The stalls of the

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knights are ranged on each side of the choir; over each stall, beneath a canopy of carved work, are the sword, mantle, helmet, and crest of each knight, with his banner above all, hanging in gloomy state; while a brass plate, at the back of the seat, sets forth his name, style, and titles. Though the order of the garter is the most honourable and noble of all the orders of knighthood, the peculiar circumstances which gave rise to it are involved in mystery. founded by Edward III. The sovereign Victoria and her royal consort, with British and foreign princes, are among the number of knights that now form this illustrious order. Names that time has registered and fame enrolled, are here grouped together in imposing but silent and gloomy state. Cleveland, Somerset, Lansdowne, Buccleugh, and Norfolk; Richmond, Devonshire, and Anglesea; Wellesley, Rutland, Derby, Carlisle, and Hamilton; with Grafton, Grey, Exeter, Dorset, Northumberland, Wellington, Newcastle, Lonsdale, and Westmoreland. These banners, swords, and spears, these blazoned coats of arms, are but the perishable symbols of passing power; and yet, while I gaze upon them, a mysterious awe and solemn influence seem to pervade the very atmosphere around.

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Here rests the dust of king Edward IV. and his consort. Henry vI., Henry VIII. and his queen, lady Jane Seymour, with Charles I., lie here interred. But it must be admitted that, imposing as St. George's chapel is, that of Henry VII. in Westminster Abbey is still more These tombs and monuments of departed greatness, point out the fading nature of earthly glory.

so.

For what are crowns and sceptres, power and fame,
And plaudits echoed by a nation's breath;

A noble ancestry, and mighty name,

When summon'd to thy presence-chamber-Death?

What are the hatchment and the banner brave;
The buckler, helm, and spear suspended high?
Ask loud the question! Catechize the grave!
"Dust, darkness, silence!" this is the reply.

My ramble through the castle and grounds has afforded me much pleasure, and my visit to St. George's chapel has called up salutary reflections; but I would not willingly take up my abode in this regal residence. Peace to these walls, and peace and joy to the head and heart of her who wears the crown! Hers be this fair domain, and after it a fairer in the skies.

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