The _Falkland Room_ is uniformly in the style of Charles II., with family portraits of that date: viz. Margaret, daughter of Sir William Lytton, and wife of Viscount Hewyt; another daughter, Dorothy, wife of Sir Francis Barrington of Barrington; a third, Judith, married to Sir Nicholas Strode; and fourth, Elizabeth, married to W. Windham of Felbrigge, ancestor of the celebrated statesman. Over the chimneypiece hangs a half-length of Charles II. in armour.
Another room, called _the Hampden_, is of a much earlier style of decoration and furniture than that which the name betokens. The curious old bed, the wardrobe, chimneypiece, &c., are about the time of Henry VIII. or Edward VI.
But the two most interesting rooms in this part of the house are, 1st, that called Queen Elizabeth’s, which is carved entirely, with magnificent old tapestry in fine preservation, and in which are a vast bed of carved oak, a rude chimneypiece supported by quaint stone figures, &c.; 2d, the room called Mrs. Bulwer Lytton’s, and occupied by her in her lifetime. This contrasts with the rest of the house, and is entirely modern. The walls, paneled in wainscot, white and gold, are hung round with her own drawings and paintings, some of which are of no common merit for a lady artist; here also are collected the portraits of her immediate family, her three sons, her mother, Sir Edward’s children, &c. But the feeling which dictated the character of this room is best told, perhaps, by the following inscription over the chimneypiece:--
“_This room, long occupied by Elizabeth Bulwer Lytton, and containing the relics most associated with her memory, her Son trusts that her descendants will preserve unaltered. Liberis Virtutis exemplar._”
The Village is long, straggling, primitive, and rural; the cottages neat, and all provided with gardens. In the centre is an alms-house for widows, built by the late Mrs. Bulwer Lytton, whose interest in all that concerned the poor of the neighbourhood, or the maintenance of the several duties connected with property, is visible everywhere.
The Church of Knebworth is worth visiting. In the private Chapel of the family are some very beautiful and costly marble monuments to several of the Lyttons, surmounted by faded banners, and the crested