Have clung in pious reverence round its base,
And from the voice inspired received the law?
A British chief, as famed in arms as those,
Has borne this relic o’er th’ Italian waves,
In war still friend to science, this bestows,
And Nelson gives it to the land he saves.”
The Saloon has an exquisitely painted allegorical ceiling representing Aurora, and is also adorned by a large number of statues and busts, as well as valuable paintings.
The Drawing-room is hung with rich tapestry after Rubens’ designs, and the walls are adorned with many gems of Art. Among the other treasures in this elegant apartment are some fine antique bronzes.
The Gold or State Bed-room is hung with the finest Brussels tapestry, after designs by Teniers. The chimney-piece is very elegant, being supported by Corinthian columns, the shafts of Sienna marble, the capitals, bases, and cornice white, with pigeons of polished white marble in the centre of the frieze. Upon it stands a bust of Jupiter Serapis.
The Breakfast and Dining Rooms—and, indeed, the whole of the apartments in the mansion—are elegantly and even sumptuously furnished, and filled to repletion with objects of interest and of virtu.