The whole of the afternoon was spent in getting the old oak out. The
gentlemen worked with the laborers, the Duke himself as energetically
as any one. His great anxiety was to prevent injury to the carvings,
which were very picturesque and elaborate. When the things were all out
of doors, and the garret finally cleared, it was astonishing what a
display they made. There were six cabinets, of which four had their
entablatures supported by massive griffins or lions, and their panels
inlaid with ebony and satin-wood, or carved with bas-reliefs, which,
though certainly far from accurate in point of design, produced a very
rich effect; whilst even the plainest of the cabinets were interesting
for some curious specimen of turner's work or tracery. Then there were
portions of three or four state beds, with massive deeply panelled
testers and huge columns, constructed with that disdain for mechanical
necessity, and that emphatic preference of the picturesque, which marked
the taste of the Elizabethan age. Thus, a single bed-post would in one
place be scarcely thicker than a man's wrist, and in another thicker
than his body; the weight of the whole being enormously out of
proportion to its strength. There were a number of chairs of various
patterns, but which agreed in uniting weight with fragility, and
stateliness with discomfort. There were also innumerable fragments,
difficult at first sight to classify, but amongst which might be
recognized the legs of tables (constructed on the same principle as the
bed-posts), and pieces that had been detached from chairs, and cabinets,
and beds. In addition to all these things, there were quantities of old
wainscot, some of it carved, or inlaid with various woods.
The men had come to the wainscot at last, for it was reared against the
walls of the garret behind the barricade of furniture. As they were
removing it, there was a crashing of broken glass. A piece of this glass
was brought to the light, and it was found to be stained with the arms
of the Stanburnes (or, a bend cottised sa.), simple old bearings like
those of most ancient untitled houses. On this other fragments were
carefully collected, and they all bore the arms of Stanburne impaled
with those of families with which the Colonel's ancestors had
intermarried. Mr. Prigley, who was rather strong in heraldry, and knew
the genealogy of his wife's family and all its alliances much better
than did John Stanburne himself, recognized the martlets of Tempest, the
red lion of Mallory, the green lion of Sherburne, the black lion of
Stapleton, the chevron and cinquefoils of Falkingham, the golden
lozenges of Plumpton, charged with red scallop-shells, in fess on a
field of azure. "This has been a great heraldic window, commemorating
the alliances of the family!" cried Mr. Prigley, in ecstasy. "It must be
restored, Colonel," said the Duke, "and brought down to the present
time--down to you and Lady Helena."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account