Page:A tour through the northern counties of England, and the borders of Scotland - Volume I.djvu/237

 the pyramid, and the house, all fall into the picture; and present a scene in which it is difficult to say whether the beauty of nature, the efforts of art, or the operations of taste, are to be most admired. Viewing Wentworth home grounds and mansion from hence, we had no hesitation in pronouncing it to be the finest place we had ever seen.

Pursuing our interesting ride for nine miles through a continuation of that fertile country which marks this division of Yorkshire for the paradise of England, we reached the park of Wentworth-Castle, the seat of the late Earl of Strafford. The grounds, which have every advantage that nature could give them, in agreeable undulations, and "solemn midnight groves," are injured in the injudicious attempt to add a beauty to them by artificial trifles; such as made ruins, Chinese temples, &c. A view of uncommon beauty over the lawn is caught from the portico of the principal front, a most elegant specimen of ornamental architecture. The hall, a room forty feet square, presented us with a portrait of

Thomas third Earl of Strafford, a distinguished favourite of William III. to whom he proved of signal service in his campaigns in Flanders. On the accession of Queen Anne, he was appointed ambassador extraordinary to the Court of Berlin,