The Sun.
London, England, 1825-12-03 00:00:00

BUCKINGHAM HOUSE.

The following account is from the pen of the
celebrated JOHN SHEFIELD, Duke of BUCKING-
HAM, its founder, and formed part of a letter
from him to a friend after he had resigned the
Privy Seal :—" The avenues to this House are
along St. James's Park, through rows of goodly
elms on one hand, and gay flourishing limes on
the other; that for the coaches, this for walking.
with the mall lying between them. This reaches
to my iron palisade that encompasses a square
court, which has in the midst a great bacon with
statues and water-works; and from its entrance,
rises all the way imperceptibly, till we mount to
a terace in the front of a large hall, paved with
square white. stones mixed with a dark coloured
marble ; the walls of it covered with a set of
pictures done in the school of Raphael ; out of
this on the right hand we go into a parlour 33
feet by thirty-nine, with a niche, 15 feet broad,
for a bufette, paved with wite marble, and placed
within an arch, with pilasters of diverse co-
lours, the upper part of which as high as the
ceiling, is painted by Ricci. From hence we
pass through a suite of large rooms into a bed
chamber of 34 feet by V, within it a large closer,
that opens into a green-house. On the left hand
of the hall are three stone arches, supported by
Corinthian pillars, under one of which we go up
eight and forty steps, ten feet broad, each step
of one entire Portland stone. These stairs by
the help of two resting places, are so very easy,
there is no need of leaning ou the iron balluster.
The wall are painted with the story of Dido,
whom, though the poet was obliged to dispatch
away mournfully, in order to make room for La-
vinia, the better-natirred painter has brought no
farther than to that fatal cave where the lovers
appear just entering, and languishing with de-
sire.—The roof of this stair-case, which is fifty-
five feet from the ground, is forty feet by thirty-
six, filled with the figures of gods and goddesses;
in the midst is Juno, condescending to beg as-
sistance from Venus, to bring about a marriage
which the Fates intended should be the ruin of
her own darling Queen and people. By which
that sublime poet wisely intimates' that we should
never be over eager for any thing, either in our
pursuits or our prayers, lest what we endeavour,
or ask too violently for our interest, should be
granted us by Providence only in order to our
ruin. The bas-reliefs and little squares above
all, are episodical paintings of the same story ;
and the largeness of the has admitted of a sure
remedy against an decay of the colours from salt
peter in the wall, by making another of oak laths,
four inches within it, and so primed over, like a
picture. From a wide landing-place on the stairs'
head, a great double door opens into an apartment
of the same dimensions with that below, only 3
feet higher. Notwithstanding which, it would ap-
pear too- low if the higher saloon had not been di-
vided from it. The room of this floor has within
it a closet of original pictures, which yet are not
so entertaining as the delightful prospect from the
windows. Out of the second room a pair of
great doors give entrance into the saloon, which
is 35 feet high, 36 broad, and 45 long. In the
midst of its roof a round picture of Gentileschi,
18 feet in diameter, represents the Muses, play-
ing in concert to Apollo, lying along on a cloud
to hear them. The rest of the room is adorned
with paintings relating to arts and sciences, and
underneath divers original pictures hang, all in
good light, by the help of an upper row of win-
dows, which drown the glaring. Much of this
seems appertaining to parade, and, therefore, I
am glad to leave it, to describe the rest, which
is all for conveniency. At first, a covered pas-
sage from the kitchen, without doors; and an-
other down to the cellars, and all the offices
within. Near this, a large arid lightsome back-
stairs leads up to such an entry above, as se-
cures our private bed-chamber from noise and
cold. Here we have necessary dressing-rooms,
servants' rooms, and closets, from which are the
pleasantest rooms of all the house, with a little
door for communication betwixt this private
apartment and the great one. These stairs, and
those of the same kind at the other end of the
house, carry us up to the highest story, fitted
for the women and children, with the floors so
contrived as to prevent all noise over my wife's
head during the mysteries of Lucina. In men-
tioning the Court at first I forgot the two wings
in it, built on stone arches, which join the house
by corridors supported on lonic pillars. In one
of these wings is a large kitchen, 30 feet high,
with an open cupola on the top ; near it a larder,
brew-house, and laundry, with rooms over them
for servants ; the upper sort of servants are
lodged in the other wing, which has also two ward-
robes and a storeroom for fruit. On the top of
all a leaden cistern, holding fifty tons of water
driven up by an engine from the Thames, sup-
plies all the water works in the courts and gar-
dens, which lie quite round the house, through
one of which a grass walk conducts to the stables
built round a court, with six coach houses and
forty stables. I'll add but one thing before I
carry you into the garden, and that is about
walking too, but 'tiron the top of all the house,
which being covered with smooth mill'd lead,
and defended by a parapet of ballusters from all
apprehension as well as danger, entertains the
eye with a far distant prospect of hills and dales,
and a near one of parks and gardens. To these
gardens we go down from the house by seven
steps into a gravel walk that reaches across the
whole garden, with a covered arbour at each end
of it. Another of 30 feet broad leads from the
front of the house, and lies between two groves
of tall lime trees, planted in several ranks upon
a carpet of grass ; the outsides of these groves
are bordered with tubs of bays and orange trees.
At the end of this broad walk you go up to a
terrace, four hundred paces long, with a large se-
micircle in the middle, from whence is beheld
the Queen's two parks, and a great part of
Surrey ; then, going down a few steps, you walk
on the bank of a canal six hundred yards long,
and seventeen broad, with two rows of limes
on each side of it. On one side of this ter-
race, a wall covered with roses and jessamines is
made low, to admit the view of a meadow full of
cattle, just under it (no disagreeable object in the
midst of a great city), and at each end a descent

into parterres, with fountains and water works,
From the biggest of these parterres, we Pass
into
a little square garden that has a fountain in t
middle, and two green houses on the side, with
them,
a convenient bathing apartment in one of
and near another part of it lies a flower garden.
Below aII this, a kitchen garden, full of the best
sorts of fruit, has several walks in it fit for
the
fancy you
coldest weather. Thus I have done with 07
description : only one thing I forgot, though 0.1
more satisfaction to me than all the rest, which t
(.f hooks, at the end of that greenhouse whic.h
besides their
joins the hest apartment ; which,
being so very near, are ranked in such arraymetho.
guess already ; and 'tis a little close
that, by its mark, a very Irish footman fetch
any book I want. Under the windows of tills.
closet and green-house, is a little ‘vilderness 011
of blackbirds and nightingales. The. tre,el'
though planted by myself, require loPlungtita t
ffien
ready, to prevent their hindering the view od
fine canal in the park. After all this, to a r,e
I'll expose my weakness, as an instance of triu
mind'sg " unquietness under the most pleasingfiet;
joymeuts. lam oftener missing a pretty with
in the old house I pulled down, than pleased wh ,
a saloon which I built in its stead, though
thousand times better in all respects."

THE COTTON SPECULATION.--A Boston rPre.,
of the 4th November sa vs—cc We have seen sii,,
veral. private letters from New York,whiciltehe
lion, that extensive failures, growing ot°,,, ill
late cotton speculations, were daily occutAli9.
that city ; the bank had positively stoPP,,em age"'
counting and confidence was impaired, ti" ad
neral gloom prevailed in the mercantile 00,
an
nity. One letter from a commercial gentle% •
says, ' The merchants along 'Print and Prerai9 .
streets are cracking like parched corn. the
stated that the debts of five of the inerc9a+o;
horse,ilouse which have recently failed in Newtitt°llol
the available funds would not exceed d 7
dollars." left his
On 'Wednesday evening, a gentleman h,jil
a line buy gelding, in charge of a yogi-ft,'
Euston-square, where he had not left it but° the
dwi,secsotvoevreerd .
of
that
minutes, when a fellow, pretending full eed
owner, mounted, and rode- him off at full 5P on
place,
towards the North road, and has not since been .
Mt
On Tuesday morning last, at Lenhaln, r,
vent, employed a poor wboeminagn
_to milk his cows. As she was so ernPl°los
she ._0
Mr. Westover gave some hay to the cow
milking. A barren that was in the yard cabinet,
to the hay and began to eat some of it,,vjloi.
Mrs. Howe tried to drive her avvay• T"e --„0
mat, with the greatest fury, ran at the W°lll-./
and tossing her a considerable height in the sid;
inflicted a dreadful wound, extending ni?trhei
WI! tahmoteitti arq:vieede:
from the, chest. The barren again g°"" Of
liters.
unfortunate object of its rage, and, tn '
is
tore open the abdoen, so that the.nite'w' oj.
th
protruded in a most frightful manner. It
two
with great difficulty that Mr. Westover and
rac fig
other men could prevent the Cow from wre Id),
its attack. Mr. Westover had the co Wile,.
ately killed. ______..-------"<--

COURSE OF EXCEL-INGE, Pcc. 9.
_ is 6r,

A Inste, dant

•• i 2 .13

Ditto, at Sight .......................... -- ~
Rotterdam ............................ 12
'2" 12 7
tit,
Antwerp... :' ..........................
37 n q
li k
tit.Hamburg!' ............... ,:i
...............
Altona ......... . ........ 25` ............... • 7 '„ -0 Co
Paris,3 Day's sight ...................... '-i L.••
e 5 50 0i r
Ditto ...................... 26 s‘)
............
Mourdeaux, ditto ........................ 7
0 molt
Berlin
.................
'5l ill'

Frankfort iiii th e Nl:tin ................ .. • • '—
Pete! sburglt ............................. . 94
lo 6
Vienna ................................. I
(/
Efirc". 6 .0
Trieste .................................
36i
Madrid ,. • ..• -- • g tire .%
Cadiz .................................. 26,t 0
Bilboa .............. ,etty
........... Ski'
........ 36
Barcelona
36i

ieville ••••••••......• .
_.
Gibraltat ............................. 1,4
Leghorn .....
....... . 27
capeiezo
.......... . .............
..................... I:.
....
...... ..v..
,441,,
ee , 6i.
Malta
Lisbon .................................
~
Oporto ................................ ~., ',.
Itio.laneiro ........................... .
Bahia .................................. •• f,',
i
Buenos Ayres ........................e:.
t;:n?.
Pi.l
BULLION•

9eI (Pi'
PF(t) rrt4la d:iil 1 ..... 107
New Dooliloons
.. cu, 0 U.
New D011ar5...... ................. 0 It
Silver Standard in Bars. ......

Redhugh,
...7.----------------- 33g,
Adair's, 38s—Burdon, 38s—Beaumont, „,, 11, 305---ord's
38s 3d, 38s 6d—llebburn Alain, 385 6cl-14°,:Lien 3g*".o„nto?
lingworth, 37s fid, 38s, to 38s 6cl—bidders l'l-6; 36-1;i1.--
35s....Cp:AawL, 11 A RKET, DEC.„,,,•,,,ifestoa, iio..
Townley,NVin d s or
3384
ss_9 dI —ir i Sn hi
ni pg et
oo3nt 7e, .83
93355d1
is—d 6 3d
—Percy
a En
II
iesrltya 1
ak
:7' po 57;1;6 :I:,
4E2n3d9B4lltoan4d3Cs_o.w4aoisi—s NEVnadlis
BErondwn.l3,se:it: allb foos.....lb‘iv•ailli:
/ 6d.-- Os
Green's, 36s Od to 37s—Wall's End .Newrnar,4' 41s--' Os
End Northumberland, 395—Walls End Riddell yit.aiket, el,
End Russell's,9d, 41s, to 41s 6(l—Wsils .I)u,oiscreg,,,,
—Walls End Metal, 36s 9d—fletton's For:ignqraidey, ''ortft
21s—Pelaw Trader, 37s 3d—Cowpen, 37.8".e5--11e,b0°
EurdaelnlsMEainnd, 3}7iest3todntio4347sB 6d—Faweett Pon' 345.--F4',149--'
Main; 358—Lyon's, 40s 3d—Montague Min,435 6d to '1'4,0
Main, 38s—Russell's Hetton's Walls End, ", 345-' 0
End Lambton, 448—Walls Stewart
market,
_l53—Ships sold, 79. afi1.r:48...,............611ips

Camberwell
t—r--Titihraily of Charles 11,10;
trowel
r-scluart7'
On the Ist inst. in Green-street, Grosveno

eNoauoprnit:si,n thetl4th :11113: 7acit
ot huecel:: liniste
Sir Jatnes-i,''arnegie, of)ort.Sluthesk,
second daughter of the Rev. Daniel Lysons, of flell"r-
Coor
On Thursday, the ist inst., at Bromley in gent,
_llof,
of Bouverie.street, London, to Miss Willson, of Oro'
the
13Barritit.o,litiog,,srio,rtett::

sally
street,
R respected,us,Russells
e ii-----------7 , nio,
DIED. (red 37,11 biol.
On Friday, the 2d irvt., Jas. Burnie, Esq.
, , .17'who Plef,f,the
At Arcot, in June last, Lieutenact George vi'do of 9
Ist regiment of Madras Native Cavalry, voungest ' goo I
Che
Suddenly, on the 24th ult., Mr. Ilowe,"Y "-- ^hesPe' wlO/0
ape, Esq., of Rossie, hi the county of Fife.. iiroora.
of Ric 4
Surrey. aged 69.
inuliost deeply regretteo
late of 13"Wirj
On Ivresthtri l'qf Charles Blisset, Esq., es.
1/0"$ .
On the Ist inst , at his house in Bedford.phice,
10.
therine, the wife Of Edmund Robert Daniell. Escliroll, her
On the 2d inst., at her son's house at Canio, la
Martha Jackson, relict a the lac Mr. Thomas Jaen
84th year.

Printed and sit 0-e•
Published for the Pr.oritzToB9, flts.
No. 112, Strand, by 'J. 01,51.4