628 LEtTERS FROM ENGLAND. 



freshnes? and verdure (the owner assured me that the roses blDomed 

 all winter long), cheating the inhabitants into the belief _that;wiriter 

 is an -allegor^j'orif not, has only a substantial 'existenee in Iceland 

 or Spitzbergen.» - , 



Thenthe hotels here— ^especially in'Shantlin — are a;bsolutely- ro- 

 mantic in their rpiral beautyw Designed like, the prettiest cottages, 

 oi- rather, in a quaint aud rambling style, half cottage and half villa, 

 the, roof covered with thatch, and the walls wilt ivy,' jessamines, 

 and perpetual roses, and set down in the midst of a charming lawn, 

 stnd surrounded by shrubbery, you fee! the same reluctance to take 

 the room whici^ the chambermaid — with the, freshestof roses in her 

 cheeks, and^the cleanest of caps upon her head — shows you, as you 

 would in hiring the apartnlents of some tasteful friend- in reduced 

 circumstances. When you rise from yoin- dinner (admirably served), 

 always in a private parlor, the casement windows open upon a vel- 

 vety lawn, bright with masses of scarlet geraniums, verbenas, and tea 

 roses set in the turf, and you give youraelf . up to the profound con- 

 viction that for snugness, and cosiness, and perfection at a rural: inn, 

 the world can contain nothing better than may be found in theHe 

 of Wight. 1 ' , ', 



B'onchurch disputes the palm with Shanklin, for picturesque and 



sylvan beauty. We made a visit here to Capt. S of the, Rpyal 



Navy, whose beautiful villa in the Elizabethan style; gave me an 

 opportunity for indulgitig my architectural and antiquarian taste to 

 the utmost.^ Imagine an entrance through a rocky dell,-the steep 

 sides of which are clothed with the ricTiest climbing plants, between- 

 which ybur ca)Tia_ge winds for some distance, passing-under a light 

 airy "bridge, with festoons pf ivy and clusters of blooming creepers 

 waving over your head . You soon emerge upon the prettiest of 

 little lawns, studded with fine oaks,, and runnnig down to the very 

 shore of the sea. On the left are shrubberies; pleasure-gi'ounds, 

 kitphen' and flower gardens, all in their place, and though you think 

 the place one of sixty or eighty acres,' there are not above lwenty> 



The house itself is one of .the most picturesque and agreeable 

 residences of moderate size that I have ever seen. Its interior,; 

 especially, unites architectural beauty, antique, character, and modern 

 comfort, to a surprising degree. Every room seemed to haVe been 



