#810.) 
as invariably leads the builder to deem 
a coramand of picturesque scenery the 
first great requisite in the site of a family 
warision. 
The 
the margin ub the Thames; is one of the 
most agreeable spots that the fancy can 
picture. Allis seeming tranquillity and. 
repose. ‘The cottages ‘of simplest 
form, with cov erlets of thatch,” ‘ane 
sulficiently numerous to bestow a decided 
air of rusticity on the general appearance 
of the village; while many houses of a 
more elivible description, in which em- 
bellishment is added to comfort, give 
promise of a rational intercourse, and 
agreeable neighbourhood, to those who 
are happy enough to “ husband out life’s 
taper” in the retirement of this unos- 
tentatious village. 
Sonning »was formerly a place of con- 
siderable consequence. — ‘The bishops of 
Salisbury held. the maner at the time of 
tie Conquest; and the. manor-house 
(which stood at the base of the hil on 
which Mr, Palmer’s modern resideuce is 
built) was for many centuries their oc- 
casional residence. Isabel, the youthful 
queen of Richard IL. (an w hose hame, it 
may be remembered, that ill-fated mo- 
narch so pathetically called, when be 
found himself peas to Hlereford,) 
resided at Sonning, du Ing the melan- 
choly period whieli occbrted between the 
first imprisonment, and ultimate nurder, 
of the king. Aho can walk through 
this retired village without attempting to - 
retrace the hours of anxiety which were 
there passed by this distressed, and al- 
most infantile,*.princess? Torn from 
her country at friends, and bereft of 
the gaudy crown which was her only 
protection, futile, iideed.. must have 
proved all the soothing charms of this 
romantic retivement to. the unhappy 
Isabel! 
The tortures. of uncertainty were 
added to the oppressive weight of her 
ordinary reflections.. A band’ ‘of ‘con: 
Spirators, (for so they must be called, 
since the new king was able to retain the 
sceptre,) with sir Bernard Brocas (who 
shes: buried in) Westminster abbey) at 
their head, persuaded the young and 
‘dethroned queen, that. Richard bad 
_ * It appears that the marriage was merely 
ene of form. Isabel was net more than 
twelve years of age when she arrived in 
England. 
Walks in Berkshive. 
village of Sonning, which lies on, 
‘to admire 
B15 
escaped from Pontefract castle, and was 
ready to join them at Reading, A gleana 
of joy, therefore, shone over heR solitary 
retreat. The conspirators marched froxa 
Sonning, and the anen Be ured forth un-= 
ceasing prayers for their success, But 
her tears were unavailing: Richard was 
doomed to perish in captivity, and sir Ber- 
nard losthis head on the scattold; one half 
of the country lainenting bin ie a mar- - 
tyr, and the other suigmatising his me- 
mory with the opprobrium of treason. 
The Berkshire side .of the Thames, 
between Sonning and Wargrave, is re- 
plete with beauties not more estimabie 
than they are various. “The fertile mea, 
dow, an object irresistibly soothing and 
attractive, 
(For green fs to Bee « eye, what tothe ear 
Is harmony, or to the smell the rose; ) 
blends with shady recesses, from which 
the prospect is caught only through an- 
expected breaks. But, aéreeable. aS 48 
this bank, the pedestrian must often step 
the Oxfords @> hills on the 
opposite side of the river. On the most. 
picturesque of these elevations, 15 seated 
Shipiake-house, the residence of John 
Wanscomh, esq. ; and in this retreat, the 
writer adinits that he has spent so many 
happy houfs, that Se mieht well be sus. 
pected of partiality, should be indulge ira 
too florid a vein of description. Yet the 
real beauty of the situation, and the cor- 
rect taste of the owner, demand at least 
a passing tribute of praise. 
Shiplake-house was builtin the reign 
of qiseen Anne, when hospitality was aun 
its zen 1D ; when, ** inste ad of being tan~ 
talized’ with a dézen of Freneh dishes, 
(which no Frenchman, however, would 
venture to taste,) and stared at by as 
many French servants, dressed better. 
than yourself or their own master ; 
stead of being drageed out, the moment. 
you have dined, is take a walk in 
shrubbery, aa wonder at his lord 
had taste, and then frightened 
the appearance of cards and wa 
instead of this refined luxury, . 
“Say, you 
were sure to find a ham asd fowls, oa 
piece of roast beef, or a pigeon-pie, and 
a bottle of port-wine, every dayoin the 
weeks and, een chose th spend the night 
at the Hohe: a_ warn bedoand a hearty 
welcome?” Andy very fortunately, the 
difference of a nuwdred years has pro- 
duced little alteration in the temper of 
the eccupiers of this seat. “Though Mr, 
fanscar nb has only wiihin these few 
years 
His a: 
ee 
