Chatsworth; His Grace the Duke of Devonshire. - Since we last saw this place in 1831 (see Vol. VII. p. 395.), it has undergone many improvements, and of these the most remarkable is the erection of a large tropical conservatory. In general design it may be compared to a cathedral with a central aile and side ailes. The entrances will be at the ends, through porches, which will be treated as green-houses; and, when the whole is completed, it will cover above an acre and a quarter of ground. There will be a carriage drive through it; which will form part of a general drive through the pleasure-grounds. The conservatory is situated in an open part of a lofty wood, in nearly the centre of the pleasure-grounds, and it is unquestionably the largest structure of the kind in existence or on record. The framework, of the main building, which is of wood, is all put up, and is just beginning to be glazed. It will be heated by six fires, all of which, and the means of access to them, the places for fuel, &c., will be under ground, and the chimneys carried in a tunnel up the side of a hill to the distance of nearly a furlong, so that not the slightest appearance of artificial heating, or smoke, or sheds, &c., will appear, either within the house or exterior to it. We shall not enter into details, because, when the building is finished, these will doubtless be made public by Mr. Paxton; by whom the whole has been designed, and under whose direction it has been executed. We cannot avoid noticing the very judicious manner in which Mr. Paxton has proceeded with this building, which will be completed in the most scientific, elegant, and substantial manner; and with a degree of economy, considering the immense magnitude of the structure, that will in the end surprise every one and redound greatly to his credit, and to the honour of the noble duke, his benevolent and enlightened employer.
