Hampton Court ... Illustrated with forty-three drawings by Herbert ...

THE PALACE DESERTED 225
of George II. The little rooms of the Prince of
Wales's suite next to it have lost their furniture,
save the pieces of tapestry worked at Mortlake in
Charles II.'s time to commemorate the battle of Solebay.
The Venus has gone from the chimneypiece of
the Queen's private chapel, but the little marble bath
which Caroline used is still in the next room. The
King's Gallery has lost the Raffaelle cartoons, and
there is little else save the rooms themselves from this
point that recalls dapper George till we come to the
Queen's great staircase, of which the decoration, unpleasing
and uncomely,is by Kent. We turn away our
eyes from the work of this architect in the Clockcourt;
and we may best end our chapter with the
charming story Horace Walpole tells of the " beautiful
Gunnings" in 175 1. They came to the Palace, as
folk do now, to see the sights. As they entered the
room where hung Kneller's beauties of William III.'s
court, another party arrived, and the housekeeper said,
"This way, ladies; there are the beauties." "The
Gunnings flew into a passion and asked her what she
meant;that they came to see the Palace, not to be
shown as a sight themselves."
Already the Palace was becoming a show place. It
was left to the reminiscences of royalty and to literary
associations. Every one, as time went on, came to seeit,
but no sovereign lived there again. And yet, as Miss
Mitford said, " How can anybody leave HamptonCourt
and live in the Pavilion ? "
There is an air of homeliness about the royal life
p