ADAMS'S & COMPANTON fO THi; COAST. Ex Libris C. K. OGDEN 6 1-^.^ ///'2 "^ ADAMS'S ^ TO THE ( COMPANION TO THE COAST. IPart I. SOIJTHEIIN AND WESTERN DIVISION. ^art M. NORTHERN AND EASTERN DIVISION. CONTAINING FULL DESCRIPTIONS OP THE ISLE OFWIOTIT(\viTH MAPI. TTfE XEW FOREST AND SOUTH COAST. WEYMOUTH. DAWLISH, PLYMOUTH, AND WEST COAST. EXMOUTH AND .SIDMOUTH. TORQUAY, nRIGHTON. HASTINGS, DOVER. MARGATE, RAiMSGATE, &c. &n. GRAVESEND, SHEERNESS. SOUTH END, HEUNE BAY. WALTON, HARWICH, &c. YARMOUTH, LOWESTOFT, CRO- MER, &c. TYNEMOUTH, WARKWORTH, A LN MOUTH, ScC. THE WATERING ri.Af'ES OP WALES, AN]) THE WESTRUN COAST: M.VHVPORT. SOUTH- PORT, RANCiOR, SWANSEA, &r. SCARROROUGH. INLAND SPAS AND WATERING-PLACES. GUERNSEY, JERSEY', ALDER- NEY, SARK. THE ISLE OF MAN, &c. &c. BY E. L BLANCIIARD. •^PUBLISHED BY AV. J. ADAMS, 59, FLEET STREET. C^ 18.51. M l.oNnr)N: rniNTED HY pettf.I!, duit, and fo. CKANE COURT, FLEET STHEICT. PEEFACE. Every book should strive at pleasing- two iudividuals — the pubUsher and the purchaser. Without each is equally satisfied, the work cannot be considered as one that has attained the desired object of its production. The ensuing pages have been written with the express view of furthering- the interests of both. Of late yeai"s the chang-es wrought by road and rail, the local innovations and alterations induced by the march of modern improvement, the creation by fashion of new watering-places, and the consequent desertion of many of the old, are all so many reasons that render former Guide Books quite obsolete, and the want of a new one so universally felt. The antiquated manuals that discourse eloquently of ancient streets long since demolished, and which are provokingly silent concerning the elegant structures and building-s which have risen along the coast during the last ten years, have often proved before now bewildering sources of perplexity to the stranger and a fund of innocent amusement to the inliabitants, who have marked with pride the increasing accommodation furnished by their native town. From the extended facilities recently afforded to travellers, and the moderate outlay for which a summer excursion to any 2000206 IV PREFACE. cliosen point of Albion's coast can now be taken, it is jn-esumed that the period has amved when these by-gone specimens of blundering topogTaphy may be advanta- geously superseded. The chief features of the present work, and those on which it chiefly bases its claim to 2iublic attention, may be thus briefly enumerated : — 1. An elaborate and accurate description, derived from the latest personal visits, of the chief places of marine i-esort, illustrating in a companionable discursive style the scenery and historical antiquities of each, and pointing- out those objects which are most deserving of the visitor's attention. 2. A careful and critical inquiry into the pecuUar influences and effects of climate, from authorised data, and an indication of those places most suitable for the exigencies of the invalid. 3. The best and speediest modes of transit, with the times of the arrival and departure of the mails, together with all other necessary infoiTnation to the tourist con- cerning hotels, boarding-houses, k,c. How far and how ably these designs have been car- ried out, it now remains for the reader himself to decide ; but it is'confidently beheved by the writer that neither pul)hsher nor purchaser will regret the result. CONTENTS. PAQB Southampton 1 Portsmouth 11 The Isle OF Wight 14 The New Forest, and the Watering-Places of THE Hampshire Coast 27 Weymouth 45 Torquay .55 Exmouth and Sidmouth fil Danvxish, Teignmouth, Plymouth, and the Water- ing Places of the West 73 Brighton 95 Worthing 107 Bognor 109 Hastings and St. Leonard's Ill Dover 123 Margate ajid Ramsgate 135 OrAVESEND, SlIEURNESS, SoUTHEND, HeRNE BaY, &C. 147 Walton, Harwich, and the WAiERiNG-Pi-AtES of THE Essex Coast 157 VI CONTENTS. PAGE Yakmouth, Ckomer, Lowestoft, and the Water- ing-Places of the Norfolk and Suffolk Coast 167 Scarborough 181 Tynemouth, Warkwortu, Alnmoctu, Bamdorougu, AND the Islands of the Northern Coast . 191 The Watering-Places of Wales and the AVestern Coast 207 Inland Watering-Places : being a Glance at the Spas of Bath, Buxton, Cheltenham, Clifton, Harrogate, Leamington, Malvern, Matlock, and Tunbridge-Wells . . . 219 Conclusion 231 Appendix — The Channel Islands, &c. : Guernsey 237 Jersey 244 Alderney, Sark, &c 251 The Isle of Man 253 Jnbcx anil ^nble of Distances FOK THE TOURIST FROM TEE METROrOLIS TO THE WATERING-PLACES OF ENGLMD, SHOWING THE ROUTE BY RAILWAY AND THE NEAREST STATION ON THE RESPECTIVE LINES. PART I. -67 123 ■ 99 52 205 285 103 98 206 216 71 61 203 72 -78 - 64 244 99 68 90 88 72 128 79 96 64 210 ROUTE BY RAILWAY . NEAREST RAILWAY STATION, AND DISTANCE TUEREVROM. Battle, Snxgex .... Beaulieu Abbey . . . Bognor, Sussex . . . Bournemouth Broadstairs Brighton, Sussex.. Brixham Bade Cbristchurch Cowes Dawlish Devonport Dover Exraouth .'. .. Folkestone Gosport Hastiuss Ilfracombe Isle of Wight Kingegate LitllehaniptOM . Lymington lyyiidhurst Margate Melcomb Regis. . . . Netley Abbey New Forest Newport/.o/ WuiUt Pevensey Plymouth Portland (Kle of).. Portsmouth Hunisgate I MILES Lond. Bright. & South Coasl'Hastings 6 Soutli Western ' Southampton 10 Lond. Bright. & South Coasti Bognor South Western ! Poole Soutli Eastern Rarasgatc... 2 Lond. Bright. & South Coast Brigliton.. .. Gt. Western & South Devon Torquay 10 Great Western | Exeter 52 South Western iChristchurcli South Western Soutliamplon Great Western jDawIish .... Great Western i Ply mouth . . South Eastern jDover South Coast (Hastings Br.) Eastbourne. . Gt.Western & Soutli DevoniExeter 10 South Eastern Folkestone .. South Western -Gosport .... South Coast [Hastings. . . . Great Western Exeter 51 South Western [Portsmouih . South Eastern Ramsgate. .. 8 Littlehanipton Brockenliuist 4 Lyndhurst . . Lon. Bri;;ht. & South Coast Soutli Western .South Western Boat, Lon. Bridge & S. East.jMargatc . Soutli Western 'Dorchester . . South Western jSouthampton. South Western iLyndhurst.. . South Western ! Portsmouth... Lond. Bright. & South Coast [Pevensey Gt. Western & South Devon. jPlymoulh .. . . South Western Dorchester.. . Bout, and Souili Eastern.. . Portsmouth... South Western Uamsgate... . FACB 118 41 109 43 133 95 70 93 30 23 73 91 123 117 64 133 10 111 92 14 14) 109 1 37 82 183 40 7 27 23 121 70 52 11 IS.I NAMES OF PLACES. Ringwood Rytie,IsleofWi(/ht Sliorfliain, Sussex Sidmouth, Devon, Shaiiklin Soutliampton .... Southsea St. Leonard's .... reignmouth Torquay Uiiderclift' Ventiior Weston-super-Mare Weymouth Winchelsea .... Withycombe . . . Wortliing ROUTE BY RAILWAY. NEAREST RAILWAY STATION, ANP DISTANCE THEREFROM. 20 Teignmoutli . Torquay. . . . MILES Soiitli Western Ringwood .. Soutli Western Portsmouth.. Lond. Bright. & South Coast Shoreham . . Great Western Collumpton.. South Western Portsmouth.. South Western Soutliampton South Western | Portsmouth., Lond. Bright. itSoulli Coast Hastings Gt. Western & South Devon Gt. Western & Soutli Devon South Western South Western Great Western ,.... South Western South Coast (Hastings Br.) Great Western Lon. Bright. & South Coast PART II. Weston-superM Dorchester... i Hastings.... ( Exeter 11 Worthing . . . A.berystwith , Alderney Alnmouth . . Bainborough Bangor Bath Berwick .... Blackpool . . Buxton Choltenliam Clifton Cronier .... Gravesend . . , Guernsey . . . Harrogate .., Harwich Heme Bay. . . Isle of Man.. Bangor Chester and Holyhead.. Steamboat from Jersey. Great Northern Xewcaslle and Berwick. Chester and Holyhead . Great Western Newcastle and Berwick >forth Western ^forth Midland Great Western IC'heltenham Great Western [Bristol Eastern Counties [Norwich Boat.I.on.Bridge&NtliKcnilGravesend . Lesbury .... NthSunderlnd 2 Bangor Bath Berwick Blackpool . . Matlock rsey. York and North Midland . Harrogate.. Eastern Counties Colchester.. 19 Boat, and South Eastern. . Canterbury .. 7 Leamington Lowestoft ... Gloucester. . Maryiiort . .. Matlock.. .. Scarborough. Leamington N'orth Western Lowestoft I Eastern Counties Malverr iGreat Western Mary port Nth. West. Lancas.&Carlisle Matlock North Midland Scarborough York and North Midlaml... Southend iBoat from London Bridge.} Southiiort :Nth. Western & Bch. LinejLiverpnoI. ... IC Swansea 'Great Western to Bristol Tenby JBoat from Bristol ll.'imileh I'unbridgo Wells . .|Soulh Eastern Tunhridee Wells Tynemouth (York North Midland .Vewcastle.. , !) VVallon I Eastern Counties Colchester .. 17 Varniouth I Eastern Counties Yarnioulh... \ 2? a s 3.5 14 105 1.5 1 13 120 75 55 15 17 93 45 122 64 107 212 251 198 199 211 220 201 208 221 222 228 176 147 237 225 162 155 253 244 227 174 228 2117 229 181 1.54 209 215 213 280 191 IfiO ICT ADAMS'S WATERING-PLACES OF ENGLAND. SOUTHAMPTON. I>- about two hours after leaving the Sletropolitan Station of the South-Western Railway, in the Waterloo Road, the tra- veller may be now deposited at the elegant Station which forms the Southampton Terminus, and thus avail himself of a transit which, for speed and panoramic temptations on his way, has hardly a rival on any of the other lines. Everybody knows — or, if evcr}^body does not, everybody should know — what a glorious succession of fine views and peerless prospects may be obtained, on a clear day, along the railway of the South- western, where the transit of every mile unfolds some new landscape beauty, until the very cUmax of the picturesque is attained in the glassy bosom of Southampton Water and its surrounding scenery of the wild and woodland. Little neces- sity, therefore, have we to expatiate on the scenic attractions to be experienced on the journey, nor need we become erudite in our knowledge of the many historical associations connected with the towns past which we are whirled : suffice it conse- quently to say how, after a brief period of rapid locomotion and intense enjoyment, the tourist, who started at noon, may find himself within ken of his destination, with the best part of a day yet before him to dispose of as he may list. Threading our way from the Railway Terminus to the New Quay, we pass the old Battery and Custom-house, and then emerge upon the finest street that ever adorned a provincial 13 2 SOUTHAMPTON. town, this being the "High-street," topographically and nominally, of Southampton. It is nearly a mile in length, of which two-thirds are below or to the south of the Bar Gate, the remaining portion being distinctively called High-street Above Bar. Looking at the busy, cheerful aspect of this enterprising commercial town, it requires some imagination to picture it as it was not more than three centuries ago, fortified and defended by double ditches, battlements, and watch- towers, yet here we see, in the " Bar-Gate," the only relic remaining of these defensive barriers, and a curious piece of architectural antiquity it is. The most ancient portion is its massive semicircular arch, which may unquestionably be refeiTed to the early Norman, if not to the Saxon times. On the north front of the gate, among other decorations, are two figures, traditionally said to represent the two famous heroes of metrical romance, the renowned Sii' Bevis of Hampton and the doughty Giant Ascupart, slain by him in single combat. Of the Giant we know little more than that he was, according to the old rhyming legend — " very mighty, very strong, And full thirty feet was long," but of Sir Bevis, Southampton has other memorial s than the figure on the Bar Gate, more particularly an artificial eleva- tion called Bevis Mount, which was evidently fortified in days of yore, and as some antiquaries have asserted was the palace of the ancient Saxon and Danish monarchs. On the Bar Sir Bevis has a very martial air indeed, but the other stalwart personage looks as if every moment he was about to sneeze, an effect rather unpleasant to the passenger gazing up from below. The two original lions which guarded the entrance having gradually crumbled away, they were replaced, in 1744, by two new ones, cast in lead, and from these the lamps are brought which light the gateway. On the south side the centre niche is occupied with a statue of George the Tliird, which has superseded a miserably executed effigy of Queen Anne. SOUTHAMPTON. 3 The upper part of the building is occupied by the Towu Hall, and above this are some spacious leads, overlooking the town and commanding a fine view of the environs. The chief business of the Corporation is, however, not transacted here, but in the Magistrate's Court, over the Market-house, where is kept the two-handed sword of state, a very ponderous if not a very formidable weapon, being some four feet long and three inches wide. During war this is uncased with great solemnity, the Mayor making half-a-dozeu flourishes with it one way and the Corporation brandishing it six times another, but this is a much more harmless affair than it seems, for even the " oldest inhabitant " never knew of any gi-eat battle being won by it. Nearly in the centre of the High-street is the ancient church of Holy Rood, containing some interesting monuments, among which is one by Rysbrach, to the memory of Miss Stanley, whose name has been mentioned by Thomson in the " Seasons," and who has here contributed a neat epitaph. In the portico are two tablets, erected by subscription, commemo- rative of the frightful loss of life in November, 1837, when twenty-two persons, who attempted to rescue property from a calamitous fire that took place in this parish, fell victims to their generous haste, and miserably perished. The interior of the church is very commodious, with a fine organ at the western window. Although no longer attended to by the social townsfolk, the curfew is still tolled at this church in the evening. The other principal churches ai-e St. Michael's, All Saints', St. Lawrence, and St. Mary's; of these the most ancient is St. Slichael's, standing in the square to which it gives name, near French-street. An octagonal spire, which is of some considerable elevation, rises from the centre of the building, between the nave and chancel. There are several ancient S;xxon columns in the interior, with pointed arches of a large span. In the aisle stands an ancient brass reading desk, and there is an ancient Norman font of black marble, highly enriched, after the manner of that in "Winchester B 2 4 SOCTHAMPTOX. Cathedral. Here, also, may be seen, in the north chancel, an admired monument to the memory of Lord Chancellor Wriothesly, who passed sentence of death on the unfortunate Anna Boleyn, and there are other sepulchral records of sufBcient interest to repay perusal. Near the Quay is a still more attractive vestige of antiquity — the Maison Dieu — originally founded, in the reign of Henry the Third, partly as a Convent of Nuns and partly as a chapel to a neighbouring ecclesiastical establishment. The sen-ice is generally performed in the French language, for the conveni- ence of Protestants from that country, but it is also open every AVednesday evening and Sunday afternoon, when English service is performed, for the accommodation of sea-faring men. Amonument in this chapel relates to a passage of history that has an extra degi'ce of freshness imparted to it from it having been dramatically immortalized by Shakspcrc. It will be remembered that the army, which afterwards accjuired such distinguished fame in the battle of Agincourt, M'as mustered at Southampton prior to embarking for France, in 1415, and that whilst Henry V. was waiting for a fovorablc wind the conspiracy against him was discovered. The chief conspirators were Richard Eai"l of Cambridge, Lord Scrope of Masham, and Sir Thomas Grey; the supposition being, according to most historians, that they were engaged by the Court of France for the bribe of one million livres to assassinate the king at Southampton, and thus effectually hinder the comple- tion of his designs. The originator appears to have been the Earl of Cambridge, second son of the Duke of York, who, having espoused the sister of the Earl of March, had zealously embraced their family interests, and had thus secured the services of Lord Scrope and Sir Thomas Grej'. Before it could be carried out the plot was discovered, and as in those days the formalities of the law were not much regarded, the prisoners were immediately tried and executed, and their remains afterwards interred here. The follov^-ing inscription SOUTHAMPTON. 5 on a monument, erected by a late Lord Delawar, now per- petuates the crime and punishment : — " Kichftrd Earl of Cambridge, Lord Scrope of Xlasham, Sir Thomas Grey of Northumberland, conspired To murder King Henry the Fifth in this totra. As he was preparing to sail with his army Against Charles the Sixth, King of France, for which conspiracy they were executed and buried near this place, In the year MCCCCXV." Among the other public buildings and institutions of Southampton we may mention the Custom House, a plain neat building, situate on the Quay, near the Royal Pier; the Free Grammar School, in Bugle-street, founded by Edward VI. ; a commodious Literary and Scientific Institution, and numerous charitable foundations, all admirably conducted. Concerts and balls are held in the Hoyal Victoria Assembly Rooms, situated in Portland-terrace, close to the High-street, and the Long Rooms, built in 1761, by the baths. The Theatre, a very neat and commodious structure, is in French-street, and stands upon the site of the ancient Hospital of St. John. The company is generally well selected, and the pieces produced with every regard to effect and propriety. A pleasant promenade is the Royal Victoria Pier, built in 1832. It is an elegant wooden structure, extending 246 feet into the water, having a carriage way in the centre twenty feet wide, and a footway, on each side, of eight feet. A toll of twopence is required from each passenger, and the bustle that prevails on the arrival and departure of steamers causes the scene to become one of very lively interest. The Southampton Water is here three miles wide, and in the centre about forty feet in depth, so as to admit ships of any burthen. Sheltered by lofty woods, and free from all rocky obstructions, this beautiful bay presents a very convenient harbour. Bath- ing machines, swimming baths, and other means of salutary ablution, adapted both to the invalid and the robust, are b SOUTHAMPTON. provided for those who choose to avail themselves of the accommodation afforded. There is a regatta in July, and some ■well regulated races, which take place on a beautiful spot of ground on Southampton Common. Since SouthamiJton, owing to the advantageous effects of the railway, has become one of our leading commercial ports, some new docks have been formed, on a scale of great magni- tude, and ample accommodation afforded for housing and bonding goods, as well as for the reception of shipping and the convenience of passengers passing in and out of the port. Situated at the confluence of the river Itchen with the Southampton AVater, the dock basin presents a surface of sixteen acres of water, eighteen feet deep from low water mark, enclosed by massive walls of masoniy and with a noble entrance 150 feet between the pier heads, without lock or gate. The Post Office is in Hanover-buildings. Letters are delivered three times daily; at 7 a.m., 3 p.m., and 6 30 p.m. There is thus constant epistolary communication with London. The market days are Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday; and there are four annual fliirs, the two principal ones being held on Trinity Monday and the 6th of May. The direct road to Portsmouth leads across the river Itchen, where a floating bridge conveys the passenger over to the opposite shore for a toll of one penny, and in a passage occupying about four minutes in duration. It is a large flat- bottomed vessel, plied by steam, between two vast chains stretched parallel from one bank to the other. Near the ferry is the Cross House, a building traditionally said to be about three centuries old, and to have been erected at the expense of a lady who, waiting shelterless for a boat to take her across the ferry, caught a fatal cold, which led to her bequeathing a sum of money for the erection, and a legacy for keeping it in repair. On the right hand of the road is a finger-post to Netley Abbey, of which place, as one of the great attractions to Southampton visitors, we now propose giving a few details that may serve as a concise descriptive guide. NETLEY ABBEY. Situated on the declivity of a gentle elevation which rises from the bank of the Southampton Water, the Abbey will be found surrounded by a landscape of varied beauty, rich in all the attractions of water and woodland scenery. A delightful walk of hardly three miles from the town brings us to this picturesque ruin, which is so embosomed in a thick leafy covert of trees that scarcely a fragment of it is visible till the visitor is at its side. The eye first rests on a modern mansion to the right, called, from its former uses, Netley Fort, but little now remains of the old bulwark, which was built by Henry the Eighth, after Calshot Castle — seen on the opposite shore — and designed to resist any invasion of the French. The original name of the abbey appears to have been Lettley, which has been Latinised into de Loeto loco (a pleasant place). The founder was Peter Eoche, Bishop of Winchester, who died in 1238. The monks of Netley Abbey belonged to the Cistercian order, and were originally brought from the neighbouring house of Beaulieu. At the Dissolution it con- sisted of an abbot and twelve monks, and its net revenue was returned at only £100, from which it appears to haA'e been always a humble and obscure establishment. In 1537 it was granted to Sir William Paulet, from whom it passed into the Hertford family, and thence became the property of the Earl of Huntingdon, who desecrated this noble building and sold everj' part of the chapel roof to a carpenter of Southampton, named Taylor, whose death occuiTcd under the following singular circumstances. It seems that he had contracted with the Marquis of Huntingdon for so much of the materials of Netley Abbey as could be removed within a certain space of time. With these he erected a town house at Newport and several dwellings, which gave rise to a remonstrance from 8 NETLEY ABBEY. those who knew liim, and who felt that the demolition that was taking place was positive sacrilege. Soon after he dreamed that the arch key stone fell from the east window, and so impressed was he with the vivid warning that was conveyed by this nocturnal vision that he related it to Mr. Watts — father of the afterwards renowned Dr. Isaac Watts — who was then a schoolmaster at Southampton, and who, with others, earnestly dissuaded him from assisting further in the destruction of the Abbey. Their advice was, howevei", dis- regarded, and Taylor, a week after, forcing some boards from the east window, was struck by a stone which fell from above and fractured his skull, thus realising the presentiment he felt from this singular dream. Entering by the old grey arched portal, the rooks — the tenants by courtesy of all crumbling abbeys — salute us as we enter with a chorus of melancholy caws, which accords well with the monastic solemnity of the spot. The buildings originally seem to have formed a quadrangular court, but scarcely anything more is now to be seen excepting the remains of the chapel, which occupied one of the sides. It was about 200 feet in length, by 60 in breath, and was crossed at the centre by a transept of 120 feet long. The roof fell in about half a century ago, but its fragments, many of them sculptured with armorial bearings and other devices, still lip scattered in heaps over the floor. The cast window is of elegant proportions, and most elaborately finished. Besides the chapel various other portions of the abbey, such as the kitchen, the refectory, and the sacristy, are usually pointed out to strangers, but their identity is very uncertain. The whole place appears to have been surrounded by a moat, of which traces arc still visible, and there are two large ponds at a short distance from the ruins, which doubtless provided fish for the pious inmates. Their retired and undisturbed waters present now an aspect of soUtudc which is extremely beautiful, overhung as they are by trees and underwood. Near the southern side of the chapel is a small opening, with a time- METLET ABBET. ^ worn spiral staircase of stone, by which wc may ascend to the wccd-trcUised gallery on the summit, and enjoy a command- ing view over the ruins and surrounding country. The poet Gray has, in one of his private letters, so happily described the singular loveliness of the spot, and the poetical feelings inspured by its mournful seclusion, that we shall offer no apology for concluding with a quotation so characteristic and appropriate:— "In the bosom of the woods, concealed from profane eyes, lie hidden the ruins of Netley Abbey; there may- be richer and greater houses of religion, but the abbot is content with his situation. See there, at the top of that hang- ing meadow, under the shade of those old trees that bend into a half circle about it, he is walking slowly (good man!) and telling his beads for the souls of his benefactors interred in that venerable pile that lies beneath him. Beyond it, the meadow still descending, nods a thicket of oaks that mask the building and have excluded a view too garish and luxuriant for a holy eye, only on either hand they leave an opening to the blue gUttering sea. Did you not observe how, as that white sail shot by and was lost, he turned and crossed himself, to drive the tempter from him that had thrown that cUstrao- tion in his way? I should tell you that the ferryman who rowed me, a lusty young fellow, told me that he would not for all the world pass a night at the abbey, there were such things near it, though there was a power of money hidden there." Those disposed to enjoy a more extensive pedestrian excursion may, after leaving the abbey, return to Southampton by a circuit through the country, by Hound and Ilamble, which will reveal for them some very pretty featui'es of pure pastoral scenery. GOSPORT AND PORTSMOUTH. Though not strictly entitled to the distiuctire appellation of watering-places, being, in fact, more recognised as marine ports, the two towns above mentioned can hardly be omitted from our descriptive survey of the southern coast without leaving much unwritten that must prove of value and interest to the tourist who shall find himself within their limits. Gosport, in the reign of Henry VIII., was merely a miserable village, inhabited by poor fishermen, and its present import- ance may justly be ascribed to its convenient situation on the western side of Portsmouth harbour and its contiguity to the Royal Naval Arsenal. The stores, fortifications, and long range of forts, all formed about the commencement of the present century, give a very forcible idea of the value attached to its commanding position ; but the streets, nar- row and dirty, have anything but a prepossessing appear- ance to a stranger. The ferry across the harbour, which is here nearly a mile broad, is contrived by means of the steam floating bridge, sufiiciently capacious to convey vehicles as well as foot passengers across to Portsmouth, in a journey that rarely occupies more than eight minutes. The toll is one penny for each time of passing. About one mile north of Gosport, near Forton Lake, is the new Military Hospital, and g,t the extremity of that point of land which forms the western extremity of Portsmouth Harbour is Haslar Hos- pital, founded at the suggestion of Earl Sandwich, and com- pleted in 1762. It is capable of aftbrding accommodation to about 2,000 invalids. The average expenses of this establish- ment, intended exclusively for the reception of sick and wounded seamen, is about £5,000 per annum. The portico of the centre part of the building is surmounted by the royal arms, flanked by two figures, personifying Commerce and Navi- gation. A new suburb, called Bingham To^ti, contains GOSPORT AND TORTSMOUTH. H some gcntccl modern residences ; and Anglcsca, a little village on the coast, about two miles from Gosport, near Stokes's Bay, affords a miniature watering-place for those among the residents who are not disposed to go further from home. Crossing over by the ferry to Po9-tsmoulh, and glancing at the dense forest of masts which shoot upward into the air on eveiy side, we reach the venerable precincts of that famous old town, reminding us, by its bulwarks and fortifications, of those ancient foreign ports that we have either seen or heard of in books of travels. Its sinuous streets, massive gateways, and overhanging houses, noticeable in the older parts of the town, all contribute to aid the illusion, and bring vividly back to memory the events that through a long course of ages have established the naval supremacy of Britain. At Port- chestcr, three miles to the north-west, the llomans established a station originally ; and as the harbour became afterwards contracted by the retiring of the sea, the present situation was chosen, and as early as the reign of Ilenry I. it became a place of considerable importance. In the time of Kichard II. it was burned by the French, and then Edward IV. and Richard III. commenced fortifying the port in earnest. These fortifications were completed by Henry VII., and in the reign of Henry VIII. it became the principal, if not the only, naval station in the kingdom. Elizabeth surrounded the town with walls of stone, and in every subsequent reign additions and improvements were made. Directly a stranger aiTives in Portsmoutli, he will find enough to engage his attention. In High-street is the Town Hall, with a covered market- place underneath ; and on the Grand Parade is the Governor's House, originally a part of the hospital Damns Dei, but pre- senting nothing now of its ancient monastic aspect. The parade leads by a slope to the King's Bastion, and hence a fine view of the anchorage at Spithead and the Isle of Wight may be obtained. The ramparts being planted with trees, afford pleasant promenades ; and here may be noticed pyramids of cannon-balls, arranged in immense conical heaps. 12 GOSPOET AND PORTSMOUTH. according to weight and size, long, let us hope, to remain there and rust unused. The old parish church of St. Thomas was built in 1220, and was dedicated to the then recently canonized St. Thomas ii Becket. The chancel is the only part left of the original building, many additions having beeu made at various later periods. At the west end is the tower, added in 1693, and of 120 feet in height ; over this is an octagonal latticed structure, called " The Lantern," and the whole is crowned by the gilt model of a ship, six feet long, which has a shifting flag on the mizenmast, that moves with the slightest motion of the air, and indicates from what quarter the wind blows when the breeze is not powerful enough to turn the hull of the ship. The church contains a fine monument to Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, who, having come down to hasten the equipment of the armament for the relief of Rochelle, was assassinated here in 1 628, by Felton, afterwards executed for the deed on Southsea Common. The spot where Buckingham fell is stili pointed out in the High- street. The parish church of St. Mary, Portsea, a suburb of Portsmouth, is likewise of venerable aspect, and is chiefly noticeable for its capacious burial-ground, asserted to be the lai-gest in the kingdom. There are in addition several more modern places of worship, affording every desired accommo- dation to the inhabitants. The recognised feature of Portsmouth is of course the Dockyard, a correct idea of the importance and extent of which can only be gained by personal observation. It has three times suffered by fire, caused through both negligence and design. In 1760 lightning was the cause ; in 1770 it was again in flames, from a source yet enveloped in mystery ; and in 1776 from the successful attempts of Aitkin, the incen- diary, familiarly known as " Jack the Painter," and who for this crhue was executed at Winchester in 1777. The Dock- yard covers nearly 120 acres, and has a wharf wall along the harbour of nearly three quarters of a mile in length ; on the land side it is enclosed by a wall 14 feet high, which com- GOSPORT AND PORTSMOUTH. 13 pletely separates it from the town. The entrance to the. dockyard from the town is by a gateway, through which strangers — provided they arc not foreigners — may obtain access to the works witliout any formal introduction. The great basin is two acres and a half in area, 260 feet in breadth, and 380 feet in length. Into this basin four dry docks open, and on each side is another dry dock, all capable of receiving first-rate ships. Besides these there is a double dock for frigates, and six building slips, which are capable of receiving the largest vessels. The dockyard includes a rope house, three stories high, 54 feet broad, and 1,094 feet long, anchor-forges, foundries, store-houses, and, in fact, every tiling requisite for the equipment and repair of vessels. The block machinery, invented by Brunei, is capable of producing 1,500 blocks daily, and it is from this source the whole of the Britisli navj- is supplied. In time of war five thousand men have been employed liere in the various departments. Few of course would be at Portsmouth without availing themselves of an opportunity to go on board the Victory, the flag-ship of Nelson, and on board of which he fell at the battle of Trafalgar. The payment of a trifling gratuity enables the visitor to see many relics associated with the memorable career of our great naval hero. Landport, with its bustle and lively seaport aspect, should not be left un- visited ; and Southsea, where a bathing establishment is eflBciently conducted, will afford bathers desirable accommo- dation and a pleasant promenade besides. The theatre is generally open with a well-selected company from the metro- politan establishments. The Post Office is reached from the High-street, through a small arcade ; letters from London delivered at 7 a.m. and 4 p.m., box closing at 7 30 a m. and 10 P.M. From the Victoria Pier packets depart several times a day to Ryde, the hours var}-ing according to the season of tlie year. THE ISLE OF WIGHT. As Great Britain has been somewhat eulogistically, but tnily, said to contain within itself, on a small scale, specimens of the varied scenery and beauties of the whole of Europe, transfer this panegyric to the Isle of Wight, and it becomes equally characteristic, as it comprises within itself all that is pleasing and picturesque in Great Britain. The island, although the largest in the British Channel, is only twenty-three miles in length, measured from the Needles to the Foreland, and about jBfteen miles in its extreme breadth, from Eocken End to Cowes Castle. Its circumference has been roughly estimated at sixty miles, and in shape (as may be seen by reference to the accompanying map) it bears some affinity to a turbot, contracting at the two extremities and becoming very narrow towards the west. The population, which has been doubled since 1811, is, according to the last census, nearly 43,000; the number of acres being about 120,000, the greater portion of which is now in a high state of cultivation. The high downs afford excellent pasturage for cattle. An old boast of the peasantry was, that the island yielded seven times as much as its inhabitants could consume, a gasconism that must now, however, be taken with some modification. The breadth of the sea channel that separates the island from the main land on the Hampshire coast varies from six to four miles, whilst at one point, opposite Hurst Castle, there is such a projection as to leave a passage by water of little more than one mile ; showing that those most indisposed towards sea voyages have but little to fear. The chmate, eminently favourable to vegetation, is peculiarly conducive to healthy- Kyde, to whicli a pleasanf^poyage of some forty minutes from Portsmouth will conduct us, was some eighty years since a small fishing village, now expanded into a beautiful town, surrounded, like Cowes, with groves, villas, and cottages. ; ^ i\ ■1 ^'^^''-yTJ . :tk-t/^^':Tt .^^^^^^^-t^^no^"^^ -^^S GUIDE MAF '%^ }„^:«**««a»^*^ ":) C_ THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 15 From the pier, which is a delightful promenade of nearly half- a-mile in length, finished in 1815, there is a fine view of Portsmouth at six miles distance, of Calshot Castle, of Spit- head and its shipping, and, in fine weather, the beautiful spire of Chichester Cathedral. The arrangements for bathing are complete. In the interior of the town there are a few public edifices, built in a complete if not elegant style, such as the Assembly Rooms at the Marine Library, in Union-street, and a new Arcade, recently completed. Inns and hotels are nu- merous, and very efficiently conducted. At the small theatre of this town, commencing its season in August, Mrs. Jordan took her farewell of the stage. The footway from Ryde to Appley crosses a small and rather marshy meadow, where some years ago the stranger beheld a number of graves, rising above the turf. It was there the bodies cast ashore after the loss of the Royal George, in 1782, were buried. These graves are now obhterated. From Ryde a beautiful walk through Quarr Wood, leads to Quan- Abbey, founded in 1311, by Baldwin, Earl of Devon, for monks of the Cistercian order. Hence to the UnderclifF is the usual course adopted by time- limited tourists, and passing through Brading, Sandown, and Lake, we thus come to the beautiful little village of Shanklin, where a halt is imperative. Shanklin Chine is not only the most beautiful, but, as a natural consequence, is the mosE frequently visited of all the chines, and is deeply cut through the cliff by an inconsiderable rill. The beach below, from which the best view is to be obtained, affords a delightful Avalk when the tide is out. About a mile further on occurs another of those curious ravines called Luccombe Chine, for the full appreciation of which we would especially commend the four miles' walk by the landslips, which, by a shelving and tortuous, but most picturesque pathway, will conduct the pedestrian from Shanklin on to Ventnor. The rugged and romantic beauties of Boncliurch, one mile before entering Ventnor, mark the commencement, on the 16 THE ISLE OF WIGHT. eastern side, of that remarkable part of the island called " The Undercliff," where the effects of great and remote land- slips show themselves on a prodigious scale. Here a slip of about six miles long, and from a quarter to h.alf a mile in breadth, seems to have settled down and slipped towards the sea, exhibiting a jumble of rocks overturned and broken — mounds of rugged earth, deep hollows, and numerous springs, forming falls of water, collecting into pools, and hurrying to the Channel. The cliffs vary from 60 to 100 feet in height, and upon these runs the long irregular platform or terrace, which is backed towards the north by a bold abrupt steep — a wall of precipitous rock rising from 200 to 300 feet higher. From the similarity of the beds of sandstone, which is pre- cisely the same above as is seen on the broken surface below, it is in every way evident that the sunken tract was formerly a continuation of the higher cliff. M. Simond remarks " The crisis of this part of the Undercliff is evidently of no recent date, and the earth has had time to grow young again ; for, contrary to the laws of organised life, inert nature loses with age its original deformity, and is indebted for its beauty and fecundity to its very dissolution," In accounting for the land- slips, the same writer thinks it is probable that the numerous springs which now run over the surface of the Undercliff to the sea must formerly have flowed under it, and may have worn wide passages through some soft under strata to the shore, thus unsettling the whole mass. It would appear that the Undercliff has been formed not by one grand fall, or subsidence, but by a succession of landslips, which still occasionally occur, on a larger or smaller scale. On this perturbed soil wheat grows exceedingly well, and all other crops flourish freelj'. The trees that have been planted thrive in a wonderful manner, and, with the luxuriant myrtle bushes, form the most delightful shades, from which cottages and churches, villas and villages, peep forth with the most picturesque effect. This is indeed a lixvourcd nook — an epitome of the regions of the sunny south. After a careful THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 17 exfimination of the places on the English coast best suited to persons threatened with consumption, Dr. James Clai-ke gives the preference to Torquay and the Undercliff, and he seems justly to think that many invalids might find those benefits from climate at home which they seek in distant counUies, and too often separated from their friends. " The whole of the Undercliff," he says, " which presents scenery of the greatest beauty, is dry and free from moist or impure exlia- lations, and is completely sheltered from the north, north-east, north-west, and west winds, by a range of lofty downs or hills of chalk and sandstone, which rise boldly fi-om the upper termination of these terraces, in elevations varying from 400 to 700 feet, leaving the Undercliff open only in a direct line to the south-east, and obliquely only to the south and south- west winds, which rarely blow here with great force." This eminent physician, who hoped that " the Isle of Wight, in addition to its proud title of the Garden of England, might gain that of the British Madeira," would now find his predic- tion in a fair w^ay of becoming realised, from the number of invalids who have become restored to health by a residence in this highly-favoured spot. The mean morning temperature of the winter months here has been found not less than 45 degrees. Ventnor is a rapidly improving and extending town, with an elegant and commodious church, and hotels and lodging- houses in abundance. Three or four days might be delight- fully spent in roaming about the Undercliff and its immediate vicinity by making this the starting point. Ventnor Cove, with its sandstone cliffs, presents a peculiarly picturesque appearance. A projecting portion of the rock has been quite worn through by the sea, and now forms a natural archway, as romantic as could be desired. Still onward from Ventnor, towards Blackgang, and a picturesque spring, flowing through the mouth of a dolphin, will be found worthy of notice, to the right. In such high veneration was this formerly held by seamen, that in passing this place it was customaiy for vessels to lower their top- c 18 THE ISLE OF WIGHT. mast, in reverence to St. Boniface, its patron saint. Westward is Puckaster Cove, and the straggling village of St. Lawrence, next encountered, has the peculiar distinction of possessing the smallest church in England, its height to the caves being only six feet; and, until recently lengthened by the late Earl of Yarborough, its dimensions were only twenty feet in length by twelve in width. At Rocken End, a little further, the Undcrcliff may be said to terminate, and immediately above this, spot is St. Catherine's Hill, the most elevated point in the island, being 800 feet above the level of the sea at low water mark. A lighthouse was erected here in 1840, from the summit of which a magnificent panoramic view is obtained of the whole island, and encircUng within the scope of vision, on a fine day, the Hampshire coast, with the New Eorest, South- ampton Waters, the downs of Sussex, Beechy Head, the isles of Portland and Purbeck, and part of the French coast, near Cherbourg. Near here, on the descent of the hill, is Niton, a pretty little village; and about a mile further on, along the coast, is the Royal Sandrock Hotel, which derives its name and celebrity from a valuable chalybeate spring, discovered by Mr. Waterworth, a surgeon at Newport, in 1807. From the threshold of this hotel will be observed a delightful marine landscape. Extending on each side will be seen those noble projecting cliffs, which, in their boldness and grandeur, arc. distinguishing features of the coast, and behind are the remarkable range of rocks which give the name to the vicinity, with I cottages gleaming through the foliage of the trees as ti'iumphs of human industry over the wildness and the wreck of nature. Proceeding in a westerly direction towards Chale Bay is, at the distance of one mile and a half, the famous chine of Blackgang, a gloomy fissure that, like a chasm in the Alps, Ijoms with stupendous grandeur on the eye of the spectator: whilst the clitfs on each side rise to the height of five hundred foct, there is not a trace of vegetation on their surface. All is rugged and bare, as if its elements of attraction were more THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 19 of the sublime than the beautiful. When the wind blows freshly from the south-west an echo of a startling chiu-acter may fumish a very interesting experiment in acoustics. The hotel near the summit, with its ample album, should not fail to be inspected. Chale Bay, which is about three miles in extent, is so dangerous in stormy weather that the strongest Newfoundland dog has been found unable to gain the shore from even a short distance. Before leaving the vicinity of the Undereliff, the tourist should contrive a visit to Appuldui-corabe, the ancient seat of the Worsley family, and situated one mile south from Godshill. The fine collections of paintings, works of art, &c. are open to the public every Tuesday and Fi-iday, by tickets, procurable from Messrs. Scwell, of Newport. A pleasant walk or ride of six miles from Blackgang will bring us to Brixton, a neat village, with a couple of respectable inns in it. From this place we pass on through Mottcstone, with its interesting Druidical remains, to Brooke, where mounds and tumuli, supposed to be coeval with the first Saxon invasion, may be found in the neighbourhood. Aston Down, five hundred feet high, affords another delightful view. From Aston Down the walk over to Freshwater Gate will be by many considered as interesting a feat of pedestrianism as can be found in the island. Eastward arise the dark stern cliffs of Blackgang and the horizon-bounded sea ; southward arc seen innumerable cottages and hamlets, with their church spires glittering in the summer sunshine; and directly in front, or westward, gleam the white cliffs of Freshwater, Yarmouth, ^^•iLh the river which gives the local appellation, and a tract of fertile country rich and varied in the extreme. Extending from Freshwater Gate to Scratchell's Bay, the chalk cliffs are said to be of such altitude that not in the whole world can be found a parallel. Rising above the level of the sea to six hundred feet, they are for the most part perfectly white, with narrow streaks of black flint, occasionally serving as rough projecting shelves to herds of sea fowl that 20 THE ISLE OF WIGHT. here congregate in prodigious numbers from May till August. The great curiosity in Freshwater Bay is the cavern, which can only be entered at low water, and forms one of similar exca- vations made by the constant inroads of the sea. The cave is about one hundred and twenty feet in depth, having an entrance through a small archway. The water at the base is so clear that one may see many fathoms deep to the bottom of it. On the opposite side of the bay is the famous arched rock, so familiar to the eye from the repeated views of which it has formed the subject. Though once forming a component part of the cliffs it is now nearly six hundred feet away from them. Three miles from Freshwater and Scratchell's Bay, Alum Bay and the Needles will be reached, foi'ming the extreme western portion of the island. One of the most striking scenes is formed by Alum Bay, which on one side is bounded by lofty precipices of pearly chalk, broken and indented, and on the other by cliffs, strangely variegated with different colours, arising from the several strata of red and yellow ochre, fuller's earth, black flint, and sands of grey and white. Alum and copperas ores arc easily collected from the beach. Standing on the shores of the bay, the tourist will perceive the Needles, varying their irregular forms to the eye according to the position assumed by the gazer. Sometimes they appear united, as if in one broad solid mass, and, seen from other points, they appear like detached and rugged fortresses, battered by storm and time. Though only three of them now stand boldly out of the water, they are in reality five, of a white colour, and curiously streaked above the black base, with dark spots, from the alternate flinty strata. Their distinctive appellation was gained from a tall spiral rock, about one hundred and thirty feet high, which, having been worn away by the constant lashing of the waves at the base, fell, in 1776, with a tremendous crash, said to have been felt even at Southampton. Its rough and flinty remains are still visible. Geologists assert that at no very distant period the present rocks will have totally dis- THU ISI.E OF WIGUT. 21 appeared, but out of the western point of the island, ah-cady extremely naiTow, new ones will be formed insulated like tlie Needles, and possibly even more picturesque. The lighthouse, seven hundred and fifteen feet above the marine level, stands on the highest point of the cliffs, and contains ten argand lamps, with a deep concave copper reflector behind each, plated with bright silver. This light can be seen, in clear weather, thirty-three miles. From Alum Bay the lofty cliffs gradually decrease in height until we reach Gary's Sconce, near the mouth of the river Yar, where they cease altogether. On the eastern bank of this river, ten miles from Newport, lies the neat little town of Yarmouth. Until the passing of the Reform Bill, when the constituency had dwindled down to nine individuals, it regu- larly sent members to Parliament. A constant steam commu- nication is kept up with Lymington, Portsmouth, Ryde, Cowes, Southampton, and Weymouth. Its ancient church is a fine feature in the scenery, being more than three hundred years old, having been built in 1543. The castle, erected by Henry VIII., is little more than a stone platform, mounted with eight guns, and possesses little strength and less beauty. On the opposite side of the Yar is the pleasant village of Norton, and a little further westward we come to Sconce Point, where Hurst Castle, cresting the end of a projection from the Hampshire coast, appears almost within reach, the Solent being at this point very little more than a mile across. From Yarmouth to Newport the road passes tlirough a richly cultivated district, and affords a constant succession of pros- pects, land and marine. One mile and a half before entering Newport is the village of Carisbrooke, which, with its romantic old castle, associated with so many historical reminiscences, forms one of the most interesting objects in the island. Though now a long straggling village, Carisbrooke was once the capital of the island, but when Fortibus, the last of the lords of Wight, sold the regalities to the English crown, in 1291, Newport rose into 22 THE ISLE OF WIGHT. importance and usurped its position. The old church, containing some curious specimens of sculpture, is supposed to have been erected on the exact site of a Saxon church, built a few centuries before the Norman Conquest, and pleasantly called " the Church of the Manor of the Fair Valley." Adjoining are the ruins of a Cistercian Priory, founded by Fitz-Osborne, Earl of Hereford, soon after tlie Norman Conquest; but of this once stately edifice scarcely enough remains to make a respectable ruin. But not so, fortunately, with the castle, which, on a much higher eminence, stands nearly opposite, and mingles toAver, keep, and barbican, battlements and ramparts, with sufiicient of the poetry of ruin about them to charm all lovers of the romantic and picturesque. From its origin as a Saxon fortress, early in the sixth century, constant additions were made by succeeding monarchs, the last being by Queen Elizabeth, who caused the outer walls to enclose neai-ly twenty acres of land. It is almost superfluous to remind the reader that here Charles I. was confined, after having fled thither from Hampton Court, in the hope of finding a safe retreat. Many unsuccessful attempts were made by the King to escape, and part of the chamber he occupied, and the grated window through which the unfortu- nate monarch tried to pass, are still shown at the left-hand side of the first court. The great entrance is over two bridges, through a strong gate on the western side of the structure. The view from the keep's summit is one of the loveliest and most extensive that can be imagined. Among the curiosities of the place"" pointed out to the stranger are two wells, one in the centre of the keep, said to have been three hundred feet deep, but now partially filled up; the other in the castle yard, of nearly the same depth, whence water, pure and crystalline, is drawn up by means of a large tread-wheel, worked by an ass. A predecessor of this animal is recorded to have fulfilled tiiis ofiicc for fifty years, and even then to have died by accident; whilst another for many years enjoyed the boon of a penny loaf per diem, granted by the Duke of THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 23 Gloucester, nncle of George III. A pebble thrown into the well occupies four seconds in its descent to the bottom, and then produces a singular echo. Proceeding onwards to Newport, the tourist will find in this, the capital of the island, some excellent hotels, and all the most prominent characteristics of a busy and prosperous town. In the High-street a ilvraous three days' fair is annually held at Whitsuntide. The oldest building remaining perfect in the island may be here seen in the Grammar-school, which was built in 1619; the school-room, fifty-three feet in length, is memorable as having been the scene of the last conference between Charles I. and the Parliamentary Commissioners. On the way from Newport to Cowes, a pleasant walk of five miles, the Albany Barracks will be passed, now under the familiar title of the Parkhurst Keformatory, serving an important object in the reformation of juvenile offenders, who here are made to fulfil various useful duties. West Cowes, the principal port of the island, is advan- tageously situated at the mouth of the river Medina, on the declivity of a hill, and though the streets are steep and narrow, the houses and shops are good, and the whole appearance of the place lively and bustling. The harbour, in front of the town, forms a fine spacious anchorage for shipping, and for this reason, combined with its beauty and safety, it was selected in 1812 as the head-quarters of the Royal Yacht Squadi-on. Though not of very ancient date, a castle is here to be found, being one of that chain of fortresses erected about 1740 for the defence of the coast. East Cowes, on the opposite shore of the Medina, can be reached by a short ferry, for which one-halfpenny is charged as fare, and is by far the more elegant and inviting town. To the great improvements that have been recently made here, and the exquisite villas that now stud the shelving banks in every direction, the circumstance of this vicinity having become the chosen residence of royalty must have chiefly contributed. Osborne House, the marine mansion of her 24 THE ISLE OF WIGHT. Majesty, occupies the most delightful situation on the island. The alterations in the structure, now completed, render the attractions imparted by art almost as unrivalled as those by which it has been so richly endowed from the band of nature. For the convenience of embarkation at all states of the tide, a new pier has been constructed, and, when seen from the sea, the royal domains not only form of themselves a striking and commanding object, but constitute a really artistic addition to the general scenery of the coast. The distance from Cowes to Southampton is fifteen miles, and the passage is frequently made by the packets in one hour and a-half. It is by this route that we recommend all Avho have crossed from Portsmouth to Ryde to return home. Adopting the course we have indicated, the whole beauties of the island may be seen, at a very moderate cost, in three days. The more time that a traveller can spare for their investiga- tion, the longer, of course, will his enjoyments be prolonged; but in the period we have above named, and in the rotation of the places above enumerated, a most delightful trip may be insured, with scarcely any other condition than that of fine weather. Vehicles of every kind are easily to be obtained at the chief inns; but, if at all practicable, the best mode of surveying the charms of the isle will be to turn pedestrian, and, with early rising, make a resolution to achieve some fifteen miles per day. Those partial to aquatic excursions may take boats from point to point. Steamers from Eyde and Cowes make the voyage round the island in from eight to twelve hours. From Ryde, Newport, and Cowes, stage-coaches depart daily for the various places of resoi-t, and a constant communication is thus kept up between the different parts of the island. For the above itinerary we have left the tourist, as likely to be influenced by circumstances, to divide the excursions of each day after his own fashion. To those however, who would rather avail themselves of the routes hereunto annexed, we would briefly hint, that Ryde, Shanklin, Ventnor, Brixton, Yarmoutli, Newport, and THE ISLE OF WIGUT. 25 Cowes, will either of them be fouud excellent halting places for the night. The almost invariable recurrence of fine woodland scenery in connexion with glimpses of the sea, is a peculiar feature of the island. The rivers Yar and Medina, flowing from south to north, admit vessels, with their snow-white sails, far inland, among the trees and hills ; and besides these there are numerous springs and streams of less note scattered over the country. Indeed, almost every valley has its flowing stream, on the banks of which villages and mills, with rustic bridges thrown across their beds, and cattle lowing on their brinks, continually serve to make out those cool rural pictures which please even in words. Excepting those which trickle through the chines, all the waters of the Wight have a northerly course, and fall into the Solent. The course of the main chain of hills is from east to west. It has in all its extent the character of downs, and presents in some parts far-spreading carpets of turf and odorous thyme and wild flowers, that cannot be trod witiiout more than one sense being gratified. These are the elements of enjoNment that contribute so much to the delight of an Isle of Wight pedestrian pilgrimage. A very speedy, but we cannot say a very satisfactory, mode of seeing the external beauties of the island is occasionally offered by the South-Western Company, who, providing a special train early to Southampton, have a steamer in readiness for the trip round the Wight, and enable the excursionist to get back to town tlie same evening. This is a plan, however, we can only conscientiously recommend for those to whom time is more important than money. Proceeding down the Southampton Water, the voyager will find a panorama of varied beauty continually in prospect, and should be certainly chosen as the route cither for going out or the return home — the latter, we think, being preferable. As the Solent Sea is crossed (deriving its appellation, probably, from Solvendo, to dissolve), the tourist will see that the tradition of an isthmus once having connected it with the main land is far from 26 THE ISLE OF WIGHT. improbable. It is historically alleged that the Carthaginians had settlements in the Scilly Islands, and that buying up the tin of Cornwall, they conveyed it by this isthmus to the south of the Isle of Wight, thence transporting it into Gaul, and various other parts of the Continent. But whatever doubt may be attached to this part of our subject, there cannot be any to another, namely, that by adopting the modes we have indicated, a delightful tour of three days, or more, may be made in this charming nook, until satiated curiosity leads the wanderer back with a happy, gratified, and contented spirit to his own home in the busy regions of the metropolis, and the " pleasures of hope " arc exchanged for the " pleasures of memory." THREE DAYS' TOUR EROM CO WES. FIBST DAT. Miles. To Newport 5 VVooton 4 Ryde 3 lirading 4 Sandown 2 Lake I Shanklin 2 Total 21 SECOND DAY. Jliles Shanklln toLuecombe 2 Bonchurch Ventnor Steephill St. La^vrence Niton 3i lilack Gang 2 Kingston 21 Sliorwell 1 5 Brixton 2 Mottistone 2 Brooke 2 Freshwater Gate .. 4| Miles, Allum Bay 3 Total 29 THIRD DAT. Allum Bay to Fresh- water 3 Yarmouth 3 Shaltieet 4 Newtown 1 Parkhurst 5 Cowes 4 Total 20 THREE DAYS' TOUR FROM RYDE. (By the Undercliff first.) FIRST DAY. Miles. Ryde to Brading . . 4 Sandown 2 Lake 1 Shanklin 2 Luccomhe 2 Bonchurch 1 Ventnor 1 Steephill I St. Lawrence I Niton 3 Total 18 SECOND DAY. Miles. Niton to Chale .... 2i Kingston 2 ShorweU 1^ Bri.xton 2 .Mottistone 2 liroDlie 2 Freshwater 4} .MlumBay 2 TotaJ 18i THIRD DAT. Miles. Allum Bay to Fresh- water 2 Yarmnutli 3 Shalfleet 4 Newtown 1 Carisbrooke 5 Ne^vport 1 Wooton Bridge .... 4 liydJ 3 Total 23 THE NEW FOREST, THE WATERING-PLACES OF THE HAMPSHIRE COAST. AIL to the New Forest ! Who has not longed to explore the recesses of this sylvan labyrinth and thread the tangled mazes of a woodland region, the very name of which, evokes the associations of History, Poetry, and Romance ? 28 THE NEW rOKEST, AND The want of some guide to its secluded beauties, and the impediments of a slow and somewhat expensive mode of con- veyance, have both tended to keep the metropolitan denizen in ignorance of its attractions; but hoping to supply in the following pages the first deficiency, and pointing out the way in which the second has been superseded, we may fairly anticipate each summer will bring its thousands into acquaint- ance with a spot that otherwise would have been relinquished in favour of some more hacknied resort. By the extension of the South- Western Railway from Southampton to Dorchester, the tourist can now comfortably transport himself in three hours from London to the Lyndhurst Road station — the very gate of the New Forest — and this for the moderate outlay of little more than half a-guinea. He can make his way thus to Lymington, and then, crossing the Solent, to Yarmouth, visit the Isle of Wight by this route, or make a circuit through the Forest to Hythe, and thence return by feny to Southampton. It will be seen, therefore, that it would be no diflBcult matter to make a pleasant devia- tion, and take the Forest in our way, even on a week's trip to the Wight, or on a sojourn at Southampton, and, though with only a rapid survey, a very fair estimate of its beauties may be formed. But to our pleasant duty of description : — This tract of woodland was originally made a forest by William the Conqueror in the year 1079, about a dozen years after the battle of Hastings, and is indeed the only forest in England whose origin can be traced. Its distinction of the "New Forest" arose from it being an addition to the many already possessed by the crown. Within equal limits, perhaps, few parts of England aflford a greater variety of beautiful landscape. Its woody scenes, its extended lawns, and vast sweeps of wild country unlimited by artificial boundaries, together with its river views and distant coasts, are all in a measure magnificent. It must still, however, be remembered that its chief characteristic, and what it i"ests on for distinction, is not sublimity, but sylvan beauty. Alternations of wild and THE SOUTH COAST. 29 woodland are presented, upon which there is no trace of the liand of man, interspersed with exquisite retreats and highly cultivated patches, making the most delightful contrast with the surrounding wilderness that can possibly be imagined. The question whether William the Conqueror devastated the country, in order to make this district a hunting forest, has been answered by modern historians in the negative ; and there seems now evcrj' reason to believe that the reports of the Conqueror's cruelty originated with the traditions of the early monks, who had their ovm motives for endeavouring to tra- duce his character as a man as well as a monarch. In form the New Forest is an irregular triangle, of which the three angles are at Calshot Castle on the east ; the Black Hill of Rookbourne Down, on the borders of Wilts, on the north-west; and Dunley Chine, within about a mile and a half of Poole Harbour, on the south-east. Its geological appearance is that of the tertiary formation above the chalk, and, as is the case in other parts of England, the formation varies greatly in different places, though within the Forest itself the prevailing soil is sand, or sandy loam, more or less mingled with clay, and, generally speaking, pretty strongly impregnated with iron. The New Forest horse is quite a study to those who would see the natural development of this useful animal. If not very beautiful he is at least picturesque, and admirably in unison with the scenes in which he is found. The mane and tail are at all times copious and flowing, and in the winter his coat becomes considerably thicker. The hog is another animal, the breed of which is peculiar to this district. These hogs are generally to be met with in small herds, led on by one patriarchal male. In their native glades, or in the depths of the beechen forests, they arc frequently of no inconsiderable beauty, their forms being light and elegant, and their bristles having almost a metallic lustre, which gleams brightly in the straggling rays of the sun among the trees. To the lovers of birds, whether as a sportsman or a natu- 30 THE NEW FOREST, ASD ralist, this is a district of great interest ; and, unlike most other places, it is equally interesting at all seasons of the year. In M'inter the aquatic birds throng to its shores, and resident species flock upon the cultivated fields and rich valleys ; in spring, it is the resting-place of many of the migrating tribe, that proceed farther onward to spend the season; in summer it is all song and flutter; and, in autumn, many of the birds which flnd their way into the country singly, and by stealth, muster their array here before they take their departure for those more tropical climates in which they winter. At the present time the Forest comprises nearly 64,000 acres, which are the property of the crown, subject to certain manorial rights. The Lord Warden is the chief officer, who is appointed by letters patent under the Great Seal, during the royal pleasure. The subordinate^'oflicials are a lieutenant, a bow-bearer, two rangers, a woodward, an under-woodward, foui' verderers, a high-steward, twelve regardors, nine foresters, and fifteen under- foresters. Of course, these appointments being for tlie most part considered as marks of distinction, rather than business situations, the parties wlio fill them are very often the gentry of the neighbourhood. In addition to these ancient oflScers there are two others concerned in what relates to the timber — the Purveyor to the Navy, and the Surveyor General of the Woods and Forests; the latter appoints a deputy, whose duty it is to execute all warrants for felling timber for the navy, or for the sale of wood and timber, and the execution of other works connected with the Forest. Indeed, the chief mercantile value of the New Forest may be considered the raising of oak and beech timber for the use of the navy. With respect to the convenience of water carriage, and its pi'oximity to the dock-yards, it possesses advantages of situation superior to every other forest, having in its neighbourhood several ports and places for shipping timber; and with Lymington within two miles, Beaulicu half a-mile, and Rcdbridgc hardly fom- miles from the Forest, there was felt, even in the early days of locomotion. THE SOUTH COAST. 31 no difficulty of transport. To these the facilities afforded by the railway have now to be added, and tliis latter mode has given an immense stimulus to the local traffic. As it may be as well to know beforehand the most favoxir- able localities for observing its choicest features, we borrow the graphic geographical description of Gilpin, who gives an excellent suggestion occasionally to the pedestrian in his " Forest Scenery :" — " Along the banks of the Avon, from Ringwood to the sea, the whole surfiice is flat, enclosed, and cultivated. There is little beauty in this part. Eastward from Christchurch, along the coast as far as to the estuary of Lymington river, we have also a continued flat. Much heathy ground is interspersed, but no woody scenery, except in some nan'ow glen, through which a rivulet happens to find its way to the sea. In two or three of these there is some beauty. Here the coast, which is exposed to the ocean, and formed by the violence of storms, is edged by a broken clifi^", from which are presented grand sea-views, sometimes embellished with winding shores. As we leave the coast and ascend more into the midland parts of this division the scenery improves, the ground is more varied, woods and lawns are interspersed, and many of them are among the most beautiful exhibitions of this kind which the Forest presents." Between Lymington and Beaulieu, though the coast is flat and unedged with cliff, there is a great variety of beautiful country. The pedestrian must and should surrender himself entirely to the luxurious enjoyment of these solitudes. Some- times seated under the shade of a wide-spreading oak, to listen in vain for sounds indicating life, and pondering on the huge stems which uprcar themselves everywhere, and then the mind incontinently ponders over the many and mighty events that liavc followed one another in succession since they had first developed themselves from the tiny acorns whence they had sprung; and tlicn, led by fancy, we may strive to penetrate the mysteries of the Forest, and become more and more per- 32 THE NEW FOEEST, AND plexed by the increasing depth of it8 shades. Anon, perchance, an increase of light will gradually disclose an embayed arm of the sea, surrounded by magnificent oaks; and, in fact, so fascinating are these forest scenes in their beauty and variety, that time, space, and position may be so far forgotten, that a night beneath the shelter of some of the tangled thickets of these sylvan wildernesses would not be an unlikely forfeit of these pleasures. Taking the railway from Southampton and passing Spring Hill, an eminence on our right commanding extensive pros- pects, we come to Blechynden, the first station. Millbrook, a large and pretty village adjacent, has a monument in the churchyard commemorative of Pollok, the author of " The Course of Time," who died in the vicinity, at Shirley, in 1827, at the premature age of twenty-nine. Soon after we come to Redbridge, at the head of the Southampton Water, and the commencement of the Andover Canal. It is a port of some antiquity, and carries on a considerable trade in ship-building. Thence we arrive at the Lyndhurst Road station, and here we plunge into the very heart of the Forest. Lyndhurst is beautifully situated. It has been considered the capital of the New Forest ever since its formation. All the Forest Courts, under the direction of the verderers, are still held here, and an ancient stirrup-cup is preserved, said to have been that used by William Ilufus at the time he was shot by Sir Walter Tyrrel. The King's House, the official residence of the Lord Warden, was built in the reign of Charles II., and pro- bably occupies the site of a more ancient biiilding. A quadran- gular structure opposite is called the King's Stables, and during the war proved serviceable as barracks. The church was built in 1740, and a fine prospect, worth the ascent, may be obtained j'rom the tower. The population is about 1500. This forms an excellent starting point for an excursion into the interior, and some of the feelings inspired by the scenes that now greet the eye have been so well described by Howitt, that we cannot resist quoting the passage, as a slight indication of what the tourist may expect: — TUB SOUTH COAST. 33 " Herds of red dect rose from the fern, and went bounding away and dashed into the depths of the woods ; troops of those grey and long-tailed forest horses turned to gaze as I passed down the open glades ; and the red squirrels in hun- dreds scampered away from the ground where they were feeding. I roved onward without a guide through the wildest woods that came in my way. Awaking as from a dream, I saw far around me one deep shadow, one thick and continuous roof of boughs, and thousands of hoary bolls standing clothed as it were with the very spirit of silence. I admired the mag- nificent sweep of some grand old trees as they hung into a glade or ravine ; some delicious openings in the deep woods ; or the grotesque figure of particular trees which seemed to have been blasted into blackness and contorted into inimitable crookedness by the savage genius of the place." Thus prepared we now invite the reader to accompany us on a visit to what has been considered for centuries the Lion of the New Forest — the stone that indicates the spot where Rufus fell. Leaving Lyndhurst on the right, and turning into the road to Minstcad, the ground will be found pleasantly varied, being hilly, broken, and wooded in clumps, with cottages here and there interspersed. Nothing in the pastoral style can be more picturesque. We have also extensive views through the woods, particularly a grand retrospect towards Southamp- ton. As Minstead is approached the woods fail, cultivation is more apparent, and the idea of a forest is in a gi*eat degree lost. Soon after, the western road to Eingwood is entered over a spacious heath, and at the 82nd stone, about a quarter of a mile down the hill on the right from the road, we are shown the scene of the celebrated event of Rufus's death. The tree, on which the arrow of Tyrrel glanced, was an oak, which Charles II. directed to be enclosed by a paling. In the time of Lcland there was also a chapel near the spot; but now, neither tree nor chapel remain, and the spot on which the former grew is marked by a triangular stone about five feet high, erected by Lord Delaware about a century back. The 34 THE KBW FOBEST, ASD following inscription, now in many places obliterated by the united agency of time and the elements, was placed upon the monument : — " Here stood the oak tree on which an arrow, shot by Sir Walter Tyrrel at a stag, glanced and struck King William II., surnamed Rufus, on the breast ; of which stroke he instantly died, on the second of August, 1100. " King William the Second, surnamed Rufus, being slain as before related, was laid in a cart belonging to one Purkess, and drawn from hence to Winchester, and buried in the cathedral church of tiiat city. " That where an event so memorable had happened might not be hereafter unknown, this stone was set up by Lord John Delaware, who had seen the tree growing in this place, anno 1745." Malwood Castle, or Keep, seated upon an eminence embo- somed in wood at a short distance from here, was the residence of the king when he met with that accident which terminated his life. No remains of it now exist, but the circumference of a building is yet to be traced, and it still gives name to the walk in which it was situated. Sir Walter Tyrrel aftenvards swore in France that he did not shoot the arrow, but he was probably anxious to relieve himself of the odium of killing a king, even by accident. It is quite possible, however, that the event did not arise from chance, and that Tyrrel had no part in it. The remorseless ambition of Henry might have had recourse to murder, or the avenging shaft might have been sped by the desperate hand of some Englishman, tempted by a fixvourable opportunity and the traditions of the place. According to the most authentic accounts the king was hit by a random aiTOw. The diversion of the day was over, the sun was declining, and William, dismounting his horse, was en- joying a moment's rest after the fatigue of the chase, when a stag dai'ted suddenly across the heath. The king turning towards it, and lifting his hand to screen his eyes from the THE SOUTH COAST. 35 sun, at that moment received the arrow. The scene is a cahn sequestered spot, open to the west, where the corner of a heath sinks gently into it, but sheltered on the east by a grove of beeches, and on the north and south by irregular clumps of trees, among which are seen several winding avenues of greensward. It is the very place where a person heated with toil might be allured to stop for a moment's repose. Uncon- nected with the history it records, the scene is a pleasing one. Ascending once more to the high road, and pursuing the heath over which it leads, we come upon a wide expanse, un- adorned with wood, but bounded on every side by very exten- sive distances. In front we discover the high grounds of the Isle of Purbeck, on the left we have a large range over the Isle of Wiglit; in the retrospect we overlook the bay and town of Southampton, and on the right is a vast stretch of distant country, bounded by the hills of Dorsetshire and Wiltshire. It is from here to Ringwood a distance of seven miles, and the tourist can regain the railway either there or at Brockcnhursc, as he may feel disposed. Ringwood was in existence during the Roman occupation of Britain, and was a place of some importance in the Aii^'Ui- Saxon times. It is a neat, clean town, situated on the eastern side of the Avon, which here divides into three branches, each spanned by a stone bridge. Besides the parish church, there are places of worship for several other sects, and there is a small endowed school. The ale brewed here has a celebrity throughout the county, and after a day's march through the New Forest the traveller will find himself in a competent con- dition to test its excellence. Between Ringwood and Chi'istchurch, nine miles apart, tliere are two roads parallel with each other, and separated by the river Avon. The one on the left bank of the river is most frequented, and passes by Lower Kingston, Avon, Ripley, Sopley, and Staple's Cross. In the vicinity of the latter arc some noble mansions — Hintou House, Hinton Admiral, and High Cliff. 36 THE NEW FOREST, AVB Christchurcli is one of the principal towns in the Forest, and is pleasantly situated Avithin the angle formed by the confluence of the Avon and the Stour. By the road it is a little better than twenty miles from Southampton, and about one hundred from London. The two rivers above named, after uniting about a mile and a half below tlie town, flow into Christchurch Bay, forming a harbour very spacious, but very shallow; for, being obstructed by a moving bar of sand, it can only be entered, even at liigh water, by small vessels. Good anchorage in six fathoms water is found in the bay, about two miles from sliore, east of tlie harbour. The town of Christchurch is of great antiquity, and here we find the ruins of a castle which was intended formerly to secure the mouth of the Avon. The priory of Christchurch was founded eai'ly in the Saxon era, for a fraternity of the order of St. Augustine. The last abbot was John Draper, whom Henry the Eighth's commissioners reported to be " a very honest, conformable person. We found," say they, in their letter, " the house well furnished with jellies and plate, whereof some be meete for the King's Majestic use." Some remains of the wall that enclosed the conventual buildings are yet standing, and without it, to the south-east, is a meadow still called the Convent Garden; in a field adjoining to which are the vestiges of several fishponds and stews. Another trace of this religious foundation may be found in a walic or ambu- latory called " Paradise," now used as a place of recreation for the scholars of Christchurch school. The principal entrance to the church is under a lai'ge porch, of the architecture of the fourteenth century, at the north- western extremity. The arches of the doorways were originally very beautiful. The square embattled tower M'hlch rises at the west end of tlie church was built by the Montacutcs, earls of Salisbury, in the 15tli century. It is worth while entering the church, if only for the sake of some curious ancient monu- ments to be seen within, especially one in alabaster of a knight and his lady, supposed to have been ercctotl to the memory of THE SOUTH COAST. 37 Sir John Chidiock, of Dorsetshire, who perished in one of the buttles of York and Lancaster. The monkish legend says that the buihling of this church was hastened by a mysterious supernumerary workman, who always appeared at the houi*s of labour, though he never was present to receive either food or pay. To finish the building a large beam was raised to a particular situation; but, after it had been raised, it was found too short. This occurred in the evening, and when the work- men returned to the church on the ensuing morning, they dis- covered that the beam had been placed in its right position, and that it now extended a foot longer than was necessaiy. They agreed, therefore, that this must have been supernatural agency, and gave that name to the church which it afterwards gave to the town. The miraculous beam is still shown. Ciiristchurch is one of the smaller boroughs which were per- mitted to I'eturn two members by the Keform Bill. The salmon and other fisheries, the breweries, the knitting of stockings, and the making of watch-springs, are the chief supports of the town, which has a population of about 5,000. There is a handsome hotel which commands a beautiful view of the sea, the Isle of Wight, and the Needles; and in the vicinity appears the site of a camp and entrenchments, with several tumuli and barrows. Leaving Clu-istchurch, and proceeding on the road to Lymington, ten miles farther, the coast-line assumes a bolder and more elevated character. To the right is a quaint, old fashioned village, called Hordwell, and beyond is Hardwell Cliff, rising about 150 feet above the level of the sea. We next come to Milford, a small village three miles from Ly- mington, and situated between that town and Hurst Castle Being opposite Alum Bay it affords some fine views of the Isle of Wight, and fi'om here it is worth while to deviate from the exact course and visit Hurst Castle, built at the extreme point of an extraordinary natural causeway that runs into the sea. From this little peninsula the Island and the Needles form a marine prospect, dreary, vast, and grand ; and, on a 38 THE NEW rOREST, AND dull day, there are few places more calculated to infuse into the mind a solemn feeling of awe and desolation. The castle consists of a round tower fortified by semi-circular bastions, and was among the strongest of those castles which were built by Henry VIII. Though still occupied as a garrison, it is but of little strength, and since Portsmouth has been guarded by a fleet, this place has been much neglected. The apartments are still shown where Charles I. was confined, when he was carried from the island, and very miserable they are. Looking at the dismal rooms provided, and the dreary aspect of the locality, it seems just the kind of place to make anybody regard a trial and execution as a pleasant change. A little farther on is Lymington, just at the point where the flat countiy we have been passing over from Christchurch descends to the river. The town occupies the brow and gentle descent of this falling ground, forming a handsome street, which overlooks the high ground on the opposite side of tlie river. Of late years the town has received considerable improve- ments, with a view to invite visitors during the bathing season. Three thousand pounds have been subscribed for the erection of baths, and a similar sum for the establishment of gas works. The chief miinufacture is that of salt, which some years ago was carried on to a considerable extent in the neighbour- hood. The parish church, dedicated to St. Thomas k Becket, contains a number of handsome monuments. Lymington has returned two members to Parliament since the reign of Eliza- beth. About a mile to the east of the town is "Wallhampton, a noble seat, affording extensive views, and containing in the grounds a magnificent expanse of water, twelve acres in extent. Two miles from Lymington to the north is Boldre, the village church of which was, for above twenty years, the scene of the pastoral labours of the Rev. William Gilpin, author of those admirable works on " Forest Scenery," and the pictu- resque, to which we have before made allusion. This eminent man and excellent minister died in 1804, and was buried in THE SOUTH COAST. 39 Boldre churchyard, where a plain tomb marks the grave of himself and wife. Boldre is an ancient village, being recorded in Doomsday Book by the name of Booreford. The church was in existence in the beginning of the twelfth century, and it still displays some interesting specimens of its original architecture, though parts of it, at subsecpient periods, have been altered. The north side appears to have been added about the time of King John, as on one of the windows are the arms of Louis, the Dauphin of France, who had been invited to England during that troublesome reign. The church is finely situated on an emi- nence to the north of the village, and the Parsonage House, at Vicar's Hill, overlooks a wide extent of beautiful scenery. The intermediate woods gently incUne towards the adjacent stream, which, widening as it proceeds, flows into the sea, at Lymington bridge. The profits which Mr. Gilpin derived from his pen and pencil were applied to the foundation of two parish schools, which adjoin each other, and are situated in an angle formed by the junction of two roads, one of which leads to Pilley, and thence to Boldre church, and the other to Vicar's Hill and Lymington. Li these schools twenty boys, and as many girls, " taken as far as can be out of the day- labouring part of the parish of Boldre," are clothed and edu- cated according to the direction of the founder. With a view to the permanent prosperity of these schools he sold most of his drawings; the first lot produced £1200, and the second, sold after his death, pursuant to his will, realised £1500. The whole of this sum was invested for the benefit of the children, and the future secure establishment of the blessings of educa- tion to the parish. Ascending the opposite bank called Rope Hill, to Battram- sley, we have a beautiful view of the estuary of the Lymington river, which, when filled with the tide, forms a grand sweep in the sea. It is seen to most advantage from 'le top of the hill, a few yards out of the road on the right. The valley through which the river flows is broad ; its screens are not lofty, but 40 THE NEW FOREST, AND well varied and woody. The distance is formed by the sea and the Isle of Wight. At Battramsley we join the London road, and from hence to Brockenhurst the Forest exhibits little more than a wild heath, skirted here and there with distant wood. Brockenhurst is a jileasant forest village, lying in a valley adorned with lawns, groves and rivulets, and surrounded on the higher grounds by vast woods. The best view is from the churchyard, where an expanded prospect opens over the whole. On the left rise the woods of Hinchelsea, and adjoining to these the woods of Rhinville, whilst in the centre are the high grounds of Boldre wood. The little speck just seen among them is the Summer House, erected by Lord Delawar. The old church of Brockenhurst is evidently of Saxon origin, and the font will particularly interest the antiquary; it is a very antique and curious piece of workmanship, evidently formed when the custom of total immersion was prevalent. Watcombe House, in Brockenhurst Park, was for three years the residence of the philanthropic Howard, whose memory is still cherished by the poor inhabitants of the neighbourhood. To the south- west of Brockenhurst there is a heath called Sway Common, over which various tumuli or barrows are scattered, and these are supposed to be coeval with the earliest encounters of the Britons and Saxons. The great avenue from Brockenhurst leads through the space of five or six miles. After we have mounted the summit of the hill, the close views in the descent on the other side are very beautiful, consisting of little woody recesses, open groves or open glades, varied as they were before in ditferent forms. The town of Lyndhurst makes a picturesque approach, and the delightful situation of Cuffnalls, a stately mansion to the left, strikes the eye with admiration, as thus traversing the finest part of the Forest we again reach the spot whence we first set out upon our woodland wanderings. From Lyndhurst the tourist can again return to Southampton, where we have one more pleasant jaunt in store, which may complete our survey of the Forest. THE SOUTH COAST. 41 From Southampton the tourist may cross the water by the fcny steam-boat to Ilythe, and thence proceed to Beaulieu Abbey, a distance of about five miles farther. Tlie country round is very woody, and thickly overspread with beech, which in the pannage season, beginning about the end of Sep- tember and lasting six weeks, furnish provender for thousands of hogs, that are here turned out for pasture. The river Beaulieu, taking its rise to the north-east of Lyndhurst, is an insignificant stream until it reaches the village on which it bestows its appellation, and here it expands into a lake covering many acres, and on the eastern side of which stands the Abbey. The old stone walls are in many places nearly entire, and finely mantled with ivy. It was founded for monks of the Cistercian order, in 1204, by King John, and its annual revenue at the dissolution was about £400. The visitor may still find remaining the apartments of the abbot, converted, aftci- the suppression of monasteries, into a family scat, and having a high vaulted hall ; a long building, which from its height and extent has been considered the dormitory ; and the ancient kitchen and refectory, which furnish agreeable evi- dence of olden hospitality. This refectory, a plain stone struc- ture, with massive buttresses, and a curiously constructed oaken roof, now forms the parish church. The old Abbey church is entirely demolished ; but there are still left somo traces of the cloisters, and a gateway leading to the area enclosed by them is still standing. The privilege of sanctuary was long possessed by this Abbey, and it is recorded to have been aftbrded to Margaret of Anjou and her son. Prince Edward, on their landing in England at the time of the battle (rf Barnet, and to Perkin Warbeck, after the failure of his attempted usurpation of the throne. The Knights Templars had also an hospital at Beaulieu, which they founded long before even the establishment of the Abbey. The ruins are now converted into farm buildings, and by many are mistaken for those of the Abbey. There is a striking difference, however, in their situation. The Abbey 42 THE NEW FOREST, AND ruins are in a swampy hollow, whilst those of the Hospital are about half-a-mile distant from the water, and on rising ground, which commands views of Hurst Castle, the Needles, Spit- head, and the towns of Yarmouth, Cowes, and Newport A very delightful excursion may be made on a summer's day by sailing down the river to Exbury, a distance from Beaulieu of rather more than three miles. Disembarking here, there is a fine walk of barely five miles to Calshot Castle, with a varied panorama of inland and marine scenery the whole way. Calshot Castle, like that of Hurst, was built by Henry VHI. for the defence of the coast, and it will be seen that it occupies a commanding position at the mouth of the Southampton Water. From Calshot we may proceed to Hythe back again by way of Fawley, or continue our excursion on to Dibden and Eling, and thence across the Southampton Water. Either way the route will be found fraught with everything that can gra- tify the eye and leave pleasurable impressions on the mind. When thousands are annually leaving our own shores for those of the Continent in search of scenic beauty, it is a matter of surprise and regret that the wild and romantic scenery of the New Forest, though now brought within so speedy a transit, should be, comparatively speaking, neglected and unexplored. There is one peculiarity sure to strike the ear of the Lon- doner ; he will find that the Hampshire dialect has a peculiar tendency to the corruption of pronouns by confounding their cases. This corruption prevails throughout the county, but it is in the neighbourhood of the New Forest that this Doric attains its highest perfection. Often will a pedestrian, musing among the monuments of an old churchyard, encounter some such touching elegy as the following: — Him shall never come again to we. But us shall surely one day go to he. And the conversational idioms of the peasantry are ver}' much after the same fashion. We allude particularly to these pro- THE SOUTH COAST. 43 vincialisms, for in making inquiries of the villagers in remote places, tlio replies would be in many cases incomprehensible without some such clue as that we have given. Before concluding we must particularly invite the attention of invalids and lovci's of marine pleasures to Bournemouth, one of the most delightful of sequestered watering-places, and of the future celebrity of which there can be no doubt. Dr. Gi'anville, who has proved himself to be an excellent autho- rity, gives Bournemouth the preference over all the bathing- places of the southern and western coast. It enjoys a most romantic situation in the centre of a fine bay between Christ- church and Poole, with inland prospects of the New Forest, and commanding sea-views of the Isles of Wight and Pur- beck. There is a fine firm sandy beach, and the cliffs on the north and east afford such shelter as to render this a most desirable retreat for the invalid during the winter months. To provide accommodation for the daily increasing number of Tisitors, hotels, assembly rooms, libraries, bathing establish- ments, and, in ghort, every accessory to the comfort and enjoy- ment of the frequenters, have been furnished on the most liberal scale, and nothing has been omitted to secure and retain that patronage it so freely receives, and has so justly deserved. The markets are well provided with fish, meat, and other comestibles, and the railway stations at Christchurch and Poole render every facility of access to or from the metropolis and Southampton. "We have thus endeavoured — as far as in ns lies — to make the reader acquainted with all that is necessary to be known in a ramble through this romantic haunt of Nature's loveli- ness; and as he reclines, like Jaques, under many an oak, Whose boughs are mossed with age, And high-top bald witli dry antiquity, we would have him remember this as our parting exhortation. As inns and houses where refreshments can be procured are not everywhere easily accessible, it is always advisable on a 44 THE NEW FOREST. protracted excursion through the forest — what a charm still lingers in the name, even for this age of railways — to be not unmindful of the " creature comforts," which to frail humanity are still essential. And be it remembered a pic-nic in the woods is a delightftil incident wherewith to diversify the erratic tendency of a summer day's ramble. Nay, the common- place refection of a cold veal pie carries with it a charm in the open air which may in vain be sought for amidst the heated atmosphere of our gastronomic temples in town, and the sharp champagny twang of the creaming bottled stout hath then a temptation perfectly irresistible. In such scenes and under such influences we have involuntarily brought before us the images of the sturdy outlaws of old, who were wont to enjoy their venison pasties and flasks of mellow malvoisie, under the spreading shades of the Sherwood elms; conjuring up before our mental vision the stalwart forms of Robin Hood and his " merry men all," and picturing them anew crouched " under the waving greenwood tree." But in these utilitarian days of solemn matter-of-fact and special constables it does not behove us to get too enthusiastic in their praise. The whole of the roads through the New Forest are delightful, and the rides and drives they yield are all sufficiently charm- ing in tliemselves ; but if one would thoroughly enjoy the full attractions of this sylvan spot, we must abjure the common and everyday path, and dive into the very depths of the Forest. We must wander about with Nature, hand in hand, from one wild and silent retreat to another, till the mind becomes filled with the exquisite woodland pictures on which it has luxu- riated, and the memory is stored with a thousand agreeable images on which it can afterwards dwell with delight. WEYMOUTH. EYMOUTH is now, by the branch of the South-Western Rail- way to Dorchester, brought within easy ^ reach of the metro- polis, and this only was wanted to give a stimulus to the mi- grating frequenters of the Southern Shores, who are now enabled to enjoy a sunset ort' Weymouth Bay, and yet — thanks to railway transit — be in time the same evening to relish a supper in the Strand. The towns of Weymouth and Melcombc Regis form opposite boundaries of the harbour, in the conveniences of wliich they had their origin, and, to terminate their mutual rivalry, they were, in the reign of Elizabeth, united into one borough. Of these t\vo Weymouth, deriving its name from the mouth of 46 WEYMOUTH. the Wey, is the more ancient, and was probably known to the Romans, as in the immediate neiglibom-hood there are evident traces of a vicinal way, leading from one of the principal landing stations connected with their camp at Maiden Castle to the Via Iceani, where the town of jNIelcombe Regis now stands. By the cliarters of Henry I. these ports, with their dependencies, were granted to the monks of St. Swithin, in Winchester, from whom, however, no legendary wet weather was happily bequeathed in return. In the year 1471, Margaret of Anjou, with her son. Prince Edward, landed at this port from France, to assist in restoring her husband, Henry the Sixth, to the throne of England. During the parliamentary war it shared in the usual broils and tur- moils of the time, having been alternately garrisoned by both parties. In 1644 it was evacuated by the royalists, on which occasion several ships and a great quantity of arms fell into the hands of the parliamentary forces, who obtained possession of it. Soon afterward an attempt at recovery was made by the royalists, but the garrison sustained the attack for ciglitcen days, and finally obliged them to raise the siege. From this time it sank from an opulent and commercial port to a mere fishing village, until, by the notice of Ralph AIleTi, of Prior Park, Bath, in 1763, and the repeated visits of George the Third and the royal family, with whom it was a most admired place of resort, the foundation was laid for its present prosperity. Nothing can be move striking and picturesque than the situation of this delightful watering-place. The town is built on the western shore of one of the finest bays in the English Channel, and being separated into two parts by the river, which forms a commodious harbour, it is most conveniently situated for trade. A long and handsome bridge of two arches, constructed of stone, with a swivel in the centre, was erected in 1820, and thus the divided townships enjoy a communica- tion. The town, especially on the Melcombe side of the harbour, is regularly built, and consists chiefly of two principal WETMOUTH. 47 Streets, parallel with each other, intersected with others at right angles; it is well paved and lighted, and is tolerably supplied with fresh water. Since the town has become a place of fashionable resort for sea-bathing, various handsome ranges of building, and a theatre, assembly-rooms, and other places of public entertainment, have been erected, and these are now rapidly extending and increasing in everj' direction. The principal of these are Bclvidcre, the Crescent, Gloucester- row, Royal-terrace, Chesterfield-place, York-buildings, Char- lotte-row, Augusta-place; and Clarence, Pulteney, and Devon- shire-buildings, arc conspicuous; to which may perhaps be added Brunswick -buildings, a handsome range of houses at the entrance of the town. From the windows of these buildings, which front the sea, a most extensive and delightful view is obtained, comprehending on the left a noble range of hills and cliffs, extending for many miles in a direction from west to east, and of the sea in front, with the numerous vessels, yachts, and pleasure-boats, which are continually entering and leaving the harbour. To the west of the harbour are the barracks, a very neat and commodious range of buildings. The Esplanade is one of the finest marine promenades in the kingdom. It is a beautiful terrace, thirty feet broad, rising from the sands, and secured by a strong wall, extending in a circular direction parallel with the bay for nearly a mile, and commanding a most beautiful panorama of the sea, cliffs, and the mountainous range of rocks by which the bay is enclosed. On the Esplanade is the Royal Lodge, where George the Third and the royal ftxmily resided, and here also will be found the principal public libraries, echoing with the dulcet strains of some experimental musician. The Theatre is a neat and well-arranged edifice, in Augusta- place, but it is seldom inconveniently crowded. Races are held early in September, and during their continuance a splendid regatta is celebrated in the bay, which has a fine circular sweep of two miles, and being sheltered by a conti- 48 WEYMOUTH. nuous range of hills from the north and north-east winds, the water is generally very calm and transparent. The sands are smooth, firm, and level, and so gradual is the descent towards the sea, that, at the distance of 100 yards, the water is not more than two feet deep. Bathing-machines of the usual number and variety are in constant attendance, and on the South Parade is an establishment of hot salt-water baths, furnished with dressing-rooms and every requisite accommo- dation. At the soutli entrance of the harbour are the higher and lower jetties, the latter of wliich is a little to the east of the former. The sea has been for a long series of years retiring from the eastern side of the harbour, and part of the ground over which it formerly flowed is now covered with buildings, other parts being enclosed with iron railings, which form a prominent feature on the Esplanade. On the Wey- mouth side are the Look Out and the Nothe, affording extensive and interesting prospects; on the latter is a battery, formerly mounted with six pieces of ordnance, wiiich, on the fort being dismantled, were removed into Portland Castle. Within the walls a signal post has been established, which communicates with several other stations, and apartments have been built for the accommodation of a lieutenant and a party of men. The bay affords ample facilities for aquatic excursions at any time, its tranquil surface being never disturbed except by violent storms from the south or south- west. Yachts and pleasure-boats are always in readiness, and the fares strictly kept under municipal supervision. No place can be more salubrious than Weymouth. The air is so pure and mild, that the town is not only frequented during the summer, but has been selected by many opulent families as a permanent residence; and the advantages which it possesses in the excellence of its bay, tlie beauty of its 8cenery, and the healthfulness of its climate, hare contributed to raise it from the low state into which it had fallen, from the depression of its conmiercc, to one of the most flourishing towns in the kingdom. WEYMOUTH. 49 About half a mile to the south-west are the remains of Weymouth or Sandsfoot Castle, erected by Henry VIII. in the year 1539, and described by Lcland as " a right goodly and warlyke castle, having one open barbicanc." It is qua- drangulai- in form; the north front has been nearly destroyed, the masonry with which it was faced having been removed; the apartments on this side are all vaulted, and appear to Irnve been the governor's residence; at the extremity is a tower, on the front of which were the arms of England. The south front is circular, and was defended by a platform of cannon, the wall of which now overhangs the precipice on which it was raised. On this side is a low building, broader tlian the castle, and flanking its east and west sides, in which are embrasures for great guns, and loop-holes for small arms. The walls in some parts are seven yards in thickness, but in a very dilapidated state, and rapidly crumbling away. The burning cliff at Weymouth — a kind of miniature volcano- has long attracted the notice of naturalists, and will well repay a visit. At Nottington — about two miles and a half distant, on the Dorchester road — is a mineral spring, the water of which is considered very efficacious in cases of scrofula. About four miles south from Weymouth is the island of Portland, which, though thus called, is in reality a peninsula, connected with the main land by an extremely narrow isthmus, called Chcsil Bank, a line of shingles thrown up by the sea, and extending for more than eight miles, from Port- land to Abbotsbury. It is not more than two miles broad and four long; and though the shores are steep and rugged, the surface of the soil at the summit is smooth, and yields wheat, oats, and barley of average quality. At the southern extremity, called Portland Bill, are the higher and lower lighthouses, and a signal station, called the " Lowes :" near the former is a remarkable cavern, from whicii the water rises as from a fountain. On the eastern side are Rufus and Pennsylvania Castles, and on the northern side arc Portland Castle and another signal station. Nearly in the centre of 50 AVEYMOUTH. the island is the little village of Easton, chiefly inhabited by the families of the men employed in the quarries. In the southern part of the island are the remains of an ancient castle, and the ruins of the old church, which formerly was in the centre. Behind the Portland Arms Inn — where, by the way, the original plum-pudding is made, after George the Third's verbal recipe (vide announcement over the mantel- piece) — there are some slight traces of a Roman encampment. The custom of gavelkind prevails here, and many curious practices are still preserved in this quaint nook of the Channel. The rocks in the isle of Portland rise frequently to the height of one hundred or one hundred and fifty feet, and large masses lie scattered along the shore. These are composed of calca- reous gi'it, containing moulds of various shells, and emitting a bituminous smell when rubbed with steel. The quarries are scattered among these rocks more or less in every part of the isle, but those of most repute are at Kingston. At this place is a pier, where upwards of six thousand tons of stone are supposed to be shipped annually. The colour of the Portland stone, or freestone, as it is called, from the freedom with wliich it may be broken into any shape, is well known as almost white, and as composing the materials of the most splendid edifices in London, as well as in other parts of the British empire. It was first brought into repute in the reign of James the First; and whilst the digging of it constitutes the principal employment of the inhabitants, the quarries have proved an inexhaustible source of wealth to the proprietors. In the island are found numerous fossilized trunks of trees, or rather their roots and lower parts, apparently broken oft'. A trip to the island is one of the most favourite excursions generally offered, among other temptations, to travellers, and will furnish materials for an interesting day's enjoyment. Indeed, this picturesque coast is unrivalled. The sea view is agreeably (diversified with grand and striking objects, to break the monotony that usually pervades a marine prospect. The coast of this part of Dorsetshire itself presents also grand and WEYMOUTH. 51 Striking points. St. Alban's Head and Tuhvorth C(we, with their bold and soaring clitts, are sublime and astonishing features in the vast picture that we look upon from hence. The surrounding country is full of castellated remains and interesting historical associations. In the neighbouring isle of Purbeck are the ruins of Corfe Castle, memorable for the assassination of King Edward the Martyr. Milton Abbey is even yet beautiful, under the decaying winters of many ages; and at Sherborne Castle there are many architectural I'rngmcnts that still attest the genius of the ill-fated but high-minded Raleigh, and a garden too whose shades, planted by his hand, now overlook and wave above those walls which once afforded them shelter, honour, and protection. The rides about Small- mouth Sands, Upway, and beyond the source of the river Wcy, are replete with picturcs(iue and ever-changing objects, and the beauty of the town itself is not a little enhanced by the remaining ruins of Weymouth Castle, a scanty relic of the troublous times of old. The latitude of Weymouth is one degree farther south than London, and many plants which require protection from the cold in the other parts of the country here flourish through the winter in the open air. The geranium grows luxuriantly, and recpiircs little care, and the large and small-leaved myrtle are out-of-door plants. Indeed, so salubrious is the climate, that Dr. Arbuthnot, who came in his early days to settle at Weymouth, observed that no physician could either live or die there. This, iiowever, savours more of flattery than fact, as present observation will fully testify. As a place for sea-bathing Weymouth is perfect, and the aiocommodation of about twenty or thirty machines, always ready, near the centre of the esplanade, greatly focilitates that operation. The sands over which the bathers have to walk are well known as of the finest description ; the declivity of the shore is almost imperceptible, and totally free from those obstructions which are noticed on many parts of the southern coast, 60 that the most timid can indulge in the lu.xury of open K 2 52 WETMOTJTH, sea-bathing, with the additional comfort of perfect security, and of sea-water pure, clean, and transparent. Neat and commodious warm salt-water baths wiU also be found on the South Parade, opposite the harbour. Altogether, it may be fairly asserted that a more interesting district to reside in than that which immediately sun'ounds tliis place is hardly to be met with in the south-west of England, whether in point of its geology, rural scenery, fine Tiews, extensive prospects, interesting antiquities, or grand and often palatial residences of the noble and the wealthy. A visitor spending his time at Weymouth need not complain that time hangs heavy on his hands, for he may find fiill and instructive occupation for every day of the period, without going over the same ground twice, if he has but energy, taste, and inclination, and should happen to enjoy that vigour and elasticity which a sojourn in any of the many comfortable boarding-houses fronting the bay will not be long in im- parting. The post-office arrangements are as follow : — Letters from London delivered at 9h. 30m. a.m.; box closing 4h. 15m. p.m. There has also been a day- mail recently added. " THE COUNTRY ROUND WEYMOUTH AND ITS QUARRIES. " If we take Weymouth bridge as a centre, and draw around it a circle of about eight miles radius, we shall find within that circle many striking contrasts. We shall have the thoughts drawn back to a period when the ancient Britons, or their priests, built mounds and earthworks, which — whether in- tended for defences, as some think, or rude temples, as others deem more probable — have remained to this day a marvel both to archaeologist and to peasant. We shall find the Roman period pictured to us by the amphitheatre, which has with- stood all changes. We shall see, in the old town of Dorchester, evidence of a spot which has known Romans, Saxons, and Normans, in succession, and still remains one of our southern cities. We shall see how, in Weymouth, by a dextrous adaptation of natural advantages, a small fishing village bias WEYMOUTH. 53 become a fiishionable watering-place. Wo shall obtain, in tbe Isle of Portland, an epitome of certain remarkable geological changes, and a glance at tbe mode in which building-stoues are obtained from the quarries. We shall have proof how inviting a harbour Nature seems to have formed between Pork- land and the main coast, and how splendid a haven of refuge this will become when tbe projected breakwater is completed. Lastly, we shall witness the strange sigiit of the bustling busj locomotive, rushing close past the Roman earth^vorks in one spot, and tunnelling beneath the British tumuli in another — a race, a contest, between tirae-enduring works and time- ajinihilating machines. All these features are to be met with in the circle whose limits are marked above. " The quarry itself is usually worked by a company of six men and two boys, whose pay in all cases dei)ends on th« quantity of good stone wrought or ' won,' in a given time, at a certain stipulated wages per ton. This being the condition, it follows that no money is earned by the quarrymen until the tliirty feet of rubbish and bad stone have been removed; and this removal, in the case of a new quarry, is said to occupy a space of three years, with the labours of six men and two boys ! The men must, therefore, either have a little store of accumulated earnings by them, or they must have money advanced on account by their employers, to support them until the good and merchantable stone is brought to light. The real arrangement is said to be as follows: — Ten shillings per ton is fixed by common consent, as the average price paid to the quarrymen for their labour; and this is supposed to include the value of all the preliminary work. The money thus earned is placed to the credit of the quarrymen ; and at the end of six months an account is made out and a balanc* determined. During the interval, the agents or stewards open cliandler's shops, from whence the men can purchase their provisions, on the credit of their forthcoming account. Tbe average wages of a quarryman are set down at about twelve shillings a week, if at full work; but there are many draw- backs from this sum. If it raia before nine in the morning, 54 WEYMOUTH. no work is to be done that day; if the wind be high, the dust in the quarries is so dangerous to his eyes, that he has to leave work; if the markets are dull, his labours are restricted to four days in the week; if a burial occur in the island, he is eKpected, by immemorial usage, to refrain from work during tlie rest of the day; if accidents occur, which ai"e very pro- bable, expenses of one kind or another follow— so that the real earnings are not supposed to reach ten shillings a-week, on an average. " Without entering minutely into the processes described by Smcaton, it may be interesting to trace the history of a block of stone till it leaves the island. First, the layers of surface- soil and rubbish are dug up, and carried in strong iron-bound baiTows, to be thrown over tlie fallow fields in the neighbour- hood. Some of the next layers are then broken up and removed, by picks and wedges, and carted away from tlie quarry, either to be thrown over the cliffs into the sea, or to be piled up in large mounds at a distance. When the roach is attained, the labour becomes more arduous, on account of the thickness and haixlncss of the mass. This is usually sepa- rated into blocks by blasting, in the following way:— A hole, nearly five feet in depth, by three inches in width, is drilled in the rock, vertically; this is filled at the bottom to the height of two or three inches with gunpowder, tiglitly rammed, and connected with a train on the outside; the train is fired, and an explosion follows, which splits the stone for several yards around into pcrpondicular rents and fissures. The masses included betweon these rents sometimes weigh as much as fifty tons; and yet the quarrymon manage to detach them from their places. This is done by means of screw jacks, which are pressed against the mass of stone in convenient positions, and worked by winches. The labour is immense and long- con- tinued, to move the block one single inch ; and when, as often happens, it has to be moved, by similar means, over a rough and crooked road, to a distance of a hundred yards, one can with difliculty conceive that the stone beneath can repay the quarrymea for such exhausting toLL" — The Land We Live in. T E a U A Y. MONGST the mysteries of modern move- ments may be fairly rankele." The first steamboat commenced running in 1819, at which time there were but two boats engaged in the transit ; now, upwards of thirty are constantly running in the summer, dis- embarking on an average eight thousand passengers per day. 152 GRAVESEND. By the Thames and Medway Canal, which, beginning at the eastern extremity of the town, joins the Medway below Strood, a tedious navigation of nearly fifty miles was avoided. It is about seven miles in length, with a tunnel two miles long, cut through an intervening hill. The Gravesend and Rochester railway now takes the same direction, and passes also through the canal tunnel, which is perfectly straight, and is lighted by a shaft near the centre. The trains run every hour throughout the day. Gravesend is the limit to the jurisdiction of the Custom- house, and all foreign vessels, or those trading from foreign ports, are here taken under the supervision of a Custom-house officer, who accompanies them to the parent office in London. At this part the Thames is a mile in breadth, the tide in its ebb and flow falling and rising about twenty feet. There are two despatches and deliveries of letters daily, letters from London being delivered at 7 a.m., and 1 p.m. ; box closing at 1 p.m., and 9 p.m. Numerous conveyances, at fares regulated by the local authorities, provide every facility for making excursions either on land or water, and steamboats and sailing vessels for pleasure excursions to Sheerness and Southend depart from one of the piers several times a- week. Leaving Gravesend we must not omit a passing notice of Tilbury Fort on the opposite shore, which, though not the most striking of our " national defences," possesses at least several features of historical interest. Tilbury Fort was built by Henry VIII. to rescue the towns on the river from such chances of invasion as were then pro- bable, and Charles IL considerably enlarged and strengthened it when the Dutch fleet sailed up the Medway in 1G67, and burned three men of war opposite Chatham. Some traces of the camp formed here to oppose the threatened descent of the Spanish Armada are yet visible at West Tilbury, where Queen Elizabeth by a spii-ited harangue inspired her army with dauntless courage, not however fated to be put to a very severe test. The fury of the elements conspiring with the brave attacks of our navy proved a final blow to their hopes of con- quest, and the remnant of the " Invincible Armada" was GRAVESEND. 153 miserably stranded on the Orkneys. Of the whole fleet, origi- nally consisting of one hundred and thirty vessels, with twenty thousand land forces on board, only fifty-three ships returned to Spain, and they were in a wretchedly shattered condition. Such recollections as these connected with the old fortress before us invest it with greater interest than its architectural aspect would seem of itself to claim. Continuing our way from Gravesend and Tilbury seawards, we may mention that the wide reach of the river here is called " The Hope," at the extremity of which we come to the Nore, and the mouth of the river, now about six miles in breadth. This junction of the Thames and the Medway with the ab- sorbing channel is distinguished by the Nore boat, which at night carries a beacon to guard mariners against a treacherous shoal which exists in the vicinity. The " Mutiny of the Nore," which took place here in 1797, has given to this place a pecu- liar celebrity. It was in the April of tliat year that the pro- ceedings of the seamen on board the Channel fleet first created an alarm, from a general mutiny for an advance of pay, and the redress of other alleged grievances. A convention of delegates from the various ships met in Lord Howe's cabin, and drew up petitions to the House of Commons and the Board of Admiralty. Upon these being acceded to, order was in some degree restored ; but the seamen on board the fleet off the Nore soon after broke out in a far more dangerous revolt, and on the refusal of their demands moored their vessels across the Tliames, threatening by these means to cut off all commu- nication between London and the sea. After much recrimi- nation on both sides the mutiny was at last suppressed by the Government, and Richard Parker, the principal delegate, and a man of considerable energy and talent, paid the forfeiture of resistance with his life, being run up to the yard-arm of the Sandwich on the 30th of June. The other ringleaders were likewise tried and executed for sedition. At the north-western point of the Isle of Sheppey, formed by an arm of the sea called "The Swale," is situated the busy shipping town of Sheerness, which in the reign of Charles II. contained but one small fort with twelve guns to defend the 154 SOUTHEND. passage — a force miserably inefficient. When the Dutch, in the year 1667, forced a fleet up the Medway, aud burned some vessels at Chatham, the place became then regularly fortified, and has since become so important a station for vessels as to render this part of the coast almost impregnable. Its dock- yard is one of the principal features, but the town itself, being chiefly situated in a swamp, is dirty and unhealthy. The trip from Sbeeruess up the Medway to Chatham, Rochester, Maid- stone, and Tonbridge, afibrds, however, a charming excursion, and renders this maritime i-endezvous a very eligible starting- point. Southend, on the Essex coast, nearly opposite to Sheerness, is a favourite watering-place with many ; and, though only of recent origin, possesses all the essentials to a fashionable marine resort. The company that assemble here in the season will be found more select than at Margate, but it suffers severely in Its climate when an easterly wind prevails. It is pleasantly situated on the undulating slope of a cultivated and well-wooded hill, commanding some extensive land and sea prospects. The upper road from Loudon passes through Rayleigh, Billericay, aud Romford ; the lower road passing through Stamford le Hope, Rainham, and Barking. A wooden pier, nearly a mile in length, enables passengers to land at low water, aud forms besides a pleasant promenade for those who love to enjoy the salubrity of the sea-breeze. The bathing accommodation is good, and a small tlieatre, together with a news aud music room, furnish their quota of amusement. The vicinity presents several temptations to the pedestrian, and though the surrounding scenery is not characterised by many striking landscapes, the prospects are varied and interesting. Southend is forty-two miles from London, and five from Roch- ford, having a communication with the metropolis by coach as well as by a steam-boat which leaves Loudon Bridge every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. The postal arrangements are — letters delivered 7 a.m. ; box closes 4 p.m. Leigh, a small fishing-town about three miles from South- end, was, some 800 years ago, celebrated for its fine grapes, rivalling those of Hamburg. It has none to boast of now, HERNE BAY. 155 but Hadleigh Castle, ia the vicinity, is a picturesque ruin, majestic even in its decay, wliicli will furnish a pleasing addi- tion to the sketch-book of the artistic rambler. Heme Bay, so named from the old village of Heme, about a mile and a half distant, -whicli was thus called from the number of Herons frequenting the coast at this point, was not twenty years ago more than a scanty collection of houses, irregularly built along the beach. It has now become a fashionable and somewhat populous watering-place, with long Hues of streets, many of tliem still unfinished, stretching out in every direction. In 1831, a pier from one of Telford's designs was commenced, and now presents an elegant and substantial structure, extending 3,G40 feet over the sands and sea. At the extremity are commodious flights of steps for the convenience of small vessels and passengers landing at low water, and a fine parade sixty feet in width and upwards of a mile in length has been formed on the adjoining shore. The air is very bleak but invigorating, and the sea purer, it is considered, than at Margate. A considerable portion of the adjacent land, and the very site of the town itself, was anciently covered by the waves, constituting the estuary which admitted the passage of the largest vessels, and divided the Isle of Thanet from the mainland. Mrs. Tliwaites, tlie widow of a wealthy London merchant, has proved a munificent benefactress to the town, for, in addition to having built and endowed two large charity schools, she has caused to be constructed also a clock tower, which serves the purpose of a lighthouse as well. A new church has been built in the centre of the town, with a chapel of ease and a dissenting chapel, and there is also an infirmary for boys from the Duke of York's military school at Chelsea. On the Parade is a large bathing establishment, with an ele- gant assembly-room adjoining, to which apartments for billiards, reading, Sec. are attached. Libraries and bazaars have also been recently introduced in the usual number and variety. The old village church, with its embattled roof and square tower, is a spacious edifice, comprising a nave, two aisles, and three chancels. The post leaves at G 30 p.m.; letters delivered at 8 a.m. 156 HBBUa BAY. Steam-boats ply daily between London and Heine Bay in the season, and coaches run twice a-day to Canterbury, about nine miles distant, whence the South-Eastern Railway affords a speedy medium of communication with the metropolis. It is fifteen miles westward from Margate, four miles westward from the Reculvers, the twin towers of an old church now used as a lighthouse and sea-mark, and about the same distance eastward from Whitstable, which is likewise in railway com- munication with Canterbury. WALTON, HARWICH, AND THE WATEEING-PLACES OF THE ESSEX COAST. I FTER leaving Southend, already described, and passing the adjacent pro- montory of Shoebury Ness, the voyager towards the north sees upon the Essex coast only a dreary suc- cession of flat, swanapy pastures, and a few scat- tered rocks, thinly crowned with the commonest vege- tation. There is nothing I in the way of the pictu- resque to attract the eye, and therefore should the track of a steamer not [allow the coast line to be continually present to the view, it will be the less regretted when we call to mind its level, fenny character, and absolute poverty of prospect. Turning Foulness Point, we may indeed stop to remind the 158 WALTOX. tourist that here, where the river Crouch pours it^ slender stream into the German Ocean, is situated the little marine Tillage of Burnham, where oysters are carefully preserved and fed for the London market, and where the " real natives," that so delight the epicurean palate of the oyster-eater, are cultivated on a large scale for home and foreign consumption. There is nothing in the village itself to require description, but a cursory glance at the famous oyster-beds within its limits may be neither uninteresting nor out of place. In both England and France the season for oyster-fishing is restricted by the law. In the former country, the time allowed for col- lecting the spawn from the sea is May, when the dredgers may take all they can procure, but after that month they are liable to be convicted of felony if they disturb it, and are only allowed to take such oysters as are the size of half-a-crown. The spawn, or sjiat, as it is technically called, is dredged up at Burnham, and, if not too small, they separate it from the shells and stones to which it is adhering, and these they are obliged again to throw into the wafer, to prevent the beds being destroyed. The spat is thrown into creeks or into shal- low waters along the shore, to increase in size and fatten, and in such situations is considered private property. The most destructive animal in an oyster-bed is the sea-star, which clasps its rays round the shell and perseveres till it has sucked out the inhabitant. The mussel is said to be another enemy. The oyster frequently contains shining intestinal worms, which may be seen by opening the shell in the dark. The fish is viviparous, and the young are produced with a perfectly- formed shell. They are, when first emitted, quite transparent, and swim with great quickness by means of a membrane extending out of the shell. So small are they in this state, that Leeuwenhoeck computed that one hundred and twenty of them in a row would extend only an inch, and consequently a globular body, whose diameter is an inch, would, if they were round, be equal in size to one million seven hundred and twenty-eight thousand of them. The vulgar opinion, and that on which the restraining laws have been framed, is that the period of spawning is May, at which time the spawn is WALTON. 159 found adhering to the rocks ; but as the young are found in the parents perfectly formed and alive in the month of August, this is most probable the period of parturition, though it be not till May that they become fixed or sufficiently grown to be seen by the common observer. At this time they are little larger than a fourpenny piece, and being comparatively hard and firm, have been well compared to a drop of candle-grease in water. In two, or at farthest three years, they are fit for the table. The age to which it attains is probably great, but, after having arrived at its full size, the valves are thickened instead of being increased in length or breadth. From AFay to July the male and female oyster are said to be " sick," and are in thin and poor condition, but by the end of August they have again recovered, and are then fat and in season. The fishermen distinguish the sexes by the colour of the fringe, that of the male being black or dark-coloured, and that of the female white. Sand is as prejudicial to them as a mixture of fresh water is advantageous. Of the quantity consumed in England we have no statistics that are either certain or con- tinuous. In 1844 the quantity bred and taken on the Essex coast, and consumed chiefly in the metropolis, amounted to thirty thousand bushels, but the yearly quantity is subject of course to very great fluctuations. The consumption at Paris is estimated at one million dozen annually, selling on the average at six sous per dozen. The oyster trade at Burnham is the chief means of maintenance, not only to those who reside about the place, but to nearly one-half of the population on the adjacent coast, Bradicell, Mersea, and Brightl'mgseo., next passed, are too Insignificant in size, and too deficient in accommodation, to rank as places of marine resort, though they are severally in close vicinage to the German Ocean. In fact, as before hinted, the shore about here is not very inviting to bathers, the rocky declivities being covered with treacherous entangle- ments of sea- weed, and the shoals afibrding a basis of more mud than sand. The damp exhalations, too, arising from the marshy nature of the land, render the climate not favourable for a long sojourn, and agues and fevers are not seldom IGO WALTON. attendants upon the inhabitants of a locality so badly drained and so unfavourably situated. The appellations of Great Holland and Little Holland, given to two parishes adjoining the sea at this part, are sufficient in themselves to describe the general character of the district, and it is not until we reach Walton — which is now to the summer visitors of Essex what Margate and Ramsgate used to be to the rambling citizens of London — that we meet with anything worth describing, or really come to a picturesque spot that has in it the necessary elements of attraction. Walton-le-Sohen, or, as it is now more harmoniously called, Walton-on-the-Naze, is a rapidly-improving watering-place, which, as it becomes better known, will be more frequented. Its peculiar appellation of " Soken" was derived from some exclusive privileges formerly granted to certain refugees from the Netherlands, who here established themselves, and in- troduced several manufactures, particularly that of cloth. Adjoining the old hall is a square tower, built by the corpo- ration of the Trinity House, as a mark to guide ships passing or entering the port of Harwich, and on other parts of the coast are two martello towers and a signal station. The church of All Saints was erected and consecrated by Bishop Porteus about forty years ago, the ancient structure having a few years before been entirely swept away by the tides, as well as the churchyard, and every house but one of the old village. In the clay base of the Walton cliffs fossils and elephant tusks, with antediluvian remains of gigantic animals long since extinct, are frequently found embedded. The beach presents a gradual declivity, affording excellent facilities for bathing, and as the ebb tide leaves a fine firm sand several miles in extent, it is also peculiarly available as a promenade. The promontory at Walton, called the Naze or Ness, which juts northward into the ocean, formerly extended much farther into the sea, and the ruins of buildings have been discovered under the water at a considerable distance, particularly on a shoal called West Rocks, nearly five miles from the shore, which is left dry during great ebbs. The wall thrown up to WALTON. 161 keep out the sea gave name to Walton parish. In the church at Thorpe, the adjacent parish, between the pillars of the south aisle, is the figure of a kniyjlit cross-legged, apparently of the age of Henry III. or Edward I. On his left arm is a shield; his head rests upon a cushion, and his feet on a lion couchant; above is a shield of arms, said to be those of Sal- herghe. This figure is traditionally reported to be a former owner of Landiner Hall, a manor in this parish. Between Walton and Harwich are several small islands formed by the sea: one of these, called Pewit Island, derives its name from the great number of pewits that harbour there. Before leaving Walton, the visitor will find that notwith- standing the inhabitants have, of late years, endeavoured to infuse a spirit of liveliness and gaiety into the amusements oi the place, the intrinsic attractions are of a very circumscribi d nature, and the libraries, the lodging-houses, and the hotels, are the only refuge against the attacks of dulness usually engendered by a solitary stroll in a quiet seaport town. It is advisable, therefore, to take an early opportunity of making excursions in the neighbourhood, and a trip to Colchester is one of the most alluring from its short distance. Colchccter, with which a constant communication is main- tained by coach, is not more than seventeen miles distant from Walton, and the ruins of the old Castle, with the crumbling walls of the ancient Priory of St Boiolph, form a great attrac- tion to lovers of antiquity. The railway also offers a speedy mode of transit hence to the metropolis, and tlius the visitor can have his choice either of a land journey to Walton by the Eastern Counties, via Colchester, or take a pleasant voyage thither, by one of the Ipswich steam-boats, which generally call off Harwich and Walton-on-the-Naze to receive and dis- embark passengers. The postal arrangements are : — Letters delivered 7 30 a.m. ; box closes 3 p.m. The air is generally very keen, but the climate is considered dry and bracing, and favourable to strong constitutions. The weekly market is well provided with the essentials to tlie table, and from the rajjid strides made during the last ten years in improving and beautifying the town, erecting commodious mansions, and 162 HARWICH. administering in every possible way to the comforts and convenience of visitors, there is every reason to regard this as one likely to be the most popular destination of our eastern excursionists. At the north-eastern extremity of the county, and on a point of land bounded on the east by the sea, and on the north by the estuaries of the Stour and Orwell, is situated Haricich, which, with many, is a favourite and admired place of summer residence. By the road it is seventy-two miles from London. The name is derived from the Saxon words here, an army, and tvich, a castle or foundation, from which it has been supposed that a Saxon army n-as here stationed to prevent the descent of invaders. In the Snxon Chronicle occui'3 the earliest hi>torical notice relating to this neighbour- hood, whei'e a battle is mentioned to have been fought at the mouth of the Stour, between the fleet of King Alfred and sixteen Danish ships in the year 885. The Danes were com- pletely defeated, and every sail taken, but the English were soon afterwards worsted in a second engagement of a more formidable kind. It was not until after the Conquest that Harwich attained any importance as a town. Its first considerable increase arose from the decay of Orwell, which is lecorded to have stood on the West Rocks, and to have been overwhelmed by the action of the sea, together with a large tract of land adjoining. As vve have previously mentioned in our account of Walton, these vestiges of a buried city are still said to be occasionally visible in certain localities, and, to paraphrase a well-known legendary verse, even here — " On the West Roclt banks as the fisherman strays. In the clear cold eve's declining, He sees the round towers of other days In llie waves beneath him shining." But to continue our history of Harwich : — Here it was that, in 13"2G, Prince Edward, and Queen Isabel his mother, landed from Hainault with a force of 2,750 soldieis, and, being joined by several of the nobility, and headed by the Duke of JVorfolk, HARWICH. 163 fhen lord of the manor and resident in the town, proceeded to Bristol to make war against the king. In 1338, the same prince, then Edward III., embarked from this port with a fleet of 500 sail on his first expedition against France, and in the year following the French made an unsuccessful attempt to retaliate by setting fire to the town with eleven galleys. In 1340, the French navy, consisting of 400 ships, having been stationed at Sluys in Flanders, to intercept the king's passage to France, Edward assembled here his naval forces, and sailing on Midsummer eve, encountered and vanquished the enemy in a closely-contested engagement, which resulted in the cap- ture of 30,000 of their men and the destruction of one-half of their ships. In some of the naval engagements between the English and the Dutch, in the reign of Charles II., the con- tending parties approached so near to the town as to render their marine manoeuvres visible to spectators on the clifiB. In 1543, Henry VIII. visited Harwich; and in 1558, prepa- rations were made there for the reception of Philip King of Spain, on his arrival to celebrate his nuptials with Mary Queen of England. In 1561, Queen Elizabeth was magnifi- cently entertained here by the corporation, who escorted her as far as the windmill on her return. When Harwich was fortified against the Dutch in 1666, Charles II., having pro- ceeded from Newmarket to Landguard Fort, sailed hither in liis yacht, accompanied by the Dukes of York, Monmouth, Richmond, and Buckingham, and, with others of his suite, attended divine service at the parish church; in the evening the whole party embarked for Aldborough, whence they pro- ceeded by land to Ipswich. William III., George I., and George II., visited Harwich on their respective tours to the Continent, and the Princess of Mecklenburg Strelitz landed at this port on her arrival in England to celebrate her nuptials with King George III. On the 16th of August, 1821, the remains of Queen Caroline, consort of George IV., were brought to this place, whence they were conveyed by the Glasgow frigate to be interred at Brunswick ; and since that period there has been nothing of interest to record in relation to Harwich. 164 HARWICH. The foundations of the castle and fortifications, by which the town was defended, were seen previously to the encroach- ments of the sea, at an extraordinary ebb of the tide in 1784, b«t of its ancient walls and gates, with the exception of a very small portion, serving to indicate their former strength, the memorial is preserved only in the record of the tolls levied in the reign of Edward III. for their repair. The hot and cold baths, arranged with a view to provide the bather with every accommodation, are filled from a large reservoir of sea-water, by which means it is supplied in a purer condition than at most places. On the east the harbour is protected by the isthmus on which the town is built, verging towards the north, and on the west by a similar projection of the coast towards the south. The buildings in the most ancient part of the town are perhaps more picturesque than convenient, but latterly some handsome terraces have sprung up, that render luxurious and elegant apartments by no means difficult of attainment. Though of unequal depth, the harbour and the bay together form a capacious roadstead for the largest ships of war, one hundred of which were assembled here during the war with Holland, in tlie reign of Charles the Second, in addition to their attendant vessels, and thi'ee or four hundred colliers. To make the entrance into the harbour by uight more easy and less dangerous, two lighthouses were erected, under letters patent of Charles II., and furnished with patent lamps, prior to building which that object was curiously effected by burning a blazing fire of coal and six one-pound candles in a room with a glazed front over the piincipal gate at the south entrance into the town^ These friendly beacons guide vessels off from a treacherous sand-bank called " The An- drews," forming a bar across the entrance to the harbour from Landguard Fort to the " Rolling Grounds," from which the passage leading into good anchorage is safe. The esplanade and the stone quay, near the Kghthouses, at thg eastern end of the town, are both favourite promenades. A fine spring of clear water formerly issued from the cliff between the beacon and the town ; it was much esteemed for HARWICH. 165 its medicinal property, and possessed a petrifying quality, turning the blue clay which fell from the cliff into btone suffi- ciently hard for paving and building : it is noticed at some length in the " Philosophical Transactions" for the year 16G9. Immediately opposite Harwich is Land/juard Fort, a very strong fortification, erected in the reign of James I. for the better security and defence of the harbour. The fort is built upon a point of land united to Walton-Colness, but it is so surrounded by the sea at high water as to become an island nearly a mile from tlie shore. An excursion from Harwich up the river Orwell to Ipswich is one of tl>e most delightful aquatic trips that can be imagined. The banks of the river present throughout the richest sylvan scenery, and the sub- limity of the old forest trees, and the beauty of the occasional Ismdscapes seen through openings in the foliage, are such as to render a comparison with a miniature Rhine by no means so hyperbolical as some might conceive in the fulness of their contempt for English streams. Tp.ncich, with its odd angular streets, planned apparently after the model of Rosamond's Labyrinth, is also, to those who have yet to become acquainted with this old-fashioned Saxon town, a place well worthy of being the point of destination to an excursion aflFordiug such varied elements of attraction. Quantities of amber, and, according to some, ambergris, are occasionally found on the shore, and in the vicinity of Landj^uard Fort transparent pebbles are easily obtained, wliich were formerly set in rings by the inhabitants. Fossils, too, are abundantly to be met with in Harwich cliff, and those who delight in gathering shells, and other marine treasures, as memorials of a visit to the coast, may here gratify their pleasant propensity to their heart's content. The air is considered highly salubrious, and though much exposed to easterly winds, Harwich has some excellent sheltered situa- tions, which, to the invalid, afford even a genial retreat, especially to those anxious to inhale the breezes of the coast without being too much inconvenienced by the boisterous turbulence of the elements. The inns and hotels are, for the most part, reasonable in their charges, and the market is well 166 DOVER COUHT. supplied with comestibles. The letters from London are delivered at 7 30 a.m. ; box closes 6 p.m. The annual fairs take place on the 1st of May and the 18th of October. According to local tradition, the outlets of the Stour and the Orwell were anciently on the north side, through Walton Marshes, in Suffolk, and the place called the Fleets was a part of the original channel. This is not improbable, as the strength of the land floods have effected great changes along the coast. Dover Court, about a mile to the south-west of Harwich, was for several centuries greatly celebrated for a miraculous rood or crucifix attached to the church, which, from its sup- posed sanctity, attracted many visitors and pilgrims. Its power was thought to be so great, that the vulgar imagined any attempt to close the church-doors upon it would be at- tended with sudden deatli ; they were therefore left open night and day. This fancied security proved fatal to three mis- judging but well-meaning men, who, together with a fourth companion who escaped, entered the church by night in the year 153'2, and removed the rood to the distance of a quarter of a mile, where they burnt it, being prompted to this action by a wish to prevent the idolatrous worship paid to it by the Catholics. For this act, denominated felony and sacrilege, they were condemned to die, and were hanged at different places in this part of the county. YARMOUTH, CROMER, LOWESTOFT, AND THE WATERING-PLACES OF THE NORFOLK AND SUFFOLK COAST. ARMOUTH, Cromer, and Lowestoft • — the tliree principal marine attrac- tions on tiie eastein coast of England te — are too easily accessible by tlie ._ railway to render distance from tlio '^^^^ metropolis any longer an impediment to their being speedily reached, and ^ too full of charms for the lover of s;- the picture.-que to be easily forsaken when once a tourist has exposed 168 YARMOUTH, himself to the powers of their fascination. For convenience of description, we shall commence with the principal of the three, and then proceed to describe the quieter features of Cromer and Lowestoft, either of which will form ii pleasant excursion from the ancient fishing town which first engages our attention. Oi'iginally occupying ground covered by the sea, a bank of sand was once tlie site of the present thriving seaport, whereon a few straggling fishermen one day settled, and the first of whom, denominated Fuller, has left his name insepa- rably associated with the higher portion, still known as Fuller's Hill. The bank — from the deposits of that sea which had originally run upon it, and caused it to give a check to navi- gation — waxed larger with every tide; and, as it increased in density and extent, so increased the population upon it. At ■ last, in 1040, tlie channel of the northern branch of the Yare, on which the first settlers fixed their habitations, became choked with sand, and they then removed further to the south. Thirty years after this it was mentioned in the royal statute- book as a king's demesne, having seventy burgesses, and from that period the river bestowed its name permanently on the town, and Yarmoutli was a recognised borough. Henry III., at the special request of the inhabitants, granted them a charter, and allowed them to enclose the town on the land side with a wall and moat ; the former was 2,240 yards in lengtli, and had sixteen towers and ten gates. A castle, having four watch-towers, and upon which a fire- beacon was placed in 1588, was also built about this time in the centre of the town ; in the last-named year a mound, called South Mound, was thrown up, and crowned with heavy ordnance, and the place was then considered im- pregnable. In 10-21, the castle was demolished, and further defences being rendered neces>ary, strong parapets were con- structed in front of the town, and the circuit thus fortified was nearly two miles and a half. However, there was ultimately not mucli occasion for this formidable display, as the only military action in which the inhabitants were ever engaged was that in which Kett was gallantly repulsed, wlien, YARMOUTH. 169 at the head of 20,000 men, he attempted to take the town by storm. Yarmouth is now subdivided into eisjlit wards. Tlie streets are uniformly in the direction of north and south, except two at the extreme ends, which are in an opposite point, east and west, and a noble and spacious opening in the centre of the quay, leading to the market, named Regent-street, which was completed in 1813, at an expense of nearly £30,000, adds much to the beauty and convenience of the place. The streets are joined by narrow rows of alleys, running parallel from ea-^t to west ; there are 156 of these rows, in wliicli the houses are built extremely close. This singularity of plan evidently resulted from endeavouring to fix as large a population as possible within tiie narrowest limits, in order to facilitate the security of the whole by fortification. Whether the Sanitary Commissioners have not been required here many years ago may be a matter of historical discussion, but we are happy to see in the more modern parts a liberal admission of light and air has been secured, which cannot fail to have a most bene- ficial effect on the inhabitants of these crowded districts. Yarmouth, though containing a population of 27,949 souls, forms but one parish, and the old church of St. Nicholas is thus, not unnecc8s;irily, the lai'gest parochial edifice in the kingdom. Its original foundation is attributed to Herbert de Lozinga, the first Bishop of Norwich, in the reign of William Rufus, who appropriated it to the monks and prior of the Holy Trinity. It is a perpetual curacy, with the appropriation of great and small tithes, and at the dissolution the patronage devolved to the dean and chapter of Norwich, with whom it now remains. This noble and interesting edifice is situated near the north entrance of the town by the Norwich-road, and although it has undergone many injudicious repairs, when considijred in regard to its appearance and external effect, it still retains the characteristic features of the architecture of the reign of Henry III. The building comprises a nave and two aisles, which latter are larger, in regard to heiglit and breadth, than the body, but do not exte-.id so far eastward. The greatest length of the church from east to west is 230 feet, 170 YARMOUTH. and the breadth, including the aisles, is 108 feet. The'spire is 168 feet high, and was erected in 1683. Besides a fine toned organ, built by Muller in 1733, the church boasts of a peal of bells, and there are some noticeable monuments, among which may be mentioned one to the memory of John Carter, an intimate friend of Cromwell's, and one commemorative of Mrs. Bridget Bendisii, daughter of General Ireton,and grand- daughter of the Protector. Among some other crumbling relics of the olden time tliat will attract attention may be pointed out the remnants of the old town wall, gates, and towers. The " Star " Inn was the residence of the Lord President Bradshaw, who presided at the trial of Charles I., and vestiges of the Commonwealth are frequently to be met with in the more antique neighbourhoods. Many fragments, too, remain of the old houses for friars, " white, black, and grey," the several orders of which seem to have thrived here marvellously during the fifteenth century, if one may judge fiom the many traces we constantly find of their progress through Norfolk, The stranger, however, wlio sees everything new about him and around him, will doubtless feel more inclined to explore the modern attractions of the town first, and then bestow his regard upon the remnants of old, and to this end we now tender our assistance as a cic'Tonc. The principal object of attraction to visitors in tliis town is its unrivalled commercial quay, which, for length, breadth, and extent, is considered superior to any other in England. In particular places it is one hundred and fifty yards in breadth, and upwards of a mile in length. It is almost equally divided into two parts, north and south, extending each way from the bridge, but it is to the south quay where tlie largest Bhips resort, and where the greatest traffic is carried on. la the centre is a promenade, planted on each side vvitli a row of fine trees, and enclosed on the east by a range of handsome dwellings. Among tliem is one remarkable as having been the temporary abode of Oliver Cromwell, and amongst the fine Elizabethan rooms still remaining may be seen that in which the death of Kitig Charles I. was resolved upon. A cart of singular construction, adapted to the narrowness of the YARMOUTH. 171 rows of this place, and used in no other town in England, deserves mention, as it will be sure to attract the eye of the stranger by its singularity. The haven is capable of great improvement, being now materially affected by the action of the sea. In addition to the pier at the haven's mouth, the jetty upon the beach, erected in 1808, is a convenient structure to seamen and others engnged in commercial pursuits. It extends into the sea upwards of four hundred and fifty feet, and is com- posed of strong oaken piles driven into the soil and braced together. The platform, surrounded by a substantial railing, is twenty-one feet in width, aud in fine weather is re^iUy a very pleasant promenade. It was completed in a twelvemonth, at the cost of £5,000. Though Yarmouth- roads, on the east side of the town, form a celebrated anchorage, and ai'e the chiefrendezvousof the colliers between Newcastle and London, and other merchantmen, which are constantly passing and repassing, still this part is particularly noted for being one of the most fatal and dangerous to navigation on the British coast. In IG91, it is recorded of a fleet ot 200 sail of light colliers that 140 were here lost ; at another period above 1,000 souls perished, and a similar misfortune happened in October, 1789. Happily, since then, improved charts, better attention to lighthouses, and Captain Manby's excellent inventions, have succeeded in materially lessening the chances of a recurrence of such calamities. A brief glance at the ri>e and progress of the herring fi.-hery, so associated with the town, cannot be here out of place. In 1265, the Dutch, according to Selden, obtained permission to fish at Yarmouth, and this perhaps gave tlie first hint of turning the fish to a profitable commercial account. In 1798, there were eighty boats employed in the Yarmouth fishery, viz., from Lowestoft twenty-four, Yarmouth sixteen, and Yorkshire forty. In 1833 Mr. Thomas Hammond stated before a committee of tiie House of Commons, that the number of boats was then 100 sail, and tliat during the herring fishery between forty and fifty sail were engaged from York- shire. The average burden of these vessels was from forty to 172 YARMOUTH. fifty tons, and including the cost of supplying the Yorkshire boats with nets, it was estimated that a capital of £-250,000 was thus employed. In fact, Yarmouth owes its very existence to the herring fishery, and a herring fair was held there at a very remote period. This fair was regulated in the reign of Edward III. by a law called the "Statute of Herrings." Vessels coming from any part of England may fish upon the coast, and bring their herrings into Yarmouth without paying any dues or toll. The average value of the Yarmouth fishing- boats, completely fitted for the sea, may be estimated at £600 each; some of the largest cost near £1,000. A single boat has been known to bring in twelve and even sixteen lasts* of herrings at one time : a last is ten barrels, or 10,000 hen-ings, and wlien cured are worth about £22. From the latest inquiries, made in 1848, it would appear that there are now about 164 boats, and nearly 3,000 men here engaged in the fishery. Tlie produce is estimated to be 100,000 barrels yearly, of which a great part is sent to the London market. The mackarel fishery also produces about £15,000 a-year; besides which, turbot, soles, scate, whitings, cod, eels, and shrimps, are caught off the coast in great abundance. Should any neces>ity arise for magisterial interference, all maritime causes are heard and adjudicated in the Admiralty Court, where the mayor presides as judge and admiral. The last Admiralty sessions were held here in 1823, when two men were convicted of piracy. This power is derived from a charter granted by Queen Elizabeth, and confirmed by James I., who defined the jurisdiction to be from Winterton JS'ess, in Norkfolk, to Eastou Ness, in Sufl"olk. By the same act shipowners are also exempted from paying harbour dues at Dover, Rye, Ramsgate, and otlier places on the coast. The Norfolk Naval Column, intended to perpetuate the brilliant victories and fame of the gallant Nelson, stands nearly in the centre of the Yarmouth Denes, and was erected • A last of white herrings, delivered out of a flshing-boat, contains 13,200. Not more than 750 or 800 are now put iuto a barrel for the home, and about 950 for the foreign marlcets. i YARMOUTH. 173 by the contributions of his countrymen of Norfolk, under tlie direction of Mr. Wilkins, the architect. On the loth of August, 1817, was laid the fir..m., but letters can be posted a quarter of an hour after the box is closed on payment of one penny, and till the second quarter of an hour on payment of twopence. Letters are delivered at H a.m. and 6 p.m. Loioextoft, wliich is 10 miles to the south of Yarmouth, and 114 from London, is throned upon a lofty eminence com- manding a fine view of the German Ocean, and occupies the most easterly point of land in England. Tiie shore being a fine hard sand peculiarly adapted to batliers, is one of its most recommendatory features, and the superadded attractions of a theatre, public library, assembly-room, and scientific institu- tion, arc additional allurements to visitors. A branch from the Eastern Counties Railway at Reedham Station conducts the traveller into the very heart of the town, the terminus at Lowestoft being conveniently situated close to the harbour. The well-paved and gas-lit streets give assurance of the respectable company that frequent the pla-je, and furnish tolerable evidence of the prosjjerity of the inhabitants, wliicli the lively appearance of the shops and the busy air of traffic LOWESTOFT. 175 tliat pervades the chief thoroughfare is not calculated to dispel. There is a fine Towa Hall and Market Cross, and the schools and ancient charities — to which modern ones have been lately added — are unusually numerous, and testify to the excellent intentions of the founders. By an old charter the inhabitants enjoy the privilege of exemption from serving on juries, either at the assizes or sessions. The antiquity and beauty of St. Margaret's Church, situated westward of the town, have been much admired, and the height of the tower and steeple being 145 feet, it is no incon- siderable olvject seen from a distance. A rather handsome Gotliic edifice, as a chapel of ease, was built in addition a few years back, and there are cliapels for Dissenters of every deno- mination. Within the last year a new harbour has been constructed, which is more capable of affording protection and security for sliipping; the breadth of the basin is about 800 feet, and tlie whole area occupies nearly fifteen acres. There are two piers, forming excellent landing places for goods, as well as pleasant promenades. The one on the north side runs 780 feet into the sea, and the other on the south side extends nearly 1,200 feet. Here tlie visitor may enjoy a sight which he will see on no other part of England's coast — the sun rising from the sea in the east, and setting also in the sea in the opposite quarter. To the north of the town, jutting out on a little point of land, is the lighthouse, originally erected in lf)76, and partly rebuilt by ordt-r of the Trinity Brethren in 1778. To meet the changes wliich are constantly occurring in the situation of the sands, there is a frame of wood attached which can be removed at pleasure. There is an excellent market every Wednesday, and annual fairs are held on the 13th of May and the 11th of October. The herring fishery, wliich begins about a fortnight before Michaelmas and lasts till Martinmas, is the chief source of emolument to the town. In the centre of the lligh-^t^eet are some vestiges of a "religious house," comprising the remains of a curious Norman arch and cellars, with groined arches, evidently part of an ancient crypt. Convejances to Yarmouth and the adjoining towns are in 176 CROMER. constant readiness, and the extension of the railway furnishes a speedy communication with the metropolis. The Post-office is in High-street: London letters arrive, per mail, twelve minutes past five in the morning, and are despatched thirty- seven minutes past seven in the evening. Cromer, on the extreme north-easterly point of the Norfolk coast, is 22 miles from Norwich and 130 from London. The town, which only within the last half cen- tury has become a fashionable watering-place, is sheltered on three sides by an amphitheatre of liills, partly covered with wood, presenting a scene of romantic and varied beauty, with a bold expanse of ocean before it. Though Cromer is defended by cliffs of considerable height, upwards of twenty houses have at different times, in the memory of man, been precipitated into the tide, while the town of Shipden, with its church dedi- cated to St. Peter, which lay between this place and the sea, has wholly disappeared, excepting some masses of walls sup- posed to have belonged to the chuich. This incursion of the ocean took place in the time of Henry IV. In 18'25 and 1832, large portions of the cliff were undermined and rolled into the sea, so as to endanger the old lighthouse ; and in 1845, tlie jetty was completely washed away. To stop these inroads of the waves several projects were formed, from time to time, and at last, through the spirit and enterprise of the inhabitants, a successful resistance has been apparently made, the year 1847 seeing the completion of this great marine barrier. To secure the necessary powers an act of parliament was obtained in 1845, and a new jetty and breakwater have been since completed, together with a sea-wall and e.-planade, which have thus recently involved an expenditure of nearly £10,000, but by which the beauty and attractions of the town have been considerably increased. The present church is presumed to have been erected in the reign of Henry IV., and is a commodious Gothic edifice, built of flint and freestone. The tower, which is square, with an embattled top, is 159 feet In height; the ascent to this is by a curious and excellent flight of steps, and the view from the summit, when attained, is very fine. The north porch and chancel have long been in CROMER. 177 ruins, but the entrance at the west door, which is even now a beautiful piece of architecture, must have formerly been ex- tremely grand. The whole length of tlie building, to the extent of 200 feet, was seen in pers-pective through two arches of great magnificence. The roof and every other part was profusely ornamented with carved work, of which time and the barbarous ravages of Cromwell's troops, who converted the church into barracks, have left but few traces remaining. The flinting in many parts of the building is perhaps scarcely to be excelled anywhere for the beauty of its execution. Some remains of the walls with which Cromer was anciently en- vironid ai-e still to be met with, and show the fortifications were durable, and well designed to resist the encroachment of any adverse power. During the last war a battery was erected on the eminence commanding the town, but happily there was no occasion to test its powers of aggression or defence. The liiihthouse is situated a short distance from the town, in the parish of Overstrond, and forms a white brick tower 52 feet in height, and 300 feet above the level of the sea. The lantern is lighted by thirty patent lamps in finely plated reflectors, which revolve on an upright axis. The average quantity of oil consumed during the year is about 1,000 gallons. So dangerous, indeed, is this coast to mariners, that no less than four lighthouses are placed between here and Yarmouth. Nothing can be more artistically picturesque than the tower- ing cliffs and wide-spreading sands of this bold and romantic coast. The sea comes foaming in with an impetuosity un- broken by a single tract of land between these rocks and the icy but far-distant shores of Spitzbergen — that is, however, if the north wind happens to blow. At other times you have here a beautiful sea, as clear, as smooth, and placid as the sunny sands upon which it breaks. A wanderer by the shore need not thirst for lack of objects to engage his attention ; the fishing-boats and tackle, the robust-looking families of the fishermen, and occasionally some melancholy vestige dis- covered at low water of the walls of Shipden Church, long since undermined and swallowed up by the encroaching waves, N 178 CROMER. with the innumerable tiights of sea-fowl of every description, and of other migratory birds, all effectually tend to diversify the stillness, and perhaps the sameness, of the scene. There is besides a constant succession of shipping passing and re- passing, which gives motion, animation, and interest to the scene. Tlie environs in every direction are extremely beautiful, and furnish rare treats for the pedestrian. Cromer Hall, and the delicious wood that surrounds it, the grand height upon which the beacon stands, and the pretty little village of Runlon, are embellishments of which Cromer may justly boast. In short, the painter should repair hither to study composition and aerial perspective, the invalid to replenish himself with salt water and renewed health, and the icthyological epicure to enjoy fish to perfection. There is an annual fair every Whit Mon- day, to which the novelty of the arrival of pleasure-seekers in handsomely-trimmed boats lends a singular cliarm. The air is exceedingly salubrious, and tliough it cannot be considered mill), its properties as a bi'acing tonic have been advantage- ously felt by many who require a keen climate to restore the tone of their constitution. There is the due complement of respectable hotels, and lodging-houses for the reception of visitors have marvellously increased within the last dozen years, a sufficient illustration of the growing appreciation of the place. By some Cromer may be considered dull, as there are few amusements excepting such social ones as strangers can pro- vide for themselves ; and those habituated to constant excite- ment may perhai)s here feel the ennui of seclusion. But there is no absolute necessity of a sojourner at a watering-place being guilty of any such absurdity as that of mixing in pur- suits while indisposed, which would he anything but service- able to even those in the most robust state of health. The libraries, the promenades by the sea-side, the ride or walk to some beautiful vicinage, the sail on the sea, or the telescopic survey of some vast expanse, may surely compensate for the heated atmosphere of the crowded theatre, and for the giddy whirl kept up till daybreak in the close and heated ball- CROMER. 179 room. In all rational recreations like these Cromei- will yield to none. There are two coaches to and from Norwich daily. The Post-office is in Church-street. Letters arrive from Norwich at 9 in the mornin"^, and the box closes at 3 p.m. ; but letters can be posted until twenty minutes past three by the payment of one penny e.Ktra fee. 180 THE ENGLISH GIRL. She laughs and runs a cherub thing; And proud is the doting sire To see her pluck the buds of spring, Or play by the winter fire. Her golden hair falls thick and fair In many a wavy curl ; And freshly sleek is the ruddy cheek Of the infant English girl. The years steal on, and, day by day, Her native charms expand ; Till her round face beams in the summer ray, Like the rose of her own blest land. There's music in her laughing tone, A darker shade on the curl, And Beauty makes her chosen throne On the brow of the English girl. She is standing, now a happy bride, At the holy altar rail. While the sacred blush of maiden pride Gives a tinge to the snowy veil. Her eye of light is the diamond bright, Her innocence the pearl ; And these are ever the bridal gems That are worn by tlie English girl. SCARBOROUGH, F all the romantic and pictu- resque watering-places in the north of England, distin- guished by their inland beauties, as well as marine attractions, none possess a fascination so complete as Scarborough. The journey thither from London also affords a tempting opportu- nity to pass a few leisure days in the cities of our midland counties. Derby, Sheffield, and York, lie all within the loiite, and to those who are for the first time entering upon these districts — the very heart of England's manufacturing enterprise — the facility afforded by the railway in pausing at the various points of interest along the line is not to be lightly overlooked or regarded. Arrived at 182 SCARBOROUGH. York, the Scarborough branch of the York and North Midland Railway, forty-two miles in length, will convey the traveller to his destination in a little more than two hours, and once within its circle of enchantment, it is not easy to get disen- tangled from the web of allurements by which he will become enthralled. Scarborough is undoubtedly the most interesting marine spa in England. With the advantages of mineral springs it combines those of a convenient sea-bathing shore, and on the land side it is surrounded by numerous objects of attraction, to which either roads, or footpaths over moors and dales, offer a ready access to visitors. Of its origin we have no satisfac- tory information, but its name has been most probably derived from the Saxon Scear, a rock, and Burgh, a fortified place. No mention of it occurs in the Norman survey, but in the reign of Stephen we hear of the castle being erected, and doubtless that fortress soon became the nucleus of the town. Its situation is extremely beautiful and romantic, being in the recess of a fine open bay, on the coast of the North Sea, and the town consists of several spacious streets of handsome well- built houses, rising in successive tiers from the shore, in the form of an amphitheatre; the beach, of firm and smooth sand, slopes down gradually to the sea, and affords at all times that commodious open sea-bathing for which the place is so deservedly celebrated. From Robin Hood's Bay, northward, to Flamborough Head, southward, there are thirty-three miles of coast, which may be inspected at low water, over a course of the finest sands in England, and which, with their caverns and promontories, rugged fissures and |)recipitous elevations, form a geological panorama of the greatest interest. Flamborough Head, with its lofty cliffs of nearly five hundred feet elevation, teeming in the spring and summer months with thousands of birds of every hue and species, and exhibiting yawning caverns of stupendous size — that called " Robin Lyth Hole" being peculiarly noticeable — is of itself a promontory of unusual grandeur, and would be alone worth a pilgrimage from town. Not far distant either is Rivaulx Abbey, the beautiful ruins of which are presumed to indicate the first SCARBOROUGH. 183 Cistercian monastery founded in Yorkshire, and whicli, in tiieir magnificence of decay, are only snrpassed by the famous Fountain Abbey, that may be also brouglit within the compass of a summer day's ramble. In short, let the sojourn be ever so brief, the visitor will hence carry away with him a store of many memories of beauty, to which remembrance will after- wards recur with delight. To begin with one of these celebrities: — A fine terrace, one hundred feet above the level of the sands, forms a deli^litful marine promenade. The dissevered cliffs arc connected by a handsome iron bridge of four arches, on stone pillars, in the chasm between which runs the stream called Millbeck. This bold undertaking, to afford facility of access to the spas, was completed in 1827, and its opening day was signalised by a bold charioteer, who, with four well- trained steeds in hand, drove a coach across the yet untested structure, amidst the acclainations of myriads, who covered the adjoining buildings and surrounding hills, all swarming with eager faces, intent on the hazardous performance of what appeared so perilous a feat. This bridge, which is one of the principal ornaments of the town, is 414 feet in length and 75 in height, whilst the floor of the bridge is 14 wide, formed of transverse jjlanks, and protected by an iron railing along each side. This airy fabric affords a view remarkably bold and striking, and far away beneath are the fine broad sands of the shoi'e, where the Scarborough races are held, and where, says Dr. Granville, in his happiest graphic vein, " what at one hour was the estuary of living waters, murmuring in succes- sive bow-like waves towards the foot of the cliffs, becomes in the next hour, upon that occasion, tlie course-ground and the theatre of the equestrian as well as pedestrian display of man's skill and animal's agility." The view of the horse-races from a place suspended in the air, and at such an immense altitude as this, is a sight only enjoyed, perhaps, by the people at Scarborough and the visitors to the Spa ; for the cliff-briilge may be well described, on such an occasion, as the grandest stand of any in the world. Adjoining is the Museum, an elegant cu'cular building, for the display chiefly of British 184 SCARBOROUGH. geological specimens, though possessing a fine collection besides of other rare and interesting objects, among which the skeleton of an ancient Briton and his oak-tree coffin, sup- posed to be 2,000 years old, will be found particularly attrac- tive : the teeth are all perfect, and the skeleton would appear to have been preserved by the tannin, found dissolved by the water which had penetrated into the coffin. A very moderate monthly subscription will entitle the visitor to admission to the Museum, and as a pleasant lounge, fraught with interest and instruction, it may be considered a valuable addition to the general attractions of the town. The mineral springs of Scarborough have been, for more than two centuries, held in the very highest repute. These springs are saline chalybeates, varying in the proportions of their several ingredients, and were for some time lost by the sinking, in 1737, of a large mass of the cliff; but, after a dili- gent search, they were recovered. The principal are the West and South Wells, situated at the base of the cliff south of the town, near the sea-shore, where a convenient building has been erected for the accommodation of visitors. The water of the south well contains ninety-eight ounces, and that of the north well one hundred ounces of carbonic acid gas in a gallon; the former is purgative, and the latter tonic. An elegant saloon in the building affords an opportunity for exercise in rainy weather ; and being lighted by several windows facing the sea, the visitor has an opportunity of enjoying various picturesque views of the sea and coast. In a small sunken court, paved with flag-stones, and surrounded by stone walls, are the lion-mouthed spouts from which the water is continu- ally pouring — the excess passing away through a small stone basin ; and the substitution of this plan for the pumping-up process usually adopted imparts a zest and a freshness to the draught that invalids can thoroughly appreciate. Fronting the sea are some neat houses, let as lodgings, and called the "Marine Houses;" they have a small adjoining building for cold and warm baths — the sea, at spring tides, reaching to nearly the threshold of its garden front. A lofty and sloping bank, from one hundred and fifty to two hundred SCARBOROUGH. 185 feet liigli, thickly covered with shrubs and trees, rises hence, and goes to join the cliff bridge, in a southern direction, like a crescent bower. On the brow of this green embankment stand many of the best houses, with a south or south-western aspect; and, on the sands below, a file of thirty or forty bathing machines, ranged on their broad wheels, stand ready for use. The gradual declivity of the shore, the softness of the sand, and the peculiar transparency and purity of the returning tide upon these open bays, render sea-bathing here not only per- fectly safe, but absolutely luxurious. The town is supplied with fresh water by means of a reservoir holding four thousand hogsheads, and being derived from land-springs is somewhat hard, but clear and wholesome to the eye and palate — an advantage few watering-places possess. The liarbour, easy of access, and safe and commodious within, is protected by two piers ; one of them having been found insutticient to prevent the accumulation of sand, a new one was constructed, designed by Smeaton, the celebrated engineer. The breadth of its foundation is sixty feet; and at the curvature, where it is most subject to the action of the waves, sixty-three feet; it is forty feet high, and twelve hun- dred feet in length. The church, dedicated to St. Mary, was anciently the con- ventual church of the Cistercian Monastery, and was formerly a spacious and magnificent cruciform building, with three noble towers ; it sustained considerable damage in the siege of the castle in the time of the Parliamentary war, and retains but few portions of its ancient character : the present steeple stands at the eastern end. Christ Church, a handsome edifice in the later style of English architecture, was erected in 1828, at a cost of £8,000. Other places of worship, and numerous hospitals and infirmaries, are scattered through the town. To the north of St. Sepulchre's-street are the remains of a Fran- ciscan convent, supposed to have been founded about the 29th of Henry III., and now used as a workshop. In the older part of the town the artist will find some grapliic sketches for his portfolio, among the rude but picturesque dwellings of the fishermen. 186 SCARBOROUGH. Tlie season may be reckoned to begin on the first of July, and terminate about the middle of October. Duvingc this periorl, houses and apartments can only be had at liigh prices; but, after the latter date, a residence may be obtained at half the amount. The railway, as in other instances, has materially increased the influx of visitors, and now new streets are being rapidly formed, to provide additional houses for their re- ception. By a walk to the summit of Mount Olive, or Oliver's Mount, from a tradition connected with Oliver Cromwell, a most superb panorama of land and water is to be enjoyed from a terrace six hundred feet above the ocean, and these, together M'ith excursions to the environs, which include much pictur- esque scenery, form the especial attractions of the strangers. The climate of Scarborough is considered by Dr. Granville to be extremely favourable, and the longevity of the inhabitants over those of other parts of Yorkshire is fully established. From its exposure on the cast coast a mistaken notion is entertained by many that winds in an easterly direction must be of longer continuance at Scarborough than elsewhere; but this experience has shown to be an unnecessary fear. The mean average temperature in the month of January was found to be higher by six degrees than at York, four degrees than in London, and only two degrees less than at Torquay. In re- spect of climate, therefore, this "Queen of Watering Places " affords immense advantages to invalids in the northern coun- ties, who are unable to endure the fatigue of long journeys; and it is seldom that the sanitary effects of the sojourn, and the potent curative agency of the spas, are without their due influence in promoting and perfecting a return to health. We now advert to the first object that strikes the eye of the visitor as he enters the town, but which we have resei'ved to the last, in order to give it that fulness of detail which its venerable ruins warrant. Scarborough Castle crowns a precipitous rock, whose eastern termination, which advances into the sea, rises about three hundred feet above the waters. The principal part of the ancient castle now remaining stands at a considerable distance SCARBOROUGH. 187 back from this bold and inaccessible front, but on ground which is nearly as elevated. It is a huge square tower, still nearly one hundred feet high, but the walls of which show, by their ragged summits and other indications, that its oiiginal height must have been considerably greater. Each side is between fifty and sixty feet in length ; but the walls being about twelve feet thick, contract the space in the interior to only thirty feet square. This tower was probably the keep of the ancient castle J and, as usual, has been preserved from destruction by its extraordinary solidity and strength. As this old feudal stronghold looks down upon the s^ea on one side, it has the town of Scarborough stretched below it, and around it on the other, and imparts a bold and romantic aspect to the eastern extremity of the town. The castle was built, about the year 1136, by William, Earl of Albemarle, one of the most powerful of the old Norman nobility, and who was thus permitted by King Stephen to ensconce himself in the fortress, as a defence against the tur- bulent and but half-subdued inhabitants of the district. No situation could possibly have been chosen better adapted for defence ; and, in the infancy of the art of warfare, it must have been absolutely impregnable. Within the boundary of its walls was once comprised an area of twenty acres; and what was of the greatest importance to the besieged, a spring of excellent water, that never failed its supplies even in the driest summer. When Henry II. ascended the throne, the first act of his reign was the promulgation of an order that all the castles built in the reign of King Stephen should be dismantled and destroyed. The earl was therefore compelled to resign his fortress ; but when Henry, from a personal visit, became acquainted with its wondrous powers of defence, he acted on the proverbial superiority of second thoughts, and, taking poss"Ssion of the structure, was so far from demolishing its walls that he increased its strength by adding new ones, and appointed as governors men of the highest rank, who were taught to regard the office as a reward and privilege, rather than a mere employment. 188 SCARBOROUGH. In this castle Edward II. placed his favourite, Piers Gaveston, hoping thus to secure him from the vengeance of the incensed Bai'ons, but the hope was vain ; a scarcity of provisions compelled the surrender of the garrison, and Gaveston was given up to his enemies, who speedily gratified their vengeance by his death. A singular expedient for taking the castle was resorted to during Wyatt's rebellion, in the reign of Mary. A son of Lord Stafibrd, accompanied by a party of soldiers disguised as peasants, strolled carelessly into the building, under the pretence of looking at it, and invited the garrison to join their pic-nic. Whilst the clatter of the knives and forks, and the Jingle of glasses was going on, the mischief was brewing ; and when the governor was called upon to oblige the festive company with a song, the soldiers seized their opportunity and the sentries together, distributed fire- arms from their provision basket, and before the head of the garrison could recollect the first verse of his ditty, the others had made themselves masters of the whole castle. They held it, however, but two days, Lord Westmoreland retaking it without any loss. The last and most important siege the castle sustained was during the civil wars in 1644, when it was commanded for the king by Sir Hugh Cholmley, a knight of unflinching bravery and unconquerable energy. Sir John Meldrum, a Scotch soldier of fortune, who then led the Par- liamentary forces, had taken the town of Scarborough by storm, and now besieged the castle. For twelve months Sir Hugh gallantly maintained his post, seeing the outworks gradually destroyed before the fury of their assailants ; but, after a resistance which displayed an enduring fortitude almost unparallelled in English annals, the garrison, worn down by incessant fatigue and hardship, fell victims to disease ; and, no hope of relief brightening his prospect, the brave Sir Hugh was obliged to capitulate. To the honour of her sex be it recorded, that Lady Cholmley refused every opportunity of escape, and remained in the castle during the whole siege, ministering to the wounded and cheering her liusband with her presence. During this siege two most remarkable and providential escapes occurred, and both to SCARBOROUGH. 189 women. One having continued at needlework till daylight began to fail, found it difficult to thread her needle in the position at the window by which she sat, and changed it for another. At that moment a glancing shot, which had been fired, came in at the window she had just quitted, and tore everything away, without the slightest injury to the semp- stress, whose life was thus saved by her industry. Another, while spinning in the upper room of an inn, happened to drop her spindle, and, as she stooped to pick it up, a cannon-ball passed directly over her, striking the distaff to pieces, which stood in tlie very place her head must have occupied, had she not stooped at that very moment. In 1G6G, George Fox, the founder of the "Society of Friends," was imprisoned in the castle, and iii his Memoirs he speaks of three different rooms that he successively occupied. One of them faced the sea, and " laying much open, the wind drove in tlie rain forcibly, so that water came over his bed, and ran about the room, so that he was fain to skim it up with a platter." In enumerating the suffering and perse- cution that he unjustly endured, he states that a threepenny loaf lasted him three weeks, and that most of his drink was water, with wormwood steeped in it. In the rebellion of 1774, the castle was, for political purposes, put into tem- porary repair; and three batteries have since been erected for the protection of the town and harbour. None can view this relic of the olden time without a feeling of intense interest and delight ; and the views of the sea through some of the old crumbling arches, afford fine subjects for the painter. The postal arrangements of Scarborough are : — Letters from London delivered at 10 a.m. ; box for London closes at 3 p.m. A day mail has been lately added. 190 ECHO. Here it is that Eclio dwells, Lurking in her shady grot, Hid in glens and grassy dells. Where strife comes not. Flies she forth as swift as light. If mortal dare to trace her power; Silent as the depth of night. Is her lone bower. She bideth in her secret place, Like a coy and bashful maid, Mocking all with artless grace. Yet half afraid. Hark! her accents still prolong, Borne upon the swelling breeze. Giving back the throstle's song From yonder trees. Kot a word is utter'd here But she catcheth up the sound. Sending it afar and near. In sweet rebound. She hath got her watchful spies. Through her limits holding ward ; Nor Argus, with his hundred eyes. Keeps trustier guard. Sportive Echo, spirit-born! Fain I'd share her mystic lot; I could linger night and morn Beside her grot. Such beauty girds it all around When smiles the earth 'nealh sunny sky, And wild flowers dot the velvet ground, To charm the eye. And every bird that seeks the grove Its thrilling strain pours through the dell; For these alone I'd Echo love. And with her dwell. O. F. TYNEMOTJTH, WARKWOETH, ALNMOUTH, BAMBOROUGH, AM) THE ISLANDS OF THE NORTHERN COAST. ORTHUMBERLAND, though hardly so capable of affording a marine retreat to the valetudinarian as the regions of the south of Eng- land, has yet many favourite places along its coast much lesorted to by bathers dur- mg the summer months, and a host of temptations, in the form of ancient castles and ruined abbeys, to lure the tourist onward to the border. The opening, too, of railway communicatioa liomYork direct on to New- castle, Berwick, and Edin- burgh, affords every facility to the traveller in perform- ing his journey, with less 192 TYNEMOUTH. expense and more speed than in the olden times of coach pro- gress, and thus the increase and accession of visitors to the Northumbrian coast render some account of its most attractive localities essential to the completeness of our work. Tynemouth — which is to Newcastle-on-Tyne what Brighton is to London — is situated nine miles from that busy and much- improving town. In the time of the ancient Britons the village was denominated Pendal Crag, or the " Head of the Rampart on the Rock," and this pretty clearly indicates its situation. Coal in abundance, some ironstone, and the only limestone strata in the county, are its chief geological fea- tures; and though it is little better than a village, the influx of visitors for bathing during the season raise it to almost the dignity of a town. There is one long street, possess^ing the necessary adjuncts of a " marine hotel," a libraiy and com- modious baths, which were erected in 1807. The parish church was originally in North Shields, but a new one has been lately erected, and a large school, for which a Mr. Kettlewell bequeathed £7,Opo in 1825, has been built and endowed in a manner which would have afforded the liberal donor the highest gratification to have beheld. In 1758, some barracks were erected in the village, for the accommodation of 1,000 men, but they were sold at the general peace, and now form Percy-square, never, we hope, to be metamorphosed back again. A mineral spring in some local repute at Coller- coats Sands — a place of ominous name to solitary bathers who leave their garments on the beach — gives a pretext for a pleasant walk in that direction ; and, as Tynemouth is only one mile from North Shields, those who like bustle and activity have not far to go to behold both. But the chief attraction is unquestionably its Priory, the ruins of which are shown in our introductory illustration. TyneiDOuth Priory lies to the east of the town, and is of such very remote antiquity that no authentic record exists of its original foundation, but there is some reason to conjecture the seventh century saw its first elevation. Whether Tyne- mouth was or was not of Roman origin, it was at a very early date selected as an ecclesiastical site, and for i\nv, by the TTNEMOUTH. 193 beauty and peculiarity of its situation, it was well adapted. " Tlie exalted lieight," says Grose, " on which the monastery Ftood, rendered it visible at sea a long way off in every direction, where it presented itself as if reminding and ex- horting seamen in danger to make their vows and promise masses and presents to the Virgin Mary and St. Oswin." Thus, though the situation in stormy weather was perhaps not very enviable, the advantages it afforded in those credulous and unsettled times of presenting to the eye of the sailor in distress an object towards which he could direct his prayers and bend his course, were also increased by its being an out- post from which a hostile armament might be descried, and an alarm inland easily communicated. Neither its sanctity or utility were, however, sufficient to preserve it long, for the Danish pirates thrice plundered the priory and once burned the church. From 625 to 1 110, its history seems to be that of alternate destruction and renovation, continually repeated. In 1090, Robert de Mowbray fled hither, and defended himself within its walls against William Rufiis, whom he had conspired to dethrone, but after a time, finding that he could hold out no longer, he sought sanctuary at the altar of the church, from which he was taken by f )rce, carried to Windsor, and, after suffering a long imprisonment, was put to death. Du- ring the reign of Elizabeth it was occupied as a fortress, and in the civil wars of the seventeenth century it was fre- quently besieged. In 1644 it was taken by the Scots, when tliirty-eight pieces of ordnance, and a large store of arms, ammunition, and provisions, fell into their hands. The garrison were permitted to march out with their baggage, but bound themselves to submit to the instructions of the Par- liament. Soon after this, £5,000 was voted to repair the damages it had sustained, and Colonel Henry Lilburne was made its deputy governor ; but having declared for the king, Sir Artliur Hazelrig immediately marched from Newcastle against him, and stormed the place, with almost ferocious bravery, entering the fortress at the very cannon's mouth. During the assault Lilburne was slain. When the reputation of Tynemouth Priory was at its o 194 TYNBMOCTH. greatest height, the dead were brought from all parts of the neiglibourhood to be interred therein, great sanctity being atti-ibuted to the place in consequence of the nunaber of illus- trious persons who performed divine service in the oratory of the Virgin. Among those thus buried were the royal martyr, Oswald, King Eldred, Heniy the Hermit of Coquet Island, Malcolm King of Scotland, and other illustrious persons. But, notwithstanding the local veneration paid to the priory, when the Danes demolished the walls and com- pletely extinguished the glimmering light of Christianity existing in those parts, the recollection of the canonized King Oswald was utterly obliterated. This neglect continued till the time of Tosfig Earl of Northumberland, when tlie saint, vexed doubtless at this oblivion of his name, busily bestirred himself, and, with a forethought for which ghosts have rarely obtained credit, appeared at tiie bedside of Edmund, the sexton, and having frightened him sufficiently, revealed the place of his burial. The sexton, it seems, told it to his wife the next morning as a great secret, and this communication, coupled with a strict injunction not to reveal it to any one, of course induced her to blazon the matter over the whole neighbourhood, with which the ghost, being acquainted with the proverbial chaiacteristic of women, must have been highly delighted. Hence it came at last to the ears of Judith, the earl's consort, and diligent search being made for the royal remains, they were discovered and recommitted to the earth with great solemnity. The earl, we presume, being further admonished by his ghostly adviser, then rebuilt the monastery from its foundation, and after this Waltheof, his successor, gave it with all its possessions — and St. Oswald's body into the bargain — to the monks of Jari-ovv. From this time its history has been already traced. Scott speaks in " Marmion" of ''Tynemouth's haughty prioress," and adds that many a vow was made at the shrine by the distressed mariners who were driven towards the in- liospitable coast of Northumberland in stormy weather. At one period it was a nunnery, and then it was that Virca, abbess of Tynomouth, presented the holy St. Cuthbert with a TTNEMOUTH. 195 rare winding-slieet, iu sepulchral emulation, we presume, of tlie Lady Tuda, who had sent him just before a coffin, for which mortuary gifts St. Cuthbert expressed himself truly grateful. Another anecdote of a similar nature may here be nieutioned, as occurring in the Monkish Chronicles of the times, to show the reputed sanctity of the place. On the 20th of August, 1384, being the festival of " St. Oswald's passion," whilst a sailor was hewing a piece of wood for his bhip at Nesvcastle-on-Tyne, he perceived blood to How from it, and instantly recollecting the day, he ceased from his employment. A companion of his, disregarding the miracle, came out and struck it again, but immediately the blood gushed more violently than before from every part that was cut, "as if one's breast had been painfully lacerated by a sword." Tliis matter was told to the clergy, who, with the laity, ap- proved of the omen, and after having consecrated the wood, tl»ey conveyed it wilii great pomp to Tynemouth Priory, where it was placed by the body of the saint, and worked many miracles — at least so says the Monkish historian, and far be it from us to deny the truth of a statement so vora- ciously recorded. But to return to the priory : — After the period when all danger miglit be supposed to have passed away, its extensive and exquisitely beautiful ruins were demolished for the sake of their materials. It is probable that much of the priory at Tynemouth was built with the materials of the hewn stone from the Roman station at the Law, South Shields, and a great part of the town of North Shields, in return, is said to be built from the ruins of tlie monastery. Dockwray-square, in particular, is popularly spoken of as having been constructed from this source. Nor did the work of destruction here stop. Being used as a barrack and military store, the work of demolition and alte- ration has been going on down to a very recent period, until the most conspicuous part of the ruin now standing is that which contains the three very beautiful eastern windows of the chapel. The castle, about a hundred yards west of the monastic ruins, is now merely a plain and picturesque build- ing, fitted up as barracks lor the accommoJatijn of a corps of 196 TTNEMOUTH. infantry, wliicl), with some artillery, are always stationed there. The broken arches and the picturesque foreground of fishermen's cottages, mouldering ruins, and lichen-festooned turrets, creates a most pictorial contrast to the extensive range of sea and sky beyond. The fresh breeze and the occasional excursion to the en- virons must be the chief recreations of the resident; for those who desire other amusements must go to Newcastle to find them. The air is, however, very bracing and exhilarating ; and if the chilliness of the evening should render a fire desir- able towards nightfall, it is something to feel that, being in the very heart of the coal country, such a luxury can hardly be regarded, from its absurdly trifling cost, as an item of expense. There are two mails daily, one arriving at 8 30 a.m., and the other at 11 30 p.m.; the letter-box respectively closing for each dispatch 11 a.m. and 8 p.m. The lighthouse stands in the Castle yard, and is built of stone in the shape of a tower ; the lantern is sixty-two feet above the ground on which it stands, and one hundred and forty-eight feet above the level of the sea. There are two other lighthouses near the town of North Shields, the one being forty-nine and the other seventy-six feet in lieight, the lesser one liaving a compensation in its more exalted position. The mariner is only safely enabled to cross the bar by the assistance rendered by these friendly beacons. Bringing them into a certain relative position as regards his eye, he can readily conduct the vessel into the best channel, which is on the south side of the bar, close to the Herd Sand. It is only when the tide is favourable that their light is allowed to be visible. A signal flag is hfdsted in the day time during the same state of the water. Most vessels are now borne over the bar by steam tugs, should adverse or variable winds render such employment of an extra force necessary. About four miles from the mouth of the river is Wall's End — the ancient Segrdiinvm — where the eastern extremity terminated of the famous Roman fortification built to stop the incursions of the Picts, and by its modern appellation so well known to the metropolitan lovers of the fireside. The remains of an ancient TYNEMOUTH. 197 Roman quay show that this wonderful people had a trading colony here, and 1,000 years since dischar^^ed freights wliere now the colliers come up for their ladinjj to the London market. The Tjne, it will be remembered, is formed by the con- fluence, near Hexham, of two streams of equal magnitude, Called tlie North Tyue and South Tyne, thence pursuing their united course to Newcastle and on to iihields, imme- diately below wliich the Tyue falls into the North Sea. Salmon and trout are caught abundantly in its winding stream. The ridge of sand called Tynemouth Bar stretches directly across tlie front of the mouth, and is so far an impediment to ship- ping that vessels can only make any progress at certain states of the tide. Great skill, care, and experience, are, therel'ore, required to enter the Tyne, even under the most favourable circumstances. The coasts on each side are rocky, and in front of tliat to the north, opposite a little inlet called Prior's Haven, aud to the left of the bar, is a dau^^erous rock called tlie Sparrow Hawk; while to the right, or south of the bar, is a shelf of sand called the Herd Sand, scarcely less danger- ous. From this it will be seen that the lighthouses along this coast are really objects of importance as well as interest. The ruins of the ancient Castle and Priory of Tynemouth are seen, as the bar is approached, standing on a peninsula formed of stupendous rocks on the northern side of the rivei"'s mouth, and near it is the liglithouse, which, distinguished from others more inland by its continuous revolution, emits a radiance at night singularly powerful and brilliant, which may be distinctly seen twenty miles distant. The sailors from the I'yne will be famous so long as Euro- pean history is read, as having formed the principal equipment of those fleets which, under St. Vincent, Nelson, Collingwood, and others, who have gained England the empire of the seas, raised the national flag to its proudest elevation. As those who have once reached Tynemouth will naturally desire a more intimate acquaintance with the beauties and antiquities of the north of England coast, we propose taking the reader on with us along the shores of Northumberland, 198 WARKWORTH. until we finally part company with him at Berwick-upon- Tweed, and thus point out by the way those favoured spots as well calculated for pleasant transitory excursions as for a more permanent summer sojourn. Warkworth is six miles from Alnwick, in a southern direc- tion. It is a village of considerable extent and of much beauty. On one side the sea approaches close to it, and the Coquet, which, of all British rivers, best deserves the epithet nlvery, winds so nearly round it from the other half as to form it into a peninsula. The castle was formerly of great note, being the residence of the Lords Percy when wardens of the marches, and from it many an order was issued which let havoc loose on the Scottish border. Nor were the wardens themselves allowed to remain here unmolested : one of the Earls of Northumberland wrote to the King and Council that he had dressed himself at midnight by the blaze of the neigh- bouring villages burnt by the Scottish marauders. Its re- mains are considerable, and the walls of many of the apart- ments, especially those of the banquet-room, are still perfect. At the hermitage, which is about a mile from the castle, in a deep romantic valley, Dr. Percy laid the scene of his popular poem, the " Hermit of Warkworth." Alnmouth, five miles further on from Warkworth, and six from Alnwick, is a small port and bathing-place, at which are shipped corn, bacon, and eggs for the London market. A number of fishermen here reside, who, with those of vari- ous other small towns, such as Boomer, Craister, &c., supply Alnwick with an abundant store of fish. It is worth while remembering, however, that the salmon and sea-trout taken upon the sea-coast or in the river Coquet are greatly inferior in quality to those which are found in the neighbourhood of Berwick. Opposite to Alnmouth, three miles from the main- land, the pretty island of Coquet invites attention. There is no object, however, upon it to reward the trouble of a visit ; a few fragments of a building alone diversify the uniformity of its appearance, and indicate where a small fort had been erected during the civil wars of England. Two miles from North Sunderland, a port chiefly frequented ALNMOUTH. 199 by fishing-vessels and small schooners, is Bamborough Castle, which stands upon a solitary rock, 150 feet high, and seems, as it looks over the wide extent of ocean, to laugli at its wild uproar. The castle is of great antiquity, and is supposed to have been founded by Ida, King of Bernicia. It must have been oritjinally a place of amazing strength, since it occupies the only high ground in the neighbourhood, and could not have been assailed with any missiles before the invention of artillery. Notwithstanding its age, the castle is still perfectly entire, and one or two of the turrets time had slightly injured have since been thoroughly restored. Bamborough, with a considerable revenue attached, was bequeathed by Lord Carew to the bishop and archdeacons of Durham for the time being, in trust for charitable purposes. The trustees reside alter- nately at the castle, and great exertion is made to carry into effect tlie benevolent wishes of the testators. One of the greatest curiosities in the place is a well of immense depth, dug out of the solid rock, before the invention of gunpowder, and fiom which a plentiful supply of water can be at all timee procured. From the roof of the edifice there is a most ex- tensive and pleasant view of the adjacent country. The pretty village of Bamborough stands at the foot of th€ castle. Seve- ral genteel families here reside, and the houses being large, cleanly, and comfortable, it has of late years become quite a favourite fashionable summer resort for sea-bathing. But the chief attraction, after all, is the castle, where benevolence has a wide field for its exercise. From the funds provided, everything which ma,y conduce to the safety of shipwrecked fishermen is kept constantly in readiness, and rewards are given to those boatmen who are most active in assisting ves- sels in distress. Large granaries are built, in which grain is deposited when prices are low, and sold to the poor at a cheap rate in seasons of scarcity. Several medical men receive salaries for attendance upon the labouring classes, and at the laboratory medicine is distributed gratuitously. Respectable schooliDiisters are also paid for teaching the children of the peasantry, and tliere is a library, out of which any person, whose residence is within ten miles of the place, may be 200 EAMBOROUGH. supplied with books during his lifetime for the mere payment of half-a-crown. lu that part of the castle where the trustees reside, are several excellent apartments, freely bhown to strangers, the walls of one of which are adorned with tapestry containing figures so animated, and colours so \ivid, as to be only distinguished from painting on a close inspection. Nearly opposite the castle, and from five to seven miles from the mainland, are the Farn Isles, all of which are small and precipitous, and one of them especially frequented by such numbers of sea-fowl, that in the breeding season a foot cannot fall without resting on a bird or nest. The^; are farmed by a person in North Sunderfand. During night and in stormy weather vessels of burthen do not, unless compelled, pass between the islands and the shore. Many wrecks that have taken place here will be remembered with painful interest. On one of these islands a lighthouse has been erected, and the exjjloits of a Grace Darling have not beeu without their stimulus to excite the emulation of the sur- rounding fishermen. Seven miles from Bamborough is Lindisfarne, or Holy Island, familiar by name to all the readers of " Marmioii." Its first title is derived from it being opposite the small brook Lindis; its second from the supposed sanctity of the monks who occupied its monastery. It is two miles from the mainland, whence it is only divided at high water. Its situation in this respect has not altered since the time when it was said — " With the ebb and flow its style Varies from continent to isle; Dryshod o'er sands twice every day The pilgrims to the shrine find way ; Twice every day the waves tflace Of staff and sandalled foot the trace." The circuit of the island is nine miles. One half is well cultivated, but the other, which is covered with sand, is fertile only in rabbits. There is a small fort now upon it, of which the only historical incident connected with it and worth recording is, that in the year 1713 it was seized by a partisan LINDISFARNE. 201 of the Pretender, named Edrinr;ton, butwho, having exhibited more zeal tlian discretion in his capture, afterwards paid tlie penalty. Tlie ruins of tlie monastery, liowever, wliicli chiefly attract strangers to the island, are of great beauty and remote antiquity. The arches are of the Saxon order, and are supported upon short and massy pillars. Some of the windows are pointed, and thus indicate that they had been placed in the building long after its original foundation. Scott has happily described its supposed appearance when the hooded fraternity brooded within its walls : — "In Saxon strength tliat abbey frowned, With massive arches broad and round, Tliat rose alternate row on row or ponderous columns short and low, Built ere the art was known By pointed ui^le and shafted stalk The arcades of an alley'd walk To emulate in stone." During the early ages of Christianity Lindij-faine was the episcopal seat of the tee of Durham, and had the title of St. Cuthbert's patrimony bestokved upon it, on account of the fame of Cuthbert, the sixth bishop, who was placed in the calendar in consequence of his recognised superior sanctity. It is owing to the circumstance of Holy Island having been once an episcopal see that the county palatine of Durham is found so curiously to dovetail itself with Northumberland, even to the gates of Berwick, a legal jurisdiction still remain- ing with the Count Palatine over all lands which formerly belonged to the patrimony of St. Cuthbert. A devious ride of four or five miles in length brings the traveller past Haggerstone to the turnpike-road betwixt Aln- wick and Berwick, which latter town is seven miles furtlier to the north. The railway is easily accessible from any of the points we have indicated. Berwick-upon-Twei:d — situated on the confines of two hos- tile kingdoms, belonging alternately to each, and, as a salvo to tlio vanity of both, declared at their union to belong to neither — is particularly worthy of antiquarian attention. Being 202 BERWICK-UPON-TWEED. built upon ground which rises irregularly, some of the lanes of Berwick and one of its streets are of very abrupt ascent. The others are level and spacious, and boast a rather unex- pected number of fine shops. Beside the Town-hall and barracks, the church and bridge are the only public buildings in Berwick. The church is a plain neat building; but, reared in puritanical times, when spires were presumed to be profane indices to heaven, it has not one to boast. Connected with the church is a circumstance that no historian of Berwick has noticed, viz., that the vicar, John Smithson,was in 1672 tried and executed for the murder of his wife. The bridge over the Tweed is ancient, and U< arches, which are fourteen in num- ber, gradually lessening in size, the perspective seen from a distance is striking. At the south end of the bridge is Tiveedwonth, a considerable village, standing on the sea-shore, and only separated by a few fields from Spittle — a pleasant place with a frightful name — which, in summer is crowded with loungers, bathers, and bathing-machines. The Tweed, indeed, when tlie tide is out, forms a fine sheet of water, but its banks are not, as in its early course, clothed with trees over- hanging it, as if to admire its loveliness ; and when the sea retires, the mud it deposits has that slimy appearance which Crahbe so well describes, and which seems so meet an emblem of misery and desertion. As you ascend the river the scenery improves, and soon becomes, especially on the right bank, ex- tremely beautiful. The railway has considerably accelerated the northern mails, the Berwick postal arrangements now being — Letters delivered 7 30 a.m. and 5 30 p.m.; box closing 7 45 a.m. and 1 45 p.m. The town of Berwick is 372 miles from London, 67 from New- castle-upon-Tyne, and 68 from Edinburgh. The new railway viaduct across the Tweed, opened by her Majesty on her way to Scotland, August 29, 1850, is an astounding triumph of modern engineering. Thrown across the broad valley of the Tweed, it connects the York and Newcastle with the North British line, and completes a continuous railway route from London to Aberdeen, close by the old border stronghold of Berwick Castle. From its length, 2,170 feet, and its height, BERWICK-UPON-TWEED. 208 125 feef-, this is the largest stone viaduct in the world. The foundation-stone was laid on the 15th of May, 1847, and two years were spent in pumping witii a fifty-horse engine from the coffer-dams, driving piles with Nasmytli's patent steam drivers, to get a firm rest in the naturally loose sundy founda- tion, and building the under stone-work. The whole contains upwards of one hundred cubic feet of masonry, and in the inner portion of the arches two millions and a half of bricks. On being nanjed by her Majesty " The Royal Border Bridge," Robert Stephenson, the engineer, who had designed it and superintended its construction, was presented to the Queen by Prince Albert, and offered the honour of knight- hood, which he respectfully declined. The view from the summit is at once varied and magnificent. Beneath runs the pellucid Tweed, with its banks adorned by masses of planta- tions. The merse of Berwickshire is seen extending for miles; Home Castle, once the stronghold of that powerful Border family, is visible on the south-west; Holy Island and Bamborough on the east, and the Cheviot range to the south- east forms a magnificent background to one of the most pic- turesque landscapes in the kingdom. 204 TO THE OCEAN. Image of Him who formed thee ! all unknown, Save that thou art deep, fathomless, and free. As first thou wert, when thy broad billows shone Upon thy bosom, changeless, boundless seal I, trembling, pause upon the sanded shore. And lliink of tlie rich treasures which witliin thee shine; Earth has her wealth, but all her glittering ore Would fail to purchase those bright pearls of thine. The monarch rules not thee; thy glistening tide III childish playfulness sweeps his domain. And burying in its foam his earthly pride, SiLiles at his sovereign fears, and bacliward falls again. Suns set, moons change, and stars forget to sliine, Empires liave flourished, but are now a name. Ages decayed ; but none of these are thine; A myriad years have swept o'er thee, and thou art all the same. K. THE WATERI]>[G-PLACES WALES AND THE WESTEEN COAST. THE WATERING-PLACES OF "WALES AND THE WESTERN COAST. After an excursion to the Lake District, which we have described in a volume by itself,* there are mauy who will per- haps feel inclined to devote a leisure month to the attractions of some adjacent watering-place, that may serve as a i)leasant contrast to the sublimities and romantic beauties of Cumber- land and Westmoreland. In order, therefore, to serve as an index to these maritime retreats, and render our little book a perfect encyclopoedia of the coast, we now propose, in a sepa- rate chapter, to take a succinct but sufficient survey of the chief summer haunts that are most likely to stay the wanderer in his ])rogress homeward. Manjport, twelve miles from Whitehaven, and twenty-eight from Carlisle, is a small seaport and bathing place that, since the establishment of a direct railway communication, has risen into some importance. The public buildings are chiefly those associated with commercial purposes. Wharves and quays usurp the place of piers and esplanades, and a constant inter- change of freights among the shipping gives an air of liveliness to the town, which will be with some a compensation for the more refined beauties of the fashionable marine resort. It is situated at the mouth of the river Ellen, and carries on a con- siderable coal trade wiih Ireland. There is a little village called Ailonby, about four miles distant, which is much re- sorted to during the summer montiis, as it commands a line view of the Solway Frith and the op])osite shores of Scotland. At the village of Elleuborough, on an eminence northward of • " Adamt't Pocket Guide to the Lnkct," a complete descriptive companion to all the exquisite scenery of the Lake District, and the ro- mantic grandeur of the mountainous rt'Eions of Cumberland and West- moreland. In a neat volume, price One Shilling. W. J. Adams, 59, Fleet-street. 208 BLACKPOOI.. the town, will be seen the remains of an old Roman station. In the southern part of the town is Mote Hill, on which is an artificial moated mound, one hundred and sixty yards in cir- cumference. Flimby is a small vilbige, two miles by railway from Maryport, that is also much frequented by bathers during the summer season. There is railway communication with Carlisle and Whitehaven. Stncfipool, to which there is a branch line of three and a half miles from the Preston and Wyre Railway, is the nearest watering-place from Preston, and is much frequented by the northern pleasure-seekers who cannot spare the time or ex- pense of a longer journey. It acquired its name from a boggy pond at the southern end of the village, and was, until the last eighty years, a place of no importance ; but owing to its eligibility for bathing, it is now frequented every summer by crowds of provincial and metropolitan tourists, for whose accommodation there have been erected some commodious lodging-houses and hotels. The beach slopes gently from the site of the houses, and the sands are smooth and firm, whilst the air is higiily salubrious. The marine parade forms, from its extent and convenient width, a very agreeable promenade, giving an extensive prospect of the fells in Westmoreland and Cumberland, and the mountains in North Wales. A theatre, news-room, library, and assemblies, will all be found in the category of the amusements provided during the fashionable season, which commences rather later in the year than at the watering-j)laces more southerly situated. September is the great month. Here, as elsewhere, the sea appears to have encroached considerably on the shore, for a large stone — popu- larly known as Penny Stone — lying on the sands about half a mile from the shore, is stated by tradition to mark the site on which a public-house formerly stood. There is railway com- munication with Preston, Lytham, another small watering- place, and Fleetwood, at the mouth of the river Wyre. Sonthport, nine miles from Ormskirk and twenty- two from Liverpool, has a direct communication with it by railway along a branch line of sixteen miles. It is situated at the mouth of the river Ribble, on the shore of the Irish Sea. The SOUTH PORT. 209 bathing is not so good as at Blackpool, noi* the beach so firm ; but the usual accommodations are provided for tlie enjoyment of visitors. One principal street, formed by houses of brick with gardens in front, is the chief thoroughfare, but new buildings have been added every year ; and though there are no public edifices calling for especial notice, the appearance of the town has of late been considerably improved. Sand-hills, resembling small tumuli, surround the town, and the environs are replete with localities for pleasant excursions. There are some admirable charitable institutions, and one — the Stranger's Charity — furnishes the sick poor with the means of obtaining the benefits of sea air and bathing free of all cost. Bootle is another bathing-place in the neighbourhood, but presenting nothing to call for specific notice. The facility and cheapness of steam transit, either by rail or boat, gives the tourist an excellent opportunity of making Liverpool the starting point to some delightful spots on the Welsh coast. Extending our glance along the west, we shall now pi'oceed to indicate those most generally resorted to by tourists. During the summer months there is steam commu- nication between the Menai Bridge, Bangor, Beaumaris, and Liverpool every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings, at 9 a.m., returning from Liverpool on the alternate days at 11 a.m. The passage is accomplished in about five hours. Another route for those who like to enjoy the country by oc- casionally pedestrianising, is to take the packet from Liver- pool to Rhyl, North Wales, and thence continue the journey on foot, or adopt the line of the railway from Chester to Holy- head, which affords the same facilities for getting to pic- turesque stations. At Conway the line of the Chester and Holyhead Railway begins to develop the most stupendous and wonderful triumphs of modern engineering. This great work, designed and exe- cuted by Robert Stephenson, is 84i miles long, and comprises the Chester tunnel, 405 yards in length, the tunnel of 580 yards through Penmaon Rhos, and numerous other tunnels, amounting to a total length of 13,263 feet, through mountains and promontories of red sandstone, limestone, greenstone^ P 210 MENAT STKAIT8. basalt, slate, and clay. It presents, in addition to these, the forty-five arch viaduct to the bridge across the Dee, the vast sea walls and timber galleries along the coast, and, above all, the crowning triumph of engineering skill in the huge iron tubular bridges over the river Conway, at the Castle, and the Menai Straits, at the Britannia rock. The construction of these marvellous works forms such an interesting theme to dwell uiDon, that we shall enter somewhat into tiieir history. When it was first commenced, people almost sneered at the idea of a mere pipe for trains to run through across the straits ; four hundred and fifty feet of an iron tube, without support from end to end, at a height of one hundred feet, was laughed at as sheer madness. There were plenty of people who knew that its own weight would break it, and thousands who would see the whole world through it before they went. The work, however, went on. On the 16th of June, 1846, the first stone of the Conway tubular bridge was laid, and by the end of October, 1848, the two tubes were in use for traffic. The whole expenditure was £145,190. There was therefore an end of doubt. True, the Conway tube was but 400 feet clear in length, and eacli tube of the Britannia bridge would be 460. It was but 18 feet above the water, and the Briiannia would be raised to moie than 100 feet. Still, the problem of the bridge was practically solved ; its strength tested ; it was a covered roadw ay, through which the trains crossed that 400 feet on as firm a road as when the rails were laid on level ground. At tlie Menai, therefore, the work also went cheerfully and deliber- ately on. The first stone of the tower was laid without ceremony of any kind, on tlie 21st of September, 1846. The first rivet of the Britannia tubes was driven on the lOlh of August, 1847. The fii'st tube, which, set on end, would stretch 107 feet above the top oi' the cross of St. Paul's, was floated on the '20lh of June, 1849, Messrs. Locke and Brunei, eager for this triumph of their common art, being there to guide it, in the presence of ten thousand people, to its place at the base of the towers. On th.e 25th of July, 1850, the last tube was floated, and on the 21st of October, 1850, the double line of way was opened to public traffic, at a total cost of £001,865. The bridge now prac- CONWAY. 211 tically consists of two tubes, each of more than a quarter of a mile in length, and weighing togetlier upwards of 10,000 tons. The trains speed through at unslackened pace, as if it were a tunnel tlirough solid rock on land, and not a hundred feet in air above tlie roaring sea. These tubes, in strengthening angle pieces and framework alone, contain 65 miles of iron ; the entire structure is made of 186,000 separate pieces, through wliich are 7,000,000 holes ; the plates are clasped together by 2,000,000 livets, clenched by red heat, and which, as they cooled, by their contraction drew the plates together to the firmness of a solid piece. The enormous tunnel that scarcely stirs to the heaviest trains, stretches itself as it basks in the warmth of the noonday sun, gathers itself back under the chill of night, bends towards every gleam of sunshine, and shrinks from every passing cloud. The severest storm does not cause the tubes to vibrate more than a quarter of an inch, and the heaviest trains deflect them about three-tenths of an inch. These, and otlier interesting results, as indicating the safe working of the machine, are read by means of self-regi^tering thermometers, placed under lock and key in mahogany cases, and protected by plate-glass. The effect of two trains passing at the same time through the parallel tubes, resembles distant thunder. Conwai/, 224 miles from London, and 40 from Holyhead, is famous for its magnificent castle erected by Edward I. It is built upon a rock washed on two sides by the river Conway, and is of an oblong form flanked by eight embattled towers. It now belongs to the Marquis of Hertford. At the mouth of the river is the Great Orme's Head, a mass of hard limestone, which contains copper ore, and is 673 feet high. Bangor, 9 miles from Caernarvon, 25 from Holyhead, and 238 from London, is of such antiquity as a town, that its origin is involved in great obscurity. The cathe- dral is a very plain building, quite in the common Gothic style of the fifteenth century, and situated so low in a hollow that the houses in the town reach above its roof. Nowhere, however, could a city be posited with a better command of tl^e convenient and the picturesque. It is charmingly placed 212 BANGOR. in a pleasing vale, bounded on the south by lofty and pre- cipitous rocks, and having at the eastern extremity a fine opening towards the adjacent straits of the Menai. The beautiful bay of Beaumaris, bordered on the opposite side by the rocky shores of Angle^ea, affords also an extensive view, and the neighbourhood comprehends a variety of pleasing and romantic scenery, which, in many parts, is characterised by features of the most striking grandeur. It chiefly consists of one principal street, from whicli others branch off on the nortli side, and there are some smaller streets on the acclivity of an eminence near the sea. The bridge across the Menai Straits, designed by Telford, and executed at a cost of nearly £200,000, was opened January 30, 1826, when the first vehicle allowed to cross it was the London and Holyhead mail, on its way downward, about half-past one in the morn- ing. Of a vast span and an immense height from the water, it is only by a close view that the combined elegance and sirength displayed in its construction become fully apparent. Beaumaris, the county town of Anglesea, is four miles from Bangor. The romantic beauties of Wales, the purity of the air, and the constant change of objects, so conducive to the health of those who have been long pent up in towns and cities, have long attracted tourists in this direction, and various places along its coast have been selected as stations during a summer excursion. One of the best frequented of these — Tenby and Swansea alone excepted — is Aberystioith, on the coast of Cardiganshire, situated on a bold eminence, overhanging the sea, at the junction of the Ystwith and the Rhydol. The castle — its chief lion — was built by Gilbert de Strongbow, in the reign of Heury I., and now a mere ruin, is throned upon a projection of slate rock, protecting the town on the sea side, while on the other it commands the entire estuary of the two rivers, meeting at their point of confluence. Northward of the castle is a level beach, some hundred yards in length, to which succeeds a long range of slate rocks, worn into caverns and recesses by the dashing of the waves. Among the ruins is the favourite promenade, which, from its elevation, command* ABERYSTWITH. 213 a magnificent view of the whole line of coast that forms Cardigan Bay. Nearly in the middle of tliis bay Aberystwith is seated, whence may be seen to the north a long irregular line, formed at first by the projecting coast of Merioneth, and then continued out to sea by the long mountainous promontory of Carnarvon, terminated by the isle of Bardsey. There is no station southward of Carnarvonshire from which the Welsh Alps may be so advantageously seen as from Aberystwith Castle, or some of the surrounding cliffs. The lofty hills which bound the estuary of the Dovey, and raise their broad backs far above the Cardigan rocks, are surmounted by Cader Idris and its subject cliffs. These are overtopped by tlie giant mountains of Carnarvonshire, among which, in clear weather, the sharp peak of Snowdon itself may be discerned pre-eminent above the neighbouring crags. This wide expanse of water, diversified by numerous steamers and vessels in every direction — some steering out for different ports in the bay, some farther out at sea, slowly shaping their course for Liverpool, Bristol, or Irish havens, while others, almost stationary, are busily employed in fishing — affords a varied and pleasant panorama of marine scenery. Pont ar Fynach, or the Devil's Bridge, is not more than twelve miles distant. Aberystwith has two arrivals and dispatches of letters daily — the arrivals being at 11 a.m. and 4 p.m., and the dispatches 9 50 am. and 8 p.m. Tenby, on the coast of Pembrokeshire, and eleven miles east from Pembroke itself, was at a very remote period occu- pied by the ancient Britons as a fishing town, and is most romantically situated on the eastern and southern sides of a rocky peninsula, stretching out into the Bristol Channel, and rising to the elevation of 100 feet above the level of high water. The houses are well built, and command fine views of the sea; and the beautiful situation of the town, the fine beach, and firm and smooth sands, the transparency of the sea water, and the pleasant walks and extensive drives in the vicinity, have raised it from the decline into which it had for many years previously fallen to a high rank among the most favourite watering-places on the coast. Under the Castle-hill 214 TENBT. baths, provided with every convenience, are supplied by a capacious reservoir, filled from the sea at every tide. Tliis establishment comprises two spacious pleasure-baths, one for ladies and one for gentlemen, four smaller cold-baths, and also a range of warm sea-water and vapour-baths, with appa- ratus for heating them to any degree of temperature required. The surrounding scenery is extremely beautiful and picturesque. The majestic masses of rock, of various forms and hues, which line the coast ; the numerous baj's and distant promontories, that stretch out into the sea ; the receding coast of Carmar- thenshire, with the projecting headland of Gower enclosing the great bay of Carmarthen, on the western boundary of which the town is situated ; the small islands of Caldey and Lundy, with the distant shores of Somersetshire and Devon- shire, combine to impart a high degree of interest and variety to one of the finest marine expanses in the kingdom. On one side of the town there is a drive of eleven miles to the ancient town of Pembroke, through a fine champaign country, stud- ded with churches, villages, and gentlemen's seats, surrounded with plantations and pleasure-grounds, and on the other the country is agreeably diversified with swelling eminences, clothed with verdure, and small valleys richly wooded. The remains of the ancient castle are considerable, though in a very dilapidated condition. A portion of the keep still remains, and the principal gateway, with a square tower and a bastion, are also in a tolerable state of preservation. The ancient walls, which surrounded the town, are still in many places entire. The sands afi'ord delightful promenades, and abound also with shells of varied descriptions, not less than one-half of the British collection of 600 varieties having been found on this coast, among which have been several of value commonly esteemed foreign. The church is a venerable and spacious structure, dating as far back as the year 1250. There is con- stant steam communication with Bristol. Post-oflfice arrange- ments : — Letters delivered 8 30 a.m. ; box closes 10 p.m. Swansea — called by the Welsh Abertawy, from its situation at the mouth of the river Tawe or Tawy, which here dis- charges its waters into the great bay of Swansea, in the Bristol SWANSEA. 215 Channel — derived its original appellation of Swansea from the number of porpoises which formerly frequented tliis part of the coast. Beautifully and advantageously situated between two lofty hills on the western bank of the river, and at the head of a noble bay, to which it gives name, extending upwards of nine miles in breadth, it is thus completely sheltered from the most unfavourable winds. Within the last twenty years considerable additions have been made to the town, several new streets having been formed and numerous detached houses erected. The sands are firm, smooth, and level, presenting a pleasant and interesting marine promenade, and the salubrity of the air, the scenic charms of the environs, and the excellent accommodations furnished tu visitors for a very moderate cost, have long rendered it a favourite place of summer resort for sea-bathing. Races take place annually on the Cremlyn Burrows, and are continued for two days, and regattas, balls, concerts, and dramatic performances, make the season a very lively one. Here, too, as at Tenby, is a castle situated on an eminence, now nearly in the centre of the town, but so surrounded is it by buildings, that little more can be seen than a lofty circular tower. From the summit an extensive view can be obtained over the bay of Swansea and the adjacent country. To the east of this tower will be found remains of the ancient state apartments, distin- guished by the elegant open parapet, said to be the work of Bishop Gower. Near the town is a chalybeate spring called Swansea Spa, now little frequented, but formerly much resorted to on account of the highly medicinal qualities of the wafer. Within six miles of the town, and on the Caswell Rocks, by the coast, there is a remarkably fine spring, which, though always overflowed by the sea at high water, retains not the slightest saline admixture on its retiring. It may be interesting to remind the tourist that here, in 1673, at a house in Goat-street, was born Beau Nash, who, after having filled the office at Bath of Master of the Ceremonies, with so much dignified urbanity and scrupulous impartiality, there died ia the year 17G0, and was honoured witli a public funeral in the abbey church of that city. The packets leave Bristol for 216 SWANSEA. Swansea every day, at moderate fares; and in fine weather the voyage is delightful. From Swansea to Lwchyr is seven miles; Port-ar-Dalas, nine; Neath, eight; Britton Ferry, five ; Cardiff, thirty-nine ; Carmarthen, twenty-six. An excursion may be advantageously made from Swansea to the remarkable district of Gower or Gwyr, the south-west portion of whicli is inhabited by a colony of Flemings, who settled there in the reign of Henry I. They do not understand the Welsh language, are distinguished by their dialect and dress, and rarely intermarry with the Welsh. INLAND WATERING-PLACES. INLAND WATERING-PLACES: BEING A GLANCE AT THE SPAS OF BATH, BUXTON, CHELTENHAM, CLIFTON, HARROGATE, LEAMINGTON, MAL- VERN, MATLOCK, AND TUNBRIDGE WELLS. To render our survey of the watering places of England com- plete, we have thought it advisable to give a sketch, in addition, of those inland resorts which are likely to be visited as places of summer sojourn, either on account of the beauty of their scenery, or the curative agencies of the mineral waters which have brought them into popularity. These are arranged alphabetically, to assist reference. Bath, 107 miles distant by railway from London, has the distinction of dating back its foundation to the very earliest periods of English history; Julius Agricola having, on the very site of the present pump-room, erected, seventeen cen- turies ago, a magnificent temple to Minerva. The modern city is one of the finest in England, with a population of 60,000, and occupies a delightful situation in a valley divided by the river Avon. The surrounding country is well wooded, whilst, from the sheltered position, the temperature of the vale is mild. Mansions of aristocratic appearance are scattered in all directions, and ample streets, groves, and crescents, lined with stately stone edifices, and intersected by squares and gardens, give a grandeur to the beauty and liveliness of the prospect that few provincial cities can boast. The Pump- room is a handsome building, near the Abbey. The hot springs are four in numl)er, and, with the exception of one belonging to Lord Manners, are vested in the corporation. The following is the temperature: — Hot Bath, 117"; King's Bath, 114°; and Cross Bath, 109* of Fahrenheit. The King's Bath is an oblong square, sixty-six feet by forty-one, environed by a stone parapet. The bath is about four fee 220 BATH. and a half deep, and contains when full 314 tons of water. It is transparent when it flows from the earth, but in a short time it is clouded and deposits a slight precipitate. For public bathers there are two large open baths, and a tepid bath, sixty feet long and twenty bioad. These baths are emptied every night. The taste is slighily saline, but not disagreeable. Taken internally the water acts as a stimulant, but should never be drunk without pi'oper medical advice. In nervous, bilious, rheumatic, and gouty disorders, it has been frequently found very serviceable. Close to the Baths will be seen the Cathedral, or Abbey Church, considered the last and purest specimen we have of Gothic ecclesiastic architecture. From its centre rises a fine tower 162 feet high. It was founded by Bishop King in 1495, but was not finished till 1582. It has been lately much improved. In the east end of the church Prior Birde's Chapel presents a beautiful specimen of tracery. Among the numerous monuments should not be overlooked those to Sir William Waller, the Parliamentary general ; Quin, the actor ; Beau Nash ; and Dr. Haweis, one of the founders of the Church Missionary Society. There are twenty-four churches and chapels be- longing to the Established Church, and sixteen Dissenting; chapels. The Assembly Rooms are among the finest in the kingdom ; and no city can show such a fine collection of Ronnan antiquities as there are displayed in the Bath Literary and Scientific Institution. Its best buildings — such as the Upper Rooms, the north side of Queen's Squaie, and the Crescent and Circus — were built about the middle of the last century. The Guildhall is in the High-street ; and behind is the Market-place. In literary and philosophical societies, charitable institutions, and buildings for educational purposes, Bath is not excelled by any city in the west. Hotels and taverns of every grade, to meet the requisition of every purse, are plentifully distributed through the streets, and are mode- rate in their ciiarge and excellent in their accommodation. Tlie races take place in September, on Lansdowne Level. The favourite promenade is the South Parade, commanding an advantageous view of Claverton Hill, Beechen Cliff, and a BUXTON. --1 distant prospect agreeably interrupted by a chain of iiills, covered with wood. The environs are enriched with some very pretty hamlets and villa:,'es, and the walks thither will leave miiny a pleasant picture vividly impressed on the memory of the pedestrian. Buxton, to which the Ambergate Station of the North Midland line is the nearest railway approach, thence continued by a branch line through Matlock, is situated in the miilst of one of the most picturesque parts of Derbyshire. The crescent is the principal building at Buxton. It was erected by the late Duke of Devonshire, and has three stories, the lowest of which forms a colonnade. The whole crescent, ex- tending '251 feet, is chiefly occupied by hotels, of which the largest are tlie Great Hotel and St. Ann's. Immediately opposite the hotel, and at the western angle of the hill, is St. Ann's well. The spring has been in use for centuries. The water is clear and tasteless, and possesses a stimulating pro- perty. There is a public bath for each sex, and two private plunge batiis for gentlemen and two for ladies. The tempera- ture of the water at the spring is 82 degrees Fahrenheit. The slight sensation of chilliness experienced on first entering the bath is soon succeeded by an agreeable feeling of warmth, and on coining out, most persons find themselves refreshed and invigorated. Chronic gout and rheumatism are the principal disorders for which the course is usually taken. The bracing nature of the climate is, however, not the least efficacious of the remedial agents. The church, situated not far from the crescent, is neat and commodious. Opposite are the large stables of the Duke of Devonshire, built at a cost of £120,000. About a mile from Buxton is ttie cavern called Pool's Hole, a magnet sufficiently potent of itself to attract crowds of tourists. The various singular forms in the cave have each their peculiar names; large stalactites are everywhere hanging from the roof, and the water is continually rushing past beside the feet of the spectators. Queen Mary's pillar, so called from a visit that unfortunate queen made to the ca\ern during her sojourn at Buxton, is a lofty column formed by nature to support the roof, and is scratched with names innumerable. 222 CHELTENHAM. On account of the rapid transitions of temperature, and the bleakness of position, Buxton is more frequented during the summer months than at later periods of the year. Two miles from Buxton is the Diamond Hill, where the Buxton diamonds are found, and close by is a tower built by the Duke of Devon- shire. There are various places in the vicinity that deserve a visit, such as Chee Tor, a huge mass of limestone rising above SOO feet perpendicular; Miller's Dale j Cresbrook j Monsal Dale; Ashford ; Axe Edge, from which, in clear weather, tlie mountains of North Wales may be seen; and the Ebbing Well, situated five miles from Buxton, on the Castle- ford Road. Buxton is 160 miles from London, 10 miles from Macclesfield, 12 miles from Leek, 16 miles from Congieton, and 23 from Manchester, with which places coaches are in daily communication. Cheltenham, now brought by the railway within a three hours' ride from London, is delightfully situated in the midst of an amphitheatre of hills, and has a population of 35,000. The germ of the foundation and popularity of the town origi- nated in the mineral springs of the Royal Old Wells, the avenue of which is now an object of deserved attraction from its extent and symmetry. Protected on the north and east by the Cotswold hills, the climate in winter is generally mild, though in July and August the heat is felt to be oppressive. Its surface is elevated about 165 feet above Gloucester, and the funnel shape of the valley, with a large river in its centre, elicits currents of air, which ventilate the atmosphere and con- tribute to the purity and salubrity of the town. 'I'he High- street is three-quarters of a mile in length. To the right are the squares and streets communicating with the Pittville dis- trict, the grounds of which are laid out with great taste, and are terminated at the upper part by a splendid Pump-room, with portico, and surmounted by a dome whence a varied panorama may be obtained. To the left is the colonnade lead- ing to tlie promenade-terrace, at the cud of which is the Queen's Hotel, the Montpelier Spa, and Rotunda Pump-room, with the Lansdowne- crescent more elevated beyond. The Aseembly Rooms are situated in the High-street, and here the CLIFTON. 223 most fashionable amusements are provided. The sacred edi- fices are numerous ; St. Mary's, the parish church, is worthy of remark for its antiquity, and the more modern structure of Christchurch for the extreme neatness of its architecture. The parks and gardens about the town have much picturesque beauty, and are open throughout the year for a trifling fee, being besides the scene at intervals of numerous fetes and floricultural shows. The Cheltenham springs are exclusively employed internally, and are chiefly impregnated with muriate and sulphate of soda. Besides the saline springs there are two chalybeate, which have the well-known dark-coloured look and disagreeable inky taste. Those of a plethoric or irritable habit have often derived much benefit from their use. By procuring a ticket of admission, a choice collection of paintings can be seen at Thurlestone House, the residence of Lord Nortliwick, a nobleman long celebrated for his fine taste and artistic judgment. The town derives its name from a small stream called the Chelt, which is a tributary to the Severn. Around are scattered some interesting villages, which afford pleasant excursions when the attractions of Chel- tenham itself are exhausted. Cheltenham is 119 miles from Loudon, 4U from Birmingliam, and 7 from Gloucester. Clifton, a beautiful suburb of Bristol, from which it is about a mile distant, is chieHy built on the southern acclivity of a steep hill or cliff, which has given rise to its appellation. The highly romantic and picturesque country in the midst of which it is situated, provides on every side the most varied and extensive prospects. On the opposite shore of the Avon, the richly cultivated lands of Somersetshire present themselves, rising gradually from the verge of the river to the summit of Dundry hill. In some places the rocks, venerably majestic, rise perpendicularly, or overhanging precipices craggy and bare, and in others they are crowned with verdure of the most luxuriant description. The walks and rides are varied and interesting, the air is dry and bracing, and the vicinity of two such animated places as Bristol and Bath, give the resident at any time the opportunity of rai)idly exchanging hi8 solitude for society. The "Hot Wells," where "pale- 224 CLIFTON. eyed suppliants drink, and soon flies pain," are beautifully situated beneath the rocks looking on the river, along the banks of which a fine carriage-road leads from the well round the rocks to Clifton Down, but a readier and more picturesque mode of access is furnished by an easy serpentine path winding up among the cliffs behind the Hot Wells. Pieces of the I'ock, when broken, have much the appearance of a dark red marble, and when struck by a substance of corresponding hardness, emit a strong sulphurous smell. In the fissures of these rocks are found those fine crystals, usually called Bristol diamonds, which are so hard as to cut glass and sustain the action of fire. The spring has been known for many centuries, but it was not till 1690 that it was enclosed by the corporation of Bristol. There is now a neat pump-room with hot and cold baths. The temperature of the spring, which yields forty gallons a minute, is 76° Fahrenheit. As at Bath and Buxton, the predominating constituents are the salts of lime. When drawn into a glass, the water emits a tew bubbles of carbonic- acid gas, and for various conditions of deranged health it is found to be a potent restorative. The range of buildings called York Crescent, affords an agreeable southern aspect, but the elevated situation leaves the houses much exposed to high winds. The Mall, the Parade, and Cornwallis Crescent furnish excellent accommodation to visitors, and, according to their respective differences of position, yield a sheltered winter or an open airy summer residence. Tlie most prevalent winds are those from the west and south-east. Rain frequently falls, but from the absorbent nature of the soil, the gi'ound quickly dries. The giant's cave is contained within the upper beds of the limestone in St. Vincent's Rocks. The cavern opens on the precipitous escarpment of the rock, at a height of about 250 feet above the river, and sixty feet below or to the west of the observatory. A rude and broken ledge extends from the north-eastern summit of the rock downwards to within twenty feet of the opening, across which space none but an expert cragsman would venture to pass. The environs of Clifton are replete with scenery of the most enchanting description. HARROGATE. 225 Harrogate, twenty miles from York, fifteen from Leeds and three from Knaresborougli, has a resident population of about five thousand, but during the season whicii continues from the beginning of June to the end of October, the visitors alone are more than double that amount. High and Low Harrogate are half-a-mile distant from each otiier, and as far as matters parochial are concerned, form two distinct villages, whose line of division, two brooks, is not obvious to the eye. The former is in the parish of Knaresborougb, the latter of Pannal ; but a more singular distinction was made until Ripon was formed into a bishopric, for then the villages were under the jurisdiction of two different episco- pacies, the See of Chester, and the See of York. Dr. Hunter divides the Harrogate spriny;s into four classes, such as springs impregnated with sulphuretted hydrogen gas and saline matter ; Faline chalybeate springs; pure chalybeate; and springs con- taii.ing earthy salts with little iron and no sulphuretted hy- drogen. The " Teicit tvell" is on the common, to the east side of the Brunswick Hotel, and near the road to Leeds. The " Sweat Spa" was discovered in 1G31, some years after, and occupies a more commanding position. It is now the chief chalybeate. In 17GG, Lord Loughborough erected a stone canopy over the spring, which was removed in 1842, when the present neat building was substituted. The " Old Sulphur Wells" drew attention to the spot in the first part of the seven- teintli century. In 1842 the commissioners enclosed the springs and erected an octagonal pump-room of ample dimen- sions and appropriate decoration. That this, however, might not interfere with the claims of those who could not afTord a trilling gratuity to the attendant, a pump is placed without the walls available to the public, with only such restrictions as are necessary for the preservation of the water. The " Mont- jxUier Sulphur Well" is private property and an appurtenance to the Crown Hotel. It was found in 1822, and is enclosed together with the saline chalybeate pump connected with the spring at a short distance, in an octagonal apartment deco- rated after the Chinese style. A trifling subscription gives the public the benefit of the springs, and entitles them btsides Q 22G HARROGATE. to admission in the pleasure-grounds adjoining. The " Knarcs- borough or Starhecli Sjjn" is situated midway between Har- rogate and Knaresborough, and is about 200 yards from the roadside. Though known as a sulphur spring at an early period, it was not until 1822 that the inhabitants of Knares- borough erected a neat and appropriate building over it witli a suite of baths, and a residence for the attendant. To delicate constitutions it has often affoidtd relief when stronger remedies have failed. Tlie ''Saline Chnlijbiate or Royal Chdtenhnm Pump-room," contains the properties of a tonic, aperient, and alterative spring. It was found by Mr. Oddy, in 1819, whilst searching for sulphur water to supply the baths. In 1835, the original little pump-room was superseded by the present splendid building, which affords a pleasant promenade and a library for the literary lounger. Balls and concerts are fre- quently given here throughout the season. " Harlow Carr" springs are situated in Harlow Carr, a small but picturesque valley about a mile from the Brunswick Hotel, and beyond the tower on the road from Harrogate to Otiey. There are several springs both of sulphur and chalybeate water in the grounds, but three only of the former, and one of the latter quality are at present used. There is a comfortable inn ad- joining, built in the Elizabethan style, which commands an agreeable prospect. A suite of ten baths, eitlier for hot or cold water, have also also been provided in a detached building, with every requisite convenience for the accommodation of visitors. There are a few other springs of minor importance in Low Harrogate, and numerous bathing establishments for those who are advised to try their remedial effects. Tlie hotels are numerous. The " Queen's" was erected first, and as early as 1(587, and the Dragon, Granby, White Hart, and Crown Hotels, may also be mentioned as among the principal. There are besides numerous boarding and lodging houses, offering every comfort to visitors. Amusements are not want- ing; there is a race-course, laid out in 1793, and libraries and collections in natural hi>tory to beguile the leisure of the studiously disposed. Those delighting in fine prospects should not omit visiting the lofty tower erected on Harlow LEAMINGTON. 227 hill, in 1829, by Mr. Thompson, of High Harrogate. It oc- cupies a lofty acclivity about a mile from Low Harrogate, and tliough pl;ice(l at an altitude of .JOG feet above the level of the sea, is not difficult of ascent. The tower is 100 feet high, and presents a magnificent panorama of the suirounding country on a clear day. To assist the vision there are seven mounted telescopes, of great optical power, placed at the summit. To give some idea of the amazing extent of the view nffiirded, it may be mentioned that when the atmosphere is favourable, the Peak, in Derbyshire, i.s distinctly visil)li>, and the tower of a church in Hull may bo seen, though the latter is distant sixty miles. The enjoyment of a sojourn at Harro- gate would be incomplete without an excursion to the prin- cipal places of attraction in the vicinity. Among these, the ruins of Fountain's Abbey and the enchanting grounds of Studley Royal will afford a delightful scene for a das's pil- grimage. Brinham Rocks, Hackfdll, Bolton Priory, and tlic iine old city of Ripon, with its Cathedral, will also be found eminently worthy of notice as lying within the easy compass of a ride from Harrogate, and enabling the visitor to return before nightfall. Lenmington, two miles from the ancient county town of Warwick, and of easy access from London by a short branch line from the North Western Railway, is pleasantly situated in one of the finest parts of Warwickshire. The road fiom Warwick pa-^ses over a neat stone bridge of one arch, thrown across the Avon, and affords a charming view of the castle, with the ruined bridge and waterfall. Leamington principally consists of two streets, crossing each other in the centre of the town, and being both of spacious dimensions and animated appearance. The squares, terraces, and detached villus all exhibit evidence of substantial respectability, and occupy eli- gible positions. The Assembly Rooms and the Paithenon are places favourably known and frequented lor the fashionable balls and concerts given therein, and during the hunliiigand racing fc-eason the lovers of the turf throng here in vast nuinbeis. The temperature is mild and equable, and the salubrity of the air especially recommends Leamington as a desirable place of resi- 228 MALYEKN. dence for invalids. The springs all lie within a short dislance of the Leain Bridge. The Old Well is the one most frequented. Opposite is Goold's Spring and Baths. Curtis's Well adjoins the Royal Parade; it contains less muriate of soda, but more muriate of magnesia than the others. Near the bridge, also, are the Victoria Well and Pump-room, and on die opposite side the Royal Spa and Pump-room, witli the baths and promenade adjacent. Lee's Wells are also, the one a sulphu- rous, the other a saline chalybeate. The surrounding country is full of interest. The ruins of Kenilworth are only six miles distant, and nearer still is Warwick Castle, where may be seen the celebrated Warwick Vase, found in the ruins of Hadrian's Villa, at Tivoli, ami purchased from Sir William Hamilton by the Eail of Warwick, in 1774. It is formed of white marble and will contain 1G3 gallons. Guy's Cliff, the traditionary retreat of the great Guy, Earl of Warwick, will also amply repay a visit. By the line of the North Western Railway, Leamington is 103 miles from London. Malvern, always attractive to the tourist from the beautiful scenery by which it is environed, has recently sprung into great and deserved repute, on account of the large hydropa- thic establishments that have been here carried on with consi- derable success. It is situated on the sloping side of one of the Malvern Hills, the highest point of which, 1,300 feet above the plain, commands an extensive prospect over Worcestershire, Gloucestershire, and a part of Wales. The Vale of Evesham, with the winding Severn, lies beneath, and the ancient city of AVorcester is but eight miles distant. Hotels and boarding-houses are numerous, and every arrangement that can conduce to the comfort of visitors will be found here in perfection. The air, as may be imagined from the advan- tageous situation, is extremely pure, and in the summer, deliciously cool and invigorating. There are two wells re- sorted to by invalids, one called St. Ann's Well, which is a little distance above the village of Great Malvern ; the other, called "the Holy Well," is about a mile and a half upon the road towards Little Malvern and Ledbury. Both springs are situated some distance on the acclivity of the hill, and are but MALVERN, '^Z'J sligl'lly mineralised, and scarcely tepid. The walks, rides, anil drives in the vicinity are of groat and varied beauty, and materially contribute to the restoration or preservation of the health of visitors. Around the base of the hill called the Here- fordshire Beacon, is a double entrenchment from six to twelve feet deep, dug by Gilbert, Earl of Gloucester, as a boundary between his portion of Malvern Chase and that belonging to the Bishop of Hereford. Matlock is about 17 miles north of Derby, and 144 from London, being now easily reached by the branch line from the Ambergate station of the North Midland Railway. The village of Matlock is two miles north of the Bath, which is the great attraction to the spot, and is surrounded by some of the loveliest scenery in Derbyshire. Tliere are numerous hotels and excellent lodging-houses, some of them situated hundreds of feet above the turnpike-road, in the most romantic situa- tions imaginable. The springs are scarcely tepid, the temper- ature being no more than 68" of Fahrenheit, and possessing qualities little differing from those of ordinary spring water. Semi-natural caverns and old wcra-out mines offer attractions to the curious on every hand ; boats on the lovely Derwent, which flows through the dell, parallel with the road, attract visitors to glide on its bosom ; the tepid springs supply com- modious plunging and swimming baths, and the charges are reasonable for all that can be recjuired by a sojourner in this favoured spot. Entering from the south, and looking to the right, Willersley Castle is seen, a noble mansion belonging to the Arkwright family. The cotton mill op])Ojite, driven by the river, was the first undertaking of the kind for which the Arkwright patent for the manufacture of cotton by machinery was obtained. The extensive grounds are thrown open to the public two days in every week. Among tlie curiosities of the place are the petrifying spring and the Cumberland and Rutland basins. The spring which is opposite to the old bath covers everything that is immersed in it with a crust of stone. Some remarkable specimens are shown to visitors. Within the compass of a few miles many attractive places will be found eminently provocative of excursions. On Riber Hill, near 230 TUXBRIDGE WliLLS. the church, are the Hirst Stones, probably the remains of a croiuleeli, coiisis-ting of four rude masses of gritstone ; one of which, supposed to weigh about two tons, is placed on the others, and has in the centre a hole six inclies deep, and nine inches in diameter, in which was formerly a stone pillar, delightful excursion may be made from Matlock to Dove- dale, thirteen miles distant, through scenery of the most romantic description. Then there is Chatsworth, the fine Beat of the Duke of Devonshire, and justly named the Palace of the Peak; Iladdcn Hall, the finest specimen of a baronial hall in existence; Hardwick Hall, Alton Towers, tlie residence of the Earl of Shrewsbury ; iVewstead Abbey, of Byronic memory ; and, above all, the Great Peak cavern at Castleton, above the entrance to which is the fine ruin of tlie castle belonging to the Peverils of the Peak. Any one of these, apart from the deliglits of Matlock itself, would be found sutiicient to repay the traveller for a trip from town. Tunhr'id'jc Wells, brought by tlie South Eastern Railway into rapid Cwmmunication with the metropolis, is, with the exception of Bath, the most ancient of the inland watering places. Nature has eminently favoured it by the salubrity of its air, the potency of its mineral springs, and the adjacent appendages of romantic and agreeable scenery. Dudley Lord North, a yourig nobleman of the court of James 1., whilst on a visit (o Eridge House, happened to taste the waters, and these renovating a constitution impaired by too much indul- gence, caused him to bring the place into fashionable repute. From that time visitors gradually increased, streets were laid out, lodging-houses built, and now, though the caprice of fashion has s^oniewhat depreciated the fame of our own spas, Tuiibridge Wells may still boast a large share of patronage in the season, which extends from May till November. The town, which contains a population of about 10,000, is built upon a .■sandy soil, and is divided into four districts, called respectively Mount Ephraim, Mount Pleasant, Mount Sion, and the Wells. The houses are chiefly detached villas, with lawns in front and large gardens in the rear. Those that are situated on the mounts have extensive views that combine hill and TUXBRIDGE WELLS. 231 dale, forests and fields, commons, meadow?, and corn lamls, with a large tract of hop-grouuds. Tho drinking spring rises at the end of the Parade, wliich has a row of trees ou one side, and a colonnade with shops on the other. The water is a strong chalybeate, and possesses a great tonic power. The climate is congenial, and the air upon the downs has a fine bracing and exhilai'ating property. There is almost perfect immunity from fog, and being sheltered from the north-east winds by the north downs, the temperature throughout the winter is pleasant and equable. Crowborough Common, at the Beacon, seven miles from tlie Wells, stands at an elevation of 800 feet above the level of the sea. The inns and boarding- bouses are generally of a superior description. About a milo and a half south-west of the town are some rocks of con- siderable height, surrounded witii wood, which are much admired by visitors. The manufacture of wooden toys and articles of domestic use, long celebrated as '• Tunbridge ware," is still carried on here to a considerable extent, and was formerly the principal produce of the place. Tuubiidge Wells is forty-six miles from London by railway. Excursions may be made to Pensliurst, five miles distant; Bridge Castle, two miles distant; Hever, seven miles distant ; and Bayhara Abbey, the seat of the Marquis of Camden, six miles distant, the ruins being exceedingly ]>itturesque. The modern mansion is in the Gothic style. The principal inns at Tunbridge Wells are the Royal Sussex Uotel, the Caverley, Ephraim, Kentish, and the Castle. COJ^CLUSION. Tuirs far have we sought to gossip the reader into pleasant acquaintance with the most admired and characteristic fea- tures of the watering-places of our English coast, and in so doing we have aimed at imparting to the drier details of mere topographical description something of that discursive tone which those who love to ramble by the shore would desire to 232 CONCLUSION. find in a chatty companion. We give utterance to only a trite truth — universally felt but seldom acted upon— when we state that the greater part of the pleasure derived from a trip to a watering-place is generally lost from the want of some congenial guide to describe the prominent attractions of the spot, and indicate the proper points for excursions to the environs. It is such a want that, as far as in us lies, we have endeavoured to supply. The tourist, with this book in his hand, can ramble out alone, and be certain that he misses no object of interest from not knowing where to seek for it. He cac, from this, learn beforehand the nature of the climate, the best means of travelling, what he ought to see when arrived, and — no slight trouble saved — he can ascertain without further inquiry when and where to post his letters. An old city is full, from one corner to the other, of sights on which antiquity has written its legends, and described its moral emblems, with the fingers of a philosoplier. We are continually treading upon the site of some dwelling which a patriot or a poet con- secrated by his residence within ; the roof of an hospital or almshouse every now and then meets the eye, reminding us of the religious charity of men who sought no other monument to make themselves remembered but deeds of love ; and besides these, there are streets through which one may walk from sunrise till sundown, and call up from the very names of them a thousand images of bygone celebrities, now only chronicled in history, romance, or biography. Within the last three or four years, people have been enabled — thanks to the railways and the organisation of " cheap pleasure- trips" — to indulge in that novelty of scene which is so natural to the human mind, and to travel to distances which their forefathers had neither the time nor the money to undertake. To the traveller of limited means no place within the limits of the three kingdoms can be really considered inaccessible. Onco a year, if not oftener, he may make choice of a place to visit ; he may bathe in the sea, or climb the mountain-top, or wander amid scenes celebrated for their associations or attractive from their natural loveliness. The flattering encouragement be- stowed upon this attempt to depict the beauties of the sunny CONCLUSION. 233 shores of Albion, calls for the most grateful acknowledgment; and with the hope that the summer saunterings of the reader may secure for him the blessing of health and the patronage of tiiis little volume, we now commend him to the attractive companionship of the coast, and leave him to the full enjoy- ment of its marine pleasures. 234 LIXES WRITTEN IN A YOUNG LADY'S ALBUil. Come write in my album— the favour I ask Is neitlier a great nor a difficult task ; A verse — though I think you might manage a page, For never was known so prolitic an age ; From the prince to the peasant, all rliyme at their ease. And poets are thick as the leaves on the frees. Your subject may be— just whatever you choose, I shall not put the slightest restraint on your Muse ; To the regions of fancy her pinions may soar, On the waves of the ocean or sands of the shore ; To its caverns below, or the blue sky above. Or Ihe theme may be chivalry, beauty, and love. Then write in my album — and oft as the eye Shall meet the fond record of years long gone by, Though oceans may pai-t us, or lands may divide, Still fancy will bring back those friends to our side: In a tear shall the mem'ry of friendship be told. Though the hand that hath trac'd it be nerveless and cold. D. W. APPENDIX. CONTAINING A iFuII anir t, being about thirty-nine English miles. The southern shore of the island, and a small part of the eastern, is a bold and continuous cliff, rising from the sea perpendicularly to the height of 270 feet. The land slopes gradually to the north, till it subsides in a low ilat, not much above the level of the sea : this is the most fertile part of the island. Half a dozen brooks, the greatest of which has not a course of more than three miles, descend into the bays. The island is wholly of granite formation, and the soil which lies be- tween its clustered rocks is an accumulation of decomposed syenite. Nearly in the centre of the east side of the island is a long curve or irregular bay, in which lies the town of St. Peter's Port. As St. Hclier's, in Jersey, has its rock in the harbour with Elizabeth Castle, so St. Peter's Port has its rock with Castle Cornet. Both formerly were the residences cf the respective governors of the islands. Like Mont Orgueil, Castle Cornet is a very ancient fortification, and many are the stories of its memorable sieges recounted in tlie local histories. The castle is at present in a tolerable state of repair, mounts some cannon, and is garrisoned by a regiment of soldiers ; but though there are some good houses and strong works within, it is not, in the modern acceptation of the word, a formidable fortification. Nothing can be more charmingly picturesque than the town of St. Peter'.-, seen from the water. It is built on the slope of an eminence, with the houses overtopping each other; and on approaching after sunset, the various lights from the windows give it a brilliant GUERNSEY. 239 appearance of illumination. Of late years tlie town has been considerably extended, and now may be said to include a circumference of about tlirec miles. In the older part tlie streets are narrow, steep, and crooked, flanked by substantial but antiquated dusky mansions, but the environs abound in pretty villas, and as far transcend the expectation of the tourist as the town may seem to fall below it. The new town occupies such an elevated position, that from the level of the market-place the side of the ravine is ascended by a flight of 145 steps to the top of what is called Mount Gibel. About a quarter of a mile from this spot are the public walks, or "new ground." This plot of land, comprising about eight English acres, was purchased by the parish about seventy years ago, and is laid out partly in groves and partly as a grand military parade. One of the principal "lions" of the town is its Fish Market, one of the most striking edifices of the kind ever erected. It is 198 feet in length, 22 feet wide, and 28 feut high, the whole being entirely covered over and well lighted by seven octagonal sky-lights, beneath which there are Venetian blinds for the purposes of ven- tilation. The double row of slabs, that extend the whole length of the building, are chiefly of variegated marble, and are supplied with abundance of fresh water. The total cost of Fountain-street and the Fish Market amounted to nearly £.58,000. Turbot, cod, and mullet are in abundance, and of excellent quality as well as amazing cheapness. The Butchers' Market-place, adjoining, was erected in 1822, and under the Assembly Rooms is the Vegetable Market, both commodious and suitable to the purpose. The prices are slightly lower than in London. The poultry consumed in Guernsey is chiefly French, very little country produce being brought to market. A glance at the average prices will not be uninteresting : — Turkeys sell at from 3s. to 4s. ; fowls, 2s. Gd. per couple; geese, 2s. 6d. each; Guernsey eggs, 8d. to Is. per dozen, and French eggs, from 5d. to 6d. There is a neat theatre in New-street, and some assembly-rooms, built by subscription, in the spacious ball-room of which the public meetings are generally held. At the top of Smith-street stands 240 GUERNSEY. Government House, a neat building, the residence of the Lieutenant Governor. From the roads and harbour, the church of St. James, the new college, and Castle Gary, which stand in the highest part of the town, form very striking and commanding objects. Castle Gary was erected in 1829, at a cost of £4,000, and is two stories in height, exclusive of the basement and centre tower or turret, but, from the little ground attaclied to it, the whimsical appellation of Castle Lackland has been appropriately bestowed. Doyle's Column, erected in honour of Sir John Doylo, stands on the heights between the bays of Fermain and Moulin- street. It is about 150 feet high from the base to the top, and 250 feet from the level of the sea. A winding staircase inside affords access to the gallery, which is surrounded by an iron balustrade, and commands a varied and extensive view. St. Peter's Church is of a more elaborate architecture than any in the island ; it consists of a nave, two aisles, and a chancel, with a tower in the centre, surmounted by a low spire. The porch on the northern side is very handsome ; granite pillars support the arched roof, and on the walls are some exquisitely beautiful marble monuments. The garrison service and the evening service are performed in the English language. There are also numerous other places of religious worship, appropriate to the tenets of every other denomina- tion. Elizabeth College — a fine building, standing on an elevation behind the town, with a spacious area around it beautifully laid out — was founded and endowed by Queen Elizabeth, in the year 1563, who assigned eighty quarters of wheat rent for its support. For nearly three centuries this institution existed in little more than its name, but means were successfully adopted, in 1824, to place this admirable institution on the footing of a college. The course includes Hebrew, Greek, Latin, divinity, geography, history, mathe- tics, arithmetic, and French and English literature, for £12 per annum, to wliich, for a small additional sum, may be added the Spanish, Italian, and German languages, music, drawing, fencing, and drilling. Another excellent institu- GUEKNSEY. 241 tioii in the town is the hospital or workhouse, which is admirably managed, and has been, since its erection, in 1743 for the destitute a refu-e, and for the young a seminary for instruction. The harbour is formed aitificially by a long piei» and there IS a good roadstead near tlie village of St. .Alurtin, where a great number of vessels take shelter during gales! In his excursions through the environs the visitor will be struck with the superior neatness of the cottages of Guernsey, as compared with Jersey, and remark with interest the universal ])assion that prevails for flowers. On the front of most of tlie cotta-es may be seen, trailed up, splendid geraniums, and amon-st the otiier flowers cultivated we must not forget the fir- famed Guernsey lily, the pride of the island, and the fovourite of every gardener and cottager who has a bit of garden ground The Guernsey lily is a native of Japan, and was said t°o have been originally introduced into the island by accident. A vessel having some roots on board was wrecked off the coast here, and these being washed on slioro, germinated, grew upon tlie beach, and were soon after universally cultivated and admired. Of the salubrity of the Guernsey climate there can be no doubt as well from the restorative eff-cct produced upon invaad visitors as from the general healtii and lon-^evity en- joyed by its inhabitants. It is con>iderably warmer than the southern coast of Devonshire in all seasons, without, however being more humid, a character which it has rather unde- servedly acquired. The heat of summer is tempered by a gentle sea breeze, and, like all other maritime situations the cold of winter is mitigated by the caloric imparted to' the atmosphere from the surrounding ocean. Frosts are neitber severe nor durable; indeed, whole winters often pass away- without a single face of snow. The lu.xuriance of the various exoacs, which flourish at this season unguarded, aff-ord une- qu.vocal evidence of the mildness of the climate. The white trouble rose camelia blooms abundantly in the month of i^oveu.ber, and orange-trees endure the winter with only a shght covering of matting occasionally tiuo.vn around theni. R 242 GVERXSEY. The island is easily examined. Tlie northern extremity is narrow, bare, and ugly, a large portion of it having only been reclaimed from the sea a few years ago. The most attractive natural scenery is to be found on the southern and south- western sfdes ; and though it is neither so productive nor so luxuriantly wooded as Jersey, the island is far from bting destitute of beautiful localities. Fermain Bay, Petit Bo, and Moulin-Huet, are all three worth a visit, but will certainly not compare with the bays in Jersej'. Some interesting Druidical monuments were discovered in the year 1812, having been till that time covered by heaps of sand. Some antique vessels and remains of human bones were found within, and there is also an obelisk of Celtic ori^jin, but without inscription. The best way to see the island to advan- tage is to make a pedestrian journey round it, doubling the headlands, and skirting the cliffs in every direction. The bulk of the people of Guernsey may be divided into two classes — the middle and the labouring, or rather the ■ tradespeople in the town and the country people, who are very hard-working and abstemious. The jury is unknown in Guernsey : all judicial power is vested in the bailiffs and tlie jurats, but there is a light of appeal from the Royal Court to the Privy Council. The rate of living is very reasonable, and the hotels are, with the boarding-houses — whicUare generally preferred by visitors who stop more than a few dti^s — exceedingly liberal in their entertainment and reasonable in their charges. Not one of the least advantages of tlie Channel Islands, and of Guernsey in particular, as a place of residence, is the prevailing custom, which eximptsfiom local taxation strangers not possessed of real property in the island, and not carrying on any trade or profession. With the exception of a small duty on spirits, there is an utter absence of all imposts on imported goods, and the visitor is neither plagued with passports nor delayed by the annoyances of a Custom-house scrutiny. The population of the island is about 30,000, and the annual mortality, as appears from the latest registration in 1847, was only one in about eighty- five. In 1846 the GUERNSEY. 243 effective strength of the militia was estimated to be abuut 2,000 men, from sixteen to foif. -five years of a-e, and the.e are divided into four regiments and an artillery battalion. Tiiere is almost daily communication by steam between tbe Channel Islands and the port of Southampton, from whence the English mail is conveyed every Tuesday, Thur^Jay, and Saturday, at 7 p.m. The average passage to Guernsey is eight hours, to Jersey ton hours ; the usual fares being one guinea first cabin, Us. second cabin. Other packets return from the channel Islands on tlie same days. In addition to these steamers depart twice a-week in the season from Plymouth calling off Torquay, and a constant communi- cation IS also maintained between St. Malo and Granville in Fraace. ' JERSEY. ^ ^'^ '"-'iiS'-lii, whicii many prefer o the island already de- scribed, is in form an iire- uular parallelogram, about ten miles long, and five broad. Its e;reatest length from south-east to norlh- Aest is about twelve miles, whilst it embraces a circum- ference, inclusive of its many curves and winding sinuosities, of about fifty miles, and a superficies of some 50,000 acres. Sloping from north to south, in contradistinction to Guernsey, the whole of the noithern coast, with the eastern and western JERSEY. 245 projections, will be found composeil of rugged and precipitous rocks, while the southern shore, though fringed with crags and undulating cliffs, lies low, and has a considerable portion of that fine sandy beach, so inviting to tliose who come chit fly to bathe and promenade by the sea-shore. The town of St. Helier's, where the steam-boat passengers from Southampton disembark, lies on the eastern side of the beautiful bay of St. Aubiu's; and if the visitor be fortunate enough to arrive at high water, the first appearance of the island, with its noble bay, sloping shores, and thickly-wooded heights, profusely studded with villas and cottages, will be found happily to unite the attributes of the beautiful and the picturesque. The town itself is very Swiss-like in its aspect, and backed by its lofty stronghold, Fort Regent, which is seen overtopping the houses in all directions, it at once impresses the visitor with a con- viction that the elements of novelty are everywhere around him. Though little more than what a thriving, bustling sea- port town may be expected to be, with its boarding-iiouses and hotels, a court-house and a market, an old parish church and a modern district one — built in what is called the Gothic style — two or three Dissenting chapels, a theatre, and shops of quiet respectability — the hand of improvement has been lately much more manifest, and it has now assumed all the elegance and attractiveness of a fashionable watering-place. The extensive fortification, Fort Regent, which is generally the first olijcct that strikes the eye of the traveller, was begun in 1806, and before its completion cost no less than £800,000. The magazines and barracks are in the bastions and under the ramparts, and are bomb-proof. Tlie powder magazine is capable of containing 5,000 barrels, and the whole fortress, which has certainly been constructed on the best principles of defence, is abundantly supplied with excellent water from a well 234 feet deep, and 10 feet in diameter, bored through the solid rock. This has completely thrown into the shade the more ancient and picturesque fort called Elizabeth Castle, built on a huge sea-girt rock, passed in approaching the towa from England ; but an excursion to it — which can only be made on foot, by a pebble causeway, at low water — should be 246 JERSEY. ccrt-iinly undi rtaktn, for the sake of the cliarming views it affo ds. Having insprcfed the town and its environs, paid a visit to Eliziibeth Castle, and the rock adjoining, where, according to the legend, the hermit St. Helier lived, who bestowed his name on the town, it is not a bad plan to obtain a distinct bird's-eye view of the island previous to examining it on a series of excursions. La Hogne Bie, or Princes Tower, a singular structure, erected on a high artificial mound about three miles from St. Helier's, affords the oppor- tunity of enjoying this to advantage. Fiom the summit the «ye embraces the whole island. Climbing the heights at the l)ack of the town and passing St. Saviour's Church, from the churchyard of which there is an excellent view over the town, the adjoining country, and St. Aubin's Bay, we arrive at this famous tower, which has of course a very romai'tic, but not at all authentic, legend to account for its origin. From this eminence, to quote one of Mr. Inglis's most graphic descriptions of the spot, " Jersey appears like an extensive pleasure-ground — one immense park, thickly studded with trees, beautifully undulating, and dotted witii cottages. Fer- tility is on every side seen meeting the sea; the fi'ie curves of several of the bays may be di>tinctlj traced, with their ma' tello towers and other more imposing defences ; several of th(? larger valleys may be distinguished by the shadow which is thown upon one side; while all around the horizon is bounded by the blue sea, excepting towards the east, where tlie French coast is seen, stretcliing in a wide curve towards the north and south, and which, in one direction, approaches so near to .Jersey, that the white sea-beach is distinctly seen, and in clear weather even the towns that lie near to the coast." This view instantly makes you anxious to range over the island, to penetrate into the valleys and ravines, to wander tlirotigh the orchards, fields, pastures, and gardens, and to de-cend to the bays and creeks, which one naturally and justly pictures full of beauty and repose. The new roads, that intersect the island in many directions, are excellent and commodious ; but the old roads, though dreadfully perplexing and intricate, should be assuredly explored by those who JERSliY. 247 desire to arrive at a fair estimate of the scenic attractions of the island. One object in the construction of the old roads in former days was to puzzle pirates or bewilder an enemy, and. thus effectually retard and ob^truct tlieir attempts to subdue the islanders. During the heat of summer it is delightfully refreshing to turn aside into one of these bye-paths, that scarcely admit even a straggling ray of the noontide sun ; but later in autumn, the decomposition of decaying vegetable matter going on in their shady depths render it advisable to prefer the new. Those whose stay in the island is limiled will of course be glad to make the most of its duration, and to that end we shall sugye>t how these excursions may be briefly made. The first day should be spent about St. Helier and its environs, with a visit to La Hogue Bie, and then passing on eastwaid to Mont Orgueil Castle, with its magnificent prospects, and the little village adjoining of Gorey, the seat of the Jersey oyster fisliery. The village is built partly close to the sea and harbour, and partly on the height which rises towards the entrance to the castle. Upwards of '250 boats are engaged in the oyster fishery here, which it is computed returns about j£'29,000 to the island from its annual produce. Besides being itself striking and picturesque, Mont Orgueil has some most interesting recollections in connexion with it. It stands upon the summit of a rocky headland jutting out into the sea, and though its origin and architect are alike unknown, it is recognised as havin;^ been a fortress of some importance in the reign of King John. In a few places the walls are entire, but it can hardly be regarded as other than an imposing ruin, from the summit of which a view is gained sufficiently charming to repay for the toilsome ascent. Here, for a short time, lived Charles II. in the early days of his wanderings, and here also was impi'i.>oned for three years William Prynne, who, the victim himself of bigoted prejudices, ought to have more zealously curbed his own. He was liberated in Xovem- ber, 1040, not before he had turned his imprisonment to some account by penning several moral distpusitions on the castle and his condition, in one of which we find the following 248 JERSEY. quaint appeal in the preface : — " If thou reap any informa- tion, consolation, reformation, or cdifieation by any of these publications, let the author enjoy thy prayers and best respect, and his stationer thy custom." The garrison at Mont Orgueil now consists only of a seijeant and two privates, whose duty is simply confined to hoisting a flag on holidays. From the summit the Cathedral of Constance, in Normandy, can on clear days be distinguislied. On the second day the tourist can explore, in the opposite direction, westward, and cross from St. Heller's to St. Aubin, either by a boat across the bay, or by taking a more circuitous land route over the fine firm sand at low water. Once the chief town in Jersey, and now even in its decadence eminently adapted for those who desire a quiet retreat, St. Aubin is beautifully situated. There is one steep straggling street, which drops abruptly down from an eminence towards the sea, but it is remarkably clean, and, though irregularly built, contains many excellent houses. The bay has also the benefit of a good pier, and the high cliffs around afford a shelter from the breezes, which are very prevalent in Jersey. "A perfectly calm day," says a resident, peculiarly qualified to give his opinion on the subject, " is very rare, even in summer, and generally speaking even the finest wea'her may be called blowy weather." Between St. Aubin's and St. Brelade's many interesting points of view will be disclosed, and the Bay of St. Brelade's is considered by Inglis to be the most attractive of all the island bays. lie says, — " Boulay Bay is grander ; St. Aubin's nobler ; Rozel and Greve-de-Lecq more secluded ; but in none of them do we find, so much as in St. Brelade's, the union of the barren, the wild, and the picturesque j and in none of them do the works of men harmonize so well with the natural scenery that surrounds them." On the western side of the bay stands the old parish church, quite at the water's edge, and only elevated a little above it, for the sea at high tide sweeps over the crumbling monuments in the churchyard. The church itself is exceedingly small, and has neither spire nor tower, but over the nave it is roofed like a house. There is certainly a round turret, which rises from JERSEY. 249 the gr: uiifl, hut it is built in a nook, and ascends only to a small bt'lfiy. In the churchyard stands one of the old chapels of the island, built long before the churches, and this is the only one in tolerable preservation. It was called the Fisher- man's Chapel. If the day be now not too far spent, the excursion may be extended to the north-western extremity of the island, and tiie tourist can thus visit Plement Point and Cape Grosnez. The caves adjoining are marine excavations in the lower part of a rocky hill, and are celebrated, like those in the Grevc-de-Lecq, as great attractions to strangers. The northern coast of Jersey may well have one or two days exclusively appropriated to it. There is from Greve-de-Lecq to Boulay Bay a distance of between six and seven miles, and along tills circuit objects of interest will bo found rife in every direction. The bold scenery in Boulay Bay has been very much admired, and in fact the stupendous barriers of the northern coast contrast finely with the interior of the island, so luxuriantly wooded and so proverbially fertile. A favourite resort of pic-nic parties, and one of the sweetest of the island bays, is Rozel, situated a short distance from Boulay Bay, at the north-cast corner of the island. Hemmed in by high cliffs and bunks, with a few fishermen's huts scattered along' the beach, and deep woodeJ glens branching into the interior, it is just the place wliere a cold veal pie would taste most delicioiisly, or a sentimental ballad produce the most impres- sive effect. The climate of Jersey is exceedingly mild, in consequence of the southern situation and aspect of the island, and the temperature being equalized by the vicinity of the sea. Frost never continues any length of time. Snow falls but seldom, and melts immediately, and even with Guernsey, there is a sensible difference of climate. Melons there are raised in hot-beds, hut they grow profusely in the common garden- ground of Jersey. The inhabitants are social in disposition, and few places equally limited in extent enjoy a greater variety of amusement. In autumn and winter there is a continual round of assemblies, and in spring and summer the military reviews impart a lively aspect to the town. English 250 JERSEY. habits are thoroughly engrafted on the island, the English language has become familiar to all classes, and throughout the whole of Jersey the barbarous Norman French may be pronounced on the decline. The same mode of transit indi- cated in our account of Guernsey can be employed in reaching Jersey; and the favourable opportunity it uffoids for a short trip into Normandy should not be forgotten by those who have the time and means to avail themselves of its contiguity to the Norman coast. ALDERNEY, SARK, &c. HOSE who have an opportunity afforded them to visit the little islands of Ahlerney and Sark, will not regret availing themselves of the offer, should there be fair weather attendant on the excursion. Sarlt — also called Svrk or Sercq — is six miles to the east of Guernsey, and is rather more than three miles in length. Its average breadth is not quite a mile, and in one part it is actually not many yards wide, but the island is still a thriving and fertile spot, and maintains in indepen- dent comfort a population of nearly 600 healthy and hardy islanders. The cliffs by which it is bounded are from 100 to 200 feet high. The Coupee Rock, its chief wonder, is a narrow neck of land, about five feet broad, with a precipitous descent on each side of about 350 feet down to the sea. It is a favourite spot with " pic-nics," but in windy weather is not to be ventured upon without caution. This remarkable island is a litile kingdom in itself, being governed by a parliament of foity resident copyhold tenants, which meets three times a-yer.r, under the command of the Lord of Sark. This asf^embly appointsthe police force of the island, which consists of tiro individuals, and that this formidable couple are found sufficient may be presumed from the fact that though there is a gaol eretted no individual has ever been lodged in it since it was built. Midway between Sark and Guernsey are Hcrm and Jcthou, two insignificant islets, the one containing a population of 200 and the other of 20. About twenty miles from Guernsey, north-east by north, and forty from Jersey, is the little island of Alderney, so famous for its celebrated cows. Tlie island is about four miles long, a mile and a half broad, and eight miles in circumference. The south-east coast is composed of some striking lofty cliffs, ranging from 150 to 200 feet in height. The inhabitants, chiefly fisher- men, consist of about 1,000 individuals. Six miles to the west of Alderney are " The Caskets," a dangerous cluster of 252 ALDERNEY, SARK, &:C. rocks, included in the compass of a mile. Tliey have thice lighthouses, so placed as to form a triangle and be a protection to shipping. It was on these rocks that Prince William, only son of Henry I., perished by shipwreck, in the year 1119; and where, in 1744, the Victory was lost, with 1,100 men. From this it will be seen, that even when the attractions of Guernsey and Jersey are on the wane, there are some re- sources left in these excursions, which will give the tourist, who has no misgivings of the sea and the stalwart Channel boatmen, the opportunity of enjoying an additional round of novelties. THE ISLE OF MAN, pidly vouiablo estimation of tlie public ; and there are few spots where a month or two of summer can be more agi-eeably and advantageously spent. Till lately it was comparatively un- known to the valetudinarian and the pleasure-seeker, but steam— that peculiar agent of the nineteenth century, by which obscure localities have hven elevated and distant places 254 THE ISLE OF MAN. brought nigh — has done wonders for Mona's Isle. At one time, and that not distant, it was difficult, and often im- possible, for weeks together, to obtain a passage to or fro, and then only in the most uncomfortable and questionable-looking sailing craft. Now it is far otherwise. Finer steamers are not to be found anywhere than those belonging to the Isle of Man Steam-packet Company, in wliich tlie passage to the Island may be made from Liverpool daily, in summer, in five or six hours ; from Dublin weeklj', in seven hours ; and the visitor returning from the Lake District may transport liim- self from Whitehaven to Mona's sea-girt shores in little moie than three hours. Steamers also ply to and from Fleetwood and Glasgow. The Isle of Man, from its geosjraphical position, is favourably situated for a popular summer resort, being almost equidistant from the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland. Indeed, on a clear day, from the summit of Snafield, its highest mountain peak, a bird's-eye view may be obtained of the coast of eacli country. Looking at the Island, we cannot but be struck with the attractions it possesses. Its climate, coast, country, and continuity to the surrounding shores, all ecfnibine to render it a desireable place to be visited. The climate is exceedingly salubrious during snmmer and in the autumn. There being no portion of the island moi-e distant from the sea than five miles, a delicious coolness pre- vails during the hottest day, whilst the same cause prevents the excessive cold to which we are often subjected in England. The air is generally bracing, and, from the quantity of oxygen it contains, is very favourable to the enervated invalid. Individuals suffering from pulmonary complaints, or in whom symptoms of these maladies have appeared, should not, upon any account, visit the Isle of Man — it will be sure to hasten the progress of disease. All others may go there with safety, if they indulge not too freely in the cheap brandy and cheaper wines, for which it is famed. Finer sea-bathing is not to be found in her Majesty's dominions. The water is of great strength and purity, and the beach, being composed of either fine hard white sand, or THE ISLE OF MAN. '2do small clean pebbles, the water is free from the impurities wliich are to be found at other watering-places, and the bottom may be seen at a considerable depth — say twenty or thirty feet. The scenery is also calculated to attract and interest the visitor. Boldness, beauty, and grandeur, may be found com- bined within its narrow limits. Though it measures only thirty miles in length, and scarcely exceeds ten in breadth, and has a surface of less than 300 square miles, there are few places, of much larger extent, that possess equal scenic attrac- tions. Its greatest defect is its want of wood and water — the latter is irremediable ; the former ought to be supplied, and that by the present generation. It would greatly enhance the value of the land, by covering that else unproductive, and, by adding to the beauty of the country, make it attrac- tive to strangers. The scenic characteristics of the Island are, as we have intimated, boldness — this is especially displayed on the coast, where, in many cases, the rocks rise perpen- dicularly from the sea many hundred feet, presenting to the eye of the spectator, and to the surges of the Irish Sen, a bold and imposing front. In wandering along the cliffs, the geologist will find much to interest him in the peculiar con- struction of the rocks, which appear as though they had been upheaved from deep recesses by a sudden freak of Nature. Sublimity and grandeur are to be found associated with many of the scenes of the interior. The mountain ranges remind the visitor of some parts of British Switzerland and the Principality, while the glens surpass anything of the kind we have seen. To the visitor who can spare time, and can find enjoyment in tracing the windings of a glen, brave the precipitous ascent of a mountain, or enjoy the music of a waterfall, there is no ordinary treat for him when he visits Mona's Isle. Diversity contributes to beauty, and it may be found here, for, leaving the wild, and rugged, and sublime, the beautiful may be found abounding. In the districts where cultivation has been attended to, there will be found some of the prettiest, quiet, rural, pictures eye has gazed upon. We could mention some which greatly charmed the writer, during 256 THE ISLE OF MAN. a residence there, but we leave them for more specific notice as we proceed. There is much associated witli the history of the Isle of Man, which, to the intelligent visitor, will not be devoid of interest. In the brief space allotted to u*, we cannot venture much upon this subject. We may just mention that tlie Isle of Man is the Mona of CiEsar, and the Monada of Ptolemy. The time of its first occupancy cannot now be ascertained. The roving Gaulish and Cimbric colonies appear to have had possession of it prior to the Christian era. The inhabitants seemed to have practised Druidical superstitious till the year 447, when they were converted to Christianity by St. Patrick, who appointed St. Germanus his successor. They then maintained for a long time undisturbed possession, till the irruption of the northern barbarians, when they came under the dominion of the Scots, and eventually of the Welsh kings, whose reign terminated in 917. From that period Manx history records a succession of twelve kings, the first of whom was of Scandinavian origin. One of these kings was greatly esteemed by our Edgar, by whom he was made admiral of the great fleet raised by that monarch for tlie protection of the English coast. This was in the year 974. The subsequent history of the Island, from this period till the time of Edward III., records many vicissitudes and changes in its governors, and details the petty wars in which its inhabitants were engaged. In the reign of Edward III. a desceiidant of Reginald's revived a claim for the Island, and through the aid of the king, gained possession of it. It was then held successively by the Bishop of Durham, Earls Salisbury, Wiltshire, and Northumberland, upon whose rebellion it was seized by Henry IV., and given for one year •only to Sir John Stanley, to whom, in the following year (1407), it was wholly given, to be held on the payment of a east of falcons to the king at his coronation. John Stanley thus became the King of Man, and his descendants continued to iiold that office until the time of James I., when they received a new grant of it. THE ISLE OF MAN. 257 During the troublesome times of tlie Commonwealth, the island remained attached to the king. When a Parliamentary fleet attacked it, a gallant defence was made by the heroic Lady Derby, but unavailingly so, as the Deputy Governor betrayed the Castle. General Fairfax then held the island till the restoration, when it again reverted to the Stanley family. In 1735, the island descended to James, the first Duke of Athol. In 1765, the sovereignty of it was sold to the British Crown for £70,000, and £2,000 a-year. In 1825, an act was passed by both Houses of Parliament authorizing the government to treat for the remaining interest in tlie royalties and privileges of the island, and in 1829, the further sum of £416,114 was paid to iiis Grace, and the sea-girt isle became, not by conquest, but by purchase, the sole and entire property of the British Crown. This has been of great advantage to it, and ever since that change was made it has gone on rapidly advancing in population, intelligence, and trade. Though thus now a dependency of this country, it is allowed to preserve intact its ancient institutions. These are of very distant origin, and are perhaps the most perfect living types of the old feudal governments. The legislature is composed of the Governor, appointed by the Queen, his Council, composed of the Bisiiop and the other law officers, and the House of Keys — a miniature parliament — a company of agricultural and other gentlemen, who meet occasionally to frame laws and otherwise legislate for their tiny empire. They are self-elective, and are not very popular with some of the people. English enactments do not extend there, unless expressly stated, and in such case the House of Keys retains the power of rejecting the iniposition. Tlie house, however, cannot give currency to any new law of their own, witliout first obtaining the Queen's sanction for it. Thus the inhabi- tants have a tolerable guarantee that their interests, pecuniary and social, will be preserved uninjured. An attemiit has been made by some of the inhabitants to secure a popularly-elected House of Keys, and the exercise of the elective franchise by the people. In that they have failed. Another party has 6 258 THE ISLE OF MAN. sought annexation to 'England, and representation ia the House of Commons, but the same result has followed ; and it is well that they have not succeeded, for, had they accomplished the latter purpose, the island must have been totally ruined. It could not have sustained its share of the burdens which weigh down the people of England. At present it knows not tax- ation, and the authorities have no power to impose any: the only general tax is 4s. 6d. annually upon each house, which is devoted to keeping up the highways and streets. The fund for this purpose is increased by a few taxes on luxuries, namely, on carriages, horses, and dogs, game licences, and licences to bankers, breweis, hotel and tavern keepers, and hawkers ; but then " pikes" are unknown. There are no toll-bars on the island, and better roads, barring the hills, are not to be found anywhere. The only other taxes are those imposed by the British government for fiscal purposes. These are of small amount, and are confined to such articles as foreign spirits, wines, teas, tobacco, &c., and are not felt by the con- sumer. In these respects tlie Isle of Man is a happy exception to the surrounding countries, and thus forms, not only a place of delightful summer resort, but to the man of quiet habits and moderate means a desirable spot for permanent residence. The laws of the island are simple, and, were they properly upheld, might be models of legislation to larger communities. Unfortunately, law is cheap, and lawyers — advocates, as they are termed — greatly abound. The consequence is, that liti- gation is abundant. The most trifling matter is taken into court, and kept there for some time, for the especial benefit of the "limbs of the law." It is no uncommon case for an action, arising out of some petty dispute or unworthy quarrel, to remain unsettled for two or three years, simply because the lawyers cannot ojford to let it out of their hands sooner. Though the law is cheap, it thus becomes extremely dear ; and we have known many cases where an entire property has been destroyed by legal costs. We pity the stranger who gets into the fangs of the law while visiting there. However just his case he must not expect to escape unscathed. The religion of the island is that of the Established THE ISLE OF MAN. 259 Church. The clergymen, most whom are of Manx origin, are exemplary as pastors; some of them are superior as preachers; but tlicir general characteristics are simplicity, piety, and devotedness, and tlieir labour has not been in vain. Much superstition still remains in the interior, and tlie tales of witches, fairies, and such like lore of the past, find ready currency among tlie peasantry, and have tiieir influence to the present day. It is no uncommon case, even now, to have ceremonies performed for driving the witches away, or curing some unhappy animal tliat has fallen beneath their baneful influence. But these cases are becoming rarer. Intercourse with the enlightened, and the spread of education, are dispersing these clouds of error and superstition. While the Church of England is tlie established form of religion, all others are tolerated. There are to bo found Wesleyan Methodists, Primitive Methodists, Independents, Presbyterians, Roman Catholics, and some few minor sects. The Wesleyan Methodists are by far tiie most important, in point of numbers and influence, exceeding, we believe, in the former, the Establishment itself. Its tenets and spirit seem to suit the genius of the people, and it has gone on increasing till there is not a nook on the island that has not its preaching- house and its society. Its influence has been most beneficial in raising the moral and social character of the people. There are few places where there is so little flagrant crime and so few outrages upon person and property — where there is so little improvidence, and consequently little abject poverty and mendicancy — where the really poor are better provided for, though there are no poor's-rates ; and where the general aspect of society, morally, socially, and religiously, is more agreeable. A Sabbath spent in the Isle of Man is a more than ordinary treat. The quiet, the utter absence of all traffic, and the crowds that are attracted to the various places of worship, throw around the day a charm sought for in vaia elsewhere. There are few sources of amusement beyond what are extern. In this respect the island is behind older-established watering-places. As the necessity for them appears, the 260 THE ISLE OF MAN. inhabitants will be wise enough to provide them. The want, however, is fully made up by the sources of enjoyment vvhieU are to be found in the open air. The bays of the different ports are admirably adapted for boating, and most gentlemen visitors avail themselves of this healthy exercise. The prin- cipal bays are almost land-locked, and hence boating may be indulged in with as great, or greater, safety than on the lakes, while the views which are obtained from the water are enchanting. The means for gratifying the desire for aquatic excursions are abundant and reasonable. At Douglas and Ramsey — the two principal towns — boats of every description, from the light rowing gig to the lugger, are always on hire, and for a few shillings a boar, of any description may be had for an hour or a day, with the accompaniment of a trusty boatman. Those who are fond of fishing may gratify themselves to their hearts' content, as the coasts abound with every variety of salt-water fish, and which are not very particular as to the quality of the bait offered them or the skill of the hand that tempts them. We have often seen a mere tyro in the "gentle art," after a few hours' pursuit of his avocation, return with such a supply of the finny tribe as to be at a loss how to di.-pose of tliem. Mackarel are very abundant in the deep water off the head-lands, especially off Douglas Head, and we know few employments more exciting than that of catching this beautiful and delicious fish. The fresh water fishing is good — when it can be come at. The small rivers abound with trout, but they are rather strictly preserved, a matter greatly to be legretted. There are means, however, of con- querini; this difficulty. The initiated will understand us. Sporting is not a very profitable amusement, unless the sportsman should direct his attention to the "gulls," and they won't help him to a dinner. Partridge and quail are to be found, but not in abundance, while grouse are non est inventuit. Snipe are plentiful, and furnish good sport. Sportsmen will always find a good gun, plain directions as to the best ground, and an hospitable host, at the " Half-way House," between Douglas and Peel. Old Burrowes seldom disappoints his THE ISLE OF MAN. 2G1 friends. A day's rabbit shooting may also be obtained, for a consideration, and llie contents of the bag, on "the Calf," a small island, situate at the southern extremity of Man, from which it is separated by a narrow but somewhat dangerous channel. With the exception of one family, who farm it, and the lighthouse-keepers, the rabbits are the sole occupants of this petty dependency. Hunting is not much patronised. Hares are not very abundant, and foxes are unknown. In the north of the island some little coursing is indulged in, but beagle himting cannot be safely prosecuted. The maintenance of a pack of hounds has often been attempted, but never with success. The number has always been diminished before the end of the season, either by their making fatal summersaults over unex- pected precipices, or taking similarly successful leaps, after an imprudent hare, from a provoking headland, into a tliirty- fathoin bath in tiie Irish Sea. The same causes damp the ardour of the most enthusiastic sportsmen. The country is altogether unsuitable for the bugle. The turf is as little attended to. Till lately there were no horse races. Recently an attempt as been made to establish them, but they ai'e small affairs. During the summer there are several regattas. Some of these are more than respectable, and, if they were supported with spirit, would be exceedingly attractive. The accommodations for visitors are, upon the whole, good. Some of the hotels are first-rate establishments, not to be surpassed at any watering-place in the kingdom. They are, in every respect, very superior to some we have seen, the wines and brandies tirst-rate, and the charges moderate. Douglas being the principal point of debarkation, we mention it first, for the guidance of those who may visit the island for the first time. The principal hotel is called Castle Mona. This is a magnificent house — almost a palace. It was formerly the residence of the Duke of Athol, and is every way wothy of a ducal occcupant. It is situati-d in the centre of the bay and on its margin, and is surrounded on tliree sides with beautiful pleasure-grounds. By the way, it has been 262 THE ISLE OF MAN. rumoured that our ovn Victoria — God bless her ! — has been contemplating its purchase for her own purpose, for which it is more suited than Osborne House. The landlord is Mr. Heron, a gentleman in every sense of the word, whose object appears to be to fufil the duties of his station. The living, the society, and the various ^'^^ ccBteras essential to the enjoy- ment of hotel life, are to be found at the " Castle," combined with moderate charges, and proximity to good bathing. For two guineas a-week the best of everything may be obtained. The next in importance is Fort Anne Hotel. This is a new house, delightfully situate on the " Head," commanding the entrance to the harbour, and with the finest marine, rural, and mountain scenery we ever beheld. The pleasure- grounds are also beautiful, but not extensive. One advantage this hotel possesses is, tliat the visitor may land from the beach below the house, without the annoyance of landing on the pier-head, and passing through the town. The internal arrangements are of the most recherche character. We do not know who is the present arbiter of its comforts. We forgot to mention that bathing may be enjoyed here, on a pebbly beach, accessible only to the occupants of the hotel, while there is a marine parade running parallel to the pier, but private, being separated from it by the entrance to the harbour. The Royal Hotel is situate at the top of the Marine Parade, nnd within a stone's throw of the landing-place of the packets. This house is now presided over by Mr. Hill, formerly of the Cresent Hotel ; and to those who know him the mention of his name is sufficient guarantee for abundance, comfort, courteous attention, and politeness. Those who do not, we should recommend to pay him a visit, and we are quite sure they will be of the same mind with the writer. His terms are about 30s. a-week. There are many other houses of note, but we cannot notice them fully in our assigned limits. We mention them for the guidance of our readers, and say, for second-rate houses, they can scarcely, among the number, make an unwise selection: — British, Adelphi, Albion, Crescent, Cumberland, Fleetwood, Ramsey, Redfcrn's, and York Hotels. THE ISLE OF MAX. 263 Lodging-houses are abundant, and of every variety of description. They will generally be found clean and com- fortable, and tlie inmates attentive. The charges vary according to style and locality. In taking them the visitor should be careful to have the terms properly understood, for sometimes the influx of visitors is so large, that rather extra- vagrant prices are demanded. We should point a party who wishes to combine comfort, respectability, and a pleasant and healthful situation, to the Crescent Cottages, Woodville, tlie Castle Lawn, Marina, Mona-terrace, Harris-terrace, laubman- terrace, Finch-road, and Prospect-hill. These are choice neighbourhoods, removed from the smoke and noise of the town. Cheaper, but still comfortable, apartments, will be found on the North and South quays, Athol-streeet, Peel- road, Fort-road, &c. &c. While on this subject, we may just say, thatsomewhat similar accommodation may be found in the other principal towns in the island. At Ramsey, Brett's Mitre Hotel and Crawford's Great Western Hotel are admirable houses. Of the first we can speak from experience, and especially in praise of the obliging host. Here a good dinner and agreeable society may always be depended on. The Peel Castle Hotel will supply the traveller's wants at Peel; and Mr. Kneen, of the George, at Castletown, will see that his visitors are properly attended to. Having thus met the first demand of health or pleasure- seekers, we would next point out to him how he may employ his time to the best advantage, and see all that is worthy of his attention. We suppose he has lauded at Douglas, from one of the Insular Company's steam-boats, the Tynwald, the King Orry, or the Ben-my-chree, or from those from Fleetwood, the Fenella or Orion — that he has been comfortably ensconced in an hotel or lodging-house, has slept soundly, and dispatched an ample breakfast. He now essays forth, and we offer him our aid. Douglas is in it itself an uninteresting place; its streets are narrow, irregular, ill-ventilated, and eloquent of the absence of the Sanitary Commissioners, while the air is 264 THE ISLE OP MAN. redolent of the effluvia of fish and decomposing refuse, which is not improved by the prevailing fumes of tobacco and bad brandy. Tlie buildings are of an inferior description. There is scarcely an exception, if we overlook one or two of the churches, the Oddfellows' Hall, and some few buildings in the better parts of the town. But the suburbs are beautiful, and display as much of contrast with the town as is to be found in the old and new towns of Edinburgh. The population of the town is about 10,(00— of the island, 50,000. The Pier-head forms a most agreeable promenade, and is much frequented on the arrival of the steam-packets in the evening, as well as when they depart in the morning. It is 520 feet in length, and 40 feet in breath for 450 feet from its commencement, when it increases to the extent of 90 feet, terminating in a circular area of considerable elevation, with a handsome liglithouse springing from its centre. It was built by govern- ment in 1800, at a cost of £22,000. From this portion a delightful view is obtained of the bay and the shores by which it is skirted. Here, on a summer evening, there is generally to be found a gay crowd, enjoying the cool of the refreshing sea-breeze. From this point, also, is seen to advantage the peculiarly splendid appearance of the setting sun, as it sinks behind the lofty mountains which form the background of the picture. At the upjier end of the pier is the Court House, where, on court days, the visitor may find an hour or two of amusement at the vagaries of Manx lawyer.'*, and read much of native character. To the right of the pier is St. Barnabas Church, a neat stone structure, but lost from its confined situation. Proceeding to the Market-place, we come to St. Matthew's Church, a small rude building, of ancient date, having been consecrated by the venerable Bishop Wilson. In this church the service is occasionally performed in the Manx language, a strange dialect of the Celtic, said to be, by Manx sages, the language in which Adam made love to Eve when they alone formed the world's inhabitants. We are not prepared to dispute this assertion, but certainly we can see no reason, in its non- euphonious sounds, to wish for its future preservation ; and, as THE ISI-E OP MAN. 2G5 common consent seems to be on our side, we are under no alarm that it will survive many generations. St. George's Cliurch, which stands on the hill behind Athol-street, is a plain edifice, and looks more ancient than it is. It forms a pretty ol>juct when seen from the valley below the Peel-road. The new church of St. Thomas, in the Finch-road, is a neat specimen of the early English style of architecture. No other building is of sufficient importance to call for even a passing remark. The Scotch Church will be found in the Finch- road; the Wesleyan Chapel in Thomas-street, near tlie Post- office ; and the other chapels in the immediate vicinity. Douglas boasts of a water company, a gas company — but it is badly lit — and one or two banks. The market is held on Satuiday, and is well sujiplied. The postal communication with England is daily in summer, and twice a-week in winter — daily between the insular towns. There are several news- papers published in Douglas lor local circulation, and many publications to circulate in England are also printed there, by which means their proprietors secure the benefit of free postage and evade the enactments of tiie English Stamp Act. The environs of Douglas are very beautiful. Tlie visitor having seen the town, we would lead him up the North Qu^iy, across the bridge which spans tlie small river that runs through the harbour, and up the hill, pa,-t laubman-terrace, Fort Anne Hotel, Harold Tower — a castellated building, which looks most picturesque from the pitr, and is the residence of the High Bailiff — on to the " Head," where, if he has a soul for Nature's picture.'^, lie will find a scene interesting enough to wrap him in wondering admiration. We have often gazed upon the picture till words failed to tell the emotions it excited. Imagine the gazer standing upon a lofty heailland, rugged and abrupt, the sea to the right stretching as far as the eye can reach, bounded in some ])laces only by the horizon, in others by the dim outline of the Cumberland Hills, and dotted liere and there with vessels of various burthens ; below, a depth of several hundred feet, the bay — a miniature of the famed Bay of Naples — spread out in a simicircular form, bright, clear, and placid as a sheet of glass, and enlivened 266 THE ISLE OF MAN. with various parties of pleasure and yachts with their snow- white sails ; around, to the left, the various villas, terraces, and mansions, which skirt the bay, with Castle Mona in the centre, all relieved with bright and luxuriant foliage, and surmounted with an exquisite amphitheatre of rural scenery, stretching away to the summit of a lofty mountain range, which bounds the gazer's view, and completes the exquisite picture. Such is the view presented from Douglas Head. After gazing at this for a while, there is an agreeable change awaiting those so inclined. Descending from the heights, which is no easy task, the bather will find convenient coves of Nature's own construction, where he may enjoy the luxury of an ablution in water clear as crystal, and suitable for the most timid as well as the most daring in aquatic pastime. Reascending the " Head," there is a romantic walk along the cliffs, which, turning to the right, leads to the lovely grounds of the " Nunnery," the seat of General Goldie. These grounds are much and deservedly admired. The name is from an ancient priory, said to have been built in the sixth century by St. Bridget. Very little of the ruins now remain. The family reside in the mansion adjoining, an edifice of recent erection. Proceeding onwards, tlie way leads past some pretty villas at Mill Mount, along a pleasant road, a mansion or two on either side, to Kirk Braddaw Church. This is a most picturesque spot. The church is very ancient, of rude construction, and almost hid by lofty trees. The graveyard is interesting, especially to the antiquarian, who will here find some valued relics of by-gone ages. From this edifice there is a pleasant road direct to the town, on which will be found some pretty views and elegant mansions. Another pleasing ramble may be found by leaving the town at the north end of Athol-street, and proceeding along Finch-road, passing the Scotch Church. On this road are many superior mansions, commanding a fine view of the bay. At the end of the road is the elegant villa and grounds of Marina, now used as a seminary by the Misses Dutton. Turning to the right, the road leads past the new church of St. Thomas, along the margin of the bay, fiom which there is THE ISLE OP MAX. 267 a good view, the nearest prominent object in the foreground being tlie Tower of Refuge, a castellated structure raised upon a dangerous rock, which is nearly covered at high water, for the purpose of affording safety to mariners who may unfortu- nately be wrecked on tiie rocks. A few minutes' walk, and the Woodville-road is reached, where quite a new town has been built of late years, and which, as a place of residence, has many attractions. At this point, also, the Castle Mona grounds begin. A great portion of the land formerly enclosed has been built upon, and the " lawn" now sustains some spacious and ornamental mansions. From the Castle Lodge, taking the footpath leading up the plantation, many beautiful residences are seen, both on the hill and on the lawn. This pathway leads directly to the Castle, which is magniBcent for its size and completeness. The grounds are very interesting, being planted with exotics, native shrubs, and forest trees, and through which winds a little glen of Alpine beauty. They are about twenty acres in extent. Still proceeding onward a series of beautiful villas are passed in succession till the Crescent is reached ; thence there is a pleasant walk further along the margin of the bay, past Strathallan Crescent, to Derby Castle, the furthermost building on the north side of the bay. Ascending the hill to the left, there is the pretty village of Onchan, with its modest-looking church. Still keeping to the left, there is a pleasant walk through a highly- cultivated country, adorned with mansions and villas, rendered picturesque by the extensive views that are obtained from its great elevation. This road will lead directly to the point of departure. Three or four very pleasant excursions may be made in exploring the island, and they will repay, in interest and advantage to health, the trifling expense they may cost. We may here remark, once for all, tliat the means of conveyance are reasonable. During the summer months omnibuses travel between the diflFerent towns. The fares are small. We would recommend, for a party of two or four, the hiring of a phaeton or gig, which may be had on most moderate terms, and, as there are no toll-bars, the extras are trifling. 268 THE ISLE OF MAN. The best route to fake is to journey south to Castletown, the metropolis of the Island. The road leads across the bridge at Douglas, and leaving the Nunnery on the right, passes through a pretty country, but exceedingly undulating. The traveller will see some pretty views as he journeys along. About eight miles from Douglas is the village of Ballasalla. This place is ancient, and contains the venerable remains of the Abbey of Rushen. The scenery here is exceedingly pic- turesque. Proceeding to the left, and again to the righf, there is a pretty drive to Castletown. As it is approached, the small fishing village of Derbyhaven and King William's College are teen on the left — the latter a noble structure. Castletown itself contains little of interest. It is but a small place, of about from one to two thousand inhabitants; but it is the seat of government, the residence of the Lieutenant Governor (the Hon. Charles Hope), and the place where the Manx Parliament assembles. The principal object of attrac- tion is the venerable Castle of Rushen, which is of great strength, and is now the only prison in the island. It was erected in the year 947, by one of King Orry's successors. The Castle is quadrangular, with square towers on the sides, the largest more than eighty feet high ; it is surrounded by a lofty embattled wall and fosse, and defended by a glacis of stone. From the summit of the tower is an extensive view. What soldiers are in the island are located at Castletown. The streets are open and regular, and there is a neat church in the market-place. There are two or three other places of worship in the town. Speaking relatively of the inhabitants, we sliould t;ay that they are somewhat exclusive and aristocratic. The neighbourhood around Castletown is level and fertile. Proceeding south through Arbory-street, the celebrated quarry of Poolvash is passed, where Manx marble is found in great abundance. It is much used for mantel-pieces. From this quarry tlie steps of St. Paul's Cathedral were taken. The limestone-beds here are very extensive. At the distance of four miles from Castletown is Port St. Mary — a very small and very rude fi.shing village — but where a good glass of brandy and a good cigar are always to be found. Near this TUB ISLE OF MAN. 2G9 place is Spanish Head, a bold promontory worthj'the attention of the tourist. From Port St. Mary to Port Erin, 60 called from being oppo. TO TIIK LATE;*? PEIIIOD, AND ARRANGED IN AN ENTIHELT NOVEL AND INTBltBSTlNQ MANNER. By E. L. BLANCHARD, Autlior of Aditms's Descriptive Guide to "Tlie Wnteriii!; Plaoes of England,' and " Environs of London," &e. From " The Athenseuni," of May 3. "On flie otlier liand, ' AJnms's Pocket Lnmlon Guide Cook' sccma to he, BO fnr as it ffoes, a book lioiiestlycoiniiilcd from good sources, and put toicctlier witli a certain amount oi' cnre and knowlcdgfe. We It.ive had occasion to speak in Ibruicr nnnil)crs of the guide hooks of London and its neigbl)ourliood, compiled hy Mr. E. L. Blanciiard, in t«rms of praise — and we can extend our pood won! to liis present work. There scorns aliout these little Ijandhooks a luve of literature, and an ac- iluaintaTii'i; with literary anecdote and story, which are by no means common in tho chms of productions to which they belong." LONDON: W. .1. ADAMS, .09, FLEET STREET; and all EOOKSELLERS in THE KINGDOM. NOW READY, Neatly mounted in Cloth, and Coloured, ^x., ADAMS'S NEW POCKET GUIDE MAPS, Price Is. each. THE ENVIRONS OF LONDON, 25 MILES ROUND, from the most recent Ordnance Siu-vey, with a numerical reference to each Town and Village, denoting its distance from the Metropolis. "This is the clearest and most compact Map of the Environs we have hitherto examined." — The Sun. Also, THE IVE^r MAP OF THE METROPOLIS OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE, WITH THE VERY LATEST IMPROVEMEXTS, &c. For beauty and clearness of Engraving this Map of London is unequalled. It extends from West Ham and Stratford (East), to Kilburn, Bayswatpr, and Kensington (West) ; from Highg'ate, Hollo- way, and Dalston (North), to Dattersea, Stockwell, Camberwell, Peckham, and Greenwich (South) ; and embraces every Street, Court, Alley, Square, Park, Public Building and Railway, &c., within this extensive circuit. Illustrated with Engravings, &c. Also, price 6d., in neat Case, ADAMS'S GUIDE MAPS TO THE CHAMEL ISLANDS AND ISLE OF MAN. Beautifully Engraved hy Doiver. Also, price Twopence, THE CRYSTAL PALACE: ITS HISTORY, CONSTRUCTION, DiaiENSIONS, AND GENERAL ARRANGEMENTS. By Special Authority. LONDON : W. J. ADAMS, 59, FLEET STREET. AND ALL BOOKSELLEKS. HOW TO SHORTEN LONG JOURNEYS & LONG FACES. THIS DESIDERATUM MAY BE OBTAINED BY PUKCHASIXG tME PRICE SIXPENCE. LONDON: W. J. ADAMS, 59, FLEET STREET. INTERESTING AND VALUABLE REPRINT Just Pablished, Demy 12mo, handsomely bound 3s., stitched 2s. 6d., THE AUTHENTIC HISTORY GUNPOWDEE TREASON: Including: a PREFACE written by the LORD BISHOP OF LINCOLX, referring fully to all the authorities upon which the Romish Churcli and the practices by tlie Romanists are built. The Original and Singular SPEECH of KING JAMES the FIRST to both Houses of Parliament on that occasion. A REPRINTof the TRIALS of GUY FAWKES and WINTER, and the other Conspirators. CONFESSIONS of GUY FAAVKES and WINTER. SINGULAR SPEECH of the celebrated SIR EDWARD COKE, the then Attorney-General ; his estimation of the crime of High Treason, and vindictiveness of its punishment. TRIAL of HENRY GARNET, the Superior of the Jesuits in England ; his curious defence, treating of the doctrine of equivo- cation as then held ; HIS EXECUTION AT ST. PAUL'S. SIR EVERARD DIGBY'S SPEECH on liis Trial, and Copies of various attested Papers written by that Nobleman during' his confinement. OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. "It is a very neat and excellent reprint, which must be inter- esting at all times.'" — BelVs Life. " A most judicious and valuable reprint of a scarce book ; it will no doubt be eagerly sought for, and read with avidity." — BelVs Wecldy Newspaper. '•■ It will without doubt be added to the library of every one anxious to possess so curious a record of their country's history." — Britminia. " It is a document of great historic interest, and will no doubt obtain a most extensive circulation." — British Banner. "This is a highly interesting and curious reprint." — Plymouth and Devonport Journal. "A timely and really valuable re-pv\r\i."—Camh'i^ / //V— IVone otliers areCic- nuine. EDMISTON ^SONj G9, STRAND, LONDON. TUE BE8T MEDICINE IN TUE AVORLD NATURE, it is said, lias furnislied a remedy for every ill, and certainly, in the useful researches of Old Parr, this sentiment is strikingly borne out. By a close, careful, and assiduous investigation of the properties of certain herbal productions, this long-lived and celebrated man dis- covered that which would answer every purpose of purity and activity in the blood; and, as a natural consequence, every purpose of a healthful and prolonged existence. It is a fact beyond dispute, tliut most of the diseases with which the human race are afflicted, are the result of a dis- ordered state of the blood. To remedy this, the occasional use of PARR'S LIFE PILLS should be had recourse to, and sickness prevented as well as cured. In their operation they go direct to the disease. After you have taken six or twelve pills, you will experience their good effect ; tiie disease u])on you will become let.s and less by every dose you take ; and if you persevere in regularly taking three pills every day, the disease will speedily remove from your svstem. TO LADIES. Parr's Life Pills are especially efficacious in all the variety of ailments incident to the Fair Sex. Ladies, even of the most delicate constitutions, will find them particularly beneficial both before and alter confinement ; and for general use in Schools they cannot be too strongly recommended. They mildly and speedily remove all Skin Eruptions, Sallow- iiess of Complexion, Nervous Irritability, Sick Headache, Depression of Spirits, Irregularity, or general derangement of the system. Purchasers are requested to observe that the fac-simile of the Proprietors' signature, " T. Rohekts & Co," Crane Court, Fleet Street, London, is printed on the direction wrapped lound each box, without which none are genuine. Sold by at least one agent in every town in the United Kingdom, and by most respectable dealers in medicine. Price Is. l^d., 2s. 9d., and family packets lis. each. Full directions are given with each box. Wholesale London Agents : — .Messrs. Barclay and Sons, Farringdon Street ; Edwards, St. Paul's Churchyard ; Sutton and Co., Bow Churchyard ; Sangar, 151, Oxford Street; and Hannay and Co., Oxford Street. NATIONAL LIFE TABLES, CALCDLATED FROM THE REGISTRAR GENERAL'S RETURNS. AGE ASSURANCE COMPAl^Y, 64, CHANCERY LANE, LONDON. Established Pursuant to Act of Parliament. jjirecTors. | jq^^ cilOStf, Esq., Deputy Chairman. STEPHEN BLAIR, Esq., M.P. PIERCE S. BUTLER, Esq., M.P. JAMES COCKELL, Esq. CAPTAIN EARLS. DONALD ERASER, Esq. FREDERIC KELLY, Esq. WILLIAM MUiNTRESOR,Es({. EDWARD RADCLYEPE, Esq. THE REV. GEORGE ROBERTS. P7i«5tciaw.— WALTER HAYLE WALSHE, Esq., M.D., Snrffcmi.—W. B. HUTCHINSON, Esq. Bankers.— LOKYjOK AND WESTMINSTER BANK, Lothbury. ^ ;. .. ( JOSEPH IVIMBY, Esq., Chancery Lane. ^oneitors. ^ j_ p_ pjxON, Esc^., Crescent Place, Burton Crescent. Surveyor.—^. H. BROWNE, Esq., Beaufort Buildings, Strand. Consulfhuj Actuarij.—V^UjU.A.'M OWEN, Esq. Assurances against sickness aie granted. All the objections which have hitherto deterred persons from assuring their lives, have been removed by " The Age." By the mere deposit of a sum of money an assurance can be effected. Apprentice fees, and money to educate, advance, or portion children, and others, can be provided. Mortgages can be redeemed, and Loans repaid, by small periodical payments. A Table (No. 4) has been calcu- Inted, on which one-half, and another (Table 3), on which one-third, of the premiums paid, will, at any time, be lent on security of a Policy elfected on those Tables, or returned on its surrender. Liberal loans will at all times be made on security of a Policy to enable the Assured to pay a premium falling dne, thus saving the for- feiture of a Policy in case of temporary embarrassment. The accidental omission to pay a premium is not taken advantage of by " The Age." If death ensue from any accident, the sum assured will be increased 50 per cent. ; and if from a railway accident, will be doubled. Probate, Administration, and Legacy duties, are saved by the peculiar lilan adopted by "Tiiu Age." This will te a very great saving on the death of the assured. Policies carry interest from the death of the assured, and are paid within three months alter proof of such death. Diseased lives are assured at fair premiums. Married persons iissured for less than single. The benefit of fractional parts of a year iiUowed in calculating age. Policies indisputable, and paid, whatever may be the cause of death. Guarantees for fidelity are granted, in connexion with Life Assurance, on a system most advantageous to the assured. Aimuities of every description arc granted. "The Age" has spared no trouble or expense in making the inves- tigation required, in order to give the public every advi.nlage which the improved statistical returns now existing have shown can be given with safety to the Company and the assured. Applicaticni for Prospectuses Infornialion, and Shares, can be made at the olhce of THK AGK AS.SUKANCK COMPANY, C4, Chancery Laiic, hoiidun. A 000 106 615 8