which the style of building, and fantastic manners, of Elizabeth's reign, are delineated with much truth.

Gray, when a student at Eton, occasionally resided with his aunt in this village, whose church-yard was the scene of his much-admired elegy. It was also the place of his interment; though neither friend nor relation raised a stone to his memory till the year 1799, when the Genius of Poetry animated the kindred bosom of Mr. Penn to perform the long-neglected task. The monument erected by this gentleman stands in a field adjoining the church, and forms the termination of one of the views from Stoke House. It is composed with stone, and consists of a large sarcophagus, supported on a square pedestal, with inscriptions on each side. Three of them are selected from the Ode to Eton College, and the Elegy written in a Country Church-Yard; the fourth is as follows:

This Monument, in Honor of
THOMAS GRAY,

Was erected A. D. 1799,

Among the Scenery

Celebrated by that great Lyric and Elegiac Poet.
He died in 1771,

And lies unnoticed in the adjoining Church-yard,
Under the Tombstone on which he piously
And pathetically recorded the Interment
Of his Aunt, and lamented Mother.

STOKE PARK is the seat of John Penn, Esq. who within a few years years has made it one of the most charming magnificent residences in this part of the county. The house was built in the year 1789, from designs by James Wyatt, Esq. but has since experienced several judicious alterations, and considerable additions. It is built chiefly with brick, and covered with stucco, and consists of a large square centre with two wings. The north, or entrance front, is ornamented with a colonnade, consisting of ten Doric columns, and approached by a flight of steps, leading to the Marble Hall. The south front, 196 feet in length, is also adorned with a colonnade, consisting of twelve

fluted

fluted columns of the old Doric order. Above this ascends a projecting portico, of four Ionic columns, sustaining an ornamental pediment. The Marble Hall is oval, and contains four fine marble busts, supported on scagliola pedestals. The whole interior length of the south front is intended to be occupied by an elegant and well-stored library. Besides several good portraits by Lely and Kneller, the following pieces are deserving attention.

A large picture, containing four Children of the Penn family, in a Landscape, by Sir Joshua Reynolds. This very fine picture may be classed with those which obtained our great English artist his deserved celebrity. The coloring is chaste and perfect, the composition is excellent, and the drawing correct.

Three Children of King Charles the First. There are so many duplicates of this exquisite picture, that we are led to suspect the originality of every one, except where it is accompanied with de monstrative evidence. The present picture, we are assured, is a true Vandyck, whose name it bears. It is finely colored, and in good preservation.

WILLIAM PENN, the founder of Penn-Sylvania, a half length. This celebarted Quaker was painted in armour about the age of 22.

The Park, though rather flat, commands some very fine views, particularly to the south, where the eye is directed over a large sheet of water to the majestic Castle of Windsor, beyond which Cooper's Hill and the Forest Woods close the prospect. A large lake winds round the east side of the house, with a neat stone bridge thrown over it. The lake was originally formed by Richmond; but has been considerably altered by Repton, who also directed the laying out of the Park. About 300 yards from the north front of the house is a handsome fluted column, 68 feet high, lately erected from a design by Mr. Wyatt. On the top is a colos sal statue of SIR EDWARD COKE, by Rosa.

FARNHAM ROYAL, a manor adjoining Stoke, was formerly held by its different possessors, on the condition of fitting the right-hand of the King with a glove on the day of his Corona tion, and supporting his arm while he held the sceptre. The ancestors of the present Earl of Shrewsbury exchanged Farnhamn