The first effect of the house, in the proposed approach, is represented in the second sketch [fig. 225]: after passing along the great glade, which is terminated by the island in Drakelow-pond, and which, from its length, and the size of the trees, is very magnificent, the road winds among some large oaks, betwixt whose lofty stems the house first appears, partially exciting the attention, till, on our quitting the grove, it is at once displayed to us in all the pomp of greatness, blended with the intricacy of picturesque irregularity. It has no longer the effect of a solitary and inconsiderable edifice, but a palace, of depth proportioned to its front, and accompanied by all the cupolas, and domes, and more elevated parts of those attendant buildings and offices, which it has become the false taste of modern times to hide by plantations. Add to all this, that the whole seems embosomed in a magnificent wood, and, as seen across the valley, it appears elevated and not depressed, while its apparent quantity marks its character as a ducal palace.
