docks, contiguous to the house, are appropriated to the use of brood mares and their colts, as well as for the retreat of some famous race horses.

On the site of this villa rose and vanished, in the present century, the palace erected by the first Duke of Chandos, whose princely spirit was such, that the people in this neighbourhood still style him," the Grand Duke." The short time that intervened between the erection and demolition of the structure, affords such an instance of the instability of human grandeur, that it merits particular attention. The Duke having accumulated a vast fortune, as paymaster to the army, in Queen Anne's reign, formed a plan of living in a state of regal splendour, and, accordingly, erected this magnificent structure, which, with its decoration and furniture, cost 250,000! The pillars of the great hall were of marble; as were the steps of the principal staircase, each step consisting of one piece, 22 feet long. The locks and hinges were of silver or gold. The establishment of the household was not inferior to the splendour of the habitation, and extended even to the ceremonies of religion. "The chapel," says the author of A Journey through England, "has a choir of vocal and instrumental music, as in the royal chapel; and, when his Grace goes to church, he is attended by his Swiss guards*, ranged as the yeomen of the guards; his music also play when he is at table; he is served by gentlemen in the best order; and I must say, that few German Sovereign Princes live with that magnificence, grandeur, and good order." The Duke, indeed, had divine service performed with all the aids that could be derived from vocal and instrumental music. He retained some of the most celebrated performers, and engaged the greatest masters to compose anthems and services, with instrumental accompaniments, after the manner of those performed in the churches of Italy. Near 20 of Handel's anthems were composed for this chapel; and the morning and evening services werę principally by Dr. Pepusch.

*This is explained by another passage in the same work: "At the end of each of his chief avenues, the Duke hath neat lodgings for eight old serjeants of the army, whom he took out of Chelsea College, who guard the whole, and go their rounds at night, and call the hour as the watchmen do at London, to prevent disorders; and they wait upon the Duke to chapel on Sundays.”

It is to be lamented that Pope, by his satire on the ostentatious, but beneficent Chandos, has subjected himself to the imputation of ingratitude; it having been said, that he was under great personal obligations to this nobleman. Besides, the censure in this satire is not always founded on fact. For

instance:

His gardens next your admiration call,

On every side you look, behold the wall!

But the author of the Journey through England, speaking of the gardens, says: "The division of the whole being only made by balustrades of iron, and not by walls, you see the whole at once, be you in what part of the garden, or parterre, you will!”

The house was built in 1712; and notwithstanding three successive shocks, which his fortune received, by his concerns in the African Company, and in the Mississippi and South Sea speculation, in 1718, 1719, and 1720, the Duke lived in splendour at Canons till his death in 1744*. The estate was unquestionaby incumbered; on which account, the Earl of Aylesbury, father-in-law to Henry the second Duke, and one of the trustees in whom it was vested, determined to part with a palace which required an estab. lishment too expensive for the Duke's income. As no purchaser could be found for the house, that intended to reside in it, the materials were sold by auction, in 1747, in separate lots, and produced, after deducting the expences of sale, 11,000. The marble stair-case was purchased by

*When the plan of living at Canons was concerted, the utmost abilities of human prudence were exerted, to guard against improvident profusion. One of the ablest accomptants in England, Mr. Watts, was employed to draw a plan, which ascertained the total of a year's, a month's, a week's, and even a day's ́expenditure. The scheme was engraved on a large copper-plate; and those who have seen it, pronounce it a very extraordinary effort of economical wisdom. To this we may add, that the Duke, though magnificent, was not wasteful. All the fruit in the garden, not wanted for his table, was sold on his account. "It is as much my property," he would say, as the corn and hay, and other produce of my fields." An aged man, who had been the Duke's servant, and now appeared "the sad historian of the pensive scene," informed the writer of this note, that, in his occasional bounties to his labourers, the Duke would never exceed sixpence each. "This," he would observe, " do may you good; more may make you idle and drunk."

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the Earl of Chesterfield, for his house in May Fair; the fine columns were bought for the portico in Wansted House; and the equestrian statue of George I. one of the numerous sculptures that adorned the grounds, is now the ornament of Leicester Square. One of the principal lots was purchased by Mr. Hallett, a cabinet-maker in Long Acre, who having likewise purchased the estate at Canons, erected on the site the present villa, with the materials that composed his lot *. William Hallett, Esq. his grandson, sold this estate, in 1786, to Mr. O'Kelly, who left it to his nephew. See Whitechurch.

CANT'S HILL, the seat of Sir John Lade, Bart. at Burnham, a little to the N. W. of Britwell House. Mrs. Hodges, the last possessor, greatly improved it, which, with the additions made by Sir John, has rendered it a very desirable villa.

CARSHALTON, a village in Surry, nine miles from London, situate among innumerable springs, which form a river in the centre of the town, and joining other streams from Croydon and Beddington, form the river Wandle. On the banks of this river are established several manufactories; the principal of which are the two paper mills of Mr. Curtis and Mr. Patch; Mr. Savignac's mills for preparing leather and parchment; Mr. Filby's for grinding logwood; Mr. Shipley's oil mills; Mr. Ansell's snuff mills; and the bleaching-grounds of Mr. Reynolds and Mr. Cookson. Here Dr. Ratcliffe built a house, which afterward belonged to Sir John Fellows, who added gardens and curious water-works. It is now the seat of John Hodsdon Durand, Esq. who has another capital mansion in the neighbourhood.

CASHIOBURY PARK, near Watford, in Herts, 15 miles from London, is said to have been the seat of the Kings of Mercia, till Offa gave it to the monastery of St. Alban's. Henry VIII. bestowed the manor on Richard

*The two porters' lodges remain; and it has been observed, in some accounts of Canons, that they were built upon so large a scale, as to be each the residence of a baronet. They are two stories high, with six rooms on a floor, and one of them was certainly the residence of Sir Hugh Dalrymple. Bart. Mr. Hallett, it must be observed, had raised them a story higher, that he might fit them up for gentlemen; but neither their situation nor appearance, at present, bespeak the habitations of opulent gentility.

Morison, Esq. from whom it passed to Arthur Lord Capel, whose descendant, the Earl of Essex, has here a noble seat in the form of an H, with a park adorned with fine woods and walks, planted by Le Notre. The front faces Moor Park. A little below the house is a river, which winds through the park, and supplies a magnificent lake. The front and one side of the house are modern; the other sides are very ancient.

CECIL LODGE, near Abbot's Langley, one of the seats of the Marquis of Salisbury, purchased by his lordship, for his residence, during the life time of his father. It is now in the occupation of Lady Talbot.

CHALFONT, ST. PETER's, a village in Bucks, 21 miles from London, in the road to Aylesbury. Chalfont House is the seat of Thomas Hibbert, Esq. In this parish are also the following residences; Orchard Hill, Thomas Ludby, Esq.; the Grange, Capt. Hussey; the Vicarage, Rev. Dr. Chalmers; and the seat of Robert Frisby, Esq.

CHALFONT, ST. GILES's, two miles farther, was the residence of Milton, during the plague in London, in 1665. The house in all probability, from its appearance, remains nearly in its original state. It was taken for him by Mr. Elwood, the Quaker, who had been recommended to our blind Bard as one that would read Latin to him for the benefit of his conversation. Here Elwood first saw a complete copy of Paradise Lost, and having perused it, said, "Thou hast said a great deal on Paradise Lost, but what hast thou to say to Paradise Found?" This question suggested to Milton the idea of his Paradise Regained*. Near this place Sir Henry Thomas Gutt has a seat called Newland Park, and the late Admiral Sir Hugh Pallifer, Bart. a seat called the Vatch, now the property of James Grant, Esq. Bell House is the residence of Kender Mason, Esq.; the Stone House of Charles Molboy, Esq.; and the Rectory of the Rev. Mr. Morgan Jones.

CHARLTON, a village in Kent, on the edge of Blackheath, famous for a fair on St. Luke's day, when the mob wear horns on their heads. It is called Horn Fair, and horn wares of all sorts are sold at it. Tradition says, that King John, hunting near Charlton, was separated from his attendants, when, entering a cottage, he found the mistress

* See Evans's Juvenile Tourist, Article-Chalfont.

alone. Her husband discovered them, and threatening to kill them, the King was forced to discover himself, and to purchase his safety with gold; beside which, he gave him all the land thence as far as Cuckold's Point, and established the fair as the tenure. A sermon is preached on

the fair day in the church. James I. granted the manor to Sir Adam Newton, Bart. (preceptor to his son Henry) who built here a Gothic House. On the outside of the wall is a long row of some of the oldest cypress trees in England. Behind the house are large gardens, and beyond these a small park, which joins Woolwich Common. It is the seat of General Sir Thomas Spencer Wilson, Bart. Her Royal Highness the Princess of Wales makes Charlton her constant country residence, and is much respected and beloved by the neighbourhood around her. See Morden College.

CHART PARK, near Dorking, the beautiful seat and pleasure-grounds of Mrs. Cornwall.

CHEAM, a village in Surry, between Sutton and Ewel. The manor-house of East Cheam, the seat of Philip Antrobus, Esq. is an ancient structure. In the church, in Lumley's Chancel, is the monument of that learned female Jane Lady Lumley, who died in 1577. She translated the Iphigenia of Euripides, and some of the orations of Isocrates, into English, and one of the latter into Latin. It is remarkable, that of six successive Rectors of Cheam, between 1581, and 1662, five became Bishops; namely, Anthony Watson, Bishop of Chichester; Lancelot Andrews, Bishop of Winchester; George Mountain Archbishop of York; Richard Senhouse, Bishop of Carlisle; and John Hacket, Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry. See Nonsuch.

CHELSEA, a village in Middlesex, seated on the Thames, two miles from London. It extends almost to Hyde Park Corner, and includes a considerable part of Knightsbridge. At the upper end of Cheyne Walk, is the episcopal palace of Winchester, purchased by act of Parliament, in 1664, on the alienation of the demesnes belonging to that see in Southwark and Bishop's Waltham. -In the place called the Stable Yard, is a house, which was the residence of Sir Robert Walpole. It is now the property of George Aufrere, Esq. who has here a fine collection of pictures, among which may be particularly noticed the Seven Works of Mercy, Sebastian Bourdon;

H