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Leicestershire and Rutland Notes and Queries and Antiquarian Gleaner
Leicestershire and Rutland Notes and Queries and Antiquarian Gleaner Author:John Spencer Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: head of remarkably fine deer. A fine sheet of water of about 25 acres runs through the park. The mansion-house, one of the largest and most elegant displays of m... more »odern architecture in the County of Leicester, is a light and elegant square building, backed by a fine wood in contrast with a wild heath at a due distance, and a variety of delightful scenery surrounds it. A full description of this noble edifice, and of the portraits and curiosities contained in it, may be found in Nichols's History of Leicestershire, but of it, and of the family of Ferrers, further mention must be reserved for another paper. Alpha. 31.—A Noted Painting at Belvoir.— Dutch Proverbs, by David Teniers (a.d. 1610-1694).—Single out any one ordinary person from a score of others, who, by the courtesy of the noble owner are allowed to go over the Castle and grounds at Belvoir, that wonderful storehouse of paintings and articles of vertu, and of the choicest and rarest of plants—ask him what single object was most firmly impressed upon his mind—that is, supposing he has a mind—-and the odds will be greatly in favour of his fixing on the painting known as the Dutch Proverbs, in that well-known and well-lighted picture gallery. It is not, although a valuable picture, by any means the most valuable in that priceless collection; it is, however, clever and unique, and in every respect deserving a Note as to its object, and a Query as to its subject, for it is worthy of study and of clear explanation. The courteous cicerone, in shewing you rapidly over the place, is perforce only able to give a brief and rapid sketch of the subjects, which only serve to whet the appetite, and make you anxious to learn more about it. The picture is in size about seven feet by four-and-a-half, and is oblong in shape. It contains som...« less