the few "Private Collections" to which, through the good taste
and courtesy of the proprietor, the public are admitted, on
specified days, and under certain restrictions. The nucleus of
Earl Grosvenor's collection, was the purchase of Mr. Agar's
pictures for L30,000; since which it has been enlarged, till it
has at length become one of the finest in England. In the
drawing-room at Eaton are, _Our Saviour on the Mount of Olives_,
by Claude Lorraine, which is the largest painting known to have
been executed by him; and _A Port in the Mediterranean_, by
Vernet. In the dining-room, _Rubens with his Second Wife_; by
himself; and _The Judgment of Paris_, a copy, by Peters, after
Rubens. In the dressing-room of the state bed-room, _David and
Abigail_, also by Rubens. Over the ornamented chimney-pieces of
the hall are, West's _Dissolution of the Long Parliament_, and
_The Landing of Charles the Second_.

_Eaton_ is situated about three miles to the south of Chester, on the
verge of an extensive park, thickly studded with fine old timber. The
present "Hall" occupies the site of the old mansion, which is described
as a square and spacious brick building erected by Sir Thomas Grosvenor,
in the reign of William III. The architect was Sir John Vanbrugh, who
likewise laid out the gardens with straight walks and leaden statues, in
the formal style of his age. In the reconstruction, the fine vaulted
basement story of the old Hall was preserved, as were also the external
foundations, and some subdivisions; but the superstructure was altered
and entirely refitted, and additional apartments erected on the north
and south sides, so as to make the area of the new house twice the
dimensions of the old one.

The style of architecture adopted in the new Hall is that of the age of