Later in the day the bride and bridegroom left the town for the Deepdene, that lovely place being rented from Lord Francis Hope. It stands on the eastern side of the old coaching road near Dorking. On the north the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway winds. The grounds around the house are amongst the most beautiful in England, when the rhododendrons are in flower the gardens and grounds are a blaze of colour and a delight. It is charmingly secluded and yet near enough to the world to easily see as much of it as might be desired. It was here, I believe, that Beaconsfield wrote his _Coningsby_. The original house was built in Charles I’s reign by the Hon. Charles Howard, son of the Duke of Norfolk, but it was pulled down and rebuilt by a descendant and eventually sold to a Mr. Hope, a very rich art collector, whose daughter married the late Duke of Newcastle, and at her death the Deepdene became the property of Lord Francis Pelham-Clinton, a grandson of the Duke’s, who took the name of Hope on succeeding to the estate; he leased the place to Lily Duchess of Marlborough for twenty-one years, and it was there the last few years of Lord William’s life were mostly spent. It seems a strange coincidence that Lord William’s wife should have lived five years with her first husband, five years with the second and five years with the third! It was a great pleasure to Lord William fixing up all his trophies and treasures in their permanent home. The dining-room, the billiard-room, the front hall and indeed every nook and corner were filled with them, all having interesting histories of their own. An arcade runs round three sides of the lofty hall, above this there is a gallery where guns, spears, assegais, antlers, racing cups, and beautiful inlaid vases are arranged in profusion. Also regimental trophies, of which he was fond and proud, for he loved his old regiment. In the billiard-room there are many masterpieces of great value, also in one corner stands a small easel in which reposes a picture entitled “Bill wins,” below is an inscription, explaining the scene at Curraghmore Steeplechases on April 30th, 1874, his wedding having taken place exactly twenty-one years after on April 30th, 1895. [Illustration: THE DEEPDENE, DORKING] [Illustration: FRONT HALL AT THE DEEPDENE] One of the ambitions of Lord William’s life was to win the Derby, and he began looking about him for likely winners; it did not take him long to collect some useful horses, though I doubt very much if his racing in England ever gave him as much pleasure as it did in India. His wife was most interested in his horses and was as anxious as he was that he should own the best. She was a kind-hearted woman who did a great deal for the comfort and happiness of all around her, the poor of Dorking are not likely to forget her or her husband, for they closely associated themselves with all the local charities and philanthropic undertakings.