The Northwestern standard., 1886-04-03
WINDSOR CASTLE.
The NSost gRoyaio of ALI Royal Palaces
"A Wtst urIcnk Spot.

A Historical Spot.
THE castle hill springs from the bosom OF
a typical English scene; to the north the
eye ranges over q wide expanse dotted
with parks and groves; beyond the river
is Eton, which for twenty-one reigns has
been the training ground OF the youth OF
England: near the ferry at Datchet stood
the hunting dodge Of the Sax on kings from
the days of Alfred to Edward the Com
fessor and there, III 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 church-yard OF Stoke
Pogis where Gray's "Elegy" was COM
posed and the distant heights of Hanlp-
stead and Richmond; IN the park you can
visit sshakespeare'so oak, the Elm Ride, laid
ont by Queen Anne, and oaks that were
planted by theWirgin Queen. The Round
Tower itself dates from the reign of Ed
ward III, who built it to receive the
Round Table of his newly founded Order
of the Garter. 1t is indeed, to this
Edward the Sir Edward OF Winsdor, as
Froissart loves to style him, that Windsor
owes its pre-eninence over other ahodess Of
English royalty A huntingdon 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 sIate
and here entertained the royal and knightiy
captiyes King John Of France and King
David of Scotland. Here, for eighteen
years, King James of Scotland pined in
captivity, and beguiled his sohcitude by
composing his poem ssrhe Kings tQuhair."
III the tomb-house lie Henry VIII, Jane
Seymour, and the remains Of Charles l.,
as well as the bodies Of the later soyerejgns
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 apartments 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-
eessible when the Queen is not in residence
Then any one, by merely applying at
SSdGl}tISt > StOlt lOL tlGtASts Stla fiSW c10
noblest rooms and finest pictures in the
Cast1e-the great Banqueting Hall, the
Waterloo Chamber, the Presence Cham
ber 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. These
who have had the good fortune to pene-
tTate 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 a treasury Of
art and priceless bric-a-brac, opens d suite
of drawing -roonlS-the White Room, with
q hay-window over the Home Park; the
Green Room, remarkable for its display
Of Seyres china, especially a set of match
less bleu du 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
ana exceedingly plain; it is lined with oak,
and contains only three works of any
artistic character--two pieces Of Gobelin
tapestry, and the Queens own portrait by
Baron Won AngeH 1t is in this Oak Room,
or in the adjoining private sitting room,
that the Queen does herroutine work.
TO many persons the parks of Windsor
offer more attracTlonS than the ealuce IL
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, aportion of the forest, is the largest
artificial piece of water in the country,
and is attractiyely laid ont. The Little
Park, to the north of the Castle, contains
the s.Herne's Oak" Of Shakespeare, or
rather the successor of that illustrious tree.
The Castle proper, its 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 whols of the valley Of the upper
Thames is lovely and nowhere more SO
than where it flows past the royal dwelling
above the rest beyond compare.