ROYAL PALACES.

Buckingham Palace-St. James's Palace-Marlborough House-Whitehall-Kensington Palace.

THE palaces belonging to the crown in London are-Buckingham Palace, the Queen's town-house; St. James's, where Court drawing-rooms, levees, etc., take place; Kensington Palace, which has been for some time unoccupied; a fragment of the large palace which formerly stood at Whitehall, namely, the Chapel Royal, built for a banquetting house; and Marlborough House, Pall Mall, the residence of the Prince of Wales.

BUCKINGHAM PALACE, St James' Park.-On this site stood a house, built in 1703 in the Dutch style by Sheffield Duke of Buckingham. George III. purchased it in 1761 for £21,000, and shortly afterwards removed there from St. James'. All their children, except the Prince of Wales, were born in that plain brick mansion, where the splendid library was formed which is now at the British Museum. George III. passed away, but the house, " dull, dowdy, and decent," stood on until 1825, when, by direction of his successor, Nash undertook to reconstruct it, but adhering to the old site and dimensions. It is much to be regretted that an entirely new palace was not built by some architect of skill and taste. Neither George IV. nor his brother William IV. lived in it, but it was open to the visits of the public in 1831. Mr. Blore had previously raised the building a storey. In July 1837, Queen Victoria took possession of the palace, and has continued to reside there when in London ever since. The private apartments extend along the north front. The palace having become too small for the Queen's increasing family, and affording no accommodation for the reception of foreign sovereigns when visiting Her Majesty, a large addition, in the

shape of an east wing, was commenced in 1846 from Mr. Blore's designs. This wing is 360 feet long and 77 feet high, and stands 70 feet in advance of the other wings. It cost £150,000. In 1851 the marble arch which stood on the east side of the palace, and formed its entrance gate, was removed to Hyde Park, and a state ball-room was afterwards erected on the south side. This ball-room is 111 feet long by 60 wide. Here are hung Vandyck's portraits of Charles I. and his queen, and portraits of Queen Victoria and her husband. The adjoining supper room is 76 feet by 60. In the sculpture gallery are busts of the royal family and eminent statesmen. The library contains a valuable collection of books made by the present sovereign, for George III.'s valuable collection is now in the British Museum. The grand staircase is of marble, the ceiling ornamented with frescoes by Townsend. Tickets of admission to this hall to see the Queen pass in state on her way to open, prorogue, or dissolve Parliament, are issued by the Lord Chamberlain. The Green Drawing Room is in the middle of the east front, and opens on the upper portico. The Throne Room, 64 feet long, is gorgeously decorated with crimson satin, and gilding. The marble frieze, representing the wars of the Roses, was designed by Stothard-his last great design—and sculptured by Baily. In a recess is placed the royal throne, and here the Queen receives addresses, surrounded by her ministers and officers of state. Privy Councils are also held in this room.

The Picture Gallery, 180 feet long by 26 wide, is in the centre of the palace, and runs from north to south, forming a corridor, opening at each side into suites of apartments. The lighting is said not to be well contrived, and to be insufficient. Here are placed about 200 pictures, principally collected by George IV., whose taste led him to the selection of Dutch and Flemish paintings. He began to collect in 1802, and was assisted by Sir Charles Long, afterwards Lord Farnborough. Sir Francis Baring's very select gallery was purchased for £24,000, although it is said to have been valued at £80,000. "On the whole (says Mrs. Jameson), this is certainly the finest gallery of this class of works in England." Of Berghem there are six examples Cuyp 9, G. Douw 8, Karel du Jardin 5, de Hooghe 2, G. Metzu 6, Franz Mieris 4, Wilhelm Mieris 3, Adrian Ostade 9, Isaac Ostade 2, Paul Potter 4, Rembrandt 7, Rubens 7, Jan Steen 6, David Teniers 14, Terburg 2, Vandyck 4, Adrian van der Velde

7, W. van der Velde 4, Philip Wouvermans 9, Wattean 5. Here is also Wilkie's Blind Man's Buff. To see the pictures, an order must be obtained from the Lord Chamberlain when the Queen is not at the palace.

In the gardens, which are about 40 acres in extent, is a pavilion, the centre room of which is adorned with eight frescoes by eight painters, the subjects taken from Milton's Comus. Other rooms are beautifully embellished with paintings. The chapel where the court attends divine service is in the garden; it was formerly a conservatory.

The Queen's stables or mews are in Queen's Row, at the rear of the palace, from which they are concealed by a high mound. Here are the State Coach (designed by Sir. W. Chambers in 1762, painted by Cipriani, and built at a cost of £7600), and the ordinary carriages, of which there are houses for forty; a room for state harness; a riding house; and stables for the royal stud. To see the mews an order must be obtained from the Master of the Horse. The term "mews," now generally applied to a stableyard in London, arose from the fact of some royal stables having been built upon the place where the king's hawks had been kept. 66 They were so called," says Pennant, "from the original use of the buildings, having been used for keeping the king's falcons, at least from the time of Richard II."

ST. JAMES' PALACE, Pall Mall, at the foot of St. James' Street, stands on the site of a lepers' hospital, dedicated to that saint. Henry VIII. obtained the hospital in exchange for some land, and having pulled it down, he erected a "faire mansion," and made a park out of the meadows round about. Holbein is thought to have designed the house. The gate-house and turrets facing St. James' Street belong to the original structure. Here Mary died; here Charles II., his nephew the old Pretender, and George IV. were born. Queen Anne, the four Georges, and William IV. resided in the palace, which has had many additions made to it since Henry VIII.'s time. In 1814 the Emperor of Russia, King of Prussia, and Marshal Blücher, were lodged in the palace. Queen Victoria only holds drawing-rooms and levees here, having always used Buckingham Palace as her residence. Some members of the royal family have apartments here; and part of the palace is used for the transaction of the business of the great officers of state.

Passing through the gate-way we enter the quadrangle, called

the Colour Court, from the colours of the household regiment on duty being placed in it. The band plays for a short time at eleven o'clock daily. The Ambassadors' Court is to the west, and beyond it is Stable Yard, where stands Stafford House, the Duke of Sutherland's residence. The State Rooms are in the south front, looking across the gardens into the park. They contain a few pictures, chiefly portraits. In the Chapel Royal divine service is performed at noon and half-past five P.M. on Sundays by the gentlemen of the choir, and ten boy choristers. Admission by ticket in the afternoon. Several of the nobility have seats; the late Duke of Wellington regularly attended the then early service at 8 A.M. The Queen no longer comes here. Charles I. attended service in this chapel on the morning of his execution, and walked thence through the park to Whitehall guarded by soldiers. Many royal marriages have been celebrated in this chapel, including that of the Queen and Prince Albert.

With regard to presentations at Court, information may be obtained at the offices of the Lord Chamberlain in St. James' Palace, or of the Lord Steward at Buckingham Palace. The carriages freighted with beautiful and richly dressed women going to a drawing room, form one of the sights of London. On such occasions the Yeomen of the Guard, a body first instituted by Henry VII., line the Guard Chamber, carrying partisans, and dressed as they were in the time of Charles II. The Gentlemenat-Arms, another body that comes out on these days, wear a uniform of scarlet and gold, and carry small battle-axes, covered with crimson velvet. This body was first instituted by Henry VIII. A nobleman, with the title of captain, is at the head of each body, and these officers are usually changed when the ministry is changed.

MARLBOROUGH HOUSE, the town residence of the Prince of Wales, stands at the west end of Pall Mall, next to St. James' Palace. The garden front is cheerful, that towards Pall Mall is gloomy, and much concealed from public view by a wall. The house was built in 1710 for the first Duke of Marlborough, from Wren's designs. The duke and his duchess both died here. It was bought in 1817 for the Princess Charlotte and her husband, Prince Leopold. The latter lived in it for some years. After the death of William IV. his widow resided here. A new portico has been added, and other improvements have been made, to fit it for a residence for the young Prince, on whom the eyes