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334

HIS MAJESTY'S CHARACTER.

constant and affectionate; as a Father, mild and exemplary; as a Master, humane, condescending and benevolent. The various public acts of THE REIGN will find their place in the pages of the historian, and make no part of this inquiry; but it will be no small boast for Windsor, that it enjoyed for so long a time, and benefited in so great a degree, by the presence and affection of GEORGE THE THIRD."

I am,

My dear young Friend,

Yours, &c.

J. E.

* See a History of Windsor and its Neighbourhood, by JAMES HAKEWILL, Architect; a well-written Quarto Volume, enriched by various embellishments. It is printed by Mr. A. J. Valpy, son of my much esteemed friend Dr. Richard Valpy, of READING.—I shall only add, that the elegance of its Engravings is equalled only by the neatness and accuracy of its TYPOGRA

PHY,

LETTER XI.

ORIGIN OF THE NAME OF WINDSOR; Old and new windsor CORPORATION OF WINDSOR; TOWN-HALL, WITH ITS PICTURES AND STATUES; CHURCH AND MONUMENTS; FREE-SCHOOL; POPULATION; BARRACKS, WIth reflectionS; VERY SINGULAR FAMILY; MERRY Wives of WINDSOR; HEARNE'S OAK; LITTLE PARK; OLD WINDSOR; ITS ROMANTIC CHURCH-YARD; LINES BY THE VICAR; TOMB OF MARY ROBINSON; COTTAGE OF PRINCESS ELIZABETH; FROGgmore house; CURIOSITIES, GARDENS, AND FETES; DATCHET; ETON COLLEGE; ITS HISTORY AND FAMOUS SCHOLARS; SINGULAR PROCESSION; ITS NATURE AND END; ETton college d'ESCRIBED, AND ITS CHURCH-YARD ; EVER MEMORABLE JOHN HALES; HIS BIOGRAPHY AND CHARACTER; LIBRARY OF BTON COLLEGE; POETICAL DESCRIPTION OF A LIBRARY; ETON WALKS; GRAY AND JOHNSON; VILLAGE OF SLOUGH; VISIT TO DR. HERSCHEL.; HIS GREAT TELESCOPE; HIS REMARKS ON ORRERIES; SONNET ON ASTRONOMY; OBSERVATORY AT GREENWICH; SKETCH OF WINDSOR FOREST; NATURE AND EXTENT; PRESENT CONDITION; VILLAGE OF BINFIELD; ITS CHURCH, WITH MONUMENTS OF ADMIRAL VERNON AND MRS. MACAULAY GRAHAM THE HISTORIAN; BINFIELD THE SCENE OF POPE'S EARLY YEARS; EXTRACT FRom pope's winDSOR FOREST; CONCLUSION.

Islington, July, 1810.

MY DEAR YOUNG FRIEND,

HAVING described at length the ancient and royal Castle of WINDSOR, with its various appendages, I now proceed to furnish you with some account of the Town of WINDSOR and its vicinity.

336

OLD AND NEW WINDSOR.

Camden derives the name of WINDSOR from a Saxon term, Windleshora, expressive of winding banks; a circumstance applicable at this place to the meandering course of the Thames. Thus its original appellation, Winding-shore, has been contracted into the modern term of WINDSOR. Edward the Confessor granted it, with other lands, to the Monastery of St. Peter, Westminster Abbey. William the Conqueror,

however, soon seized on the delightful spot-the Abbot relinquishing it for certain manors in Essex. Thus it came into the possession of the Crown, where it has ever since remained. So much for its antiquity.

The appellation of New Windsor, by which it is sometimes called, has reference to Old Windsor, an adjoining village, which existed previous to the Conquest. It formed a strong pass, and had been the seat of several Saxon kings. But when the Conqueror raised his CASTLE on the Hill, the village decayed, and the new town rose, under the protection of the fortress, with superior attractions. Indeed, as to Old Windsor-even its ruins are extinct :—

Sad are the ruthless ravages of TIME;
Sad are the changes MAN is doom'd to feel,
And all that MAN can boast! The mighty Pile,
That seem'd the terrors of the storm to brave,
The fair Corinthian porch, that barbarous hands
Would venerate and spare, they knew not why-
To all-devouring YEARS must bow their heads,
And OTHER WANDERERS o'er scenes like these
Will come, as now, like me, to mourn their fall!

WILLIAM FOX.

CORPORATION OF WINDSOR.

337

WINDSOR, Constituted a borough by Edward the First, was confirmed and enlarged by succeeding Monarchs. The civil wars involved it in one common ruin. A new charter was granted at the Restoration, the provisions of which were superseded by James II., but restored at the Revolution. The corporation consists of from twenty-eight to thirty brethren, denominated aldermen; the rest are benchers and burgesses. The mayor, bailiffs, &c. are empowered to choose a high steward, chamberlain and other subordinate officers. The borough sends two members to parliament. The right of election was originally vested in the corporation, but in 1690 it was extended to all the inhabitants paying scot and lot. By this decision, the celebrated Sir Christopher Wren, who had been chosen by the mayor and burgesses, was excluded the House of Commons. The present members for Windsor are-Colonel Edward Desbrowe, Vice-Chamberlain to the Queen, and James Ramsbottom, Esq., of Clewer Lodge.

The town of WINDSOR consists of six principal streets, well paved and lighted. The Guildhall is a stately fabric, supported by columns and arches of Portland stone. Around the spacious room where the corporation transacts public business, are hung the portraits of the Sovereigns of England, from James the First to Queen Anne; also of George, Prince of Denmark, Prince Rupert, Archbishop Laud, &c. In a niche, on the north side of the structure, is a statue of QUEEN ANNE, dressed in her royal robes, sup

338

WINDSOR CHURCH.

porting the globe and sceptre. Beneath is a Latin

inscription, to this effect:

Erected in the Sixth Year of ber Reign,

1707.

Sculptor, thy art is vain-it cannot trace
The semblance of the matchless ANNA's grace;
Thou mayst as soon to high Olympus fly,

And carve the model of some DEITY!

S. CHAPMAN, Mayor.

The statue was erected at the charge of the corporation. So exuberantly thankful were they for the Queen's residing at Windsor during the summer season, that they repaid the distinguished favour by exalting the august visitor into the rank of a Deity! In another niche, on the opposite side of the townhall, dressed in a Roman military habit, is Queen Anne's consort, PRINCE GEORGE of Denmark. The Scripture pronounces a curse on those who divide Man and Wife; but, with respect to this happy couple, the good corporation, so gratefully inclined, could mean no mischief by the separation. The QUEEN and the PRINCE were distinguished for connubial felicity; it was fit that they should thus, though somewhat apart, descend together to posterity!— Sir Christopher Wren erected these statues HE who, by the productions of his architectural skill, bath immortalized our country.

The Church is an ancient and spacious fabric, dedicated to ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST. It has an excellent organ, removed from St. George's Chapel, and

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