The Sun.
London, England, 1802-12-30 00:00:00

BUCKINGHAM HOUSE.

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. THE following is 2 description Of ale interior :).F
this Palace, which may he considered as .the only
town residence of Their Majesties, St. James's be-
ing merely used as a place of audience and for pur-,
poses of State.
The hall of entrance is upon a scale suitable to
the dignity and spaciousness of the dwelling, which
is so amply stored with the finest paintings, that
the :walls of even this apartment are covered with
them. Views of fides in Italy, especially those
by Canaletti, prevail here. The pavement is Of
white and dark-coloured marble.—Three very large'
and superb lanthorns, in the fashion of forty or fifty
years since, hang from the ceiling. Eight lamps
in glasses are placed on carved pedestals very well
painted in imitation of bronze. The story of
lEneas and Dido covers the' walls of the stair-case.

On the landing-place of the chief floor, without
any anti-room, opens the door of what is called the
Japan Room, in which Their Majesties and the
Princesses breakfast. Here are the comforts of a
family room with the grandeur and some of the
ornaments of a palace. - Three large paintings oc-
cupy three of the compartments, and with several
others leave not much place for the curious japan
lining, from which the room takes its name. Van-
dyke is the favourite master here, and, perhaps,
it is not too much to class these three lofty pic-
tures amongst his best works. That nearest the
fire-place represents Charles I. Henrietta Maria,
and their family, all in whole length. The next
is the portrait of Charles I. on horseback, with a
page on foot. The third is the Duke of Alva on
horseback. A time-piece occupies the centre of a
beautiful marble chimney piece. The curtains are
velvet, painted by the Princess Elizabeth in shades
of brown and maroon, in imitation of cut velvet.
Here the elegance of the furniture .ends. The
tables and chairs are of a very plain and old fashion.
The cold, and hard-rubbed floor is without a car-
pet, a lUxury of which His Majesty deprives him-
self in almost every apartment, from the opinion,.
that carpets, and other means of ,great warmth, are
injurious to health. Many of his subjetts would
find this deficiency very lamentable, if they were
to pass a day at Buckingham House. A piano-
forte is on one side of the room ; a large organ
completely fills up a compartment by fire.place.
Several little stands, of the height of a table, to
hold a breakfast cup, or a work-bag, are placed in
the corners.

From this apartment extends a suit of rooms along
the whole back front of the house, all nearly covered
with the finest piaures, which have however been
so often described, that we shall not notice them
individually. Rubens, Vandyke, and Claude, are
the chief masters. In every room the encourage-
ment given by His Majesty to ingenious construc-
tors of time. pieces is apparent, and the King's fond-
ness for their art may be well accounted for by his
known punduality ; in which, probably, none of
his servants, or subjeas, ever equalled him. We
do not recolled,that there is one room without a
clock ; certainly several have two, cr three.—
There are at least fifty in the house, all constantly
wound up, according to their periods, by a trusty
servant, and all in such cerrelness, that a difference
of half a minute cannot be found amongst them.—
Weather-glasses of different sizes and construaions
also occur frequently, and their indices correspond
almost as well as the hands of the clocks.

On this western side of the House are the King's
and Queen's Warm Rooms; apartments so called,
because they have the distindion of carpets, of
which there are only four in the whole house, thoogh
not less than twenty of the rooms are in frequent use
by the Royal Family ; the others are in the dining-
room and the Queen's bedroom, bUt none of
these completely cover the floor. The furniture
of this suite of apartments is otherwise ex-
tremely remarkable, and fOr the very qualities op-
, posite to those that might be expeded. Instead of
being magnificent, elegant, or fashionable, it is of
the very plainest form
.into which good materials
can be worked; and even the materials are not al.
ways so conspicuously good, seldom so beautiful, as
• would be required in the houses ofcmany opulent' in-
diViduals. And yet, though old enough to be far
out of any late taste, it bears no stamp ofa venerable
antiquity. The damask of the curtains and chairs
is much faded ; the mahogany of the latter is not
beautiful ; it is even so dull, that it 'much resem-
bles walnut ; and the latter are made with curving
legs, and clump, or rather knob feet, not well carv-
ed. The tables are of similar fashion. Several old
and vary plain armoires and escrutaires encumber.
the rooms. The appearance of the whole is very
striking to a visitor, if he has been inspecting any
of the magnificent dwellings, called the Shew Houses
of our opulent Nobility, and has had•his eye accus-
tomed to gold mouldings, satin-lined compart.:
meets, stately mirrors and vivid carpets. It would
indeed be a lesson to the extravagance of the ago to
see this house. Amidst the utmost abundance of
things justly valuable, of gratifications for an intel-
ligent mind and a solid taste, of books, pidures,
maps, and instruments, the King of England.and
his numerous family content themselves withisttch
other furniture in their more domestic apartments,
as many opulent tradesmen would certainly not
envy.

Last week was committed to York Castle, G.
Platt, late of Diglee, in the parish of Saddleworth,
merchant and cloth manufafturer, charged with not
surrendering himself to an aft •of bankruptcy issued
against him, according to the statute in that case
made and provided. We understand Platt is since
liberated on bail.—James Boden of .Halifax, la-
bourer, charged upon oath with feloniously marry-
ing Mary Parrat, of Halifax, when at the same
time he had a lawful. wife living; and likewise
Jane Spence, charged upon oath with having mar.
tied William Withnell, late of Constable Burton,
yeoman, and also Joseph Lambert, of the parish of
Kirby Malzeard, husbandman, the said William
.Withneli, her former husband, being then alive.

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BIRTII
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On Monday the 27th inst. At Little Ealing, Middlesex,.
the Lady oftieutenant-Colonel DrinLvviter, of a Son,

MARRIED.

Yesterday,..at St. 'George?s, Hanover...square, Aubone Sur-
tees,. Esq., .to,..,Miss Honeywoad; eldest daughter of Sir John
Honeywoqd, Rart. grand-daughter, of the late, and niece of the
kesent Viicount Courtenay. - •

TrANTS A SI TZIAtI GNi
AS VALET, 'oras -18UThER to
Single Gentleman,-a young Man, thirty year; of ;,,g
perte,itly understands his ktusiness ; Town or Couotr'
Brewing, the,rtittnageittnCiA Ce.ll4ts; Woii!d iiaver
ebje,ition to act or g.ve assistance in use Sporting In
is a middling
,Spot, and has had a great of prac-11`;°
Courthr&;...:lta tnost.satistadory. geferencesk‘villi be giv°ll."
io (..Tharaete,r, 8:e. Letters (post-Raid) addressed to. g• 13•
at,'No. 7,)(:harles-street, Grcrsventir-squaiii LOndcn,
Alr. Patterson's., Nu. 9, Argyle-stroct, Bath, will
the strictest attention.