Rensselaer Union, Volume 8, Number 8, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 11 November 1875 — Palace of the Late Baron Rothschild. [ARTICLE]

Palace of the Late Baron Rothschild.

A London correspondent writes: 44 One of the mogt. enjoyable days I have spent in EnglantDWaa a visit to Mentmore, Buckinghamshire, the seat of. the late Raron Rothschild and still the home of his widowj I had known all m.y life of the almost fabulous wealth of the Rothschilds, but bad no such vivid conception of the reality as I brought away with me. The estate comprises 15,000 or 20,000 acres of the finest land of this famons shire. The approach from Cheddington station, from which it is distant about two miles, lies through a magnificent lawn leading to a wooded acclivity, upon the summit of which the mansion stands. From the towers the view is one of the finest in the. Midland counties, embracing on one side the ancient manor and village of Wing, on another the manor of Tring, and on a third the historic site of Ivanhoe. How the course of the world’s history has been changed by the blow which an ancestor of John Hampden struck the Black Prince, the victor of Crecy and Poicters, for which ‘Tring, Wing and Ivanhoe’ were forfeited! In the distance is the Vale of Aylesbury and far away, on the ridge of the Chiithem hills, the monument of the Duke of Bridgewater bounds the range of vision. Tring Park, owned by another of the Rothschild family, is said to be second in the beauty of its gardens only to Mentmore, but this I had no time to see. The sub-tropical gardens, vegetable gardens, the fountain garden and the Italian garden occupied us for hours. The first is second, I suppose, only to the Royal Botanic Gardens, in Kew; the second embraces, with the fruit gardens, about twenty acres, the whole proceeds of which are consumed in the mansion. In one of the numerous graperies, so arranged as to furnish fruit every month in the year, I saw a single cluster of grapes which would weigh six pounds, the berries on which were about the size of good, large plums and the , most luscious I ever tasted. Oranges, figs, pine apples, bananas and other tropical fruits| consumed in the mansion are all grown in the conservatories of Mentmore. When the Baroness is absent, yatching in the channel or at her London house, orders by telegram are sent to Mentmore daily for the "supplies required. The vases in the fountain and Italian gardens cost each £I,OOO. The statuary is all of the most costly kind, executed by the first masters, many of them copies of originals which I saw in the Louvre or in the British Museum. The great hall, which from the entrance seemed to me about twenty by thirty feet, is filled with vases and statuary..lts contents must represent a value of not less than £BOO,OOO. We were not less than three hours passing through the rooms. The finish is exquisite, and the furnishing of each sumptuous. Some idea may be formed of the whole from the furniture of a single bedroom, one of the many guest-chambers, costing £20,000 or £30,000. In the dining-room and baronial half are furnishings exceeding £200,000 each. Costly cabinets of the time- of Louis XIV., of ebony inlaid with ivory or gold; jeweled clocks made of solid gold; diamonds, rubies and all other sorts ot precious stones; walls hung with the costliest tapestry of the time of Louis XIV., or covered with the richest needleembroidered satin, may give some idea of the wealth lavished on this more than princely mansion. The costliest paintings adorn the walls, and the most skillful and expensive workmanship is displayed upon the ceilings. The idea of the Baron seems to have been to build and furnish a mansion such as no other person in England, except perhaps the Duke of Westminster, could hope to rival. The stud is said to contain more high bred horses than any in the world. It embraces thir-ty-five hunters and as many racers, none ot which I heard were less in value than £6OO, while many of them run up into the thousands. Favonius, Maccaroni and Old Tom, the last a patriaren of highbred racers we saw, all winners of famous races. For Favonius £12,000 were refused, and for Maccaroni £7,100 were but recently paid. I was fortunate in getting an introduction to Mentmore through an acquaintance I made in England. The grounds are on rare occasions open to visitors, but ordinarily there is no access to the mansion. I saw, I believe, every room in the house except the strong-room, where the treasures are kept during the absence of the family.”