Page:A tour through the northern counties of England, and the borders of Scotland - Volume I.djvu/83



interest the imagination, and recall the recollection of those feasts of reason, in which the elegant Lyttelton indulged at Hagley with the author of the 'Rape of the Lock,' and the writer of the 'Seasons.' Contemplation is assisted likewise by the little parish church, which stands in the park, almost buried in trees; the plantations, indeed, are injudiciously luxuriant, as they entirely shut out this structure from the house; whereas, had a partial peep at its ancient tower or Gothic window been admitted, the object, would not only have been a pleasing one in itself, but have made an happy variety in the ornaments of the ground commanded from the principal rooms.

The first apartment into which we were introduced was the hall, where we found

Six antique Busts.—A relief over the chimney.—Pan courting Diana, by Vassali.—Casts of a Corybant, of Bacchus, of Mercury, and of Venus, in four niches, copies from the Florentine gallery.—Busts of Rubens and Vandyke, by Rysbrack.

In the parlour, a Landscape, the Villa Madama, near Rome, where the 'Pastor Fido' was first