Page:A tour through the northern counties of England, and the borders of Scotland - Volume II.djvu/32

[ 20 ] the painting and gilding of the mouldings and stucco are taken from those of the great church at Milan. We regretted that some of the ornaments were not as appropriate as elegant, and did not suspect ourselves of Puritanism, when we found our minds revolt at a sumptuous marble sarcophagus, dedicated to the memory of the late Duchess, and inscribed with her thousand titles, serving the purpose of an altar; and saw the walls of the apartment covered with armorial bearings, and genealogical tables of the illustrious family in whose possession the mansion has been so long, and at: present is. It is not indeed the only instance in which we find religion and heraldry associated; but certainly the frequency of its occurrence can never make the humility of the creature and the pride of the noble congruous with each other.

The park of Alnwick, though for tee most part naked of large timber, and borrowing almost all its shade from the plantations of the last Duke, offers occasionally some very fine views, as well as a pleasant ride round its boundary, which extends thirteen miles through a tract of country wisely applied to agricultural purposes, instead of being wasted in a deer-range. Not that it wants its ornaments; a pleading one of ancient days, Hulme Abbey, founded in 1240 for Carmelite friars, by