The same tract which led to the beacon, about half a mile further on, opens into the Cromer road, under the plantations which were passed in going to Holt and from which the whole retrospect is very pleasing.
Section the Fourth.
Felbrigg, the seat of the Right Honourable William Windham, makes a very pleasant morning’s excursion; it is three short miles from Cromer, delightfully situated in the bosom of extensive and venerable woods. The oak, the beech and the spanish chesnut, seem congenial to the soil; and the form of the ground, which consists of gently rising hills and vales, is admirably constituted to shew to the greatest advantage the masses of light and shade produced by such a combination.
Some of the trees, particularly the oak, bear the marks of great antiquity, and the venerable state of decay into which they are fallen, make them truly interesting objects and the ornament of the scene to which they belong.
The oak stands, indisputably, the unrivalled king of the vegetable tribe—strength joined to the most perfect beauty are its distinguishing characteristics; [36] it fills every situation with dignity and equally adorns the castle or the cottage; but it is when time has placed its honours on its head, when its
“boughs are mossed with age,
And high top bald with dry antiquity,”
and it is approaching by slow but sure gradation to the period of a glorious existence, that it becomes an object of the greatest beauty, presenting to the lover of nature an ample scope of amusement.
The house has of late undergone considerable alteration, and when finished will be both elegant and convenient. It contains some good pictures by Rembrandt, Bergham, Vanderveldt, &c.
The dining-room is decorated with good portraits of the Windham family.
In the drawing-room are several pictures; a Usurer by Rembrandt, and the portrait of an Old Woman by the same master, supposed to be his Mother, deserve particular attention; the latter is placed over the door by which you enter the room but hangs too high. There are, also, some good representations of Sea-Fights; one in particular a pretty large picture, by Vanderveldt, Jun. is a very spirited performance; the effect of the smoke, from the vessels in the foreground, which is made to receive the light, is very masterly; the subject is the Engagement between the English and Van Tromp, in which Sir Edward Spragge was killed. Its companion by the elder Vanderveldt, is, also, a Sea-Fight, but a confused and wholly uninteresting performance. Over each of these pieces, is a Storm, by Vanderveldt, Jun. in his usual stile of excellence.