The Rutland daily globe. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1873-1877, 1873-10-11
THE RUTLAND MORNING OCTOBER IL 1873
KEW OARDENS.

KEW GARDENS.
A short way out of London are situated
the Royal Gardens at Kew, which afford
pleasure-ground to the public and a para
disc of research and study for the botanist
The gardens, containing in the open air or
under glass the plants, flowers and vegetable
curiosities of all countries, are seventy-fve
acres in extent and are beautifully laid out
with fine and rare trees, hower-beds, a
Pinetum, Farmhouse and ranges Of hot
houses expressly designed for tropical
plants and rare exotics
The palm house. 400 feet long and 20 in
height, forms the centre of the grounds
and is forest in itself Here the cocoa
nut, mango and banana readily bear their
fruit while the requisite moisture is distribu-
tedthrough well-arrangcd spray-jets Wind
ing stairways bear the observer up through
the foliage to an upper gallery where,
among the clusters of fruit and blossoms.
and 'bosomcd high in tuftcd trees" hemay
dream away an afternoon in the tropics.
From the palm-houso extend the various
paths, bordercd with the finest horticulture
leading to other cOnservatorics and mu-
seums. Here is house for water plants
with large lake stocked with lilies. and
the long leaves Of the Nile flowers there
are devoted to ferns and cact beyond is
the temperate house enclosing the plants
of America and Australia, while in the dis
lance are Alpine, Indian and BRAZILIAN
houses. The grounds are laid out in lawns
and gladcs the little hills are surmountcd
with pagodas and miniature castles for the
public pleasure. The museums are repctc
with vegetable products, useful in the arts
and manufactures, most interesting and in
structiye. The herbaria or dried plant col
lcctions from all parts of the world are the
most extensive yet brought together, and
all the wonders of nature are open to the
masses to be enjoyed, gratis. The visitors
to the gardens in one year amount to be-
tween five and six hundred thousand.
chiefly for recreation and fresh air though
many botanical students take lodgings in
Kew to prosecute their studies under cir
cumstauces than which the modern world
possesses none superior.
WINDSOR CASTLE.
Windsor is the spot, favored by nature
with the richest and most varicgatcd seen
cry, diversified by hill and dale parks. for
ests and vcrdant meadows and animated
by the windngs of the Thames, which has
been selected as the favorite residence of
English royalty since the days of William
the Conqucror The majestic castle over
hanging the town was built in the carly
part of the eleventh century, and ever
since has been successfully improved by
all the sovereigns of England, I'M
til to-day it embraces fourteen acres of
land within its ramparts and is acknow-
lodged the finest fortress and palace in the
world. The Henrys and Edwards. Eliza
beth and Mary and all the later kings have
made the castle their royal residence ;
William the Fourth entertained the heroes
of Waterloo at many banquets in the great
dining hall, and but recently Victoria gave
a lunch to the Shah of Persia in the adjoin-
ing apartments. Entering the castle yard
by Henry the Eighths gate way. st.
Georges Chapel rears its gray head directly
opposite, which is considered the finest and
most ornate church in England. The
great western window contains seventy
five figures, each six feet in height, repre-
senting kings, knights, patiiarchs and &C.
clesiastics, intcrspersed with heraldc bear.
ings, among which the cross and insignia
of the Order of the Garter are frequently
displayed. The richness of the colors, the
loftincss of the window, and the veneer
able appearance of the Gothic traccry COM
bine to awaken in the mind these feelings
of awe and solemnity so in unison with the
character of the place.
This church has been the theatre
of the weddings and burials of the
majority of the saints and scoundrels who
have worn the crown, while it is the shrine
at which the present royal house worship.
Down the sides of the choir range the stalls
OF the knights of the Garter, surmounted
with their coats of arms, beginning with
the Prince of Wales, ending with the Sui
tan Abdul Aziz Khan, and including all
the kings of Christendom
The state apartments are splendid
suite of rooms, commanding II grand pros.
pect of the surrounding country, and en-.
riched with a valuable collection of paint.
ings and frescoes by the first masters. The
beautiful specimens of the gobelin tapestry
upon the walls of the audience chambers
represent scenes from the lives of Esther
and Medea. The ball room is adorned
with portraits by Vandyck the drawing
room is mass of gilt stucco and crimson
silk, while the Waterloo banqucting hall
contains portraits of the sovereigns, states
men and military heroes who We're con.
nccted with the famous battle.
From the chamber extend presence, ante
and guard rooms, with the grand staircase
of polished stone and gittering coats OF
mail terminating the magnificent array. The
eye is wearied and the senses surfeited witt
the heaped grandeur of the royal apart
ments which renders the freedom ant
beauty of the view from the summit of the
Round Tower thrice agreeable. During
the reign of Edward Ill, King John OF
France, David of Scotland and the intrepid
Queen Phllippa jointly shared the sorrow!
of confinement within these walls. Tn,
prospect from the battlements include por
tions of twelve counties with many cele
brated sites. Among the green fields an(
groves to the north is the church yard il
which Gray wrote his world-famet