His escapes from these demands upon his time were so
frequent, and the attraction of the woods of Theobalds so irresistible,
that remonstrances were made to him on the subject; but they proved
entirely ineffectual. He declared he would rather return to Scotland
than forego his amusements.
Theobalds, in the time of its grandeur, might be styled the
Fontainebleau of England. Though not to be compared with Windsor Castle
in grandeur of situation, or magnificence of forest scenery, still it
was a stately residence, and worthy of the monarch of a mighty country.
Crowned with four square towers of considerable height and magnitude,
each with a lion and vane on the top; it had besides, a large,
lantern-shaped central turret, proudly domineering over the others, and
"made with timber of excellent workmanship, curiously wrought with
divers pinnacles at each corner, wherein were hung twelve bells for
chimage, and a clock with chimes of sundry work." The whole structure
was built, says the survey, "of excellent brick, with coigns, jambs, and
cornices of stone." Approached from the south by a noble avenue of
trees, planted in double rows, and a mile in length, it presented a
striking and most picturesque appearance, with its lofty towers, its
great gilded vanes, supported, as we have said, by lions, its crowd of
twisted chimnies, its leaded and arched walks, its balconies, and its
immense bay windows. Nor did it lose its majestic and beautiful aspect
as you advanced nearer, and its vast proportions became more fully
developed.
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