The Sun.
London, England, 1864-09-13 00:00:00

AUSTRALIA.

PLYMOUrn, SEPT. 13.
The Garrawalt, from Port Phillip Heads on the
24th, has passed up the Caannel. She brings 15
passengers and 28,000 cunces of gold.

BERNE, SEPT. 13.
The French Government has forbidden Mr. James
Fezy to remain in the frontier departments.
This measure has not been caused by any de•
mand of the Federal Council.

LISBON, SEPT. 13.

The elections have passed off quietly, and re
suited in a very large majority for the Government
The extension of the Brj ltAilway has been ia.

augurated.

°harks Watexton's Ancestral Home.

WALTON HALL.

(From the Weekly Register.)
Welion Hall, during the conflict between the King and
Parliament, was stoutly defended for the King by the brave

wife of the proprietor, who was absent at the time of the

siege, most probably with the royal army, The siege was
carried on by Oliver Cromwell, and he gained possession of
the outbuildings and offices on the opposite side of the lake;

but the mansion had strong doors of English oak, and
strong English hands to guard them, with a resolute

woman to command, so there was no admittance for rebels.

The track of a musket-ball was long pointed out in the

woodwork, slowing where Cromwell himself was believed

to have fired at Mrs Waterton, as she was giving orders re-

specting the defence. Another more creditable trace of the

siege is preserved—a ball fired from a swivel gun, placed

on the top of the gateway, which wounded one of the be-
leaguering army as ho was making off through the neigh-

bouring woods, Disappointed on being baftLd in his ob-
ject of reducing Walton, Cromwell did all the mischief he

could to the property around ; broke down the drawbridge,
destroyed the crops, and drove away a great part of the
cattle,ineluding the carriage horses, leaving only tome bul-
locks. When the siege was raised and the Republican troops

withdrawn, great, no doubt, was the joy ct the garrison,

and high eulogium pronounced on Mrs Waterton, for her
herc,,x, by the Cavalier families around, Fetes were given
in her honour, and, as she had no horses to draw her car-

riage, and would not fail in keeping her engagements, she
had a team of xis oxen yoked to the family coach, and they
bore her in as much state as though they were the best
bred steeds that ever stood in harness.

Sir Bernard Burke, in hid excellent " Dictionary of the
Landed Gentry," gives a full account of this ancient Ca-
tholic family. From this work we learn that Walton Hall

continued in the Do Burgh family for several centuries,
until the death of John Do Burgh, who left only two
daughters. 01 these Jane mauled Sir 'William Ashenhall,
and by the marriage of Constance, daughter and heiress of
Sir William, was Richard Waterton, son of John Water-
ton, of Waterton, this property passed into the family of
the present estimable pr)prietor about the year 1435.

Long previously, however, the Watertons achieved dis•
tinetion, The three crescents in their armorial bearings

are said to have been gained on the plains of Ascalon, and
granted by King Richard the Lion-hearted in approba-
tien of the valour of Sir Robert -Waterton, a stout cru•

sader, who took with his own mailed hand, three stan-
dards from the Saracen. They wero Lords of Waterton
in 1275 and held high place in Lincolnshire--re•

presenting the county in the Commons, and filling the
cffice of High Sheriff, and often in close attendance
upon the King of England, and employed in positions re-
quiring sagacity and ability.
Charles Waterton, Ekq., of 'Walton, great grandfather of

the present owner, suffered for his loyalty to the Stuart
dynasty. Like his ancestors this Charles was a devoted
adherent of the Stuarts. His mansion was visited by the
supporters of the Hanoverian succession, and all the arms
carried away, save a pair of pistols and a dress sword which
escaped notice, and these are now carefully preserved in the
hall. But the owner was carried off too, and not conceal-
ing his principles, ho underwent imprisonment in York
Castle. When the storm of strife abated he was liberated
on parole, and allowed to reside in the City of York, where
he was pet mitted horse exercise, provided, according to the
ignominious provisions of the penal code, the horse did not
exceed in value £5. lie married Anne, daughter of Chris,

:opher Crissaon More, Esq., of BarnbOrough, Yorkshire,

sixth in descent from the great Sir Thomas More. The
prssent proprietor, also named Charles, is son of Thomas
Waterton, Esq , and Anne, daughter and sole heiress of

Edward Bedingfield, Esq ,of Osten. Mr Waterton, mar
ried, in 1829, Anne, second daughter of Charier Edison

stone, Esq., of Cardross Park, county Dumbarton, lineally
descended from the Scottish Kings. By this lady Mr Water-
ton had an only child, Edmund. This talented gentleman
is Privy Chamberlain to His Holiness Pope Pius IX.,
from whom he received the Order of Christ in 18.55. lie is
also a justice of the peace, and deputy lieutenant for the
West Riding of Yorkshire, a Fellow of the Society of An-
tiquaries of England and Scotland, and member of the Royal
Irish Academy. He married in 1562 Margaret Alicia Jose-
phine, second daughter of John Ennis, Esq., of Ballina-
!lowa Manor, County Westmeath, M.P. for Athlone, by
whom ho has issue.
The house is built on an island, and approached by a
tasteful iron bridge, replaced by a wooden one which for-
merly connected the island with the park.
Here formerly stood an old castellated mansion, added to
by successive lords cf Walton, Considerable additions were
made at the time of the Restoration, for, as we have seen,
the old hall was seriously damaged during the siege; and a

new wing was built in 1860. The present handsome and
well erranged mansicn was built towards the close of the
last century by Thomas Waterton, Esq., father of the pre-
sent most estimable and distinguished representative of this
ancient race.

The lake surrounding Walton Hall covers 2-I acres. Seve-
ral ate paintings by the great masters of art adorn the
dwelling, and birds of varied plumage, admirably.preserved,
form characteristic ornaments for the house of England's
greatest naturalist. Among other interesting historical
objects, the Catholic visitor will examine with respect the
house clock of the great and good martyr Chancellor Sir
Thos. More. '1 here is a portrait of this pious and eminent
knight byHolbein,which, with the clock, were brought into
this family by the marriage of Anne More of Farnborough
with Charles Waterton, already lueutioned,
We must not omit the particular attraction of Walton

Hall. This historic house is distinguished as the chosen
seat of Charles Waterton, one of the most practical sAentifle
ornithologists of the age ; not a mere amateur in the usual
sense, but one who has dared every danger, shrunk from no
toil, spared no expense in the acquisition and dissemination
of the knowledge of birds. lie has climbed the loftiest
trees, ranged the dreary swamp, pursued wild beasts over
hills end dales; followed the windings of creeks and sea
shores, and got himself let down tremendous precipices in
quest of zoological knowledge. He passed years in the bad
climates of Demerara, Guiana, and other distant lands,
and has given his Wanderings to the public to enlighten the
ignorant and instruct the lovers of natural history. His
application of the solution of corrosive sublimate in alcohol
to his specimens, as a preservative from insects, alone en-
titles him to be ranked as a benefactor to science, and the
admirable collection at Walton Hall attests the value of his
discovery.
While wandering over remote regions, observing the
habits of animals when living, and thereby being able to
give back the semblance of life to the skins when dead, Mr
Waterton resolved, on his return from Guiana, to open
his domain in England freely to all corners, whether bird
or beast, and, by affording them a liberal supply of food,
and a safe resting-place, make the experiment of restoring
the harmony of Eden, where all dwelt in amity. Ho tells
us his success :—" After years of attention to the economy
of bids, I have succeeded in getting the barn owl, the
heroa, the jackdaw, the magpie, the carrion crow, the mal-
lard, the pheasant, the starling, the woodpecker, the ox-eye
titmouse, the water hen, the thrush, and the blackbird, to
build their nests, and take away their young in safety, at a
stone's throw of each other.". Fortunately he had the
power equal to the will to give effect to his humane and in-
teresting project. A lake spreads its mirror-like surface,
with islands dotting its bosom, fringed with weeping wil-
lows, and verdant laws, with groves musical with birds, and
affording shelter to the aquatic fowl. Trees in towering
pride stand alone, or in groups, suited either for solitude,
or the birds of a feather that flock together. In the ivy-
mantled remains of the old gate tower, an almost in-
credible number of ringdoves, starlings, redbreasts, spar-
rows, and other small birds live together in perfect har-
mony, and herons, shy and easily frightened, may be
seen during the day standing on one leg, in statue-
like steadfastness, along the course of a rivulet spe-
cially prepared for their comfort. For the better pro-
tection of the objects of his life-long solicitude, Mr
Waterton caused the domain to be enclosed by a lofty wall,
of circular range enclosing about 260 acres, including the
house and lake. This was completed in 1826, and a teles-
cope of great power is mounted in an upper room,d which d
enables the eye to sweep the surface of the lake and grounds
nthse
adjacent. It is most interesting to lookh through this
tian
birds which cluster in scores. On t eae are gyp
el arr dmss,
marine
widgeon,birds v
iasni
td
theirteal
motahl
and Canadian
asio
n al
cormorantgeese, d u e kasn, d
An
ushoccwater coubins, and love this quiet retreat, while water
hens, usually so shy, run under the windows of the house,
despite the vigilance of a pair of Egyptian geese, who seem
to consider this a peculiar privilege for themselves, and
drive all other intrusive birds away. As may be supposed
the kindly owner meets a welcome reception when he goes
among the objects of his care. No sooner does he emerge
from the house than be is followed by a numerous train
clamorous for his notice, and no conqueror ever received
more vociferous greeting. Birds flock and beasts follow his
steps, and the sunshine of the heart is his best recompense
—a sunshine which we earnestly hope may be clouded by
no sorrow hero or hereafter.

* Letter to William Swainson, Esq., Wakefield, 18

A CAPITAL IDEA.—It seems to us, says oar con-
tefuporary the Examiner most ingeniously, as if Mr Bright
had stolen all Mr Roebuck's radicalism and republicanism,
and that Mr Roebuck has somehow or other got all the
patriotism and conservatism which ought to have fallen to
Mr Bright's share.
A WORD ABOUT NOSES.— A side view of the face,
as you stand a little behind the person you look at,
is the best view, next to looking into the pupil of the eye,
to discover passions by. Talents appear as often in the shape
of the nose as in any other feature. A long nose, very sharp
at the end, marks superiority, whether it turns up or down,
e g., Edmund Burke, Gerald Hamilton, 'William Pitt, all
turn up—the aquilines are generally more sagacious. The
sensible or foolish feature in every face, like the active
muscle, is very varicus; sometimes the seat or throne of
reason, or memory, or passion is in the forehead, sometimes
in the brow, now mole frequently in the eye, again in the
nose ; the mouth has it often. It is sometimes in the jtw
and chin. The large, broad 'Win chin, as Grattan's and
Stewart's, the painter, is always indicative of genius,—Earl
of ClonmerB Diary.