Chapter VI: FOURTH DUKE OF NORTHUMBERLAND, from 1854 to 1865: complete (9)

“This _Palace_, with wild prospects girded round,
Stands in the middle of a falling ground,
At a black _mountain’s_ foot, whose craggy brow,
Secures from _eastern tempests_ all below,
Under whose shelter _trees_ and _flowers_ grow,
With early blossom, maugre native snow;
Which elsewhere round a _tyranny_ maintains,
And binds crampt _nature_ long in _crystal chains_.
The _fabrick’s_ noble front faces the _west_,
Turning her fair broad shoulders to the _east_;
On the _south_ side the stately _gardens_ lye,
Where the scorn’d _Peak_ rivals proud _Italy_.
And on the _north_ several inferior _plots_
For servile use do scatter’d lye in spots.

* * * * *

Environ’d round with _Nature’s_ shames and ills,
Black heaths, wild rocks, bleak craggs and naked hills
And the whole prospect so informe and rude,
Who is it, but must presently conclude
That this is _Paradise_, which seated stands
In midst of _desarts_, and of barren _sands?_”

The engraving from Knyff’s drawing illustrates, to a remarkable degree, this description by Cotton, but for our present purpose it is not necessary, perhaps, to enter further into it. The house formed a quadrangle, the west front being the principal. An enclosed carriage-drive with large gates led up to the north front; the stables and stable-yard were at the north-west angle; and the part where now the Italian garden stands, was a large square pool of water with a fountain in its midst. Since then the whole of the grounds have been remodelled, the immense fish-pools, the stables, &c., taken away, and a new part added to the mansion. The grounds were as fine, according to the taste of the times, as any then existing, and the description given of them by Charles Cotton brings vividly to the mind the time when “Sunday posies,” of “roses and lilies and daffy-down-dillies” were in vogue, and when peonies were worn in the button-hole; while rosemary and bay were the choicest of scents.

Fountains and statues as described by Hobbes and by Cotton still adorn the grounds, and it may be well to note that the busts on the pillars in the Italian garden, which we engrave, originally belonged to the inner court of the old mansion.

In 1687, William Cavendish, third Earl of Devonshire, who was afterwards created Duke of Devonshire, after making considerable alterations in the gardens and grounds, commenced rebuilding the house. The first part commenced was the south front, which appears to have been begun to be rebuilt on the 12th of April, 1687, under the direction of William Talman, the architect. The east side next followed; the great hall and staircase being covered in, in April, 1690. In 1692 Sir Christopher Wren came down and surveyed the works, at which time it appears that about £9,000 had been expended. In 1693 the east front and the north-east corner were commenced, Talman receiving £600 in advance for the work. In 1700 the east front appears to have been completed, and about the same time the principal, or west, front of the old mansion was taken down, and the rebuilding completed in 1706. In 1703 the old south gallery was demolished and rebuilt, and in 1704 the north front was removed, and the building of the new one to take its place commenced. The whole edifice appears to have been finished in 1706, but its noble owner, whose munificence and taste reared the magnificent pile, did not long live to enjoy its beauties, for he died in the following year, 1707. Dr. White Kennett, Bishop of Peterborough, who preached the funeral sermon of this nobleman, wrote at the time some account of the Cavendish family, in the course of which he introduced some highly interesting particulars relating to the mansion and grounds, remarking that “tho’ such a vast pile (of materials entirely new) required a prodigious expense, yet the building was the least charge, if regard be had to his gardens, water-works, pictures, and other of the finest pieces of Art and Nature that could be obtained abroad or at home.”

The Duke seems to have determined to erect a true Palace of Art, and for that purpose he employed the best artists of the time in its decoration. Among the painters employed to decorate the ceilings and walls of the various rooms with the creations of their genius, were Verrio, Laguerre, Sir James Thornhill, Ricard, Highmore (sergeant-painter to William III.), Price, and Huyd. The carvers in stone and wood, whose names appear in the accounts, were Caius Gabriel Cibber, Samuel Watson, Henry Watson his son, Mons. Nadauld, J. T. Geeraerslius, Augustine Harris, Nost, William Davies, M. Auriol, Joel Lobb, and Lanscroon. The principal iron-worker appears to have been Mons. Tijou, a French smith, whose daughter was wife of Laguerre the painter; and the lead-worker, who did the regular plumber’s work, as well as the lead-piping of the willow-tree, and other water-works under the guidance of Mons. Grillet, was a Mr. Cock, of London, whose bill came to about £1,000.

In 1820 the late Duke—William Spencer Cavendish, sixth Duke of Devonshire—who had succeeded to the title in 1811, commenced some great improvements at Chatsworth by erecting, from the designs of Sir Jeffrey Wyatt, the north wing, containing, with all the domestic offices, a number of other apartments, as well as the dining-room, sculpture-gallery, orangery, banqueting-room, and pavilion; and by altering and re-arranging several other rooms. The grounds and gardens, also, were by this gifted nobleman, very materially remodelled and improved under the direction of his head-gardener, the late Sir Joseph Paxton, to whose labours, including the erection of the gigantic conservatory, the forming of the artificial rocks, &c., we shall have to refer.

Having now traced so far as is necessary for our present purpose the history of Chatsworth, we proceed to speak of the noble and historical family of Cavendish, its princely owners. This, however, we shall do but briefly; having already, in our account of Hardwick Hall, gone into the family history at some length.

The family of Cavendish, to whose noble head Chatsworth belongs, traces back to the Conquest, when Robert de Gernon, who came over with the Conqueror, was rewarded by him for his services with large grants of lands in Hertfordshire, Gloucestershire, &c. His descendants held considerable land in Derbyshire; and Sir William Gernon, _temp._ Henry III., had two sons, Sir Ralph de Gernon, lord of Bakewell, and Geoffrey de Gernon, of Moor Hall, near Bakewell. From the second of these, Geoffrey de Gernon, the Cavendishes are descended; his son, Roger de Gernon (who died in 1334), having married the heiress of the lord of the manor of Cavendish, in Suffolk; and by her had issue four sons, who all assumed the name of Cavendish from that manor. These sons were Sir John Cavendish, Chief Justice of the King’s Bench; Roger Cavendish, from whom descended the celebrated navigator, Sir Thomas Cavendish; Stephen Cavendish, Lord Mayor of London; and Richard Cavendish. Sir John married Alice Odyngseles, who brought to her husband the manor of Cavendish Overhall; and their eldest son, Sir Andrew Cavendish, left issue, one son, William, from whom the estates passed to his cousin. Sir Andrew was succeeded by his brother, Sir John Cavendish, who, for his gallant conduct in killing the rebel, Wat Tyler, was knighted by the king; he married Joan, daughter to Sir William Clopton, and was succeeded by his eldest son, William, a citizen and mercer of London, who married Joan Staventon, by whom he had issue two sons, the eldest of whom, Thomas, succeeded him; and whose son and heir, Sir Thomas Cavendish, Clerk of the Pipe, &c., married twice, and left by his first wife three sons, George Cavendish, who wrote the “Life of Cardinal Wolsey,” Sir William Cavendish, and Sir Thomas Cavendish. The second of these sons, Sir William Cavendish, became the founder of the present ducal house of Devonshire and of several other noble families. He married, first, a daughter of Edward Bostock, of Whatcross, in Cheshire; second, a daughter of Sir Thomas Conyngsby, and widow of William Paris; and third, Elizabeth, daughter of John Hardwick, of Hardwick, Derbyshire, and widow of Robert Barley, of Barley, in the same county. Of this lady, who became much celebrated as the Countess of Shrewsbury—“Bess of Hardwick,” as she was called—an account will be found in the present volume under the head of Hardwick Hall. By these three wives Sir William had a numerous family. By his first he had one son and two daughters who died young, and two daughters who married; by his second he had three daughters, who died young; and by his third (“Bess of Hardwick”), he had also several children. These were Henry Cavendish of Tutbury; Sir William Cavendish, created Earl of Devonshire, and who was the direct ancestor of the Dukes of Devonshire; Sir Charles Cavendish, whose son was created Baron Cavendish of Bolsover, Baron Ogle, Viscount Mansfield, and Earl, Marquis, and Duke of Newcastle; Frances, married to Sir Henry Pierrepoint, ancestor of the Duke of Kingston; Elizabeth, married to Charles Stuart, Duke of Lennox (brother of Lord Darnley, the husband of Mary, Queen of Scots, and father of King James I.), the issue of which marriage was the ill-fated Arabella Stuart, who was born at Chatsworth; and Mary, who became the wife of Gilbert, Earl of Shrewsbury. Sir William Cavendish was succeeded by his son, Sir William Cavendish, who was created Baron Cavendish of Hardwick, and Earl of Devonshire, by King James I., “at which time of his creation his Majesty stood under a cloth of state in the hall at Greenwich, accompanied with the princes, his children, the Duke of Holstein, the Duke of Lennox, and the greatest part of the nobility, both of England and Scotland.” The earl married, first, Anne, daughter of Henry Kighley, of Kighley; and, second, Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Edward Boughton, and widow of Sir Richard Wortley.

He was succeeded by his second son by his first wife, Sir William Cavendish, as second Earl of Devonshire. This nobleman—who had been under the tuition of the famous philosopher, Thomas Hobbes—married Christiana, only daughter of Edward, Lord Bruce of Kinloss, a kinswoman of the king, “who gave her with his own hand, and made her fortune ten thousand pounds.” By her he had issue three sons and one daughter, and was succeeded by his eldest son, William, as third Earl of Devonshire, who was only ten years of age at his father’s death. This nobleman married Elizabeth Cecil, daughter of the Earl of Salisbury, by whom he had two sons, William (who succeeded him) and Charles, and one daughter. William, fourth Earl of Devonshire, before succeeding to the title, was one of the train-bearers to the king on his coronation, and sat in the Long Parliament as member for Derbyshire. His lordship was one of the principals in bringing about “the Glorious Revolution” of 1688, and placing William III. on the throne; the place of meeting for plotting for the great and good change being on Whittington Moor, not many miles from Chatsworth, at a small cottage-inn belonging to the Duke of Devonshire, known as the “Cock and Pynot” (_pynot_ being the provincial name of the magpie), still existing, but recently partly rebuilt. The “plotting parlour,” as the room in this cottage is called, in which the Earl of Devonshire met Earl Danby, John d’Arcy, and others, to plan the revolution, is held in veneration, and the very chair in which the earl sat during the deliberations is preserved by his Grace at Hardwick Hall, where it has been taken, and is, indeed, a most interesting historical relic. The earl, who, as we have already stated, was the rebuilder of Chatsworth, married Mary, daughter of the Duke of Ormonde, by whom he had issue three sons, William (his successor), Henry, and James; and one daughter, Elizabeth. His lordship was, in 1694, advanced by William III. to the dignity of Marquis of Hartington and Duke of Devonshire. He died in 1707, and was succeeded, as second duke and fifth earl, by his son, William Cavendish, captain of the yeomen of the guard to the king, who succeeded to all his father’s appointments, including being Lord Steward of the Household, Privy Councillor, Lord Warden and Chief Justice in Eyre, Lord Lieutenant, K.G., &c.; he was also made one of the Regents of the kingdom. His grace married Rachel, daughter of William, Lord Russel, and on his death was succeeded by his son William as third Duke of Devonshire.

The third Duke, who became Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal, Lord Steward of the Household, Lord Justice for the administration of government during the king’s absence, Lord Lieutenant of Derbyshire, &c., married Catherine, heiress of John Hoskins, by whom he had a numerous family. He was succeeded by his son—

William, as fourth Duke of Devonshire, who had, during his father’s lifetime, been called to the Upper House by the title, hitherto of courtesy, of Marquis of Hartington. His grace was made Master of the Horse, a Privy Councillor, one of the Lords of the Regency, Governor of the County of Cork, Lord High Treasurer of Ireland, Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, First Commissioner of the Treasury, and Chamberlain of the Household, &c. He married Charlotte, daughter, and ultimately heiress, of Richard Boyle, Earl of Burlington and Cork, by which alliance—the lady being Baroness Clifford in her own right—the barony of Clifford came into the Cavendish family. The issue of this marriage was three sons and one daughter—viz., William, who succeeded to the title and estates; Lord Richard, who died unmarried; Lord George Augustus Henry, who was created Earl of Burlington, from whom the present noble Duke of Devonshire is descended; and Lady Dorothy, married to the Duke of Portland.

William, fifth Duke of Devonshire, married—first, the Lady Georgiana, daughter of Earl Spencer, one of the most accomplished and elegant women of the time, and who is best and most emphatically known as “the beautiful Duchess,” by whom he had issue one son, William Spencer Cavendish (who succeeded him), and two daughters, the Lady Georgiana, married to the Earl of Carlisle; and the Lady Harriet Elizabeth, married to Earl Granville. His grace married secondly the Lady Elizabeth Foster, daughter of the Earl of Bristol, and widow of John Thomas Foster, Esq. On his death, in 1811, the title and estates passed to his only son—

William Spencer Cavendish, sixth Duke and ninth Earl of Devonshire, one of the most kindly, generous, and liberal-minded men, and one of the most zealous patrons of art and literature. He was born in Paris in 1790, and, besides holding the office of Lord High Chamberlain, &c., went on a special embassy to Russia from the British court. This embassy his grace conducted on a scale of princely magnificence at his own charge, and concluded it to the entire satisfaction of both nations. By him the modern improvements of Chatsworth were, with master-mind and lavish hand, planned and carried out. His grace, who never married, died in January, 1858, and was succeeded in his titles and estates—with the exception of the barony of Clifford, which fell into abeyance between his sisters—by his second cousin, the present noble head of the house, who was grandson of the first Earl of Burlington. The sixth Duke—the “Good Duke,” for by that title he is known best, and it is as amply merited by the present noble peer—was, by express wish, buried in the churchyard at Edensor, just outside the park at Chatsworth, where a plain and perfectly simple coped tomb, with foliated cross, covers his remains.

The present noble owner of princely Chatsworth, William Cavendish, seventh Duke of Devonshire, Marquis of Hartington, Earl of Devonshire, Earl of Burlington, Baron Cavendish of Hardwick, Baron Cavendish of Keighley, &c., Knight of the Garter, LL.D., F.R.S., Lord Lieutenant and Custos Rotulorum of the County of Derby, Chancellor of the University of Cambridge, High Steward of the Borough of Derby, &c., was born 27th April, 1808. His grace is the eldest son of William Cavendish, eldest son (by his wife the Lady Elizabeth Compton, daughter and heiress of Charles, seventh Earl of Northampton), of George Augustus Henry Cavendish (third son of the fourth Duke of Devonshire, by his wife the Lady Charlotte Boyle, as already stated), first Earl of Burlington, and Baron Cavendish, of Keighley, which titles were created in his favour in 1831: he died in 1834. William Cavendish, just referred to, was born in 1783, and in 1807 married the Hon. Louisa O’Callaghan, eldest daughter of Cornelius, first Baron Lismore, by whom he had issue three sons and one daughter, viz., the present Duke of Devonshire; Lord George Henry Cavendish, the present highly-respected M.P. for North Derbyshire, of Ashford Hall, in that county, married to Lady Louisa, youngest daughter of the second Earl of Harewood; Lady Fanny Cavendish, married to Frederick John Howard, Esq.; and Lord Richard Cavendish, all of whom are still living. Mr. Cavendish died in 1812, before his eldest child, the present Duke, was four years of age, his wife surviving him until 1864. His grace was educated at Eton, and at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he graduated as M.A., and was Second Wrangler, Senior Smith’s Prizeman, and in the first class of the Classical Tripos, 1829. In the same year he became M.P. for the University of Cambridge, which seat he held until 1831, when he was returned for Malton, and in the same year, as Lord Cavendish, for Derbyshire, and at the general election in the following year, for North Derbyshire, which constituency he represented until 1834, when he succeeded his grandfather as second Earl of Burlington. In 1856 he was, as Earl of Burlington, made Lord-Lieutenant of Lancashire, a post he held until 1858, when, on succeeding to the Dukedom of Devonshire, he was appointed Lord-Lieutenant of Derbyshire. From 1836 to 1858 he was Chancellor of the University of London, and, besides many other important appointments, is at the present time President of Owen’s College, Manchester.

His grace, at that time Mr. Cavendish, married, 1829, his cousin, the Lady Blanche Georgiana Howard, fourth daughter of the sixth Earl of Carlisle, by his wife the Lady Georgiana Dorothy Cavendish, daughter of the fifth Duke of Devonshire. By this beautiful and accomplished, as well as truly estimable lady, who died in 1840, his grace had issue four sons and one daughter, who, with the exception of the eldest, are still living. These are—

1st. Spencer Compton Cavendish, Marquis of Hartington, M.P., P.C., LL.D., was born in 1833, and is unmarried. The Marquis was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he graduated as B.A. in 1852, M.A. in 1854, and LL.D. in 1862. He holds at the present time the responsible post of Her Majesty’s Chief Secretary of State for Ireland, and has successively held office as a Lord of the Admiralty, Under-Secretary of State for War, Secretary of State for War, and Postmaster-General, and was attached to Lord Granville’s special mission to Russia.

2nd. The Lady Louisa Caroline Cavendish, born in 1835, and married in 1865 to Admiral the Hon. Francis Egerton, R.N., M.P. for East Derbyshire, son of the first Earl of Ellesmere, by whom she has issue two sons and one daughter.

3rd. Lord Frederick Charles Cavendish, M.P. for the north division of the West Riding of Yorkshire, born in 1836, and married in 1864 to the Hon. Lucy Caroline, daughter of Baron Lyttelton.

4th. Lord Edward Cavendish, late M.P. for East Sussex, born in 1838, and married in 1865 to Emma Elizabeth Lascelles, a maid of honour to the Queen, and granddaughter to the Earl of Harewood, by whom he has issue two sons.

His grace is patron of thirty-nine livings, and in Derbyshire alone is lord of forty-six manors. His other seats are:—Hardwick Hall, Derbyshire, about fifteen miles from Chatsworth; Holkar Hall, in Cartmel; Bolton Abbey, Yorkshire; Lismore Castle, Ireland; Compton Place, Eastbourne, Sussex; and Devonshire House, London.

The arms of the Duke of Devonshire are—_sable_, three harts’ heads, caboshed, _argent_, attired, _or_. Crest: a serpent noued, _proper_. Supporters: two bucks, _proper_, each wreathed round the neck with a chaplet of roses, alternately _argent_ and _azure_.

There are four principal entrances to Chatsworth Park, two of which—those at Edensor and Edensor Mill—are public, and the other two (at Baslow and at Beeley) are private. The Baslow Lodge, shown on our engraving, is stately and noble in the extreme, and forms a fitting entrance to so magnificent a domain. The Beeley Lodge is simple and unassuming; and that at Edensor, with its rustic cottages, remarkably pretty. The most picturesque, however, in regard to its situation, is the Edensor Mill Lodge, which we also engrave. Near it runs the river Derwent, spanned by the single arch of Beeley Bridge, and it is charmingly embosomed in trees and shrubs.

By whichever of the lodges the visitor enters this “wide domain,”—if from the south, it will be at Edensor Mill or Beeley, and from the north and other parts at Edensor or Baslow,—he will have a rich treat, indeed, of scenery to interest him on his progress to the mansion. The park is divided in two by the river Derwent, which flows through it, the mansion and the Baslow and Beeley Lodges being on one side, and Edensor, Edensor Lodge, and Edensor Mill Lodge on the other. From either of these latter routes, which are on the higher side of the park, the visitor obtains the finest views of the house and grounds, and will, in his approach, cross the Derwent by the elegant bridge shown in the engraving on page 343.

Arrived at the house, he will—after proper application at the Lodge, and the necessary permission obtained—be ushered through the exquisitely beautiful gates shown on the engraving on the next page, and be conducted through the court-yard—where stands a magnificent weeping ash-tree, of enormous size (we well remember seeing it removed, bodily, from Mile-Ash, near Derby, to its present proud position, as long ago as 1830)—to the state entrance. Admitted to the princely mansion, the first room the visitor enters is—

The SUB-HALL, a spacious apartment, the ceiling of which is enriched by a copy of Guido’s “Aurora,” painted by Miss Curzon. The sculpture in this sub-hall includes a statue of Domitian; busts of Homer, Jupiter, Ariadne, Socrates, Caracalla, and others. From this hall the visitor next enters the North Corridor, and, turning to his left, passes along its exquisitely inlaid marble floor, to the Great Hall, which occupies the whole length of the eastern side of the quadrangle.

The GREAT HALL, or GRAND HALL, is a noble room, 60 feet in length by 27 feet in width, and of the full height of the two principal stories of the mansion. The floor is formed of polished marble, laid in a remarkably striking geometric design, in mosaic, of black and white and veined marbles. It was originally the work of Henry Watson, being laid down by him in 1779; but was taken up and relaid, with considerable alterations, by the late Duke. In the centre of the hall stands an immense marble table, of Derbyshire marble, and the chimney-piece, which is very massive, is also of marble. At the south end of the hall is the grand staircase, leading to the state apartments, and at the north end, beyond the corridor, are the north stairs. The hall is four windows in length, and galleries of communication between the north and south run, midway in height, along the sides. The ceiling and walls of the upper story are painted in the most masterly manner in historical subjects, by Laguerre and Verrio. The series of subjects are events in the life of Julius Cæsar:—They are, his passing the Rubicon; his passing over to his army at Brundusium; sacrificing before going to the Senate, after the closing of the temple of Janus; and his death in the Senate House at the foot of Pompey’s pillar; and on the ceiling is his apotheosis or deification. Between the windows, and in the window-cases, are also painted trophies of arms, and wreaths of flowers, &c. In the hall are two remarkably fine bronze busts placed upon pedestals, and other interesting objects, among which is a fine canoe, the gift of the Sultan to the late Duke. Over the fire-place is a marble tablet bearing the following inscription:—

“ÆDES HAS PATERNAS DILECTISSIMAS.
ANNO LIBERTATIS ANGLICÆ MDCLXXXVIII INSTITUTAS.
GUL : S : DEVONIÆ DUX, ANNO MDCCCXI HÆRES ACCEPIT,
ANNO MŒRORIS SUI MDCCCXL PERPECIT;”

which may be thus translated:—

“These well-loved ancestral halls,
Begun in the year of English Freedom, 1688,
William Spencer, Duke of Devonshire, inherited in 1811,
And completed in the year of sorrow, 1840.”

The “year of sorrow,” so touchingly alluded to, being that of the death of the much-loved and highly-gifted Countess of Burlington, the wife of the present noble owner of Chatsworth. On the exterior of this grand hall, on the east side of the quadrangle, are some trophies of arms, &c., magnificently and boldly carved in _alto-relievo_ in stone, by Watson.

In this hall, of which our engraving gives but a sorry representation, the visitor is usually asked to remain for a short time, and to inscribe his name in the visitors’ book on the central table. From the centre of the south end of this noble room, the grand staircase leads up to the various suites of apartments on the library and state-room stories, and on either side of this staircase an open archway gives access to the “Grotto-Room,” the south corridor, and the apartments on the ground floor. From the corridor at the north end, the north stairs give access in like manner to the various apartments and to the north wing.

The house is three stories in height, and these are known as the basement, the library, and the state-room stories. Through the extreme kindness and liberality of the noble Duke a part of each of these stories is, under proper regulations, permitted to be shown to visitors. It is not our intention to describe these various apartments in the order in which they are shown to visitors—for this would for many reasons be an inconvenient and unwise arrangement—but will speak of them according to the stories on which they occur. And first we take the upper, or state-room story, which, like the others, runs round the four sides of the quadrangle. The State-rooms and Sketch-Gallery occupy the south side; the grand staircase is at the south-east angle; the continuation of the gallery of old masters, the west stairs, and a number of bed-rooms, including the Sabine-room, occupy the west side; the north is taken up with bed-rooms, with the north staircase at the north-east angle; while on the east are “Mary Queen of Scots’ Rooms,” so called because occupying the same position as those used by her in the old mansion which was removed and rebuilt, and other suites of splendid sleeping apartments which of course are not shown to the visitor.

The SKETCH-GALLERY, which, as we have said, occupies the south and a part of the west side, contains perhaps the most choice and extensive collection of original drawings by the old masters in any private collection, embracing the Italian, French, Flemish, Venetian, Spanish, and other schools; and containing matchless examples of Raffaelle, Michael Angelo, Albert Dürer, Titian, Rembrandt, Rubens, Leonardo da Vinci, Poussin, Claude, Salvator Rosa, Correggio, Luca Signorelli, Andrea del Sarto, Lo Spagna, Giulio Romano, Caravaggio, Zucchero, Andrea Mantegna, Parmigiano, Giorgione, Giulio Campagnola, Paul Veronese, the Carracci, Guido Reni, Domenichino, Guercino, Holbein, Lucas Cranach, Lucas Van Leyden, Vandyke, Van der Velde, Jan Miel, and indeed of almost every well-known name. The collection was formed by the second Duke of Devonshire at considerable cost; the nucleus being purchased at Rotterdam. Among those by Michael Angelo are a study for the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel; some spirited studies of figures for the same ceiling; and a Virgin and Child. By Leonardo da Vinci a fine head of the Virgin. By Raffaelle are the sketch for the picture by Pinturicchio at Sienna, of “Æneas Silvius kissing the foot of Pope Eugenius IV. at the Council of Basle;” the figure of St. Paul for the cartoon of “The Sacrifice at Lystra;” “St. Catherine,” the original sketch for the picture now in the National Gallery; “the Virgin and Child;” “Joseph discovering himself to his Brethren;” and others. By Holbein, some of the finest known examples, including “the Fall of Phaeton,” “the Last Judgment,” “Hagar and Ishmael,” “Diana and Actæon,” and others. By Albert Dürer several fine examples. Altogether the collection is the most remarkable in any mansion.

The State-apartments, which are entered from this Gallery, consist of a splendid suite of rooms, occupying the entire length of the building. The entrance is through a small apartment around the walls of which is arranged a fine collection of examples of Ceramic Art, including many good specimens of the more famous English and foreign makes. These were, in great measure, removed here from the Duke’s villa at Chiswick. Adjoining this, at the south-west angles, is—

The STATE DRESSING-ROOM, the coved ceiling of which is beautifully painted, the subject being, in the centre, the flight of Mercury on his mission to Paris, and, on the coving, groups representing the Arts and Sciences. The wood-carving in this room, as in the whole of this suite of apartments, is of the most wonderful and most exquisitely beautiful character, and is unmatched in any other existing mansion. On the west side are four pendants and a group of the most delicate workmanship, and over the principal doorway is represented a group of carvers’ tools, &c.—a globe, compass, brace and bit, square, augurs, chisels, gouges, _cum multis aliis_, and a small bust. This apartment contains some fine Japan, inlaid, and other cabinets, and curious old earthenware; and on the walls, besides a clever picture in mosaic, is a frame containing what is universally admitted to be the finest and most wonderful specimen of wood-carving ever executed;—this we engrave. It is usually called “Grinling Gibbons’ masterpiece,” and whether by Gibbons or not (and there is no direct authority either one way or other), it is, _indeed_, a masterpiece of art. Concerning the question whether the carving is by Gibbons or not, we shall have a few words to say when writing of the chapel. The “masterpiece” is a group consisting of a cravat of point-lace, as clear and delicate in the open-work as the finest lace itself, a woodcock, some foliage, and a medal with a bust in relief. Of this group Horace Walpole thus wrote:—“When Gibbons had finished his work at that palace (Chatsworth) he presented the Duke with a point cravat, a woodcock, and a medal with his own head, all preserved in a glass-case in the gallery;” but he had no authority for any such statement, nor is there any record of Gibbons having ever been at Chatsworth. From the door of this room the vista, when looking through the state-apartments, is remarkably striking and effective; the flooring throughout the suite being of oak parqueterie which reflects the light in a pleasing manner. This we engrave.

The OLD STATE-BED-ROOM, the first apartment seen through the doorway in our engraving, is a fine and very interesting apartment. The ceiling, which is coved, is splendidly painted, the principal subject being “Aurora chasing away the Night;” and the walls are hung with embossed leather of rich arabesque pattern, heavily gilded; the frieze, also of embossed leather, is richly foliated, with medallions bearing respectively the bust of the late Duke of Devonshire, his crest and coronet, and his monogram, alternating round the room. Over the doorways are splendid examples of wood-carving of groups of musical instruments; on one group is suspended a medallion head of Charles II., and the words “CAROLVS II. DEI GRATIA,” and on the other a watch. Over and around the chimney-piece are cherubs’ heads, birds, foliage, &c., of the same fine class of wood-carving. In this room (besides cabinets, vases, and beakers, and a charming model of the tomb of Madame Langlan, at Hildebank, near Berne, in which the spirits of the mother and child are seen bursting through their broken tomb) is a noble and ancient embroidered canopy and state-chair, the work of Christiana, Countess of Devonshire, the wife of the second Earl of Devonshire.

The canopy is of crimson velvet, exquisitely covered with needlework in gold and colours, in groups of figures, trees, animals, and insects;—here, a goat, a stag, a fox, a rabbit, a pig, dogs both leashed and single, a horse, an eagle, and a swan; there, butterflies, flies, and innumerable other devices around; while inside the top a group of three figures within a border is in the centre, and the rest dotted with animals, flowers, &c., with a border of figures and foliage. The back of the canopy bears, above the chair, the arms of Cavendish (_sable_, three bucks’ heads caboshed, _argent_, attired _or_) impaling those of Bruce of Kinloss (_or_, a saltire and a chief, _gules_, on a canton, _argent_, a lion rampant, _azure_), with mantling, helmet, crest, &c. Supporters, dexter, a stag, proper, gorged with a wreath of roses, _argent_ and _azure_, attired _or_, for Cavendish; sinister, a wild man, proper, wreathed round the head and loins with laurel, _vert_, for Bruce. Motto, CAVENDO TVTVS FVIMVS; the first part, “Cavendo Tvtvs,” being the Cavendish motto, and the latter part, “Fvimvs,” that of Bruce; the rest of the velvet is covered with flowers, animals, &c., and surrounded by a border of groups and flowers. The chair is of the same character, Christiana, Countess of Devonshire, to whose fair hands is owing this charming piece of embroidery, and to whose good taste the arrangement of these blended armorial insignia is due, was the daughter of Edward, Lord Bruce of Kinloss, and sister of the first Earl of Elgin, from whom the present ninth Earl is lineally descended. The armorial bearings upon this canopy are therefore peculiarly interesting as showing, not only the impaled arms themselves, but the blended supporters and motto, of Cavendish and Bruce. In this room are also preserved the coronation chairs and foot-stools of George III., and Queen Charlotte, and of William IV. and Queen Adelaide; and a wardrobe which is said, whether correctly or not, to have belonged to Louis XVI.

The STATE MUSIC-ROOM, like the others, contains some exquisite wood-carving. Over one doorway are flowers, fruit, wreaths, wings, &c., and a ribbon with the family motto “CAVENDO TVTVS;” over the other, flowers, fruit, and cornucopia; and over the chimney-piece are heads, festoons, flowers, fruit, corn, foliage, &c., all true to nature. Over the central door is a group of musical instruments, and in the centre of the frieze is a garter and monogram. The walls are hung with embossed leather, richly gilt and heightened with blue, and the frieze has the medallion heads, crest, and monogram of the late Duke, as in the apartment just described. The ceiling is splendidly painted with mythological subjects, and several interesting pictures, busts, and other objects, are arranged in the room. One of the features of this apartment remains to be noticed. It is a curious piece of deceptive painting on one of the double doors leading to the gallery—a fiddle painted so cleverly on the door itself as to have, in the subdued light of the half-closed door, all the appearance of the instrument itself hanging upon a peg. The tradition of Chatsworth is, that this matchless piece of painting was done by Verrio to deceive Gibbons, who, in his carvings, had deceived others by his close imitation of nature.

The STATE DRAWING-ROOM has its walls hung with tapestry from Raffaelle’s cartoons, and its carved ceiling is splendidly painted with mythological and allegorical subjects, in the same manner as the rest of this suite of rooms. The carving over one of the doors is a military trophy, consisting of swords, drum, battle-axes, shield, helmet, with dragon crest, foliage, &c.; and over the other, military music and foliage. Above the chimney-piece, around an oval in which is a portrait of the first Duke, are Cupids, trophies, shells, foliage, masks, helmets, arms, &c., and an owl; beneath these are two carved banners with the Cavendish arms, tied together with a snake (the family crest). Among the furniture and adornments of this room are some fine examples of china and earthenware, and a remarkably large malachite table.

The STATE DINING-ROOM, which forms the south-east angle of the building, is a splendid apartment, the ceiling of which, by Verrio, is of the most masterly conception, and represents, among an assemblage of gods and goddesses, the Fates cutting the thread of life, &c., and on one side of the coving is a monogram of the letter D.

The carvings in this noble apartment are of matchless character, and hang in a profusion that is almost bewildering. In the panels of the wainscoted walls are festoons of flowers, &c.; over one doorway is a group of leaves and corn, and over the other two are splendid groups of crabs, lobsters, fish, and shells, all “as true to nature as nature itself.” Over the fire-place, across the top, and hanging down the sides of an octagonal tablet, is the richest of all the rich carvings of this suite of rooms. It consists of dead game—heron, pheasants, &c., at the top; over and around these a net is loosely thrown, which, hanging down the sides, forms a groundwork of festoons, on which hang pheasants, woodcocks, grouse, partridges, snipes, and other birds, so true to life that it is only by careful examination that the spectator can discover that they, with the net and all the mouldings, are carved out of solid wood. In this room are several busts in marble by Chantrey, Nollekens, and others. Among these are the Emperor Nicholas of Russia, and his Empress; Fox; Canning; Francis, Duke of Bedford; Lord G. H. Cavendish, &c. There are also cabinets of rare old china. On the central table will be noticed, among rare and valuable articles, the rosary of King Henry VIII.; a fine set of carved ivory chessmen; ivory-carvings, rare glass and china; and silver filigree and other ornaments. And there is also the malachite clock presented to the late Duke by the Emperor Nicholas of Russia, and an exquisitely sculptured marble model of the Victoria Regia.

From this room a doorway opens on to the GRAND STAIRCASE—the casings of the doorways, of exquisitely-carved marble, being worthy of especial note—in the south-east angle. Opposite this doorway another door opens into a suite of apartments, of course not shown to visitors, but to which some brief allusion may here be made. Here are the rooms usually known as MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS’ ROOMS, but which really have no possible connection with that ill-fated lady. They are so called because they occupy the same position in the present building as those used by her did in the old one; they overlook the inner court, or quadrangle, on its east side. The other suites of bed-rooms adjoining are known as the “Leicester” and “Wellington” rooms, and they are fitted, as may well be supposed, in a style of princely magnificence. In one of these rooms is the bed and bed-room suite used by Her Majesty Queen Victoria when a guest at Chatsworth. This suite is of satin-wood, hung in green and white satin.

On this same floor is the SABINE-ROOM, so called from the subject of the “Rape of the Sabines,” by which it is adorned. This singular apartment, when the doors are closed, is one large painting, the whole surface, from floor to ceiling, doors included, being painted with figures, groups, and architecture, &c. The ceiling, too, is splendidly painted with an allegorical subject. At the angles of the coving is the monogram of the Duke of Devonshire, within a garter, and surmounted by the Ducal coronet. The furniture of this and the adjoining room is of the finest, most massive, and sumptuous description.

The MIDDLE, or LIBRARY STORY, besides occupying the four sides of the quadrangle or inner court (in the same manner as the upper story), extends the whole length of the north wing; it is, therefore, the most extensive and important part of the mansion. The grand staircase is at the inner south-east angle, and the north stairs at the inner north-east angle. The south side is taken up with the gallery of paintings, the chapel (at the south-west angle), the billiard-rooms, and the two drawing-rooms; the west by the gallery of paintings, the west staircase, and suites of bed-rooms; the north side by the library-corridor and sumptuous bed-rooms, &c.; and the east side by galleries of the great hall, and the library and ante-library. The north wing, continuing in a line with the libraries, comprises the dining-room, sculpture-gallery, and orangery.

The GALLERY OF PAINTINGS, which occupies two sides of the quadrangle, and from which access is had to the various apartments, contains, with the adjoining ante-room, many remarkably fine and valuable art-treasures—such, indeed, as no other mansion can boast. Among these, it will be sufficient to name Landseer’s original paintings of “Bolton Abbey in the Olden Time,” and “Laying down the Law,” a number of family portraits by Reynolds, Lawrence, and others; with two remarkable representations of the old mansion, one of which we engrave on page 325.

The BILLIARD or MUSIC-ROOM, and the GRAND DRAWING-ROOMS, which form one continued suite, are as well-proportioned, as chastely and elegantly decorated, and as magnificently furnished, as can well be imagined, and they contain a matchless collection of works of art. In the billiard-room, from which a door opens into the gallery of the chapel, are several remarkably good paintings, the most striking of which are an admirable full-length portrait of the present Duke of Devonshire, seated, and a full-length portrait of the father of the present noble Duke. Among the treasures of art in the drawing-room (the ornaments of the ceiling and cornices of which are richly gilt) may just be named Reynolds’s celebrated portrait of “the beautiful Duchess” of Devonshire, Rembrandt’s grand head of a Jewish Rabbi, and picture-gems by Claude, Murillo, Bassano, Steinwyck, Salvator Rosa, Titian, Berghem, Gaspar Poussin, Leonardo da Vinci, Primaticcio, Parmigiano, Watteau, Teniers, Breughel, Guercino, Giordione, Carlo Maratti, Jan Miel, and others.

In the Grand Drawing-room, which has a splendid ceiling divided into compartments, and, with the massive panellings of the pictures let into the walls, is richly gilt, are some rare and priceless full-length paintings. These are Philip II., by Titian; Admiral Capella, and Antonio de Dominis, by Tintoretto; the Duke of Albemarle, by Dobson; Henry VIII., by Holbein; Mary Queen of Scots, by Zucchero; and Charles I., by Jansen. The furniture is of the most sumptuous character, and every elegancy which the most perfect taste can desire, or the most liberal expenditure secure, adds endless charms to the room. We engrave one portion of this apartment, and also the Hebe of Canova, with which, and other rarities, it is graced.

From the south windows of this suite of rooms a magnificent view of the grounds is obtained. Immediately beneath is the spacious lawn, bordered with raised parterres, festoon flower-beds, and sculpture; in the centre of the lawn is a basin with a central and four other fountains. Beyond this is seen the lake, with the “Emperor” fountain casting up its waters to an enormous height, and skirted on its sloping sides with majestic forest trees, and with grassy slopes and statuary; the park stretching out to the right. From the east window of the drawing-room the view is equally fine, but of different character. Here is seen, in all its beauty, the wonderful cascade shown in one of our engravings, the waters of which come rolling down from the dome of the temple to the head of the broad walk in the middle of the grassy slope where it disappears under the ground and is no more seen. To the right and left beautiful glimpses of the grounds are obtained, while beneath the window, to the right, a flight of steps, guarded by two sculptured lions, forms a striking foreground. From this room, besides the doorway which connects it with apartments we have been describing, one door gives access to the grand staircase, and another to the library.

Of the various apartments composing the north and west sides, it will be unnecessary for our present purpose here to speak, further than to say that they are as sumptuously and as tastefully arranged and furnished as such a palace with such a princely owner requires.

The LIBRARY, which is about 90 feet long by 23 in width, and of corresponding height, is one of the most elegant, best arranged, and most perfect libraries in existence. This noble apartment has eight windows in length on its east side, between which are presses for books, surmounted by looking-glass; the opposite side and the ends are also lined with books, and an elegant gallery, to which access is had by a concealed spiral staircase, runs along the ends and one side. The ceiling is white and gold, and is adorned with three large, and five smaller, circular paintings of the most exquisite colouring, by Louis Charon. The mahogany book-cases are divided into presses by gilt metal-columns, from which stand out the brackets supporting the gallery.

The chimney-piece, of Carrara marble, has beautifully sculptured columns with wreaths of foliage, and is surmounted by candelabra, massive vases, and a magnificent mirror. In the glass-cases and table-presses, as well as on the shelves, are preserved, as may well be supposed, one of the richest and rarest collections of books and MSS. which any house can boast. It would be an endless task, and indeed quite out of place in this work, much as we desire to linger in the room, to attempt to give even a very brief _résumé_ of the treasures it contains. We cannot, however, resist the temptation of saying that here is the famous Anglo-Saxon MS. of Caedmon, which is altogether, perhaps, the most important, and the finest MS. of the period. The prayer-book of Henry VII. is highly interesting, both historically and artistically. It is of 8vo size, and consists of 186 leaves of vellum, on several of which are beautiful miniatures in the most exquisite colouring and design; many of these designs, as notably, our Saviour in the act of benediction, the murder of St. Thomas A’Becket, and St. George, are remarkably fine both in conception and execution. It was given by the king, Henry VII., to his daughter, Margaret, Queen of Scotland, mother to the Lady Margaret Douglas, who in turn gave it to the Archbishop of St. Andrew’s. It contains the following among other touching gift lines:—

“Remembre yr kynde and louyng fader in yo^r good prayers. Henry R.”

“Pray for your loving father that gave you this booke and gave you God’s blessing and mine.”

“My good Lorde of St. tandrews, I pray you pray for me that gave you thys bouk. Yours to my powr, Margaret,”

and many other MSS. The _compotus_ of Bolton Abbey, 1287 to 1385; the “Liber Veritas” of Claude Lorraine (for which, we believe, no less than £20,000 was at one time offered); a splendid collection of Wynkyn de Worde’s and Caxton’s printings; a marvellously fine assemblage of early editions;—altogether, as rich, as curious, as important, and as valuable a collection of books as can anywhere be found. We know of no place where we should so much delight to remain as among the literary treasures in this grand library, which has for us many hidden charms.

Passing out from this splendid apartment, is the ANTE-LIBRARY, formed of two exquisitely beautiful little rooms, filled with books of the greatest value and interest. The ceiling of the first or larger room of these is richly gilt, and adorned with paintings by Hayter and Charles Landseer. The smaller apartment is a perfect architectural gem, of apsidal form, the dome supported by a series of columns and pilasters with Corinthian capitals. In this room are some remarkably fine vases on pedestals. From the Ante-Library a door opens on the NORTH STAIRCASE, on which are hung a fine full-length portrait of the late Duke of Devonshire, by Sir Francis Grant; full-length portraits of the Emperor Nicholas of Russia, and of his Empress; Sir Thomas Lawrence’s full-length portrait of George IV. in his coronation robes; and a curious old painting, nearly life-size, of the “Flying Childers,” with the following “certificate” of the age of the horse;—“September ye 28, 1719. This is to certifie that the bay stoned horse his Grace the Duke of Devonshire bought of me was bred by me, and was five years old last grass, and noe more. Witness my hand, Leo. Childers.”

The DINING-ROOM is a large and noble apartment with a slightly “barrel-shaped” ceiling, divided into hexagonal panels filled with roses and foliated flowers richly gilt. The doors, at one end opening into the vestibule leading into the cabinet library, and at the other into the sculpture-gallery, have their cases of white marble, the entablatures supported on massive Ionic columns. The room is lit by five windows on its east side, and opposite to these are two exquisitely beautiful white marble chimney-pieces, each of which has two life-size statues, two by Westmacott and two by Sievier. Around the room are six side-tables; two are of hornblende, two of Siberian jasper, and two of porphyritic sienite. The furniture is massive and appropriate, and the walls display family portraits, chiefly by Vandyke.

The SCULPTURE GALLERY, one of the “glories” of Chatsworth, is entered from the dining-room at one end, and at the other opens into the Orangery. This noble gallery is 103 feet in length and 30 in width, is of proportionate height, and is lighted from the roof. The walls are of finely-dressed sandstone, and the door-cases of Derbyshire marble; the entablatures supported by Corinthian columns and pilasters of various marbles with gilt capitals. Of the precious treasures contained in this gallery it would be impossible, in the space we have at our disposal, to speak at length. We shall, therefore, content ourselves with simply enumerating some of the more prominent sculptures, noting that the pedestals, columns, &c., are all of the most choice and valuable materials. Among the examples here, and in other parts of the mansion, so charmingly and effectively arranged, are the following:—

By Canova, a statue of Endymion sleeping, his dog watching at his feet; a statue of Hebe; a statue of Madame Mère, the mother of Napoleon; a colossal bust of Napoleon; a bust of Madame Mère; a noble bust of the late Duke of Devonshire; some female heads; and a bust of Petrarch’s Laura. By Thorwaldsen, a fine statue of Venus with the apple; a bust of Gonsalvi; _bassi-relievi_ of Day and Night; Priam petitioning Achilles for the dead body of Hector; Briseis taken from Achilles by the heralds; and others. By Chantrey, a bust of George IV.; a bust of Canning. &c. By Schadow, a statue of the Filatrice, or Spinning-Girl; and some beautiful bas-reliefs. By Finelli, a statue of Cupid playing with a butterfly. By Trentanove, a seated figure of Cupid in thought; a relief-profile; a bust of a Vestal, after Canova. By Kessels, a fine statue of a Discobolus or quoit-thrower. By Tadolini, a powerful statue of Ganymede with the eagle. By Albacini, a statue of Achilles wounded. By Pozzi, a fine group of Latona reproaching the shepherds, accompanied by the young Apollo and Diana. By Tenerani, a group of Cupid taking out a thorn from the foot of Venus. By Gibson, a splendid group of Mars and Cupid. By Wyatt, a charming statue of Musidora. By Gott, a statue of Musidora; a colossal bust of Ariadne; and a group of greyhound and puppies. By R. Westmacott, a statue of a cymbal-player; and a bas-relief of Bacchantes springing through the air. By Bartolini, a recumbent statue of a Bacchante; statue of the Venus de Medici; a bust of the Countess Maria Potocka; and the Medici Vase. By Barruzzi, a group of Venus and Cupid. By Prosalendi, a statue of Diana. By T. Campbell, a statue of the Princess Pauline Borghese; a bust of the same princess; a colossal bust of the late Duke of Devonshire; a bust of Thomas, Earl of Newburgh. By Rinaldi, a bust of Ceres and a bust of a Bacchante; a colossal bust of Canova. By Rennie, a colossal bust of Achilles. By Rauch, a bust of the Emperor Nicholas. By Wickmann, a bust of the Empress Alexandra Feoderowna. By Nollekens, busts of C. J. Fox; Francis, Duke of Bedford; William, fifth Duke of Devonshire; and Lord George Cavendish. By Bonelli, a bust of Lady George Cavendish. By Dantan Jeune, a bust of Bellini. Many of the busts here named are in the state-rooms, and besides the sculptures we have enumerated there are many other beautiful examples of this art in various parts of the house and grounds. From the Sculpture Gallery—