grand though pensive scene, arising, no doubt, from its silent woody appearance of which it partakes so largely.

The trees here are remarkable for their picturesque beauty. Several specimens of the sweet chestnut-tree, growing beside a small lake on the north side of the building, with "great rugged horns," are particularly fine. As Webster has it,

"I doe love such ancient ruins;

I never look upon them but I read
Some reverend historie."

They form the remains of an avenue which once stood here, and are equally interesting with those at Hevingham. There are likewise some magnificent specimens here of that tree which, of any great size, is so scarce in Norfolk-the ash: they are of a drooping character, and look like birches. In front of the mansion, in the distance, are many noble trees of the oak tribe, averaging about fifteen feet in circumference. Close to the building, there is a Western plane (Platanus Occidentalis), of considerable size and beauty; and, judging from its situation, a very favourite tree with the proprietor.

The visitor of Heydon will at once be impressed, we think, with the peculiar feature by which we have considered it is so much characterized-that of pensive grandeur. This noble and sequestered scene will always command the admiration of those who love the out-goings of Nature in her solitary aspects. As already mentioned, she wears but few of the trammels of art here, yet is by no means inelegant; and in some instances exults in a greatness which is only to be beheld around some of our most ancient halls. The entire place is a testimony of the wonderful effect which trees produce on a surface like that of Norfolk, which in general is naturally uninteresting.

HOVETON PARK,

THE SEAT OF MRS. BURROUGHES.

THOUGH evening was darkening around us when we visited this place, we had sufficient time to perceive that it ranks deservedly high as a seat of general excellence. The fading flower occupies an important place here, equal to that of the permanent evergreen and the yet more imperishable tree; whilst its propagation is attended to with a zeal which it is delightful to witness in these our flower-forgetting times. When we speak of flowers, we mean the fair assemblage in general—a rarity, certainly, in the present day; for indeed there is scarcely such a thing as a judicious selection to be seen. Is it necessary to be asked where the old-fashioned sweet-william, jacobea, lychnis, carnation, pink, primula, ranunculus, and anemone have gone; or where the more fragrant associates of bygone summers are? We regret to say, they have been discarded to make way for the manytinted trifles of a modern taste, which at best are but a "vain show." The flower-garden, however, at this seat, forms an elegant exception: its proprietor seems to have avoided the prevalent error of seeking variety and rarity to the neglect of acknowledged worth and beauty. In proof of this, we may mention that we found the gardener busily engaged in propagating the rose, that most heavenly plant, which all mankind are agreed in admiring.

But whilst the flower-garden here is of such perfect character, the scenes of the shrubbery and pleasure-ground are of an equally interesting description. The shrubbery is a well-managed piece of work, successfully blended with the lawn of the pleasure-ground, and though modern, already contributing to the general beauty of the place. The most

elegant part of the picture lies betwixt the hall and the kitchen-garden, a locality which art has rendered very ornamental, and where the shrubs are assuming a high degree of beauty. The whole place is so judiciously laid out, that we hazard the opinion that it has been done by some one who has become eminent in his profession.

The trees here form a grand sight. They are chiefly of the oak tribe, and at the south-west side of the mansion they rise in the form of an avenue. The disposition of the park and expanse of water resembles that of the Beeston estate, noticed in a subsequent page.

The elegant manner in which this seat is kept, combined with the extensive and well-assorted collection of flowers and shrubs which it contains, merits our highest praise. "That fresh, even, and soft verdure which is to be found only in England," as a foreigner expresses it, is here in its greatest beauty, graced, too, by the choicest productions of our Flora, without any reference to the year of their introduction to our country. We grieve to say it, but it is a well-known fact, that the floricultural departments of our English seats have been on the wane for the last thirty years. Grasping at novelty, instead of worth, has ruined them; and the consequence is, that some varieties of our beautiful flowers, such as the double hollyhock, pink, and sweet-william, are at this moment extinct.

SCOTTOW PARK,

THE SEAT OF SIR HENRY DURRANT, BART.

THOUGH of modern formation, this seat has many traits of beauty about it. It is pleasantly situated beside the parish church, which has a square embattled tower, surrounded by old chestnut-trees. The proximity of the mansion to such a scene might be objected to by some: in this case, however, the ancient character of the church and its adjuncts lend an air of importance to this seat, which it would not otherwise possess.

The principal feature at this place is a beautiful stretch of lawn, north of the mansion, very elegantly kept, and displaying considerable skill and taste in its decorations. The finest tree here is an oak, in front of the gardener's house, which it overshadows. The ash-trees in the park, at the west side of the mansion, are of goodly dimensions, and we annex an etching of one of them. At the gate opening to the garden is a red cedar of considerable size and height. Against the wall of some outbuildings is a remarkable spreading trained tree of the evergreen thorn (Crataegus Pyracantha), clad with large bunches of brilliant scarlet berries. This tree forms an unusual spectacle of beauty amidst the desolations of November, and deserves more general culture. It covers a space of twenty-four yards in length.

The kitchen-garden is celebrated for its great espaliertrees. Its high wall, which is reckoned the finest in Norfolk, is covered with wide-spreading vines.