promoting the revolution of 1688. Indeed, it is said that King William, visiting Lord Lovelace at Hurley, after his establishment on the throne, was taken by his host to see this vault. George the Third also visited the place in 1785. This seat, which took its name from the adjoining convent being dedicated to the Virgin Mary, was situated, like its neighbouring abbeys of Medhenham and Bisham, on the banks of the Thames. The remains of the old fish ponds and canal are still to be seen; and the terrace walks, along their banks, are adorned by some of the largest and finest cypresses (the cupressus semper virens) that probably are to be found in England. One that was measured by myself and friend, was no less than four feet three inches in circumference. There are, also, some fine and handsome cedars of Lebanon, which we hope will be permitted to spread their magnificent shade over these quiet and sequestered lawns, for ages to come, uninjured, except by the hand of time. The scene is closely bounded in, to the north, by Sir William Clayton's woods and plantations, and on the other quarters by the more distant ranges of the Berkshire hills, now covered with their mantles of beech, rich with the autumnal hues.

The remains of the monastery, and of Lady Place, with their ancient and ivy-covered walls, and buildings scattered irregularly over open spaces

of green, shaded by some noble elm-trees, give a very picturesque character to the whole of the lower part of the village; while the remains of its former magnificence contrast strongly with its present solitude and desolation. They serve, indeed, to produce those serious, yet not unpleasing impressions, which are suggested to our minds when the hand of time is visibly marked as having triumphed over the perishable monuments of human labour, and thus forcibly pointing to the thoughtful and reflecting mind the transitory tenure by which even the noblest and dearest possessions are held ; at the very time when the earliest and grandest monument, ever raised by the piety of man, to the honour of God-at that very time the prophet of the Lord stood in the porch of his house, which was building with the collected treasures of the world, and foretold its certain and speedy destruction.* Sic transit gloria mundi !

But it is from the little raised terrace, which overlooks the River Thames on the one side, and the ancient church and ruins of Lady Place on the other, that this interesting spot should be

*

Persons who recollect the house at Lady Place, still speak of its fine and noble apartments—its vast marble hall, and the de. corations in the saloon, said to be by Salvator Rosa. Some of the meetings of the Hell-fire Club are stated to have been held here, as well as at Medhenham Abbey.

visited on a clear moonlight evening. I cannot imagine a moonlight scene more effective than this would be. The stream takes its calm and silent course, its surface dimpled for a moment, perhaps by a breath of the gentlest kind, and reminding me of those pretty lines of the poet of Ireland

See how beneath the moonbeam's smile

Yon little billow heaves its breast,
And foams and sparkles for awhile,

And, murmuring, then subsides to rest.

On looking at the remains of the ancient monastery, the mind is insensibly lead back to those times which I have already referred to—when the rich and prosperous Benedictine monks, in all the splendour of their order, were seen dispensing their bounties to the way-faring traveller, and to the poor, the aged, and the orphan. Those times have long passed away, and the noble pile of building, with its fine and interesting architecture, is fast mouldering into decay. The scene gave rise to the following lines of the friend who was