—E 
y 
1824.] 
muses; and no one day in the course of 
my eventful and protracted life, presents 
to my imagination so many vivid and 
welcome recollections. At that time 
Shenstone had been dead about fourteen 
years; and nearly the same length of 
time had been given to his progressive 
embellishments. I was then in my fif- 
teenth year; and the spot itself bore 
some analogy to a blooming female of 
that age, advancing to loveliness and 
maturity. The sudden and unexpected 
burst of the expansive view from Muck- 
low-hill, which forms a part of the walks, 
prepared my mind for the enjoyment of 
what was to follow; and though, in after 
times, I have visited Richmond, Green- 
wich, Hagley, Envil, Chatsworth, Mat- 
lock, and Hawkestone, yet none of these 
captivating spots seemed to possess half 
the beauties which my young fancy so 
exquisitely enjoyed in this juvenile ex- 
cursion. 
I had read Shenstone’s poems with 
eagerness and delight; their simplicity 
rendered them intelligible to my youth- 
ful capacity, and their beauty had en- 
gaged my admiration—but I had seen 
no description of the Leasowes; nor 
had we any guide, to create an artificial 
excitement, by pointing out their real 
or imaginary charms. Every change in 
the scenery, and every one of the orna- 
mental objects. or inscriptions, came 
upon us unexpected and gratifying: and 
all the fabled perfections of Arcadia 
seemed here to be more than realized. 
I felt the most ardent admiration for 
the man who could produce such a 
magical influence in my mind; and the 
moral feelings, excited by these commen- 
taries upon the book of nature, were 
too exquisite to be ever obliterated. 
The natural beauties of the place were 
conspicuous and captivating; and the 
nice adaptation of the embellishments— 
the sweet appropriation of the inscrip- 
tions,—all conspired to produce an 
intensity of delight, and the most enthu- 
siastic emotions.* 
We refreshed at the new inn, at the 
entrance of Hales Owen, a short mile 
from the Leasowes, and which was then 
occupied by the “blythe and bonny” 
Betty Taylor; who, after a fifty-four 
* As the Leasowes, while existing in all 
their beauty, have been so amply described 
in publications of easy access, our corre- 
spondent will, we hope, excuse their omis- 
sion, as well as some other curtailments, 
which necessary attention to variety in our 
miscellany render indispensable.—Ep, 
Shenstone and the Leasowes. 
399 
years’ residence, died July 12, 1822, 
and was succeeded by her widowed 
daughter, the respectable Mrs. Birch. 
For many years a good Sunday ordinary 
was provided for the visiting excursion- 
ists; and at other times, civility, good 
fare, and moderate charges, were, I be- 
lieve, the standing rules of the house. 
Shenstone died February 11, 1763, and 
was succeeded in the possession of the 
estate by Edward Horne, Esq., who 
erected the new mansion on the site of 
the old one, and completed it about the 
year 1776. He also built the hot-house 
and walled in the garden, and quitted 
the premises June 1789. His successor 
was the gay and hospitable Major Francis 
Halliday; he made considerable addi- 
tions to the house and the out-offices, 
and the elegant circular stone portico 
at the entrance was of his construction. 
He also built an elegant hermitage in 
the high wood, ornamented with stained 
glass windows, furnace cinders, cow- 
heel bones, horses’ teeth, &c. What- 
ever might be the merits of this struc- 
ture, it certainly did not correspond 
with the classical purity and chaste 
decorations which so well characterized 
every effort of the “farmer bard.” The 
Major died June 6, 1794, at the early 
age of forty-five, and has a sumptuous 
monument erected to his memory in 
Hales Owen church, close by the side of 
the simple and unobtrusive urn, record- 
ing the spot where Shenstone’s remains 
are deposited. In June 1795, Edward 
Butler Hartopp, Esq. became the owner 
of the estate, and held possession till 
July 1800, when it was transferred to 
Charles Hamilton, Esq., and he becom- 
ing insolvent in 1807, it passed into the 
hands of Matthias Attwood, Esq., who 
continues to hold it at the present time. 
Each of these gentlemen, I believe, with 
the exception of the last, kept up the 
spirit of the place, by a close attention 
to the requisite repairs, and the corre- 
sponding neatness which Shenstone had 
introduced and so well maintained; but 
the uncertainty of Mr. Attwood’s tenure, 
being only on mortgage, or want of in- 
clination, or both, occasioned the whole 
to sink into a state of ruin and desola- 
tion. Scarcely any traces can now be 
found that indicate the masterly hand of 
the inimitable projector; and the choked 
rivulets, the annoying swamps, the track- 
less paths, the entangled trees, the flut- 
ter, ancle deep, of decayed leaves, the 
mutilated figures, the obliterated inserip- 
tions, and the half-closed entrances—all 
unite to sicken the heart that heretofore 
was 
