British Highways and Byways from a Motor Car: Being a Record of a Five Thousand Mile Tour in England, Wales and ScotlandMurphy, Thos. D. (Thomas Dowler)
History
British Highways and Byways from a Motor Car: Being a Record of a Five Thousand Mile Tour in England, Wales and Scotland
Murphy, Thos. D. (Thomas Dowler)
Great Britain -- Description and travel; Great Britain -- Maps
In Westerham, a few miles farther on, we saw the vicarage where Gen.
Wolfe, the hero of Quebec, was born. His parents were tenants of this
house for a short time only, and soon after his birth they moved to the
imposing residence now known as Quebec House, and here Wolfe spent the
first twelve years of his life. It is a fine Tudor mansion and has been
little altered since the boyhood of the great warrior. Visitors are not
now admitted. There are many relics of Wolfe in Westerham, and the spot
where he received his first military commission is marked by a stone
with an appropriate inscription. Wolfe's memory is greatly revered in
England and he is looked upon as the man who saved not only Canada, but
the United States as well, to the Anglo-Saxon race.
Quite as closely connected with American history as Quebec House is the
home of William Pitt, near at hand. Holwood House, as it is called, is a
stately, classic building, situated in a great forest-clad park. It
passed out of the hands of Pitt more than a hundred years ago, and being
in possession of a private owner, is no longer open to visitors.
Passing again into the hedge-bordered byways, we came to Downe, a
retired village four miles from the railway station and known to fame as
having been the home of Charles Darwin. Downe House, where he lived, is
still standing, a beautiful old Eighteenth Century place which was
considerably altered by Darwin himself. The house at present is
evidently in the hands of a prosperous owner, for it was apparent that
watchful care is expended upon it. But it is in no sense a show-place
and the few pilgrims who come to the town must content themselves with
a glimpse from the outside.
To get a view of the place, I surreptitiously stepped through the open
gateway, the house itself being some distance from the road and
partially concealed by the hedges and trees in front of it. It is a
rather irregular, three-story building, with lattice windows surrounded
by ivy and climbing roses. It stands against a background of fir trees,
with a stretch of green lawn and flowers in front, and the whole place
had an air of quiet beauty and repose. On the front of the house was an
ancient sun-dial, and across it, in antique letters, the legend "Time
will show." I do not know whether this was placed there by Darwin or
not, but it is the most appropriate answer which the great scientist
might have made to his hosts of critics. Time has indeed shown, and the
quiet philosopher who lived in this retired village has revolutionized
the thought of the civilized world.
XIX
KNOLE HOUSE AND PENSHURST
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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