ANECDOTE GALLERY.


* * * * *


HOBBES AT CHATSWORTH.[6]

[6] From Rhodes's "Peak Scenery."


Of all the personages connected with the local history of Chatsworth,
who may have been rendered conspicuous either by their situation or
their talents, perhaps no one has a more powerful claim to notice than
the once celebrated latin poet and philosopher, Hobbes: his connexion
with the Devonshire family began early in life, and Chatsworth, in
consequence, became his occasional residence; he was a man originally of
a weak constitution, and he is said to have been subject through life to
imaginary and unnecessary personal fears, which continually preyed upon
and agitated his spirits; yet by a strict and uniform attention to diet
and exercise, he lived to the age of 92. He was a very early riser, and
as soon as he had quitted his bed he walked or rather ran to the tops of
some of the hills about Chatsworth, that he might enjoy a fresher and a
purer breeze than circulated through the valley. This practice he
continued until he was compelled to relinquish it by the infirmities of
age. After breakfast he visited the Earl and the Countess of Devonshire
and their children, until about twelve o'clock, when he dined in a
private apartment by himself: he then retired to his own room, where ten
or twelve pipes, filled with tobacco, were ranged in a row on his table