Deepdene is suffering from drought; but still it is a delightful place. We were sorry to hear that certain alterations are proposed in the house and grounds, which, if we understand them rightly, will so far alter the character of the place as to render it no longer the work of the late Mr. Hope. We care little about what may be done to the interior of the house, but we think every part of the exterior ought to be held sacred to the memory of the great and excellent man, the impress of whose mind it bears. The situation of the house precludes it from ever being made better than what it is; and, if it is thought objectionable in its present state, it appears to us that it would be much better to build another than to attempt to alter it; preserving the present one as a temple of virtu, and rendering it a depository of sculpture, architectural antiquities, paintings, and books. There must surely be many fine sites on an estate naturally so varied in surface, and now rendered so extensive by the addition of that of Betchworth Castle. The rooms in the present house at Deepdene are mostly low, and never can be rendered magnificent by increasing their length or area: a low room is only made worse by rendering it longer. Mr. Wood has raised a fine new dahlia, which he has named the Viscountess Beresford, and of which a notice will be found elsewhere. The Horticultural Society at Dorking is, we are happy to learn, in a most prosperous state. [Deepdene was in Dorking, Surrey, England. The house was biult by Thomas Hope, and designed by William Atkinson. Loudon viewed the composition of house and garden as a fine example of landscape architecture. The house was demolished in 1967. It was 1 mile east of Dorking]
