Io8 DERBYSHIRE TAPESTRY. 



" To his arms she flew, 

 And strain'd him close, as to his breast she grew ; 

 The tears poured down amain : " 



" Touch'd to the soul, the king with rapture hears, 

 Hangs round her neck, and speaks his joy in tears." 



Yellows and whites shaded with blue. The general 

 tone of the whole colouring at a distance is a warmish 

 grey — very beautiful and effective. 



Brussels mark — with the combined initials N.H. as in 

 the last. 



The Long Gallery. 



The walls of this magnificent apartment — 166 feet in length 

 and 26 feet in breadth — are covered from the floor to the cornice 

 with exceedingly fine and remarkable hangings, but, unfortunately, 

 they are so concealed by the paintings, that the tapestry is hardly 

 noticeable. 



The side opposite the windows and the two ends are hung with 

 a suite with an unusually wide border, at least three feet deep, 

 so wide as almost to suggest that the border was a necessary 

 enlargement for the present position. In this margin are several 

 heraldic devices, including the arms of the Hardwicks and the 

 crest of the Cavendishes, but no cognizance of the Talbots. 

 Hence we must conclude that these hangings were ordered 

 before the alliance of Elizabeth of Hardwick with the Earl of 

 Shrewsbury, and some time before the present mansion was 

 erected ; and it seems probable, from the vast size of these 

 hangings, fitting as they do the present walls so exactly, that, 

 if not adapted, they may have suggested the dimensions of this 

 stately room for their reception. At that period tapestry was 

 held in the highest estimation, and this suite must have cost a 

 sum little short of ^10,000 of our money. 



The window side of the gallery is hung with arras of the 

 fifteenth century, and is said to bear the date 1478. Although, un- 

 questionably, the finest and most valuable tapestry in Hardwick 



