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J793- nüte examination is neceffary to convince the fpedtator that it is riot the-
Auguft, work o f a painti^ father • ffiiri that o f a'ffi&feSi^P, .'Énd vthat the jjëheiP
Has' hot been employed to produce - the effect inftead of" the trowel.
Thefe bricks have -the' fmoothnefs' o f fhafble,s afekixteén inches in'
length, 'eight inchës hrqad, and’t#efv2n& aüxHMfïri' tMcknéfs; '
The wholfe range b f buildingsextent* tW 'fdiftm<5 parts,, which
were inhabited by thé Ambaffador 'drid '-Si?f<5é‘ö^ge ’Staunton', occupy
but one-, though a very lofty ftory.' ” The courts are fpaeidus arid regular
fquares, and paved with large flat ftfines/ Before] the-building, in
each of thefe'fquares, there is-’a raifed terrace o f about three feet, to
which there are regfmr ffights'bf fteps inrhecenter o f each angle,’-2nd,
of courfe, correfpöndïng with each otHéri. Over thefe terraces there is’a
pf^ëSmgfïödf,'’'Which expends tb^bre&dfh^f them, ahdKis fhpported
by light jèllars o f wood,1 ringed' at eqtfal dHtariées, and !connè&fed by
a railing o fffahcifuT contrivance] The whole ;li*gilt''and pSinted-lwitH
much prèttïnêfs, as to pattern a rid eólóür^anclTöfm’s 'a rndrfclegSnt
piazza, that nót only’addè to the1 grandeur, büt-, which’i's ’k ’better
thing, to the convenience o f this fuperb manfion.
T ’ Here I firft obfervedthe fuperiority o f the Chinefe in the art o f houfe
painting, to which they give a glofs equal tri-japan, fhaBif<^oialy*pre>.
ferves the colorirspfrom fading,‘ but never fuflers any -injury kfëlffrom
the exposition of air, ordun,; or rain. I at firft eonffdéred this effedl
to have been produced by vamiftr, but f afterwards difeovered that it
proceeded from certain ingredients with which the colours are.originally
mixed, and not from any fecond operation.
The apartments are very commodious' and o f large dimenfions ,
fome of them were hung with a gliftening paper o f a pattern, both as
to colour and beauty, far fuperior to any I had' ever feen in Europe:
others were curioufly painted and enriched with gilding. Thofe occupied
by Lord Macartney were numerous, and elegant, and con-
tamed a private theatre. The. latter is of a fquare form, with a paint-
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qd gallery which-runs- entirely round- it fo f .the^ audience: the ftage is
raifed from the floor about three feet, and has the.appearance of a large Auguft
platform : it is furrounded by a wooden railing, andfias a paflage of
eight feet wMe.all fourid it r bebandnthe. ftage* is'a fuite. o f rooms for
the] c'ririvrintenc^! bf-'the a£tbrs, who drefs in them," or retire thither to
make any rieceflary transformation in their characters during' the per-
Torinrance; The buildirig is very lofty, and the roof elegantly painted.
T h e 1 apartments o f Sir George Staunton were alfo very handfome and
corivehieri't-.' The ’whole fuite Werdli-kewife accommodated in a. mariner
thatfei^e-'them the tmrft en&fe fatisferitioHi.'
* The window’s are covered with glared paper, and the doors o f the
principal rooms corifift ^gilded^firime-work, which .is-fitted up with.
■ firie fil-k gauze, inftriad o f glafs. - T h e frames,,'-both of- the doors 'and
Windo^v are richly gilt; and, in the wairm feafons, the former being
’aJvvays kqpt open, a-curtain,. i f it may be fo {flailed,. o f painted fretwork,
nqade oflbamboo', fupplies their place, as 1 have already oblerved.
in former defe'riptions. . :
In ftveril COiusts^of the palace there are'artificial rocks and ruins o f
no iWfekn?-contrivance, which, though not very congenial to their fitua-
tion, were formed with confiderable {kill, and were, in themfelves,.
very happy imitations of thofe -objerits they were defigned to repre*
fent. To thefe may be added, the triumphal arches, which arifej
with all thdfif^ciful devices, in various parts o f the building.
This noble manfion is of great extent, and calculated to afford every
kind of princely accommodation j but, with all its magnificence, as to.
the number of the apartments, and the general difplay of the whole,
its only furniture was fome chairs and tables, and a few ImalJ platforms
covered with carpets and bamboo matting.
Beneath the floor, in each of the principal apartments, is a ftove, or
furnace of brick-work, with a circular tube that is.conducted round s the