The New Orleans crescent. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1866-1869, 1868-10-25

LETTERS FROM DR. H9LLASD--l1- cHEsrER-cHArs.
WORTH, THE SEAT SF THE DUKE OF DEvossHIRE.

i was told that Chester a00unded in Roman
antiquities, but Rofia sight of none of them Nor
did visit Eaton Hall the palatisl residence of the
Marquis OF Westminster, about three miles out.
The place was open only three days of the week,
and did not happes to get the right day for ad.
mission. chester must contain from thrty-fve to
forty thousand peopss, and some of them assured
me mat tne city hadtstarted to grow rapidly. Let
Us nope VIII cling 10 its old characteristics, and,
also, that Americana will visit 1t at once on land.
ing at Liverpool. IT is only few miles from
there, and II introduces the American at once TO
all that is most unliEs his home that can be found
IN the British islands. ! was told before going
mat the sidewalks wSre on the houses, but this is
mistake. The city wall Is q walk, and that may
have given rise to the story. The story may have
sprung, also, from the fact that some of the
streets have double sidewalk each side. This
arrangement is peculiar, think, to Chester, and
is worth describing. Opening directly upon the
sidewalk, on level with the street, were all sorts
OF ordinary shops. groceries, shoe stores, small
cafes and ats, etc. This story of the
buildings was low. The second story, which was
higher, was set back perhaps eight feet from the
front, row OF pillars supporting the higher
stories, all OF which came out even with the base
ment. This left the front Of the second story all
open at the side, though covered at the top, and
In this second story we're all the fine stores and
shops. Ladies who were shopping landed at Q
staircase, and, ascending TO the second sidewalk,
which was continuous from building TO building,
could go. from placeto place, and make all their
purchases and do All their flirting. without de-
scending TO the leye. of the street, present this
plan as worthy of imitation, wherever it may be
practicable. IL certainly secures economy of
space to the builder and convenience TO sill who
have business in the better class Of shops. The
difficulty in adopting il grows, of course, out of
the difhcnlty OF securing the cooperation of q
large number Of proArietors.
Early in the week Which followed my arrival in
Chester, left my comfortable quarters at the
Queens Hotel, for Chatsworth, the seat of the
Duke of Devonshire- ,the most magnificent private
residence In the world. noticed, as paid my
at fha bofa hal n fnAu ~ Ia
penetrated even as far as Chester. Those last
words of Marmion i Charge. Chester etc..
seemed to be held bNmy landlsdy, or boots" or
the waiter, or the landlord, or somebody Il could
never ascertain who conducts hotel in England
In profound venerau3n. adopted the companion
clause of the commstld addressed to Stanley and
went '.on," sufferiDs In my purse, but uashsken
IN my belief that Chester is good place to stay
1t was with great difficulty tina. could ascertain
how to get TO Chatseorth. In England. no rail.
road official knows anything of any road beyond
his own. knew vas TO get out at Rowsley sta
ton, but where Rowsley station was. nobody
knew. As for Bradshaw, never undertook to
learn how to find place by his guide-the blind
est guide to which human confidence ever sur
rendered ITSELF By dligcnt use of the Yankee
prerogatve Of asking questions of travellers.
ascertained. at Last, what was to do. By the
way, Epgland Is 30 cut up by railroads. that it is
hardly to be wondeted at the people fad il diff.
fcult to comprehend the combil atoms.
Rowsley station was reached little past mid
day, and we found carriages waiting at the station
for such visitors as might arrive. From the excel
lence OF these vehicles, and the horses that drew
them, IL was evident either that they did very
prosperous business or that the duke insisted on
respectable conyeyshcesfor thoee who wished to
enter his domains. Ger AMY did not see else
where in England Tnch fine horses attached to
public vehicles. We'wore not long in making the
two or three miles which lay between the station
and the palace. Alfthe way, however, we rode
over territory belonging to the duke. His were
the villages, the farm. houses, the broady.spread-
ing acres, the magnificent lawns, the lofty trees,
the herds of beautifrfl deer so tame that they did
not even look up froDl their browsing ratified
by, the 1ocks of sheep, the hundreds of cattle
all that we saw were bis. For miles and miles
around, not q man who lived upon the soil could |
call rod his own. The approach to the palace was
q very pleasant one, and, as the day fine, and
all my party were rested from the fatgues of the
previous week. we came to our entertainment |
with zest. The palace at the first view was not |
particularly preposssssing. I1deed, l think II |
can hardly be regarded INTELLECTUALLY " sue
cess" II doomed up in the distance like great |
square hotel, and, until we came near enough to |
read the architectural dataiis Of the structure it
made no impression save that of q very large |
building out Of place. |
Arriving at the gate of the palace, we were met |
by q large and somewhat over-dressed official, |
who might have beer butler, or body-servant, or
groom, or anything else. and escorted to the hail.
where We were putsin the keeping of very |
softly-speakiDg girl, who accompanied us through |
the palace. The bu diug itself is not old. and it
was exquisite pleasure to me to find that nei. |
Their its present OCCUPANT nor those who had pre-
ceded hum had been svermuch devoted to the old. |
The first Duke of De vonshire put up the present |
palace in l706, and its acquisitions and accumula-
tons have been made since. To describe the gor-
geous halls, saloons and galleries of this building
would occupy twenty letters; and l can do no |
more than say that pot even the palace at Yer
ssilles the galleries of the Louvre have given
me pleasure equalin9 that which the interior of |
Of de me han
have seen In Europe lid its collections of art i'm
press me as having hen selected for their intrin.
sic merit, without reference to great names and |
conventional notions. / felt that fine mind had |
been at work around, me unifying and harmonic |
ing everything that same to It,, and that purse
which " as bottomleis had been laid under tribute
to bring from every quarter of the earth its
choicest artistic treasures. II the requisite means
little collection Of modern statuary which saw at
Cbatsworth, than fol all the antiques have seen
In Paris and London put together. Csnova, Chan
trey, Thorwaldsen, Restmacott, aye and our own
Powers, were there ia their choicest works, with
Others whose names nave escaped me, and the i'm
preston they have Jeff upon my mind is that OF
unmixed pleasure. Ut was joy to believe that
the world has progressed, and that there Is one
rich man in IL who Lot only believes in the fact,
but Is willing to spend his money upon gallery |
which demonstrates {. OF the oak carvings, of
the gilded carvings, of the magnificent vases, of
the hundreds Of pictures which adorn the walls,
/
rails and workmanship, of the broad mirrors, Of
the acres Of oak flooring so smoothly wsxed and
polished that one had to take constant heed to his
feet TO keep from slipping down, have only
space TO hint.
We were led from the gallery of sculpture into
@ pretty conservatory, and there turned over TO
the hands of the gardener. Most of your readers
are aware that the gardens of Chatsworth, as
well as its immense greenhouse, were designed
by Sir Joseph Paxton, and that he here developed
the genius which secured TO his hands the plan of
the original Crystal Palace. suppose the gardens
of Cbatsworth surpass anything Of the kind to be
found in the United Kingdom. One department
consits of the natural style, and the other Of the
formal style. The former We explored first,
walking through artificial wildernesses, opening
gates of huge single rocks. that hanging on
pivot, turned to the, touch of Q child, stopping to
look at q Strengthening dead tree that burst
while we looked frogr twig and leaf and limb into
a fountain, walking through the greenhouse down
o passage 50 high ard wide that coach four
could sweep through and give us an opportunity
to turn out, with tie foliage of stately tropical
trees over our heafs. and finding at every turn
some beautiful surprise. From this department
of the grounds. we vent TO that which represents
the formal style ofSgardenng. This though not |