Although necessarily limited in our description of Cobham Hall, we have sufficiently shown the rare treat a visit to it will afford to those who, “in populous city pent,” desire to convert occasional holidays into contributions to intellectual enjoyment. The Hall and its contents will amply repay examination; and the noble Park is full of natural treasures--thronged with deer, singularly abundant in singing-birds, and containing trees, unsurpassed in magnificent size and graceful proportions. One of the walks conducts to a hillock, from the summit of which there is a splendid prospect of the adjacent country, commanding views of the Thames and Medway, and taking in the venerable castle, cathedral, and town, of Rochester; the dockyards at Sheerness; and the whole course of the great English river to its mouth at the Nore. The pedestrian, pursuing this route, will pass the Mausoleum, an elegant structure, built conformably with the Will of the third Earl of Darnley; and designed for the sepulture of his family. It was never consecrated: in consequence, it is said, of a dispute respecting “terms,” and is now rapidly falling to decay. The basement story contains a vault and sarcophagus, surrounded by recesses for coffins. The Chapel is above. The exterior consists of four wings, with columns, sustaining sarcophagi, and surmounted by a pyramid. But Cobham has other objects of interest--the venerable Church, and no less [Illustration] venerable “College.” The church, dedicated to St. Mary Magdalen, stands upon elevated ground, at the entrance to the village. It consists of a nave, aisles, and chancel, with an embattled tower, entered by an antique porch. The Tower is obviously of a more recent date than the Chancel; the former is very ancient. As in many of the Kentish churches, the Walls were formerly painted in fresco, of which evidence may be easily obtained by those who will examine them narrowly; the steps of the altar are paved with encaustic tiles, of about the period of Edward III.--of various patterns, but most of them containing the fleur-de-lis; the Stalls, of old oak, appear to have been worm-eaten for centuries. The whole aspect of the place indeed supplies indubitable proof of very remote antiquity[57]. The modern “fittings up”--the painted pews--contrast strangely with the age of the [Illustration] structure. The Roof of huge oak rafters, the Gothic arches, the Brasses--broken or entire--which cover the floor, the quaint Monuments let into the walls, the delicately-sculptured Piscina, the Sedelia of carved stone, the singular Font, the rude Vestry-room with its massive oak Chest, the Scripture passages painted on the walls--all bespeak the antiquity of the building. But the most primitive portion of it is the Chancel, on either side of which are five latticed Windows, the south side being entirely, and the north side being partially, blocked up with rough stones. Nearly in [Illustration]