The death of the Prince having occurred before the work was completed, the memorial was made into a lasting tribute to the "great founder of the Exhibition." The idea embodied is Britannia (typified by the Prince) supported by the four quarters of the globe-signifying that the Exhibition originated in England, and was supported by all other nations. The monument stands upwards of forty feet in height, and represents the Prince in his robes as Grand Master of the Order of the Bath. The body of the memorial is of grey granite, with columns and panels of red polished Aberdeen granite; the statue of the Prince, and also those of the figures representing each quarter of the globe, being of bronze.

The Royal Horticultural Society, whose gardens, | memorate the International Exhibition of 1851. as we have already stated, are enclosed by the Exhibition buildings on the south side of the Royal Albert Hall, was established in 1804, and incorporated by royal charter soon afterwards. The society was instituted for the improvement of horticulture in all its branches, and it has an extensive experimental garden at Chiswick, five miles from London, laid out tastefully, and filled with many rare plants. These gardens have acquired great celebrity from their having been established at a period when gardening was in a very low condition in this country, and from having been the means of raising it to its present greatly-improved state. Previously to purchasing the land at Chiswick, the Horticultural Society had temporarily occupied a small piece of ground at Brompton, not far from the gardens which we are about to notice. In 1859 the society obtained (through the late Prince Consort) possession of about twenty acres of land on this site, and new and splendid gardens were laid out. These were opened in the summer of 1862, forming a charming retreat from the bustle of the Exhibition.

In 1883 a large portion of the gardens of the Horticultural Society was utilised for the purposes of an International Fisheries Exhibition, which was opened by the Prince of Wales on the 12th of May. The exhibition was held in several temporary buildings, covering nearly twelve acres of ground. It was designed with the view of illustrating sea and fresh-water fishing in all its branches, Between the Kensington Road and Cromwell fish-culture, fishing-boats, fish-curing, fishing-tackle Road the ground falls about forty feet, and using and apparatus of all kinds, lifeboats and life-saving this fact in aid of a general effect, the ground has apparatus, diving apparatus, indeed, everything been divided into three principal levels. The immediately relating to and connected with the entrances to the gardens are on the lower level actual working of all kinds of fishing. Among the in Exhibition Road and Queen's Gate, and the more interesting features of the exhibition were the central pathway, upwards of seventy-five feet wide, aquaria of sea and fresh water, well stocked with ascending through terraces to the third great level, fish, anemones, aquatic plants, &c.; also the fine leads to the winter garden or conservatory. The collection of pictures of marine subjects, and the whole garden is surrounded by Italian arcadés, each collection of stuffed and preserved fish, and casts, of the three levels having arcades of a different and drawings; together with specimens and reprecharacter. The upper, or north arcade, where the sentations illustrative of the relations between exboundary is semi-circular in form, is a modification tinct and existing fishes. The boat used by Grace of the arcades of the Villa Albani at Rome. The Darling and her father, in 1838, in their gallant central arcade is almost wholly of Milanese brick-rescue of nine of the sufferers from the wreck of work, interspersed with terra-cotta, majolica, &c., the Forfarshire among the Farne Islands, was while the design for the south arcade has been exhibited, as also was the old Royal state barge adapted from the beautiful cloisters of St. John which was built in the reign of James II. Prizes Lateran at Rome. None of these arcades are less were offered for essays connected with the objects than twenty feet wide and twenty-five feet high, and of the Exhibition: on such subjects as the natural they give a promenade, sheltered from all weathers, history of commercial sea fishes of Great Britain more than three-quarters of a mile in length. The and Ireland, with special reference to such parts of arcades and earthworks were executed by the Com- their natural history as bear upon their production missioners for the Exhibition of 1851, at a cost of and commercial use; as to the effect of the laws for £50,000, while the laying-out of the gardens and the regulation and protection of fisheries; on construction of the conservatory were executed by improved facilities for the capture and economic the Horticultural Society, and cost about the same distribution of sea fishes; and on improved fishery On the upper terrace, in front of the conser harbour accommodation. Conferences were also vatory, and at the head of a lake, stands a memorial | held for reading and discussing papers on subjects of the late Prince Consort, the work of Mr. Joseph connected with the exhibitions; and instruction Durham, sculptor, originally intended only to com-in cooking fish was given.

sum.

Descent of the Manor-A Parochial Enigma-Derivation of the Name of Kensington-Thackeray's "Esmond "-Leigh Hunt's ReminiscencesGore House-Mr. Wilberforce, the Philanthropist-Lord Rodney-The Countess of Blessington and her Admirers-An Anecdote of Louis Napoleon-Count D'Orsay's Picture-A Touching Incident-Sale of the Contents of Gore House, and Death of the Countess of Blessington -M. Soyer's "Symposium "-Sale of the Gore House Estate-Park House-Hamilton Lodge, the Residence of John Wilkes-Batty's Hippodrome-St. Stephen's Church-Orford Lodge-Christ Church.

was Grand Justiciary of England, and was created Earl of Oxford by the Empress Maud. Upon the attainder of John, Earl of Oxford, who was be

KENSINGTON, which is technically described as a suburb of London, in the Hundred of Ossulston, has long enjoyed distinction from its Palace, in which several successive sovereigns of the Hano-headed during the struggle for power between the verian line held their court, and which was the birth-place of Queen Victoria. In the time of the Domesday survey the manor of Kensington was owned by the Bishop of Coutances, to whom it was granted by William the Conqueror. It was at that time held by Aubrey de Vere, and subsequently, as history tells us, it became the absolute property of the De Veres, who afterwards gave twenty Earls of Oxford to the English peerage. Aubrey de Vere

houses of York and Lancaster, the manor was bestowed by Edward IV. on his brother Richard, Duke of Gloucester. After passing through the hands of the Marquis of Berkeley and Sir Reginald Bray, the property returned (as is supposed by purchase) to John, Earl of Oxford, son of the attainted nobleman above mentioned. The manor is said to have again passed from that family, probably by sale, in the reign of Elizabeth; and early

in the seventeenth century the Earl of Argyll and three other persons joined in a conveyance of the property to Sir Walter Cope, whose daughter conveyed it by marriage to Henry Rich, Earl of Holland. The manor subsequently passed into the hands of Lord Kensington, who was maternally descended from Robert Rich, last Earl of Warwick and Holland, and whose barony, singularly enough, is an Irish one, although the title is derived from this place.

Parochially considered, Kensington is somewhat of an enigma, for it is not only more than Kensington in some places, but it is not Kensington itself in others. In Kensington parish, for instance, are included Earl's Court, Little Chelsea, Old and New Brompton, Kensal Green, and even some of the houses in Sloane Street; while, on the other hand, Kensington Palace and Kensington Gardens are not in Kensington, but in the parish of St. Margaret's, Westminster.

The place, which now forms, as it were, part and parcel of London, was down to comparatively recent times a village, one mile and a half from Hyde Park Corner. The name is stated by some topographers to be derived from Koennigston, or from the Saxon Kyning's-tun, a term synonymous with King's End Town, and to be the same word as Kennington and Kingston; our monarchs from the earliest date having had residences at all three places. Possibly, however, the "Ken" may be an equivalent to "Kaen," or "Caen," which lies at the root of "Kentish" Town, "Caen-wood," &c.; but we will leave the origin of the name to be discussed by antiquaries, and pass on to a survey of the district in detail.

at Kensington Gore to its termination beyond Holland House, in which you are not greeted with the face of some pleasant memory. Here, to 'minds' eyes' conversant with local biography, stands a beauty looking out of a window; there, a wit talking with other wits at a garden-gate; there, a poet on the green sward, glad to get out of the London smoke and find himself among trees. Here come De Veres of the times of old; Hollands and Davenants, of the Stuart and Cromwell times; Evelyn, peering about him soberly, and Samuel Pepys in a bustle. Here advance Prior, Swift, Arbuthnot, Gay, Sir Isaac Newton; Steele, from visiting Addison; Walpole, from visiting the Foxes; Johnson, from a dinner with Elphinstone; 'Junius,' from a communication with Wilkes. Here, in his carriage, is King William III. going from the palace to open Parliament; Queen Anne, for the same purpose; George I. and George II. (we shall have the pleasure of looking at all these personages a little more closely); and there, from out of Kensington Gardens, comes bursting, as if the whole recorded polite world were in flower at one and the same period, all the fashion of the gayest times of those sovereigns, blooming with chintzes, full-blown with hoop-petticoats, towering with topknots and toupees. Here comes 'Lady Mary,' quizzing everybody; and Lady Suffolk, looking discreet; there, the lovely Bellendens and Lepels; there, Miss Howe, laughing with Nancy Lowther (who made her very grave afterwards); there Chesterfield, Hanbury Williams, Lord Hervey; Miss Chudleigh, not over clothed; the Miss Gunnings, drawing crowds of admirers; and here is George Selwyn, interchanging wit with my Lady Townshend, the 'Lady Bellaston' (so, at least, it has been said) of 'Tom Jones.'" Probably there is not an old house in Kensington in which some distinguished person has not lived, during the reigns in which the Court resided there; but the houses themselves are, as Leigh Hunt puts it, "but dry bones, unless invested with interests of flesh and blood."

"Whatever was the origin of its name," writes Leigh Hunt, in the "Old Court Suburb," "there is no doubt that the first inhabited spot of Kensington was an inclosure from the great Middlesex forest which once occupied this side of London, and which extended northwards as far as Barnet." Kensington has been always a favourite, not only with royalty, but with those who more or less bask in the sunshine of princes-poets, painters, &c. The healthfulness and fashion of the place attracted numerous families of distinction; and its importance was completed when William III. bought the house and grounds of the Finch family (Earls of Nottingham), and converted the former into a palace, and the latter into royal gardens. It is emphatically "the old Court suburb," and is familiar to all readers of Thackeray, who has por-east of the chief public entrance to the Albert Hall. trayed its features in many of his writings, especially in "Esmond." Leigh Hunt observes that "there is not a step of the way, from its commencement

The Royal Albert Hall and the gardens of the Horticultural Society occupy the site of Gore House and grounds. This is probably the estate called the Gara, or the Gare, which Herbert, Abbot of Westminster, gave to the nuns of Kilburn. spot was, according to John Timbs, anciently called Kyng's Gore. Old Gore House was a low, plain, and unpretending building, painted white, and abutted on the roadway, about 150 yards to the

The

Its external beauty, if it had any, belonged to its southern, or garden side. Standing close to the roadside, it looked as if meant originally for the

lodge of some great mansion which had never actually been built; and the row, of which it formed a part, as Leigh Hunt observes, in his "Old Court Suburb," might easily lead one to imagine that it had been divided into apartments for the retainers of the Court, and that either a supernumerary set of maids of honour had lived there, or else that some four or five younger brothers of lords of the bedchamber had been the occupants, and expecting places in reversion. "The two houses," adds the writer, "seem to be nothing but one large drawingroom. They possess, however, parlours and second storeys at the back, and they have good gardens, so that, what with their flowers behind them, the park in front, and their own neatness and elegance, the miniature aristocracy of their appearance is not ill borne out."

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was always most anxious to avoid. Mrs. Wilberforce supported in this mansion a school for poor girls, which was under her own personal superintendence. At Gore House the gallant admiral, Lord Rodney, was for some time "laid up in port."

Mr. Wilberforce having occupied the house for thirteen years, from 1808 down to 1821, it next passed into the hands of a new meditator, but not so much on the beauties of nature as on those of art and literature-one who was more spirituelle in salons, that "spiritual" in Wilberforce's sense of the term-the "gorgeous" Countess of Blessington became in turn its proprietor. She lived here during her widowhood, surrounded by a bright and fashionable crowd of aristocratic and literary admirers. Gore House became indeed a centre of attraction to the world of letters; for besides giving such dinners as Dr. Johnson would have thought

herself on her success in "bringing people together," in order to please and be pleased in turn. Here were such men of the last generation as Lord Melbourne, the poet Campbell, Samuel Rogers, and many of the beaux of "the Regency" and of the reign of George IV., including Count D'Orsay, who married Lady Blessington's daughter, and made the house his home.

Here, for the best part of half a century, distinguished statesmen and philanthropists, and after-"worth being asked to," Lady Blessington prided wards the light and frivolous butterflies of West-end society, used to mix with men of letters and the votaries of science. Here the "lions" of the day were entertained from time to time; and there were few houses to which the entrée was more coveted. At the end of the last century it was little more than a cottage, with a pleasant garden in the rear attached to it, and it was tenanted by a Government contractor, who does not seem to have cared to go to any expense in keeping it in order. Early in the present century it was enlarged on coming into the possession of Mr. Wilberforce, who soon grew very fond of the spot, and here used to entertain Mr. Pitt, Lord Auckland (who lived hard by), and such eminent philanthropists as Clarkson, Stephen, Zachary Macaulay, and Romilly; indeed, it has often been said that the agitation which ended in the abolition of West Indian slavery was commenced in the library of Gore House. Of this place Mr. Wilberforce often speaks in his private correspondence; and in one place he mentions his rus in urbe in the following terms:-"We are just one mile from the turnpike at Hyde Park Corner, having about three acres of pleasure-ground around our house, or rather behind it, and several old trees, walnut and mulberry, of thick foliage. I can sit and read under their shade with as much admiration of the beauties of Nature as if I were down in Yorkshire, or anywhere else 200 miles from the great city." Here, too, his four sons, including the future Bishop of Oxford and of Winchester, were mainly brought up in their childhood and boyhood; and in the later years of its hospitable owner's life it is on record that "its costliness made him at times uneasy, lest it should force him to curtail his charities," a thing which he

"At Gore House," writes Mr. Blanchard Jerrold, "Prince Louis Napoleon met most of the intellectual society of the time, and became the friend of Count D'Orsay, Sir E. Lytton Bulwer, Sir Henry Holland, Albany Fonblanque, and many others who formed Lady Blessington's circle." The Prince dined at Gore House with a small party of West-end friends and acquaintances, including Lord Nugent and "Poodle" Byng, on the evening before he started off on his wild and abortive effort to make a descent on Boulogne in August, 1840. "It was the fashion in that day," says Mr. Planché, in his "Recollections," "to wear black satin handkerchiefs for evening dress; and that of the Prince was fastened by a large spread eagle in diamonds, clutching a thunderbolt of rubies. There was in England at that time but one man who, without the impeachment of coxcombry, could have sported so magnificent a jewel; and though to my knowledge I had never seen him before, I felt convinced that he could be no other than Prince Louis Napoleon. Such was the fact. . . . There was a general conversation on indifferent matters for some twenty minutes, during which the Prince spoke but little, and then took his departure with Count Montholon. Shortly afterwards, Lord Nugent, Mr. Byng, and I, said good night, and walked townward together. As