There
is likewise a church, part of which looks old, connected with the palace.
The streets surrounding it have many gabled houses, and a general look of
antiquity, more than some other parts of London.
We then walked to the Waterloo station, on the same side of the river;
and at twenty minutes past one took the rail for Hampton Court, distant
some twelve or fifteen miles. On arriving at the terminus, we beheld
Hampton Palace, on the other side of the Thames,--an extensive structure,
with a front of red brick, long and comparatively low, with the great
Hall which Wolsey built rising high above the rest. We crossed the river
(which is here but a narrow stream) by a stone bridge. The entrance to
the palace is about half a quarter of a mile from the railway, through
arched gates, which give a long perspective into the several quadrangles.
These quadrangles, one beyond another, are paved with stone, and
surrounded by the brick walls of the palace, the many windows of which
look in upon them. Soldiers were standing sentinel at the exterior
gateways, and at the various doors of the palace; but they admitted
everybody without question and without fee. Policemen, or other
attendants, were in most of the rooms, but interfered with no one; so
that, in this respect, it was one of the pleasantest places to visit that
I have found in England. A good many people, of all classes, were
strolling through the apartments.
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