Mr. Madden, in his "Life and Correspondence of the Countess of Blessington," says: "For nineteen years Lady Blessington had maintained, at first in Seamore Place, and afterwards at Kensington, a position almost queen-like in the world of intellectual distinction, in fashionable literary society, reigning over the best circles of London celebrities, and reckoning among her admiring friends, and the frequenters of her salons, the most eminent men of England in every walk of literature, art, and science, in statesmanship, in the military profession, and in every learned pursuit. For nineteen years she had maintained in London

fact to make a departure from the scene of all her former triumphs, with a privacy which must have been most painful and humiliating."

Count D'Orsay painted a large garden view of Gore House, with portraits of the Duke of Wellington, Lords Chesterfield, Douro, and Brougham, Sir E. Landseer, the Miss Powers, and other members of the fashionable circle that gathered there. "In the foreground, to the right," says a description of the picture, "are the great Duke and Lady Blessington; in the centre, Sir E. Landseer, seated, in the act of sketching a fine cow, with a calf by her side; Count D'Orsay himself, with two favourite dogs, is seen on the right of the group, and Lord Chesterfield on the left: nearer

Mr. Madden, in his book above quoted, gives us anecdotes of, or letters from, most of the visitors at Gore House when it was in its prime. Thomas Moore, who sang so touchingly as to unlock the fount of tears in the drawing-room, was often there; so were Horace and James Smith, the authors of the "Rejected Addresses;" so was Sir Henry Lytton Bulwer and his brother, the late Lord Lytton. Walter Savage Landor would repair thither, with his stern eyebrows and kindly heart;

celebrities, who, being added up together into one sum, made up, what Joseph Hume would have styled, the "tottle of the whole" of the Gore House circle. Mr. N. P. Willis thus records an incident during an evening here:-"We all sat round the piano, and, after two or three songs of Lady Blessington's choosing, Moore rambled over the keys awhile, and then sang 'When first I met thee,' with a pathos that beggars description. When the last word had faltered out, he rose and

Lady Blessington's "curiosities" and treasuresthe contents of the once favourite mansion-were disposed of by auction in the summer of 1849; and she herself went off to Paris, to die in debt, and deserted by her butterfly admirers, but a few weeks afterwards. The contents of the mansion are thus described in the catalogue of the sale: "Costly and elegant effects: comprising all the magnificent furniture, rare porcelain, sculpture in marble, bronzes, and an assemblage of objects of art and decoration; a casket of valuable jewellery and bijouterie, services of rich chased silver and silver-gilt plate, a superbly-fitted silver dressingcase; collection of ancient and modern pictures, including many portraits of distinguished persons, valuable original drawings, and fine engravings, framed and in portfolios; the extensive and interesting library of books, comprising upwards of 5,000 volumes, expensive table services of china. and rich cut glass, and an infinity of useful and valuable articles. All the property of the Right Hon. the Countess of Blessington, retiring to the Continent."

In 1851, during the time of the Great Exhibition, Gore House was made a "Symposium," or restaurant, by M. Alexis Soyer, whose cuisine, whilst chef of the Reform Club, enjoyed European fame.* Its walls were once more adorned with a splendour and costliness which it had not known for some years, though, possibly, not with equal taste as that which was so conspicuous under the régime of the clever and brilliant lady who had made it a home. Soyer first came to England on a visit to his brother, who was then cook to the Duke of Cambridge; and at Cambridge House he cooked his first dinner in England for the then Prince George. Soyer afterwards entered the service of various noblemen: amongst others, of Lord Ailsa, Lord Panmure, &c. He then was employed by the Reform Club, and the breakfast given by that club, on the occasion of the Queen's coronation, obtained him high commendation. Mr. Mark Boyd, in his "Social Gleanings," tells a good story about M. Soyer. "Meeting him in an omnibus, after his return from the Crimea, I congratulated him on the laurels he had gained with

• See Vol. IV., p. 149.

managed this under the privations to which our brave fellows were exposed from short rations, and often from no rations at all! 'Dere is my merit, Monsieur Boyd,' he replied, for I did make good dishes out of nothing."" It is to be feared that his words were literally true.

The Gore House estate, comprising some twentyone acres, was purchased in 1852 by the Commissioners of the Great Exhibition, out of the surplus fund of that Exhibition, for the sum of £60,000, as a site for a new National Gallery; and the Baron de Villars' estate, adjoining, nearly fifty acres, fronting the Brompton Road, was bought for £153,500, as a site for a Museum of Manufactures; "these localities being recommended for the dryness of the soil, and as the only ground safe for future years amidst the growth of the metropolis." On the latter site, as we have shown in the previous chapter, the South Kensington Museum and the Schools of Art and Science have been erected; but instead of the National Gallery, the ground at Kensington Gore was made to serve as the site for the Albert Hall, &c.

Park House, at the eastern end of the Gore, close by Prince's Gate, indicates the northern boundary of the once famous Kensington or Brompton Park Nursery, which figures in the pages of the Spectator as the establishment of Messrs. Loudon and Wise, the most celebrated gardeners of their time. Near to this was Noel House, so called from having been built by one of the Campdens. Hamilton Lodge, Kensington Gore, was the occasional residence of John Wilkes, who here entertained Counts Woronzow and Nesselrode, and Sir Philip Francis. At Palace Gate lives Mr. J. E. Millais, R.A. De Vere Gardens, close by, perpetuate the memory of the Veres, Earls of Oxford.

A little to the west of Kensington Gore, immediately opposite to the broad walk of Kensington Gardens, was, in 1850-1, Batty's Grand National Hippodrome. Its site, which lies at the back of the Prince of Wales' Terrace, covering a considerable space of ground between the two thoroughfares known as Palace Gate and Victoria Road, was for many years used as a riding school, but was ultimately given up for building purposes. Near the old turnpike, which stood a little westward of Gore House, was a small inn known as the halfway house between London and Hammersmith. It was a curious and picturesque structure, but was swept away about the year 1860.

Opposite Queen's Gate Gardens, and adjoining the Gloucester Road, on the west side of the

Horticultural Gardens, is St. Stephen's Church, built in 1866, from the designs of Mr. Joseph Peacock, and is an architectural ornament to the neighbourhood. In this immediate locality was Orford Lodge, built on the site of the "Old Florida Tea Gardens," for the late Duchess of Gloucester, after whom Gloucester Road is named. The Lodge was subsequently tenanted by the Princess Sophia, and also by the Right Hon. George Canning, who was here visited by Queen Caroline. The house was taken down in the year 1852. The thoroughfare which connected Chelsea with the great western road through the village between the Gore and Kensington Square rejoiced in the not

123

very pleasant-sounding name of "Hogmire Lane" a name, however, suggestive of farm-yards and piggeries, which then, doubtless, were plentiful in the neighbourhood.

Christ Church, in the Victoria Road, is a fine edifice, of Gothic design, dating from the year 1851, and accommodating about 800 persons. All its seats are open. It was built from the designs of Mr. Benjamin Ferrey. The architecture is of the Decorated style, varying from geometrical to flowing. It comprises a nave and chancel, tower and spire. The windows throughout are of flowered quarries; that at the east end is a rich diaper pattern, copied from one in York Minster.

HITHERTO, since leaving the side of the river at Chelsea, we have been mostly passing over modern ground, which a century ago was scantily dotted with private residences, and which, therefore, can scarcely be expected as yet to have much of a past history. But now, as we look round the "Old Court Suburb❞ of Kensington, and its venerable and somewhat narrow High Street, we find ourselves again confronted with houses and persons of an earlier era, and, consequently, we shall be able to dwell at greater length on the annals and anecdotes of which Kensington has been the scene. The Palace and the Church, of course, will form our central objects, to which, perhaps, we ought to add that old-world haunt of fashion, Kensington Square. The old town of Kensington consisted principally of one long street, extending about three-quarters of a mile in length, from the Gore to Earl's Terrace; but even that thoroughfare is of comparatively modern growth, for the only highway for travellers westward, in former times, was the old Roman (or present Uxbridge) Road, then bending southerly (as it still branches) to Turnham Green. Within the last century a number of small streets have been built on either side. Bowack, in his "History of Middlesex," thus describes the place in the middle of the last century:-" This

town, standing in a wholesome air, not above three miles from London, has ever been resorted to by persons of quality and citizens, and for many years past honoured with several fine seats belonging to the Earls of Nottingham and Warwick. We cannot, indeed, find it was ever taken notice of in history, except for the great western road through it, nor hath anything occurred in it that might perpetuate its name, till his late Majesty, King William, was pleased to ennoble it with his court and royal presence. Since which time it has flourished even almost beyond belief, and is inhabited by gentry and persons of note; there is also abundance of shopkeepers, and all sorts of artificers in it, which makes it appear rather like part of London than a country village. It is, with its dependencies, about three times as big as Chelsea, in number of houses, and in summer time extremely filled with lodgers, for the pleasure of the air, walks, and gardens round it, to the great advantage of its inhabitants. The buildings are chiefly of brick, regular, and built into streets; the largest is that through which the road lies, reclining back from the Queen's House, a considerable way beyond the church. From the church runs a row of buildings towards the north, called Church Lane; but the most beautiful part