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whether we look within or without, all is on the scale of the sublime and the beautiful. I must not overlook the chapel, which makes one of the wings of the house, and in which there is a proud monument, of white marble, to the memory of the renowned Duke and Duchess of Marlborough. The group of marble figures, large as life, upon this monument, are the Duke and Duchess, with two of their sons, who died young. They are supported by two figures, Fame and History. The altar-piece is the best painting I ever saw; our Saviour taken down from the cross.

From the house, we visited the gardens; and here I am lost, not in confusion, but amidst scenes of grandeur, magnificence, and beauty. They are spacious, and include a great variety of ground. The plain, or as artists term it, the lawn, before the palace, is kept in the most perfect order; not a single spire of grass rises above another. It is mowed and swept every other day, and is as smooth as the surface of a looking-glass. The gardener, who has lived twenty-five years upon the place, told us that he employed about sixty-three hands during the summer, in mowing, sweeping, pruning, lopping, and in ornamenting the grounds. From this lawn is a gradual descent to the water, and you pass through spacious gravel walks, not in straight lines, as Pope expresses it,

"where each alley has a brother,

And half the platform just reflects the other;"

but pleasing intricacies intervene. Through the wind

ing paths, and every step, open new objects of beauty, which diversified nature affords of hill, valley, water, and woods; the gardens finally are lost in the park, amidst a profusion of venerable oaks, some of which are said to have stood nine hundred years. The gardens are four miles round, which I walked; the park is eleven. There is a magnificent bridge consisting of three arches; the water which it covers, is formed into a spacious lake, which flows the whole extent of a capacious valley. This was built at the expense of Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough, as well as a column which I shall mention in turn. The gardener, who was very loquacious and swelled with importance, told us, that since his residence there, the present Duke had greatly enlarged and improved the grounds; that he had beautified them by the addition of some well-placed ornaments, particularly the temple of Diana, and a noble cascade, round which are four river gods, represented as the guardian genii of the water.

This celebrated park was first enclosed in the reign of Henry the First. His successor, Henry the Second, resided at this seat, and erected in this park a palace, and encompassed it with a labyrinth, which was fair Rosamond's bower, celebrated by Addison. There are now no remains of it, except a spring at the foot of the hill, which still bears the name of Rosamond's Well. This palace is celebrated as the birth-place of Edmund, second son of Edward the First, and of Edward the Black Prince. Elizabeth was

kept a prisoner there under the persecutions of Queen Mary; and it continued to be the residence of kings until the reign of Charles the First, but it was demolished in succeeding times of confusion. There are now two sycamores planted as a memorial upon the spot where the old palace stood. The column will close my narrative. This is in front of the palace of Blenheim at about half a mile distance, and is one hundred and thirty feet high; on the top of which is John, Duke of Marlborough, and on which is the following inscription, supposed to be written by the late Lord Bolingbroke.

"The Castle of Blenheim was founded by Queen Anne,
In the fourth year of her reign,

In the year of the Christian era, 1705.

A monument designed to perpetuate the memory of the
Signal Victory

Obtained over the French and Bavarians
On the banks of the Danube

By John, Duke of Marlborough ;

The Hero not only of this nation, but of this age;
Whose glory was equal in the council and in the field.
Who, by wisdom, justice, candor, and address,
Reconciled various, and even opposite interests;
Acquired an influence

Which no rank, no authority can give,
Nor any force but that of superior virtue;
Became the fixed, important centre
Which united in one common cause
The principal States of Europe.
Who, by military knowledge and irresistible valor,
In a long series of uninterrupted triumphs,
Broke the power of France

When raised the highest, and when exerted the most;
Rescued the empire from desolation,

Asserted and confirmed the liberties of Europe."

Thus is the gratitude of the nation expressed, and thus do the heirs of Marlborough triumph. The present Duke is a man of literary pursuits, domestic, and a great astronomer. He has a fine observatory and apparatus. From this observatory he makes signals to Herschel at Windsor, and they study the stars together.

I have made a very long letter of it. I hope it may prove an amusement to you.

Remember me kindly to all inquiring friends, and believe me, my dear niece,

Your ever affectionate

MY DEAR SON,

TO JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.

A. A.

London, 12 October, 1787.

I CANNOT begin my letter by thanking you for yours. You write so seldom that you do not give me the opportunity. Yet I think you would feel disappointed if you did not get a few lines from me. I congratulate you upon your success at Commencement, and, as you have acquired a reputation upon entering the stage of the world, you will be no less solicitous to preserve and increase it through the whole drama. It is said of Hannibal, that he wanted nothing to the completion of his martial virtues, but that, when he had gained a victory, he should know how to use it. It is natural to the human heart, to

swell with presumption, when conscious of superior power; yet all human excellence is comparative, and he, who thinks he knows much to-day, will find much more still unattained, provided he is still eager in pursuit of knowledge.

Your friends are not anxious that you will be in any danger through want of sufficient application, but that a too ardent pursuit of your studies will impair your health, and injure those bodily powers and faculties upon which the vigor of the mind depends. Moderation in all things is conducive to human happiness, though this is a maxim little heeded by youth, whether their pursuits are of a sensual or a more refined and elevated kind.

It is an old adage, that a man at thirty must be either a fool or a physician. Though you have not arrived at that age, you would do well to trust to the advice and experience of those who have. Our bodies are framed of such materials as to require constant exercise to keep them in repair, to brace the nerves, and give vigor to the animal functions. Thus do I give you "line upon line, and precept upon precept."

By the time this reaches you, you will have heard of the humiliating condition of Holland. History does not furnish a more striking instance of abject submission and depression, totally and almost unresistingly conquered by a few Prussian troops; a nation, that formerly withstood the whole power and force of Spain, and gave such proofs of bravery and

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