Raftsman's journal. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1854-1948, 1859-07-27


many with less temptation and equal pow
er, never was man better fitted to administer
to the pleasures of monarch, or who knew
better how to sustain an establishment in
which priestly pomp was united to klngiy
power and royal licentiousness. But the pal
ace at Hampton it arose in its splendor,
could not failto excite the envy of the king
and court. Henry asked Wolsey why he
built palace which surpassed all those ofroy-
atty. The crafty minister answered: "To
make residence which shall be worthy OF
your majesty.'' 1t was here that the magnif-
icent Cardinal lavished his treasure and
racked his ingenious brain to provide some
new delicacy for the palate or some splendid
pageant for the eye. Here it was that he
craftily planned his measures for ascendency
over kings and courts, and it would seem
that nothing in king-craft was too bold or
vast, as i'm the details of his household, scarce
ly any thing was too minute to escape his at
tention. Five hundred persons composed his
retinue, and among his officers were some of
the mobiles of England. His steward was a
priest, and has chief cook was dressed in satin
and velvet ornamented with jewels. The Car
dinal, who affected in some things humility,
rode upon mule, but the inferiOrlty OF his
animal was compensated by the splcndor OF its
trappings, and the splendor of its riders cos
tune, who was dressed in sables and silk and
gold and jewels. Before his displays, even
of the Vatican were fading. The edfice built
by Wolsey was enlarged by Henry, and since
that time by other monarchs. fthe original
edifce, the chapel, the great hall, and few
chambers used for domestic purposes remain.
The other portions were chiefly erected by
William the Third, and the buildings now
cover many acres, being the largest palace in
England. The state apartments through
which we were shown, contain very large
collection of paintings, interesting chiefly
from their historical associations. The car
toon gallery contains seven cartoons by the
immortal Raphael, the romantic history of
which is we'll known. A number of gObelin
tapestries, some of them Of great former beau
ty, decorate some of the apartments but they
are now much worn and faded. The magnif-
icent funeral canopy under which the Duke of
Wellington lay in state at Chelsea, attracts
much attention. 1t is of black English velvet,
surmounted by pumes of black feathers, and
lined inside with gold and silver tissue. The
state beds OF George the Second, and William
the Third and his queen, remarkable for
their rich tapestry and gliding. Most of the
people seemed to be more interested in these
beds than with some of the best pictures; fol-
while these rooms were crowded, the cartoon
gallery was quite deserted. The walls of the
rooms throughout are quite plain; they are
generally wainscOted in oak. Some of the
rich furniture still remains. The ceilings of
and the walls of William the Thirds bedroom
were hung with portraits of frail court beau
ties, painted by Lely. The great hall of VOL
sey is the most magnificent of all the apart
ments. Its beautiful roof of oak, is enriched
with painting and gliding. 1t was once used
as a banqueting- hail. but it has since been
used as church and as a theatre, in the
reign of George the Third. In it on the first o
October, 17IS, performed Shakspeare's
play of King Henry the Eighth, in which the
incidents in the life of W olsey were enacted or
the theatre of his Splendor. The fine roof i:
decorated with the arms of Henry the Eighth
and his fayorite queen Jane Seymour. The
walls are hung with the splendid tapestries ol
arras representing the life of Abraham. Tho
windows are filed with richly painted anC
stained glass, representing the pedigrecs o.
| the queens of Henry and the heraldic badge
of the king. From the windows of some o.
the state rooms we had fine view OF a ricf
and cultivated country, dotted with substan
| tial farm houses and decorated with the sof1
foliage of innumerable trees. 1t was in thi:
palace that Queen Jane Seymour died after
giving birth TO the prince, and the ill-fated
Catharine Howard first appeared as queen a
this palace. Elizabeth was very fond of resi-
ding here and it was here that Charles the
First prisoner, although allowed the
| splendors of royalty. Cromwell fixed upon il
| as one of his places of residence, and here one
| of his daughters was married and another died
| The conference between the Presby ant
| the Established Church took place here il
| 1904. The principal portion Of the building:
| are occupied by decayed nobility, whose for
| tunes are fallen, but who are here furnished
| by the government with residence rent free
where they may maintain some of their state
| and fashion. The grounds, although not wei
| laid out, are very beautiful. Before the man
| sion is lake which runs to the river, ant
| e hop rod wit Ofp oil
| forming vista, terminated by some house!
| and fields in the distance. The grounds are
| abundantly supplied with flowers, which are
now in full luxuriance and beauty. 1t re-
quires much watchfulness on the part of the
| police to prevent their being picked; ant
| posted conspicuously in many places, saw
| list of offenders who had been caught and pun
| ished, with statement of the fine. Thus OF
one 1 read ssHenrietta Eyinson, pluckins
| flowers, fined nine shillings and sixpence.-
| Captain Charles Greenhill, of the Coldstrean
Guards, plucking flowers. fined sixteen shl
| lings and sixpence.'' Hundreds of brigh
goldfish sported in the fountains and crowded
| together by shoals round a few crumbs i
thrown into the water. We saw the aged
grapevine now loaded with thousands OF bun
| ches of fine black Hamburg grapes. 1t i
| eighty-nine years old, and at a distance o
| three feet from the ground is foot in diane
| ter. The gardener who attends it, Informed
| us that it produced three thousand lunches o
| fruit last season, weighing on an average on,
| pound each. In the garden near the entranc,
is the maze, which appeared to delight mum
bers Of people, for we could hear merry laugh
| ter proceeding from its green recesses as per
| picked wanderers sought their way through it
| labyrinthine passages. The grounds compris
about forty five acres.
There is man in Algiers who tells sucl
| good stories that his friends say it is danger
| Gus to walk with him in the forests, for all tn
hyenas come round him to laugh.