The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1883-07-21

Atfo takcn Illo form of
Inohth $ residence in one of these room
oi state. How that truly great MAJ
would nave reyeled in such an unexpect
ca supply OF recesses, hangings, cabinet
anu presses or carved oak, for the con
venlence OF the ghosts, demons, corpse
aL' Otnef FESTIVE perSonages in which
ne aellgnted. Herne, the Hunter, him
sell would have found ample scope here
tor tilat troublesome gift of popping III
ttilougn thc 1loor or coming flying dow
Cne chlmney with which he made him
selt such nuisance in Windsor Castl,
III inc days of Henry VIII. What
material, too, would any adventurous
n19NX,elist 1N, eli find in the Latin inscriptio,
Wnioh e.!iil'u"nsn t,i"n ti.o n.e ri,>ovim 1iIu y
tne ghostliest of the upper rooms. or,
TINS chamber slept Queen Elizabcth
aIter the defeat of the ArmaIa Il,
Eihgllsi arms in 1885," It is true thai
there is still reason to doubt whcthc,
good Queen Bess ever visited Knebwortl
at all; but this is a trife to all true In,
| iieVerS Ill the romantic. who NAV console
| chcnlseiVes with the assurance that Ills
IS The chamber in which she woul,i hnvn
slept if she had.
In one Of the ante rooms 4 little fur-
thcr on is another relic which mirht
furnish Mr. Wilkic Collins with the niot
or a new "Nl0onStonc. just In 'front.'
or the window stands Il miniature tlIrnnc
chriouSly carved, all Of solid silver II
Is llankcd on either side by Il night of
steps OF the same metal, guarded by a
group ol silver figures in Eastern dress
ana Is Surmountcd by canonv ~,
which sits large bird, holding in IT,
peak Splendid emerald. Such an or
hlment might Warren Hastings havn
paced III the vcStibule Of Dalcsiord or
CilVc III the hall of his stately house at
Clarcmont; but its presence here is
equally appropriate, for it is thc yift nr
one OF the IIindoo Princes To thc man
VINO lately ruled them i'm the name nf
The Empress of India. Such souvenir.
are precious not merely from their in
trlnslc worth but from the associntinn.
cntwlned with them; and this ihronn
might fitly be placed beside the taft crnd
banner in the hall below, Ito bear whirh
up the fatal hillside of the Alma tLrnn
DraVc men died in succession )asa tnlon
That the race which holds Knebworih
mas proved its mcttlc on other fields hr.
sides those of literature.
AS we turn to depart the western SIN
now fast sinking and gathering clouds
caSlS one pale and momentary glo,m
upon the square, massive gray tower oc
the ancient church Of KncbWorth as If
stands facing the hall Such a bncl,.
ground is the fit adjunct to such a nir-
cure. An old village church in Enoland
Is striking and suggestive object at nll
times, but doubly and trcbiv SO whom
hhtg 'rdhs ,s'qptt, taitl44quence of "A cnn
grandeur of an anciont .oiofHG dig
OF world wide reputation; OH the uorn,--
this mute symbol of that power to which
all the might of man is nothing, and of
that grave in which man himself lies as
low as the beasts that perish. Like the
skeleton at the Egyptian banquet, like
the black robe over the throne of Sala-
din, stands this s0mbrc memento amit
the leatlcSs woods opposing it's stern
simplicity to the pomp and glitter of the
ancient mansion. Here must all the
paths of life, however diverse, meet at
last. 10 this goal tend alike the Nor
man noble whose banner floatcd by Duke
Williams side at Hastings and the hob
nailed clown who hardly known his own
grandfather.
But when the dread shadow has fallen
which makes all men equal, the deeds
that shine brightest through its gloom
are not always those which poets have
sung and nations vauntcd. We're all
the exploits of Walter Scott's mighty
genius forgotten to-day, his memory
would still be held sacred in every Anglo
Saxon heart Oh either side of the Attain
tic as the simple, kindly, truc-hcartcd
man who 81 warmly held out the right
hand OF friendship young Washington
Irving when the latter was still but Il
private in the great literary army which
he was one day to command. More
precious by far than all the noisy praises
which rewarded oltaire's long war
against God and man we're The unhcard
blessings Of the poor Swiss peasants
| whom he saved from the tax that was
crushing them. The aims houses built
in Knehworth village by the late Lord
Lytton's mother are higher tribute to
her memory than even the graceful
monument and touching cpitaph raised
to it by her famous son beneath the
shade of his ancestral woods. BY these
things men live when the hollow ap,
plauseB of drawing rooms and the lying
culogics of critics have returned to con
genial nothmgncss.
|
| Order tho farm.