70 MONTHLY REVIEW OF LITERATURE. 



" King William made this his favourite residence, taking possession imme- 

 diately after the purchase. He held his court here, most of bis councils, and 

 many of the interesting occurrences of his reign happened within its walls. 

 He died here on the 8th of March, 1702, in the fifty-second year of his age, 

 after a few days' illness, having met with an accident on his way to Hampton 

 Court, being thrown from his horse, by which he broke his collar-bone, sur- 

 viving his consort Queen Mary only seven years and three months, she having 

 died in this palace, ofthe small-pox, December 28, 1694. 



" Kensington Palace was successively occupied by Queen Anne and Prince 

 George of Denmark, King George I., King George II., and Queen Caroline, 

 to whose taste it is indebted for much of the interior embellishments. Her 

 Majesty held a court here regularly every Sunday after divine service. Prince 

 George of Denmark died here, October 28, 1708, and Queen Anne on the 

 1st of August, 1714. King George II. also died suddenly here on the 25th of 

 October, 1760, at the age of seventy- seven, after a long reign of thirty-four 

 years. 



" His Royal Highne3s the Duke of Sussex has resided here for many years ; 

 and the spirit and taste evinced by this illustrious Prince in the formation of 

 an extensive library calls forth the admiration of every scholar ; his generous 

 hospitality has rendered this palace the resort of all that is wise, and great, 

 and good ; indeed no scholar can be said to be personally unknown to his 

 Royal Highness. The library contains upwards of 50,000 volumes, 12,000 

 of which are Theological, and of the greatest value and rarity. The Biblio- 

 theca Sussexiana, by T. J. Pettigrew, published in 1827, not only gives a cri- 

 tical description of the valuable treasures here deposited, but exhibits an abi- 

 lity, taste, and feeling, alike honourable to the head and heart of the author. 



" Another portion is also now occupied by her Royal Highness the Duchess 

 of Kent, and the Princess Alexandrina Victoria, heir apparent to the throne 

 of these realms, who was born here on the 24th of May, 1819. Her illusti'i- 

 ous father, his Royal Highness the late Duke of Kent died January 23, 1820, 

 after a few days illness, greatly regretted by the whole nation. The address 

 of condolence voted by the House of Commons was presented to the bereaved 

 widow by Lords Morpeth and Clive, in the drawing-room of Kensington 

 Palace. 



" The unfortunate Queen Caroline, consort of George IV., occupied apart- 

 ments here by permission of George III. when Princess of Wales. 



"The state apartments have undergone no material alteration since the reign 

 of George II. They are spacious and grand, and the vast quantity of pictures 

 decorating every room, and which have been collected from time to time by 

 successive royal occupants, give a magnificent effect to the whole. 



"The beautiful building situated in the gardens to the north of the Palace 

 was built from the designs of Sir Christopher Wren, by order of Queen Anne, 

 who used it as a banqueting house ; the south front of the building, with 

 only one story in height, consists of a centre, ornamented with four rusticated 

 pillars, supporting a pediment ofthe Doric order, over which is a semicircular 

 window ; both ends terminate in a semicircular recess. The interior is di- 

 vided into three compartments ; against the wall of the centre are placed 

 pillars of the Corinthian order, supporting a rich entablature. The roofs of 

 the circular pavilions at each end are coved, and supported by eight fluted 

 pillars of the same order. This building is said to exhibit the finest specimen 

 of brickwork in the kingdom, and excites the admiration of both architects and 

 builders, many of whom visit it as a curiosity. It has been converted into a 

 green-house, and is filled in the autumn with exotic plants from the royal 

 gardens. 



Rhymes for the Romantic and the Chivalrous. By D. W. D. Whit- 

 taker and Co. 

 THE characteristic of these Rhymes is the pleasant and tender feeling which 



