PARTING WITH THE HINDOO. 139 his mother." He now told my companion, with a touching expression of countenance, and a vehement earnestness of supplication, that he could not leave him, and that he would attend him to his home, who replied, that was impossible, as he was then more than two hundred miles from it. The poor Hindoo, however, estimated distance as nothing, and he cheerfully declared he could run after the carriage all the way. We regretted to leave this Child of Nature so situated, but there was no alternative: he was again recommended to attend to the direction previously given him by my companion, and to act as before instructed, which he was assured would be to him an effectual relief: he, however, continued to follow us, but the rapid motion of our post-chaise soon left him far behind. The language used in this interview being unknown to me necessarily lessened its interest: the gesture and action, however, with which it was accompanied, were sufficiently intelligible to excite a more than ordinary degree of sympathy; but it was not until we had far outstripped this poor pedestrian on the road, that I was made acquainted with the whole of his story. Seated in the inn at Derby, where we passed the night, my companion, at my request, detailed as circumstantially and as correctly as he could all that had passed between the stranger and himself-carefully preserving, and literally translating, the expressions he had used. Regret that we had left this poor Hindoo so far behind, was now unavailing, and I endeavoured to console myself with the consideration, that during his presence I was but very imperfectly acquainted with the particular circumstances that had occasioned his distress. I have since endeavoured to ascertain the result of his application to the gentleman at Ashbourne, but without success. SECTION IX. Haddon Valley. - Haddon Hall. - The Vernon Family. Chapel at Haddon. - Roman Altar. - Ancient Tapestry. Gallery at Haddon.-Reflections on Haddon.-Lime Trees. Farewell to the River Wye. FOLLOWING the course of the Wye, we entered near Bakewell, the sweet Vale of Haddon. An old baronial edifice, now the distinguishing ornament of this part of Derbyshire, and in earlier times the seat of feudal splendour and festive hospitality, gives both name and dignity to this delightful valley. FULLER, in his History of the WORTHIES of ENGLAND, observes, with his usual quaintness, that "the north part of Derbyshire called the Peak is poor above and rich beneath the ground: yet," he adds, " are there some exceptions therein; witness the fair pastures nigh Haddon, belonging to the Duke of Rutland, so incredibly battling of cattle that one proffered to surround it with shillings to purchase it, which because to be set sideways, not edgeways, were refused." Page 229. On a rocky knoll near the river Wye, about two miles south of Bakewell, stands HADDON HALL. The magnitude of this venerable pile of buildings its castellated form and its embattled turrets rising above the trees that adorn and encompass it, have a magnificent effect, especially when seen from the vale between Haddon and Rowsley, where the best and the most imposing view of this fine old mansion is ob tained. From this situation its richest and most ample front is displayed, its towers rise more majestically, and its groves assume a considerable portion of grandeur. When the sketch which accompanies this description was made, the WYE, swollen by heavy rains, had overflowed its banks, and its windings round the base of the woody eminence on which Haddon stands, presented the appearance of a formidable river, which happily harmonized with the surrounding objects, and completed the composition of one of the sweetest pictures 66 HADDON HALL. THE KING OF THE PEAK." 141 in the Peak of Derbyshire. The day was gloomy, and the sombre effect of the sky, together with the dark unvaried tone that prevailed, increased the solemnity of the scene. A transient ray of sunny light moved gently over Haddon as we beheld it, and gradually unfolded its architectural detail: it was a momentary gleam, at whose bright touch the landscape glowed with beauty; too soon it passed away! a thicker gloom succeeded, and again involved the whole in shadow. Haddon Hall has evidently been erected at various and remote periods of time. The old tower which surmounts the gateway, that once formed the principal entrance into Haddon, is said by Gilpin to have had its origin anterior to the Conquest, and he intimates that though this structure was never formidable as a place of defence, it had then a military character, which it gradually exchanged for that of a mere domestic dwelling. Gilpin, I apprehend, has fixed the building of Haddon at too early a period: there is no testimony, either written or otherwise, that any portion of it was erected many years before the reign of King Stephen, when one of the descendants of William Peveril resided here: however this may be, it is abundantly evident, both from its design and structure, that it was never intended to have a military character. Early in the reign of Richard I. Haddon came into the possession of the Vernons, with whom it remained through a period of nearly four centuries, during which time it was invariably regarded not only as the seat of feudal splendour, but of the most sumptuous and munificent hospitality. Sir George Vernon, who died in the seventh year of the reign of Elizabeth, was distinguished by the appellation of the King of the Peak." His wealth, and his influence in the neighbourhood where he resided, were alike unbounded: he was the lord of thirty manors, which at his death descended to his two daughters, Margaret and Dorothy, the latter of whom was married to Sir John Manners: thus Haddon passed to the noble house of Rutland, and was the family residence until the beginning of the last century, when it was deserted for the more splendid castle and palace of Belvoir. How changed are the fortunes of this once hospitable mansion! the festive board at which thousands were regaled is no longer spread within its halls, nor are the sounds of mirth and gladness heard in its gates. A gloomy and solemn silence pervades its neglected apartments, and the bat and the owl are alone the inmates of its remaining splendour. 142 THE CHAPEL AT HADDON. Grand and imposing as Haddon is without, but little attention has been paid to convenience in its interior construction: with the exception of the kitchen, the cellar, the dining-hall, and the gallery, it is a discordant mass of small and uncomfortable apartments, crowded together without order. The style of architecture that prevailed in England previous to the reign of Elizabeth, when it experienced considerable improvement, was but little adapted to domestic convenience, and some of its defects are exemplified at Haddon. Those portions of this old mansion which were appropriated to the purposes of good living, and essential to that princely hospitality by which it was distinguished, when in the days of the first Duke of Rutland upwards of seven score servants were maintained within it, are sufficiently ample to justify all that tradition has told of the ancient festivities of the place. The very limited capacity of the chapel, when contrasted with the magnitude of those apartments, shows, that though the good people of this establishment took up a large space in which to manage their temporal affairs, they contrived to arrange their spiritual concerns within very modest dimensions. The chapel, which occupies a part of the south and west fronts of Haddon, is enriched with painted windows. One of the subjects represented is the Crucifixion, and another the Twelve Apostles, disposed in different compartments. The date, milessimo CCCCXXVII appears on the stained glass, but it does not refer to the time when this part of the building was erected, which was at a much earlier period, and probably very soon after the Conquest, when William Peveril, who was the natural son of William the Conqueror, was Lord and Governor of the counties of Nottingham and Derby. He had several houses or castles in Derbyshire, where he resided in a magnificent and princely style. In the anti-room to the chapel was a Roman Altar, uncouth in workmanship, and by no means an imposing object; it is nevertheless preserved with that care and attention which such a relique of antiquity requires; and has been lately removed to the central gateway that forms the communication between the two quadrangular courts of Haddon. The inscription it contains is now much injured, and the letters are so far effaced by time that not great difficulty only, but even an uncertainty, occurs in copying them: hence a considerable difference appears in the transcriptions of those travellers who have honoured this monument with their notice. The three following profess to have been copied with equal fidelity: the first is from Cambden, page 498, edit. 1695; the second was taken by a stranger who visited Haddon a few years ago; and the third was made with great care in the year 1818, by a gentlemen from Sheffield, who endeavoured accurately to trace out the form of each letter, as it now appears. We leisurely surveyed the exterior of Haddon, as seen from the upper and the lower courts before we explored its numerous apartments, and I know not that I ever beheld a mansion that afforded shelter and accommodation to so great a number of swallows: every projecting frieze overshadowed their nests, round which the busy flutterers played with ineffable delight. It was impossible to witness such a scene without calling to recollection the following beautiful passage in Shakespeare, which Sir Joshua Reynolds has so happily introduced in illustration of his remarks on what may properly be denominated repose in painting: "This castle has a pleasant site; the air 66 Nimbly and sweetly recommends itself "Unto our general sense." "This guest of summer, "The temple-haunting martlet, does approve, "Buttress, nor coigne of vantage, but this bird "Hath made his pendant bed and procreant cradle : |