“BURLEIGH HOUSE by Stamford town,” as Tennyson has it in his simple and beautiful ballad, “The Lord of Burleigh,” stands in a noble park just outside the fine old town of Stamford. Stamford is in two counties—Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire—on the river Welland, which here divides them, and at the same time separates six parishes, five being in Lincolnshire, and the sixth, St. Martin’s, or Stamford-Baron, in Northamptonshire. In this latter county are Burleigh House and its surrounding demesne. The park for pedestrians is conveniently entered at Burleigh Lane, one of the outer streets of the town; thus the grounds, being so ready of access, are an incalculable boon to the inhabitants. The principal Lodges are on the North Road, immediately south of St. Martin’s, and are noble and important buildings, erected in 1801 at a cost of more than £5,000, by the tenth earl, the approach being greatly improved in 1828 by his immediate successor.

The park, nearly seven miles in circumference, was planted by “Capability Brown,” and besides its attractions of wood and temples, grottoes and other buildings, contains a fine sheet of water three-quarters of a mile in length, spanned by a handsome bridge of three arches, with noble sculptures of lions. The Roman road, Ermine Street, may be traced in some parts of the park on its way from Caistor to Stamford. The park, which contains about fourteen hundred acres, was principally laid out by the first Lord Burleigh, but has been since then considerably extended and improved, one of the greatest improvements being the filling up of the fish-pond, and the formation of the serpentine lake on the south front. The house is a mile distant from the Grand Lodge entrance, the approach being, for a considerable distance, among magnificent oak and other forest trees, through beautiful upland scenery.

In the reign of Edward the Confessor, Burleigh (variously spelled Burleigh, Burghley, and Burley) was let to farm by the Church at Burgh to Alfgar, the King’s chaplain, at whose death it was seized by the Crown, and afterwards redeemed for eight marks by Abbot Leofric, and was confirmed to Peterborough Abbey in 1146. At the time of taking the Domesday survey it was held of the Abbot of Peterborough by Goisfrid. In the reign of Henry III. it is stated to have been in like manner held by Thomas de Burghley, who died in 1280, and remained in that family for two or three generations. “Peter de Burlegh, it appears,” says Sharpe, “held possession here in the twenty-fourth of Edward I., and obtained a grant of free warren in the third of Edward II. Geoffry, his son, succeeded him, but, dying without issue, his widow, Mariot, married John de Tichmersh, who, in her right, held the manor in the third of Edward III., and continued to do so until the twentieth year of the same reign.” Somewhat later it is said to have belonged to Nicholas de Segrave, it “having descended to Alice de Lisle as part of the inheritance of John de Armenters. From Nicholas de Segrave it passed to Warine de Lisle, who, with others, took up arms against the king, was defeated at Borough Bridge, and executed at Pontefract. By Edward III., Gerard de Lisle, son of Warine, was restored to his father’s possessions, and held Burleigh with the other estates.” In 1360, Sharpe states, Burleigh was in the possession of Robert Wykes, one of whose descendants, Margaret Chambers, sold it to Richard Cecil, father of the Lord Treasurer, who also purchased the adjoining manor of Little Burleigh.

The present mansion was commenced in 1575 by the first Lord Burleigh, whose principal residence was, however, at Theobalds, in Hertfordshire. The old structure was mainly retained, the existing portions being “in the eastern part of the present building, and are exceedingly fine and substantial; they are—the kitchen, with a groined roof of vast extent and most peculiar construction (perhaps the largest apartment in Europe devoted to culinary purposes); the imposing banqueting-hall, with its magnificent bay window and open carved roof, surpassed by only one other in England (Westminster); and the chapel, reached by a unique vaulted stone staircase, elaborately ornamented, and remarkable for its radiating arch.” The building, when completed and finished, was said to be the most complete and splendid in the kingdom. It is recorded that when, in the civil wars, Burleigh was taken by the Parliamentarians, Cromwell and his officers and army behaved with the utmost consideration and courtesy to the family. Cromwell himself, “when he beheld it (Burlegh), forgot his rage for destruction, and, charmed with its magnificence, displayed his republican generosity by depositing his own picture (by Walker) among those of its fine collection.” It is also recorded that later on, William III., when he saw Burleigh, “with a jealousy and a littleness of spirit unworthy of a monarch, declared that it was much too gorgeous for a subject.”

Queen Elizabeth delighted to visit Burleigh; and we read that “twelve times did he (Lord Treasurer Cecil) entertain the Queen at his house for several weeks together, at an expense of £2,000 or £3,000 each time.” It is traditionally said that on one of her visits, when the Lord Treasurer was pointing out its beauties to Elizabeth, her Majesty, tapping him familiarly on the cheek, said to him, “Ay, my money and your taste have made it a mighty pretty place!” Burleigh was, in 1603, visited by King James I. on his way from Scotland, and in 1695 by King William III. The most magnificent royal visit was, however, that of Queen Victoria with the Prince Consort in 1842, when she was accompanied by her ministers and the Court.

The family of Cecil seems to be derived from Robert ap Seisylt, or Sitsilt, or Seisel, a Welsh chieftain, who, in 1091, assisted Robert Fitzhamon in his conquest of Glamorganshire, for which he received a grant of lands in that county. Without entering particularly into the genealogy of the early members of this family, it will be sufficient for our present purpose to say that fifteenth in succession from this Robert ap Seisylt was David Sicelt, who, having joined the Earl of Richmond (Henry VII.) in Brittany, was rewarded for his service by a grant of land in Lincolnshire. Under Henry VIII. he “was constituted Water Bailiff of Wittlesey, in the county of Huntingdon, as also Keeper of the Swans there and throughout all the waters and fens in the counties of Huntingdon, Cambridge, Lincoln, and Northampton for the term of thirty years; also, in the fifth of Henry VIII., he was made one of the King’s Sergeants-at-arms; and, having this employment at court, obtained for Richard, his son and heir, the office of a page to the Crown. Likewise, in the eighth of Henry VIII., he obtained a grant for himself and son of the Keepership of Clyff Park, in the county of Northampton; and in the fifteenth of Henry VIII. (continuing still Sergeant-at-arms) was constituted Sheriff of the King’s Lordship of Coly Weston, in that county; and was Escheator of the county of Lincoln from November 15th, 1529, to November 15th following. In the twenty-third of Henry VIII. he was constituted Sheriff of Northampton; and having been three times Alderman of Stamford,” departed this life in the year 1541. He married the heiress of John Dicons, of Stamford, by whom he had a son, Richard Cecil, who succeeded him.

This Richard Cecil, as a page, attended Henry VIII. at the Field of the Cloth of Gold, and afterwards became Groom and Yeoman of the Robes, Constable of Warwick Castle, Bailiff of Whittlesea Mere, with the custody of swans, and steward of several manors. He purchased the manors of Burleigh and Little Burleigh, and had grants of land at Maxey, Stamford, &c. He married Jane, daughter and heiress of William Heckington, of Bourn, by whom he had, with other issue, a son, William Cecil, the famous Lord Treasurer.

This William Cecil, first Lord Burleigh, was born in 1520 at his mother’s house at Bourn, and early received marks of royal favour under Henry VIII. Under Edward VI. and Queen Elizabeth he held, with other offices, that of Secretary of State; and by the latter was made Lord High Treasurer of England, and created Baron Burleigh of Burleigh, and installed a Knight of the Garter. His lordship remained Lord Treasurer until within a few days of his death in 1598. Lord Burleigh married twice, each time gaining a large increase both to his fortunes and to his social and political influence. His first wife, to whom he was married in 1541, was Mary, sister of Sir John Cheke, who, within a year of their marriage, died, after giving birth to his son and successor, Thomas Cecil. In 1545 he married, secondly, Mildred, daughter of Sir Anthony Cooke, by whom he had, with numerous other issue, a son, Robert Cecil, who was created Earl of Salisbury, and was the progenitor of the present Marquis of Salisbury. Lord Burleigh died in 1598, and was succeeded by his son—

Thomas Cecil, second Baron Burleigh, who held many important offices, and was, by King James I., in 1605, created Earl of Exeter. He married, first, Dorothea, one of the co-heiresses of John Nevil, Lord Latimer, and by her had issue five sons—viz. William, who succeeded him; Sir Richard, whose son David also became Earl of Exeter; Sir Edward, who was created Baron Cecil of Putney and Viscount Wimbledon; Christopher; and Thomas—and eight daughters. Lord Burleigh married, secondly, a daughter of the fourth Lord Chandos and widow of Sir Thomas Smith, by whom he had issue one daughter.

William Cecil, third Baron Burleigh and second Earl of Exeter, married, first, Elizabeth, only child of Edward, Earl of Rutland, by whom he had issue an only child, William Cecil, who, in his mother’s right, became Baron Roos, but who died without issue in his father’s lifetime; and, secondly, Elizabeth, daughter of Sir William Drury. Dying in 1640, he was succeeded by his nephew, David Cecil, as fourth Baron Burleigh and third Earl of Exeter; he married Elizabeth, daughter of John, Earl of Bridgewater; and, dying in 1643, was succeeded by his son, John Cecil, who was only fifteen years old at his father’s death. He married, first, Lady Frances Manners, daughter of the Earl of Rutland; and, secondly, Lady Mary, daughter of the Earl of Westmoreland and widow of Sir Bryan Palmes. By his first wife he had issue one son, John, who succeeded him; David, who died young; and a daughter, Frances, married to Viscount Scudamore. He died in 1687, aged fifty-nine, and was buried at Stamford. John Cecil, who succeeded his father as sixth Baron Burleigh and fifth Earl of Exeter, espoused Lady Anne Cavendish, only daughter of the Earl of Devonshire and sister of the first Duke of Devonshire (widow of Lord Rich), by whom he had issue, John, who succeeded him, and other children.

John Cecil, seventh baron and sixth earl, married, first, Annabella, daughter of Lord Ossulston; and, secondly, Elizabeth, daughter and co-heiress of Sir John Brownlow, by whom he had, with other issue, John and Brownlow, who succeeded as seventh and eighth earls. He died in 1721. John Cecil, his eldest son, who succeeded on his father’s death in 1721 as seventh earl and eighth baron, died unmarried in 1722, when the titles and estates devolved on his brother, Brownlow Cecil, who thus became ninth Baron Burleigh and eighth Earl of Exeter. This nobleman married, in July, 1724, Hannah Sophia, daughter and heiress of Thomas Chambers, of Derby and London, a beautiful and amiable woman, to whom a monument is erected in the gardens, bearing the following touching lines:—

“Oh, thou most loved, most valued, most revered,

Accept this tribute to thy memory due;

Nor blame me, if by each fond tie endeared,

I bring again your virtues unto view.

“These lonely scenes your memory shall restore,

Here oft for thee the silent tear be shed;

Beloved through life, till life can charm no more,

And mourned till filial piety be dead.”

By this lady, who died in 1765, aged sixty-three, the Earl had issue three sons—Brownlow Cecil, ninth Earl of Exeter; Thomas Chambers Cecil, whose son ultimately became tenth earl; and David Cecil—and two daughters, viz. Margaret Sophia and Elizabeth (who became the wife of John Chaplin, Esq.). His lordship died in 1754, and was succeeded by his son.

Brownlow Cecil, tenth baron and ninth earl, succeeded to the titles and estates in 1754, and having married Letitia, only daughter and heiress of the Hon. Horatio Townsend, he died without issue in 1793, and was succeeded in his title and estates by his nephew, Henry Cecil, only son of the Hon. Thomas Chambers Cecil, by his wife, Charlotte Garnier.

Henry Cecil, eleventh Baron Burleigh, tenth Earl of Exeter, and first Marquis of Exeter, was born at Brussels in 1754, and for many years in his early life was M.P. for Stamford. His lordship was married three times: first, to Emma, only daughter and heiress of Thomas Vernon, Esq., of Hanbury, from whom he was divorced in 1791, after having issue by her one son, Henry, who died young; secondly, to Sarah, daughter to Thomas Hoggins, of Bolas, Shropshire, by whom he had issue four children, viz. the Lady Sophia Cecil, married to the Hon. Henry Manvers Pierrepoint (whose daughter married Lord Charles Wellesley, second son of the first Duke of Wellington, and was mother of the present heir-presumptive to that dukedom); Lord Henry Cecil, who died young; Lord Brownlow Cecil, who became second Marquis of Exeter; and Lord Thomas Cecil, who married Lady Sophia Georgiana Lennox; and, thirdly, to Elizabeth, Duchess of Hamilton, by whom he had no issue. The second of these three marriages has supplied a theme to many novelists and dramatists. They have used the poet’s license somewhat; but it is certain that the bride and her family had no idea of the rank of the wooer until the Lord of Burleigh had wedded the peasant-girl. Thus Moore pictures Ellen, the “hamlet’s pride,” loving in poverty, leaving her home to seek uncertain fortune. Stopping at the entrance to a lordly mansion, blowing the horn with a chieftain’s air, while the porter bowed as he passed the gate, “she believed him wild,” when he said, “This castle is thine, and these dark woods all;” but “his words were truth,” and “Ellen was Lady of Rosna Hall.”

The story is more accurately and more plaintively poetically told by the Laureate Tennyson, who undoubtedly adheres more literally to fact when he describes the lady as bowed down to death by the heavy weight of honour laid upon her, “unto which she was not born.” Tennyson’s ballad of “The Lord of Burleigh,” in which the story of the “village maiden,” from her wooing when she was plain Sarah Hoggins to the time of her early death as Countess of Exeter, is so sweetly and touchingly told, is too sadly beautiful to be omitted here. It is as follows:—

“In her ear he whispers gaily,

‘If my heart by signs can tell,

Maiden, I have watched thee daily,

And I think thou lov’st me well.’

“She replies, in accents fainter,

‘There is none I love like thee.’

He is but a landscape painter,

And a village maiden she.

“He to lips that fondly falter

Presses his without reproof,

Leads her to the village altar,

And they leave her father’s roof.

“‘I can make no marriage present,

Little can I give my wife,

Love will make our cottage pleasant

And I love thee more than life.’

“They by parks and lodges going,

See the lordly castles stand;

Summer woods about them blowing,

Made a murmur in the land.

“From deep thought himself he rouses,

Says to her that loves him well—

‘Let us see these handsome houses,

Where the wealthy nobles dwell.’

“So she goes by him attended,

Hears him lovingly converse,

Sees whatever fair and splendid

Lay betwixt his home and hers.

“Parks with oak and chestnut shady,

Parks and order’d gardens great,

Ancient homes of lord and lady,

Built for pleasure and for state.

“All he shows her makes him dearer;

Evermore she seems to gaze

On that cottage growing nearer,

Where they twain will spend their days.

“Oh, but she will love him truly,

He shall have a cheerful home;

She will order all things duly,

When beneath his roof they come.

“Thus her heart rejoices greatly,

Till a gateway she discerns,

With armorial bearings stately,

And beneath the gate she turns;

“Sees a mansion more majestic

Than all those she saw before;

Many a gallant gay domestic

Bows before him at the door.

“And they speak in gentle murmur,

When they answer to his call,

While he treads with footstep firmer,

Leading on from hall to hall.

“And, while now she wonders blindly,

Nor the meaning can divine,

Proudly turns he round and kindly,

‘All of this is mine and thine.’

“Here he lives in state and bounty,

Lord of Burleigh, fair and free,

Not a lord in all the county,

Is so great a lord as he.

“All at once the colour flushes

Her sweet face from brow to chin;

As it were with shame she blushes,

And her spirit changed within.

“Then her countenance all over,

Pale again as death doth prove;

But he clasp’d her like a lover,

And he cheer’d her soul with love.

“So she strove against her weakness,

Tho’ at times her spirits sank,

Shaped her heart with woman’s meekness

To all duties of her rank.

“And a gentle consort made he,

And her gentle mind was such,

That she grew a noble lady,

And the people loved her much.

“But a trouble weigh’d upon her,

And perplex’d her night and morn,

With the burthen of an honour

Unto which she was not born.

“Faint she grew, and even fainter,

As she murmur’d, ‘Oh, that he

Were once more that landscape painter,

Which did win my heart from me.’

“So she droop’d and droop’d before him,

Fading slowly from his side;

Three fair children first she bore him,

Then before her time she died.

“Weeping, weeping late and early,

Walking up and pacing down,

Deeply mourn’d the Lord of Burleigh,

Burleigh House by Stamford town.

“And he came to look upon her.

And he look’d at her and said,

‘Bring the dress and put it on her

That she wore when she was wed.’

“Then her people, softly treading,

Bore to earth her body, drest

In the dress that she was wed in,

That her spirit might have rest.”

The Countess, whose story is thus so plaintively told, died on the 18th of January, 1797, at the early age of twenty-four, and her portrait, preserved in the house, cannot but interest every visitor. The Earl, her husband, was in February, 1801, advanced to the dignity of Marquis of Exeter, and in May, 1804, he died, and was succeeded by his son by this romantic and happy, though brief, espousal.

This son, Brownlow Cecil, second Marquis and eleventh Earl of Exeter, and twelfth Baron Burleigh, was only nine years of age when, on the death of his father in 1804, he succeeded to the titles and estates. In 1824 his lordship married Isabella, daughter of William Stephen Poyntz, Esq., by whom he had issue eleven children—viz. William Alleyne, Lord Burleigh, the present Marquis of Exeter; a daughter, born in 1826; Lord Brownlow Thomas Montague Cecil; Lady Isabella Mary Cecil, who died in infancy; Lady Mary Frances Cecil, married to Viscount Sandon, M.P., heir to the earldom of Harrowby; Lord Edward Henry Cecil; Lady Dorothy Anne Cecil, who died in infancy; Lord Henry Poyntz Cecil; a son, who died as soon as born; Lord Adelbert Percy Cecil, to whom Queen Adelaide stood as sponsor; and Lady Victoria Cecil, to whom her Most Gracious Majesty Queen Victoria and the Prince Consort were sponsors, married to the Hon. William Charles Evans-Freke, brother of Lord Carbery. His lordship died in 1867, and was succeeded by his son—

The present noble peer, William Alleyne Cecil, third Marquis and twelfth Earl of Exeter, and thirteenth Baron Burleigh of Burleigh, a Privy Councillor, and Hereditary Grand Almoner of England, who was born on the 30th of April, 1825, and was educated at Eton and St. John’s College, Cambridge, where he graduated as M.A. in 1847. He sat as M.P. for South Lincolnshire from 1847 to 1857, and for North Northamptonshire from 1857 to 1867, in which year he succeeded to the titles, and took his seat in the Upper House. In 1856 he was appointed Militia Aide-de-camp to the Queen, and in 1866 was made Treasurer of her Majesty’s Household. In 1867 and 1868 he was Captain of her Majesty’s Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms, and he holds many local and other appointments. His lordship married, in 1848, Lady Georgiana Sophia Pakenham, second daughter of the second Earl of Longford, and has issue living—Brownlow Henry George Cecil, Lord Burleigh, born in 1849, and married to Isabella, daughter of Sir Thomas Whichcote, Bart.; Lord Francis Horace Pierrepoint Cecil, born 1851, married to Edith, youngest daughter of W. Cunliffe-Brooks, Esq., M.P.; Lord William Cecil, born 1854; Lord John Pakenham Cecil, born 1867; Lady Isabella Georgiana Katharine Cecil, born 1853; Lady Mary Louisa Wellesley Cecil, born 1857; Lady Catherine Sarah Cecil, born 1861; Lady Frances Emily Cecil, born 1862; and Lady Louisa Alexandrina Cecil, born 1864.

His lordship is patron of seventeen livings, five being in Rutland, one in London, and eleven in Northamptonshire and Lincolnshire.

The arms of the Marquis of Exeter, engraved on our initial letter, are—barry of ten, argent and azure; six escutcheons, three, two, and one, sable, each charged with a lion rampant, argent. Crest—on a chapeau, gules, turned up, ermine, a garb, or, supported by two lions rampant, the dexter argent, the sinister azure. Supporters—two lions, ermine. Motto—“Cor unum via una.” His seats are Burleigh, near Stamford, and Brookfield House, Ryde, in the Isle of Wight.

The visitor to Burleigh House is admitted by the Porter’s Lodge into the Outer Court, which is a quadrangle surrounded by the domestic and business offices of the establishment. He then passes into the Corridor, decorated with bas-reliefs by Nollekens, and so reaches the Great Hall, or Queen Victoria’s Hall, a banqueting-room of magnificent size and of matchless beauty, with open-work timber roof, stained-glass windows, richly carved gallery, and royal and other portraits. This noble apartment, shown in the accompanying engraving, which, with others of our series, is taken from a photograph by F. Robinson, is 68 feet long, 60 feet in height, and 30 feet in width, with, in addition, a deeply recessed bay window.

It has a magnificent open timber-work roof of carved oak, and the lower portions of the walls are wainscoted; and at one end is a music gallery, the cornice of the panelling and the gallery being supported on a number of richly carved spiral Corinthian columns. The fire-place is remarkably fine, and the window is filled with stained glass. Among the pictures in the Hall are a portrait of the Prince Consort in his Garter robes, presented to the Marquis by the Prince; Dahl’s full-length portraits of George I., George II., and the Queen of George II.; and portraits of Viscount and Viscountess Montague, Earl of Peterborough, Sir Walter Raleigh, &c. From the Hall, passing through Vestibule and Corridor, which contain busts of the CÆsars and other examples of sculpture, and the Ancient Stone Staircase—a part of the original building, shown in the opposite engraving—the Chapel is reached. The Chapel contains, among its other attractions, a fine assemblage of carving, said to be by Grinling Gibbons, and among the best of his productions; an altar-piece by Paul Veronese, the subject being the “Wife of Zebedee;” the seat used by Queen Elizabeth when she worshipped here, and used also for the same purpose by Queen Victoria; and many good paintings. The communion-table and altar-rails are of cedar-wood, and the pulpit and reading-desk of mahogany. The magnificent chimney-piece of various marbles was brought from a convent near Lisbon. The Ante-chapel is also an interesting room. The Chapel-room contains many paintings by Carlo Dolce, Domenichino, Lanfranco, Albert DÜrer, Guercino, Andrea Sacchi, Parmigiano, the Carracci, Guido, Teniers, Bassan, Rubens, Carlo Maratti, Bolognese, Giulio Romano, Le Brun, and others.

The Billiard-room, panelled with Norway oak and enriched with a decorated ceiling, is hung with family and other portraits. Among them are Lawrence’s full-length group portraits of the tenth Earl and Countess—Sarah the “village maiden”—and their daughter, the Lady Sophia; several other Earls and Countesses of Exeter, and others of their families; the first Duke and Duchess of Devonshire; Barbara Villiers, Duchess of Cleveland; Duchess of Montrose, &c.

We will not, however, go through the various rooms in the order in which they are visited, but select, here and there, an apartment for notice, our object being, not to furnish a guide for the visitor’s use, but to give a general sketch of the mansion and its surroundings.

The Ball-room has its walls and ceiling painted by Laguerre in his best style, the subject of the latter being described as the “History of the Planetary System.” On the east side of the walls is painted “The Battle of CannÆ,” and on the west “The Continence of Scipio;” the others being “The Loves of Antony and Cleopatra,” &c. The Brown Drawing-room, lined with oak, contains many valuable paintings as well as some exquisite examples of Gibbons’s carvings, as also do the Black and Yellow Bed-rooms. In this latter room is the ancient state bed from which it takes its name. This is hung with black satin, ornamented with fine old needlework, and lined with yellow silk. In the windows is some good stained glass, and over the chimney-piece a fine example of Gibbons’s carving. Among the paintings in this and the West and North-west Dining-rooms are pictures by Guercino, old Franck, Libri, Angelica Kauffmann, Rubens, Scilla, Cimabue, Giordano, the Carracci, Elsheimer, Van Balen, Salvator Rosa, Castiglione, G. Bolognese, Van Eyck, Murillo, Claude Lorraine, Domenichino, Mola, Jordaens, and others.

In the China Closet, besides several good paintings, a case of ceramic treasures is preserved.

Queen Elizabeth’s Bed-room is one of the most interesting apartments in the mansion, “and presents almost the same appearance as on the day when the great virgin queen first reposed therein—the very bed on which her royal form reclined, the same rich ancient tapestry which then decorated the walls, and the same chairs which then furnished the room, and upon some of which Elizabeth herself was once seated. The bed is hung with dark green velvet, embroidered with gold tissue, and the walls are hung with tapestry representing Bacchus and Ariadne, Acis and Galatea, and Diana and ActÆon.” Queen Elizabeth’s Dining-room, or the Pagoda Room, looks out upon the lawn, in the centre of which is a majestic and venerable tree planted by the “Virgin Queen,” the “Good Queen Bess,” herself. In this room are a Chinese pagoda and many interesting portraits and other paintings. Among these are Shee’s portrait of the late marquis; Cranach’s head of Luther; Holbein’s Henry VIII., Thomas Cromwell, Edward VI., Queen Mary, Duke of Newcastle, and Queen Elizabeth; Mark Gerard’s Queen Elizabeth and the Lord Treasurer Burleigh; Zucchero’s Robert Devereux; Rembrandt’s Countess of Desmond; and admirable examples of Van Eyck, Annibale Carracci, Velasquez, Titian, Cranach, Paul Veronese, Cornelius Jansen, Dobsone, Vandyke, old Stone, Dance, Romney, and others. The Purple Satin Rooms are also hung with valuable paintings, and the furniture is of superb character.

The George Rooms, as a magnificent suite of five apartments, occupying the south side of the mansion, are called, have the whole of their ceilings painted with allegorical and mythological subjects by Verrio. These are the apartments specially set aside for royalty, and have been repeatedly so occupied. The first George Room has its floor of oak inlaid with walnut, and the carvings over the doors are among the best existing examples of Gibbons. The Jewel Closet has a similar floor and equally good carvings; and in the centre, in a large glass case, are preserved numerous jewels and curiosities of great separate and collective value. “Here are a plate of gold, a basin, and spoons, used by Queen Elizabeth at her coronation; a curiously ornamented busk, also used by Queen Elizabeth, and a jewelled crystal salt-cellar, supposed to have belonged to that great queen; a minute jewelled trinket sword, once belonging to the unfortunate Mary Queen of Scots; a handkerchief of William III.; CÆsar’s head carved in onyx (a choice antique, 2½ inches oval, and set in diamonds); Henry VIII. and his children cut in sardonyx; the head of the Lord Treasurer Burleigh on the back of an antique intaglio of Caracalla, depending from which is a small head of Elizabeth, both cameo on onyx. There are, besides, a multitude of enamelled trinkets, miniature vases in gold filigree, amber, diamonds, precious stones, &c., &c. To this collection have been added, of late years, a chrysanthemum wreath worn by Queen Victoria at the baptism of the Lady Victoria Cecil, youngest daughter of the second marquis, and a pair of white kid gloves worn by her Majesty at the same time: the wreath has been incrusted with metal by a process of electro-gilding, but in effecting this it was broken into several pieces. There is also a very elaborately ornamented trowel, used by Prince Albert, in 1842, in the ceremony of laying the first stone of the present building of the Royal Exchange, London, and presented by him to the Marquis of Exeter, who attended his Royal Highness at the time as Groom of the Stole. There are also here a magnificent jewelled crucifix, several feet in height, and of great value, some rare china, and other articles. One other object remains to be noticed in this apartment: this is a beautiful specimen of carving in white wood of a bird, nearly the colour and about the size of a canary: it is represented as dead, hanging by one leg from a nail, and so exquisitely is it worked, that looking upon it it is difficult to believe it merely the resemblance of reality.”

The State Bed-room, or second George Room, is the bed-room set apart for the repose of royalty, and its furniture and decorations are of great richness. A magnificent bed was here erected by the then marquis, in preparation for a visit from George IV. when Prince of Wales, and was subsequently several times used by various members of the royal family; but when Queen Victoria visited Burleigh in 1844, a bed even more rich and costly was substituted, in which her Majesty and her royal consort, Prince Albert, reposed during their stay. The hangings are of crimson velvet lined with white satin. The walls are hung with rare tapestry.

The State Dining-room, and the Great Drawing-room, or fourth George Room, are gorgeous in the extreme, and filled to repletion with choice works of Art and antiquity; while the fifth of these George apartments, named the Heaven, from the subjects of Verrio’s paintings, which cover alike the ceiling and walls, contains cabinets, paintings, and busts of great value. The whole of this suite of rooms is hung with choice pictures, of which, of course, space prevents our giving an account. The Grand Staircase, leading to the Great Hall, completes this suite; its ceiling is by Verrio, and the staircase and landings are adorned with sculpture and paintings.

We regret that we cannot find space to describe the numerous other admirably constructed and beautifully furnished apartments of this noble mansion, one of the most interesting of the many glorious baronial halls of the kingdom.

The burial-place of the family of Cecil is St. Martin’s Church, Stamford, where many monuments exist; and the visitor will find much to interest him in this and the other churches of that town.