At the foot of the staircase is a large painting, formerly _in fresco_ at
Houghton House, which was taken off the wall, and put on canvass by an
ingenious process of the late Mr. Salmon. It represents a gamekeeper, or
woodman, taking aim with a cross-bow, full front, with some curious
perspective scenery, 6 feet by 9-1/2 feet. We have heard a tradition, that
it is some person of high rank in disguise; some say James I., who was once
on a visit at Houghton. From the propensities of "gentle King Jamie," this
is not unlikely.

The pleasure ground at the back of the house, commands a pleasing,
extensive view; beyond this is the lime walk, which is certainly one of the
finest in England.--It is upwards of a quarter of a mile in length, the
trees in some parts, finely arching; and may be pronounced, upon the whole,
superior to any walk in Oxford or Cambridge.

The park in which this house stands, is well known, from many descriptions,
to be a singularly picturesque and pleasing one. It is, at the same time, a
small one, but the dimensions are concealed by the numerous and beautiful
groups of trees with which it is studded. The oaks are particularly
celebrated for their great size and age, several of them are supposed to be
upwards of 500 years old, and some do not hesitate to say 1,000 years; the
girth of many of them is ten yards, or considerably more. A survey of this
park, by order of the Conventional Parliament, in 1653, pronounced 287 of
these oaks as being hollow, and too much decayed for the use of the navy.
The whole of these remain to this day, and may, perhaps, continue two or
three centuries longer; some few of them have been scathed by lightning.

Behind the house, near the entrance of the park from the turnpike-road, are
some ponds, similar in appearance to those frequently seen adjoining
ancient mansions; above these, at the edge of a precipice, was the front of