TVobwn Ahbey. 293 



esque morceau of huge and fantastic oaks, grotesque old thorns, 

 hazels, and dogwoods ; on ground abruptly varied, and appro- 

 priated to man and elegant enjoyment, by a highly characteristic 

 cottage with a Scotch kitchen and furniture. The parlour of 

 the cottage is beautifully painted in body colours by Aiglio ; and 

 the speck of kept ground immediately around it is trim and neat 

 in the highest degree. 



There are a number of ornamental cottages scattered round the 

 margin of Woburn Park, of much exterior beauty, with neat gar- 

 dens, kept in good order under the direction of the head gardener. 

 In most of them is an apartment for the reception of small parties 

 from the Abbey, who wish to amuse themselves by allusions to 

 primitive simplicity: for it is one of the enjoyments of those who 

 are habituated to live in a style of high art and refinement, to 

 take occasional refuge in the contrast produced by comparative 

 artlessness and simplicity. 



The farm lands were in beautiful order ; the new-sown wheats 

 already above ground, and the drilled turnips luxuriant, con- 

 sidering the by-past season. We pointed out to Mr. Forbes a 

 defect in the training of the young hedges, which we did not 

 expect from a Northumbrian manager ; that of training them up- 

 right in the sides, instead of beveling them to the centre, like a 

 hogged mane. 



There are a great many fine oak trees in the park : a number 

 are of considerable age, and of these some now and then show 

 symptoms of decay. When that is the case, it appears to be cus- 

 tomary for the forester, Mr. Ireland, to paint a white line round 

 the trunk, in order to show the duke that such trees ought to 

 be felled. The duke^ however, does not always consent to the 

 opinion of the forester, but wisely prefers retaining some grand 

 and picturesque forms, though in a state of decay, as proofs of 

 the antiquity of the scenery, and as contrasts to the youth and 

 viiTOur of more recent growths. 



OctAQ. This, being Monday, is the public day for seeing through 

 the house and pleasure-grounds at Woburn Abbey. Of the 

 house, and the buildings connected with it, we shall only observe 

 that the gallery of statuary is the most extraordinary thing of the 

 kind in Britain, out of London. It is gratifying, in another gal- 

 lery, in the interior of the Abbey, to observe the models of cattle 

 and other domestic animals reared under the direction of the late 

 Duke Francis. In one room is a series of miniatures of the heads 

 of the Russell family, from the earliest times to the present. A 

 biographical account of them has been written by the late Mr. 

 Wiffen [whose lamented death \4q. have heard of while passing 

 this sheet through the press.]. 



With respect to gardening, Woburn Abbey has never been 

 so celebrated, as for its plantations. The kitchen-garden, though 

 Vol. XII. — No. 75. z 



