now the residence of Mr. Hormuzd Rassam, F.R.G.S., late first assistant political resident at Aden, to whom was entrusted the charge of the British Mission to Abyssinia. Mr. Rassam received orders to convey to King Theodore a letter from her Majesty, the delivery of which was expected to procure the liberation of Consul Cameron and other British subjects then in captivity. This anticipation failed of fulfilment, and eventually Mr. Rassam was himself incarcerated; and these circumstances led to the invasion of Abyssinia under Sir Robert Napier, in 1868. Mr. Rassam's "prudence, discretion and good management," as was testified to him by Lord Stanley, then Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, on behalf of the British Government, "tended greatly to preserve the lives and thus to insure the ultimate release of the captives."

CHAPTER XXI.

WHITTON.

THE HAMLET " KnellER HALL"-WHITTON PARK AND WHITTON
PLACE OTHER RESIDENTS-COLONEL ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL'S

HOUSE OTHER ILLUSTRIOUS INHABITANTS OF THE PARISH,
WHOSE DWELLINGS CANNOT NOW BE IDENTIFIED.

THE hamlet of WHITTON in the Parish of Twickenham possesses, in proportion to its size, an equal degree of interest with the village with which it is connected. Ironside speaks of it thus:

Whitton, or, as was formerly written, Whittne and Wittne,

Is situate about a mile and a half from Twickenham, and on the edge of Hounslow Heath. By the Isleworth Survey, anno 1635, there appear to have been several warrens planted by Sir Robert Brett, Knt., Sir Simond Harvey, Knt., and Sir Humphry Line; also, another planted, and a capital house begun, by a Mr. Gromesditch, and afterwards finished by Sir Humphry Line, Knt. It appears to be called the warren house in the Survey; and the land is said to be very stony; the country a dead flat.

A small stream of water runs through it, called Burkett's Brook ; over which is an ancient bridge, called Whittne Bridge. This brook comes from the Uxbridge river, passes under Twickenham Bridge to Isleworth, where it empties itself into the River Thames.

This brook is the River Crane.

Whitton was a notorious resort for the highwaymen who in old days infested Hounslow Heath.

Horace

Walpole mentions a gentleman named Digby being robbed here at one o'clock at noon. A footpad, after his death, having attained unenviable celebrity, lay in state here. An old farm in the hamlet was the place of the capture of the Rev. Dr. Dodd, the celebrated preacher, and tutor to Lord Chesterfield, who, in 1777, was hung for forgery.*

KNELLER HALL.-The chief house of interest and importance in Whitton is "Kneller Hall," named after its builder and first occupant, Sir Godfrey Kneller, who called it in his lifetime, "Whitton House." It was commenced in 1709 and finished in 1711, and made by the celebrated painter his constant summer residence. The hall and staircase were painted by La Guerre, under the direction and with the occasional assistance of Sir Godfrey. A slight sketch of Sir Godfrey has been given elsewhere; † a fact or two more can here be added.

In one of the memoranda which have been kindly communicated to me, Whitton is stated to have been the scene of the interview between Helen Walker, immortalized by Sir Walter Scott as "Jeanie Deans," and the Duke of Argyle. It is an unpleasant necessity to have to reject this statement, because the Duke so graphically introduced into The Heart of Midlothian was John, Duke of Argyle and Greenwich, whereas the Whitton resident was Archibald, his brother, who succeeded, in 1745, to the title. Twickenham, nevertheless, is not wholly disconnected with the story, for Twickenham Meads form the chief feature in the view which Richmond Hill commands, "the unrivalled landscape" described as "a huge sea of verdure, with crossing and intersecting promontories of massive and tufted groves, tenanted by numberless flocks and herds which seemed to wander unrestrained and unbounded through the rich pastures" where "the Thames, here turreted with villas and there garlanded with forests, moved on slowly and placidly, like the mighty monarch of the scene, to whom all other beauties were but accessories," bearing 'on his bosom an hundred barks and skiffs whose white sails and gaily fluttering pennons gave life to the whole." It is a Twickenham resident, Lady Suffolk, who is described as Queen Caroline's companion during the interview in Richmond Park, when Jeanie so simply and touchingly urged her suit in her sister's behalf. Duke John of Argyll, it will be remembered, was born at Ham House.

† Page 64.

To one honour he attained which other of his contem-
porary celebrities did not-namely, that of church-
warden of the parish; he was also Justice of the peace.
In the latter capacity he distinguished himself by several
very remarkable judgments, of which the following are
preserved. A soldier, who was brought before him
detected in the act of stealing a joint of meat, pleaded,
in extenuation of his offence, that the exposure of the
luxury was more than he could resist.
The argu-
ment convinced the worthy magistrate completely. He
at once discharged the wretched thief, and severely
reprimanded the astounded butcher for unduly putting
temptation in his fellow's way. "I think," says Pope,
with this circumstance mischievously in his recollec-
tion,-

I think Sir Godfrey should decide the suit,
Who sent the thief (that stole the cash) away,
And punished him that put it in his way.

On a question arising as to which of two parishes a
pauper belonged, Sir Godfrey would hear no evidence,
but assigned him to the richer at once.
In his great
humanity he refused to distrain upon a man who had
nothing but his furniture to pay with; and once, seeing
a constable draw near his house at the head of a
number of people, he recommended them, instead of
coming to him, to adjourn to the nearest alehouse and
"make it up."

He was a man of inordinate vanity: "he bragged more, spelt worse, and painted better than any artist of his day." No flattery was too gross for his acceptance. When he was asked to supply his portrait to a collection made at Florence, he painted himself in full dress,

adorned with his diamond ring and gold chain, and in the background his villa at Whitton. His portrait presented to the Kit-cat Club is similarly adorned. Pope always ready to be ironical, complimented him once on the superiority of his works to those of Nature, and regretted his absence at the creation. "Really," replied the artist, with a significant look at the misshapen little creature beside him, "I should have made some things better."

"Pope was with Kneller one day when his nephew, a Guinea trader, came in. Nephew,' said Sir Godfrey, you have the honour of seeing the two greatest men in the world.' I don't know how great you may be,' said the Guinea man, 'but I don't like your looks. I have often bought a man much better than both of you together, all muscles and bones, for ten guineas.'"*

Almost with his last breath Kneller wished that God would let him stay at Whitton; and by his own desire, he lies with "the fools" of Twickenham, rather than with those at Westminster.

Kneller, who died in 1723, and Lady Kneller, who survived him just six years, were succeeded in the occupation of their house first by Mr. Ride, and then in 1758, by Sir Samuel Prime, who was born in 1701 and educated at S. John's College, Cambridge, where he graduated B.A. in 1720. He was called to the bar in 1736 by the Benchers of the Middle Temple, and was made a King's Serjeant in 1738. His wife, whom he married on August 23rd, 1748, was daughter of Mr. E. Wilmot, of Banstead, Surrey, and widow of Mr. John Sheppard, of Compsey Ash. He died early

* Spence's Anecdotes, quoted in Thackeray's English Humourists—“ POPE."