THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES "Better for man Were he and nature more familiar friends.' ON FOOT THROUGH THE PEAK; OR A SUMMER SAUNTER AMONG THE HILLS AND DALES OF DERBYSHIRE. BY JAMES CROSTON, AUTHOR OF "BCXTON AND ITS RESOURCES," ETC., ETC. "There is a pleasure in the pathless woods, There is a rapture in the lonely shore, There is society where none intrudes. By the deep sea and music in its roar ; I love not maij the less but nature more From these our interviews, in which I steal From all I may be, or have been before, To mingle with the universe, and feel What I can ne'er express, yet cannot all conceal." 4 BvROJf. SECOND EDITION. MANCHESTER : JOHN HEYWOOD, 141 AND 143, DEANSGATE. LONDON: SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, & CO. 1868. PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. THIS volume owes its existence to no pre-arranged plan of travel for the purpose of writing a book, the excursion, of which it is a record, having been undertaken solely with the desire of combining healthful recreation with intellectual amusement, and to cultivate a more close acquaintance with the charms of nature. It is hoped, however, that, without claiming to rank as a guide to the Peak district of Derby- shire, it may be found an agreeable and useful companion to the tourist, by facilitating his progress and enhancing his enjoyment while visiting that romantic region. A few of the earlier chapters have already appeared in the columns of the MancJiester Courier, under the title of "A Ramble in the Peak of Derbyshire," and the approval they met with at the time has induced the Author to extend his labours, and to offer the narrative in its now complete form. He has taken no pains to amuse by relating imaginary adventures, his aim having been rather to portray scenes as 879311 IV. . PREFACE. they appeared to him at the time he witnessed them to give, as far as he has been able, a true presentment of nature in her various and ever-changing aspects, with such historical notices as might be applicable, or add to the interest of the places described. At the same time he is conscious of having failed in conveying to the reader more than a limited idea of the loveliness and beauty of the country he has traversed. The matter is derived from notes and observations made during the rapidity of the journey, frequently in a brief style, and without any immediate view to their publication. Had time and other avocations permitted, many of these hasty sketches might have been re-arranged and improved. To do so, however, though it might have rendered them in some respects more complete, would have deprived them of what- ever freshness, precision, and circumstantiality may attach to them in their present form. In conclusion, the Author would bespeak the indulgence of the reader for any defects or short-comings which may appear; and in deprecation of any harsh criticism, he would observe that the text has been written hastily in his leisure hours oftentimes in those brief moments which he has been enabled to snatch from other and more legitimate pursuits. PEEFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION THE call for a second edition has enabled the Author to revise his work, and bring down the information to the present time. He has also reconstructed one or two of the earlier chapters, and abridged several hastily-written passages that appeared to make larger demands upon the patience of his readers than it might be desirable to venture upon; by so doing he has been able to include the description of other places of interest that for want of space were omitted in the first edition. A new feature in the present volume is the Itinerary appended to it, which it is hoped will be found serviceable to the tourist. The Author's thanks are due to several friends for sugges- tions and information obligingly communicated, and he gladly avails himself of the opportunity of acknowledging his obliga- tion to Llewellynn Jewitt, Esq., F.S.A. of Winster Hall, near Matlock, for the loan of several of the engravings of Derby- shire scenery that give interest to the following pages. THE GROVE, CHEETHAM HILL, Near MANCHESTER, JUNE, 1868. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. PAGE. INTBODUCTOKY 1 CHAPTER II. Adieu to Cottonopolis A Railway Trip Derbyshire Hills Lyme Cage A Woodland Dell The Valley of the Goyt Whaley Bridge Dickey of Tunstead Chapel-en-le-Frith The Roos- dych A Rural Highway A Sunset Scene Limestone Fossils The Winyates A Mountain Defile The Vale of Castleton A Tale of Blood Castleton The Bull's Head ... 7 CHAPTER III. Castleton Peak Castle and its Annals The Peverels Flight of William Peverel, and forfeiture of his Possessions A Tourna- mentSir Walter Scott A Morning Walk Remains of the Castle Feudal Barbarism An extensive Prospect Mam Tor Roman Encampment Cave Dale A Transition A gloomy Pass Basaltic Column 18 CHAPTER IV. Castleton The Church An eccentric Attorney Geology in hum- ble life The Manchester Geological Society and Elias Hall Daft Sammy Caverns, and their origin : Observations thereon Peak Cavern A Stygian Pool Angels of Darkness Speed- well Mine An unfortunate Speculation Bottomless Pit Blue- John Mine Fluor Spar : its great antiquity Stalactites and Stalagmites Odin Mine 34 Till. CONTENTS. V CHAPTER V. PAGE. Hope Dale Cupola Furnace Hope Ancient Church Brough A Roman Station Brough Mill A singular Tenure The Derwent Mytham Bridge An enthusiastic Botanist Barn- ford The Church Winhill Traditions An Evening Walk Hathersage Beautiful Church Village Custom Little John's Birth-place and Grave Higgar Rocks Carl's Work Millstone Edge Extensive Prospect A pleasant Walk A toilsome Ascent Rest by the way Delightful Prospect Historical Reminiscences The Past and the Present A rapid Descent Eyam ..-.-....59 CHAPTER VI. Eyam The Plague Its introduction into Eyam A faithful Pastor Spread of the Disease Cucklet Church Death of Mrs. Mompesson Affecting Letters Character of Mompesson The Athens of the Peak Anna Seward Rev. Peter Cunningham Richard Furness William Wood The Riley Gravestones A neglected Church Runic Cross Cucklet Dell and the Pulpit Rock Difficulties Moonlight Scene Middleton Dale Stoney-Middleton - - - - - 84 CHAPTER VII. Stoney-Middleton Tepid Spring Middleton Hall Changing Scenery Calver A lovely Morning Haymaking Baslow Pretty Views Chatsworth The Cavendishes Bess of Hard- wicke Building Mania Hobbes An insult and its conse- quences The Civil Wars Rebuilding of Chatsworth The beautiful Duchess A Kiss for a Vote The late Duke of Devonshire : his munificent liberality Enlargement of Chats- worth The Peer and the Peasant Death of the Duke - - 104 CHAPTER VIII. Baslow The Peacock Chatsworth Park Out for a Holiday The Palace of the Peak A Year of Sorrow Verrio The State Apartments Mary Queen of Scots Exquisite Carving Bolton Abbey in the olden time The Liber Veritatis of Claude The Sculpture Gallery The Gardens Grand Cas- cadeA veritable Weeping Willow Rock Scenery Conser- vatory Emperor Fountain Historical Trees Kitchen Gar- dens A Royal Lily Hunting Tower The Stables Mary Queen of Scots' Bower Adieu to Chatsworth - - - 119 CONTENTS. IX. CHAPTER IX. PAGE. Edensor A Model Village ChatswortJi Inn A steep Ascent Repose Charming Prospect Ball Cross Haddon Vale Bakewell The Castle Saxon Remains Mineral Spring Ancient Church Monumental Effigies The Vernon Chapel Runic Cross Curious Epitaph An Evening Walk The winding Wye Haddon An old-fashioned Bridge Quaint- looking Cottage The Boar's Head and Peacock - - - 148 CHAPTER X. Haddon The Avenells The Vernons- The King of the Peak Dorothy Vernon The Manners Family A Venerable Retainer Haddon Hall Domestic Chapel Roman Altar The Great Hall Convivial Custom- Dining Room Banquetting Gallery Eagle Tower Extensive Prospect Twilight Dorothy Vernon' s Walk The Gardens Ancient Feudalism and Mod- ern Refinement The Mansion : when erected Reminiscences Rowsley The Peacock: the beau ideal of a countiy hostelry 161 CHAPTER XI. Early Morning Again upon the Road Peak Tor View from the Summit Sheep walk Wood A Rest by the Way A Charming Landscape Stanton Stanton Hall Hospitality A Derby- shire Neck Stanton Moor Druidical Remains A Puzzled Rustic Woodland Shade View into Derwent Dale Heart Stone Gorse Stone Cat Stone Nine Ladies A Leafy Labyrinth Andle Stone - - - - - - -183 CHAPTER XII. Birchover The Red Lion A Niggardly Landlord A hint for Bachelors Rowtor Rocks Rocking Stones Rowtor: deriva- tion of the word A Ruined Tenement Bradley Rocks More Druidical Remains Solitude and Repose A pleasing Prospect Curious Rock Scenery Bog and Brake A Rugged Path Cratliff Tor Anchorite's Cell Robin Hood's Stride Dur- wood Tor Sepulchral Remains A Shady Lane Win.ster Club Feast Friendly Societies The Church Yew Trees: why planted in Churchyards Winster Hall .... 195 X. CONTENTS. t CHAPTER XIII. PAGE. A Rural Highway Wensley Dale Wensley Red Lion No. 2 and its guests A Rustic's Opinion freely expressed Education Female Training Home Influence Oker Hill Roman En- campment Toilsome Ascent Magnificent Prospect Darley Dale The Brothers : a parting memorial The Derwent May Dale Mine Matlock Bridge Matlock Church Curious Strata Hydropathic Establishment Matlock Dale The High Tor A subject for Geologists Barytes Mill Crystal- lized Cavern Variegated Barytes Matlock Bath - - - 207 CHAPTER XIV. Matlock Bath : its early history The first Bath Spar Manufac- ture -Museums Petrefaction working Thermal Springs Natural Attractions Byron and Mary Chaworth An Eve- ning stroll The new Church The Stables- A Rendezvous for Idlers A motley Company The Museum Parade View from the Terrace Sunset Moonlight Scene A thunder- storm Late Excursionists 223 CHAPTER XV. Matlock Bath A Morning Walk Glenorchy Chapel Willersley Castle Cromford Church The Bridge A Dangerous Leap Lea Hurst, the home of Florence Nightingale Anthony Babington Cromford Mills Scarthin N ick Caverns : their formation A Money-getting race Heights of Abraham Sylvan Shade The Cavern Terrace Repose Montgomery : his impromptu on Matlock Scenery Victoria Tower A Beauteous Scene Reminiscences A Magnificent Landscape. 233 CHAPTER XVI. A Winding Descent The Rutland Cavern Ancient Workings Minerals and Crystallizations The Roman Gallery An Em- bowered Path Volcanic agency Romantic Rocks Silence and Solitude Fluor Cavern The Cumberland Cavern Underground Scenery The Harpsichord A Rugged Road Snow Fossil The Roman Hall Chaos The Queen's Palace Organic remains A Mischievous Propensity The Sailor's Hall Stalactitic Encrustations Return to daylight A Char- ming View The Devonshire Cavern 249 CONTENTS. XI, CHAPTER XVII. A Contrast Smiles and Tears Cromford Bonsall Hollow Via Gellia An Oasis Cascades Griff Dale Grange Mill Long Cliff Wharf A Change of Scene Rock and Foliage Generous Hospitality Pastoral Scenery A Happy Country Bradbourn Mill A Wide Horizon Tissington : A Roman- tic Village A Primitive-looking Church A Sabbath in the Country Tissington Hall A Lingering Custom Well- dressing 261 CHAPTER XVIII. Tissington Park The Slue Bell Fertility and Cultivation Fenny Bentley Ashbourn An Ancient Town Ashbourn Hall The Cockaynes The Boothbys Ashbourn Church : the Pride of the Peak Penelope Boothby Monumental Sculpture Tom Moore " Those Evening Bells " A fertile Vale Mappleton A fine Retrospective View A solitary Road A rugged Path Thorp The Dove Dak Hotel Ham Memorial Cross Ham Hall The Church Monument to Mr. Pike Watts Ancient Runic Cross Juvenile Despotism A gay Costume 276 CHAPTER XIX. Evening Dove Dale Bunster Hill and Thorp Cloud The Dean of Clogher Impressive Scenery Tissington Spires Dove Dale Church Reynard's Hall Solitude Sunset A difficult Path Pickering Tor and the Steeples Dove Holes Upper division of Dove Dale Walton and Cotton Twilight Als- tonfield MilltDale Hanson Toot Moonlight Narrow Dale Pike Pool Cotton's Fishing House Beresford Hall The Beauties of Dove Dale Beresford's Glen Hartington - - 294 CHAPTER XX. The Sleigh Arms Hartington Thomas Bateman A Renovated Church A Moorland Country Steering by Compass A Dreary Landscape Arbor-Low Tradition and Superstition Drujdical Remains Sins of Commission One Ash Grange A Penal Settlement Sunshine and Shade Ricklow Dale A Cool Retreat Source of the Lathkill Lathkill Dale Solitude A Sight for an Artist Picturesque Corn Mill Deserted Lead Mine Sough Mill Contentment Lepping Stones Meadow Place A Beauteous Prospect Over Haddon Conksbury Bridge Bakewell 310 111. CONTENTS. CHAPTER XXI. Bakewell Holme "Wood loadstone Lumford Mill Ashford Hall Ashford-in-the-Water A Venerable Church The Rookery Marble Works- Roadside Pictures Brushfield Finn Cop A Cascade A Railway Viaduct Monsal Dale : the Arcadia of the Peak A Pastoral Scene' Cressbrook Mill A Shady Glen A Toilsome Ascent Litton Mill The Peak Minstrel Millar's Dale Tideswell Raven Tor The A ngler's Rest A Viaduct Buxton Diamonds A Warning to Tres- passers Difficulty and Danger Poaching A Picturesque Dell Chee Tor A Peiilous Path Magnificent Scene Chee Dale Blackwell Dale Topley Pike Approaching Night Pig Tor Ash wood Dale Moonlight The Devonshire Arms Lover's Leap Sherbrook Dell Buxton .... 327 CHAPTER XXII. Buxton : its Early History Chapel of St. Ann The Hall Mary Queen of Scots Distinguished Visitors Vagrancy Buxtou in the Seventeenth Century The Crescent The Square The Great Stables St. John's Church Modern Improve- ments St. Ann's Cliff Serpentine Walks Corbar Wood Railway Communication Progress Resources Hotel Ac- commodation Life at Buxton Amusements A Public Want Climate Thermal Springs: their Origin, Mineral Ingre- dients, and Gaseous Constituents Buxton Waters : the Springs Analyses Gaseous Impregnation Divided Opinions Curative Power Tonic Chalybeate Analysis The Baths The Bath Charity and Devonshire Hospital Privileges of Subscribers. ---------- 353 CHAPTER XXIII. Buxton Sunrise Early Rising and Town Hours Extremes View from St. Ann's Cliff A Morning Scene Marble Inlaying Poole's Hole A Modern Innovation- Chaotic Scene A Petrifying Stream Stalactites and Stalagmites A Compari- son Mary Queen of Scot's Pillar Pre-historic Remains Grinlow Solomon's Temple The Cottage of Content Diamond Valley The Lime Works A Striking Scene Burbage Axe-edge The Cat and Fiddle Fair-field The Barms Departure from Buxton Adieu to Derbyshire Conclusion - ... 379 ILLUSTRATIONS. PAOB. Peak Cavern 42 Bamford Church 66 Riley Gravestones 92 Runic Cross and Mrs. Mompesson's Tomb, Eyam Churchyard - 95 The Pulpit Rock, Cucklet Dell 100 Duke of Devonshire's Tomb, Edensor Churchyard ... 118 The Rock Gardens, Chatsworth ... ... 137 The Great Conservatory, Chatsworth 139 Old Hunting Tower, Chatsworth - - - - - - -145 Mary Queen of Scots' Bower, Chatsworth 147 HaddonHall - 159 Dorothy Vernon's Door, Haddon 163 The Banquetting Hall, Haddon .... -168 Doorway leading to Banquetting Hall, Haddon .... 169 .Oriel Window, Haddon -170 Staircase, Haddon 171 The Terrace, Haddon 177 The High Tor 218 Willersley Castle 234 Lea Hurst, the Home of Florence Nightingale .... 239 Rutland Cavern, Matlock 251 CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTORY. " England ! thou hast, within thy wave-girt isle, Scenes of magnificence and beauty rare, Too often scorn'd by thy ungrateful sons, Who leave, unseen, thy lovely hills and vales, And seek for pleasure 'neath a foreign sky." ROGERSON. " KNOW most of the rooms of thy native country before thou goest over the threshold thereof; especially, seeing England presents thee with so many observables." This was the advice given by quaint old Fuller a couple of centuries ago, advice that would not be out of place even now a days, when summer after summer so many pleasure-seekers betake themselves to the continent, rambling over hill and < valley, among glaciers, and through narrow ravines and inoun- ; tain passes, in order that they may be enabled to utter a few worthless commonplaces on the charms of scenery a glory- I fying of nature that has degenerated into a mere sentimental ' adoration of the picturesque features of particular countries whilst localities nearer home, where nature presents herself in a garb not less beautiful and romantic, are passed by with indifference, oftentimes for no other reason than that they are more conveniently accessible. It is true the mountains of our own country may not ex- hibit the wild desolation of Mont Blanc, or compare with the savage grandeur of Alpine scenery; but there are features and characteristics peculiarly their own that amply compen- sate for the stern rigidness and lofty magnificence of their foreign rivals. It is the soft and graceful beauty, and the happy propor- > tion of the component parts that constitutes the great charm jf our home scenery : there is in it an endless variety of form B 2 ON FOOT THROUGH THE PEAK. and outline, a blending together of hill and dale, of wood and water, with a diversity in the colouring of the foliage and vegetation with which that of no other country can compare. But he who would thoroughly appreciate the rich stores of England's beauty, must leave her iron roads and beaten high- ways, and wander lovingly over her green hills and explore the mazy windings of her secluded and charming dales ; in the early greyness of the morning, when the mists still linger in the vales and the dew lies heavy upon the grass ; at mid- day, when the landscape is bathed with a flood of brilliant radiance ; and at eventide, when the declining sun fills the glowing west with gorgeous beauty, and the shadows lie in lengthened lines upon the grassy slopes, and the woods and valleys are wrapped in a rich glow of golden light. He must follow the sweet meanderings of her mountain streams, wind- ing hither and thither through shady nooks and fairy glens, all fringed and festooned with greenery, where the tributary rills come trickling down from the mossy heights gladdening the ear with their tiny melodies. He must loiter in her bye- lanes, between banks rife with ferns, foxgloves, and blooming harebells, where the thick hedge-rows and the nodding trees mingle and form a bower over head, and the bright sunbeams playing through the leaves, dapple the greensward with their restless and ever-changing shadows. And so, pace from hamlet to hamlet, and from village to village, inhaling the sweet fra- grance of the flowery meads and listening to the joyous warblings of the birds, the mingled harmony of dancing leaves, the lowing of the kiue and the gentle murmuring of sunny music. If he will do all this, then he will understand some- thing of the charms of English scenery, and will learn that travelling at home is not less enjoyable than travelling abroad. Though the listless idler may pronounce such out-door wan- derings dull and wearisome, the man of active and inquiring mind will find in them a never-failing source of interest and amusement; to him every turn of the road, every sudden gleam of sunshine, and every flitting cloud-shadow that sweeps across the landscape is a pleasure, and the constantly recur- ring changes of scene that travel opens up, and the numerous individualities and circumstances that are brought objectively before him, afford equal enjoyment and gratification. If, with INTRODUCTION. 3 a keen perception of the beautiful, he happens to unite a knowledge of some branch of natural science if he is pre- pared to take as his lesson-book the works of God in nature, and derive instruction from the nmte preachers he meets with by the wayside, then his walk will become still more pleasu- rable and attractive ; he will be led to look " through Nature up to Nature's God," and in every object around him, however trivial and seemingly insignificant, he will recognise the evi- dence of a divine being, the witness of a divine power, and the outward and visible sign of a divine and inapproachable glory. How much enjoyment may be derived from things that seem trifling in themselves the naked lifeless-looking rock the shattered crag the fragment of limestone with its con- glomerate of primeval shells even the tiny pebble that -we kick before us all bear some evidence of the inner life of nature, and reveal something of the history of a pre-Adamite or an antediluvian age, shewing how worlds are constructed upon the wreck and ruin of preceding worlds, and how closely the waxing and waning of living races are bound up and asso- ciated with each other. The simple daisy with its elegant fringe-like petals the lily of the valley that breathes forth its balmy essence the common harebell with its azure flowers hanging in graceful clusters from the slender, thread-like stems the waving ferns which throw out their long droop- ing fronds the wild flowers that spring from the crevices of the rocks the leaves of the forest- the grasses of the field and the multitudinous variety of plants that our great Creator has scattered over the face of the earth, have each their individual forms, and are invested with a beauty peculiar to themselves. To descend lower in the scale of nature, the various forms of life we see germinating and springing up around us, all busy in the fulfilment of their offices of absorp- tion or reprodtiction the trailing lichen that clings so fondly to the crumbling weather-beaten rock the green moss that wreathes itself round the decayed and rotten-looking stump of some old, withered, and blasted tree the green, dust-like confervse all these, with a host of others, unfold their beau- teous forms and are suggestive of curious thought to the true lover of nature ; even the commonest fungus that grows in the 4 ON FOOT THROUGH THE PEAK. darkest, dreariest, out of the way spot, is possessed of a charm which, though unknown to the superficial observer, is at once manifest to the intelligent and inquiring eye. Of all the many beautiful localities in this our all-beautiful land, there is none more abundant in natural charms, or that possesses a greater diversity of objects to interest and attract, than that section of England which is comprised within the limits of what is usually designated the Peak district of Derbyshire a district that is as interesting from its historical associations, as it is remarkable for its geologic structure, its mineral wealth, and its picturesque beauty ; and where the many crumbling and time-stained monuments of the past the memorials of ancient chivalrous splendour which remain, are scarcely less striking and attractive, than the quiet pastoral beauty of its romantic vales, or the bold and rugged grandeur of the precipitous rocks that bound the course of its mountain streams. The singularly undulating character of the surface, and consequent variations of temperature which prevail, produce a corresponding change in the character of the scenery, so that, whilst in the high lands we have a region of heathy moors and wild and rugged rocks, with intervening glens and ravines, in the valleys the country assumes a more soft and pastoral character, exhibiting a rich fertility of soil, with an abundance of foliage and the most luxuriant vegetation, the contrast presented being at once striking and impressive. Oftentimes these distinct characteristics closely combine, when we have all the sternness and rugged grandeur of rock scenery united with the calm and placid beauty of a well- wooded and thoroughly cultivated country. We know of no district that more merits or better repays investigation than the Peak of Derbyshire, and to those in search of novel and rational sources of amusement, or who desire to cultivate a more intimate acquaintance with the charms of nature, we feel assured that there is no place that offers a greater fund of exciting interest or to which an excur- sion can be made with more pleasurable results. With us Derbyshire has long been a favourite theme ; on its moorland wastes our first lessons in peripatetics were learned; we have scaled its loftiest hills and explored the INTRODUCTION. 5 labyrinthine passages of its cavernous recesses ; we have ad- mired the wild scenery of its bleak fells and the charming beauty of its pastoral vales ; we have roamed with delight over its heathery heights and plucked the wild flowers in its secluded dells ; we have looked down upon the sweet vale of Castleton, and viewed the still more beautiful Hope Dale from the brow of Mam Tor ; with light and cheerful step we have climbed the steep acclivities of the rock, from the verge of which, for centuries past, the great stronghold of the Peverels has frowned upon the vale below. " The fierce and haughty Peverel's tower, The tower which Scott hath hallowed by romance, Standing in ruins on its lofty cliff." At Hathersage, which is said to have given birth to, and where rest the bones of famous " Little John," we have re- newed the darling theme of our boyhood, listening to the ballad history of Robin Hood and his followers, " Merry and free Under the leaves so green." " In this our spacious isle I think there is not one But he hath heard sortie talk of him and Little John ; And, to the end of time, the tales shall ne'er be done Of Scarlock, George-a'-Green, and Much, the miller's son, Of Tuck, the merry friar, which many a sermon made In praise of Robin Hood, his outlaws and their trade." Eyam, with its melancholy history, has long been familiar to us, and there, in the quiet eventide, seated on the high- backed settle in the chimney nook, we have listened to its tale of suffering and woe, and heard recounted the acts of Christian fortitude and heroic zeal displayed by its faithful pastor, William Mompesson ; we have gazed with wondering eye upon the gorgeous splendour of the "Palace of the Peak;" and wandered with fond delight through the silent courts and deserted halls of dear old Haddon, conjuring up bright visions of a far back age, when " Tapers shone, and music breathed, And beauty led the balL" We have mused in the ruined and roofless apartment at Wingfield, which once formed the prison house of Scotia's 6 ON FOOT THROUGH THE PEAK. hapless queen, and while contemplating its tottering walls and desolated chambers, we have been reminded of the mutability of earthly grandeur and human greatness. We have gazed upon the bewildering beauty of Matlock Dale, and followed the devious windings of Cotton's " beloved nymph, fair Dove ; " we have walked over fields where the hardy Briton and his invading foe have rushed to the deadly onslaught, and where cavalier and roundhead have met in fiercest conflict ; we have lingered in spots memorable alike in the history of the county and the kingdom, and have made acquaintance with places hallowed by associations that can never be dissevered from them, which have erst been the abiding places, and have inspired the genius of some of the brightest intellects of which England can boast. The recollection of our former rambles made us long to renew acquaintance with a district fraught with so many pleasing reminiscences ; it was therefore with feelings of hopeful anticipation of coming pleasure that we started upon the excursion which forms the subject of our narrative. CHAPTER II. Adieu to Cottonopolis A Railway Trip Derbyshire Hills Lyme Cage A Woodland Dell The Valley of the Goyt Whaley Bridge- Dickey of Tunstead Chapel-en-le-Frith The Roosdych A Rural Highway Sunset Scene Limestone Fossils TheWinyates A Mountain Defile The Vale of Castleton A Tale of Blood Castle- ton The Bull's Head. JULY, the richest, gayest month of all the year, the month when Nature arrays herself in her grandest robe and flowers in rich abundance bedeck the emerald meads, when the trees display all the fulness of their exuberant foliage and the orchards bend beneath the weight of their blushing fruit, when the water-flags begin to droop by the river's brink and the changing colour of the ripening grain tells of the coming of the joyous harvest time bright July was drawing near its close, the sun was circling towards the ruddy west, and the lengthening shadows that lay upon the ground, whilst denoting the near approach of evening, gave unmistakable evidence that the long summer days were beginning to draw in, when, with light heart and bounding step, and in the pleasant companionship of cheerful friends, we bade adieu to the busy, bustling manufacturing metropolis of the north, and some few minutes later were seated in the train and darting along over a mazy labyrinth of house-tops and mill- roofs, and through clouds of murky vapour on our way to the health-inspiring hills and valleys of the Peak. After passing through, or rather over, Stockport, with its smoke-begrimed mills, its countless factory chimneys and almost suffocating atmosphere, the country assumes a more picturesque and interesting character. On the left we have an uninterrupted view of the long chain of Derbyshire hills Kinder Scout, the highest point of the Peak range looming mistily in the distance ; ere long the prospect opens over the valley of the Goyt, and a charming valley it is, 8 ON FOOT THROUGH THE PEAK. with its deep wooded glens and green undulating hills, chequered with stone walls, and feathered here and there with clumps of trees and patches of plantation. On the right the eye takes in the broad flat meadows and rich pasture-lands of Cheshire, and as the train speeds along we catch glimpses of modern red-brick dwellings and quaint old-fashioned cottages with low-thatched roofs, and smiling farm-steads that lie scattered here and there. Every few minutes we stop at a road-side station where there is sure to be some show of life and bustle, and something worth noting or remembering ; then we hurry on rattling over viaducts, sumbling through deep sandy cuttings, and darting past rtraggling hamlets, past fields of waving grain, and acres of cultivated greenness. Everywhere the haymakers are at work, and as the playful breeze sweeps through the carriage, it loads tht air with the rich perfume of the new-mown hay. There are plenty of cattle grazing in the meadows, and as we thunder past, now and then a solitary horse throws up his heels, and with a loud snort scampers off, scared at the sound of our fiery iron steed ; and so we steam along, the changing scenes coming and going, and following each other in quick succession. " That's Lyme Cage," exclaims a rustic traveller, pointing towards a square stone tower that crowns the top of a grassy hill ; I've heerd as it were built by one o'th' Legh's to keep prisoners in i' Oliver Crummel's days." Was it not, we suggest, designed rather for the accommodation of the ladies of Lyme, that they might witness the sport of hunting without incurring the risk and fatigue of the chase 1 " Happen yore reet, mestur," is the reply ; " but that's what folks say here abouts, and I reckon them as lives here ought to know best," and our friend shakes his head in a manner that plainly indicates how firmly he believes in the truth of his statement. Now and then the bright beams of the declining sun come streaming upon us, and as we turn aside to avoid the glare, we get a passing glimpse of a deep hollow or woodland dell, at the bottom of which a narrow bye-path winds beneath the shadowing trees to some hidden retreat, where "fays and fairies love to dwell;" and the charm is heightened by a little brook that ripples merrily along, tumbling over the THE VALLEY OF THE GOTT. y stony ledges, and prattling cheerfully to the mossy boulders that bestrew its shallow bed. Anon we catch a glimpse of Disley Church, a quaint old structure crowning a wooded eminence on the right ; emerging from the tunnel, a little beyond the station, the line enters a deep cutting, where steep precipitous rocks, almost destitute of vegetation, shoot boldly up on each side, their naked fronts mapped and streaked with brown, and grey, and red, as if to make up for the lack of verdure ; whilst a dark shaly streak a few feet above the ground evidences the nature of the strata, and our close proximity to the coal formation. Passing through this cutting, we again come upon the open country, the railway for some distance running parallel with the Peak Forest canal, which here forms a pleasing feature in the landscape. Approaching Whaley Bridge, after passing the well-wooded grounds of Lyme Park, we have a charming retrospective view of the valley of the Goyt, the eye, as it ranges into the far distance, passing over a variety of scenery of the most beautiful and diversified character. When we reached the station, the sun was sinking below the western horizon, gilding with bright tints the highest peaks of the distant mountains ; the clouds were beginning to assume a ruddy burning tinge, suffusing a warm roseate tint over the scene; a purple gauze-like vapour hung over the valley, softening the outline of distant objects, yet so trans- parent as not to exclude the slightest undulation from the sight, so tender, so pure, so soft, that it conveyed the idea of atmosphere to perfection. The play of light and shade was admirable, the different gradations of colour all beautifully harmonizing together the bright green of the new-mown fields contrasting with the brown colouring of the heathy moors, and the more sombre tints of the distant woods ; the river sparkling in the warm sunlight, pursued its rapid course through a succession of fertile meadows, its banks clothed with luxuriant foliage, and the little groups of cottages and quiet homesteads that studded the green hill sides, gave an air of quietude and tranquillity to the scene. Bugsworth lay on the opposite side of the valley, and before us the little hamlet of New-Mills, romantically situated on the mountain slope, was dimly discernible through the evening mist, whilst 10 ON FOOT THROUGH THE PEAK. in the far distance the tower of Marple Church standing out in high relief against the evening sky, formed a striking object in the view. The whole scene was one of surpassing loveliness, and one that might vie in beauty with anything which the most florid imagination of the artist could create. At Whaley the extension line of the London and North Western railway commences ; here the little river Goyt which separates the counties of Derby and Chester is crossed, and a little further on the line sweeps round the head of the Comb's valley near the reservoir that supplies the Peak Forest canal. In constructing the railway embankment and bridge at this point considerable difficulty was experienced in conse- quence of the treacherous nature of the soil ; again and again the embankment slipped, and eventually the original route had to be slightly deviated from. Popular suggestion attri- buted the impediment to other than natural causes ; the general belief in the neighbourhood being that it was caused by the miraculous " Dickey," the ghostly owner of the skull which from time immemorial has had an abiding place in the window of a cottage at Tunstead, a little hamlet close by a relic of mortality that is said by tradition to have belonged to a female, one of two coheiresses who resided at the cottage, and who, having met with a violent death during the Com- monwealth period, declared in her dying moments that her skull should remain there for ever ; though another and more reliable authority tells us that it belonged to a trooper, " Ned Dickson" by name, who went " for a soldier across the salt sea To serve Henry-quatre with Lord Whilloughby, At Iviy he fought in the Hugenot war, And followed the white plume of him of Navarre ; Of Henry le Roi when he burst like a flood Through the ranks of the Leaguer's in glory and blood ;" and who, returning from the wars to his home at Tunstead, was strangled by his kinsman for the sake of his inheritance. Half a mile beyond the scene of " Dickey's" vagaries is the station for Chapel-en-le-Frith, the point where our railway journey terminates the town itself being some three-quarters of a mile distant. Chapel-en-le-Frith is a neat, clean and respectable looking CHAPEL-EX-LE-FRITH. 1 1 little town, pleasantly situated on the slope of a hill which rises from a deep and fertile valley shut in by lofty eminences that environ it on every side. The houses are, for the most part, built of grit stone obtained from the surrounding mountains, and though somewhat old-fashioned in aspect have an air of comfort about them that speaks much for the domestic thrift of their occupants. The principal street is steep and somewhat indifferently paved, with passages leading off on either side to queer little out of the way places ; the shops abutting upon the principal thoroughfare put on an air of business, and there is no lack of accommodation for tipplers if we may judge from the number of swing signs that hang invitingly across the way. The church, a comparatively modern structure without any pretensions to architectural excellence occupies the site of an earlier foundation, which gave name to the place ; an ancient stone coffin may still be seen in the graveyard, and a cross with the date 1637 inscribed upon it, occupies an elevated position in theTnafket place, contiguous to which are the stocks, a terror to evil doers in days gone by. Within a short distance of the town, on the north side, there is an interesting memorial of antiquity, called the Roosdych, which is believed to have been a Rhedagua, or racing-ground, in the Anglo-Roman period. The chariot- course, which still remains in a tolerably perfect state, appears to have been artificially formed by excavating along the side of the hill ; it is enclosed on each side by steep embankments of earth, the slopes of which are partially wooded with oak, elm, birch, and other trees, whose spreading bo\ighs, as they reach across, impart a verdurous shade that well accords with the ancient character of the place. We had purposed staying the night at Castleton, and as the evening was getting far advanced we wended our way in that direction, taking the road that leads along the side of Rushup Edge. At the end of the town the road separates; keeping to the left we cross the tramway, and then passing an iron foundry, continue along a pleasant rural highway, bordered by stone walls that alternate now and then with grassy banks, whereon grow clumps of thorns and brambles. The road soon leaves the open valley, and for some two or three miles beyond 12 ON FOOT THROUGH THE PEAK. is one continuous ascent. As we journey on many a pretty view is afforded us ; the patches of stone wall all grey and jagged and weather-stained that skirt the wayside are grown over with mosses and lichens, and well-nigh hidden from view by the ferns and brambles that thrive in rich profusion; while plantations of spruce and larch here and there impart a sense of shelter, and occasionally a stately oak or towering ash flings its umbrageous branches across the road, and chequers the sunny pathway with the shadows of the rustling leaves. Gradually the prospect widens, and on the right we obtain glimpses of green meadows and swelling uplands, with little rustic cottages hiding away in green cloughs and shady dells, and clustering together on grassy knolls and moorland heights. Ere long we reach the high ground, from whence we can overlook the pleasing features of the valley ; fields and meadows lie upon each side, bounded by steep hills, and deep in the hollow, where a little rivulet meanders freakishly through the verdant glade, cultivated enclosures, green lawns, and gravelled paths, shew where wealth and taste have en- croached upon the wild and untrimmed beauties of nature. Daylight was now fast fading from the landscape, and as we neared Slack Hall, an old-fashioned stone building erected, as the date over the door testifies, in the early part of last century, we paused to look back upon the valley through which we had passed, and a scene of varied loveliness met our view undulating eminences, partially covered with planta- tions of larch and mountain pine, surrounded us on every side ; Chapel-en-le-Frith lay beneath us, its presence indi- cated by the smoke curling upwards through the trees and the tower of its church, a fitting object to adorn the land- scape, rising over all ; Bowdon Hall and Bowdon Edge, with Chinley-Churn and cloud-capped Kinder, lay upon our right, and on the left a lovely valley, at the bottom of which a tinkling rill that rippled cheerfully through the meadows, separated us from a long chain of hills which stretch away in the far distance in the direction of Tideswell and Buxton ; before us, Eccles Pike reared high its lofty head, and a vast amphitheatre of mountains closed in the scene beyond. We lingered some time watching the changing effects of the expiring day ; twilight was coming on apace, and the SUNSET SCENE. 13 soothing shades of evening were beginning to close around; a few faint flickering streaks of golden light which yet lingered in the western heavens shewed where the sun had gone down behind the darkening hills, and as these gradually died away, a long train of black vapoury clouds stretched across the horizon, and gathered themselves in strange weird shapes round the fading light ; a deepening gloom crept stealthily across the sloping hill-sides, and spread itself over the fair green meadows ; the distant landscape now slowly faded from the sight, and more prominent objects began to assume a shadowy indistinctness ; mists were accumulating in the valleys, from which wreath after wreath ascended, like incense to the skies ; the last smiles of day that lingered upon the tops of distant mountains had died away, and as they vanished from the sight, a low murmuring breeze that arose, swept across the valley, and rustled through the branches of the trees with a strange mournful sound ; the bold and jutting headlands that in the dim uncertain light seemed to increase in magnitude, gradually melted away in gloomy indistinct masses, and the shadows of objects became blended in undistinguishable darkness ; a quiet stillness reigned around, all nature seemed hushed in repose, night gathered round her sable curtain and gently let down the canopy of mystery and darkness, earth and sky softly blended together, and the world appeared wrapped in impenetrable gloom. Deeply impressed with the soothing effects of this en- chanting scene, we journeyed on for some distance in uninter- rupted silence. After passing Slack Hall thff coxmtry assumes a more wild and moorland character, and for a distance of about three or four miles is as dreary and desolate as can well be imagined; though not positively sterile, it exhibits an almost entire absence of cultivation, and is totally devoid of picturesque beauty ; bleak moorland wastes extend as far as the eye can reach, everywhere intersected by stone walls, with here and there a tree planted as if for no other purpose than to remind the wayfarer of their general absence, and the barren and cheer- less character of the land. Bleak and barren however as this region is, the thoughtful 14 ON FOOT THROUGH THE PEAK. mind will find ample food for observation and enquiry. Half a mile beyond Slack Hall, a large quarry has been opened in the millstone grit and a little further on the road enters upon the limestone formation. Here the book of Nature opens its pages which, like the prophet's roll, are written within and without in characters of the sublimest significance. The stone walls on either hand are built up of limestone blocks, every fragment of which presents an almost bewilder- ing profusion of fossiliferous remains, the entombed types of living creatures that floated about in the carboniferous seas long ages before that " Awful shock Which turned the ocean bed to rock, And changed its myriad living swarms To the marble's veined forms." The limestone hereaboiits presents one vast aggregation of extinct organisms that thronged the waters with life long ere that the " Spirit of God had moved upon the face of the deep " here a huge productus is seen mingling with the long jointed stems of the encrinite ; there the delicate feather like retepora, the spirifera, and the ortlwcera with a host of others, are lying matted together the silent though eloquent witnesses of pain and pleasure, of suffering mingled with enjoyment, and the twin but opposing mysteries of life and death life, that barrier of the Creator's secret which we may never overpass, and death, the work of the pale King of Terror's effected milleniums of ages before man's first trans- gression. The entrance to the vale of Castleton is by a steep and winding road carried round the foot of Tray Cliff and along the base of Mam Tor, commanding at different points some fine scenic views of the country in and around Hope Dale, the sylvan beauty and fertile loveliness of which is rendered more apparent by contrast with the barrenness of the neigh- bouring moors, and the suddenness with which the prospect breaks upon the sight This road was cut about the beginning of the present century, previous to which the approach was by a narrow precipitous descent through the vale of Winyates or Winnats. We preferred the latter route to that by Tray Cliff, and THE WINYATES. 15 striking off suddenly to the right, followed the Buxton Road for a distance of about a quarter of a mile, then turning to the left, we passed through a gate and entered the rocky ravine of the Winnats, one of the most imposing scenes to be met with in any part of the High Peak. This chasm, which has been named the Wind-gates or portals of the urind, from the breezes that constantly sweep through and gather in every hollow and angle, has the appearance of having been at some remote period rent asunder by a convulsion of nature. Wild grandeur and stern magni- ficence are the characteristics of this gloomy pass, and to us the effect was heightened by the sudden transition from the bleak and desolate waste we had just traversed. On each side, stupendous piles of mountain limestone rise to an immense alti- tude, their summits split and rent into a variety of fantastic forms ; in some places huge shapeless masses jut out over the narrow causeway without any apparent support, menacing with destruction any one who may venture beneath ; shat- tered fragments of rock, which, having become detached, have been hurled down from the mountain tops, lie scattered about in wild profusion ; not a tree or a shrub is to be seen, the only sign of vegetation being a few patches of scant herbage thinly scattered about the fissures of the crags and upon the rocky slopes, affording pasturage to a number of sheep that skip about from cliff to cliff with marvellous agility. As the traveller advances, the mountains seem to gain additional elevation, and to increase in the interest they excite. Near the further end of the dale the road takes a sudden turn to the left, where a gigantic pile of rock, rising abruptly to a prodigious height, seems to oppose a barrier to all further progress ; winding round the base of this, a vista opens, and the lovely vale in which reposes the village of Castleton, comes suddenly upon the view, presenting the appearance of a wide-spread panorama, broken into pictur- esque undulations, and dotted over with snow-white cottages and little clustered folds whose presence was only revealed to us by the lights that twinkled through the evening gloom. To us, accustomed to the turmoil and bustle of a crowded city, the effect of this rocky gorge was rendered more than ordinarily striking by the time and circumstances under 16 ON FOOT THROUGH THE PEAK. which we viewed it. Shut out apparently from the world, not a habitation or the sign of any living creature could we discern, not a sound could we distinguish save the soughing of the wind through the fissures of the mountain and the sharp echoes of our footsteps ringing upon the flinty footpath havoc, ruin, and desolation were everywhere apparent ; a few stars glistened in the firmament, and the moon, partially obscured by a bank of clouds, shed a feeble and uncertain light upon the scene sufficient only to make the darkness visible ; the dark and rugged cliffs, frowning grimly on each side, seemed, in the dim and shadowy light, to increase in magnitude, and, as it were, to grow up and prop the clouds. A feeling of awe took possession of the senses, and the mind, painfully conscious of the deep solitude that prevailed, became oppressed with exceeding melancholy. We passed onwards in silence, as if afraid that even the sound of our voices might break the charm, and bring down the incumbent masses of rock like an avalanche upon us. The Winnats is not without its tale of blood. Tradition asserts that, about a century ago, a lady and gentleman, tra- velling on horseback, were waylaid and barbarously murdered in this mountain pass. The attendant circumstances are related by the villagers with much minuteness, though who the unfortunate victims were, and whence they came, has never been satisfactorily established. The lady is repre- sented as having been very beautiful, and the couple were supposed to have been upon a matrimonial excursion to the neighbouring hamlet of Peak Forest. As illustrative, though by no means confirmatory of the story, it may be stated that, at the period alluded to, Peak Forest, distant about three miles from the scene of the mur- der, was extra-parochial, and enjoyed much the same privileges as until lately pertained to Gretna Green, for which reason it was frequently resorted to for the solemnization of runaway matches. Immediately on leaving the vale of the Winnats, we passed on o\ir right a little white-washed cottage, the entrance to the Speedwell Mine, one of the wonders of the Peak, and a few minutes later entered the village of Castleton. The open doorway of the Bull's Head, and the lights THE BULL'S HEAD. 17 twinkling through the windows, were a welcome sight, and being hungry and weary, we were nothing loath to accept the kindly offices of Mrs. Dakin, the portly, good-humoured hostess of that comfortable little hostelry. As we entered the clean, snug parlour, a few embers were burning in the grate, and the blaze as it flickered and flared up diffused a warm, ruddy light through the room, which, though it was summer time, looked comfortable and cheering after our night walk. We happened to be the only visitors, and were soon therefore left to the undisputed possession of the fireside, and the quiet enjoyment of our evening meal. CHAPTER III. Caetleton Peak Castle and its Annals The Peverels Flight of William Peverel and Forfeiture of his Possessions A Tournament Sir Walter Scott A Morning Walk Remains of the Castle Feudal Barbarism An extensive Prospect Mam Tor Roman Encamp- ment Cave Dale A Transition A gloomy Pass Basaltic Column. CASTLETON, distant about 25 miles from Manchester, and 10 from Buxton, is one of the most interesting villages in Derby- shire, presenting to the mineralogist and geologist, as well as to the antiquary and the lover of nature, an assemblage of objects of curiosity and attraction such as few other places can shew. Mawe, in the preface to his " Mineralogy of Derbyshire," observes that, "for the purpose of obtaining mineralogical information, Castleton seems to be the best situation, where such a variety of strata, mines, and minerals occur, as perhaps no other situation in the kingdom can boast." The village stands at the head of one of those romantic valleys which Derbyshire, more than any other English county, abounds in. This valley is about two miles in breadth, and extends eastwards as far as Hathersage, a dis- tance of about seven miles ; a noble amphitheatre of mountains, of varied form and elevation, environ it on every side Bamford Edge, Winhill, Losehill, and Mam Tor, rising pro- minently above the rest, the latter attaining an elevation of about 1300 feet above the general level of the plain; a number of lesser dales open into it, and several hamlets and villages are included within the limits. It derives its name from an ancient stronghold built upon the extreme edge of a lofty eminence on the south, the ruins of which still remain. The village itself is of con- siderable antiquity, and was at an early period, to protect it from the attacks of wandering marauders, surrounded by a defensive ditch or fosse, which extended in a semicircular course round the town from the castle rock, traces of which may yet be discerned in certain directions. THE PEVERBLS. 19 Respecting the early history and antiquity of this castle antiquaries are at issue. Mr. King, who has minutely described it in his "Observations on Ancient Castles" (Archae- ologia, vol. vi., pp. 247-254), contends for its Saxon origin, and assumes it to have been a fortress and place of royal residence during the Heptarchy. An able article from the pen of the Rev. Charles H. Hartshorne, which appeared in the Journal of the Archaeological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland for 1848, assigns a much later period as the date of its erection, the opinion of the writer being that it is a Nor- man structure. So far as our own observation went we could not discover a trace of Anglo-Saxon work, the archways, shafts, capitals, and other details being unmistakably Norman. It is true an example of "herring-bone" masonry still remains below the basement of the keep, but this, though evidencing considerable antiquity, would not in itself afford indisputable proof of its Saxon origin. That a military fortification existed here anterior to the Conquest is not improbable, for at a time when the art of war was but little understood, and the means of attack comparatively few, it is not likely that a position offering so many natural advantages, and which must then have been almost impregnable, would be over- looked. The tradition of the place is, that the castle was built by William Peverel, a natural son of William the Conqueror, and its ancient appellation of " Peverel' s Place in the Peke" would seem to countenance this opinion ; certain it is, that at the time of the Doomsday survey, which was begun in 1081, and completed in 1086, twenty years after the landing of the Norman invader and after he had extended his sovereign authority over the entire kingdom, the place was held by William Peverel ; the entry in the survey being, " Terra Castelli Wi. Peverel. in Peche fers," an expression which Lysons says seems to import that the castle was built by him. The name of Peverel is closely identified with the early history of Derbyshire. William Peverel, the supposed founder of Peak Castle, was a natural son of William the Conqueror, by Maud, the daughter of Ingelric, a Saxon nobleman, related to Edward the Confessor, and the founder of the Collegiate Church of St. Martin' s-le-Grand, in the city of London. This 20 ON FOOT THROUGH THE PEAK. lady, who is represented as possessing great personal attrac- tions, afterwards became the wife of Ranulph Peverel, of Hatfield Peverel in the county of Essex, a son of Payne Peverel, standard bearer to Robert duke of Normandy., the father of William I. ; and the use of surnames becoming common amongst the Norman barons about this time, the king's son by his concubine adopted the name of Peverel, that of the family into which his mother had subsequently married. As in all probability the connection between William of Normandy and the daughter of Ingelric took place on the occasion of the visit of the former to his kinsman, King Edward the Confessor, in 1048, William Peverel must have been approaching manhood at the time of his father's success- ful expedition to this country, and very shortly after that event he had conferred upon him, by the favour of the king, immense possessions in the newly acquired territory the Castle of Peke, with the honour and forest* being included. After the death of his father, and on the accession to the throne of his half-brother, William Rufus, Peverel continued in favour at court, and in 1094, on the breaking out of hostilities between the king and his elder brother, Robert Curthose, he, with eight hundred men, held the Castle of Helme, in Normandy, on the king's behalf, but being closely besieged, was compelled to surrender it, and is supposed to have died shortly afterwards. Peverel was succeeded in the honours and estates by his son William, who, in the reign of Henry I. founded the priory of Lenton, near Nottingham, for Cluniac Monks, endowing it with lands in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, together with the whole tithe of his lead and venison in the Peak, and to which his knights and great tenants made considerable addi- tions. He gave to the abbey of St. Mary, in York, founded by * An old Inquisition in the possession of the Norfolk family gives the follow- ing as the metes and bounds of the Forest of Peak. " It beginneth at the head of the river Goyte, and so down to the river Edewe (Ederowe or Etherow), and so to a place called Ladycross, at Longdendale, and from Longdendale head to the head of the river Derwent, and so to a place called Masham (Mytham) Ford, and so to Bradwell Brook, and to the Great Cave of Hazlebage, and from thence by Poynton Cross to Tideswell Brook, and so down to the river Wye, and so ascending up the river Wye to Buxton Town, and from thence to the head of Goyte again." This would give a circumference of about 60 miles, but within the limits were included several manors that appear to have been held direct from the king in capita, though within the honour and forest. THE PEVERELS. 21 Allan earl of Brittany, eight carucates of land in Rudstan; and having founded an abbey of Black Monks near the town of Northampton, died, according to the register of that abbey, on the 5th of the calends of February, 11 Henry I. (1113). William Peverel, by his wife Aveline, or Adeline, left a son bearing the same baptismal appellation, in whom the name and honours of the family terminated, he having been accused of administering poison to the Earl of Chester whilst in prison, intriguing and confederating with his countess, Aloisa, daughter of the earl of Gloucester, in the nefarious act. This circumstance occurred in 1 152, or, according to Simeon of Durham and some other authorities, in 1154, and so skilfully and adroitly was the deed accomplished, that the earl lingered for a considerable time before death put an end to his sufferings; the ignorance and superstition of the age attributing his sickness to "sorcery and devilish enchantment." The accounts given of this transaction by ancient historians are very brief and unsatis- factory. Gervase of Canterbury says, "The noble and famous Earl Ranulph of Chester, by a certain William Peverel, ac- cording to report, being poisoned (per quendam Will. Peverel, ut faina fuit veneno infectus) after suffering many torments ; this man, distinguished for military glory and insuperable boldness, hardly to be alarmed or conquered but by death, finished his temporal life and was committed to the grave." This atrocious act is mentioned by the Monk of Waverley and other writers. Peverel, dreading the severity of the king, from whom he could expect no mercy, soiight refuge in the monastery at Lenton, of which he was patron, and which, as already stated, had been founded by his father, and, relinquishing everything he possessed, assumed the tonsure and cowl of a monk. He was not, however, able to remain long in his seclusion, for in the month of February, 1155, the king, journeying to York, passed through Nottinghamshire, when the conscious criminal was compelled to cast aside his monkish habit and quit the country to escape the consequences of his odious act, forfeiting the whole of his rich and valuable possessions. From the foregoing narrative it will be seen that the fief of Castleton, with its adjacent wastes and forests, was enjoyed by the great feudal house of the Peverels for only three gen- 22 ON FOOT THROUGH THE PEAK. erations, having passed from their hands within a century of the time it was conferred by the Conqueror upon his illegiti- mate son, the first baron. Pilkington gives the following account of a grand tourna- ment which is said to have been held at Peak Castle during the tune it was in the occupancy of the Peverels: "Pain Peverel, a half-brother of William lord of Whittington, in the county of Salop, had two daughters, one of whom, named Mellet, was no less distinguished by a martial spirit than her father. This appeared from the declaration she made respect- ing the choice of a husband. She firmly resolved to marry none but a knight of great prowess ; and her father, to confirm her purpose, and to procure and encourage a number of visitors, invited all noble young men who were inclined to enter the lists to meet at Peverel's Place in the Peak, and there decide their pretensions to the use of arms, declaring, at the same time, that whoever vanquished his competitors should receive his daughter and his castle at Whittington as a reward for his skill and valour. Guarine de Metz, a branch of the house of Lorraine, and an ancestor of the Lords Fitz- Warrine, hearing this report, repaired to the place above- mentioned, and there engaged with a son of the king of Scot- land, and also with a baron of Burgoyne, and vanquishing them both, obtained the prize for which he fought." Were it not for spoiling so pretty a story, we should be almost inclined to doubt the authenticity of Pilkington's statement, for within so circumscribed an area as the court of Peak Castle, it is difficult to understand how sufficient space could be found for such a "grand" display of knightly pageantry. Sir Walter Scott has thrown the halo of romance over Peak Castle by making it the scene of one of the most popular of the Waverley Novels, "Peverel of the Peak," though to suit the purpose of his story the great necromancer of the north has dealt somewhat unceremoniously with history and dates, things, it must be confessed, he did not at all times stand greatly in awe of. Henry II., to avenge the death of the earl of Chester, seized the entire of the possessions of William Peverel, in- cluding the castles of Nottingham, Bolsover, and the Peak, which thenceforward became vested in the crown. At this PEAK CASTLE. 23 time the forest of Peak was frequently resorted to by the Norman sovereigns and their successors, who were passion- ately fond of the pleasures of the chase. From the sheriff's accounts, contained in the Great Pipe Roll of the Exchequer, it would appear that the king paid a visit to the castle in 1157; the official for the county returning in his account for that year: corrodies for the king at Pech, the amount of 4: Is. 5d., and corrodies for the king of Scotland at Notting- ham and Pech, 38 12s. 3d., and payment for wine (apud Pech), <3 12s. There is also a well authenticated tradition current in the neighbourhood, that Edward I. was engaged in the pastime of hunting here when news of the death of his queen Eleanor reached him. After the exile of the Peverels, the castle was given by Henry II. to his youngest and favourite son John Earl of Montaigne, afterwards king. Edward II. conferred the governorship upon his unworthy favourite Piers Gavestou, and after his banishment the office was held by John Earl of Warren for life. Subsequently in 46 Edward III., it was given, with the honour and forest of Peke, by the king to his son, the Earl of Richmond, com- monly called John o' Gaunt, who, having married Blanche, youngest daughter of Henry Duke of Lancaster hi 1359, his father, in 1362, created him Duke of Lancaster, when the Castle of Peak became parcel of the Duchy of Lancaster. The Duke of Devonshire, who is the present lessee under the Duchy of the honour and forest of Peak, has the nominal appointment of constable of the castle, and holds a court leet and court baron half-yearly at Easter and Michaelmas. The morning succeeding our arrival at Castleton we awoke with a happy and joyous feeling; the church clock was just chiming the hour of six, and as we looked out from our chamber window, to our pleasurable surprise the ivy-covered walls of the old castle and the roofless keep crowning the top of a steep grassy hill appeared full hi view. As the bright sunlight fell upon its scathed towers and streamed through its broken archways, it looked indeed utterly lonely, a picture of abject ruin, and ghostly, desolated grandeur, so strangely in contrast with what it must have been hi those fierce feudal ages with which its history is so intimately associated. There had been a slight fall of rain during the night, but the breeze 24 ON FOOT THROUGH THE PEAK. which followed had dried \ip the pavement, a still rapture lay upon the green hills, and everything from earth to sky looked fresh and cheering. The good folks of the Bulls-head were not yet astir, so we quietly let ourselves out by the front door, resolved to have a climb to the top of the castle rock before breakfast. When we strode forth into the open air the little village seemed to have hardly awoke from its slumber; all was quiet and still, and with the exception of the lowing of the cattle as they wended their way to the rich pastures, or the shrill whistle or snatch of a ballad trolled forth by some hardy brown-hued miner on his way through the sunshine to his daily labour, there was nothing to break the stilly reign of sleep and silence. It was a lovely summer's morn, the sxinbcams were sparkling in the eastern sky, and there was a cool and invigorating freshness in the atmosphere that gave a buoyancy and elas- ticity to the spirits. The mists, which during the night had accumulated in the valleys, were creeping lazily up the moimtain sides and gradually disappearing under the genial influence of the morning sun ; the edges were in the prime of their verdure, and the trees bent beneath the weight of their leafy honours; the feathered tribes were merrily carolling their matin song, and every object seemed redolent with smiles, as if welcoming the return of the god of day. The first object that engaged our attention was the castle; and bending our steps in that direction we soon reached the foot of the rock, on the summit of which stand the decayed ruins of what was once the great stronghold of the Peverels. Viewed from certain positions, the old castle and the eminence on which it is seated forms a not unpleasing object in the landscape; but seen in the distance, and contrasted with the loftier hills that surround it, much of the effect is lost, and it has, comparatively, but an insignificant appearance. A better position, however, for a fortress, or one offering greater security in case of attack, cannot well be conceived, and be- fore cannons were known, "And villainous saltpetre had been dug Out of the bowels of the harmless earth," it must have been almost impregnable. The rock, which PEAK CASTLE. 25 appears to have been uplifted from the plain by some great convulsion of nature, is almost insulated, being connected with the adjoining hill only by a narrow strip or tongue of land, with a bold escarpment on each side, so rugged as to be only accessible in one direction, and that is so steep that a traverse or zig-zag course is necessary to reach the summit. We began the ascent, and a weary and toilsome work we found it, the difficulty being increased by the slippery nature of the short thick grass with which the slope is overgrown ; success at length crowned our efforts, and amply were we rewarded for our exertions by the magnificent views of country that were afforded. The ruins of Peak Castle, though by no means extensive, are deserving of careful examination. The ballium, or castle yard, occupies nearly the entire area of the summit, and is enclosed by a curtain wall partially destroyed and overgrown with ivy. The plan is in the form of an irregular parallelogram, with a donjon or keep at the south-west angle, immediately over the entrance to the great cavern, and at extreme edge of the rock, which on this side is quite perpen- dicular, and upwards of 260 feet in height. Flanking the the eastern and western angles of the north side were two square towers, now in part destroyed, and between them are the remains of what appears to have been a sallyport. The postern, or entrance gateway, some traces of which yet exist, was on the east side, and here was stationed the porter, whose annual allowance is entered upon the great Pipe Roll of the Exchequer. The keep is quadrangular in plan, being about 21 feet from north to south, and 19 feet from east to west, internal admeasurement, with walls 8 feet thick ; the height from the basement being about 55 feet. The masonry is of the most substantial and massive character, strongly grouted, the heart of the walls being composed of broken and irregular pieces of limestone, cemented together with a mortar of such excellent temper as to render the whole almost as hard as adamant. The walls have been faced on the outer surface with finely-wrought ashlaring, set in regular courses, and the south and south-west sides (those least accessible) remain in a tolerably perfect state, but the north and east sides have been denuded of nearly the whole, the stone 26 OX FOOT THROUGH THE PEAK. having been appropriated by some former churchwarden to repair the church at Castleton, for which act of vandalism he ought to have been made to do penance. It is indeed to be regretted that these relics of a bygone age, the memorials of a mode of social existence that has for ever passed away, should not have fallen to the custody of those better able to appreciate, and more willing to preserve from such wanton destruction. Enough of the outer walls yet remain, however, to give a tolerably accurate idea of the general features and character- istics of the building; from these it would appear that there was originally a broad pilaster-like buttress placed rectangular- wise at each corner of the keep, with a plain torus moulding or small cylindrical shaft worked on the angle, an addition frequently met with in buildings erected during the later period of the Norman style; buttresses, similar in design, were also disposed against each face of the building. The entrance is at the south-east angle, in which is a narrow winding staircase, now much dilapidated, giving admission to the upper storey. The ulterior of the keep is a complete vacuity, and remarkable only as exhibiting an almost entire absence of ornament, and an equal want of accommodation. It originally consisted of two chambers in addition to the basement, the floor that once separated them no longer ex- isting. The lower storey, about 14 feet in height, is lighted by a semicircular window on the north and east sides, the one above is 16 feet high, and lighted by three windows; this was originally approached by a flight of steps on the out- side, but these no longer remain, though they are said to have existed until within a comparatively recent period; the doorway that leads to this staircase still remains, and has a curious double archway. Peak Castle has evidently been erected at a very early period, but there is nothing in its present aspect to favour the idea that it has been a Saxon fortress. The general appearance, the peculiar character of the masonry, and the various details, ah 1 exhibiting the same Norman characteristics, lead to the supposition that it was commenced in the time of the first Peverel, and completed within about a century of that period. The existence of "herring-bone" work has been adduced in proof of its great antiquity; but this style of PEAK CASTLE. 27 masonry is not ^infrequently met with in Norman erections, and cannot, therefore, be implicitly relied on as evidence of its earlier origin; in fact, it was often adopted merely as a matter of convenience, to enable the workman to level off his work at each course, which, with stones of irregular shapes and sizes, could not well be done in any other way ; whilst, by varying their inclination, it was easy to preserve' the required evenness and regularity. The Saxons were but litte acquainted with the science of architecture; and, judging from the few examples of Anglo-Saxon work that remain at the present day, there can be little doubt but that their fortresses were of the most rude and imperfect kind, and very inferior both in size and in the mode of construction to those erected by the Normans, or even those built during the period of Roman occupation. The probability is, that such fortifications were confined to the enclosure of an advantageous site by walls, and the erection of earthworks, where necessary; indeed, the genius of our Saxon forefathers, like their descendants of the present day, seems to have been better 'adapted to field warfare than the defending of a fortified position, for it is a singular fact, that, amid those internal wars which ravaged the country from the time of their arrival until the Conquest, during which the number of battles fought was almost in- credible, we have scarcely a single instance recorded in history of a protracted siege. The Peverels are represented as hVving resided here in great pomp and splendour ; but when we remember the circumscribed area of the castle yard, and the fact that no remains of any building except the keep have been discovered, it is difficult to imagine how sufficient accom- modation could be afforded for the numerous retinue of a great feudal chieftain. The probability is that the fortress was designed more as a place of refuge to flee to in times of extreme danger, and also as a place for the reception of prisoners, such hapless creatures we know, from the Hundred Rolls and other sources of information, having been incar- cerated within its walls. In 2 Edward I. (1273) John de Nedham, a companion of Hubert the Robber, who was after- wards hung, was immured within its walls, and Henry the clerk took from the said John, whilst he was hi prison, an acre 28 ON FOOT THROUGH THE PEAK. of land worth 40s., that he might assist him in his delivery. Upon his release he paid a fine of five marks for being allowed to dwell in the district (Rot. Hundred, 14). At a later period, 4 Henry IV. (1402), Godfrey Rowland, a poor and simple squire of the county of Derby, as he styles himself, petitioned the parliament against the injuries that had been inflicted on him by Thomas Wandesby, Chivaler, and others, who came and besieged his house at Mickel-Longsdon, and having pil- laged the same, carried him off to the castle of the High Peak, where they kept him six days without meat or drink, and then, cutting off his right hand, sent him adrift (Rot. Parl. iii., 518). The old stronghold of the Peverels scarcely retains a feature of its former consequence, and is now nothing but a heap of ruins, fitted only to adorn the landscape ; to the thoughtful mind, however, these decayed memorials of fallen grandeur, rude and unshapely as they are, and worthless as they may appear in the eyes of those who are satisfied to judge from the mere outward appearance of things, are, from their his- torical associations, objects of great and powerful interest, affording ample material for meditation and powerful incite- ments to reflection. They serve as a link to connect the present with the far-off past, so pregnant with mighty thoughts and great and illustrious acts; in the contemplation of them the mind reverts to a period of remote antiquity, and the scenes of centuries gone by float before the imagination with a rapidity and idistinctness like figures in a dream. A feeling almost of sadness stole over the senses as we stood within that time-worn tower, and thought what a change had come over the fortunes of the place. What scenes of "antique pageantry" have been witnessed beneath the shadow of those walls ; that rampart that once stood out in haughty strength and echoed only the measured tread of the armed sentinel is now broken and crumbling to decay, and the mantling ivy spreads its roots and clings with fond tenacity, as if flourishing in its ruin ; that spot on which once encamped the followers of the haughty Peverel is now covered with moss and weeds, and the dock and the nettle grow up together in wild luxuriance ; that tower, from whose portal oft hath issued the mailed warrior in all the pride and pomp of power to lead his vassals AN EXTENSIVE PROSPECT. 29 to the fight, is now roofless, silent, and deserted, the bat and the owl its sole occupants, and, as if in mockery of its former greatness, a few sheep skip about in peaceful security and crop the green herbage that thrives upon its threshold. From the castle-yard a delightful view is obtained of the sweet vale of Castleton. This valley, better known to travellers by the name of Hope Dale, has been long celebrated for the beauty of its scenery; here nature seems to have been indeed lavish of her charms and to have brought together in one place all those several parts which, happily com- bined, give a grace and charm to landscape scenery. The prevailing character of the view is that of soft and graceful beauty, and whilst shrinking from approaching that wildness and sublime grandeur which distinguish some other parts of the Peak, it challenges admiration as affording a scene which, for varied pastoral beauty and fertile loveliness, will be rarely met with in the same limits. The valley is of con- siderable extent, and includes the villages of Castleton, Hope, Brough, Bamford, and Hathersage ; the Nowe, a pleasant stream of some pretensions, flows through the entire length, receiving in its course several tributary rills that meander pleasantly down from between the lonely hills and dusky moorlands. Standing close by the north wall of the castle yoii may scan the whole circle of the horizon, from Mam Tor in the west, to the bleak ridges of Bamford Edge and the moorland wastes beyond Hathersage in the east, the scene within the limits giving you the idea of a panorama of unequalled loveliness. In whichever direction you gaze, the prospect is equally im- posing ; at the foot of the rock, and immediately in front, lies the little village of Castleton, clustering picturesquely round its quaint and ancient church. Following the course of the Is owe to its confluence with the Derwent, the eye, as it ranges into the far distance, passes over a large extent of country, embracing bleak hills and sheltered vales, green fields and pleasant pasture lands, with fertile meadows whose greenness outvies the verdure of nature; the well-cultivated lowlands, and the graceful uplands studded here and there with snow- white cottages and farmsteads that shine brightly in the morning sunlight, add their charms to the general beauty, 30 ON FOOT THROUGH THE PEAK. the wreathes of smoke curling upwards in places from amid clumps of trees, shew where unseen habitations are lurking within their shady retreats; and the white roads and steep and shady pathways winding over the broad mountain slopes tell how even these can beautify a rugged landscape. On the left the rocky entrance to the vale of the Winnats, through which we passed so recently, appears in all its pic- turesque beauty; in middle distance the broad spire of Hope Church is seen rising like a landmark above the sombre foliage; further on the little hamlet of Bamford may be dis- cerned, seated upon the slope of a barren mountain whose dark and rugged outline cuts sharply against the eastern sky, and beyond the view takes hi the shadowy form of the hills that environ the village of Hathersage. From this point a chain of moorlands, rising grandly in ridges and knolls and peaks, sweeps round in an irregular circle towards the west, Mam Tor and Tray Cliff shutting in the view and giving a finish to the scene. Like the vale of Tempe", all seems tran- quillity and peace; the unceasing hum of insects, and the lowing of the kine in the distant meadows, are the only sounds that break upon the prevailing quietude, mingled now and then with the bleating of a sheep or the caw of some solitary rook as he stretches his jetty wings, and rising high into the ah 1 , gives warning to his brethren of the presence of intruders. Perhaps the most striking object in the landscape is the steep eminence on the left, Mam Tor, or the Shivering Moun- tain one of the wonders of the' Peak which lifts its dark form above the neighbouring hills, rising to the height of upwards of 1300 feet above the plain. This mountain is situated at the western extremity of Hope Dale, and is distant about a mile and a half from Castleton. It presents a very singular aspect, the face to a considerable extent appearing as if it had been scooped out. Mam Tor is the ancient British name signifying the mother hill, the term Shivering Mountain being a more recent appellation, derived from the circumstance of the crumbling substance of which it is composed con- tinually trickling down the slopes. It is composed of silicious sandstone and shale, in alternate stratification, the latter impregnated with the oxide of iron, which, on being exposed ROMAN ENCAMPMENT. 31 to the action of the atmosphere, becomes disintegrated, and gradually slides down into the valley below, where it forms a regularly increasing mound. In the winter seasons, during severe frosts, the precipitation is much greater than at other times, and on some occasions the fall of shale and grit has, in the stillness of the night, been distinctly heard at Castleton. The summit of the hill has been the site of a Roman forti- fication, which extended along the ridge, and included an area of upwards of sixteen acres of ground; the greater part of the rampart, and a double trench that surrounded it, still remain in a tolerable state of preservation. Within the lines of the encampment a spring of water issues into day, and finds its way down the side of the hill into the valley of Edale. On the south-west side are two barrows, in one of which, when opened some years ago, were discovered a brass celt and the fragments of an unbaked urn. As already stated, the rock on which stands the ruined fortress of the Peverels is almost insulated, being connected with the adjoining mountain only by a narrow tongue of land. On the western side the view is singularly impressive ; standing upon the extreme edge of a stupendous rock, which rises perpendicularly to a height of upwards of 260, feet, the be- holder looks down into a deep chasm, at the bottom of which yawns the dark and gloomy entrance to the Devil's Cavern. The crest of the rock for several feet is covered with small trees and underwood of various foliage, in the branches of which a number of loquacious rooks and daws have fixed their habitations in undisturbed security, but the lower part is one broad mass of limestone rock, cold and grim and lifeless looking, save where a few ferns and mosses and a scattered growth of brambles have attached themselves to the clefts apd ledges, softening the otherwise naked and weather-beaten surface. Near the mouth of the cavern a brawling stream breaks through the side of the cliff, and rushes merrily onwards over its stony bed, throwing up the white foam bubbles on its way as if rejoicing at having once more gained the light of day after its passage through the dark and cavernoxis recesses of the earth. Nearly an hour had slipped away whilst we had been 32 ON FOOT THROUGH THE PEAK. loitering about examining the niins of the castle, and con- templating the beauties of the surrounding landscape. Then turning to depart we followed the same zigzag course by which we had ascended and soon reached the valley, from whence a pathway leads to the rocky glen called Cave Dale. The approach to this narrow defile has a rather forbidding appearance, the entrance being by a chasm or cleft in the mountain, not more than five or six feet in width. Passing through this portal we were at once struck with the widely different character the prospect assumed; just before, we had been gazing upon a scene almost unequalled for its luxuriance and calm and placid beauty, when suddenly, as if by a stroke of the magician's wand, the scene was changed, and all before us was dreary solitude and barren desolation. At any time, and under any circumstances, this romantic glen would be an interesting object; but here, in the midst of such charming and fertile loveliness, the effect is greatly enhanced. The dell is rather more than a mile in length, and closely hemmed in on every side by steep and inaccessible rocks that rise abruptly to a prodigious height, their sides partially clothed with scant herbage, through which the grey limestone occasionally protrudes ; here and there a solitary tree or hardy shrub endeavours to obtain sustenance from the rocky soil, but their stunted growth and blighted appearance only renders the place more cheerless and uninviting. Further on, the crumbling and ivy-covered walls of Peverel's castle are seen, with the dilapidated and roofless keep standing sentinel-like upon the very verge of a precipitous crag that hangs beetling over the pathway, imparting an air of grandeur to the view. Looking back from this point through the narrow portal we discern the village church, with the clus- tering homes around, and beyond the fertile valley backed by a range of lofty hills and shadowy eminences that stretch away in far perspective. For a distance of half a mile the dell gradually expands, then again it becomes contracted. On either side of the on- ward path the ground rises in precipitous slopes, the surface smooth and green, through which the naked rock occasionally protrudes; wild plants and mosses grow in rich abundance on the moist and slippery crags, and the botanist will have BASALTIC COLUMN. 33 no difficulty in beguiling the hours away. Further on, a regular basaltic column, of hexagonal form, is seen cropping up above the green turf part of a basaltic mass that ranges north and south for a considerable distance, and which in texture and hardness closely resembles the columnar masses at Staffa and the Hebrides. Then the road winds on until the summit of Long Cliff is reached, from whence a charming prospect is obtained. On our way back to the village we passed a troop of miners proceeding to then* labour; the bronzed features and quaint and uncouth garb of these hardy sons of toil singularly har- monised with the picturesque wildness of the locality. One of them carried in his hand a bundle of hollow reeds, used, as we learned on inquiry, to hold the train of gunpowder when blasting the rock in search of lead ore. After a pleasant ramble we returned to our quarters at the Bull's Head, with an appetite sharpened by the keen moun- tain air, and a determination to do full justice to good fare which had been provided for us by our excellent hostess. CHAPTER IV. Castleton The Church An eccentric Attorney Geology in humble Life The Manchester Geological Society and Elias Hall Daft Sammy Caverns, and their Origin : Observations thereon Peak Cavern A Stygian Pool Angels of Darkness Speedwell Mine An unfortunate Speculation Bottomless Pit Blue-John Mine Fluor Spar: its great Antiquity Stalactites and Stalagmites Odin Mine. AFTER breakfast we strolled through the village in the direc- tion of the church. The living of Castleton is a vicarage in the diocese of Lichfield and Coventry, the patronage of which is vested in the Bishop of Chester. In 1269 the church, then described as the Church of Peak Castle, was given by Prince Edward, afterwards Edward I., to the abbey and convent of Vale Royal, Cheshire. After the dissolution of religious houses in the reign of Henry VIII., the great tithes and the advowson of the vicarage were given by that monarch to the Bishop of Chester and his successors, in whose hands it has continued to the the present time. The church, dedicated to St. Edmund, was erected at a very early period, and exhibits traces of almost every style of ecclesiastical architecture from the early Norman to the late perpendicular or debased Gothic. It includes a nave, chancel, and south porch, with an embattled tower at the western end adorned with crocketted pinnacles that spring from each angle, and intermediately from the centre of each face of the parapet. The exterior was repaired some thirty years ago, when with execrable taste nearly the whole of the body of the church was covered with cement for which we are in- debted doubtless to the individual who denuded the keep of Peak Castle of so much of its outer stonework. The interior is well worthy of inspection. The pews are all of dark oak, curiously carved, many of them with the names of their former owners, and in the centre aisle there is an ancient stone font of octagon form. The nave is separated from the THE CHURCH. 35 chancel by a fine semicircular Norman archway, enriched with chevron and billet mouldings. Over the altar is a small cabinet picture, said to be by Vandyke, representing the adoration of the Magi. The chancel is lighted by a triplet window filled with stained glass, placed there some few years ago by the parishioners as an affectionate tribute to the memory of their former vicar. The subject of the design is Christ's charge to Peter, and at the foot is the following inscription: "Dedicated by the grateful affection of the parishioners of Castleton to the memory of the Eev. Charles Cecil Bates, M.A., for thirty-five years the faithful vicar. Lost to them 4th January, 1853." The church contains but few monuments: on the south side a marble tablet records the decease of John Mawe, the mineralogist; his remains are interred in the church of St. Mary-le-Strand, London, but by his desire this monument was erected in the church of the place where he commenced his mineralogical labours. On the north side of the nave is a monument to the memory of an eccentric attorney, who received his education at the Free Grammar School at Manchester, and afterwards amassed considerable property at Castleton, his native place. The inscription is said to have been written by himself, and its doubtful theology would seem to bear out the very indifferent professional reputation of the author which still floats in the memories of the older inhabitants to whom his name is not unknown. It is as follows : To the Memory of Micah Hall, Gentn. Attorney-at-Law, who died on the 14th of May 1804, Aged 79 years, Quid eram, nescitis ; Quid sum, nescitis ; Ubi abii, nescitis; Valete. In the church there is, we believe, a brass, which we did not observe, to the memory of the Rev. Edward Bagshawe, M.A., for 46 years the vicar of Castleton, who died the 12th April, 1769, at the age of 79. In the vestry there is an excellent library, the gift of a former vicar, the Rev. Frederic Farran, to which considerable 36 ON FOOT THROUGH THE PEAK. additions have been made by his daughter, Miss Farran, and Captain Hamilton. It contains upwards of 1000 volumes, chiefly in divinity, history, and biography, many of them being rare and valuable works. They are lent to the parish- ioners at the discretion of the vicar for the time being, a wise provision which tends to ensure their preservation. On -the table we noticed two curious old folio Bibles, one a copy of Archbishop Cranmer's or the "Bishop's Bible," in black letter, the imprint bearing date 1539; the other a Genevan trans- lation of the Scriptures, made by the English refugees who had been driven to Geneva by the fierce persecutions in Queen Mary's days. This edition is more generally known by the name of the "Breeches Bible," from an error in the translation of Genesis iii. 7, where the latter part of the verse is rendered, "and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves breeches." Before leaving the churchyard we visited the grave of a Derbyshire worthy, Elias Hall, the fossilist and mineralogist. Mr. Hall was an instance of genius in the humbler walks of life ; he was emphatically a self-taught man, and for whatever mental attainments he possessed he was indebted solely to that indomitable perseverance and stern self-reliance which formed so remarkable a trait in his character. At an early age he imbibed a taste for natural science, in the study and cultivation of which he devoted nearly the whole of a long and active life. As a practical geologist he attained to a considerable degree of eminence, and was favourably known as the author of several productions having reference to the structure of the earth. His most important work, and that on which perhaps more than any other his reputation is founded, is a geological and mineralogical map of the great coal-field of Lancashire, with parts of the neighbouring coun- ties of Derbyshire, Cheshire, and Yorkshire, coloured strati- graphically. In this map, which is dedicated to Professor Sedgwick, the vice-president of the Geological Society, the physical geography of the district is delineated with con- siderable miutenness of detail and admirable graphic power. It must have been an exceedingly difficult undertaking, and those only who have been similarly engaged can form an adequate idea of the care and labour required in its prepara- ELIAS HALL. 37 tion. After its publication he issued a sectional view, shewing the various strata from the Irish Sea to the German Ocean, through Lancashire, Derbyshire, Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, and Lincolnshire, to which he subsequently appended a key or introduction, and with the assistance of Mr. Francis Looney, F.G.S., gave a list of the organic remains found in the different beds. He afterwards commenced a geological map of the central part of the kingdom, and on this work he was employed up to within a short period of his death. In addition to the works already enumerated, Mr. Hall com- pleted several carefully-executed models of portions of the earth's surface, including the Peak of Derbyshire, and parts of the Lake district of Cumberland and Westmoreland, in which, with the aid of colour, the stratification and other geological details are indicated with admirable clearness and accuracy. Two of these models were, at the instance of the late Sir Joseph Banks, purchased by the trustees of the British Museum, and are now deposited in the geological gallery of that institution; another, a model of the district around Manchester, is preserved in the museum of the Natural History Society of that city. When the celebrated French naturalist, M. Faujas St. Fond, visited this country, Mr. Hall accompanied him through Peak's Hole and shewed him the wonders of that remarkable cavern; and some fifty years ago, when Mr. Farey was collecting information for his "View of the Agriculture and Minerals of Derbyshire," he rendered him considerable assistance, revising and correcting those parts of his work which relate to the stratification and minerals of the county. Mr. Hall may fairly claim to rank as the father of geology in Derbyshire; he first directed his attention to the subject at a time when geology, as a science, had made but little progress, and in this country was comparatively unknown, and he continued his investigations with unceasing application for more than seventy years. We remember him in the later years of his life, a fine hale and hearty old man, with an energy and restless activity remarkable in one of his advanced age ; plain, homely, and unaffected, with a cheerful and social disposition, and a kindliness of manner that secured for him the friendship of all with whom he came in contact. He 38 ON FOOT THROUGH THE PEAK, was ever ready to afford information, and to communicate unreservedly the results of his investigations to those who desired to possess them. He retained the whole of his mental faculties to the last, and died on the 30th December, 1853, in the ninetieth year of his age. He is buried in the church- yard at Gastleton, on the south side, with nothing but the upheaved turf to mark his last resting-place. Some other members of his family are interred near the south-east corner of the church, and we are told that it was intended to remove the stone from their grave and place it upon that of poor Hall; we should hope not surely amongst the geologists of this district there is sufficient public spirit to raise some memorial to keep alive the remembrance of one who did so much for science, receiving so little pecuniary reward.* Returning from the church, we met with one of the celebrities of Castleton, Sammy Scutt, better known by the sobriquet of "Daft Sammy," the castle guide, an individual who appears to be possessed with a shrewd kind of lunacy, and to be endowed moreover with the power of ubiquity dwelling everywhere and yet abiding nowhere. No one ever visits Castleton without making the acquaintance of our erratic friend ; let them enter the place from whichever direction they may, they are sure to encounter Sammy, who, darting from some unseen corner, pounces upon them like a hawk descending upon its prey. He has, or imagines himself to have, a legitimate right to levy black-mail upon all comers, and this right he exercises with rigid impartiality and re- ligious exactitude, no one ever escaping him. Once a visitor comes within the range of his keen grey eye, and he is doomed ; there is only one chance of escape, the tender of a few coppers or a "little sixpence;" his claims thus satisfied he is at * Since this notice of Mr. Hall was written, a few of his admirers in Man- chester and the neighbourhood have causede neat headstone bearing the following inscription to be erected over his remains : IN MEMORY O ELIAS HALL, THE GEOLOGIST, Who died on the 80th day of December, 1853, Aged 89 years. Born of parents in humble life, and having a large family to provide for, yet he devoted himself to the study of geology for 70 years with powers of originality and industry rarely surpassed. To mark the last resting-place of one who had worked BO long and so hard for the public, a few of hi8 friends and admirers, living at a distance, have placed this stone. DAFT SAMMY. 39 liberty to roam about -without further interference. Sammy knows everything and everybody in and about Castleton, he is acquainted with all the most convenient and least danger- ous paths, can point out the particular spots whence the best views are to be obtained, and shew you everything that is worth seeing. He is never wearied of walking or talking and will do anything and everything required of him witk the utmost good humour; he is, moreover, well up in the tradi- tions of the place, and beguiles the tedium of a toilsome walk by relating them, with numerous anecdotes, of which latter he seems to possess an inexhaustible store, all unquestionably original, never forgetting by the way to remind you of the advantage of having a competent guide, or telling you of the liberal gift he had received from a "party" he had just before had the honour' of shewing through the castle ; this, of course, without the slightest intention of challenging your generosity.* We had a long ramble before breakfast without meeting with Sammy, and were beginning to think it possible we might have eluded his vigilance; in this, however, we were mistaken, for we had not advanced many yards before we beheld him waiting for us at an angle in the path, like a spider watching for its victim. Peak's Hole was the next place that claimed our attention, and as a sign-post on the roadside pointed unmistakeably the direction of this "grand natural curiosity," we signified to Sammy our ability to dis- pense with his attendance; this intimation did not, however, seem to meet with his entire approval, for he still continued to follow, and it was not until the offer of a trifling gratuity that we succeeded in getting rid of him. The caverns at Castleton are naturally its chief attraction ; to the ordinary pleasure seeker they are an unfailing source of wonder, and to the geologist they are especially interesting. There are three in all, the Peak Cavern, or Devil's Hole, as it is sometimes called, the Speedwell Mine, and the Blue-John Mine, all of which should be seen by the visitor ; for though they have many features hi common, there is a speciality and * The career of this poor simple-witted character has now drawn to a close his last black-mail has been collected. He died on the 30th January, 1S68, and hia remains now rest within the quiet churchyard of Castleton. 40 ON FOOT THROUGH THE PEAK. distinctness in their appearance that renders each equally worthy of inspection. These subterranean cavities have long engaged the atten- tion and been the subject of discussion with scientific men, among whom there exists a great diversity of opinion res- pecting their origin. Their formation is generally attributed to the shrinking and contraction of the limestone during the process of sub-crystallization or consolidation subsequent to the deposition of the beds, and probably at the time they were upheaved into their present angle of dip, and the same agency is supposed to have caused the perpendicular fissures and horizontal cracks which form so remarkable a characteristic of the carboniferous or mountain limestone. Some geolo- gists have expressed an opinion that the streams of water which channel their way through the rock have produced these great excavations, but this is hardly likely; the erosive power of water, surcharged with carbonic acid, passing through the various rents and fissures may have enlarged original openings or carried away the soft beds of clay or loose sand that were interposed between the hard strata and thus have contributed to the enlargement of these sub- terranean cavities ; but there are openings and chasms that show no evidence of having been water-channeled at any time, and which could therefore only have been formed by the shrinkage of the limestone during the process of hardening or by disruption, the immediate consequence of volcanic action an agency that has at some remote period of time been in active operation in this district, as is evidenced by the igneous rocks that have in some places overflowed the strata, and which may be seen covering or underlying the ordinary strata that has not been acted upon by fire. Our first subterranean expedition was to explore the recesses of the great Peak Cavern, or, to speak more cor- rectly, caverns, for what is usually designated a cavern is nothing less than a series of internal chambers or openings, communicating with each other by means of connecting pas- sages that have either been naturally formed, or been driven through the rock, to render the approach more accessible. Following the course of a small stream which issues from near the mouth of the cavern, we soon reached a narrow PEAK CAVERN. 41 ascending path that forms the approach to this extraordinary work of nature. A high projecting bank on the right pre- vents a distant view of the entrance being obtained, and it is only when close upon it that you become fully conscious of its vast proportions and the imposing character of the scene which then for the first time bursts upon the sight. It is situated near the termination of a narrow and gloomy ravine, the sides of which are formed by immense limestone rocks, that rise perpendicularly to a height little short of three hundred feet, their sides, for a considerable distance upwards, sparingly clothed with foliage and underwood that seems to grow out of the very stone, affording an inaccessible retreat for countless rooks and daws, who keep up a continual clatter. Seated upon the extreme verge of a precipitous crag, high impending over the abyss, the grey and ruined keep of Peverel's Castle forms a striking object in the view, the effect being increased and rendered more imposing by the com- manding position it occupies amid the rocks and precipices that surround it. Some fifty feet below the footpath a stream of water issues from the side of the mountain, and pursues its onward course, murmuring and sparkling over its pebbly bed. After heavy rains the force of this current is consider- ably increased, and the effect of the scene proportionately augmented ; it then seems to boil up from beneath the rock, rushing onwards with impetuosity, and throwing up the whitened foam as it breaks over the fragments of rock that continually impede its progress, the sound re-echoing with loud intonation from the high rocks that overshadow its course. The entrance is by a magnificent archway in the solid rock, one hundred and twenty feet in width, about forty-two feet in height, and in receding depth about ninety feet,* the out- line of which is very regular, assuming a depressed or seg- mental form. Passing through this cyclopean porch we entered a vast subterranean cavity, the full extent of which, hi the dun and uncertain light, it was impossible to discern. Here we found a number of twine-makers established, who For the principal dimensions of this cavern we are indebted to the description given by the guide ; they are, no doubt, a near approximation ; if anything, per- haps, rather over than understated. 42 ON FOOT THROUGH THE PEAK. appear to have carried on their occupation in this natural workshop from time immemorial ; every person of taste must regret their presence : their rude apparatus covers nearly the whole area, and the discordant noises they create sadly im- pairs the effect which the sublime character of the place is calculated to produce. We walked in a few yards, and entered a small hut where we obtained a guide ; depositing our hats, and receiving each in exchange a felt cap, similar to those worn by the miners, we set forward on our expedition. As we advance the light fades softly away and the outlines of objects, rendered more shadowy and indistinct, at length become lost in obscurity. About thirty yards from the en- trance the sides gradually contract, and the roof becomes lower until a small door-way is reached, through which we pass ; here the last gleam of daylight disappears, and the remainder of the journey has to be accomplished with the aid of candles. Assuming a stooping posture we follow the guide PEAK CAVERN. 43 along a narrow descending path that conducts to a spacious opening called the Bell House, so named from the number of round or spherical holes which appear in the roof. Here a stream of water is met with which formerly it was necessary to cross in a small flat-bottomed boat, the visitor lying upon his back, whilst he was being propelled beneath a massive arch-way of solid rock. The voyage, though short, was not altogether free from danger ; for if he happened to raise his head the chances were in favour of its being caught against the sharp inequalities of the superincumbent mass, which, in some places, descends to within a few inches of the water. For the convenience of explorers another passage has been made by blasting through the limestone, and this part of the journey can now be accomplished with comparative comfort. The next point we arrived at was the Grand Saloon, an apart- ment of considerable magnitude, the full extent of which the sickly glare of our candles failed to illuminate ; this cavern is said to be about 220 feet square, and in some places 120 feet in height ; it is traversed by a number of steps cut in the ground, leading to the "second water." An involuntary ex- clamation broke from us as we entered, huge masses of rock bulge out on every hand that glisten in the feeble light where the moisture oozes over them rippling their surface with counties crystallized convolutions between which the water trickles in tiny threads. Near the further extremity a group of broken rocks have become detached from the parent mass to which the appellation of Roger Rain's House has been given from the circumstance that the moisture which escapes through the crevices of the mountain is continually trickling down the sides. The noise, as each drop falls to the ground with a dull leaden sound, that reverberates from the ample roof and sides of the subterranean vault, and breaks upon the death-like silence that prevails, exercises a peculiarly depressing influence upon the senses. Leaving Roger Rain's House we reach next the Chancel, a naturally formed opening or gallery, at a considerable elevation in the rocks, access to which is obtained by a steep and rugged pathway on the right. Encrustations of stalactite spread over the surface and depend from the more prominent parts of the rocks, curiously formed growths adhere to the roof, and as 44 ON FOOT THROUGH THE PEAK. you stand aside in the gloom you may see the smooth glittering surface and the brightness that flashes from every projection and inequality. From the Chancel the road gradually descends, until another opening is reached, called the Devil's Cellar, where you are startled by a loud rumbling resembling the falling of a distant cataract, caused, as the guide informs you, by the rushing of water through various unexplored recesses in the mountain. The next halting-place is the Halfway House, to reach which we have to follow a toilsome and dim- cult path, some 150 feet in length, strewn with stones and fragments of broken rock, and in some places so low that we are compelled to adopt a stooping posture to avoid knocking our heads against the roof; on the way we come upon a stream of water that has to be crossed and recrossed several times, either by means of stepping stones conveniently placed for the purpose or on the ready shoulders of the guide. Then we meet with a singular example of Nature's handiwork, a passage running beneath a succession of immense semicircular archways formed in the solid rock, not unlike the groined crypt of an ancient cathedral. From the bold and graceful curves, and the regular outline of the arches, you might almost imagine that the chisel of the mason had been employed in their formation. Traversing this natural colonnade we arrive successively at Gloucester Hall and Great Tom of Lincoln, the latter, an ample cavernous expanse, so designated from its having a regular concavity in the roof resembling the form of a bell. The distance from this point to the termination of the cavern is but short, the sides gradually contract, and the roof descends until barely sufficient room is left for the pas- sage of the water, when all further progress is precluded. As we returned we found that a little coup de theatre had been provided for our entertainment : whilst we had been exploring the inner recesses of the cavern a number of children, who had been trained to act the part they have to play, had ascended to the Chancel, and as we approached this part of the cavern the sound of their voices broke suddenly upon the ear. The harmonious strains issuing thus unexpectedly from the deep heart of the mountain, where all around is silent as the tomb, has a powerfully exciting influence upon the imagination pro- ducing the most lively emotions of astonishment and delight. SPEEDWELL MINE. 45 A very remarkable and pleasing effect is experienced in returning, emerging from the blackness you see the light of day gradually illuminating the mouth of the cavern. The visitor is generally stayed at a point commanding a distant view of the entrance. At this spot all that he can discern is a faint glimmer, like the first streaks in the eastern sky heralding the return of day; advancing, the light becomes more and more intense, the weird forms and shadowy outlines of objects assuming a more clear and distinct appearance, until emerging through the immense orifice into open day, the light bursts upon him with dazzling, almost blinding brilliance. The sensation caused by this sudden change is of the most delightful and exhilarating character, everything has a smiling and joyous appearance, and a bright and verdant freshness seem to pervade every object. The total length of the Peak Cavern, from the mouth to the furthest extremity, is estimated at 2300 feet, and the depth from the surface of the mountain 600 feet. It is in- tersected in different parts by a current of water, which it is necessary for the visitor repeatedly to cross; this water first enters the ground by what is termed a swallow-hole at Perry- foot, about four miles distant, on the Buxton Road, and after pursuing its course through a succession of subterranean caverns, including the Speedwell Mine and Peak's Hole, finds an outlet near the mouth of the latter, and finally loses itself in the Nowe at a point a little beyond Hope Church. In rainy seasons this stream is often very much swollen, when access to the interior is rendered difficult, and sometimes altogether impossible. The Speedwell Mine is distant about half a mile from Castleton, on the left of the old Buxton Road, and close to the entrance to the Winnats. It was originally excavated by a company of proprietors in search of lead ore, but the result proved most unfortunate; and, after eleven years' fruitless toil, and an expenditure of 14,000, it was finally abandoned, the principal shareholder, a Mr. Oakden of Staffordshire, having been ruined by the undertaking. It now remains only an object of attraction to the curious, and a monument of mining skill and patient industry unhappily unrewarded.* * Three sets of workmen were employed in this undertaking five to each 46 ON FOOT THBOUGH THE PEAK. The lessee of the mine is Mr. John Tym, who is also the owner of one of the spar museums, a very worthy person, civil, intelligent, and possessing moreover a sufficient know- ledge of mineralogical science to render his description interesting to visitors. The entrance is mean and unpretending, in this respect contrasting most unfavourably with the magnificent approach to Peak's Hole a low white-washed cottage, with the name painted over the door, being the only outward indication of its existence. Descending by a flight of upwards of a hundred steps, we arrived at a "level "or subterranean canal, some six or seven feet in breadth, that has been hewn out of the limestone, where we found a long narrow boat, capable of seating about twenty persons, in readiness, in which we embarked, the guide im- pelling us along by pushing against the sides of the rock. There was just sufficient room to sit upright in the boat without knocking our heads against the top, the channel being not more than eight or nine feet from the roof to the bottom of the water the latter being about three or four feet in depth. At the commencement of the journey the guide placed a lighted candle against the side, and others again at short intervals as we went along, and so straight is the ex- cavation that looking back they could be distinctly seen the entire length; the reflection upon the still water, pre- senting, as may readily be imagined, a very pleasing effect. As the boat glides along, several veins of lead ore are seen, though none sufficiently rich to repay the cost of working. In places sudden breaks and fissures appear at right angles with the passage that look as if nature had begun a series of transepts, and then abandoned the design ; and here and there huge rents are seen caused by the cooling of the vast lime- stone mass in primeval days. Then we come to the Half-way House where a tunnel branches off to the right. For a time the stillness was almost unearthly, then the echoes were awoke by our companion playing Luther's grand old hymn upon the bugle, the tones reverberating back through the long, set by which means the work was constantly carried on night and day (Sundays excepted) for eleven years. Each man used one pound of gunpowder per day (for the whole excavation was effected by blasting). The quantity used amounted to 51,645 pounds. Moore's Excursions in the Peak. SPEEDWELL MINE. 47 long watery vault, producing an effect that will leave an echo in the memory to life's latest day. As the sounds died away we became conscious of a hollow murmuring in the distance, the sound of which increased as we proceeded on until it became a loud roar, caused as we were told by the water falling into the "Bottomless pit." We had traversed a distance of seven hundred and fifty yards and had now reached the Grand Cavern, a vast opening fashioned by nature in the heart of the mountain, the height and depth of which have never yet been ascertained ; huge bulging masses of rock stand out on either hand as if they were about to topple down upon us, and everywhere the roof and sides are intersected by fissures that have been either formed or enlarged by the erosive action of water passing through them for successive ages. Across the opening a broad archway or platform, protected by an iron railing, has been erected for the accommodation of visitors; mooring our boat to the rock, we ascended this the better to survey the abyss beneath; and strange indeed must be the feeling and firm the resolution of the man who could stand upon this spot, and look down into the yawning and unfathomable gulph in which the seething waters plunge night and day into the deep darkness, without experiencing a sensation of the profoundest awe. As we leaned over the railing and gazed into the immense void, the feeble and sickly light of our candles, overpowered by the impervious gloom, whilst they failed to illuminate, served to render the surrounding darkness still more striking and apparent. Miners have been let down this chasm a distance of ninety feet, at which point commences a pool of water that is said to have swallowed up 40,000 tons of rubbish produced in driving the level from 600 to 700 yards beyond the cavern, without making any perceptible difference either in extent or depth. The so-called pool is, however, nothing nore than an underground current communicating with other caverns, along which the rubbish has been carried by the force of the stream as fast as it has been thrown down. The height of the huge dome above has never been deter- mined, but the distance to the surface of the mountain has been computed at eight hundred and forty feet, and nearly 48 ON FOOT THROUGH THE PEAK. the whole of the intervening space is believed to be one vast cavity. We peered into the darkness, but our candles were all too feeble to illuminate the lofty roof, and the gloom was more palpable from the absence of ornament ; no gleaming stalactites or glittering crystallizations giving back the dim candle flame. Steps have been formed by placing wooden pegs across a cleft in the rocks for a considerable way up- wards, and up these the guide climbed and fired a blue-light which revealed to us for a few moments some of the hidden recesses of this magnificent cavern, but there was still a space above which the light failed to penetrate. Some idea of the immense altitude of this cavern may be formed from the fact that rockets of sufficient strength to ascend four hundred and fifty feet have been discharged, which have risen unimpeded to their highest elevation, exploded, and thrown out their brilliant coruscations as freely as if they had ascended beneath the vault of heaven. The visitor is generally entertained with a "blast" before leaving the cavern, for which a trifling additional charge is made ; a small quantity of gunpowder is wedged in the rock and fired, the sound of the explosion reverberating from side to side with fearful intonation. Having completed our examination of the Speedwell Mine, we lost no tune in visiting the Blue-John Cavern, another, and certainly not the least interesting of the Derbyshire wonders. This cavern is situated near the foot of Tray Cliff, immediately opposite the shivering front of Mam Tor. By the carriage road it is distant about a mile and a half from Castleton ; but pedestrians will find a much shorter route by following a narrow track that leads across the edge of the cliff. This cavern is the grand depository of the amethystine or topazine fluor of mineralogists, locally designated Blue-John, a name given by the miners to distinguish it from Black Jack, a species of zinc ore found in the neighbourhood. This substance is composed of lime and fluoric acid the most penetrating and corrosive of any acid known the blue colouring matter being oxide of manganese. It is found in different parts of Derbyshire and Saxony ; but it is only in Tray Cuff that it can be obtained in sufficient abundance to SLUE-JOHN CAVERN. 49 repay the cost of working, and even here it does not appear to exist in any considerable quantity, and is said to be less plentiful than formerly, the annual product of the mine being ten or twelve tons ; the price at the present time is about .40 per ton in the " rough." It appears in detached masses, in veins three or four inches thick, running in various directions, separated from the limestone rock by a lining of cawke or sulphate of barytes, and by a thin layer of unctuous clay; sometimes it is found adhering to loose rocks and "riders," and other adventitious substances. The crystal- lizations generally assume the figure of a cube, with its modifications, the octahedral or dodecahedral form being rarely met with. The exquisite richness and sudden contrasts which occur in the colouring of this beautiful material have occasioned it to be worked into a variety of elegant forms, as brooches, vases, obelisks, etc. The largest vase ever made from the fluor spar is in the possession of the Duke of Devonshire, and may be seen in the sculpture gallery at Chatsworth. Antiquaries have established the fact that fluor spar was known to the Romans, who found it probably whilst seeking for lead in the Tray Cliff. It is supposed that the famous vasce murrhina were made of this material, and certainly Pliny's description of those vases would answer as well to the fluor spar productions of the present day. In a geological point of view this cavern is perhaps the most interesting of any in the Peak, and being comparatively easy of access, it may be explored without inconvenience. The entrance, which is at base of Tray Cliff, and within a short distance of the road, has nothing attractive in its outward appearance, or at all indicative of the wonders below. Descending by a flight of steps, we reached a narrow confined passage that winds between stupendous rocks which appear to have been rent asunder by some convulsive effort of nature. From the roof of this passage stalactites are pendant, and all along, the sides are coated with crystals of carbonate of lime, and embedded with fossil shells, entrochi, coralloids, madrepores, and a host of others that have not seen the light since these rocks were deposited as calcareous mud along the bottoms of the carboniferous seas. In some 50 ON FOOT THROUGH THE PEAK. places huge masses of detached rock project into the pathway, threatening a barrier to all further progress ; in others the limestone is dislocated and broken into a diversity of forms rugged as chaos, then the pathway gets rougher, and we go twining between damp slimy walls of rock, and a little further on we come to a beautiful crystalline spring in a hollow on the left, so transparent as to be treacherous in the uncertain light. After proceeding some distance a spacious opening is reached one hundred and fifty feet in height and about sixty feet in diameter, called Lord Mulgrave's Dining Room, from the circumstance of its having been used as such by the present Marquis of Normanby and the miners who accompanied him on his three days' subterranean expedition in the endeavour to discover another outlet. Continuing our journey along a vaulted and circuitous pathway that leads through a succession of clefts and cavities, which ramify and extend far away into the heart of the mountain, widening and narrowing as they run along, we come to the Variegated Cavern, a noble apartment, said to be upwards of one hundred feet in height, but the full extent of which our lights failed to disclose. The scenery here is most impressive ; great rocks bulge out on either hand, making us feel like pigmies at their feet, and, raising our candles high above our heads, we perceive a mighty cavern, the roof of which is lost in the blackest darkness. Suddenly the guide fires a Bengal light, and the effect is then brilliant and dazzling in the extreme the overhanging masses are thrown out in bold relief, contrasting with the opposing rocks, the sides of which are encrusted with myriads of crystals that reflect the dazzling light in countless corusca- tions. The beautiful spars and metallic substances with which this cavern abounds render it especially interesting to the mineralogist. " Here, ranging through her vaulted ways, On Nature's alchemy you gaze, See how she forms the gem, the ore, And all her magazines explore." The Variegated Cavern is the farthest part of the mine usually shown to visitors, and a railing has been placed across to prevent them wandering beyond and becoming lost BLUE-JOHN CAVERN. 51 among the labyrinth of passages that radiate from it. Our curiosity being excited by what we had already seen, we felt a strong desire to still further explore the recesses of this extraordinary cavern, a desire the guide most obligingly con- sented to gratify. In undertaking this part of the journey, however, we had little calculated upon the difficulty and danger attending it ; from the entrance of the cavern to this point the pathways are everywhere in excellent condition, smooth and pleasant to walk upon ; but beyond, everything is in the wildest disorder, loose pointed stones and fragments of rock of every conceivable size and shape, that by some violent concussion have become detached from the superin- cumbent mass, lie scattered about in horrid confusion. Leaving the less venturesome of the party behind, we set forward on our toilsome march, picking our way over the rugged and uneven surface as best we could ; now clamber- ing over a broken crag, and now dropping down a precipice. Our progress was necessarily slow, for, owing to the slippery and treacherous nature of the ground, it required the utmost care and circumspection to keep from falling; everything being covered with a thick slimy deposit it was almost im- possible to obtain a firm footing, and in the deep gloom that prevailed every step was attended with the risk of sliding away we know net exactly whither. In some places the passages were so confined that we had to crawl on our hands and knees, in others we had to squeeze through narrow open- ings in a cramped doubled-up posture that was anything but agreeable. To add to our discomfort we were hi danger of being left in utter darkness, a predicament anything but pleasant to contemplate, but rendered more than probable as every now and then a drop of water falling from the roof into the flame of our miserable candle, with a hissing sputtering sound, seemed to threaten its extinguishment. Having pene- trated for a considerable distance into the heart of the moun- tain without meeting with anything to compensate for the labour of investigation, we returned to the friends we had left waiting in the Variegated Cavern, and set about exploring the more accessible parts of the mine. After wandering awhile amid these gloomy avenues the eye becomes more accustomed to the surrounding darkness, and 52 ON FOOT THROUGH THE PEAK. objects that at first were either totally obscured, or presented only a shadowy and indistinct form, become more clearly discernible. For this reason the guide generally reserves his descriptions until the return. A singular stalactitic formation that had escaped our notice on entering was now pointed out : a group of slender columns or shafts of unsullied purity depending from the roof, and which have in the course of time become connected with the stalagmites below, forming a series of fairy-like pillars that seem to give support to the overhanging rock. These columns, which have received the name of the Organ from their supposed resemblance to that instrument, have a delicate waxen appear- ance, and when reflecting the lights of visitors have a very pleasing effect. Some of the stems have unfortunately been broken off by the careless handling of sightseers, or in sheer injury being the place is now fenced off to prevent further wantonness, and sustained. These stalactitic encrustations occur in almost all caverns in 1he limestone districts, but in none of those in the Peak range do they assume more varied or graceful conformations than in the Blue-John Mine. They are caused by water charged with carbonic acid gas percolating through the pores of the limestone : on reaching any cleft or cavity the moisture becomes evaporated by the air, when the lime previously held in solution is deposited in a thin layer upon the surface of the rock. Each succeeding drop leaves a fresh coating of solid matter, and this process continually going on, in time these successive additions assume the form of an irregular elongated cone, called a stalactite or (locally) water icicle. If the supply of water is too rapid to admit of its evaporation at the end of the stalactite, it drops to the ground, and then, in like man- ner, forms a mass of calcareous matter rising upwards ; this, -to distinguish it, is called a stalagmite. Sometimes the stal- actite and the stalagmite immediately beneath continue increasing in length until the points become united, when a natural pillar is formed, and in this way the delicate columns of the "Organ" have been fashioned. If not the largest, certainly the most beautiful of the ca- verns in this mine is that known as the Crystallized Cavern. The height of this subterranean chamber is estimated at one BLUE- JOHN CAVERN. 53 hundred feet, and the area midway up about fifty feet. It is exhibited by means of a rude kind of chandelier, garnished with a number of lighted candles, which is hoisted to the top by a windlass. The spectator is generally placed in an angle in the pathway, and when seen from this point the effect is most imposing. A dark mass of intervening rock hides the chandelier from view, whilst a flood of light is thrown upon the roof and sides of the immense cupola which are everywhere adorned with brilliant stalactites that hang like countless icicles from every projection and inequality, and, when thus illuminated gleam and sparkle "like a firmament of stars." In the upper part of the cavern these encrustations assume more regular forms, and depend in graceful circles round the dome, presenting the appearance of elaborately feathered mjuldings rising one above another, until lost in the dim obscurity of space. The variegated colours and beautiful crystallizations here displayed have a most brilliant effect, and it requires little stretch of the imagination for the visitor to conceive himself conveyed by some powerful but unseen agency to the regions of fairy land. Bake well, in his "Intro- duction to Geology,"* says, "the crystallizations and mineral encrustations on the roof and sides of the natural caverns which are passed through in this mine far exceed in beauty those of any other cavern in England ; and," he adds, " were the descriptions of the grotto of Antiparos translated into the simple language of truth, I am inclined to believe it would be found inferior in magnificence and splendour of mineral decoration to the natural caverns in the Fluor Mine." Returning from the Blue-John Mine by the new road that skirts the base of Mam Tor, we passed on the left the Odin Mine, one of the oldest lead mines in Derbyshire, believed to have been worked by our Saxon forefathers, at a period ante- rior to the introduction of Christianity, they having honoured it with the name of one of their heathen divinities. Though it has been in operation for so many ages, the supply of ore has not yet been entirely exhausted ; the vein runs from east to west, hading, or underlying to the south ; the quality, it is said, varying in different parts of the mine, the best kinds yielding about three ounces of silver to the ton weight of lead. The entrance is within a short distance of the road, and, as 54 ON FOOT THROUGH THE PEAK. the levels are driven in a nearly horizontal direction, it may be explored with comparatively little inconvenience. For the following lines upon Castleton, which are now for the first time printed, we are indebted to John Leigh, Esq., of Manchester, the author of " Sir Percy Legh, a Legend of Lyme, and other Ballads." CASTLETON. Thy castled crags their pinnacles uprearing Fling their long shadows o'er the winding pass, And towering rocks their rugged summits nearing Make deeper gloom within the hollowed mass ; And from their caverned deeps the rushing sound Of falling waters comes upon the ear, In hidden cataracts the rivers bound, Then foam up from the mountain bright and clear. Thro' the wide fissures made by earthquakes' might, For ages have they won their wat'ry way, Traversed the mountain depths in blackest night, Then bubbled up to meet the glare of day, And in the hills have scooped out caverns vast, "Whose glittering roofs fantastic forms display, In pendant stalactites of snowy cast, Which sparkle in the flambeau's feeble ray. The humble swain his humour here indulging, Hath named these palaces that Nature made, The splendent pillars from then- sides out-bulging, And gem-bespangled roof that will not fade. The proud nave's soaring height in thought he sees, And noble organ tho' for ever mute, Yet thro' whose columns white the whispering breeze Sighs for a response to his gentle suit. "Who shall tell how deep that vast abyss From whence comes up the river's sullen roar ? "We hear the boiling waters seethe and hiss, In vain into the dark profound we pore. The Norman keep that on the green-clad hill Stands sentinel before these chasms wide, Full many a tale of wonder yet could fill Of marvels wrought by the out-pouring tide. Thou lonely relic of the feudal past, In the long centuries that thou hast stood, How many a grim defiance hast thou cast, How many a siege and stern assault withstood ! CASTLETON. 55 The Peverel here once kept his regal state, And in thy halls a princely rule maintained ; Broken and dismantled, no worse fate Is thine than nobler structures have sustained. The lovely Mellet, warlike as her sire, Called here the youth of Europe to her feet, That in the onslaught fierce and in the fire Of battle she might find a suitor meet. But gone thy splendour, and thy halls no more One shattered tower, and at its feet the fane Wherein thy warriors worshipped of yore, And left their impress ; now alone remain. So when the grandeur of the past is fled, And stately walls are levelled with the sod, The humble church still lifts its lowly head, Still hymns of praise rise to the throne of God. Aye, when the pomp of chivalry lies low, And frowning castles crumble into dust, Still at the humble shrine the knee we bow, Still raise the sounds of hopefulness and trust. In earlier times the Briton here pursued His noble quarry over hill and fell, Chased the antlered game with weapons rude, And faithful dog whose bay was heard to swell And wake the echoes in these dark denies. With steady pace he pressed the circling deer, With well-trained cunning met his many wiles, Till sank the prey beneath the unerring spear. Deep in the leafy gloom of oaken wood That canopied the valley's winding length, With dauntless step the hunter oft hath trod, To brave with well-nerved arm the savage strength Of wolf or boar that in the cave had found, Or in the close-set thicket each his lair, Ready to meet the sudden rush or bound With conscious skill and breast that knew not fear ; Or in the river sought his glistening prey, The silver greyling and the speckled trout, Or from the whimpering brook the sprawling cray Furnished his simple meal ; a prayer devout His Druids taught him rising from the feast, His drink the purling stream or crystal well, That, fed with dewy drops that still increased, Lay hid in shady covert of the delL 56 ON FOOT THROUGH THE PEAK. A simple circle on the lofty plain Of rude unshapen stones from mountain riven, Open alike to sun, and wind, and rain, The roof alone the star-gemmed vault of heaven, Served him for temple here with awe-struck soul He listened to the Druid's solemn voice, Saw from the pyre arise the vaporous scroll Of incense from the blood-stained sacrifice. With reverent breast he worshipped here the cause Of life and light the Giver of all good ; Heard from sacred lips proclaimed the laws By which was ruled his scattered brotherhood. Upon the barren moorland, bleak and lone, Where soughs the night-wind in a fitful tide, Beneath an earthen mound with turf o'ergrown, Still rest his bones, his weapons by his side. Let ho irreverent hand disturb his rest, Nor scatter his poor relics o'er the plain, His brethren laid him here in simple trust, Here let his humble sepulchre remain. The Roman, too, once made these wilds his home, Bringing his legions from the distant south, From the world's capital, imperial Rome, Thirsting for conquest with unquenched drouth. The hardy Briton struggled with his foe, Dared him to battle on the neighb'ring height, And dusky streamlets reddened with the flow From heroes dying for their country's right. Their simple weapons 'gainst the serried ranks, Full disciplined in war, were hurled in vain, Well greaved and helmeted the firm phalanx Received their fierce attack in proud disdain. The length'ning road that stretched o'er hill and dale, Straight as the arrow's flight the Roman laid, And fortress strong that overlooked the vale He raised against the Brigants sudden raid. These teeming mountains, touched by Roman skill, Gave up their hidden treasures to his hands, Rich veins of lead repaid his venturous will, And fluor begirt with amethystine bands. The darkling blende concealing in its breast The shimmering zinc of pale cerulean hue, And earthy calamine reward his quest, The golden orichalcum well he knew CASTLETON. 57 From these to fashion and the silver bright, Forth from its dross of lead he also drew, Wrapped in a sullen robe its beauteous light, Till cleared by fire, lay hidden from the view. What wondrous shapes, to his astonished gaze, His tools reveal as he pursues his toil Corals and shells of various forms amaze, That in profusion fill the rocky soil. In countless ages past, when earth was young, And ocean brooded o'er these mountain peaks, The waters swarmed with a living throng That played and sported in its bays and creeks ; Or in the ocean depths lived out their time, Leaving their relics on their growing bed, Till stretched the vast remains from clime to clime, A continent built of unnumbered dead. Time that in God's works hath no account, Illimitable as the space he fills Rolled on its eons from a ceaseless fount, As rose from darkness these once living hills. What time the Raven flapped his gory wing, And scoured the White Horse o'er this harried realm ; His crowded galley brought the dread Viking, Lust at his prow, and rapine at the helm. A conquering rabble ravaged o'er these lands, Urged by Valhalla's maidens to the strife, Joyfully they left their yellow strands, That in the battle they might yield up life. Opening the portals wide, with reddened hands, Of Odin's halls, they see the bright-haired race, The fair Valkyria wait, in lovely banda To fold their heroes in a fond embrace. On WinhilPs sloping brow the Saxon thane Unfurled his banner to the sweeping gale, Waited the onset of the fiery Dane, And drove him vanquished back into the vale ; But fate, alas, too soon reversed the day, Again they met on the adjacent hill, The Raven glutted on his dying prey, And steeped in carnage his insatiate bill. Thus Roman, Saxon, Norman, ruthless Dane, Each in his turn a baleful part here played, Carrying havoc o'er the fertile plain, And dark oppression marking all they swayed. 58 ON FOOT THROUGH THE PEAK. Yet suffering oft brings blessings in its train, No ill that hath not some attendant good, The evil of the past is present gam : Fair liberty springs from the martyr's blood. See now the race, of all the rest combined, Hardy and brave, enduring, patient, wise, Holding to freedom with a common mind, Ready for this, all else to sacrifice. Eagle and Raven from these lands are fled, With peaceful skill we cultivate the soil, Nor more the devastating hosts we dread, Whilst teeming harvests compensate our toil. These lovely valleys, with rich herbage spread, A verdant landscape, set with many flowers, That from their opening buds a perfume shed And scent the gale that brings the fresh'ning showers. Smiling in plenty, nestled lie 'midst hills Upon whose flanks the purple heather blooms, Whose misty summits form the leaping rills, And flash in vivid gold as evening looms. The lichen creeping o'er the rugged rocks Makes beauty -stains of every shade and hue Purple and orange, green and brown, whilst locks Of silvery grey drip with incessant dew. The ruby chalice of the tiny moss In diamond-studded grotto hides away, Rimmed with a fringe of gold to keep from loss The nectar treasured for the wandering fay. Or in the dingle weaves a velvet pile Where plumy ferns shut out the fervid day On which beneath the moonbeam's flickering smile, The elfin feet delight to trip and play. The gaudy pansey on the terraced height Opens her bosom to the rising sun, Basks in his rays till fades the waning light, Closes her leaves, and droops when he is gone. Mounting in ether, hark the lav'rock sings Soaring aloft above the mountain peaks, How cheerily his matin song now rings, As, bathed in light, refulgent, still he seeks To reach the nearer heaven, his glad wings Beating the tenuous air in gleesome time, Then sinking down to earth, his music brings To where his mate sits in the fragrant thyme. CHAPTER V. Hope Dale Cupola Furnace Hope Ancient Church Brough, a Roman Station Brough Mill A singular Tenure The Derwent Mytham Bridge An enthusiastic Botanist Bamford The Church Winhill Traditions An Evening Walk Hathersage Beautiful Church Village Custom Little John's Birthplace and Grave Higgar Rocks Carl's Work Millstone Edge Extensive Prospect A pleasant Walk A toilsome Ascent Rest by the Way Delightful Prospect Historical Reminiscences The Past and the Present A rapid Descent Eyam. IT was about mid-day when, resuming the satchel and the staff, we left our comfortable quarters at the BulFs Head, and bade adieu to Castleton with its wonders, its castle and caverns, its mines, minerals, and museums, and all the other objects of interest and attraction which serve to engage the attention or beguile the time of the tourist. Eyam was the next place we purposed visiting. This romantically situated village lies about six miles to the south- east of Castleton, the most direct way being through Bradwell, Windmill, and Foolow ; but as this road is, for the most part, dreary and uninteresting, we gave preference to the more circuitous but pleasanter route by Hope and Hathersage. This road runs the entire length of Hope Dale, and as the traveller proceeds some delightful views are obtained of the charming scenery of this far-famed valley. About a mile from Castleton, close to the road side, a cupola smelting furnace has been erected, the huge circular brick chimney of which forms a conspicuous object, and may be seen from almost every part of the dale. Great heaps of shining ore and mounds of ground spar, dross, and rubbish, lay about in various directions, and here and there were piled-up stacks of leaden pigs ready for carting away. Our request for permission to view the process of smelting was readily acceded to, and the person in charge of the works spared no trouble in explaining to us the operation from be- ginning to end. 60 ON FOOT THKOUGH THE PEAK. The ore, when it has been properly cleansed and dressed, is placed in the furnace with a quantity of ground spar, the latter serving as a "flux," to facilitate the smelting by ren- dering it more sensitive to the action of heat and causing it to liquify the more readily; afterwards it is cast in long semicircular bars, two of which constitute what is termed a "pig" of lead. Resuming our journey, a few minutes' walk brought us to Hope. The parish one of the largest in the county com- prises the parochial chapelry of Fairfield, with eighteen townships, besides the villages of Alport, Coplow Dale, and Small Dale, and a part of the town of Buxton. The village is of very modest dimensions, the parsonage, a blacksmith's shop, and two or three public-houses, constituting the major portion. Hope Hall, now occupied as an inn bear- ing the name of the Hall Hotel, was formerly the seat of the Balguys, who possessed considerable estates in this part of the county for many generations. The ancient and widely-spread family of Eyre, ancestors of the present Earl of Newburgh, date their connection with Hope so far back as the reign of Henry III., when William le Eyre held lands of the king in capite by service of the custody of the forest of High Peak. The church, dedicated to St. Peter, stands on a gentle elevation, close to the road side, and is nearly surroxmded by tall and widely-spreading lime trees. Ascending a few steps, we entered the churchyard by a narrow quaint-looking opening between two upright stones. The building is a venerable structure, erected, apparently, about the early part of the fifteenth century, with additions of a later period. It con- sists of a nave, with clerestory and side aisles, chancel, south porch, and western tower, the latter supporting a broad and singularly heavy-looking octagonal broach spire; the want of altitude in the superstructure (a defect common to many of the churches in Derbyshire) detracting greatly from the appearance of the edifice. The roof of the cleres- tory, side aisles, and choir, is surmounted by an embattled parapet, relieved at intervals with crocketted pinnacles. The eastern end of the chancel is lighted by a large pointed window of four lights, trefoiled, the head filled with per- ANCIENT CHURCH. 61 pendicular tracery, of good design; near to this window is the following inscription, now almost obliterated: REPARED BY THE D & C OF L, and adjoining, the date "1620." The entrance porch, on the south side is supported by buttresses, placed on the angles; above is an ancient porch-chamber, and on the external face of this is a triplet opening, with a crocketted canopy, intended originally to contain a small statue, probably the patron saint of the church. A number of grotesque gurgoyles, for carrying off the water from the roof, are disposed round the building, some of which, it must be confessed, hardly accord with our modern sense of decency, much less with the sacred character of the fabric they are intended to adorn. In the interior are a few mural tablets, and near one of the archways is a monumental brass to the memory of Henry Balguy, of Eowlee, in Hope parish, who died 17th March, 1685. In addition to some local charities left by benevolent individuals, there is an endowed school of ancient foundation. On the master's old oak chair, which bears date 1664, is carved the following inscription: "Ex torto ligno non Jit Mercurius" An Apollo is not made out of a twisted log; an aphorism the truth of which we are not inclined to dispute. Leaving Hope, we crossed the river Nowe, a busy little stream that takes its rise among the hills in the vicinity of Edale, whence it continues its snake-like course through a succession of meadows of the most vigorous green, receiving, as it progresses, several smaller rivulets, until it becomes lost in the Derwent, at Shatton, about midway between Hope and Hathersage. At Brough, a mile further on, the Nowe is joined by a little brook called the Bradwell, and in the angle formed by the confluence of these two streams (a situation that would seem to have been invariably preferred), is the site of an ancient Roman station ; the ground is slightly elevated and bears the name of the Halsteads ; here have been dug up, at different times, urns, bricks, stone columns, a bust of Apollo, a gold coin of the reign of the Emperor Augustus Caesar, and various other articles, undoubtedly of Roman origin. From this sta- 62 ON FOOT THEOUGH THE PEAK. tion there appear to have been two ancient Roman roads ; one, called the Bath way or Bathom-gate, leading to Buxton ; the other over the moors to Melandra Castle, in the township of Gamesly, near Glossop. A tradition prevails that the Peverels had a residence at Brough, in addition to the fortress at Castleton. Brough Mill belonged to the family of Strelley in the reign of Edward III., who held it by the singular service of atten- ding the king on horseback whenever he should come into Derbyshire, carrying an heron-falcon ; if his horse should die in the journey, the king was to buy him another, and to pro- vide two robes and bouche of court. From Brough, a pleasant walk of a mile along the northern bank of the river brought us to Mytham Bridge, a fine struc- ture of three arches, spanning the river Derwent as sparkling and brilliant a stream as ever imparted grace and animation to landscape scenery. Here, the changing aspect of the scenery becomes manifest, the country gradually loses its pastoral character, and assumes at every step a more bold and picturesque appearance. The Derwent forms a pleasing feature in the scene, its silvery waters coursing merrily along through a well-wooded and richly-pastured foreground, backed by a succession of emi- nences which descend almost to the river's brink, their sloping sides clothed to the summit with trees. Further on a char- ming view of Derwent Dale is afforded, and beyond the bleak and barren slopes of Hathersage Moor and Froggat Edge fill up the background, their harsh and rugged outlines, softened by distance, meeting the sky and forming an admirable perspective. The Derwent may fairly claim to rank as the principal of Derbyshire rivers, and from its source to its junction with the Trent a distance of about forty miles its course lies through some of the most lovely and richly-diversified scenery in the county, itself contributing not a little to enhance the beauty of the country through which it flows. It takes its rise in one of the wildest regions of the Peak, its main source being at a place called the Trough, in that mountainous grit- stone ridge which separates the counties of York and Derby. Taking a southerly direction, it receives in its course the waters THE DERWENT. 63 of the Westend, and after passing the quiet little hamlet of Derwent, from which it takes its name, becomes united with the Ashop, a gathering of numberless rills that come down from the wild cloughs and dingles in the hill country around Kinder Scout ; half a mile further on the Ladybower brook comes prattling down with noisy glee from the deep-wooded glen on the opposite side ; then the river winds sweetly onwards through the pleasant vale of Bamford to Mytham Bridge, where the Nowe meets it with gladsome greeting. Leaving Hathersage about half a mile to the eastward, it pursues an indented course through the beautiful valley between Froggatt Edge and Eyam Moor, approaching within a short distance of Stoney-Middleton, receiving on its way the out-pourings of the bordering hills. After passing the pretty little village of Baslow, it flows by the west front of Chatsworth and through the park, to Rowsley, at which place it is joined by the winding Wye. From Rowsley the river gracefully serpentines through the rich pastoral vale of Darley, at the further extremity of which the sylvan character of the scenery changes, and tran- quil beauty is succeeded by magnificence and grandeur. Here, as it enters Matlock Dale, the rapid current dashes impetu- ously over its rock-strewn bed, washing the foot of the majestic High Tor, then sweeping round the broad base of the stupen- dous Masson, and again hiding from view as it glides stealthily along beneath the pendant woods which shadow darkly its translucent bosom. Leaving the romantic dale of Matlock, it flows through Cromford and Belper, to Derby, and some 10 miles beyond falls into the Trent, near the village of Wilne, on the confines of Leicestershire. Though not possessing the queenly dignity of the Trent, nor those wild features that characterise and give interest to the Dove, the Derwent may, nevertheless, challenge com- parison with any river in the kingdom for the rich and varied character of the scenery throughout its course. Generally its banks are well wooded : the oak, the elm, and the wide- spreading sycamore mingling their rich verdure with the more light and graceful foliage of the ash and the birch ; whilst here and there, from amid the luxuriant masses of underwood that adorn its sloping sides, the delicate stems of the osier, and the slender branches of the wild honeysuckle, hang down 64 ON FOOT THROUGH THE PEAK. to the water's edge, breaking its glassy surface into innumer- able ripples. The beauty of the stream is increased by the ever-changing character of the currents : sometimes it bounds hurriedly on, leaping from crag to crag in little fairy-like cascades, throwing up the sparkling foam-bubbles as it breaks over the fragments of rock which have been toppled down from the overhanging cliffs ; anon the troubled waves subside, and the current glides smoothly and leisurely along its surface, scarcely broken by a ripple. But, though often gentle, it is never languid, never sluggish ; in some places it meanders pleasantly onwards over its pebbly bed, its gentle murmurs blending harmoniously with the rustling of the overshadowing trees. We lingered for some time upon the bridge watching the broad clear stream as it meandered onwards over the moss- clad stones, which Nature with a careless hand has strewn along its channel, its rippled surface the while decked with a thousand silvery gleams. Then turning off to the left near the toll bar, we pursued our course, keeping beneath the friendly shade of the spreading trees to avoid the scorching beams of the meridian sun. As we sauntered leisurely along we fell into company with a farmer's son, a lithe active young fellow, on his way to a neighbouring village. We got into conversation about the beauty of the river and the surrounding scenery. He knew the country well, and related many a scrap of legendary lore. We soon found out that he had made good use of his eyes, as well as his ears, for he shewed us all the choice bits of scenery, and pointed out the most interesting objects in the view, discoursing the while upon their merits with all the earnest- ness of one who felt that he had a personal interest in their reputation. We learned, too, that he was an enthusiastic botanist, and had spent some time in endeavouring to master the science of geology, but the subject, he said, he had found to be a very dry one. Half a mile brings us to Bamford, as pleasant a little village as any in the Peak, delightfully situated on the slope of a bold gritstone ridge, with a charming vicinity that i8 sure to win the admiration of the wayfarer. Many of the houses have a comfortable, well-to-do appearance about them : BAMFORD. 65 some have their gardens bright with flowers, and even the humblest has its window enlivened with some pretty plant or other. The hills rise on either side in lofty and pictur- esque masses, and all along encroaching upon their broad slopes, spread meadows of luxuriant grass, while deep in the leafy hollow below the Derwent ripples merrily onwards, gurgling and splashing over its rock-strewn channel, delight- ing the ear with the pleasant music of its babbling waters. A branch of the cotton trade has extended itself even to this out-of-the-way place, giving employment to a large portion of the surrounding population, who are occupied in the doubling of fine threads for lace manufacture, and now all is activity and diligence, where previously the quiet operations of hus- bandry were carried on with no stimulus for the mind, and but little increase of industrial wealth. The mill stands away down in the valley by the river's brink, its harsher features con- cealed by a mantle of foliage that has been trained to spread over its walls ; altogether it looks so unobtrusive in its screen of leaves that one can hardly object to its neighbourhood. The proprietor, William Cameron Moore, Esq., is the prin- cipal landowner in the district, and to his liberality the inhabitants are indebted for many of the social privileges they now enjoy. With a kindly feeling towards those whose labour has contributed to his wealth, he has spared no efforts in the promotion of their moral and intellectual, as well as physical interests; the village schools are maintained principally at his expense, and within the last few years he has at his own cost erected a handsome church, endowed it, and built a commodious house for the clergyman, the nearest place of woi*ship previously being the mother church of Hathersage, some three miles distant. May the noble example of liberality and singleness of heart which he has shown find many imitators among his class, that so our "traffickers" may be truly called "the honourable of the earth." The church, dedicated to St. John, is a very pretty struc- ture, and from its elevated position forms a conspicuous object in the landscape for miles around. It is built in the decorated style, from designs by Mr. Butterfield, the details exhibiting a closer adherence to the pure English Gothic than is usually 66 ON FOOT THROUGH THE PEAK. met with in the creations of this architect. The plan compre- hends a nave chancel and north aisle, with a tower in which is a peal of bells, flanking the north-west angle, surmounted by a spire that rises to the height of one hundred and eight feet. The interior is very effective. The floors are laid with tiles, and the chancel is adorned with foliated panels worked in Derbyshire marble. The windows are filled with stained glass that in the chancel is of three lights, trefoiled with an elaborately foliated rose in the head; the subjects expressed are, the Resurrection and the Ascension, and beneath them are the inscriptions in black letter characters : and |railj <0& raistb trp, foljmof foe nil ate tartnesses, &{jis same festrs sfyall so tam tike manner as ge Ija&e seen }im go into Ijeabtn. A window of three lights on the south side of the nave bears testimony to the liberality of a former vicar of Hather- The centre light represents the baptism of Christ, and THE CHURCH. 67 in the side lights are the figures of Zacharias and Elizabeth; beneath is the inscription : 1860. fit Ijottor of <6ob tjjis fombofo is gi&en, bg penrg Coiiingljam, P.^., sometime feixar of % garislj of Jpatijersage. The western gable is pierced by a large wheel window, the centre foil containing the letters I.N.R.I. The font is circular in form, of Derbyshire marble, and an inscription on the minister step records that it was given by Thomas Eyre of Moorseats, Hathersage. The church is entered by a doorway in the west face of the tower, communicating with a covered vestibule that extends across the end of the nave ; within the entrance at the north end is a single-light window, in which is a shield charged with the arms of the founder Azure a swan with wings expanded argent, membered and beaked or; on a chief of the second a lion passant gules between two trefoils slipped vert; impaling or on a bend sable, three chevronels of the first between two lions rampant of the second. Immediately underneath is the inscription : ^or fyt glorg of <8ob aito % goob of PIS people tins faas fomtbeb fag SSlUliam Cameron Ipoorc, A.D. MDCCCXL; and graven upon the wall hard by, a text of scripture reminds the worshipper, as he enters that, " This is none other but the House of God." To the people of this same pleasant village of Bamford, it is indeed the " House of God," and we are sure that we but echo the feeling of the benevolent founder in the wish that to them it may become " the gate of heaven." The scenery around Bamford is boldly featured, and with its wild accompaniments of rock and wood presents much to delight the eye. On the right a lofty sweep of blackened crags overshadows the village, and seems to frown everything into silence. The lower slopes swell down in bold grassy sweeps into the vale, through which the Derwent flows in freakish windings, and above nothing is seen but mimic forests of pine and broad patches of scrub and brushwood, through which here and there the bare rock protrudes in 68 ON FOOT THROUGH THE PEAK. gaunt unshapen masses, while high up on the very verge of the precipitous cliffs a grim and lifeless looking crag, which the imaginative fancy of the villagers has likened to old Vulcan's bellows, juts out from the parent rock, like a stony coronal, all bleached and weather-worn, imparting a touch of savage grandeur to the scene. On the opposite side of the valley the bleak cone of Win- hill rises with solemn and imposing aspect, the scattered group of dwellings that go to make up the little hamlet of Thornhill resting in peaceful seclusion upon its broad flank, half hidden by the clumps of trees that spread about. Patches of plantation fringe the banks of the stream, and, for some distance upwards, signs of cultivation are seen, but all beyond is one broad tract of untrodden moorland sterility. The summit commands a wide expanse of country, and well repays the labour of ascent. On the further side and separated from it by a secluded vale, through which the busy little Nowe murmurs with many-mooded cadences, there rises another eminence of almost equal elevation, bearing the name of Losehill part of a steep rocky ridge that extends on from Mam Tor, forming the northern boundary of Hope Dale. Tradition hovers about the place and tells us that far back in the dim antiquity of the past, while Edwin ruled Northumbria's land, the armies of two Saxon kings here met in deadly conflict, and the now peaceful valley echoed to the bloody strife and clang of arms ; long and furiously the battle raged, nor ceased the combatants until the waters of the Nowe were crimsoned with the blood of the slain. The vic- torious army, it is said, encamped where Winhill lifts its stony diadem, the vanquished on the opposing heights of Losehill.* A story prevails that Winhill was a many years ago the scene of a dark deed of blood, a pedlar and his wife having, it is said, been barbarously murdered whilst crossing over the * Between Bradwell and Brough, about two and a half miles distant, and near the line of the old Roman road, the site of another battle, said to have been fought during the Saxon Heptarchy, is pointed put, at the close of which a king or military chief named Edwin was captured and hanged upon a tree that grew upon the spot, which still bears the name Edden tree a corruption of Edwin's tree. AN EVENING WALK. 69 bleak summit on their way to a neighbouring town. The two were known to have ascended from the Ashopton side, but were never seen or heard of more. The hand of justice failed to reach the perpetrators of this fearful crime, though in the locality a few dark hints were now and then dropped respecting the supposed guilty persons. Some forty years ago, a farmer whilst removing some earth from the summit of the hill, found human bones, and on making further search, the skeletons of a man and woman were discovered, which were generally supposed to be those of the murdered pah- ; a few glass beads were found with them, but nothing else by which they could be indentified. The remains were gathered together and decently interred in the neighbouring churchyard of Hope. Evening was creeping on when we entered the village of Bamford ; the rosy hues of the declining sun fell grandly upon the moorland hills, and tinged the rugged fringe of rocks with golden light that softened into beauty every seam and furrow that time and tempest has ploughed down their hoary fronts. There was yet half an hour or more of day- light, so we rambled on by the river's brink towards Yorkshire bridge, lingering oftentimes in cool nooks to chat and watch the play and sparkle of the water, as it came and went in many a silvery fall. Hereabouts the river tumbles over the ledges of its stony channel in numberless cascades, presenting, with its accompaniments of rock and foliage, as many pleasing 'bits' in one short mile as would store an artist's portfolio. The soft warm haze of a summer's eve came stealing down into the vernal shade, brightening the shaggy scrub with golden radiance; all was peaceful, calm, and still, nothing sounded audibly but the clear gurgling of the river and the sleepy rustle of the leaves overhead, save that now and then the distant baying of a shepherd's dog and the plaintive bleat of scattered sheep came from the opposite slopes of Winhill, mingled occasionally with the clucking cry of a startled grouse as it winged its way over the lonely waste. Near the bridge we left the margin- of the stream, and crossing a few green upland pastures regained the road at the point where it separates, Wood Lane leading down on the 70 ON FOOT THROUGH THE PEAK. left to Ashopton, and thence through the Woodlands to Glossop, and the other tending to the right until it enters the Ladybower, a deep secluded glen shut in by precipitous cliffs clothed from base to summit with copsewood and spi*eading trees, between which the road winds on towards Sheffield. When we returned, the sun had gone down behind the western hills, and the dreamy shades of night were falling softly upon the landscape, wrapping the moorland heights in their dusky embrace. Mam Tor had disappeared in 'the shadowy distance, and day's curtains were closing gently over the scene. No sound broke the stillness of the sum- mer night, save the faint whispers of the evening breeez and the silvery tricklings of some distant rill that filled the air with its dreamy music; the hum of life from the village had died away, and everything seemed to have lulled -itself to rest. It was a cloudless summer's morning when we awoke. The sun's broad disc was just peeping over the edge of the eastern hills, and his slant rays shot across the vale in arrowy gleams, bathing the broad front of Winhill in golden splendour, and lighting up the lingering dew drops that hung upon the "pointed thorns;" the birds twittered blithely about the house-tops, and everything seemed to rejoice in the beauty of the awakening morn. On leaving the quiet little village we turned off by a bye- road that leads up through a tree-shaded hollow, along the side of which a moorland rill trickles over its well-worn bed of rock. By and by we come to Hurst Clough, a lonely dingle among the hills traversed by a tiny rivulet that chan- nels its way round the mossy stones in many a freakish wind- ing, at times half-hidden by the dwarf oaks and brambles that fringe its banks. Anon we ascend by a wild old wandering lane, grown over with moss and ferns, and full of deep ruts and water-holes ; high banks of hazle and thorn rise on each side, over-topped with trees that spread across and half exclude the light, producing a sort of chequered day and night. Here and there the native rock has been laid bare by successive rains, and we have to stride from one stony lump to another to avoid plunging into the slushy BATHERS AGE. 71 gullies that meet us at every stride. Quitting the miry highway we betake ourselves to the fields, following a beaten path that leads on past the Nether Hurst, a quiet little homestead, standing in a green nook at the foot of a grassy knoll, and presently reach the top of an eminence called the Eidgway, whence we get the first view of the town of Hather- sage resting upon the mountain slope its iine old gothic church crowning the top of a green knoll in front, and wooded hills encircling it on nearly every side. Delightful is the view that meets the eye : thick woods mark the course of a stream that winds through the vale below the trees, thinning off where they meet the well-tilled uplands, thick plantations clothe the hills in rear, and beyond the wild moorlands stretch away in dun perspective. Moorseats stands out upon the opposite slope, and higher up the vale we catch a glimpse of North Lees, the old castellated home of the Eyres, peeping above its screen of trees. With more time we might ramble up and trace out its quaint antiquities, or loiter about the ruined walls and broken arches of its ancient chapel, in which the wild birds now flit to and fro, and weeds and brambles thrive with untrimmed pro- digality. From the high ground the road tends to the left, and we descend towards Brookfield, a pleasant mansion standing by the margin of the stream. A wooded eminence shuts out the view upon the left, and upon the right the way is bor- dered by tall trees through which the sunshine comes in fitful gleams, brightening the rugged stems with touches of golden light. At the bottom of the valley we cross the stream by a little bridge, whence the pathway leads off on the right over some pastures, and a few minutes later we enter the town of Hathersage. Hathersage occupies a commanding position overlooking the valley of the Derwent, the houses being for the most part built upon the rocky front of a lofty eminence, a part of that great alpine ridge that forms the eastern boundary of the county. Formerly the manufacture of metal buttons was carried on here to some extent, but this branch of industry would appear to have died out, the inhabitants being now employed chiefly in the manufacture of steel wire and needles, 72 ON FOOT THROUGH THE PEAK. a trade that appears to have been more successful, if we may judge from the numerous manufactories in the place. The church stands at the upper end of the town. It is an ancient structure dedicated to St. Michael, and justly consi- dered one of the handsomest edifices in Derbyshire. The style is that denominated the decorated Gothic, the purest and most beautiful in English ecclesiastical architecture, and which may be said to have prevailed from the close of the thirteenth to the latter part of the fourteenth century, or during the reigns of the first three Edwards. The plan includes a nave, chancel, and side aisles, clerestory and south porch, with a handsome embattled tower flanking the western end, of three stages, supported by buttresses placed there is no ecclesiastical ornament that can be more strictly rectangularwise, terminating in grotesque gurgoyles, and sur- mounted by a lofty octagon spire, enriched at the angles with crocket work. A writer who visited the place some years ago, in describ- ing the church, says, " The interior is in the most despicable order, the ' Commandments ' are broken, the pavement is damp and dislocated, the monuments are ill kept, and the very whitewash appears of the earliest 'Gothic' application." However true his description may have been when written, it certainly no longer applies to Hathersage ; now everything is maintained with the utmost care and neatness, and decency and order prevail throughout an improved state of things that is owing in a great degree to the active exertions of a former vicar. In 1851-2 the church underwent a thorough restoration, at a cost (exclusively of the beautifully-stained glass windows, which have been furnished by private liberality) of upwards of <1700. A considerable portion of the external masonry has been renewed, and in the several details the original cha- racter of the design has been carefully adhered to. The interior has a very effective appearance, the whole of the fittings being in keeping with the exterior, and throughout the same correctness of taste is everywhere apparent. The nave is separated from the aisles on each side by three octagon columns, with deeply moulded capitals and bases, supporting four pointed arches, above which rises the cleres- BEAUTIFUL CHURCH. 73 tory. The roof is of open timber \vork, supported by bracing ribs springing from angel-corbels, and spanning the body of the church in the form of cinquefoiled archways ; the floors are laid with Minton's tiles, those in the chancel being of an elegant geometrical pattern ; and near the south entrance is an ancient octagon stone font with a carved oak cover. The most attractive feature is the rich stained glass, with which nearly all the windows are filled, shedding a soft mellow light that gives increased sublimity and devotional character to the building. From the tune of the Reformation until within a compara- tively recent period, the art of painting on glass had fallen almost into disuse in this country, but of late years it has been revived, and attained to great perfection. Certainly there is no ecclesiastical ornament that can be more strictly appropriate, or more conducive to the due solemnity and splendour of the house of God than the " storied window ;" and as a memorial to perpetuate the pious deeds of departed worth it must be confessed that it is infinitely preferable to the heathen trash of painted cupids, sculptured urns, inverted torches, sarcophagi, et id genus omne, with which a barbarous taste has disfigured so many of our ancient parish churches. The principal window, lighting the chancel, was given by voluntary subscription ; it has three foliated lights, and illu- strates the nativity and crucifixion, including figures of the Virgin Mary and St. John. At the western end of the nave is a large memorial window also of three lights, by Warring- ton, of London, the gift of George Eyre, Esq., and his three sisters. The centre light contains a representation of Daniel interpreting the handwriting on the wall, in the two side lights are Noah constructing the ark, and Job, and beneath the following inscription, in black letter : Co ibt glorg of <5oo, anb to % ntemorg of (SlUliam <%, of Iforilj $s, of glarg l)is farife, ana |o^ jns son. A.D. 1856. In the south side are two square-headed windows, with coupled lights, each light containing the figure of one of the evangelists. At the east end of the same aisle is a window of similar design, with the figures of the apostles SS. Peter 74 ON FOOT THROUGH THE PEAK. and Paul ; this was subscribed for by the working people of Hathersage. There is another window on the south side of the chancel, the gift of the Rev. H. Cottingham, the vicar under whose superintendence the restorations were effected. On the north side of the chancel, beneath a crocketted ogee canopy, is the altar-tomb of Robert Eyre, who fought in the battle of Agincourt, and his wife Joanna, daughter and sole heiress of Robert Padley, lord of the manor of Hather- sage. On the tomb is an incised brass, on which is depicted the figure of a knight in plain armour with his long sword by his side, and his lady, habited in the costume of the reign of Edward IV., with a long robe and veiled head-dress. At the head is a shield charged with (what appears to be) the arms of Padley, arg. three horse-barnacles sable ; and at the feet is a label with the following inscription hi black-letter characters : flic jatct llobertas (Egre armiger qtri obiii m. bie meirsis Hlag. ^niw bni ||liU'mcr cadi*, tt fojnw mar fjus qoi obiit i*. bie mmis Page. uw0 bni Ulill'nuj tathib. ax gura wrnrnbm qtror animis p'pixietar gms ^ntm. Beneath the legend are the effigies of their fourteen children, ten sons and four daughters. The Robert Eyre, who is here represented by his marriage with the heiress of Padley, acquired the Padley and Hathersage estates. The Eyres, as already stated, have been located in this neighbourhood from a very early period, and it is said, on the authority of an old pedigree still preserved at Hassop, that one of them saved the life of William the Conqueror at the battle of Hastings, hi return for which service he received considerable grants of lands in Derbyshire.* To this once powerful family, whose name in days of yore was so prominently associated with the annals of the Peak, but little has been preserved beyond * According to the Hassop pedigree, the founder of the family, whose name was Truelove, seeing William unhorsed in the battle of Hastings, and his helmet beat so close to his face that he could not breathe, pulled off his helmet and horsed him again. The King said, "Thou shalt hereafter from Truelove be called 'Air' or ' Eyre,' because thou hast given me the air I breathe." After the battle, the King called for him, and being found with his thigh cut off, William ordered him to be taken care of, and after his recovery gave him lands in the county of Derby, in reward for his services. The seat he lived at was called "Hope," because he had hope in the greatest extremitj', and the King gave the leg and thigh cut off in armour for his crest, and which is still the crest of all the Eyres in England. LITTLE JOHN'S GRAVE. 75 their monuments, their records, and their traditions; the lands they owned have passed from their possession, and the ancient halls in which they dwelt have become the abode of strangers, and will now " know them no more." There are several other monuments of the Eyre family in Hathersage Church, and also some memorials of that of Ash ton. A simple and affecting custom formerly prevailed here, as at Ashford, Matlock, Glossop, Tissington, and many other villages in the county, but which has of late years fallen into disuse. When a young maiden died it was usual for her companions to weave chaplets composed of wreaths of flowers and other emblems of youth, purity, and loveliness ; these tokens of affection were borne before the bier, and afterwards hung up in the chancel, or some other conspicuous part of the church in memory of the departed, where they remained suspended until they fell from age and decay. " To her sweet memory flow'ry garlands strung, On her now empty seat aloft were hung." Several of these simple but graceful memorials of early dis- solution are said to have existed at Hathersage within a recent period, but they have now all disappeared, not even a remnant remaining.* Hathersage claims the two-fold honour of having given birth to, and being the last resting-place of John Nailor, Robin Hood's giant henchman, familiarly known to our child- hood by the sobriquet of Little John. The cottage in which he is said to have been born, and to which he wearily retur- ned to die, is evidently of great antiquity; it is a low thatched building, standing within a few yards of the church, and now partially overgrown with ivy and screened by lofty spread- ing trees. We remember in our earlier visits the house being tenanted by an aged widow, who appeared to place implicit faith in the whole tradition. We have heard her say that she had a distinct recollecton of having, in her youth, seen Little John's green cap suspended by a chain in Hathersage Church; she also remembered his grave being opened, by order of Captain Shuttle worth, when a thigh bone measuring 32 inches in length was dug up. The grave is on the south side of the *An interesting paper on this beautiful custom, from the pen of Mr. Llewellyn Jewitt, F.8.A., is contained in the "Reliquary," vol i. pp. 5-11. 76 ON FOOT THROUGH THE PEAK. church, nearly opposite the porch, and is distinguished by two small upright stones, one placed at the head and the other at the foot; the intervening space being about 10 feet. Apart from the traditions attaching" to it, Hathersage derives especial interest from the numerous antiquities exist- ing in its immediate neighbourhood. On the north side of the church is an ancient earthwork called Camp Green, believed to be of Danish origin, and on the surrounding moorlands there are several rock-basins and curious remains attributed to our Celtic forefathers, the most remarkable being the Higgar Rocks, and that singular structure called " The Carl's Work." To these we directed our steps after visiting the church and Little John's grave, folio whig a path that leads up through a deep hollow to the east. After traversing a mile or so we come upon the open ground, where the country looks barren and deserted, and the bleak moors are seen, rolling away in the distance in long dark undulating lines. Striking off upon the right we have to cross a broad swampy patch, and then labour up a craggy steep, the summit of which is crowned by the Higgar Rocks, a chaotic mass of gritstone blocks, piled confusedly together, in some places apparently so slightly connected, that you almost fear to approach, while all around the base is strewn with detached masses that have toppled down from the parent heap. The sombre mass of blackened crags standing out upon the lonely moor looks primevally wild and forbidding, and you can. hardly wonder at the superstitious belief that here the Druid priests of old performed their sacrificial rites before the wild and fiery Britons. We sat down upon the dry ling in a kind of recess, with our backs resting against the weather-beaten stone, gazing upon the barren solitude that spread around. Wherever we looked the view was bounded by an infinity of moors and mountain tops that looked impressively sterile and aboriginal vast untrodden wastes that have retained their desolate character through centuries of revolution and change. Grand and still and almost oppressive to the eye and the ear was that lonely landscape in which the heavens and the earth seemed to gaze upon each other in silent serenity ; now and CARL'S WORK. 77 then a predatory bird winged its way over the lone expanse, lessening and lessening slowly in the distance, but no human being coxild anywhere be discerned the lonely plover's wail- ing cry and the wild "hech-hech" of the startled grouse being the only sounds that broke upon the silent solitude. We sat and talked and afterwards clambered up the rocks to the summit, then we struck across the moor, picking a way as best we could through the heath and ling that spreads about, and in a few minutes reached the Carl's Work a rude fort built upon the brow of the hill by the skin-clad warriors of old Britain, looking like an irregular mound of rough unshapen stones, with walls, fences and enclosures that open into one another. We walked round the old weather-worn monument of Celtic skill, and then came down by Millstone Edge, where an extensive quarry has been opened in the gritstone measures. Great masses of rock of every conceivable shape and size lay scattered about in wild disorder, some grey with clinging lichens and others furrowed and weather-worn; the lower slopes were strewn with millstones in various stages of forma- tion, the general barrenness being in some degree relieved by a scattered growth of brambles and a few dwarf oaks that have taken root and found sustenance in the stony soil. The view from the Edge is one of almost surpassing loveli- ness; on the south it commands an uninterrupted view of the valley of the Derwent, with its dark rocks and wooded hills, its deep cloughs and shady dingles, its little hamlets and scattered folds, and the river far below with its perpetual lapse flashing and glittering in the sunlight as it winds its way through the rich pastures a scene so rich and varied, so different from the weird and wild and dusky landscape that lies in the rear. Up the valley, the town of Hathersage is seen basking in the warm sunshine; then as the eye roves across the country, new beauties successively reveal them- selves ; Hope Dale with its verdant meadows and picturesque undulations comes in view, with the shadowy outline of Mam Tor forming the horizon from which a chain of hills sweep round to where Sir William lifts his lofty brow, frowning with haughty mien upon the wooded bluffs and knolls and peaks that gather like humble vassals round. How beautiful 78 ON FOOT THROUGH THE PEAK. the grey old farmsteads look, with their quaint gables and clustering chimneys, each standing in its patch of green that has been won by years of patient toil from the barren wastes around, or sheltering in sequestered hollows where the tiny brooklets go singing along through the summer sunshine with prattling glee. The woods blend their hues with the purple heather, and the brown scrubby wastes through which the naked rock occasionally protrudes, shew where pasturage becomes scant, and tillage altogether impossible. Having leisurely surveyed the extended landscape, we resumed our onward course. The descent from the top of the Edge we found to be no easy task : the rock near the summit rises almost perpendicularly, and we had to step from one stony ledge to another, pausing occasionally to take breath and steady ourselves; anon struggling among scrub and brushwood and prickly briars, clinging for support wherever a branch could be found to offer its friendly aid ; the difficulty being nothing lessened by the sense of danger as each now and then a loose fragment of rock would become displaced and bound down the precipitous slopes, falling with a crashing sound into the thicket below. Presently we came to sloping patches of turf where the footing is easier, then a short run brought us to the highway near where two roads meet, and a few minutes later we again entered the village of Hathersage nearly at the point at which we had quitted it a few hours before. After a brief rest we resumed our journey, Eyam being the next halting place. From Hathersage to Eyam is a long walk, but, fortunately for the lover of the picturesque, it is an exceedingly pleasant one the scenery along the entire way presenting a rich combination of rock and wood, and meadow and water, with hills and dales and breezy moorlands that stretch away as far as the eye can reach. As we left Hathersage the sky, which had hitherto been bright and clear, became overcast, and a few slight showers fell, but they were only of short duration, for soon the sun sent forth his rays again in all their former strength and brilliancy. The rain was an advantage rather than otherwise, as it served to refresh the soil and cool the overheated atmo- sphere, giving to the turf a livelier hue and to the foliage a DELIGHTFUL PROSPECT. 79 brighter green, so that our -walk was rendered the more agreeable. At every step the signs of fertility and cultivation were manifest. Our route lay through one of those old- fashioned country lanes with tall embowering hedges, hung with ferns, foxgloves, and wild roses, and many a charming view of well-tilled fields and distant uplands did we obtain as the windings of the road brought us to wider openings between the over-arching trees that here border the path. At Hazle- ford Bridge we crossed the Derwent, and shortly afterwards left the high-road, following a narrow lane that skirts the edge of Learn Woods. A little way up the hill we passed a Gothictstone dwelling, bearing the euphonious name of Hog Hall. On reaching the top of the eminence we sat down "itwhile to rest and enjoy the pure air and healthy breeze, so refreshing in comparison with the sultry atmosphere of the road we had left behind, gazing in lazy mood upon the wide extent of country that lay stretched before us like a panorama, bounded by an interminable range of lofty hills and canopied by the soft deep blue of infinite space. As we lingered upon the summit the sound of distant bells came borne upon the breeze, and the gladsome warbling of birds and the busy hum of insects were mingled in concert with the lowing of the cattle and the bleating of the sheep in the distant meadows. Reluctantly at length we left our seat and started on foot, taking the path that runs along the undulating slope of the hill until we came to a farm house near Learn Hall. It hap- pened to be a busy time, all hands were at work, for they were leading the hay, and the farmer was anxious to get it housed before sunset, and as the work went on many an anxious look was cast at the passing clouds and the distant hills. Directly after leaving the farm we scaled a stone fence, intending to make a short cut over the moors and drop down into Eyam. At first we made but slow progress, for there was no path, and we had to stride through the tall grass and tough ling, now sinking in the soft wet turf and now splashing through a patch of boggy swamp. As we ascended the hill the ground became less treacherous, and we were enabled to make better headway; still, however, we had to struggle through the deep heather and tangled gorse, picking our way 80 ON FOOT THROUGH THE PEAK. over masses of naked rock which here and there crop out above the surface. A few sheep were browsing on the slope, and as we passed by them, a black-faced ram would now and then stand and stare at us with a defiant air, as if aboxit to dispute our further progress. These heathery wastes abound with game, and frequently a pheasant, disturbed by the sound of our footsteps, would start from the cover with " whirring" flight, or the moorfowl would take wing with sudden flutter, uttering their peculiar wild "clacking" cry. The ascent was long as well as steep, and difficult withal ; but amply were we repaid for the toil by the magnificent views of scenery that met the eye every time we paused to look around us. At length we gained the summit, and se- lecting a good resting-place beneath the shadow of a stone wall, lay down, listlessly enjoying the glory of the summer day, and thankful that we had got beyond the reach of the tormenting flies. But how shall we describe or do justice to the scene 1 the air was clear, and the sun, having passed the meridian, gave breadth and shadow to the different objects in the view; while the soft blue ether above, broken only by the fleecy cirrus cloud that sent its feathery streamers across the zenith, seemed to look down upon the earth with benignant smile. The prospect viewed from this high point is indeed a glorious one hill and dale, mountain and moor, dark woods and flashing streams, and lofty eminences rising one above another in seemingly endless succession, stretching away upon the horizon as far as the eye can reach ; everything seems to charm by the very order of Nature's disorder. Below are the woods and plantations of High-low, Learn, and Sheriff, and beyond may be traced the Derwent as it serpentines for many a mile through the vale, now hidden beneath the dark foliage with which its banks are fringed, and now flashing in the bright sunlight like a gleam of silvery light ; to the left, on the opposite side of the river, can be discerned the little town of Hathersage, seated upon the mountain slope, the light tapering spire of its handsome church a conspicuous object for miles around ; carrying the eye southwards we have a succession of woods and meadows, intermingled with green slopes of pasture, and farms and HISTORICAL REMINISCENCES. 81 cottages that nestle among the trees, looking so contented and happy with their smiling orchards and patches of garden, giving evidence of rural comfort and prosperity; then we have undulating eminences chequered with dark shady lanes, and intersected by winding roads that look whiter by con- trast with the sombre foliage. In the distance is Padley, for generations the family seat of the Eyres ; and beyond the picturesque group of cottages forming the little hamlet of Grindleford Bridge; the eye, following the course of the stream, passes over the village of Froggatt, and near it is Stoke Hall, embowered in woods ; turning to the right the prospect takes in the hills and plantations forming the boun- dary of Chatsworth Park, the old hunting tower, with its four circular turrets rising above the woods, and basking in the glorious sunlight. Eastwards the scenery is in perfect contrast to the foreground, a magnificent range of hills, look- ing primevally wild, filling up the background, their craggy summits tossed into every variety of fantastic form and figure, like the troubled waves of a tempestuous sea. Look- ing across the valley, in a northerly direction, we see the moors above Hathersage, with Bore Edge, Millstone Edge, and Booths Edge, their sloping fronts descending almost to the margin of the river, Carl's Work and Higgar loom grandly in the distance ; then comes a wide expanse of rock and heather, bounded by a charming valley, through which Burbage Brook, a busy little stream, winds its sinuous course between dark waving woods, and, beyond, Froggatt Edge rears aloft its dark and rugged crest, abrupt, bold, and stern, looking more bleak and desolate by comparison with the rich and varied greenery of the foreground. Looking again towards the south, the eye takes in Curbar Edge and Baslow Edge, with a succession of eminences that rise one above another until they grow dim upon the distant edge of the horizon. How we longed to lengthen the moments into hours, as we lay among the heather dreaming of the past, and think- ing of the future ! What strange reminiscences do these old hills awaken ; through all the varying vicissitudes of time they, alone, have passed unchanged. How many dynasties have they outli ved ? how many shall they survive ? Empires 82 ON FOOT THROUGH THE PEAK. and kingdoms have risen and passed away ; generation after generation has come and gone, like swathes of grass before the mower's scythe. These hoary hills, " the stern and bleak companions of the mist and cloud," present a type of almost every period of our history. On these heights, far back in the mist of ages, when the hardy woad-stained Briton roamed at large among his native woods, the Druid built his altar, worshipping his gods with superstitious rites and barbarous sacrifice within those mysterious circles of. stone, the rude remains of which yet exist, having through countless ages withstood the wasting hand of time ;* and here, in later days, the followers of Augustine raised the sa- cred symbol of our faith, and taught our Saxon forefathers the saving truths of Christianity, giving them in exchange for their heathen paganism the gospel of love and purity and peace, with all its humanizing and civilizing influences, f On those trackless wastes the martial Roman and the predatory Dane have left their indelible traces behind them. Padley reminds us of the Norman barons and the days of chivalry ; and yonder wood-crowned hill that overlooks "the princely Vernon's banner'd hall" carries the mind back to the days of the "King of the Peak," and the rude abundance and la- vish hospitality of "Merrie England" in a feudal age; while there, reposing in the soft and mellow sunlight, the fair and stately hall of Chatsworth gives us a picture of life in the present day, with all the comfort, the elegance, and the refinement, that wealth, and ingenuity, and art, aided by the most consummate taste can supply, presenting a strange con- trast to the roistering revelry which characterised the social existence of our forefathers. The age of feudalism, with all its prejudices and cruelties when men ruled by the stern will and the strong arm has for ever passed away ; but amid the bigotry and intolerance that overclouded it, there were frequent flashes of glorious heroism, and no lack of brave hearts and noble minds. Al- though there is much that we must deprecate and condemn, * At a place called Wet-withins, on Eyam Moor, is a Druidical circle, consisting of sixteen stones, enclosing a space about ninety feet in diameter, in the centre of which there existed, until within a recent period, a large upright stone. tThe beautiful Runic cross now standing in Eyam churchyard is said to have been found upon these moors. ETAM. 83 there is also much that is morally good, and dear, and honoured to our every feeling of existence. While we rejoice that our lot is cast amid happier days, we look back with fond affec- tion to the past, and delight to dwell upon the memories of those great and glorious spirits whose noble acts and illustrious deeds have elevated England to the position she occupies among the nations of the earth. It is the many time-stained memorials of the past which bestrew the soil, the foot-prints of time evidencing the mighty changes that have been wrought, and the onward progress of our land, and on which the nation's history is written in character's imperishable that, perhaps, more than anything else, tend to cause and strengthen the love of country so deeply implanted in the breast of every Englishman. The lengthening shadows reminded us that it was time to depart, for we had yet much ground to get over before the day closed; and, not without regret, we turned our backs upon the charming prospect. At the further extremity of the moor we passed through a gate and crossed the road from Great Hucklow to Grindleford Bridge, called Sir William Road, taking the path that leads by the Lady Wash Lead Mine, then winding round a deep hollow planted with shrubs and trees, beyond which the view opens upon the grassy slopes and undulations in the neigh- bourhood of Stoney Middleton ; here we turned to the right, following a rough and broken road that descends abruptly, and in a few minutes reached the village of Eyam just as the church clock chimed the hour of six. CHAPTER VI. Eyam The Plague Its introduction to Eyam A faithful Pastor Spread of the Disease Cucklet Church Death of Mrs. Mompes- son Affecting Letters Character of Mompesson The Athens of the Peak Anna Seward Rev. Peter Cunningham Richard Furness William Wood The Riley Gravestones A neglected Church Runic Cross Cucklet Dell and the Pulpit Rock Diffi- culties Moonlight Scene Middleton Dale Stoney Middleton. EYAM is one of the most interesting places in Derbyshire : interesting from its antiquity, the beauty of its situation, as the birth-place and abode of genius, and, more than all, from the melancholy associations connected with it. It occupies an elevated position on the declivity of a hill, part of a range that extends westwards from Bradwell Edge to the Valley of the Derwent, overlooking the romantic Dale of Middleton, with which it is connected by two precipitous openings, called Eyam Dale and the Delf, or Cucklet Dell, of which latter we shall have more to say by and by. On the north side it is screened by a lofty eminence called Eyam Edge, partially covered with rich green turf, and crowned with plantations of larch and fir. It is, take it altogether, a pretty-looking little mountain village, consisting of one long straggling lane or street, with dwellings of somewhat primitive aspect bordering either side, and a few groups of cottages, with a scattered homestead or two perched picturesquely upon the summit and upon plea- sant ledges of the mountain slope, whilst prominent over all the pinnacled tower of its ancient church is seen peeping above the spreading lines that encircle it, imparting an air of importance and respectability to the scene. Like most villages in the Peak, the houses are built of stone, and although humble, are generally clean, and have a comfortable and cheerful appearance. The inhabitants are employed chiefly in lead mining a branch of industry that has been carried on here from the time of the Komans; silk THE PLAGUE. 85 weaving is also followed to some extent, and the cheerful song mingling with the "clack" of the loom we heard repeatedly as we passed through the village. Eyam owes its celebrity to the melancholy circumstance of its having been almost depopulated by the plague in 1666, and the more than Koman fortitude and self-sacrifice then exhibited by its pastor amidst scenes of unexampled suffering and woe. Towards the end of the month of November 1664, the plague, which had previously been ravaging the continent of Europe, made its appearance in London. As the winter of that year had passed over without any striking variation in the bills of mortality, it was hoped that the disease might have become exhausted ; but those hopes were soon dispelled, for with the return of summer it again manifested itself, and continued with increasing fatality throughout the season. For a time the distemper was confined to the metropolis and its immediate vicinity, but it gradually extended into the country, and in the month of July 1665, broke out in this unfortunate village. The circumstance of its introduction to Eyam is related by Dr. Mead in his Narrative of the Great Plague in London, and by other writers. The infection, it is said, was conveyed in a box containing clothes and tailors' patterns sent from London; a journeyman named Vicars who opened the box was seized with violent sickness, the neck and other parts of his body became swollen, and soon the character of the disease revealed itself by that fatal token, the plague-spot, appearing upon his breast. This was the first person who fell a victim ; "the whole of the family, with the solitary exception of one, shared the same fate. The disease spread rapidly, and almost every house was thinned by the contagion. The same roof, in many instances, sheltered at the same tune both the dying and the dead. Short indeed was the space between health and sickness, and immediate the transition from the death-bed to the tomb. Wherever symptoms of the plague appeared, so hopeless was recovery, that the dissolution of the afflicted patient was watched with anxious solicitude, that so much of the disease might be buried and its fatal influence destroyed. In the churchyard, on the neighbouring hills, and in the 86 ON FOOT THROUGH THE PEAK. fields bordering the village, graves were dug ready to receive the expiring sufferers, and the earth, with an unhallowed haste, was closed upon them even whilst the limbs were yet warm, and almost palpitating with life." * Some idea of the virulence of the disease may be formed from the fact, that out of a population of about 350, 260 fell victims, being nearly four-fifths of the inhabitants. The Rev. William Mompesson, who at the time held the living of Eyam, was the means, under Providence, not. only of alleviating the agonies of those who suffered from the disease, but also by his prudence and forethought, was mainly instrumental in preventing the contagion spreading into the surrounding country. Like a faithful pastor he determined to remain in the midst of his people, and, with Christian fortitude and resignation, share with them the danger of the pestilence. He endeavoured, as far as was possible, to con- fine the disease within the limits of his own village, knowing that, were the inhabitants instinctively to flee to the sur- rounding country, they must of necessity carry the seeds of death with them. With a desire to devote himself alone to the hazardous service he urged upon his wife, then only in her twenty-seventh year, the necessity of seeking a temporary home for the safety of herself and their two children; but he addressed a spirit as noble and devoted as his own : she reso- lutely refused to leave him he, with whom she had sworn to live, and to love and cherish "until death do part," she would not desert in the hour of trial; the children were sent to a distance, but she heroically remained, preferring to share with her husband the painful duties of his office. Summoning his parishioners, Mompesson announced to them his determination to remain faithful at his post, shewing them the consequence of fleeing from their homes, and of communicating to others the malady which was then sweeping those around them into the grave, and the little probability of escaping the contagion by flight. His resolution and Christian devotion elevated the hopes of his flock, and his example, the love he was held in, and the influence he possessed over the minds of his people, induced them to adopt and cheer fully carry out those salutary measures which he propounded. * Rhodes. CUCKLBT CHURCH. 87 His first step was to write to the Earl of Devonshire, then staying at Chatsworth, acquainting him with his intention and asking for assistance, pledging himself that if supplies of food and other things necessary to mitigate the horrors of the disease were daily deposited in certain places indicated, not a single inhabitant would transgress the boundary. The Earl entered cordially into the views of the rector, and, un- deterred by the fear of contagion, remained at Chatsworth during the whole time the plague raged, superintending the supply, and by his influence and example assisting Mr. Mompesson in his benevolent work. From this time Eyam, with its little community of suffer- ers, was cut off from the outer world, none attempting to pass beyond the limits prescribed. With a view to prevent, as far as possible, the spread of the distemper, pest-houses were opened in the village, and there the dying and the dead were huddled together in horrible confusion. Provisions were left at stated spots along the boundary line of commu- nication, where troughs or reservoirs of water were placed to receive and purify the money deposited in exchange ; a small stream that supplied these reservoirs is pointed out by the villagers, which still bears the hallowed name of Mompesson's brook. The malady continued throughout the winter, and when summer again came round its virulence only increased. Feeling more than ever the necessity of spiritual advice and consolation, and yet fearing that the assemblage of a number of persons under a confined roof, would only be to woo the embraces of death, Mompesson determined upon closing the church, and collecting the scattered remnant of his flock in the Delf, a narrow romantic dell lying between the village and Mid- dleton Dale; on the west side of this dell, on a steep acclivity, is an opening fashioned by Nature in the face of the rock, and from beneath this rude archway, Sunday after Sunday, and thrice during the week, did this good and faithful man administer the simple services of the Church, addressing words of comfort and religious consolation to his fear-stricken parishioners, enforcing upon them the obligation of obedience and Christian resignation to the affliction with which a Divine Providence was then visiting them. The place is still vener- 88 ON FOOT THROUGH THE PEAK. ated by the inhabitants, and is known by the name of Cucklet Church and the Pulpit Rock. " Contagion closed the portal of the fane In which he wont the bread of life to deal ; He then a temple sought, not made with hands, But reared by Him amidst whose works it stood Rudely magnificent." As the summer advanced the plague became still more fatal in its ravages ; as yet, the pastor's house had been mercifully preserved, but the time was at hand when one was to be taken and the other left when his home was to be visited by the angel of death, and his hearth made desolate. In the second week of the month of August his noble-minded wife was stricken with the pestilence, and fell a victim to her own disinterestedness and self-devotion. His anguish under this sad bereavement appears to have been of the most poignant character, and it will hardly be expected that under so severe a trial his fortitude should have remained unshaken ; as it has been truly remarked, " he did his duty like a man, but he also suffered like a man," it would seem that even the hope of his own life now failed him. His letters written at this time are among the most simple and affecting compositions in our language ; that to his children announcing the death of their mother is peculiarly touching. In a letter addressed to Sir George Saville, then patron of the living of Eyam, dated 1st September, 1666, he says: "This is the saddest news that ever my pen could write. The destroying angel having taken up his quarters within my habitation, my dearest wife is gone to her eternal rest, and is invested with a crown of righteousness, having made a happy end. Indeed, had she loved herself as well as me, she had fled from the pit of destruction with the sweet babes, and might have prolonged her days ; but she resolved to die a martyr to my interest. My drooping spirits are much refreshed with her joys, which, I think, are unutterable." " Sir," he afterwards writes, " I have made bold in my will with your name as executor, and I hope that you will not take it ill. I have joined two others with you, who will take from you the trouble. Your favour- able aspect, will, I know, be a great comfort to my distressed orphans. I am not desirous that they should be great, but AFFECTING LETTERS. 89 good ; and my next request is, that they be brought up in the fear and admonition of the Lord." " Dear sir," he con- cludes, " I beg the prayers of all about you, that I may not be daunted by the powers of hell, and that I may have dying graces. With tears I beg that when you are praying for fatherless orphans you will remember my two pretty babes." August appears to have been the most fatal month, the number who then fell victims being 78 nearly one-third of the entire population. From this time the disease began to abate, and in October it had entirely ceased. In a letter dated the 20th November 1666, addressed to John Beilby, Esq., Mr. Mompesson says: "The condition of this place has been so sad, that I persuade myself it did exceed all history and example ; I may truly say that our place has been a Golgotha, the place of a skull; and had there not been a small remnant of us left, 'we had been as Sodom, and been like unto Go- morrah.' My ears never heard such doleful lamentations, and my eyes never beheld such ghastly spectacles. Now, blessed be God, all our fears are over, for none have died of the infection since the 1 1th of October, and all the pest-houses have been long empty." It was not to be expected that such self-devotion as that exhibited by Mr. Mompesson would pass unrecognised ; his noble disinterestedness procured for him many friends, and, had he been at all desirous, the highest ecclesiastical prefer- ment might have been attained. He was shortly afterwards presented to the rectory of Eakring, but such was the terror felt by the inhabitants of that place, after the terrible scourge at Eyam, that they dreaded his coming amongst them, and a hut had to be erected at Kufford Park, where he remained until all fear had subsided. He afterwards obtained the prebends of York and Southwell, and, subsequently, the deanery of Lincoln was offered to him ; but that he gener- ously declined in favour of his friend Dr. Fuller. He died in 1708. It has been well remarked by a writer, from whose work we have already quoted, that "a fervent piety, a humble resignation, a spirit that, under circumstances peculiarly affecting, could sincerely say, 'not my will, but thine be done,' 90 ON FOOT THROUGH THE PEAK. a manly fortitude, and a friendly generosity of heart, were blended together hi the character of Mompesson."* During the whole of this trying period Mr. Mompesson was ably seconded in his benevolent and self-denying labours by the Rev. Thomas Stanley, a Non-conformist minister then residing at Eyam. Eyam, the Athens of the Peak, as it has been called, has long been celebrated as the abode of talent. The Rev. Thomas Seward, who succeeded Mr. Bruce in the rectory of Eyam, was the author of several poems printed in Dodsley's Collec- tion ; he also published an edition of Beaumont and Fletcher's plays, and a treatise on the conformity between the Pagan and Romish churches. His daughter, Anna Seward, the intimate friend and contemporary of Dr. Darwin, Lovell Edgeworth, and Thomas Day, the eccentric and accomplished author of Sandford and Merton, was born at Eyam in 1742, and at an unusually early age evinced a strong poetical tendency ; her writings are remarkable for their chasteness and purity of style. In 1782 she published her poetical novel, "Louisa," which met with immense success, and rapidly exhausted three or four editions. In 1799 she gave to the world a collection of " Sonnets," intended to " restore the strict rules of legiti- mate sonnet." In 1804 she published the life of her friend Dr. Darwin, in which she lays claim to the authorship of the first fifty lines of the " Botanic Garden." After her death, which occurred in 1809, Sir Walter Scott, to whom she had bequeathed her literary productions (including the works she had herself intended for the press), issued an edition of her poems and three volumes of literary correspondence, with a biographical preface ; and about the same time Mr. Constable published her "Letters" in six closely printed octavo volumes. The Rev. Peter Cunningham, who held the curacy under Mr. Seward, and afterwards, on that gentleman's preferment to the canonry of Lichfield, became the rector, was a man gifted with a refined poetic taste. He spent the greater part of his life at Eyam, and it was here he wrote his "Chatsworth," "Russian Prophecy," and "Naval Triumphs," poems possess- ing considerable literary merit. * Rhodes' Peak Scenery. RICHARD FURNESS. 91 Richard Furness, a native of Eyam, and a self-educated man, was distinguished for his literary genius and poetic power. For many years he held the appointments of master of the Free School, and vestry and parish clerk of Dore, a little village about six miles from Hathersage, on the confines of the county. His writings contain many passages of considerable beauty and poetic excellence, and his descriptions are vigorous and life- like ; throughout there is evidence of a strong independence of thought, and an abhorrence of everything like oppression. His first production, and that most favourably known, was a satire in three cantos, entitled the "Rag Bag;" this he pub- lished in 1832; and four years afterwards he issued his "Astrologer," a work of somewhat inferior merit; he was also an occasional contributor to the "Poet's Corner" of the Sheffield Iris during the time that paper was under the man- agement of Montgomery the poet. He died December 1 3th, 1857, and was interred in Eyam churchyard. After his death his miscellaneous poems, with, the "Rag Bag" and " Astrologer," were published in a collected form, under the editorship of Dr. G. Calvert Holland, to which was prefixed a biographical sketch of the author. Among the writers and poets who have conferred such classic pre-eminence on this lowly mountain village we must not omit the name of its historian, William Wood. Of hum- ble parentage, Mr. Wood by his own unaided efforts acquired for himself considerable reputation as an author, and secured the friendship of many literary friends. He first became known as a writer by the publication, in 1837, of an unpre- tending little volume entitled, "The Genius of the Peak and other Poems ;" five years later he gave to the world his "History of Eyam," with a particular account of the Great Plague a work which has already passed through four editions and by which his name will be best remembered. In 1862 he published his "Tales and Traditions of the High Peak," and besides these, his more important works, he was a frequent contributor to the pages of the Reliquary, his papers being all characterised by patient research, and evidencing a vigorous and intelligent mind. Mr. Wood died on the 27th June, 1865, in his 61st year, and he now rests within the church- yard of Eyam, where a monument has been erected by bis 92 ON FOOT THROUGH THE PEAK. neighbours and friends to mark their appreciation of his virtues and intellectual worth. On entering the village of Eyam we ordered tea at a small public-house, and, whilst it was being prepared, made a short pilgrimage to the Biley graves. Leaving the high road we struck off to the left, following an ascending path that leads through a plantation, until we came to an eminence over- looking the village, called Riley Side ; this, at the time the plague was depopulating Eyam, was the burial-place of the Hancock family, who then resided at a house near the top of the hill. The graves are situated in the middle of a cul- tivated field, and surrounded by a low stone fence. In this humble enclosure there are six headstones and one square tomb, recording the last resting-place of an entire family who, with one exception, were swept away by the plague. The inscriptions, though much worn, may yet be traced. On the tomb which contains the ashes of the father of this family of sufferers are the words Here lies buried the body of John Hancock, Gent., Who died Aug. 7, 1666. Remember, man, as thou go'st by, As thou art now, even so was I. As I lie now, so thou must lie ; Remember, man, that thou shalt die. ETAM CHURCH. 93 On the four sides of the tomb are the words, "fforam" "Nescites," "Orate," and " Vigilate" The several headstones are inscribed as follows : John Hancocke, jun., bur. Aug. 2nd, 1666. Mary Hancocke, bur. Aug. 3rd, 1666. Oner Hancocke, bur. Aug. 7th, 1666. William Hancocke, bur. Aug. 7th, 1666. Alice Hancocke, bur. Aug. 9th, 1666. Ann Hancocke, bur. Aug. 10th, 1666. What a saddening picture do these stones present. The words are, indeed, few but what an amount of human suffering and woe do they imply; within a period of eight days, seven persons in one family swept away in the full vigour of the spring-tide of life.* But little respect appears to be paid by the inhabitants to these sad memorials; they are now overgrown with nettles and weeds, and, with an unpardonable indecency, the wall which surrounded them has been broken down, and in this neglected state they have been permitted to remain for years ; the timely expenditure of a few shillings would have pre- served for generations to come these sepulchral mementos of one of the most mournful episodes in connection with the desolation of Eyam. Within the last twenty years many similar memorials of dissolution were to be seen in the fields and on the hill sides in the immediate vicinity of the village, but they are fast disappearing; some have been destroyed, and others, with an unseemly indifference, have been appropriated to baser uses. After tea we visited the church, which stands near the centre of the village, surrounded by a row of fine old stately limes that look almost as venerable as the fabric itself. It is an ancient structure, in that peculiar style of architecture which it would puzzle an antiquary to define a kind of Gothic-composite, if we may so term it, containing a little of every style that has prevailed from the time of the second Henry down to the golden days of the Virgin Queen; addi- tion upon addition, and repairs upon repairs, without any * A descendant of this family, Mr. Joseph Hancock, was the originator, ta. 1750, of the art of plating copper with silver, which he practised at Sheffield, and which gave "Sheffield plate" an European celebrity, and the town employment and wealth ever since. 94 ON FOOT THROUGH THE PEAK. attempt at uniformity of outline. The north aisle appears to be the most ancient part of the building, and probably dates as far back as the twelfth century; the south aisle is some four centuries later. The chancel, now overgrown with ivy, and the tower, were rebuilt about the year 1600 the latter at the expense of a maiden lady of the name of Stafford, and the same munificent individual gave the bells. The principal entrance is on the south side, over the doorway of which is a complex sundial, on which the parallel of the sun's declination for every month in the year, a scale of the sun's meridian altitude, an azimuthal scale, the points of the com- pass, and a number of meridians are delineated. The interior is sadly disfigured by low projecting galleries and high-backed pews, but there are some details we should have been glad to have examined more at leisure. At the east end of the north aisle we noticed an ancient piscina, and near to it an oblique aperture or narrow opening in the pillar through which in times past the people assembled in the aisle were enabled to see the elevation of the Host at the high altar; there is also an ancient stone font, some curiously carved bosses, fragments of stained glass, and other objects of interest. An effort is now being made to raise sufficient funds to carry out the much required work of restoring and enlarging the ancient village church, and in this way it is proposed to commemorate the bi-centenary of the " Mighty Woe " of Eyam. On the south side of the churchyard, near the entrance to the chancel, is an ancient Eunic or Scandinavian cross. This relic of antiquity is supposed to be of early Saxon origin, and to be nearly one thousand years old; the face and back are carved with curiously interlaced knots ; on the arms are figures of angels with trumpets and other symbolic devices, and in the centre, a representation of the Virgin and Child. In style and appearance it bears a strong resemblance to the cross at Bakewell, but it is superior in form, and the carvings are more elaborate. This relic of early Christianity has suffered from time and neglect ; it was originally some 10 ft. in length, but about 2 ft. of the upper portion of the shaft has been broken off and destroyed. Of its early history but little is known, a tradition prevails that it was found on RUNIC CROSS. 95 one of the neighbouring hills ; for a considerable period it lay in a corner of the churchyard, nearly overgrown with weeds; from this state of degredation it was rescued and set up on the spot where it now stands, when the upper part of the cross was replaced upon the imperfect shaft. Within a few feet of the old cross is the tomb of Mrs. Mompesson, nearly hidden among rank weeds and nettles ; on one end is sculptured a winged hour-glass and the inscrip- tion, " Cavete, nescitis, horam ;" and on the other a death's head and the words, " Mors mihi lucrum." On the top slab is the following inscription : CATHERINA VXOR GVLIELMI MOMPESSON Hvrvs ECCLESLE RECTS. FILIA RADVLPHI CARR NVPER DE COCKEN IN COMITATV DVNELMENSIS ARMIGERI SEPVLTA VICESSIMO QVINTO DIE MENSIS AVGTI AND. DNL 1666. At each corner of the tomb is placed a small stone pillar, chamfered at the edge. 96 ON FOOT THROUGH THE PEAK. Near the north-west corner of the churchyard, beneath the shadow of a wide-spreading lime, a monument records the last resting-place of Richard Furness. The spot is alluded to in the concluding canto of his poem, " The Rag Bag:" " Near those tall elms ; in that sequestered spot, There all these rags in quietness shall rot, With their poor bard, who never sung for fame. (Since rags, and shrouds, and mortals are the same), " The monument consists of a plain square plinth, resting upon a basement, and surmounted by a sculptured urn ; on the face is this inscription : " Richard Furness, Born at Eyam, August 2nd, 1791 ; Died at Dore, Dec. 13th, 1857. Land of my fathers ! how I love to dwell On all thy scenery ! Barren as thou art, Still hast thou genuine charms, or some sweet spell That binds thy beauties to my ravished heart ; That spell will never break, till death's sure dart Shall reckless strike this penetrable crust. And oh ! 'tis sweet to think, my baser part Shall then be mingled with my mountain dust ; Rocks, hills my monument to be no chiselled bust. " This monument, originally erected by the poet to the memory of his wife, was elevated and enclosed by numerous attached friends, in order that they might record their high opinion of the genius of the poet and worth of the man, whose remains rest here. ' The lines are taken from one of his poems, entitled " The Tomb of the Valley." On the same side of the churchyard a monument has been erected over the remains of William Wood, the historian, of Eyam, on the front of which is the following inscription : In Memory of William Wood, Who died June 27th, 1865, Aged 60 years ; Author of the "History and Antiquities of Eyam," "Tales and Traditions of the Peak," &c., &c. Men but like visions are, Time all doth claim ; He lives who dies and SEPULCHRAL MEMORAILS. 97 The obverse side of the monument is inscribed as follows: This monument was erected by his neighbours and friends to record their high opinion of his upright and faithful character, and their admiration of his genius and literary attainments. Eyam is rich in churchyard literature, few places possess- ing so many or such a variety of epitaphs as are here to be met with; some convey serious lessons of mortality, and others are remarkable for their quaint and simple pathos. We select the following as an example of the better class ; it is believed to be from the pen of the Rev. Mr. Cunningham, and is inscribed on the tomb of a youth of the name of Froggat : " How eloquent the monumental stone, Where blooming, modest virtues prostrate lie, Where pure religion from her hallow'd throne Tells man it is an awful thing to die. Is happiness thy aim ? or death thy fear ? Learn how their path with glory may be trod, From the lamented youth who slumbers here, Who gave the glory of his youth to God." The bump of veneration would appear to be not over- prominently developed in the good people of Eyam, if we may judge from the state in which the churchyard is per- mitted to remain. In most country villages we find that, though even the church itself may sometimes be neglected, there is yet an affectionate regard and loving care shewn for the place which contains the ashes of departed relatives or dear friends. In Eyam, however, no such simple homage is paid to the depository of the dead ; the church has a damp, cheerless, and neglected appearance, and the graveyard is in a state of the most deplorable disorder, affording evidences of heedless indifference and unseemly disrespect, enough to " sear the eye and grieve the heart." The little mounds of earth, where sleep " the rude forefathers of the hamlet," are overgrown with docks and nettles ; the tombs are broken and dislocated, and the very headstones, leaning in every direction, appear as if about to sink into the graves of those they commemorate. We could not help contrasting the B 98 ON FOOT THROUGH THE PEAK. feeling of indifference exhibited by the inhabitants to that so beautifully expressed in the following lines : " Encircled by trees, in the Sabbath's calm smile The church of our fathers, how meekly it stands ! villagers, gaze on the old, hallow'd pile It was dear to their hearts, it was raised by their hands ! Who loves not the place where they worshipped their God ? Who loves not the ground where their ashes repose ? Dear even the daisy that blooms on the sod, For dear is the dust out of which it arose." On leaving the churchyard, we saw a number of miners congregated at a corner of the road, discussing the affairs of the state amidst the obscuring clouds of tobacco-smoke. We enquired of one of them the most direct way to Cucklet Church ; after some hesitation he exclaimed, as if suddenly recollecting himself, " Oh, why, yo mean't Delf ; you mungo forrad and past are hoise, an' o'er th' steel (stile), an' across th' fields, an' yul be theere directly." We thanked him kindly for the information, though we must confess that to us it was not very intelligible. Taking the direction indicated we crossed a stile, and fol- lowed a narrow footpath that leads through the fields; after proceeding some distance, and when, as we thought, we were about to enter the Delf, we found ourselves unexpectedly upon the extreme verge of a precipitous rock overlooking Middleton Dale, and some 300 feet above the roadway. The place is one commanding a fine view of the Dale, and at another time and with more daylight, we should have enjoyed the prospect; but it was now getting late, and the night was rapidly closing upon us. To attempt a descent was out of the question, so we had no alternative but to retrace our steps. After wan- dering about for some tune we came up in the pulpit rock, almost hidden among the dark umbrageous foliage that sur- rounds it; here we found a number of sheep congregated, which, at our approach, beat a hasty retreat, the noise, as they scampered through the bracken and underwood, dis- turbing a colony of rooks who had taken up their abode for the night, and who expressed their disapproval of the intrusion by a loud and incessant cawing; the noise of the birds and the bleating of the sheep producing a concert cer- tainly not of the most harmonious character. From the CUCKLET DELL. 99 pulpit rock a steep and difficult descent brought us to the bottom of the valley. The Delf, or Cucklet Dell, by which latter name it is more familiarly known to tourists, has become almost classic ground from the circumstance, as already stated, of its having been selected by Mr. Mompesson as the place where to assemble his parishioners at the time the plague was devas- tating Eyam, and assuredly a spot better fitted by nature for the hallowed purpose could hardly be conceived. It is a deep secluded dell, formed by a cleft in the limestone, which descends from the village towards Middleton Dale, and from its romantic and fertile beauty presents an admirable contrast to the grim and savage character of the scenery in the ad- joining dale. The sides are clothed with the softest turf, from which here and there jut out grey masses of rock, all mottled and chequered with mosses, lichens, and wild-flowers. On each side, the grassy acclivities are adorned with a thick growth of underwood, brambles, and wild roses, from amid which rise the tall stems of the stately ash and the pensile birch, their light and graceful verdure mingling with the more sombre foliage of the oak and the elm. Near the north end is a chasm in the rock, called the Salt Pan, from which issues a small crystalline stream that trickles along the bed of the valley, finding an outlet at the opposite extremity. On the west side, and about midway down thedell, is the Pulpit Rock, now overgrown with ivy, and nearly obscured with shrubs and trees a bold limestone crag jutting out from the parent mass, and rising almost perpendicularly to a con- siderable altitude ; near the top is a singularly-formed archway, naturally excavated in the rock, from which during the visita- tion of the plague the good pastor of Kyarn was wont to address the words of life and hope to his suffering flock, seated upon the opposite slope, at distances a yard apart from each other. The place is admirably adapted for the purpose, being sufficiently high to command a view of the entire length of the valley, whilst the covered archway would serve to con- centrate and throw forth his voice to his hearers opposite. It is impossible to conceive a scene more deeply affecting or more solemnly impressive than that of this good and holy man in the discharge of the sacred duties of his office, 100 ON FOOT THROUGH THE PEAK. administering the consolations of religion to his afflicted parishioners, who, cut off from all communion with the outer world, had in their solitude become familiarised with death in its most harrowing and repulsive form. We conclude our notice of Eyam and its mournful history with the following lines, from the pen of Mr. E. Rhodes, the accomplished author of "Peak Scenery:" " In a deep dell, with pendant ash trees crowned, Where wild-briar roses creep along the ground, Where rock and mossy verdure intervene, And the tall elrn, and hazel freshly green, And the dark yew, then- varied tints unite, Rich with the gay vicissitudes of light ; There, a rude arch, not formed by mortal hands, The unconsecrated Church of Cucklet stands ; To this sequestered spot, where all might seem The sweet creation of a poet's dream, Mompesson saw his suffering flock repair, Duly as tolled the Sabbath bell for prayer, MIDDLETON DALE. 101 When through th' afflicted village, wild with dread And lost to hope, the plague contagion spread, There, from a rocky arch with foliage hung, Divinest precepts issued from his tongue ; To all, his kindly aid the priest affords, They feel his love, and live upon his words : The soothing words, the heavenly truths he spoke, In every breast divine emotions woke. He taught that suffering was our lot below, And how religion mitigates the blow ; Points the bright path, by pilgrim footsteps trod, That leads the pure in heart to rest with God Assures the contrite soul, the feeble cheers, Reanimates their hopes and calms their fears ; Strives to estrange the heart from earthly ties, And fix its hopes of bliss beyond the skies, Where sin ne'er enters, and where sorrows cease : They hear, and to their homes return in peace." We had some trouble in finding our way' into Cucklet Dell, and we had no less difficulty in making our way out of it again. Near the further end the valley is covered with nettles of the most luxurious growth, and through these we had to struggle, at times nearly breast deep; at length we reached the termination of the dell, and scaling a stone wall, came upon the highroad that runs through Middleton Dale. Our troubles, however, were not yet at an end : the darkness had come upon us, and we were in uncertainty as to which direction to take, whether to turn to the right or to the left. We climbed up to look at a neighbouring guide-post in the hope of thus obtaining information, but the old weather- beaten friend of the traveller had lost a wing and was there- fore mute to our inquiries. With the aid of a lighted match, a piece of paper, and the ordnance map (a companion which, by the way, no tourist ought ever to be without), we managed to solve the problem, and turning to the left proceeded down the dale. From the Delf to Stoney Middleton the distance is only about a mile, but the scenery along the road is eminently picturesque, and for wildness and stern grandeur is hardly equalled in the Peak. When we started the light of day was gone, and the soft twilight of a summer's eve was rapidly deepening into gloom, the last golden streaks that lingered in the western heavens had disappeared, and the shrouding 102 ON FOOT THROUGH THE PEAK. shadows of night were gathering thick and fast around. A few stars gemmed the firmament and night's fair queen, now " Riding near her highest noon," shed a soft and silvery lustre, lighting with delicate touches the fringe of foliage upon the rocks and faintly illuminating the distance, casting the while broad shadows across the deep recesses of the dale that gave vastness and immensity to the scene. Now and then a few flying clouds swept across the heavens, shrouding the moon from view and creating a dim obscurity through which we could faintly trace the rugged forms of the half-concealed mountains. The sudden gleams of weird light added to the savage grandeur of the scene, and gave to it an air of stern romantic beauty which the most brilliant sunshine would have failed to create. The rocky chasm through which winds the road from Tideswell to Stoney Middleton has evidently, at a remote period, been rent asunder by some convulsive effort of Nature. On the left hand side of the dale rugged and weather-beaten crags, abrupt and vast, rise to the height of 300 or 400 feet, their cold grey colour agreeably harmonising with the mosses and lichens that chequer their channelled sides. The lower part, in some places, is partially covered with brush-wood, mountain ash and other hardy trees, but the upper portion is one solid and compact mass of naked perpendicular rock, the horizontal lines marking the different strata being clearly denned, presenting the appearance of having been laid on in successive layers. At the entrance to Eyam Dale is a little public-house called the Golden Ball, beyond which, on the same side, is a huge pile of limestone, rising tier on tier to an immense altitude, called the Castle Rock, the craggy pinnacles and regular bastion-like projections which hang lowering over the base giving it the appearance of some ancient castellated building. Lower down the dale is the celebrated Lover's Leap, a rocky cliff that rears its bold and naked front almost perpendicularly to an immense elevation, and from the sum- mit of which it is said that, about the year 1760, a love- stricken damsel, of the name of Baddeley, finding that her affections were not returned by a youth to whom she was MIDDLETON DALE. 103 fondly attached, threw herself into the chasm below, and, incredible as it may appear, sustained but little injury from her rash attempt at self-destruction. The opposite side of the dale is less precipitous, and the shrubs that cover its sloping sides present an agreeable con- trast to the whitened fronts of the neighbouring rocks. Along the side of the road a series of limekilns have been erected, from which the smoke issues, curling fantastically about the rocks in light blue vapoury clouds, that adds greatly to the effect of the wild scenery around. As we wended our way through the gloom the stillness was suddenly broken in upon by the creaking of wheels and the clattering of hoofs, sounds that echoed with strange effect in the dreamy silence. A farmer's cart was returning from some neighbouring market, and the driver was singing blithely as he went along. He passed us with a cheery "good night," and then, resuming the burden of his song, disap- peared in the shadowy darkness. Close to the entrance to the village of Stoney Middleton is the Moon inn, unpretend- ing, but clean and comfortable, with good fare and moderate charges, where, weary and fatigued, we took up our quarters for the night, and soon afterwards retired to rest. CHAPTER VII. Stoney Middleton Tepid Spring Middleton Hall Changing Scenery Calver A lovely Morning Haymaking Baslow Pretty Views Chatsworth The Cavendishes Bess of Hardwicke Building mania Hobbes An insult and its consequences The Civil Wars Rebuilding of Chatsworth The beautiful Duchess A Kiss for a Vote The late Duke of Devonshire : his munificent Liberality Enlargement of Chatsworth The Peer and the Peasant Death of the Duke. SOUNDLY did we sleep beneath the shadow of the Moon. The morning dawned with a grey and hazy appearance, giving promise of a glorious day. We had a short stroll before breakfast, intending to explore the immediate locality, and take a daylight survey of the wild and romantic dale through which we had passed the previous evening. The air was deliciously cool, and the dew drops sparkled upon the grass, and upon every leaf and flower ; the time, however, was not the most favourable for our purpose, the atmosphere was too thick to admit of an extended prospect being obtained, and the misty exhalations that ascended from the earth lingered about the summits of the rocks, hiding their more elevated peaks from view. Stoney Middleton wears quite an air of bustling import- ance. There are a goodly number of shops in the place, a respectable road-side inn, two or three public-houses, a church, one or two dissenting chapels, and, of course, that establish- ment so essential to every country town the blacksmith's forge. It is a singularly quaint and picturesque looking village, built as if with studied irregularity. The inhabitants are chiefly miners and people employed at the neighbouring limekilns, and their cottages are erected along the side of the dale, and above one another up the steep acclivities of the rock, sometimes standing upon the shelving ledges of limestone, and frequently placed on the most seemingly inaccessible and out-of-the way spots, where approach would MIDDLETON HALL. 105 be deemed almost impossible hanging upon the abrupt hill sides like martens' nests against a wall with their whitewashed gables gleaming in the sunshine. The church, a comparatively modern erection having been rebuilt about a century ago stands near the eastern end of the village ; it is an octagonal building, in the Grecian style, with a square tower on the north side. Within a short distance of the church are the tepid baths, dedicated to St. Martin, which are said to have been established at the time the Romans were occupiers of the soil. The temperature of these springs is 70, or two degrees higher than those at Matlock. A little stream that takes its rise among the neighbouring hills, after running the length of the dale, flows through the village ; in one place an archway has been thrown across, on which stands a dis- carded Gothic toll-gate house. After breakfast we started on our excursion to Chatsworth. Almost the first house that meets the eye after leaving the village is Middleton Hall, a gabled stone building, the seat of Lord Denman, standing within a short distance of the road, on the left-hand side. This place was formerly the parsonage, but afterwards became the residence of Dr. Denman, one of the court physicians of George III., and father of the late Lord Chief-Justice of that name. It was enlarged and greatly improved by the late Lord Denman, who generally passed his legal vacations, and principally resided here after his retirement from the bench. As we descend into the valley of the Derwent, the country loses much of its wild and rugged character, and assumes at every step a more rich and fertile appearance. The huge precipitous rocks that bound the road at the upper end of the dale now give place to low stone walls and patches of hedge-row; beyond which the view is made up of broad smiling meadows, woods and plantations, and acres of culti- vated verdure; whilst, through the interlacings of the trees, pleasant glimpses are obtained of the blue uplands that stretch away in the far distance. Presently we meet a long train of carts returning from the limekilns, the drivers of which are seated upon the shafts, each whistling or luunming some popular air, and looking as contented and happy as if thought and care were alike un- 106 ON FOOT THROUGH THE PEAK. known. They are Derbyshire carts, we can tell at a glance, for all hereabouts are of the same diminutive size, in fact not much larger than an ordinary wheelbarrow. A few minutes' walking brings us to Calver, a little strag- gling hamlet, abounding in limekilns, from which the pale blue smoke ascends, wreathing itself into a variety of fantastic- looking clouds. The limestone obtained from the hills which surround Calver is admirably adapted for making and repairing roads, and also as a manure for agricultural purposes; here some very extensive furnaces have been built, and others are hi course of erection; cotton spinning is also carried on to some extent in the neighbourhood. Leaving Calver, we pass through the toll-gate and cross the Derwent, where, from the bridge, we have a good view of the Calver Cotton Mills, a substantial pile of stone, standing in the midst of a prettily laid out flower garden, near to which a neat gothic church has lately been erected, and then turning to the right, take a southerly direction. From this point to Baslow, a distance of about two miles, the road is con- tinued along the east side of the river, and as we advance the scenery becomes still more beautiful and diversified. The day is delightful everything which a pedestrian could desire bright and clear, without being at all sultry or op- pressive; the hazy mists, which at an earlier hour obscured the distant headlands from view, have disappeared before the genial influence of the sun, and the eye is enabled to range over a wide extent of country. The air is fragrant with the odours of the many-tinted flowers, and from every copse and thicket the feathered tribes send forth a song of gladsome melody. The sturdy oaks, all mantled with ivy, and the noble beech trees which line the way, spread their leafy boles across, dappling the whitened road with their restless and ever-changing shadows. To the right the stately Der- went sweeps along in graceful curves, now reflecting upon its clear and placid bosom all the charms by which it is surrounded, and now, as it falls over the broken ledges of rock, its crystal waves flash brilliantly in the glorious sun- light ; beyond we have a rich combination of scenic beauty emerald meads with gentle wood-crowned eminences some- BASLOW. 107 times rising into bold and swelling hills, between which lie innumerable dells and ravines. Before us we see the cir- cular turrets of the old hunting tower at Chatsworth peeping out from amid the thick umbrage, the grey hue of the stone work contrasting beautifully with the foliage of the woods beyond. To the left the scenery is of a more abrupt and striking character, lofty ridges of unbroken rock ascending from the valley, their brown heathy summits looming against the sky, making the azure above look still more intense. We meet but few people upon the road, and there are still fewer habitations ; but the signs of industry and cultivation are everywhere apparent. It is the season for getting in the hay, a time of hurrying and bustling excitement in these parts; the whole population seem to have turned out young, middle-aged, and old : the rosy-cheeked maiden and the hardy sun-browned labourer are here, all ready to lend a helping hand to hasten and secure the safe in-gathering of the crop. The mowers are at work, and the hay-makers are busy spreading out the fresh-cut swaths ; a delicious odour comes floating on the breeze from the clover and the new- made hay; on every side we hear the sharp "chick," "chick," as the mower whets his scythe, and the creaking of the wag- gon as it bears its fragrant load to the barn or stack-yard ; and social mirth and lighthearted glee, the merry song and the cheerful laugh resound, on every hand. Baslow is a pretty little rural village, consisting of a few irregular groups of cottages standing on the slope of a hill that rises from the eastern bank of the Derwent. The church is an ancient structure, occupying a position near the angle formed by the junction of the Chesterfield and Bake well roads ; it is built in the later style of English architecture, with a tower, surmounted by a low octagon spire, flanking the western end of the north aisle. In the churchyard are some ancient stone coffins, and a few curious stone slabs. The building was thoroughly repaired some few years ago at the expense of the late Duke of Devonshire, and a hand- some stained glass window was about the same time added to the chancel. Near the entrance to the village, the river is crossed by an old-fashioned bridge of three arches ; looking up the valley 108 ON FOOT THROUGH THE PEAK. from this point some pleasing views occur Bubnell Hall, an antiquated structure partially hidden in wood, an old corn mill with its dripping wheel, the rushing stream, the foaming weir, the bridge, and two or three cottages which form the foreground of the picture, are exceedingly pretty in their grouping, whilst beyond, the eye passes over a succession of wooded eminences and rugged hills that stretch away to the farthest point of distance. Visitors approaching Chatsworth from Matlock and the south are admitted by the Edensor lodge, but those coming from Chesterfield, Sheffield, and the north, generally enter by the Baslow gate ; consequently in the summer season the place has quite a busy appearance. There are two good inns in the village the Peacock and the Wheat Sheaf where ex- cellent accommodation can be had at reasonable charges, and at one or other of these visitors generally leave their vehicles before entering the park. Chatsworth, or, as it was anciently written, Chetesuorde, boasts considerable antiquity. At the Doomsday survey it was held under the crown by William Peverel. For several generations it was the property of a family of the name of Leche, or Leech, one of whom, named John, was chirurgeon, or, as a medical attendant was then termed, leech to King Edward the Third. The male branch of this family became extinct about the middle of the sixteenth century, previous to which the manor of Chatsworth had been sold by Francis Leech to the family of Agard, of whom it was afterwards pur- chased by Sir William Cavendish, who married Elizabeth, daughter of John Hardwicke of Hardwicke the celebrated " Bess of Hardwicke " who afterwards became the wife of the Earl of Shrewsbxiry, and in the illustrious family of Cavendish the estate of Chatsworth has ever since continued. The family of Cavendish is one of the oldest and most illustrious in the county of Derby. They trace their descent from one of the branches of the De Gernons, whose ancestor, Kobert De Gernon, served under William of Normandy at the battle of Hastings, and was afterwards rewarded by that monarch with considerable grants of lands in Hertfordshire, Gloucestershire, and other counties. His decendant, Geoffrey, who lived in the time of Edward the First, and who is de- BESS OF HAEDWICKE. 109 scribed as of Moor Hall, near Bakewell, had a son, Roger De Gernon of Grimston Hall, in the county of Suffolk, who married Mary, the daughter and heiress of John Pottin, or Potkins, lord of the manor of Cavendish, in the same county, and whose children, in accordance with the custom of that age, assumed the surname of Cavendish, in compliment to their mother. Robert de Gernon died 1 7th Edward 111(1334), leaving four sons, John, Roger, Stephen, and Richard. John, the eldest son, became lord chief-justice of the King's Bench, and Chancellor of the University of Cambridge ; and was beheaded by the insurgents at Bury St. Edmunds in 1381, when returning from suppressing an insurrection at York. Roger, the second son, was ancestor of the famous circumnavigator, Sir Thomas Cavendish, who undertook the third voyage round the world. The third son became an eminent merchant, and was lord mayor and twice M.P. for the city of London. Sir John Cavendish, son of the Lord Chief-Justice, was knighted for slaying the rebel leader, Wat Tyler, in 1379. He was one of the esquires of the body to Richard II. and Henry V., and was present at the battle of Agincourt. From Sir John Cavendish, the fourth in direct descent was William, who attained to great distinction in the reign of Henry VIII., through the influence of Cardinal Wolsey, to whom he had been appointed gentleman-usher. After the death of the great cardinal he was retained in the service of the king : in 1530 he was appointed one of the commissioners for visiting religious houses, and was made one of the court af augmentation, which was instituted for the extinction of monastic establishments. He subsequently obtained from the crown as a reward for his services, grants of lands in Hertfordshire ; he had conferred upon him the honour of knighthood ; and was appointed treasurer of the chamber to the king, which office he continued to hold in the reigns of Edward VI. and Queen Mary, when he was made a privy councillor. Sir William Cavendish was married three times, having issue by each marriage. His third wife was Elizabeth, daughter of John Hardwicke of Hardwicke, and widow of Robert Barley of Barley, in the county of Derby. This lady brought a very considerable property to the Cavendish family : 110 ON FOOT THROUGH THE PEAK. in addition to the large estates she acquired under settlement from her first husband, she inherited, as co-heiress of her brother John, the manor of Hardwicke. At her instigation. Sir William exchanged his Hertfordshire manors for lands belonging to the dissolved priories and abbeys in Derbyshire, etc., and commenced the building of Chatsworth, which he did not live to see completed. His widow afterwards became the wife of George Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury, to whose keeping Mary Queen of Scots was committed a prisoner. It is difficult to say whether this remarkable woman had a greater penchant for building or matrimony. She possessed great personal attractions, and was married no less than four times, always contriving to obtain possession of her husband's estate, either by direct demise or by intermarrying the children of her former marriages with those of her former husbands. By this means she brought together an enormous property, and laid the foundation of four dukedoms. At the age of fourteen she became the wife of Robert Barley, next she married Sir William Cavendish, her third husband was Sir William St. Lo, captain of the guard to Queen Elizabeth, and, subsequently, she married the Earl of Shrewsbury. She built Chatsworth, Hardwicke Hall, and Oldcotes, three of the most elegant mansions ever raised by one person in the same county, and these were transmitted to her son, Sir William Cavendish, who was afterwards created Earl of Devonshire. Tradition asserts that it was foretold to her that so long as she kept building, so long would her life be spared, and that the moment she ceased would be the moment of her death. She therefore continued to build house after house, at length, while erecting some alms-houses at Derby, a severe frost set in, every means was resorted to to enable the men to con- tinue their work, their mortar was dissolved in hot water, and, when that failed, hot ale was employed, but the frost triumphed, the work ceased, and "Building Bess" died. Lodge, hi his "Illustrations of British History," gives the following character of this celebrated lady: "She was a woman of masculine understanding and conduct, proud, fu- rious, selfish, and unfeeling. She was a builder, a buyer and seller of estates, a money-lender, a farmer, a merchant of lead, coals, and timber.. When disengaged from these employ- THOMAS HOBBES. Ill ments, she intrigued alternately with Elizabeth and Mary, always to the prejudice and terror of her husband. She lived to a great old age, continually flattered, but seldom deceived, and died immensely rich, and without a friend." Her death occurred 13th February, 1607, and about the 87th year of her age. Henry Cavendish, the eldest son, married Grace, third daughter of George, Earl of Shrewsbury (his mother's fourth husband); but, dying without issue, the estates descended to the second son, Sir William Cavendish, who was elevated to the peerage, as Baron Cavendish of Hardwicke, 4th May 1605, and advanced to an earldom, as Earl of Devonshire, 2nd August 1618. He died in 1625, and was succeeded by his second son, William, a nobleman distinguished for his classical knowledge and mental attainments. He travelled over the continent of Europe, having for his tutor and companion the celebrated Thomas Hobbes of Malmesbury, the author of "Leviathan," and friend of Descartes, Galileo, Gassendi, and other learned men. On the return of his lordship to England, Hobbes was retained in the capacity of private secretary, and on the death of his patron he undertook the education of the young earl, with whom he also made a continental tour. After his return, the renowned philosopher resided for some time at Chatsworth ; but, on the breaking out of the civil wars, he retired to Paris, and became mathematical instruc- tor to Charles, Prince of Wales, afterwards Charles II., then residing in the French capital. After the Restoration, Charles conferred upon him an annual pension of 100, and he finally took up his abode with the earl's family, at Chatsworth, where he spent the remainder of his days in comparative comfort and retirement. It was at Chatsworth he wrote his "Wonders of the Peak," and the "Behemoth, or a History of the Civil Wars from 1640 to 1660." He died in 1679, at the advanced age of 92. The second Earl of Devonshire died in 1628, having enjoyed the title and estates for three years only. He was succeeded by his son William, then in his eleventh year, who married Elizabeth, second daughter of William Cecil, Earl of Salisbury, and died in 1684, when the family honours des- cended to his eldest son, William Cavendish, who succeeded 112 ON FOOT THROUGH THE PEAK. as fourth Earl of Devonshire. He was distinguished as a wit, a scholar, and a soldier. While a commoner he served as a knight of the shire for the county of Derby in the long parliament, immediately after the Restoration, and in 1665 accompanied the Duke of York in the expedition against the Dutch. Shortly after the accession of James II., his lordship having, in the king's presence-chamber, met Colonel Cole- pepper, by whom he had been insulted, took him by the nose and led him out of the room, for which act a prosecution was commenced in the Court of King's Bench, and his lordship was committed to prison and condemned to pay a fine of .30,000. He gave bond for the payment of the fine, which, fortunately for himself, was remitted in the succeeding reign. On his retirement from the court, the Earl turned his attention to architecture, and built the whole of the present mansion at Chatsworth, with the exception of the north wing. The old mansion, erected under the direction of the cele- brated Countess of Shrewsbury, mother of the first earl, was a quadrangular pile of buildings in the Elizabethan style, enclosing a spacious court-yard, and flanked at each corner by massive square towers or turrets. During the unhappy troubles between Charles the First and his parliament, Chats- worth shared the fate of nearly all the old baronial mansions. It was alternately garrisoned by the Royalist and Parliamen- tarian forces, and became the theatre of important military operations. In 1643 it was held on behalf of the Parliament by the forces commanded by Sir John Gell, of Hopton, a soldier distinguished for romantic bravery and military skill. In December of the same year the Royalists, under the Earl of Newcastle, having previously stormed and taken Wingfield Manor House, made themselves masters of Chatsworth, and placed a garrison there under the command of Colonel Eyre. In September 1 645, it was again held for the king by Colonel Shalcross, with a garrison from Welbeck, and a skirmishing force of 300 horse, and was besieged by Major Mollanus, but the siege was raised by command of Colonel Gell, who ordered the major to return with his forces to Derby. It would appear from documents in the possession of the Duke of Devonshire, that the rebuilding of Chatsworth was commenced in April 1687, under the direction of William REBUILDING OP CHATSWORTH. 113 Talman, an architect of considerable reputation, who, in the reign of William III., held the office of Comptroller of the King's Works. The south front was the first part completed; the great hall and staircase were covered in about the middle of April 1690, and in May 1692 the works were surveyed by Sir Christopher Wren ; the east front was finished in 1700, in the same year the west front was taken down, and the whole was completed about the year 1706, being nearly twenty years from the commencement. Kennet gives the following account of the building of this magnificent mansion: "The Duke," he says, "contracted with the workmen to pull down the south side of the good old seat, and to rebuild it on a plan he gave to them, for a front to his gardens, so fair and august that it looked like a model only of what might be done in after ages. When he had finished this part he meant to go no further, till, seeing public affairs in a happier settlement, for a testimony of ease and joy he undertook the east side of the quadrangle, and raised it entirely new, in conformity with the south, and seemed then content to say he had gone half-way through, and would leave the rest for his heir. In this resolution he stopped about seven years, and then resumed courage, and began to lay the foundation for two other sides, to complete the noble square; and these last, as far as uniformity admits, do exceed the others, by a west front of most excellent strength and elegance, and a capital on the north side that is of singular ornament and service; and though such a vast pile (of materials entirely new) required a prodigious expense, yet the building was his least charge, if regard be had to his gardens, waterworks, statues, pictures, and other, the finest pieces of art and of nature that could be produced at home or abroad." During the period that Chatsworth was being rebuilt, the Earl took a prominent part with other eminent patriots in bringing about the Revolution of 1688, which resulted in the abdication of the bigoted and misguided monarch James II., and the placing of William Prince of Orange upon the throne of England. His lordship was honoured with the favour and confidence of William III., and on the accession of the king he was made a member of the privy council, and at the I 114 ON FOOT THROUGH THE PEAK. coronation he served as lord high steward. In May 1694 he was created Marquis of Hartington and Duke of Devonshire, and installed a knight of the most noble order of the Garter. During the king's absence he was repeatedly named in the royal commission for conducting the business of the crown. After a long and active political life, spent in the service of his country, he expired at Devonshire House, London, on the 18th of August, 1707, in the 67th year of his age. It has been well said that "he united to a liberal mind great politi- cal foresight, and was considered a wise and resolute states- man. He possessed an elegant and discriminating taste, which he had much enriched by observation and reading. Chatsworth remains a monument of his love of the fine arts, and the Revolution of 1688 is an historical proof of his attachment to the liberties of his country." His grace was succeeded by his eldest son, William Cavendish, Marquis of Hartington, who, like his father, en- joyed many considerable offices at court, and took an active part in the administration of the affairs of the kingdom. In 1710 he was admitted a knight of the Garter; four years later, on the accession of George L, he was appointed one of the regents of the kingdom, and in 1716 was made lord president of the council. He died on the 3rd June, 1729, and was buried at All Saints' Church, Derby. The third in direct descent from the second duke was William Cavendish, who inherited the barony of Clifford of Lanesborough, in right of his mother. His grace, who united a stern probity of character with a cold and apathetic de- meanour that was all but incapable of emotion, married in 1774 the beautiful and gifted lady Georgiana, daughter of John Earl Spencer, the "beautiful duchess," as she was after- wards called, one of the most celebrated women of her day, the friend of Fox, and the lady paramount of that aristocratic Whig circle in which rank and literature were blended with political characters; possessing a high sensibility, a vivacious spirit, and a generous and impulsive disposition, her cordial and high-souled nature recoiled within itself from the calm and inert automaton to whom she was so unequally yoked, and whose love was at best but the semblance of affection. Having but little domestic sympathy at home, she appears A KISS FOR A VOTE. 115 to have sought relief by plunging into the vortex of politics, in which she played a conspicuous part ; and, forgetful of her position and her sex, even went so far as to mingle in the tumult of elections. It is recorded, that in the election for Westminster in 1784, when Lord Hood, Sir Cecil Wray, and Fox, were can- didates, after three weeks' polling, when the list of voters was supposed to be nearly exhausted, and Fox remained at the foot of the poll, the duchess, laying aside rank and dig- nity, and sacrificing her feminine delicacy in the cause of party, undertook with her sister the Lady Duncannon, per- sonally to solicit the votes of some of the most obstinate of the outlying electors, and it was humorously remarked at the time, that two fairer portraits had never before been seen on canvass. A,mong those waited upon was a butcher, named Steel, who stoutly refused his vote, except on one condition, " Would her Grace give him a kiss ! " The request was granted, and the vote was one which helped to place Fox above his opponent on the poll. " Condemn not, prudes, fair Devon's plan, In giving Steel a kiss : In such a cause, for such a man, She could not do amiss." Three children of rare promise were the fruit of this marriage, the eldest of whom, Georgiana-Dorothy, became the wife of the Earl of Carlisle, and was the mother of the present Dowager-Duchess of Sutherland. Henrietta Elizabeth, the second daughter, married Granville Earl Granville, and William Spencer Cavendish, the only son, born May 21, 1790, who succeeded to the title and estates. The "beautiful duchess" died in 1806, and in 1809 the duke espoused the Lady Elizabeth Foster, but by her had no issue. His grace died July 29th, 1811, and was succeeded by his son, the late illustrious William Spencer Cavendish, sixth Duke and ninth Earl of Devonshire, Baron Cavendish of Hardwicke, and Baron Clifford of Lanesborough, D.C.L., a nobleman distinguished for his munificence and hospitality, his pure and refined taste, and an amiability of disposition and benevolence of heart that endeared him to all who came within the range of his influence. 116 ON FOOT THROUGH THE PEAK. His grace was born at Paris, in the dawn of that revolu- tion in France which shook the foundations of all social life ; he received his education at Cambridge, and on the 29th July, 1811, two months after he had attained his majority, he succeeded, on the .death of his father, to the title and estates. On the accession of the late Emperor Nicholas to the throne of Russia, he was nominated ambassador extra- ordinary from his Britannic Majesty to assist at the coronation, and the splendour and magnificence displayed by his grace on that occasion surpassed, in costliness and elegance, all previous embassies of a similar character. It is said that his retinue cost 50,000 more than the allowance made by government. He was received with great favour by the emperor, and had conferred upon him the Russian Orders of St. Andrew and St. Alexander Newski. The friendship engendered on the occasion of his visit to St. Petersburgh was never relaxed, and when the emperor visited this country in 1844, he was entertained by the Duke at Chatsworth with princely hospitality. The year succeeding his visit to Russia, his grace was made a knight of the Garter, of which illustrious Order he was, at the time of his death, the senior knight. In the same year he was admitted a member of the privy council, and about the same time was appointed lord chamberlain to George the Fourth's household, an office which he also held in the following reign. His grace took but little part in the conduct of public affairs, though he always retained the traditional politics of his ancestors, assisting the old Whig party by his influence and silent vote in the House more than by any other means, for he never spoke upon any of the great questions advocated or opposed by his party. The magnificent mansion of Chatsworth was greatly im- proved, and important additions were made to it, during the lifetime of the Duke. By his direction the great northern wing, a chaste and elegant structure, between 300 and 400 feet in length, was erected from designs by and under the superintendence of Sir Jeffrey Wyatville, the architect of the improvements at Windsor Castle. These additions, though differing slightly from the original style, harmonise well with the general character of the building. In their construction THE LA.TB DUKE OF DEVONSHIRE. 117 the Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian orders have been employed, and they will long remain a monument of the wealth, libe- rality, and taste of the sixth Duke of Devonshire. At Chats- worth the Duke exercised unbounded hospitality, and the new wing was intended chiefly for the accommodation of his numerous and distinguished visitants. As already stated, the Emperor of Russia was entertained here in 1844; in 1832 her majesty (then Princess Victoria), accompanied by the Duchess of Kent, visited Chatsworth ; and again, in 1843, she, with her late illustrious consort, was the guest of his grace. It is worthy of remark that the last festive entertain- ment given by the Duke at Chatsworth, was to the executive committee of the Manchester Exhibition of Art Treasures, 1857. Possessing a liberal and cultivated mind, his grace ex- pended a princely fortune in the encouragement of literature and the patronage of the fine arts, and his refined sensibility, his strict probity of character, and his kindness of heart, caused him to be held in general esteem ; by the tenantry of the estate he was greatly beloved, and his many acts of pri- vate benevolence will long be held in remembrance by those who were the recipients thereof. The following anecdote, related to us by a resident, deserves recording, as illustrating the kindly and unaffected disposition of the Duke. When residing at Chatsworth, his grace spent a considerable portion of his tune in comparative retirement, frequently walking about the neighbourhood, as any country gentleman might do, inspecting personally the alterations and improvements going on upon the estate. One day a negligent carter was driving along a field road, when one of the wheels of his cart got fast in a drain ; looking round for eome one to help him, he observed an elderley gentleman in a loose morning coat, to whom he called, " Heigh ! mestur, will you come and put your shouder (shoulder) here, and give us a lift 1 " The person appealed to rendered all the help he could, and by dint of much pushing and pulling, the two suc- ceeded in getting the cart righted again, when the carter, with more candour than gratitude, quietly remarked, " Well, thee are about as awkurd a chap as ivir I seed." A servant of the estate who had witnessed the affair from a distance, soon after- 118 ON FOOT THROUGH THE PEAK. wards came up and inquired of the carter what the Duke had been saying to him 1 ? "The Duke 1 ?" replied he in amazement. "Aye," said his interrogater, " don't you know that that was the Duke hissell" "Why, whativer mun I do]" exclaimed the man, "should I go an' ax his pardon?" but the Duke had disappeared, and the carter was left to meditate upon his own politeness. His grace expired suddenly at Hardwicke Hall, near Ches- terfield, on the evening of Sunday the 17th January 1858, in the 68th year of his age, and was interred, in accordance with his previously expressed desire, in a grave in the open church- yard of Edensor, over which a simple tomb surmounted by the emblem of the Christian faith has been erected. By his death the barony of Clifford fell into abeyance between his sisters and co-heiresses, the dowager Countesses of Carlisle and Granville, and the dukedom, with the other honours, devolved on his grace's cousin, William Earl of Burlington, the present illustrious possessor of the title. CHAPTER VIII. Baslow The Peacock Chatsworth Park Out for a Holiday The Palace of the Peak A Year of Sorrow Verrio The State Apart- ments Mary Queen of Scots Exquisite Carving Bolton Abbey in the Olden Time The Liber Veritatis of Claude The Sculpture Gallery The Gardens Grand Cascade A Veritable Weeping Willow Rock Scenery Conservatory Emperor Fountain His- torical Trees Kitchen Gardens A Royal Lily Hunting Tower The Stables Mary Queen of Scots' Bower Adieu to Chatsworth. WE reached Baslow about half an hour before the time for opening the gates at Chatsworth, and rested a while at the Peacock. Carriage after carriage, laden with sight-seers, rattled up to the door, and the numerous visitors sauntering about betokened something more than ordinarily attractive. On leaving we passed by the beautiful gardens and bowling- green at the rear of the house, taking a narrow footpath that leads through some pleasant fields, along which a few minutes' walk brought us to one of the numerous gates which mark the boundaries of the park that environs the ancestral home of the Cavendishes the " Palace of the Peak." The park is about eleven miles in circumference, and abounds in scenery of a rich and exquisitely diversified charac- ter, the beauty being increased by the natural irregularities of the surface. The ground, for the most part, is undulating gentle eminences occasionally rising into bold and swelling hills, chequered with luxuriant woods ; and smooth-shaven slopes adorned with clumps of trees, and dotted here and there with huge weather-beaten oaks very patriarchs of their kind looking so old and venerable, that we imagine them to have been planted ages before the time when Bess was queen. The park abounds with deer, and as we sauntered along we no- ticed several fine-looking herds with their graceful antlers ; some butting playfully against each other, and others reposing quietly beneath the shade of the wide-spreading beeches. Now and then the sound of merry laughter would break upon the ear, and we could hear the gladsome voices of the nume- 120 ON FOOT THROUGH THE PEAK. rous excursionists, who, like ourselves, were bent upon viewing the splendours of Chatsworth. Presently we overtook a pic- nic party who had come from the murky town of Sheffield to enjoy a happy holiday, there were two families of them husbands and wives, and lads and lasses ; the youngsters romped and chased each other over the smooth-shaven grass, evidently enjoying the pure air and the wide prospect, quite as much as they would the wonders they had come professedly to see. Crossing a little rivulet on the confines of the park, we came to a broad gravelled path that leads from the Baslow lodge to the hall. Proceeding along this we passed on the right the extensive fruit and vegetable gardens, close to which is Barbrook Hall, a villa in the Anglo-Italian style, built as a residence for the late Sir Joseph Paxton ; and soon afterwards the towers and terraces, the columns and balustrades of Chatsworth, with all their beautifully-varied features, came upon the sight. It is difficult to find language sufficiently expressive to convey an idea of the beauty of the scene which now for the first time bursts upon the visitor : nature and art seem to have indeed both combined to render this elegant mansion worthy of its title as the "Palace of the Peak." Chatsworth is in every sense magnificent. The house stands on gently rising ground, the western or principal front overlooking the Derwent, which flows within 200 or 300 yards of the house, and is here crossed by an elegant stone bridge of three arches, supposed to have been designed by Michael Angelo, and adorned with figures in statuary marble from the chisel of Gibber. In the intervening space between the hall and the river, and separated from the park by a dwarf balustrade, is the Italian garden, laid out in neat and trim parterres, the centre of which is ornamented by a beautiful jet d'eau. The view from the west is of uncommon beauty, the effect of the building itself being increased by its situation, the delicate cream-colour of the masonry being happily re- lieved by the dark and sombre woods which form the back- ground. The exterior of the mansion at once arrests the attention. As already stated, it has been erected at two distinct periods ; the oldest portion is a square pile of building enclosing a CHATSWORTH. 121 guadrangular court, the principal entrance being on the west side, the approach to which is by a flight of steps to a terrace extending the entire length of the building. The style of architecture adopted is the Ionic ; the western front is arran- ged in three divisions, the centre being advanced slightly forward from the side compartments, and relieved by four elegant fluted columns, resting upon a rusticated base, that gives support to an ornamental frieze and pediment, in the tympanum of which is a shield, surrounded by military trophies carved in stone, charged with the arms of the Cavendish family : sable, three harts' heads, caboshed arg., surmounted by the crest ; a snake nowed ppr., and having beneath the motto, " Cavendo tutus," the supporters being two harts ppr. attired or, each gorged with a garland of roses, arg. and az. barbed ppr. The side compartments are relieved by fluted Ionic pilasters, supporting light and elegant balustrades surmounted by vases and allegorical figures. The south and east sides, though not so elaborate in their details, present the same characteristics as the west front. The more modern part of the building is the north wing, erected during the lifetime of the late duke ; it differs slightly from the older portion, being a combination of the different classic styles, and is more elaborate in appearance than the western fagade, the outline being more varied and broken, yet presenting an assemblage of parts admirably harmonising together. At the northern extremity of this wing is a hand- some Italian tower or open temple, surmounted by a balus- trade, adorned at the angles with vases, from the summit of which some fine views are obtained of the bold and romantic scenery in and around the park. The west front of Chatsworth has a very fine effect, but decidedly the best view of the mansion is obtained from the opposite bank of the Derwent, on the ascending ground between the river and the Edensor road. From this point the view takes in the south and west sides of the old mansion, with the elegant additions of Sir Jeffrey Wyatville at the north end, and includes the magnificent pleasure grounds, with the fountains and great cascade, backed by the wood- clothed heights of Beeley, and the hills extending towards Baslow and Hathersage. 122 ON FOOT THROUGH THE PEAK. On presenting ourselves at the entrance lodge a neat Doric structure forming three archways, ornamented with carved roses, and having richly gilded gates of wrought-iron we are admitted, with other visitors, through the centre archway, and conducted along a broad gravelled path, that runs parallel with the kitchens and domestic offices in the north wing, and terminates in a square plot, in the centre of which is planted a magnificent weeping ash that formerly ornamented the grounds of Messrs. Wilson of Derby. Passing under the colonnade attached to the semi-circular north front, we enter the sub-hall, the first apartment to which strangers are admitted. Here we are transferred to the care of a female domestic, and as we pass through the hall, we linger to admire the beautiful tesselated pavement, and the not less beautiful painted ceiling, the latter adorned with a copy of Guido's " Aurora," the work of an accomplished lady artist, Miss Curzon. Proceeding along the north corridor we reach the great hall, an apartment 60 feet by 29 feet, in every way worthy as the entrance to the magnificent suite of rooms which follow ; here it is customary for visitors to enter their names in a book provided for the purpose. The effect of this hall is singularly good, and at once strikes the beholder with an air of grandeur ; the floor is of mosaic work, the material being of black and white marble, and was laid in 1779, by Mr. Henry Watson, son of the celebrated carver. The north and south ends assume the form of triplet archways, one commu- nicating with the north corridor, and the other leading to the south gallery and state apartments. A gallery protected by an open balustrade, has been carried round three sides ; and above, the walls glow with the productions of Verrio and Laguerre, two of the most eminent decorative painters of their day, and whose fame has been celebrated by Pope in verse. The subjects are taken from the life of Julius Caesar the side panel illustrates the sacrifice before going to the senate after the closing of the Temple of Janus ; in one of the oval compartments the warrior is crossing the Rubicon, and in the other he is voyaging across the Adriatic to join his army at Brundusium ; over the door he is represented as falling before the dagger of Brutus, at the foot of Pompey's THE CHAPEL. 123 statue, as described by Akenside in the following lines : " When Brutus rose, Refulgent from the stroke of Caesar's fate, Amid the crowd of patriots, and his arm Aloft extending, like eternal Jove, When guilt brings down the thunder, called aloud On Tully's name, and shook his crimson steel, And bade the father of his country hail ! For lo ! the tyrant prostrate in the dust, And Rome again is free." On the ceiling we have the apotheosis or deification, where, surrounded by a host of Cupids, he is depicted as soaring through clouds of glory to join the immortal gods. In the centre of the hall is a beautifully-carved and richly-gilt table, the top of which is formed of one immense slab of highly- polished fossil marble from the Derbyshire quarries; on this is placed a magnificent candelabrum, and near it is an orna- mental canoe, presented to the late Duke by the Sultan of Turkey. Over the fireplace we noticed a simple tablet, on which is cut the following Latin inscription, the English translation of which we have added : JEdes has paternas dilectissimas, Anno libertatis A.nglica) MDCLXXXVIII. institvtas, Gvl. S. Devonise Dvx, Anno MDCCCXI. Hoeres accepit, Anno moeroris svi MDCCCXL. perfecit. These well-loved ancestral halls, Founded in the year of English freedom 1688, William Spencer, Duke of Devonshire, inherited in 1811, And perfected in the year of sorrow 1840. A "year of sorrow" truly for the noble Duke, the year which witnessed the completion of these "ancestral halls" being that in which his niece, the lady Blanche-Georgiana, Countess of Burlington, and wife of the present owner of Chatsworth, died. Leaving the great hall, we pass along the south corridor, containing some cabinet pictures, a few Swiss views, a paint- ing, said to be by Hogarth, of the interior of an ancient club-house at Rome, and other objects of interest, to the chapel, occupying the south-west corner of the building. This room is very elaborately ornamented painting, sculp- ture, and carving having been profusely employed in the 124 ON FOOT THROUGH THE PEAK. decoration; the floor is laid with black and white marble in mosaic work, and the walls are wainscotted with cedar-wood, which emits a most agreeable fragrance in the room. The first object that arrests the attention on entering is a painting over the altar, by Verrio, "The Incredulity of St. Thomas," in which the risen Saviour is represented as addressing the unbelieving disciple. This is generally considered as Verrio's masterpiece; it is unquestionably a very fine work of art, the figures are well drawn, vigorous, and life-like, and free from those defects and absurdities noticeable in many of the other productions of the artist. The other subjects that adorn the walls of the chapel are chiefly illustrative of passages in the life of our Saviour. On one side of the room are depicted the miracles of Christ ; on another " Bartemeus restored to sight ; " over the doorway, " Christ and the woman of Samaria;" and on the ceiling is the "Ascension." The altar is composed of some of the finest fluors and marbles of Derbyshire, and adorned with sculptured figures of Faith and Hope, the work of Caius Gabriel Gibber, the father of the well-known laureate, Colley Gibber. The chapel contains some excellent specimens of ornamental wood carving, representing fruit, flowers, etc., which are said to have been executed by the celebrated Grinling Gibbons, but are more probably the work of Thomas Young, who was engaged as principal carver in wood during the rebuilding of Chats- worth, and his pupil, Samuel Watson, a native of Heanor, in Derbyshire. From the chapel we ascend to the third or state-room storey, passing by the south gallery, which contains a valuable and extensive collection of original drawings, outlines and sketches, by the most eminent masters, arranged according to the different schools, including sketches by the hand of Raffaelle, Rembrandt, Da Vinci, Titian, Rubens, Claude Lorraine, Poussin, and Salvator Rosa. If there is one part of this mansion more than another where we would wish to linger, it is here, among the creations of those great master- minds who have made art immortal. The state apartments occupy the entire of the upper storey of the south front, extending about 200 feet in length, and form the most magnificent part of the old mansion at Chats- THE STATE APARTMENTS. 125 worth. These rooms are frequently pointed out as those occupied by the unfortunate Mary Queen of Scots during the period of her long sojourn here. This is not strictly correct as already shewn, this portion of the mansion was rebuilt in the reign of William III. ; some of the original furniture, however, remains, and some examples of needlework worked by the hand of the famous "Bess of Hardwioke;-" and there is a tradition that these apartments occupy the site of those actually appropriated to the use of the unfortunate queen during her captivity a captivity rendered more than ordi- narily painful by the jealous bickerings of the Countess of Shrewsbury, who openly complained to Queen Elizabeth of Mary's intimacy with her husband, a charge for which, it is hardly necessary to say, there was not the slightest founda- tion, and which the countess was afterwards obliged to retract. The view from the state apartments is one of almost unex- ampled loveliness : immediately in front are seen the smooth shaven lawns and terraces, with the cascades and glistening fountains throwing up their shining showers in the glorious sunlight, and flashing refreshingly upon the eye ; the taste- fuily-1 aid-out walks and richly coloured parterres, adorned with statues and busts, and backed by almost impenetrable woods ; in the middle distance is seen the beautiful valley through which winds the Derwent, with the quiet little villages of Edensor and Rowsley ; and beyond the wooded heights overlooking the far-famed Haddon Hall, with a suc- cession of eminences that stretch away towards Darley Dale and Matlock, the entire prospect comprising an assemblage of hills and valleys, fertile plains, with rock, wood, and water, that can hardly be equalled for variety and beauty. This suite of rooms contains some admirable specimens of ancient and modern art. The ceilings ai e splendidly adorned with a series of paintings, chiefly of a mythological character, the production of Verrio and Sir James Thornhill. The car- vings are exquisite, and for delicacy of execution and fidelity to nature unsurpassed by anything of the kind in the kingdom. The door-cases are all of Derbyshire marble, enriched with foliage and flowers; and the floors are all of polished oak, parquetted. The rooms are furnished with articles of comfort 126 ON FOOT THROUGH THE PEAK. aud luxury, and in them are preserved many articles of in- terest and curiosity, which have been presented to the late duke or his ancestors ; amongst them we may mention "Watson's feather," the chef d'oeuvre in carving of this artist, so truthfully rendered that it seems as if a breath almost would ruffle it. In one of the rooms we noticed a quaint conceit : behind a side door is painted the represen- tation of a violin suspended by a cord, and so close is the resemblance that it is only upon a near approach that the counterfeit is discovered. The door is generally left half open, and in the subdued light the deception is rendered more perfect, visitors frequently being prompted to touch to assure themselves that it is not a reality. The first room we enter is the state, or scarlet bedroom, on the ceiling of which is painted the allegorical figure of Aurora as the morning star chasing away the shadowy night. This room contains the bed in which George the Second expi- red ; the bed and hangings are of crimson silk damask, much decayed and faded by age ; here also are the chairs and footstools used at the coronation of George the Third and Queen Charlotte. Adjoining the scarlet bedroom is the state music-room, in which we noticed a fine full-length portrait of the first Duke of Devonshire in his robes of state, said to be by Paul Vansomer. Amongst the furniture there are two magnificently gilt chairs, in which William the Fourth and Queen Adelaide were crowned; these became the per- quisites of the late Duke of Devonshire by virtue of his office as lord chamberlain of the royal household. The state drawing room is the next in successien. The walls of this apartment are hung with Gobelins tapestry, now much faded; the sub- jects are of an allegorical character, representing Jupiter and Antiope, and the muses on Parnassus. The ceiling is elabo- rately painted, the subject being Phaeton, with loose rein and fiery steeds, taking charge of the chariot of the sun. In this room is a model of a Russian farm, and an excellent bust in bronze of Louis XIV. of France. From the drawing-room we enter the state dining-room, the last of the suite on this storey. This chamber is beyond comparison the most elegant of the entire range; the ceiling is adorned with a series of allegorical paintings by Verrio. What, however, most attracts EXQUISITE CARVING. 127 the attention of visitors are the exquisite wood carvings, which excel in beauty anything of the kind even at Chats- worth ; they are believed to have been produced by the magic hand of Watson and others, though Walpole without adducing any evidence of the fact assumes them to be the work of Gibbons : " There is no instance," he observes, " of a man before Gibbons who gave to wood the loose and airy lightness of flowers, and chained together the various pro- ductions of the elements with a free disorder natural to each species." Over the fireplace is a representation of dead game, fish, fruit, flowers, etc., grouped together in the most natural manner ; we noticed in particular a bird-net containing partridges, pheasants, quails, grouse, and snipe, looking as if they had just been brought in by a sportsman from the field ^-the different attitudes of the birds, the softness of the plumage, the drooping of the wings, are all so truthfully depicted that we imagined them almost to flutter with the last quivering of life ; whilst the flowers, in their fragile delicacy, wanted only the varied tints of nature to render the illusion complete. In this room is a magnificent table of polished malachite, a gift to the late Duke from the Emperor Alexander the First of Russia ; on it is placed an elegant timepiece of the same material, presented by the late Czar Nicholas. Here are also, on brackets arranged against the wall, busts of the fifth Duke of Devonshire, Lord George and Lady Cavendish, the Duke of Bedford, and others. After viewing the state apartments at Chatsworth, we descend by the south staircase, and are conducted along the south gallery, passing on the way a most striking and effec- tive picture, " The Monks at Prayer," a masterly work of art by Granet, which originally formed part of the collection of the Duchess de Berri. The subject represents a number of monks in the solemn attitude of prayer : the figures are painted in high relief, the broad deep shadows and the re- flected light from the tapers being rendered with marvellous fidelity and- power. The first apartment we enter is the music room, adjoining the chapel, through which we pass to the red velvet, or billiard room, containing some very choice pictures, chiefly 128 ON FOOT THROUGH THE PEAK. of the modern school of art, among the most prominent of which we may mention Landseer's well-known picture of " Bolton Abbey in the Olden Time," a very fine composition, and which may fairly claim to rank as the chef d'ceuvre of the artist. The scene is laid in the court of the refectory at Bolton Abbey, in Yorkshire one of the seats of the Duke of Devonshire and represents a present of game for the abbot's table ; the principal figure is the abbot himself, a fine portly- looking personage, with a broad expressive forehead and dignified mien, holding under his arm an ancient Breviary, and in the act of reading a letter, which we may suppose to have accompanied the tribute of fish, fowl, and game lying at his feet. By his side is an attendant monk, holding a salver with a wine flask and glass ; the other figures in the group are a gamekeeper with a couple of dogs in leash", and a peasant girl offering a basket of trout. The whole is a masterpiece of composition : the figures are admirably de- lineated, and the dogs, the dead buck, and other accessories, are depicted with wonderful power. We first saw this picture a few years after it was painted : it was then hung in the dining room, and the colours were fresh and brilliant, with, perhaps, the slightest tendency to obtrusiveness ; the tones have since become softened and mellowed by age, and the appearance is greatly improved thereby. In the same room is another example of the works of our modern artists, the " Spartan Isidas," by Eastlake. The subject is taken from Grecian history, and represents the youthful Isidas, sword and spear in hand, dealing death and destruction among the Theban soldiery. Here is also a charming piece by Collins, entitled " Rustic Civility," and a small picture by Liverseege. The ceiling of this room has been decorated by Sir James ThornhilL The next in succession is the great drawing room, occupy- ing the south-east angle of the building, and the last of the range of rooms extending along the south front of the library storey. It is a magnificent apartment, splendidly furnished, and contains a fine collection of works of art. The decora- tions are very chaste and beautiful : the style of ornament adopted is the Louis Quatorze, and the colours employed chiefly white and gold. From this apartment we are ushered THE LIBRARY. 129 into the great library, the second of the suite of rooms exten- ding along the east side of the mansion, and which command some fine prospects of the water-works, the spacious conser- vatory, and the beautifully wooded eminences immediately behind the pleasure-grounds. The doors of these rooms are so arranged as to open opposite each other, thus presenting a magnificent vista 560 feet in length. The great library is one of the most elegant apartments in the suite, it measures ninety-two feet by twenty-two feet, and was originally con- structed for dancing ; the decorations partake much of the same character as the drawing-room : the ceiling is of the purest white, relieved by ornamental work hi basso-relievo, forming five circular compartments, adorned with paintings of a mythological character, by a celebrated French artist, Louis Charon ; the floor is parquetted, and the doors are of Spanish mahogany, highly polished and enriched with carving; the bookcases, which are of the same material, are divided into compartments by light semicircular pilasters, termina- ting in foliated capitals forming cantilevers, that give support to a gallery carried round three sides of the room. This gallery is protected by an ornamental balluster, enriched with dead and burnished gold, and gives access to the upper range of shelves. On one siie of the room, opposite the window, is a chimney-piece of the finest Carrara marble, supported by columns adorned with carved foliage, over which is placed a mirror, six feet by four feet six inches. This library contains one of the finest private collections of books in the kingdom ; among which, in addition to those forming the old library of Chatsworth, are several that for- merly belonged to the celebrated Hobbes; the library of Henry Cavendish has also contributed to swell its stores. Here are some of the first editions of Shakspeare, several volumes of old poetry, and curious pamphlets by early prin- ters ; but the greatest attraction of all is the celebrated Liber Veritatis of Claude, containing drawings and sketches of all the pictures painted by that great master, a fac-simile of which was printed for private circulation, some years ago, under the direction of the late Duke of Devonshire. The next apartment is the anti-library, the ornamentation of which is in the same style as the great library itself. On K 130 ON FOOT THROUGH THE PEAK. one side of the room a doorway communicates with the north corridor and staircase leading to the great hall already de- scribed. The staircase was designed by Sir Jeffrey Wyatville, the details are good, and the effect is very imposing. On the first landing are hung full-length portraits of the late Em- peror and Empress of Russia, by Da we ; there are also portraits of Richard third Earl of Burlington, and George IV. in his coronation robes, the latter painted by Sir Thomas Lawrence. Adjoining the anti-library is the cabinet library, much smaller than either of the other two. The roof is of a domi- cular form, divided into compartments, richly decorated, and supported by columns of alabaster and Italian marble, sur- mounted by sculptured Corinthian capitals ornamented in dead and burnished gold. From the cabinet library we enter the dining-room. This is, without question, the most beautiful and the most splen- didly adorned of any of the modern entertaining rooms, and may be considered as an example of the perfection to which the art of decoration has been carried in the present day ; everything that ingenuity could suggest, or wealth and art, aided by the purest taste, could supply, having been provided for. The ceilings are of the purest white, panelled, and slightly coved ; the deep plinth which surrounds the apart- ment is of the finest Hopton marble, of a beautiful colour and highly polished ; the pediments surmounting the door- ways are supported by columns of African marble and Siberian jasper, with Ionic capitals of the same materials. The fire- places are of noble dimensions, and the chimney-pieces are splendid examples of the sculptor's art, the two, it is said, having cost the late Duke not less than two thousand guineas ; they are executed in Carrara marble, and are most elaborately ornamented ; one, executed by the younger Westmacott, is adorned with sculptured figures, life-size, of Bacchus and a Bacchante, and the other the work of Sievier is equally beautiful, the supporting figures being Bacchus crowned with vine leaves, and an attendant priestess in the act of replenish- ing the wine cup with the juice of the grape. The side tables, six in number, are arranged against the walls ; they are composed two of hornblende, two of porphyritic-siennite, THE SCULPTURE GALLERY. 131 and two of Siberian jasper, the latter being a gift from the late Emperor Nicholas to the sixth Duke of Devonshire. It is needless to say that the furniture of this room is in a style corresponding with the magnificence of the decorations ; the walls are hung with family portraits, amongst which are those of the first Earl and Countess of Devonshire, said to be by Vandyke; the second Duke of Devonshire, by Sir Godfrey Kneller; the Countess of Devonshire, and her family, &c. From the dining room we are conducted through a small ante-room to the sculpture gallery the pride and glory of Chatsworth. This apartment was erected by the late Duke as the grand depository of the magnificent collection of art- treasures which he succeeded in bringing together, a collec- tion not surpassed by that of any mansion in Europe. The lighting is artistically arranged, and the colouring of the walls, which are of polished gritstone, forms an agreeable background to the delicate white of the statuary. It will be obvious that in a work of this kind it would be utterly impossible to give anything like a detailed account of all the chiselled forms of classic beauty here beheld, to enumerate them even would occupy more space than can be afforded. Canova, Thorwaldsen, Bartolini, Schadow. and many others have contributed to swell this rich galaxy of talent ; our native school of sculpture is also well repre- sented : here we find the names of Gibson, Westmacott, Wyatt, Campbell, and others, who have made art illustri- ous. Among the more notable specimens, we may mention the recumbent figure of " The Sleeping Endymion," with his dog watching at his feet, by Canova, an exquisite piece of sculpture, admirably conceived, and executed with all the delicacy and grace of the artist. Here, also, is Canova's " Hebe," descending from the skies, and just touching, with one foot, the throne of imperial Jove ; in her left hand she holds a cup, and in the right a pitcher, from which she is pouring out nectar for the immortal gods. The gem of the collection is, undoubtedly, the famous statue of " Madame Letizia Ramolini," the mother of him who " made a million mothers childless" the first Napoleon. This statue ranks as one of the grandest efforts of Canova's genius : the figure 132 ON FOOT THROUGH THE PEAK. is seated, or rather reclines, in an attitude of pensive com- posure, with one arm resting upon the back of an antique chair ; the head is remarkably fine, and the expression of the countenance dignified and commanding ; the figure is almost covered with drapery, which has been most successfully treated, and so arranged as to fall in graceful and flowing lines. Near to this statue is a colossal bust of the warrior emperor himself, also by Canova ; a gloriously fine head, with an expression at once calm, intellectual, and dignified. The " Filatrice, or Spinning Girl," by Schadow, is a beautiful conception ; it represents a young girl apparently amusing herself with a ball of thread and a kind of spindle : the atti- tude is easy, natural and life-like, and there is an ideal grace and loveliness about the figure which at once bespeaks it the production of a master mind the pedestal on which it is placed is granite, a fragment from one of the columns of Trajan's Forum at Rome, A copy of this statue is preserved in the royal collection at Berlin. Thorwaldsen is represented by a "Venus" and his famous bas-reliefs "Night" and " Morning," two exquisitely poetical conceptions ; the one typified by a female figure full of calm repose, winging her shadowy flight through the air; the other, representing mor- ning, is full of life and motion, clothed with flowing drapery, and " Scattering bright flowers on the jewelled earth." Wyatt's " Venus Musidora " is a very successful effort of the artist's skill : the figure is full of loveliness and purity, and presents an excellent model of female form and feature. The sculptor has endeavoured to embody the poetic conception of the author of the " Seasons," and this he has singularly well expressed; the figure is that of a young girl preparing for the bath, but hesitating before she plunges in. " With fancy blushing at the doubtful breeze, Alarmed, and startling like the fearful fawn, So stands the statue that enchants the world. Her full proportions such, and bashful so, Bends ineffectual from the roving eye." Among the other works are Gibson's colossal group, " Mars and Cupid;" Westmacott's "Cymbal Player;" "Achilles Wounded," by Albicini ; " Cupid and Psyche," by Finelli; THE OE ANGER Y. 133 and Tanerani's group, " Cupid extracting a thorn from the foot of Venus." There are other artistic works which yet remain to be noticed before we leave the gallery. In the centre of the room is the gigantic Mecklenburg vase, by Canteen, measuring twenty feet in circumference, and sculp- tured out of one solid block of granite. Near to this vase are two beautiful tables resting upon gilt stands ; the one nearest the door composed of Labrador Feldspar, bordered with Elfdalen porphyry; the other of Plasma Verde, enriched with ornamental mosaic work in different-coloured Derbyshire marbles. This table was manufactured by Mr. Mills, of Ashford-in-the- Water, near Bakewell ; on it is placed the beautiful fluor-spar or Blue-John vase alluded to in our notice of the Blue-John Mine at Castleton. In addition to this work, there are some beautiful Corinthian columns in Oriental por- phyry and Verde Antique. At the further end of the gallery, placed one on each side the doorway, are two colossal lions in Carrara marble one by Rinaldi, and the other by Benaglia ; they are from Canova's monument to Clement XIV., in St. Peter's, at Rome, and their united weight is said to ezceed eight tons. On quitting the sculpture gallery, we enter the Viridarium or Orangery, well stored with orange trees, araucarise, rhodo- dendrons and camelias, with other choice exotics, and a variety of shrubs and flowers, including a magnificent rhododendron imported from Nepaul, which has been known to bear more than two thousand blossoms at one time. Many of the plants were brought from Malmaison, once the residence of poor Josephine, the divorced wife of the Emperor Napoleon. In this conservatory there are some fine pieces of sculpture and bas-relief in marble, the delicate whiteness of which forms an admirable relief to the varied greenery of the plants and shrubs. At the northern end a door communi- cates with the gardens; and here our conductress having reached the limits of her jurisdiction, we were transferred to the charge of one of the gardeners. After wandering for more than, an hour, with a crowd of other visitors, through the gorgeous saloons and magnificent apartments of Chatsworth House, it becomes quite a relief, on again reaching the open air, to breathe the balmy atmosphere 134 ON FOOT THROUGH THE PEAK. and drink in the fresh fragrance of the flowers, to saunter along the shady avenues or sit beside the cooling fountains watching the clear and sparkling drops descending through the gorgeous sunbeams like showers of liquid silver. The gardens and pleasure-grounds are among the chief attractions of Chatsworth, and for extent and beauty are worthy of all the eulogiums that have been pronounced upon them; in their arrangement the greatest judgment and taste have been employed, and in the most trifling details the presence of a master mind is evident. They occupy the south and east sides, extending round to the west front of the mansion, and exhibit a curious blending of the antique and the modern with the classical and the rustic. They are laid out in wajks, terraces, lawns, and parterres, diversified by numerous fountains and cascades, with vistas opening themselves on every side adorned with busts and statues of the purest marble, that form admirable contrasts to the dark umbrageous foliage above and around. On leaving the Orangery, we cross the broad carriage road and ascend a few steps leading to what is termed the French garden. Here the refinements of art are blended with the fairest productions of nature. The ground is laid out in gay parterres, adorned with the rarest and most beautiful flowers, their tints as brilliant as the rainbow, and their forms as varied as the ever-changing figures of the kaleidoscope. Along the sides of the walks are placed a number of classic columns, six or seven feet in height, supporting busts and vases sculptured in white marble, and wreathed and entwined with the graceful tendrils of the hop, the woodbine, and the ivy ; some of these columns are connected by training the delicate creepers across the walks in hanging festoons, forming a sort of berceau, an arrangement which seems hardly in accordance with good taste. It is said that the plan of this garden was brought by the late Duke from France, and that it formed one of his most favourite retreats. The figures which adorn the columns were removed from the inner court Of the old mansion of Chatsworth. Following the route usually taken by visitors, we proceed along a path running parallel with the east front of the mansion, passing on the way a noble ash tree, one of the GRAND CASCADE. 135 largest we ever remember to have seen, and presently reach the great cascade. Looking towards the top of the hill we see a long succession of steps between lines of lofty woods, straight and looking somewhat stiff and formal, reminding the spectator of Jacob's ladder. These steps are terminated at the top by a stone water temple, with a metal cupola, adorned with columns and pilasters, and ornamented with heads of dolphins, sea nymphs, figures bearing aquatic urns, etc. Our attendant made a sign, and water began to gush forth from the cupola, pouring through the urns at the sides, and springing up in fountains from underneath ; gradually it began to fall from step to step, wave succeeding wave, until the whole were covered with a sheet of foam, that danced and sparkled in the mid-day sun. At the foot the water loses itself among the grass and fragments of broken rock, whence it is conveyed hi pipes under the gardens to the Derwent. Standing close by the great cascade, and looking across the country in a westerly direction, the view struck us as being eminently beautiful. The position is extremely favour- able, affording a general view of the house and grounds, with the exquisitely diversified park, containing hi itself every variety of picturesque scenery. In front is seen the stately " Palace of the Peak," standing out in all its magnificence, with its ample terraces, its lawns and groves, and its glisten- ing fountains, adorned with tritons and sea-horses, flinging abroad their shining showers ; further on the placid Derwent sweeps along with sparkling ripples through the level meadow breadths ; in the middle distance we see the village of Eden- sor, with here and there a cottage or a village happily dis- posed upon the nearer eminences ; and, beyond, the view is made up of a seemingly endless succession of hills, clothed almost to the summit with thick woods, whose dark and sombre outlines form an agreeable contrast to the beautiful and richly-varied scenery of the foreground. Continuing our walk, we come next to the ornamental gardens, abounding in scenery of a wild and romantic character, and which, perhaps from their very seclusion, form one of the most agreeable retreats that even Chatsworth can shew. Here art seems to have been most successful : in 136 ON FOOT THROUGH THE PEAK. every direction masses of grey rock are strewn "about in the most picturesque and unstudied disorder; in some places the blocks have been piled up one above another to an im- mense height, and so skilfully has this been accomplished, that their rugged and broken outline would lead you to believe they had occupied their present position for centuries; they are for the most part covered with indigenous plants and shrubs, and adorned with a rich variety of mosses and lichens, intermixed with ferns and heather and wild flowers. Some of the blocks have been brought from a considerable distance, and a great amount of labour, as well as taste and skill, has been employed in their arrangement. The whole as- semblage is surrounded by lofty beech, lime, and sycamore trees. In the middle of this rocky valley is an hydraulic curiosity the model of a weeping willow in copper, presenting the appearance of a living tree, in which every branch is a pipe, and every sprig and leaf a syringe, whilst among the grass which surrounds it are concealed innumerable jets, all ready to shed a flood of tears upon the unsuspecting wight whose curiosity may induce him to come within their range. We remember on one occasion passing through the grounds with a party of visitors from Sheffield, when one of the company, an amateur botanist, usurping the gardener's office, volun- teered to describe and give the technical names of the different plants and shrubs. When we reached the willow, the gardener, with a malicious smile, appealed to our amateur for the name. " Certainly, he would just examine the for- mation of the leaf, and then tell him the particular class." No sooner said than done ; he unsuspectingly stepped on to the grass, and in an instant a thousand jets were pouring their united streams upon his devoted head. He contrived to make his escape, all dripping and drenched, and, dis- appearing among the shrubberies, we saw him no more. Passing beneath a rustic archway, and through a narrow opening in the rocks, the entrance to which is blocked by an immense piece of gritstone, balanced upon a pivot so as to turn with the slightest pressure of the hand, we enter the drive and continue our walk, winding through a labyrinth of rock-work, abounding in scenery of a broken and rugged character. In some places we notice hugh piles of gritstone 138 ON FOOT THKOUGH THE PEAK. rising to an immense elevation, their precipitous fronts clothed with mosses and creeping plants, and over which the water has been made to descend in beautiful cascades. Some of these towering masses have received the appellation of the Victoria, Albert, and Wellington rocks, so designated in honour of the visits of the distinguished persons whose names they bear. A few paces further on we reach a second archway in the rocks, emerging from which we come suddenly upon an open garden, in the centre of which stands the great conservatory, the glory and the boast of Chats worth gardens. This garden is of an oblong form, surrounded by a steep embankment crowned with a thick edge of yew, and environed by lofty forest trees which shelter it from the inclemency of our northern climate. The open ground is planted with a number of prickly Sicilian firs, a tree popularly known by the desig- nation of the monkey's puzzle, and the slopes of the embank- ment are laid out in. beds, adorned with flowers of the most beautiful forms and colours geraniums, verbenas, and calceolarias, of the most ornamental and varied kinds, and some rare and beautiful specimens of roses. A broad gravelled path has been formed along the top of the embankment, communicating with the lower level at each corner by a flight of steps, with ornamental stone ballusters. The Chatsworth conservatory may be considered as the prototype and precursor of the Hyde Park palace of industry, and, before the erection of that edifice, it was the finest structure of the kind hi the world. The merit of having first formed the idea of such a building is due to the late Sir Joseph Paxton, of whose skill and genius it will long remain a monument. The effect is at once imposing and magnificent, presenting the appearance of a vast mountain of glass, its channelled sides, when reflecting the rays of the sun, giving it quite a brilliant and fairy-like appearance. Some idea of its extent may be formed from the fact that it covers nearly an acre of ground. The form is that of a parallelogram, in- cluding a centre and two side compartments ; the length being 276 feet, and the width 123 feet; the height of the centre roof is 67 feet, and the transverse span 70 feet. The basement consists of a substantial stone plinth, three or 140 ON FOOT THROUGH THE PEAK. four feet in height, resting upon arches fitted with ventila- tors, and from this plinth springs the main structure a wall of glass rising 40 feet in height, and having an inward curve of an elliptical form, supported by a framework of iron resting upon a double range of light and elegant columns ; from the framework springs a second series of ribs, 35 feet in height, supporting a lofty dome, which assumes the form of a square cone. It has been calculated that the surface contains 70,000 square feet of glass, disposed in zigzag rows, presenting a series of angular projections, an arrangement which, it is said, enables it better to withstand the force and violence of storms. The entrance is by a neat Grecian doorway surmounted by a cornice and pediment, supported by pilasters. On entering we at once feel the deliciously warm temperature, and almost fancy ourselves transported by some unseen agency into southern lands, the sight that greets the eye being one of rare and dazzling beauty a broad carriage-drive runs through the centre, and on each side of this are arranged the choicest and most beautiful of Nature's productions, grow- ing as freely and as luxuriantly as if in their own native climes. Here we see the tall and stately banana with its gorgeous array of scarlet flowers, the lotus, and the Egyptian papyrus, their broad green leaves mingling with the delicate tracery of the fern ; palms of almost every kind, with a variety of plants, shrubs, and other tropical productions that have been brought hither from the prairies of America, the banks of the Nile, and from the farthest Ind. A gallery supported by light iron brackets has been carried round the dome, the approach to which is by a flight of steps formed in the orna- mental rock-work. From this gallery the coup d'oeil is most magnificent, it is impossible, however, for words to convey an idea of the glories of the scene, and the most florid picture which the imagination could create would only shadow forth a faint resemblance of the georgeous beauty displayed. The scene has been thus described by a recent writer : " The view from this gallery is, perhaps, more striking than that which is obtained below. You gaze in speechless rap- ture upon a glowing assemblage of all that is most beautiful in Nature's productions. Every shade of exquisite colour CONSERVATORY. 141 brilliant and almost dazzling in their combined effect ; every form of foliage, in its most endless variety ; and every shade of green, softening from its reposing qualities the otherwise too gorgeous mass of bright colours ; every curious berry and wondrous production that hitherto one was contented to read about, without aiming at anything beyond, are all to be seen here, growing in such luxuriance and profusion that you might be in the country belonging to each variety and not see them to greater advantage. Large pools of water are provided for the cultivation of the rare specimens of water plants. The beautiful blue water lily from the rivers of South America is here, seeming as if it had stolen the colour of the deep blue sky above it ; together with the matchless crimson lily, re- flecting itself in the transparent water, and looking as though it blushed at its own gorgeous beauty. Every brilliant va- riety of the cactxis, and the varied forms of ferns, adorn the rock- work as you ascend to the gallery, now and then affording you glimpses, through their luxuriant growth, of the beauty above, below, and around you, till at at the top nearly the whole of the interior bursts at once upon the view-" Among the floral productions at the further end of this tropical garden are some marble fragments from Minerva's Temple, at Sunium, brought to this country some years ago by Sir Augustus Clifford, then in command of H.M.S. Euryalus. On the pedestal which supports them are inscribed the fol- lowing lines from the pen of the Earl of Carlisle : " These fragments stood on Sunium's airy steep, They rear'd aloft Minerva's guardian shrine ; Beneath them roll'd the blue ^Egean deep, And the Greek pilot hail'd them as divine. Such was e'en their look of calm repose, As wafted round them came the sounds of fight, When the glad shout of conquering Athens rose O'er the long track of Persia's broken flight. Though clasp'd by prostrate worshippers no more, They yet shall breathe a thrilling lesson here ; Though distant from their own immortal shore, The spot they grace is still to freedom dear." Leaving the conservatory by the opposite door to that by which we entered, we pass under an arch overgrown with ivy, 142 ON FOOT THROUGH THE PEAK. and descend towards the lower garden, passing some clumps of magnificent trees, through the openings of which we occa- sionally obtain delightful views of the surrounding country. Almost the first object that meets the eye is a circular foun- tain, in the centre of which a jet throws up a stream of water to a considerable elevation. Near to this our atten- tion was directed to an immense Spanish chestnut-tree, its ample foliage covering a large extent of ground, and its mighty limbs extending over the greensward with the grace and majesty of a monarch of the forest ; the trunk is remark- ably straight, and the height from the root to the lowest branch is estimated at fifty feet. A few yards further on we come to the Emperor fountain, so named in honour of the visit of the late Czar Nicholas of Russia to Chatsworth in 1844. This, one of the most magnificent fountains in Europe, is situated immediately opposite the south front of the man- sion, and throws up a column of water to the height of 260 feet ; when in full play it forms a striking feature, and the clear transparent element rising in a silvery stream and over- topping the loftiest trees, may be seen for miles around. Following our guide, we descend by a flight of steps to the terrace which runs along the west front of the house ; on one side is a handsome balustrade adorned with sculptured figures and urns, and on the other is planted a number of very fine cedars of Lebanon. Close to the walk are several trees, interesting from their historical associations : one, a young and vigorous oak, was planted by Her Majesty (then Princess Victoria) in commemoration of her visit in 1832 ; near it is an American chestnut (Castanea Americana), planted at the same time by her august mother the Duchess of Kent, and also a sycamore, planted by his late Royal Highness Prince Albert on the occasion of his visit with Her Majesty in 1843. Within a short distance of these is a Spanish chestnut, and a variegated sycamore (Acer Pseudo- Plantanus variegatum), planted, the one in 1816 by the late Emperor of Russia, and the other two years afterwards by his brother the Grand Duke Michael. The terrace is connected with the lower garden by a broad flight of steps, beneath which we pass, and enter the Italian garden, one of the favourite places of resort of the late duke. KITCHEN GARDENS. 143 This garden is planted with cedars of Lebanon, acacia, and other trees. The ground is laid out in ornamental flower beds, hedged with privet, an addition which at the first glance gives them a somewhat stiff and formal appearance ; these parterres constitute the principal feature of this garden, and the sparkling and brilliant colours of the flowers, all harmoniously combined, produce a singularly beautiful effect, presenting the appearance of mosaic work set within borders of the most vigorous green. In this delightful retreat the glowing productions of nature are skilfully blended with the elegancies and refinements of art ; the centre is ornamented with a jet d'eau, and surrounding is an elegant balustrade, panelled and adorned with sculptured urns, vases,