Urbana union. [volume] (Urbana, Ohio) 1862-1872, 1865-06-28
Windsor, Eaton, The Country Churohyard.

rior Of Windsor Castle, because no words
that I have at command can faithfully pres
ent such an object to the minds eye. It
may be said, to be sure, that it is a vast
structure, covering acres Of ground; that IT
abounds in towers. passions, terraces and
battlements; that it looks more like fortress
than palace, and perhaps one possessed ofa
very extensive descriptive vocabulary might
use a great many more expressions Of the
same kind. but except to those who have
seen such edifces, they would be words used
in vain. A Sir Walter Scott may well ven
ture to invade the domain Of the painter and
photographer, but any pennnan less accom-
plished than he, viii find his efforts in That
direction attended with but very Insignificant
successes.
The parks and grounds in connection with
this castle are vast IL extent and very beau
tifuL There is the Little Park, four miles in
circumference. in which still stands the oak
of "Herne the Hunter" under which accord
ing to Shakespeare, the "NIerry Wives Of
Windsor" assembled to witness the discom-
fture of the "fat stag Of Windsor" the re-
doubtable Sir John. Then there is the Great
Park, fourteen miles in circumference, through
a part Of which there is a broad avenue, run
ming three miles, as straight as the arrow
flies, from the castle gate to a mound on
which stands an equestrian statue of King
George III, the individual Of whom our fore
fathers said so many loving and respectful
things in the Declaration ofIst3erendence.-
Bqvond this Park, lies Windsor Forrest, or
iginally an enclosure Of a hundred miles in
circumference, used as hunting ground by
William the Conqueror. It contains still an
abundance of red deer, hut they have forgot
ten their fear Of man and afford no more
sport" for the hunter than sheep. It is
/ largely composed Of the noble oak trees-lhe
most prominent characteristics Of English
scenery-wLich have furnished those float
ing walls" by means of which the nation has
been more than once delivered from tie
powers Of its foes. It has been greatly re-
duced from its original dimensions. but it is
still sixteen or seventeen miles in diameter
! We must remember that compared with our
vast continent, all England Is not much lar
ger than = pocket-handkerchief, in order fully
to appreciate the magnitude OF the grounds
thug reserved from cultivation simply for
the recreation Of the Sovereign.
Turning from tho Parks we pass dow n
through the little village that clusters around
the Castle, and crossing the river, find the
buildings of Eton school at the distance ol
about a mile upon the other side. 1t was
/ just midday as we entered, and the boys
were pouring out from the recitation rooms
in Joyous, peIl-men throng, just as boys do
the wide world over They were Of all ages,
from ten up to eighteen, and while their dress
was otherwise plain, substantial and appro-
pirate, every little rascal OF them had upon
his head one Of these detestable, tall stiff,
black hats. Their youthful faces and short
''roundabouts," contrasted ridiculousy with
the hat, which in America, we consider as
appropriate only for men ike the t0gG yirilis
of the Romans, ard which, with great good
sense, the majority Of our people, refuse at
all times to assume. We waited until the
stream OF youngsters had emerged from the
old fashioned portal, and then passed in.
The buildings here, as at Oxford, are an
cient and ugly, and there is no apparent de-
sire to put them through a process of rejuve-
nation. They are built in the shape Of quad
rangIes, enclosing two open spaces each Of
half an acre. but they have no architectural
beauty, md even among the common build
/ ings Of the little town about them, they seem
unsightly and mean. We were shown FIRST
into the dining room, where the Foundation
scholars so called because they are educated
out of the perpetual fund established by the
( founder, King Henry Win number about
seventy, poor boys, but composing the real
aristocracy of the school, dine daily with the
| head masters. Then into tie Library, rich in
old books and manuscripts. One curious
volume is the Bible in nine IaDguages-anoth-
er Queen Elizabeth's Bible" with "breech-
es" instead Of "aprons" in Genesis. 5 .
Then into the school rooms, old dark and
musty, with the same desks and benches that
have been used three or four centuries, the
panels, tops and sides Of which are covered
with the names Of the lads, who have occu-
pied them in ages gone by. Thickly cover
ing the walls, are the busts and portraits OF
the Eton boys who have been famous in En-
glands history and the worlds such as Wal
pole, Fox, Canning, Hallam, Person, the
great Greek scholar Pitt, Wellington and
the poet Gray. Unless these busts are false
representations, phrenoIogy is delusion.-I
Wellington's head here, is not unlike but
even less intellectual than VIM. H. Stewards.
Pitt looks ike pretty, mincing young dan
dy with a small retreating forehead enclos-
ing a tea cup full Of brains, and Porson looks
like q keen and hungry wolf His percep-
tives are in a bunch, in size and shape ike
hens egg over the top Of the nose, and this
is all Of his Observation-Disclosures be has ab.
solutely none. Gray, however, has kingly
front, with forehead high, prominent and
square.
a drive of four miles further, over a very
beautiful road, brought US to the churohyard
which is the scene of "The Elegy." It's
lovely spot; the little church, with its 'ivy-
mantled tower" whence "the moping owl"
complains, stands in the centre Of the yard,
which IS enclosed BY tasteful iron fence,