360 
THE LADIES' MAGAZINE OF GARDENING. 
park was well watered and well wooded, and presented a great variety of 
scenery. On a hill stood a building which looked like a large riding- 
house, except that it was surrounded with open arches. This, we after¬ 
wards found, was a deer-house, with racks under the arcade, which 
extended all round the building, and a partially enclosed place in the 
centre, in which was a hayrick. The whole was covered with a dome¬ 
like roof, and we were told it was intended as a place for food and 
shelter for the deer in severe weather. The old house, we were told, was 
taken down by the late bishop, and the materials sold to prevent dilapi¬ 
dation expenses. The appearance of the modern mansion is very elegant, 
and there is a screen before it like that at Abbotsford. The chapel is 
very fine, with a splendid ceiling. There is a conservatory, with a flower- 
garden in front, a kitchen-garden on a steep slope, and a bowling-green 
with an elevated terrace round it. From the dampness of the situation, 
there is a great deal of moss among the grass, which is destroyed by 
watering it with a strong decoction of blue limestone; and the grass in 
the gravel walks is destroyed by a solution of salt, and women weeders. 
The place is in good keeping, trees being cut down here and there to 
admit views. Among the remarkable trees in the park are those called 
the seven oaks, which were favourites of Bishop Barrington. The town 
is close to the palace, and the entrance gate to the latter, which has an 
arch with a clock tower over it, opens into the principal street of the 
town. 
September 26 .—Raby Castle .—We drove into the castle and through 
the great hall the previous night, though it was too dark to see the house. 
I was very much delighted with the effect of the horses’ hoofs on the stone 
pavement, echoed as they were by the lofty dome; and when the folding- 
doors were closed, leaving the carriage in the hall, the sensation was more 
extraordinary than I can describe. On each side of the great hall is a 
flight of steps, leading to a door hung with drapery, and that on the right 
leads to the dwelling rooms. When we ascended the steps we were ushered 
into a saloon, whence we proceeded through a great number of rooms, 
fitted up with great splendour but in a most barbarous taste. Some of 
the rooms were entirely Chinese; and the absurdity of this in a real 
baronial castle needs no comment. The housekeeper told us that there 
are a hundred and fifty habitable rooms, and I have no doubt she spoke 
the truth. The Prince of Wales’s bed-room was very pretty, with the 
drapery extending from the bed on each side as far as the side walls, so 
as to make two curtained recesses. I had heard a great deal of the 
Baron’s hall, but I was disappointed to find it up-stairs. It is ninety 
feet long, thirty-six feet wide, and thirty-six feet high, and it is now 
