Other famous homes of Great Britain and their stories . ed that theDuke was a ruined man ; that notwithstanding his great palaces,his sumptuous furniture, his gallery of pictures, and his unrivalledcollection of china ; notwithstanding his princely state v/ithinthe county, his regiments of Yeomanry and Artillery ; and not-withstanding that he had recently added estate after estate tohis domains, the great Duke of Buckingham was utterly in-solvent. These rumours proved too true ; the ruin had beenstaved off by costly expedients, but the crash came at last. All the treasures that the prodigal ex
Other famous homes of Great Britain and their stories . ed that theDuke was a ruined man ; that notwithstanding his great palaces,his sumptuous furniture, his gallery of pictures, and his unrivalledcollection of china ; notwithstanding his princely state v/ithinthe county, his regiments of Yeomanry and Artillery ; and not-withstanding that he had recently added estate after estate tohis domains, the great Duke of Buckingham was utterly in-solvent. These rumours proved too true ; the ruin had beenstaved off by costly expedients, but the crash came at last. All the treasures that the prodigal expenditure of immensewealth had collected in the treasure-house at Stowe, all thathad descended from numerous lines of ancestors, renowned fortaste and opportunities, all passed away under the the priceless heirlooms of an illustrious family were scatteredover the world to be sold in shops, to glitter in the public roomsof hotels, or to decorate the mansions of self-made men. Estateslarger than many a German principality, producing a revenue. A CORNER OF THE NORTH HALL, STOWE 337 OOt Stowe larger than the revenues of many German principalities addedtogether, passed into the hands of men whose wealth was butof yesterday. The palace at Stowe, denuded of the furniture, pictures,and ornaments which had made it the pride of the midlandcounties, stood empty and desolate ; its porticoes and colonnadessoiled with dirt and decayed leaves ; its temples moss-grown ;its fish-ponds choking up ; the lawns unshorn ; its walksunkept.* When the late Duke succeeded to the estates, he en-deavoured to restore Stowe to some of its former splendour,and with the help of his nephew (the present Earl Temple)bought back and reinstated many of the dispersed devoting his life to this object, and by a steady fulfilmentof the duties of the high offices to which he was successivelyappointed, the last Duke of Buckingham and Chandos earned theadmiration of all and the gratitude of many.
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectcountry, bookyear1902
