book or fashionable magazine, of which the cover is scarcely old-let her recall by such a glance the costume in which she paraded Bond street and the Park as lately as 1815 or 20, and then favour us with her honest opinion of the difference between the periods in ugliness and absurdity!"

What shall we say to our engraving? We fear to spoil what our artist has done by a single word of comment. Here are the "vera effigies" of a Madame Mantalini and her assistant; and our country readers have a peep into a Regent street French millinery show-shop. Poor things-they are priestesses at the altar of fashion, but they themselves are also the sacrifices, and are decked with flowers. What agony must they not have endured, in all their adjustments of whalebone, buckram, and flounce !-hair to rack back, ringlets to gum down, and gown to flow, so that they may appear in the eyes of the votaries the very glass of that fashion they would form! Alas, poor souls-it is but a poor and perilous life! Toiled day and night, during the "season," to gratify all the whims of elegant caprice, they are left, when the birds of fashion migrate to the country or the continent, to all the temptations of that artificial existence in which they spend their lives, while, too often, they have neither the courage nor the means to protect themselves.

ENGLISH SEATS AND SCENERY. No. III.-KNOWLE PARK, KENT.

PART THE FIRST.

THE ancient Manor House of Knowle, till late a seat of the Duke of Dorset, is situated in an extensive park, near the pleasant town of Sevenoaks, on the western boundary of Kent, and is deeply interesting, not only for its antiquity, and its air of primitive grandeur, but from the memories of the distinguished men associated with its history, and from the possession of many of the celebrated works of art, in which our baronial mansions are now so rich.

The date of erection of the earliest part of the house is unknown. In the time of King John, Baldwin de Bethune possessed the manor, and from him it passed successively to the families of the Mareschals, Earls of Pembroke, and the Bigods, Earls of Norfolk. From the Grandisons and Says, who next possessed it, the manor passed to James Fienes, a soldier, who had distinguished himself in the wars with France under Henry V., and was by Henry VI. summoned to parliament as Baron Say and Sele. Honours came thick upon him; he was successively appointed governor of Dover castle, warden of the cinque ports, chamberlain, and ultimately treasurer of England. Lord Say soon after perished in the rebellion headed by Jack Cade, in the reign of Henry VI., after the king's troops had been defeated near his own mansion of Knowle. Having stood a mock trial at Guildhall, in which one of the charges against his lordship was, that he had encouraged printing in England, and built a paper mill,' the unfortunate nobleman was decapitated by the rebels. The title of Say and Sele is still in the family of Fienes.

In the civil wars, the next lord Say was compelled to sell Knowle to Thomas Bourchier, archbishop of Canterbury. In the sale was included all the "tymbere, wood, ledde, stone, and breke," then lying in a quarry at Seale, intended probably by lord Say for rebuilding the mansion, and to which purpose the materials were no doubt applied

by the archbishop, "who rebuilt the manor house, enclosed a park around it, and left it (a magnificent bequest) to his successors in the see.' ”串 By two of these, Morton and William of Wareham, the structure was enlarged and beautified. Henry VII. and VIII. both visited Knowle during this period; and in the reign of the latter, Cranmer gave up the mansion to the rapacious monarch. By Edward VI. it was granted to the protector Somerset, and after his death to the no less unfortunate John Dudley, duke of Northumberland, father-in-law of the unfortunate Lady Jane Grey. By Queen Mary it was given to Cardinal Pole, 66 to have and to hold during the term of his natural life, and one year after, as he should by his last will determine." The Cardinal dying (and curiously enough, on the same day as his royal mistress) intestate, Knowle again became vested in the crown, and was conferred by Elizabeth on Robert Dudley, earl of Leicester, K. G. &c., a son of the unfortunate John, duke of Northumberland, and who is known to history as the licentious favourite of Queen Elizabeth, and the husband of the beautiful Amy Robsart, whose story will always excite the liveliest pity. By Leicester it was surrendered back in a few years to Elizabeth, and soon after came into the possession of the family to whom till recently it belonged, the Sackvilles, earls and dukes of Dorset, the first of whom in possession was Thomas Sackville, a distinguished poet and statesman in the age of Elizabeth.

Sackville was the author of the first regular tragedy in our language, Gorboduc,' which was exhibited by the students of the Temple, to which he belonged, and again in 1561, in presence of the queen and her court. He was also the author of several poetical pieces, which first appeared in the Mirror for Magistrates,' and have been compared in imaginative power, with the divine productions of the great Spenser.

Sackville's talents and integrity of character having gained him the favour of Elizabeth, he was created by that queen, lord Buckhurst, and ultimately became the first earl of Dorset of his family. About 1585, he fell into disgrace with the queen, through the influence of the all-powerful earl of Leicester, but upon the death of his enemy, in 1588, he was restored to Elizabeth's favour, and on Burleigh's death, succeeded him in the office of treasurer of England. Lord Dorset, we believe, died suddenly at the council table, about 1604.

In 1612, when in possession of Richard, the third earl, Knowle was visited in great state, by James I., an apart ment in the house being still called the king's bedroom, containing a gorgeous bed of gold and silver tissue, which the earl was foolish enough to furnish for the occasion, at an expense, it is said, of £8000, and in which his majesty slept only one night. Soon after, a considerable portion of the mansion was burned down by an accidental fire.

Under the commonwealth, the estate was sequestrated by Cromwell, who held a court here (in the present dining parlour) for the purpose. On the restoration, the house and domain were restored to the Sackvilles, in the person of Charles, the fifth earl, the well-known wit and poet of the court of Charles II., to whom we shall allude presently.

Having thus detailed some part of the early history of this fine old seat, we now come to speak of its present appearance, and the grounds around it.

*Hasted's History of Kent.

+ She was a daughter of Sir John Robsart, Knt., and there is now little doubt was privately murdered in the house of one Foster, a tenant of the Earl's, at Cumnor in Oxfordshire. See Kenilworth. Lord Leicester subsequently married a daughter of Lord Howard of Effingham.

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The house stands in a park, of some five or six miles in circumference, and distinguished for the richness of its pasture, its noble oaks, beeches, and chestnuts, some detached, and others dispersed in broad and clustering masses. The most magnificent tree in the park is a beech, the largest and finest of its kind in the kingdom. It was measured in October last, when its dimensions were found to be enormous; mean height 89 feet; circumference of the stem at the ground 39 feet 9 inches, and the extent of ground covered by the branches 347 feet.

The surface of the park is beautifully undulating, with a brook winding through it, and interspersed with pleasant walks and footpaths. It is stocked with a noble herd of deer, wandering in picturesque groups about the lawns; and the eye of the traveller is alike charmed with the quiet beauty of the grounds, and the quaint old mansion in front, associated with the Says, the Fieneses, the Dudleys, and the Sackvilles. The building is plain but imposing. Two lofty embattled towers guard the entrance, and on either side is an extensive wing. The principal buildings are the great and smaller quadrangle, relieved by numerous towers, the architecture chiefly in the castellated style. In the quadrangle are casts from the Gladiator,' and the 'Venus.'

The lofty and extensive gothic hall, 75 feet long and 27 high) with its raised dais, and stained glass windows, &c. in the old English style, will be viewed with great interest, and conjure up scenes of ancient mirth and feasting, and Christmas revels, which are now no more.

There are at Knowle pictures or copies by Rubens, Titian, Salvator Rosa, Corregio, Domenichino, Paul Veronese, Reynolds, Vandyke, and other great masters, which are shown to visitors with a liberality worthy of imitation.

The attention is first directed to a statue of Demosthenes, which is considered one of the finest works from the antique now in England, and the calm and dignified expression of which is given with great effect.

The staircase is not striking, but is ornamented with some curious old frescoes in good taste.

The Triumph of Silenus,' by Rubens, is at Knowle. It is one of his most powerful works. "The face of Silenus, so richly inebriate," says a late visitor, "almost ready you could fancy to burst with the purple wine, the satyr leaning over his shoulder, and the general vigour of the piece, make this painting alone worth a visit to Knowle." We shall first notice some of the vast collection of portraits in the gallery.

Lady Catharine Darnley,' a natural daughter of James II., by Catharine, daughter of Sir Charles Sedley. Lady Catharine Darnley was espoused by James Annesley, third earl of Anglesey, and their only daughter, Catharine, married William Phipps, esq., son of Sir Constantine Phipps, then lord chancellor of Ireland, and was ancestress to the present Marquis of Normanby.

'James, duke of Hamilton,' killed in a sanguinary duel with lord Mohun, in which both the combatants fell. They had quarrelled regarding an estate left by the earl of Macclesfield, to whom they were both related, and a duel ensued in Hyde Park, 15th November, 1712. The duke is said to have fallen by a shot from general Macartney, lord Mohun's second, the latter falling at the same

obtained an asylum in France, where she survived for twenty-five years, universally loved and respected.

A portrait of the celebrated countess of Rochester, of the time of Charles II., is in this gallery; a delicate and pleasing picture.

Lady Henrietta Boyle, the youngest daughter of Richard second earl of Cork, was married in 1663, to Lawrence Hyde, second son of Lord Chancellor Clarendon, who was created about 1683, first earl of Rochester of his family. The earldom of Rochester had just become extinct in the Wilmot family, by the death of Charles Wilmot, only son of the famous, or rather notorious earl of Rochester, the favourite of Charles II. Lady Rochester became an intimate companion of the new queen, the beautiful and amiable Maria of Modena. One of her daughters was Lady Catharine Hyde, afterwards that duchess of Queensbury so long the patron of Pope and Prior. She is celebrated in Prior's song, beginning

'Fair Kitty, beautiful and young,' &c.

In the billiard room we shall first notice a portrait of an armed knight, said to represent one of the Courtenays of Devon, who fell on the field of Towton, in 1461, fighting for Henry VI. and his heroic queen Margaret of Anjou. Next is a portrait of Sir Kenelm Digby, by Vandyke. Sir Kenelm was a son of the unfortunate sir Everard Digby of Drystoke in Rutlandshire, who was so deeply concerned in the gunpowder plot. He was a literary man, as well as a soldier, and is the author of many curious philosophical works, some of which are still read. He suffered severely under Cromwell, and died at his seat of Gothurst, Bucks, about 1665. His lady, Venetia Digby, was a Percy, and one of the most beautiful and celebrated women of her and time. She was descended of the Percys and the Stanleys, being a cousin of Habington's famous Castara, her beauty has been celebrated by the former in an admired elegy addressed to his wife Castara (lady Lucy Herbert.) picture at Windsor is indeed a vision of perfect loveliness," says Mrs. Jameson, "and those at Strawberry Hill, representing her and her mother lady Lucy Percy, are also very exquisite." Lady Digby's death has some sort of mystery connected with it. She was one day found dead on her couch, her hand supporting her head, as if in a quiet sleep.

"Her

In this room are copies of Titian's Diana and Calista,' and the Diana and Actæon' of Carlo Maratti. Near these are a Masquerade Scene,' by Paul Veronese, a 'Cattle Piece,' by Rosa di Tivoli, and an Italian Landscape and Fountain,' by Poussin.

Here is Rogers' description of the latter.

"The water from the rock filled and o'erflowed,
Then dashed away, playing the prodigal,
And soon was lost-stealing unseen, unheard,
Through the long grass, and round the twisted roots
Of aged trees; discovering where it ran
By the fresh verdure;

Below and winding far away,

A narrow glade unfolded, such as spring
Borders with flowers, and when the moon is high,
The hare delights to race in, scattering round
The silvery dew."

A copy of Guido Reni's baptism is next. "A young mother, apparently scarce sixteen, has brought her first child to the altar. She kneels with it in her arms, her lovely countenance fixed on the priest. A band of girls, sisters by appearance, have accompanied the young mother, and stand with love and wonder in their eyes, gazing on

the face of the child."

In the dressing room are a Satyr and Venus,' by Corregio, and a 'Landscape,' by Salvator Rosa. The latter

is striking, and the banditti among the mountains characteristic.

"It is a wild life, fearful and full of change,

The mountain robber's; on the watch he lies, Levelling his carbine at the traveller; and When his work is done, he dares not sleep." Copy of Titian's Venus.' She lies asleep on a rich couch, and apparently in her dream, is pressing a rose to her bosom.

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Ariosto's mistress, Alessandra Strozzi,' by the same painter; a breathing beauty of Titian's. Her dress is black, embroidered over with wreaths of vine leaves and grapes, in purple and gold. Her fair luxuriant hair gathered in a net behind, and fastened in front, falls on either side of her face in long curls, which touch her shoulder.

Another charming picture, is a view of the Lake of Thrasymene,' among the mountains of Italy, where Flaminius the Roman consul met Hannibal in his march upon Rome. This little lake sleeps among the mountains, which are hung with shrubs and wild flowers, while the purple mist rises like a curtain, and hangs about the peaks of the Appenines. How beautifully have Byron and Rogers sung of this sweet little lake!

"Far other scene is Thrasymene now;

Her lake a sheet of silver, and her plain
Rent by no ravage, save the gentle plough;
Her aged trees rise thick, as once the slain
Lay where their roots are;

THE destruction of the human race, in one watery grave, would be an event of such awful magnitude, that it must have left some evidence of its occurrence, in the influence it would exert on the various systems of heathen mythology. The ark by which those who escaped were preserved, would become an object of reverence, and the survivors of the general destruction would be considered by their descendants, a superior race of men, and would at last be deemed worthy of divine honours. The examination into the origin of pagan idolatry, fully confirms the above positions, as the researches of Bryant, Faber, and Sir W. Jones, satisfactorily prove.

sup

The African traditions are of this last description, and we find that the Berbers, or mountain negroes, speak of a universal deluge, and that among the Magagines of Darbea, three miles S.W. of Darfour, the history of a deluge is mentioned in their traditions, in which all human beings perished; but they add that the Deity was afterwards obliged to "create mankind anew."

In the migrations of the ancestors of the various nations of the earth, to the territories they now possess, we should suppose that the greater the number who accompanied each other, the more perfectly would the deluge be remembered. We look for more detailed accounts of this event, from the numerous tribes who have settled among the prairies and forests of America, than we do from the inhabitants of the scattered islands of Polynesia, who have descended from the navigators of the misshapen raft or solitary canoe, carried there by the currents or trade-winds of the Pacific;-and though the pressure of present necessities, and the novelty of their situation, would obliterate from their minds much of the knowledge they previously possessed, we find that even they have retained a history of this great catastrophe. We select the narrative of the inhabitants of Raiatea, which alludes to the preservation of the human race. Their account makes the spirit of the waters, Ruahahi, to have been caught by a fisherman's hook, as he was sleeping in the coralline groves of the ocean, shortly after the first peopling of the world. He declared the land was criminal, and should be destroyed. The man implored his forgiveness, and was ordered to go to a small island, while the others were destroyed. Some say he took a friend, with a dog, a pig, and a pair of fowls. The waters rose, the inhabitants fled to the mountains; these were then covered, and all perished but the fisherman and his company, who, as the waters retired, took up their abode on the main island, and became the progenitors of the present inhabitants.

We find in many of the traditionary relics scattered throughout the world, that each nation has arrogated to itself the dignity of having for its founders the post-diluvian ancestors of the human race, and acting on this principle, has pointed out in some parts of its territory

We

the localities of the events these traditions describe. find that the highest mountain in the neighbourhood is selected, either as the place where the survivors of the flood were preserved, or as the spot on which they disembarked from the raft or canoe. A mountain being described as the place of refuge, may be accounted for by supposing that it is a reference to a circumstance of the flood, the ark resting on a mountain, or that the means of preservation having been forgotten, a mountain would appear the most secure refuge from the diluvian waters.

We find in America many interesting traditions of this class, from which we select the following:-Humboldt states, that when the Tamanacs are asked how the human race survived the great deluge, they say, that "a man and woman saved themselves upon a high mountain called Tamanacu, and that throwing behind them, over their heads, the fruits of the Mauritia palm, they saw arising from the nuts of these fruits, the men and women who re

A more perfect class of traditions ascribe the escape of the survivors to a raft or canoe, of which the following traditions are examples:-The North American Indians inhabiting the banks of the Ohio, have with their account of the deluge, preserved a portion of post-diluvian history; they told Dr. Beatty that one tradition they had was, that

once the waters had overflowed all the land and drowned all the people who were then living, except a few who made a great canoe and were saved in it. And that a long time ago, the people went to build a high place; that

while they were building it the people lost their language, and could not understand one another; that while one perhaps called for a stick, another brought him a stone, &c. &c., and from that time the Indians began to speak different languages.

The Arrawak Indians, living on the banks of the Essequibo, have a tradition, that the world becoming desperately wicked, was drowned by a flood, and that only one man was saved in a canoe, and that he sent out a rat to discover if the waters had subsided, which returned with a head of Indian corn.

The Sac and Fox Indians give the following curious account of the flood, in which the wicked ante-diluvians are described as giants and evil spirits, and the righteous as men. The flood is ascribed to the wicked "who perished in the attempt to destroy mankind." The Ai-yam-woy, or giants, having slain the brother of We-sa-kah, (or Chief over mankind,) he prepared himself with the great spear, and went with the speed of an eagle, to fight the murderers of his brother. He met and slew them. This occasioned a war with the gods, which lasted for a long time. The gods of the sea, having the great deep at their disposal, resolved upon destroying We-sa-kah and his race, even at the loss of their own lives. A great council, therefore, was called for the purpose, and all the chiefs were assembled, who agreed upon the destruction of the world by a flood. We-sa-kah, hearing of this, fasted for ten days. At the end of the tenth day, his voice reached the Great Spirit, his prayer was heard and answered; and mankind, the beasts and birds, &c. were preserved. Then the waters began to overflow the plains,-We-sa-kah fled before them with his family, until he reached a high mountain. But the waters soon overtook them, and he built a great raft, upon which he put all kinds of creatures, and then let it loose, and so it floated upon the surface of the great waters. After a long time, We-sa-kah began to be sorry, and fasted ten days. At the end of the tenth day, he dreamed that he saw dry land. Awaking out of his sleep, he sent down the tortoise, but he returned without any clay; he then sent down the musk-rat, and he brought up clay between his claws, out of which We-sa-kah formed the dry land. Then mankind and all the creatures which had been preserved were spread abroad upon the face of it. They now lived in peace and happiness, because there were no Ai-yam-woy, nor any spirits of destruction to trouble them, having all been exterminated by the flood.

In the island of Cuba tradition retains an interesting

"that

account of the animal that was sent to ascertain the state of the flood: one of the natives told De Cabrera, an old man, knowing that a flood was to come, built a vessel and went into it with his family, and many animals; that he sent out a crow, which first stayed to feed on the dead animals, but afterwards returned with a green branch. This tradition mentions many striking circumstances, and the kind of vessel described may be explained by a passage from Howard's History of the Earth. "A native of Cuba said to Gabriel of Cabzera, "Why dost thou abuse me, since we are brothers? Dost not thou descend from one of the sons of him who built the great box to save himself from the waters, and are we not descended from the other?" The natives of the Mexican province of Mechoacan have preserved a tradition, that when the flood came, "Tezpi embarked in a spacious acalli with his wife, his children, several animals, and grain. When the Great Spirit ordered the waters to withdraw, Tezpi sent out from his bark a vulture. This bird, which feeds on dead flesh, did not return, on account of the great number of carcases, with which the earth, recently dried up, was strewed. Tezpi sent out other birds, one of which, the humming bird, alone returned, holding in its beak a branch covered

We now notice the most perfect tradition of the deluge as preserved by Lucian, a native of Samosata, on the Euphrates. He says, "the present race of mankind are different from those who first existed; for those of the antediluvian world were all destroyed. The present world is peopled by the sons of Deucalion; having increased to so great a number from one person. In respect to the former brood, they were men of violence, and lawless in their dealings. They regarded not oaths, nor observed the rites of hospitality, nor showed mercy to those who sued for it. On this account they were doomed to destruction; and for this purpose there was a mighty eruption of waters from the earth, attended with heavy showers from above, so that the rivers swelled, and the sea overflowed, till the whole earth was covered with a flood, and all flesh drowned. Deucalion alone was preserved to repeople the world. This mercy was shown him on account of his justice and piety. His preservation was effected in this manner. He put all his family, both his sons and their wives, into a vast ark, which he had provided; and he went into it himself. At the same time, animals of every species, boars, horses, lions, serpents, whatever lived upon the face of the earth, followed him by pairs; all of which he received into the ark, and experienced no evil from them."-Plutarch mentions that Deucalion sent out a dove from the ark, whose return indicated a continuance of the deluge; but its neglect to return when sent out the second time, or as some say, its return with muddy feet, showed that the waters had disappeared.

We find, from a careful examination of the above traditions, that while some speak of the deluge causing the destruction of all human life, others assert that a few were saved. As we proceed in our researches, we find that though there is considerable diversity in the various narrations, there is on one or two points marked coincidence. The top of the mountain is not only alluded to as the place where a few were preserved, but as the spot on which those who are described as saved in canoes, &c. disembarked from their temporary refuges. On further examination, we observe that many traditions unite in ascribing a cause for the destruction of the human raceasserting that it was owing to men's wickedness having brought upon them deserved punishment from the hand of the Supreme Being. This leads to the inquiry, how was the distinction made between the good and the wicked; and we find from tradition, that a vessel of singular shape has been employed for the security of the righteous. On referring to the traditions that speak of this mode of preservation, we observe that one or two apparently trivial incidents are mentioned by all; this proves that they describe the circumstances which occurred to one vessel; and we gather from this, that all human beings perished except those who were saved in this vessel. The destruction of the human race being proved, several extracts were read from the works of ancient historians, in which it was asserted, that the ark rested on Mount Ararat. It was then stated, that according to works of undisputed autho rity, the base of Mount Ararat was 8000 feet above the sea; therefore the deluge, which carried the ark to that mountain, must have overflowed every part of the world which did not reach an elevation of 8000 feet above the sea. That the principal objections against the deluge being universal, have been drawn from the examination of countries that do not in most parts rise higher than 6 or 7000 feet; they must, therefore, have been covered by the waters of the deluge, and will afford evidences of