communicated with each other by means of massive folding doors, which
were now thrown open, and the eye wandered through a long vista of
brilliantly lighted rooms, the extent of which seemed increased ten-fold
by the multitude of immense mirrors placed on every side. Art, science
and taste had combined to produce an effect the most grand and imposing;
rare and costly paintings, exquisite statuary, gorgeous gildings, were
there, in rich profusion. But the most magnificent feature of Livingston
House was its _conservatory_, which was probably the finest in the
country, second only in beauty to the famous conservatory of the Duke of
Devonshire in England. A brief description of this gem of Livingston
House may prove interesting to the reader.

Leaving the hall through an arch tastefully decorated with flowers and
evergreens, the visitor descended a flight of marble steps, and entered
the conservatory, which occupied an extensive area of ground, and was
entirely roofed with glass. Though the season was winter and the weather
intensely cold, a delightful warmth pervaded the place, produced by
invisible pipes of heated water. The atmosphere was as mild and genial
as a summer's eve; and the illusion was rendered still more complete by
a large lamp, suspended high above, and shaped like a full moon; this
lamp, being provided with a peculiar kind of glass, shed a mild, subdued
lustre around, producing the beautiful effect of a moonlit eve! On every
side rare exotics and choice plants exhaled a delicious perfume; tropic
fruits grew from the carefully nurtured soil;--orange, pomegranate,
citron, &c. Gravelled walks led through rich shrubbery, darkened by
overhanging foliage. Mossy paths, of charming intricacy, invited the
wanderer to explore their mysterious windings. At every turn a marble
statue, life-sized, met the eye: here the sylvan god Pan, with rustic
pipes in hand--here the huntress Diana, with drawn bow--here the amorous
god Cupid, upon a beautiful pedestal on which was sculptured these
lines, said to have been once written by Voltaire under a statue of the
heathen divinity:

'Whoe'er thou art, thy master see;--
He _was_, or _is_, or _is to be_.'

In the centre of this miniature Paradise was an artificial cascade,
which fell over a large rock into a lake o'er whose glassy waters
several swans with snow white plumage were gliding; and on the brink of
this crystal expanse, romantic grottos and classic temples for