Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-10-24

of the citizens Of Chester and have ridi-
culed them as attempts to catch Ameri-
can dollars.
Well Worth a Visit.
While that may be true to a certain ex-
tent, 1t does not detract from the result
and an American dollar could not be put
to better purpose than for a visit to
this lovely old town. There are evidences
of the Roman occupation and traces of
the Saxon, with memorials of the time of
the Norman invasion.
Chester was the last place of Importance
in the kingdom to yield to William the
Conqueror, who installed his nephew and
chief huntsman rs governor and gave him
permission to enlarge his estates at the
expense of the Welsh whenever he found
1t convenient or possible to do SO. 1t was
this Hugh Lupus. the grosveneur (or
huntsman). Earl of Chester, who founded
the Grosvenor family. and was the an
cestor Of the Duke Of Westminster. He
lives at Eaton Hall, where Hugh Lupus
built his first castle.
Eaton Hall Is five miles from the center
of the city, but the gates of the park are
In the town. and those who enter them
have a long and pleasant drive through the
demesne. 1t Is not of unusual beauty and
there has been no attempt at landscape
gardening, but there are many splendid
have been growing for centuries, and
herds of deer, tame as sheep, hundreds
of them. are running at large. His grace
has a cricket ground, a golf course, ten
mis- courts, foot ball fields, and cinder
path for the athletic exercise of his
guests. He has also a famous stable
which holds the record for breeding the
largest number of Derby winners and
winners of the Oaks the second race in
England.
Finest Horses in the World.
Flying Fox, a colt bred by the late
Duke of Westminster. brought the highest
price ever paid for horse in the world
nearly S2OO.OOO-and that was at auction.
Ormonde. a bay horse foaled in 1883 is
said to have won more races than any
other He won the st. Leger, the Oaks.
the Derby, the Newmarket, the 10000
guinea purse and every other contest in
which he was entered. The purses won
by him amounted to more than 100000
The Grosvenor colors have been carried
to victory six times in the Derby, nine
Leger and in the other principal races in
England a corresponding number OF
times Many famous horses were bred
here. and, what is especially interesting
to us, the great Mambrino stallion and
Messenger. the ancestor of the most
foaled here also. Copenhagen. the
charger ridden by the Duke of Wellington
at the battle of Waterloo, was bred in
this stable. The history of the Grosve-
nor stud has been published In a large
volume.
Tasteless Extravaganza Of Chateau.
The stables are more satisfying than
the chateau. l am told they are abso-
lutely perfect. but the chateau offers the
most vulgar and tasteless display of ex-
travagance 1 have ever seen. A lady In
our party characterized 1t correctly
when she said the interior reminded her
of a Turkish bath and a Fall river
steamboat.
The first Eaton Hall was designed by
the poet-architect Sir John Vanbrugh,
who built Blenheim. the home of the
Duke of Marlborough, and several other
of the most famous castles in England.
He had a reputation for erecting build
ings of ''ponderosity." or massiveness OF
design, which caused one of the wits OF
the day to propose for him this epitaph:
Lie heavy on him, Earth for he
Laid many a heavy load on thee"
In 1867 the late Duke of Westminster
rebuilt the entire structure after the
imagined. The late A. Waterhouse was
the architect 1t took him thirteen years
and cost the duke several millions OF
dollars to produce the monstrosity,
which Is now one Of the show places OF
England and one of the most expensive
human habitations in the world. 1t Is
exasperating to think of the vast sum OF
money that has been wasted here In
vulgar display when there was an OPP
portunity of restoring and preserving the
simple but massive designs Of Sir John
Vanbrugh.
The chapel. which is entirely new. is
beyond criticism and altogether the best
feature of the place. The dining room
Is also beautiful. and the library. a noble
apartment ninety-two feet long. thirty
feet wide and twenty-three feet to the
ceiling is admirable. 1t has a pipe organ
at one end and shelves for 10000 volumes
In the cases are some rare old books and
manuscripts. The drawing room. which
is forty-five by thirty, six. is also an ar
tistic apartment. but the grand salon
seventy six by thirty-two feet: the cor
ridors and others of the great apartments
have been used for the display of sam
pies of all the valuable building stones
that can be found In the world.
All the Stones and Birds Are There.
These apartments are open to the pub
lie, and a description In print can be
bought for a shilling. The latter gives
us a list OF the different kinds Of stone
that appear in the walls. and includes
malachite, lapus lazulf. rouge antique
agate, amethyst. Carrara and Pariar
marble. alabaster. verde antique, jasper
chalcedony, serpentine OF all colorS, quartz