grand stand was built for the accommodation of George IV. and his suite; and her present Majesty has caused another large and elegant apartment, with suitable offices, to be built for the convenience of her suite; and more recently a large and splendid stand has been erected, by subscription, from all parts of which the whole of the course can be viewed.

HAMPTON COURT

Is a royal Palace 13 miles from London, on the north bank of the river Thames, erected by Cardinal Wolsey, and presented by him to his royal master, Henry VIII. It became the residence of the various royal families to the reign of George III. The building consists of three principal quadrangles; the western court is 167 feet by 162 feet, and is divided into several suites of apartments, occupied by private families; the middle quadrangle is 134 feet by 134 feet, and is called the Clock Court, from a curious astronomical clock being placed over the gateway; the third quadrangle, or Fountain Court, erected for William III. by Sir C. Wren, is 110 feet by 117 feet; on each side of the court is a beautiful colonade of the Ionic order, with duplicate columns; on the north side, over the windows, are the twelve labours of Hercules, by Laguerre; and in the area is a jet d'eau; on the north side is the Queen's staircase, and on the west is a passage leading to the public entrance to

THE GRAND STAIRCASE, painted by Verrio; ascending, the visitor enters the guard chamber, which contains arms for one thousand men, disposed in various fanciful forms; the panels round the rooms contain eight paintings on military subjects. The King's first presence chamber-the second presence chamber-the audience chamber-the King's drawing room-these rooms contain numerous fine paintings, among which are full length portraits of the female beauties of the court of William and Mary, by Kneller; our Saviour in the rich man's house-Christ healing the sick-the woman taken in adultery-the woman of faith-the woman of Samaria, by S. Ricci; George III. reviewing the 10th Light DragoonsWilliam III.'s bed room, in which is now placed the state bed of Queen Charlotte; the furniture is a most beautiful specimen of embroidery, executed at an institution for the orphan daughters of clergymen, which was under the patronage of her Majesty; round the room are the celebrated portraits of Charles II.'s court. The King's dressing room-the King's

writing closet-Queen Mary's closet — her Majesty's gallery— all these rooms have paintings of various interest. The Queen's bed room, where is now placed the state bed of Queen Anne, the rich velvet furniture and hangings of which were wrought at Spitalfields-the chairs and stools are covered to correspond. The Queen's drawing room-the Queen's audience chamber-the public dining room; this room is hung with Arras tapestry, the subject, the history of Abraham. In this room is a model of a palace, the residence of his Highness the NABOB NAZIN at MOORSHEDABAD, in BENGAL. The Prince of Wales's presence chamber-the Prince of Wales's drawing room-the Ante room-the Queen's private chapel— the closet near the chapel-the private dining room-the next closet-the Queen's private chamber contains a model of a palace intended by George III. for Richmond gardens, but never executed. The King's private dressing room—George II.'s private chamber; in the next closet is a model of a palace intended by George II. for Hyde Park.

The Cartoon Gallery contains the cartoons of Raphael; these drawings were designed to serve as patterns for tapestry; they were painted about the year 1520, and the tapestry was executed at the famous manufactory at ARRAS, in Flanders; the subjects are-the death of Ananias-Elymas the sorcerer -the lame man restored by Peter and John-the miraculous draught of fishes-Paul and Barnabas at Lystra-Paul preaching at Athens-Christ's charge to Peter.

The ante-room- the portrait gallery-the Queen's staircase the Queen's guard chamber the ante-room-the Queen's presence chamber; these rooms contain paintings on various subjects of more or less interest. From this room the visitor will return to the Queen's staircase, and descend into the middle or clock court on the right; in the archway between the first and second court, a flight of stone steps leads up to

WOLSEY'S HALL, a splendid Gothic room, the roof of which is very elaborately carved, and richly decorated with the arms and badges of Henry VIII. The walls are hung with a fine specimen of Arras tapestry in eight compartments; the subject, the history of Abraham. At the west end of the hall, over the gallery, is a group of armour, halberds, pikes, and banners; at the east end, on a carved stone bracket, stands a figure of our patron saint in armour, vanquishing the dragon, ornamented with a scroll of swords and ramrods; on each

side is a whole length figure in armour of the time of Elizabeth and Charles I. At the upper end of the south side is a large oriel window, the compartments of which are of stained glass, containing the arms and initials of Henry VIII. and his Queen. The next apartment is called

WOLSEY'S WITHDRAWING ROOM. The ceiling is decorated with pendant ornaments, between which are cognizances of the fleur-de-lis, the rose, portcullis, and other badges. The fine oriel window has lately been enriched by ten compartments of stained glass; the walls of this room are covered with tapestry, in seven compartments, which are much injured by time; above the tapestry are seven toons, by Carlo Cignani; in the centre of the carved oak mantel-piece is a portrait of Cardinal Wolsey.

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After viewing Cardinal Wolsey's hall, the extensive pleasure grounds will be found highly deserving of notice. At the south end of the east front is a door which opens into the private garden, where may be seen the celebrated Vine, the largest in Europe, if not in the world, being one hundred and ten feet long, and the principal stem nearly thirty inches in circumference; in fruitful seasons it bears nearly three thousand bunches of grapes, which are kept exclusively for the Queen's table. On approaching the vine two large greenhouses are passed, which contain orange trees and other plants; at the opposite end of the palace is a large space of ground, called the Wilderness, planted and laid out by William III. In this place is a labyrinth or maize of extraordinary intricacy; its walks are said to amount to half-a-mile, though the whole extent covered is not more than a quarter of an acre, and forms a pleasing puzzle, in which many a fair Ariadne has twined herself in search of a Theseus.

The state apartments are open gratis, every day except Friday, from ten o'clock until six o'clock in the evening, from the 1st of April till the 1st of October, and the remainder of the year from ten to four o'clock. On Sundays after two o'clock.

The way of proceeding to Hampton Court is by the Southampton Railway, from Nine Elms, at which the steam-boats call; the trains stop at Kingston, a distance of three miles, where omnibuses are in waiting, fare 6d. Coaches, also, run from St. Paul's Churchyard and Piccadilly.

CC

RICHMOND,

A VILLAGE on the south bank of the Thames, nine miles from London, is a place of great resort on account of its beautiful situation. The view from the summit of the hill presents a most luxuriant prospect, not surpassed by any other part of the kingdom. An elegant stone bridge crosses the river at this place; and a park of great beauty and extent, (which was formerly a favourite residence of several of our monarchs,) offer delightful walks to the visitor. Steam-boats during the summer months leave London Bridge and Hungerford Wharf every morning; Richmond Railway from Nine Elms, Vauxhall; and coaches run every hour from St. Paul's Churchyard and Piccadilly.

KEW,

A VILLAGE in Surrey, 7 miles from London, is rendered remarkable by its royal residence. The house possesses few attractions, but the gardens are of great value. They were decorated by Sir William Chambers, with a variety of edifices in the Chinese style; but their prominent feature is the valuable collection of exotics, commenced in 1760, and fondly continued by George III., assisted by Sir Joseph Banks. The new house, built expressly for the exclusive reception of African plants, is 110 feet in length. A superb pagoda decorates the centre of the wilderness, built in imitation of the Chinese Taa. The other conspicuous objects are various temples, theatres, mosques, and ruins, all built from designs of antique edifices, and in commemoration of certain events. The pleasure-grounds are open on Thursdays and Sundays, from Midsummer to Michaelmas, from nine till dusk. Botanic Gardens are open daily from one to six, when any well-dressed person will be freely admitted. A handsome new entrance has lately been opened. The interior of the palace may be seen at any time, on a polite request to any one in attendance. Omnibuses every half hour from St. Paul's Churchyard, fare ls.; or by Richmond Railway, within 2 miles.

WOOLWICH,

The

SITUATED on the south side of the Thames, 9 miles from London, will be visited by strangers on account of its many objects of attraction, which are of a nature peculiar to this kingdom. On reaching Woolwich, the first place to visit should be

THE ROYAL ARSENAL, situated at the end of Beresfordsquare. At the entrance gates are two spacious lodges, the right for the gatekeepers, and the left for the bombardier of the Royal Artillery, to whom visitors apply for admission to view the Arsenal. After entering in a book the name and address of the parties, he hands them a card which must be returned on leaving the Arsenal at the gate first entered. No persons are allowed to enter the interior of the buildings, but are allowed to walk over the grounds; to view the interior an order must be obtained from the Board of Ordnance. Opposite the entrance gates is a splendid piece of ordnance taken from the French. The first place seen is the Foundry for casting brass guns and howitzers, which was erected by Sir John Vanbrugh in 1719; it contains three furnaces, with extensive means for making moulds and weighing the materials used in forming the ordnance; the largest furnace will melt about seventeen tons of metal at one time. At the back of the foundry is a building for boring cannon; this operation is also performed in another building on the right, the entrance to which is through a gateway on the West Parade; here is a workshop where the brass guns are bored, and, after being proved and found perfect, are polished inside, and turned and polished on the outside in the most beautiful manner; in another shop is a machine for boring or enlarging the calibre of iron ordnance. On leaving this place, the visitor turns to the right and passes through an avenue of trees to the Laboratory on the left; in this department every kind of ammunition is prepared for use; in one of the buildings is a machine, invented by Napier, for making balls by compression; in the centre is a building containing two large model rooms-that on the left is used for specimens of wood, charcoal, sulphur, &c., for making gunpowder; grinding mills, sifting machines, and all necessary implements for the manufacture of gunpowder are also shown. Moulds for casting balls and bullets of various sizes, chain, grape, and canister shot, and shells from one pound to two hundred and thirty pounds are placed on tables and on the floor of the room; also specimens of every description of rocket and port fires and cartridges used in the service. In the space opposite to the building are representations of fireworks which have been used on grand occasions; in the room on the right are a number of the transparencies, with a model of the Temple of Concord, exhibited in St. James's Park during the illuminations and rejoicings in commemoration of the cen