Previous to describing the alterations that have been made in this division of the Castle, we propose to conduct the visitant ove that part of the Castle to which the public are admitted. State Apartments. This splendid suite of rooms command a most beautiful prospect of the surrounding country, and are enriched with a valuable collection of paintings, by the first masters, originally made by Charles II. and considerably augmented in the reign of George III. Entering by a door under a Gothic porch, adjoining to King John's Tower, a staircase conducts the visitor to a small open vestibule. From this spot is seen a splendid portrait of the late Sir Jeffry Wyatville, the architect, by whose unrivalled talent this princely residence of British monarchs has been restored to its present state; surpassing in grandeur and magnificence all the castellated buildings in Europe. This was the last portrait painted by Sir Thomas Lawrence, by command of George IV., and placed here by order of his late Majesty: it has also been proposed to place opposite to this portrait one of Sir Christopher Wren. The rooms are shown in the following order :— THE QUEEN'S AUDIENCE CHAMBER. The ceiling of this apartment is painted by Verrio; the subject is Queen Catherine, personified as Britannia, sitting in a triumphal car, drawn by swans, and attended by Flora, Ceres, Pomona, and other goddesses; the Temple of Virtue forms her destination, and the painting is decorated by several ornaments heightened with gold. The walls are decorated with the finest specimens of Gobelin tapestry, representing the history of Queen Esther and Mordecai; and which from their superior workmanship and freshness of colour, may at a cursory view be readily taken for oil paintings. On the left, as you enter, is the purification.— The centre piece is Mordecai's triumph, where Haman is represented leading the horse on which Mordecai is seated. The third compartment is the Coronation of Esther. Frederick, Prince of Orange, grandfather of Wil- Honthorst Honthorst "Mary, Queen of Scotland, by right Princess and legitimate heiress of England and Ireland, mother of James, King of Great Britain, tormented by the heresy of her people, overcome by rebellion, and relying on the promise of her relation, Queen Elizabeth, repaired to England for safety in the year 1568. She was perfideously detained a prisoner for nineteen years, when the English Parliament, stimulated by religious animosity, by an inhuman sentence condemned her to death, and on the 18th of February, 1587, she was beheaded by the common executioner, in the 45th year of her age and of her reign. Mary is represented holding a crucifix in her right hand, and in her left a breviary; the execution, which took place at Fotheringay Castle after an imprisonment of nineteen years, is painted in the back ground. Latin: The painting also bears the following inscription in "Her most gracious Majesty, the daughter, consort, and mother of kings, is, in the presence of the officers and ministers of Queen Elizabeth, struck by the axe of the executioner, and after barbarously wounding her by a first and second blow, at the third attempt he severs her head from her body. "Thus the once powerful Queen of France and Scotland ascends the fatal scaffold, with a mind unconquered but devout; she spurns at tyranny and treachery; she upholds the Catholic faith; her past and present life openly and clearly proclaim her a daughter of the Roman Church." THE QUEEN'S PRESENCE CHAMBER. Catherine, Queen of Charles II., is the principal figure in this ceiling, seated under a canopy spread by Time, and supported by Zephyrs, while Religion, Prudence, Fortitude, and other virtues are in attendance on her; Fame is proclaiming the happiness of the country, and Justice is driving away sedition, envy, and discord, this is also painted by Verrio. The walls are wainscoted with oak, and decorated with four large and splendid specimens of the Gobelin tapestry, being a continuation of the history of Queen Esther and Mordecai :-viz., as you enter on the left is Haman's Downfall. The king is commanding Haman's seizure, and they cover his face and seize him by the beard. Next to this is Mordecai's obstinacy, where he is represented as standing with his hands crossed, and would not bow the knee. The third compartment is the Intercession for the Jews, where Esther is represented as fainting previous to the king's holding out to her the sceptre of mercy. The fourth compartment is the Banquet. Esther and Ahasuerus are seated on the right, and at the other end of the table Haman is receiving a cup. (Designed by Detroy. Rome, 1737.) It will be seen that these subjects are not placed historically, but to suit the rooms. Over the door is a full-length portrait of Princess Henrietta, Duchess of Orleans, youngest daughter Mytens Mytens P. Mignard The beautiful chimney piece, representing Vigilance and Patience, is by J. R. Bacon, 1789. The carved work in this room was executed by G. Gibbon, in the time of Charles II., and is very magnificent. THE GUARD CHAMBER Is 78 feet long, 21 feet wide at one end, and in consequence of a break in the wall, 26 at the other, and 31 feet high. The ceiling is groined, the massive mouldings of which rest on corbels, supported by grotesque heads, and richly flowered bosses over the principal intersections. Both ceiling and walls are of plaister, painted in imitation of stone. The arms and specimens of ancient armour deposited in this spacious room are very ingeniously disposed; there are four whole-length figures clothed in armour, with their lances, standing on brackets, two on each side of the room, and two also at the south end; the date and by whom worn is written on the bracket. The coats of mail in which these are clothed all belong to the period which these figures represent, and are, some of them, the earliest and most perfect specimens in this country. There are also piles of ancient armour on either side of the room, including that of Charles Prince of Wales, 1620; Henry, Prince of Wales, 1612; Lord Howard, 1588; Duke of Brunswick, 1530; Lord Essex, 1596; and Prince Rupert, 1635. At the south end, on a part of the fore-mast of the Victory, which was perforated by a ball at the battle of Trafalgar, on the 21st of October, 1805, stands a splendid colossal bust of the immortal Nelson, the work of Sir F. Chantrey, and near this is suspended a massive chandelier of bronze of a beautiful Gothic design. A bust of Queen Anne's hero, the Duke of Marlborough, by Sevier, from the original, by Rysbrack, occupies a station on the left, over which is suspended the tributary banner, with the fleur-delis presented from Blenheim on the 2nd of August; this celebrated battle was fought in 1704. On the opposite side is a beautifully executed bust by Chantrey of the Duke of Wellington, the hero of Waterloo, with the tri-colour banner from Strathfieldsaye, presented on the 18th of June, the glorious battle of Waterloo being fought on that day in the year 1815. On either side of Nelson's bust is a beautiful piece of ordnance, taken from Tippoo Saib at the storming of Seringa patam in 1792. By the side of the mast of the Victory is a seven-barrelled musket, presented to George IV. when Prince of Wales. On a table made of the timber raised from the wreck of the Royal George, sunk at Spithead, August, 1782, and recovered October 1839, is placed in a glass case a corroded musket taken from the same wreck. The beautiful silver shield inlaid with gold, by Benvenuto Cellini, presented by Francis of France to Henry the Eighth, on the Field of the Cloth of Gold, is fixed in a glass case, and revolves on a pivot over the chimney piece. The subject is Cæsar and Pompey: the head of pompey, with the ring, is presented to Cæsar, "Who turns away his head with horror and sheds a flood of tears." On the shield is the following Latin inscription : Meitus hic minimvs magnam capit ambitionem. Svstulit è medio magni vitamqve discvsqve. Cæsaris in cœlvm mitis clementia fert. Qvæ tamen hvic tandem perniciosa fvit. Annvlvs excit ei lachrymas, cervixque resecta. Hvic præsaga mali talia fata fore. Si vires igitvr spectavens ambitionis. ST. GEORGE'S, THE GRAND BANQUETING HALL, Is 200 feet long, 34 feet broad, and 32 feet high. A visitor, on going into this room, would probably be more struck with its princely dimensions than surprised by that extreme magnificence in the embellishments which captivates the sight on entering the Ball Room. In this latter respect, the hall, previous to the late alterations, could boast of numerous pictorial embellishments, the walls and ceiling being tastefully ornamented by Verrio, in a variety of poetic and historical subjects. But although we miss the cupids and the muses, and the gay and gaudy paintings of the Italian artist, which were, however, well suited to the time of the second Charles, in which they were executed, still it may be supposed that the nature of the present decorations, and the pure simplicity of style, are more accordant with the grandeur of the hall, and harmonize more with the character of its patron saint. The new ceiling is in the Gothic style, from a design by Sir Jeffry Wyatville; in form, it is a flat |