THE 



MONTHLY MAGAZINE. 



No. 378.] FEBRUARY 1, 1823. [1 of Vol. 55. 



THOMSON'S HOUSE AT RICHMOND. 



fT/ie Descripliitn communicated by the Rev. Dr. Evais.J 



On entering tlie lioiise, yoii are shewn two small rooms on the yvound-floor, connected 

 by an archway, and thrown into a kind of hall. On the left is the room where Thomson 

 breathed his last, being his bed-chamber, and on the right is his sitting-room, where he 

 passed his lime ; with brass hooks fixed around, on which lie hung his hat and cane ; also 

 the table npon which he wrote ; and, lastly, the very fire-place, before which he no 

 doubt sat, in musings deep, when — 



" Winter reign'id tremendous o'er the conquer'd year." 



It is a neat round mahogany table, letting itself down on its stand, with tlie delineation 

 of a white scroll in the centre, on which, after the semblance of hand-writing, this 

 inscription is emblazoned :— " On this table James Thomson constantly wrote ; it was 

 therefore pnrcliased of his servant, who also gave these brass hooks, on which his hat 

 and cane were hung in this his sitting-room! — F.B." These initials signify Frances 

 Boscawen, or the Hon. Mrs. Boscawen, widow of Admiral Boscawen, who here ended 

 her days. She is said to have been the immediate successor of the poet, and with whose 

 singular merit she was impressed. These rooms were the only apartments in Thomson's 

 time : since that period, two wings, as well as two stories, have been added ; so that it 

 is now the handsomest edifice in Kcw-fnot Lane. It is much to the praise of the noble 

 owner, that this portion of the original cottage should have been preserved amidst a 

 profusion of modern improvements. Over the fire-place the carved ornaments are 

 modelled after the fashion of former times ; whilst at the opposite end of the room, 

 between the windows, is seen a bust of the bard, impartinii to the relics an air of classic 

 taste. The proprietor of the mansion, indeed, (the Earl of Shaftesbury,) being a 

 descendant of the elegant author of "the ("haracteristics," a reverence for genius may 

 be pronounced hereditary in this noble tiimily. 



.Stepping into the garden, you are conducted by a neat gravel-walk, through a serpen- 

 tine avenue of shady trees, to an Alcove, painted green, on whose front are these 

 words— 



Here Thomson sung the " Seasons," and their change ! 

 In the alcove stands a rustic table, and, suspended over a back seat, is a board with 

 this inscription : — "James Thomson died at this place, August 27, 1748." On the 

 reverse, when taken down, I read the following sylvan memorial : — '"Within this 



MoNTHi.v Mao. No. 378. B pleasing 



