Too much sameness in all the great houses in England

Thu 29 Apr 1779: I preached at Rothwell and Leeds, and on Friday noon, at Harewood. In the afternoon we walked to Mr. Lascelles’s house. It is finely situated on a little eminence, commanding a most delightful prospect, of hill and dale, and wood and water. It is built of a fine white stone, with two grand and beautiful fronts. I was not much struck with anything within. There is too much sameness in all the great houses I have seen in England: two rows of large, square rooms, with costly beds, glasses, chairs, and tables. But here is a profusion of wealth: every pane of glass, we were informed, cost six and twenty shillings. One looking-glass cost five hundred pounds, and one bed, six hundred. The whole floor was just on the plan of Montague House, now the British Museum. The grounds round the house are pleasant indeed, particularly the walks on the riverside and through the woods. But what has the owner thereof save the beholding them with his eyes?