The Northwestern standard., 1886-04-03
WIND! oR q A,ls'TLE'! \
The nIost Royal of All RoyAl Palaces
! -A Htst1ricnl Spot.

WINDSOR CASTLE.
The rross royal of All Royal 3Palaces
Ia Htsl0rical Spot.
The castle hill springs from the bosom ot
a typical English scene to the north the
eve ranges over a wide expanse dotted
with parks and groves; beyond the river
is Elton, which for twenty -one reigns has
been the training ground Of the youth Of
England near the ferry at Datchet stood
the hunting lodge Of the Saxon kings from
the days of Alfred to Edward the Com
fessor; and there, IN the river, is Magma
Charta island, and On the bank lies the
open field Of Runnymede From the
Round Tower You can see the house that
once was Milton's the churrh yard OF Stoke
Pogis, where Gray's ..Elegyn was com
posed, and the distant heights Of Hamp-
stead and Richmond; in the park you can
visit Shakespea s oak, the Elm Ride laid
ont by Queen Anne, and oaks that We're
planted by they Virgin Queen. The Round
Tower itself dates from the reign OF Ed
ward III, who built 1t to receive the
Round Table OF his newly founded Order
Of the Garter. II is indeed, to this
Edward, the Sir Edward of Winsdor, as
Froissart loves to style him, that Windsor
owes its eIninence over other abodes OF
English royalty. "A hunting box In Saxon
times, a fortress and q prison under the
Norman princes, the Castle now became
the centre of the court and OF court life.
Here the victor of Crecy kept his state,
and here entertained the royal and knightly
captiyes King John Of France and King
David of Scotland. Here, for eighteen
wears King James Of Scotland pined in
s1nI Sc
composing his poem ssThe Kings Quhair.''
III the tomb-house lie Henry VIII, Jane
Seymour, and the remains of Charles l.,
as wei as the bodies Of the later sovereigns
Of the House of Hanover, and the Prince
Consort. In fact, wherever we look we
see some fragment of the long history of
England.
The Castle occupies over thirty acres Of
ground. To the east of the Round Tower
is the upper ward, to the west the lower
court. In the former, on the north side,
are the state apartments and on the east
the private apartmentso Of the Queen. The
suite of state rooms is open to the public.
The usual entrance to the, Castle is from
the town of Windsor into the lower ward,
in which is the chapel of st. George and
the houses of the knights, and thence
through the Norman Gate to the terraces
and other parts Of the Castle which are ac-
cessible when the Queen is not in residence.
Then any one, by merely applying at q
stationer's store for ticket. can view the
noblest rooms and finest pictures in the
CastIe-the great Banqueting Hall the
Waterloo Chamber, the Presence Cham
her and the Chapel The actual dwelling
of the sovereign is only visible to guests
of the Queen, and is completely shut In
from the public part Of the Castle. Those
who have had the good fortune to pene-
trate this mysterious region speak
enthusiastically of the quaint shapes OF
the rooms. the deep bay-windOws, and the
general snugness and habitable air. From
the Great Corridor, in itself treasury OF
art and priceless bric-a-brac, opens q suite
Of drawing -rooms-the White Room, with
hay-window over the Home Park; the
Green Room remarkable for its display
Of Sevres china, especially set of match
less bleu dn roi; and the Crimson Room,
which is generally used by the ladies of
the household The Queens daily dining
room is an octagonal room. sober in tone
and exceedingly plain it is lined with oak,
and contains only three works of any
artistic character-tWo pieces Of Gobehn
tapestry, and the Queens own portrait by
Baron Won Angeli It is In this Oak Room,
or in the adjoining private sitting room,
that the Queen does her routine work.
TO many persons the parks Of Windsor
offer more attractions than the edidce it
self The Great Park, which extends for
miles to the south, contains the finest
trees in England, which have been care.
fully tended for generations. Virginia
Water a portion Of the forest, is the largest
artificial piece of water in the country,
and is attractiyeIy laid ont. The Little
Park, to the north OF the Castle, contains
the sHerne's Oak Of Shakespeare, or
rather the successor Of that illustrious tree.
The Castle proper, it's towers and ter
races its blended architecture its broken
and picturesque outlines its mixture Of
medieval fortress and modern dwelling. OF
war and peace, Of military keep and
knightly chapel, make it an object on
which the eye of the artist loves to dwell
The whole Of the valley Of the upper
Thames is lovely, and nowhere more 30
than where it flows past the royal dwelling
above the rest beyond compare. A