Earl of Holland in 1624. In the Civil Wars he abandoned the Parliamentarian for the Royalist cause, and, being taken prisoner at St. Neots, was beheaded at Westminster, beautiful to the last, in his white satin dress, on the 9th of March, 1648-9. It was the first Earl of Holland who added the wings and arcades, in fact who gave Holland House all its characteristics. After his execution the house was inhabited by General Fairfax, and (1649) by General Lambert, but the Countess of Holland was eventually allowed to return to her old home, where she comforted her widowhood by indulging privately in the theatricals so strictly forbidden by the Puritan Government. Her son, the second Earl of Holland, became fifth Earl of Warwick, through the death of his cousin, in 1673. His son was Edward, Earl of Warwick, who died in 1701, and whose widow (Charlotte, daughter of Sir Thomas Middleton of Chirk) married. Joseph Addison, "famous for many excellent works," as he is described in the announcement of his marriage in "The Political State of Great Britain," for August, 1716. Dr. Johnson says that the marriage was "on terms very much like those on which a Turkish princess is espoused, to whom the Sultan is reported to pronounce-' Daughter, I give thee this man for thy slave. At any rate Addison's married life was not happy, though it was of short duration, for on June 17, 1719, he died at Holland House (leaving an only daughter who died unmarried), grasping the hand of the young Earl of Warwick, when he asked his dying commands, and saying, 'See in what peace a Christian can die.' The Earl of Warwick, who was Addison's step-son, only survived him two years, and was succeeded by his cousin William Edwardes (created Baron Kensington in 1776), who sold Holland House in 1767 to Henry Fox, first Lord Holland. The fortunes. of the Fox family were founded by Sir Stephen Fox, who gained the favour of Charles II. by being the first to announce the death of Cromwell to him at Brussels. He was made Clerk of the Green Cloth and Paymaster of the Forces, and acquired a great fortune, "honestly got and unenvied, which is nigh to a miracle," says Evelyn. Sir Stephen Fox, "of a sweet nature, wellspoken, well-bred, and so highly in his Majesty's esteem," was the practical founder of Chelsea Hospital, as well as of many other charitable institutions. By deserting the cause of James II. he continued to enjoy Court favour till his death in 1716, when Anne was on the throne. His second son, the son of his second wife, was Henry Fox, the Secretary of State and Paymaster of the Forces. It was with him that Lady Caroline Lennox, the Duke of Richmond's daughter-after she had cut off her eyebrows to protect herself from an unwelcome marriage arranged by her father-eloped in 1744. Having endured the fury of her parents for four years, she was forgiven on the birth of her eldest son. Henry Fox was created Lord Holland after his purchase of Holland House, where he died in 1774. His son Stephen, who succeeded him, only survived him six months, and left an only son, Henry, third Lord Holland, who was educated under the guardianship of his uncle, Charles James Fox, the famous orator and statesman. Under the third Lord Holland, Holland House attained a splendour and beauty which it had never acquired before, and it became an intellectual centre, not only for England, but for the world. Its master is remembered as the most genial of mankind; Lady Holland, though wayward and fanciful, was also beautiful and clever; Miss Fox, Lord Holland's sister, was loving, gracious, and charitable. Sydney Smith, Luttrell, and Allen were habitués of the house, and had their fixed apartments assigned to them. The list of guests included Sheridan, Blanco White, Parr, Byron, George Ellis, Lord Jeffrey, Payne Knight, Thurlow, Eldon, Brougham, Lyndhurst, Sir Humphry Davy, Count Romford, Lord Aberdeen, Lord Moira, Windham, Curran, Sir Samuel Romilly, Washington Irving, Pozzo di Borgo, Counts Montholon and Bertrand, Princess Lieven, the Humboldts, Talleyrand, Tom Moore, Madame de Staël, Macaulay. Daily all that was most brilliant in European society was welcomed uninvited to the hospitable dinner-table. It was no wonder that Sydney Smith heard "five hundred travelled men assert that there was no such agreeable house as Holland House." The third Lord Holland died in 1841, and was succeeded by his son, British Minister at Florence. He died in 1859. Under his widow, Mary Augusta, Lady Holland, daughter of the eighth Earl of Coventry, Holland House still has the reputation of being the most charming house in England. As we pass the terrace which bounds the garden and enter the deep belt of shade which encircles the mansion, the most conspicuous feature is a gateway with stone piers by Inigo Jones bearing the arms of Rich, approached by a double flight of steps enclosing a fountain. The house is now entered from the east side; originally the entrance was on the south, and it was there that William Penn, to whom Holland House was let for a time, narrates that he could scarcely get down the steps through the crowd of suitors who besought him to use his good offices with the king in their behalf. The Interior of Holland House is full of historical relics, pictures, and china. Many of the portraits are by Watts, who first rose into fame under the patronage of Elizabeth, Lady Holland, and who painted, for the walls of the house, many of the most valued friends of its master. One of his best portraits is that of Princess Lieven. In the last of "the West Rooms "-around which, to those who know it well, many of the happiest associations of the house are entwined-are three interesting works of Hogarth, a view of Ranelagh; a portrait of the first Lord Holland ; and a scene of Private Theatricals (from Dryden's Indian Emperor) at the house of Mr. Conduitt, Master of the Mint, in which the first Lady Holland, then Lady Caroline Lennox, with her father and mother, took a part. portrait by Ramsay also hangs here, with that of her sister Lady Cecilia Lennox, who died of consumption at Holland House. Her From the third of the West Rooms a staircase leads to the Library (originally a Portrait Gallery), a long room, warm with a glow of crimson velvet, with two great carved chimney-pieces, and deeply recessed windows, from one of which there is a view, through the dark boughs of a cedar, into the radiant flower-garden. In one corner is Addison's folding-table (purchased at Rogers' sale) covered with faded green velvet, blotted by his pen. A little lobby leads from the library to the inner rooms. Here, on a pane of glass, are the lines written by Hookham Frere in 1811– "May neither fire destroy nor waste impair, Nor Time consume thee till the twentieth heir, Here also, amongst other relics, are |