Whitehall, so intimately connected with the Tudors, fell with the Stuarts. A fire, which raged furiously all one night, destroyed for ever, in 1698, the old rambling palace known to Wolsey and his royal master, leaving no fragment to remind us of its existence. Only the graceful banqueting hall escaped the general conflagration. Plans were drawn up by Sir Christopher Wren for a new palace, but William III., who, suffering from habitual asthma, found the smoke of Whitehall almost intolerable, was not likely to be anxious to restore a palace in which he could not live. As he wrote to one of his friends, "the loss is less to me than it would be to another person, for I cannot live there." But though he made little effort to rebuild the palace, being already busy at altering Hampton Court, there is no truth in the statement of his enemies, that William had partly inspired the fire. George I. altered the banqueting-hall into a Chapel Royal, for which purpose it continued to be used until 1890, when Queen Victoria gave permission for the building to be used for the United Service Museum. CHAPTER VIII HAMPTON COURT PALACE In the high tide of its popularity, Hampton Court Palace was considered the finest and most commodious palace in England, an opinion which was corroborated by the foreign ambassadors of the time, who spoke of it in terms of the highest praise. One distinguished foreign visitor, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, recorded in his diary: "This is the most splendid and most magnificent royal palace of any that may be found in England, or, indeed, in any other kingdom." And though to-day the tide of royal favour has receded for ever from the shores of Hampton Court, the palace remains as stately and as dignified as when the proud Wolsey paced its galleries. [Illustration: Hampton Court: The First Court.] Its situation has always been a happy one, for though built on the banks of the River Thames, it has avoided all the disadvantages of damp, owing to the gravelly nature of its soil. The nearness to London, only thirteen miles away, with easy access along the broad river, made it a delightful residence for the monarchs who were able to get to and fro from London, however bad the roads might be. When wearied with the smoke and bustle that surrounded Whitehall, the royal owners rejoiced in escaping to their beautiful palace at Hampton Court, from whose windows they looked over the clean river, across fresh green meadows to the horizon of the blue Surrey hills.