CHARACTERS.
265
from this place on? goes into the garden, encompafied with water, l:.rge enough for one to have the pleafure of going in a boat, and rovving between the iTirub^ ; here are a great variety of trees and plants, labyrinths made with a great deal of labour, a jet d'eau, with its bafon of white marble, and columnsand pyramid? of wood, and other material, up and down the garden ; after feeing thefe, we were led by the gardener into the fommer-houfe, in the lower part of which, built fem:- circularly, are the twelve Ron-.an emperors in white marble, and a table of truck-ftone; the upper part of it is fet round with cillerns of lead, into which the water is conveyed through pipes, fo that fi;h may be kept in them, and, in fummer time, they are very con- venient for ba'hing ; in another room, for entertainment, v.ry near this, and joined to it by a little bridge, was a noble table of red marble. We were not admitted to fee the apartments of this palace, there being nobody to ftiew it, as the family was in town attending the funeral of their lord.
Nonfuch is a royal retreat, in a place formerly called Cuddington, a very healthful fituation, choltnby K Henry Vill. for his ple.;fure and retirement, and buih by him with an excefs of magnificence and ele- gance, even to ollenta'ion j one would imagine every thing that architecture can pertorm, to have been emploved in '.his one work : there are every where fo many ftatues that feem to breathe, fo many miracles of con iu mm ate art, fo maJiy charts that rival even the perfeif^ion of Roman antiquity, that it may well claim and jullify its
name of Nonfuch, being wiihouc an equal, as the poet fung :
This nuhich no equal has in art cr fame,
Britctts defervedly a Nonfuch name.
The palace of i'.felf is fo encom- pafied with parks fall of deer, deli- cious gardens, groves ornamented with trelHs-work, cabinets of ver- dure, and walks lo embrowned with trees, that it feems to be a place pitched upon by Pleafure herfeif, to dwell in along with Health.
In the pleafure and artificial gardens are many columns and pyramid-- of marble, two foun- tains that fpnut water, one round the other, like a pyramid, upoa which are put fmall bids that fiream water out of their bills : ia the grove Diana is a very agree- able fountain, with Actseon turned into a (lag, as he was fpnnkled by the goddefs and the ny.T.ph?, with infcrlpiions.
There is befides another pyramid of marble, full of conce;:led pipes, which fpoat upon ail who come within their reach.
From the fame itinerary ixe (hall pre- fent cur readers n,<:ith the manner cf celebrating har'veji-home in England, in our author^ s time.
S ue weie returning to our ^ ^ inn, we happened to meet iom^ country people celebrating harveft-home: their lall load of corn thcv crown with flowers, hav- ing befides an image richly drefTed, by which perhaps they would fig- nify Ceres; this they keep moving about, while men and women, mea and maid fervants, riding through the flreets in the cart, (hout as loud as they can, till they arrive at the barn ; the far.mers here do
not
\.
