The Ruin was designed by Mr. James Wyatt, and being
seated on the bank of the water, as well as in part in the wood, it
presents, with its creeping ivy and fractured buttresses, a most
pleasing object from various points of the garden. The _Hermitage (see
the Engraving)_ is a small circular thatched building, completely
embowered in lofty trees, and was constructed from a drawing of the
Princess Elizabeth. There is also a Gothic Temple, sacred to solitude,
and a well-imagined and picturesque barn, which heighten the appropriate
scenery. Too much cannot be said of the secluded beauty of this charming
spot, and nothing further need be said of the taste and judgment of
Major Price, to whom its arrangements have been entrusted."
The _Hermitage_ contains a tablet spread with fruit, eggs, and bread,
and a figure of a hermit reading the Scriptures; at the entrance are
the following lines, written on the marriage of the Princess Royal:--
Ye whom variety delights,
Descend awhile from Windsor's heights,
And in this hovel deign to tread,
Quitting the castle for the shed;
Such were the muse's favourite haunts,
From care secluded and from wants.
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