1 44< Whateli/s Observations on Windsor Castle. 



Art. V. Observations on Whidsor Castle. By the late Thomas 

 Whately, Esq. Written previously to the Year 1772.' With 

 a Prefatory Letter by the Rev. W. T. Bree, by whom the 

 Article was communicated. 



Sir, 

 The posthumous works of men of taste and genius seldom fail of being 

 perused with a high degree of interest, even when they exhibit compa- 

 ratively but little of the spkit and originality of the author's more finished 

 productions published during his lifetime. The following observations, 

 however, on Windsor Castle, appear to me to be intrinsically valuable in 

 themselves, and worthy of their author ; and I have no doubt they will 

 prove doubly acceptable to your readers, as coming from the pen of the 

 late Thomas Whately, Esq., the talented author of Observations on Modern 

 Gardening, and Remarks on the Characters of Shakspeare. They were dis- 

 covered among Mr. Whately's unpublished papers, and very probably 

 might have been designed, had the author lived, to have been introduced 

 into some future edition of Observations on Modem Gardening. This, 

 however, is a mere conjecture of my own. For the copy which I now 

 send you I am indebted to my friend, the Rev. Thomas Whately of 

 Cookham, nephew of the author; who, in conjunction with his brother. 

 Dr. Richard Whately, Principal of St. Alban's Hall, Oxford, has kindly 

 permitted me to forward it to you for insertion in your Magazine. It 

 should be remembered, that, as Mr. Whately died in 1772, his remarks 

 on Windsor Castle must be considered as applying to the place previously 

 to that period. What alterations may have subsequently taken place, and 

 how far any of Mr. Whately's suggestions for improvement may have been 

 adopted, are questions which I must leave to the decision of those who 

 are better acquainted than myself with this magnificent domain. 



Yours, &c. 

 Allesley Rectory, March 4. 1831. W. T. Bree. 



OBSERVATIONS ON WINDSOR CASTLE. 



A MORE magnificent and delightful royal* residence can 

 hardly be imagined than that of Windsor Castle. The emi- 

 nence on which the castle stands is detached from every other, 

 and advanced into the plain which it commands; it falls in a 

 bold slope on one side, while it is easy of access on the other; 

 and as the palace occupies almost all the brow, the whole hill 

 seems but a base to the buildintr. It rises in the midst of an 

 enchantmg country, and it is there the most distinguished 

 spot: but though the situation is singular, it is not extravagant; 

 it is great, but not wild. It is in itself noble, and all around 

 it is beautiful. 



The view from the terrace is not the most picturesque, but 

 it is the gayest, that can be conceived. The Thames diffuses 

 a cheerfulness through all the counties where it flows, and 

 this is in itself peculiarly cheerful. It is luxuriantly fertile ; 

 it is highly cultivated ; it is full of villas and villages ; and 

 they are scattered all over it, not crowded together; no hurry 

 of business appears ; and no dreary waste is in sight ; country 



