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TITLE: Dear old England
PROJECT: JUV
Front Cover
Frontispiece
Title Page
Preface
Preface
Table of Contents
List of Illustrations
Map of England and Wales
Introduction
Northumberland
Durham
Yorkshire
Cumberland
Westmoreland
Lancashire
Cheshire
Staffordshire
Warwickshire
Derbyshire
Nottinghamshire
Leicestershire
Rutland
Lincolnshire
Northamptonshire
Bedfordshire
Huntingdonshire
Cambridgeshire
Norfolk
Suffolk
Shropshire
Worcestershire
Gloucestershire
Herefordshire
Monmouthshire
Somersetshire
Oxfordshire
Buckinghamshire
Berkshire
Hertfordshire
Middlesex
Surrey
Essex
Kent
Sussex
Hampshire
Wilishire
Dorsetshire
Devonshire
Cornwall
Back Cover
Spine
The Baldwin Library
WARKWORTH CASTLE.
DEAR OLD ENGLAND:
A DESCRIPTION OF OUR FATHERLAND.
Tedicated to all Gnglish Children.
BY
JANE ANNE WINSCOM,
AUTHOR OF “ VINEYARD LABOURERS,†‘ ONWARD,†‘(I BELIEVE; OR, THE APOSTLES’ CREED
EXPLAINED TO CHILDREN,†&¢., &e,
Fourth Thousand,
LONDON:
JAMES NISBET AND CO., 21 BERNERS STREET.
MDCCCLXXIL
PRINTED BY BALLANTYNE AND COMPANY
EDINBURGH AND LONDON
PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION.
THIS new edition of “ Dear Old England†has been care-
fully revised, and many alterations made.
A Map, for the convenience of those who are studying
the book, has been prepared, and many foot references,
calculated to exercise the reflective faculties of children,
have been given. From them they may form comparisons
and contrasts, or trace historically what they have learnt
geographically.
It is particularly desired that children may know intel-
ligently the geography of their native land—may learn
not by memory only, but with heart and understanding.
Many tales are mingled—for tales are amongst the joys of
childhood, and an anecdote will often impress on the mind
a locality or character that with mere names and statistics
would pass away,
March 25, 1867,
PREFACE
“ DEAR OLD ENGLAND†is intended either for school or for
play-hours. Its object is to interest English children in
everything that concerns their dear native land.
Geography should convey ideas, rather than hard names ;
it should exercise comprehension as well as memory; it
should associate places with history, scenery, climate, pro-
duce, and inhabitants.
The information in the following pages is intended to
stimulate rather than to satisfy inquiry. The volume will
be but a stepping-stone to books of far more intrinsic
worth and far deeper thought. Ideas are only in embryo
here. Future education and after-life must see their de-
velopment. Something is, however, gained when learning
has been made pleasant, when facts have led to thoughts,
when the connexion between cause and effect has been
observed, and the young mind has endeavoured to solve
the riddles that may be extracted from the information
each lesson contains.
vi PREFACE,
Amongst the books consulted have been Lewis’s “ To-
pographical Dictionary,†Knight’s “The Land We Live In,â€
“Old England,†and especially Murray’s excellent “ Hand-
books of the Southern Counties.†As accuracy of infor-
mation is earnestly aimed at, should mistakes be dis-
covered, the writer would feel deeply indebted for any
communications regarding them, addressed to the care of
the publishers.
May England’s God bless this volume, and permit it to
bear its humble share in gladdening children’s hearts, in
informing their minds, and in increasing their thankful-
ness to Him who has cast their lot in a land so pleasant,
and has given them a heritage so fair as Britain’s isle!
December 1860.
INTRODUCTION,
NORTHUMBERLAND,
DURHAM,
YORKSHIRE, .
CUMBERLAND,
WESTMORELAND,
LANCASHIRE,
CHESHIRE, .
STAFFORDSHIRE,
WARWICKSHIRE,
DERBYSHIRE,
NOTTINGHAMSHIRE,
LEICESTERSHIRE,
RUTLAND,
LINCOLNSHIRE,
NORTHAMPTONSHIRE,
BEDFORDSHIRE,
HUNTINGDONSHIRE,
CAMBRIDGESHIRE,
NORFOLK, .
SUFFOLK, .
SHROPSHIRE,
WORCESTERSHIRE,
GLOUCESTERSHIRE,
CONTENTS.
PAGE
23
34
69
=~
99
108
116
125
135
140
145
148
157
161
165
167
174
185
193
198
207
vill
HEREFORDSHIRE,
MONMOUTHSHIRE,
SOMERSETSHIRE,
OXFORDSHIRE,
BUCKINGHAMSHIRE,
BERKSHIRE,
HERTFORDSHIRE,
MIDDLESEX, .
SURREY, :
ESSEX, 5
KENT, ,
SUSSEX, :
HAMPSHIRE, .
WILTSHIRE,
DORSETSHIRE,
DEVONSHIRE,
CORNWALL, .
CONTENTS.
FAGE
216
222
227
240
243
254
261
266
300
311
317
345
356
382
394
403
432
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
PAGE
WARKWORTH CASTLE. FRONTISPIECE.
BAMBOROUGH CASTLE, . Bik ‘ . . . 11
COAL-MINE, . ; : 6 . , 9 5 24
FOUNTAIN’S ABBEY, . a . ; : ‘ : 43
SCARBOROUGH, : 3 5 g . 57
SCALE FORCE, 5 . fi j " A A 73
WINDERMERE LAKE, i . a 0 ; : 81
MANCHESTER, ‘ - . ‘ : i 5 93
THE ROWS IN CHESTER, | ‘ 6 f O . 107
SCENE IN THE POTTERIES.—POTTER’S WHEEL, : ‘ . 111
QUEEN ELIZABETH AT KENILWORTH CASTLE, . 6 O S 123
PEAK CAVERN, : . : 4 5 : : 127
STOCKINGER AT WORK, ‘ . . 0 f . 138
LUTTERWORTH CHURCH, . 4 : 5 - 5 144
THE FENS, . ‘ : 6 , ‘ . 0 151
KIMBOLTON CASTLE, . . . . J e 166
TRINITY COLLEGE, . ‘i : F ‘ s 170
NORWICH, . f A Sa 6 O , : 181
DR TAYLOR’S MARTYRDOM, . : ° : . . 191
AUGUSTINE AND THE BRITISH BISHOPS UNDER THE TREE, . ‘ 200
THE VALLEY OF STROUD, . . fs . . . 214
HOP PICKING, 5 g A A 5 5 B 217
CHEPSTOW CASTLE, . é 5 G f i ‘ 225
CLIFTON HOT-WELLS, . : 5 . . 9 234
HIGH STREET, OXFORD, . : 6 5 ‘ eB 242
x LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
WINDSOR CASTLE, .. 5 ; . :
HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT, i 2 . 2
BANK AND ROYAL EXCHANGE, LONDON, :
THE THAMES FROM RICHMOND HILL, . , 5
GREENWICH HOSPITAL, 5 a ; :
DOVER CASTLE, e .
FISHING-BOATS, A 5 : .
STONEY CROSS AND THE NEW FOREST, . ;
CARISBROOKE CASTLE, 5 . d .
STONEHENGE, : 6 fc fs
QUARRIES IN PORTLAND, : . Soe .
OLD HOUSES AT DARTMOUTH, 6 6 .
ILFRACOMBE, 6 . c 3
TIN MINE, . . 0 a . 5
LAND’S END, . 0 ° . ° .
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BY J. BARTHOLOMEW. F.R.G.S.
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DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
INTRODUCTION.
Now I hope the map of England is either hung up on the
wall, or laid on the table; for I want your young eyes to
be continually looking at: it.
Is England an island? No: for the sea does not quite
surround it. Here is Scotland, that joins it on the north;
and here is Wales, a dear sister country, on the west.
England, Scotland, and Wales, form altogether the island
of Great Britain. Dear old Britain! Don’t we love it?
It is sometimes called our “sea-girt home,†because the
sea surrounds it like a girdle or belt, and helps to keep us
safe from enemies. Yet I think something better than the
sea keeps Britain safe, even God’s care for our island and
our island’s queen; and as lone as we please Him and ask
Him to protect us, our dear country shall be preserved
from all dangers.
Why do we love England? Will you try to answer?
I will give you four reasons, but, probably, you will think
of others.
First, we love it because it is a Bible-land. There are
few families in which there is not a Bible. Good King
George ITI, Queen Victoria’s grandfather, used to wish
A
2 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
that every child in England had this precious book. Any
little child may now buy a Bible for sixpence, and the
poorest children can go to ragged schools, where they may
learn to read it. Being a Bible-land, all who wish may
know from God’s own book what He desires them to do;
and may learn the blessed story about Jesus Christ coming
into the world to save sinners.
Secondly, we love England because it is a free land.
Everybody may do and speak as he likes, and, unless he
injures others, no policeman can put him into prison.
The Englishman feels his home is his castle; and the
rights of the cottager are as sacred as those of the prince.
Neither are there any slaves in England. no men, women,
boys, or girls, who can be bought or sold.
Thirdly, we love England because it is a beautiful land.
There are not such grand mountains, and large lakes,
and sunny flowers as in some countries; but the fields
are very green, and the scenery is sweetly varied; and
the cottages, as well as larger houses, are comfortable, and,
what is peculiarly an English word, they are “ cosy.â€
Fourthly, we love England because it is our dear home
land—
“Home, sweet home, there is no place like home.â€
There are many pleasant countries over the sea; and we
hope the httle French, and Swiss, and German children,
love their own fatherlands very much, but we know best
about dear old England; and don’t you like the pretty
verse which says,
“J thank the goodness and the grace
Which on my birth haye smiled,
And made me in these blessed days
A happy English child †?
Now, look again at the map, and let us find out what it
will tell us about England.
INTRODUCTION. 3
Though the sea goes all round Britain, it is not very far
from France in this southern part, and from Iveland here.
Treland is a sister island, and belongs to the same queen
as England.
From this coast of France, (look for Caluais,) the white
cliffs on the shore of England (look for Dover) can be seen ;
and so when the Romans first saw England they called it
Albion or the White Land. The tribes in Britain were
very savage before the arrival of the Romans, I suppose
something like the New Zealanders before the English dis-
covered them, only the ancient Britons never ate each
- other’s flesh. Julius Cesar, the Roman general, and his
soldiers crossed over these straits, (the Straits of Dover.)
The brave Britons fought with them, but at last were
driven back; and the Romans took possession of Britain,
and built large towns and taught the people many useful
things.
England is neither very near the equator, nor very near
the pole. It is neither burning hot, nor freezing cold.
The weather is temperate. There are cold east winds in
spring, and often thick foes in November, but still most
of the days are very fine. Being an island, and warmed
by a current of water that reaches its western shore, from
the Gulf of Mexico, the average warmth is much greater
than in other places of the same latitude. More rain falls
here than on the Continent, and foreigners are struck with
the greenness of England’s fields, and the luxuriance of her
foliage.
Now observe which coast of England seems the smooth-
est; with the fewest bays and headlands. -The shape of
England is something like a triangle, the most irregular
side being on the left hand or west, which is as irregular
in its surface as in its shape, almost all the mountains and
rough parts being to the west. We will mark a line from
4 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
this river, the Tees, in Durham, to this one, the Exe, in
Devonshire; and on its eastern side, you will find the
country generally covered with plains, or gently-sloping
‘ fields, and rivers quietly wandering along; whilst on
the west side there are mountains and moorlands, deep
valleys, clear lakes, and rivers rushing through dells
with steep banks on either side. These divisions of the
island are also very different in their riches. The beauti-
ful green fields with fine fat cattle, and richly-cultivated
land with waving corn, are the riches of the eastern side,
whilst minerals of all sorts, lead, iron, tin, coal, or copper,
are found in the country to the west of the line.
The greatest length of England, from Berwick-upon-
Tweed to the south of Dorset, is 880 miles; and the great-
est breadth, from Land’s End to Winterton Ness in Nor-
folk, is 8367 miles. Now, it is reckoned that policemen or
postmen, whose business it is to walk about, can walk
fifteen miles a day. How many weeks of six days each
would a man, walking at this rate, be in passing from north
to south? How many weeks in going from east to west ?
Now. think again: how many miles in one day have
you ever walked? Then how many days would you take
to walk across England. The narrowest part of England
is between the coast of Northumberland and the Solway
Frith, there it is only sixty-two miles broad. How long
would you take to walk across it?
Now, try and remember all I have told you to-day, for
before you hear or read another chapter, I expect you to
give me an account of this one.
NORTHUMBERLAND.—Parr I.
Now for ancther geography lesson from me, and eyes and
ears from you.
NORTHUMBERLAND. dD
Do you see that dear old England, our sea-girt island,
is divided on the map into a number of parts, of all sorts
of colours, red, blue, yellow, green, and of all sorts of
shapes—this one, Northumberland, like a little England ;
Buckinghamshire rather like an old woman with a pack
on her back; you guess Nottinghamshire, an egg; West-
moreland, an ivy leaf; Somersetshire, a baby’s sock; whilst
Cornwall always reminds me of a Wellington boot, with a
very small toe.
Yorkshire is the largest, and Rutland the smallest
county.
Now I must tell you what counties are. They are the
forty parts into which England was divided a very lone
time ago, by the wise king, Alfred the Great. They are
not surrounded either by walls or ditches, rivers or hedges.
I know a house with one bed-room in Hertfordshire and
another in Middlesex; and a garden, with one tree in
Gloucestershire and another in Worcestershire. Each
county has, however, different officers, appointed by the
- Queen to keep order; and different members, gentlemen
chosen by the people to go up to London to the parliament
and consult on the laws by which the English are to be
governed. I suppose, in Alfred’s time, there were reasons
for the different shapes of the counties. Rivers and hills
very often partly separate them; and, probably, where
there is now nothing at all, there used to be the edge of a
forest, or the beginning of a moor.
The division into counties helps us very much to under-
stand the map, and to find out places. Suppose your
garden to be divided into flower plots, and each plot to have
a name which you know. Charles wants to know where
the pretty dark rose has been plucked; the gardener says,
In Flora plot.†Mary asks where the geranium is
planted; she hears “In Magnificent plot.†They then
6 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
soon discover their favourite flowers. So, if you remember
that this great county is Yorkshire, and you hear that
Sheffield, Leeds, and Hull are in Yorkshire, you will not
think of looking for those large towns in Cornwall.
Now I wish to tell you about the people who live, the
things that are made, the towns that are built in, and the
rivers which flow through, each county; and will you
listen and try to remember it all?
We will begin with Northumberland, the highest-up
county on the map, therefore the most northern, or the
furthest away from the part of the heaven where the sun
shines. It is not so warm in Northumberland as in these
southern counties; but there are many bright fine days,
which in summer are longer, and in winter are shorter than
they are on the English Channel.
The German Ocean washes the coast of Northumberland.
Generally, the waves beat against soft, bright sands,
covered with pretty shells, but in some places high rocks
jut out, with perhaps a castle built upon their summit.
Sometimes there are deep creeks, or fissures, in these
rocks, up which the large waves rush with a great noise ;
and reaching the end, they throw the spray into the air
like a fountain. It is beautiful to watch it, with the
bright sun shining. It falls down glittering like a shower
of pearls and precious stones.
Often there are sad shipwrecks on this coast; but
a good Duke of Northumberland provided at several
stations between the Tyne and the Tweed life-boats,
These are boats made of timber, with a cornice of cork,
fitted with air-chambers, and having two bows, so that
even if the waves dash over or upset them, they rise to
the top of the billows, and right themselves. If a ship
is driven on the rocks, some brave men get into one of
these boats, and save, if possible, the shipwrecked sailors.
NORTHUMBERLAND. 7
What can you do to help the sailors when the wind blows
hard? Can't you pray for them ?
Further inland, there are a good many corn-fields, but
not nearly so much hay as in the south of England. The
grass does not grow quickly in Northumberland, and the
farmers take a long time to make it into hay. There are
few trees, excepting near the rivers, whose steep banks
are often beautifully wooded, the branches of the lowest
trees dipping into the clear-running water. In the west
of the county there is a great deal of hilly moorland. You
may travel for many miles and see hardly any fields or
trees; but the moors are covered with the golden flowers
of the furze, or the heather’s purple blossem ; and even on
the soft, spongy bogs are found bright green moss, and
rare and beautiful flowers, as pretty as many that grow in
the garden. You can see sheep and goats feeding on the
hill-sides, and shepherds clothed in plaids, long-checked
woollen shawls, takine care of them. Amongst these
hills, quite sheltered from the cold east winds, are valleys,
where invalids often go for warmer air. The poor people
in Northumberland are generally agriculturists ; that is,
they work in the fields, sowing, reaping, hoeing. Some
are miners, working below the ground in coal-pits or lead
mines; and on the coast there are many fishermen.
They are kind to each other, honest and independent.
They seldom beg for money, and have a great deal of
common sense. You seldom meet a Northumbrian person
who cannot read. They do not like to give up their old
customs, whether good or bad. One bad custom is, having
only one room for eating, drinking, and sleeping. This is,
I hope, giving way alittle. Their box beds fastened against
the walls with wooden shutters are very unwholesome,
The air, however, is fresh and bracing; and as the
people have good wages, they are able to live on good food,
8 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
and are generally tall and stout, with broad shoulders.
They eat brown bread, which is very wise. They often
bake cakes on the girdle, a round, flat, iron plate, hung
over the fire. These are sometimes made of barley, and
pease meal. This is dry food, but quite wholesome, and
soon satisfies hungry children. A better kind is made of
flour, and cream or butter, and currants, and is eaten
quite hot. The pitmen call them “Singing hinnies wi’
sma’ co’ fizzers.†“Hinny†means a good thing, probably
from “honey,†and they call the currants small coals,
which sing or fiz with the butter in them.
The Northumbrians have a strange way of speaking,
and use words you would not understand. Perhaps a
mother would tell you her child was a “ canny wee bairn,
but somewhat hempy;†which means, a nice little child,
but rather mischievous, Their Rs seem to stick in their
throats. It is very difficult for Northumbrian people to
say, “ Around the rugged rocks the ragged rascals ran.â€
Now what do we get from Northumberland? Some
things so precious that they are called black diamonds.
We neither eat them nor wear them, but only throw them
on the fire. Ah! coals. The best coals in England used
to come from Northumberland, from a place called Wall’s
End. The best fish we eat comes also from Northumber-
land. The Tweed salmon, a red kind of fish, is famous all
over England. Cod, haddocks, oysters, and herrings, are
also plentiful on its coast; but soles and mackerel are
rare; and sprats do not go north of the Tyne.
Very large cattle are fattened in this county.
On the long dreary moorlands many birds are shot, such
as grouse, black-cocks, etc. called moor-game. No one
can shoot them without the Queen’s leave, nor before the
12th of August.
Several famous people have been born in Northumber-
NORTHUMBERLAND. 9
land :—Good old Bishop Ridley, who, in the reign of Queen
Mary, was burnt because of his love for the Bible ; Lord
Collingwood, who gained a famous victory by sea over the
French; Lord Eldon, a great lawyer; George and Robert
Stephenson, the famous engineers. George Stephenson,
when a little boy, hoed turnips for twopence a day ; but he
was a great thinker; and his thoughts led to the discovery
of the way by which steam-engines could draw railway
carriages. Do you like to go onthe railway? Then think
of what you owe to the great George Stephenson. Another
famous man was once a poor boy in Northumberland—
Robert Morrison, who was a shoemaker’s apprentice, and
afterwards went out as a missionary to China, and trans-
lated God’s blessed Bible into the difficult Chinese lan-
guage. Bewick, the inventor of wood-engraving, worked,
when a child, in a coal-pit on the Tyne. Now try and
think of the country, the people, the produce, and the
ereat men of Northumberland, and to-morrow I will tell
you something about the towns and rivers,
NORTHUMBERLAND.—Pant II.
Now, look at the map. The Tweed runs between
Northumberland and Scotland. It is a pretty, clear river,
with beautiful banks, on which are several ruined castles.
Long ago the Scotch and English were not good friends,
and often fought battles. Then the lords used to have
castles, instead of houses, with thick walls and wide
ditches or moats all around. Over these ditches were
drawbridges—bridges that can be drawn up at pleasure,
preventing all passage. Inside the walls were enclosures
for the cattle; because if the cows were left in the fields
the enemy’s soldiers would soon steal them. One of these
old castles on the banks of the Tweed, is Norham. It is
10 DEAR OLD ENGLAND,
a ruin now, the walls broken and stones crumbling, but
once it was full of armed men, feasting inside and fighting
outside. Good Dr Gilly, who wrote about Felix Neff, and
cared much for the Protestants among the Alps, lived and
died at Norham.
Where the Tweed falls into the sea is Berwick. Ber-
wick is a county of itself, belonging neither to England
nor Scotland. It has broad walls all round it; several
people could walk abreast along them. The railway
station is where the castle once stood. We do not need
a castle there now, since there is no fighting between the
Scotch and English. Berwick isa famous place for catching
salmon. To do so, the fishermen sometimes lay their nets
in ahalf-moon shape from the shore; they then jump into
boats and row round and round between the nets and shore,
frightening the salmon, which try to swim away. They,
poor things, rush into the nets and are caught. The
fishermen then undo the stakes, and draw the nets to land,
and take out all the fish they find. Sometimes there are
none. Then they have to try again and again. You
know there are no gains without pains. :
Not very far from Berwick is Holy Island, so called
because it was the place where the holy and humble
missionary Aidan lived, and also the pastors that, with
him, came from Jona in Scotland to preach about
Jesus to the heathen Northumbrians, Aidan won them
by great meekness and humility. He was much as-
sisted by the good King Oswald, who used to stand
by the missionary, translating his words into the people’s
language. At Holy Island can be seen the ruins of
the old monastery. The first church was built of wood
and thatched with reeds. Opposite Holy Island is
3amborough, Sometimes you can cross in a carriage
NORTHUMBERLAND. 11
from one to the other, because when the tide is low the
sand is left dry. At Bamborough is a fine castle, built on
a high rock. We read of it 1300 years ago, in the time
Bamborough Castle.
of the Danes and Saxons. It is now appropriated for the
good of the poor, and especially for efforts to help the ship-
wrecked. In the churchyard is the tomb of Mr Mackenzie,
a passenger in the steamer Pegasus, which struck on
some rocks near, and foundered. As they were sinking,
he gathered the passengers round him, and prayed calmly
to his God. Here, too, is the tomb of Grace Darling, who
lived on one of the Ferne Islands, a group of rocky islets off
this coast. They are twenty-five in number when the tide
is out, and fifteen when it is in. Hers is a deeply interest-
ing story, and I am sure you will love to hear it,
Ae DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
THE STORY OF GRACE DARLING AND THE SHIPWRECK.
More than thirty years since, on the 5th of September,
asteamboat left Hull in Yorkshire (which town we will
find on the map) for Dundee, in Scotland. Its name was
the Forfarshire. It had sixty-three people on board—
sailors and passengers—men, women, and some little chil-
dren. The boilers soon began to leak, but the sailors
pumped the water out and the vessel went northwards,
passed the shores of Yorkshire, Durham, and Northumber-
land, till it reached St Abb’s Head, a rocky cape on the
coast of Scotland. Here the engineer said he could not
make the engines work any longer, and the captain was
obliged to let the vessel drive before the wind. The
storm was very high—the waves were lashing, and the
white sea foaming. The north wind drove them south-
ward all night, and very early in the morning, when it was
quite dark, they found that the foam before them was
breaking on a fearful rock, one of these Ferne Islands.
They could not manage the helm; so on the ship went,
and struck this sharp, high ridge. Loud cries arose—loud
cries for God to have mercy. Another tremendous wave
struck the ship; it lifted it high above the rock. The
wave passed—the ship fell upon the rock’s sharp edge, and
broke in two. One end was swept into the deep sea, and
all the passengers there were buried in a terrible grave of
water, Some of the crew now rushed into a little boat
that belonged to the ship, and just as it was being pushed
off, a farmer took a long leap, jumped in, and was saved ;
for the men in this boat were afterwards picked up by a
ship that met them. Nine others clung to the fore part of
the ship, and there they hung, with the waves dashing
over them. Amongst them was a poor woman, who had
with her two little children. How the waves bruised, and
NORTHUMBERLAND, 13
drenched, and chilled, and hurt them! But,-ere long, the
crying of the poor little ones ceased, for Jesus sent His
angel to take their souls to His bright home, where storms
and tempests never come. At last morning dawned.
Nearly a mile distant was the Lonestone lighthouse, built
on one of these rocky islets, On this island lived an old
man, his wife, and daughter, There was usually a son,
too, but he was at the herring fishery. Through the mist
of the morning, by the help of a glass, old Darling saw the
wreck; he saw the sufferers clinging. Shall we go?
thought he. It seemed impossible. The sea was raging
fearfully—the current was very strong, and who was there
to help to pull the oar? At his side stood his brave
daughter, not very tall, not very strong, but with a heart
that could trust her God, and that longed to save the
perishing creatures. “Father, let us go,’ she cries, and
so the boat is launched, and the mother helps to set
them off; and her anxious eye follows those she loved
best, and her earnest heart prays God to speed her hus-
band and her child. Grace had not been accustomed to
the boat; her father or her brother had always managed
it. But God watches from heaven, and He gives her
strength and skill, They pull hard, they pull with all
their might; the boat reaches the wreck, but a greater
danger now awaits it. The billows heave—the boat
grazes the rocks, once and again. How easily might it be
overturned, or broken in pieces! Still, God protects, The
poor mother of the two little children, though herself nearly
dead,isremovedintoit. Then the passengers—one by one—
allthe nine are saved. The tide is now advancing, the waves
becoming each minute stronger. Grace and her father
could not, by themselves, have rowed back, but among the
sufferers are men that help. God speeds the little boat. It
is borne safely across the foaming billows; it has reached
14 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
the lighthouse island. Is there not heard the voice of
thanksgiving to Him who has protected them? For two
days the shipwrecked passengers remained on the little
island, and Grace gave up her bed to the suffering woman,
and nursed her with the kindest care. When the tale of
the shipwreck was known, Grace Darling received many
praises, many presents, High and low, all honoured her,
but she never seemed to think anything of herself, and
only wondered that people were so kind.
For about ten years she continued to live with her
father and mother, at the Longstone Lighthouse. Then
she became ill of consumption. She knew that she was
dying, but was quite willing to depart, and to be with
Jesus. She divided amongst her dear friends the presents
that had been given her: and, as she grew weaker and
weaker, her faith became stronger and stronger, until she
was called from all the storms of life, to be safe in heaven’s
haven. Dear boys and girls, Grace Darling was neither
strong, nor rich, nor learned, and yet you see how she
served her fellow-creatures. Can you do nothing to assist
poor people round you, and to help to bring dying souls
to know that Jesus is the Rock of Ages, where only they
can find salvation ?
Farther south are the ruins of a large castle, called
Dunstanburgh. No one lives there now, excepting during
the time when the little lambs are born. Then a shepherd
and his dog live inside one of the thick walls. Is not a
room in a wall a strange home? To-morrow we must
follow to its source the little river Alne.
NORTHUMBERLAND,—Part ITI.
You shall hear to-day more tales of the “borders,†the
name given to those parts of England and Scotland which
NORTHUMBERLAND. 15
border on one another. The Alne rises amongst the Che-
viots, a range of hills separating the north-west of North-
umberland from Scotland and Cumberland. They are
famous for the sheep that feed amongst them, which in
winter are often buried in the snow. I once saw one
which was taken out alive, after being thirty days under
the snow: it had eaten all the grass around it, and the
wool off its back. The chief town in this wild district
is Wooler. Near it is Flodden Field, where, in the reign
of Henry VIIL, a great battle was fought between the
English and Scotch. James IV., the Scotch king, and a
great number of his bravest nobility were killed. Not far
distant is Chillingham Castle, a fine old place. Here you
may see a stone, in the middle of which was found a live
toad. In the park are wild cattle which have never been
tamed. They are quite white, excepting the ears and tips
of the horns, and are handsomely formed.
On this little river, the Alne, there stands an old town,
Alnwick. Here the Duke of Northumberland lives in
a grand old castle, with thick doorways and spacious
courts. The old gates were called portcullises. Instead
of shutting from the sides, they fell down from the top of
the arches. On the top of the castle walls are strange
stone figures; some seem ready to throw a lance; some
have axes; others are lifting stones. In this and other
castles are deep, dark dungeons, where the unfortunate
Scotch prisoners were sometimes thrown. Near Alnwick,
one Scotch king, William, called the Lion because he
was very brave, was taken prisoner, and another, called
Malcolm, was killed. In the Duke’s park there are the
ruins of a curious old abbey, Hulne. The monks who
built it, chose this situation because they thought the
slope of the opposite hill, Brizlee, was like Mount Carmel,
where they had lived in the Holy Land, At the top of
16 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
Brizlee is a high stone tower. Brizlee was one of the
hills where, in former days, people used to light beacon-
fires, when an enemy approached.* There were then no
electric telegraphs, but there were watchers stationed on
different heights, who each lighted his fire when he saw
one blazing in the distance; and so the presence of an
enemy was known for many miles. In the centre of
Alnwick, is a curious old archway, which goes by the
name of Harry Hotspur’s Tower. Hotspur, a son of Lord
Percy, was very brave, but very passionate. He fought a
battle with King Henry IV. at Battle Field, near Shrews-
bury, in Shropshire. The king dressed like a common
soldier, and made several of his brave friends dress like
the king. Can you tell me of any king of Israel who did
the same thing ?
Hotspur and other chieftains tried to fight with these
mock-kings, and killed several of them. Thousands of
Englishmen were slain, At last an arrow went through
the brain of Hotspur; and when his friends saw that he
was dead, they gave up fighting, and were conquered.
This was called a civil war, because all the people who
fought on either side belonged to one nation. Are you not
glad that there is no civil war now? And won't you pray to
God to help all the people in dear old England to keep good
friends, and only to fight against what is evil and wicked ?
I will tell you another curious story about Alnwick.
West of this town is a great moor, in which there are
many bogs and morasses.f Once, when King John was
travelling across Northumberland, he got into a bog near
Alnwick, where he stuck fast. He was very angry, not
at his own stupidity, but with the townspeople, and said
that no one should ever after have the advantages of free-
men of Alnwick, unless they first went through this pond.
* Page 9, + Page 7.
NORTHUMBERLAND. 17
For hundreds of years this absurd law continued. On
the 25th of April those, who wished to become freemen,
were obliged to plunge through what was called the “ Free-
man’s Well.†Mischievous boys, of course, placed ropes
under the water to trip them. But on they must go,
head over heels, till, covered with mud, they reached the
other side. Afterwards they had feasting: and a green
tree was, for the day, placed in front of the doors of the
new freemen. Only a very few years since, the people of
Alnwick agreed the custom was a very foolish one, and
that they would give it up.
The next river south of the Alne is the Coquet, which
receives its name because its course is continually wind-
ing. It also rises amongst the wild moorlands of the
Cheviots. The first small town on its banks is Rothbury
—noted for its mild and fresh breezes.* Invalids often
go there to breathe the air, and to drink goat’s milk, the
wild hills around forming pasture for these pretty animals.
The waters of the Coquet are very clear, and there the
trout jump all day long. You might fancy this is where—
“Dear mother,†said a little fish,
“ Pray is not that a fly ?
I’m very hungry, and I wish
You’d let me go and try.â€
On its banks not far from the sea stands a pretty
village, called Warkworth, crowned with a beautiful castle.
The frontispiece shows you its picture. It is a ruin now.
standing on a hill, round which the clear Coquet winds.
Further up the river is Warkworth Hermitage, where
there are three little rooms, cut out of the solid rock.
The story is that a warrior made this his home. He had
passionately killed by mistake a lady whom he loved very
much; and to make amends for his sin, he determined to
* Page 7.
B
18 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
live quite alone in this rock. In one of the windows is
roughly carved a lady, with an angel watching her. The
hermit had a kitchen, with a wide chimney, so I suppose
he kept himself warm, and had good fare. Warkworth,
with its ruined castle, and high-spired church, and clear
winding river, and curious hermitage, is, I think one of the
prettiest places in England.
Opposite the mouth of the river is Coquet Island, where
there is a lighthouse, This island used to be full of long-
haired white rabbits, with red eyes. On the Ferne and
Coquet islands, a number of sea-fowl lay their eggs,—such
birds as gulls, and geese, and eider-ducks, The last are
noted for the extreme softness of their feathers. Sea-fowls
do not make their nests of wool, and hay, and moss, but
of stones and sea-weed; and very often they make no
nests at all. The eggs are not rounded like those of land
birds, but pointed at one end to prevent them rolling.
The country between the Coquet and the Tyne is gene-
rally bare and bleak. Ona little river, the banks of which
can boast of more than one old castle, are Morpeth, the
birthplace of Morrison, the Bible translator, and Blythe, a
small port for shipping coal, To-morrow we will trace the
Tyne, which partly separates Northumberland from Durham.
NORTHUMBERLAND.— Part IV.
TuE largest river in Northumberland is the Tyne. It has
two principal branches, called the North and South Tyne,
which rise in the wild hilly moorlands of South-west Nor-
thumberland and East Cumberland, and unite above Hex-
ham,
A yailway passes along its banks, between the two
large towns of Newcastle and Carlisle. Travelling along
this railroad is very pleasant. You continually cross or
NORTHUMBERLAND, 19
follow the banks of the river; and you pass through woods,
and see pretty castles. One ot the peculiar beauties of
Northumberland is its many old border castles.* Standing
on some hills, you may count from seven to twelve with-
in sight. Nearly on a line with this railway, are the
remains of a very old and broad wall, It is called the
Picts’ Wall, because it was built by the Romans to protect
them from the Picts and Scots, rude and savage tribes
that lived in the North of Britain. The wall stretched
from the Solway Frith to the Tyne. The place where it
stopped is still called Wall’s End, and is now chiefly famed
for its colliery.
Amongst the wild and desolate hills, where the North
Tyne and other rivers rise, is Chevy Chase, where very
long ago was fought a bloody battle between the English
and Scotch. It was not play-work then, as Chevy
Chase is with boys now; nor was it song-work as the
ballad is with Northumbrians at the present day. This is
a verse of it—
“To drive the deer, with hound and horn,
Earl Percy took his way ;
The child may rue, who is unborn,
The slaughter of that day.â€
In the south-west of Northumberland are many lead
mines, very valuable, especially now that a way of extract-
ing silver from lead is discovered. :
The first town to note on the Tyne is Hexham, where
there is a beautiful church almost like a cathedral. In its
windows was fixed the first glass used in England, and
near it was fought a battle in which Margaret of Anjou
was defeated,
Above Newcastle, on the Tyne, are villages, where are
foundries for smelting and working iron, I¢ is wonderful
* Pp, 9, 10, 11, 14, 15, 17, 18.
20 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
to see these great furnaces at night, You would think
that the buildings were on fire; the flames rising high
above the chimneys, and the sky quite red with the reflec-
tion of the light.
Newcastle is an extremely smoky town. There are so
many collieries near it, (these are places where the coals
are brought from below ground,) and in it so many manu-
factories of iron or glass, all having tall chimneys, from
which smoke is poured forth in clouds, that the whole
place seems to be in an atmosphere of smoke. The town
is, however, in the new part extremely well built ;—the
streets, monuments, and public rooms are very handsome,
and the markets, covered with stone and glass, amongst the
finest in Europe. There is a very old castle here, which
was built by Robert the son of William the Conqueror.
It must have been then that the town got the name of New-
castle, which it still keeps. In this old castle are many
strange things, once belonging to the Romans, which have
been found under or near the Picts’ wall.
The Northumberland Newcastle is always called New-
castle-on-Tyne, to distinguish it from a large town in Staf-
fordshire, which has the name of Newcastle-under-Lyne.
Across the Tyne is a splendid railway bridge, very, very
high. On the top of the arches is a road for passengers
and carriages, and above it is an iron road for the railway
trains. Though Newcastle is so smoky, the people who
live there like it very much, and talk about “canny New-
castle.†Large flat-bottomed boats come up the river,
called keels, to be filled with coals. The boatmen have a
very favourite song, with a pretty tune, the chorus of
which is—
“ Weel may the keel row, the keel row, the keel row,â€
which nearly all Northumberland people sing.
NORTHUMBERLAND. 21
Near Newcastle are lead-works, where shot and bullets
and various leaden things are made, and where silver is
extracted from the molten lead. The shot, to be round,
must fall through sieves at a great height; so the shot
tower is made very high, and you see it far off White
lead, which is used in painting, is also. made at these
works; but they are so unwholesome, that the poor work-
people seldom live long. At Newcastle the celebrated
Armstrong guns are partly made. They can carry cannon-
balls a distance of nearly five miles. Pleasanter works
than these, for they speak of peace and not of war, are the
Wylam Iron-works, which belonged to George and Robert
Stephenson.* There, is shown the first moving steam-
engine that ever drew a train. At Newcastle is the
largest manufactory in England for these engines called
locomotives. They are sent hence to France, and Russia,
and Egypt, and India, and to all parts of the world.
From Newcastle to North Shields the river presents a
lively scene—potteries, iron-works, wharves, shipbuilding,
and collieries. The smoke and business thicken, as North
and South Shields on the opposite sides of the river are
approached. These two towns are connected by a steam
ferry, into which boat you may drive, and if you choose,
look out of the carriage window on the water below, and
the many ships around. More vessels sail from the Tyne
than the Thames, only they are not so large. It is very
pleasant to see them passing, each drawn by a busy steam-
tug. The little tug often draws a large three-masted ship ;
and even so, little children may do for themselves and
others great things if they will but try. At the mouth of
the river is Tynemouth, a pleasant bathing-place, where
there is a great rock, on which are the ruins of a beautiful
old priory. Monks once lived there, but now soldiers.
* Page 9.
22 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
When the north and east winds blow hard, the sea is very
rough off Tynemouth rocks, and ships coming into the
Tyne are often dashed to pieces. To see the cliffs crowded
with the sailors’ anxious wives and children, to watch the
vessels driven onwards to destruction, to hear, perhaps,
the sailors’ ery, and to discover them clinging to the masts
and rigging, and yet not to be able to help them, is indeed
a sad sight. Another time you shall hear of the efforts
made to improve the entrance of the river; and, after you
have told me all you can remember about Northumber-
land, we will cross the Tyne and enter Durham.
The teacher will find it a good plan on the following
day, to rehearse the various places that have been men-
tioned, tracing the rivers from the hills to the ocean, and
talking about the towns and castles on their banks.
The teacher might imagine meeting boats or ships, and
make the children guess with what produce they may be
laden, as, for instance, salmon in the Tweed, smaller trout
or coals in the Coquet, iron, glass, coals, pottery-ware, etc.,
inthe Tyne. This might be varied by taking the line of
rail between Berwick and Newcastle, and leading the
children to think of the various articles or. people that
may fill the trucks and carriages. Thus, at Berwick, sal-
ynon; between that place and Alnwick, Cheviot sheep and
cows; at Alnwick and Warkworth, excursionists who
have been viewing the castles, whilst, nearer to Newcastle
trucks of coal should be added to the train.
Then the teacher might go along the Newcastle and
Carlisle Railway, making the children think of what they
would see, such .as the river Tyne, bridges, castles, the
abbey-church at Hexham, the iron-foundries, trucks of
lead ore—of iron, of coal, of coke; as the train went west-
ward, heathery hills, and the sportsman with his gun, and
DURHAM. 23
grouse, with here and there a peep of the Picts’ wall. Or,
again, there might be an imaginary sail, between the Tweed
and the Tyne ;—Holy Island and the Ferne Islands viewed,
the name of Grace Darling recalled, the sea-fowls observed,
Bamborough, Dunstanborough, and Warkworth castles
pointed out, the mouth of the Alne and Coquet passed,
Coquet Island touched at, Tynemouth rocks and priory,
marking the entrance of the Tyne, described.
These are merely suggestions, to make the recapitulation
more interesting than a regular routine of question and
answer.
DURHAM.—Part I.
On the south side of the Tyne lies the county of Durham.
Though not nearly so large as Northumberland, more
people live in it. There are not so many farmers, nor
labourers who are called agriculturalists; but there are
more colliers, more shipwrights,—that is, men who make
ships,—more sailors, and more manufacturers. The roads
in the county of Durham never look white, but are black
with coal dust; and in the eastern districts, the trees and
hedges are very sooty.
There are fine cliffs along the coast, especially those
called the Marsden Rocks, and there are frequently tall,
massive blocks standing solitary, a little distance from
the shore. Inland, the country is very bleak and bare.
There are, however, pretty valleys along the banks of the
rivers. The grass grows richly along the lower course of
the Tees; and the cattle feeding on it, called the “Du-
ham Shorthorns,†are reckoned the finest in the kingdom.
In the west, there are desolate, hilly moors. If you were
travelling through Durham, you would be most struck bythe
coal-pits; so I shall here give you the description of one.
24 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
DESCRIPTION OF A DURHAM COAL-PIT.
Above ground you see a tall chimney with a quantity
of smoke pouring out, an engine-house where the steam-
engine is very busy winding up the coal, low sheds, and
large heaps of small coal. Sometimes these great heaps
are on fire. Formerly, they used to light the country all
round; but now the small coal is consumed in glass-houses
and manufactories.
Coal-mine.
If you wanted to go down a shaft, that is, the hole of
the pit, something like a very wide and long chimney, you
would have to be dressed like a pitman, in wide begrimed
trousers, loose flannel jacket, and round leather cap with
a broad brim, Then you would have to get into a cage,
or a basket, and keep your legs and arms very steady; and
in four or five minutes, you may descend about a thou-
DURHAM. 25
sand feet, as deep as three St Paul’s Cathedrals would be
high.
At the bottom of the shaft or chimney, you meet pas-
sages, the walls of which are made of coal. There is gene-
rally one main passage, and several others turning right
and left, like one long street, and small ones stretching
away on either side. If you went down one of these, you
would find it gradually get narrower and lower, till at
length you reached the part where the hewers are, knock-
ing the coal in lumps out of the face of the coal wall that
is before them. They seem strange black-looking men,
some kneeling, some stooping, some lying upon their
backs, but all pick, picking away. It is, of course, quite
dark, excepting the light from the lamps or candles which
the men are burning, Baskets filled with the coals are
placed on little trucks and moved along an underground
railway to the bottom of the shaft. Little ponies, strong,
but generally blind, draw these trucks, and boys, as young
as ten or twelve years old, drive them, The pitmen gene-
rally fasten themselves very fast in the loop of a rope to
be drawn up the shaft, and the men take the little boys
on their knees, or hold them tight in their arms, Poor
fellows, how seldom they see the sun, working down in the
dark regions all day long.
The pitmen live in long straight rows of houses near the
pits. They call them “Shiney Rows,†and that in which
the chief men of the pit live is known as “ Quality Row.â€
When the men reach home they wash themselves, and
then sit down to their tea and “singing hinnies.†Don’t
you think the wives should make the houses very comfort-
able, when their husbands have to work for them in such
dark and dreary places ?
Sometimes there are very sad accidents. The air in
the pits becomes foul, or full of a gas which is called fire-
26 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
damp. This easily catches fire, and makes a tremendous
explosion. Some of the men are burnt, others suffocated,
whilst some are killed by the falling in of the ground, or
perhaps drowned, by the bursting of the wells of water.
The noise of the explosion brings to the pit’s mouth the
wives of the poor men, feeling anxious lest their husbands
should be killed. As the bodies are brought up, there is
great weeping. Sometimes a poor woman may lose her
husband and all her sons at once.
I will tell you the story of a little boy, who, with thirty-
five men and forty-one boys, was, in consequence of one
of these sad accidents, either starved or suffocated. He
was found dead, with a Bible and a tin box at his side.
Inside the box lid, he had, with a sort of nail, scratched
these words, “ Fret not, dear mother, for we are singing the
praises of God, whilst we have time. Mother, follow God
more than ever I did. Joseph, think of God, and be kind
to poor mother.â€
The pitmen have generally large families. Many boys
are great riches to a poor pitman, because, as soon as a
boy is ten years old, he may work in the mines and get
wages. Dear children, you may all be riches to your
parents, if you bring them a good name on earth, and be
like jewels for them to present to God in heaven.
Durham is a rich county, but its riches are all under
ground, in these coal-mines and in the lead-mines that are
worked in the west. It also produces a valuable hard
sandstone used for grinding, Several things we use have
probably come from-the county of Durham. Perhaps the
coals, perhaps the lead with which the spouts are lined;
very probably the glass of the mirrors, and the glass of the
window-panes too, if they are large ones. Then the soda
that the washerwoman uses, or that the chemist sells for
seidlitz powders; and magnesia for Gregory’s Mixture.
DURHAM. 27
Mustard for dinner is called Durham Mustard ; but it really
comes from York,
I must now tell you about some great and good people
born in this county.
Have you heard of the brave Sir Henry Havelock, who
feared God, but did not fear all the wicked mutineers in
India, and marched up to Lucknow, to save the poor Eng-
lish there from ten thousands of their enemies? That
brave Sir Henry was born near Sunderland.
At South Shields lived Mr Greathead, who invented life-
boats.
At a small village further up the Tyne, there lived a
very long time ago, a little boy, of the name of Bede; he
was an orphan, and when six years old was taken to a re-
ligious house to be educated. As he grew older, he learnt
to read Latin; and then he loved to read the Bible, for,
in those days, there were no English Bibles. He wrote
several books; and when he was an old man, translated
St John’s Gospel into English, On the day he died,
having finished its last sentence, he begged the young man
who had written what he had dictated to support his head
a little while. He soon sank to the ground, saying,
“Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy
Ghost!†Bede’s tomb is in the cathedral of Durham, and
he is always called “The Venerable Bede.†His chair
may still be seen at Jarrow, where he was born. With one
more story about a good man, who had a parish in this
county, in the time of Queen Mary, we must finish to-day’s
lesson. His name was Bernard Gilpin. He was a Pro-
testant, loved the Bible, and worked very hard, preaching
about Jesus in the North of England. The wicked Bishop
Bonner heard of him, and threatened that he should be
burnt in a fortnight.* So the judges sent for him to come
* Page 9. .
28 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
to London, Gilpin used always to say, that whatever
happened was intended for good. As he travelled to
London, he broke his leg. Some that were with him said,
“Well, is this meant for your good?†He said, “I have
no doubt of it.†And before his leg was better, a message
came down to say that Queen Mary was dead, and that he
was at liberty. Try always to trust God like good Ber-
nard Gilpin.
DURHAM—Part II.
You know something about the Tyne on the north side.
We will now follow it on the Durham side. This little
river that runs into it is called the Derwent. The valley
through which it flows is very pretty. There are manu-
facturing villages all down the Tyne till you reach Gates-
head. At one of these, very near Gateshead, wire ropes
are made and telegraph wires. Gateshead is a large town
immediately opposite Newcastle; the High Level Bridge,
of which I told you before, and another bridge, connecting
the two towns.* At Gateshead there are large soap-works
and glass manufactories, where the glass is cut, and where
the mirrors are polished that look so bright in drawing-
rooms. A few years ago, there wasa very great fire in Gates-
head. After it had burnt a little while, tremendous ex-
plosions took place. A building full of something like
gunpowder had taken fire. Every window in Gateshead
and Newcastle shook; many were broken; and all the
people were startled out of their beds. Then great burn-
ing pieces of timber fell in the streets, injuring many of
the people and setting fire to a great many more houses,
How the fire-engines did play, and the brave firemen work.
At last, through God’s mercy, the fire was stopped. Some
parts of Newcastle and Gateshead are very dirty, and
* Page 20.
DURHAM. 29
when the cholera has been in England it has been worse
here than anywhere. —
Further down the river is Jarrow, where the Venerable
Bede lived. Itis not now a place for study, but a busy,
bustling town, where many ships are built, and where
there are docks in which they are laden or unladen, shel-
tered or repaired.
The south side of the Tyne is as busy as the north side.
A great deal of shipbuilding goes forward, and there are
many manufactories. Below Jarrow is South Shields,
which is even more smoky than Newcastle. A colliery is
in the centre of the town, and many chimneys continually
send forth clouds of smoke. The highest chimneys belong
to the alkali or soda works, where soda is made from salt
and sulphur and charcoal. The lower ones, wider at the
bottom and narrowing upwards, belong to the glass works.
Here it is that sand and flint are melted into glass. When
these have been molten for a long time, the fiery liquid is
poured into a caldron, This huge vessel is pushed on
wheels along the dark stone passages, then raised on a
hook and swung in the air till it is exactly at the proper
place, Then it is turned over, and the red-hot glass is
poured on iron tables surrounded with a rim as high as the
glass is to be thick, to prevent the liquid from running
over. After being smoothed, the glass is drawn into a hot
place to cool. It must be hot at first, or it would get too
quickly cold and would crack. In this way plate glass is
made; common glass is blown, The workmen seem half
dried up with the heat. They wear thin woollen veils,
lest the sparks should burn their eyes,
Along the banks of the Tyne, are mounds 200 or 300
feet high, formed of gravel and earth, brought from the
bottom of the Thames, or from foreign places. Why is it
brought, for it does no good there, and looks very unsightly ?
30 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
It is brought as ballast; something heavy to weigh down
the ships instead of the coals that they take away. The
ballast is thrown out, as much as 10,000 tons in a week,
and the coal is taken in,
On each side of the Tyne, handsome stone piers are
built, which makes the entrance of the river much safer
for ships.
Now, we will leave the Tyne, and follow the course of
the Wear. The first interesting place on its banks is
Bishop Auckland, where the Bishop of Durham lives.
Afterwards, we reach Durham, It is a curious old town,
with very steep narrow streets, On the top of the banks
are the beautiful cathedral, and the castle which is now
used as a college. The cathedral is built of stone, and is
very massive and grand-looking. Do you remember whose
tomb is there ?
Durham is not full of manufactories, like Shields and
Newcastle. There are beautiful woods and gardens stretch-
ing down to the river side; and on the water there is a great
nunber of skiffs. Once the Wear was on fire. Some gas
escaped from the coal-mines below the river, through
cracks in its bed. When this was found out, funnels
were placed over the cracks, with pipes fastened to them
long enough to reach the surface. These were lighted and
brilliant flames burnt, thousands of people going to see the
river on fire,
A great battle was fought at a place near Durham
called Neville’s Cross, It was between the English and
Scotch.* Edward III. was away at the time; but when
his brave queen heard that the Scotch king, David, was
marching into England, she collected a small army, and
went to mect him, After a hard-fought battle, David was
wounded and made prisoner. It is said that before the
* Pp, 9, 15,19.
DURHAM. 31
battle began, the brave queen, Philippa, begged the
soldiers to fight manfully, and then went to a quiet place,
that she might pray for them.
Not far distant is Witton-Gilbert, where we read of the
longest snow-storm ever known in England. It is more
than two hundred years ago. It began to snow on Janu-
ary 5, and snowed, more or less, every day till March 12,
causing both men and cattle to lose their lives.
Further down the Wear, which runs between prettily-
wooded banks, is a ruined abbey, called Finchall, where
very long ago, a foolish man, named St Godric, lived.
Instead of enjoying the good things that God had kindly
given him, he put himself to torture by wearing an iron
shirt, eating bread mixed with ashes three or four months
old, standing, during the cold winter, up to his neck in
’ water to pray, and doing many other senseless things;
imagining, like the poor Hindoos, that God was pleased to
see him tortured. Below Finchall, is Chester-le-Street,
with a fine old church and very curious monuments. It
is supposed to have been a Roman station. Along the
Wear are several castles; some inhabited by noblemen,
and some inruins. There are many collieries, and as the
river approaches the sea, a great deal of shipbuilding,
There are also manufactories for various things; such as
paper, glass, copperas, and earthenware. At the mouth of
the river is a large town called Sunderland, where there
are glass-houses and potteries, and shipbuilding yards,
and docks for ships, besides a great deal of commerce.
Such towns are called commercial. A very handsome iron
bridge, the second ever made in England, connects Sunder-
Jand with Monk-Wearmouth, an old town where there used.
to be a monastery.
Some of the little rivers which fall into the sea, south
of the Wear, run through beautiful dells. One of these,
32 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
Castle Eden Dean, is extremely pretty; the deep glen, the
over-hanging trees, and the brawling stream, making a very
picturesque scene.
In the south, on the coast, is Hartlepool, another com-
mercial town. Long, long ago, before commerce and
steam were so busy, this town stood beside a pond, where
the deer used to come and cool themselves; and so it was
called Hart-le-pol, or, The Deer’s Pond. In St Hilda’s
church, at Hartlepool, there is a fine old tomb, to the
memory of some person unknown; perhaps a great warrior,
or a beautiful lady, or a rich lord; but all forgotten now.
Will you ack God to write your names in heaven? There
they shall never be forgotten, for God has said, “Their
names are continually before me.â€
The river, which separates Durham from Yorkshire, is
called the Tees. It rises in Cumberland. As it leaves
the dreary moorland, it rushes over great precipices, look-
ing very grand, and forming two beautiful waterfalls
—the Caldron Shoot, and the High Force. The Caldron
Shoot is a succession of precipices, over which the water
rushes and foams, seeming in haste to escape from its
former desolate region, to the prettier one beyond. The
High Force is nearly perpendicular. You may there
stand on the rock, which divides the river in the centre,
and see the water come foaming and splashing on each
side of you. High rocks form the river banks. They
are covered with beautiful old oak-trees, and elegant
mountain-ashes. When the sun shines, it forms rain-
bow colours on the spray that rises very high. Is not
God kind to make so many pretty scenes in our native
land ?
The first town on the Tees is Barnard Castle. Here,
there are beautiful ruins of an ivy-covered castle. Along
the banks of the river are mills for spinning thread. On
DURHAM. 33
a little stream, which joins the Tees from the north, is
Darlington. There are several small manufactories here
for carpets and linen, and fairs for all sorts of cattle, and
a large railway station. Further along the Tees are pretty
villages, such as Dinsdale and Middleton, where there
are iron waters, which invalids drink to strengthen them-
selves. Stockton is a well-built commercial town, whence
ships take away coal, iron, and the various things manu-
factured in the neighbourhood. Between Stockton and
Darlington, the second railway made in England was con-
structed.
Now my relation of the somewhat grimy, but very useful
county of Durham is over, I shall look to you to tell me,
to-morrow, of its coal-pits, manufactures, and scenery.
These chapters may be revised by tracing the rivers from
their sources, or by coasting the county from the Tyne to the
Tees.
In tracing the Tyne, part of the old lesson on. Northum-
berland should not be forgotten. The shipbuilding going
forward on all the rivers of Durham, must be especially
mentioned ; as it may be termed the characteristic of the
rivers of that county,
The journey along the railroad may also be followed, as
in the county of Northumberland.
Again, the children might imagine they were visiting the
county under different characters. One party as archeolo-
gists, fond of old remains; the second as mineralogists,
engaged in mines; the third, as commercial men, inquir-
ing into the manufactories, &c.; and the fourth, as tourists,
in search of picturesque scenery. In this case, the archao-
logist would endeavour to search out the old monastery at
Jarrow; especially notice the cathedral and castle at Dur-
ham; Venerable Bede’s tomb, his chair, &.; Neville’s
c
34 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
Cross; Finchall Abbey; Barnard Castle; St Hilda’s at
Hartlepool; and, though not exactly a subject for arche-
ology, the rectory of Houghton-le-Spring, good Bernard
Gilpin’s home, might be pointed out.
The mineralogists would descend the coal-mines, each
child mentioning something he remembers. They would
likewise visit the lead-mines in the west.
The commercial men would order goods from the glass-
works at Sunderland, South Shields, or Gateshead: from
the potteries, at these several places; the alkali or soda-
works, at South Shields; the telegraph and wire roperies,
at Gateshead; they would order linen from Darlington,
and thread from the banks of the Tees. They must arrange
concerning transit at the railway stations (point on the map)
and at the sea-ports, South Shields, Sunderland, Hartlepool,
and Stockton.
The tourists would delight to visit the Tees in its upper
course ; they would also see Durham, situated so beautifully
on the steep banks of the Wear, and not forget the pre-
cipitous cliffs of Marsden rocks, and the beauties of Castle
Edon Dean.
All might unite as biographers of the great and good, and
recall the names of Sir Henry Havelock, Greathead, Bede,
and Gilpin.
YORKSHIRE. —Parrt I.
We have now come to the largest county in, all England
—ereat, big Yorkshire. Jt is as large as half-a-dozen of
the central counties, There are seven counties touching
Yorkshire. You remember Durham with its coal-mines;
and here is pretty little Westmoreland, and manufacturing
Lancashire, about which I shall soon tell you; and here is
Cheshire, the county for cheeses; and Derbyshire; and
YORKSHIRE, _ 35
Nottinghamshire, the county like an ege; and this large
county on the coast, Lincolnshire. On the east, it has the
same wide sea, the German ocean, as washes the coasts of
Northumberland and Durham.
Several large rivers run through Yorkshire, making a
great part of the county very fertile. They rise amongst
the mountains in the west, and generally run south-east to
join the Ouse. This unites with other long rivers from the
middle of England, such as this one, the Trent; and they
together all form the broad Humber, on which many ships
continually sail.
The west of Yorkshire is very mountainous. Some of
the highest mountains of England’s backbone, which you
may trace from the Cheviots * to Derbyshire, are there; and
through them are cut the longest railway tunnels in all Eng-
land; and across one of them passes the highest railway.
These mountains are formed of limestone; and there are in
them most wonderful caverns, of which I shall tell you soon.
There are some tarns, or large mountain-ponds, amongst
them; but no beautiful lakes, as in Cumberland and West-
moreland. Some of the bases or bottoms of these moun-
tains are very wide, that of Ingleborough being thirty miles
round. In the north-east of Yorkshire, nearer the sea,
there are likewise considerable hills and moorlands, where
the weather is very cold. These hills stretch quite to the
sea between Flamborough Head and the mouth of the
Tees, and form a splendid bold coast. There is a place
near Whitby called Stoupe Brow, where the cliff is nearly
900 feet high. How far can you walk along the road in
three minutes? Then fancy that distance straight up like
the wall of a house.
There are two capes on the coast of Yorkshire—Flam-
borough Head and Spurn Head. Flamborough Head, or
* Page 15.
36 DEAR OLD ENGLAND. .
the head with a flame, so called on account of the beacon-
fire that used to burn there, is very high, and formed of
brilliant white chalk ;* whilst Spurn Head is a low ridge
of sand and shingle, tapering to a point. The sea washes
away every year about two yards and a half of the shore all
the way between Bridlington Bay and Spurn Head, and then
it washes back all this soil into the Humber; so that some
land, called Sunk Island—which, 200 years ago in the
reign of Charles I., was a mud bank in the middle of the
river—now forms a part of the land, and is covered with
corn-fields and meadows, farm-buildings and cottages, and
in the midst there is a church.
The part of Yorkshire between the western hills and the
eastern moorlands, is generally full of valleys and green
fields. From the west flow the Swale, the Ure, the
Wharfe, the Nidd, the Aire, and the Don. Can you trace
them on the map? The country between them is fre-
quently flat. In Yorkshire, we find the largest vale in
England. It is called the vale of York, and is about sixty
miles in length. It is full of beautiful green fields, and
hedgerows with fine tall trees. Though there are many
pretty cottages, and the quiet wandering rivers look like
strings of silver, the scenery is not grand, and if you
lived there, you would, I think, long to see high hills and
to run dewn steep slopes. In the south-west of Yorkshire
the country is very beautiful, with wooded hills, val-
leys, and rivers. Altogether, Yorkshire is one of the
finest counties of England, as well as the largest. It is
divided into three parts—called the North, the East,
and the West Ridings. The North-Riding stretches
from the county of Westmoreland to the sea. The
west is a very large division, from the mountains to the
Ouse; and the east contains all the rich, flat land from
* Page 16.
YORKSHIRE. 37
the Humber in the south, to the Derwent in the
north.
In the east of Yorkshire, a great deal of corn is grown;
and in the west, the fields are principally pasture, where
you would see many long-horned cattle and horned sheep
too.* In some parts of Yorkshire, you would see fields
covered with a plant, having a beautiful blue flower in
July, and afterwards a head of silky seeds. This is flax,
of which linen is made. Near York, are large fields of a
yellow flower—mustard;+ and there are also fields of
another yellow flower—teasel, which is used in dressing
cloth for jackets. A great many very thin cattle are
brought into Yorkshire, every year, from Scotland, and
sold to the farmers, who soon fatten them on their rich
grass, and then sell them to the butchers, in Leeds, Shef-
field, Manchester, and all the many manufacturing towns.
A great number of beautiful horses are reared in the north
and east of the county. There is, too, a busy, useful little
insect, that you would often see; I mean the busy bee,
** Gathering honey all the day
From many an opening flower.â€
The oak-trees are not large, but the wood is very hard
and good. Little and good, is better than much and bad
Tt is almost all made into butter firkins.
In some parts of this county, a great deal of coal is
found; but not so good as in Northumberland and Dur-
ham. There are also iron and lead, and stone for build-
ing, and a kind of blue clay, which makes beautiful white
brick; near Whitby is found alum, a useful white mineral,
and jet, which makes very pretty black ornaments.
Amongst the clay and gravel, near the east coast of
Yorkshire, have been found curious fossils of enormous
* Pages 8, 23. + Page 27.
38 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
animals, with teeth ten inches round, and a great many
fossil-shells and snake-stones. Beautiful crystals have
also been discovered.
Now we must think of some of the things that you use,
which have probably come from Yorkshire, for, in many
parts, it is a busy, manufacturing county. At one town,
Sheffield, rough iron is turned into knives, scissors, tools,
nails, and scythes; and there, too, tea-pots, coffee-pots, dish-
covers, and many articles of metal covered over with silver,
called plated goods, are made. At another town, Leeds,
and at Bradford, and several other places, you would find
large manufactories full of people and machines making
woollen goods, particularly cloth for little boys’ jackets,
stuffs for their sisters’ frocks, shawls, blankets, and many
other comfortable things. It has been said of Yorkshire,
that it clothes one-third of civilised men in wool, and
finds them in files and penknives. It furnishes our ward-
robes, our dinner-tables, and our armouries. Now look
round this room and think what may have come from
Yorkshire, Is there anything in Johnny’s pocket or in
Amy’s work-box? Anything that Charlie or Mary wears?
The people in Yorkshire are generally strong in body,
and hearty, independent and sensible in their ways. They
are fond of making money, and think a great deal of their —
beautiful large county. They have good wages and good
food. They are not so polite and polished as the people
farther south, and have generally a very ugly tune of voice.
In some parts, they talk something like the Dutch, accord-
ing to the following rhyme :—
“ Gooid brede, botter, and cheese,
Is gooid Yorkshire and gooid Friese.â€
This refers to Friesland, a part of Holland.
There have been many famous men. born in this county
YORKSHIRE. 39
—such as Captain Cook, who sailed all round the world;
Miles Coverdale, who translated the Bible into English;
Wycliffe, the great and good reformer; and others, about
whom I will tell you, when we come to the towns where
they were born.
There are many beautiful churches and old ruined
abbeys. Indeed, I think if Northumberland is the county
for castles,* Yorkshire is for churches and abbeys. But I
fancy you have heard quite enough of great Yorkshire for
one day; or the account to-morrow will be large and bad,
instead of little and good.
YORKSHIRE,—Parr I,
THE most interesting way of learning about Yorkshire,
will be to follow its beautiful rivers from the mountains
to the sea, You know the name of the river that separates
it from Durham, and you can remember about the fine
waterfalls in the upper part of its course. As we follow
it on the Yorkshire side, we find the scenery wild and
beautiful, and we pass two celebrated places—Rokeby and
Wycliffe. Sir Walter Scott has written a long poem about
Rokeby, and described its pretty scenery and old abbey;
and Wycliffe is said, by some, to be the birthplace of the
good reformer, John Wycliffe, who translated the Bible
into English, and is called the Morning Star of the Refor-
mation. Why? Because he lived some time before
Luther, who was like its sun; he shone when all was in
Popish darkness round about, and he was a forerunner of
the brighter ight.
Wycliffe’s Bible was not printed or spelt like ours. The
printing was in black letter. Can you read the Lord’s
Prayer as it was then written :—
* Pages 9, 19.
40 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
“Our Fadtr that art in hebengs; haletoin be thi name.
Tha kingdom come to, be thi toil done in the erthe as in hebenz,
Chive to us thig dav oure hreede obir othir substance.
Anv forgive to us our dettis as toe forgibe to our Vetterts.
And leve us not into temptacion; but delyoer us from pbel.
Amen.â€
A small town on the south bank of the Tees is Croft,
with mineral waters, and another is Yarm, where many
cheeses are sold. Between the eastern mountains and
the Tees is a beautiful fertile valley, called the Vale of
Cleveland.
Here is Marton, where Captain Cook was born. He
was born in a poor little cottage, with only two rooms,
and was taught to read by the mistress, in whose service
he was. Her name Mary Walker is on one of the tomb-
stones of the little churchyard. How little she thought
that the poor child to whom she was so kind, would be-
come so celebrated a navigator.
Another place on the Tees is Middlesborough, which has
grown large all at once, where thousands of tons of iron,
dug from the Cleveland hills, are smelted, so that the pure
iron is separated from the iron ore.
In this neighbourhood is Rosebury Topping, a famous
hill, from which we may look, for the last time, into old
Northumberland; it was in this district that Robert the
Bruce, the famous Scottish king, was born.
Now, let us return to the mountains, and find the
Swale, the next river south of the Tees. Between it and
the Tees is Mickle Fell, the highest mountain in York-
shire, 2600 feet. You do not see the sea from this moun-
tain; but the view is very fine—the lake mountains in the
west—the valleys opening to receive the Yorkshire rivers—
the Cleveland hills far away to the east, and all round by
YORKSHIRE, Al
the south-west the massy mountains of Penyghent, Whern-
side, and Ingleborough.
Following the Swale, after passing many lead mines, we
reach Richmond. Thisis an oldtown, withanoldcastle, very
famous for its beautiful situation. It was builtin William
the Conqueror’s time, by Alan the Red. Here King Arthur
and his knights are said to be asleep, in some mysterious
room, waiting till a great perilof England shall awaken them.
Further down the river is Catterick, to which the Romans
gave the dreadfully long name of Catteractorium.
Further down, on a branch of the river, you see North-
allerton marked. About three miles from this is a hill
called Standard Hill, where the Yorkshire men fought a
great battle with David, king of Scotland. The bishops, in
those days, were often soldiers; and a very warrior-like
bishop, called Thurston, led the army. To encourage the
men, Thurston had mounted upon wheels a great pole
headed with across, and from it hung three large standards
of three celebrated saints. The Scotch king and his sol-
diers were afraid when they saw this, and were quite de-
feated—1.0,000, it is said, being killed. This was called
the Battle of the Standard.*
Below Northallerton is Thirsk, a good-sized town. These
are all agricultural towns, more celebrated for their mar-
kets than for their manufactures.
At last the Swale joins the Ure, and the two form the Ouse,
at a small town, Boroughbridge. Near to it stand three
enormous stones, eighteen and twenty feet high. They are
called the Devil’s Arrows, because a foolish story says he shot
them to destroy a city. They were probably placed there by
the early Britons, though we wonder how, in their savage
state, they were able to move such immense stones.
Now, we must return to the next river we sce in the
* Pages 9, 15, 19, 30.
42 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
north-west of Yorkshire ; it is the Ure, and flows through
a beautiful valley called Wensleydale. Near its source are
desolate moors* and wild leaping waterfalls. Below one of
these, during a very hard frost, the water froze. The spring
from above, continued supplying it with water, which
formed a cone that rose higher and higher, till at last it
was as high as a church steeple, and thirty yards round at
the bottom—an icy pyramid. These moors are so large
that the many-scattered sheep appear very few.
At an old village in this wild country, a horn is still
blown during winter at ten o’clock at night. It used to
be a signal for benighted travellers in the forests, to know
where they might find a shelter.
On the banks of the Ure are ruins of old castles and
abbeys. At Bolton Castle, the unfortunate Mary, Queen
of Scotland, was a prisoner. Below it is Coverdale, where
Miles Coverdale, who translated and printed the Bible, in
the reign of Henry VIIL, was born.
The Ure soon rushes over a great waterfall, Aysgarth
Force. The view of the foaming water, and the bridge
stretching over from the rock on either side, is very beau-
tiful.+
We may now follow the Ure for some distance, during
which the narrow glen widens into an extensive fertile
valley, till we come to Ripon. Here there is a cathedral,
built about 700 years ago. Under it are chambers called
catacombs, where the bones and skulls of the dead are
curiously preserved and arranged. At Ripon, at nine o’clock
every night, a horn is blown three times at the Mayor's door,
and again at the Market Cross. This has been done ever
since the time of Alfred the Great, or for 1000 years.
About three miles from Ripon are the ruins of one of
the most beautiful abbeys in England, called Fountain’s
* Pages 7, 23. + Page 32.
YORKSHIRE, 43
Abbey. The first monks were very poor, and lived under
some straw thatching placed amongst the branches of seven
yew trees, eating at times boiled leaves of trees and wild
plants. It is said that once when the monks had only two
loaves and a half of bread, a stranger asked for food. The
¥ountain’s Abbey,
abbot or chief said, “Give him one loaf, God will provide
for us;†and soon a cart-load of bread arrived, sent by a
neighbouring baron. Afterwards rich people left the
monks a great deal of money, and then they built the
beautiful abbey and lived on rich fare.
Now we may follow the Ure to Boroughbridge, where
the creat stones are, and you must tell me with what river
it there unites.
Now return to the next river, south of the Ure. It is
called the Nidd. I shall only tell you of one place on its
banks, the old town of Knaresborough, with houses on the
steep hill-side, the door-steps of one being as high as the
chimney-tops of another. There is, above them all, a fine
44 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
old ruined castle. The great curiosity of Knaresborough
is the Dropping Well. Near the beautiful river is a lime-
stone rock, thirty feet high; over this water constantly
drops. This water is full of particles of lime, with which
it incrusts whatever is placed below, so that plants, birds’
nests, twigs, and all kinds of things, seem, in a few weeks,
to be petrified or turned to stone.
Near this is a chapel, called St Robert’s, with hideous
faces carved on the wall, and outside the door an immense
stone figure, drawing a sword. A mile off is St Robert's
Cave, where a frightful murder was committed more than
a hundred years ago; but after thirteen years, discovered
by the providence of God. The wicked murderer, Eugene
Aram, a schoolmaster, was an extremely clever man, wrote
poetry, was a good historian, understood botany, and had
studied a number of languages; but you know a clever
head does not make a good heart, and the love of money
led him to this frightful sin. Do you remember a verse
in the Bible about the love of money ?
Enough for to-day; but we still. have more rivers in
great Yorkshire to trace.
YORKSHIRE.—Part IIL.
BEFORE we search the source of the next river, we must
visit the large ancient and celebrated city which stands on
the Ouse, between the Nidd and the Wharfe. It is York,
the county town of Yorkshire. It is one of the very oldest
towns in England; there was a little collection of huts,
where British chieftains lived, even before the Romans
came. When the Romans took possession of England,
they made York their capital town. Here two of their
emperors died, and it is said to have been the birthplace
of the famous Constantine the Great. York has a very
YORKSHIRE, 45
old castle, and an exceedingly grand cathedral, reckoned
the finest in England.* Its towers are so high, its arches
so many, its clustered pillars so elegant, and its windows
so beautiful, that everybody admires it; and we are glad
that a place so magnificent is for the best of uses, the
worship of God. Twice, however, within the last fifty
years, it has been very nearly burnt down—once by a
madman, to make himself famous, and another time by
- the carelessness of a workman. What untold harm, fool-
ishness and carelessness will often cause!
The old castle of York is now used as a jail+ In King
John’s time, some hundreds of Jews were barbarously shut
up in this castle, that the wicked king might extort their
money, and when they would not give it up, it is said, he
ordered the only well in the castle to be poisoned, so that
they all died. There is a beautiful ruined abbey, St Mary’s,
and the remains of an old hospital, but many years ago
these ruins were used as a quarry, and the stones
were taken away to build houses, and great heaps were
burnt in a lime-kiln. Near the city are several battle-
fields; Stamford Brig, where King Harold conquered the
King of Norway, just before he went to Hastings to be
conquered by the Duke of Normandy; Marston Moor,
where Prince Rupert, leading King Charles’s army, was
defeated; and Towton, the scene of one of the bloody
battles of the Roses.
The city is surrounded by walls, which were first built
in the time of the Romans. These have four bars or gates.
Who do you think was born near York? Guy Fawkes.
Etty, a celebrated painter, and Flaxman, a famous sculp-
tor, were also born here, besides other distinguished people.
The Wharfe, the next river that we reach, has a much
longer course to run than the Nidd. It rises far away in
* Page 30. + Compare castles, pp. 10, 11, 15, 20, 30.
46 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
the west, in the great mountain of Ingleborough. And
now, before I tell you any more about the river, you shall
hear of some splendid caverns that are found in the side
of this hill Some of them have strange names, such as:
Cat-Knot-Hole, Long Churn, Dicken Pot. The first I will
describe is Weathercote Cave, in the pretty valley of
Chapel-le-Dale. You go down a rough flight of steps into
a narrow rocky chasm, covered with ferns and mosses;
you pass a spring, which, like the dropping-well at Knares-
borough, turns the moss to stone; and soon you see, at
the farthest end, a white column of water rushing and
roaring over the rock, eighty feet high. You cannot see
the sky, for the bushes on the top of the narrow crevice
meet. The water is swallowed up in the bed of pebbles
on which it falls. Would you like ‘to wander along that
dark cave, and hear the tremendous roar of the foaming
waterfall ?
But now you shall hear of the still more famous cave of
Ingleborough, through which you may go half a mile into
the centre of the mountain. It is near the little village of
Clapham.
The entrance is a low wide passage that gradually be-
comes narrower. The guide gives each person a lighted
candle, and unlocks an iron gate, which is the entrance of
a cavern, called “‘ The Inverted Forest,†for all the vegeta-
tion grows down instead of up; immense fungi hanging
from the roof. Then is reached a narrow passage cut
through a wall of stone, which divides the old from the new
cave; the inside one being called new, having been dis-
covered only a few years. As one enters it, it appears
almost like a fairy palace. The walls are of snowy white-
ness, and over the ground are spread white mounds, which
seem to glitter as with millions of diamonds.
Beyond this is a wider cavern, called Pillar Hall. Here
YORKSHIRE. 47
thousands of the white crystals, called stalactites, hang
from the roof; others grow upwards from the floor. At
length, owing to the constant trickling water, the ends
meet, and form the beautiful crystal pillars, some of which
are fantastically twisted. Frequently, where there is a
thin long crack in the roof, the stalactite looks like a cur-
tain suspended gracefully in this fairy hall. Some are
like a bee-hive; one of the largest, called the Jockey Cap,
is supposed to have taken 259 years to reach its present
size. Little drops of water full of grains of lime form
these beautiful things; and, in like manner, may not little
children take their tiny share in doing things that are
beautiful, because they are good ?
Farther on is a low, narrow passage, through which,
with the help of a scrubbing-brush to keep the hand from
the slippery rock, the visitor is obliged to creep. Thus is
entered the “Cellar Gallery,†a long sort of tunnel, with
no pretty stalactites shining, This, however, leads to the
Giant’s Hall, with its lofty roof, and the stalactites and
curtains hanging as before. On one side you may look
down two holes, at the bottom of one of which is a deep
pool, into which water is ever falling. A gentleman once
swam across this dark little lake, but it was all wall at the
other side; he could go no farther. The noise of the
waterfall, plunging night and day, in the deep darkness, is
said to be very awful. Yet, would you not like to see
those fairy caverns, and to peep down those dark holes ?
The other chief mountains in this part of Yorkshire
are Whernside and Penyghent. There are both a Great
and Little Whernside, one being 300 feet less than the
other.
Now, let us descend the Wharfe, with its savage, wild,
and beautiful scenery. There are more cliffs and crags on
its banks than on any of the other rivers.
48 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
Here Bolton Abbey stands. Have you ever seen Land-
seer’s beautiful picture of this abbey in the olden time,
with the old monks receiving all kinds of provision,—
venison, game, fish ?
The story of the lady who built Bolton Abbey is a very
sad one. She was a widow with two sons. The elder
died, and the younger, Romilly, the Boy of Egremont, for
he was born at that town in Cumberland, was the only
hope of his poor mother. A little above the Abbey is a
part of the river called “The Strid,†because it is so
narrow that people can stride across it. Here the water
rushes madly and impetuously between the high rocks.
Poor Romilly tried to cross this one day—his greyhound
pulled him back—he fell, and perished in the stream,
** And the lady pray’d in heaviness,
That look’d not for relief,
But slowly did the succour come,
And a patience to her grief.â€
In remembrance of this unfortunate son, she built the
beautiful priory, the ruins of which still stand. There
is, also, a pretty story about the White Doe, of which
Wordsworth wrote in sweet poetry. It is said, the poor
little white doe regularly came from Rylstone, over the
hills, on Sundays, during service, and wandered gently
and timidly among the tombstones. Not far from Bolton
is Skipton Castle, which once belonged to the Shepherd
Lord Clifford, so-called, because for twenty-five years he
lived in the savage valley of Borrowdale.
Between the Wharfe and the Nidd lies Harrogate,
where is a famous well for medicinal water. It tastes
and smells of rotten eggs and sulphur. The Wharfe con-
tinues its beautiful course, passing Tadcaster, where there
are famous Roman ruins, and then enters the Ouse a
YORKSHIRE, 49
little above Selby, a small town, with a very beautiful
church,
Leaving the more picturesque part of Yorkshire, we
shall to-morrow travel to the manufacturing districts.
YORKSHIRE.—Panrt IV.
In the very west of Yorkshire, is a fertile district called
Craven, through which the Ribble flows, before it enters
Lancashire, passing westward to the Irish Sea. There
are beautiful cliffs in this district, and a very fine water-
fall, called Gordale Scar. The principal town is Settle.
Now we must again follow the rivers running east. At
the foot of one of the grandest cliffs, from a low, flat arch,
the Aire rushes out, clear as crystal, very different from
what it is after passing Bradford and Leeds. Very soon,
the manufacturing towns and villages begin. Keighley
is one of the first. Then comes Shipley, near which
is Saltaire, a model town built by Sir Titus Salt.
The houses are built so as to make the work-people
comfortable, cleanly, and healthy. There is no public-
house; but there is a chapel for the worship of God,
and a hall for music and lectures. The manufactory
is like a palace, and the chimney, of immense height,
is quite ornamental. 30,000 yards of stuff for dresses
can be made there in one day. The machinery is beauti-
ful; if you saw it at work, you would almost fancy the
iron was alive and thinking.
The principal town for stuff manufactories is Bradford,
and for broad-cloth Leeds, nine miles distant. The Brad-
ford and Leeds people are each anxious that their town
should be the greatest; and if a new institution is built
in one place, a similar one is built in the other. Besides
the people employed at the looms, many are engaged in
D
50 DEAR OLD ENGLAND,
dyeing. It is curious to pass through some of the neigh-
bouring villages, and see the people with blue arms and
legs. The factory men often wear long pinafores from
the throat to the foot, to keep off the fluff that blows
about from the wool. Much of the cloth is woven in
the poor people’s cottages. The rooms up-stairs are filled
with the looms, whilst those below are for cooking and
sleeping. Though they have not much furniture, there
is often a mahogany chest of drawers and an eight-day
clock. In Leeds about 50,000 people are employed in
manufactories. There are railways and canals, besides
the river, by which to send off the woollen and linen
goods. The town is generally smoky, and has many
chimneys. There is a very large school for 400 ragged
children, with a large dining hall, and sleeping rooms fur
many of them.
Now leaving the Aire for a little while, we must follow
the course of the Calder, a small river that joins it. The
first large town near the Calder that we reach is Halifax,
like Leeds, full of woollen cloth manufactories. Here there
is the largest carpet factory in England. Halifax is one
of the largest parishes in Great Britain, about 150,000
people living in it.
Further on is Batley, a place famous for making
“shoddy.†“What is shoddy?†I daresay you inquire.
It is a kind of cloth made out of old clothes. Perhaps
you wear shoddy; for many gentlemen’s topcoats and
ladies’ Linseys are made of it, but fine broad-cloth is not
shoddy. Old clothes are sent to Batley from all parts of
Europe; soldiers’ coats and monks’ gowns, worsted stock-
ings and tattered scarecrows. Tremendously powerful
machines pull them all to pieces, then the fibres are
drawn out, then they are woven, and frequently dyed.
Shoddy is also made at Dewsbury, which, perhaps, you
YORKSHIRE. 51
will see on the map. Huddersfield, not far distant, is a
well-built town, where a number of dresses, partly wool,
partly silk, and partly cotton, are woven.
On the Calder is the churchyard where Robin Hood’s
grave is shown; and further down is Wakefield, a well
built town with a famous old church, ‘This town is for
farmers as well as for manufacturers, as here there is one
of the largest corn markets in the kingdom, Near Wake-
field was fought a battle during the wars between the
houses of York and Lancaster.* Below the junction of
the Calder and Aire, we find another town, Pontefract
or Pomfret. Its castle still stands, where the unhappy
Richard II. was murdered. There is a famous liquorice
manufactory here, the plant being grown in surrounding
gardens. Have you ever tasted Pomfret cakes,—small
liquorice lozenges, with a castle stamped on them ?
Now, having told you of the chief woollen manufac-
tories in Yorkshire, we will follow the Don, its most
southern river, with the smaller streams that flow into
it. Near a northern branch of it is Barnsley, where the
chief manufactories are for linen goods, such as towels,
sheetings, and damask table-cloths. Several collieries are
near it, where the most fearful explosions have been,
The worst that ever occurred was in 1866, when nearly
350 strong workmen found a grave in the deep coal-pit,
and about 20 brave men, who sought to rescue them,
perished too. On the Don is a very large town, Sheffield,
full of smoking chimneys and of noisy hammers. Can
you remember what is made at Sheffield? If you look at
one of the table-knives, you will possibly see the name of
Rogers, Sheffield. Some of the cutlery made there is
reckoned the finest in the world. It requires intense
heat and great care to convert iron into steel; and it
* Page 45.
52 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
is wonderful to think how a little bit of coarse iron can
become a valuable blade of steel. The iron of which
steel is made comes from Sweden. Chantrey, the famous
sculptor, and Montgomery, the Christian poet, belonged to
Sheffield. Very probably you know one of Montgomery’s
pretty hymns—
“Prayer is the soul’s sincere desire,
Uttered or unexpressed,
The motion of a hidden fire
‘That trembles in the breast.â€
There is another large town further down the river,
Rotherham, where there are Jarge iron and chemical works ;
and below it again is Doncaster, in which are only a few
manufactories. Doncaster is a very healthy town, and
beautifully situated. One of its churches is particularly
handsome, and there is an excellent institution for teaching
the deaf and dumb children of Yorkshire. You see, towns
are very thick in the south-west of Yorkshire. They are
growing larger every day. During the last ten years more
than 300,000 people have been added to the population of
the West Riding; and the quantity of woollen goods they
manufacture has very much increased.
Now I will make a list of the manufacturing towns we
have mentioned to-day :—Keighley, Shipley, Saltaire, Brad-
ford, Leeds, Halifax, Batley, Dewsbury, Huddersfield, Wake-
field, (look back and see what kind of woollen fabric is made
at each town.)—Barnsley, famous for linen, with collieries
near it; Sheffield and Rotherham, for iron goods. You must
try and get these hard names woven into your young heads.
YORKSHIRE.—Part V.
WE have still a large portion of Yorkshire to talk about,
so you may expect along chapter. We must trace this river,
the Derwent, that joins the Ouse from the north-east; and
then we must suppose that we sail down the Humber, and
YORKSHIRE. 58
along the Yorkshire coast northwards to the mouth of the
Tees. The Derwent rises only a few miles from the coast ;
but though “rivers to the ocean run,†they cannot run up
hill; and so, if you look on the map, you will see the
Derwent has to run many miles before it reaches the sea.
On one of its little branches is Kirby Moorside, where the
once witty and wealthy Duke of Buckingham died, not ina
grand palace, but in a little cottage. He had loved the
world, and forgotten God; and when he came to die in
what has been described as the ‘“ worst inn’s worst room,â€
uncared for and uncomforted, he felt the wretchedness of
the choice he had made. Near this is Kirkdale, where,
in digging a quarry, the workmen discovered a cave, the
floor of which was covered with dried mud. In this mud
were found the bones of all kinds of animals—elephants,
hippopotami, horses, tigers, bears, wolves, oxen, deer,
hares, rabbits, mice, larks, ducks. From this we know
that many thousand years ago, hyenas, tigers, and elephants
must have lived in dear old England. I could tell you of
several more old abbeys and castles; but I am sure you
would forget their names. There is one beautiful old
ruin, Rivaulx Abbey, on the banks of the Rye, a branch
of the Derwent. It is covered with ivy, and is beautifully
situated in a narrow dale.*
The Derwent flows through a pretty green fertile country,
but there are no large towns upon its banks—no coal-
mines—no tall smoking chimneys. It enters the Ouse
just opposite the Aire, and their united waters form the
Humber. A little below this junction is Goole, a seaport
town, where there are large docks.t These are safe homes
for ships, when they return from their voyages, and where
they can be loaded and unloaded. Goole is at the entrance
of a canal, that is cut across England, connecting the
Humber with the Mersey,
* Pages 15, 31, 39, 42, 45, 48. + Pages 29, 31.
54 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
The Humber is a very broad river, almost like a part of
the sea, only the waters are earthy coloured instead of sea-
green. The largest town that stands on it is Kingston-on-
Hull, always called Hull, the name of the little river which
here enters the Humber. It is a busy, but melancholy-
looking town, perhaps because it is on a dead level and
somewhat dingy in colour. LEtty, the painter, used to say
it was memorable for “mud and train-oil.†This was
when a great many of its ships sailed to Greenland to
catch whales. Now, most whale-ships sail from Peter-
head, in Scotland. From Hull are sent cotton and woollen
and hardware goods to all parts of the world, whilst, into
Hull, ships bring iron for Sheffield, wool for Leeds, rags
for Batley, cattle and corn, oil, bones, German yeast, and
annually about £100,000 worth of children’s toys, including
fifteen tons of boys’ marbles.
Here William Wilberforce, the good man who persuaded
Parliament to set the poor negroes free, was born; and from
Hull, according to the famous story, Robinson Crusoe set sail.
The south-east part of Yorkshire is called Holderness.
Tt is a district flat and fat. It is quite level, but the soil
is so rich that everything grows abundantly Once it was,
in many parts, an unwholesome, useless swamp, but now
the land has been well drained. There was discovered
under the water an old forest of all sorts of trees, which
must have been buried there for very many years.
On the north of Holderness is Beverley, an ancient
town, where there stands a very beautiful minster.
Amongst the many interesting stories of this neighbour-
hood, is the account of a meeting between Paulinus and
Coifi, which took place in one of its green forests, in the
presence of Edwin, the Saxon king of Northumberland,
and his queen, Ethelburga. Paulinus, the Christian
missionary, spoke for Christianity ; whilst Coifi, the
YORKSHIRE. 55
Saxon high-priest, defended Paganism. Coifi was con-
vinced ; and mounting the king’s charger, with a spear
in his hand, he rode to the principal temple, hurled his
spear into the image, sent it quivering to the ground,
whilst his followers broke down the wall, and set the
building on fire. Such, according to story, was the end
of Paganism in Northumbria.*
Leaving the Humber, we must round Spurn Head. Is
it a high or low promontory? Here there used to stand a
town, Ravenspur. It was once so large that it sent mem-
bers to Parliament, and was the landing-place of Henry IV.
But it is all swept away and gone; the advancing waves
covering it. Other villages are gone or going.
Towards Bridlington, the clay cliffs cease and chalk
ones appear. These being harder, resist the sea better,
and so the land stretches out into the noble promontory of
Flamborough Head.t Bridlington is a pleasant, quiet bath-
ing place, with a church that once was almost as beautiful
as Beverley minster. Pleasant excursions may be taken
from Bridlington, in small boats round Flamborough Head.
Now shall we press onwards, or stop and listen to a
story about a good old Flamborough fisherman ? I think
you choose the story; but if not we will pass it over.
THE STORY OF JACK NORMIDALE, THE FISHERMAN.
Jack was a very poor man, and neither able to read nor
write, but he knew and loved the Lord Jesus Christ; ané
this made him love his fellow-creatures.
Jack’s wife was called Molly, and soon after they were
married, a poor fisherman was drowned, and his wife and
four children were left without anything to support them.
Jack said to the poor widow, “Come to my cabin, I’ll
make a room ready for you, and you shall share the good
* Page 10. + Page 36.
56 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
of my bit of garden, and only pay your rent as you have
it†Molly took care of the children when Sally, the
widow, went out working. Her little boy was brought
up altogether at Jack’s expense—fed, clothed, and sent to
school; and when he grew up, he bought him a boat and
tackle for fishing. Was the boy grateful to his good
friend? No, I am sorry to say, no. He never seemed to
care for him at all. His sister Mary married a fisherman,
called William, and they had five little children. One
day William went out to sea, taking his dear son with
him. As they returned, a storm arose; the boat upset
when very near the land. Brave Jack plunged into the
sea, caught one of the drowning men, and pulled hin to
the shore. He had hoped it might be William, but it was
his partner. Poor William and the boy were both drowned.
Again did Jack take the widow and her children to his
home; again did he adopt one of them, and he and Molly
cared for them as much as was in their power. The old
man shared his meals with the fatherless little girl, and
nursed her when she was sick. At last, old Molly died;
and her good old busband had scarcely sixpence in the
heuse to bury her. Who then helped? The widowed
Mary and her children, even little Mary, the adopted
child, gave a shilling that had been given her; and when
Jack would have been left quite alone, they took care of
him, and sought to make him comfortable. Jack is, no
doubt, dead now; but did he not gain the blessing spoken
of in the Bible, “Blessed is he that considereth the poor
and needy, the Lord will deliver him in the day of
trouble†?
Now, leaving this old fisherman, poor but rich, we will
proceed along the sea-shore of Yorkshire.
A little to the north of Flamborough Head, stands Scar-
borough. This place is called the “Queen of English
YORKSHIRE, 5F
Watering Places,†the sands and scenery are so beautiful
and the visitors so many. There is a fine old church here
on the top of a steep cliff, and a castle, about which there are
several stories in the history of England. There are waters
also for invalids to drink, tasting of rusty nails and salt.*
The next place of consequence is Whitby, a most plea-
sant bathing-place. The scenery is beautiful, especially up
the little river Eske, which flows through a wooded valley,
and then widens to receive all the ships that trade with
Scarborough.
Whitby, whilst the houses rise on the steep bank, appear-
ing to rest one on the top of another. It was from Whitby
that Captain Cook sailed, when he went all round the world.
Here are the remains of an ancient abbey, where a meet-
ing between the bishops of the ancient British churches, and
the bishops sent over in Gregory’s time from Rome, was
* Page 48. + Page 40.
58 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
held. We must not forget that though the Saxons were
heathen, many of the ancient Britons had long before been
converted to Christianity.*
Whitby used to be a great place for the whale-fishery.
Mr Scoresby, whose son wrote some very interesting ac-
counts of the Polar Regions, brought back, in twenty-eight
voyages, 540 whales. It is now famous for its jet and alum
works, and beautiful fossils. The jet is found in small
pieces, from half an inch to two inches thick. It is cut
and polished. The ammonites, or snake-stones, being
polished too, are used with the jet for ornaments, a very
small one being chosen for the middle of a brooch, ora
large one for the bottom ofa candlestick.
Near Whitby have been found the bones of tremendously
large creatures, far larger than crocodiles, which may have
lived when God first bade ‘the waters bring forth abund-
antly the large moving creatures which had life.†The
alum works were commenced in the reign of CharlesI. A
gentleman, who had travelled in Italy, observed that the
colour of the foliage was, on his estate in Yorkshire, the
same as in the alum districts in Italy. Such is the good of
using one’s eyes. He determined to begin alum works;
but as the Pope did not wish that there should be any
alum works in the world except his own, the Yorkshire
knight was obliged to have the workmen hidden in
casks, or they could not have left Italy. Alum is a
kind of earth, very useful in dyeing, in hardening tallow
candles, and in preventing the wood or the paper soaked in
it from taking fire. It is also used as a medicine; and
often the bakers very improperly put it into their bread to
make it appear white.
Further north, very near the mouth of the Tees, is Red-
car, rather a dreary bathing-place. Now, when I tell you
* Page 10.
YORKSHIRE. 59
that many of the fishermen’s villages on this coast are like
clusters of martins’ nests hanging to the high cliffs, and
that some of the scenery betwecn Whitby and Pickering
is compared to that of Switzerland, I think you will have
heard enough about Yorkshire to wish to go and
travel there, if you do not already live in that great big
county. And perhaps this evening we may play at the
following Yorkshire game :—
THE GAME OF YORKSHIRE.
The children are seated round the room, and the teacher
in the centre is telling a story, or imagining that she is
shopping. The children each choose the name of a York-
shire town, and as the article characteristic of the place is
mentioned, the child turns round or pays a forfeit. Thus
Willie is Bradford; Amy, Leeds; Edith, Hull; Laura,
Wakefield ; Cave, Whitby ; Robin, Sheffield; Kate, Hud-
dersfield ; Harriet, York ; Charlotte, Batley; Arthur, Scar-
borough ; and Algernon, Barnsley.
The teacher goes out a day’s shopping with Edward and
Mary. First she goes to a clothier’s, and buys cloth to
make Edward ajacket. Amy turns round for Leeds. She
gets a great coat for him of a coarser material. Charlotte
jumps up for Batley. Then the teacher goes to a linen
draper’s and buys a stuff dress for Mary. Willie turns
round for Bradford. She also purchases a silk mohair, a
mixture of wool and silk, for herself. Now it is Kate's
turn for Huddersfield. Then she asks for table-cloths and
sheetings, upon which Algernon rises for Barnsley. Pass.
ing a print shop, she is struck with the view of a beauti-
ful cathedral (Harriet turns round for York,) and also sea-
pieces with grand towering rocks and foaming sea. Cave
and Arthur both jump up for Scarborough and Whitby.
Then a cutler’s shop is entered, and Robin turns round ;
60 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
and then a fancy shop, where toys are bought, which have
come from Holland to a large seaport, Edith rises for
Hull; and jet ornaments are inquired for, on which Cave
again turns himself round for Whitby.
With fewer children, rivers might be taken instead of
places, and the river must give a turn as any town or place
of interest upon its banks is mentioned,
CUMBERLAND.—Parr I.
To-DAY we will cross England and visit the western coast,
and you shall hear of Cumberland, one of the prettiest
counties in the whole of dear old England. Part of this
county, and part of Westmoreland, with a little bit of
Lancashire, form what is called the lake district. Cum-
berland is, you see, like Northumberland, a border county
touching Scotland on the north, What are the English
counties which join it? The arm of the sea that runs up
between Scotland and Cumberland is called the Solway
Frith. When the tide is out, a quantity of sand is left
dry, and the water often has a whitish hue. The north
part of Cumberland is hilly, with large moorlands and
extensive peat-bogs, or mosses, as they are frequently
called. The mountains in the north-east are high and
massive, but not nearly so beautiful and picturesque
as those near the lakes. They are composed of a dif-
ferent kind of stone, called lime-stone, and are generally
covered with heath and furze bushes; but the lake
mountains are chiefly formed of slate and granite,
which rise into steep and rugged heights. In one part
of Cumberland, the stone is of a reddish colour, so
the houses are nearly as red as if built of brick. You
seldom see tiled houses in Cumberland or Westmoreland,
CUMBERLAND. 61
Being a slate district, slates are the cheapest things with
which to roof the cottages.
The rivers in Cumberland are very pretty, clear, and
sparkling. They have generally rocky beds, over which
they foam and gurgle, and play and leap. There are also
beautiful cascades, or waterfalls, which rush down the
mountain sides. And then there are the lovely lakes,
sometimes sleeping calmly, with the mountains watch-
ing over them, and reflecting all the beautiful sky and
passing clouds of heaven; and sometimes becoming
stormy, Then the water grows dark, and waves rise,
and the bottom is stirred up, and the sky is no longer seen
in the water. I think our hearts are very like lakes—
when angry and passionate, with evil tempers stirred up,
they are like the stormy lake ; but when they are gentle and
kind, when God’s Spirit calms them with love, then heaven
is reflected, and Christ, heaven’s best Sun, shines in them.
In Cumberland there is a great deal of rain, so the
farmers do not grow much corn or hay; but they keep a
great many cows and sheep, which feed on the beautiful
green pastures. The dairy-maids make excellent butter.
Turnips, which like rain very much, grow well in Cumber-
land. Along the rivers, there are a great many trees. The
trees are generally larger in Cumberland than in Northum-
berland, Durham, or Yorkshire, because the cold east wind
does not blow so much.*
Cumberland is chiefly inhabited by farmers. The people
are honest and industrious. They pronounce their words
strangely. Most of them work in the fields. The only
coal mines in the county are at Whitehaven and Working-
ton, and these extend under the sea.t+ Some of the people
work at the slate quarries, and others in manufactories at
Carlisle and different towns. Cumberland is a very
* Pages 7, 23, 37. + Pages 20, 24, 29, 30, 51.
62 DEAR OLD ENGLAND,
healthy county, where people generally live a long time.
The country people are very simple in their habits.
Butchers’ meat, poultry, fish, and vegetables, are cheap.
You have often heard of an eruption from a burning
mountain or volcano. Now I am going to tell you of an
eruption that happened in Cumberland about one hundred
years ago; but it was an eruption of mud, and not of fire—
black, not red—an eruption from a bog, not from a crater.
Amongst the mountains in the north of the county, was a
very large bog called Solway Moss. The earth was peat,
which is a sort of half-made coal, quite black, and used
for firing. It surrounded it, like a saucer keeping in the
water; but the people had cut it too near the bog. A
heavy rain, for three days, increased the quantity of water
very much, till, at length, it burst the shell of peat, and
came rushing down towards the plain. A farmer, who
lived near, heard that night an extraordinary noise. He
took out his lantern, and thought at first it was the
manure-heap in the farm-yard moving, he knew not how,
towards him. As soon as he found out his mistake, he
called on the neighbours to escape. Some of them did so;
others got on the roofs of their cottages, and there re-
mained till the morning, the black mud filling the rooms
below. The poor sheep and most of the cows were suffo-
cated. In one cow-house were eight cows. All were
killed but one, which, for two hours, stood up to the neck
in mud and water. When set free, it would eat, but
seemed horrified if offered water. After three days, the
bog had emptied itself, and that part of the hill which it
had filled had become a hollow, and the corn and grass over
which it flowed were all destroyed; but now the land is
covered again with fresh trees and herbage.
I can tell you another story about this Solway Moss.
There was in Henry VIII.’s reign a battle between the
CUMBERLAND. 63
English and Scotch, called the battle of the Solway. The
Scots were defeated, and fled. In their alarm, a troop of
five horses plunged into the Moss, which closed over them,
and they were seen no more. This story was for long
hardly believed; but a few labourers were some time since
digging peat at the place where it was said this frightful
accident happened, and they dug out a man and his horse
thoroughly armed.
There are eagles among the highest mountains of Cum-
berland; and I have heard, too, that wild cats inhabit
some of the wildest parts. Amongst other minerals that
are dug out of the earth, is the black lead of which the
pencils with which you draw are made. Common kinds,
such as the housemaid uses for the grates, occur in various
parts of the world, but the best black lead for pencils is
found in the valley of Borrowdale. Though it has the
name of black lead, it is not a species of lead at all. It is
very valuable, and for fear of robbery the men’s clothes are
always searched before they leave the works. The mine
is occasionally closed for some years.
A good many fish are caught on the coast—salmon,
herrings, and others. Excellent cockles are found in the
Solway Frith; and on the wild moors, the same kind of
birds are caught as on the moors of Northumberland and
Durham. What? Fresh-water fish, too, are found in the
lakes, such as trout, char, pike, &c.
To-morrow, I hope to tell you more of the towns and
beautiful places that are seen in the county of Cumber-
land, and will you try and remember about the moun-
tains, the castles, the people, the moving bog, and the
black-lead mine ?
CUMBERLAND.—Paert II.
Tue chief river in Cumberland is the Eden. It enters the
64 DEAR OLD ENGLAND,
county from Westmoreland, and is joined by the Eamont,
which flows from the beautiful lake of Uleswater, and
separates Cumberland from Westmoreland. Near Ulles-
water rises Helvellyn, the second highest mountain in
England. From its summit there is a splendid view; the
mountains lying around and beneath you, in the magnifi-
cent confusion that God’s own hand has cast. A few hun-
dred feet below the top of Helvellyn is a little lake, called
Red Tarn. On one side is the Striding Edge, a ridge of
rocks, only six feet wide, with deep precipices on either
side. An unfortunate young traveller, Gough, once tried
to go this way, and fell. Three months passed before his
body could be found. At length it was discovered, and
beside it lay his faithful dog, still guarding his poor mas-
ter’s corpse. Wordsworth, the poet, wrote these beautiful
lines about this good animal—
‘* This dog had been through three months’ space
A dweller in that savage place ;
Yes, proof was plain, that since the day
On which the trav’ller thus had died,
The dog had watched about the spot,
Or by his master’s side.
How nourished there, through such long time,
He knows, who gave that love sublime,
And gave that strength of feeling great,
Beyond all human estimate.â€
Ulleswater is, excepting Keswick, the most beautiful of
all English lakes, excepting Windermere, the largest, and,
excepting Wast-water, the deepest. The mountains, jutting
out on either side, appear almost to divide it into three parts,
and the beauty of the highest reach, or expanse, is very
great. Everything that is pretty is seen at Ulleswater;
towering mountains, rugged crags, foaming cataracts, soft
clear water, peaceful islands, wooded banks, A little to
CUMBERLAND. 65
the north of the lake is a beautiful waterfall, called Airey
Force.* A wooden bridge crosses it above, and another
below. The overhanging trees form arches over the stream,
and the water hurries thundering onwards to the deep pool
below.
In the midst of all this splendid scenery are some fine
parks and old castles; and, following the Eamont a little
way we approach Penrith. Penrith means Red Hill;
perhaps it has this name from the houses having been
always built of the red sandstone, which abounds in the
neighbourhood.f The town stands in a valley, but there
are beautiful hills all round. From one of them, Beacon
Hill, where signal fires used once to be lighted, ¢ there is a
splendid view ; castles, parks, hills, Uleswater Lake, theriver
Eden, the massive mountain of Crossfell on one side, and
the varied heights of Helvellyn, Blencathara, and Skiddaw,
on the other. Near Penrith are Roman remains, the ruins
of the old castle, and giants’ caves where strange stories are
told of the giant Isis. In the churchyard there are two very
old stone monuments, which are called “The Giant’s Legs.â€
Following the Eden is Great Salkeld, where there are
some of the most wonderful remains of olden times, a
large Druidical circle. This is a collection of sixty-seven
enormous stones, placed in a circular form, and supposed
to have been a temple used by the Druids, before any
missionaries came to tell the poor Britons of the great
God and His Son Jesus Christ. These stones go by the
name of “Long Meg and her daughters.’ Long Meg is
very tall, eighteen feet high, and many of her daughters
measure ten feet, as high as sitting-rooms are usually.
The Eden receives several streams on the right, from hills
which form the part of England’s back-bone between the
* Pages 32, 42, 46. + Page 60. t Pages 16, 36.
E
66 DEAR OLD ENCLAND.
Cheviots and the Yorkshire mountains.* The highest of
these is Crossfell; and from a swamp on its eastern side,
the Tyne and Tees flow.t On the top of Crossfell the
clouds and the winds blow in a very peculiar manner.
They are called Helm, because the clouds assume a
helmet-shape. They look very dark and awful, and spread
a shadow almost like the approach of night. The dark-
ness is all in the east; in the west, the sky is probably
clear and the mountains distinct. The dark helmet-
shaped cloud rises from the mountain-top, and another
cloud spreads itself across like a bar, leaving a space
between of clear sky. From this there rushes a very
strong wind, which sometimes overthrows waggons, and
scatters stacks of corn and hay. Sometimes it lasts for
a few hours, or sometimes for a few days. It cannot be
pleasant, but it is said to be very healthy; and, perhaps,
the purity of the air which it causes is one reason why
the inhabitants of Cumberland live so long. These strange
tumults in the air, when the reason of them could not be
explained, gave rise to curious superstitions. The moun-
tain was thought to be inhabited by demons, and was
called Fiend-fell. St Cuthbert said he would expel them,
and he planted the cross on the highest point. The
demons then took flight, with all their goods; but in the
hurry of their departure they dropped a golden cradle
into a tarn on Saddleback. This cradle is sometimes
seen, but it cannot be fished out! Can you guess what
it is? The reflection of the crescent moon at mid-day,
which, in certain states of the weather, may be observed.
From this legend the hill received the name of Cross-fell.
The Eden continues flowing north till it reaches Wetheral,
passing beneath the walls of its quiet churchyard. Oppo-
site are the woods of Corby; and on the Wetheral side are
* Pages 15, 85. + Pages 18, 32.
CUMBERLAND. 67
steep banks covered with trees, and rocks containing
caverns, used in former days for hiding treasure. The
mouths of the caves are in the face of perpendicular rocks
overgrown with ivy. Men who wished to enter them were
lowered by ropes from above, and the enemy could not
discover so well-concealed a hiding-place,
Below Wetheral, the Eden is joined by the Irthing,
parallel to which the Picts’ wall was built.* On its banks
stand Naworth Castle and Lanercost Priory. The former
is a strange old castle, where there lived, in Queen
Elizabeth’s time, “Belted Will,†in other words, Lord
William Howard, the terror of the border robbers.t He had
a snug little library up a steep narrow staircase, where,
when at study, he did not like to be disturbed. Once,
a servant came to tell him that a prisoner had been
brought in. Belted Will answered crossly, ‘‘ Hang him.â€
When he had finished his study, he ordered that the man
should be brought for examination, but was told that his
orders had been obeyed. The poor man was already
hung, and thus a hasty word was the death of a fellow-
creature. The old priory at Lanercost is in ruins now,
but part of it is preserved and used as a church. It is
a good change when old monasteries are turned into
churches. The towers of several of the old churches
in Cumberland have been used for defence against the
Scotch, and have, no doubt, been places of retreat for the
women and children who inhabited the villages. Near
a little river, the Gelt, that runs into the Irthing, is a
hill, called the Written Mountain. The face of the rock
is covered with inscriptions, carved by the Romans. They
are, however, so high, that you must use a telescope to
read them. This is a very old custom. In the desert of
Sinai, in Arabia, is a valley, called the “ Written Valley.â€
* Page 19. + Page 9.
68 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
There the steep rocks on each side are covered with writ-
ings, so numerous, and so ancient, that they are supposed
to have been carved by the Israelites during the forty years
of their wanderings. .
A little lower down the Eden is Carlisle, the chief town
of the county, which often goes by the name of “Merry
Carlisle.†The cathedral, built of red sandstone, is not
nearly so large as those of York and Durham. Milner,
who wrote a history of the Church, was dean of this
cathedral some time ago. Not far distant is the castle,
which was built by William Rufus. The Scotch and Eng-
lish have often fought for this strong fortress. Not much
more than one hundred years since, it was besieged by
Prince Charles, called the Pretender, a grandson of James
II. He took it after three days’ fighting; and when he
marched back to Scotland, left there most of the English-
men who had followed him. Soon afterwards, the army
of the king, George II., besieged it again, and made
prisoners its 400 unfortunate inhabitants, many of whom
were beheaded. In Carlisle are dye-works, and manufac-
tories for ginghams, for woollen goods, for whips, and fish-
hooks, but perhaps the most famous is Carr’s, for making
biscuits by steam. The dough is cut, and kneaded, and
beaten, by this wonderful power. Here another little
river joins the Eden from the south, passing Dalston,
where, also, there are manufactories.. After leaving Car-
lisle, no other place of importance marks the Eden till it
enters the Solway Frith.
CUMBERLAND.—Part III.
WE must leave several old castles and Druidical circles,
which are found in the north of Cumberland, and hear
something of its seaports.
CUMBERLAND, 69
The first town of note on the coast is Maryport, a busy,
flourishing place, which, about one hundred years ago, was
only a collection of a few small huts.* Now ships come
and go, bringing timber from America, and flax from Ire-
land, and taking away coal, limestone, and red sandstone.f
Once a great Roman encampment stood here, intended,
no doubt, to keep away the Picts and Scots, who might
land either from Ireland or Scotland.{ Further south, at
the mouth of the Derwent, is Workington, where there is
a good deal of trade and ship-building, and where there
are some of the sub-marine, or under-the-sea, coal mines.
To track the Derwent from its source will bring us
through the midst of the lake district, so now let there be
great attention, and you shall hear more of the wonders
and beauties of the Cumberland mountains, lakes, and
valleys.
The lake hills do not form part of the backbone, or Pen-
nine Chain of England. They stretch from the Eden in
Westmoreland very nearly as far as the Irish Sea, and form
parts of Cumberland, Westmoreland, and Lancashire. They
are principally composed of slate; but there are also
among them granite and other very old rocks. They are
far older than the Alps, and indeed are amongst the oldest
hills in the world. ;
The Derwent rises in Sca-fell, the highest hill in Eng-
land. It is 3166 feet, or more than half a mile in height
—far above the clouds. On the top there is a great heap
of stones and wood. These piles, which are seen on the
summit of every hill, are, in Cumberland, called “Men.â€
Climbing to the top of Sca-fell Pikes is a work of great
labour, but when there, if the day be clear, one has a
most beautiful view,§—all the west coast from Anglesea, in
“ Page 40. + Pages 60, 61.
t Pages 19, 31. § Pages 40, 64.
70 ' DEAR OLD ENGLAND,
Wales, to the Mull of Galloway, in Scotland.—far across
the sea, the soft blue hills of the Isle of Man; and should
the day be remarkably clear, the very distant outline of
the Irish coast. The top of the mountain is bare rock,
with a few tufts of moss between the huge stones. No
sheep browse there, no bird flies there; no sound breaks
there. You are above all the surrounding earth; but far
above is the heaven, where God especially dwells, and
trusting and loving God, His children may raise to Him
the eye which has been gazing around, and with thankful,
joyful hearts, may say, “My Father made it all.â€
In this mountain is a wonderful pass called Sty Head,
where the voice echoes from-rock to rock. One side is
called Great Gable,and the other Great End. A little stream
passes through the grand and awe-striking valley of Bor-
rowdale. It has been described as “the finest imaginable
assemblage of rocks and rocky hills, all wildly wooded.â€
The rocks hang overhead, and appear ready to fall down
and crush you in a moment. Here, during the wars of the
Roses, was concealed the Shepherd Lord Clifford, of whom
I told you in Yorkshire. He lived here for twenty-four
years, had no opportunity of learning to read or write, and
grew up hard and savage as the rocks.* In Borrowdale is
the famous mine for black lead. The mineral is not found
in veins like copper, but in lumps, which sometimes weigh
a few ounces and sometimes fifty pounds, Their shape is
that of a tree, the trunk being usually of a much better
quality than the branches. The Derwent now passes the
largest stone in England, called the Bowder-stone. It is
an immense block, like a “stranded ship with keel up-
turned.†There is a ladder to ascend it, and from the top
you have a beautiful view. It must, in ages past, have
rolled down from the steep hills above. Just before the
* Page 48,
CUMBERLAND. 71
Derwent river enters Derwent-water, or Keswick-lake, is
Grange, near which is a fish-nursery, where little trout
and char are born and fed. They do not grow nearly so
quickly as kittens or sparrows. On the right of the lake
is the cataract of Lodore, not rolling in one stupendous
fall, but leaping and foaming over a number of projecting
rocks,* Southey has written a curious poem about it,
which all children like to read. Just now you must be
content to hear a very little bit—
“ Here it comes sparkling,
And there it lies darkling ;
Here smoking and frothing,
Its tumult and wrath in,
“Jt hastens along, conflicting, strong,
Now striking and raging,
As if a war waging,
The caverns and rocks among.â€
Derwent-water is a lovely lake, studded with islands,
which look like gems set in the clear silvery water. It is
the shallowest of the lakes, and sometimes the surface
is rough when not a breath of wind blows. Amongst its
islands is one covered with reeds and water-plants, called
the Floating Island. It sometimes rises to the surface,
and sometimes sinks to the bottom. Probably both these
strange phenomena, for such we call things in nature not
easily explained, are caused by the expansion of gases
below the water as they rise to the surface.t
Near Derwent-water, lovelily situated, is Keswick, shel-
tered by the lofty Skiddaw from the north. Here is a
manufactory for black-lead pencils; and in the Town
Hall a beautiful model of the lake district.
After leaving the lake, the Derwent receives the little
river Greta, which passes through the lake of Thirlsmere,
and a lovely valley called St John’s Vale, where is a rock,
which, from the time of King Arthur, has been continually
mistaken for a castle. Thirlsmere, a very narrow lake, is
Pages 32, 42, 46, 64. + Page 30,
72 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
in the midst of mountains,—Helvellyn rising from its
waters, and the “Eagle’s Crag,†and other grand preci-
pices frowning darkly over it. A wooden bridge crosses
the narrow centre of the lake. From a tarn in Blen-
cathara, probably the one of the Golden Cradle, the
Greta receives another stream.* Blencathara is also
called Saddleback, on account of its shape. Adjoining
it is Skiddaw, the third mountain in height, a splendid-
looking hill; standing more by itself than either Sca-
fell or Helvellyn, it seems like a monarch among the
rest. Skiddaw Forest is at the foot of the mount. Do
not you imagine it full of trees? There is not one; it is
a bleak uncultivated plain. The Derwent next enters
Bassenthwaite Water, surrounded by beautifully-wooded
banks. Mountains tower one above another on the south
side; but towards the north-west the great hills cease,
and the Derwent flows on through a comparatively plain
country, passing low hills made of fossil shells, to Cocker-
mouth, where it is joined by the Cocker. Cockermouth is
a busy little place, with various manufactures. It has a
ruined castle, beautifully situated, overhanging the junc-
tion of the rivers, and is noted as the birthplace of
Wordsworth the poet.t Let us now seek the source of the
Cocker.
It rises close to Honister Crag, a rampart of almost per-
pendicular rock, 1580 feet high.{ Howmany steps are there
to the top of this house? Find that out before to-morrow,
and then, if we reckon one step to a foot, we shall have an
idea of the height of this crag. The little stream soon
enters Buttermere, a small lake, surrounded by such grand
and steep mountains, that you would feel it almost awful
to wander there alone. Still it is very beautiful to see the
steep rocky crags, and the quiet peaceful lake, and to re-
member that it is made by the great God, who cares so
* Page 66. t Pages 48, 64. $ Page 35.
CUMBERLAND, 73
much for us. The sight of the little churches in the lovely
valleys is here peculiarly pleasant. Crummock-water,
with three islands near the head of it, is also very beauti-
ful, being surrounded by splendid mountains.
Over these heights are waterfalls. One has a strange
name, Sour-milk Force. Another, Scale Force, is the
deepest in Cumberland, 156 feet. Fancy three or four
three-storied houses, placed one on the top of another, and
Scale Force.
you will have an idea of the height from which the water
falls, It is a grand sight, after much rain, to see the
angry torrent of water, come splashing and dashing furi-
74 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
ously from the hill into the valley; the dark hue of the
steep grand rocks on either side contrasting with the
water’s white foam,
These lakes are all famous for their fish, especially
char, a kind of trout generally caught in nets, No particu-
lar place marks the Derwent between Cockermouth and
Workington.
Further south is Whitehaven, with coal mines like those
at Workington. The entrances to these mines are called
“Bear Mouths.†They open at the bottom ofa hill, and you
pass through steep passages to the galleries, where, far below
the sea, the men work the coal. The great danger used to
be fire-damp; but the safety lamps that are now used
preserve the miners from many accidents.*
Beyond Whitehaven is St Bees’ Head, a prominent red-
sandstone cape. Here there is a college to prepare young
men for being clergymen.
Further south, is the mouth of another little river, the
Ehen, which may be traced to Enerdale Water, with its
wild and savage banks. This lake has no wooded islands,
nor beautiful trees, nor magnificent mountains ; but the
whole scenery is stern and lonely, but beautiful even in
its lonely wildness. On the Ehen stands Egremont, with
an ancient castle on a height, and old houses fronted with |
piazzas. Egremont has grown small, whilst Whitehaven
has grown large. Do you remember anything of the Boy
of Egremont ?
The next little river is the Calder, on which are the
ruins of the ivy-covered Calder Abbey ; and in its neigh-
bourhood is a hill called “ Wo-to-bank.†Would you like
to know the story which accounts for this strange name?
In the days when wolves and bears prowled in England,
a nobleman was out hunting with his wife and servants.
* Pages 26, 51.
CUMBERLAND. 75
Suddenly the lady was missed. She was sought for, and
soon discovered slain by a wolf, which was in the very act
of tearing her.to pieces. The husband beheld the scene
in agony, and in his grief exclaimed, “‘ Woe to this bank !â€
“*¢ Woe to this bank !’ the attendants echoed round,
And pitying shepherds caught the grief-fraught sound.â€
And to this day, Wo-to-bank has been the name of that
fair green hill.
The last little river I will mention is the Irt, which
flows through Wast-water, the deepest of the Cumberland
lakes, whose waters have never been known to freeze. It
is surrounded by very high and grand mountains,
Will you try and remember the names of the Cumber-
land Lakes ?
Ulles-water, with its three beautiful reaches. P. 64.
Derwent-water, with its floating island. P. 71.
Bassenthwaite-water, with its high wooded banks. P. 72.
Buttermere, with its steep rocky shores. P. 72.
Crummock-water, with its three islands and its water-
falls. P. 73.
Enerdale Lake, wild and desolate; and
Wast-water, so deep that it never freezes. Pp. 74, 75.
And now we must leave beautiful Cumberland; but
only to enter a little county of equal interest—Westmore-
land.
In rehearsing Cumberland, each child might relate a
story that he has heard.
For instance, Charles might tell of the moving of Solway
bog, and Arthur the story of Carlisle Castle, and Willie of
Naworth Castle and Belted Will. Amy might tell about
the Helm wind, and Laura about the unfortunate traveller
76 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
and his faithful dog, whilst little Frankie might relate
the sad story of “ Wo-to-bank.â€
Or again, Willie might suppose that he lived in the time
of the Romans. Then he might see the carving of the
inscriptions on the written mountain, the building of the
Picts’ Wall, the great encampment near Maryport, or the
red sand-stone buildings near Penrith. Even as an ancient
Roman, he might stop and wonder at the Druidical re-
mains, at the Giant Isis’ Cave and the Giant’s Legs in the
churchyard at Penrith, taking note of the wolves at Wo-
to-bank. Then Charles might live in the middle ages, and
mark the struggles between the Scotch and English, the
sieges of Carlisle Castle, the attacks on the villages, and
the unprotected people taking shelter in the towers of the
churches, describe an attack on Naworth, and Belted Will’s
exploits, or on Corby and the hiding of the treasure in the
caves of Wetheral. Amy might think of the monasteries
built at the same time, Lanercost Priory, Calder Abbey,
and not forget the young Lord Clifford in savage Borrow-
dale. Arthur might be the traveller of the present century,
and describe the present state of the principal towns, such
as Carlisle, Whitehaven, Penrith, Keswick, Maryport, &c.,
visiting the cathedral and manufactories in Carlisle, the
coal-pits at Whitehaven, the lead-mine at Borrowdale, the
slate quarries amongst the mountains, and the college at
St Bees.
The tour of the lakes might be deferred till the re-
mainder of the lake country is described.
WESTMORELAND.—Part I,
TuHIs is one of the smallest counties of England, and the
only one of the six northern counties that is an inland oné.
WESTMORELAND. 77
Tell me the counties that border on it. Though an inland
county, one little corner of Westmoreland touches this arm
of the sea, Morecambe Bay, where there is a small seaport,
Milnethorpe.
Westmoreland is a county that is very full of lakes and
mountains. So much of the surface being mountainous
a great deal of the ground is uncultivated, not divided into
fields, and never cut by the ploughshare. You frequently
meet with huge masses of stone on the low hills, and even
in the plain country. There is not much corn grown in
Westmoreland, but turnips, clover, hay, and, near Kendal,
a great many potatoes. During summer, the farmers can
keep a quantity of cattle on the hill-sides and moorlands;
so what they chiefly want are hay or turnips with which
to feed them during winter. A great many cows are kept
in this county; but butter, not cheese, is made from their
milk, the butter being sent to Liverpool, Manchester, or
London, for sale* The sheep that feed on the mountains
have horns, dark-gray faces, and thick hairy wool.t There
are also a great many pigs, the bacon of which is packed
in hogsheads and exported. In some parts of Westmore-
land, a great deal of young wood is grown. The trees are
cut down when about sixteen years old, and made into
hoops for barrels and tubs, and for what else? For little
children to play with? I suppose so.{ The tree that
grows best in Westmoreland is the larch, a kind of fir-tree.
A great many fish are found in the rivers and lakes like
those found in Cumberland.§ In Lake Windermere is
what is called the gray trout, a very large fish which some-
times weighs two stone.
There is hardly any coal found in Westmoreland, and
in many parts the cottagers have peat for their fires. Peat
is found generally in boggy moors. It is a black kind of
* Page 61. + Pages 15, 37. t Page 37. § Page 63.
78 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
earth, a sort of half-made coal. It is cut out of the bogs, .
dried, and packed in stacks, and the square pieces into
» which it is cut are laid on the fire as we place coal.*
In Westmoreland there are many slates found, of dif-
ferent shades of hue, some greenish, and others almost
black. The latter are the school-room slates, There has
also been discovered a great deal of beautiful marble; one
kind is white veined with red, another a dull green veined
with white, and another, black. Copper, lead, and iron
are also found. The people in this county are principally
agriculturists. The women used to be much employed in
knitting stockings. There are very few manufactories; but
at Kendal a good deal of coarse woollen cloth is made.
Some of the people are employed in making hoops, or in
burning charcoal for the ironworks, in tanning leather, or
in cutting slates in the quarries.
In Westmoreland, people have still a great many old-
fashioned customs. Both men and women wear, in winter,
clogs, shoes with wooden soles. These are very noisy, but
keep the feet free from wet and dirt. They often make
oaten cakes, which they call haver-bread.- Would you like
to hear the story of a little cottage girl, who lived on one
of the Westmoreland mountains ?
THE STORY OF AGNES GREEN AND THE SNOW-STORM.
Many years have now passed since six little children sat
round a peat fire in a little cottage at Blantern Ghyll.
Their parents were gone to Langdale, but they had in-
tendgd soon toreturn home. The snow was falling heavily,
very heavily ; but still the little ones watched and listened
—they listened and watched. Night came on; but no
parents returned. Then little Agnes, who was only nine
years old, grew very sad; she, however, put the younger
* Page 62, + Page 8.
WESTMORELAND. 79
ones to bed, and soon they all lay down and slept.
When they woke in the morning, it seemed as if the light
was never coming. They were in a snow prison. Their
little cottage was buried in the snow. No father, nor
mother, nor friend could reach them now. Poor little
Agnes bade her brothers and sisters pray, and they all
knelt down and asked God to care for them. Then Agnes
‘was as a mother to the little ones, See dressed them in
the morning, and when night came she sang them to sleep.
She made them porridge with some oatmeal, and baked
cakes on the “girdle†with flour that she found. At one
side of the house, the wind must have blown the snow
away; and so she was able to go into the yard for peat, and
to go to the byre to milk the cow. She climbed, too, into
the hay loft, and with a great deal of difficulty, pushed
down the hay, that the good cow might not starve. An-
other day passed; and though Agnes kept awake till mid-
night, she could not hear any sound or any cry for help.
At last the snow ceased; the weather changed, and after
a little while Agnes was able to go to the nearest cottage,
and tell how sad they were without their dear parents, but
also how safely God had kept the little ones. They sought
the poor, lost parents, and at last they found them, cold,
and stiff, and dead, all covered with the snow.
Dear orphan children! God watched over them. He
put it into the hearts of people to be kind to them; and
they were taken from their solitary little cottage to a com-
fortable home.
Now, I will ask you a question that has already been
put to other children: “What would you have done, had
you been in the place of Agnes Green? Would you have
known what to do with the milk and meal and corn and
hay? Or would you have sat down and cried, and been
cross to the little ones and forgotten to pray ?â€
80 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
WESTMORELAND.—Paart IT.
Tur Eden, which we traced in Cumberland, rises in the
great mountains which separate Westmoreland from York-
shire. It flows through a wild moorland country, passing
Kirby-Stephen, Brough, and other pretty mountain-towns,
and then reaches Appleby, a very small place, though the:
cou&ty town of Westmoreland. Formerly it was of conse-
quence, and is prettily situated, the castle standing on the
top of a hill, the church at the other end of the town, and
the clear waters of the Eden flowing nearly all round it
During the terrible Border wars in olden times, Appleby
Castle was twice destroyed. It never recovered the de-
vastation it suffered from the Scotch in Richard IT.’s reign ;*
and in Queen Elizabeth’s time it was visited by a plague,
in which most of the inhabitants perished. There is an
hospital here for thirteen aged widows. Their tidy
cottages form a square, and they have a neat little chapel
for service.
The country south of Ulleswater, which separates West-
moreland from Cumberland, is very fine. There are beau-
tiful dales; one much admired is called Patterdale. Then
there are deep coves, with clear streams hastening from
their dark shades. A beautiful little lake has the name of
Brothers’ Water; for it twice happened that there two
brothers were drowned together. A rivulet, the Eamont
received from the south, flows through Hawes Water;
whose eastern shore is thickly wooded, and its western
surmounted by a rugged cliff, called Wallow Crag. The
Lowther passes through beautiful parks, Lowther Park
and Brougham Castle.
Now we must look for the little streams running south,
* Pages 9, 67, 68.
WESTMORELAND. 81
The first of which I tell you, passes through, perhaps,
the most beautiful of all the beautiful scenery. It runs
through the lakes of Grasmere and Rydal Water, small
but very lovely. Behind the town of Grasmere rises a
curiously-shaped rocky mountain, called Helm Crag, look-
ing like an old ruin on the top of a hill, or, as Wordsworth
fancied, ‘‘ like an ancient woman and an old astrologer
Windermere Lake.
sitting there in spite of wind and weather.†Near Rydal
is the house where Wordsworth lived.* Only a few years
ago, several famous poets, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Southey,
Wilson, used to spend a part or the whole of the year in
this beautiful neighbourhood. They have all passed away
now; but the glens, and lakes, and mountains, where they
loved to ramble, still remain. The Rydal waterfalls are
* Page 72.
F
82 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
very famous, and grand to behold. Ambleside stands
where the Rothsay enters the splendid lake of Winder-
mere, which is eleven miles long and one or two wide,
and the largest of all the English lakes, It is studded
with thirteen islands, which are generally wooded. The
banks of the lake are covered with trees and cottages.
The grand mountains lying beyond these are often capped
with clouds. Near Ambleside is a beautiful waterfall,
called Stock Gill Force. It rushes down a narrow ravine
overhung with wood, taking, as it were, four bounds over
its rugged rocky bed.* The large stones in the stream
are covered with dark-green moss, and the rocks, at the
side, are full of little caves, hidden by the interlaced roots
of trees, The stream rises below Kirkstone pass, a very
high road crossing a mountain between Windermere and
Ulleswater, Near the top of it is a small inn, on which
is written, “This is the highest inhabited house in Eng-
land.†I think we should like better to see it than to
live in it, for high lands are always cold lands. East of
Lake Windermere is Troutbeck Valley, a wild district,
through which a little stream passes, There are strange
stories about this vale, One is, that there lived here a
giant who used to eat a sheep at one meal; and the
people talk about the 300 bulls, the 300 bridges, and the
300 constables of Troutbeck, This sounds very strange;
but the meaning is, the parish being divided into three
parts, called hundreds, each part had a bull, a bridge, a
constable, so all the difference between three and three
hundred, lies in the apostrophe (’s.) Bowness, further
south, is, like Ambleside, a pretty village on the lake, filled
during the summer with tourists. Many skiffs are on the
water, in which it is pleasant to row, with the bright sky
* Pages 32, 42, 46, 64, 70, 72.
WESTMORELAND. 83
above, and the clear waters below. The south part of
Windermere belongs to Lancashire.
The next little river is the Ken, which rises in Kentmere
Tarn, below a very high mountain, called High Street.
The Romans made a road, which crossed it almost at its
summit. They called roads streets, and so the mountain
has that name to the present day. In Kentmere Vale,
Bernard Gilpin, the good vicar of Houghton-le-Spring, was
born.* Kendal, past which the Ken flows, is the largest
town in Westmoreland, It is beautifully situated, with
an old castle, where Queen Catherine Parr, the last of
Henry the Eighth’s six wives, was born. It is pleasant to
stand there, looking on the town and valley below, and
viewing the beautiful hills around. The old church is a
very large one, with five aisles. In it there is the follow-
ing curious epitaph on the tombstone of a vicar, who died
more than two hundred years ago :—
“ London bredd me, Westminster fedd me;
Cambridge spedd me, My sister wedd me;
Study taught me, Kendal caught me ;
Labour pressed me, Sickness distressed me;
Death oppressed me, The grave possessed me;
God first gave me, Christ did save me;
Earth did crave me, Heaven would have me.â€
In the town is a museum, where there is an old brass
clock, one of the first ever made with a pendulum. Two
hundred years ago, the mayor presented it to the town for
the use of his successors, It has this inscription, which
we should always try to remember :—
. © Time runneth :—Your work is before you.â€
At the mouth of the Ken is Milnthorpe, the only com-
* Page 27.
84 DEAR OLD ENGLAND,
mercial town in Westmoreland. In the extreme east of
Westmoreland isthe Lune. On it stands Kirkby Lonsdale,
a well-built town, standing in a lovely valley. The church
is very ancient and handsome; and, from the churchyard,
there is a magnificent view. Near it, there is a school for
the daughters of clergymen. Many places, especially in
the north of England, have the name of Kirkby.* Kirk
means a church; so Kirkby Lonsdale means church in the
dale of the Lon or Lone.
Now we must leave pretty little Westmoreland, but we
shall yet, in the north of Lancashire, hear something more
of lakes and mountains.
Westmoreland might be reviewed on any of the previous
plans suggested; or the teacher might pass over to page
88, and taking the north of Lancashire, finish the lake dis-
trict. Then the pupils, if old enough, might each write a
little tour of the lakes, either in the form of a journal or of
letters. They might choose for themselves, whether the
journey should be on foot, on horseback, or in a carriage,
and they might amuse themselves by interspersing charac-
teristic imaginary adventures. Or, again, a description
might be given of the lake scenery, one child selecting the
mountains, another the lakes, another the towns, another
following the Eden, or another the Derwent.
Such exercises would impress the scenes strongly on the
memory, besides exercising various powers of composition.
LANCASHIRE—Part I.
WE have now reached the last of the six northern coun-
ties,—busy,-manufacturing Lancashire.
We must, however, first hear what the county is like,
* Pages 53, 80.
LANCASHIRE. 85
the good things that God has wrought by the hand of
nature, and then what He has wrought by the hands of
man.
It is a county that borders on the Irish Sea, forming
part of the west coast of England. It is not an even shore,
like that of the eastern counties; but it is full of deep
bays.* The principal are Morecambe Bay in the north, the
mouth of the Ribble in the centre, and the mouth of the
Mersey in the south. The coast is very flat and sandy
towards the south-west.. In the north is Walney Island,
long and narrow, but only inhabited by great numbers of
sea-gulls.f North of the Ribble, is a tract which is fer-
tile; whilst north of Morecambe Bay, is, as I hope you
remember, a portion of the lake district. In the east
of Lancashire, near Yorkshire, we find again the backbone
of England. t
Lancashire is not a cold county, but the weather is often
very rainy. Corn and turnips are both grown in Lanca-
shire, but it is chiefly famous for potatoes. There are very
large peat mosses in this county ; one, called Chat Moss,
not far from Manchester, is five miles long and three broad,
about twelve yards deep, and overgrown with coarse
grass.§ A good deal of coal is found in the south,
which is very valuable for the many manufactories.
Good stone is quarried for building houses, and slate for
roofing them is found in the mountains, Near Wigan is
obtained what is called cannel, or candle-coal. If you put
a flame to it, it takes fire at once. It can be polished like
jet, and you may take hold of it in your fingers, and not
dirty them in the least. Sometimes it is made into snuff-
boxes and candlesticks.||
The manufactures of Lancashire are, however, what
* Page 3. + Page 18. t Pages 35, 65.
§ Pages 62, W. || Page 58.
86 DEAR OLD ENGLAND,
mark it from all other counties. Nowhere are there so
many cotton factories. We may say it is the principal
place for supplying the whole world with white and
coloured calico.* The cotton is brought in ships from
America or India to Liverpool on the Mersey, and then
it is sent by canal or railway to Manchester and many
other towns. The railways form quite a network amongst
these busy towns, crossing each other in all directions.
In this county, much silk and wool are also spun and
woven, but of the latter not nearly so much as in Yorkshire.
Here are also paper and hat manufactories, and near Liver-
pool a great quantity of soap is made. What is soap made
of? Tallow and soda.
Lancashire is a county where the industrious and sen-
sible poor have frequently become rich. I will tell you a
story about a farmer, his son, and his grandson :—
About a hundred years ago, there lived at Blackburn a
farmer, who had not a great deal of money. He was much
interested in the manufactories around him, and, at last,
gave up farming and became a calico printer, that is, a
stamper of patterns in different colours on plain calico.
Having traced and cut out a parsley-leaf on a bit: of wood,
he wetted it with some colouring mixture, and then
stretched the calico tight over it, striking it with a little
hammer, so that the print of the parsley-leaf was left.
When it was stamped all over, his active wife and daugh-
ters helped him by ironing it. To iron long webs of calico,
took, however, a long time, so the clever farmer invented
a mangle. Mangles had never been thought of before.
The calico he printed was quickly bought, and the farmer
soon became a rich man. His eldest son, Robert, joined
him in his printing business, and grew still richer. When
England wanted soldiers, he sent out a regiment of horse
* Page 38.
LANCASHIRE. 87
at his own expense, . The king then made him a baronet,
so the farmer’s son became Sir Robert.
He, again, had a son, who was sent to Parliament, and
often gave such wise counsel, that, at last, he became
Prime Minister, or chief adviser, first of William IV. and
then of Victoria. He was one of the cleverest men of dear
old England. The Blackburn farmer's grandson was the
celebrated Sir Robert Peel.
I will make a list of some of the famous people born in
Lancashire. John Bradford, a good and holy man, who, in
the reign of Queen Mary, was burnt to death, for he would.
not give up the Bible* He sold all his jewels to give to
Christ’s poor people; and was so humble, that when he
saw a thief, or a murderer, led to be hung, he would say :
“There goes John Bradford, but for the grace of God.â€
Sir Richard Arkwright, once a poor barber, who improved
spinning jennies, the machinery which draws out ‘cotton
into the fine threads, from which it is afterwards woven.
Roscoe, a talented man, who tried, like Wilberforce, to free
poor slaves.t| Mrs Hemans, who wrote beautiful poetry.
Do you know her pretty hymn ?—
“T hear thee speak of a better land.â€
Edward Baines, a great friend of the poor, and of Sunday
schools. Legh Richmond, the author of “Jane, the Young
Cottager;†and. good Edward Bickersteth, whose heart
was very full of love to God.
The first railway, and the first canal in England, were
both made in Lancashire. The first canal was about eleven
miles long; but a more famous one was soon afterwards
cut by the Duke of Bridgewater, between his collieries at
Worsley and Manchester. There were about three miles
of it underground, the tunnel being arched with the natural
* Pages 9, 27, 39. + Page 54.
88 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
rock when possible, or with brick where coal or loose earth
was above.
Thefirst railway was between Liverpool and Manchester.*
It was only thirty-one miles long, but there were thought
to be difficulties that could never be surmounted. First,
there was, under Liverpool, a tunnel to be made, more than
a mile in length. Then there was a viaduct, or a road on
arches over a valley, for about one hundred and fifty yards.
Then there was the great bog, Chat Moss, to pass over,
where the ground was so soft that the iron rails sank twelve
yards. This difficulty was overcome by throwing thousands
of cart-loads of earth into the moss, which at length made
it sufficiently firm. The 15th of September, 1830, was
the day on which George Stephenson, the great engineer
from Northumberland, was to try his locomotive, or moving
steam-engine.t The Duke of Wellington, Sir Robert Peel,
and others were present. The engine did all that was
expected; but a sad accident happened. Mr Huskisson—
who, seeing what a great benefit railroads would some day
be to the country, had used all his influence to help them
forward—stepped out of the carriage. Another train came
up more quickly than, in those early days, could be well
understood. Mr Huskisson grew confused, fell, and the
wheels passed over him. Notwithstanding the triumph of
the steam-engine, Stephenson and every person felt sad to
think of the death of this worthy man, To-morrow we
hope to.talk more of Lancashire.
LANCASHIRE.—Part IT.
Once more for lakes and mountains. We will commence
this morning with a description of the north part of Lan-
cashire, and an interesting story about Morecambe Bay.
* Page 33. tT Page 9.
LANCASHIRE, 89
This district is separated from the rest of its own county
by the bay just mentioned, and a part of Westmoreland.
It is formed of the same kind of rocks as the lake district
of Cumberland and Westmoreland, and has the same high
mountains and clear lakes,*
The coast is deeply indented with salt-water inlets. The
rugged promontory overgrown with underwood, situated
between Morecambe Bay and Duddon River, is that of
Furness, where there are beautiful ruins of an old abbey.
Near this is Barrow, which, from a small village, has grown
in ten years as large as Lancaster. The river to the east
of this issues from Coniston Water, on whose northern
side is a fine mountain called Coniston Old Man.+ The
summit is granite ; but the mountain is, in a great measure,
composed of slate, and has many slate quarries, and also a
copper-mine. The lake is famous for its fish, especially its
‘char.{ A railway conveys the slates and copper on to
Barrow. Ulverstone is a small seaport on Morecambe
Bay, where there is a beautiful old church, from which
there is a good view of all the surrounding country. It is
pleasant to see houses built for the worship of God, where
He has made such lovely scenery for the happiness of man.§
There is another little lake in north Lancashire to the
west of Windermere—Esthwaite Water; but though pretty,
it is not so beautiful as Windermere, or Coniston. Stones
are used here for almost everything; even the gate posts
are formed of high flat stones.
The water of Morecambe Bay is shallow; so, when the tide
is out, a quantity of sand is left dry, as at Holy Island, on
the Northumbrian coast. It is, however, dangerous to cross,
as the sands are wide and the tide comes in very quickly.
I will tell you the story of a traveller, who was nearly
lost amid the rapidly-advancing billows, I think, that
* Pages 60, 69. + Page 69. t Page 73. § Page 72.
90 DEAR OLD ENGLAND,
from it, you may learn a lesson of trust in the kind provi-
dence of our heavenly Father.
THE DOCTOR AND THE COMPASS. *
Several years ago, a medical gentleman was called on by
a messenger, who told him that a lady, living on the oppo-
site side of Morecambe Bay, was dangerously ill, and wished
him to visit hér immediately. He added that he had a
chaise ready, and that he thought there was just time to
cross the sands, so as to save driving several miles round.
The physician consented, for the day was beautiful, the sun
shone brightly, and the post-boy assured him that he knew
the way. The sands were not half crossed, when the sky
became overclouded, the sun seemed like a yellow ball,
and then disappeared, and a thick fog spread around, so
that the driver could not see beyond a few yards. The
doctor became much alarmed, for he knew that the tide
was turned, and that the waves would soon rush over the
spot where they were. “Drive on, drive faster,’ he ex-
claimed. The man urged on the horses, but soon they
stopped; the way was lost. He thought he was driving
towards the sea, for he heard the rolling of the waves. The
carriage is turned, but soon it stops again, for they dis-
tinctly hear the mighty waves approaching. They fear
they are lost; the fog hides every landmark; if they ad-
vance, they seem to be rushing to death; if they remain,
the waves must cover them. What a moment for prayer!
How blessed, then, to feel, that living or dying they were
safe in Jesus!
Suddenly, the doctor exclaimed, “Thank God, we may
yet be saved; I put in my pocket, this morning, a com-
pass, which was lying on the table.†He pulled it out;
examined it; was able to tell the driver which way to turn ;
* Churchman’s Penny Magazine, 1849, |
See
=
LANCASHIRE. 91
and in a short time, to their inexpressible joy and thank-
fulness, they arrived safely on the other side.
Which shows more the love of God—the beautiful lakes
and mountains, or His kind care of this poor traveller?
Do not both creation and providence say that God is love?
And now we must talk about the towns of Lancashire.
The most northerly one is Lancaster, which is also the
oldest, and was once the most important. You may always
know that towns which end with “‘cestor,†“chester,’ or
“caster,†are old; for they were called so by the Saxons
on account of their Roman castles. Lancaster is on this
little river, the Lune. Do you remember our talking of
it, when we visited Kirkby Lonsdale, a pretty little village
in Westmoreland ?* Lancaster has a fine old castle, on the
top of a rock, which is well seen from the railway. It is
now used as a prison. The town is noted for the mak-
ing of excellent mahogany furniture—Gillow, the famous
upholsterer, having belonged to this place. There are
cotton mills here; but few compared with other Lanca-
shire towns. The next river southwards that you see is
the Ribble. We heard of it, if you remember, as running
through the rich district of Craven, in the west of York-
shire} On one of its branches is Burnley, where there are
many cotton-mills. Further down the river, stands Pres-
ton. It, too, has a great many tall chimneys, which mark
the mills, and is a large and busy town. It is commercial
as well as manufacturing, for small ships can come up the
river. Its first name was “ Priest’s Town,†because there
were so many monasteries in it. Now, I am glad to say,
there are many churches and schools. Near Preston, there
was fought, nearly 150 years ago, a great battle between the
troops of King George I. and the followers of the Pretender,
King James IT.’s son. ¢
* Page 84. + Page 49. t Page 68.
92 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
South of Preston, and approaching Manchester, are
several very large towns, some containing from 60,000 to
100,000 people. The largest are called Blackburn, Bury,
Bolton, Oldham, Rochdale, and Wigan. Most of these
places were hardly larger than villages, sixty years since;
but now they are full of cotton-mills, besides other fac-
tories. Blackburn is the place where, I hope you re-
member, Sir R. Peel’s father and grandfather lived; whilst
in the parish of Bury is the spot where he was born.
Bury was famous in the reign of Edward IIL, for its
worsted manufactures, and here, there still are more wool-
len than cotton goods made* In Bolton the manufactories
are chiefly for cotton goods, muslins, calicos, and quilts;
and there are likewise immense bleaching grounds,’ I
have read that every year 10,000,000 pieces of long cloth
are bleached in this parish.
One hundred years ago, there were in Oldham sixty
cottages, mostly thatched with straw. Now, there are
about 160 mills, and in the borough more than 113,000
people. Most of the mills are for spinning cotton, not for
weaving calico; corduroys and velveteens are principally
made here. The town has increased thus greatly, because
the valuable coal-mines near it supply coal for the factories,
Rochdale is a very old place. The church stands on a
great height, and you must climb 122 steps, from the
lower part of the town, to reach its door. The houses
are roofed with stones, not with slates.~ The factories
here, like those in Yorkshire, are chiefly for woollen
goods; not, however, broadcloth, but such as baizes,
blankets, and flannels. -Calicos are also made here, and so
are hats.
Wigan is divided into two parts, old and new; but it is
not at all a pleasant-looking town. There are collieries
Page 86. + Page 89
LANCASHIRE, 93
1 round it, and in it all sorts of manufactories ;* not only
for cotton goods, but for paper, spades, and carpenters’
tools, brass, and pewter things,
Ormskirk is a decreasing town; but for what do you
think it is famous? For its gingerbread. In the south of
Lancashire, near Liverpool, is Everton, noted for toffee.
To-morrow, you shall hear of the two second largest
cities in England.
Manchester.
LANCASHIRE.— Part III.
To-pay I must tell you of two townis which, next to London,
are the largest and most populous in England—I mean
Manchester and Liverpool. Manchester is situated on three
* Pages 20, 29, 51.
94 DEAR OLD ENGLAND,
little rivers, the Irwell being the chief one; and is connected
with all the other towns, of which I have been speaking, by
canals and railways. It contains, with Salford, more than
half a million of people, and is the centre of the great
cotton factories. It has a fine old cathedral, full of very
beautiful carvings. There are many good public buildings;
the exchange, where very many bales of cotton are bought,
and orders received for many pieces of calico; the Free-
Trade Hall, an immense building for holding meetings, and
speaking to the people; a very good museum; a college for
eighty boys, dressed like the blue-coat boys in London;
and many other schools, and churches, and public buildings,
In the year 1856, there was, in Manchester, a great exhi-
bition of beautiful pictures; so, you see, though the people
have to think so much about their cotton, they can care for
other things. One very good thing is, that the shops and
factories all close early; so that the men employed have
the evenings for being at home, for reading, for lectures, or
for whatever they like. Once the factories employed men,
women, and even children, for twelve or sixteen hours in
the day; but a good nobleman, Lord Shaftesbury, then
called Lord Ashley, got a law passed, limiting the labour
to ten hours a day, and obliging the parents to send their
children to school. :
More than 30,000 people are employed in the cotton-
mills alone; besides a great many in silk and woollen
manufactories. There are beautiful parks near Man-
chester, where the people may walk, and children play.
Clergymen, ministers, and missionaries do a great deal of
good among the poor. There are a great many Sunday
Schools. In the year 1851, Queen Victoria paid the people
a visit, and the Sunday-School children, numbering 80,000,
were arranged to give their dear Queen a welcome. It was
beautiful to see the many young and happy faces, and to
LANCASHIRE, 95
hear their sweet voices singing, “God save the Queen!â€
Queen Victoria stopped, and could not help shedding tears,
for the sight was exceedingly touching. Adjoining Man-
chester, on the opposite side of the Irwell, is Salford, a
many-peopled borough, with the same characteristics as
its populous neighbour.
In almost all these Lancashire towns, we have talked
of cotton-factories. Would you like to hear a little more
about them? I once went through a very large one, and
I think if you did the same, you would never forget the
noise, and yet the order; the quantity, and yet the regu-
larity of the work. The machines seemed as if they
knew their business, and one could not help thinking how
very clever the men were that invented them. And must
not God be wise, who made man’s brain, and invented the
hand, the eye, the ear, which all know their business
without our teaching them ?
Cotton grows in the pod of a tree, which is culti-
vated in America, Africa, India, and other parts of
Asia; but principally in America, It comes over in
large sacks, and then it looks very dirty: but it is put
into a machine that pulls it to pieces and combs it, leav-
ing all the rough bits. It is then pressed between rollers,
and comes out like the finest softest wool. This, gummed
at the back, is what is called wadding. Another machine
divides it, and rolls each part more closely in the form
of a very soft cord. This is gradually spun finer and
finer, till it becomes fit for weaving, It is spun by the
spinning jennies, or similar machines. It is curious to see
them marching, as it were, in and out, more regularly
than soldiers, and without any orders. Children often
watch these machines, mending the broken threads. In
another part of the mill all the looms are at work. I
have seen 1300 in one manufactory. The noise was deafen-
96 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
ing, and it was some time before it was possible to hear
another person speak. The webs of cotton are afterwards
passed through large vats of boiling sago, that the fibres
may be fixed.
Wherever British ships go, purchasers are found for
Manchester cottons. I remember seeing, in Scotland, dye-
works, where a quantity of very thin calico was coloured
Turkey-red and bright yellow, to be sold among the ladies
of Chili and Peru.
And now we must follow the Mersey, and talk of busy
commercial, as well as of busy manufacturing, Lancashire.
But first, I will tell you a little more of manufacturing
towns. On the Mersey is Warrington, with a very large
railway station. Here cotton is spun, and glass and pins
are made. To the north of Warrington, at Newton, there
is a large manufactory of lucifer matches; and at Prescot
and St Helen’s, the fine movement works and the delicate
hands of watches are made. At St Helen’s, too, you would
see, as at Newcastle, broad glass-work chimneys, and also
furnaces for smelting copper.*
But we must hasten on to Liverpool, with all its ships
and its miles of docks.
Liverpool is, next to London, the largest port in Great
Britain. The value of the cargoes, brought from, or sent
to, foreign countries, is more than double that of London ;
so Liverpool, in its foreign commerce, stands the greatest
port in the world. A great many ships come from America
laden with raw cotton, corn, and sugar; others from China,
with tea; others from India, with sugar and indigo; or
from Australia, with gold and wool: and many others,
with goods more diverse than I can tell you. Then,
heavily-laden ships go out to all parts of the world, with
linen and cotton fabrics from Manchester, and the towns
* Pages 20, 29.
‘
LANCASHIRE, 97
of which I have told you; broadcloth from Leeds, and
other Yorkshire towns; cutlery from Sheffield; hardware
from Birmingham ; and earthenware from Staffordshire, of
which Y shall tell you more afterwards; also, with salt
and cheese from Cheshire; and soda and soap—a great
deal of soap being made, as I mentioned before, in or near
Liverpool. Immense steamers are also continually start-
ing for America, crossing the wide Atlantic in about twelve
days; and others leave for Africa and for Australia. Be-
sides these, many ships sail full of emigrants. These are
people who leave their own land to try and gain a liveli-
hood in another part. of the world. They reach Liverpool
from all parts of England, Scotland, and Ireland; and
many likewise come from Germany, crossing by railway
from, what port do you think on the eastern coast? *
The emigrants are mostly bound for Canada, the
United States, or Australia. Some are for New Zea-
land, or the Cape of Good Hope. Many little children
go with their parents, crossing the wide, wide sea in the
large ships. They often feel sad to leave dear old Eng-
land; but they hope to find a bright young England far
away; and we must ask God to speed the emigrants, and
give them happy homes, and help them to please Him
wherever they go.
These ships require a great many docks, the walls of
which extend for five miles along the Mersey.t{ Some of
these are dry and some are wet docks. The wet docks are
always full of water, in which ships can float; but dry
docks have only water let in when a ship is to enter or to
depart. Ships go into dry docks when the keel or lower
part requires mending.
Liverpool is not an old town. In the reign of Queen
Elizabeth it was a little fishing village, with 800 people in
* Page 54, + Pages 29, 31, 53,
G
98 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
it. In Queen Anne’s reign, it was a small town, with
about 8000 people; whilst in Queen Victoria’s reign, it is
the mighty port that I have been describing, with nearly
600,000 people.*
There are many handsome buildings, churches, and halls,
the chief of which is St George’s Hall, very grand, with
beautiful pillars. But I must leave these, and tell you of
a little church, not built of stone, not built on the ground,
and without either tower or spire. It is the Mariners’
Church, a ship made into a church, which lies in a small
dock. It is in the midst of the other ships, so many sailors
go to it, and hear, perhaps, the story of Jesus walking on
the waters, and stilling the waves.
There is also a home for the sailors, a comfortable house
for them to go to when their ship reaches port. The good
Prince Albert laid its foundation-stone. I
Near Liverpool is a curious burial-place, made in a deep
quarry. Many of the graves are in the side of the rock,
like the tombs we read of near Jerusalem,
Southport, Blackpool, and Fleetwood, are all bathing
towns on the Lancashire coast; and in summer they
are very pleasant places of resort for the many people
from Manchester and Liverpool, who, during the rest of
the year, see little but the busy thoroughfares and smoky
chimneys of those large towns, Many go over to the Isle
of Man, a pretty island in the Irish Sea; nearly equally
distant from England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales.
The children might rehearse Lancashire, by making lists
of the towns, the manufactures, the public works, the
remarkable places, and the famous persons born in that
county. When a sufficiently accurate knowledge has been
acquired, the following game might enliven an evening :—
* Pages 40, 92. This includes West Derby, which now forms part of
Liverpool. ..
CHESHIRE. 99
THE GAME OF LANCASHIRE.
The narrator is seated in the centre, and the children
arranged on the right hand and left.
The story commences.
“Brother George is expected home this evening, and he
means to bring†There is a pause, and the child
seated first on the right hand mentions some article manu-
factured in Lancashire. ~The child first on the left hand
mentions a town in which it is made. Thus—
No. 1 Right-hand says—A silk dress for mamma.
No. 1 Left-hand adds—From Manchester.
No. 2 Right-hand says—And a watch for papa.
No. 2 Left-hand adds—Its works from Prescot.
No. 8 Right-hand says—A hat for Charles.
No. 3 Left-hand adds—From Rochdale.
No. 4 Right-hand—A muslin frock for baby.
No. 4 Left-hand—From Bolton or Manchester,
No. 5 Right-hand—Blankets for Annie’s bed.
No. 5 Left-hand—Blackburn or Rochdale.
No. 6 Right-hand—A Box of soap for the washerwoman.
No. 6 Left-hand—From Liverpool.
No. 7 Right-hand—A spade for the gardener.
No. 7 Left-hand—From Wigan.
This, after once going round, may be reversed, the left-
hand mentioning the articles, and those on the right-hand
the places. When either is at fault, a forfeit should be
paid,
CHESHIRE.—Part I.
CHESHIRE, the county that we commence to-day, is a very
beautiful, fertile district. King Edward III. named it
“The Vale Royal of England,†and one of the titles given
to the Prince of Wales is Earl of Chester. There are
several parks belonging to different noblemen and gentle-
———
100 DEAR OLD ENGLAND,
men, and the fields are beautifully green, and covered
with the richest grass.
A small portion of Cheshire touches the Irish Sea, and
that part has, as you may observe, an arm of the sea on
each side; the upper one being the mouth of the Mersey,
the other, the mouth of the Dee. The shore of the Mersey
is covered with merchandise, and there are large docks on
the Cheshire as well as the Lancashire side of the river;
but the shore of the Dee is very quiet, most of the ships
taking their cargoes to the Mersey. Two Welsh counties.
touch Cheshire, Flint and Denbigh, and five English ones
—try and name them—Lancashire, Yorkshire, Derbyshire,
Staffordshire, and Shropshire.
In the north and east, Cheshire borrows something of
the character of Lancashire, Birkenhead being like a small
Liverpool, and Stockport like a small Manchester; but
still Cheshire is more famous for its dairies than for its
manufactures.
There were 90,000 cows feeding in this country, but the
cattle disease raged sadly here. These eat such beautiful
grass, that they give very rich milk, and the good milk
makes good cheese; and so Cheshire cheeses are known all
over the world. To London alone 14,000 tons are taken
every year. A ton is as much as is generally drawn ina
two-horse cart-load of coals. Cheshire cheeses are also
sent to America, France, and Russia. As there are so
many cows, most of the fields are full of grass, and not of
corn.*
Underneath the ground are found coal, copper, lead, and
cobalt,—the last is a beautifully blue earth, much used in
painting; but what is of more consequence in Cheshire
than these minerals, are the mines of rock salt.
A quantity of this is every year dug out of the ground,
* Pages 61, 77.
CHESHIRE. 101
and is principally used in salting fish. Would you like to
hear about a salt-mine? Though not more curious, it is
far more beautiful than the coal mines of Northumberland
and Durham.
Descending in a tub, which is let down by chains, you
would soon reach a large apartment, perhaps too large for
any light to show its full extent. The ceiling and walls
and floors are all of salt, and the crystallised particles
sparkle very beautifully. Salt pillars are left to support
the roof, not soft salt as you see at table, but salt as hard
as the stone of which the house may be built. The floor
is covered with crushed salt, something like the ice on a
pond, where many people have been skating. In one
large mine near Northwich, is an opening two hundred
yards long, called Regent Street. Here, people have often
picnics, and when they are gone, the little mice that have
chosen these spacious halls for their homes, peep out and
eat the remnants. Horses sometimes live in salt-mines,
like the ponies in coal-pits, but the horses thrive better
than the ponies, the salt being very wholesome.*
years ago, the ground above a mine, about an acre in ex-
tent, with the engine house, stables, and some cottages, fell
in, sinking about fifteen or twenty yards. Several people
were hurt and some were killed. How dreadful it must
have been to feel the ground breaking and sinking beneath
one’s feet. It is supposed, that, very long ago, the sea
covered this part of Cheshire, and that the deposits of salt
were once hollows covered with sea-water. Near the
mines are many salt springs, and the finer salt is obtained
from these by evaporation. For this purpose, the water is
boiled again and again; and as it boils, the salt falls to the
bottom of the iron pan, and the water goes off in steam.
When the pan is full of salt crystals, they are taken out
* Page 25.
102 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
and dried. Salt is a very necessary aid very common
thing, Have you ever thought how kind it is of God to
make necessary things common also?
Cheshire is generally a flat country, but towards the east
are several hills, from which there are beautiful views.
* Over the rich and fertile plains, clouds of smoke are seen
resting here and there on such towns as Stockport, Mac-
clesfield, or, in the far distance, Manchester. Alderley
Edge is a pleasant rise of this kind, wooded to its summit.
It is not many miles from Stockport, and, being near the
railway, people from the busy manufacturing towns often
visit it for the day, and breathe its fresh air. Another hill
is called the “Nab,†and another “White Nanny.†On
the very borders of Cheshire, Derbyshire, and Yorkshire,
is a very elevated peat moss, over which one of the highest
roads in England passes.* Amongst the good and great
people born in Cheshire are Matthew Henry, who wrote an
excellent Commentary on the Bible, and Bishop Heber,
who was sent as Bishop to Calcutta, and wrote the beauti-
ful missionary hymn, “From Greenland’s icy mountains.â€
They were both born in the parish of Malpas,
Many houses in Cheshire are built of stone, with black
beams of timber put crosswise. In the time of William
the Conqueror, a great deal of the land was desolated, be-
cause Earl Edwin, a Saxon nobleman from the neighbour-
hood, struggled against the fierce Norman’s power. On
this desolate land, great forests afterwards grew, in which
lived the injured Saxons, robbing and taxing the Norman
lords. In the centre of one of these woods, Delamere
Forest, is a waste spot, called “The Chamber of the
Forest,†where, it is said, that a large town once stood.
Many of the gentlemen’s families in Cheshire have
lived there for hundreds of years. The farmers are very
* Pages 35, 81, 83, 85.
CHESHIRE, 103
hospitable. They often regale their friends with a dish
called ‘ furmity,†made of boiled wheat, milk, spice, and
sugar. Great quantities of potatoes grow in this county.*
Three rivers water Cheshire; the Mersey, separating it
from Lancashire; the Weaver, running through the centre ;
and the Dee, dividing it from Wales. Do you remember
an eastern county divided in this way?
CHESHIRE.— Part IT.
Now let us begin with the south of Cheshire, and follow
the Mersey and its tributaries. The first large town with
which we meet is Stockport, where a quantity of calico is
woven and bleached or printed. Here is a large Sunday
school, where more than 3000 children can assemble.
South of Stockport, on the Bollin, is Macclesfield. Near
this there are stone and slate quarries, but the town is
more famous for its silk manufactories.+ The kinds of silk
generally made here are sarsenets, Persians, shawls, and
handkerchiefs. Beautiful silk velvets are also woven, and
there are likewise manufactories for buttons, and large-
dye-houses.
There have been some curious customs in this town.
One was furious driving at a wedding; and, to this day,
there are people who, if they can afford it, hire a carriage
to drive as quickly as possible through the streets. The
holidays of Macclesfield are not Easter or Whitsuntide,
but St Barnabas day, June 11th, and they sing their
wakes not at Christmas but at Michaelmas. On the banks
of the Mersey, at the entrance of the canal from the
Mersey to the Irwell, is Runcorn, a thriving port, where
iron ships are built, soap is made,t and from which
* Page 85. + Page 94. t Page 97.
104 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
a great deal of Cheshire salt is exported. Many people
also go there for bathing.
We must now follow the banks of the Weaver. Near it
most of the salt-mines are worked, and in this district the
best cheeses are made. It passes through a very rich
country. Over it is built the Vale Royal Viaduct, a fine
bridge of five arches, each twenty-one yards across.* On
one of its branches, close to the borders of Staffordshire,
stands the old town of Congleton. Here the chief manu-
facture is silk, principally black. You know how a
caterpillar spins the silken thread, afterwards woven into
beautiful textures. This comes to England from warmer
climates, wound off the cocoons into hanks. The process
of twisting, cleaning, and preparing it for the loom, is
called throwing, or throwsting. In twisting two threads
together, if one breaks, the work is undone. To prevent
this, each thread passes through a fine wire loop, which
the thread holds up. If it breaks, the wire falls, touches
a little lever, sinking one end of it, and raising the other,
This catches the wheel, and stops the machine, till the at-
tendant mends the broken thread. I cannot explain to you
the weaving of the silk; but the pattern is drawn in some
peculiar way on cards, which the weaver reads, as a musician
would the music of his book. M. Jacquard, a clever French-
man, invented the best kind of silk-weaving machine.f
On the Weaver, or some of the canals connected with
it, are Northwich, Nantwich, Middlewich, Sandbach.
Near to all these towns are found salt-mines, or salt-water
springs. You may always know that salt is found near
the towns that end with “wich.†In this district is Crewe,
a town of wonderfully quick growth, built within the last
few years; six lines of railway start hence, and its import-
ance is entirely owing to railway traffic.
* Page 20. + Page 86, 87.
CHESHIRE. 105
There is a ruined castle near the Weaver, taken in King
Charles’s time by the Royalists. It was done very sud-
denly, in the pitch darkness of midnight, by only a hand-
ful of brave men. The soldiers inside thinking there was
no danger, were not watching; but the Royalists entered,
and, to the astonishment of all around, King Charles’s flag
was seen waving there the following morning.
Passing Frodsham, where you still meet salt-works, we
must now look on the map for Birkenhead, exactly opposite
Liverpool, a child of Liverpool, promising to be as tall as
its mother. In 1821, there were only two hundred people
living in the little village of Birkenhead, Fifty years
afterwards, there were 65,000. Birkenhead has become
famous for its docks; a bog at the mouth of a very
small river having been converted into very large ones.
This great floating harbour is surrounded by ware-
houses admirably built, and all round the docks is
carried a railway, so that the goods brought by the
ships require no carting before they are sent, perhaps
to the heart of England. In Birkenhead there are a
number of houses built for workmen, with every regard
‘to their comfort. They are not cottages, but high houses ;
on each floor live two families. The door of each dwell-
ing does not open on the street, but on the stairs.
The houses are well drained, and the rooms of a good
size, so as to make them as healthy as possible. There
are several churches, with earnest clergy, a good market,
and a noble park. If you stood on the pier, you would
see steamboat ferries going ceaselessly across the Mersey,
to and from Liverpool.* Near Birkenhead, many of the
rich Liverpool merchants live. There is here a college for
preparing young men to be clergymen and missionaries.}
It is called St Aidan’s College, after the good missionary
* Page 2i. + Pages 20, 74.
106 DEAR OLD ENGLAND. .
who left Scotland, and came to Holy Islund, to teach the
Northumbrians about the great God and Jesus Christ.* We
like to hear that theré is a college for training missionaries
near that river where so many ships are floating, carrying
merchandise to all parts of the world.
Now, do you remember the name of the river on the
west side of Cheshire? I shall only tell you of one town
on the Dee, Chester. It is as remarkable for being old as
Birkenhead is for being new. Its name marks it as a
Roman camp.{ Formerly there was a great deal of com-
‘merce with Chester; but the Dee has become.so shallow
with mud and sand banks, that large ships can no longer
sail up it; and thus almost all its traffic has been trans~
ferred to Liverpool and Birkenhead, on the broad and
deep Mersey. Industrious man_ has, however, deepened
the river, so that now many smaller vessels trade with
Chester ; and commerce is rapidly increasing,
Round the town still extend the old Roman walls.{ It
is very pleasant to walk along them, without any fear of
being shot by either arrows or guns. The streets are very
strangely built. The carriage-road is a good deal below
the inhabited parts of the houses, having on each side of it
small shops or warehouses. Above the shops is the covered
footpath, at the side of which is another row of shops,
These upper paths are called “The Rows.†Stone steps
are frequent to lead the foot passengers from them into the
carriage-roads. There is a good deal of wood mixed with
the stone of these houses, and the carving is very old and
curious. Concerning one old house, which is still stand-
ing, I will tell you a very interesting story.
Near the end of Queen Mary’s reign, an order was signed
for the persecution of the Irish Protestants. Dr Cole, a
zealous Romanist, was the bearer of the order, and whilst
* Page 10. - + Pages 31, 91. + Pages 10, 19, 45.
CHESHIRE. 107
stopping at this house, which was then an inn, before he
embarked for Dublin, he was visited by the Mayor, to
whom Dr Cole told the object of his mission, showing a
little leather box, containing papers.
Soon afterwards, he escorted the Mayor to the door, The
Protestant mistress of the inn had been present during the
conversation. She took advantage of the few minutes of
the doctor’s absence to change the papers for a dirty pack
of cards. Soon Dr Cole, with his little leather box, sailed,
reached Dublin, opened it before the Viceroy, presented
his commission for the persecution of the Protestants, and
The Rows in Chester.
behold! it was a pack of cards! He instantly returned
to London, and again left for Chester, with a renewed
order. But now the wind did not blow favourably; and
as he waited for it to change, news arrived that the Queen
was dead, and that the Protestant Elizabeth ruled,*
* Page 27,
108 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
When the plague raged in Chester, only one house
escaped.* It still stands, and over it is written, “God’s
providence is my inheritance.†There is here an old
cathedral, built of red sandstone, but not so handsome as
several others in England.t Though Chester is not a manu-
facturing town, shot, lead pipes, paint, and other articles
are made in it; and shipbuilding is again going on vigor-
ously.
Cheshire might be reviewed as follows:—When each
child has been furnished with a slate, or paper and pencil,
let the teacher furnish some names of places, from which
each may select what he chooses, writing under each name
what he could there see. Thus, Chester, Birkenhead,
Northwich, the river Weaver, Stockport, are named, Under
Chester might be written, the river Dee, old walls, a few
ships, cathedral, the Rows, the old house where Dr Cole
lodged, the house that escaped the plague, shot-tower.
Under Birkenhead might be written, docks, many ships,
steam-ferry, model-houses, noble park, St Aidan’s College.
Under “Northwich,†salt mines. Under “the Weaver,â€
salt mines, dairies for cheeses, rich grass, good cows, towns
ending with “wich,†Vale Royal Viaduct. Under Stock-
port might be written, cotton mills, bleaching grounds,
printing and dye-works, large Sunday school.
STAFFORDSHIRE.—Part I.
Now we go into a new county, Staffordshire. If you look
at the principal river in it, the Trent, and trace its course,
you will see that it will lead us through several other
counties, until it reaches our old friend, the Humber, in the
south of Yorkshire. Of all these counties, I hope to tell
* Page 80. + Page 68.
STAFFORDSHIRE, 109
you very interesting stories. Now look again at Stafford-
shire, and tell me the names of all the counties that border
onit. You see it is an inland county, no sea washing its
shores.* There is not such beautiful scenery in it as in
many others; but it is one of the most useful counties in
dear old England.
The north-eastern part is rather bleak, consisting of
high moorlands, the end of the great chain of hills from
the Cheviots southwards. In the north-west, clay is found
suitable for earthenware; so there is an extensive district,
with various manufactories, or “banks,†as they are called,
for making china. Across the middle of Staffordshire the
land is not rich, such as we heard of in Cheshire and
Yorkshire, but poor soil, where moorland oats are sown.
However, in the valleys near the rivers, grass grows abun-
dantly. The south of Staffordshire is called the Black
Country, and it well deserves the name, as throughout it
bright-green fields are almost unknown. The earth there
is rich below, rather than above ground, immense quanti-
ties of coal and iron being imbedded.t These are needed
for the service of man, for the iron must be melted in im-
mense iron furnaces, supplied abundantly by the coal. How
wisely God has ordered that coal and iron should be so
frequently found together. Collieries and ironworks con-
sequently cover all the country, the overhanging smoke
causing a sort of perpetual twilight by day, and the enor-
mous furnaces reflecting their fiery flame by night. No
fish swim in the streams, which, like everything else, are
black.. The cottages and houses are of grimy brick, whilst
the large towns lie very near one another, filled with great
numbers of people.
Are the people black, too? Yes, they look so; for clean:
faces and clean clothes are quite impossible when so much
* Page 76. + Pages 15, 35, 65, 102, £ Pages 4, 8, 26, 37, 85.
110 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
soot fills the air. But their minds are not soblack, They
are very rough, but some are intelligent and industrious,
sending their children to school, attending lectures about
poetry, geology, or history; and, what is better still, a
great many go to church or chapel.
The women often wear their husbands’ linsey coats and
felt hats, and may be seen driving donkeys laden either
with coal, or with bars of iron to be made into nails.
In the north of the county, among the potteries, the
dress of the people is all a sort of gray or whitey-brown;
and they wear round gray hats, with the brims turned up.
A peculiar custom in Staffordshire is, that the youngest
instead of the eldest son succeeds to his father’s property.
The district called the potteries is a collection of towns
and large villages, which extend, like a manufacturing
street, about eight miles along the road, the most central
one being Burslem, which is sometimes called “the
mother of the potteries,†and the largest is Stoke-upon-
Trent. The fields around are green and pleasant, whilst ©
at a distance, the buildings, with their high walls, and
chimneys narrowing upwards, and huge rounded furnaces,
have almost the effect of a line of fortifications. It is
from these that most of the common ware is sent, which
provides so many comforts for English homes. In no
country abroad are there such nice basins and jugs and
footbaths, or such pretty common cups and saucers, as in
England. Would you like to hear something about the
manufacturing of these things, how the mug is made on
which Charles or Mary is written in gold letters, or the
plate with its pretty wreath of flowers ?
The material of which fine china is formed is a mixture
of flint and bones and Cornish clay. Flint prevents its
breaking, though made very thin. First of all, the flint is
calcined or burnt, till it is as white as possible, and with
STAFFORDSHIRE. 111
the bones and clay is crushed or ground by the power of
steam. The mixture, which is then about as thick as
cream, is passed through a very fine sieve. It gradually
hardens by evaporation, till it is as thick as dough, and
then by the quick turning round of the potter’s wheel, the
shapeless lumps of clay are formed into whatever shape
he chooses, Cup handles, jug spouts, &., are made sepa-
rately in little moulds, and before they are baked, are
be. Hl
| it
Scene in the Potteries,—Potter’s Wheel,
cemented on by “slip,†the material in its fluid state.
After being baked, the article is called biscuit, and has, if
made of very fine clay, almost the appearance of empy-
rean marble, being dull white, and porous. Porous means
that water can ooze through it. To prevent this, and to
make it bright, the china must be glazed. If it is common
112 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
china, the pattern must be printed first; but if it is the
best china, glazing is the next process. This is done by.
dipping the biscuit china into a mixture of water, lead, and
glass, the latter two being ground to the finest powder.
After glazing, it is baked; and if it is painted or gilt, it
must be baked again and again, as often as any fresh
touches are needed ; otherwise, the paint would wear off.
The ovens are filled when the fires are out. The various
articles are put in large earthenware vessels, something
like footbaths, called “saggars,†and piled one upon an-
other till the ovenis full. Then the furnaces all round are
lighted. Such red-hot furnaces they are! and are kept
burning for about fifty hours. It is sometime before the
oven is sufficiently cool to allow the saggars to be taken
out.* All the china that is not round is made in moulds,
the clay being either pressed or poured into them. The
making of these moulds, and painting the beautiful pic-
tures you see on china, require clever fingers; and the
designing of the shapes and patterns requires clever heads.
The pretty little china brooches, which, perhaps, mamma
wears, are made by workmen as neatly, and far more
quickly than any lady could model wax flowers. Do you
think you-eould design anything? After lessons try with
a pencil and paper what you can do.
In this district of the potteries are Minton’s celebrated
works for the Mosaic pavement, which you often see in
churches and in public rooms. The patterns and colours
are very beautiful. How to make this kind of ware has
only been discovered in the last few years. The man
who did most to increase the value of Staffordshire pot-
tery was Josiah Wedgewood. He lived about a hundred
years ago. He invented several new kinds of china, and
copied the beautiful old ornaments used by the Greeks and
* Page 29,
STAFFORDSHIRE. 113
- Romans. Porcelain, or the kind of china, which is almost
transparent, was not made in England till 1777. The
curious old china ornaments, often seen in drawing-rooms,
come from China, and so the name of that country is given
to all such ware. |
Staffordshire pottery is now sent to all parts of the
world. I have heard of some being packed in peculiar
shaped cases to fit the backs of the llamas, which were to
carry them across the hills of central America.*
I must not tell you more to-day, but I hope one of you
will bring me to-morrow the design of a vase, or of a jug,
and that another will try to draw a bunch of grapes for the
‘centre of a plate; or a wreath of vine leaves for the
border.
STAFFORDSHIRE.—Part II.
I rotp you in Cheshire of two silk towns. Name them.
Now I will tell you of one in Staffordshire. They are
all on the road between Manchester and Derby, the chief
seats of the silk manufacture. Leek, in the north of the
county, is the Staffordshire silk town, where ribbons are
chiefly made.
A little to the west of the Potteries, is Newcastle-under-
Lyne, which rhymes with Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Where
is that?
Large collieries are near both the Newcastles. Lyne or
Lyme, is an old name for a forest. There was a large one
between Staffordshire and Cheshire, on the borders of which
this Newcastle probably stood, and so received its name.
There are manufactories for hats, silk, and cotton; but it
is not nearly so large a town as the Northumberland New-
castle.
* Pages 88, 95. - + Page 102.
: 1
E
114 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
Further down, on the Trent, is a splendid palace belong-
ing to the Duke of Sutherland; and still further is Stone,
where was once a very old monastery built by a Saxon
king in honour of two sons, whom, whilst a pagan, he had
murdered, because they had become believers in Jesus.
Stone was the birthplace of Earl St Vincent, who fought
a great naval battle. On the Stour, a branch of the Trent,
is Stafford, a well-built town. There are here several tan-
neries, where leather is prepared, and here many boots and
shoes are made. On the top of a high hill covered with
trees is a fine old castle.
On another branch of this river is the seat of Lord
Hatherton, which is said to have as many windows as there
are days in the year.
About fifteen miles from Stafford is Lichfield, one
of England’s cathedral towns. The cathedral is built
on a hill, and has three spires. Dr Johnson, who wrote
the great dictionary, was born here. We are now with-
in a very short distance of the hardware manufactories
of the south of Staffordshire; the Black country, as it is
called.
This is a very. populous district; the largest towns are
Wolverhampton, Walsall, Dudley, Sedgeley, Wednesbury,
and West Bromwich.*
At Wolverhampton, all kinds of iron-work are made.
The rough iron is smelted and converted into pigs, bars,
hoops, and plates; and from these again are made grates,
fire-irons, and garden tools. As Wolverhampton is
famous for its locks and keys, its hinges and its latches,
very possibly our doors are fastened with Wolverhampton
locks. There is here a beautiful orphanage, founded by
Mr Lees, of the little children who have no father nor
mother. Walsall is on the eastern edge of the Black country.
* Page 92,
STAFFORDSHIRE. 115
Here, too, are great iron-foundries, and manufactories for
making saddles, harness, buckles, snuffers, firearms, and
other things. Walsall has a famous market for pigs; not
iron pigs, but living, squeaking, grunting ones.
Now we must visit Dudley, where, besides iron-works
for boilers, cables, spades, and nails, there is a fine old
castle, and also great caverns in the limestone rocks near the
town. Do you observe how caverns and limestone gener-
ally go together?* The castle was first built more than a
thousand years ago, by Dodo, a Saxon. If walls could
speak, these old castles could all tell tales of wars and
sieges. We thank God, that the noise now heard is not that
of cannons firing, but of hammers beating out many useful
things. Some nails are made by steam-machinery; but
a great many by the strength and industry of man, and,
I am sorry to say, of woman too; for you will be surprised
to hear, that in this neighbourhood the women work hard
at the hammer, with their fathers, brothers, and husbands.
The work is done wonderfully quickly. I have heard of
one man making 34,000 large nails in a fortnight. In
the neighbourhood of Sedgeley, nothing but nails are
made. Wednesfield, another town, supplies traps for
catching rats, mice, and foxes. At Wednesbury, various
kinds of iron-work are done, principally railway carriages,
and springs for coaches, hinges, and gun-locks. __
Between Birmingham, and either Dudley or Wolver-
hampton, the roads pass through a continuous town, under
clouds of smoke: The ground below is quite like a honey-
comb; it has been so searched for coal and iron, Often
portions of it sink, and the road has to be altered, or the
houses removed.t This is a short chapter, but I think you
have heard the names of plenty of places to-day. To-
morrow, I hope to tell you about the manufactories of
* Page 44, 46. + Page 101.
116 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
Birmingham, one of the most wonderful towns in England,
which stands partly in Staffordshire, but principally in
Warwickshire.
WARWICKSHIRE.—Pant I.
BEFORE I tell you of Warwickshire as a county, I must
tell you of Birmingham as a town; for if you look on
the map, you will see it stands on the borders of—which
counties? It is, as it were, the parent of the busy, smok-
ing district of which I so lately told you—namely, the
Black country. The coal and iron, which its many manu-
factories require, are easily brought from this district,
either by canals or railways, with which it is well sup-
plied.* There is no river near, which is rather singular,
as almost all great towns are on rivers. Can you tell me
why? Birmingham is the fourth largest town in Eng-
land. What towns are larger? It stands on several low
hills, and being well drained is very healthy, although
nearly 350,000 people live in it. Several of its inhabi-
tants have lived to be ninety or a hundred years old.
There is a fine town-hall, built of marble from the Isle-of-
Man, and a very large market-hall, with six hundred stalls,
where beef and toys, potatoes and necklaces, ducks and
geese, pigs and cabbages are sold. There is a School of Art,
for teaching men and boys to make models and draw
designs, and there are many other schools; and hospitals
for the sick; and churches, where there have been and still
are excellent clergy and other persons, who have spent
their lives in doing good among the many thousand people.
In almost every street of Birmingham are high chimneys,
beneath which are boilers and steam-engines, all hard at
work, making an immense number of useful things, There
* Page 50, 86.
~
WARWICKSHIRE. 117
is hardly anything into which metals can be made, which
is not manufactured in Birmingham.* You are always
using some of its ware. Your clothes may come from
Leeds or Manchester; but the buttons are probably
made in Birmingham. Your tea may come from China;
but the tea-kettle from Birmingham. The timbers of
your house may be from Norway; but the nails from
Birmingham. I cannot tell you of all the things made
in its great manufactories. There are mighty steam-
engines, and little pins; there are the iron and glass
of the great crystal palaces, and multitudes of hooks
and eyes; there are glittering swords, and golden chains;
enormous guns, and an incredible number of steel pens;
glass chandeliers, and pots and pans; papier-maché
trays, and silver tea-pots. Would you not like to see
some of these things made? I will tell you a little
about hooks and eyes, for they are useful; about’ cut-
glass, for it is beautiful; about the great iron-works of
Messrs Fox and Henderson, who built the Crystal Palace,
for they are stupendous; and about buttons, too, for they
are little,
The wire for the hook or eye is unwound by a small
machine from a wheel, round which it has been coiled, and
in less than a second it is thrown into a drawer beneath,
finished. The little machine is about the size of a writing-
desk. It draws in the wire; at a certain point, it snips off
the right length of wire; small steel hooks at this moment
descend, they clasp the wire round them at each end, and
bend it in the centre, circular for an eye, or double for a
hook; but it must not stop there, as others are to be made;
so a little spider-looking claw springs forward, catches it as
a cat would a mouse, and throws it into a drawer. From
4000 to 6000 of these can be made in an hour.
* Page 51.
118 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
Now for a little about cut-glass, which is used for de-
canters, wine-glasses, chandeliers, and other ornamental
things. It is made of flint-glass, a little different in the
materials of which it is composed from the plate-glass of
which I told you at Shields, A tube is put into the hot
liquid glass, which collects a little of the metal. If the
workman wishes to make a bottle, he whirls this round
and round, then rolls it on a flat slab, and afterwards blows
into itto makeit hollow. With a little iron tool he flattens
the bottom of the vessel, and to this he fastens an iron
wire, and keeping the other part hot, he cuts off, with a
pair of scissors, what glass he does not want, and gives the
remainder what shape he chooses. There are no knives
employed in cutting glass ; but the sharp edges which you
feel, and which are so ornamental, are made by grinding
the surface of the article upon wheels, sometimes with
sharp, sometimes with round edges, and always kept
wet with sand and water, which drips from funnels placed
above them. Here, too, with very narrow wheels are en-
graved the beautiful flowers, stars, or crests you some-
times see drawn on glass.
Now for a little about the monster iron works. Here
are made engine boilers, railway carriage wheels, iron axes,
iron girders, cannons, rifles, bedsteads, and more things
than I can mention.* Here was made all the iron-work of
Sydenham Palace, and of most of the railway stations.
The noise and din are terrible. The iron is forged, not by
the strength of the blacksmith’s brawny arm, but by steam,
which, with enormous shears, cuts plates of iron as easily
as you would cut a sheet of paper; and with sharp tools
pierces large round holes, as easily as the cook would cut
out the little cakes from gingerbread dough. Here is used
Nasmyth’s famous hammer, worked by steam, which can
* Page 21.
WARWICKSHIRE. 119
come down with force sufficient to rivet the largest blocks
of iron, or with such gentleness that it could break a nut-
shell without hurting the kernel.
Now, lastly, for a little about buttons. I have not time
to tell how all the various kinds are made, such as pearl,
metallic, tailors’, shirt, and the different ornamental
ones. In making pearl buttons alone, more than 2000
people are engaged. Many tons weight of mother-of-pearl
are brought from London, having been conveyed there by
ships from India. A little tubular saw, worked in a lathe,
cuts them round out of the oyster shell, then women make
the holes, by means of a sharp iron pointer called a “ drill,â€
and afterwards they are polished with soap and rotten
stone. The tailors’ buttons, such as are seen on coats, are
made of five pieces, the metal plate, the perforated bottoms,
a piece of paper to fill up between these, the silk cover,
and a coarse bit of cloth between the paper stuffings, and
the bottoms. These, properly placed, are all fastened to-
gether in a moment, by a sudden pressure, and they cannot
be separated, Ask for a button, such as papa wears, cut
it up, and see if the five pieces are there.
The electro-plating in Birmingham is also very curious.*
An article, perhaps a tea-pot, made of German silver, or
nickel, is placed in a vat for less than a minute, and comes
out coated entirely with silver, which, after being polished,
is ready for sale, looking as bright and beautiful as pos-
sible. When you are older you will understand how this
is done.
I will just tell you of one thing more—papier-maché
work, The best trays are made of this, and also the pretty
workboxes, and portfolios, with flowers and birds painted
on a black ground, which you see in the drawing-room, and
sometimes the tops of tables, or even sofas and chairs
* Page 38.
120 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
are of this material. Now what do you think papier-
maché is made of? Paper; sheets of brown paper pasted
together, and then japanned, painted, gilded, varnished. I
daresay when you were little, you often made paper chairs,
tables, and sofas, for the baby house; but perhaps you never
thought there were real paper ones for grown-up people.
Near Birmingham are the Soho Works, where the fa-
mous James Watt made the first steam-engine* He
discovered the power of steam by observing the move-
ment of the lid of a tea-kettle filled with porns water.
There is the value of thinking,
Now, little ones, I must not tell you any more, or you
will be bewildered with thinking how everything is made.
To-morrow we shall play at a new game for Cheshire,
Staffordshire, and Birmingham, and if you like to include
Lancashire, and Yorkshire too, you may do so.
SUPPLIES FOR THE EMIGRANT.
One person, e.g., Charles, goes out of the room. The rest
are seated round. Each child takes the name of a town.
Thus Charles returns, and addresses No. I, saying—The
emigrant is preparing to go to Australia, with what will
you supply him :—
No. 1 With nails to hammer up his wooden house.
Charles—Birmingham. ;
No.1 No; try again, 2
Charles—Sedgeley.
No, 1 Right—pass on.
Charles next inquires of No. 2.
No. 2 A handkerchief for his neck.
Charles—Macclesfield, He passes on.
No. 3 A store of salt.
Charles—One of the “ Wiches,†I dare say—Northwich.
a ee
* Page 21.
WARWICKSHIRE. 121
No. 4 Cups and saucers.
Charles—Oh! from the Potteries.
No. 5 A tea-tray.
Charles—Birmingham.
No. 6 A pair of boots.
Charles—Dudley.
No. 6 No, no; Dudley is an iron town. You must pay a forfeit.
No. 7 A lot of buttons.
Charles—Birmingham again.
After going all round, another child might go out. If any
one mentions a wrong article for the town he personates,
he must pay a forfeit ; as also the one who guesses a wrong
town.
“In the school-room division of the lessons, the towns of
Cheshire and Stafford might be classified on the slate.
The commercial towns, the agricultural towns, the cathe-
dral towns, the manufacturing towns. The three rivers of
Cheshire might be traced, and the three divisions of Staf-
fordshire described.
WARWICKSHIRE—Part IL.
WARWICKSHIRE may be reckoned the most central county
in England. If you look on the map, you will see it is the
furthest from the sea on all sides, and, if you look again,
you may observe that its rivers run in three directions,
In the north, there is the Tame, running towards the
Trent, which, as you know, is hastening to the Humber.
Through the middle of the county, from east to west, runs
the Avon, which empties itself into the Severn; whilst, in
the south, is a small river, which runs off in the direction
of the great Thames.
122 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
The greater part of Warwickshire is very beautiful. The
banks of the Avon are green and well wooded, and the
scene of much interest. The soil is generally good; and
the pastures, and large trees, the fields of corn, flax, and
turnips, tell how fertile the country is. Dear old Eng-
land! Don’t you think every county has its interest and
its beauty ?
The only town of consequence on the Tame is Tam-
worth. Tape and paper are made here. Near it is Dray-
ton Manor, where the celebrated Sir Robert Peel lived.*
Following the Avon, you will very soon see Rugby, fa-
mous for its railway station, where so many different lines
meet, and still more famous for its school, where good
Dr Arnold taught. It is the scene of “Tom Brown’s
School-days.†Amongst the many good men educated at
Rugby was Henry Fox, the missionary. He worked hard
for Jesus in Southern India, and when, on account of his
health, he could remain there no longer, he came back to
England, and did all he could to interest people about
mission-work. Soon his work was over, for the Saviour he
loved sent His messenger, Death, and took him to his
heavenly home.
North of the Avon is the old city of Coventry. Parts of
it are very ancient ; the gable ends of the houses nearly
meet across the street, and are formed of old wooden
beams placed crosswise, filled up with brick and plaster.+
There are some fine old churches with high spires. The
cathedral was destroyed at the Reformation. Coventry is
very famous for the manufacture of ribbons, and there are
more watches made there than in London. When no one
will speak to some unfortunate person, he is said to be
“sent to Coventry.†I suppose you would not like in this
way to go to Coventry.
* Pages 86, 92, + Page 102.
Queen Elizabeth at Kenilworth Castle.—Page 123.
WARWICKSHIRE. 123
South of Coventry is Kenilworth, a small town, cele-
brated for the ivy-covered ruins of its once magnificent
castle, Knights have often ridden across its courts in
gorgeous dress. The first time silk was worn in Eng-
land was here, at a grand tournament in the reign of
Edward I. Queen Elizabeth visited her favourite, the
Earl of Leicester, at this castle. She remained nineteen
days, enjoying every sort of festivity. I think our good
Queen Victoria would not like some of the amusements
they had in those days. One was bear-baiting, that is, a
poor bear was tormented by a great many dogs, endeavour-
ing to tear it in pieces. On Sundays, too, there was, in the
evening, dancing or play-acting. Now all the grandeur is
passed away, and the walls are moss-grown.*
Between Kenilworth and the beautiful Avon is Stone-
leigh ; in the park are very large and old oak-trees.
On the little river Leam, before it joins the Avon, is
Leamington, a famous watering-place. Invalids go there
to drink the waters, which became celebrated owing to a
very clever man, Dr Jephson.t{ Early rising, good exer-
cise, and healthy air, are the principal causes of the
benefit gained.
About two miles from Leamington is Warwick, where
there is a beautiful old castle, not a ruin, but a splendid
residence.{ It was re-built by Ethelfreda, the daughter
of Alfred the Great. Here lived Warwick, the king-maker,
who helped to dethrone Henry VI, and afterwards fought
against Edward IV., and, for a short time, made Henry
king again. About a mile from Warwick is Guy’s Cliff,
where the celebrated Guy of Warwick lived as a hermit.
There are many strange stories told of him; but he lived
so long since—in the time of Athelstan—that we do not
know how far they are true. It is said that the Danes
* Pages 9, 14, 17, 32, 105. + Pages 48, 57. + Page 15.
124 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
were advancing far into England, and that Athelstan feared
he should lose his throne. They had a great champion,
an African giant, called Colebrand, whom no Englishman
could be found to fight. At length, Guy of Warwick
appeared. No one knew his name. He scemed a poor
pilgrim, just landed at Portsmouth. The giant looked
scornfully at him, but soon they met in single combat.
What anxiety is there! Athelstan dares not watch. He
turns aside to pray. Colebrand staggers—he falls—a cry
of joy rings through the English army. The victor tells
his name to no one but the king. He hides from the
people, and retires to this cliff on the Avon, where he hews
out for himself the cave, and lives and dies, unknown even
to his wife, who was living at the neighbouring castle of
Warwick, anxiously expecting the return of her pilgrim-
husband.*
Further down the Avon is Stratford, the birthplace of
the celebrated Shakespeare. Here the house still stands
in which he is said to have been born; and, in the parish
church, is the marble slab beneath which he is buried. I
will write out for you a few verses in which he described
the beautiful Avon, whose banks we have been following.
“The current, that with gentle murmur glides,
Thou know’st being stopp’d impatiently doth rage;
But, when his fair course is not hindered,
He makes sweet music with th’ enamell’d stones,
Giving a gentle kiss to every sedge
He overtaketh in his pilgrimage:
And so, by many winding nooks he strays,
With willing sport to the wild ocean.â€
On-the borders of the county is Edgehill, the scene of
one of those dreadful battles, when Englishmen fought
against Englishmen, in the reign of Charles I+ It is at
* Page 17. + Pages 45, 105.
DERBYSHIRE. 125
the west end of the valley of the Red Horse, a pretty fertile
vale, full of corn-fields and green meadows. Some day I
shall tell you about the valley of the White Horse; but
now good-bye to Warwickshire,
DERBYSHIRE—Parr I.
WE now reach another of the central counties of England
—one famous for manufactories, especially as regards their
history—famous for the valuable mineral treasures it pos-
sesses, and famous for its very beautiful scenery and splen-
did caverns.* I think, when I have told you all I can
about Derbyshire, it will be quite one of your favourite
counties.
Now, look on the map and see what counties touch it.
North, south, east, and west? Look again, and see what
rivers flow through it, The Derwent and the Dove are
the principal, both falling into the Trent. They are beau-
tiful rivers, and full of trout. The Derwent, moreover,
is a very busy one, helping, as it rolls along, all sorts
of manufactories, Again, look at the map, and besides the
towns, do you see anything else marked? A mountain
range. Yes, the backbone of Old England divides and
forms the Staffordshire hills of which I told you, and the
Peak of Derbyshire. You can now trace it all the way
from the Cheviots in Northumberland.+ The Peak is a
range of mountains without any great height, but with
very fine scenery. The most northern part is called the
High Peak. Here are deep dells and towering rocks, and
caverns as wonderful as those in Yorkshire. The dales are
full of bright green meadows, and look beautiful, contrasted
with the bare and rugged mountains. The south of the
county is very fertile, and there much wheat and barley
* Page 35. + Pages 15, 35, 65, 102, 109,
126 DEAR OLD ENGLAND,
are grown; but in the north, oats, which do not require so
rich a soil, are cultivated. On the hills small mountain
sheep feed, and light and slender horses, which, though
drawing loads of stone, with great agility ascend and de-
scend the mountain sides.
The stone in Derbyshire was considered the best for
building to be found in England, and was therefore chosen
in preference to any other for the erection of the new
Houses of Parliament.
The chief riches of Derbyshire are underground :* coal,
lead, iron, gypsum, and marble are all found there. Gypsum
is a beautiful glassy-looking sort of spar; sometimes pre-
cious stones, such as chalcedony and onyx, are discovered,
and there is also a beautiful spar called “Blue John.†It
is of various colours, violet, yellow, or rose colour, and is
made into all kinds of pretty ornaments. In the moun-
tainous districts, there are several warm salt-springs,
where the water tastes of soda, or of magnesia; and also
lime-water, as at Knaresborough, which encrusts every-
thing placed in it with stone.
Besides natural products, Derbyshire is noted for many
manufactures, especially silks, cottons, muslins, tape, and
candle-wicks; silk stockings and silk gloves are, I believe,
made only in this county. At Derby, there is a manufac-
tory for very fine china. There are, also, iron works, coal
and lead mines, paper mills, etc.
In the extreme north-west of the county, not far from
Stockport, in Cheshire, is Glossop. Here again we meet
with cotton manufactories: but these are nearly the last of
which I shall tell you, as we shall then have gone through
what we may call the cotton country, viz., Lancashire,
Cheshire, and this town in Derby.§
* Pages 4, 26. f + Pages 48, 57, 123,
t Pages 44, 46. § Pages 94, 103.
DERBYSHIRE. 127
And now you must hear of some of the wonders of the
High Peak. I must tell you of a castle on one of its sum-
mits; of a cavern which runs through its centre; and of a
hole far deeper than its foot.
First, the castle. It was built by a son of William the
Conqueror, called Peverill, and because he built his castle
here he was always known as Peverill of the Peak.* Very
little of it now remains; but you have a beautiful view
from its ruins,
Second, the cavern, called the Peak Cavern.t To visit
Peak Cavern.
it you must approach through a narrow ravine, with steep
towering rocks on each side. This ravine is closed at the
further end by a high cliff, at the bottom of which is the
mouth of the cave.
Here are met many noisy, wild-looking men, women,
and children, who have taken possession of this strange ©
* Page 20. + Page 46.
128 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
place as a sort of workshop for spinning twine. At first,
everything seems dark; but as your eye grows accustomed
to the feeble light in the centre, you begin to. discover the
cavern walls. Then you reach the first water. Here the
roof and water seem almost to meet; and to proceed,
you must get into a little boat, and lie flat till you
cross the stream. Then you walk through a number of
chambers, some so high that even with a blue light let
off, you cannot see the roof, and others so low, that only
very little people can pass without stooping. One of
these is called Roger Rain’s House, because water is
always dropping through the roof; another, Great Tom
of Lincoln, with beautiful stalactites, like icicles hanging
from the roof; sometimes there are natural arches ; in one
part is a sort of musical gallery, where singers are some-
times placed, whose voices echo beautifully. A gun-
powder explosion there is very awful; it is like a loud
crashing peal of thunder, echoing again and again, more
and more softly, till at last it dies away in the gentlest
whispers.
Now I have to tell you, thirdly, of the deep hole. It is
“ Eldon Hole,†in what is called the “Peak Forest.†It is
about thirty yards long and ten yards wide. How much
larger than this room? Its depth is not known. It is
very awful to stand beside it and look down its yawning
gulf, so deep, so dark.
Another curious place is Mam Tor, or the Shivering
Mountain. This is formed of a kind of broken stone,
which slides down under any additional weight. Frosts
often loosen the stones above, which, slipping down, set the
whole face of the hill in motion.
These and the mine for the Blue John, and Wingats, a
pass, with rocks about 1000 feet high on either side,* are
* Pages 35, 72.
DERBYSHIRE. 129
near Castleton and Buxton, which you will see on the
map.
In the Lower Peak are Dove Dale and the valley of the
Derwent, where the scenery is both grand and beauti-
ful; the rivers flowing between limestone rocks of the
oddest and most grotesque shapes, At Buxton, Bakewell,
and Matlock, all in these districts are warm springs of
mineral water. It seems strange that hot water should
come out of the ground; but very likely the interior of our
earthly ball is fire, and as it is known that in mines the
further you are from the surface, the hotter the air becomes,
we imagine that the sources of these springs are very deep. .
Sometimes close to a hot spring is a cold one, which shows
that though they may be very near each other at their
surface, they are very far off at their source.
I must tell you of a little village, Eyam. About 200
years ago, a box of woollen clothes had been sent there
from London, where the plague was raging dreadfully. It
was incautiously opened, and the plague broke out in the
district. The good vicar immediately did what he could
to stay its progress to surrounding villages; he made a
boundary line, beyond which his people were not to pass,
and to which the neighbouring villagers brought the
necessaries required. Here may still be seen troughs,
which were then filled with water, to purify the money
given in payment. In order to prevent any crowded
meetings, he had service in a lonely little valley at the
end of the village; and making a rock his pulpit, the
vicar told his sorrowing people of the love of their
chastening Father. “The plague did not extend beyond
the line; but for seven long months it lingered amongst
the inhabitants of that quiet parish, Out of 330
people, only 80 survived. The good vicar lived; but
his noble wife, who shared her husband’s labours,
I
130 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
‘died, and her tomb may still be seen in Eyam church-
yard.*
Now think of all the interesting things you have heard
to-day, and to-morrow I hope to tell you of old castles and
new castles, and of two or three more busy towns,
DERBYSHIRE—Part IT,
BeEForE we leave the neighbourhood of Matlock and the
Peak, I must tell you of a large old house where you
may see how English people lived a hundred years ago,
and of a grand modern house, where you may see how the
very rich English nobility can live in the present day. I
will first, however, mention Hardwick Hall, also a large old
house. In the ruined mansion standing close beside it,
the unfortunate Mary, Queen of Scots, lived a prisoner for
some time.t
Old things before new, like old people before little
children; so I will talk first about Haddon Hall, and then
about Chatsworth. Haddon Hall is not in ruins, like
many old castles, nor has it been made suitable to live in
at the present day, like Windsor and Alnwick and War-
wick.t It was built about 400 years ago. The Duke of
Rutland, to whom it belongs, prefers living in another
of his beautiful castles; so he keeps this one as it was to
show the manners of our forefathers. In one room, called
“the chaplain’s,†there are immense pewter dishes and
platters, on which dinners used to be served; very dif-
ferent from the elegant silver services and porcelain plates
of the present day. There are curious old jack-boots,
clumsy match-locks, and an antique baby’s cradle.
Then there is the great hall, where the lord of the castle
used to dine with his servants and dependents. He and
* Page 80. + Page 42. $ Pages 15, 128.
DERBYSHIRE. . 131
his friends sat at the upper end, the servants at the
lower. Here is a curious relic of the barbarous customs
of those days—an iron handcuff fastened against the
screen, as high as the hand can reach above the head, If
any guest refused to drink what was offered him, his hand
was fastened tight in this, and the contents of the cup
poured down his sleeve. The hinges of the doors are very
old, and, we should say, clumsy. The walls are hung
with tapestry, a sort of worsted work, very fine, represent-
ing beautiful pictures, which the ladies and their maids
spent many hours in stitching; for women cared little then
for reading and writing. The garden looks as strange as
the house; the trees clipped to odd patterns, and the
hedges tall, straight, and even, with narrow walks between
them,
Now, you shall hear about Chatsworth. It belongs to
the Duke of Devonshire, and is reckoned by many, the
most splendid residence in England. It is on the river
Derwent, not three miles from Haddon Hall, to which it is a
greatcontrast. It is almost a new house, the greater part of
it having been built within the last forty years. The front of
the house, the pillars, the statues, the ornaments, are very
beautiful, whilst inside are paintings, carved wood-work, and
statuary of the finest kind. The conservatory is full of the
rarest flowers, and so large that a carriage and four can
drive into it, The Duke of Devonshire had a very clever
gardener called Paxton. He planned this conservatory ;
afterwards he planned the building of the Great Exhibition
in Hyde Park; and then the still greater Crystal Palace
at Sydenham. He was knighted, and became the cele-
brated Sir Joseph Paxton.
The gardens at Chatsworth are very famous, There is
a fountain which throws the water up 300 feet. How
beautifully it glitters, like streams of silver! Again, there
132 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
is a grand cascade. The waters seem to flow from be-
neath a stone temple, and descend over numberless steps.
Again there is a tree, beneath which you stand, and, all at
once, water pours from every branch. You rush away
from this unexpected shower-bath, and, behold! serpents
are around you, from whose mouths issue streams of water.
The rock-work, too, is very wonderful; massive rocks are
brought there to resemble nature as much as possible, At
one part, the rocks are placed similar to the Strid at Bol-
ton Abbey. and the water rushes wildly between. From the
little I have told you, do you not think that Chatsworth
deserves the name of the Palace of the Peak? But remem-
ber, earthly greatness will not make earthly happiness, and
that, though your home on earth be but a cottage, you are
invited by God to an eternal mansion in heaven.
Now we must leave the picturesque scenes and mansions
of the Peak, and talk a little about the towns of Derby-
shire. In the north-east, on the borders of Yorkshire, is
Chesterfield. It is a busy manufacturing town, in the
neighbourhood of coal pits and iron furnaces.* The church
has a very curious crooked spire, made of wood, and
covered with lead. Near Chesterfield a great deal of
camomile is grown, a daisy-like flower used in medicine.
Below Matlock, on the Derwent, is Bromford, where the
first cotton factory ever built was erected by Sir R, Ark-
wright, who greatly improved, as I told you, the spinning
machinery.+ The building still stands, the river Derwent
still turning its great wheels, East of Cromford is an iron
district, where iron is not only dug and smelted and formed
into pigs and bars, but is also wrought into many useful
things. Vauxhall Bridge, in London, over the Thames,
was cast in this district.
Further down the Derwent is Belper. Here nails and
* Pages 20, 40, 51, 109, 114-116. + Pages 86, 94.
DERBYSHIRE. - 133
earthenware are made; but its largest manufactories are
for silk and cotton stockings and gloves.
About seven miles from Belper stands Derby, the chief
town ofthe county. In Derby are several large churches,
one of which has a very high spire, and another a hand-
sometower. There are also many schools and hospitals; but
what particularly marks Derby is a beautiful public park,
called an Arboretum; the noble gift of Mr Strutt, a very
wealthy and excellent manufacturer. The day of its open-
ing was one of great joy. In the evening a large crowd of
people assembled in front of his door, and sang, with warm
hearts, ‘The fine old English gentleman.†How pleasant
it must be for the Derby workman to walk on a holiday
with his wife and little children amongst these beautiful
trees, and to sit in the summer-houses, or on the benches
placed for his comfort !
And now you shall hear of the employments of Derby
workmen, Many of them are making all sorts of ornamen-
tal things of “Blue John,†the beautiful spar of which I have
before told you. Others are working in iron, others making
lead pipes, or sheet lead, for the tops of houses, and others
at the sadly unhealthy white and red lead works.* Many
are making lace and bobbin-net; and. others are engaged
manufacturing the beautiful cups, saucers, and plates which
are used for breakfast and dinner.t Many also are mak-
ing stockings, particularly the ribbed kind, which, perhaps,
mamma buys for her little boy or girl; but the greater
number are manufacturing silks The first mill for °
spinning silk erected in England was built here by a per-
son called Lombe, about 150 years ago. Till this time the
Italians only knew how to convert raw silk into thread,
but a young brother of the Lombes went over to Italy, to
* Page 21, -F Page 110.
t Pages 94, 103, 104, 113,
134 DEAR OLD ENGLAND,
find out the secret; this was very difficult, for whenever he
went into the manufactory, the wheels were kept on pur-
pose so hard at work, that it was impossible to discover it.
At last, he pretended to be a poor youth wanting employ-
ment, and was engaged to work in the mill. He slept
there also, and during the night took drawings of the
wheels and other parts of the machinery. The Italians
were very jealous of any one finding out their manufactur-
ing secrets, and, had they known, they would have put
him to death, He sent the drawings home, and then es-
caped. It is, however, said that when the Italians heard
of it, they were so angry, that they sent a woman over to
England, commissioned to poison him, and that poor John
Lombe died when only twenty-nine, from the effects of a
deadly slow poison. We feel very sorry for his death;
yet we wish he had found out the secret by thinking,
as Arkwright and Stephenson made their discoveries,
rather than by taking what was not fairly his own.*
There are no remarkable towns south of Derby, except-
ing Burton-upon Trent, noted for its ale, which is sent not
only to all parts of England, but to India, China, and other
hot countries. The country in this district is fertile,
without any hills. Many cows and horses feed on the
rich green grass; and cheeses are made there as in Che-
shire.f
It would be well to review Warwickshire and Derby -
together. Any of the former plans suggested might be
repeated ; or, as a variety, an evening might be spent in
the following manner :—
The teacher personates a traveller, and describes the dif-
ferent scenes of which the children have heard, leaving it
for them to supply the name. Thus:
* Pages 9, 86. + Page 100.
NOTTINGHAMSHIRE. 135
Teacher.—The railway whistle sounds. I approach a
large station. Many boys jump from the train. They are
going to school. She looks to Willie for an answer; who
says Rugby, or pays a forfeit.
Teacher.—I walk between high rocks. I enter a pas-
sage below a mountain. I lie down in a boat. I am
pushed across. I wander long in beautiful halls beneath
the ground.
Amy replies: The High Peak Cavern, near Castleton.
Teacher.—I stand before a noble mansion. I wander in
the most lovely gardens. I rest beneath a tree, Away!
away! it is a shower-bath!
Cave will not be long in exclaiming Chatsworth,
Teacher.—On the banks of a beautifully-wooded stream,
I wander beneath the walls of a fine old castle. I think
of many scenes of history it has witnessed, and I remark
with pleasure, that it is not hastening to decay.
Charlotte—You must mean Warwick Castle.
Teacher.—I stand alone in a wild and quiet district. I
enter the churchyard and read the name of the worthy
vicar’s worthy wife, who died during a dreadful pestilence.
We hope that Laura does not forget Eyam,
NOTTINGHAMSHIRE,
Now, dear children, we have come to the egg-shaped
county. You already know its name? Try to name the
four counties which lie around it.
Nottinghamshire is like many of the other counties of
. dear old England—a very beautiful one, full of green fields
and broad fertile valleys. There are no mountains. It is
on the east side of the line that we once drew between the
Exe and Tees.* Still, it is not a flat county,- and
* Pages 4, 36.
136 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
there are a good many rocks, many of them formed of red
sandstone.* ;
On the borders of Derbyshire, coal is found; but
Nottingham is not generally a county for minerals. It
used to be famous for Sherwood Forest, twenty-five miles
long, and nine or ten broad; where, probably in the reign
of Edward I., lived Robin Hood, and his knight, “Little
John.†The poor people liked Robin Hood, for he took
their part against the proud barons; but he was the dread
of all travellers that passed that way. Little John was
only seven feet high! There are still remains of the
forest, and some of its venerable trees ornament the parks
of different noblemen, who have beautiful seats around a
little town, Worksop, which you will see on the map. This
district is called the Dukeries—Worksop Manor, belong-
ing to the Duke of Norfolk; Clumber Park, to the Duke
of Newcastle ; Welbeck Abbey, to the Duke of Portland.
It is very pleasant to take long drives under the high
trees and along the grassy roads of these beautiful parks.
Not very distant is Newstead Abbey, where the talented
but unhappy and unfortunate Lord Byron lived. I say
talented, for he wrote poetry that was wonderfully beau-
tiful; I say unhappy, for he never learned to conquer his
passions, nor knew how to make God his friend; and I
say unfortunate, for his mother showed no thoughtful love
in bringing him up. Poor Lord Byron! God gave him
great talents ; but he never used them to the glory of that
God.
All kinds of grain grow in Nottinghamshire; and also
hops, used in brewing, of which I shall tell you more when
we arrive in Kent, or Worcestershire. The Trent enters
the country in the south-west, and runs. north-east all
through it, on its way to join our old friend the Humber.
* Page 60. + Pages 51, 102,
NOTTINGHAMSHIRE. 137
If you find out why the Trent is like a ravelled skein of
silk, you will never forget that it runs into Notts. Now.
we will trace its banks, and, as we visit its towns, you
will discover in what, besides farming, Nottinghamshire
people are employed.
The first town about which you shall hear is Notting-
ham, built on the river Leam, not far from the Trent. It
had a castle erected on a high rock. This rock is full of
holes and passages, called Mortimer’s holes; for here it
was that Mortimer, the guilty favourite of poor Edward
IL.’s queen, Isabella, was seized and made prisoner. Here
Charles I. first raised his unfortunate standard. About
200 years ago, the old castle was destroyed, and a new one
built. It was, however, burnt down by a rabble during
riots in 1831, and nothing now stands but blackened
ruins,
In Nottingham are many churches and chapels; the
largest and handsomest is St Mary’s, where about 2000
people may be seated. The town is badly built; the
houses crowding much upon each other. This is owing to
Nottingham having been encircled with some hundred
acres of common. This being public property, no one
could encroach on it; so, instead of houses spreading out-
ward, they were built closer and closer together. Now,
however, the townsmen have leave from Parliament to
build upon the ground; so I hope the poor stocking and
bobbin-net weavers will have more room to live in than
formerly.
Almost all the stockings made in Nottingham are of
cotton.* As we have yet to come to the county for
worsted stockings, I will not tell you, till then, how
hosiery is made. Now you must hear about the bobbin-
net machines, the peculiar characteristic of Nottingham.
‘ * Page 126.
138 DEAR OLD ENGLAND. p
They are beautifully constructed, and many Nottingham
people are employed in making them. Some are worked
by steam, others by the hand; some make the narrow
quillings that trim a cap, and others, net five yards wide.
I cannot describe to you the making; but; when made, it
has to pass through gas flames, which are so managed as
to singe the little hairs without hurting the net. The
machines worked by steam are large, and placed in fac-
tories; but the hand machines are small, and often kept
at the poor people’s houses. They make both the stockings
it
U
te
Stockinger at Work.
and the net in their own cottages, the women helping in the
work, sewing up the stockings and embroidering the lace.
They are, however, badly paid;* and at the Nottingham
* Contrast pages 7, 38, 85.
NOTTINGHAMSHIRE. 139
market, which is a very large one, farthings are much
more used than in many places. At a stocking-frame, in
Nottingham, once sat a poor boy, Henry Kirke White,
who was very clever, whose thoughts were very beautiful,
and who wrote sweet poetry. His poetry was so good,
that some kind, rich people sent him to Cambridge, where
he studied too hard, and died very young. One of the
beautiful hymns he wrote, was about the Star of Bethlehem.
We must now leave Nottingham, and visit Newark.
Here are the ruins of an old castle, built in the time of
Stephen, and then called “New Work,†from which the
town takes its name.* In this castle King John died.
The fine parish church has a beautiful spire. There is a
very large trade in corn here, and in stage-coach days there
used to be fifty inns, Newark lying on the direct road
from London to the north, Near Newark is found plaster
of Paris, so much employed in statuary. To the south-
east lies a lovely valley, called the Vale of Belvoir.
Leaving the Trent, we will look near the source of the
Idle, a river that joins it in the north of the county.
There is Mansfield, in the neighbourhood of Sherwood
Forest, with stocking and other manufactories similar to
Nottingham.
will, I think, amuse you. The king had been out hunting
all day in Sherwood Forest, and had been separated from
his attendants. He reached the house of a worthy miller,
who received him as a wandering stranger, in a blunt but
kind manner, asking him if he could not eat something,
which the hungry king was very glad to do. He then
begged him to remain all night, and the tired king con-
sented. ‘The next morning, some of the attendants, much
alarmed at the loss of their king, called to inquire about
him, and the miller and his wife were, as you may ima-
* Page 20.
140 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
gine, astonished to hear these gentlemen address the
stranger as their sovereign.
Near the part where the Idle joins the Trent is East
Retford, Here there is an important railway-station-
Nottinghamshire is well supplied with canals and rivers
and railways, which help much in carrying merchan-
dise through the county.* Now you have heard enough
for one day; to-morrow we will travel a little south-
ward into Leicestershire, to complete, what may be termed,
the hosiery, that is, the stocking and glove district of
England.
LEICESTERSHIRE.
Now, little ones, what is our new couniy? Leicester-
shire. Not avery large one; but J think we shall find
plenty in it to interest us for one day. First, find out all
the counties that surround it, not forgetting little Rutland
in the corner. It is chiefly watered by the river Soa: and
its branches. The Welland separates it in the south from
Northampton. These are not clear, quick-running streams,
passing between high banks and rocky chasms, like many
of which I have told you, but quiet rivers wandering
amongst corn-fields and green meadows, and full of reeds
and.water-plants.t Leicestershire is not, however, a very
flat county. That you will guess, when I tell you that in
one part, towards the west, coal, slate, sandstone, and
limestone are found, Near Ashby-de-la-Zouch, is Charn-
wood Forest, not a forest now, but surmounted with craggy
steeps, Bardon Hill, the highest point, is not very lofty,
but as the country all around is low, the view is most ex-
tensive.t Northwards, you may see Lincoln Cathedral,
* Pages 50, 86, 116. + Pages 4, 17, 32, 36, 47, 49, 61.
* Pages 40, 64, 69,
LEICESTERSHIRE. 141
sixty miles off, and the Derbyshire Peak; south-east, the
Dunstable Downs, in Bedfordshire ; westward, the hills of
Worcester and Shropshire; and sometimes, with a good
glass, on a very clear day, the heights of some of the
Welsh mountains,
In the west of Leicestershire, the ground is a good deal
cultivated for corn, but in the east, principally for pasture.
Here are fed the cows from whose milk the famous Stilton
cheeses are made;* and, also, the celebrated Leicestershire
sheep, large and fat, with long wool, very useful in the mak-
ing of the woollen hosiery, the peculiar manufacture of the
county. Leicestershire pigs and horses are also reckoned
very good.+
Besides stockings, there is made here a good deal of
lace and silk plush for hats; and, in the clay districts,
fire bricks are manufactured. Leicestershire is, also, a
famous county for hunting, Melton Mowbray, in the north
of the county, being the head-quarters of the huntsmen
and their horses. Eight hundred horses are sometimes
collected together at Meltun. It is famous, too, for pork
pies.
But before speaking of other places, I must try to ex-
plain a little how stockings and gloves are woven. They
are called hosiery, and are the chief manufacture of Derby,
Nottingham, and Leicester; those of Derby being princi-
pally silk; Nottingham, cotton, and Leicester, woollen. I
suppose the long wool of the Leicester sheep has been the
original cause of this becoming the hosiery district of
Eaviand:
Stockings are not like calico, woven in large mills, with
hundreds of frames working at once, but are rather manu-
factured, one by one, in the separate stocking-frames,
which are at each separate cottage. The manufacturer
* Pages 40, 100, t Pages 87, 77.
142 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
buys the cotton or the silk probably at Manchester, and
the worsted, either from the neighbouring worsted-spinners,
or, perhaps, at Bradford. He gives out to each stockinger,
as the workmen are called, a certain quantity of yarn, which
he takes home to the stocking-frame, for the use of which
he pays a weekly rent; he weaves a certain number of
stockings; his wife and children sew them up; he takes
them back, either to the manufacturer or to the middle-
man, whom the master appoints, and receives payment for
what he has done. This payment is very low, and, per-
haps, that is the reason why stockings are still made by
hand-power and not by steam. The stocking-frame is a
very puzzling looking loom. It stands upright, and a
number of little steel hooks are placed in it, so as to twist
the new thread through the loops of that thread which
just before crossed the loom. The stockingers have very
curious names for different kinds of work, such as “bother-
ing-up,†and “bothering-on.†One kind of stocking they
call “ cut-ups,†and another “ drop-offs.â€
Stocking-frames were invented in the reign of uae
Elizabeth, by a clergyman. The lady whom he loved
seemed to think more of her knitting than of him, so he
determined to try and discover how to make a machine
knit, imagining that then the lady would have more time
to care-for him. He succeeded, and gave up his ministry
for his loom. Queen Elizabeth once went herself to see
his wonderful new machine, but she would not reward his
invention till he had made it fit to weave silk stockings,*
Before that, the queen wore stockings cut out of a piece of
silk and sewn up. There are now about 50,000 stecking-
looms employed in the three hosiery counties.. Which are
they ?
Now, I will tell you about the Leicestershire towns,
* Page 126,
LEICESTERSHIRE. 143
where the stockingers live and work. We will begin
with Leicester, in the centre, and then draw a circle all
round.
Leicester is a large and very ancient town, with nearly
100,000 people. It has wide streets, open squares, and a
great many gardens. Over the river Soar, on which it
stands, are several bridges, There is plenty of spring
water, every large house having a well. It seems as if
built in the middle of a saucer; the plain surrounding it,
and beyond that a rim of hills. Leicester was a town in
the time of the Romans; but there are now few remains
of its ancient buildings, excepting the churches, some of
which are very beautiful.* In the Blue Boar Inn of Lei-
cester slept Richard III, the night before the battle of
Bosworth. He brought his own bedstead with him. It had
two bottoms, like a floor and its underceiling ; and between
these, he had hidden a quantity of gold. His dreams that
night were wretched. He imagined himself in the midst
of torturing demons, and when he arose in the morning
he looked piteous. Wretched man! Can you wonder
that his conscience gave him no rest.
Not far from Leicester is Thurcaston, the birth-place of
good Bishop Latimer.
Now, beginning our circle round Leicester, as the sun
does, in the east, we shall start from Melton Mowbray, of
which I have already told you. Going northwards, we
reach Market Harborough. Here is a handsome church,
built by John of Gaunt, the brother of the Black Prince,
and the friend of Wycliffe.
Then turning west, we come to Lutterworth, good old
Wycliffe’s parish.+ Here is still the pulpit in which he
used to preach, and his gown, the table at which he wrote,
and the chair in which he died, He lived to give Eng-
* Pages 44, 91, 106. + Page 89.
144 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
land the blessing of an English bible. Forty-four years
after he died, his grave was opened, his body burnt by his
unhappy enemies, and its ashes thrown into the little
brook, Swift, that runs beside Lutterworth Church. The
Swift conveyed them to the Avon, the Avon to the Severn,
i AAMT
Wesel
IN
DDRII ote
‘th i ; i
i
1 | l
i im ‘uc t [
Lutterworth Church,
the Severn to the narrow seas, they to the wide ocean; an
emblem of the blessed Bible doctrines that he preached,
which are now spreading from pole to pole.
Hinckley is a busy stocking-making town; where, from
relics that have been found, the Romans must have lived
long long ago.
Going north is Market Bosworth. At the Grammar
School here, Simpson, who wrote on mathematics, and
Dr Johnson, who made the big dictionary, used to teach.
Near this town is the battle-field, where the cruel Richard,
who ordered his little nephews to be smothered in the
Tower, was met by Henry VII, conquered and killed.
RUTLAND, 145
A little out of the circle, is Ashby-de-la-Zouch, a prettily-
situated small town, near which are the ruins of a curious
old castle. Here was born good Bishop Hall, who wrote
beautiful contemplations on the history of the Bible.
Our last town is Loughborough, next to Leicester, the
largest in the county. The kind of stockings principally
made here, is the Angola, as thin as fine cotton, though made
of wool. Here, too, a good deal of bobbin-net is made;
and near it, is a famous foundry for something that young
ones like, because it is of no use unless it makes a noise.
It is a bell-foundry.
In the north, near Lincolnshire, is Belvoir Castle, a
beautiful place belonging to the Duke of Rutland. It is
said to be the oldest house in the county, having been
originally built in the time of William I.* It was in
a great measure destroyed by fire, in 1816. The duke
rebuilt it more beautiful than before, expressing his
thankfulness to God, who had preserved the lives of his
wife and five children. The picture gallery is full of very
valuable paintings. There is a golden key for the castle
gate; and, if any of the royal family visit Belvoir, it is
presented by the chief of the Stauntons, who inhabit the
outwork of the castle.
This has been a long chapter; but to-morrow you shall
have a very short one, about the least of all the counties
in dear old England.
RUTLAND.
Now for a short account of England’s little county, Rut-
land. And.a pretty little county it is, with gently rising
hills, and green sloping valleys, and cattle and sheep feed-
ing pleasantly, and shady woodlands, where the graceful
* Pages 20, 127.
K
146 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
deer are still preserved wild. The soil of Rutland is rich
for growing grass and corn. In some parts, there is a
good deal of limestone, and several sandstone quarries, out
of which are built many very good houses. The farmers
take particular care of their sheep and cows, and there-
fore the sheep are very good; and the cows give excellent
milk, from which is made the same kind of cheese as that
in Leicestershire, called Stilton.*
The largest town in Rutland is Oakham; but there are
not 3000 people living in it. Here was born a very little
man, a dwarf, called Geoffery Hudson. He lived in the
time of Charles I, Once, to the amazement of the queen,
a pie was served up with Geoffery inside. So I suppose
*¢ When the pie was opened,
Geoffery began to sing,
Oh! was not that a dainty dish
To set before the king.â€
Oakham has a castle, now used as a court-house. All
round its gate, and even on the judge’s bench, are stuck
horse-shoes of all shapes, of all sizes, and of all metals,
Some are as large as a breakfast table, and some so small,
they would only fit little Charles’s play-horse. What can
this mean? It was avery old and strange custom, that
if a nobleman went through Oakham, he must give to the
owner of the castle, one of his horse-shoes. This is some-
times rather inconvenient ; so the bailiff of the town keeps
all kinds of horse-shoes, which are purchased and pre-
sented according to the visitors’ generosity.
T have heard the following story of sad interest, regard-
ing the last man that was hung at Oakham. It shows
the danger of going into temptation; and it also shows
how cruel justice may be when there is no mercy.
* Page 141.
RUTLAND. 147
A very poor man lived with his wife in a little cottage,
surrounded by several starving children. There had been
nothing in that cottage to eat all day, no work could
be procured, and the miserable father wandered out. As
he wandered near his house, a bad man, a sheep-stealer,
accosted him, ‘Neighbour, how fares it with you?â€
He told him of having no employment, and of his starving
family. Poor man! we wish that he had told this to God
instead. The sheep-stealer said, “‘Why starve, when so
many fat sheep are feeding round. I am going to take
one to-night. Come with me and you shall have half.â€
Conscience said “No;†but hunger said “Yes.†He
went. There were watchers there. They saw the booty
divided; they followed the man home, He opened the
door. His good, gentle wife saw the meat. “O father!
where be ye to get that,†she said in alarm; for she
guessed it was stolen. “Don’t ask me,†he said, “or you
will drive me mad;†he was very wretched. The poor
starving children rushed forward, and began to eat the
flesh raw. The watchers entered, and the man was taken
to prison, tried, found guilty, and, according to the law,
hanged. Oakham people say that the town has never
prospered since. Surely that beautiful text was for-
gotten, “ Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain
mercy.â€
The only other town of any consequence is Uppingham,
in the south-west of the county. These are quite agricul-
tural towns; for we have left, for a time, the manufac-
turing districts of England. To-morrow, we lust again
go north, and hear about a large county, which has the
German Ocean washing its eastern shores,
148 DEAR OLD ENGLAND,
LINCOLNSHIRE.—Parrt I.
WE now come to a part of England which, excepting
Holderness, in the south-east of Yorkshire, is very differ-
ent to all of which I have been telling you. What kind of
.a district was Holderness ? ;
Lincolnshire is a county, the surface of which is very
~flat and low; a great part of it lower than the level of the
sea, Broad and strong embankments are raised to prevent
the sea from breaking in upon this portion. . There is very
little rising ground above; no metals below, and it is a
county thoroughly free from manufactories. It is both
very ancient and very modern, for there are found there
many Roman remains, Roman embankments, and Roman
roads, and the town of Lincoln was one of the largest
Roman military stations ;* and yet there are thousands of
acres of land that have never been anything but watery
marshes or lakes, till the last fifty years.- I think the
best adjective to put before Lincolnshire would be watery.
It is, however, a very fertile region. The soil is rich, and
corn and grass grow there luxuriantly; there are immense
numbers of very large sheep and cattle; and many of the
fine dray horses that are brought to the London market
come from this county.t There are also great numbers
of ducks and geese, wild water-birds, rabbits, and hares ;
so Lincolnshire is a county for farming, and supplying the
necessities of the larder, as much as Lancashire is for manu-
factories, and supplying the wants of the wardrobe. The
farm-buildings in Lincolnshire are good; and most of the
landlords, farmers, and labourers do all they can to make
the ground as productive as possible. Some thousands
of years ago, this county must have been covered with
* Pages 19, 44, 90, 106, 143. +t Page 54,
t{ Pages 37, 141.
LINCOLNSHIRE. 149
forests, where the elk, and the wild boar, and other animals
roamed; and then the forest land must have sunk, and
the swamps spread themselves over their surface.* Down
the middle of the county, runs a chain of low green hills;
these hills break, as it were, where the Witham passes;
and on the river’s northern bank, the town of Lincoln is
built.
After the Romans, the Danes built a good many towns
in this county. Most of the towns which they founded
end with “by,†and this termination you will often find
in Lincolnshire.
Here have been born many famous men. Woolsthorpe,
near Grantham, was the native place of Sir Isaac Newton.
He was a wonderful thinker, and from seeing an apple
fall, discovered. the law by which God makes the earth,
the moon, and all the planets, revolve round the sun. I
daresay you have wondered why we do not tumble off the
earth, which you know is round. It is all through this
law, called the law of gravitation. Ask some one to ex-
plain it to you. The apple-tree was blown down some
years ago, but a chair is shown made of its wood, Sir
Isaac Newton was not a passionate nor impatient man.
Once he left his study; on the table was a lighted
candle, and several papers, on which he had written the
calculations which had occupied him for many years. He
had a little dog, called Diamond, which, on this occasion,
did terrible mischief. It jumped on the table, knocked
down the light, which set fire to the papers and destroyed
them. When Sir Isaac returned, he saw the mischief, but
instead of angrily beating the poor dog, he only said, “ Di,
Di, thou little knowest the ‘mischief thou hast done.â€
‘Not far from Isaac Newton’s house was a windmill,
which the boy very carefully watched. At length, he
* Pages 53, 54.
150 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
himself made a model mill, with neat linen sails, and all
the internal machinery so complete that, if a handful of
wheat grains were put into the little hopper, it would be
ground into flour, His schoolfellows were delighted with
his cleverness. “But,’ said one, “you have forgotten
something.†“What?†inquired Isaac, ‘“ Why, where is
the miller?†Isaac determined he would look for one.
No man was small enough, and with all his ingenuity he
could not model a man. What could be done? He found
a mouse—appointed him miller; he, however, did not
prove very trustworthy, being suspected of frequently
helping himself to the grains of corn.
At Spilsby, another town in Lincolnshire, Sir John
Franklin was born, He made many discoveries in the
polar regions. He was a brave man, and one that feared
God. He wished to find out a passage round the north of
North America; but the last time he went, he and all his
brave companions perished. No one lived to tell the
sorrowful tale; and it was many years before his sad fate
was known. Near Spilsby was also born Thomas Scott,
the celebrated Bible commentator. Tennyson, the Poet
Laureate of the present day, was also born in this country.
This county, like Yorkshire, is divided into three parts;
the most southern is called “Holland,†or Hollow Land,
and like Holderness in Yorkshire, resembles very much
Holland on the other side of the sea. It forms part of
what is called “ The Fens,†which consist of a low plain
surrounding the Wash. The Fens also extend over parts
of Norfolk, Northampton, Cambridge, and Huntingdon.
The scenery is generally wearisome; but on a bright
summer’s day, there is the same freedom about its ap-
parently boundless expanse, as about the wild prairies of
America. It seems like a sea of rich golden corn, or of
beautiful green meadows, ‘There are broad rivers, and
drains almost as broad, and wide ditches, instead of
LINCOLNSHIRE. 151
hedges, dividing the fields, and rushy swamps; here and
there a few pollard-willow trees, scattered farmsteads, or
The Fens.
a village spire, and there is the bright blue sky, seem-
ing to meet far, far away, the outspread earth. When the
people wish to pass from one place to another, they often
do so by steeple-walking. They mark the village steeple
in the distance, and for it they start, across the fields and
the watery dykes. Over these they swing themselves by
means of the long poles that they carry with them.
Lincolnshire is not a healthy county, being very low and
damp; but it is greatly improved, owing to the drainage
works and the water machines forcing the water to run off
more quickly towards the sea.
Having mentioned the Wash, I must tell you a story
about King John, The Wash is an arm of the sea where,
when the tide is out, a great deal of sand is left, along
152 DEAR-OLD ENGLAND.
which carriages can drive. This resembles, what inlet on
the western coast ?
Louis, the eldest son of the King of France, had been
offered by the English barons the crown of England, for
John was so wicked and base in his conduct that his
people detested him. He had been retreating before Louis,
but having got possession of Lincoln, was regaining a little
courage, when he determined to cross the Wash from
Lynn, in Norfolk. The army had passed safely over; but
before the king reached the other side the waves rolled
quickly forward, and though he escaped, his baggage, to-
gether with his crown and sceptre, was lost in the water.
John had been so alarmed, and was now so vexed, that he
became very ill, was carried to Newark on a litter, and
there he died. Had he lived, he probably would have
made the freemen of Lynn ride across the Wash as he made
those of Alnwick plunge through the bog.*
To-morrow I hope to tell you of the principal towns in
watery Lincolnshire,
LINCOLNSHIRE.—Panrt II.
To-DAY we will first of all talk of the towns on rivers
that fall into the Humber, and then of those on or near the
rivers going to the Wash. First, then, we will follow the
Trent. The only town of consequence on it is Gains-
borough, It may be called a river port, for canals or
rivers connect it with Manchester, Liverpool, London, and
Gloucester.f It lies low, and sometimes, after rain, the
river rises, and the streets of the town are under water.
Not far from the Trent is Epworth, the village in which
the great and good John Wesley was born.
On the Humber, opposite Hull, is Barton, a seaport which
* Pages 16, 139. + Page 53.
we
LINCOLNSHIRE, 153
is not a great favourite with ship-captains, They generally
prefer Great Grimsby, a rapidly increasing town, farther
down the coast, where large docks have been made from the
waste mud banks formed at low water.* Is it not good, by
industry, to turn an evil into a blessing? Most of the houses
in this part of England are built of red brick, with red tiles.
A few miles inland from Grimsby is Caistor. Its castle
was built by the Saxon Hengist, on a piece of ground
which he could encircle with an ox-hide cut into strips,
according to a grant from a British king. Here Rowena,
a Saxon queen, taking a goblet of wine, dropped down on
one knee, and drank the king’s health. This is said to
have been the first time that a health was drunk in Eng-
land.f
Now let us follow the course of the other rivers, about
which I will give you a riddle: “‘ Why may we suppose
that they are very dirty?â€{ First, there is the Witham;
and, as it at first flows north, we must track its course
from the south of the county. The first town of any
consequence is Grantham. It has a very high church
steeple§ At its grammar-school the great Sir Isaac New-
ton used to study when a boy. In this town a quantity
of malt is prepared, to be sent to the breweries.
Our next town is Lincoln, the most important in the
county. It has a splendid cathedral, with the second
highest tower in England, and with the famous bell called
Great Tom of Lincoln. The cathedral was commenced in
the time of William the Conqueror. The bishop by whom
it was built is said to have been very small in body, but
very large in mind, For three months of each year he fed
a thousand people every day, and clothed those amongst
them who were blind and lame. Another bishop who en-
* Pages 95,105. + These stories are also told of Tong Castle, in Kent,
+ Because they are always going to the Wash, § Page 151.
154 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
larged the cathedral, was buried in a large coffin of pure
gold. This was turned into money in the reign of Henry
VIII.
The approach to Lincoln gives a beautiful view of the
city, built on a hill above the Witham, and crowned by
the grand cathedral* It is a very ancient town, hav-
ing been, in William the First’s and other reigns, a
much more important place than it is now. The first
stone church built in England was erected in this town.
Many of the houses are very old and curious. One is
called John of Gaunt’s stables; but it probably formed
part of his palace? The Guildhall is built on an arch
that spans the street; and there is an old Roman gateway;
reckoned the most perfect in England. What a long time
that must have been built! Can you find out how many
years ?
Following the Witham, you will see a small river joins
it from the north, Near its source is Market Rasen, a
busy little town in selling cattle and corn; farther down
is Horncastle, where every August there is one of the
largest horse fairs in all England;§ and near the point
where it joins the Witham is Tattershall, where there is an
old castle, with a curiously-carved chimney-piece.
The Witham continues to flow through the flat fenny
country. Boston, at its mouth, has a beautiful church
spire or lantern, which may be seen at a distance of forty
miles, and is a landmark for travellers both by sea and
land. Once Boston was, next to London, the greatest sea-
port in England. Then the Witham became choked up,
and Boston lost its consequence ; but now, through drain-
age, it is becoming much more thriving.|| A great deal of
corn is exported, John Fox, who wrote the history of
* Pages 80, 45. + Page 143. t Page 45,
§ Pages 37, 148. | Pages 105, 106.
LINCOLNSHIRE. 155
the martyrs of Queen Mary’s reign, was born in this
town. ;
Between the Witham andthe Welland are several small
towns, They generally have high church steeples, very
useful to the people in walking. One village is called
Threckingham, because three Danish kings were slain and
buried there. On the Welland, in the south-west corner
of Lincolnshire, is Stamford, a large town, with railway
trains and canal or river boats constantly passing. There
was here a strange custom.* Exactly three weeks before
Christmas-day, a bull was turned loose into the streets, the
gates being stopped with waggons. The people ran after
it till it was killed, and then it was cut up and given to
the poor. The butchers were obliged to furnish the bull,
as the condition of having the right of feeding their cattle
in some meadows near the town. Further down the river
is Spalding, another town where a great deal of wool and
corn is sold, and coal and timber bought. It is thought to
be very like a Dutch town.t
Now I will only tell you of one more place, Croyland,
which is remarkable for its bridge, built exactly where the
Wyse and the Welland join. Its centre is over the middle
of the waters, and its three bases or ends are on the three
shores. It is said that one base is in Lincolnshire, another
inf Cambridge, and anotherin Northampton. On one of the
Wings is a very old figure of a Saxon king; who, a thou-
sand years ago, built here an abbey now in ruins. It was
to please a very foolish monk, St Guthlac, who wished to
live in the Fens, only because it was disagreeable} How
little he could have known that beautiful text, “God is
love,†or he would never have thought that to torment
himself was pleasing to God.
Now enough for to-day; but before we cross the Wash
* Pages 16, 103, 146, + Pages 28, 150. + Page 31.
156 DEAR OLD ENGLAND,
T should like to know what you remember of Nottingham,
Leicester, Rutland, and Lincolnshire.
In this review, the scenery painting might be reversed,
and put into the mouths of the children. If many of
them, they might endeavour to puzzle one another; or, if
few, their effort might be to puzzle the teacher, Persons
as well as places might be described.
Thus, let Cave commence: “Amy, I am walking
through a forest. It is nicely shaded; the trees are very
high and beautiful; but hark! Oh I am s0 frightened;
I hear a bugle. There are robbers here, Shall I hide?
They march towards me. One is a very fine-looking
man, not very savage; and a great tall man stands behind
him.â€
Amy replies: “O Cave, it is Robin Hood, with Little
John, in Sherwood forest.â€
“Now I am thinking of somebody. It is a very good
man, who preached in a little church beside a river, and
translated the Bible into English, and died quietly; but a
great many years afterwards, wicked people dug up his
grave and threw his bones into that little river.â€
Cave answers: “ Wycliffe—good John Wycliffe.â€
Then Charlotte: “Harriet, I see a beautiful cathedral,
with such a high tower, built on a hill, and looking over
all the flat country round about.â€
Harriet replies: “And that is Lincoln, And Iam think
ing of a young man, who sits busily weaving stockings, but
hed is making poetry all the time.â€
Charlotte: “Yes, I know, and he went to Cambridge
and died soon, but I can’t remember his name.â€
Harriet tells: “Henry Kirke White.â€
Such is a sample of the lesson or game that might 3
played. Each answer might be written down on a slate,
NORTHAMPTONSHIRE. 157
and a good mark given for each question asked or
answered correctly. If preferred, the old plan of the
manufacturer, tourist, antiquarian, in their various capa-
cities, passing through the counties, might be followed
advantageously.
NORTHAMPTONSHIRE.
NORTHAMPTONSHIRE is a pretty, quiet-looking county, with
gently sloping hills and beautiful valleys, and soft-flowing
streams, but it has no peculiar feature to distinguish it
from the other counties we have mentioned. I cannot
find an adjective for Northamptonshire. It is, however,
surrounded by more counties than any other. Try and
name them all.
The farmers are chiefly employed in rearing sheep,
100,000 of which are sent every year to London, as well
as 15,000 fat cattle.* Besides the fields there are pretty
woodlands, for the county was once covered with forests,
In Salsey Forest is an oak, supposed to be 1000 or 1500
years old. It is nearly sixteen yards round the stem.
Northampton is not a county for minerals, and so we do
not expect to find many manufactories.t Its chief trade
is in boots and shoes, great numbers being made here to
supply the army. We must not look in the map for
mountains, but we will for rivers. The one on the north,
which separates it from Leicester, Rutland, and Lincoln,
is the Welland, and the one flowing through the centre
is the Nene, whilst, in the south of the county, rises the
Great Ouse, which, at first, flows southward into Buck-
inghamshire, and then north-east, till it also reaches the
Wash,
This county is one of the fertile ones of old England,
* Pages 23, 37, 141, 148. + Pages 85, 109, 114, 132.
158 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
with plenty of grass and good wheat, and numbers of
sheep and cattle grazing.â€* In the north-east, we find
again the fenny country, as in Lincolnshire. Here hemp
is grown, the fibres of which make ropes and canvas.
These fen-lands have been greatly improved by the cut-
ting of a deep canal at the mouth of the Nene. It wasa
great surprise to the inhabitants, when they found the
waters of their sluggish rivers running off so fast, and great
good it did them, draining the land and preventing so much
of the damp air rising, which caused ague, rheumatism, and
many other complaints.
There is no particular town on the Northampton side of
the Welland river. Not far from Stamford, however, is
Burleigh House, so large, that it looks almost like a little
town. It was built by the Lord Burleigh of whom we read
in Queen Elizabeth’s reign.
Naseby is a small village, very near to which rises the
Nene, flowing to the German Ocean, and the Avon, flow-
ing westward to the Severn, and thence to the Atlantic;
so you see it stands on the line of watershed between the
German and the Atlantic Oceans Near it was fought
the last desperate battle in the civil war in Charles the
First’s reign. Charles was completely defeated, and soon
afterwards gave himself up a prisoner to the Scotch
army. One of Cromwell’s army has been supposed, by
a great writer, Lord Macaulay, to describe this battle, as
follows:
‘¢Tt was about the noon of a glorious day in June,
That we saw their banners dance, and their cuirasses shine,
And the man of blood was there with his long essencéd hair,
And Astley and Sir Marmaduke and Rupert of the Rhine.
The furious German comes, with his clarion and his drums,
His heroes of Alsatia and pages of Whitehall;
EEE UIE EISIDSIEISISSSISS SSSI ESSENSE SED
* Page 4. + Pages 54, 151. + Page 121,
NORTHAMPTONSHIRE. 159
They are bursting on our flanks; grasp your pikes, close your ranks,
For Rupert never comes but to conquer or to fall,
Stout Skipton has a wound—the centre hath given ground,
Hark! Hark! What means the trampling of horsemen on the rear?
Whose banner do I see, boys? ’Tis he! Oh yes, ’tis he, boys!
Bear up another minute, brave Oliver is here!â€
And then is described the triumph of Cromwell’s soldiers.
“ Like a whirlwind on the trees, like a deluge on the dykes,â€
Several skirmishes were also fought in Charles’s reign
near Daventry, pronounced Dayntree. Here many whips
are made; and, as in most of the Northamptonshire
towns, a great many of the workpeople are shoemakers.
Near Daventry is Weedon, a famous station for soldiers
and military works. Following the Nene, you will see
Northampton, the county town. It is built of reddish
stone. The woods, meadows, and villas around look
bright and pretty. There are some fine old churches, but
the castle is quite inruins. Here, about 10,000 people are
busy working at the boot and shoe trade.
The next town is Wellingborough, also well built. In
this place, besides the boots and shoes, a quantity of
patent leather is made, the kind that shines without being
blackened.
On a northern branch of the Nene, is Rothwell, Its old
castle was a favourite home of William the Conqueror.
Between Northampton and Peterborough are many
villages, with their inhabitants industriously employed
either in making shoes or bobbin net. Near a small
village, Oundle, are the ruins of Fotheringay Castle,
where the poor, unfortunate Mary Queen of Scots was
beheaded. Her history is a most sorrowful one; her
crimes, her misfortunes, and her beauty were all so
great. Queen Elizabeth ordered her execution, and a
160 DEAR OLD ENGLAND,
sad, sad blot it is on the character of a queen who did
otherwise so many good and noble things for dear old
England, For nineteen years, poor Mary was a prisoner
in England, Do you remember any of the castles we have
mentioned in which she was confined ?*
Nearer Peterborough is “ Wandsford in England.†Why
has it this name? Long ago, on a summer's day, a lad
went to sleep on a haycock, in a field near the river
Nene,
rounded the haycock, which quietly and noiselessly
commenced its voyage towards the sea. The lad slept
on, The haycock reached Wisbeach, and was almost in
the open sea, when some fishermen, sailing near, espied
the boy, and rescued him, They then asked, Where are
you from? And the boy, as if he imagined that he had
floated across the sea to Holland or Belgium, answered,
“Wandsford in England;†and thus the little village got
its name.
Peterborough is a small, but well-built city. Remember
that all towns which have cathedrals are called cities. The
Saxon king, Edgar, who rebuilt Peterborough cathedral,
after it had been destroyed by the Danes, gave the abbey
so much land, that it was called for some time ‘‘ Gilder-
burgh,†or the Golden City. Here are the tombs of
Catherine of Arragon, the first wife of that cruel king,
Henry VIII, and also of the unfortunate Mary, of whom
I have just told you. Peterborough is a busy town for
traffic, both by the river and the many railways that now
pass through it.
Several celebrated men have been born in Northamp-
tonshire; amongst others, Dryden, the poet, and Dr
Carey, the first missionary to Bengal. The last, like
Morrison, was once a shoemaker, but God gave him the
* Pages 42, 130.
BEDFORDSHIRE, 161
needed talent and the willing mind, and prepared hin,
as his messenger, to advance the gospel of his dear Son
in that mighty empire.*
Earthly crowns made neither Charles L, nor poor Mary,
nor Catherine of Arragon happy. Rather strive, like Dr
Carey, for a better glory, for “they that turn many to
righteousness shall shine as the stars for ever and ever.â€
BEDFORDSHIRE.
BEDFORDSHIRE, of which I have to tell you to-day, is a
neat and pretty little county. Can you guess why I have
chosen it first, though farther south than Huntingdon?
My reason has something to do with the course of its
principal river, the Great Ouse, which enters it from
Buckinghamshire. Now tell the counties that surround
it. North? South? East? West?
Bedfordshire has pretty low hills, and valleys full of
trees, grass, and corn. The sheep and cattle are not so
famous as in Leicester, Northampton, and Lincoln; but
there are many vegetables grown, such as turnips, cab-
bages, pease, and beans. The onions here are nearly equal
to those of Portugal, and a great many cucumbers are
raised in the open air, We-have now reached counties
where the climate is much warmer than in the north of
England, where the country-people’s voices are much
softer, and their manners more gentle; but I do not think
their hearts are warmer, and their minds are not generally
so intelligent. The dress of the countrymen is different,
Instead of corduroy coats, they wear white or blue blouses,
on which patterns are often worked. It is a very pleasant
sight to see the men come to church on Sunday, with their
clean white blouses and red neckerchiefs.
_* Page 9.
162 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
The most noted manufacture of the county is straw
plait for bonnets, which is only excelled by the Tuscans
in Italy. Straw is not yet plaited by steam. It is gener-
ally done by women. The straw is split, bleached, and
moistened with water, before it is fit for plaiting. Lace
is also made in this county, but not nearly so much as
before steam was employed in weaving it.*
The Great Ouse, which is the chief river, flows very
slowly and has a very winding course. From Turvey to
St Neot’s, the distance, in a straight line, is nineteen
miles; but following the borders of the stream it is
seventy. In wet weather it overflows its banks, making
the pastures on each side rich and fertile.
The chief town upon its banks is Bedford. About 300
years ago a gentleman left some ground in Holborn, Lon-
don, for the support of a school in Bedford, to teach the
children grammar and good manners. London grew large,
and this ground was wanted for houses, and let for a great
deal of money. It is now worth £16,000 per annum.
This money maintains a grammar school for boys, who
hope. to be learned men; a commercial school for those
who expect to be business men; a national school for boys
and girls, and also an. infant school. Then £20 is given
as a marriage portion to each poor maiden; £20 or £15 to
good boys or girls going out as apprentices; and £10 when
the years of their apprenticeship are over. Besides this,
there are fifty-six almshouses for the aged and needy,
and about £500 given away every year to the poor.
How little did the gentleman, who left this piece of land,
imagine that 300 years afterwards it would be of such
good to the town.
But the most interesting thing I can tell you about Bed-
ford is, that it is the place where the good John Bunyan
* Page 188,
BEDFORDSHIRE. 163
lived, who wrote the “ Pilgrim’s Progress.†He was a poor
man, the son of a brazier or tinker. By God’s grace, his
heart was changed, and he became very anxious to do
good. He was made the pastor of a little chapel in Bed-
ford; but was persecuted for his religion, partly for preach-
ing out of doors, and was thrown into prison. Here he
wrote that wonderful book, which, next to the Bible, has,
I believe, been more read than any other.
I will tell you a short story about John Bunyan’s im-
prisonment. His conduct was so good, that his jailer
often allowed him to go and see his friends. His perse-
cutors hearing of this, sent an officer to search the. prison
in the middle of the night. That night, John Bunyan
was at home; but he could not sleep, so he got up, telling
his wife, that though the jailer said he might remain till
morning, he could not. The jailer blamed him for coming
in the middle of the night; but very early in the morning
the officer arrived.
« Are all the prisoners safe?†he inquired. |
Yes.â€
“Ts John Bunyan safe?â€
« Yes.â€
‘Let me see him.â€
He was called and appeared. When the officer was
gone, the jailer said to Bunyan, “Well, you may go in
and out again just when you think proper, for you know
when to return better than I can tell you.â€
Bunyan’s own pilgrimage was a very long one. He
was more than ninety years old when the messenger was
sent to summon him across death’s cold river to the hea-
venly city. In the chapel vestry are shown his chair, and
Fox’s “ Book of Martyrs,†which he used to read. Do you
remember where Fox was born ?*
* Page 154.
164 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
Another excellent man was born near Bedford, John
Howard, called the Philanthropist, because he loved his
fellow-men so much, that he spent all his life and fortune
in doing them good. He particularly visited prisoners in
jails, who were at that time very badly treated, and sought
to relieve them. -For this purpose, he travelled through
most of the countries of Europe, and at length died, in the
South of Russia, away from all earthly friends, but we
cannot doubt that God was with him.
In the west of Bedfordshire is Woburn, and near to, it
stands Woburn Abbey, the beautiful seat of the Duke of
Bedford. Here is a model farm, and everything is done
-to improve the tenantry, their houses, and the land. In
the Park grows the largest oak tree in England.* It is
ninety feet high. In the south of the county, are Dun-
stable and Luton; towns famous for straw-plaiting and
lace-making. +
On the river Ivel is Biggleswade. Here a ploughman
once dug up a yellow pot, in which were 300 gold coins,
of the reign of Henry VI., and at another time, some
labourers, striking upon something hard, found it was a
large helmet, farther down they discovered arms, then a
shield, then the skeleton and armour of a horse. After-
wards several other skeletons were found, all standing
upright, so it is supposed that in some war, soldiers had
been thus buried in a horrible pitfall; i
There are many beautiful parks in Bedfordshire ;§ but
these we must leave, as it would not do for us to linger
like the slow and winding Ouse, in this pretty little
county.
* Page 157. + Page 187,
t Page 68. § Pages 99, 136,
HUNTINGDONSHIRE. 165
HUNTINGDONSHIRE.
On leaving Bedfordshire, the Ouse flows through a
still smaller county—Huntingdonshire. Formerly, there
were a great many forests here, in which was much
hunting; and from this the little county derived its
name. There are hardly any woods now; but the land
is ploughed and sown, or used as meadows. The corn
is not very good; but the meadows along the banks
of. the Ouse are amongst the richest in old England.
Mustard-seed and hemp are also grown.* In the north of
the county we find ourselves among watery fens once
more. In one part there is quite a lake, called Whittle-
sea-mere. It is much smaller since the land was drained
but still it abounds with wild water-fowl++ Sailing there
is very pleasant; though the scenery cannot be compared
with that of the beautiful lakes of Westmoreland and
Cumberland. Huntingdonshire, besides being noted for
its wild birds, is famous for its numerous tame pigeons.
Though there is much water—ponds, drains, rivers—there
are very few wells; and thus it is difficult to procure good
clear drinking water. On the banks of the Ouse, where it
enters Huntingdon from Bedford, is St Neot’s, named after
a brother of King Alfred. Here a quantity of paper is
made. Paper is made from all kinds of cotton and linen
rags. They are boiled in strong acids, to take out all
the dirt or dye. A powerful wheel then tears them to
shreds, and reduces them to a pulp.. This pulp, passing
through many waters, at last becomes so thin, that it
resembles milk or cream more than anything else. It
then passes along a sieve, through which the watery part
falls. After this the more solid particles are pressed
between hot rollers, and in a very short time, a roll of
* Pages 37, 158, + Page 148,
166 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
paper as long as a web of calico is thrown out, or more
probably paper cut by machinery, the required length.
‘Writing paper is made in smaller moulds. There are not
enough rags to supply the need of paper; and much of
the commoner kind is made from straw. Bank notes are
made of new linen. Brown paper is made of old ropes.
In the west of the county, is Kimbolton, near which
v NIE
AIL NS hi
Kimbolton Castle,
stands the castle belonging to the Duke of Manchester,
Here lived the unfurtunate Catherine of Arragon, the first
wife of Henry VIII. Where was she buried ?
Further down the Ouse, is Huntingdon; and opposite to
it is Godmanchester. The farmers here have a custom,
which is, if the sovereign passes by, to attend him with
ploughs, ornamented with the smaller implements of hus-
bandry, and drawn by their best horses. They cannot,
however, keep up this old custom, when the royal train
CAMBRIDGESHIRE. 167
rushes onward, conveying, at a rapid rate, our dear Queen
Victoria to her northern home.
Huntingdon was the birthplace of Oliver Cromwell.
When his mother became a widow, he helped her in tak-
ing charge of a brewery ; and is therefore sometimes called
“The Brewer of Huntingdon.†He became Protector of
England, when Charles I. was dethroned.
Passing farther down the Ouse, you will see St Ives, a
small town, where there is a very large sheep and cattle-
market.* Perhaps you have heard the old-fashioned
riddle about St Ives. If not, guess it :—
** As I was going to St Ives,
I met a man and seven wives;
Each wife had seven sacks ;
Each sack had seven cats ;
Each cat had seven kits.
Kits, cats, sacks, and wives.
How many were there going to St Ives ?â€
In the north of the county, is Stilton; where the famous
cheeses were first sold, which are made from the milk of
the cows, that feed in the beautiful pastures of —what
counties ?+
Now you have to remember about the paper-making,
and Oliver Cromwell, and all the towns on the Great Ouse,
and to find out the riddle concerning St Ives.
So now away;
Enough for to-day.
CAMBRIDGESHIRE.
I HAVE a great deal to tell you to-day about Cambridge-
shire, so I must have quick eyes and listening ears for at
least half an hour.
* Pages 115, 154. + Pages 141, 146.
168 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
First, through the eyes, find the names of all its sur-
rounding counties. There is a much greater diversity
in the appearance of Cambridgeshire than in that- of the
counties of which I have lately told you. You observe
the Ouse flows across its centre. The land between it and
the Nene, in the north, is called the Isle of Ely. This is
quite a fen country.* Towns and villages are built on
the few elevated spots, and look like islands rising from
the low marshes. As in Lincolnshire, the church-steeples
are seen from a great distance. In the north-east of the
county, where the marshes are partly salt from the sea-
water of the Wash, wheat grows luxuriantly; the only
drawback is, that a flood frequently rises, and washes it
all away.f I suppose the farmers there must learn both
to cut corn and “make hay when the sun shines.â€
There are beautiful meadows along the banks of the
Ouse and the Cam, so this district is quite a dairy one.
At one place, remarkably good cream-cheeses are made,
and much of the butter there churned is sold in London,
the dairymaids often make it in long rolls, and instead
of being sold by the pound it is sold by the inch or the
yard, In the Isle of Ely, and near Wisbeach, a great deal
of mustard is grown.{ In the south of the county the
land is much higher than in the north, and not so fertile.
Here is the low range of the Gog-Magog Hills. Standing
on them, you may see thirty-three churches, the principal
one being Ely Cathedral.
How alee to see, in a country which God has made
so fair, so many houses for our heavenly Father’s worship.§
“ Behold yon spires, which upwards rear
Their venerable head ;
* Pages 148, 150, 158, 165. + Pages 152, 158, 160.
+ Pages 37, 165. § Pages 73, 89.
CAMBRIDGESHIRE. 169
The point aspiring to the stars,
The base among the dead.
“ This indicates the life of those
Whom grace divine inflames;
In earth old Adam seeks repose,
At heaven the New Man aims.â€
In these high and chalky districts are large heaths and
commons, where numbers of sheep feed.*
The chief and most celebrated town in the county is
Cambridge, built on each side of the River Cam, with
several bridges spanning the river. It is situated low, and
when people first arrive they are disappointed with the
appearance of the town; but as they go from place to
place, and see the churches, halls, colleges, and the number
of students, in their gowns and caps, then they are able to
suppose that Cambridge may be one of the chief universi-
ties in the world. The professors, or lecturers, at the uni-
versities, are generally very clever men. The students call
them “dons.†The Cambridge men excel in mathematics.
Every year there is a great examination. The young men
who give the best answers are called “ Wranglers,†and he
who excels all the rest is the Senior Wrangler. The de-
voted missionary, Henry Martyn, who worked so hard for
Christ in India, was Senior Wrangler in the year of his
examination. Many celebrated men have studied hard at
Cambridge. In the garden of one college, is the mulberry
tree said to have been planted by Milton, one of England’s
greatest poets. Sir Isaac Newton and Lord Bacon, two
of her greatest philosophers; Pitt, one of her greatest
statesmen; Wilberforce, one of her greatest philanthro-
pists,t were students here. So also were Bilney, Cran-
mer, Latimer, and Ridley,} of the noble band of reformers ;
George Herbert, who, long ago, wrote sweet sacred poems ;
* Pages 15, 37, 77. + Page 54. “t Page 19.
170 DEAR OLD ENGLAND,
John Elliot, Noble, and Ragland, missionaries ; Bishop
Hall;* the Milners;+ and many others, wise in winning
souls to Christ, and learned in human wisdom.
In St Mary’s Church, Charles Simeon preached for
many years, and was the means of sending many faithful
pastors through the length and breadth of dear old England.
There are seventeen colleges and halls in Cambridge,
the largest of which are Trinity and St John’s. Many of
Te
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Os il L.
Trinity College.
the buildings are very beautiful, especially King’s College
Chapel. The windows and turrets outside are very much
admired. The great wonder, however, is the beautiful and
lofty stone ceiling, the breadth of which is fifteen yards, the
length about one hundred, and the height about twenty-six.
* Page 145. + Page 68.
CAMBRIDGESHIRE. 171
You can hardly fancy an apartment so high. Yet the stone
ceiling covered with beautiful tracery is thrown across, and
there is not one pillar to support it. It cannot be copied, for
no architect has discovered the way in which it was built.
Cambridge has been visited by two of our English
queens, Queen Elizabeth and Queen Victoria. When
Elizabeth was there, she made a Latin speech to all the
clever men, which pleased them very much.* Our own
Queen went when her husband, the Prince Consort, was
installed as Chancellor, a position in the college of the
highest honour, and to which he was elected or chosen by
the members of the university.
In the market-place at Cambridge is a conduit, which
was made, in the reign of Charles II., at the expense of
Hobson, the celebrated carrier. He was the first person
who let horses, and whoever hired them was obliged to
take that which was nearest the door, so that each animal
might have its turn of labour and of rest. From this cir-
cumstance arose the phrase of “taking Hobson’s choice,â€
which means that we must either take a thing or do
without it.
Before we leave Cambridge, I must tell you a very
curious story of a woman buried in the snow whilst tra-
velling between Cambridge and Trumpington.f She had
been riding, but her horse ran away from her, and in vain
she tried to catch it. Weary and exhausted, she at length
sat down to rest on the ground, The snow falling thickly,
and drifting also, gathered round, so that it soon buried
her. The next morning she observed a hole covered with
thin ice, and through this she thrust, as a signal of distress,
a stick, at the end of which was her handkerchief. This,
however, made her very cold, because it let in the outer
air. Being Sunday she could hear the church- bells
* Page 128. + Pages 15, 31, 78.
172 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
ringing, and even the conversation of the people who were
passing. She had enough light in the middle of the day
to read an almanack that had been in her pocket. She
was not hungry, only thirsty, and she satisfied her thirst
by sucking the snow. At last the snow began to melt,
and the hole in her prison grew larger. She tried to get
out, but was too weak. Another Sunday came, the eighth
day of her imprisonment. Then she was discovered; but
when taken out of the snow, she fainted. Her feet were
dreadfully frost-bitten, and she lost all her toes. For some
time she seemed gradually to get better; but again she
grew worse, and died the following September.
East of Cambridge, and principally in Suffolk, in a flat
uninteresting country, is Newmarket, where noted horse-
races are held, and horses trained. In its neighbourhood
are the seats of many gentlemen.
On the Ouse is Ely, with its grand old cathedral, and
three towers, seen from afar. It was, probably, begun in
the reign of the Plantagenet kings. In the neighbourhood
of Ely are curious water-plants and water-birds.* The
rivers are very full of fish, especially eels, from which the
town has, probably, received its name. King Canute hav-
ing heard, on the mainland, the monks at Ely chant, visited
them, crossing the morass in a little boat. This morass is
now solid ground, over which the railroad passes.t This
district is called, by the people, the rough country. As in
Lincolnshire, a great deal of the waste land is reclaimed;
but before the ground can be tilled, the peat surface must
be pared off. The peat, after being cut, is stacked and
used as fuel.
A few years ago, the Little Ouse, which, coming from
Norfolk, joins the Great Ouse, burst its banks, a little to
the north of Ely. The flood did not entirely subside till
* Pages 148, 165. + Page 88.
CAMBRIDGESHIRE. 173
the end of the following year; but it left behind it, instead
of desolation, so rich a soil that the farmers were able to
sow wheat over the whole land, and the following autumn
the 30,000 acres waved like one vast sheet of golden corn,
Before the drainage-works, floods used to be very fre-
quent. The people call the Ouse the “ Bailiff of Bedford,â€
and in wet weather there was frequently a seizure of cor
and cattle. ‘
Wisbeach, in the north of the county, is a well-built
town. It stands on the River Nene, which you remember
flows through—what county? Vessels of a considerable
size can now ascend the river to Wisbeach, so there is here
a good deal of trade. Clarkson, who laboured with Wil-
berforce to set free every slave under British dominion, was
born here.
Is there not a great deal to think about in Cambridge-
shire? Another day, I hope there will be a review of the
four last counties. They are almost entirely agricultural,
that is, the people are employed in the culture of their -
fields, not in manufactures.
Northampton, Bedford, Huntingdon, and Cambridge,
might be reviewed, by tracing the courses of the rivers on
a slate, or writing in an exercise-book all the places
of interest on the Nene and its branches, and on the
Ouse, and its branches. Then might be written a list of
all the noticeable objects, such as shoemakers making
strong shoes; women plaiting bonnet straw; dairy-maids
churning butter; students walking in caps and gowns, &c.,
Another column might contain a list of all the celebrated
men, connected in any way with these counties, which, as
they include Cambridge, would be considerable.
174 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
NORFOLK.—Parr I.
Ir you look at the map, and find Norfolk, you will ob-
serve that we reach again the wide, wide sea; that we
to-day shall talk about a county which is washed, both on
the north and east by its ever restless waves. Don’t you
love the beautiful blue sea? And when you try to mea-
sure how wide are its waters and how countless are its
sands, do they not remind us, “God’s love is a sea, im-
mensely wide,†and that His mercies are as numerous as
the sand on the sea-shore,
Norfolk is the fourth largest county in England. Which
counties are larger? It is not a pretty county; for it is
generally plain, without hills and valleys, and wanting the
richness which woodlands always give to a landscape.*
Still, we should find some pretty spots, and the coast
scenery on the north-east, where the sea washes chalky
and crumbling cliffs, cannot fail to be interesting.
Another pleasing thing to see, is the capital and good
farming practised{ In the north-east of the county
the soil is light and sandy; some years ago it was covered
only with sheep-walks. It was found, however, that be-
neath it lay a richer kind of earth, called marl; this was
dug up and spread out, and now there are fields full of
golden grain. All kinds of grain are grown, but that which
grows best is barley. This is generally made into malt for
brewing. Do you know how malt is made?
The barley is first steeped in water till it begins to
sprout, then it is put on a kiln-stove, heated with coke or
wood, and left there till dry. This is malt. When brew-
ing commences, the malt is mashed, and warm water
poured over it. After standing a few hours, the liquor
* Page 4, + Pages 146, 148,
ES = ee
NORFOLK, 175
called wort is drawn off. This is afterwards boiled with
hops.
Rape-seed is also grown in this county, as well as in
Cambridgeshire. From this an oil is extracted, used in
manufacturing woollen goods.
A great many sheep and cattle are fed and fattened.*
The poultry-yards are very famous. I daresay you have
heard of Norfolk turkeys, amongst which there is much
slaughter at Christmas time. They are the largest tur-
keys in England, and sometimes weigh between 30 Ibs.
and 40 lbs.
not black-cock and grouse (where are they found?) but
beautiful pheasants and partridges Off its coast, the
waters of the sea supply plenty of fish, especially mackerel
and herring. These are small fish that come in large
shoals, hundreds of thousands of them being caught in one
night.
Though there are no metals, clay for bricks, sand for
glass, and potters’ earth for pottery, are found in different
parts. Several things are manufactured, chiefly woollen
fabrics, such as poplins, baréges, mousseline-de-laine, soft
and thin black dresses and crapes; also, mohair yarn, which,
after being spun, is sent to France, and there woven into
the plush that is generally used in liveries. There are,
also, cotton factories, but, still, we cannot say that the
manufactories of Norfolk at all rival those of Yorkshire
and Lancashire. In this county is the little village of
Worsted, which gave its name to.the yarn so well known.
Norfolk is indebted for its worsted factories to the Flem-
ings, who came over in the reign of Edward III. Many
more arrived in the time of Queen Elizabeth, who were
poor persecuted Protestants, glad to find, in dear old Eng-
land, a land to shelter them from their enemies; to this
* Pages 8, 23, 37, 148, 167. + Page 8
176 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
day, Norfolk and Suffolk are reckoned the most Protestant
parts of England.
Do you remember what part of Yorkshire suffers from
the constant encroachments of the sea? In the same way
Norfolk is losing a portion of its coast; ships now sailing
over ground where villages once stood; but, as in York-
shire so in Norfolk, what is lost is recovered. ‘There for-
merly was a considerable arm of the sea, extending to Nor-
wich, and now there is only a narrow river, whilst from
the Wash, many acres have been saved for agriculture.*
The lakes and pools and expanses of water in Norfolk
are called “Broads.†Here, as in Lincolnshire, quanti-
ties of wild geese and other fowl are caught, principally by
“decoys.†From the swamps, ditches are cut, called
pipes; they have hoops over them, covered with netting.
To entice the wild fowl up these pipes, tame ones are edu-
cated. They know the way, and, as they have always been
kindly treated, are not afraid to go. They seem to per-
suade their visitors, who quickened, perhaps, by the bark-
ing of a little dog behind them, readily follow, and fall
into the draw-net at theend. The tame duck is soon set
free, whilst the rest are kept prisoners, speedily executed,
and sent up as dainties to the London market. Take
care, lest you sometimes meet decoys of another kind to
lead you astray.
I will now tell you two stories about Norfolk sailor-
- boys, the one to amuse and the other to instruct you.
Copy the one, and you will do well; do not copy the
other, or you will surely fall.
* Pages 36, 55. + Pages 148, 165, 172,
NORFOLK, 177
TWO STORIES OF TWO NORFOLK SAILOR-BOYS.
Story I.
In the city of Norwich is a beautiful cathedral with a
spire 315 feet (how many yards?) high. One Sunday in
July, many years ago, a sailor-boy, about thirteen years old,
obtained leave to go into the tower. From the tower he
clambered to the spire, and ascended inside of it till he
reached the highest window. Here he crept outside.
Upwards, upwards he went, scrambling from crocket to
crocket, though each of these was more than a yard distant
from the other. At length he gained the summit, and
having walked twice round a narrow ledge, he amused
himself with twirling the weather-cock. Crowds of people
watched from below, trembling lest his foot should slip,
and he should be dashed to pieces. Foolish child! thus
to imperil his life. At length he begins to descend ; from
crocket to crocket he lowers himself in safety. Again he
enters the little window, and reaches the ground without
any injury. How kind was God’s care over that thought-
less youth, but what aching hearts his conduct must have
caused. I hope his poor mother was not standing in the
crowd,
Story IT.
John’s father was dead, and his mother was a poor
widow, who found it difficult to support him; so John set
off to Yarmouth, to seek for a situation as cabin boy. He
went to several captains. “You are too small, young’un,â€
said one. ‘Enough without you,†said another, “Ido
want one,†said a third; “but I never take boy or man
without a character.†John looked sad, How could he
prove that he was a good boy? A wise thought struck
M
178 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
him. He pulled out his pocket Bible; on the first leaf
of which was written, ‘“ John M. , given as a reward
for diligence and good conduct at his Sabbath-school.â€
The captain looked pleased, ‘‘ Yes, my boy, this will do,â€
he said; “I would rather have this character than any
other.â€
The ship was bound for St Petersburgh ; but on the way
a terrible storm arose. The sailors all thought they should
be lost. John took out his Bible; knelt down and read the
60th and 61st Psalms, the captain and men kneeling around
him.
The storm ceased, and at last the ship reached St Peters-
burgh. One day, John went on shore; he saw many smart
ladies and gentlemen in sledges, which are carriages with-
out wheels, that slide over the snow and ice. A bracelet
fell from a lady’s arm; he picked it up, but the lady was
out of sight,
He brought it to the captain, who said, “Why, Jack,
your fortune is made; these are diamonds. I will sell
them for you when we get home.â€
“No,†said John; “they belong to the lady; and if we
should have a storm at sea, captain, what would become
of us.â€
The captain then said he would try and find out the
lady; this he did, and she gave John a large sum of
money.
With this, the captain bought furs for the honest boy,
which he sold in England for twice as much; and John
with his money and a happy heart went home.
The cottage was shut up; the mother gone. John
trembled, lest she should be dead; but a neighbour said,
“She is in the workhouse.â€
‘Was not her good son happy to bring his mother out, to
take her again to her dear cottage home, to make her. once
NORFOLK. 179
more comfortable, and to leave her money, that she might
not be again hungry ?
John was afterwards mate of the ship in which he had
been once the little cabin-boy.
NQRFOLK.—Part IT.
To-pay for the towns and remarkable places of Norfolk,
First, we will follow the Little Ouse. Thetford is a very
ancient town, having been a British city before the time of
the Romans. Not far from it, is Kenninghall, where the
British Queen Boadicea held her court. Farther on, is
Downham, called Sandy Downham; because, about 200
years ago, there was a great flood of sand covering a quan-
tity of the ground.*
Now we inust stop, for the last time, on the shores of
the Wash, and describe the last place of interest in the
great fen country. This is Lynn Regis, or King’s Lynn,
situated on the Ouse, about twelve miles from the sea.
Three hundred ships could ride in its harbour; but the tide
rises so rapidly and so high—twenty feet—that it is not
reckoned a very pleasant anchorage. It is, however, a
considerable place of commerce, being connected with the
centre of England by canals and rivers, Corn, fine sand
for glass, and great quantities of shrimps, are sent from
this town. The inhabitants continued very faithful to
King John; so he gave the mayor a large silver cup and
sword,+ It received its regal name from. King Henry
VIII, who took possession of it, instead of the bishop of
Norwich.
North-east of Lynn, is the village of Castle Rising, It
was a seaport, when Lynn was only a marsh. It is a very
ancient place, and has a fine old church and castle. Near
* Pages 152, 158, 160, 168, 173. + Page 151,
180 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
this is Sandringham Hall, the seat of the Prince and
Princess of Wales.
Following the northern coast, is Wells, a small sea-
port, near which is Holkham Hall, the princely seat of the
Earl of Leicester. It is built of a curious light-coloured
brick, There is a central building, with an open court,
and four wings, each having an open court likewise in its
centre. Here lived the gentleman, Mr Coke, who thought
of the plan of converting the barren parts of Norfolk
into fruitful land* He was afterwards made Earl of
Leicester.
Farther along the coast, is Cromer, a very pleasant sea- .
bathing place. The inhabitants are chiefly fishermen.
The bay is very dangerous, and life-boats are always at
hand, to help in case of shipwreck. .A seaman from this
‘village, called Bacon, discovered, in the reign of King
Henry IY., the icy and yet fiery island of Iceland.
Almost all the Norfolk rivers, excepting those going to
the Wash, flow towards the Yare, which enters the sea
between Norfolk and Suffolk; so we will follow their sepa-
rate courses, till we reach Yarmouth.
First, we will follow the Wensum, which flows from the
north, in a south-east direction. Fakenham, on its banks,
is a flourishing market-town, which has this peculiar privi-
lege, that none of its inhabitants need serve on juries. If
you do not know what juries are, ask some one to tell you.
Near this town are some very handsome seats belonging to
different noblemen. One, Houghton Hall, was built by Sir
Robert Walpole, and belonged to him and his celebrated
son Horace. These were famous statesmen, in the reigns
of George I. and II.
On a branch of the Wensum, is East Dereham, where
Cowper, the poet of sweet Christian spirit, is buried.
* Page 174.
NORFOLK. 181
Following the course of the Wensum, at its junction
with the Yare, stands Norwich, a large cathedral town, or
city. An old writer has described it, “a city-in an orchard,
or an orchard in a city; so equally are houses and trees
blended in it.†Notwithstanding this pretty: description,
which is still appropriate, there are narrow and dirty
streets in Norwich. The great beauty of the town is
its handsome cathedral. Do you remember how high
Norwich,
the spire is?* The view is taken from Household HiL,
not a high one, but almost the only one in the county.
In the reign of Edward VI. it became the scene of a
great rebellion, headed by Kett, a tanner. For seven
weeks the rebels encamped on this hill, breaking down
* Pages 153, 154.
182 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
all the surrounding fences, and laying hands on such
numbers of deer, and sheep, and cattle, that in their camp
a fat sheep was sold for 4d. There was, at last, a battle
with the king’s troops, in which the rebels were quite
defeated. The ringleaders were all hung; Kett, on the
top of Norwich Castle; and his brother at the top of the
church steeple at Wymondham, at which place they had
lived. Norwich has suffered much from fightings and
quarrellings. At one time, there was a terrible warfare
between the monks and the townspeople. The cathedral
was commenced in the reign of William Rufus. The in-
terior is even more beautiful than the exterior. There is
avery handsome stone roof, containing more than 300
figures from Bible history.* Besides the cathedral, there
are forty churches; one of them has almost the best
chime of bells in England, twelve in number. In the
picture, you will see in the distance Norwich Castle.
This was built in the time of the Saxons. The more
modern buildings are chapels, and infirmaries, and
hospitals. Do you observe that castles for warfare are
almost all ancient buildings; and infirmaries for the
sick, modern? How much better is it to save life than to
destroy it!
Amongst good and famous people born at Norwich,
was Archbishop Parker, a very learned and pious man,
who lived in the reign of Elizabeth; also, Dr Samuel
Clarke, a dissenter, of whom the same character may be
given.
At Norwich, there are about 14,000 looms employed
in weaving all kinds of fabric-—silk, cotton, but chiefly
woollen. Much of it is sent abroad.
There is no remarkable place along the higher part of
the Yare, and though there are many large villages south
* Page 170. + Pages 49, 91-93, 141.
NORFOLK. 183
of Norwich, I will not tell their names, for I am sure
you would forget them. The country is so beautifully
cultivated, that it is quite like a large garden, whilst the
cottages look very pretty with woodbine and roses. You
would also be struck by the number of windmills. In
this neighbourhood is the little village, Aslacton, where
the great reformer, Archbishop Cranmer, was born. He
was cruelly burned alive at Oxford, in Queen Mary’s
reign.*
We now reach the borders of Suffolk, and will follow
the northern bank of the Waveney. The first town of
note is Diss, built on a small lake, abounding with eels, +
and in which is found a curious fish called the chafer,
which has only three scales, The people here are em-
ployed in breweries, or in making coarse cloth or stock-
ings. Then we pass Harleston, where waterproof cloth is
made, and at the mouth of the river, we find Yarmouth,
the largest seaport in the county. Here Lord Nelson, the
victor of the great sea-battle at Trafalgar, and Sir Astley
Cooper, a very celebrated surgeon, were born. Yarmouth
is built on a narrow strip of land between the river and
the sea, which 900 years ago was under water.{ It has
been likened to a gridiron; five long streets going from
north to south, and 156 narrow alleys crossing it from
east to west. Some are so narrow that if your arms are
stretched out, you would touch each side with the tips
of your fingers, whilst in others the projecting houses meet
abuve, and form a sort of tunnel below. There is a good
harbour at. Yarmouth, the best quay in England, and two
good piers. Yarmouth is very celehrated for its herring
fisheries. Yarmouth bloaters, as the salted fish are called,
are sent to all parts of England, and also abroad. At
this one port, during the season, one hundred ton weight
* Pages 9, 27, 106, 169. + Page 172. t Pages 36, 176.
184 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
are caught nightly. In the charter of the town, it is re-
quired that 100 herrings be sent every year to the sheriffs
of Norwich, who are to make them into twenty-four pies,
for presentation to the king.
‘There is a high column erected to the memory of Lord
Nelson, who was born in Norfolk. Besides other hospi-
tals and asylums, there is one for lunatic soldiers, The
old parish church is a very handsome building—com-
menced in the reign of Henry I. In it is a painted win-
dow to the memory of Sarah Martin. This excellent
woman, though a humble dressmaker, was able to do-
much for her Saviour’s sake. She was born at Caistor,
near Yarmouth, once a Roman encampment. Though she
had to earn her own livelihood, yet for thirty-two years
she constantly visited the workhouse and jail, cheering
the poor by telling of Him, who for their sakes had
nowhere to lay His head, and endeavouring to lead the
criminal to Him, who came to seek and save the lost.
The Yare, before it reaches Yarmouth, expands into a
wide sheet of water, which, at high tide, looks quite like a
‘Yake. It is here that it receives the Bure from the north.
Close to Yarmouth, running along the shore, are the
“Deres,†great sand-banks, on which are built “Look-
outs.†These are square wooden rooms on the top of poles,
to which you ascend by a staircase, and where you have a
good view of the Roads and all the ships. These sand-
banks are constantly changing their shape. The sand, as
well as the sea, helps to destroy places on the coast.
village called Eccles has thus disappeared; all that now
remains of it being the church tower, whose body is com-
pletely buried in the sand.
Yarmouth Roads consist of a passage of deep water be-
tween the shore and a ridge of sand-banks, which do not
SUFFOLK. 185
rise to a level with the water. Moored on the sand-banks
are light-ships, that is, ships with lights, to warn off
mariners. The great rolling waves break upon these
banks, and thus, the water nearer the shore is sufficiently
smooth for ships to ride at anchor even in stormy weather.
Now enough about Norfolk, where farms, and factories,
and fisheries all flourish.
SUFFOLK.—Part I.
To-DAY we reach another maritime, or sea-shore county.
It lies south of Norfolk. This part of England was once
called East Anglia; then the people, who lived on the
northern division, were called North-folk, and those in the
south, South-folk; and so the counties received their
names. Suffolk is not quite so flat as Norfolk. There
are many rivers in this county, with sufficient water for
boats to pass, which near their mouths generally widen
to form little arms of the sea. Off the coast, a great many
fish are found, mackerel and sprats being more abundant
than they are farther north.* Fresh-water fish are also
numerous; such as tench, pike, carp.t
As an agricultural county, Suffolk stands very high.
The land is well and carefully farmed, and the people are
very willing to try new improvements for reaping, plough-
ing, or threshing. t
It has been said, “that it is cultivated the best, most
ably, most carefully, most skilfully, of any piece of land in
the whole world.†Neither you nor I know if this be true,
as we have not been over the world. It is also said to be
a county of very industrious and virtuous people, and “its
towns are all cleanliness, neatness, and good order.†The
parishes in Suffulk are small, and there are many good
* Pages 8, 175. + Pages 63, 172, 183. + Page 174.
186 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
pastors to teach the people the fear of God, which we
know is the beginning of all wisdom and happiness,
On most of “the Suffolk farms all kinds of very good
grain, turnips, and hemp are grown. There are also dairy
farms, where both butter and Bees aremade. The cheese
has the name of “Suffolk thump,†and is said to be the
worst in England. Suffolk cows, horses, and pigs, are all
famous, and there are plenty of rabbits, turkeys, and
pigeons, so, like most of the eastern counties, it supplies
the wants of the larder.*
There are few manufactories ; the most interesting are
those for making machines and tao to assist the agrioule
turist. Ipswich is famous for its stay-making, and at a
few of the other towns silks and stuffs are woven. There
are no valuable metals, but there are large beds of shell-
mazl, or petrified shells. Many fossils are found in Suffolk.
The formation of the eastern shore of England is not nearly
so old as that of the western parts, so the fossils are of a
much more recent date than those found west of the line
we once drew between Devon and Durham.t
Two rivers flow north-west through Suffolk, and join
the Little Ouse. These are the Linnet and the Larke, the
names of two of our sweetest song-birds. On the Larke
stands Bury-St-Edmunds. This is a very old town, with
fine old churches; here still stands the gateway of what
was once a famous abbey. Very long ago, when the
Saxons and Danes used to fight, Edmund, King of East
Anglia, was killed. The legend says, that the body was
beheaded, and the head thrown into a wood, where a
wolf guarded it. This wonderfully good animal gave it
up to some monks, who, having found the body, were
searching for the head. They soon placed the two to-
gether, when to their great astonishment they re-united.
* Pages 8, 23, 37, 141, 148, 157, 175. + Pages 58, 69.
SUFFOLK. 187
Wonderful things continually happening at the grave,
they removed the coffin to this place, where was built
a large church, and the town received the name of Bury-
St-Edmunds, being more commonly called Bury. Bury
has excellent schools, and is reckoned one of the healthiest
towns in England. Near it are some handsome country
seats.
In the extreme north-west of the county is Fakenham,
the birthplace of Robert Bloomfield, who wrote a very
pretty poem, “The Farmer’s Boy.†He was once a plough-
boy himself.
Following the Waveney on the Suffolk or southern bank,
we find Palgrave, where ‘“‘ Honest Tom Marign,†the anti-
quary, was buried, and where Mrs Barbauld had a school.
Perhaps you may have learnt some of Mrs Barbauld’s
pretty prose hymns. There is one which says, “God made
the elephant and the great whale, and the little worm that
crawleth on the ground.†The country near this is very
pretty. In a rich district, full of large farm-houses and
beautifully tidy cottages, lies Eye, a neat town, with a
good church and the ruins of an old abbey.
Farther down is Bungay, with an old castle and nunnery,
and at last the Waveney reaches—what estuary, or the
wide mouth, of what river ?
A few miles along its coast, is a very curious old Roman
castle, called Burgh. The walls, which are partly stand-
ing, are very strong. It is supposed to have been built
A.D. 49, which was at the very time that the Apostles Paul,
Peter, and John, were alive. Now we come to Lowestoft,
_ a pleasant town, situated on the most eastern point of all
England. It is older than Yarmouth, and there has
always been a rivalry between these towns. It ig an
excellent bathing-place, with a hard sandy beach.
Following the coast, and passing several fishing villages,
188 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
we reach Dunwich, now a small village of only twenty
houses, but once a very important place, and a bishopric.
At that time there was a wood standing, which ex-
tended a mile and a half between the town and the sea;
but its trees have long been laid beneath the ocean. On-
ward, onward came the waves, piece by piece the cliffs
fell, and churches, monasteries, houses, and fields ‘have all
been swept away.*
Farther south, between the river Ald and the sea, is
Aldborough. Here, likewise, the sea has been stealing
houses and streets. Sandbanks have, however, been
thrown up to prevent further inroads, and many new
houses have been built, as it has become quite a favourite
place for bathing.t Crabbe the poet was born here.
Farther inland, near the source of the Ore, is Framling-
ham. Here are the remains of what has been a magnifi-
cent castle, where the Dukes of Norfolk used to live.
When good Edward VI. died, Queen Mary remained here
till it was safe for her to go to London to be crowned. At
the month of the Ore is Orford, and here, also, there are
the ruins of an old castle, which is a landmark for the -
sailors and fishermen skirting this coast.
The next river with a broad mouth is the Deben. At
the point where it widens, is Woodbridge, a small com-
mercial town, prettily situated. Here, as in several other
neighbouring places, the churches are built of dark flint
interspersed with light freestone.
The next river is the Gipping, flowing through rather
pretty scenery, and passing many gentlemen's seats. On
it is Stow-Market, near to which hops are cultivated, and
where several acres of land are used for growing roses and
dahlias. Passing Needham, once famous for manufactur-
ing coarse woollen cloths, now a mere village, you find, in
* Pages 55, 176. + Pages 21, 55, 57, 58, 98, 180,
SUFFOLK, 189
the neighbourhood, Helmingham, with its fine old hall,
surrounded by a wide moat full of water, and two draw-
bridges, which are still raised every night.*
To-morrow, dear children, we must have a short chapter
about Ipswich, and, I hope, an interesting story about
Hadleigh, and then, leaving the coast of England, we will
follow a large river in the west.
SUFFOLK.—Part IT.
Do you remember the name of the river we last followed ?
At Ipswich it widens much, forming one of the Broads,
and is then called the Orwell. Ipswich is an ancient
town; many of the houses are built of wood and plaster.
Much of the wood is curiously carved, and the gable ends
of the houses face the street, which makes them look, in
a drawing at least, much prettier than a straight frontage.
Ipswich is a good-sized town, about half the size of
Norwich. It is both manufacturing and commercial.
Formerly, broad cloth was’ made here. We still have
the names of Linsey and Kerseymere, from two villages
in Suffolk, Most of these manufactures have, however,
travelled into Yorkshire.t Stays and silk, malt and
artificial stone, and manure from the coprolite, a kind of
fossil, in which there is much lime, are made here; and
also there is what seems strange in a county where there
is neither coal nor iron, a great iron foundry to make
agricultural implements.§ What do these hard words
mean? Ploughs, harrows, rakes, spades, and machines for
thrashing or cutting corn and other things. There are
1000 people employed at this foundry. Ipswich used to
have a great many churches; now there are thirteen.
* Pages 9, 15. + Pages 74, 106.
t Page 38. § Pages 114, 185.
190 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
Cardinal Wolsey, a proud and ambitious man, who lived
in the time of Henry VIII, was born here. When he
came to die, he said, “Had I served my God as faithfully
as I have served my king, He would not have forsaken
me now.†How miserable to discover this too late!
On the Stour, which separates Suffolk from Essex,
stands Sudbury, a neat, clean place. Here the Flemish
weavers, whom Edward III. brought over, were received
very kindly, and it was long famous for woollen cloth.*
Now, the chief manufacture is silk or crape. You must
remember, however, that, compared with the great manu-
facturing towns of Yorkshire and Lancashire, this, and many
other places I have mentioned, are merely villages.
On the Brett, a branch of the Stour, is Hadleigh, with
many curious old houses, ornamented with carved wood,
and rude figures. At the time of the Reformation, Had-
leigh was one of the first towns in England that received
the Word of God.
At that time, there lived here a worthy rector, Dr Row-
land Taylor. In Queen Mary’s time he was condemned to
be burned, because of his love for the Bible. He had been
tried in London, and sentenced to be executed on Aldham
Common. He was obliged to pass through Hadleigh
as a prisoner, escorted by the sheriff and queen’s officers.
The people all stood sorrowful and dismayed watching him,
and crying, “There goes our good shepherd; what shall we
scattered lambs do? O merciful God, strengthen him and
comfort him.†At the bridge, a poor man with five little
children met him. They fell down upon their knees, and
said, “O dear father and good shepherd, Dr Taylor, God
help and succour thee as thou hast many a time succoured
me and my poor children.â€
Coming to the almshouses, he gave money to the poor
* Page 175.
.
_——
SUFFOLK. 191
people who stood there, and, at the last cottage, not seeing
the inhabitants, he said, “Are the blind man and blind
woman that dwelt here alive?†“ Yes, they are within,â€
was the answer; und then he threw in at the window his
glove filled with money.
When he reached the common, and uncovered his head,
the people, seeing his dear face and long white beard, wept
again and prayed, “ God save thee, good Dr Taylor; Jesus
Christ strengthen thee and help thee; the Holy Ghost
Dr Taylor's Martyrdom.
comfort thee!†When the good man tried to speak, the
guard thrust a staff into his mouth. At last, with a loud
voice, he said, “ Good people, I have taught you nothing
but God’s holy word; and those lessons that I have taken
192 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
out of God’s ‘blessed book, the Holy Bible, and I have
come hither this day to seal it with my blood.†Then
one of the guard gave his head a great blow with a cudgel.
Afterwards he went to the stake and kissed it, and
stepped into the tar-barrel in which he was to stand.
His hands were folded, his eyes looked towards heaven,
and he seemed to pray. He was then fastened with
chains, and the sheriff said to a butcher, “Set up the
fagots.†The butcher answered, “I am lame, sir, I can-
not.†The sheriff threatened, “Do, or I send you to
prison.†But he would not. Others, however, did so;
and soon the flames burnt. One man most cruelly cast a
fagot at him, which broke his face, so that the blood ran
down. Good Dr Taylor meekly said, “O friend, I have
harm enough. What needed that?†His last words were,
“Merciful Father of heaven, for Jesus Christ my Sa-
viour’s sake, receive my soul into Thy hands!â€
On Aldham Common is a stone on which is roughly en-
graved, “1555, Dr Taylor, in defending that was good, at
this plas left his blude.†When you thus hear of one of
the noble army of martyrs, thank God for the faith they
had, and determine—
‘*We won't give up the Bible,
We'll shout it far and wide,
Until the echo shall be heard
Beyond the rolling tide ;
Till all shall know that we, though young,
Withstand Rome’s treacherous art,
And that from God’s own sacred Word,
We'll never, never part.â€
I need not tell you of any other remarkable place on the
Suffolk side of the Stour; though, another day, you shall
hear of a large fort on the Essex shore of the river.
In reviewing Norfolk and Suffolk, each child might have
SHROPSHIRE, 193
apportioned to him a particular river, a little narrative of
the course of which he must either write or give verbally.
Or the teacher might draw a diagram of the two counties
with their rivers, leaving the children to give the names of
the streams, and of the different towns on their banks.
This might be made very interesting, by imagining that
they are all setting out on an excursion, and marking, by
a dotted line, their progress from one place to another.
Elder children might afterwards write the description of
their imaginary tour.
SHROPSHIRE.
To-payY we shall commence quite another district in Eng-
land. We will follow the course of the Severn, and the
rivers that flow into it. The Severn is the largest river in
England. It rises in Wales, and the first English county
through which it passes, is Shropshire, or Salop. What
counties border Salop? You see, we are not far from our
old friends, Cheshire and Staffordshire. Two other Eng-
lish counties, Hereford and Worcester, touch it; and on
the west there are three counties of Wales. The north
of the county is generally flat; but in other parts, there
are considerable hills, the principal being the Wrekin.
There are many dingles, deep hollows between hills. The
soil of the county is generally of a reddish cast, as the old
and new red sandstone prevail.* There is also another
kind of rock, the Silurian, very full of the fossils of shell-
fish, but without those of any creature that has a back-
bone.. In the east of the county, coal and iron are found
as they are in Staffordshire; and there are great iron-
works in a beautiful valley called Coalbrook Dale. It is
curious to see iron manufactories in the midst of the beauties
* Pages 60, 65, 186.
N
194 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
of nature; to hear the noise of the hammer, with the soft
murmuring of the brook; and to see the grimy chimney
rise above the luxuriant foliage. Across the Severn, in
this neighbourhood, was built the first iron bridge that was
made in England. Do you remember what river, in the
north of England, the second iron bridge spanned? This,
too, was the first place in our land, where coke, (burnt
coal,) instead of charcoal, (burnt wood,) was used for smelt-
ing iron. This discovery was of great consequence, as coke
answers much better, and England is much richer in coal
than in wood, Also in the neighbourhood of Coalbrook
Dale, the first wooden railway was made, about 200 years
ago.*
The people in Shropshire are variously employed ; some
in mining; some in manufactures, especially in iron works;
and a great many in agriculture. In this county was born
and lived Old Parr, the oldest man that we read of in Eng-
land. He was born in the reign of Edward IV., and died
in that of Charles I., aged nearly 153 years. The names
of Jones, Williams, and Davis become very common here,
as they are all over Wales.
Some of the old Roman roads, or streets as they are
called, remain very visible in Shropshire,t and lately
there have been found, not far from Shrewsbury, at Wroxe-
ter, considerable remains of an ancient Roman city, called
Uriconium, The houses, the bath-rooms, the roads, the
market-place, have all been traced; and even the worn-out
stone that led to the latter, and the gutters on the sides of
the road, Hidden amongst the flues, under a bath-room,
was found the skeleton of an old man, who must have taken
refuge there, when the city was destroyed; and beside him
lay a quantity of Romancoins. In a dust-heap, the sweep-
ings of ancient drawing-rooms were found, hairpins, buckles,
* Pages 83, 87. + Pages 88, 148,
SHROPSHIRE. 198
needles, and coins, probably handled once by Roman
dames. An inscription discovered on a stamp shows
how, ages ago, people pretended, as they do now, to cure
all diseases. The translation is “The dialebarium of
Tiberius Claudius, the physician, for all complaints of the
eyes, to be used with egg.†This city was inhabited
nearly 2000 years ago by people, then full of life and
spirits as we are, but now passed away. Does not this:
fact teach us all the lesson, that here “we have no abiding
city,†therefore seek a home without foundations, whose
builder and maker is God!
In the north of the county are several small lakes,
called meres, full of fish.* The Severn was formerly
famous for salmon; but there are not nearly so many
now.t On one of these meres is the thriving little
town of Ellesmere, In a park near it, are some of the
finest elm trees in England. Not far distant, and very
near the borders of Wales, is Oswestry, a place noted in
early English history. Here, in the time of the Saxon
heptarchy, more than 1200 years ago, was fought a great
battle between Oswald, the Christian king of Northumbria,
and Perda, the Pagan king of Mercia. The Pagans gained
the victory, and poor Oswald lost his life} In Shropshire
are many border fortresses, similar to those we heard of in
Northumberland. Can you think why we might expect to
find them here ?
The first place of consequence, on the banks of the
Severn, is Shrewsbury, the chief and county town of Shrop-
shire. It has a great trade in Welsh flannels and cloths,
brought from the neighbouring counties of Wales. Shrews-
bury is also famous for its cakes, and for brawn.
Many of the houses of Shrewsbury look pretty in a
picture. Being very old, beams of timber cross the plaster-
* Pages 63, 183. + Page 8. } Page 10.
196 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
work, and gables point the streets.* There are several
churches, covered with ivy, and the ruins of an old abbey,
the stone pulpit of which is now in the midst of a garden.
The old castle was built in the time of William I., who
gave the men of Shrewsbury certain privileges, on con-
dition that twelve of them should watch around the cham-
ber of the king when he slept in that city, and attend
‘him armed when he hunted in the neighbourhood.
Near Shrewsbury is Battlefield. Can any one remem-
ber between whom a battle was there fought? If not,
look back to the county of Northumberland. On the road
to Battlefield is a very old oak, which it is said Glen-
dower climbed to see the battle. It is quite hollow now;
six people can stand inside of it. At the bottom, it is
nearly fifteen yards round. t
Instead of following the Severn, let us follow the Shrews-
bury and Birmingham railway, and we soon reach Welling-
ton. This is almost like one of the “ Black country†towns,
so full is it of iron-works and nailers.[ Near it is the Wre-
kin, a pleasant hill, with a beautiful view. Large pleasure
parties often come here, out of the busy crowded towns,
to enjoy the clear fresh air. In a due east direction, pass-
ing Shiffnall, and other-small but busy towns, there stands,
on the borders of Staffordshire, Boscobel Wood, celebrated
as the hiding-place of King Charles II. I dare say you
have heard of
The 29th of May,
The Royal-Oak day,
which commemorates the young King Charles’ escape from
his enemies, after the battle of Worcester. He was hid-
den in one of the oak trees, whilst some of Cromwell’s
coldiers passed below. The king had been placed by his
faithful friend, the owner of Boscobel House, under the
* Pages 106, 189. + Page 157. t Page 114.
SHROPSHIRE. 197
charge of three brothers, who lived at a farm, called the
White Ladies. They promised to take care of him; and
that he might not be discovered, they cut off his long hair,
smeared his face with soot from the chimney, and changed
his smart buff-coat and royal ornaments, for a country-
man’s coarse garments. This, however, was not enough.
When the rebels were near, the king took refuge in the
wood. In the famous oak, he and three of his friends
stayed for a night and day; and so tired was the poor
king, that he laid his head on the knee of one of his com-
panions, and slept soundly. The brothers afterwards ven-
tured to hide him in a secret room in the cottage. There
were often rooms without any visible entry built in the
massive walls of old houses.
Returning again to the Severn, and following its course,
we reach Coalbrook Dale, with its iron-works and iron
bridge. The towns belonging to it are called Madeley
Market, and Iron Bridge. On the opposite side of the
Tiver, on a hill, is Broseley, noted for its glazed tobacco-
pipes and fire-bricks.
Further down on both sides of the river is Bridgnorth,
built on steep hills . The higher part of the town is
reached by steps, cut out of the rock, and guarded by an
iron rail* Once, the town had rows like Chester, and
there are still the ruins of castles where kings have often,
lodged. The chief manufacture is that of carpets. Here
is the church where good Richard Baxter began his minis-
try.
In the west of the county are, Church Stretton, where
flannel is made;} Bishop’s Castle and Clun, on the little
river Cluno, and several other small towns, In these
places, on market days especially, you would meet num-
bers of Welsh people, talking quite a different language to
* Pages 43, 92. + Page 92,
198 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
ours. Near the meeting of the Cluno and Teine is a hill
fort, called Caer Caradoc, or the castle of Caractacus,
where that brave Briton long resisted the power of the
Romans.
In the south of the county, at the junction of the Corve
and the Teme, stands Ludlow, a town of some trade, and
famous for its old castle, now in ruins. It was formerly
inhabited by the princes of Wales. The unfortunate young
Edward V. was proclaimed here, and Henry VII. prepared
it for the residence of his son Arthur, the elder brother of
Henry VIIL., who died here quite young. The great poet
Milton wrote a play, which was first acted in this castle;
and, could its now deserted walls speak, no doubt they
might tell many a story of feasting and of fighting. The
town of Ludlow is still surrounded by walls, through
which are seven gate-ways.
Now I think I have told you enough of Shropshire, It
is a pleasant county, though not remarkable for its scenery ;
and it is a useful county, though not full of manufactories
like Staffordshire or Lancashire. Historically it is an in-
teresting county from the time of the Romans, and their
great station of Uriconium, down to that of King Charles
and the oak at Boscobel.
To-morrow we must, with the Severn, pass southwards
through the pretty county of Worcester.
WORCESTERSHIRE. —Paarr I.
WE shall read to-day about a pretty fertile county of dear
old England, with beautiful rivers wandering through its
valleys, and green hills in the south-west, with fine fresh
air and very lovely views.
How many counties touch Worcester? From what
WORCESTERSHIRE. 199
county does the Severn pass into it? From which does
the Avon? From which would you enter it, if travelling
from the north, the south, the east, the west ?
The Severn has not in Worcester the hilly banks that it
has in many parts of Shropshire. It runs for thirty miles
through a valley, sometimes a quarter of a mile and some-
times a mile wide. All kinds of pleasant things grow in
this county, not only golden-eared corn and bright green
grass, but hops, twisted prettily round tall poles, and covered
with elegant green flowers,* and apple and pear trees,
laden in spring with their pink and white blossoms, and
in autumn with their glowing fruits. There are, also, fields
of pease and vetches, and sweet-scented beans and excel-
lent carrots. The mistletoe grows on the apple-boughs,
looking green when everything else is brown. Most of
the apples and pears are made into cider and perry.
Worcestershire is particularly famous for its perry, which
is probably the reason why three pears are borne in the
arms of the city of Worcester.
In the extreme north of the county, Worcester touches
the black country, Dudley being partly in Worcestershire.
What two minerals do you expect to find here?
Nearer the centre are some famous salt-springs. The
Malvern Hills extend about ten miles from north to south,
between Worcester and Herefordshire. The highest of them
is about 1400 feet high, How many yards is that ina
perpendicular line?
Carpets, needles, porcelain, gloves, and many other
things, are manufactured in this county, of which I hope
to tell you more as we reach the various towns,
Formerly there used to be so many salmon in the Severn,
that the apprentices bargained not to have it for their
dinners more than twice a week. I suppose, however,
* Pages 136, 188.
200 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
salmon do not like manufactories; for they have, in a
great measure, disappeared.
And now, having given you an idea of the county, we
must begin to find out all its busy or pleasant towns, fol-
lowing the Severn and its various branches. As the river
leaves Shropshire, it passes Bewdley, which means Beau-
Lieu, or Fine Place; it is very prettily situated. Here
SEPA) We
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Augustine and the British Bishops under the Tree.
as at Ludlow, Henry VII. built a palace for his son Arthur.
In this neighbourhood stood a famous tree, called Augus-
tine’s Oak, Augustine was the missionary Pope Gregory
sent to England; but long before his time there had been
many Christians among the ancient British.* Augustine
and his friends were very proud, and wished to rule the
good British bishops. The British, not liking their pro-
posals, delayed to give the Italian missionaries an answer
* Pages 10, 57,
WORCESTERSHIRE, 201
till their next meeting, which was fixed to be under the
oak tree. On their way the British bishops consulted a
very wise and pious hermit.
He answered, “If Augustine be a man of God, follow
him.â€
“ How shall we know that?†they inquired.
The Hermit answered, ‘Our Lord was meek and lowly
of heart. If Augustine be so, he has learned of him; but
if he be stern and proud, he is not of God.â€
“ How shall we prove this?†they again asked.
“Let him arrive first at the meeting,†said the hermit.
“Tf he rise to greet you, receive him as meek and lowly;
but if he despise you, who are so many more in number,
his counsel must be rejected.â€
Augustine remained seated, his manner was very haughty,
and the British bishops did not yield to him. It is sad to
think that these good men were all slain shortly after; and
the Romish bishops introduced many superstitious practices,
Now look on the borders of Warwickshire, and you will
see, on the Stour, Stourbridge. Itis a busy, smoky town,
with glass and fire-brick works.* Its fire-clay is in great
request, as it is well suited for glass-house pots and cru-
cibles, which must bear very strong heat.
Further down the Stour is Kidderminster, famous for its
Brussels carpets.t The carpets called Kidderminster are
made in Scotland, whilst most of those sold in England,
under the name of Brussels, are made here, and very good
carpets they are.
Three miles below Kidderminster, where the Stour joins
the Severn, is Stourport, a small manufacturing town.
Numbers of canal or river boats come up the Severn to
.. this port, with pig iron from South Wales, or china clay
from Cornwall, or other materials for the many manufactur-
* Pages 20, 29, 96, 118, 197. + Pages 38, 50, 197.
202 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
ing towns around.* Many of the boatmen make the boats
their houses, and live month after month in them, with
their wives and children. How would you like to have
your house on the water, continually moving from place to
place, up and down the Severn and the canals adjoining ?
The Severn is not a clear river. It looks sandy, owing to
much of its course being through soft sandstone.
On the Salwarp, a branch of the Severn, is Bromsgrove,
a town where you may see some of the curious old wooden
houses, ornamented with black and white stripes. Here
the workmen are engaged, making buttons, nails, and
hooks.f A little to the east of this, is Redditch, a small
place, but the produce of which, it is likely that almost
every little girl has used. About 70,000,000 of needles
are made every week at or near Redditch.
Needles pass through many hands and many processes
before they are fit for use. The square bit of steel has to
be heated and beaten into a cylindrical form, and then
that must be pulled out, until the wire is as fine as neces-
sary. This is cut into proper lengths, and each length is
flattened at one end to make the head and eye. The
needles are again put into the fire to soften, and then the.
eyes are pierced with a little punch, another punch taking
away the tiny crumb of steel left in the eye. Thecorners
have then to be rounded off, the point of the needle
made by means of a file, and the whole smoothed. “It is
surely done now,†you think. No, it has to be made red
hot, and then thrown into cold water to harden it, Again
it is heated and straightened, as it is frequently twisted by
the cold water. All that now remains is the polishing ;
12,000 or 15,000 needles are placed on buckram in a heap.
Emery and olive oil are sprinkled over them. The needles,
emery, and oil are rolled up in the buckram, over which is
* Pages 54, 152. + Pages 117, 119.
WORCESTERSHIRE. 203
placed a thick plank, laden with stones, which two men
work constantly backwards and forwards for one or two
days. Then they are washed with soap and water, wiped
with hot bran, and swung about in a box till dry. After-
wards they are sorted, their points polished with an emery
stone, and at last they are packed up in papers.
Below Bromsgrove, on the Salwarp, is Droitwich. What,
from the name, Sante you expect to find here? If you
say salt, you are right, as a great deal of very good salt is
procured from salt springs. If you remember what I told
you in Cheshire, you will now be able to tell me, by what
means?* Droitwich is a very old town, where several
coins and pieces of Roman pavement have been found.
Besides churches and schools, there is an hospital for
- thirty-six old men and women.
Still following the course of the Severn, we reach Wor-
cester, the chief town of the county; but I think, for one
day, you have plenty to think about. Augustine’s oak
and the Severn, canal boats, Redditch mete Droitwich
salt, and, ele else? To-morrow for Worcester and its
pretty porcelain.
WORCESTERSHIRE.—Panrrt II.
We will commence where we left off, at Worcester, an
ancient and well-built town on the Severn. The Cathe-
dral is the most important object. The walls are externally
plain, but it is large, and there is a handsome tower 200
feet high. In it are the tombs of King John,} and Prince
Arthur, Henry VII’s son.§ King John begged to be
buried between two bishops, whom he regarded as very
holy, thinking that if he were in such good company, the
* Page 101. + Page 194.
+ Pages 16, 189, 151, 179. § Pages 198, 200,
204 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
evil spirits would not seize him. I dare say you can think
of a verse of Scripture which shows how foolish was the
thought of this wicked king. St Andrew’s church in Wor-
cester has a very beautiful spire, which is almost more ad-
mired than the tower of the Cathedral. I must tell you
about a boat made into a church floating on the Severn. A
very good clergyman, observing thenumbers of river boatmen
who never went to a place of worship, had a boat-church
made, where he preached every Sunday, and was’ the
means of doing much good. The old boat-church is worn
out now; but an iron church near the river is built instead.
Worcester is much celebrated for its very fine china or
porcelain, which is not excelled in any country.*
years since a beautiful dessert service was made for the
Queen, costing between £3000 and £4000. Each plate
cost ten guineas, and the dishes for grapes, bon-bons,
cakes, &c., were far more expensive. Several women and
some children are employed. At Worcester, Dent’s kid
gloves are made, and the town is likewise famous for the
manufacture of hair-cloth, vinegar, pickles,and British
wines. Close to this town was fought the famous battle
in which Charles II. was beaten by the Parliamentary
forces, and obliged to fly. Then it was that he took
shelter, as I have told you, in Boscobel oak tree.
A little below Worcester, the Teme from the west joins
the Severn. Of what town on the Teme have you already
heard? The only town in Worcestershire that it passes is
Tenbury, a small place. Here there are mineral springs,
and also a good deal of trade in cider and perry. These
are much taken by the labouring people instead of beer and
spirits, and are less intoxicating.
Further down the Severn, but at a little distance to the
west, are the Malvern Hills, on both sides very beautiful,
* Pages 110, 138,
WORCESTERSHIRE. 205
but sloping more gently to the west than to the east.
The air here is so fresh, and the water so exceedingly
pure, that a village on the hills, Great Malvern, has be-
come a favourite watering-place, and grown into a very
picturesque town, where many invalids seek to recover
strength, There the little children greatly enjoy riding on
donkeys amongst the fresh green hills. There is an ex-
cellent college for boys, and a beautiful old church. On
the Severn is Upton, whence a great deal of cider is
shipped for various places.
The Severn, on reaching Gloucestershire, is joined by
the Avon, which, if you remember, rises in Northampton-
shire, very near a river (name it) that runs north-east to
the Wash. In following the Avon through Warwickshire,
we passed the old town where Shakespeare lived, and now
I must tell you something of the beautiful valley through
which it runs in Worcestershire. It is a very fertile dis-
trict of old England. The chief town in it is Evesham,
standing on a little hill, which the winding Avon nearly
surrounds, Most of the inhabitants are gardeners, sup-
plying the markets of the neighbouring towns with all
kinds of fruit and vegetables.* Others make stockings ;
and, formerly, a great many. women used to sew the Wor-
cester gloves, which, however, are now generally made by
machinery. Parchment is also made here. This is a ma-
terial for writing upon much stronger than paper, and used
for documents required to be kept a long time. It is
made from the skins of animals.
There are some fine old churches, and the ruins of an
abbey, which was once one of the greatest in England ;
very little besides the tower now remains.f Near Eves-
ham was fought, in the reign of Henry III, a very bloody
battle. The barons, headed by Simon de Montford, Earl
of Leicester, fought on one side; and Prince Edward,
* Page 161. t Page 43.
206 DEAR OLD ENGLAND,
his father, the king, being a prisoner in Montford’s hands,
fought on the other. The barons fought for their liberties, .
because Henry was not only a very foolish king, but he re-
fused to keep the promises that both he and King John had
made. During the battle, this weak king was in danger of
being slain by his son’s soldiers; but he cried out, “ Hold
your hand, I am Harry of Winchester.†When the brave
Prince Edward heard that, he fought his way to his father
and rescued him. De Montford and his son, both of whom
were brave and noble, were killed. The royalists, who
gained the victory, gave no quarter. The barons’ party
fled about a mile and a half, where hundreds were slain.
Some took refuge in woods, and lived but lawless lives.*
There is still a puddle at the bottom of an orchard called
Battlewell, which, itis said, was choked with dead bodies.
How many places in dear fair England are stained with
the remembrance of civil wars! {+ We should pray that
God may never allow another; but that He will keep our
good Queen Victoria reigning righteously all her days,
and preserve our dear fellow-countrymen from disobeying
her just laws.
Another gardening town on the Avon is Pershore. It
has this name, on account of the many pear-trees that
srow here.
I have nothing more, particularly interesting, to tell you
about Worcestershire ; but I should like you to draw me
a little map, of the course of the Severn, as it passes
through Shropshire and ‘Worcester, putting in the branches
of the Stour, the Salwarp, the Teme, and the Avon. Then
try and mark the towns on or near these streams, putting
a red dot for those where battles have been fought; a
black one for towns, where there are manufactories ; and
a green one where the chief business is in garden produce,
or apples and pears. When this has been nicely done, we
* Pages 102, 186. { Pages 9, 45, 124, 158, 181.
GLOUCESTERSHIRE. 297
will follow farther still the Severn, and find in Gloucester-
shire old castles and busy towns, about which, I think,
you will like to hear.
GLOUCESTERSHIRE.—Parr I.
AGAIN I must tell you about a county, beautiful and
pleasant, full of green pastures and fruit-bearing trees.*
Look on the map, and tell me all the seven counties that
touch Gloucester. Though chiefly inland, it may be classed.
among the maritime counties of England, as the mouth of
the Severn forms quite an arm of the sea; and Gloucester,
a few miles up the river, is a port with considerable trade.
The county is generally divided into three parts; first,
the hill, or Cotswold, district; secondly, the valley dis-
trict; and thirdly, the forest district. Wold is an old
English word for mountain; and cote is from the sheep-
cotes; so the word shows that sheep used to graze on
these hills; great numbers do so still; I believe about
600,000.+ Amongst the mountains are many beautiful
valleys, with clear streams running through them. The
great Thames rises on the side of a hill, near Cheltenham.
Below a rock, covered with bright green trees, are seen
seven little springs, clear as crystal, never failing in sum-
mer, and never frozen in winter. Their waters soon unite,
and start brightly and merrily on their onward course—
destined to carry on their bosom the greatest ships of the
world. I always think the source of a river is very like a
little child; and perhaps you will find out why. The hill
district of Gloucester extends from Chippen-Campden in
the north-east, to Bath, in Somersetshire.
Between the hills and the Severn lies the valley district,
comprising the south side of the beautiful valley of Eves-
* Page 199, + Pages 15, 42, 77, 157, 169.
208 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
ham; the vale of Gloucester, one of the largest in England ;
and the valley of Berkeley.** The last is very beautiful,
with its rich green grass, on which many cattle feed; its
wide river, and rising and falling tide; and the beautiful
beech woods clothing the sides of the hills. In this dis-
trict, the famous Gloucester cheeses are made, which are
reckoned almost as good as those of Cheshire.
The forest district is on the western bank of the Severn.
It receives this name from the Forest of Dean, which was
a royal forest twenty miles long. Its oaks were so famous
for shipping, that the officers of the Spanish Armada had
special orders to burn the forest. It is much smaller now,
as the country has become more cultivated. Here, how-
ever, the stag is still found wild. Some of the trees are
very fine; one chestnut had in the hollow of it a pretty
wainscoted room, furnished with seats, and lighted with
little windows. Would you not like to have a tea-drink-
ing there? Another chestnut was said to have been
planted in the days of the Saxon Egbert, and measured
seventeen yards round. There was an elm eighty feet
hight Beneath the Forest of Dean, are extensive coal-
mines. Iron is also found. When the Romans lived in
Britain, they obtained most of their iron from this district;
and, in the time of the Saxons, Gloucester was the chief
town in England for iron manufactures. It is curious that
manufacturing districts, as well as persons and goods,
should move from place to place.{
Now, the manufacturers of Gloucestershire are chiefly
engaged in making broadcloth.§ In a beautiful valley, in
the east of Gloucester, called the Vale of Stroud, most of
their manufactories are erected. Here, too, is a famous
place for making pins, of which I shall hereafter tell you,
* Page 36. + Pages 186, 157, 164, 196.
t Pages 19, 38,109, 141,175, 189. § Page 49.
. GLOUCESTERSHIRE. 209
There have been celebrated people born in this county,
and, I'am sorry to say, fierce battles fought, and kings
and princes cruelly murdered. As we mark the different
places, I must tell you some of these sad tales.
On the borders of Gloucester and Worcester, near to the
confluence of the Avon and Severn, is Tewkesbury. It
has one of the largest abbey churches in all England.*
Part of its beautiful carving has been copied in the new
and splendid Victoria Tower of the Parliament Houses in
London. Outside the town is a green smiling meadow,
‘where the wild flowers now hide themselves amongst the
grass. It bears, however, the horrible name of the “ Bloody
Meadow,†because about 400 years ago, it was dyed red
with the blood of Englishmen. It was the last of those
grievous battles that the Lancastrians fought against the
Yorkists. Queen Margaret and her son, the brave young
Prince Edward, were taken prisoners.| When brought.
before Edward IV., the latter was asked how he durst so
presumptuously enter the realm with banner displayed ?
He boldly answered: “To recover my father’s kingdom
and heritage, from his father and grandfather to him,
and from him, after him, to me, lineally descended.â€
Though in his mother’s presence the coward king struck
him on the face with his gauntlet, and his cruel uncles
and two other men stabbed the defenceless prince to death.
Prince Edward and many nobles who fought in that battle
are buried in Tewkesbury church.
To the west of Tewkesbury, at the foot of the Cotswold
Hills, is Winchcombe. Near it is Sudeley castle, where
Catherine Parr, the queen who lived to be the widow of
Henry VIII, dwelt with her second husband.t
To the south-west of this, on the Chelt, a very small
stream running towards the Severn, is Cheltenham, a fa-
* Pages 19, 54, 82, 205. + Page 19. t Page 83.
0
210 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
mous watering-place* It is a large and beautifully built
town, with very elegant villas, terraces, and crescents.
Amongst these buildings, trees and gardens are continually
mingled, the trees almost embowering the streets, and
shading the passengers on the hot summer days. It is
not a hundred and fifty years since the springs which have
made it famous were.discovered. It is said that a flock
of pigeons first found out their virtues. Good King
George III. came to visit it with his court. This brought
it into so much notice, that out of little more than a vil-
lage, the beautiful modern town sprang up. There are now
several churches, a college for educating boys, many schools,
libraries, and charitable institutions. There is no trade in
the town, so the people have not the busy appearance of
those in London and other large places. Cheltenham is
on a plain, nearly surrounded by hills; and many pretty
villages, with their old church towers or spires, stud the
country. Amongst the prettiest of these is Leckhampton.
Its church stands at the foot of the hill, on the other side
of which the mighty Thames has its source. At Witcomb,
a short distance from Cheltenham, were found, some years
since, the remains of a Roman villa, with large bath-rooms
and other remnants of the past.t Throughout Gloucester-
shire, there are frequent remains of the Romans, for it was
one of the frontier parts of England, where they defended
themselves against the inhabitants of South Wales.t To-
morrow, I hope to tell you more of this pretty, fertile
county.
GLOUCESTERSHIRE.—Part II,
RETURNING to the banks of the Severn, you will see
Gloucester, the county town, marked on the map.
* Pages 123, 205. + Page 194, 203. t+ Pages 19, 68, 106, 198.
GLOUCESTERSHIRE. 211
A mile above this city the Severn divides, and forms an
island, where in the time of the Danes and Saxons, there
was a famous single combat between Edmund Ironside and
Canute the Great. They both fought very hard, but, as
neither gained the victory, they agreed to divide the king-
dom between them.*
Gloucester is a very ancient city; the four principal
streets, forming a cross, are called Northgate, Southgate,
Eastgate, Westgate. There are many curious old houses
with strange carvings. In the reign of Charles I., the
city was besieged by the king’s party, but, after a steady
defence, was preserved by the arrival of some London
soldiers, who had marched through great danger to its
rescue. When they arrived, there was but one barrel of
powder left. On the Southgate, there is carved, in re-
membrance of this deliverance, these words, “A city
assaulted by man, but saved by God.†The cathedral is
a very handsome building, but you shall hear the account
of it from a little boy, ce when seven years old, was
taken to see it.
“T went one day on a little tour to see a grand cathe-
dral in Gloucester. It had hardly any walls, for it was
covered with windows. I went in, I saw a beautiful
monument in a large kind of hall, (the nave,) supported
by pillars. It was the monument of the man who thought
of the vaccination. I saw a great many monuments, of
which I shall tell you all about. There was a pretty one;
it was a lady rising out of the water of the sea, who
had been buried in the sea with her baby in her arms,
The text that was written below was, ‘The sea shall give
up her dead.’ There was one monument of a large family,
the father and mother, and nine sons and seven daughters.
There was the tomb of Robert Duke of Normandy, and
* Page 155.
212 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
his figure, which was laid at the top, cut out of bog oak.
He had spurs on his feet. Then I saw the tomb of Edward
IL., who was so cruelly murdered in a castle. Then we went
up-stairs to a gallery, called the Whispering Gallery. A
man went through a long passage into another gallery,
where he whispered to us. After I answered him, I went
through this long dark passage, for it was very dark; then
I whispered to my aunt, and she came through. We went-
down and saw more curious things. Then, outside of the
cathedral, there was a gentleman called Bishop Hooper,
burnt for loving Jesus, and he would not give up the
Bible. It was in the Roman Catholic time. I think it
was a very wicked thing of them to burn him.â€
And so will you think, dear children, especially when
you know-that he was a most. pious excellent man, and,
by God’s grace, was able to meet death with joy, though
the manner of it was so cruel. He suffered much from the
slowness with which the flame burned, as the fagots were
green, and the high wind kept it from rising. During
three-quarters of an hour, the flames slowly consumed
his limbs; but amidst all his, agony his prayers were
simply “ Lord Jesus, have mercy on me,†several times
repeated; and his last words were those of the martyr
Stephen of old, “ Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.†*
I must now write for you a verse written on the Whis-
pering Gallery that the little boy mentioned :—
“ Doubt not but God, who sits on high,
Thy secret prayers can hear,
When a dead wall thus cunningly
Conveys soft whispers to the ear.â€
In Gloucester was born George Whitfield, who, about
one hundred years ago, was a very famous preacher. He
* Page 190.
GLOUCESTERSHIRE. 213
was the means of leading many people to care for their
souls, and to seek salvation through Jesus.
There are not now many manufactories of consequence
in Gloucester. It was once famous for its pins, but these
are now made at Stroud. It is, however, a busy commer-
cial town; a great deal of corn and timber being brought
from America, and iron, salt, and coal being exported.*
The coal comes from the Forest of Dean on the western
bank of the Severn, and the salt—from what town in
Worcestershire? The timber-yards are amongst the most
extensive in England. Here were made the huts for
our weather-beaten soldiers in the Crimea. Ships do not
reach Gloucester by the river Severn, as they reach ‘Lon-
don by the Thames, but by a broad and deep canal; for
the Severn, though the longest, is not the most useful
river of England, having near its mouth many shoals and
windings, The tide rises in it very suddenly,t and
making a loud noise, rolls onward four or five feet above
the level of the river. This is called the Bore, and is
dangerous when there are floods.
Some miles below Gloucester, the Severn receives the
Stroud: water. It flows through the beautiful.valley I
have mentioned, where there are many factories for making
cloth. The water of the Stroud is reckoned particularly
good for fixing the dye of scarlet. Here, also, solid
headed pins are made entirely by machinery ; one machine
making forty or fifty pins a minute. Where pins are not
made in this manner, each passes through the hands of
about eight persons. First, there is the drawing out of
the wire; then the straightening of it, then the cutting
of it in proper lengths, then the grinding of the points,
then the making of the heads, then the whitening of the
wire, and, lastly, the polishing of it in bran, Pins are
* Pages 54, 96, 105, t Page 179.
214 DEAR OLD ENGLAND,
made of brass, and whitened by being boiled in a mixture
of tinfoil and port wine lees. Black pins are made of iron
wire.
The Valley of Stroud,
Still descending the Severn, which is now become a
very wide river, we reach the town and castle of Berke-
ley. You have, no doubt, heard of Berkeley Castle,
the place where the unfortunate but weak-minded Edward
II. was most horribly murdered.* It is said, the Bishop
of Hereford, at the desire of Queen Isabella, wrote to the
keeper of the castle the following words :
‘* Edward the king kill not to fear is good.â€
He purposely put no stop, so that he might say he meant
it to be read either way, though he knew the keeper
would understand what he meant. The poor unhappy
Edward's screams were heard in the town, so that an old
* Pages 51, 137.
GLOUCESTERSHIRE. 215
historian writes, “ Divers in the castle and town of Berke-
ley being awakened thereby, as they themselves confessed,
prayed heartily to God, to receive his soul.†How fright-
ful are the sins which quarrelling causes. The castle still
stands almost as it stood then, and, like Warwick* or Aln-
wick, is a fine specimen of the ancient castles of England.
In Berkeley vicarage was born the famous Dr Jenner, “ the
man who thought of the vaccination.†Perhaps you have
on your arm a mark made by the doctor when you were a
very little baby, to put in some matter, which gave you a
complaint which will probably prevent you from taking the
small-pox. That this matter should have such an effect
was discovered by Dr Jenner, who was thus permitted by
God to confer an immense benefit on the human race,
as small-pox, without vaccination, is one of the worst and
most fatal diseases, Still further down the Severn is
Thornbury, an ancient town with a castle; and in the
very south of the county is the large city of Bristol.
As it is situated partly in Somersetshire, I shall tell you
of it when we reach that county. In the Forest of Dean,
there are few towns, but several scattered villages inhabited
by miners.
On the other side of the Cotswold Hills, in the bean of
the Thames, that is, on the slope whose waters all find
their way to the Thames, is Cirencester, called Cicester.
It has a very beautiful church, a college for teaching farm-
ing, and near it have been found several ancient remains—of
what people? Guess, from the name of the place. Here
are made woollen cloths and carpets, and it is famous for
curriers’ knives. We must now leave Gloucester, for want
of space, though I could tell many more legends and tales
of its old castles and towns. To-morrow we will follow
the banks of the Wye in beautiful Herefordshire.
* A disastrous fire in December 1871, has destroyed a great portion of
Warwick Castle,
216 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
This county might be reviewed by making a list of the
towns, and telling the children to put before their names
all the characteristic adjectives of which they can think,
Thus, “Tewkesbury,†“ancient, historical, picturesque,
most northern.†Or, they might write under the name of
a place whatever they could see on visiting it. Thus,
“Gloucester,†“cathedral, Severn, Dr Jenner's monument,
whispering gallery, ships, canal, timber yards,†&c. Or,
the map proposed for Shropshire and Worcester might be
continued, and the green, red, and black dots again re-
spectively marked.
HEREFORDSHIRE.
You will see a small county in the west of England, lying
between Worcester and Wales, called Herefordshire. The
adjective we may well put before it, is fruitful, for it is
almost like a large garden, full of apple and pear trees.
Here are, as in Worcestershire, large hop-gardens; and
where pasture land is seen, you would be delighted with
the beautiful sheep and cattle that are grazing. The banks
of the rivers are celebrated for their beauty; hill and dale
are mingled, and the woodlands contain fine trees ; so that
Hereford might claim another adjective ?—picturesque, or
what I daresay the little ones have already guessed—beau-
tiful, There is an old country rhyme, saying—
m ‘Blessed is the eye
Between Severn and Wye.†.
Now, the chief produce for which this little county is
famous is cider from the orchards,* hops from the gardens, t
and wool from the sheeps’ backs;{ and some people say,
that Herefordshire cider, hops, and wool are the best that
can be procured in England. So, surely, it is a county little
and good. The sweetest apples are not chosen for cider-mak-
* Page 199. + Pages 136, 188, 199. + Page 141.
HEREFORDSHIRE, 217
ing, but those that for eating we should think the worst, the
hardest and the most sour. When gathered, they are laid
in a heap, to ripen more fully. As soon as ripe, they are
broken in a mill, a large stone being rolled over them.
Then they are put into hair bags, and strongly pressed.
The juice that runs from them soon ferments; is bottled,
and reckoned a pleasant draught to take in hot weather.
Hops grow up tall poles, which they clasp with their
tendrils. Their leaves and green flowers are very pretty,
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Hop Picking.
and form one of the most beautiful climbing plants we
have. They ripen in September, and the farmers know
when they should be gathered by their strong scent. The
value of the crops varies very much, according to the year.
You know that they are used in brewing beer.
218 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
The sheep in Herefordshire are quite white, with fine
wool growing close round their eyes.
I have read of some curious customs among the people
in this county, which will, I think, amuse you. One is
wassailing the ox. For this purpose, a large cake is baked,
through which a stick has been thrust. When enough
baked, the stick is removed, and the hole left to fix the
cake on the ox’s horns. The ox tosses its horn, feeling the
weight, and men and boys sing to its health. The boys
often’ tickle the animal behind. And why? Because if
the ox throws the cake forward, it belongs to the men;
if backward, to the boys. Another custom is observed,
in three of the parishes, on Palm Sunday. Some money
was, long ago, left to be spent in cake, and also to promote
peace and good neighbourhood among the people. After
afternoon service, the churchwarden gives the minister a
’ cake, saying, “Peace and good neighbourhood.†The
minister breaks off a piece, and the cake is passed to
another, and so onwards. Afterwards, ale is poured into
a silver cup, and passed round in like manner. Once a
farmer and an old lady quarrelled about some badly-
behaved pigs, and they did not like to speak to each other,
On Palm Sunday, however, they met at church. After
service, the farmer feeling rather uncomfortable, offered
cake to his angry neighbour, saying, “Peace and good
neighbourhood.†She looked very pleased, and her eyes
got quite bright; and she said, “Do you say so?†And
‘then she took the cake, broke off a piece, ate it heartily,
and was a good friend of the worthy farmer ever after.
Now, when you quarrel, get something nice and offer it
to your angry little companion; and say, like the Hereford-
shire people, “Peace and good neighbourhood ;†and I
fancy the angry eyes will laugh, and the sulky mouth will
smile,
HEREFORDSHIRE. 219
For a long time, Hereford and Monmouth were btoh
regarded as belonging to Wales; and these counties formed
a portion of the district, belonging to the Silures—an old
British tribe, whom the Romans could never altogether
overcome. Abounding in this part of England, and in the
south of Wales, is a kind of stone—which I mentioned in
Shropshire—not so old as the granite and slate of—what
district ?* Nor nearly so new as the coal or chalk found
in—what parts of England? This stone, from the dis-
trict in which it lies, has received the name of Silurian.
In it are found the remains of very many fossil shell-
fish, supposed to be the first animals that were made.
The Wye is the principal river of Herefordshire; so we
will follow its course, and those of its tributaries, It is
reckoned the most beautiful of English rivers. Near the
borders of Wales, is an old castle, Clifford; where, it is
said, Fair Rosamond, who lived in Henry IL’s reign, was
born; and further down the river, is Mocca’s court, where
Owen Glendower, who fought with Harry Hotspur against
Henry IV., died.t The first large town we meet is Here-
ford, the chief in the county. It is beautifully situated,
with dark hills rising to the north and west, and the lovely
Wye flowing quietly past its cathedral and other ancient
buildings. The cathedral was built here, because it was
the spot where a young Saxon king, Ethelbert, who had
been murdered, was buried. It was pretended that many
miracles were worked at his tomb; and in the north aisle
is the tomb of Cantilupe, a man supposed to cure miracu-
lously. All round are hooks, on which banners, lamps,
and other gifts were hung up by the devotees. Near the
town were found Roman remains, a Mosaic floor, a large
bath-room, and on the frowning hill, to the north, are
the vestiges of a very large camp. There is an ancient
* Page 69. + Pages 8, 23, 58, 186, t Pages 16, 196.
220 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
grammar school in Hereford, with valuable scholarships; a
blue-coat and many other schools. There are a few small
manufactories, and trade is carried on by the river in cider,
hops, oak-bark, wool, and corn.*
A little below Hereford, the Wye is joined by the Lugg.
Let us trace its waters from their source, and hear what
tales they have to tell. After passing ancient castles, and
running through a very fertile country, they reach Leomin-
ster, pronounced Lemster. It has old-fashioned looking
houses of timber and brick. Here, as in many other Eng-
lish towns, there is a ducking-stool, which used in former
days to be for the punishment of quarrelsome, scolding
women. The culprit, when judged guilty, was seated on
this stool, a kind of arm-chair, with wheels and shafts. It
was brought to a pond or well. Then the shafts being
taken away, the chair was lowered by ropes, and the
ducking was administered to the unfortunate occupant.
We must hope it sometimes had the effect of cooling
her temper.
Leominster is noted for its fine wool and good wheat.
Lemster bread is quite famous in the county. Further
down the river is Sutton, where Ethelbert was murdered,
when on.a visit to King Offa. There are curious stories of
stones and hills moving very strangely in this neighbour-
hood. One is, that about 200 years ago, two great stones
in a meadow, that were water-marks, were removed 250
paces, no one knows how ; although to set one of them in its
place again required nine yoke of oxen. Another is, that
in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, a hill, called Maley Hill,
rose, as it were, from sleep, lifted itself up, and making a
great bellowing noise, began to travel, overthrowing a
chapel, moving trees, and driving everything before it.
The old writer finishes by saying, “ Having walked in
* Page 205. + Pages 51, 214.
HEREFORDSHIRE. 221
this sort from Saturday evening till Monday noon, it
then stood still.†Probably some hidden opening had under-
mined the ground above, causing this great landslip.*
An interesting place in this neighbourhood is Hampton
Court, built originally by Henry IV., who was called,
after his birthplace, Henry of Hereford. Before the Lugg
reaches the Wye, it is joined by the Frome, on which stands
Bromyard, a town diminishing instead of increasing.
On the Wye, in the south of the county, and beautifully
situated, is Ross, chiefly famous for an excellent citizen,
called John Kyrle, who lived and died here. He is gener-
ally known as the “Man of Ross.†He was not very
rich, but he loved to do all the good in his power, and
was wonderfully free from selfishness. Amongst other
benefits to the town he planted a great many trees,
especially elms. Some of these were placed round the
churchyard ; but those nearest the church were afterwards
cut down, The roots sent up fresh shoots. These spread
underground, and strangely appeared in Kyrle’s old pew.
The people would not have them cut down; and now they
grow inside the windows as high as the roof, no one
molesting them—an emblem of the saved Christian—a
living tree within the temple above.
Below Ross, the Wye receives the Dore, which flows
through a valley so rich, and covered with so many
yellow flowers, that it is named the Golden Valley. Near
this part of the Wye is Goodrich Castle, quite a ruin now,
and very picturesquely situated. It is terrible to hear of
the deep underground dungeons, still existing there; in
which unhappy prisoners were formerly confined. Dear
as England has always been, it is, I think, far dearer in
the present day, than ever it was before. Ledbury, famous
for its cheese and cider, is the only other place in fruitful
and beautiful Herefordshire, of which I will tell you. Itis
* Pages 62, 128, + Pages 15, 45.
222 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
situated at the southern base of the Malvern Hills. The
church has a beautiful tower standing a few feet apart
from the building. Now, tell me in what county the Mal-
vern Hills chiefly lie ; and then we must cease to look at the
map, and talk no more of Herefordshire, till you relate to
me, to-morrow, all that you remember of to-day’s lesson.
MONMOUTHSHIRE,
I must take you to-day through the last of the English
counties bordering on Wales. It contains even more beauti-
ful scenery than Herefordshire, though it is not quite equal
to it in fertility. The Wye separates this county from
Gloucestershire. The beauty of its borders increases as
it approaches the Severn, and on its banks are the ruins
of fine old castles, and of the most beautiful abbey in
England. In the west of the county the scenery is wild
‘and mountainous, and there is found a quantity of coal,
iron, building stone, and of a kind of mill-stone, especially
used in crushing apples for cider.* The Usk, which is a
very pretty river, flowing through Monmouthshire, divides
the part of the county where coal is found, from the part
where the rock is red sandstone.
Monmouth, as well as Hereford, was long considered a
Welsh county, and the people have many of the manners
and customs of Wales. Do you remember which brave
King Henry was known by the name of Henry of Mon-
mouth? The Monmouthshire sheep are like those of
Hereford; the cattle, too, are very good, and it is par-
ticularly famous for its mules. There are many orchards,
and woods full of oaks and ash-trees; but it is not so
noted for cider as Herefordshire,
What is particularly remarkable about Monmouthshire
are the old ruins,t so perhaps the best adjective for this
county is, “interesting;†and now you will expect to
* Pages 8, 26, 87, 85, 100, 109, 193, 208. + Pages 19, 53.
MONMOUTHSHIRE. 223
learn something interesting, so we will at once begin with
its towns and castles.
Very soon after the Wye enters the county from Here-
fordshire, it reaches Monmouth, passing through the most
lovely scenery. Monmouth has its name because at that
place the Munnow joins the Wye. It is an ancient town,
the birthplace of a famous old historian, who lived in the
reign of Henry I., and went by the name of Jeffery of
Monmouth.
Hardly anything is now left of the old castle. Many of
the houses of the town are pleasantly built, standing in
gardens and orchards. It is not a large town; but there
is a little trade in the iron found in the neighbourhood,
. Near Monmouth, on another small river that joins the
Wye, is Troy House, where you see the cradle in which
Henry of Monmouth was rocked, and the armour which
he wore when fighting in the battle of Agincourt. About
a mile below Monmouth, on the Wye, is Penalt, with a
beautifully situated church. On its common, there is a
very ancient stone, where all passing funerals stop, and
the coffin being placed upon it, the assembled friends sing
mournful psalms.
In this neighbourhood is an extraordinary rock called
Buckstone. It is a sort of plum-pudding stone. At the
bottom it is only eleven feet round, whilst on the summit
it is fifty-three. How many yards? No doubt the
earth has gradually worn away, leaving it thus wonder-
fully balanced.
Some miles to the west of Montneatir is Ragland Castle,
once a magnificent and important place, but laid in ruins
during the ccd wars in Charles Is reign.
On the Wye, you would be surprised to see the curious
boats or coracles used by the fishermen. They are very
small and light, only weighing about 12 lbs., as much as a
224 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
good-sized joint of beef. They are the shape of half a
walnut-shell, and are made of tarred canvas, stretched
over a wicker frame-work, The boatman sits on a seat
placed across, and whilst he paddles with his left hand, he
either fishes or steers the boat with his right, They go
very quickly, but are easily upset.
The Wye is a difficult river for ships to ascend, owing
to the many rapids, or weirs, in its course* These in-
crease the beauty of the river, but decrease its usefulness
in commerce. The boats that pass from Monmouth to
Chepstow are large barges, called “trows.†They partly
advance by sails; but when they reach the long rocky
shallows, they have to be dragged by main force, the men
landing and using all their united strength. It is painful
to see them exert themselves so much, and they often
injure their health by it.
Between Monmouth and Chepstow stand the ruins of
Tintern Abbey, which was founded more than 700 years
ago, There is no roof left, but the arches are very per-
fect, and some of the windows have the fine old stone
tracery preserved. Ivy and creeping plants clothe the
ancient gray walls; and ash trees grow here and there
from between the crevices, Its situation and its size
cause it to be reckoned one of the finest ruins in Europe.+
On the Wye, about two miles and a half from its june-
tion with the Severn, is Chepstow, a beautifully situated
small commercial town. Many ships are built here, and
several carry on a trade, bringing wine from Portugal, or
wood, hemp, and pitch from Norway and Russia, and tak-
ing away bark, cider, iron, coals, and mill-stones. There
is no place in Europe where the tide rises so high as at
Chepstow. Sometimes sixty feet higher than at low-water
mark, Just fancy the ground that was dry six hours
* Page 213, + Pages 42, 48, 52,
MONMOUTHSHIRE. 225
before, covered with water twenty yards deep.* Chep-
stow is chiefly celebrated for its fine old castle. It looks
very beautiful, nestled amongst trees, overhanging the fine
craggy steeps. It was commenced, like most of our castles,
during the time of the Norman kings. In Charles Is
reign, it was taken by Cromwell’s forces; then suddenly
retaken by a brave and loyal Welshman, Sir Nicholas
Keneys. He and his little garrison of 160 men defended
it so bravely, that it was long before the Parliamentarians
could again take it; not, indeed, until the brave Sir
Nicholas, and forty of his men, werekilled, and the rest
Chepstow Castle.
neatly starved. Chepstow Castle is well fortified, the
entrance being through a gateway between two round
towers, with a double portcullis, and iron gates.+ :
Near Chepstow are Piercefield and Windcliff, two beau-
* Pages 179, 213. + Pages 9, 15, 72, 105, 123, 145,
P
226 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
\
tiful seats, whence are some of the most lovely views in
England—hills, water, woodland, meadow, ships, moulder-
ing walls, uniting in a manner not often seen. From
Windcliff you can see nine counties, Look on the map,
and find what they are.
The other river which flows through Monmouth is the
Usk, which comes from Brecknockshire in Wales. The
scenery, through which it passes, is also very beautiful,
though not so cultivated as that through which the Wye
flows. The first town about which I shall tell you, is
Abergavenny. Here the river Gavenny flows into the
Usk. Wherever there is a town commencing with Aber,
you may know that there a river either falls into another
river or into the sea. Here assemble every year the
meinbers of a society for encouraging everything Welsh—
manufactures, music, history; and many prizes are given.
Abergavenny is beautifully situated at the head of a
valley, surrounded by mountains. It used to be famous
for periwigs, made of extremely white goats’ hair, for many
goats feed on these mountains. But as gentlemen do not
wear periwigs now, the people in Abergavenny find em-
ployment either in wool and iron trading, or in tanning.
Further down the Usk is Usk, a small town, with the
ruins of an‘ old castle. Here a great many salmon are
caught.* To the west of Usk, is Pontypool, where the
art of polishing iron, so as to be like Japan varnish, was
discovered. Here most of the people are employed in
iron-works.
Still further down the Usk, is Caerleon, now a very
small place, but once the capital of Wales; and hundreds
of years before Manchester, or Liverpool, or Birmingham
existed, it was reckoned the third largest town in Great
Britain.f Round it are found large pieces of stone, which
* Pages 10, 195, 199. + Page 44. --Contrast page 97.
SOMERSETSHIRE, 227
probably formed its walls. Here King Arthur held his
court; and because he had so many hrave knights, none of
whom he wished to place before the other, he had his
table made round, without either top or bottom, and called
his friends the Knights of the Round Table.*
Five miles from the mouth of the Usk is Newport, the
largest town in Monmouthshire, a place both for commerce
and manufactures. It has good docks for shipping. A great
deal of wood from America is brought here, and coal and
tin plate are exported.t| Many ships are built, and there
are manufactories for anchors, chain cables, and masts.t
It is Newport, and so we must not expect the old castles
here, that so many other towns in Monmouthshire possess.
Now, do you not think you would like a real journey
in interesting Monmouthshire better than a paper one?
To-morrow, however, we shall find out a pencil way of
reviewing Hereford and Monmouthshire.
On the following day, the children might arrange, in dif-
ferent columns, the towns, the places of interest, and the
productions of Herefordshire and Monmouth; or they
might make a double column of the streams, the Wye and
Usk, and mark whatever they would observe on them.
SOMERSETSHIRE.—Parr I.
At length we have reached the county which, if you re-
member, we thought like a baby’s sock in shape. It is
the last of the counties which can be said to lie in the basin
of the Severn, When we have talked of its scenery, its
manufactures, and its large towns, then I mean to tell
you of the game of the Severn; but we must have lessons
first, and play afterwards.
* Page 41. + Page 213, + Pages 29, 33,
228 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
Somersetshire is a large and important county. The
climate is warm, and, the scenery varies much. In the
north-east, near Bath, are several hills; and the banks of
the Avon, the river which runs through that part of Somer-
setshire, are very beautiful, passing between great chasms
of limestone. South of these, the Mendip Hills extend
from near Frome to the Bristol channel. They are about
four miles broad and twenty-five long, and are chiefly
covered with short turf and heath, where sheep feed.
More to the west are still higher hills, called the Quantock,
the highest of which is “ Willie’s Neck ;†whilst in the ex-
treme west, is part of the wild, desolate region of Exmoor,
the highest point of which is Dursberry Beacon, where the
hearths of four large beacon-fires may still be traced. The
meadow land in Somersetshire is very luxuriant, and the
cattle fed in this county are reckoned very valuable, both —
by the butcher for beef, and the dairyman for milk. The
eastern part of the coast and some of the central parts of
the county are swampy ; but towards the west, lofty, stately
cliffs skirt the shore. The two principal rivers are the
Avon, running north-west, and the Parret, running north-
east. There are also. several smaller streams, which I
shall mention when we talk of the towns upon their
banks. Somersetshire has specimens of all kinds of towns.
There is Bath, a cathedral town and fashionable watering-
place; and Bristol, a very busy, commercial city. Frome
and Taunton are manufacturing towns, where a great deal
of fine broadcloth is made; and Chedder, an agricultural
one, is famous for its cheeses. In Somersetshire, the people
have almost as strange a way of speaking as they have in the
north of England.* One of their peculiarities is sounding Z
for S; so they would talk of the ‘“ zoomer zoon,†instead of
“summer sun,†Another is, that they throw their words
* Pages 8, 38, 61.
SOMERSETSHIRE, 229
together, such as saying, “cham,†for “I am,†and “ chil,â€
for «J will,†and “ pont,†for “ put it on.†In these western
counties, the custom is still continued of dressing up the ~
May-pole on the 1st of May; and many of the young
people of the villages assemble and dance round it,
Now look at the map, and you will observe that just as
the Avon enters the county from Wiltshire, it receives a
small river called the Frome. On its banks is Frome,
a town where broadcloths, kerseymeres, and carriage-lin-
ings are manufactured. It has three churches, and the
neighbouring country is extremely pretty, but it is not
nearly so large as the manufacturing towns in Yorkshire
and Lancashire.* A little farther down the Avon is the
city of Bath. This is one of the most ancient cities in
Britain, famous in the time of the Romans, who built their
beautiful houses and ornamental temples with pillars and
statues, and made great baths, and called the city Aqua
Solis, or Waters of the Sun. There is a curious story
about the discovery of the waters, by which pigs get the
same credit that pigeons do for the Cheltenham waters,
only the Bath pigs are of a much more ancient date.t
Long, long ago, in the time of the Britons, a young British
prince became a leper, and was, in consequence, banished
from his father’s court. The only comfort he possessed
was a ring from his mother, so that she might know him,
if ever he returned cured. The poor prince hired himself
to feed swine; and the swine seemed infected with his
leprosy. He was afraid his master would be very angry ;
but the swine wandered to a marsh on the Lansdown Hills,
where Bath now stands, and there wallowed until their
disease was cured. The prince, observing this, tried the
same remedy, and was cured also. He soon returned to
his father’s court, and on a day that the king and queen
* Pages 49, 91. + Page 210.
230 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
banqueted in public, he dropped into his mother’s cup the
ring that she had given him.* When the queen drank the
wine, she beheld at the bottom the well-remembered ring.
He was welcomed back, and afterwards became king, and
rewarded his old swine-master by granting him land, and
building him a palace near the hot springs.
When the Romans left Britain, Bath lost its conse-
quence, and did not rank as a large place till about a
hundred years ago, when, through the cleverness of a
very gay and singular man, called Beau Nash, it be-
came very fashionable. The situation of the town, on
the sides of the hills, overlooking the Avon, is very
beautiful, and the houses are considered better built than
those of any other town in England; for not only are they
very handsome in their architecture, but they are built of
a remarkably good kind of stone found near Bath. There
are bath-rooms, and hospitals, schools, and several churches,
but the handsomest are the old abbey church and St
Michael's, Bishop Ken, who wrote the beautiful morn-
ing and evening hymns, was bishop here. In James II’s
time, the king brought to the abbey church his confessor,
who showed off all the fine things the Romanists use at
their worship, and then denounced all Protestant heretics,
Bishop Ken was present, and loving his own faith, he, with-
out fearing the king, begged the people to remain, ascended
the stone pulpit, and answered Huddlestone, the confessor,
out of the Bible, with great power.
Farther down the Avon, eight miles above its mouth, is
the great city of Bristol, with its beautiful suburb, Clifton.
This ranked formerly, as Liverpool does now, next to Lon-
don, the largest port in England.} But whilst Liverpool has
made rapid advances, Bristol has comparatively stood still.
It has, however, in the last few years, again increased; and
* Page 153. + Page 154.
SOMERSETSHIRE. - 231
when you hear of all the things made in Bristol, and of the
various articles of commerce, you will think that it must
be one of the busiest towns of England.
Bristol has many glass-works, similar to those on the
banks of the Tyne, for plate-glass, and to those at Birming-
ham, for cut-glass, and others for common glass bottles.*
There are also works in nearly all the metal produce of
Great Britain; great steam-engine works,f smith houses
for forging anchors and chains and roperies for cables.
Bristol is also famous for its sugar refineries; these are
places where coarse sugar becomes, by boiling and
other processes, finer and finer, until it is the white
loaf-sugar, used at the tea-table. There are also chemical
works, and tobacco manufactories, and a large cotton fac-
tory, employing about 2000 peoplet Most of the cotton
here made is sent tothe Levant. Where isthat? A good
deal of ship-building likewise goes forward. Here was
built the Great Britain, the largest steamboat known,
before the monster Great Hastern was completed.
Bristol has been, for many hundred years, a place of
great commerce. From this port sailed, in Henry VII.’s
reign, Sebastian Cabot, the first European who discovered
the mainland of North America. He took possession of
Newfoundland, and of the shore of North America, for
the English king. The trade of Bristol is principally with
the West Indies; but ships also go to India, China, the
United States, and many other places. When you look
again at the list of manufactories, you will be able to
fancy with what things these are laden. A great many
ships are in the coasting trade and many sail for Ire-
land. Bristol is famous for its churches, hospitals, and
schools. One of its schools is called the Red Maids
School. The little girls are all dressed in scarlet frocks
* Pages 20, 28, 29,118. + Pages 21,118. + Pages 90-93, 182, 175.
232 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
and white tippets. The old cathedral church is very
handsome, and St Mary’s Redcliffe, on one of the hills of
the city, is much admired. Though Bristol has a cathedral,
it has not a bishop of its own, the see having been united
with that of Gloucester. I am sure, there were enough
towns, and parishes, and people, to give two bishops plenty
of work. In 1831, there were frightful riots.) They con-
tinued for three days; the bishop's palace, several public
buildings, and about forty private houses were burnt down,
and many ‘people were killed.* How sad is the havoc
that stormy passions make! I could tell you many in-
teresting stories about Bristol; but, after giving you a list
of famous people born in this town, I will tell one, and
no more. There were Sebastian Cabot, the navigator;
Sir Thomas Blanket, who in Richard IIL’s reign inven-
ted blankets; William of Worcester, a famous describer
of places in olden time; and Chatterton, who, whilst -a
poor charity boy, wrote very good poetry. Instead of
saying that it was his own, he pretended it was found in
a room above’ the porch of St Mary’s Redcliffe. Poor
Chatterton had no friend to give him good advice, no re-
ligion to stay him. Disappointed, miserable, and starving,
he, when only seventeen, put an end to his own life,
Bowdich, a famous African traveller; and Southey, who
lived among the beautiful lakes, and was for a time the
royal poet, or poet-laureate, of England, were also born in
Bristol. +
Remember these names; and now for the story. Amongst
the richest merchants of Bristol, and the greatest bene-
factors of the city, was Edward Colston.t He founded a
school for maintaining and afterwards apprenticing one
hundred boys, who all wear, in their caps, the figure of a
dolphin; and for this reason ;—a ship of Colston’s, laden
* Page 187. + Pages 70, 81. t Pages 133, 162. .
SOMERSETSHIRE. 233
with a very valuable cargo, was expected from India. It
sprung a leak; and, notwithstanding all the efforts of the
ship’s crew, the water rushed in so rapidly, that it seemed
impossible to save the vessel. Suddenly, and mysteriously,
the leak was stopped; and without further danger, the ship
reached Bristol. Then it was discovered, that a dolphin
- had wedged itself into the hole, and thus had been God’s
unconscious instrument in saving the ship, her crew, and
cargo. According to a curious bequest, a fresh nosegay is,
every week, placed in the hands of the statue of Edward
Colston, which stands in All Saints’ Church.
The story is now finished; the chapter is at an end; and
to-morrow I hope you will like to hear more of Somerset-
shire and its towns.
SOMERSETSHIRE—Part IT.
Wuen I told you about Bristol, I mentioned that it had a
beautiful suburb, called Clifton. Clifton may, however,
rather be considered as a separate town; it contains about
20,000 inhabitants. It is situated in Gloucestershire, but
its connexion with Bristol leads me to speak of it now.
From its name, you will guess that it is near grand cliffs ;
and so it is, for the rocks, on the banks of the Avon, are
very stupendous. A beautiful suspension bridge of great
height unites them. In the rocks pretty crystals are
found, called Bristol diamonds, The Clifton Downs, high
moorland hills, where the air comes fresh from the Bristol
Channel, are reckoned very healthy, and the waters, at what
are called the Hot Wells, are so useful for invalids, that many
sick people go there to live. The houses are well built,
and the situation very beautiful. Opposite Clifton, are
the Leigh Woods, whose varied trees clothe the dark
valleys, and crown the rocky heights,
234 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
I must now tell you of a very interesting village, with
a beautiful church tower, to the south-west of Bristol. It
_is Wrington, where lived Hannah More, an excellent lady;
who wrote wise books for the educated, and interesting
tracts for the poor; and led a great many to care more
for serving God than they had done before. She and her
sisters loved the poor, and spent almost all their time in
helping them. They would often walk for miles over the
\
Clifton Hot-Wells.
hills, to teach the little ones in a Sunday-school, or the
bigger people in a cottage; for in those days there were
very few schools or lectures, or earnest clergymen. At
Wrington, John Locke also was born and lived—he was a
great philosopher, which means a lover of wisdom. He
said that philosophers are often great readers, often great
writers ; but always great thinkers. He attributed a great
deal of his knowledge to the fact of never being ashamed
to ask a question, when he did not know a thing; and toa
SOMERSETSHIRE. . 235
rule he made, always to talk to any man he met on the
subject of his trade or profession.
In this part of Somersetshire, near the coast, are plea-
sant watering-places, such as Clevedon and Weston-super-
Mare. Near Weston, amongst the Mendip Hills, are two
very remarkable places—Banwell Caves, and the Chedder
Cliffs. The caverns were discovered by workmen search-
ing for ochre. The first was called the stalactite cavern,
from a beautiful stalactite found hanging from the ceiling,
and nearly meeting another that rose from the ground.
Amongst a quantity of sand and ochre, which covered the
floor, were many white bones, found to be those of deer,
including the elk; of horses, oxen, wolves, and of a very
large bear. Do you remember a place in Yorkshire where
similar bones were found?* The Chedder Cliffs, more
than four hundred feet in perpendicular height, are very
grand. Here, too, is a curious cavern, full of stalactites,
that take very extraordinary shapes, sometimes of pillars
with curtains, sometimes of plants or animals. One is
called a loaf of bread, another a piece of bacon. Others
are like fine turkeys hung up by their legs, with an ox
tongue suspended below them. I wonder if there is one
called a Chedder cheese. +
Farther inland, on the southern side of the Mendip
Hills, is Wells, a small cathedral city, the chief manu-
facture of which is knitted stockings, The cathedral
is exceedingly beautiful. There is not a Bishop of
Wells now, that see having been united with that of
Bath.t In olden days, the Wells bishops were great
hunters.§ One of them is said to have killed all the
wild beasts of the Mendip forests. However noble this
sport might be for the knights, it was certainly not the
* Page 53. + Pages 46, 127.
t Page 232. § Page 41.
236 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
work with which God intrusted bishops. About two
miles from Wells is another very curious cavern, full of
all sorts of oddly-shaped things, called “ Wookey Hole.â€
Near Wells is Shepton Mallet, where about two thousand
people are employed in making silk into various textures,
and where there is a beautiful cross, built three hundred
years ago.
Another interesting town in this neighbourhood is Glas-
tonbury, where are still the ruins of what was once the
richest abbey in England. More interesting than this is
the story, that here was built of twigs and mud the first
house in Britain for the worship of the real God.* It is
said that Joseph of Arimathea was the missionary. Can
you fancy him and his friends among our savage fore-
fathers, telling of the Saviour whom he had seen laid in
his new sepulchre, and who had risen again? They must
have gone forth with their message as our missionaries
have done among the savage New Zealanders, or among the
tribes of Borneo. A curious thorn-tree grows at Glaston-
bury, which always blossoms at Christmas, instead of in the
month of May. The renowned King Arthur was buried
in this abbey.f On the Yeo, near the borders of Dorset-
shire, is Yeovil, where many thousands of leather gloves
are made weekly. In most of the small towns of this
neighbourhood, such as Ilminster, Ilchester, and Somer-
ton, the chief employment of the people is the making
of gloves.{ Ilchester was a large town in the time of
the Romans, and is noted as being the birthplace of Roger
Bacon. He was a monk, who lived in the time of Henry
III, and was fond of mathematics, and made discoveries
in chemistry. Amongst other things, he found out how
to make gunpowder. He also invented reading-glasses,
and a kind of telescope and microscope. Somerton,
* Pages 10, 154. + Pages 41, 227. + Pages 204, 205.
SOMERSETSHIRE, 237
perhaps, gives its name to Somersetshire, which means
the pleasant land. Here, in a strong castle, John, king of
France, was kept prisoner, after he had been taken captive
by the Black Prince.
Near the Parret river is Sedgmoor, the scene of the
defeat of the unfortunate Duke of Monmouth, in the
reign of James II, Those were sad days for the country
people who joined him, as numbers were tried and hung;
the tyrannical Judge Jeffreys delighting, apparently, in
condemning them to death.
On a small branch of the Tone, itself a branch of the
Parret, stands Wellington, a town where druggets and
other woollen goods are made. From this place, the great
conqueror of Waterloo took his title.
On the Tone is Taunton, situated in the midst of or-
chards, gardens, and rich pastures. Here is an old castle, .
built by William the Conqueror, which withstood a long
siege from the Royalists.* The besieged had so nearly
consumed all their food that nothing but a half-starved
pig was left in the town. This was whipped round the
walls, that it might squeak in different places, and. thus
make the king’s army believe that there was plenty of
provisions. The Duke of Monmouth was here proclaimed
king, and fearful were the assizes that followed, still
known as the “bloody assizes.†Judge Jeffreys, the exe-
crable, as he has been fitly called, presided. Taunton was
long famous for woollen manufactures, now silk ones have
taken their place. Lace is also woven here. This manu-
facture travelled very suddenly from Nottinghamshire to
Somersetshire, on account of the violent attacks of the
frame-makers in the county of its birth. +
At the meeting of the Parret and the Tone, we find
the Isle of Athelney, which used to be separated from
* Pages 211, 225, + Page 187,
238 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
the land by the marshes, especially when the rivers were
flooded. This is the place where Alfred and his friends
found a refuge from the Danes. Whilst here, he wished
to know something of the Danish army, which was in the
neighbourhood ; so he put on the dress of a harper, and
went to their camp. The Danes liked the sweet music of
the poor minstrel, and bade him stay with them, but he
remained only for a short time. He summoned his faith-
ful friends around him, unexpectedly attacked the Danes,
and gained over them a great victory.
Near Bridgwater, on the Parret, is found the peculiar
mixture of clay and sand, of which the celebrated Bath
brick is made. About 20,000 tons of them are sent away
every year to all parts of the world. They are chiefly
used in cleaning knives and forks for the table. Bridg-
. water is a small trading port, principally importing tim-
ber, and exporting bricks and field produce. Its old name
was Burgh Walter, the town of Walter, one of William the
Conqueror’s followers. It was the birthplace of Admiral
Blake, who gained many victories in Oliver Cromwell’s
time.
On the coast are two small but very pretty bathing-
places, Minehead and Portlock.
You have, no doubt, found out that Somersetshire is
a county having a great many places of interest, connected
with which are a great many remarkable people. Think
well over to-day’s chapter, and to-morrow I hope you will
all be ready for the ‘‘ Game of the Severn.â€
THE GAME OF THE SEVERN,
The teacher, having provided himself with a bag of
ginger-nuts, or marbles, or a basket of apples, pictures, or
small books, seats himself in the midst of the children,
and commences somewhat seriously,—
SOMERSETSHIRE. 239
“The Severn rolls,—the Severn rolls,—and enters—
Shropshire.†A pause, for one of the children to mention
some feature connected with the county; thus, perhaps,
little Lucy says :
“ The county where lived the oldest Englishman.†That
is enough; she gets her reward. Harry’s hand is up, to
show that he, too, knows something, and proclaims:
“A county where there are ironworks, and that in the
middle of pretty scenery.â€
Harry, too, gets a reward.
Teacher—‘“ The Severn rolls, the Severn rolls, and
passes Shrewsbury.â€
Charlie-—* There Shrewsbury cakes are made.â€
Cave.— And there Harry Hotspur was killed.â€
Robin.—“ And there all the Welsh flannels are sold.â€
Each gets.a reward.
Teacher.—“ The Severn rolls. It reaches Coalbrook
Dale.â€
Septima.—“ And goes under the first iron bridge.â€
Teacher.—“ The Severn rolls. It reaches Bridgnorth.â€
Perhaps of Bridgnorth none can answer correctly; and
if so, all have to return one of their rewards. Whenever
a mistake is made, one of the nuts, or whatever they have
earned, should be given back.
So the teacher continues, till the children have had
nearly enough. Another evening, the lower part of the
Severn’s course may be described, or the course of its
tributaries, looking back to Warwick for that of the Avon.
The pleasure of gaining much will be increased by dividing
the treasures with the smaller ones who have not been
so fortunate.
240 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
OXFORDSHIRE.—Parr I,
Havine completed the counties forming the basin of
the Severn, we will now try to follow the course of the
Thames. You remember, I hope, the county in which
it rises.* That little stream called the Churn runs on-
ward for about twenty miles, and at Cricklade, in the
north of Wiltshire, it meets the Isis, from that county.
Below that place, it is very frequently called the Thames,
though it is properly the Isis till it is joined by the
Thame, some miles below Oxford. I shall not tell you
about Wiltshire just now, for the rivers through the prin-
cipal part of the county flow southward to the English
Channel; so look on the map, and find what county lies
on the north of the Thames after it leaves Gloucestershire.
Tell me now the names of all the counties that touch
Oxfordshire. J am sure you have heard of Oxford before
this; and so have all the little English boys and girls
who have had teachers to instruct them from the time of
Alfred the Great. But it is the town rather than the
county that is so famous. You will, however, like to
know in what kind of county the learned town of Oxford
is placed.
The northern part of Oxfordshire is not very pictu-
resque ; but, though the centre is somewhat level, there
are in it a great many trees and woods, and the
south-eastern portion is very pretty, being varied with
hills and dales, with soft-flowing rivers, and rich beech
woods. The hills in this part are called the Chilterns;
they form part of the same range which, in Cambridge-
shire, are called the Gogmagog Hills.t They are chiefly
formed of chalk, and the soil is not of the kind in which
* Page 207, + Page 168,
OXFORDSHIRE. 241
mineral treasures, such as iron and coal, are imbedded.
You will, therefore, not expect to hear of many manu-
factories in Oxfordshire; but, as there are plenty of
rivers, we expect rich grass, and so we look, and not
in vain, for plenty of dairies, where good butter is
made.
Now look again at the Isis, or Thames, and you will
see that it receives, on the left, the Windrush. On its
banks stands Burford, with the ruins of an old abbey,
and Witney, a town famous for its nice warm blankets.*
Soon another river joins it, the Evenlode, from a forest,
the remains of what formerly covered the whole county.
Near this river is Woodstock, where there is a large
manufactory of gloves.f Here was the palace in which
Queen Elizabeth was confined, during part of the reign of
her sister Mary ; and here, if Chaucer was not born, he, at
any rate, wrote some of his poems. Chaucer was the first
famous English poet, and has been therefore called the father
of English poetry. He lived in the reign of Edward IIT.
Near Woodstock is Blenheim, a magnificent palace built
for the Duke of Marlborough, who, in Queen Anne’s reign,
gained several famous victories over the French. Blen-
heim is not only a very splendid building, but it is very
famous for its collection of pictures, The great Duke of
Marlborough’s wife is nearly as celebrated as himself.
She was a great friend of Queen Anne’s, and for years
they wrote to each other under feigned names—the one
being Mrs Morley, and the other Mrs Freeman. At
last, however, the duchess became so insolent that the
queen was angry with her and banished her from the
court.
Following the Thames to its union with the Charwell,
we find Oxford, one of the most beautiful, interesting,
* Pages 92, 232. + Pages 204, 205, 286.
Q
242 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
and celebrated cities of dear old England, 1 wi nrst
tell you a little about the town, and then about the uni-
versity.
The town is very pleasantly situated on a hill between
two rivers. Part of the walls that once surrounded it
remain, and also the keep of the castle I have a story
to tell you concerning this castle, which, I think, will
amuse you. In the time of Stephen, the Empress Matilda
fled thither from London. The king besieged her. It was
a very cold winter; no food could be procured by the
garrison, and they were nearly starved to death, At
High Street.
length they resolved to submit; but the night before they
did so, one of the gates opened gently, and four figures,
clothed in white, issued forth. The snow lay deep upon
the ground; the rivers were thickly frozen; the figures
glided softly past, only casting their shadows on the driven
OXFORDSHIRE. 243
snow. The besiegers did not stay them, probably fearing
their ghost-like appearance. Onward the party went. It
consisted of Matilda, and three of her most trusty knights.
At Abingdon, in Berkshire, they procured horses, and at
length reached a friendly castle in safety.
The High Street of Oxford is one of the handsomest
streets in England; it shows the fronts of some of the
beautiful ancient churches, the gable ends of some of the
picturesque old houses, and very elegant modern shops. __
You could not, I fear, remember the description of all
the churches in Oxford. There is the cathedral, not so
handsome as most English cathedrals, and badly situated.
There is the university church, called St Mary’s, with a
very fine tower; close to another, St Mary Magdalene, is
the Martyrs’ Memorial, a beautiful monument, in honour of
the noble martyrs, Latimer, Cranmer, and Ridley, who, near
this spot, perished in the flames, rather than deny the Lord
they loved.* You have probably heard how cheerfully
good old Bishop Latimer encouraged his friend Bishop Rid-
ley to meet the terrible death. Good old man! his heart’s
blood was poured out for the cause of truth; but his pro-
phetic words have been fulfilled, The candle was lighted
in England, which, by God’s grace, has never been put out;
and we trust that it never will be; for, lighted from the
Word of God, it is heavenly fire that shall burn for evermore.
Oxford appears to have been a place for learning from
a very early time. Alfred the Great lived here, and
probably founded the first classes, which afterwards grew
into the famous university. There are now nineteen
colleges and five halls. Christ Church College is the
largest and grandest. The building was commenced by
Cardinal Wolsey, who wished it to be called Cardinal Col-
lege. The entrance is through a very handsome eer
* Pages 9, 144, 183, 190, 212.
244 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
over which is hung the great bell, Tom of Oxford.* Every
night, at ten minutes past nine, it tolls 101 times, being
the number of the students on the foundation, and before
it has ceased to strike, most of the college gates are shut.
The kitchen was the first part erected by Wolsey. There
you may see an enormous gridiron of olden times. It
moves on wheels, and is large enough to cook a whole
animal. J could tell you something interesting about
nearly every college in Oxford, but I have not time, and
your little heads have not space for storing it all, Mer-
ton College can prove itself the oldest by deeds and
writings, whilst University College claims the greatest
age from tradition, Find out what that means. Queen’s
College was founded by Queen Philippa, the good
queen of Edward III New College, by William of
Wykeham, a Bishop,.a Lord Chancellor, and the architect
of Windsor Castle, of this college, and of other celebrated
buildings, Balliol College was built by the father of
‘ John Balliol, of whom we read in the history of Scotland.
Brazennose received its name from a brazen knocker like
a nose, which was on a gateway at Stamford, in Lincoln-
shire, to which place the students once retreated, after
being worsted in a fight with the townspeople. t
Some of the old customs of the colleges are very curi-
ous. At Queen’s College, the blowing of a trumpet sum-
mons the members to dinner; and on New Year's Day,
the bursar presents each member with a needle and
thread, saying, “Take this, and be thrifty.†At Univer-
sity College, on Easter-day, a large branch is dressed up
with flowers and evergreens. As each member leaves the
hall, he chops at the tree, and gives the cook, who stands
by, a present. At Magdalene College, there still stands
the old stone pulpit, where formerly,.on St John Baptist’s
* Page 153. +t Page 30. t Page 155.
OXFORDSHIRE. 245
day, a sermon was preached to the members of the Univer-
sity, who stood round the quadrangle, which was fenced
and strewed with green boughs, to give the effect of preach-
ing in the wilderness.
To-morrow I hope to tell you of the libraries, and of some
of the celebrated men of Oxford, and what I can of the-rest of
the county. To-day you have heard a great deal, and as I
have told you of the Martyrs’ Memorial, try and find out,
in another book, more about these holy men; and pray,
like the good young King Edward VI., who, as he was
dying, said these words :—
“O Lord God, save Thy chosen people of England. O
my Lord God, defend this realm from Papistry, and main-
tain the true religion, that I and my people may praise
Thy holy name, for Thy Son Jesus Christ’s sake.â€
OXFORDSHIRE.—Paart II.
I sarp you should hear to-day about the libraries at Oxford.
Perhaps your father has a library, or you have seen some
gentleman’s library—a room the walls of which are covered
with book shelves, filled with books of all kinds and sizes.
Now, a large book-case holds a great many books, the
four sides of a room more; but how many must there be in
a number of rooms, and those of very large size, very long
and very high, with books up to the ceiling. The
largest library in Oxford is the Bodleian, which takes its
name from Sir Thomas Bodley, who, nearly three hundred
years ago, spent both his life and fortune in collecting
- rare books. Even before this, the library had been com-
menced by Humphrey, the good Duke of Gloucester; but
only one book of his library remains, and that must be '
nearly five hundred years old. The Bodleian library has
a right to a copy of every book published in England.
246 DEAR OLD. ENGLAND.
Besides books, there are many portraits and beautiful
models and some curiosities. . One is a chair made out of
the ship in which Admiral Drake sailed round the world;
and another is the real old lantern which Guy Fawkes held
in his hand when he was discovered. Another library is the
Radcliffe, founded by a celebrated doctor in Queen Anne’s
reien. Here, besides books, is very fine ancient statuary.
The money Dr Radcliffe left built also an infirmary and an
observatory. This latter is a building for watching and
making observations on the heavenly bodies through tele-
scopes. Another interesting place is the Ashmolean Mus-
eum, founded by a very strange man, Dr Elias Ashmole.
He had many ingenious thoughts; but one of the strange
ideas that filled his mind was the search for what is
called the “ Philosopher’s Stone;†that is, a stone which
can turn all it touches into gold. The only stone of that
kind I know of is contentment. Have you ever found this
stone, dear children ?
It would fill a book were I to write of all the celebrated
men who have studied in Oxford. I can only mention a
few. There was John Wycliffe,* the morning star of the
Reformation, and the famous Thomas Linacre, who taught
such good Greek in Henry the Seventh’s reign, that Erasmus
and many noted foreigners came over to Oxford ‘to study
under him. Then there were some of the good and noble
martyrs, of whom I have already told you; Fox, who
wrote their lives ; + Tindal, who first had the Bible printed
in English; and Jewell, Jeremy Taylor, Hooker, Butler,
Arnold, } Daniel Wilson, and very many good and learned
clergymen. There were also Sir Thomas More, Raleigh,
Canning, Pitt, C. J. Fox, Sir R. Peel, Gladstone, Lords
Eldon and Stowell, and most of England’s celebrated states-
men; Locke the philosopher;§ Samuel Johnson the Dic-
* Pages 39,143. ‘ Pagel54. { Page 122. § Page 234,
OXFORDSHIRE. 247
tionary man ;* and the poets, Ben Jonson, Dryden, Cow-
ley, Heber, and Keble.t+
I have heard that Dryden had once to write a prize
poem on the miracle at Cana in Galilee. He neglected it
till very nearly the time that it should have been presented.
Then, suddenly seizing his pen, he wrote in Latin a beau-
tiful line, which gained the prize. The translation is—
“The modest water saw its God and blush’d.â€
I cannot tell the names of many Oxford men employed
in the noblest work of heart and head, the mission field;
but there are some now working, and others preparing for
this blessed cause.
We must leave Oxford now, with its many spires and
pinnacles, its hoary towers, its groined windows, its mu-
seums, its libraries, its great printing-office, its caps and
gowns, its light skiffs, its lovely gardens, its learned pro-
fessors, and look if, in the north of the county, near the
source of the Charwell, we cannot find any town of in-
terest, Yes; here is Banbury, very interesting to little
folks. Few babies have not heard of
“ Ride a cock horse
To Banbury Cross.â€
And many children have tasted Banbury cakes, which
have been famous for more than two hundred years. Near
to the borders of Buckinghamshire is Bicester, a very old
town, where a great many Roman coins have been found.
Here was the well of a Romish saint, the waters of which
were once thought to be very holy, and to possess the
power of curing diseases. Below Oxford, on the Thames,
or Isis, is Iffley, an old straggling village with one of the
prettiest of village churches. Below this is Nuneham Park,
the heautiful grounds of which are often visited by persons
* Pages 114, 144. + Page 102.
248 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
from Oxford. A few miles onward, and the Isis joins the
Thame. From this point it takes their united names, and
becomes the world-renowned Thames. Not far from its
banks is Cuddesden, where there is a new college. In this
part of Oxfordshire are several pretty villages and small
towns, the male inhabitants of which are chiefly labourers,
and the females are makers of pillow lace, in which you
often see them busily engaged on summer evenings at their
cottage doors.*
The course of the Thames is very beautiful. There are
often little islets, which the people call aits, covered with
trees such as the alder and willow, or the still smaller
ones with osiers. Pretty water-flowers, crimson and yel-
low and purple, edge these little islands, forming a rich
border against the blue waters.
As the Thames leaves Oxfordshire, it passes Henley, a
small town, but on account of its river trade, the most
business-like in the county; timber, corn, and malt being
taken away in barges.t Mait and beer are made here, and
a silk mill is worked. ‘With the soft-flowing Thames, we
must now leave the county of Oxford; and to-morrow we
hope to enter Buckinghamshire.
BUCKINGHAMSHIRE.
WE must still look on the north side of the Thames; and
adjoining Oxford we find Buckinghamshire. You may
remember it by its odd shape. In tne first chapter, I told
you what I thought it resembled. A riddle, which I once
heard, may help you in remembering its position, Why is
Buckinghamshire like a goad ?{
Tell me all the counties touching Buckingham.
* Page 162. + Pages 152, 201, 207, 224, 238.
t Because it runs into Oxon and Herts (oxen and hurts.)
BUCKINGHAMSHIRE. 249
Buckinghamshire is not a manufacturing county, nor
one noted for mineral productions.* The soil is fertile,
especially in the vale of Aylesbury, which runs through
the middle of the county. The ground is, however, very
badly cultivated, the landlords not caring much about im-
proving the land, and the farmers, who only take their
farms from year to year, not caring to spend much money
on what they may leave so soon, The labourers have
only nine or ten shillings a week, and many of them
cannot read. Their houses, too, are very poor, frequently
of rough timber and badly thatched. Very little of the
land is ploughed, and in some parts, an old-fashioned
wooden plough is used, instead of the modern iron one.
The dairy farms are rich. There are nearly thirty thou-
sand cows in the county, which give their milk “so pure
and white.†A great deal of this is churned for butter.
The butter is packed in neat little baskets called flats, and
sent to London for sale.t A great many pigs are fed on
the butter-milk, and on the ponds numbers of ducks are
swimming, not wild ones, as in Lincolnshire, but the
common and useful farm-yard duck.§ Some of the species,
especially those called Aylesbury ducks, are very famous,
and about fifteen thousand pounds are received for them
every year.
Looking at the map, you will observe that Buckingham
rivers run two ways, those in the south winding their
course towards the Thames, whilst in the north we meet
our old friend the Great Ouse. Do you remember any-
thing about it? Between these two water-courses, you
may rightly expect high ground; the Chilterns you found
in Oxfordshire, cross the county into Hertford.
The first town on the Ouse is Buckingham. The river
* Pages 148, 157, 186, 241. + Contrast pages 174, 185.
t Page 168. § Pages 148, 176.
250 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
almost surrounds it. The people here used to be much
engaged in making lace.* The trade is now chiefly in
malt for making beer, and in wool. Even in Edward
III’s reign, Buckingham was a great place for selling
wool. Near itis Stowe, belonging to the Duke of Bucking-
ham, which was very famous for its gardens. In them
were a number of buildings to represent the old Greek
temples and statues, and the ground was arranged by art
to make the view as beautiful as possible} Now people
think, and justly, that nature is more beautiful than art,
and that what is natural is more pleasing than what is
studied. Remember that, young ones, and let there be no
pretence about you, but be what you seem to be.
Further down the Ouse is Stony Stratford, a town re-
markable for its rough and dangerous streets. Still further
down is Wolverton, one of England’s railway towns, it
being a station where locomotives are repaired, and where
good provision is provided for hungry travellers. Neat
houses are built for the railway men, as well as a church,
and schools for their children.
Then we reach Newport Pagnell, where you would still
see many people making lace. On a little stream that
here joins the Ouse, is Fenny Stratford, so called because
it is situated amongst fens, just as the other Stratford is
amongst stones. Do you remember anything of a still
more famous Stratford ? {
Following the Ouse, we reach Olney, neither a flourish-
ing nor a pretty village, but one about which we like to
hear, for here lived William Cowper, the Christian poet,
and John Newton, a good clergyman, whose letters and
sermons are full of beautiful thoughts about our Father
in heaven. These two friends wrote the Olney Hymns.
Perhaps you know some of them. One by Cowper begins,
* Pages 162, 248, + Page 131. t Page 124.
BUCKINGHAMSHIRE. 251
“God moves in a mysterious way.†One by Newton is
called, “Thoughts on the sea-shore,’†and show how ocean,
sands, rocks, and tide, each convey a lesson about the
goodness of God, and the sinfulness of man. Poor Cowper
was sorely tried in his mind; he was very melancholy,
and low-spirited. A lady, who was a great friend of his,
told him, one day, the story of a citizen of London going
to Edmonton on his wedding-day, and all the troubles
‘that befell him. Cowper laughed much at this, and then
throwing the tale into verse, wrote the diverting history of
Johnny Gilpin, a story which has probably made your
eyes sparkle, as you laughed merrily over it.
And now leaving the Ouse, we must think of the rivers
which flow towards the Thames, and the towns near to
them. As an intermediate town, I will mention Leighton
Buzzard, on the Grand Junction Canal, and also on the
North-Western Railway. There is some trade here, and
many of the women are busy lace-making and straw-
plaiting. The men also make lace, when they have no
field-work. There are here a fine old cross, and church.
Aylesbury, famous for ducks and tame rabbits, is in the
midst of a very fertile valley, through which the Thame
flows towards the Thames, Not far from it is Wendover,
which for many years sent to Parliament the famous John
Hampden, who, in Charles I.’s reign, refused to pay an
unjust tax. It was also the parish of a faithful servant of
God, Spencer Thornton.
We must now turn quite to the south of Buckingham,
and mark the towns on or near the continually-widening
Thames. First, there is Great Marlow, and not very far
to the north is High Wycombe, both small, quiet, agricul-
tural towns,
As we proceed down the Thames, we meet many little
islands, of which I have before told you. One of these is
252 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
called Monkey Island, on which the Duke of Marlborough
built a pleasure-house, which is said to have cost
£10,000. In the dining-room he had monkeys drawn, sit-
ting, or riding, or walking, eating, or sleeping, exactly like
human beings. Was not this a strange ducal fancy ?
A little below, on the Thames, is a place well known to
many boys, Eton, famous for its school or college, which
ranks, as the highest public school in England. It was
founded by the unfortunate King Henry VI. There are
usually about 600 boys—the leader of whom, viz., the
first boy in the sixth form, is called the Captain of the
School. Till within the last few years, there was observed
a curious custom on the Whit-Tuesday of every third
year. The scholars, dressed in fancy costume, marched
like soldiers, under a marshal, colonel, &c., to a mound
called Salt Hill There were numbers of spectators,
amongst whom two: salt-bearers (so called, because for-
merly they offered salt) collected money, sometimes
upwards of £1000. Much of this went in feasting, and
paying for damages; but: the remainder was given to the
Captain to help him on entering college. This gathering
led often to much harm; and therefore, though a pretty
sight, and an old custom, it was wisely abolished.
In the college library, is a service book, full of pictures,
which belonged to Mary Queen of England, a very curious
old history of the world, containing pictures of Adam,
Methuselah, Noah, and others, not only dressed in full
attire, but each wearing a coat of arms! There is an
album, too, for autographs. Here is written Victoria, and
Albert, and Wellington, and many others. The Eton boys,
also, have a library, and in it are some treasured manu-
scripts, such as a French translation, in the poet Gray’s
own handwriting, of one of his poems; and there are also
many volumes, the gifts of kings, queens, and noblemen.
‘ BUCKINGHAMSHIRE. 253
Eton boys are extremely fond of rowing, and are often
seen pulling their narrow skiffs on the sunny waters of the
Thames.
Not far from Eton is Slough, famous as containing the
house in which Sir William Herschel and his family lived,
and where he made celebrated discoveries among the stars.
The old telescope, through which the planet Uranus was
discovered, is now taken down, From the first records
of astronomy till the time of Herschel, it was thought that
only six planets moved round the sun, therefore his was a
great discovery. He thought a great deal, and observed
very patiently. He was often much assisted by a dear
useful sister, Whilst he gazed through the great tele-
scope, she sat in a room below, marking in a book his ob-
servations, which he made known to her by a peculiar
manner of pulling certain strings. Thus they worked to-
gether, gazing at the starry heavens, and wondering at the
stupendous works of the mighty Jehovah. Is it not an
encouragement for you, dear children, to think that He who
made those immeasurable worlds, said also, ‘‘ Suffer little
children to come unto me?â€
I must just tell you of one more pretty and interesting
village in Buckinghamshire. It is Stoke, where Gray lived,
who wrote the “Elegy in a Country Churchyard.†Probably
he thought of the Stoke churchyard, where his aunt and
mother were buried, and where he, too, is laid to rest. I
dare say you have the poem in some “ Readings of Poetry.â€
Search for it, as I think you will understand some of its
pretty verses. In this neighbourhood, are some very
famous trees, called the Burnham beeches. They have
very curiously twisted roots, which, covered with dark
green mosses, contrast beautifully with the smooth bark
above. If you live in the country, I hope you know the
smooth stem of the beech, so different from the rough ones
254 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
of the oak and elm. If not, try and find it out in your
walk to-day.
Enough! To-morrow I hope to hear from you a great
deal about the county you have so long known, as like the
old woman with a pack on her back.
BERKSHIRE.
To-DaY we must go across the Thames, follow its progress
on the south side, and listen to all the tales that I can tell
you of the fair county of Berkshire, the county contain-
ing the great castle of our English kings—Windsor. Now
let the map tell you all it can about Berkshire. What
counties touch it? Any rivers flowing through it? Any
hills in it? Yes; there are pretty streams flowing north-
east, hastening to join the Thames in their way to the sea;
and there is a range of ‘“ Downs,†as the chalky hills,
gently sloping, rounded at their summit, and covered with
short-wooled sheep, are usually called in the south of Eng-
land, North of these Downs, the soil is remarkably fer-
tile—the valley of the White Horse growing some of the
finest wheat and barley in England.* Another beautitul
and productive valley lies along the course of the
Kennet. Quite in the west of the country are rich green
pastures, and there the kind of cheese called ‘“ Double
Gloucester,†is made. In the east of Berkshire the
country is much wooded, for there the ancient royal forest
of Windsor still remains, with its fine old trees,
Berkshire used to be famous for its woollen manufac-
tories; but it is not sonow.f It is more celebrated for
its live stock, its cows and its sheep, whilst its pigs are
reckoned the best in England.
I have mentioned the valley of the “White Horse,†and
* Pages 36, 99, 125, 208. + Pages 189, 237.
BERKSHIRE. 255
I can tell you a story about its name. Almost a thousand
years ago, in the time of King Alfred, there was fought
here a great battle between the English and the Danes.
Alfred gained the victory, and to commemorate it the
White Horse, the Standard of the Saxons, was displayed
on the side of the hill* It was made 125 yards long, from
head to tail, and can be seen to this day. How could
such an enormous thing be made? The hill is of white
chalk, covered with green turf—the turf was removed in the
shape of this great horse, and every year from that time to
this, the people in the district have a great holiday for
“scouring the horse,†which, when the sun shines upon
it, can be seen from a great distance, as far as fifteen
miles.
Now look at the map, and we will try and search out
the towns of Berkshire, beginning at the west. In this
valley of the White Horse is Farringdon, the most famous
place for pork in England; and very near the horse, is
Wantage, the birthplace of our celebrated king, Alfred the
Great. Where the Ock joins the Thames, is Abingdon, an
old Saxon town.t Here there are several almshouses, and
some coarse canvas manufactories. In the old monastery
Henry I, called Beauclere, or the fine scholar, was educated.
There is an important railway junction at Didcot, and a
little further east, on the Thames, is Wallingford. This,
too, is a very old town, which was once defended by a
strong castle.
Leaving the north of Berkshire, we will follow, for a
little while, the Kennet,
“The Kennet swift, for silver eels renown’d.â€
The first town on its banks is Hungerford. The town is
governed by a constable, When he is to be chosen, the
* Page’ 41, + Page 243,
256 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
inhabitants are called together by the sound of a brass
horn, The original horn, preserved as a curiosity, was
given to the town by John of Gaunt. Who was John of
Gaunt?* The next town is Newbury, once very noted for
woollen manufactories. Here there lived, in Henry VIII’s
time, John Winchcomb, called “Jack of Newbury.†He
was a famous clothier, and when Henry wanted soldiers
for his war with Scotland, he brought 100 men to the king,
clothed in uniform, and with them marched to Flodden
Field, where he helped to gain the victory over the Scots.t
This worthy man also rebuilt the greater part of the church
at Newbury. Near this town were fought, in King
Charles’ time, two bloody battles. Almost the same
spot of ground was, in each case, dyed with the blood of
fellow-countrymen.{ At the junction of the Kennet
and the Thames is Reading, so called from an old word
“ Rhedin,†which means a “fern;†ferns having once
grown here very plentifully. Reading is a large town,
with spacious streets, and is very pleasantly situated.
Few things are manufactured here; but it is a great place
for trade, all the products of Berkshire being forwarded
from this place, either by the river or rail, to London.
What will these be? Timber, cheese, malt, corn, bark,
and many other things. At Reading, there are still the
remains of a famous abbey, founded by Henry I. He, his
queen, and his daughter, the Empress Maud, were all
buried here. In this town, Archbishop Laud, who was
beheaded during the reign of Charles 1, was' born. His
father was a clothier.
A few miles from Reading, on the Great Western Rail-
way, is Twyford, where was fought a battle between the fol-
lowers of William of Orange, afterwards William III, and
those of James II, This is almost the last battle fought in
* Pages 148, 154. t Page 15. + Pages 45, 124, 158, 204.
BERKSHIRE. 257
civil warfare in the south of England. In the south of
- the county is Sandhurst, where there is a famous military
college; a place where young men are taught how to be-
come good officers, to conduct a war, not only bravely,
but with wisdom,
Again, following the Thames, we find Maidenhead a
quiet little market town; and further down is the village
of Bray, famed for its vicar, who lived in the reigns of
Henry VILL, Edward VI., Mary and Elizabeth, and al-
ways changed his religion to that of the reigning sove-
reign. Unwise man! to think more of his earthly than of
his heavenly King.
And now I have only to tell you of one more place, and
that is the most interesting in all Berkshire,— Windsor, the
grand old residence of our beloved Queen Victoria. The
town is pleasantly situated on the Thames, and the magni-
ficent castle rising above it, is visible for a gréat distance
round. The king, who laid the foundation of Windsor
Castle, and planted its extensive forest, was William the
Conqueror. So long as wars were frequent in England, it
was regarded as a place.of defence, and the chief consider-
ation was to build towers and to make it strong, But
now, our kings and queens live in happier days, and
have only thought of increasing its beauty and comfort.
Almost all our English sovereigus have lived here.
Edward III. altered it very much; Queen Elizabeth
raised a fine terrace, which was continued by Charles
II, round three sides of the castle; George III. repaired
the beautiful St George’s Chapel; and all the sovereigns
since have greatly increased its splendour. Would you
like to hear of some of the rooms? One is called St
George’s Hall, where the royal banquets are held. Another
is the Waterloo Room, adorned with portraits of the Duke
of Wellington and other celebrated persons who were
R
258 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
living at the time of the battle. Another is the Vandyke
Room, hung with portraits by that celebrated painter. He .
lived in Charles I.’s time; and the pictures are principally
portraits of that unfortunate king, his wife, and pretty chil-
dren. His face looks sad, and reminds one that he was
Wind or Castle,
a prisoner at Windsor before he was taken to Whitehall to
be beheaded. Some of the state rooms are hung with very
beautiful tapestry, on which is worked the story of Queen
Esther and Mordecai. The private rooms for the use of
visitors are in suites, consisting of three or four chambers,
each suite having a private staircase. St George’s Chapel
is considered one of the most beautiful chapels in England.
Here the Knights of the Garter are installed; each has his
appropriated seat, over which waves, in crimson and gold,
his special banner. Within this chapel, many who once
wore earthly crowns, now lie buried. The rival kings of
BERKSHIRE. 259
York and Lancaster; the cruel Henry VIII.; the unfor-
tunate Charles I.; good old George III.; and the sailor
king, William IV.* The contrast between the pomp of the
living and the vaults of the dead is very great, and seems
to speak to us in the words of Jesus, ‘‘ Lay not up for your-
selves treasures on earth, where rust and moth doth corrupt,
and thieves break through and steal, but lay up for your-
selves treasures in heaven, where neither rust nor moth
doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor
steal.†There is a beautiful monument to the Princess
Charlotte, George IV.’s only child. Everybody loved her,
and she loved God; and all England mourned when she
died. On the base of the monument, the sculpture re-
presents the princess lying powerless and dead; whilst
above, it shows her rising heavenwards, two angels beside
her, one holding her new-born baby, and the other leading
her to glory. Here, too, died in 1861, the good Prince
Albert, Queen Victoria’s beloved husband. Then England
kept a sad Christmas holiday, for a good and wise prince
was dead, and our Queen’s heart was well-nigh broken.
He is buried in a beautiful mausoleum,
Everything about Windsor is interesting; the fine old
trees of its wide forest, the beauty of Virginia Water, the
elms of the long walk, and even the stables, with their
beautiful horses, from the splendid Arabian charger to the
tiny Shetland pony.
The view from the Round Tower, where the royal ban-
ner waves, is very extensive. From it twelve counties
may be seen. Try to count them on the map.
I should like to tell you of some of the old oak and
beech trees of Windsor Forest and Park, of the oak called
Queen Victoria’s Own, which before a branch is thrown
out is fifty feet, or nearly seventeen yards high;t of the
* Pages 160, 208, 209, 256. + Pages 157, 164, 196.
260 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
beautiful deer, of the white Cashmere goats; of the lovely
views; of the late Prince Consort’s model farm, and of
Queen Victoria’s school, where I have heard she and the
princesses often teach the little children. But I fancy
you will like still better to hear a story—a story of our
good old king George III. and a little shepherd boy.
A little shepherd boy was sitting on a wall under a tree,
with a book in his hand, when an old gentleman came up
and asked him, “ What book have you there?â€
“The A BC Book,†said the boy, fearlessly.
“Can you read, then?â€
“ A little.â€
“Let me hear,†said the gentleman and kind king, for it ~
was he who stood beside the little fellow and heard him read.
“Can you spell words of two syllables?â€
“ Yes, I think go.â€
“ Abbot, then.â€
* Ab, ab, bot, bot.â€
“ Right, now crimson.â€
This, the child also spelt; and the king said, “Do you
go to school, and do you read the Bible?â€
The lad’s face fell, and he answered sadly, ‘ Mother
is too poor to send me to school, and she has only a part
of the Bible, and that is so torn and dirty, that it is quite
useless,â€
“Ah, that is bad, very bad, indeed. What is her
name? Where does she live?â€
The boy replied, and the king left him. The child felt
disappointed because he did not get a penny from the gen-
tleman for spelling so well.
The king went home, and taking a Bible, wrote ou its
title page, ‘From George III. to M.†He then put into
it a £5 note, told his secretary to take the parcel as di-
rected, desired that the little boy should be sent to school,
HERTFORDSHIRE. 261
adding, “ Let it be sent forthwith; for it is our will and
pleasure that every one in our kingdom shall have the
opportunity of reading the Bible.â€
HERTFORDSHIRE,
As the Thames leaves Buckingham, it receives a little
river from the north, called the Colne. Its source will
take us into Hertfordshire. We will hear all we can of
this small but cheerful county, before I tell you of the
still smaller, but much more important one, Middlesex.
I call it a cheerful county, because there are no large
towns, with close streets, neither are there extensive com-
mons, nor morasses, nor barren lands, and the whole
county is dotted over with gentlemen’s seats, and smil- ,
ing little cottages, and pretty straggling villages, with
their spires looking upwards to the sky, or church towers,
which seem to tell us that God is our refuge and our
streneth.* Hertford is, also, very full of trees; its lanes
being overhung with their branches. The oak is so plen-
tiful, that it is called the weed of Hertfordshire. If you
look on the map, you will see that here the rivers run south,
whilst, in Bedfordshire, they all run north. Would you,
therefore, expect to find the north of the county hilly or
flat? The chalk hills, of which we have heard in Oxford
and Buckingham, extend across the north of Hertford,
continuing the name of Chilterns, until they enter Cam-
bridge,—under what. very strange name? f
Most of the land is arable; its wheat and barley are
very good, In the south-west there are many orchards,
where, in June, you may gather bright red cherries, and
in August, golden apples.t The hay is excellent; and the
* Pages 72, 89, 168. + Pages 168, 240, 249. + Pages 199, 207, 216.
262 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
straw being of good quality, as in Bedfordshire, many
cottagers are employed in plaiting it.* Much paper is
made in this county.
The principal rivers are, the Colne, in the west; the
Lea, which crosses the centre, and then forms a part of
the eastern boundary. In Hertfordshire is also the New
River, a sort of canal, or artificial stream, cut in King
James I.’s time, in order to supply London with water.
It was principally made at the expense of Sir Hugh
Myddelton, a wealthy and energetic citizen. He ac-
complished the undertaking; and, to this day, the
citizens of London feel the benefit of his work; but,
I am sorry to say, it cost him all his own large fortune,
and he died a poor man, yet happier, I think, than if
he had died rich, and had made no one better or
healthier.
Now let us begin Hertfordshire on the west side, fol-
lowing the rivers and their tributaries, In the very west
is Tring, on the North-Western Railway. The chief part of
the town is new. It has a manufactory for silk. Further
east, following the little river Gade, and also the rail-
way, we reach Berkhampstead, the birthplace of Cowper,
the poet.{ Here are the remains of an ancient castle,
belonging to the Princes of Wales. When William I.
marched to London, after the Battle of Hastings, the
Abbot of St Alban’s met him here, and made him
promise to keep all the good old Saxon laws. William
made the promise, but very soon, as you know, broke
it. Berkhampstead was a royal nursery in James I.’s
time. Here lived, when little boys, Prince Henry, who
died early, and Prince Charles, afterwards the unfortu-
nate king, who was beheaded. Hemel Hempstead is
east of this, where are some of the largest paper-mills in
* Page 162. + Page 165. $ Pages 180, 250.
HERTFORDSHIRE. 263
England. Following the little Gade, we reach King’s
Langley, where Henry III. built a palace, and where
Richard II. is buried, and very near it is Abbot’s Langley,
where Nicolas Brakespeare, the only Englishman ever
made a Pops, was born, Though he allowed the Emperor
Frederic to hold the stirrup of his horse, he was so hard-
hearted and selfish, that he suffered his own mother to
receive alins from the Church at Canterbury. The Gade
joins the Colne at Rickmansworth, near which are flour,
silk, and paper mills.
Now, we must trace the Colne, and I shall tell you of
two principal towns on its banks, The first is St Alban’s,
built on the site of the ancient Roman city, Verulam. St
Albans is one of those towns, very important in bygone
days, but not so now. We, however, often love old things,
and so we like to think of the ruins and buildings of old
towns, and wonder what has happened in former times.
Thus you may fancy the Romans mustering their legions
at Verulam, and the cohorts marching off, headed by a
Severus or a Constantine; or you may imagine Queen
Boadicea and her brave but savage Britons, suddenly
descending on the city and massacring thousands of the
Romans.*
The town was called St Alban’s, after the first British
martyr. The story of his death is very interesting.
He was a citizen of Verulam, and had given shelter to a
Christian, who fled thither from Wales, during the per-
secution in the reign of the Emperor Diocletian. Alban,
having heard that the Christian’s retreat was discovered,
sent him away secretly, before the arrival of the soldiers,
whom the judge had sent to arrest him. Then he put on
his clothes, and surrendered himself to the soldiers instead
of giving up the man whom they sought. Standing before
* Pages 3, 179, 198.
264 DEAR OLD ENGLAND,
the judge, he boldly threw off the cloak, declared how he
had let the persecuted Christian escape; and likewise
made known his belief in the crucified Saviour. The
anger of the judge was great. Alban was first very
severely scourged, and then, as he would not deny Christ,
he was led away to a neighbouring hill and beheaded.
The great town of Verulam has perished; but from its
ruins has been built the town which bears the name of
the once despised martyr. God, you know, has said,
“Them that honour me, I will honour.’ The Abbey
church is a very large one, built in various. styles, and of
all sorts of stones, probably old stones of Verulam. The
monastery, the abbot of which was once reckoned the first
in England, was destroyed in Henry the Eighth’s time. ~
Here is buried Humphrey, the good Duke of Gloucester,
uncle and guardian to Henry VI., who was only one year
old when he became king.* Two great battles were fought
during this reign at St Alban’s, in one of which Henry
was taken prisoner, and in the other he, or rather his wife,
Margaret of Anjou, was successful} The next town on
the Colne is Watford, a long straggling town, with several
silk mills.
Before we follow the Lea, try and find in the north of
the county, amongst the chalky hills of which I have
told you, Royston, Baldock, and Hitchin, all market
towns, with large breweries, and inhabitants engaged in
straw-plaiting. These towns are built on the old Roman
roads, which pass through this county, leading northward
from London.
The first town on the Lea is Hatfield. Near it is Hat-
field House, once a royal residence, where both Edward
VI. and Queen Elizabeth were living when they heard of
their succession to the throne. It now belongs to the
* Page 245. + Pages 19, 209. Pages 82, 148, 194.
HERTFORDSHIRE. 265
Marquis of Salisbury. Some years ago, a great part of the
old house was burnt down, and the Marchioness burnt to
death.*
Further down the Lea is Hertford, where was also a
royal castle. Here John of France and David of Scot-
land were confined as prisoners in Edward the Third’s
_ reign.
At Hertford, the Lea is joined by the Beane. Not
very far from the upper part of its course, with the
church standing on a pretty height, is Stevenage. Here
was erected, in the reign of Henry VIL, the first paper-
mill of which we have authentic information; but
Shakespeare informs us that one had been erected about
forty years before, by Lord Saye, and the worst charge
that the ignorant and insolent Jack Cade and his mob
could bring against that nobleman was, that he had em-
ployed printing, and had built a paper-mill. Further down
the Beane is Watton, for many years the parish where
good Edward Bickersteth laboured. His name you will
learn to love, for he loved God very much.
At Amwell, near Hertford, is the river-head where com-
mences the cutting of the New River. Near this is Ware,
with its seventy malting houses for the London breweries.t
It was to Ware that John Gilpin’s horse would go; for
there its master, the calender, lived. Perhaps you remem-
ber how he refused his friend’s hospitality, because
, Said John, ‘It is my wedding day,
And all the world would stare, ~
If wife should dine at Edmonton
And I should dine at Ware.’ â€
Further down the Lea is Cheshunt, where is still seen
the house in which Richard Cromwell, who might have
succeeded his father, spent his quiet life, and died, aged
* Page 145. + Pages 30, 237. £ Pages 153, 250.
266 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
eighty. Near the borders of Middlesex, is Waltham
Cross. It is one of the places where good Queen Eleanor’s
body rested, on its way to Westminster from Grantham
in Lincolnshire, where she died. Her husband, Edward I.,
built a cross at each of the fifteen places where the sad
procession halted. The cross at Waltham is the best pre-
served of any of these beautiful erections. * ,
And now, I think we have found a great deal of interest
in so small a county as Hertfordshire. How much more,
though, will there be in the yet smaller Middlesex, which
I hope we shall reach to-morrow.
MIDDLESEX.—Part I.
To-pay we reach the most important county of all
England, and yet almost the smallest, the county of
great London, which is not only the capital of England,
but also the largest city of the civilised world. Great
London is, therefore, of far more consequence than little
Middlesex; but, as I do not like little things to be for-
gotten when great things come, I will tell you of Middle-
sex first, and of London afterwards. There is a good but
very long adjective for Middlesex, which distinguishes it
from all the other counties in England, me-tro-pol-i-tan,
because of London the metropolis, or great town.
Middlesex has the Thames bounding it on the south,
and the map must tell you what counties touch it north,
south, east, and west. Our old Hertfordshire friends, the
Colne, the New River, and the Lea, run through it. There
are no mountains, but in the north are some pretty rising
grounds, The only kind of farming produce for which
Middlesex is famed is hay, the making of which is well
understood.¢ About 8000 cows are kept in the county,
* Page 153. + Page 201.
MIDDLESEX. 267
to help to supply the immense demand for milk in London.
To meet this demand, many dairymen mix the milk with
water, and then thicken it with chalk, so that it is very
difficult in London to get wholesome milk. There are no
minerals in Middlesex, and I do not think a rock could be
found in the whole county. The soil is either clay or
gravel. These rest on chalk, and form what is called the
basin of London. Many interesting fossils are found in it,
not nearly so ancient as those in the marble rocks of:
Derbyshire, in the alum cliffs of Yorkshire, or in the coal
beds of Durham. Of the clay a great many bricks are
made, and gravelly soil is particularly healthy for a town,
as the wet easily sinks through it. Along the banks of
the Thames there are many gardens, whose apple trees, in
spring, form a mass of white blossom.
The first town of any consequence on the Colne is Ux-
bridge, where a great quantity of bricks are made. Fur-
ther down is Horton, where Milton lived for some years.*
In the church is the slab which marks the burial-place of
his mother. That great poet studied very hard when
living here, for he felt that if he wished to write any-
thing more than ordinarily good, he must take more than
ordinary pains. Staines, very near Magna Charta Island,
of which more hereafter, stands at the junction of the
Thames and Colne.
Now, following the Thames a short distance, we reach
Hampton, about a mile from which is the magnificent
palace of Hampton Court. It was originally built by the
proud Wolsey, who always seemed unusually proud when
he stayed there} Discovering, however, that his master,
Henry VIII., was jealous that he should live in a grander
palace than himself, he presented it to the king, and here
was born that good young prince Edward VI. There are
* Pages 169, 198. + Pages 190, 243.
268 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
three large and very fine courts, one built by Wolsey,
another by Henry, and the third in the time of William
ILI. The last king who lived here was George II. There
is a splendid banqueting hall, and twenty-six other rooms,
with 1000 pictures, some very fine, others curious, and
others inferior. The gardens were laid out in the Dutch
fashion by William III. They look very formal, but
curious. The trees are magnificent. The largest vine
in Europe grows here; its grapes in one season weighed
about a ton. The fruit is reserved for the Queen’s
table. At Hampton Court, in James I's time, the
bishops and clergy consulted about the best transla-
tion of the Scriptures, and gave us the precious English
Bible as we now read it. Learned men are again con-
sulting to make, if possible, a still more exact transla-
tion.
Close to Hampton Court is another royal residence,
Bushy Park, where good Queen Adelaide lived. It re-
ceives its name from its very pretty old thorn-trees.
_ The Thames next passes Teddington, so called because
the ebb and flow of the tide ceases there. The largest
manufactory in England of wax candles is at this village.
A little further on, the river reaches Twickenham. Here
lived the poet Pope. Perhaps you know a beautiful piece
of his poetry, beginning,
“Vital spark of heavenly flame.â€
At Isleworth, a little rivulet joins the Thames. If we
follow this to its source, we shall reach almost the north
of Middlesex; and on one of the highest hills of the county,
we should see Harrow, with its old church and lofty
spire. Harrow has a school for boys, which is as cele
brated as that of Eton.* It was founded nearly 300 years
* Page 252.
MIDDLESEX. 269
ago, by John Lyon, a farmer of the parish, for the free
instruction of the boys of Harrow; but strangers were
to be allowed to go on the payment of certain sums of
money. It would not now be a suitable school for the poor;
but a good English school has been provided for them.
Near the Thames, on a branch of this little tributary,
is Hounslow. Here are great gunpowder mills. An ex-
plosion in one of these is very terrific, and may be heard
for many miles around. Near this is Hounslow Heath,
once noted for highway robberies; but now famed for
military reviews. Below Isleworth, the banks of the
Thames are very pretty,—Kew Gardens on the one side,
and Sion House, belonging to the Duke of Northum-
berland, on the other. Further on, at Brentford, the little
Brent runs into the widening Thames. Here a great quan-
tity of soap is made. If we track the Brent, we almost
reach Hertfordshire. I will tell you, therefore, of Barnet,
a town partly in Middlesex and partly in Hertfordshire.
In stage-coach days the common was noted for robberies,
and Barnet was the first stage in travelling north from
London. Here four horses could be harnessed in less than
aminute.* The railways have taken from it this celebrity ;
but you will like to think that the most famous inn for sup-
plying horses for coaches and beds for travellers is now an
orphan house for soldiers’ children, Near Barnet was fought
one of the bloody battles of the Roses, in which the Earl of
Warwick, who then supported Margaret of Anjou, was de-
feated and slain.t Adjoining is Hadley, with an ancient
church, on the top of whose tower is an old iron basin, for
holding the fire that was to give warning, in the days of
beacon-telegraphs.¢
Some of the little rills the Brent receives flow from the
pretty hills to the north vf London, the hills on which
* Page 189. + Pages 19, 45, 51, 123, 209,264. + Pages 16, 28.
270 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
Hampstead and Highgate stand. In former days this was
a very dangerous country, infested with highwaymen, who
stopped noblemen’s or gentlemen’s carriages, and demanded
either money or life. There is astory of one, called Claude
Duval, who stopped a lady’s coach, in which were four
hundred pounds. He agreed to take only one hundred, if
she would alight and dance with him upon the heath. I
think it must have been a sorry dance, with failing heart
and trembling limbs.*
The next interesting place on the Thames is Chiswick,
where magnificent flower shows used to be held; roses,
geraniums, dahlias, and verbenas, arranged in beautiful
order, and specimens exhibited of the finest kinds. Here,
too, is Devonshire House, where two great statesmen, Fox
and Canning, died. Next on the Thames is Hammer-
smith, with a beautiful iron bridge. This town, with
others, such as Hampstead and Highgate, are still called
villages. So they were a few years ago; but now they
each contain from 20,000 to 40,000 inhabitants. People
wonder, as they draw near London, from north or south,
or east or west, to see the numbers of new houses spring-
ing up; and they say, “To what will London grow at
last?â€
has been the palace of the Bishops of London from the
time of Henry VII.
MIDDLESEX.—Panrt IL.
LONDON.
Brrore we travel through London, from west to east, I
must try and give you some idea of this vast metropolis
of Great Britain. If you live a long way from London,
* Page 186.
MIDDLESEX. 271
you will like to know what great London is like, and, if
you live in London, you will like to find out whether your
eyes tell the same tale, when you look at this book and
when you walk through the streets. First, then, I will tell
you something about its people; secondly, about its size;
thirdly, its history; and, fourthly, its manufactures and
commerce, This will do for chapters for two days, and
then you shall have others describing the parks and pal-
aces, the gardens and bridges, the churches and public
buildings, the museums and charities, for which Lundon is
so famous.
First, the population. London is the most populous
- city in Europe. It is reckoned that three million and
a quarter of people live in it. You know a million isa
thousand thousand. Were you ever in a large church
with one thousand people present. Well, try and fancy
three thousand of such churches all put together and
crowded with people, and you may get an idea of the
population of great London. Now do you ask, and what
are so many people doing? A great variety of work; and,
if you walked through the streets, you would think that
every person looked busy about something. London is
quite a city for work, it is no idle place. When people
want to rest, they always try to leave London. It is a
place for the richest and for the poorest people. There our
queen has her palaces; the grand nobility have their
splendid mansions ; the merchant princes have their lux-
urious houses; and there is to be found the garret, with
its piteous inmates lying amongst heaps of rags; the
cellar, where, amidst a horrible stench, and filthy vermin
and cold damp, poor neglected children are living, and
perhaps dying. The contrasts in London, between ex-
ceeding splendour and dire poverty, are most sad. But in
this great city are many good people, who give their
Oi DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
money and their time to help the poor; and I trust that
these are more cared for now than formerly. In everv
parish there are schools, where a great many boys and
girls are clothed and educated. Once a year there is a
gathering of about 10,000 of these children beneath the
high dome in St Paul’s Cathedral. They sing most
sweetly, and have a sermon preached to them. It is
a beautiful sight; each school arriving with its banners
and devices waving, and the children looking clean and neat
in their different costumes. Thousands of visitors like-
wise assemble, all within that grand cathedral, and the
children’s voices ascend, like the sound of many waters.
It seems a whisper of that time, when, from all lands and
kindreds, the young and the old shall be gathered together
to sing their glad hallelujahs. Notwithstanding all these
schools, there are many thousand children, whose parents
are too poor or too wicked to send them to school at all;
but ragged schools have been established for them, and
many that would have been beggars or thieves are now
taught to earn their bread honestly. Some have been
formed into brigades for standing in the corners of the
streets to blacken shoes. They are dressed in uniform,
from the colours of which the brigades are named, red,
yellow, brown, &c. Many boys have thus earned enough
money to pay their passage to Australia.
Has it entered into your young thoughts—no food grows
in London. How are all these thousand thousands of
people fed? I hardly know how to tell you the manner
in which, every day, fish and flesh, vegetables and groceries,
are brought into London. There is enough to supply every
inan’s wants, and yet no human being directs the provisioa-
ing. It is truly arranged by God’s providence, who gives
to all living things their meat in due season. It has been
calculated that every week-day, there ave slaughtered, on
MIDDLESEX. 273
an average, 5000 sheep, 800 oxen and 100 calves, 11,000
fowls, between 2000 and 3000 hares and rabbits, and
about 100 pigs, without reckoning the bacon and ham
sent up cured. The quantity of fish is enormous; and
of eggs, the foreign ones alone number 75,000,000 every
year.
To give a still better idea of the quantity of food con-
sumed in London during the year, I will mention some
calculations made in the Quarterly Review, a few years
ago. Supposing we could pile together in Hyde Park all
the barrels of beer consumed in London, we should have
about one thousand columns, not far short of a mile in
perpendicular height. Now, if you stood on their
summit, and looked along the northern road for all the
oxen consumed in London in one year, they would reach,
travelling ten abreast, the whole way to Peterborough. If
you looked westward for the sheep, the shepherd at the
end of the flock, also marching ten abreast, would be just
leaving Bristol, one hundred and twenty miles distant.
For seven and a half miles eastward the road might be
crowded with calves; and for the same distance, another
road might be filled with slowly-pacing, deeply-grunting
pigs. Then you might imagine the air become suddenly
dark with birds, both game and poultry; and they would
form a square of nearly fifty-one acres, as large as St
James’s Park. Again, Hyde Park might become suddenly
filled with hares and rabbits; and if they were feeding,
two thousand abreast, they would extend at least a mile.
To get an idea of the bread consumed, imagine a pyramid
of loaves, sixty-seven yards square, and piled up to be four
hundred and thirty-one yards high. Regarding vegetables,
all I shall tell you is, that 40,000 people are continually
employed in preparing, or selling, or carrying them. The
supply of water fit for drinking is astonishing ; and also of
8
274 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
gas for lighting. There are thousands of miles of pipes
below the streets of London.
London is reckoned more healthy than any other large
city in Europe. Less rain falls here than in most places
in England. During November there are often very thick
fogs, of a dull, deep yellow colour. It becomes so dark,
that lights are needed in the middle of the day ; sometimes
neither carriage nor steamboat can move, and passengers
pass along with link-boys running beside them, holding
lighted torehes.
Secondly, the size of London. It altogether covers
twenty-one square miles, and its complete circuit, includ-
ing the suburbs, is about sixty miles, If you live in the
north of England, you must remember it is about as large
as twenty-seven Newcastles, or fifty Yorks. It would
take more than five Manchesters to make one London.
If you live in the middle of England, remember it is as
large as forty Leicesters, or ten Birminghams; if in the
east, thirty-five Norwiches, or one hundred and thirty-
eight Lincolns; if in the south, nearly sixty Exeters or
fifty Southamptons. It comprises a very great part of
the county of Middlesex, and stretches into Essex and Kent,
besides having a large portion lying in Surrey. Railways
encircle it, and an underground railway passes under its
midst, by which thousands of persons travel every day.
The city of London forms a small, but a very impor-
tant part, of the London metropolis—the part of commerce
and merchandise. During the day, it is densely populated.
The streets are crowded with people hurrying to and
fro; and cabs, and carriages, and carts, and omnibuses are
so numerous, that these vehicles are frequently blocked
up, and for some time cannot move forward. It is wonder-
ful that accidents are not more numerous; but perhaps in
no town is driving so perfect as in London. There are
|
MIDDLESEX. 275
upwards of ten thousand streets and lanes and squares.
Owing to its great size, you might a long time walk or
drive about London without seeing green fields, or breath-
ing country air. I remember once meeting the boys of the
shoe-black brigades in the country. As they were march-
ing through a park, a flight of crows passed overhead.
The boys halted, and saluted the crows with a shout of
pleasure, because the sight was so new to them.
With a beautiful story, showing how the poor have
sometimes helped the poor, I will finish this chapter.
A lady called one day in March, at a room in Blooms-
bury. There, crouching over a little bit of fire, and only
half clothed, were several starving children, They had
had no breakfast that day; but a neighbour had just sent
them a loaf of bread. Soon the lady went into the kind
neighbours room, and found her a poor, pale, destitute-
looking woman. Her husband had had no work for six
months; but she had been able to earn something for her
little ones. Her dress was neat and tidy; but when she
rose to open the door, the lady saw that her feet were
bare. “Can it be,†she inquired, “that you have no
boots?†“ Well, ma'am,†she answered, looking ashamed,
“TJ have, and I haven’t; and that’s the truth; for I have
good ones, but I was obliged to put them away last night,
to get bread for my children.†Yet, this was she who
had sent the welcome loaf to the poor starving ones next
door.
My little ones be this your prayer,
Great God, for ragged children care;
And think if you can’t something do
To save from cold and hunger too
Children starving, starving, starving,
276 DEAR OLD ENGLAND,
MIDDLESEX.—Parrt III,
LONDON, (continued.)
Lonpon is supposed to have been originally a British
town. It was not at first the Roman capital, but in
time, finding it admirably suited for commerce, ships
being able to sail up the deep waters of the Thames, the
Romans made it a chief town for their merchants. In the
reign of Constantine the Great, a strong wall was built all
round. Little of this now remains but the names of the
gates, such as Moorgate, Aldersgate, Ludgate, and a street
called London Wall.* In Cannon Street, there was formerly
the central milestone, from which the great Roman roads
started.t A fragment of it is still preserved. There is a
tributary of the Thames called the Fleet, up which ships
could formerly sail; but as years passed, it became smaller,
till at length it was known as the Fleet Ditch. It is still
a very rapid stream, and flows under Farringdon Street.
Although it cannot now be seen, its name is kept up in
that of Fleet Street.t
The city of London has often been nearly burnt
down; the most terrible fire occurred in the reign of
Charles II. Then, street after street caught the flame,
and building after building fell crashing down. The old
cathedral of St Paul’s was totally destroyed; the lead,
becoming molten, poured off its roof. Evelyn, who lived
at that time, describes the frightful sight thus:—‘ God
grant that my eyes may never behold the like, now seeing
above 10,000 houses all in one flame; the noise, and
cracking, and thunder of the impetuous flames; the
shrieking of women and children; the hurry of people;
the fall of towers, houses, and churches, was like a hide-
ous storm; and the air all about so hot and inflamed, that
* Pages 44, 106, 154, 229, 263, + Pages 82, 148,194, 264.
Pages 36, 176.
MIDDLESEX, 2G
at last one was not able to approach it; so that they were
forced to stand still, and let the flames burn on, which
they did for nearly two miles in length, and one in breadth.â€
Frightful as this fire was, London gained real good from
it. The year before, the city had been desolated by the
plague; but now the air was purified, and new and broader
streets were built. Yet, I do not doubt that those two
dreadful calamities were God’s punishments, for the wicked-
ness of man was indeed great upon the earth. There have
frequently been severe pestilences in London; one, in Ed-
ward III.’s reign, was frightfully fatal. ‘London has always
suffered much, when the cholera has raged in England.*
It is, however, much more healthy than formerly—indeed,
it is the healthiest of large towns.
The city had no regular lights till the reign of Henry
V., who ordered cords to be placed across the streets, on
which lanterns were to be hung. Paving was unknown
till the time of Henry VIII. Can you fancy the mud and
mire before that time? Side flags, for foot passengers,
were not placed till James I.’s reign.
It is only within comparatively few years that London
has grown very rapidly. Islington, Kensington, and Chel-
sea, not long ago, were villages in the country. In the
reion of Queen Elizabeth, even St Giles’ and St Martin’s
and Spitalfields were literally “in the fields;†whereas
now, they are in the very heart of the metropolis; and the
Strand, for many ages, was a high road, having on one
side a row of noblemen’s houses, connecting the separate
cities of London and Westminster. Not much more than
100 years since Oxford Street was an uneven road, at the
side of which stood here and there a cottage. At the
present time, it is reckoned that the population of London
increases at the rate of 1000 people every week.+
Tam glad to tell you that the charities in London are
* Pages 29, 80, 108, 129. + Pages 92, 97, 162.
278 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
very numerous. Some hospitals are for diseases of all kinds;
others for particular complaints, such as consumption, fever,
small-pox. There are two hospitals for children—poor
little sick children! The rooms are large and airy; the
matrons are kind, and the children look as happy as sick
little children, without a dear mother, can look. I once
went to one to see a little boy almost blind. There were
many pretty toys in the rooms; and nice children’s books
for those that could read. In the convalescent room there
was a rocking-horse and other pleasant amusements, One
dear little girl had been there for a very long time, and
was not likely ever to leave her bed again. As we walked
through the rooms, several little boys were going to bed,
and we listened as they repeated their prayers. How plea-
sant was the thought, that Jesus cared for these weary
little lambs. There are also in London many reformatories,
for boys or girls who have early learnt bad ways; and
there are asylums for the aged and the maimed; for the
orphan and the helpless; for the idiot and the lunatic.
There are houses to provide nightly shelter for the desti-
tute; and institutions for teaching the blind, ‘and the. deaf
and dumb.*
. The employments of London people are most varied,
from the Queen opening Parliament, to the crossing-
sweeper, who stands all day sweeping away the mud, in
hopes of a passing penny. There live the great statesmen
who help the Queen to govern her mighty dominions; and
the gentlemen who are sent to Parliament to talk about
new laws and taxes. There live numerous clergymen ;
some working very hard in their immense parishes,
and some earnest, eloquent preachers. There meet the
cleverest lawyers, and the most celebrated doctors. There
are the wealthiest merchants, and tradespeople of every
grade. There, too, is the poor over-worked sempstress.
* Pages 182, 231, + Page 5.
MIDDLESEX. 279
“Stitch, stitch, stitch,
In poverty, hunger, and dirt,
And weave with a double thread
A shroud as well as a shirt.â€
The manufactures of London are numerous. The
breweries, the distilleries, and the houses for refining raw
sugar—that is, making coarse sugar white—are the largest
in England.* In one district called Clerkenwell, great
numbers of people are employ:d in clock and watch-mak-
ing.t Spitalfields is the district for silk-weavers.~ There
are many men employed in plate and jewellery; and 14,000
workmen are engaged in printing and book-binding.
Millinery occupies about 40,000 people. London is like-
wise noted for its cabinet-making, and coach-building.
Besides these things, there are great engineering works,
and soap and candle manufactories, and large chemical
and dye-works; many ships, also, are built, and cables
made, and houses unceasingly erected. It would be diffi-
cult to say in what man is not occupied, or what earthly pro-
duction there is, which may not be purchased in this great
city. Amongst all these things I shall only tell you, par-
ticularly, of two printing establishments—the one is great,
but the other is far, far greater. The one is of the Times;
the other, of the British and Foreign Bible Society. The
rapidity with which copies of the Times are struck off is
astonishing. One of the machines prints 12,000 copies in
an hour; and another, an Amevican invention, can even
print 18,000. It is wonderful to see in how short a time
the blank paper, winding round the cylinder, is thrown
out, covered with so much important news. By the Bri-
tish and Foreign Bible Society, God’s blessed book is
printed in nearly 200 different languages, and from it
about 2,000,000 copies of His Word are sent forth yearly,§
Who shall measure the good of those efforts, when we
* Page 231. + Page 122. t Page 113. § Page 2@1,
280 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
have God’s own promise, ‘“ My word shall not return unto
me void?â€
Now I must tell you a little about the Lord Mayor of
London, and then to-day’s chapter will be done. You have
heard of him, no doubt, ever since you sang—
“Turn again, Whittington,
Lord Mayor of London.â€
This worthy citizen is chosen every year on Michaelmas-
day. Whilst his office lasts, he is, within the city, second
only to the king. Excepting one regiment, called the
“Old Buffs,’ no troops can, without the Lord Mayor’s
leave, pass through the city with drums beating or with
colours flying. On the 9th of November, called Lord
Mayor's day, he is installed; he and his retinue proceed-
ing to and returning from Westminster, in gaudy carriages,
with very smart footmen.
The first Lord Mayor was made in the reign of Edward
III. When the sovereign visits the city of London, the
gates of Temple Bar are shut, that the Lord Mayor may
go in form, and present the keys which open them. When
the sovereign dies, the Lord Mayor sits at the Privy Council,
and signs before any subject.
MIDDLESEX.—Part IV.
LONDON, (continued.)
You shall now hear of interesting places in London,
travelling very gradually from the west to the east. Just
below Battersea Bridge is Chelsea. Here is a hospital,
commenced in the reign of Charles II., for old soldiers
who have served long in the British army, A great many
flags and ensigns taken in battle, are hung in the hall and
chagel.. Between four and five hundred old pensioners
MIDDLESEX, 281
live here, and are provided with all they need; and from
the funds of the hospital seventy-six thousand soldiers
receive a pension. We are glad that England cares for
those in old age, who have fought for herin youth, A
very old soldier lies buried at Chelsea, who was married,
when above one hundred years old, and died aged one hun-
dred and twelve. The inscription on his tombstone con-
cludes with these words, ‘Read, fellow-soldiers, and re-
flect, that there is a spiritual warfare, as well as a warfare
temporal.†Nor do you forget that, at baptism, the pro-
mise was made to God that you would “fight manfully
under Christ’s banner, against sin, the world, and the
devil.†Serve Him now, and He will never forget you.
Between Chelsea and Kensington is the warmest part of
London. Here we find one of the consumption hospitals.
where the poor have proper food and all these comforts
which sometimes, for a little while, stay that sad disease.
In South Kensington is a very interesting museum. The
object of it is to lead people to see and copy the beauties
of art, and to give them wise thoughts about common
things, such as food, fuel, clothing. One part is full of
beautiful drawings, paintings, and mosaics, specimens of
china, armour, clock-work, musical instruments, and other
works of art. Here are the famous cartoons of Raphael,
a great Italian painter. They are large Bible pictures,
beautifully drawn, intended to be copied in tapestry, the
fine wool-work of olden days. Another is filled with
books, maps, and models suitable for schools; and others,
with models of inventions that have been made during
eighty years, thus showing how gradually art has reached
its present condition ; with models of building, and speci-
mens from all countries of the materials of which our
houses, food, and clothes are made. You would like to
see the museum lighted, Little cars seem to run along
the ceiling, lighting hundreds of gas jets, and then run
282 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
back, lighting those that may have at first been missed.
Near Kensington Museum are the Horticultural Gardens,
or gardens for making experiments in the cultivation of
plants. Here there are very lovely flower shows. Adjoin-
ing the Gardens is the Royal Albert Hall, a splendid place
for music; and the buildings for the International Ex-
hibitions, where pictures and specimens of manufactured
goods from all nations may be occasionally seen.
Kensington Palace was bought by William III. He
and his wife, Queen Mary, Queen Anne, and George IL,
all died here. But what will interest you most is to know
that it is the birthplace of Queen Victoria, and her home
when a baby and a little girl. There she was residing when,
on June the 20th, 1837, the Archbishop of Canterbury
arrived, in the early morning, to announce the death of her
uncle, William IV., and her own accession to the throne,
At first she wept, and then she begged the Archbishop to
unite with her in prayer, that God would strengthen her
for her many high duties. Kensington Gardens are now
freely opened, and thousands of people continually enjoy
the pleasant shade of its fine old trees, and the smell of
its sweet flowers. Through these gardens and Hyde Park,
which is adjoining, the Serpentine, an artificial river, flows,
where thousands of Londoners bathe in summer and skate
in winter. Hyde Park is the fashionable place for driving
and fishing. Eight hundred carriages have been known
to assemble there at one time. A military review there
is a grand spectacle. Here Queen Victoria reviewed the
Rifle Corps, when they assembled in such great numbers
in 1860, and showed how ready they were to defend their
sovereign; and here the Crystal Palace for the Great
Exhibition of 1851 was erected, A magnificent monument
has been built here to the memory of the good Prince
Albert, who originated these exhibitions, and many other
useful schemes, The horse-road is called Rotten Row,
MIDDLESEX. 283
supposed to have been originally “Route du Roi.†What
does that mean? One of the entrances is under a very
fine marble arch, that once stood in front of Buckingham
Palace. Near it is Tyburn, where, in former days, many
criminals were hung. Under this place lie the bones of
Oliver Cromwell. He had been buried in Westminster
Abbey; but when Charles II. succeeded, his body was
shamefully disinterred, and meanly deposited here.
North of this lies Tyburnia, a district of many well-
built streets and squares, and then passing over Padding-
ton, we reach another beautiful park, laid out when George
IV. ruled in his afflicted father’s stead, and after him called
the Regent’s Park. You will like to hear of Regent's
Park: because the Botanical and the Zoological Gardens
are both enclosed within it.
Here is also St Dunstan’s Villa, in the garden of which
stands the curious old clock which once adorned St Dun-
stan’s, in Fleet Street. There are figures of giants, who do
duty in striking the hours and quarter-hours.
The Botanical Gardens are very beautiful. Not many
years ago, they were a piece of level nursery garden
ground, Now they are hollows and hills, lakes, bridges,
caverns, and streams. There are said to be 10,000 speci-
mens of hardy plants, from all parts of England, arranged
in proper order; also medicinal plants, regularly placed,
and beautiful flowers in parterres. Here, too, there is a
most delightful winter house. Entering it from the frosty
air, one seems transported into a fairy land; one walks
amongst the gayest flowers, and the sweetest perfumes.
The flowers are not growing as in a hot-house, but are as
placed in a garden; plants that we are accustomed to look
upon as shrubs, grow as trees, and the space is so large
that 2000 people may stand inside.
Then there are the gardens which, of all others, children
like the best—the Zoological. I think my little friend, who
284 DEAR OLD ENGLAND,
wrote about Gloucester Cathedral, shall also describe these
toyou. The only interesting animals he has omitted to men-
tion are the pelicans, with pouches under their bills in which
they keep the fish that they have caught for food, and the
birds of paradise with their splendid feathered tails. He
writes :—“I saw the salamander ; it lived in water instead
of fire. I saw some green frogs; they were so pretty, that
auntie said she could have made pets of them; and we
saw an enormous ugly frog, called a bull-frog. I saw a
seal, it is between a fish and an otter; it sometimes was
out and sometimes in the water. The otters are something
like the seals; they did eat fish. I saw the rhinoceros;
its skin was so very thick, it would laugh at the shake of
a spear. There were such beautiful deer, with horns like
the branches of a tree. I saw boa constrictors; they were
very enormous, and they could crush leopards, or almost
an elephant, to death. I saw the rattlesnake ; but did not
hear him rattle with his tail. I saw the puff-adder; it
puffed out its cheeks in such a dreadful way. There were
a great: many vipers, and different kinds of snakes. I saw
magnificent Poll parrots, and all kinds of pretty little birds,
and beautiful pigeons, and cranes, and storks; and I saw
some vultures and eagles, and the bush turkey, which
makes a hill for its nest. The civet cat was something
like my kitten, only a great deal larger, and had a very
nasty smell, which, after you passed, smelt like musk. I
saw the lion, and it did kick up a noise at one time, after
the man had given it a little morsel of meat. The man
put his hand into the tiger’s mouth. Though it is the
fiercest animal, it was quite gentle with him, and was such
a beautiful creature. We saw the nasty wolves, which
had a worse smell than the civet cats. The polar bears
were messing about in water; they were quite white, that
they might hide themselves in the snow. I did not like
the monkeys; I could not bear them, for they did nothing
MIDDLESEX. 285
but fight. A little one almost cried with the way in which
they hunted him about. One monkey was beautiful; it
was white, with a striped tail. We saw a great many
guinea-pigs, all eating, on a heap of grass. We went into
the fish-house, and saw crocodiles and tortoises. I thought
the crocodiles very small. The king-fisher sat on a bough,
and watched for a long time the fish; but I did not see it
eat any. We saw fish alive in their shells, paddling about
the water, and sea-anemones, and white newts. The
clouded tiger was fast asleep on the bough of a tree. It
was very beautiful indeed. I saw the hippopotamus in the
water; it drinks quantities. We saw the elephant; it took
up biscuits in its trunk, and then popped them into its
mouth. Its feet were immense, and its toes enormous.
The giraffe was eating leaves off a tree, with a neck higher
than our drawing-room. It was a very happy day, and I
should like to go there very, very often.â€
The panoramas and dioramas are also great favourites
with the young, giving views of places and scenes large
as life, and very like reality. One of the best was the
earthquake of Lisbon, with the houses falling, the water
rising, and the ground opening. Another was Albert
Smith’s famous ascent of Mont Blanc. The Voyage down
the Mississippi, Battles in India, Paris in flames, and all the
most interesting subjects of the passing day, were shown
on these moving pictures, Madame Tussaud’s wax figures
are also among the sights of London, where famous char-
acters are so modelled and dressed, that they are often
mistaken for living people. One of the best and most im-
proving sights in London is the Polytechnic, where all kinds
of model machinery are in motion; little steam-engines
running, and boats sailing; where you may get into a
diving-bell, and go down below the water; where you may
see dissolving views and wonderful ghosts, and hear very
interesting lectures, about air, light, or chemistry,
286 DEAR OLD ENGLAND,
Regent and Oxford Streets are the two principal ones
for shops and bazaars. The bazaars are collections of stalls
in spacious. buildings, where nearly every kind of pretty
thing is to be bought. The oldest of these is the Soho, in
an old-fashioned square, where the unfortunate Duke of
Monmouth once lived. To-morrow we must go back to
the west, and, starting from Belgravia, talk of Bucking-
ham Palace, and of many interesting places.
MIDDLESEX.—Part V,
LONDON, (continued.)
BELGRAVIA is reckoned one of the most fashionable parts
of London; but very near it are some of the poorest and
worst districts of the metropolis. I do wish that every
person in Belgravia would remember there is work for
him to do in Westminster. Buckingham Palace lies
close to this district. Here Queen Victoria lives when in
London ; here all her sons and daughters have been born;
and here, England’s fair young Princess Royal was married
tothe Prince of Prussia. Other parks adjoin Buckingham
Palace. In St James’ Park Charles II. spent hours every
day in feeding the ducks,
Between the Palace and the Thames lies Westminster,
with its beautiful ancient abbey, and splendid new Houses
of Parliament. Westminster Abbey is interesting, as a
beautiful building, with its many arches and rich tracery;
but more, it is especially interesting as the last resting-
place of many great ones of the earth. Here lie kings and
queens, and princes ; those who have fought against one
another in life, sleep quietly side by side in death. Queen
Elizabeth and her sister Mary are close together; and in
the same chapel is Mary Queen of Scots. Here lie
statesmen and poets; the literary and the scientific. To
’ Houses of Parliament.—Page 287.
MIDDLESEX, 287
be buried in Westminster Abbey, or to have a monument
there, is one of fame’s highest distinctions. Before the battle
- of the Nile, Nelson’s words were, “ Victory or Westminster
Abbey.†One portion is especially filled with monuments
to English poets, and is called the “Poets’ Corner.â€
The beauty of the chapel, in the east end, called Henry
VIL’s, is very great ;* and so is the interest of another, called
Edward the Confessor’s; for here is the coronation chair,
used when our kings and queens have been crowned ever
since the time of Edward I. Beneath it is the stone that
Edward brought from Scotland, and on which it seems very
probable the Scotch kings have really been crowned since
the time of Fergus, 330 years before Christ. The old tra-
dition says, it is the stone on which Jacob’s head rested
when he dreamed ; but this, of course, is only a fable. Close
to the abbey is Westminster School, where many celebrated
men have been, educated, especially poets; such as Her-
bert, Cowley, Dryden, Prior, Cowper, and Southey. Be-
fore Cowley left school; he published a volume of poems.
Westminster Hall is, excepting the hall-at Padua, the
largest room in Europe, unsupported by pillars. It was
first built in William Rufus’ time, and rebuilt by Richard
II. Here took place the trials of Sir Thomas More, Guy
Fawkes, the Earl of Strafford, Archbishop Laud, Charles L,
the seven bishops, and Warren Hastings. ‘Can you find
out, from English history, in whose reigns these famous
people were tried? Adjoining Westminster Hall are the
new Houses of Parliament, the most splendid building
erected in the present age. Do you remember whence the
stone was brought?+ Unfortunately the stone is not so
good as was expected, and is already beginning to decay,
The old houses were destroyed by fire; and these have
been commenced and finished during Queen Victoria's
reign, The grand Victoria tower is the highest, and per-
* Pages 170, 258, + Page 126,
288 DEAR OLD ENGLAND,
haps the most beautiful that has been raised by man.* The
clock tower, too, is of great height. Here is hung Big
Ben, weighing eight tons, the largest striking bell in the
world. Unfortunately, however, there was a crack in the
metal, and Big Ben’s tongue had to be silenced, and the
bell taken down to be recast. The clock has four faces;
and you may imagine its size when I tell you that the
hour numbers are distant from each other, the height of a
man, and that the minute hand is more than five yards
long. There are gilt ornaments on the tower, which look
like toy crowns, but each of which weighs a ton. The
flag is twenty yards long, and fifteen broad.
The Queen generally opens Parliament in the month of
February. Gorgeously attired in her state robes, she
enters the House of Lords, passing through corridors
painted with beautiful frescoes; when she is seated on
her magnificent throne, her faithful Commoners are sum-
moned from the other house to hear her speech, which she
delivers in a clear silvery tone. * Then follows what is
called the parliamentary session. Day after day, and
week after week, the Lords and Commons meet to discuss
the affairs of the nation : and there are made the brilliant
speeches of the statesmen of England; speeches, which the
next day, are inserted in the London daily newspapers, and
are read with interest in all parts of the civilised world.
The importance of these debates is very great; and we
should, indeed, pray that God will so rule the hearts of
our senators, that “peace and happiness, truth and justice,
religion and piety, may be established among us for all
generations.â€
Not far distant is Whitehall, where are the offices of
Government. There is the Admiralty, whence orders are
sent to the British navy in all parts of the world; the
* Pages 153, 209.
+ A fresco is a painting not on canvas, but on the wall.
MIDDLESEX, 289
Horse Guards, whence orders are sent to the army; the
Treasury buildings, where the Prime Minister lives, and
where the Ministers, who have the ordering of home, or colo-
nial, or foreign affairs, have their offices; the Exchequer,
where everything about the revenue or taxes is fixed; and
the house where India business is transacted. Here also
are two interesting museums, One is that of the United
Service, which contains military and naval trophies and
relics, such as the swords of Cromwell, Wolfe, or Nelson,
and those few things found by the Esquimaux, which
told of poor Sir John Franklin’s sad fate. The other is
the India Museum, full of Hindoo idols, carved Chinese
work, Indian gauntlets, and beautifully wrought necklaces.
Among other curiosities is an organ that was intended to
amuse Tippoo Sultan, who cordially hated the English. It
represents a tiger tearing an English soldier to pieces. As
the handle turns, the music plays, the man shrieks loudly,
and after every fourth shriek, the beast growls fiercely.
Travelling north, we reach Trafalgar Square, where is the
National Gallery. Here are exhibited beautiful pictures,
by painters, who lived in different parts of Europe a long
time ago. Many of them painted very lovely pictures of
our Saviour as a little baby, watched over by his mother ;
but others are disfigured by superstitious fancies. A pic-
ture which you would like to see is John the Baptist, as a
boy, in the wilderness of Judea, with a little lamb placing
its foot on his arm. At Burlington House in Piccadilly,
there is an annual exhibition of paintings, by living artists ;
and this is the neighbourhood of picture galleries, and
there are several very good ones,
Crossing from the National Gallery, one of the worst
parts of London, St Giles—the scene of many a frightful
crime; but which, I trust, is even now improving, through
the labours of clergymen, of missionaries, and of Bible
women—vwe reach a building which, next to the Zoologi-
T
‘290 DEAR OLD ENGLAND,
cal Gardens, is, I think, the place in all London you would
most like to see. I mean the British Museum.
_ If you have read ancient and Bible history, you would be
delighted to see the enormous sphinxes, the colossal heads,
the ancient tombs, the preserved mummies, the old lamps,
the drinking utensils, the figures of sacred animals from
the land of Egypt; or to look at the stone tablets, telling
of the huntings, of the fightings, and of the victories of the
kings of Assyria; or to see the great figures which stood
at their temple-gates, with the face of a man, the wings of
the eagle, and the feet, ‘in some cases, of the lion, in some,
of the bull. As yuu look on them, it is interesting to think,
that at those self-same Egyptian figures, Abraham, and
Joseph, and Moses, and Aaron, have probably gazed; and
at these Nineveh sculptures, Jonah, and Ezekiel, and others
of whom we read in the Bible, have looked; and that there
are the portraits of the very Pharaoh who ordered the infants
to be drowned, and of the very Sennacherib who wrote so
insolently to the good king Hezekiah. If you have read
Greek history, you will be interested in seeing some of the
most beautiful sculpture that art has ever produced, from
the Parthenon in Athens, and tales told in marble of com-
bats of Amazons and Greek warriors, of the battle between
the Trojans and Greeks for the body of Patroclus. There
are also elegantly shaped and painted vases from Etruria,
the modern Tuscany, of more ancient date than the founda-
tion of Rome, There are also some of the playthings of
the little Etruscans, small, jointed dolls, just like those you
use, but made of baked earth, called terra cotta, instead of
wood. The Rosetta Stone is one of the most valuable things
in the Museum. This contains the same inscription in
three languages ; one, the Greek, was well known ; another,
the hieroglyphic, had not been understood in modern times,
but, by comparing the two, clever men discovered how to
read what had always seemed incomprehensible riddles an
MIDDLESEX. 251
the Egytian tombs. The third is the demotic. In another
part of the Museum, are all kinds of stuffed beasts, birds,
and fishes; in another, all kinds of shells, and the most
lovely corallines and pieces of coral; in another, are stones
and minerals, excellently arranged; in another, are fossil
plants and animals, those great animals with very long
names, that are now unknown, but which sported in the
waters when God said, “ Let the waters bring forth abun-
dantly living creatures after their kind;†and there are
pieces of stone which bear the footprints of enormous birds,
that stood on the stone, when once it was sand, tens of
thousands of years ago.* The medal-room is filled with
coins of every date; and in the adjoining room are gold
ornaments and jewels of the Greeks and Romans, Oliver
Cromwell’s watch, and many other things; and the library,
I fancy, would almost bewilder you. Imagine, if you can,
more than a million of books.f Many of them are very
rare; amongst others is the earliest printed book known,
a copy of the precious Bible, in Latin, on vellum ; and there
is the first printed book with a date, “1457.†Here, too,
is the original but partially burnt Magna Charta; the
prayer-books of the unfortunate Mary Queen of Scots,
Lady Jane Grey, and Queen Elizabeth; and interesting
letters and MSS., as Oliver Cromwell’s letter, describing
the battle of Naseby,{ the Duke of Wellington’s, written
on the field of Waterloo; Milton’s agreement to give to
his bookseller his splendid poem, Paradise Lost, for £15,§
a piece of music composed and written out by Mozart
when only eight years old, the signature of William
Shakspere, and, altogether, more things than ever I can
tell you, which you will believe, when I say, that the cata-
logue of the library is so large, that it alone would load a
cart,
Not far from the British Museum is the London Uni-
* Page 58. + Page 245, + Page 168. § Page 267.
292 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
versity College, which is particularly celebrated for its
School of Medicine.
In the Strand is Exeter Hall, a very large building,
which holds more than 3000 people. Here, in May,
many clergymen and others meet, to hear of the progress
of missions at home and abroad; and it is delightful to
listen to the thrilling speeches, to receive glad tidings of
fresh work done for Christ, and to hear the thundering
applause which testifies to the rejoicing of those who listen.
Somerset House, also in the Strand, is devoted to vari-
ous purposes; there is King’s College for education, and
there are apartments for several learned societies; there
are offices for stamps and taxes, registrars, &e., in all of
which about 900 clerks are employed. There are 3600
windows in Somerset House. It was the palace built in
Edward VI.’s time by the Protector Somerset, who suddenly
rose to power, and, as suddenly, lost both power and life.
In the next chapter you will, I hope, hear of the city
of London, for remember, we have not yet passed the
city gates. Is not London a wonderful place? and is not
everything in it, of which we talk, large, first-rate, and
well worth seeing ?
MIDDLESEX.—Part VI. -
LONDON, (continued.)
On the western border of the City of London is, what may
be termed, the lawyers’ quarter. Here are the Inns of
Court and the Courts of Chancery. These were once col-
leges for studying law, but are now principally residences
for members of the bar or barristers, with halls, chapels,
and libraries. There are four, the Inner and Middle Temple,
Gray’s Inn and Lincoln’s Inn. The Inner and Middle
Temple are close to Temple Bar. What have I already
told you about that? The Temple is so-called because
MIDDLESEX. 293
the Knights Templars, of whom we read at the time of the
~ Crusades, formerly lived here. The Temple church, where
the knights are entombed, beneath cross-legged effigies,
is a very beautiful place. In the Temple Gardens two
noblemen were once walking, and talking of the different
rights of the houses of York and Lancaster. The one that
‘defended the House of York plucked a white rose, propos-
ing that all who thought with him should do so; the other
plucked a red rose, making it the badge of the House
of Lancaster. Shakspere represents these noblemen ad-
dressing each other thus :—
“ Hath not thy rose a canker, Somerset?
Hath not thy rose a thorn, Plantagenet?â€
A canker that for many dreary years ate into the peace
of England—a thorn which caused life-blood to flow from
many a gallant heart. Along the Thames for some miles
is now raised a broad embankment. It is planted with
trees, and forms a very pleasant drive.
St Paul’s Cathedral is the largest Protestant church in
the world. It was built, after the Great Fire, by Sir
Christopher Wren. Over the entrance of the choir is an
inscription to him in Latin, meaning, “If a monument is
required, look around.†A short lesson for us. Where-
ever we are, let us live to do good, and we shall have
a better monument than a carved one. In St Paul’s crypt
are the graves of some of the men who have fought and con-
quered for dear old England, Lord Nelson,* Lord Colling-
wood,f and the great Duke of Wellington. There are
the graves of great painters, Reynolds, Lawrence, West,
and Turner; of great engineers, Mylne and Rennie, and
of the great architect,.Sir Christopher Wren. The first
monument erected in St Paul’s was to the memory of
Howard the philanthropist.{ A monument in the erypt
is to Dean Collet, who founded St Paul’s school, close to
* Page 184. t+ Page 9. t Page i64.
294. DEAR OLD ENGLAND,
the cathedral. Amongst the celebrated men educated at
this school are Milton, the great poet; Halley, the astro-
nomer; and Churchill, the famous Duke of Marlborough.*
The ascent to the ball is very fatiguing, 616 steps; but the
view early on a clear morning from the Golden Gallery
below it is well worth seeing; the vast metropolis, its
streets, its squares, its public buildings, its many-arched
bridges, its crowded river, and the distant sound of its busy
din. Above the golden ball, which can hold eight people,
is the golden cross. There are several galleries in the
ascent; one is called the Whispering Gallery, the slightest
whisper being conveyed very plainly and rapidly to the
opposite point of the circumference.t At the north-east
corner of St Paul’s Churchyard stood the old St Paul’s
Cross, where bishops and others used, in former days, to
preach out-of-door sermons to crowds of listeners.
Very near St Paul’s is Paternoster Row, famous for
book-publishing. Then passing Newgate Street, a great
market for butcher’s-meat, we find Christ’s Hospital, or the
Blue Coat School, a famous place for education, founded
in the time of Edward VI. The dress is a blue coat,
yellow petticoat, and red leather belt round the waist,
‘yellow stockings, a clereyman’s band round the neck, and
a flat black woollen cap, which is hardly ever worn.
Near this is Smithfield, till lately a great cattle market.
It is very interesting to us, as the place where so many of
the noble army of martyrs were content to suffer cruel death
rather than to deny the faith they loved.
A little further north is the Charter House, a celebrated
public schvol.{ Here Wesley was educated;§ and the
famous writers, Addison and Steele; and Blackstone,
noted for his books on law.
An extremely busy and important part of London lies
* Page 241. + Page 212.
t Page 252, 268. § Page 152.
MIDDLESEX, 295
between Newgate Street and London Bridge. Just at the
corner of Cheapside, in St Martin’s-le-Grand, is the General
Post Office. Wherever you live you have seen letters that
have passed through there, as it is reckoned that these
number about 200,000,000 every year. The rapidity of
sorting is wonderful, almost too great for the strength of
the clerks. Every one is anxious to receive letters quickly;
and the Government is anxious to do all it can to help them.
Then, in Cheapside, is St Mary-le-Bow Church; its bells are
called the Bow Bells. All born within their sound are
styled Cockneys. In Milk Street, on cone side of Cheapside,
Sir Thomas More was born, and opposite, in Bread Street,
the great Milton. In St Giles, Cripplegate, Milton was
EU
buried, and also Fox, who wrote of the martyrs, whilst in the
parish burial-ground were laid good old Bunyan and Defoe,
296 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
the author of Robinson Crusoe.* Near Cheapside is the
Guildhall, where, on the Lord Mayor’s Day, a great dinner
is given in the olden style. One item is 250 tureens of real
turtle soup. At the upper end of the room, all the dishes
are hot; at the lower, all are cold, except the turtle. The
giant figures in this hall are called Gog and Magog.
From Cheapside you enter the Poultry, where ig the
Mansion House, the residence of the Lord Mayor during
the year of his office. Near this in Threadneedle Street,
(a strange name,) is the Bank of England, where 9,000,000
bank notes are issued yearly, and where a great deal of
gold is kept, partly in coin and partly in bars. These
are small slabs of gold, each worth about £800. Nearer
Cheapside stands the Royal Exchange, where merchants
meet and transact business. What exchanges are there
made in one day, of one kind of riches for another! The
old Exchange shared, more than thirty years ago, the fate of
so many London buildings. It was burned by firet As
it burnt, the bells of the tower played one of the Lon-
doner’s favourite airs, and they played on, one by one,
till they fell into the burning flames. A new building
was soon erected, and, on the portico, over the entrance,
was carved a beautifully appropriate text, chosen by the
good Prince Albert, “The earth is the Lord’s, and the
fulness thereof.†This is the bankers’ quarter, and, conse-
quently, a very wealthy part of London,
Not far distant was the old East India House, where
sat the council of the East India Company, which, from
Queen Elizabeth’s time to the year 1859, transacted the
business of that distant and important empire.
In this neighbourhood is what we may call the Jews’
quarter; and here, too, is the synagogue, where the Jews
of London have their religious worship every Sabbath,
* Pages 267, 154, 163, 54, + Pages 276, 287.
MIDDLESEX, 297
that is from 6 P.M. Friday to 6 p.m. Saturday, and special
services at the time of their Passover, which is our Easter.
Near London Bridge is the Monument, marking the
place where the dreadful fire commenced. Immediately
below it is Billingsgate, the great fishmarket, once very
notorious for the coarse scolding language there heard.
East of this is the Custom House, where millions of money
are received by Government every year in taxes on articles
brought from foreign countries. Thus, a certain sum of
money is paid on every chest of tea, on every hogshead of
wine, and on many other things, and this helps, like other
taxes, to pay our soldiers, sailors, &c.
Further on is the Tower, that Tower of which you have
so often read in the History of England, where many great
men, and some that were good, moreover, were beheaded
or murdered. Here were smothered, by cruel Richard’s
order,* the fair little princes, Edward V. and the Duke of
York, and here the Duke of Clarence was, by his brother,
Edward IV., drowned in Malmsey wine. Women also
suffered. Anne Boleyn, clasping her little neck laid it
down beneath the executioner’s axe; and the pious Lady
Jane Grey committed her spirit to the God who gave it.f
If walls could speak, there are none in England that could
tell of such varied scenes as those of the Tower, of kingly
feasts, of quartered troops, of captive prisoners. Some in-
scriptions, written in Queen Mary’s reign, on the walls of
the prison cells, can still be traced. One is “ He that en-
dureth to the end shall be saved.†Another, “Be faithful
unto the death, and I will give thee a crown of life;†and
another, “ As virtue causeth life, so sin causeth death.â€
In the tower is now kept the regalia of England; the:
beautifully gemmed crown, which our Queen wore at her
coronation, and four other crowns; the orb, an emblem of
universal sovereignty, the gulden eagle, from which the
* Pages 143, 144. t Page 291.
298 DEAR OLD ENGLAND,
anointing oil is poured; the sword of mercy; the royal
sceptres, and other kingly symbols. Here, also, is an
armoury, the oldest in the kingdom, and containing many
curious relics of ancient days. One part is called the
Horse Armoury, and contains twenty-two figures on horse-
back, the size of life. They are dressed in the annour
worn in different reigns, from the time of Edward I, to that
of James IT, and give an admirable idea of the appearance
of ancient knights, mounted on their chargers, ready for
battle. There are also ancient halls filled with modern
weapons; some are very beautifully arranged in the shape
of leaves and flowers, and a bayonet plume of the Prince
of Wales’ feather. Before we leave the Tower, with all its
dark and mournful memories, I will tell you one story,
somewhat brighter and very curious, about a prisoner, in
Richard I1’s time. He was thrown into one of the Tower
dungeons, and would have been starved to death, had not
a cat daily visited him, laden with provision, This was
a pigeon, which pussy stole each night from a neighbour-
ing dove-cot. When the knight was liberated, he always
showed particular fondness for cats, and whenever his
picture was drawn, a cat was represented beside him.
Near the Tower is the Mint, where every piece of money
used in England is coined, and marked with the sovereign’s
image. The steam power with which this is done is so
great, and the arrangements so complete, that £50,000 of.
bullion (the term for the metal before stamped) can be, in
twenty-four hours, changed into coin. The great Sir lsaac
Newton* was once Master of the Mint, and lately Sir John
Herschel the astronomer, of whose father I have told you.t
Further east lie the docks. What particularly distin-
guishes them from those of other large towns, are the im-
mense warehouses and cellars for storing away goods.
Those for tobacco cover five acres, At one part-called the
* Page 149. + Page 253.
MIDDLESEX. 299
Kiln bad tobacco is burned, and the long chimney that
carries away its smoke is called the “ Queen’s pipe.†The
vaults for the wine are far larger, one alone covering
twelve acres. Ask the size of some square or field you
know of to get an idea of this extent. It is very strange to
go for miles through the dimly-lighted passages with great
hogsheads of wine on either side. Rats swarm in the
warehouses; it is said that the cats kept there to clear the
rats cost £100 a year.
The West India Docks, where immense quantities of
rosewood or mahogany may be seen, are cut across the
isthmus connecting the Isle of Dogs with Middlesex.
Here the land is very low and unhealthy ; but the work
done in ship-building, ship-loading, &c., is immense. Here
the Great Eastern was built.*
At this point the River Lea enters the Thames, and sepa-
rates Middlesex from Essex. Its short course will lead
me to speak of one or two small towns, and then we shall
cross the River Thames, and enter Surrey. Enfield, Ed-
monton, and Tottenham, are small towns on or near the
Lea. At Enfield are the remains of a royal palace. Its
grounds, no longer forest land, are still known by their
ancient name—the Chase. At Edmonton is the Bell, the
famous inn where Johnny Gilpin wished to dine ; and at
Tottenham is another place where Queen Eleanor’s body
rested.¢ The last of those resting-places was at Charing
Cross, in London, and in its name Charing, you may trace
that of Chére Reine. Here a new cross, copied from the
old one, has been recently built.
I should like you to imagine a few walks in London,
or to make lists of palaces, churches, exhibitions, Govern-
ment offices, famous men, or employments, connected
with this great metropolis.
* Pages 29, 33, 97, 281. + Page 266.
300 DEAR OLD ENGLAND,
SURREY.— Parr I.
LONDON, (continwed.)
Brrors I tell you of the county of Surrey, you shall hear
about London on the south side, and of the famous bridges
which connect Middlesex and Surrey. We will begin with
Battersea, where there are two bridges—one for the rail-
way. This was once a famous place for wild flowers, and
here the first asparagus was grown; but now it is chiefly
remarkable for the quick growth of villas. Battersea Park
has been recently made, and its fresh air is very valuable
to the inhabitants of the neighbourhood. Further down
the Thames is Lambeth, the palace of the Archbishops of
Canterbury, in the chapel of which they have all been con-
secrated since the reign of Henry III. One part is called
the Lollards’ Tower, for here it was supposed that the per-
secuted followers of Wycliffe were confined.* There are
large iron rings in the wall, probably for the purpose of
chaining prisoners.
Below Lambeth Palace is Westminster Bridge, quite a
new building... From it there is a beautiful view of the
new Houses of Parliament. East of this is Bethlehem Hos-
pital, generally called Bedlam, for unfortunate lunatics,
Not far from this is a central point, to which the various
roads passing along the different bridges converge. Here is
built an obelisk, which gives its name to the spot. In this
neighbourhood is Spurgeon’s immense chapel, where this
celebrated preacher addresses many thousands of people
at once. Further down the river, beyond iarge candle
and other manufactories, is Charing Cross Railway Bridge,
very long and traversed by four lines of railway. Then
comes Waterloo Bridge, thought by many to be the finest
* Page 144,
SURREY. 301
in the world! Then Blackfriars’ Bridge, from which is
the best view of St Paul’s Cathedral. Close to this is an-
other railway bridge. Then Southwark Bridge, a very
handsome iron one; and, lastly, London Bridge, built of
the finest granite, and having the greatest traffic of any
bridge whatever. The old London Bridge, which had
houses built along its walls, was once the only one to span
the Thames, and when it was proposed to build a new
one at Westminster, the bargemen of the Thames most
violently opposed it. Now, no city in Europe has bridges
at all equal to those of London. Two miles below London
Bridge is a more wonderful structure still—not a bridge
over the river, but a tunnel beneath it. It cost a great
deal of money, but is nearly useless, as no carriages nor
carts can pass.
The south side of London is very inferior to the north.
St Saviour’s Church is reckoned one of the most beautiful
ancient buildings of the metropolis, and very interesting, as
being the scene where the cruel Bishop Gardiner arraigned
the Protestants, in Queen Mary’s reign. Near this were
two very large hospitals, St Thomas’s and Guy’s, for the
sick and lame, where the poor patients are carefully
attended, and everything done to relieve their sufferings.
St Thomas’s has, however, been removed to where the air
is fresher and sounds gentler, for this is the neighbourhood
of the South-Eastern Railway Terminus, one of the busiest
in England. I have not told you of the railway termini
in London, and yet they are amongst the most remarkable
features of the present century. The buildings are excel-
lent, and the arrangements most careful. The bustle and
stir of them must often greatly surprise people coming, for
the first time, from the country.
We must leave London now, and I will endeavour to
tell you what I can about the county of Surrey. But first
3802 DEAR OLD ENGLAND,
tell me what you can—relative size?—counties bordering
on it ?—any rivers ?—any hills?
Surrey is very varied in its surface and in its inhabitants :
some extensive districts being barren heaths, and others
fertile gardens; some parts being wild and almost moun-
tainous, others the evident suburbs of a metropolitan city.
In some parts, the inhabitants are simple countrymen; in
others, adepts in London thieving. Jn parts, the parishes
have a few hamlets sprinkled on the mountain side, a few
cottages on the heath; in others, they consist of crowded
thoroughfares, and the close alleys of the most populous
city of the world.
The hills that stretch across the county from west to
east are the North Downs,* and further south is a range
of sandstone hills, called the Hog’s Back. The highest of
them is Leith Hill, from which, on a clear day, ten counties
may be seen. Which are they? These hills are chiefly
covered with heather and furze, numbers of adders leaving
their hiding places, on a hot summer’s day, to bask in the
sunshine.
There are no mines at present worked in this county;
though, in the time of the Tudors and Plantagenets, the
most famous district for iron was in Surrey, Kent, and
Sussex.{ Now, however, it bears no resemblance to the
black country of Staffordshire! In one district, ‘fuller’s
earth†is found in greater quantities than in any other part
of England. This is used for cleaning woollen and other
cloths, Dorking fowls are the most famous animal pro-
duce in Surrey; they are as large as small turkeys, and
of delicate taste{ They have five claws on each foot.
How many have birds generally? In vegetable produce,
besides ordinary grain, grass, &c., Surrey contains hop
plantations; and what is peculiar to this county, fields
* Page 254, ~ + Page 208. + Compare 148, 165, 175, 249.
SURREY. 303
and gardens of medicinal plants, such as horehound,
marsh mallows, rhubarb, poppies, camomile, peppermint,
lavender, rosemary, and damask and red roses. The per-
fume of these flower farms is smelt for some distance
around.*
The manufactories of Surrey are chiefly in London.
There is some calico bleaching and printing on the
Wandle, and in other parts there are brick-fields, glass-
works, and potteries. There is one historical incident
connected with this county which makes it, so far as
history is concerned, the most important county in all
England —that is, the signing of the Magna Charta,
either in a meadow at Runnimede, or in a little island
in the Thames, close beside itt To this charter, signed,
it is true, by one of the most unworthy kings of England,
our dear country owes, through God’s blessing, much of
its precious freedom, John, for himself and his suc-
cessors, put his name to the plainest promises, that the
sovereign should no more oppress the people, and neither
make laws, nor gather taxes, without their consent;
and this great charter is to this day “the keystone of
English liberty,†converting a despotic into a free
monarchy.
The west of Surrey is marked by many extensive
heaths, which are now in many parts planted with beech
trees. Near Chobham, the parish where the excellent Mr
Cecil, and his curate, Daniel Wilson, afterwards the good
Bishop of Calcutta, laboured, is the site of the Chobham
Camp, where many regiments spent the summer of the
year 1853, and learned something of the discipline and
ways of camp life.
Part of Windsor Forest extends into Surrey, and that a
very pretty portion, including Virginia Water, au artificial
* Page 188, + Page 267, 291.
304 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
lake a mile and a half long. When the camp was at
Chobham, there was a mock fight, and the engineers of
the army threw, very rapidly, a bridge a hundred and
eight yards long, across this water, over which the soldiers,
horses, and artillery marched. Below Runnimede, of which
I have already told you, is Anningsley, where lived Mr
Day, who wrote “Sandford and Merton.†He thought
that no horse would continue unruly if it were kindly
treated; but trying to break in a foal himself, it threw
him and kicked him on the head, so that he died. Mr
Rarey has, however, since then succeeded in training by
kindness and firmness the most vicious horses, Further
down the Thames is Chertsey, the village where the poet
Cowley died* On a little hill near this village is the
gigantic Crouch Oak, under which, it is said, Wycliffe
preached and Queen Elizabeth dined: Close to some
beautiful old cedars, the Wey reaches the Thames. To-
morrow, we will find out many an interesting epek on
this pretty little river.
SURREY.—Parrt II.
THE Wey rises amid wild and picturesque scenery, amongst
the North Downs. In the neighbourhood of this river,
Creswick, a famous landscape painter, has often strolled,
and painted the wooded lanes, hills, and farms. In one
place are the most ancient chestnut trees in England; in
another are sandy mounds, which interest geologists; in
another, hollows and commons, of which strange and
dreary legends are related. The first town is Farnham,
where sail-cloth, oil-cloth, and hemp carpeting are made,
and which is famous for its hops.t The hop gardens
extend for some distance between the town and the castle.
* Page 287. + Pages 136, 188, 199, 217.
SURREY. 305
This castle is a very fine old structure, where the bishops
of Winchester live. It was built by a certain bishop,
Henry de Blois, the brother of King Stephen. In the
garden is a tea-tree, growing in the open air. At Farn-
ham an excellent clergyman, Toplady, was born, who wrote
several books, and the beautiful hymn which begins, “ Rock
of Ages, cleft for me.†Here also was born Cobbett, who
wrote on politics, that is, on the art of governing the
state. Below Farnham, close to the river, are the ruins
of Waverley Abbey, from which place Sir Walter Scott
took the name for his famous:novels. There are strange
wild stories about treasures in the ruins, and witches in
the caverns; and at Farnham church is shown a huge
copper caldron, said to have been borrowed from the white
witch in the cave; but not having been returned at the
proper time, the witch has never been seen since. Once
people believed these stories; but now they only laugh
at them. The next town on the Wey is Godalming, a
royal hunting seat in Charles IL’s time. On a little
branch of the Wey is Shere, close to which is Albury
Park. The gardens are very beautiful. Here is a very
curious yew hedge, a quarter of a mile long, with bare
trunks for eight or ten feet, and then solid heads of foliage,
making a continuous umbrella.*
Farther down the Wey is Guildford, the county town
of Surrey, where some of the kings of England have oc-
casionally lived. Formerly it was a town famous for its
cloth ;+ and Queen Elizabeth passed a law, ordering every
public-house to have the sign of a woolsack. Now it is a
famous market town, with an iron foundry, where the
celebrated Guildford plough is made,{ and an ancient
castle rising high above the other buildings. Here is
Archbishop Abbot’s Hospital, and also his tomb; his
* Page 131. + Pages 189, 237, 256. + Page 189.
: U
ss
306 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
brothers were Bishop of Salisbury and Lord Mayor of
London; their father, simply a cloth-worker. In the
Valley of Chilworth, amidst very lovely scenery, were
probably erected the first gunpowder mills in England.*
Another interesting little town is Woking, where also was
once a royal palace. Here Wolsey was staying with Henry
VIII. when he received the news that he was made Cardinal.
Yet farther down the Wey is Weybridge; the scenery is
flat, but pretty. In the little Roman Catholic chapel here,
Louis Philippe, King of the French, the good queen Marie
Amalie, and their two daughters-in-law, are buried.
Descending the Thames, we find Walton, where Brad-
shaw, one of the chief men in the time of Oliver Crom-
well, lived. Near the pulpit are written these verses, said
to have been composed by Queen Elizabeth :
** Christ was the word and spake it,
He took the bread and brake it;
And what the word doth make it,
That I believe and take it.â€
Here is preserved the gossip’s bridle, intended to be
fastened on gossiping women. It is a thin iron plate,
fitting closely round the head and fastening with a pad-
lock; a piece of thin iron projects in front, so as to go
into the mouth and hold down the tongue. Was not that
‘a strange punishment for gossips and tell-tales ? +
Near Walton, is the place where Cesar is supposed to
have crossed the Thames, when, on his second invasion,
he pursued the brave British chief, Cassivelaunus. {
The Mole next enters the Thames, whither it finds its
way from the hills in the north of Sussex. One curious
circumstance about its course is, that at certain places
called Swallows, the Mole, in dry seasons, disappears, con-
tinues underground, in natural tunnels, among the chalk
* Pages 236, 269. + Page 220. t Pages 198, 263,
SURREY. 307
hills, and after a few miles re-appears,* Whether it is
called the Mole on this account, I cannot tell; but it seems
a very appropriate name. A great many sand-martins,
generally a rare kind of bird, are found in the heaths, bor-
dering its early course. These heaths are covered with
beautiful wild flowers In this part of the county is
Reigate, prettily situated on a hill, in former days famous
for its castle; now, for its railway station. Beneath the
castle, are very large vaults or caverns; but whether used
as cellars, hiding-places, or dungeons, must ever remain. a
mystery.{ Along the ridge of hills, approaching Reigate,
is an ancient track, called the Pilgrims’ Way, frequently .
bordered with yew-trees, said to have been traversed by
pilgrims from the west of England to the great shrine of
Thomas-a-Becket, at Canterbury. One of these hills, on
account of the native boxwood growing on the west side,
is called Box Hill.
Near the Mole, on its opposite side, is Dorking. I have
already told you of its fowls. In the neighbourhood is Deep-
dene, a beautiful residence, in which is some very fine sculp-
ture. Two pieces are by Thorwaldsen. He had been study-
ing sculpture earnestly at Rome; but receiving neithernotice
nor orders, was on the point of leaving that city, heart-sick
and discouraged. Then Mr Hope, apparently by accident,
entered his studio, saw a design, and ordered it to be exe-
cutedin marble. It was beautifully done, and the artist soon
became very celebrated. Remember this when you are dis-
appointed after trying hard, and try again. Through a rich’
country and through beautiful parks, with splendid trees,
beeches, chestnuts, cedars, and yews, and where the nightin-
gale sings most sweetly, the Mole flows onward towards the
Thames. Before it reaches that river, it passes near Clare-
mont, where the good Princess Charlotte, George IV.’s
* Page 46, + Page 7. a Page 137,
308 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
daughter, died, and all England wept.* Once the Princess
met a gardener, and, talking to him, discovered he had no
Bible. She went home, procured a copy, and gave it him,
having written his name on the fly-leaf, with these words :
“From his friend, Charlotte.†Louis Philippe and his
Queen lived here from the time of the French Revolution
in 1848, until their death. Near the Mole is Esher, where
Cardinal Wolsey was sent when in disgrace with King
_Henry.¢ Listen to what he might have said—
“T have ventured,
Like little wanton boys that swim on bladders,
This many summers in a sea of glory ;
But far beyond my depth: my high-blown pride
At length broke under me; and now has left me
Weary, and old with service, to the mercy
Of a rude stream, that must for ever hide me.â€
Kingston is the next town of consequence on the
Thames. It became early of importance, as the lowest
ford on the course of the river. Many of the Saxon kings
were crowned here; and in this neighbourhood were fought
the first and last battles between Charles I.’s party, and
that of the Parliament.{ Kingston is now celebrated chiefly
for its great fair of cattle, sheep, and horses.
A little river here enters the Thames, flowing from the
neighbourhood of Epsom, once very famous for its mineral
waters, which give the name to Epsom salts; this town is
also noted for horse-races.
~ Following the Thames, the banks of which as it ap-
proaches ioadon become studded with villas, we reach
Ham House and Ham Common. Here the Cabal ministry
—for which look at Charles II.’s reign in your English
History—held its meetings. In the library are many
* Page 259. + Pages 190, 267, 306. t Pages 45, 124, 137, 158, 256.
The Thames from Richmond Hill.—Page 309.
SURREY. 309
curious books, several printed by William Caxton, who first
printed the Bible in English.*
Now we reach a town, from the hill above which is one
of the richest and most beautiful views in England; I
mean Richmond. The silvery Thames, covered with
barges and skiffs, gives brightness to the scene already
enriched with hills and valleys, woods and fields, English
homes and English spires. Richmond used to be. called
Shene, but its name was changed by Henry VII., whose
title had been Earl of Richmond. It was long a royal
residence. Here died Edward III., deserted by all; and
here died Queen Elizabeth. Very little of the old palace
remains; but the park, which is enclosed, is very beauti-
ful; deer sporting on the grass, and blackbirds, thrushes,
and nightingales warbling amongst the trees. The ponds
in the park are full of fish, and here numbers of heron
assemble at one period of the year. At Richmond the poet
Thomson lived and was buried. _
Leaving Richmond, the Thames passes Kew Gardens,
as celebrated for plants as the Zoological Gardens are for
animals.t Immense conservatories contain palms of all
kinds ; those from which cocoa-nuts, dates, vegetable ivory,
and sago are gathered. Sago, however, is the pith, not the
fruit of the tree. At Kew you also see sugar-canes, from
the burning West Indies; cotton-trees from America;
poison-trees from Madagascar and Java; bread, mahogany,
coffee, cinnamon, chocolate trees; the papyrus, from which
paper was formerly made; the gutta-percha plant; the
rice-paper plant; the india-rubber, or caoutchouc tree;
nutmeg, clove, and ginger-trees; besides curious serpent-
gourds; pitcher plants, with their neat little lids; the lace
plant, with its leaf veins beautifully interlaced ; curious
water plants, and the splendid water-lily, called the Vic-
* Pages 39, 42, 279, 291. + Page 283,
310 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
toria Regia; beautiful cacti, and many exiraordinarily
formed succulent plants; ferns, most lovely and varied;
plants whose roots grow in the air; and azalias, rhododen-
drons, camellias, and nearly every sort of plant which is
rare and beautiful. Kew is a pretty old-fashioned village,
and adjoining the gardens there is another royal palace.
The Thames winds on, passing Mortlake and Barnes,
where, about two hundred years ago, a horrible duel was
fought between two noblemen; the wife of one, dressed
as a page, holding her husband’s horse. A duel is a
meeting of two people, who have determined to settle a
quarrel by coming coolly together to shoot or stab one
another. Once, this was called “honour;†but now, I
rejoice to say, Englishmen call it, what the Bible shows
it to be, “murder.†Villas are very numerous, till a little
below Putney, where the historian Gibbon was born, and
where the great statesman, Pitt, died, we find Wandsworth,
a town whose inhabitants are busily engaged dyeing or
printing calico, or working in oil-silks. Wandsworth
takes its name from the little river Wandle, which we
will now track from its source. Near its head is Croy-
don. This place used to be famous for charcoal-burning,
before coke took the place of charcoal; * now it is ehiefly
famed for basket-carriages and walnuts. The old palace
was formerly the residence of the Archbishop of Canter-
bury, who now lives at Addington, five miles off. Though
old, Croydon is a place of rapid modern growth.t Near it
is Addiscombe, where cadets used to be prepared for going
out to India; those who did best, gaining good appoint
ments in the Engineers or Artillery t The Wandle passes
Mitcham, with its fragrant fields of flowers; Merton, with
a noisy copper-mill, and silk-printing works; and Wimble-
don, with its beautiful park and common, on which are
* Page 194, + Page 300, t Page 304.
ESSEX. 311
the remains of ancient camps that remind us of battles, said
to have been fought in the times of the Saxons. Here every
year the great trial of skill between the volunteer rifle corps
takes place, when the best marksmen shoot for prizes.*
Wandsworth, Clapham, and Brixton may all be reckoned
suburbs of London. They are thickly peopled, and possess
many churches, large orphan institutions, and other
charities.
Beyond, there is Dulwich, a college founded by Edward
Alleyne, containing a famous gallery of pictures. The
master and warden must always be of the founder’s name.
Near this is Norwood, the once famous resort of gipsies.
Now, however, London villas are quickly springing up, and
the gipsies are removing, as well as the oak-trees which
they regard as sacred.
Enough of Surrey. To-morrow we must cross the
Thames into Essex.
ESSEX.
THE county of Essex will bring us to the mouth of the
Thames, on its northern shore. It is a large county,
resembling, in many ways, Norfolk and Suffolk, though
not so level. In the north-west, there are gentle hills and
dales; but in the south-east not only is it very level, but
there are such extensive marshes that the country is
very unhealthy, especially in the spring and autumn, when
the inhabitants suffer much from fever and ague. Other-
wise the climate is good, and it has been remarked that
less rain falls here than elsewhere in England. As in
most of the eastern counties, farming is very good, and
Essex is particularly noted for its excellent wheat, peas,
beans, and large crops of potatoes.t Hops are also very
* Page 282. + Pages 148, 174, 185.
812 F DEAR OLD ENGLAND,
much grown, and, what is almost peculiar to the county,
carraway, coriander, teasel, and saffron.* Carraway and
coriander are plants with white umbrella-shaped flowers,
chiefly valuable for their seeds. Teasel, I hope you re-
member, is useful in combing broad-cloth, whilst saffron,
though sometimes used as a medicine, is chiefly employed
as a yellowdye. The flower is a kind of purple crocus,
blossoming in autumn. The only valuable part is the
yellow stigma; this is the tiny three-parted ball, growing on
the fine thread in the centre of the flower. Early in the
morning, before the flowers expand, they are gathered, the
stigmas taken out, dried, and then pressed between sheets
of white paper. The saffron harvest lasts for several
weeks.
Essex is not particularly famed for cattle or sheep;
there are, however, a great number of calves, which are
fattened for about three months, and then slaughtered
for London. On the coast many fish are caught, and
some parts are very famous for oysters. There are not
many manufactories, only a few silk mills; but many of
the poor are employed in straw-plaiting.
Essex is well watered, and ships can sail a consider-
able way up its rivers.t| There are a number of salt-
water creeks, which in several places cut off the land,
forming islands similar to what you see in the map of
Holland. Foulness and Canvey, at the mouth of the
Thames, are the two largest of these. Chalk, lime, flint,
gravel, and good clay for brick-making, are found in
Essex.
Now let all the eyes be on the map, and let us follow
the course of the various rivers. First the Stour, our old
Suffolk friend. The only place to note on it, is the sea-
port of Harwich at its mouth. Sometimes this haven is
“ Pages 87, 182, 188, 303. + Pages 162, 262. + Page 185.
ESSEX. 313
very full of ships, as, when a strong easterly wind blows,
it is the only place between the mouth of the Thames and
Yarmouth Roads which affords them shelter. There is also
a great deal of fishing here, sprats particularly abounding
on this coast.* These are chiefly caught during gloomy
nights in November and December. They are not only
sold very cheap for food, but thousands of tons are every
year used by the farmers of the Eastern counties as manure.
Our next river is the Colne, on which stands Halstead,
a town where crape and silk are made, and where many
women and children plait straw; and farther down is
Colchester, the chief town of Essex. It is a very ancient
place, supposed to have been the residence of an old
British king, many of whose coins have been dug up
there.t The castle, which still stands, was probably
built in the time of the Normans. It was besieged in
the reign of Charles I. After six weeks’ hard defence,
it was surrounded by the parliamentary army, and the
three brave leaders of the defence were tried and shot.t
In Queen Mary’s time, seventeen of God’s faithful
martyrs were burned in this town.§. There are now
several churches, good schools, and the ruins of an old
abbey. The oyster fishery is the chief business, A
silver oyster is kept to measure the size of the oysters
that are permitted to be sold. The beds, or layers, in the
river are guarded with great care. Oysters may only be
taken in the months that have an “r†in their names.
Which months are these? Near Colchester lived, a long
time since, a lady called Honeywood, and when she died,
at ninety years of age, she had no less than 267 children,
grandchildren, great grandchildren, and great great grand-
children.
* Pages 8, 185. + Pages 44, 226, 263.
t Pages 105, 225, § Pages 191, 212, 243, 294,
314 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
On the river Brain is Braintree, a thriving little town,
where people are employed in making silk and crape.
Now let us follow the Chelmer. On it is a little vil-
lage, Dunmow, noted for a singular custom of giving a
flitch of bacon to any married couple, who, after being
married for a year and a day, could positively declare that
they had never quarrelled, nor once repented of their
marriage. The flitch is said to have been claimed only
six times since the reign of Henry VI. Since the year
1837, however, the flitch has been given to those who
brought up their children without parish relief.
Farther down is Chelmsford, in the neighbourhood of
which are hop grounds.* The town is quite an agricul-
tural one, without manufactories; but with well supplied
markets and fairs. Large corn mills are built on the
banks of the Chelmer. Where the river joins the Black-
water is Maldon, an old Roman station, where there are
now salt-works, a fishery, and a good deal of commerce.
This is one of the places where the younger, instead of the
elder son succeeds to the father’s property. In this neigh-
bourhood the Danes made many ravages. Near Chelms-
ford is Danebury, or Danesbury Hill, and there is a plant
growing there, which still goes by the name of Dane’s-
blood.
Now, looking quite to the north-west of the county, on
the side of a hill, we shall find Saffron Walden, which
takes its name from the saffron of which I have already
told you. Ithasa very beautifully finished church. Near
it is Audley Park. The house was built by the High
Treasurer to James I. James wished to purchase it; but
when he heard that the building had cost £190,000, he
said, “It is too much for a king, but it may do for a Lord
High Treasurer.†+
* Pages 136, 199, 217, 304. + Pages 267, 292.
ESSEX. 315
On the banks of the Lea is Waltham Abbey, where
King Harold founded a college, and where he and his two
brothers were buried, by the arrangement of their dis-
tressed mother Gitta.* The abbey was begun in Henry
IlL’s time; its remains now form a portion of the parish
church. Farther down the Lea is Walthamstow. This is
close to the borders of Epping Forest, formerly a royal
hunting ground, now one of the most celebrated places in
the neighbourhood of London for pic-nics. Many a van
load of people go there on a summer morning, and enjoy
under the green-wood, may be, the only holiday that they
have for all the year round, The south-west corner of
Essex, between the Lea and the Thames, may be said to
form part of the outskirts of mighty London. Here, on
the north side of the Thames are the new Victoria Docks.
The first river the Thames receives from Essex is the Roding,
which gives its name to several villages on its banks.
In the village of Greenstead is a very ancient wooden
church, nearly 1000 years old, supposed to have been
built as a resting-place for the body of the Saxon Edmund,
who was buried at Bury St Edmunds.t| The Roding
passes between Epping and Hainault Forests, where
Henry III. gave the citizens of London leave to hunt.
In former days, the Lord Mayor and Aldermen of London,
with a great many citizens, used, on Easter Monday, to
ride out here, and hunt a beautiful stag, which, with its
long antlers, bounded through the forest, till, perhaps,
caught in a thicket, the hounds sprang on it, and it was
killed. Farther down the Roding is Wanstead, where a
number of dear little orphans are educated, and thus they
know the truth of the orphan’s verse, ‘‘ When my father
and mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up.â€
* Page 45. + Page 186.
316 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
Nearer the Thames is Barking, famous for its fishing
smacks. On the Bourne, the next stream that enters the
Thames is Romford, a very old place, which has possessed
a market for more than 600 years. Near it is an old
palace of the Saxon kings, Havering, whence there is a
fine view, which embraces five counties. Which are
they P
The Essex bank of the Thames is very marshy. Once
it was covered with water, but was rescued by immense
embankments. About fifty years ago there was a great
breach made by a very high tide, covering 1000 acres of
the cultivated land.*
The next little creck that enters the Thames is the
filthiest in the county; for much of the London drainage
enters it, and when the tide is high, it is covered with
barges for manure, and when low, it is a “mere muddy
sewer.†Farther on is Purfleet, where Queen Elizabeth
reviewed her troops when the Spanish Armada was pre-
paring to descend on England. She told them that though
she had the body of a weak and feeble woman, she had the
heart and stomach of a king. When she saw her few
ships, it is said she exclaimed, “Oh! my poor fleet!†and
so the town was called Purfleet. You know how God pre-
served England from the proud Armada, scattering it by
the storms and winds of heaven. In this neighbourhood
are limestone rocks, full, as usual, of caverns.¢ It is said
the Britons used them for granaries, and also, that they
were hiding-places from the fierce Northmen’s fury, and
so are called Dane’s Holes. At the bottom of one of
the limestone pits a chapel is now built. Farther on is
Tilbury fort, built in the reion of Charles II. It is very
strong, and intended to defend London, in time of inva-
sion, from any enemies’ ships ascending the Thames. Its
i * Pages 148, 172. + Pages 85, 46, 115, 127, 235.
KENT. 317
guns have hitherto only fired salutes; let us pray God to
give us such continued peace, that the great strength of
Tilbury Fort may never be tried by the foes of dear old
England.
To-morrow we shall once more cross the Thames, and
visit Kent, which has been called the Garden of England.
KENT.—Part I.
KENT is a county in England, to which all these adjectives
may be prefixed—maritime, agricultural, undulating, pic-
turesque, fertile, important, historical. Look at it on the
map ; see its position, rivers, sea-shore, neighbouring coun-
ties. It has been divided into three distinct parts, which
I think you will remember. First, health without wealth;
this is the hilly district of the North Downs.* Second,
wealth without health ; these are the rich but sickly pas-
tures of Romney Marsh, and those in the north of the
county, between the Medway and the Swalet Third,
health and wealth together; and this is the character of
all the rest of the county. Kent is very famous for its
cherry trees and its hops. The former look beautiful in
spring, with their snowy blossoms, and the latter in
autumn, with their bright green foliage. In James I’s
time, it was a favourite amusement to try who could eat
the most cherries, and a tombstone in Plumstead church-
yard has a curious inscription, in memory of a child who
died from eating too much of this fruit.
The scene of hop-picking is very curious. All kinds of
people engage in it. Thousands of the poor inhabitants of
St Giles, and other unhealthy parts of London, + find their
way into Kent, earning good wages and breathing fresh
country air, They sleep at night in huts or stables, at
* Pages 254, 302. + Pages 54, 150, 311. + Page 289.
318 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
the side of the road, or in little tents, and there they
light their fires and cook their food. Besides cherries and
hops, all kinds of fruit are grown; canary, radish, and
spinach seed raised; remarkably fine wheat, and other
kinds of corn, cultivated. Kent is also famous for
meadows and pastures, which will lead you to expect
that the cattle and sheep are good too.* So they are,
especially one breed of sheep, the Romney Marsh, which
has long combing wool. There is also plenty of poultry
and game. The pheasants in Kent are the largest and
best in England. Excepting the large military works, the
only manufacture for which Kent is famous is paper. The
paper mills in this county are generally on the banks of
rivers, worked by water, and look picturesqueyt All
kinds of paper are made; but the writing paper is
especially good.
The history of Kent is very interesting; for, being the
county that lies nearest to the Continent, the various in-
vaders and visitors of England have usually landed here,
from the time of Julius Cesar onward. William the Con-
queror landed in Sussex, but when he entered Kent from
Sussex, the inhabitants are said to have met him in a very
formidable manner, looking like a moving forest, for they
all carried immense boughs of trees. They compelled Wil-
liam to grant them the continuance of several privileges,
such as that of selling their lands when they liked, without
obtaining the permission of their lords, and of dividing them
equally among their children, instead of giving all to
the first-born.{ This custom is called gavel-kind. The
hills in Kent are principally chalk. They extend in a
belt to the sea-shore, and there form the famous white
cliffs of Dover, which extend all the way from Folke-
stone to Walmer. These originated the name of Albion
* Pages 28, 141, 146, 148, 150. + Pages 165, 262, 265. + Page 314.
KENT, 319
for our dear Old England.* It is supposed that long ago
England was connected with the mainland of Europe by
an isthmus, between Romney Marsh and Boulogne, which
is now the shallowest part of the Channel. Had this con-
tinued, Great Britain would never have been our island
home, but only a peninsula adjoining France. .God had,
however, other things in store for us. He has shown that
His intention was that England should be the land of
freedom, the land of the Bible, the land of Christian mis-
sions; and for this blessed purpose, I believe He sepa-
rated us from other countries, and made the deep blue
waters of the sea to encircle us. I want all English chil-
dren to remember this; for on Englishmen a special duty
lies—to make evident by their high moral character and
earnest missionary effort, that national freedom and the
Christian religion are the blessed gifts from Heaven which
exalt a nation.
There have been many changes on the coast of Kent.
There are old traditions that the Goodwin Sands, danger-
ous sand-banks off the coast, were once part of the main-
land, the property of the Earl Goodwin, who was the father
of King Harold, and that the sea came in upon it, and
“buried towns and men very many, and oxen and sheep
innumerable.’ If this be true, the sea has made some
amends. Rye, once overflowed, is now two miles inland;
Dover is probably built on the ground over which Cesar
sailed; and the passage between the Isle of Thanet and
Kent, through which the Roman ships passed, consists
now of fruitful fields and luxuriant meadows. +
Let us now look on the map, and trace the rivers of
Kent, following the Thames for the last time, and those
few lower branches that it receives from this county.
The first tiny rivulet that flows into it from Kent is the
* Pages 3, 36. + Pages 36, 176.
320 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
Ravensbourne. One of its sources is close below some
curious Roman remains of a large military station. It
passes Hayes, where Lord Chatham died, and his famous
gon, William Pitt, was born.* Afterwards, it flows past
Bromley, where there is a house and annuity provided for
forty widows of clergymen. Not far distant, on a pretty
brook, is Beckenham, with its pointed white spire rising
above the old clipped yews. Captain Hedley Vicars, the
brave soldier, who, whilst he served his Queen, likewise
served his God, often stayed here; and in the church a
tablet bears his name. In this parish have been many
meetings with the navvies, when English hearts have been
warmed, and English hands strengthened, in the warfare
we all must maintain against sin and Satan. In Becken-
ham churchyard there was buried a queen of the gipsies, a
hundred and nine years of age.{ The next interesting
place is Sydenham, which has become so famous for its won-
derful Crystal Place, built by Sir J. Paxton, of whom we
heard at Chatsworth.t The building, covered with its crys-
tal roof, extends for nearly three-quarters of a mile. If the
iron pillars used were placed in a straight line, they would
extend more than sixteen miles. A visit to the Crystal
Palace seems like one to fairyland, did such a land exist.
The beauty of the plants, the glittering of the fountains,
the lovely works of art, the variety of designs, the distant
places to which one seems transported, and the remote ages,
the forms of which appear around you,—all combine to make
one inquire where one really is. It is difficult to say which
is the most beautiful portion of the palace and its gardens.
In one part, you seem to wander among the halls of the
gorgeous Moorish palace, the Alhambra, in Spain; in
another, you pass through rooms modelled after Roman
dwelling-houses, according to the remains of Pompeii,
* Page 310. + Pages 194, 281, 311. t Pages 131, 282.
KENT. onl
here you see mammoth figures from Egypt, and imitations
of Nineveh sculptures, whilst there is a magnificent tent
from India, In one part are grouped representations of
people, animals, and plants, from different parts of the
world, such as Hindoos, elephants, tigers, and palm-trees
from the East; and Red Indians, Esquimaux, polar bears
and snow from the North. In the galleries there is quite
a bazaar, all kinds of pretty things being exposed for sale.
There are often concerts, flower-shows, and various kinds
of exhibitions. At one time a terrific wind blew down part
of the building, and more recently a large portion of it was
consumed by fire. The fountains in the gardens far surpass
any others in England. The water can be thrown up two
hundred and fifty feet. When the sun shines, the jets d'eau
are like a shower of precious stones, with sometimes bright
rainbows on their rising spray. Near a pond or lake in
the gardens are the figures of strange monster animals,
such as those whose skeletons wére found—in what part of
Yorkshire ?—or are now exhibited in what great museum ?*
Now, leaving this fairy land, we must return again to
the little Ravensbourne, which at Lewisham, a long strag-
gling town, receives the Lee. Not far from this is Eltham,
an old royal palace, where Edward ITI. grandly entertained
his prisoner, John of France; where other kings feasted
daintily ; and where Queen Elizabeth, when a baby, was
often sent for change of air.t The Ravensbourne joins
the Thames at Deptford. This is one of our naval dock-
yards, where, since the time of Henry VIII, ships have
been built or repaired. Peter the Great of Russia stayed
here when he visited England, himself working as a ship-
wright. He lived at the house of a very worthy gentleman,
John Evelyn, who has given us very interesting accounts
of the doings and manners of the time of Charles II}
* Pages 58, 291. + Pages 241, 264. + Page 276,
x
322 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
Deptford is also noted as a victualling place for the navy ;
that is, it furnishes stores of meat for the ships’ crews. It is
very curious to see how rapidly the biscuit-making goes on.
Here Queen Elizabeth visited the ships in which Admiral
Drake had completed his first voyage round the world, and
knighted the bold sailor.* Below Deptford, is the Dread-
nought, an old ship engaged at Trafalgar, but which is
now used as a hospital. The next town is Greenwich,
Greenwich Hospital.
with its fine palace, now changed into a hospital for aged
seamen of the royal navy.t At this palace, Henry VIIL,
Queen Mary, and Queen Elizabeth were born; and here,
good King Edward VI. died. Queen Mary, the wife of
William III, proposed that it should be converted into
a hospital; and great additions were made for this pur-
pose, under the direction of Sir Christopher Wren.t It is
* Pages 40, 231. + Page 280. t Page 293,
KENT, 323
a larger building than any of Queen Victoria’s palaces,
except Windsor. There are between 2000 and 3000 pen-
sioners. Each man who lives in the hospital has what
he terms his cabin; that is, a little partition to himself, in
a very long dormitory. Many little pictures are hung on
its walls, and by the side of each bed is a shelf for books.
There is a beautiful terrace fronting the river, on which
the old pensioners can walk, and see the ships passing
and repassing. Yet it is said that they are grumblers;
but, certainly, not all. It seems a pleasant home for the
old weather-beaten sailor, and one from which, if he could
trust his Saviour, he might peacefully look out for the
summons to take him across that sea, whence he shall not
return, Behind the hospital is the park, whence there is
a beautiful view over London, and up the Thames. Here
Greenwich Fair used to be held during Whitsun-week.
It was attended by thousands of Londoners. In this park
is the Royal Observatory, a very important place, which
has been called the astronomical capital of the kingdom.*
It is not a place for making discoveries in the heavens so
much as for noting down the exact position of the sun, moon,
and planets, as they reach their highest point in the sky.
From these observations is formed the “ Nautical Alma-
nack;†which greatly assists seamen to find how far they
are to the east or west of Greenwich; for the imaginary
line which passes through Greenwich, reaching upwards
to the north, and downwards to the south pole, is called
by Englishmen the first meridian. Here, too, the di-
’ rection of the wind, the weight, the temperature of the
air, and the quantity of rain, are all exactly measured.
As ship captains go down the rivers, they set their time-
pieces, called chronometers, by Greenwich time, which is
made known by the sliding, every day at one o'clock, of a
* Pages 246, 253,
324 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
large ball down the mast which is at the top of the Obser-
vatory. Ifthe captains have good chronometers, they will
find them right on returning from their voyage. At Green-
wich, there is an excellent naval school, where boys are
' especially taught nautical science, that is, how to manage
their ships. The Painted Hall at Greenwich is very fine.
The artist was nineteen years at work; in order to com-
plete the ceilings, he was obliged to paint week after week,
lying on his back.
In the Thames, off the town, white-bait is caught be-
tween the months of April and August. It is a very de-
licious fish ; and just before Parliament closes, the Queen’s
ministers go down to Greenwich, to eat the white-bait
dinner.
To-morrow we must visit other places nearly as impor-
tant as Greenwich, on and near the Thames.
KENT.—Part II.
On some high ground near Greenwich, is Blackheath, dis-
tinguished for its pleasant bracing air. Here it was that~
Wat Tyler encamped with 100,000 followers, and that
Charles IT. met the ranks of that army which had restored °
to him his crown. Many pretty houses are built in this
neighbourhood, and it is famed for its schools. According
to an old agreement, the master of the grammar-school may
‘be displaced if he wears long, curled, or ruffian-like hair,
The next town of consequence on the Thames is Wool-..
wich, possessing a Royal Dockyard, an Arsenal, Military
Repository, and a Royal Military Academy.* The dock-
yard is reckoned the oldest in England. In Henry VII’s
reign, the Great Harry was built here, then the largest
ship that England possessed. Here blocks of wood are
* Pages 257, 310,
KENT. 325
sawn by steam, and cold iron cut asunder. Nasmyth’s
hammer is here employed. Look back to Birmingham,
the birth-place of this mighty engine.* Woolwich Dock-
yard is the chief place for making the great iron steam-
ships for the navy. Here gangs of prisoners may be seen
working hardin chains, How different their forced labour
to the free cheerful exertion of the honest smith, taking
to his happy home the earnings of his work! Itis God's
righteous law, that has ever linked sin and sorrow to-
gether.
The arsenal is a very large establishment for manu-
facturing great guns, shells, and rockets, and everything
by which gunpowder can destroy human life.t In the
present state of the world these things are necessary ;
and though we long for the day, when none shall hurt
nor destroy in all the earth, we hope that English guns
may be so good, and English cannon so celebrated, that
it may be a means of preventing other nations from de-
claring war against us. Do you know what we mean,
when we say, “Prevention is better than cure� The
Repository is a large piece of ground given up to the
exercise of the artillery corps—the soldiers who fire
cannons. Through it canals are cut, across which the
engineers exercise themselves in throwing pontoons—a
sort of portable bridge; and they draw out cannons,
which have been sunk on purpose.t The artillery are
taught to move and serve the large guns, Here is the
tent in which George IV., as Prince Regent, gave
a grand banquet to the sovereigns of Russia, Austria,
and Prussia, after Napoleon’s downfall, in 1814. In it
are strange old guns, and modern ones taken in battle.
Here is also the funeral car, which conveyed Napoleon
Bonaparte’s body to his grave at St Helena; and, under
* Page 118. 4+ Page 21. } Page 304,
326 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
a glass case, the ashes of 56,000,000 of £1 bank-notes;
an emblem, it is said, of the results of the expenditure
on war.
The Royal Military Academy is for instructing the cadets,
who are to become artillery and engineer officers. They
must study a great deal before they know how to build
fortresses for defence, or to cast up batteries for offence,
Farther down the river is Erith, where there are large
public gardens. All along the Thames, on each side, are
strong embankments, which are necessary, as the level of
the land is lower than that of the water.* We cannot tell
when these were made, probably in the time of the Romans,
but whenever done, they were a great and noble work.
Below Erith, we reach the mouth of the Darent. The
little river Cray, which flows into it, gives its name to
many pretty villages on its banks, and turns the wheels of
many paper-mills. In this neighbourhood are curious
chalk caves, such as those I mentioned in Essext Ona
breezy common near the Cray, is Chiselhurst, where the
ex-Emperor Napoleon III. resides.
“The still Darent, in whose waters clear,
Ten thousand fishes play, and deck his pleasant stream,â€
rises near Westerham, the birth-place of Frith, a martyr
and reformer, and friend of Tyndale, who translated the
Bible.t It is also the birth-place of General Wolfe, who
died before the walls of Quebec as the cry of victory was
shouted in his ear. Not far distant is Sevenoaks, which
takes its name from Sir William Sevenoaks, Lord Mayor
of London, and he is said to have received his name from
being discovered a poor, helpless, deserted baby in the
hollow of an oak tree. He became very industrious and
good, grew rich, gave his money in charity, and founded
schools and alms-houses at the place where he had lived.
Near Sevenoaks is a beautiful baronial hall, Knole. Here
* Pages 148, 316. + Page 316, t+ Pages 27, 39, 42, 268.
KENT. 327
several rooms are still furnished as they were in the time
of Elizabeth, of James, and of Charies I.* There is a
bedroom furnished for King James I. The bedstead,
chairs, and stools are covered with gold and silver tissue;
and the tables, mirror-frames, and other ornaments are
of silver. The park is very beautiful, and Lady Amherst,
to whom it belongs, kindly lets people walk in it whenever
they like. The only town of consequence on the Darent,
is Dartford, where there are large paper and powder-
mills. The paper-mills have been established since the
reion of Queen Elizabeth.f Here. began the insurrec-
. tion of Wat Tyler the blacksmith, of which you read in
English history. It happened in the reign of Richard II.
Following the Thames, we reach Greenhithe, where
the chief business is making chalk into lime, and ship-
ping it for London. From this little town, Sir .John
Franklin sailed on his last voyage to the polar regions,
whence, you know, he never returned.{t The next im-
portant town is Gravesend, where, in former days, the
Lord Mayor used to receive all important strangers ap-
proaching London by water. Vessels leaving England
stop here to complete their cargoes, or take up a pilot;
and those arriving from foreign countries, deliver up
their papers and take on board the officers, who fix the
amount of duty. Many Londoners come here for bathing,
as the Thames, which at this place is more than half a
mile wide, contains a great mixture of salt water. Oppo-
site Gravesend is Tilbury Fort, of which I told you in
Essex. A little inland is Swanscombe, where the men
of Kent are said to have met William the Conqueror,
with their green boughs. Southend is the next town,
with the longest pier in England, a mile and a quarter
in length. Near it is the Nore Sand, on which is
* Page 130. + Page 265. t Pages 150, 289.
328 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
moored the well-known “light vessel,†that guides
every vessel sailing by night, in and out of the great
river.* Here we reach the mouth of the Medway, which
we must now try to follow to its source. The Medway
has been called the Bride of the Thames. It rises in
Sussex, and enters Kent, receiving a little streamlet from
the hills where stand Tunbridge Wells. In this range
of hills a great deal of ironstone is found. This has
given to the springs that rise in the valley a taste of
steel, and these are the iron-waters which have so long
caused people to resort to Tunbridge Wells. In the time
of Charles I. and II., and in that of Queen Anne, it was
frequently visited by the royal family. The walks are
numerous and very pleasant. On the wild commons,
many mountain plants are found; one, a rare kind of fern,
being almost confined to this neighbourhood. On these
hills are curious rocks, such as the “Toad Rock,†and
the ‘“Chiding Stone,†which, it is said, was used as a
sort of judgment-seat. A very pretty kind of inlaid
woodwork called Tunbridge ware is made here. The
woods chiefly used are cherry, plum, holly and sycamore.
The Medway is now joined by a small river, the Eden,
from the west. On it stands the remains of Hever Castle,
once the property of Anne Boleyn’s father. Heve she was
probably born and brought up. Here Henry often visited
her, and wrote her letters. The roads were very bad, and
it is said, that when he stuck fast in the mud he blew
a horn, upon which the castle-servants, holding torches,
came to his assistance. Poor Anne Boleyn! Her life
and happiness were both sacrificed to that wicked king.
High life, and virtues, and happiness do not always go
together.t At Hever Castle Anne of Cleves also lived and
died. ‘
* Page 185. + Pages 161, 808.
KENT. 329
The next place of interest, past which the Medway
flows, is Penshurst. Here lived, in the days of Queen
Elizabeth, the accomplished scholar and good man, Sir
Philip Sidney. He was beloved by all. One nobleman
dying desired no other epitaph on his tomb but this, “The
friend of Sir Philip Sidney;†and Queen Elizabeth
would not let him go in her expedition against the
Spaniards, lest, as she said, “she should lose the jewel
of her dominions.†The story of his death is very inter-
esting. He was wounded at a battle in Holland, and,
thirsty from the quantity of blood he had lost, he asked
for water. As he put the bottle to his mouth, he observed
the anxious and ghastly look of a poor dying soldier. He
would not drink it then, but gave it to the poor man, say-
ing, “Thy necessity is yet greater than mine.’ The first
time there was a public mourning in England was on the
death of this brave, good, and learned man.* An oak
is shown at Penshurst, said to have been planted on
the day of his birth, in the year 1544 av. Algernon
Sidney also lived here. He wag a virtuous and noble-
minded Englishman, unjustly accused of sharing in a plot
in Charles II’s reign, and, without any proof of guilt,
beheaded. The furniture of Penshurst is very curious and
old. One drawing-room, called Queen Elizabeth’s, was
furnished by her majesty, the embroidery being, it is said,
the work of the queen and her maidens.
Farther down on the Medway is Tunbridge, where are
the remains of an old Norman castle. Here is a grammar
school, where eleven boys may each gain a hundred
pounds per annum to assist them at colleget A great
deal of Tunbridge ware is made in this town, and there
is also a manufactory of gunpowder. The Medway runs
hence through a district so beautiful, so rich in meadows,
* Pages 259, 308. } Page 162.
330 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
corn-fields, hop-gardens, and orchards, that it is called
“the garden of Eden;†and perhaps for fertility it is
the finest piece of land in England.* Formerly, this
part of Kent was much wooded; and even in Queen
Elizabeth’s time, wild swine and other animals were
found in it. We next meet Maidstone, a pleasant town,
and the principal one in West Kent. There are curious
old houses in the town, and the remains of the palace
where the Archbishops of Canterbury formerly dwelt.
Maidstone is a great place for trade in hops, apples,
cherries, and other produce of this fertile district. Near
Maidstone is Penenden Heath, where all the great
county meetings have been held since the time of the
Saxons.
With a story about an old castle, Allington, which stands
a little below Maidstone, and an account of Kit’s Coty
house, I must finish this chapter.
At Allington there lived Sir Henry Wyatt, the gentle-
man saved by a cat in the Tower.f His boy, Sir Thomas,
afterwards a poet, made playfellows of a lion’s whelp and
an Irish greyhound. They used to wait for him at the
hall door, and leap, and roar, and bark for joy when he
returned. As the lion grew older, he grew dangerous, and
at length he ran roaring at his master, flying fiercely at
his bosom. The faithful greyhound rescued the boy, by
leaping on the lion’s back and pulling him down. Then
young Wyatt very coolly drew out his knife, and killed
the lion on the spot.
Kit’s Coty house, an ancient British building, is a small
room composed of four large stones, three of them forming
the sides, and the fourth the roof, leaving the front open,
built very, much as a little child would build a house with
bricks. Not far distant is a large group of stones, called
* Pages 99, 205, 221, 254. + Page 298.
KENT. 331
the Countless Stones; and for many miles others may be
traced, which has led people to think that this was a great
burial-place of the Britons.* They died in heathen dark-
ness, having no hope. How happy should we be, who have
the Bible to teach us of the resurrection of the body and
of the life everlasting.
KENT.—Paer ITI.
In former days, the banks of the Medway must have been
thickly studded with Roman villas. I must, however,
leave both ancient and modern villas, and only tell you .
of Cobham Castle, a few miles west of it. This, for many
ages, belonged to the Lords Cobham, one of whom was the
famous Sir John Oldcastle, the follower of Wycliffe, who
was very barbarously put to death in Henry V.’s reign. f
There is now at Cobham a beautiful collection of pictures,
and in the park splendid giant trees. One is a chestnut,
nearly eleven yards round, and called the four sisters,
because it divides into four great arms. t
On the Medway is Rochester, an ancient town, where
there is a cathedral, with a very old crypt, probably built,
in the time of the Saxons, There is also a fine old ruined
castle, with walls of great thickness, very necessary in
olden days, when they had to stand many a siege. Now
such castles are no longer needed, for we live in happier
times; and instead of cannon on the walls, we find the
pretty little pink and other wild flowers growing abun-
dantly.§ The chief trade of Rochester is in oysters, and
excepting ship-building, there are no manufactures, In this
neighbourhood is Gadshill, where, in a brick house under
spreading cedars, lived and died Charles Dickens, the noted
writer. Adjoining Rochester is Chatham, quite a naval and
* Page 65. + Pages 144, 300.
+ Pages 208, 259, 304. § Page 10,
332 DEAR OLD ENGLAND,
military town, not nearly so ancient, but more populous than
its neighbour. The Medway is here so deep that the largest
ships can ascend it, and thus Chatham was thought a fit
place for a naval dockyard.* Very large ships are built
here; the machinery for making them being very good.
_ There is a rope-house, 1100 feet long, for twisting the
enormous cables, and a, smith’s shop, with forty forges,
for making immense anchors. In the reign of Charles IL,
the Dutch, with whom we were then at war, sailed up the
Medway, and burnt several English ships. If you were to
see the strength of the fortifications here, you would think
him a bold man who would venture to attempt such a thing
in Queen Victoria’s reign. There are many regiments
quartered at Chatham, and military hospitals, which our
Queen and her youny sons and daughters visited, when
the brave soldiers lay there who had been wounded in the
Crimea.
After leaving Chatham, the Medway soon enters marshy
land, abounding in wild geese. The river becomes choked
with mud, and instead of a broad expanse, there are
little channels, forming a “wilderness of islands,†of little
use, as a flood or high tide almost covers them.f Soon
it is joined by a little strait, the river Swale, which
.separates the Isle of Sheppey from the mainland. At
Sheerness, where 10,000 Saxons were baptized the Christ-
mas day after Ethelbert’s conversion, the Swale joins the
Thames. f
Sheppey, or the Isle of Sheep, is being rapidly destroyed,
the cliffs continually crumbling away. Anciently it must
have been a land of spicy breezes, for amongst its fossils,
quantities of palm-like and other tropical plants have
been discovered, and the remains of crabs, turtles, sharks,
and animals of the crocodile species.§ Here are found many
* Pages 321, 824, + Page 11.
+ Page 54. § Pages 53, 54, 235.
KENT. 333
pytites, a stone whence copperas is obtained, used in mak-
ing ink and black dye. Sheerness is the most important
town in the island, being another great naval station.
Because the ground is so swampy, the buildings are all
on piles; 100,000, it is said, have been driven into the
ground. Formerly fresh water could not be procured ; but
lately wells, 500 feet deep, have been sunk. In order to do
this, men bored through a subterranean forest, burning its
wood. What strange discoveries are made under ground!
Adjoining the Swale is the marshy district of wealth
without health, where ague and fever prevail. Here is
Sittingbourne, where Henry V. had a grand dinner, cost-
ing 9s. 9d., and the town of Milton, where the best oysters
in England are found. The largest town is Faversham,
in the abbey church of which King Stephen is buried.
Here James II. was brought after the fishermen had dis-
covered him, when he sought to escape from Sheerness.
He was very frightened, and resolved to punish their
rough handling of him should he ever be king again.
Faversham is now most famed for gunpowder and
oysters. *
Farther along the coast is Herne Bay, a bathing-place,
and near it the little village of Herne, of which good
Bishop Ridley was vicar.f Farther on, are the ruins of
Reculver, once a strong Roman fortress. The sea, which
is here gaining on the land, has washed away its north
walls; but portions of the others are still standing.
There are also the west towers of the old church, still a
landmark to sailors, who, in former years, lowered their
top-sails as they passed.{ Here Ethelbert lived, when
he gave up his own palace at Canterbury to the mis-
sionary, Augustine. A little east of this is Pudding-
pan-rock, whence the oyster fishers often drag pieces of
* Page 313. + Pages 9, 243. + Page 188,
334 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
ancient pottery, whether from a wrecked Roman vessel
or an old pottery, which the waves have covered, we can-
not tell. , :
The north-east corner of Kent is called the Isle of
Thanet, though no longer an island. The largest towns
here are Margate and Ramsgate, and its most famous cape
is the North Foreland, with a lighthouse. Off this was
fought, in 1666, a great sea-fight between the English and
Dutch. The English were beaten; but they fought so
well, that the Dutch admiral said, “They may be killed,
but they will not be conquered.â€
Margate may also be called a sea-bathing suburb of
London; about 100,000 visitors, principally tradespeople,
going there. during the season. Here is a sea-bathing
infirmary, so that the sick poor may gain benefit from the
sea-side. Ramsgate is another large watering-place, with
good houses, having a beautiful sea-view, and two stone
piers. An enormous quantity of eggs is landed here from
France eyery year.
place in Thanet is Broadstairs. South of Ramsgate is
Pegwell Bay, said to be the spot where Hengist and
Horsa disembarked when invited by the British king,
and afterwards where Augustine landed, when sent by
Gregory on his mission to convert the Anglo-Saxons.*
The Stour forms the southern boundary of Thanet. We
will follow it from its source, and find some interesting
places along its banks. It rises on the south side of the
chalk hills, health without wealth, and at first flows north-
east. The first town it passes is Ashford, said to be the
birth-place of the Kentish man John Cade, who raised an in-
surrection in the reign of Henry VI} A little to the east
of this, in a village churchyard, stands a yew tree, thought
* Pages 10, 57, 200, + Page 265.
KENT. 335
to be three thousand years old ; so perhaps it grew in the
time that Gideon, or Samson, or Ruth lived.* Farther
down the Stour is Wye, with a grammar-school, held in
a very ancient college.
Some miles below this is Canterbury, one of the most
interesting cities of Dear Old England. Here it was that
after the Anglo-Saxons had possessed the land, Christianity
again took root in Britain, and spread rapidly over the
whole island. A church in this city, called St Martin’s,
is supposed to have been the first English Christian
church, that is, the first amongst the Saxons ; for amongst
the ancient Britons, there had no doubt been many.+
Indeed, this church is itself thought to have been built
by Roman Christians, and used as a house of prayer
by Ethelbert’s Christian wife, before Augustine’s arrival,
Here Ethelbert, King of Kent, was baptized. One looks
on the spot with peculiar interest, as one remembers
the importance to the rest of the world of English Chris-
‘tianity. From England it has gone forth to North America,
and now the English and Americans are together carry-
ing it, I trust, to all parts of the earth. St Martin’s church
is like the spot where the acorn is planted that becomes
afterwards a great oak, or like the rock whence the water
issues that afterwards swells into a mighty river. Where
an ancient abbey stood is now a college for missionaries,
called St Augustine’s, which, I hope, may send far and
wide many faithful messengers of Christ’s gospel.t Au-
gustine was not, however, like the early apostolic mission-
aries. His manner was very haughty. Do you remember
the meeting with the British bishops under the oak-tree,
in Worcestershire? Much also of his teaching-is not
according to the Bible; for already many Romish errors
* Pages 157, 805. t Page 154, $ Page 105.
\
336 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
were creeping into the Christian Church. I must now tell
you of Canterbury Cathedral, a very beautiful building,
and famous during the history of many centuries. It is
the burial-place of Edward the Black Prince, of Henry IV.
and his queen, of all the archbishops down to the Refor-
mation, and of several persons called saints by the Church
of Rome. Here the proud Thomas-a-Becket was bar-
barously murdered by four of Henry II’s knights; and
here at his shrine, Henry IJ. wrapped in a sheet, bare-
footed and carrying a taper, did penance; here, too,
the king was scourged, receiving five strokes from each
bishop or abbot, and three from each of the eighty monks.
For very many years this shrine or altar was one of
the most revered in Europe, and the steps leading up to
its chapel have been worn away by the treading of pilgrims’
feet. In several parts of Kent are remains of the road
called the Pilgrims’ Way.* The shrine was covered with
jewels presented by kings and great people. Edward I.
offered there the golden crown of Scotland. Henry VIII. of
England, and Charles V. of Germany knelt together before
it ; yet this was the Henry that afterwards despoiled Becket,
and took for himself all the jewels. The pilgrims used
devoutly to bow before or kiss not only the bones of
Becket, Dunstan, and other supposed saints, but a bit of
stick called Aaron’s rod, and some clay, out of which, the
monks told them, Adam was made. In St Dunstan’s church,
in Canterbury, is the burial-place of the Ropers; and here
was found, in the coffin of his loving daughter, Margaret
Roper, the head of Sir Thomas More, which she had pre-
served in an oak chest that it might be buried beside her.t
Outside the walls of Canterbury is the Martyrs’ Field;
and here, as at Oxford, Smithfield, Gloucester, and Col-
* Page 307. + Pages 246, 287.
KENT. 337
chester, were burned, in Queen Mary’s reign, those who,
for Christ’s sake, counted not their lives dear to them.
With thoughts of this hallowed spot, sacred with the blood
of the martyrs, we will close to-day’s chapter.*
KENT.—Parr IV.
Look on the map for the name of the strait separating
Kent from France. Itold you about the Goodwin Sands,
eight miles long and six broad. Between them and the
shore lie the Downs, very safe roads for ships to anchor.
The sands and-the shore shelter them from the north, east,
and west; so only a southerly gale can endanger them. f
Along the coast are three capes, the North and South
Forelands and Dungeness; the two former are great chalky
cliffs, and the latter is a low tongue of land, where the yellow
poppy grows, and where the guillemot lays its single egg,
amongst swamps, shingles, and sands. These capes have
all lighthouses. The shingle round Dungeness increases
rapidly. Old people who are living can remember when
the sea was a mile farther inland than it is now.
The ports of the south-eastern shore of England have,
since the time of the Romans, been under an appointed
governor, who, from the reign of William I, has been
ealled the Warden of the Cinque (or five) Ports. These
ports were originally Sandwich, Dover, Hythe, Romney,
Hastings, to which, in Henry III’s time, Winchelsea,
Rye, and Seaford were added. There were also many
smaller ones, called Subs. As I tell you of them, you will
see what changes have taken place on the coast since those
days. These Cinque Ports were to furnish fifty-seven
ships when the king required them; and the freemen had
in return many privileges, such as not being obliged to
* Pages 190, 212, 248, 294, 313. + Page 184. + Pages 36, 176.
Y
338 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
gerve as soldiers, ranking as barons, holding the canopy at
the coronation, sitting at the king’s right hand. Sandwich,
the most northern, is now distant two miles from the sea.
It used to be a frequent landing-place, even for kings; but
about three hundred years ago, the harbour began to fill
with sand. Many French and Flemish Protestants settled
here in Queen Elizabeth’s time, and they cultivated the
first market gardens ever seen in England.* Sandwich is
still noted for its celery.
Near this, on the Stour, is Richborough, a famous Ro-
man station.t It was not a large walled city, like London,
but a strong military fortress. Here the Romans gener-
ally landed when they crossed from Gaul, and here they
used to feast on oysters, which they reckoned most deli-
cate. Many Roman remains have been found here,
amongst others, not fewer than one hundred thousand
coins.
Farther south, the sea is gaining on Sandown Castle,
built in Henry VIII’s reign, to defend our shores, Be-
yond this is Deal, with a castle built at the same time.
Deal is famous for its boat-building; and the hardy pilots
and fishermen of the town are noted for their brave and
successful attempts to save the lives of those ship-
wrecked on the Goodwin Sands.{ Here lived, about one
hundred years ago, a very learned lady, Mrs Carter, who
translated a Greek work, and understood ten languages;
but she could make a pudding as well as translate, and
embroider a handkerchief as well as compose a poem. I
would advise all little girls to know something of sewing
and cooking, as well as of languages, music, and drawing.
Very near Deal stands Walmer Castle, where the Warden
of the Cinque Ports lives. The great Duke of Wellington
held this office, and, whilst residing at Walmer, he died,
* Page 175. + Pages 19, 69, 187, 219, 333. + Pages 6, 12, 22.
KENT. 339°
deeply mourned for by every true Briton.* Here there grow
two young trees from shoots taken from a weeping willow
which shadowed Napoleon’s grave at St Helena.
The next town along the coast is Dover, from which the
distance to Calais in France is only twenty-one miles.t
The town is built in a hollow caused by the outlet of the
Dore between chalky cliffs. The white cliffs from Deal to
Dover were those that, when Julius Cesar appeared, he
Dover Castle.
saw covered with fierce and warlike Britons. The castle
is a very large and strong fortress, and contains the re-
mains of a lighthouse built by the Romans, of a church
built by the Saxons, and of walls and towers built in many
successive reigns. In King John’s time it endured a long
siege from Louis of France,} and its brave defender, Hubert
* Pages 237, 293. + Pages 3, 10. + Page 152.
340 E DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
de Burgh, not only resisted him, but, knowing that his own
castle was safe, went out with about forty ships, provided
by the Cinque Ports, met eighty French sail, and destroyed
nearly all of them. The view from the castle is very fine,
and so is that of the castle from the water. The cliff
is honeycombed, with long galleries for provisions and
powder, and chambers for lodging two thousand men.
On the other side of the town is Shakespeare’s Cliff,
which the poet describes in magnificent language. Part
of its overhanging chalk has fallen away in large masses.
At one time, forty-eight thousand tons fell at once.
Through this cliff there is now a railway tunnel, to make
which an enormous quantity of chalk was removed by
gunpowder, After it was discharged, the rock glided like
a stream into the sea. Dover is the only one of the
Cinque Ports which has a harbour; and this has with
difficulty been preserved from accumulated shingle.
Now, a very fine harbour of refuge is being built; the
stone piers are eighty feet wide at the bottom, which is
forty-five feet below water. Here the diving-bell is very
useful, From Dover, the first telegraphic wires under the
sea, called the Submarine Telegraph, were laid. These are
encased in gutta-percha, round which is wrapped a strong
iron cable. For several years the attempt to lay it across
the mighty ocean failed; but God at length gave success to
man’s efforts, and now it reaches the shores of India and
America, so that it takes but a short time for messages
to speed round three quarters of the world. Dover is a
favourite bathing-place, and the chief port for crossing to
France.
South of Dover stands Folkestone, where Harvey was
born, who discovered the circulation of the blood: that is,
that our blood is ever, during life, leaving the heart, pass-
KENT. 341
ing through arteries and veins, and returning to it again.
Folkestone is built on hills; and with its crooked streets,
and steep flights of steps, leading from one to the other, is
very picturesque. Its harbour has been much improved;
and steamers continually sail hence to Boulogne in France,
A short way from Folkestone, is Sandgate, another
bathing-place, with a castle, built like Sandown and Deal
in Henry VIII.’s time. All along this coast aré martello
towers, which were built about 1807, when England was .
in danger of an invasion from France.
The next town is Hythe, which once had a famous har-
pour; it is now deserted by the sea. Beneath the chancel
of its beautiful church, is a crypt with an immense num-
ber of human bones, very carefully arranged. They must
be more than 1000 years old; and many show, by holes
in the skulls, that whoever possessed them had probably
been killed in battle.*
Hythe stands on the borders of Romney Marsh, which
is protected from the overflowing of the sea by a strong
wall three miles long.{ The divisions are made as in Lin-
colnshire, by watercourses, instead of hedges. Owing to
its unhealthiness, few people, that can help it, live here;
and so, in former days, it was much infested by smugglers.
Smugglers are people who secretly bring on shore goods
from foreign countries, on which duty—that is a tax to
the Queen—has not been paid. There are few smugglers
now; not, I fear, because people are better; but because,
owing to free-trade, there is no longer so much duty to be
paid; and so, there is no longer the same temptation.
Lydd, in the Marsh, was the chief town for these men.
New Romney, only 800 years old, lost its river, the Rother,
by a great storm in Edward I’s time, when the stream
chose for. itself a new channel. Its harbour was soon filled
* Pages 42, 63, 164. + Pages 148, 316.
342 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
up with sand, and now it is some distance from the sed.
Here there is an annual fair for the beautiful sheep of
Romney Marsh.
West of the Marsh lies the Weald of Kent, a wooded
district with a clay soil, in which the oak especially
grows.* The principal village in it is Cranbrook, where
cloth was woven by the Flemings, long before it was
thought of in Yorkshire, and where it is said to have
carpeted a mile of the road along which Queen Elizabeth
walked.f Most of the villages in the Weald end with
“den,†which means an enclosed pasture in a forest, prin-
cipally used for feeding swine. Many are the curious cus-
toms still existing. At one church, when there isa wedding,
the ground is strewed with the emblems of the husband’s
trade; so the carpenter and his bride walk on shavings ;
the butcher and his, on sheepskins; and the blacksmith
and his, on bits of old iron. At another church, on Eas-
ter-day, a quantity of cakes, made the shape of two wo-
men, are, with bread and cheese, given away to the poor.
William Caxton, the first English printer, was born in
this district.t
Now we must finish beautiful, interesting Kent; thank-
ful that so rich and pleasant a county has been given to
dear old England.
It is suggested that there should be a school-room re-
vision of the Thames, after every two or three counties,
according to the teacher’s discretion. After which, the
following game may be introduced among children who
can write easily.
CONGLOMERATION CONCERNING THE THAMES.
. Let all be seated round a table; each furnished with a
* Page 261. + Pages 175, 190, 237, 256. t Page 309.
*
KENT. 343
slate, or paper and pencil. Each child mentions a noun,
the name of a place, or of something connected with the
history or custom of one of the counties bordering on the
Thames. Thus, the following words are given succes-
sively :—“London,†“ Folkestone,†“Oak-tree,†““ Wedding,â€
“ Oxford,†“William the Conqueror,†“ New River,†“ Cax-
ton.†Each person then writes, according to his fancy, a
letter, a journal, a story, or rhyme, bringing in the words
in order, and telling something concerning them that
they have learnt from “Dear Old England.†Thus one
writes :—
London, July, —
Drarest MorHER,.
I have just returned from France, vi@ Boulogne.and Folkestone. Folke-
stone is a curious town, with such steep narrow little streets! From
Folkestone, we went along the coast to Hythe; then crossing Romney
Marsh, we entered the Weald of Kent, where the oak-tree seemed abundant.
Ags we passed a country church, we observed the ground strewed with
small pieces of glass; soon the bells chimed, and we heard it was the
wedding of a glazier. Had the bridegroom been a blacksmith, old
iron would have taken the place of glass. To-morrow, I hope to be at
Oxford, and see the Bodleian Library, and the place where Cranmer,
Ridley, and Latimer suffered. There is a curious story in Kent, about
the people meeting William the Conqueror, under cover of boughs, and
seeming like a moving forest, which so frightened him, he gave them
what they asked. My cousin Frank has just been here. He has had a
few days’ fishing in the New River, in Hertfordshire. I forgot to tell you,
in the Weald of Kent, that famous old fellow, William Caxton, the first
English printer, was born.
Ever, dearest mother,
Your own boy,
CHARLES,
Another writes :—
Little Henry lived in Zondon and seldom saw green-fields, but only the
great squares and many streets of that enormous town. One day, he
went with his aunt to Folkestone, that he might bathe. He was very fond
of going up and down the steps of the steep streets, and watching the
steamers going over to France. His aunt often told him nice stories.
One was about a little baby-boy, left in the hollow of an oak-tree, who
344 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
afterwards became very rich and was Lord Mayor of London; and what
was very kind, he then gave money to help the poor people in the village,
where the old oak-tree stood. And that village is now called after him.
It is Sevenoaks, in Kent. Once, Henry went with his aunt into the
Weald of Kent, and there saw a wedding ; the bride and bridegroom walk-
ing over shavings, because the husband was a carpenter. Another time,
Henry visited Oxford, famous for learning even before the time of William
the Conqueror. Henry went to some of its famous libraries, and there he
read in a book all that Sir Hugh Middleton did, to make the Mew River
in Hertfordshire. Another trip he took was to Ham House, and there
he saw some books, printed by William Caton, the first English printer,
who was born in the Weald of Kent.
A younger child might write as follows :—
London is on the Thames; and Folkestone on the sea-side. I should like
to see Queen Victoria’s oak-tree, in Windsor Forest, and Hever Castle,
where poor Anne Boleyn lived before her wedding. When I am a man,
T hope to go to Oajurd and study. I don’t like William the Conqueror,
for breaking his promise to the Abbot of St Albans. I suppose there was
no New River in Hertfordshire then. One of the most celebrated men
born in Kent was William Cagton the printer.
A grown-up person might write in rhyme, such as fol-
lows :—
Children, list to an old man’s tale,
_Of wonders he has seen
In mighty Zondon’s famous town,
Wonders they are, I ween.
From Folkestone, I travelled, they say, per rail
"Twas mighty quick, I know.
Different to when I travelled once,
To see the oak-tree grow.
The tree that marked the olden date
Of Philip Sidney’s birth ;
And saw old Hever’s castle walls,
Scene of Anne Boleyn’s mirth ;—
Scene of her mirth, before the day—
Her fatal wedding day ;
When to the king, she plighted troth,
And promised to obey.
SUSSEX, 845
In London, I walked through Oxford Street,
And gazed at beauties rare,
So new—so wonderful—so great.
I thought, Where am I?—Where ?
How changed, since William Conqueror,
So proudly came through Kent.
Until at Swanscombe, forest men
His stubborn will had bent.
How changed, since good Hugh Middleton,
A mighty wonder wrought ;
When he the clear New River
To thirsty London brought,
How changed, since William Caxton saw
His printing press succeed
And gave to happy Englishmen,
The Book of books to read.
Great was thy work, Hugh Middleton!
Th’ assuaging spring to find;
But greater thine, good Caxton !
Thou fedst the thirsty mind.
SUSSEX.—Part I.
Sussex is decidedly an agricultural county, for, though
there is much ironstone, there is no coal, and, conse-
quently, there are no manufactures; and, though there is
a great deal of sea-shore, there is hardly any commerce.
Do you remember a town in Suffolk an exception to this
general rule, of coal and manufactures being linked to-
gether?* Sussex, like a part of Surrey, formed, in early
times, what might be termed the “Black Country†of
England; but when coke was used to smelt iron instead
of charcoal, the iron-works emigrated, and took up their
abode—in what counties?+ Where was coke first used ?
From Hampshire, two chains of chalk hills branch off
* Page 189. + Pages 21, 40, 51, 114, 116.
346 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
eastward to the sea. These are the North Downs, of
which you have already heard in Surrey and Kent,* and
the South Downs, which extend to a fine rocky headland
in Sussex, called Beachy Head. The country between
these ridges is called the Valley of the Weald, and is rich
and cultivated.f The rivers do not, however, run through
this valley eastward towards Romney Marsh, but find
their way either in tunnels through the hills, flowing
north, like the Mole, or south in a passage between them,
like the Ouse. In the east of the county is a beautiful
district, called Forest Ridge. There are remains of the
deep forests that in former days covered the whole of
Sussex, excepting the South Downs.
Sussex is not famous for tillage, though some hops are
raised on the borders of Kent; good hay is cut on the
marsh-lands, and along the coast there are heavy crops of
corn, The South Downs are mostly noted for their ex-
cellent sheep. Here, also, the wheat-ear, a bird good for
eating, is caught in great numbers, as was formerly the
bustard, or wild turkey. In this district, oxen are often
employed in ploughing, and sometimes in drawing carts.
The shepherds used to be quite a peculiar race, living in
caves or huts, which were covered with earth, on the side
of the hills. One of them, writing about himself, says,
“Tt was in my cave that I first read about Moses and his
shepherding life, and about David’s killing the lion and
the bear. Ah! how glad that we hadn’t such wild beasts
to frighten, and maybe kill, our sheep and us.†The roads
in this county were, at one time, noted for their mire and
sloughs. In those days a journey was described as fol-
lows: “Nothing but mischief! Some trick or other
plagued us all the day. Crack goes one thing, bounce
goes another; this was the trade from morning till night.â€
* Pages 254, 302, 317. + Page 342,
i
SUSSEX. 347
Prince George of Denmark, the husband of Queen Anne,
was six hours in going nine miles, and his attendant
writes, “ We did not get out of our coaches save only
when we were overturned, or stuck fast in the mire, till
we arrived at our journey’s end.†Another person, writ-
ing of a church near Lewes, says, “ I saw an ancient lady,
and a lady of very good quality, I assure you, drawn to
church in her coach by six oxen,†and the reason was,
“the way was so stiff and deep, no horses could go in it.â€
Such travelling has ceased in England, but you will be
amused to know that in April 1866, I travelled in Italy in
a coach drawn by five horses and four oxen.*
There is no port of commercial importance on the
Sussex coast, but the fisheries are extensive, that of the
brilliantly marked mackerel being amongst the most
abundant in England. One boat once returned with
£1000 worth, caught in one night.
Amongst the clay of Sussex Weald, there are thin beds
of limestone. This has long been quarried at Petworth,
and when polished goes by the name of “Sussex Marble.â€
It is composed of the shells of snails held together by
particles of lime. It has been used in ornamental build-
ing since the time of the Romans, and forms the tomb of
Queen Eleanor in Westminster Abbey, and the throne of
the archbishops in Canterbury Cathedral. The Weald is
also rich in fossils ; many of those strange monster animals,
now in the British Museum, having been discovered here
by Dr Mantell.t
We will now travel through Sussex, from east to west,
following the rivers and the waves.
Our first river is the Rother, that rises near the highest
hill in Sussex, Crowborough. The view from it is beauti-
ful, and here, in former days, when the Armada was ex-
* Page 328, + Pages 175, 185, 313. t Page 291.
348 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
pected, the beacon fires were watched, and signalled an
alarm all around.* In this wild but picturesque county
is Mayfield, where there are curious remains of the arch-
bishop’s palace, and strange stories about Dunstan, the
wicked bishop, in the reign of poor King Edwy. Here is
one: he found that the church, a wooden one, was not due
east, so he put his shoulder to it, and easily moved the
whole building. Queen Elizabeth once passed right
royally through this valley, and relics of her progress are
still seen.¢ There still stands at Northiam the old oak-
tree under which she took off her pretty green silk shoes,
which are shown at the castle. Another curious castle
is Bodiam, surrounded by a deep moat, filled with water.
About two miles from the mouth of the river is Rye, one
of the ancient Cinque Ports. It was once walled, and
some old towers still remain. Many French Protestants
settled here after the dreadful massacre of St Bartholo-
mew.f
A few miles from Rye is Winchelsea, which has alto-
gether lost its Cinque-Port importance. The sea and Win-
chelsea have never agreed; old Winchelsea, built on a low
island, was covered by the waves, and new Winchelsea,
built on a hill, with a beautiful harbour, was deserted by
them. Now, there are little more than old grey ruins.
Off here, the English and Spanish ships met, in Edward
III.’s reign. The king was present with his two boys,
the Black Prince and John of Gaunt.§ John was too
little to hold his bow, “but the king had him on board
because he-much loved him.†Queen Philippa was on
shore, not far off, and anxiously watched the battle. The
English were victorious, and that evening the king landed
at Winchelsea with his young sons, and rode over to his
* Pages 228, 269. + Page 342.
+ Pages 175, 338. : § Pages 143, 336.
SUSSEX. 349
wife’s mansion to comfort her loving heart. Winchelsea
has been four times burned down by the French.
Between Winchelsea and Hastings, the marshy land
ceases, and a sandstone range of hills appears.* Beneath
this, in a very sheltered situation, lies Hastings, and close
to it St Leonards. The air here is mild but bracing; and
many delicate people are strengthened by its breezes. On
this coast, William the Conqueror’s army landed. The
remains of a large encampment, said to have been his, are
seenon the cliffs above Hastings; and about seven miles dis-
tant ig Battle, where Harold and the Saxons were defeated
in that combat which placed the Norman duke on the
English throne. The battle was undecided, till Harold
and his brothers fell, whilst struggling to preserve the
Saxon standard, and then the Saxons fled to the woods.
William vowed, if victorious, to build on the battle-field a
great abbey. Its remains still exist. One of the privi-
leges that William gave to the abbot, was, that he might
pardon any condemned criminal he should meet in any
part of England. That Norman conquest seemed, at first,
hard for Englishmen, but God overruled it for good, as
the union of the quiet perseverance of the Saxon and the
bravery of the Norman was destined to form the high
character of the Englishman. English boys and girls!
never by cowardly, or idle, or dishonest conduct, disgrace
the character of our “ dear old England.â€
A low marshy coast succeeds that of Hastings,—it was
once a bay dotted with low islands. Here stand the ruins
of Pevensey Castle, the site of Anderida, an old Roman
fortress. William the Conqueror landed here, falling on
the ground as he leaped ashore. The soldiers said, “A
bad sign!†but he, rising, exclaimed, “I have seized the
ground with my two hands; it is ours!†From this castle,
* Page 302, + Pages 45, 102, 315.
350 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
during a siege in the time of “the Roses,†the earliest letter
now existing is dated. It was written by the brave female
defender, Lady Pelham, to her “‘ true lord.â€
Farther west is Eastbourne, a very pleasant, quiet water-
ing-place. Then Beachy Head appears, with its grand
rocks. On the adjoining cliffs there are countless sea-
birds,* and innumerable chattering jackdaws, but on
Beachy Head, I have heard, that two peregrine falcons
have always built their nest, and, as these are birds of
prey, the others leave them in undisputed possession. Here
grows, in great abundance, the samphire, a fleshy flower,
used as a pickle. It generally grows on sea-side cliffs,
but never within salt-water mark. Now listen to a tale
of the preservation of life by the knowledge of this fact.
A ship was wrecked off Beachy Head, in a dark tempestu-
ous night. Four sailors were thrown on the ledge of a
tock; the tide was rising, the waves were lashing, the
rock above was too steep to climb, and they said, “Let us
throw ourselves again into the water; the waves may wash
us where we may be safe.†At that moment one felt his
foot slipping, and, to save himself, he caught hold of a
weed, which a flash of lightning showed to be samphire.
“Let us stay,†he exclaimed; “we are above the tide.â€
They remained, and when morning light came they were
trescued,
West from Beachy Head is the mouth of the Cockmore.
This little river rises near Heathfield, where there is a tower
built in honour of Lord Heathfield, the famous defender
of Gibraltar. It afterwards passes a curious old priory,
now a farm-house, with the crypt made into a dairy, and
the roof a dwelling-place for owls. The next little town
is Seaford, one of the cinque ports, but, like so many of
the others, with its harbour choked up,f and, farther on, at
* Pages 18, 85, 337. + Pages 337, 338, 340, 348,
SUSSEX, 351
the mouth of the Ouse, is Newhaven, the best harbour
between Portsmouth and the Downs. Vessels sail hence
for Dieppe, in France* At Newhaven, in 1848, Louis
Philippe and his amiable queen landed, when they fled from
Boats.
their own country. They had crossed the channel in an
open fishing-boat.f
i To-morrow we will follow the Ouse, on condition of your
telling me of all the Ouses we have already met with in
Old England.
SUSSEX.—Part IT,
Now give me your relation about the Ouses—one, two, three,
Near the upper part of the Ouse is Horsted-Keynes,
where good Archbishop Leighton spent the latter part of
his life, and where he is buried. He died in an inn in
* Pages 340, 341. t+ Pages 306, 333,
352 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
London. He had often said, that if he could choose the
place of his death, it should be an inn, “for what is the
whole world to a Christian, but a large and moving inn,
while he is a wayfarer, tarrying as short a time as possible,
and then hastening away to his Father’s house.â€* In the
adjoining parish of Fletching, Gibbon, the historian, died.
No hope of a heavenly Father’s house cheered his dying
hours, for he denied the faith of Christ. Farther down,
where the Ouse pierces the South Downs, and very prettily
situated, is Lewes, an extremely ancient town, with a
castle, a priory, and several churches, In the castle is a
museum of Sussex curiosities. At Lewes, in Queen Mary’s
reign, martyrs were imprisoned and burned alive. The
cellar, said to have been their prison, may still be seen.
This town is the birth-place of Dr Mantell, the famous
geologist. He made the chalk of the Downs, and the clay
of the Weald, tell, through their wonderful fossils, many
a silent truth of the order of creation. Near Lewes,
on Mount Harry, Simon de Montfort and the barons fought
a bloody battle against the weak King Henry III, in
which the king was defeated. The churches on the Ouse
have often round towers; but now we will leave this little
stream, when you have found out a Sussex riddle concern-
ing three villages upon it, “ Heighton, aioe, and Tarring,
all begin te A.â€
The next town on the coast is Brighton, the largest
watering-place in England, having a population of nearly
100,000. It has many streets and squares, and is a gay
and lively place. The air is fresh and pleasant from the sea,
and the houses are all furnished as in foreign towns, with
outside blinds, as the sunlight glare would otherwise be too
great, the want of trees causing a want of shade. George
TV. made Brighton the fashionable watering-place it has be-
* Contrast pages 53, 190, + Page 205, t+ Pages 56, 334.
SUSSEX. 353
come within the last fifty years.** He built a very extra-
ordinary kind of palace, called “The Pavilion,†very
Chinese looking. Queen Victoria did not like Brighton
as her sea-side home; so the palace was sold, and the
town bought it for public uses. The chain pier is the first
that was ever built in England. Brighton is so like the
west end of London that one might almost imagine it was
that part of the metropolis moved down to the sea-side ;
aud the trains between London and Brighton are so fre-
quent, that many gentlemen living in Brighton are almost
daily in London for business.
Farther west, at the mouth of the Adur, is Shoreham,
where a great deal of timber is brought from foreign parts,
and where ship-building goes forward. From this place,
Charles IJ. embarked after his hiding in the oak-tree at
Boscobel, and after many other adventures in crossing the
country.t
Now let us find the source of the Adur. It is in S¢
Leonard’s Forest, a remnant of the great wood which once
covered the county. The tide used to rise as high as
Steyning where once there was a harbour, defended by
Bramber Castle, the remains of which are few. Its
moat is now filled with trees, and covered with prim-
roses. The Adur runs hence through a gap in the hills,
and passes Old Shoreham, which succeeded Steyning as
the harbour, till it was also deserted by the sea. The next
bathing-place is Worthing; near it is Tarring, famous for
its fig orchard, containing 100 trees, raised from stocks,
said to have been planted by Thomas-a-Becket. A little
bird, which goes in Italy by the name of the fig-eater,
regularly appears here as the fruit ripens, and after re-
maining five or six weeks flies away over the sea to its
warmer home.
* Pages 210, 323, + Page 196.
354 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
Our next river is the Arun, rising also in St Leonard’s
Forest, as you will see on the map, running south through
the South Downs, just as the Wey goes north through the
North Downs. The first town on its banks is Horsham, a
small, but busy trading town. Near it the poet Shelley
was born; and his greatest amusement, when a boy, was
managing a boat on Warnham pond. On the Rother, a
little river joining the Adur, is Midhurst, an old-fashioned
country town, near which are the ruins of Cowdry Castle,
which, like a hall in Derbyshire (name it) used to show,
by its preservation of olden usages, how our forefathers
lived. It was, however, entirely destroyed by fire, and
now only ivy-covered ruins remain.* Farther east is Pet-
worth, and near it is Petworth Park, a beautiful place.
In the mansion are a great collection of pictures, and very
fine carved wood. You can ride fourteen miles round the
walls of the park, enjoying extensive views over the Downs
and Weald, or watching the deer herding under the fine
old clumps of beech and oak trees.
The next interesting place near the Arun is Bignor,
where have been found some of the most perfect remains
in England of a Roman villa. The Mosaic pavement re-
presents all kinds of figures; and the bath-room, the open
fire-place, the banqueting apartment, and others may be
traced. The house must have been a very large one, as
the buildings are 200 yards in length. Do we not wonder
who lived there; who wore the fine golden ring discovered
there; or who trod on that ancient pavement?} Follow-
ing the Arun, we reach North and South Stoke, where yet
more ancient things have been discovered—British canoes,
hollowed out of the stems of oak trees, Farther on is
Arundel, with a very fine castle, belonging to the Dukes
of Norfolk. The greater part was rebuilt about seventy
* Pages 145, 265. + Pages 194, 210.
SUSSEX. 355
years ago; but the keep is very old, and: has seen more
than one siege. It is covered with netting, on account
of the fine eagle owls there confined. In the church
are many very old and beautiful tombs to the memory of
the Earls of Arundel. Littlehampton is near the mouth
of the river, a nice bathing-place, with pleasant sands.
The Arun is famous for its mullet, a kind of fresh-water
fish, and, like the birds that visit Tarring for its figs, so the
osprey, at the best season, visits the Arun for its favourite
fish.
I shall mention only one more sea-side place, Bognor,
in a very flat country, which the sea is rapidly overtak-
ing. In this way Selsey Point, our next projecting piece
of land, forms a great contrast to Dungeness. The old
cathedral of Selsey is now under the waves,* It was built
by Wilfred of York, who baptized the Pagan inhabitants,
and taught them how to provide food by fishing, when they
were starving from famine.
Chichester, our last town, is the county town of Sussex,
and has a very fine cathedral. The old walls, with semi-
circular towers, still surround the city. The walls are
lined with tall elm trees, which look very pretty. The
houses are chiefly roofed with red tiles. The principal!
streets form a cross, running north and south, east and
west.t The spire of the cathedral was particularly beauti-
ful, but suddenly, a few years since, after a storm of wind,
it sank upon its foundation and perished. Excepting
York, this cathedral is the broadest in England, and it
is distinguished by having five aisles.~ There are many
interesting monuments; one is to the poet Collins, who
wrote the famous poem on the Passions, beginning, “When
Music, heavenly maid, was young.†He was born, and
died at Chichester. His life was a very melancholy one,.
* Pages 54, 169, 180, 337. + Page 211. + Page 83.
356 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
Near the cathedral is a campanile, or bell-tower. Not
far from Chichester, at the head of a salt-water creek,
is Bosham, with a very old Saxon church. A story is
told that its bells were carried off by the Danes; that a
great storm arose in the creek, and that their weight
sunk the ship. Below the water they remain, but when
the bells now hanging in the tower chime gladly, the
others are heard to chime too, Echo will tell if this is
true.*
And now we have reached the borders of Hampshire, of
which you shall hear a great deal to-morrow.
HAMPSHIRE.—Panrt I.
HAMPSHIRE is another beautiful and important county of
our native land. It has not the fertility of Kent; because,
though the climate is even warmer, the soil is not nearly
so rich.t It is, however, well cultivated, and in it is very
much to interest us. The map will tell the surrounding
counties; the direction of the rivers; and will show you
that the coast is not straight, but has headlands running
out to.the sea. Then you will observe, that there is a
strait separating the mainland from the pretty Isle of
Wight. This beautiful island shall, however, have a chapter
to itself.
The chalky ranges of the North and South Downs unite
in Hampshire, and extend across the middle of the county
into Wiltshire. You may, therefore, expect to see hills
with rounded tops, and sweeping valleys, and roads of a
very light colour. Quite in the north of the county, the
soil is gravelly, and a good deal of brown heath grows;
but near the rivers, there is valuable meadow-land, and
frequently in the central part, there are heavy crops of
* Page 66. + Pages 313, 380.
HAMPSHIRE. 357
corn, The principal rivers are the Anton or Test, and
the Itchin, uniting to form the Southampton Water, and
the Avon, which runs quite in the west of the county.
The New Forest lies between the Southampton Water
and the Avon. The scenery there is very beautiful,—
pbs,
. me
}
YN Y
‘e aa MSW
Stoney Cross and the New Forest.
ATNOWAS
the old gnarled oaks and silvery beech trees, with here
and there an open stretch of heather, and on the south
the sea washing the border. Sometimes there are fires
in the forest, the heath and fern burning for days to-
gether. The woodcutter’s.axe is often heard, for the trees
are required for the royal navy;* and the swineherd’s
horn is mingled with the grunting of his 500 or 600 pigs,t
that, during October and November roam about, delight-
* Page 208. t Page 254, 342. .
358 » DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
ing in their repast of acorns and beech-nuts. Besides
these, there are wild swine, thought to be the descendants
of our good, old, domestic pig, but becoming more and
more like the wild boar. Their ears stand up, their colour
is generally black; the forepart of their body is the
thickest, and they have a strong bristly mane.* They
usually wander in small herds, led by one patriarchal
boar. Dogs are employed to hunt them. Hampshire is
famous for its bacon, the people taking much pains in
curing it. Another wild animal of the forest is the
pony; twenty or thirty ponies are sometimes seen to-
gether. The Romans found horses of the same kind
inhabiting Britain. There are, also, innumerable squirrels
and rabbits, and a great many foxes and badgers. There
used also to be deer ranging here, but they have all dis-
appeared. f
Amongst other products of Hampshire, there are plenty
of fish in the rivers and sea; good sheep on the Downs; {
and very excellent honey. It is not a county for manu-
factures, but a most important one for ship-building ; §
as you will find, when I tell you of Southampton and
Portsmouth.
Now, you shall hear of some famous people born in
this county. One is William of Wykeham, whom I have
already mentioned; he was a famous bishop in Edward
III’s time.|| He did all he could to encourage learning,
and was himself an excellent architect; as his buildings
at Windsor Castle, Oxford, Winchester, and many other
places show. Another is Gilbert White, who wrote the
Natural History of Selborne,†his native place; tracing,
in the care with which everything was made, the good-
ness, and, in their habits, the wisdom of God, He lies
* Page 15. + Phees 208, 815, 354. + Page 346.
§ Fages 31, 231, 299. || Page 244.
HAMPSHIRE. 359
in the quiet churchyard, sheltered by the yew-tree
he has himself described. Edward Young, famous for
his poem, “ Night Thoughts,†was also born in this
county; and Charles Dickens.* But as honourable a
name as any of these is that of John Pounds, a
cobbler,t a philanthropist, and the originator of rag-
ged schools. I will tell you a little more of him.
He lived at Portsmouth. An accident crippled him
when fifteen years of age; yet he not only supported
himself, but also a little crippled nephew. He thought
the boy would learn better with a companion; so
he offered to teach the child of a very poor woman,
then another, then another, till he had about forty,
including twelve little girls He particularly tried
to induce, what he called “the little blackguards†to
come; and would go down to the town quay with a
roast potato, offering it to them, if they would assemble.
The children soon learned to love this kind, good man.
He taught them about God; he taught them to read, to
cook their own food, and to mend their own shoes. He
was their doctor and nurse when they were ill; their
playfellow when they played. He died suddenly, on
New Year’s day, 1839; and the poor children wept, and
some even fainted, when they heard that their dear friend
was dead. But the cobbler’s work died not. Its success
was talked of. It was seen that the wildest and most
neglected of children could be influenced by kindness.
His example was copied; and now there is hardly, I
believe, one large town without-a ragged school, if it is
required.
In telling you of Hampshire, we will travel, as in
Sussex, from east to west.
Near the source of the Wey, which river I hope you re-
* Page 881, + Pages 9, 160. + Pages 50, 272.
360 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
member in Surrey, is Selborne, the pretty village of Gilbert
White; and farther down is Alton, a market town, in the
midst of a hop district, and famous for its ale. The church
there saw a bloody fight in the time of Charles I. The
brave commanding officer, and 260 out of his 800 men,
were killed.* Another market town in this neighbourhood
is Petersfield, where there is a fine statue of William IIL,
on horseback; he saved England from the tyranny of
James II. South of Petersfield is the ancient forest of
Bere, once a royal hunting-ground;f and then comes
Portsdown Hill, formed of chalk. Every summer there is
here a great fair for horses and cheeses, and on the top of
the hill is a monument to Lord Nelson, looking down on
the large naval town of Portsmouth.{
Portsmouth is built on the island of Portsea, lying be-
tween two inlets of the sea, Langstone and Portsmouth
harbours, and connected with the mainland of Hampshire
by bridges. Portsmouth is the chief naval arsenal in
England.§ It has become thus important, from its situa-
tion in the centre of the Channel coast, with a first-rate
harbour, and with the roads of Spithead, where ships can
generally ride safely at anchor. The largest men-of-war
are moored in the Portsmouth harbour; whilst in the
dockyard are dry docks, where the biggest vessels may be
repaired and refitted in a very short time. It is a noble
sight to see one of these men-of-war, or the great iron-
clads, like floating castles resting on the waters. The
order and cleanliness of them are perfect. The cannons
look out of their portholes, perhaps, as in the Duke of
Wellington, 131 in number; and their heavy shot, of the
exact weight which they are intended to carry, rest piled
up behind ; whilst, between them, are swung the hammocks
* Pages 225, 313. + Pages 208, 315.
t Page 184. § Pages 321, 382.
HAMPSHIRE. 361
of the brave sailors or marines. Vessels of this size re-
quire about 1300 men to man them. One of the most
. interesting ships at Portsmouth is the Vctory, where
Lord Nelson was killed, at the battle of Trafalgar. The
spot where he fell is shown, and also the cabin where he
died; and in this is inscribed the celebrated watchword
he gave at that great battle, “ England expects every man
to do his duty.†On October 21st, the anniversary of that
day of victory, the vessel is always garlanded with laurel.
Whilst speaking of ships, I must tell you a sad story of a
splendid man-of-war lost in the harbour, when it was
crowded with people, and everything seemed safe, This
ship was the Royal George of 100 guns. The vessel was
nearly ready to sail for the Mediterranean, and loaded with
guns and shot, which are very heavy. The carpenter found
that a new watercock was necessary. The watercock is
something like the top of a barrel in the side of the
ship, where the well is, from which salt water is pumped
to wash the decks. To take the old watercock out, it
was necessary to lay the ship so far on one side, that
the cock might be above water. This was done by draw-
ing the heavy guns on one side in, and running the
others out. Then a sloop, laden with rum, came along-
side, and the weight of the barrels of rum, and the sea-
water, which was coming in at the holes, inclined the
_ great vessel still more to the water. The carpenter saw
there was danger, and asked the lieutenant to give orders
to right the ship; but the lieutenant was angry, and said,
Sir, if you can manage the ship better than I can, you
had better take the command.†A few minutes more, and
it was too late; the ship turned over, and with all its
cannons, its provisions, its officers, its men, and many
others, it sank to rise no more. Very, very few escaped ;
nearly.a thousand people are supposed to have perished.
362 DEAR OLD ENGLAND,
The wreck remained for nearly sixty years, when it was
removed, partly by means of men with diving bells, and
partly by blowing it up with gunpowder. Another large
ship, Zhe Boyne, was burnt in Portsmouth Harbour.
When the fire reached the gunpowder, it exploded with
such a tremendous shock, that it was felt all over the
town. The large naval dockyard at Portsmouth is a
wonderful place; all the work there is on a gigantic
scale. The masts made are sometimes sixty-six yards
long; the rope-house is 1000 feet in length; and ropes,
with a coloured thread run through, marking them as the
Queen’s, are made as thick as a man’s waist. The “Smithy,â€
or blacksmith’s premises, is where anchors, twenty feet
long, are forged; whilst in the saw-house, the steam-saws
are as busy as can be, cutting stems of trees across, as if
they were cheeses, sawing, within half an hour, a huge
trunk into seven or eight planks, and preparing the blocks,
or oval pulleys, on which the ropes run, that hoist or lower
the sails. By the steam-machinery, ten men can do the
work of 110, and 130,000 blocks can be easily made in a
year. In this dockyard the convicts work in their prison
dress, and under care of guards,
The forging of enormous anchors is well described in the
following lines :—
As quiv’ring through his fleece of flame, the sailing monster slow
Sinks on the anvil—all about the faces fiery grow,—
‘‘Hurrah!†they shout, ‘‘Leap out, leap out ;†bang, bang, the sledges
05
ees ! the jetted lightnings are hissing high and low;
A hailing fount of fire is struck, at every squashing blow;
The leathern mail rebounds the hail; the rattling embers strow
The ground around; at every bound the sweltering fountains flow,
And thick and loud, the swinking crowd, at every stroke pant ‘‘ Ho!â€
At Portsmouth is also a large gun-wharf, where num-
bers of guns are stored, ready for the ships that require
HAMPSHIRE. 863
them. On the opposite side of the harbour, at Gosport, is
the great victualling yard, where all that a ship’s crew can
want is kept. Think of some of the things—water, this is
obtained from a well a hundred and twenty yards deep,*—
enormous quantities of bread, salt-meat, oatmeal, flour, vine-
gar, tea, cocoa, wine, rum, tobacco, and clothing. I must tell
you something about the bakery, where all the sea biscuits
for the navy are made, The wheat is ground by steam into
extremely fine flour, twenty stone of which is sent at one
time, through a pipe, into the bakehouse. This is mixed
with water, and a revolving wheel, set with knives, cuts
away the dough, which is at length thrown in lumps
under great cylinders like enormous garden-rollers. These
roll it and double it and re-roll it until it is quite smooth.
Then it is cut in large squares, which are stamped with a
frame divided like a honeycomb, thrown into the oven,
baked for twelve minutes, taken out, and broken into fifty-
two biscuits. Ten tons of biscuits can thus be baked in an
hour.
Near Gosport is Haslar Hospital, where about .two
thousand sick or wounded seamen can be cared for, and
which is visited by the best medical ment Portsmouth
and Gosport are strongly guarded by fortifications, said to
be the best in Europe; and when one sees the strong stone-
‘work and the many cannons, one feels it would be very
difficult for anenemy to approach.t How thankful should
every English child be that our dear old land is so well
defended ; and, trusting in an Almighty Father's care, let
us gladly sing
*‘ Rule Britannia! Britannia rules the waves;
Britons, never, never, never shall be slaves.â€
Portsmouth harbour runs inland about four miles. On
* Page 333. + Page 332. t Pages 316, 332, 340.
364 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
the north of it is Fareham, where small vessels are built,
and where there are potteries for converting the clay there
found into draining-tiles or flower-pots. Not far distant is
Porchester, with its old gray castle. The outer walls are
supposed to have been built by the Romans, and it was a
place of importance long before Portsmouth was anything
but green fields. In later years, it has been used as a
prison for captives taken in war, some thousands of
Frenchmen having been kept here during the last war
with France. They made very ingenious toys and orna-
ments, and a great deal of fine lace. Now, with thoughts
of ships, and guns, and dockyards, we must leave Hamp-
shire to-day. To-morrow, you shall hear of very different
things—of abbeys and cathedrals and forests.
HAMPSHIRE,—Paxt II.
BEFORE we follow the streams that run into Southampton
Water, I should like to tell you about some interesting
places in the north of the county, which belongs to the
basin of the Thames,
First, there is Aldershot, not far from Farnham, in
Surrey.* Regiments are sent here, that the officers
and men may be trained in the modes of camp life,
which they must put in practice, should they march
to meet an enemy. The officers’ huts are divided into
eight rooms, each officer having one, whilst the huts
for the private soldiers hold twenty-two men. Here
Queen Victoria has a pavilion. The kitchens and offices
are below the little hill on which it stands, and the
dishes for the royal table are conveyed to the dining-
* Page 303,
HAMPSHIRE, 365
room through a glass tunnel, by means of a lift. On
this wild common, in Queen Victoria’s reign, it is not
for the first time that soldiers have encamped. Close
to Aldershot, on a chalky hill, is Csesar’s Camp, the
remains of a military work, belonging to very early
English history.*
' he river that in the north-east separates Hampshire
from Surrey and Berks, is the Blackwater, so called be-
cause, running through peat, it is of a dark colour. Not
far distant is the Whitewater, of quite a different hue, for it
passes through a chalk district. Near this is Odiham, with
the remains of an old castle, where David, King of Scot-
land, was confined. Where was he taken prisoner? t
West of this is Basingstoke, a very old town, near to
which is Basing House. This house is celebrated for its
siege in the time of Charles I. It was defended by the
Marquis of Winchester, and was a refuge for many of the
Royalists.t Oliver Cromwell at length came with a strong
force and took it, and the soldiers obtained from it a great
deal of plunder, as its furniture was splendid, and its pro-
visions plentiful. One bed was worth one thousand three
hundred pounds.
North of Basingstoke is Strathfieldsaye, presented by the
nation to the great Duke of Wellington, after the battle of
Waterloo.§ Here is buried the duke’s celebrated horse,
“Copenhagen.†During the eighteen hours he rode on the
day of the battle of Waterloo, he used no other charger.
The faithful animal lies under a clump of elms in the
paddock where he spent, in quiet and comfort, his last
years, and where he used constantly to be fed with biscuits
by the duchess.
Near Strathfieldsaye is Silchester, the remains of an
* Page 306. + Pages 30, 265.
t Pages 225, 313. § Pages 237, 338, 341.
366 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
ancient Roman town. Here, it is said, that the Constan-
tine, who was made emperor at the same time as Honorius,
was crowned; and there is also a tradition, that Silchester
saw the coronation of King Arthur. The walls are as
extensive as. the old walls of London; but their enclosure
is now very different, being only an old church and a
farm-house.*
Kingsclere has a fine old church. It is in a very wild
district. We read of King John’s groom receiving five
shillings for killing a wolf here, and even now the district
is so thinly peopled, that you may go twelve miles along
the banks of the Embourn, the stream that separates it
from Berkshire, and only meet with one church.‘t
Now let us return to the streams running south, first
following those that fall into Southampton Water. The
most easterly of these is the Hamble river. Near it is
Bishops-Waltham, where are the ruins of an old castle of
the Bishops of Winchester. Here was a famous chase,
which used to be stocked with beautiful-deer. These were,
however, destroyed by the Waltham Blacks, a set of deer-
stealers, who, before they went out on their expeditions,
blackened their faces, that they might look fierce and not
be known.
On Southampton Water, above the opening of the
Hamble creek, is a military hospital, and below this are
the beautiful remains of Netley Abbey. The situation
is very lovely, with hills behind, and wood around, and
water below, and the pretty traceried windows have ivy
twining round and round them.{ Farther north is the
mouth of the Itchin, which we will now trace from its
source. The first town I would mention is Alresford, not
so important as it was in King John’s time, when a large
pond was formed by the bishop to make the river navig-
* Pages 226, 276. + Page 74, + Pages 48, 48, 53, 224.
HAMPSHIRE. 367
able from Southampton. Near this is Titchbourn, about
which a curious story is related. The good Lady Isabelle
was dying, and, as she lay on her death-bed, she begged
her Paband to give her sufficient land, that bread might
be doled to all who visited Titchbourn on Lady-Day. igs
husband took from the hearth a flaming piece of wood,
and said he would give her what she gt herself encircle
whilst the brand continued to burn. She was then carried
out; and, on her hands and knees, crept round several
acres, which are still called the Crawles. An old prophecy
says, that the house will fall should any descendant cease
to give the charity thus obtained. 1900 small loaves used
to be regularly distributed, but now, money is given in-
stead.
After passing several small villages, the Itchin reaches
Winchester. This is one of the most interesting and
ancient towns in England. The Britons had a city here;
then the Romans, in whose time temples to Apollo and
Concord stood, where the cathedral is now built; then
it became the capital of the Saxon kingdom of Wessex,
and when Egbert became king over all England, he was
crowned here. Alfred the Great and Canute the Great
chiefly resided here; and, at one time, it was more im-
portant than London.* The removal of the seat of
royalty, fires, and civil wars, have all contributed to
diminish the importance of Winchester, and now it is
comparatively quite a small town. Its cathedral has not,
however, lost its beauty, nor has the abbey of St Cross,
nor other old buildings. The present cathedral was built
in the time of William I, who gave the bishop leave to
take as much wood from a forest, higher up the Itchin,
' as his carpenters could cut and carry in four days and
“* Pages 44, 263,
368 DEAR OLD ENGLAND,
nights. On receiving this permission, he collected every
carpenter he could find, and when the king passed, a few
days afterwards, the forest was gone. The king was angry
at first, but he soon forgave the zealous bishop.* Now, I
want you to look out Matthew vii. 7, and inquire if you
act as zealously upon the permission you have from the
great King of heaven. Winchester Cathedral is one of
the handsomest in England, and is longer than any other,
‘being 287 yards in length. Here are buried Canute,
William Rufus, Egbert, and several Saxon kings. St
Swithin is one of the bishops buried here. It is said,
that for forty days continued rain prevented the removal
of his body from the churchyard to a golden shrine made
for it, and this is the origin of the belief, that if it rains
on St Swithin’s day, July 15th, it will rain, more or less,
for forty succeeding days; and, as this part of the summer
is often showery, the saying very frequently comes true.
At Winchester is a grammar school, founded by William
of Wykeham. It is the most ancient school intended as
preparatory for Oxford and Cambridge. Amongst its
scholars was the excellent Bishop Ken. It is said, the
favourite song, “Dulce Domum, Home Sweet Home,†with
its soft plaintive air, was written by one of the boys, who,
by way of punishment, was not allowed to go home dur-
ing the holidays. Having cut a labyrinth among some
trees on a neighbouring hill, he laid himself down under
an old elm, still known as the Domum Tree, and there
from grief of heart he died. There were two castles
at Winchester, one built by the bishop, King Stephen’s
brother, and the other by William the Conqueror; both
are ruins now. In the latter, the hall of which is stil]
preserved, the unfortunate Henry III, called Henry of
* Page 153. + Page 230.
HAMPSHIRE. 369
Winchester, was born.* Here is shown King Arthur's
Round Table. It has a double rose, red and white, in
the middle, above which is King Arthur seated, wearing
his crcwn. From this proceed twenty-four variously
coloured rays, each one bearing the name of one of the
knights. The painting is believed to have been done in
Henry VIII’s reign; but how old the table really is, I
cannot tell.+ Under an old abbey that once stood:in this
city, the great and good Alfred was buried { In the
museum here is shown the old Winchester bushel, that,
in the reign of the Saxon King Edgar, was made the stand-
ard for measuring corn. Charles II. began to build a
palace here, but his death stopped its progress, and the
part that was finished is now a barrack for soldiers.
A mile below Winchester, on the Itchin, is the Hospital
of St Cross, for the maintenance of thirteen poor brethren,
and from which weekly gifts continue to be distributed
amongst the poor. Here, too, at the Porter’s Lodge, “the
Waytarer’s Dole†is still given to every person, rich or
poor, who asks for it. It is a horn of beer and a slice of
bread. The church is very large and handsome, though
the tower is low compared with the high roof. The park
at Hursley, near Winchester, belonged to Richard Crom-
well and his daughters, and in the church, he, who for a
very short time reigned as Protector, is buried.§ The
vicar of this parish was Keble, the well-known author of
the ‘Christian Year,’ in which is the beautiful evening
hymn beginning “Sun of my soul, thou Saviour dear.â€
Further down the Itchin is Bishopstoke, and where it
. reaches the Southampton Water, stands Southampton, a
town nearly as old as Winchester, to which it formerly
served as a port. It was frequently the residence of King
* Pages 205, 352. + Pages 227, 236.
t Pages 238, 243, 255. § Pages 265, 282.
2A
370 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
Canute.* Here it was, that, seated on a chair on the sea-
shore, he commanded the advancing tide not to surround
him, and when it heeded not his words, he turned to the
flattering courtiers standing near, and bade them contrast
his human weakness with that Divine power, which set a
bound to the advancing waves, saying, “Thus far shalt
thou go and no further.â€
After the Conquest, Southampton was found a very
convenient port to embark for Normandy, and it became a
place of great importance. The British soldiers who, in
Edward III.’s reign, won the victory of Cressy, and those
who, in Henry V.’s time, won that of Agincourt, sailed
from Southampton. In the middle ages, it was, so to
speak, the packet station for the Venetian ships, laden
with wines from Italy or Greece, with carpets from
Damascus, and with gold and spices, brought through
Syria from the East. When the passage by the Cape of
Good Hope was discovered, Southampton lost its import-
ance; but now that the passage to India is again overland,
and that modern energy has constructed great docks for
the ships, which the largest vessels can enter, Southamp-
ton has regained its former consequence ; and its increase
during the last few years has been most remarkable. t
Immense steam vessels now sail weekly with the mails
for India; and mail packets also start for Africa, the
West Indies, North and South America, Lisbon, and
Gibraltar.
The Indian mails are packed in wooden boxes, some-
times weighing twenty tons; and the American mails, in
India-rubber bags. All kinds of distinguished visitors,
bipeds and quadrupeds, arrive here. ‘‘ Foreign monarchs
—royal Bengal tigers,—Indian, African, and Egyptian
princes,—great monkeys, hippopotami, alligators, generals,
* Page 172. + Pages 97, 105, 230.
ee Z
HAMPSHIRE. 371
admirals, illustrious exiles, Californian bears, colonial
_ governors.†The Great Eastern’s first voyage was from
London to this port.* Some of the old walls, towers,
houses, and three of the gates of ancient Southampton
still exist. One of the gates is in the very centre of the
present High Street; so it would now be of little use as a
defensive outwork. One of the oldest hospitals in England
still stands in this town. It is called “Domus Dei,†or
“God's house.†The most celebrated person born in South-
ampton is Dr Isaac Watts, whose beautiful songs almost
every child of dear Old England has heard.
To the west of Southampton is the mouth of the Test,
The first village on its banks that I shall mention is Laver-
stoke, with its manufactory for the paper used for Bank of
England notes. f Below is Whitchurch, with silk manu-
factories. The Anton, a richly wooded river, running,
however, through a country of bare, chalk Downs, soon
joins the Test. On it is Andover, in the time of the
Saxons a royal residence, but now a quiet little country
town. To the west of it is Weyhill, famous for its fair,
where horses and sheep, cheese from Wiltshire, and hops
from Farnham, are bought and sold.+ The second day is
the one for hiring farm-servants, who distinguish them-
selves thus :—The carters have whip-cord in their hats,
the shepherds a piece of wool, and the threshers, an ear of
grain. On the hills in this neighbourhood are several
" mounds and entrenchments, the remains of ancient en-
campments. The next place of interest on the Test is
Romsey, where there once was a nunnery, and where there
still remains a very beautiful church. Below it was the
house of Lord Palmerston, the great statesman; and not
far distant is that of Florence Nightingale, the tried friend
and nurse of our brave soldiers in the Crimea.
* Page 299, + Page 166. t Pages 804, 258,
372 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
On the west side of Southampton Water lies the New
Forest, formed in the reign of William I.* He is called
the “Father of the wild deer;†for he cared far more for
them than for his people, and made savage laws, by which
any one who injured a stag was condemned to death. God,
however, cares for the poor; and, though some may say it
was by accident, I think he “took the matter into His own
hands,†as the Psalmist says, when two of William’s sons
were killed in this very forest. The spot, called Stoney
Cross, is still shown where William Rufus fell, pierced by
the arrow Sir Walter Tyrell had shot. His body was that
evening found by a charcoal burner, who conveyed it in a
cart to Winchester. At the mouth of the Southampton
Water is Calshot Castle, built in the time of Henry the
Eighth.f Continuing westward, along the shore of the
Solent, the name of the strait separating this part of Hamp-
shire from the Isle of Wight, you see Beaulieu Water, on
which is Beaulieu Abbey, founded by King John. Here
the unfortunate Margaret of Anjou sought shelter, when
she reached England, on the day of the battle of Barnet.
Here she heard the sad tidings of the death of her
friend the Earl of Warwick; and hence she and the young
and brave Prince Edward marched to the fatal battle of
Tewkesbury.{ The next stream running through the New
Forest is the Boldre. Near its source are some splendid
old oak trees, far older, probably, than the forest itself. §
Near one of its little streamlets is Lyndhurst, a sort of
village-capital of the New Forest, where the court is held,
and where a stirrup, said to have belonged to William
Rufus, is shown. At the mouth of the Boldre is Lyming-
ton, a pleasant bathing-place, in a beautiful neighbour-
hood. There are here salt works, from which Epsom salts
* Page 102. + Pages 338, 341.
+ Pages 209, 269. § Pages 157, 304.
HAMPSHIRE, 373
are made.* Quantities of wood ashes are found here,
which have led people to think the ancient Britons made
salt at this place; their manner of doing so being, to set
fire to a pile of wood, and on its hot ashes to pour sea
water. { Further west is Hurst Castle, built at the end of
a narrow bar of shingle which is two miles long. Though
exposed to furious storms, and formed of nothing but
gravel, the shingle has not moved for hundreds of years.
In Hurst Castle, poor Charles I. was confined, after being
taken from Carisbrooke.{ To this succeeds a wide bay,
the cliffs of which are crumbling rapidly. On this coast
is High Clit, belonging to Lady Stuart de Rothesay. I
will tell you of something at the mansion there which,
I think, will make you laugh. It is a case of stuffed
animals, arranged to represent the trial of a prisoner. Two
wise-looking owls are magistrates, and a weasel is clerk.
The culprit is a rat, who has killed a chicken, which its
distracted mother presents at court. The policemen hold-
ing the prisoner are bantams; and the witnesses and
audience are rats, chickens, hedgehogs, and other creatures;
amongst them is the rat’s wife, holding a baby rat in her
arms. Further west, we find an inlet formed by the
mouths of the Avon and Stour.
From what county do both these rivers come ?
Not far from the Avon, above Ringwood, is Moyles
Court. This was the home of the noble Dame Alice Lisle
who in James II.’s reign was most cruelly beheaded, by
order of Judge Jeffreys, for concealing fugitives, after the
battle of Sedgmoor.§
Ringwood is a small and ancient town, noted for woollen
gloves and brewing. The next town of interest is Christ-
_ church, which might have been an important place, but
* Page 808. "+ Page 101.
+ Pages 258, 287. § Page 287.
374 DEAR OLD ENGLAND,
across the mouth of the harbour is a moving bar of sand,
which prevents all large vessels entering.* Formerly there
was here an important monastery, the church of which still
exists. It contains a great deal of curious and beautiful
carving, and the tombs of many distinguished people.
Between Christchurch and Bournemouth the trees are
chiefly firs, hollies, and evergreens, and consequently do
not lose their foliage in winter. They are cut down when
young, to make scaffolds for building. The sands are
yellow, like those in the deserts of Egypt. Boscombe
Chine is very pretty, the little stream making a deep dell
for itself through the soft sand, which is overhung by
dark green firs. Boscombe is a town without a street,
the villas situated in the midst of pine and fir planta-
tions. It is much frequented by people in consumption,
as the climate is very mild. And here we must leave the
mainland of Hampshire, and to-morrow visit the Isle of
Wight.
HAMPSHIRE.—Part IIL.
ISLE OF WIGHT.
SEPARATED from the mainland by the roadsteads of Spit-
head and the Solent, is the fruitful, healthful, and beauti-
ful Isle of Wight. It is diversified with hill and valley,
with woodlands and fields, with rocks and water. The
climate is so mild that many consumptive people go there
to escape colder winds, and to breathe warmer air,t and
there the myrtle, fuschia, and hydrangia, flourish all
winter in the garden, and grow into trees rather than
shrubs, so that myrtle stems are sometimes used for fire-
wood. Here, too, butterflies sport that are not seen else-
* Pages 106, 154, 218, 340. + Page 349.
HAMPSHIRE. 375
where in England, and their beautiful scarlet and purple
wings look gay in the summer sun. To people who
understand the formation of the clays, chalk, and sands,
this island is most interesting, and those who know little
about these things cannot but remark how the chalk lies
over the green sand; and again, how clay, and sands of
various hues, and gravel, rest on the chalk. The highest
part of the island are the chalk hills, which run in two
ranges, one across the middle from Culvercliff on the east
to the Needles on the west, and the other across the south
part of the island, just above the beautiful district called
the Undercliff. The rivers run north. The principal one
is the Medina, which divides the island into east and west,
up which boats can go as far as Newport, in the centre.
We will now begin with Newport, and then on paper we
will take a voyage round this pretty island.
Newport is not new. It is a very ancient town; but
was once, I suppose, the new port of the still older town
of Carisbrooke.* Lace is made here, and tools for hus-
bandry; and it is the chief market town of the island.
The most interesting spot in Newport is the tomb of the
Princess Elizabeth, the daughter of Charles I. She died
in Carisbrooke Castle, about eighteen months after her
father. The princess is represented lying in death’s still-
ness under the prison grating, her head resting on God’s
own book, opened at the words, “Come unto me, and I will
give you rest.†It is said, she was found dead in this
position. Our good Queen Victoria erected this, to show -
that she loved the princess’s virtues, and felt sorrow for
her sufferings. Carisbrooke Castle is very near Newport.
It is a ruin now with extensive walls from which there
are beautiful views. For twelve weary months it was the
prison of the unfortunate Charles I. He was fond of read-
* Pages 20, 227.
376 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
ing, and passed a great deal of his time in perusing poetry
and religious works; and he used to play at bowls on a
bowling-green within the castle walls. He twice tried to
escape ; but without success. There is a very deep well
in the castle. A light is lowered till it reaches the surface
Carisbrooke Castle,
of the water, and then you can look down and see its
depth. At the side of the well is a huge and ancient
wheel. A donkey enters the wheel, standing on the
notches of its broad rim. This forms a treadmill; for the
donkey tries to climb, and, as it tries, the wheel goes
round. As the wheel goes round the bucket of water
rises, and in process of time reaches the top of the well,
when the donkey marches out. The patient creature is
well fed and looks strong. One friend left it a curious
legacy——a penny roll every morning.
HAMPSHIRE. 377
Near Newport is a prison-reformatory for boys. They
are separated from grown-up prisoners; their food is ex-
tremely plain ; their dress very peculiar; they are not
allowed to talk; are taught to work hard; and wear an
iron onthe leg.* These are some of the sad consequences
of sin; but we trust that many a boy leaves that prison
reformed, and will yet grow up an honest man. Will you
pray for them ?
On the eastern side of the Medina is Whippingham,
where the Queen goes to church, when she lives at Os-
porne. Osborne House is a beautiful residence of our dear
sovereign, at which she and the royal family spend much
of their time.t It is a very handsome building, and looks
well from the sea. Beautiful little fairy steamers are fre-
quently employed in crossing the straits conveying mem-
bers of the royal family to and fro. When the Queen was
very young, she used to stay in the Isle of Wight with
her royal mother, and there she enjoyed the sands, and
delighted the boatmen by being brave and kind.
At the mouth of the Medina is Cowes, separated by the
river into two parts, east and west, both of which have
castles andchurches. It is principally celebrated as being
the head-quarters of the Royal Yacht Squadron. Yachts
are pleasure ships, which are generally beautifully built
and fitted up. It isa pretty sight to watch them either
sailing or lying at anchor.
Passing eastward, Ryde is the next town you will see
onthe map. It is rapidly growing into a very large place.
As the sands are quite level, the water is very shallow,
and the pier runs out nearly half a mile, before it is deep
enough for the steamers to approach at low tide.t The
town is very pretty; trees and flowers growing amid the
villas, and almost reaching the water’s edge.
* Pages 325, 359. + Pages 257, 286, 353. f Page 327,
378 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
Near Ryde, at the head of a bay or harbour, is Brading.
In its churchyard is buried ‘Jane, the Young Cottager,â€
whose life has been most sweetly written by the Rev. Legh
Richmond. There are many beautiful epitaphs in this
churchyard. One that little Jane learnt, I will write for
you—
“ Forgive, blest shade, the trioutary tear
That mourns thy exit from a world like this;
Forgive the wish that would have kept thee here,
And stay’d thy progress from the realms of bliss.
No more confined to grovelling scenes of sight ;
No more a tenant pent in mortal clay ;
Now should we rather hail thy glorious flight,
And trace thy progress to the realms of day.
Another pretty epitaph is on the gravestone of a little
child.
“This lovely bud, so young so fair,
Called home by early doom ;
Just came to show how sweet a flower,
In paradise would bloom.â€
Little Jane had wicked parents and friends; but God’s
grace made her early love Him. She died when quite
young, saying to her pastor, “Christ is everything to me.
Sir, we shall meet in heaven; shall we not? Oh! yes,
yes; then all will be peace—peace.†A yew-tree was
planted beside her grave; but, like Jane, it soon died.
Now, there is a gravestone marking the rest of
‘‘ That child to memory dear, and dear to God.â€
Farther inland is Arreton, where the “ Dairyman’s daugh-
ter†lived and was buried; whilst along the coast, forming
the eastern point of the chalk hills, is Culver Cliff, where
Legh Richmond met the ‘“‘ Negro Servant;†of both of whom
he has written in his “ Annals of the Poor.â€
Following the coast, you will observe Sandown, with
good sands and a fort for soldiers. Here a frightful oc-
currence happened not long ago ; a soldier, supposed to be
HAMPSHIRE. 379
a lunatic, murdered, one by one, his wife and six little
children, the youngest, a baby, at its mother’s breast. They
now lie side by side, in Brading churchyard. Still fol-
lowing Sandown Bay, I must tell you of another pretty
village, Shanklin, where a little stream finds its way to the
ocean ; not in a gentle course, through meadows and corn-
fields ; but leaping and sparkling through the deep clefts
ofachine. This is the name given in the Isle of Wight,
and along England’s south-western coast, to deep chasms
in the cliff* This chine is very beautiful; light green
ferns, and dark masses of foliage, brown earth, yellow
rock, cottages which almost seem suspended in the air;
and the water, like a broken mirror, flingine back the
sun’s bright rays in each of its sparkling drops, and all
writing softly in their loveliness, “God is love.â€
We now reach what is called the Back of the Island.
Near Shanklin commences the Undercliff, so famous for
its mild climate and lovely scenery. For many centuries
—how long I cannot say—there have been crumblings and
breakings of the upper cliffs. In the year 1818, a large
portion of the east end thus fell down. This broken soil
mixes with. the earth below, and becomes very fruitful;
nature’s hand doing here, what, in other places, the farmer
does for his land, when he strews the clay soil with lime.
The high cliff that remains above, protects it from every
cold blast of wind. From the foot of this upper cliff, the
uneven luxuriant land extends to the verge of the sea,
where another cliff abruptly terminates it. The first in-
teresting village is Bonchurch, where a pretty little church
stands in one of the most beautiful of churchyards. Trees
and hillocks, and quiet nooks are there interspersed with
the tombs, or the simple crosses that mark the graves of
the dead. On many is written, “Thy will be done!â€
* Page 374. + Pages 174, 189.
380 : DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
Side by side lie a brother and sister, the passion-flowers
twisting round the stone on which is engraved, “ He bring-
eth them unto the haven where they would be; then are
they glad, because they are at rest;†and others speak of
the sole foundation of the hope of glory—Christ crucified.
"A little farther west is Ventnor, where many invalids go,
' especially during winter; and beyond it is the church of
St Lawrence, which used to be celebrated as being the
smallest church in all England, twenty feet’ by twelve.
Measure that with this room, It is, however, now enlarged,
At the west end of the Undercliff is Black Gang Chine, a
great contrast to Shanklin, for no trees grow there; no
verdure covers its bare, steep, frowning, darkened rocks.
The scene is very grand, when the wind blows stormily,
and the great waves of the Atlantic roll, sweeping onward,
nothing breaking their force, or arresting their progress,
till they dash with noise like a cannon’s roar against the
rocky coast. There have often been fearful shipwrecks ;
but lighthouses are erected, lifeboats built, and brave coast
guardsmen, employed to save life.* Behind Black Gang
Chine is St Catherine’s Mount, one of the highest parts of
the island. A lighthouse used to stand on its summit;
but a new lighthouse is now built close to the sea; for in
cloudy weather, when most needed, the light on the hill
top could not be seen. At the end of this chapter, I will
tell you an interesting story of a little lad that went from
this part of the island to sea. For some distance west of
Black Gang Chine there are no remarkable places; and
the scenery, though pretty, is nothing like the Undercliff.
Again, however, high chalk cliffs rise, and following them,
for a few miles, we at length reach the western extremity
of the island, well known as “The Needles.†.The waves
are gradually wearing these chalky masses away; only, as
* Pages 6, 22, 180, 338,
HAMPSHIRE. 381
those farthest out to sea disappear, it seems probable others
will be separated from the mainland.* Remember, how-
ever, all these changes are very, very slow; many years
pass, and perhaps no difference can be observed. The bays
here are very fine and curious. One, Alum Bay, is cele-
brated for its different coloured sands. They are placed
in vertical or standing up strata, red, black, white, yellow,
brown, greenish gray. It is not often the earth displays
colours, nearly as bright as those of flowers. On all these
cliffs are many sea-birds, which are very difficult to catch.
The islanders are tied on a cross stick, held by a rope
which.is fastened securely to an iron bar, at the top of the
Cliff, This rope, with the man thus seated, is let down;
and choughs, puffins, or eider-ducks, are taken. In this
neighbourhood lived Tennyson, the poet-laureate.+
Keeping round the western end of the island, you will
see Yarmouth, on the little river Yare. This stream rises
at Freshwater, so near the sea, that in stormy weather the
spray of the waves has been dashed across the wall of
separation, and has mingled with its source. At Yarmouth,
there is one of Henry the Eighth’s castles.t Yarmouth
is a small trading port, at which ships are generally laden
with the fine white sand that is found at Alum Bay and
along the coast, and which is valuable in making glass or
fine china.§
_ And now you shall hear the story of the sailor-lad. In
Queen Anne’s reign, a little boy, called Hobson, was born
at Bonchurch. He soon became an orphan, and was
' apprenticed to a tailor at Niton. One day, several men-of-
war were sailing past, and all the villagers ran down to
the shore to see the sight. Hobson, on the impulse of the
moment, jumped into a boat, rowed to the admiral’s ship,
* Pages 36, 176, 188, 333, 337. + Pages 81, 232.
+ Pages 338, 341, 372. § Pages 29, 110.
382 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
and was taken on board as a volunteer. The boat was cast
adrift, the boy’s hat had been left on the shore, and all
thought poor Hobson was drowned. The next day there
was a fight with the French. A sailor told Hobson they
must fight till the white rag at the enemy’s mast-head
was struck. He exclaimed, “Oh! if that’s all, I will see
what I can do.†The ships were then covered with smoke,
but lying close together; unobserved, he climbed the rig-
ging, crossed over to the French ship, and hauled down
the flag. Soon, the British ‘sailors saw the flag was gone,
and shouted “Victory!†The French left their guns in
confusion; the English boarded the enemy’s ships, and
took them, when, to the astonishment of every one, Hobson
appeared with the French flag round his arm. Because of
his bravery, he was promoted, rapidly rose in rank, became
an admiral, and was knighted. One day, a party of officers
knocked at the tailor’s door and begged his wife would
prepare them some plain fare. They sat down with the
worthy couple to a meal of bacon and eggs. After trying
many ways to lead the woman to speak about himself,
Hobson, who was one of the officers, at last began a verse
of a song which he had often sung in former days. The’
wife’s tears were in her eyes, and she said, “For all the
world like our poor Hobby.†Then the admiral almost
cried, and you may imagine how astonished and glad the
tailor and his wife were, and how kind a friend their old
apprentice-boy proved to them,
Enough of this fair island of fair England. To-morrow
we must travel inland, and visit Wiltshire.
WILTSHIRE. —Parr I.
WILTsHIRE takes its name from Wilton, the old Saxon
eapital, What cotnties surround it? Its rivers run
WILTSHIRE. 383
east, west, and south; the Kennet, joining the Thames;
one Avon, after leaving Wiltshire, running through Somer-
set, to the Bristol Channel; and another, through Dorset-
shire, to the English Channel. You remember the Downs
that we have spoken of in Hampshire, Kent, and Sussex,
and the Chilterns, and the Gog-Magog Hills in Oxford
and Cambridge. Now look at the map, and you will see
that all these ranges have a common starting-point in Wilt-
shire, as, also, other chalk hills that stretch south-westward
into Dorsetshire. This centre is an elevated table-land,
extending over the south of Wiltshire. A large portion
of it is called Salisbury Plain, but the highest part is Ink-
pen Beacon, in the corner where Berks, Hants, and Wilts
meet. It is the highest ground of England east of the
Severn and south of the Thames, This district is very
bleak, having few trees, and covered with the short smooth
grass, which is generally seen on chalk downs. Great
numbers of short-wooled sheep feed here, and the air that
blows is fresh and bracing.* The north of the county is
well cultivated and very fertile. There are rich corn-fields,
and fine pastures where the cows feed, from whose milk
we have the celebrated Wiltshire cheese. This county is
particularly distinguished for its British antiquities, such
as the wonderful remains of the Druids’ Temple at Stone-
“henge, entrenched camps, ancient banks and ditches, and
sacred circles. The people are big and strong; they speak
like their Somersetshire neighbours, a very broad dialect,
and their ideas are often very simple.t Besides cheese,
the county is noted for good brawn, and for the manufacture
of broad cloth and carpets.t Amongst famous men born
in Wiltshire are, Sir Christopher Wren, the architect ;§
the Earl of Clarendon, Lord Chancellor and historian in
* Pages 169, 254, 346, 356. + Pages 8, 38, 61, 228.
t Pages 50, 201, 208, 228. § Pages 298, 322.
384 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
Charles the Second’s reign; and Joseph Addison, who
wrote papers in the Spectator, which are greatly admired
for their beautiful composition.
We will now follow the rivers. First, the rivers to the
Thames, then the Somersetshire or Lower Avon, and then
the Upper Avon that takes us into Dorsetshire. I told
you in Gloucestershire, that the branch of the Thames,
whose source is furthest from the sea, rises near Chelten-
ham; and so that is the true source of the great river.*
The stream, however, which retains its name till after
passing Oxford, is the Isis, and this rises near Crudwell,
on the borders of Gloucester and Wiltshire. The first town
on its banks is Cricklade, small, but ancient. South of
it lies Swindon, a noted station on the Great Western
Railway, for every train must stop here for ten, minutes,
that the passengers may partake of refreshments. Here
is a great engine depdt, where the ponderous locomotives
stand in their stalls, like horses in a stable. Here is also
a house for putting together the various parts of an engine.
The men who work here made, for the Great Exhibition in
Hyde Park, a pair of the tiniest little steam-engines, which
could stand on a shilling, and only weighed three drachms.
The workmen have all neat cottages, and a good church and
schools have been built for them and their children. The
old market town of Swindon stands on a hill.
The Kennet rises in a wild hilly district, where there
are the remains of British camps, and ancient burial-places
for the dead, and stories of battles between Britons and
Saxons, in which the brave British King Arthur fought.
Over this wild country large blocks of stone are scattered,
which the people call Sarsen stones—Sarsen stands for
Saracen, or heathen, the stones having, probably, been used
for heathen rites; or sometimes they call them young
* Page 207. + Pages 65, 828, 330.
WILTSHIRE. 385
wethers, because they look like sheep. Soon the Kennet
passes Avebury, where there are still a few remains of
what has been a very large Druidical temple. Once there
were about 600 immense round stones, arranged in curious
circles; but they have been broken up for roads, cottages,
and roadside walls. Not far from this is Silbury Hill, the
largest artificial mound in Europe, raised in the shape of a
sugar loaf, perhaps to mark a battle-field or the burial-
ground of some great hero, perhaps as a representation of
something sacred, or as a spot for the promulgation of
_ laws, as the Tynwald mound is now used in the Isle of
Man.* Along the Marlborough Downs to the South of the
Kennet, extends the Wansdyke, an ancient British wall and
ditch, probably used to defend the Britons against the
Romans.t We look on these remains of our forefathers
with special interest and with thankfulness, too, that we
were not born in those days of savage ignorance, The
_ British priests, or druids, looked venerable, with their long
white garments, and wreaths of oak-leaves twisted round
their brows, and uncut silvery hair. But notwithstanding
this picturesque costume, their hands were often employed
in bloody deeds. Human beings were offered as sacrifices,
perhay; on some of the stones of which I have told you,
and their thoughts were as savage, and as far from the true
God, as were a few years ago those of the New Zealander,
or are in the present day those of the Dahomian or Bornese.
The first town on the Kennet is Marlborough, whence a
great deal of butter and cheese is weekly sent to London.
Tt had a castle, where, in Henry III.’s reign, a parliament
was held, which made some celebrated laws, known as the
statutes of Marlborough. The mound of the keep in the
| garden of the college is all that now remains, The college
i is an excellent school, where about 500 boys are educated.t
*Page 32. +Page19. + Pages 205, 210, 252, 268, 287, 292, 294, 369,
2B
386 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
Near Marlborough is Severnake, a magnificent forest. One
tree is called the Creeping Oak, for a huge branch of it
stretches along the ground. The avenue of beech-trees,
five miles long, is reckoned the finest in England. Near
this is Wolf Hall, where King Henry VIII. married Lady
Jane Seymour, who became the mother of Edward VI.*
The Lower Avon rises in Branden Hill, and soon passes
the old town of Malmesbury, with the remains of its
beautiful abbey church. Here lived William of Malmes-
bury, an old historian, and Oliver of Malmesbury, a man
very fond of making experiments. He'wished to fly, so
having made wings, and fastened them on to his hands and
feet, he mounted one of the abbey towers, and commenced
his flight, But poor man! he was a weighty bird; he
fluttered downwards rather too rapidly ; and as he reached
the ground, he broke both his legs.
Chippenham is the next town, where a handsome old
bridge, of twenty-two arches, crosses the Avon, Alfred
the Great held his court here. It is a busy little town,
with a famous cheese market, ironfoundry, large tanyards,
and silk and cloth manufactories. Its cloth gained the first
prize at the Great Exhibition. On a small branch of the
Avon is Calne, more famous for woollen manufactures in
bygone days than now. St Dunstan once held a synod
here; the floor gave way, and all present excepting him-
self fell into the apartment below. This was thought
miraculous, so the priests let him have all that he de-
sired.f
There is a fine seat of the Marquis of Lansdowne’s, two
miles from Calne, where there are beautiful pictures. West
of the Avon is Corsham, where the Saxon Kings of Eng-
land once lived Here, too, is a nobleman’s seat, with
very fine pictures, said to be the oldest private collection
* Pages 267, 322. + Page 348, + Page 367.
WILTSHIRE. 387
in England. Further down the Avon is Laycock Abbey.
It is now a private residence; but some of the abbey ruins
yet remain, Laycock has also a curious story of a flight
from the top of the church, It is that of a young lady
leaping down into her lover's arms. The wind bore up her
dress, so that she was unhurt; but he was nearly killed.
However, her father, hearing of the leap, gave her leave to
marry him, and she became the ancestress of the Talbots, to
whom the abbey now belongs. In Laycock church, Bishop
Jewel preached his last sermon from the text, “Walk in
the Spirit.†He left his pulpit for his bed, from which he
never rose. Below Laycock is Melksham, a small but
busy cloth-manufacturing town. Still further down is
Bradford, once very important for its woollen factories ; but
now rivalled by its namesake in Yorkshire* The water
of the river dyes wool peculiarly well.+ The Avon and
Kennet Canal passes this town. The situation of Brad-
ford, on the steep banks of the Avon, is very picturesque.
This is a beautiful river; and the lofty hills around, the
bright green fields, the rich woods, and sparkling streams
wandering through each little valley, cause the whole neigh-
bourhood to be greatly admired.t South of Bradford igs
Trowbridge, also an important clothing town. Itonce had
a castle, very little of which now remains. I will only tell
you of one place more in Wilts, near this Avon, and that is
Box, where the railway passes through a tunnel one mile
and three quarters long.§ Near Box there are subter-
ranean stone quarries. The stone not being very hard, is
cut with a saw. It is worked below ground, like coal in
mines, and sometimes the blocks, which are brought up
the shafts to the surface, are very large. Now, leaving
the Lower Avon to enter Somersetshire, and thinking
_ of what it will meet with there, we will wait for another
* Page 49. + Page 213. + Page 226. —-§ Page 35, 87:
N
388 DEAR OLD ENGLAND,
chapter to commence the course of the Upper Avon.*
I must tell you of one town on the canal between the
Lower Avon and Kennet. This is Devizes, an important
agricultural town, with the largest corn market in the west
of England, and some silk manufactories.t The old castle,
of which very little now remains, was built in Henry I.’s
time. There is written in the market-place the record of
a very awful event. Ruth Pierce and two other women
had agreed to buy amongst them a sack of wheat. One
of the women found the money was not all paid, and she
desired Ruth to give her share. The wicked woman said
she had already done so, and wished she might drop down
dead if she had not. The words had hardly passed her
lips when her feet tottered, her eyes glazed, she fell down
and was dead; whilst her hand yet held the money that
she had concealed. Truly God hateth the lying tongue.
WILTSHIRE—Parr IL.
THE sources of the Upper Avon, a famous stream for trout,
lie amongst the hills near Devizes and Marlborough. One
of these, called Roundaway, was the scene of one of the
many conflicts during the civil wars in Charles I’s time.
Here the Royalists gained a complete victory; the enemy
losing guns, gunpowder, and baggage, and having about
.two thousand men killed and wounded. Another village
near which the little stream wanders marks the spot where
Ethelred was slain by the Danes, Again we cannot help
thinking with sadness of so much of dear Old England’s
ground having been stained by the blood of her sons!t
The Valley of Pewsey, through which the stream flows, is
a fertile district between the bleak Marlborough Downs on
one side, and the yet more dreary Salisbury Plain on the
* Page 229. + Page 51, . £ Pages 45, 206, 256, 269.
WILTSHIRE, 889
other, This plain is not a dead level, but rather resembles
the waves of the sea, suddenly stilled, and hushed, and
solidified, Here stand the extraordinary remains of Stone-
henge, on which the traveller looks and wonders. There
is little doubt but that it is the remains of a Druidical
temple, and also that it was built by the ancient Britons
at two different periods; but what ages have rolled be-
tween; what scenes, festal or wretched, may there have
been acted; who have been the priests, and who or what the
sacrifices, we cannot say. Some of the stones, as you will
see in the picture, form tri-liths, or three together,—one
across two that are upright; and others are huge boulders,
a ie BO
ae = fe
SERN
Stonehenge.
standing alone. They are arranged in circles, and in the
centre is an altar stone, or, as some have thought, a stone
whence the priests observed the sun, moon, and stars; but
we cannot tell,*
* Pages 41, 65, 330, 385.
390 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
“ Pile of Stonehenge, so proud to hint, yet keep
Thy secrets: †WorDSWORTH.
A line across these stones would stretch nearly a hun-
dred yards; and some of them are eight yards high, and
weigh about seventy tons.
Two miles from Stonehenge, in a pretty wooded valley
on the Avon, is Amesbury, where is an abbey built by the
wicked Queen Elfrida, to atone for the murder of her son-
in-law, Edward.* Near this, covered with a thick wood,
is a hill, called Vespasian’s Camp;f and here is a beau-
tiful view, and again, the remains of old embankments.
Don’t you think Wiltshire may be well styled the “anti-
quarian†county of dear Old England? As the Avon
wanders on, more remains of old camps and British vil-
lages appear on the hills above, and at length it reaches
the site of Old Sarum, the hill on which, in,the times of
the Romans, Saxons, and Normans, Salisbury stood, where
the old cathedral and castle were built, where kings as-
sembled councils and made strong entrenchments. At
length, however, the soldiers and the clergy quarrelled,
and a new road, which did not pass through Sarum, was
made, and a new cathedral was built where Salisbury now
is, and old Sarum became more and more deserted, till at
the present day it is but a green mound.
Salisbury, or New Sarum, is built at the meeting of three
streams, the Avon, the Bourne, and the Wiley. These
streams are brought to run in clear little canals through
the streets, and look bright and cool. The streets are laid
out in regular squares. Some of the houses have curious
old-fashioned decorations, with carved gables; but the
building that of all others distinguishes Salisbury is the
cathedral, with the highest and most beautiful spire in
England.{ The windows are said to be in number equal
* Pagel7. + Page 365. ¢ Pages30, 45, 158, 181, 288, 355.
WILTSHIRE. 391
to the days, the pillars to the hours, and the gates to the
months of the year. Find out how many there are of
each. In the cathedral there are many curious old
monuments to various bishops. One is to a boy-bishop.
It was the custom, on St Nicholas’ day, December the
sixth, for the choir boys to elect one of their number as
bishop, which title he kept till Innocents’ day, December
the twenty-eighth. Should he die within this time, which
appears once to have happened, he was buried with great
honour, in his bishop’s robes. Salisbury has been the
scene of battles and sieges, in various ages. The last
historical event was William the Third’s glad entry with
his soldiers, when he came to save England from the
tyranny of James II.*
Now, leaving the Avon for a little while, we will follow
the Bourne and the Wiley. Bleak hills, with British
camps, villages, and graves, characterise the country
through which these rivers flow. Some of these British
graves are very interesting. There was in one a little
child clasped in its mother’s arms; and in another a young
girl, her head still wearing its coronal of beads. Another
contained the ashes of a British warrior, with five beauti-
ful arrow-heads of cut flint, round him deers’ horns were
encircled, and above him were the bones of his faithful
dog, that had, perhaps, been slain with his master, But
there is no tombstone to mark the Britons’ hope in Him
who is “the Resurrection and the Life,†In this neigh-
bourhood is Ludgershall, a small village, once celebrated
for its fine Norman castle. The first market-town, not far
from the source of the Wiley, is Warminster. The Lord
of the Manor is bound to provide the sovereign and his
attendants with one night’s lodgings, should he be in
the neighbourhood.t George IIL, with his queen and
* Page 255, + Pages 166, 196.
392 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
daughters, claimed the right, and was entertained at Long-
leat, a very beautiful place, in a lovely neighbourhood,
belonging to the Marquis of Bath. Here Bishop Ken
died. Near this is Woodhouse, which Lady Arundel de-
fended, in Charles Is reign, till, finding she could hold
it no longer, she escaped, being carried out secretly in
a coffin.* Another town on the Wiley is Heytesbury ;
but, like many other places in Wiltshire, it is losing its
population. After passing many camps and mounds, the
Wiley reaches Wilton, the ancient capital of Wessex, now
deriving its chief celebrity from the excellent carpets there
manufactured. Near it is Wilton House, with ancient
armoury, sculptures, and fine pictures. At Wilton, the
Nedder joins the Wiley. It rises in a little lake on the
borders of Dorsetshire. It soon passes Wardour Castle, a
beautiful ruin. It was nearly destroyed during two
sieges in Charles I.’s reign, At one time Lady Blanche
Arundel, with only twenty-five men, for five days with-
stood the attack of one thousand five hundred of the
enemy. The ruin is very extensive, and there are many
curious relics, One is an oaken drinking-cup, supposed
to have existed from the time of King Edgar. It will hold
two quarts of ale, and inside of it are eight pegs, one above
the other, dividing the quantity into half-pints. This was
to prevent people drinking too much, as whoever drank
below the mark was punished.t Another relic is a lock
of Queen Elizabeth’s hair, given by her to Sir Philip
Sidney, of whom you read in Kent.t Near this is Font-
hill, the splendid estate that once belonged to Mr Beck-
ford. The festivities here were more like those of an
Eastern monarch than of an English gentleman. For a
week, three hundred dined at his table daily, and twelve
hundred of his tenants feasted on the lawn, thirty thousand
* Pages 242, 350. + Page 131, t Page 329,
WILTSHIRE. 393
lamps burning nightly in the park. On the borders of
Wilts and Dorset is a wide district of wild forest land,
called Cranbourne Chase. In some parts, the wood is
thick, and in others the bleak but grassy downs extend,
now and then crowned by what the country people call a
“hat of trees.â€
On the Avon, near Salisbury, is Clarendon, anciently a
royal palace, and noted as the place where some famous
laws were drawn up in the reign of Henry IIL, called the
Constitutions of Clarendon. They were to assert British
liberty against the encroachments of the Pope.* Here
Edward IIL, with the captive kings of France and Scot-
land, hunted the deer. Further down the Avon is Long-
ford Castle, where there are remarkably fine paintings.
One picture is a portrait by Holbein, of Erasmus, which
that learned man sent to his friend, Sir Thomas More.
Holbein brought it over himself, with a letter of introduc-
tion, and soon the artist became of great repute.
Now, I must cease to tell you about Wiltshire; but I
wish you to remark that not only is it the county of
antiquities, but it is a county retrogressing or going
backwards in importance, its towns and population
nearly stationary. Poor Wiltshire! it has not the
advantages of the sea-shore for trade, nor of coal or iron
for manufactures, nor of luxuriant soil for agriculture.
However, it has very healthy breezes, and a simple-
minded, courteous race of people—health of body and
mind is more precious than wealth. This is the last
inland county of which I shall speak. To-morrow we
must visit the maritime one of Dorsetshire.
* Pages 308, 885.
394 DEAR OLD ENGLAND,
DORSETSHIRE.
Dorsezt is not a more luxuriant county than Wiltshire, a
great deal of the surface being chalk hills and sandy
heaths. It has, however, a beautiful sea coast, and, like
Wiltshire, is a healthy, breezy county. Though the
climate is one of the mildest in England, the harvests
are not early, and as the farmers do not like to give up
their old customs, the same improvements have not been
made here as in the eastern counties.* There is a great
variety of soil in Dorset. The country called the trough
of Poole, extending from Poole, westward towards Dor-
chester, is very sandy and barren. On each side of this
are chalk downs, stretching, in the north, from the Cran-
bourne Chase to Beaminster, and on the south, to Dor-
chester, where they unite. Throughout the Isle of Pur-
beck, (not really an island, but a peninsula, to the south
of Poole harbour,) and along the coast, is clay, of the
same kind as in the Weald of Kent, limestone, most
excellent for building, Kimmeridge clay, which the people
can burn for fire instead of coal, Portland stone, of which
the greater part of St Paul’s, in London, is built, and
various kinds of Oolite stones and clays. Just as you
traced from Wiltshire the different branches of chalk, ¢
so from Dorset you may draw a line through Somerset,
Gloucester, Oxford, Northampton, the west of Lincoln
and Yorkshire; and in all these counties you will find the
Oolite ‘formation of rock, called from a word which means
egg, for the large masses of earth or rock have in them the
tiniest little globules like the egg, or roe of a fish.
The useful things peculiar to Dorset are building stone,
potters’ and pipe-clay, grain, potatoes, flax and hemp,
* Pages 148, 174, 185, 311. + Page 383.
DORSETSHIRE, 395
beer and cider, butter and cheese—the cheeses are not
good, for they are made of skim milk*—a great many fish,
especially mackerel and oysters, and a great many sheep.
Several things are manufactured on a small scale, such as
silk and woollen goods, shirt buttons, and gloves.
The chief rivers in Dorset are the Frome and the Stour,
both flowing south-west.
First we will follow the Stour, which unites with the
Avon in forming the little inlet on which Christchurch,
in Hampshire, stands. Its source is very remarkable,
being in the midst of the fine park of Stourhead. From
some springs called the Six Wells, it flows underground,
till it enters a grotto, and comes pouring out of a large
um.t Then it wanders through grounds ornamented with
temples and statues, and old or curiously grafted trees,
and passes below a hill, on which is Alfred’s tower, com-
memorating the spot where that good king raised his stan-
dard, when he determined to fight against the Danes.{
These grounds are in Wilts and Somerset; but very soon
the Stour enters Dorset, and receives a little river which
comes from the neighbourhood of Shaftesbury, a very
ancient town, going back to the time of King Lud, who is
said to have lived B.c. 1000 years; but about whom no-
thing certain is known.
A nunnery, however, was founded here by Alfred the
Great, in which Edward the Confessor’s body was en-
shrined, and which became a very rich place. Shaftes-
bury is on the top of a high chalk hill, with no springs
of water. The supply came from the neighbouring parish
of Gillingham. Once a year the Mayor of Shaftesbury
used to present to the steward of the manor of Gilling-
ham a large broom, hung with jewels, a calf’s head, a
pair of gloves, two penny loaves, and a gallon of ale, to
* Page 186, + Page 207. + Pages 288, 255.
396 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
show how much obliged the town was for the water. The
steward used politely to return the broom, which was kept
for the next year. Canute the Great died here.*
The Stour next receives the Cale, a little river flowing
through the vale of Blackmoor, a marshy fertile valley,
with beautiful oak trees, fat cattle, and numbers of pigs.
Once it was a forest, where Henry III. hunted a white
hart, but compassionating the pretty creature, forbore to
kill it.f Another hand more cruel afterwards slew it,
which displeased Henry so much, that the county had to
pay a yearly fine, called White Hart Silver.
The river passes some old but small market towns, and
through a district where there are remains of Roman
camps and earthworks, and at length reaches Blandford,
once noted for point lace, now for shirt buttons. It was
burnt to the ground in 1731, but is rebuilt a nice cheerful
little town, with red brick walls and high roofs. The
largest oak tree that, perhaps, ever grew in England once
stood here. It was nearly twenty-three yards round. t
At Wimbourne Minster, a town with a fine old church,
the Stour receives the Allen from Cranbourne, an old
market-town, near to which is St Giles’ Court, where
lives the good Lord Shaftesbury, the friend of the poor.§
It is said that, in the garden here the first cabbages were
grown in England. |
Close to this, is another estate of Lord Shaftesbury’s,
on which the unfortunate Duke of Monmouth was taken
prisoner. The soldiers had sought him the previous day
without success, and were just leaving, when one of them
saw a man concealed in a ditch, and nearly covered with
fern leaves. This was the poor duke, who was taken to
London and there beheaded.
* Pages 367, 370. + Page 48. t Pages 157, 164, 259, 386.
§ Page 94, ll Pages 300, 838. 4] Pages 237, 286,
DORSETSHIRE. 397
Very near the Hampshire border is Poole, built on
Poole Harbour, an inlet of salt water, almost like a lake,
It has a beautiful island in the centre, where a castle is
built, where dark fir trees grow, and where a great deal
of potters’ clay is found, and sent to the “ Potteries,’—in
what counties?* Poole is the chief seaport in Dorsetshire.
Clay is its principal export; the blue potters’ clay for pottery,
and a kind that burns white, called pipe-clay, for tobacco-
pipes; small ships and beautiful yachts are made here ;
and also sails and cordage, and a great number of linen
shirts. Many little creeks run inland from the harbour,
and the channels being very narrow, the tides, which in most
places are very regular, cannot here be depended upon.
Thechief river that flows into Poole Harbour is the Frome.
Near its source is Wolverton Hall, concerning which an
interesting story is told. In Henry VIII’s reign the King
and Queen of Castile, a province of Spain, were driven,
by bad weather, to Weymouth, and kindly entertained at
Wolverton. The host, Sir Thomas Trenchard, did not,
however, understand the language of his royal visitors;
so he thought of a young neighbour of his, John Russell,
who had lived sometime in Spain, His manners were so
pleasing, that the king and queen asked him to go with
them to London, and introduce them to the English king.
He became a favourite with Henry VIII, who gave hima
title and much land; and from him are descended the
Dukes of Bedford and the Earls Russell. Dorchester is a
pleasant well-built town, noted for its ale. It is a very
ancient place, and contains curious remains of British and
Roman works. One building, called the amphitheatre,
would hold about 12,000 people. In this town sat the
wicked judge Jeffreys during the Bloody Assizes, in
James IL’s reign. The court was hung with scarlet, to
* Pages 110, 138, 204. + Page 197.
398 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
symbolise, I suppose, its cruel deeds, and on one day
eighty people were sentenced to death. At Dorchester,
the little Cerne joins the Avon from Cerne Abbas, with
an old abbey. Immediately above it is the Giant’s Hill,
on the chalky side of which, the turf is removed to leave
the figure of a huge man, sixty yards high, holding a great
club in one of his hands. This is said to commemorate
the death of a giant; he, having feasted on some sheep,
lay down to sleep, but was fastened to the ground by the
people, who then traced on the hill-sides his outline *
Further down the Frome is Wareham, another very
ancient town, surrounded by an earth-work, cast up by
the ancient Britons. Here the Frome is joined by the
Piddle, on which is Piddletown. A little streamlet run-
ning into this river passes Wilton Abbey, a beautiful
place among the hills, with fine carving in the old abbey
church—and then it passes Woodbury Hill, near Bere
Regis, where there is every year a famous sheep fair.
The Frome then becomes the boundary of the Isle of Pur-
beck. A natural, huge chalk wall crosses the neck, which
joins this so-called island to the mainland. Only at one
place this wall opens, and there stands Corfe Castle, the
scene of many a deed of wickedness. Do you remember
reading in history of Queen Elfrida, here causing her
step-son, the unsuspecting Edward, to be stabbed?+ Here,
too, Edward II. was imprisoned ;{ and here the wicked
King John murdered many noble prisoners. And yet,
perhaps, the greatest interest of Corfe Castle, is the won-
derfully heroic defence that Lady Bankes made during her
husband’s absence, in the troublous times of King Charles.§
The Parliamentarians summoned her to surrender, but in
vain ; she and her servants, both men and women, mounted
the few rude guns that they had. Again the enemies
* Page 255. + Page 390. t Page 214. § Pages 350, 392.
DORSETSHIRE. 399
approached, with two great engines, the “ Boar’ and the
“Sow,†and shouted that they would give no quarter; but
still the brave lady was not daunted, Stones and burning
ashes were thrown from the walls, which the enemy vainly
tried to scale; and though they were several hundreds in
number, they were obliged to give up the siege. Three
years afterwards it was again besieged, and captured
through treachery. Then the Parliament ordered it to be
blown up with gunpowder, which caused the ruined walls,
though twelve feet thick, to lean outwards, and moved a
tower, which is still in its upright position, three yards
below the spot where it formerly stood. The coast of
Purbeck Island is very wild and rugged, with grand preci-
pices, large caverns, and cliff quarries, which look like the
ancient cavern sepulchres found at Petra and in Egypt.
On the east side is Swanage, a pleasant bathing-place,
its bay extending from the white chalk rocks of Foreland
Pinnacles, on the north, to the black cliffs of Peveril
Point on the south, Look on the map, and you will see
Foreland Pinnacles are exactly west of the Needles; and
there is no doubt the line of chalk rock connecting them
runs under the sea.* The Dancing Ledge is a curious
sloping rock on the south of Purbeck, where, as the wild
waves break, they seem to dance and sparkle. The most
southern point of the island is St Alban’s Head, where the
little chapel, built to say mass for the passing sailors, has
been changed into a coast-guard station, furnished with
ropes and rockets to save those that are perishing.
At Kimmeridge, the black clay, which can be used as
coal, is found.t Farther along the coast it forms a cliff,
which took fire, and continued to burn for many years—
an English burning mountain. I could tell you of many
beautiful cliffs and caves, but shall just now only mention
* Pages 319, 380. + Page 85.
400 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
“ White Nose,†where the white-chalk hills are again seen.
On these Downs, the turf has been removed, to represent,
on the chalk below it, an enormous figure of George III.
on a trotting-horse.
On Weymouth Bay are situated Weymouth and Mel-
combe Regis—divided from each other by the harbour.
They have a delightful beach with smooth sands. This
was the favourite sea-bathing place of good old George
III. and his family.* Here, there was once a terrible
shipwreck of an East Indiaman, the“ Abergavenny.â€{ The
ship got off the rocks, on which she had struck and the
captain hoped to be able to run to the nearest port, but in
vain. The water increased rapidly through the leaks that
the rocks had made, and at length the ship went down, in
water so shallow that the top of the rigging appeared above
the waves when the hull touched the bottom. To this
many poor seamen clung; some, after passing a night of
great cold and misery, were saved; but most were drowned,
and in one churchyard are the graves of eighty who were
lost.
South of Weymouth is Portland Island. It is famous
for building-stone; and for the mutton of the sheep fed
on its downs. It is united to the mainland by one of
the most extraordinary works of nature in England—a
wall of shingle, called Chevil Bank, nearly eleven miles
long, and about two hundred yards wide.{ The waves
have no doubt brought the shingle there ; but we cannot
tell why it was not thrown against the coast. The narrow
channel which separates the coast from the bank is called
the Fleet. Chevil Bank may be said to commence at
Bridport, seventeen miles distant, where it consists of fine
sand, This gets more and more mixed with pebbles, then
the pebbles become larger and larger, till at Portland they
* Pages 210, 260, 352, 377. + Page 361, } Page 733.
DORSETSHIRE. 401
are about four inches wide. The inhabitants can tell on
a dark night the exact part of the bank on which they
are, by the size of these pebbles. The shore is most dan-
gerous in stormy weather; so much so, that the bay on
the west is called Deadman’s Bay. There is a curious
ia. 2
Quarries in Portland,
story of a ship that sailed across the wall. A dreadful
storm was raging—a sloop was drifting among the waves,
when a billow of enormous power hove it upwards, and
placed it on the top of the bank. Then the crew landed
and walked to Portland. The storm passed over, and the
ship, uninjured, was launched in the Fleet on the other
side. There are about 100 quarries in Portland island ;
and it is reckoned it will supply stone, at the same rate as
now, for 2000 years.* There are cliffs all round the
* Pages 126, 347, 387.
2c
402 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
island, excepting on the north side, opposite Weymouth.
Here a very extensive breakwater is formed, as Portland
has been made’a naval station. The stone required, about
2000 tons daily, was close at hand, and the labour was
chiefly performed by convicts, a large prison being here. *
On the overhanging cliff, on the east, is a very curious old
fortress, called the Bow and Arrow Castle, said to have
been built by William Rufus. There are little round holes
pierced in the walls through which arrows might be shot,
and brackets on‘the top for throwing down stones on the
enemy. Portland Castle, where the bank joins the island,
was built by Henry VIII., who presented it to three of
his unfortunate queens successively,
At the end of the Fleet, near Abbotsbury, are the Decoy
and Swannery. In the Decoy, numbers of wild fowls are
captured by a tame one, In what other county have you
heard of this?} In the Swannery, about 1000 beautiful -
white swans find a home. At Abbotsbury are ruins of an
old abbey, built by King Canute, and a castle, whence
there is a fine coast view from the Hurst Point to Portland
Bill. The next town is Bridport, on the little river Bride,
which passes Beaminster, noted for double Dorset cheese,
and two hills, as like each other as they can possibly be,
called by sailors the Cow and the Calf. Bridport has some
commerce, and was once noted for its ropes and twine. It
still sends a number of fishing nets to Newfoundland.
The coast continues very beautiful, with its Golden-cap
Hill and fine Downs, and then another little river, the
Char, is reached, with Charmouth at its mouth. Here
Charles II. was very nearly discovered, before he was able
to embark for France. His horse wanted shoeing, and the
blacksmith observed that the old shoes were fastened in a
North of England fashion. Fortunately, however, the
* Pages 325, 362. “+ Page 176.
DEVONSHIRE. 403
horse of the trooper, who prepared to follow the king, took
the wrong road.*
The last town in Dorsetshire, and one most beautifully
situated, is Lyme Regis, where the little river Lyme flows
through a deep valley into the sea. Here the unfortunate
Duke of Monmouth landed, and waited till about 2000
people joined him.t A little girl, ten years old, called
Mary Anning, here discovered the first ichthyosaurus.
This colossal fossil animal was found imbedded in the
cliff, and is now in the British Museum. When we hear
of these enormous reptiles, I think we may thank God
that the “ great moving creatures †lived ata period before
Adam and his children dwelt on the earth And now,
with a promise that our next lesson shall be of one of the
largest and most beautiful of English counties, we shall
to-day leave the pretty sea-side Dorsetshire.
DEVONSHIRE.—Parrt I.
DEVONSHIRE is the third largest county in England.
Which are larger? It is the fourth in population. Which
do you think are more populous ?
Now look on the map, and observe how the sea borders
it, and how the rivers run through it. The shore extends
with its inlets and outlets, on its north side and on its
south side, about 212 miles, and the scenery of the coast
is magnificent,—fine rocky cliffs continually rising from
the water, frequently clothed with wood, or festooned with
lovely creepers, but sometimes bleak, and bare, and grand,
In the eastern part, the rivers flow south from hills but
little distant from the northern shore. In the west, they
flow both north and south from land near the centre.
* Pages 196, 353. + Pages 287, 373. £ Pages 58, 291, 321, 352,
404. DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
What, therefore, about the high lands of the county may
you know, without being told ?
The high land in the north-east is called Exmoor, from
which starts the range of hills, known as the Mendips, in
Somersetshire, and the Cotswold, in Gloucestershire.* It
forms the source of the Exe and of many of its tributaries.
The high land more in the centre is Dartmoor, and from it
you may trace the courses of the Teign, the Dart, the Tavy,
the Oke, and the Taw. Exmoor and Dartmoor are very
desolate. Exmoor, which forms a home for wild ponies
and red deer, is covered with heather, excepting in those
parts which, within the last few years, have been culti-
vated. Dartmoor is about twenty miles square. It is
composed of granite, a very old rock, which, in England,
you have only heard of—in what northern counties? t
This granite rises in the most whimsical shapes on the
tops of all the rising grounds of the moor, and the great
rocks it forms are called Tors. Some are like animals,
some are like enormous giants, others are like old castles.
Each Tor has a particular name. The highest is called
“Yes Tor,†and, according to their shape, they are “Sheeps’
Tor,†“Fox Tor,†“Lynx Tor,’ and “Hare Tor.†The
granite is covered with peat, where heather, reeds, and
moss grow; and, in the centre, is an immense bog, which,
in many parts, would quickly swallow up the lightest
forms that might tread upon it.{ This bog and others are
the sources of the different rivers I have named. Besides
the Tors there are on Dartmoor many rock pillars, stone
avenues, memorials of those strange superstitions of which
I told you at Stonehenge, and hut: circles, the stone founda-
tions of the houses in which our forefathers lived. They
all measure nearly nine yards across, but some of them
have a circle beyond; and these outer circles are thought
* Pages 207, 228. + Pages 69, 89. t Pages 62, 88.
DEVONSHIRE, 405
to mark the mansions of the chiefs. The round enclosures
of the villages, or perhaps of the folds for the cattle, may
also be traced.* Try and fancy the days, nearly 3000 years
ago, when our forefathers lived as the South Sea Islanders
do now? Do you know a verse which Isaiah at that time
wrote about the distant islands, which is now gloriously
fulfiled in our dear old England?+
with straw or green rushes, are still scattered here and
there, the inhabitants of which speak a strange mixed
language, not easily understood.
The most beautiful scenery in Devonshire is found near
these moorlands, amongst the rocky heights which extend
from Exmoor along the coast, and: amongst the beautiful
wooded glens, through which the little streams from Dart-
moor leap turmoiling onwards.
Excepting on these moors, Devon is exceedingly fertile ; :
the two districts which are peculiarly so are the vale of
Exeter and the South Hams. The latter, lying between
Dartmoor and the Channel, is called the Garden of Devon-
shire, and there the apple grows abundantly, and much
cider is made in the Pound-houses, a great deal of which
is drunk by the country labourers. Grain is not well
cultivated; but the pastures are very rich, and the cows,
which are almost all red, and the sheep, which very quickly
grow fat, are noted as extremely good. The cream makes
excellent butter; but it is more famous for being made
into clouted cream, a dainty very much relished, and which
is only’ made in this county and Cornwall. Another
~ famous dish is Devonshire Junket, a mixture of cream,
spirit, and spices. Many cheeses are made; but they are
not rich, as skim milk only is used. The farmers in
Devonshire use oxen very much for ploughing; a man
and a boy go with each team, and, as they trudge alone,
* Pages 65, 328, 330, 384. + Isaiah li. 5. t Pages 199, 216, 222.
406 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
they chant notes of music, which the oxen like to hear,
and which seem to make them draw the plough more
willingly.* The ponies on the moors feed in herds.t
When they approach a boggy place, they first put down
, their nose, and then they pat the ground with their little
fore-feet, and judge, I suppose, by sound, feeling, and
smell, if the ground will bear them.
Devonshire is a county rich below ground, as well as on
the surface. You remember our imagining a line drawn
From the Exe to the Tees.} We have long been east of
that line, but now again we are west of it; and we shall
hear about mountainous and mineral regions. In this
county, as in Dorset, a great deal of potters’ clay is found,
which is sent to the potteries in Staffordshire, and a little
of fine white porcelain clay, used in making fine china.
Here there are mines of tin, which you have not heard of
before in England; and, also, mines of copper and lead.§
There is also freestone for building, granite, a remarkably
hard and durable stone, and slate, as in the Lake districts. ||
The county is not a seat for manufactures, but coarse |
woollen goods, such as druggets, are made, and carpets to
imitate Turkish ones; also linen, and beautifully fine
lace, called Honiton, and great numbers of shoes, which
are sent over the Atlantic to the island of Newfound-
land.
_ Besides these varied farming, mining, and manufacturing
riches, the seas of Devonshire supply a great quantity of
fish, such as mackerel, soles, turbots, and John Dories.
The pilchard is also caught here; but I will tell you more
of it when we reach Cornwall. The rivers abound with
salmon-trout.1 In the Dart these are sometimes killed by
spearing. This is a kind of salmon-hunting. It is followed
* Page 346. + Page 358. t+ Page 4.
§ Pages 19,26, 78, || Pages 69, 78. | Pages 10, 17, 63, 195.
DEVONSHIRE. 407
at night, with blazing torches, which discover the retreats
of the frightened fish.
From what I have already said, you will see the people
of Devon have various employments. Many of them live
in the most picturesque little cottages, with thatched roofs,
and walls made of cob, a mixture of mud and pebbles,
grayish in colour, very warm and lasting. Vines, roses,
or fuschias grow over these walls, and outside are the
gardens, full of pretty flowers.* Through these villages a
clear stream generally flows; for almost every valley has
its bright and sparkling river. Though the wages are
small, the people are industrious and careful, putting as
much of their money as they can into the savings’ banks.
Instead of coal they generally burn peat, which they cut
from the boggy moors, t or wood which they carry slung
over a packsaddle on their hardy little ponies.
The climate is remarkably warm, and, for so northern a
latitude, it is very equal throughout the year. In some
parts on the southern coasts, snow and ice are seldom
seen; whilst on the moorlands, the winds from the
Atlantic blow very strong, and the air is fresh and
bracing.
A great many famous men have -been born in this
county, especially brave seamen and good painters. Per-’
haps the sea washing the shores of all the bays and inlets
accounts for the seamen, and the exceedingly picturesque
scenery for the painters. Of the former there were, in
Queen Elizabeth’s time, Sir Francis Drake, who made
the first voyage round the world, and returned with
strange stories of unknown lands, and with new kinds of
spices, monkeys, birds, and plants ;; Sir John Hawkins, one
of the admirals that went against the Armada;§ and Sir
Walter Raleigh, who gained the queen’s notice by throwing
* Page 374. ft Pages 62, 77,172. + Pages 40, 822.. § Page 816.
408° DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
his cloak in the mud, to save the soiling of her shoes,
and who afterwards proved both brave and skilful. He
brought from America the potato and tobacco, the one as
useful as the other is hurtful, Near Dartmouth is seen a
part of the chimney-piece against which he is said to have
gat when he smoked the first cigar that was seen in Eng-
land. In Devonshire were also born Sir Humphrey Gil-
bert, who discovered Newfoundland, and John Davis, who
gave his name to the Davis Straits, which you will find in
the map of North America. In later days, Devonshire
was the birthplace of Admiral Hood, who gained, in George
IIL.’s reign, victories over the French. Amongst the painters,
four noted in modern days were born at Plymouth, Haydon,
Eastlake, Northcote, and Prout; and another little town,
Plympton, is the birthplace of Sir Joshua Reynolds. The
greatest soldier born in Devonshire is the Duke of Marl-
borough, who, in the reign of Queen Anne, gained very
great victories over the French.* Amongst Devonshire
poets are Gay, whowrote fables, and Coleridge ; and amongst
literary and scientific men, are Gifford, once a shoemaker’s
apprentice, but rising by talent and industry, he founded
scholarships at Oxford, and was for many years editor of a
very clever magazine, the Quarterly Review ; and Buckland,
much noted for his discoveries in the science of geology.
Long ago Bodley was born here, who founded the famous
Bodleian Library, of which I told you—where ?+—and,
in later days, Newcomen, once an ironmonger, but giving
his mind to mechanics, he made important discoveries
in working the steam-engine. Devonshire has also
been the birthplace of many men honoured to work
for God. At the little town of Crediton, many years ago,
Wilfred was born, who went as a missionary to Germany,
to make known to the rude tribes there the love of Jesus.
* Page 241. + Page 245,
DEVONSHIRE. 409
He is usually called St Boniface. Two good and learned
clergy who lived in Queen Elizabeth’s time were born in
this county ;—Hooker, always known as the judicious
Hooker, and Jewel,* the excellent Bishop of Salisbury.
The Queen was so pleased with a book which he wrote,
that she ordered it to be chained and read aloud in every
church in England. A little later, the good John Howe
was born; he lived in an age when many conscientious
persons suffered much persecution.f One night, Mr Howe
had offered prayer in a gentleman’s family, in the north of
Devonshire, when word was brought that he had been
discovered, and would soon be taken prisoner. The night
was stormy, dark, and wintry; but it was thought better
that he should leave the house. He and his servant soon
lost their road on the common. They saw before them a
mansion; knocking there, a kind invitation was given for
them to remain all night; but on entering Mr Howe found
it was the house of the magistrate who had been doing all
he could to seize him. He talked long and seriously with
him that night. The next morning, he expected to be sent
to prison, but, instead of a summons, received a kind
invitation to breakfast. That conversation had made the
magistrate anxious that his soul should be saved. During
an illness afterwards, his anxiety became greater; and after
his recovery, he showed himself an earnest Christian and a
very warm friend and supporter of Mr Howe. Another
learned clergyman born in Devon was Dr Kennicott, par-
ticularly noted for his knowledge of Hebrew. There are
many more, of whom I cannot now tell you.
* Page 387. + Page 163,
ee
;
410 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
DEVONSHIRE—Paerr II.
Wuat was the last town of which you heard in Dorset-
shire? Hoping that this is remembered, I must tell you
that west of it, along the coast, there occurred at Christmas,
1839, a wonderful landslip, similar to those of which I have
told you in the Isle of Wight.* Cracks in the ground had
been observed for about a week, when, on Christmas Eve,
the land began to move very slowly, the cracks enlarging.
The following night, the great chasm opened, with a
sound like the tearing of cloth, and gradually widened, till
it was eighty-three yards across. No lives were lost, as
the movement was very gradual; some of the trees were
killed, but others moved with the soil, or re-rooted them-
selves; and apples are still gathered from the transported
orchard, as if nothing had happened.t The scenery be-
came, however, grander and wilder.
Following the coast, we soon reach the mouth of the
Axe, which little river we will track. Axminster is the
first town after leaving Dorsetshire. Its famous carpet
manufactories have been moved to Wilton. { In this neigh-
bourhood a battle is supposed to have been fought between
Athelstane and several Danish and Northern kings. Nine
kings are said to have been left dead on the field. In con-
sequence, Athelstane founded the Minster, which still
stands, and which is in parts very ancient.
Colyton stands on a little stream, flowing into the Axe,
and has many people employed in making lace. Here,
also, is a paper-mill, where once a sheet of tissue
paper was made, six feet broad and four miles long. It
only weighed fourteen stone. On the east side of the
river a chain of hills continues to the sea—two of them
* Page 379. + Page 220. t Page 392.
DEVONSHIRE. 411
crowned with Roman camps. West of the Axe, the coast
is very beautiful; the cliffs being of great height, and of
various colours—bright red sandstone, and white chalk,
contrasting. At Beerhead is the last chalk hill we shall
meet with in England. We have met it frequently, ever
since I told you of—what grand rocky promontory in
Yorkshire ?*
At Beer, there is a curious sandstone quarry, which goes
a quarter of a mile underground. If you had not a guide,
you would probably be lost, as there are many passages.
Would it not be a famous place for hide and seek? You
would require torches and warm dresses, as the caverns
are both dark and wet. Beyond this, beautifully situated
—hills and valleys, and streams, all mingled in picturesque
confusion—is Branscombe. Here also lace is made of the
most beautiful kind. Queen Victoria’s splendid wedding-
dress was made at this little village. More grand cliffs,
some of them 500 or 600 feet high, and a lovely Devon-
shire town is reached, on the shore of one of the rich
valleys that opens towards the sea. This is Sidmouth,
once a small seaport, but now only a bathing-place, as
the harbour is filled with sand and shingle. The collier-
ships that arrive, have to empty their cargoes into little
boats; so, as you may fancy, coal is dear. The climate is
very warm, but rather too damp for invalids. Sidmouth
is famous for its beautiful pebbles, green, red, and yellow;
and also for its elegant cottages. The most beautiful of
these is Knole Cottage. The rooms are all on one floor, and
the drawing-rooms one hundred feet long. Within are all
kinds of pretty curiosities, and without are conservatories
filled with beautiful plants, and aviaries with rare birds, whilst
kangaroos and buffaloes sport or range upon the lawn. At
Sidford, near this town, Charles IL, when he was escaping
* Pages 36, 168, 240, 249, 261, 302, 818, 846, 356, 380, 383, 399.
412 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
from his pursuers, hid himself in a chimney.* West of
Sidmouth is High Peak, one of the most beautiful red
sandstone cliffs on the coast; and a little farther is the
mouth of the Otter, so called from the number of otters
that abound in it.
We must go a little distance inland for the source of this
river; and first, I will tell you of the lovely lanes, for
which this neighbourhood, and all Devonshire, is famed.
They are deep, and narrow, and hilly; the hedges with
their beautiful blossoms, and green banks, carpeted with
ferns, and mosses, and starry flowers, stretching upwards
to the height of thirty feet. The Otter rises amongst the
Black Down Hills, which separate Devon and Dorset. It
passes Honiton, from which place the fine lace, of which I
have told you, takes its name. It nearly equals the fine
point lace of Brussels. It is different to that made in
Bedfordshire; as the pattern, instead of being worked with
the net, is made by the hand, in separate pieces, and then
sewed on net, made by machine The vale of Honiton,
extending down the river, is celebrated for its butter. In
this district is Ottery St Mary, with a beautiful church.
Here lived Sir Walter Raleigh. Farther down is Pepple-
ford, which receives its name from the number of oval
pebbles there found; and below this is Bicton, where there
are gardens beautifully arranged ; the collection of trees and
shrubs being almost the finest in England. The cottages
here seem embowered in myrtles; and the sparkling
stream, and pretty pebbles, and finely-coloured cliffs, as
the shore is approached, make the scenery very lovely.
In this neighbourhood Raleigh was born.
We now reach the mouth of the Exe. Its source will
take us to a portion of the bleak region of Exmoor in
the county of Somerset, not far from the Bristol Channel.
* Pages 196, 353, 403. + Page 162.
DEVONSHIRE. 413
As it enters Devon at Exbridge, it receives the Barle, a
beautiful mountain-stream, flowing through a wild valley,
up which no road passes. Here are woods where the red
deer hide, and above is purple heather, where they feed.
The Exe thus increased, passes onwards and receives a
little stream from Bampton. This is a quiet little town,
in a wild region; where there are fairs for sheep, cows,
and ponies, and near to which are limestone quarries. It
is very pleasant to look at the beautiful view from a stone
seat in the churchyard, which is sheltered by old yews,
whose branches, rent by age, are mended with masonry.
Farther down the Exe is Tiverton. When the bobbin-
net machine was invented at Nottingham, there was such
opposition that Mr Heathcote, the inventor, was obliged
to remove. He came here, and for several years Tiverton
was the place where all machine-made net was manu-
factured. Now, fifteen hundred people are employed in
Mr Heathcote’s factory.* There are here the ruins of a
tine old castle. The Great Western Canal connects Tiver-
ton with Taunton, in Somersetshire. Continuing its bright,
pleasant course, the Exe receives the Creedy river from the
west. On its banks stands Crediton, a very old town, so
old that people say
‘*Kerty [Crediton] was a market-town
When Exeter was a furzy down.â€
Shoemaking is the principal trade of this place. In
what central county is shoemaking the chief occupation
of the people?+ On the left the Exe receives the Culmer,
on which stands the little market town of Cullompton.
Formerly it was noted for woollen manufactures; and a
rich clothier, who built part of the church, ornamented the
outside with a representation of his machinery for cloth.
* Page 187. * Page 159. t Page 256.
414 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
The Exe, enlarged by many streams, now passes the city of
Exeter, which is the chief town of the county. Its situa-
tion is healthy and beautiful, and it seems rightly called
“The Queen of the West.†It must be a very long time
since Exeter was a “furzy down,†for there is no doubt
it is a very ancient place. Many suppose it was a British
city; and it is certain that the Romans made it one of their
chief towns.* In the time of the Saxons, Athelstan here
fought the ancient Britons, driving them farther west;
and, in the time of Charles I., it was besieged in turn
by Royalists and Parliamentarians. In this troublous
time, whilst the queen stayed in the city, a little princess,
called Henrietta, was born, who afterwards married a
royal duke of France. The chief building in Exeter is
the cathedral, the western side of which is reckoned
very beautiful. The “Peter Bell†is one of the largest
in England;t but what you will like to hear of, is a
very strange old clock, on the centre of which the earth
is represented ; the sun revolving in the outer circle tells
the hour of the day and the age of the moon; whilst the
moon, revolving in the inner circle, shows, by some ma-
chinery, all the real moon’s changes, from new to full.
The bishop’s throne, of black oak, more than seventeen
yards high, is beautifully carved. The castle called Rouge-
mont has long been in ruins. There are stories which con-
nect it with the history of several of our early kings. It is
said that Exeter is the first town that ever sent a member
to the House of Commons. Owing to its very fertile soil,
and warm climate, the nursery gardens here are the best
in England. In one, a fir-tree from California is growing.
If it grows as it does in its native country, it will be larger
than any tree in England, its natural size being giant-like.
Below Exeter, at Topsham, the Exe receives the Chirt,
* Pages 44,106, 154, 194, 226, 229, 276, 367. + Pages 158, 244, 288.
DEVONSHIRE, 415
and then it widens greatly and becomes an arm of the sea,
but not a useful arm, for a sand-bank stretches across its
mouth, leaving a very narrow channel, which, at low
water, is only eight feet deep, so that no large ships can
enter. The last town on the Exe that I shall mention
is Exmouth, situated, as you will guess, at the river’s
mouth. There are beautiful walks in the neighbourhood,
with extensive and varied views. The town is a very
favourite bathing-place. Many of the male inhabitants
are employed in fishing, and the females in lace-making,
In the neighbourhood are some pretty villas. Here is an
almshouse for poor old maidens, which is called “ Point in
View,†for it bears this motto, “Some point in view we all
pursue.†On the other side of the Exe extend the Haldon
Hills. They look like mountains from Exmouth. West-
ward on the coast is Dawlish, a new and very pretty bath-
ing-place.
A little farther west, we reach the mouth of the Teign,
one of the rivers that rise in Dartmoor. Its early course
is through splendid wildness, passing strange tors, rock
pillars, ancient trees—oaks, and beech, and fir, and run-
ning beneath a remarkable old granite British bridge.
Soon it reaches Chagford, a pretty little town, with fine
bracing air from the wild land of Dartmoor. Here, Syd-
ney Godolphin, a leading man amongst the Royalists, was
killed. The little river plunges wildly onwards, through
Gidleigh Park, rushing over steep rocks, which re-echo
the sound of its roar. Here is an ancient Druid temple;
but you shall hear more of the Druids anon, for we are
now in the neighbourhood of difficult access, where the
Britons were driven by England’s early invaders.
Farther on, the river passes Spinsters’ Rock, about
which strange wild stories are told. It is a flat stone
on three pillars, so high that you can walk underneath
416 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
it. Then amidst briars and ferns, and everything wild
and beautiful, the river passes a curious logan stone, and
reaches Fingle Bridge, considered the most beautiful part
of all its beautiful course. Steep wooded hills and rocky
precipices shut in the river; and the bridge, covered with
ivy, rests on rocks at either side. Then the village of
Drews-Teignton is reached, or “ Druids’ Town on the
Teign.†Can you fancy the time, when those ancient
priests, with white garments and mistletoe wreaths, walked
in these solitudes? But they were not solitudes then, for
old British castles still crown the hills, that, in this neigh-
bourhood, overlook the river. Turning southward, the
merry river hastens on, each portion of its course telling
of God’s love in making scenery so pretty, and then it
passes the little town of Chudleigh, which, like Tiverton
and others, was once destroyed by fire. It is famed for
the marble rocks that are near it. Half-way up the cliff
is a deep cavern called the ‘“ Pixies’ Parlour.†Pixie is a
name for fairy. The parlour is roofed with interlaced
roots of trees, very suitable for fairies! Farther south, the
Teign receives the Wray, which, with pretty little brooks
that have joined it, has its source in Dartmoor. One
called the Beckey, rises near High Tor, whence the view
over the rich sea-bound land to the south, and the wild
dreary moor to the north, is splendid. There granite is
quarried, and taken by canal to Teignmouth. Then the
little stream passes Hound Tor and Bowerman’s Nose,
formed by the oddest-shaped stones possible, and, before
joining the Wray, it reaches Beckey Fall, a precipice of
granite, and tumbles eighty feet down into a deep glen. The
other brook is the Bovey, at one time losing itself beneath
natural stepping-stones, which consist of great blocks of
granite, at another time passing between hills covered
with furze, which I have seen described, as resembling
DEVONSHIRE. 417
an embroidery of gold on velvet of the richest green,
and then rushing past groups of rocks, which, according
to the animals that lodge there, have names, such as the
Raven’s Tower, or the Foxes’ Yard. One curious rock is
called the Nutcrackers. It is balanced, so that the touch
of the little finger can roll it from side to side. When
moved it touches another rock, and if a nut is placed
between them it is cracked very effectually.
Between the Wray and the Teign is Bovey Heathfield;
low ground supposed once to have been a lake, to which,
in former days, the crumbled granite was brought by the
streams from Dartmoor. It now forms very fine clay, fit
for the finest porcelain. At the village of Bovey Tracey,
are porcelain works, which have an advantage over Wor-
cester or Derby, in having the material close at hand. But
though we love the Teign’s wild banks, we must hasten
on. Newton is an old town,* memorable as the place where
William of Orange made his first declaration in England,
of his objects as the liberator of the people.
The river widens, and at its mouth is Teignmouth, a
large watering-place. Here it is crossed by a bridge, said
to be the longest in England, 557 yards, about one-third of
a mile in length. As in the Exe, a broad sand-bank nearly
crosses the mouth of the river; but the bank here is made
useful, for it is a good promenade, and a lighthouse stands
at the end.t The people are chiefly fishers, some of them
going all the way to Newfoundland. Now remember oe
Axe, the Otter, the Exe, and the Teign.
To-morrow I hope to tell you more of aia
Devonshire,
* Pages 20, 375. + Pages 106, 154, 218, 374.
418 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
DEVONSHIRE.—Parrt III.
ALONG the coast, south of Teignmouth, you will see on the
map a little promontory, the point of which is called
Hope’s Nose, and farther south is another called Berry
Head, between which lies the beautiful, the sheltered, and
the interesting Torbay. There is a lovely cave near Hope’s
Nose; its marble cliffs shining like satin, the sand white
and sparkling like glass, and ivy creeping over the rocks
as if they were ruined towers. On Torbay stands Torquay,
considered by many the best climate in England for
consumptive patients. It is a pleasant town, and the
houses are handsomely built. Near it is a cavern, called
Kent’s Hole, where all kinds of wild beasts’ bones have
been found, like those in—what Yorkshire cavern 2*
Tor Abbey, a ruin now, was once one of the richest in
England. On the south side of Torbay is Brixham, a
spot of deep interest in English history; for here landed
William Prince of Orange, who was God’s instrument in
delivering England from its unworthy king, James IL,
thus frustrating his endeavours to bring our dear old
country under the Pope’s power.f A furious wind from
the east had driven the prince rapidly down the Channel
past Torbay, and all seemed lost, for William could not
land near Plymouth, which was strongly fortified. But
God made the stormy wind to cease, and a gentle south
breeze to blow; and the ships sailed into the bay, and
sixty little boats conveyed the soldiers to the shore. Then
a strong northerly gale rose, and met the king’s ships, so
that they could not follow William. The night was wet
and desolate, and the prince slept in a*fisherman’s little
_hut, his Orange banner waving from its roof.
* Pages 58, 235. + Pages 230, 256, 360.
DEVONSHIRE. ~ 419
A quantity of fish is caught in Torbay; two hundred
trawler boats belong to Brixham, The trawling net is like
an immense bag, twenty or thirty yards log, the mouth
kept open by a long wooden beam. This is trawled along
the bottom of the bay, and is soon filled with’ various fish.
Hill and dale succeed each other very rapidly between
Brixham and Dartmouth; and there we reach another
river, the Dart, and you must tell me where it rises.
The neighbourhood of its early course brings us to a
stranger place than you have yet heard of—Wistman’s
Wood; a remnant of the ancient forest that probably
covered Dartmoor, and which is thought, from its name
and situation, to have been the scene of some of the
abominable rites of heathenism practised by the Druids.
Now it is covered with morass, and with wood—unot tall
handsome trees, but strange stunted oaks and ash, seldom
more than ten feet high, branched and twisted in every
form. No human foot can penetrate that forest. . It is
only a home for serpents and foxes; but we must thank
God that the idols and their bloody sacrifices are utterly
abolished.* In this neighbourhood is Crewkerne, where,
till 1749, the Stannary Parliament was held. This was a
meeting of twenty-four gentlemen sent by the different
mining districts, to make regulations, and to deal justice.
A strange parliament house, the bleak side of a hill, in the
very centre of Dartmoor! + Close to Dartmeet, the spot
where the East and West Dart join, are very visible remains
of an ancient British town. The same kind of old British
bridges, made of single enormous stones, span the Dart, as
cross the Teign; and there are, in many places, on its bank,
traces of tin mines, that have ages ago been worked. A
beautiful spot on the Dart is called the “Lover's Leap,â€
where a slate precipice rises straight above the water. The
* Pages 10, 54, 263, 382, 385, 389, + Page 330.
420 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
river afterwards passes-near Ashburton, a pleasant town
in a cultivated valley, on the outskirts of the moor. Both
Ashburton and Buckfastleigh, the next town on the river, ©
have wool factories. The church at Buckfastleigh is
reached by 140 steps.* The gravestones look very mourn-
ful, being of black marble, of which there are quarries in
the neighbourhood,
The next town of interest is Totness, to which place
small ships can ascend. The neighbourhood is noted for
its fine timber and beautiful marble. Totness is a very old
town, with strange, antique houses, and the ruins of a
round ivy-clad castle. To the west of Totness is the castle
of Berry Pomeroy, hidden in wood, the trees growing
even inside its deserted walls. It was partly built by the
Duke of Somerset, Protector in Edward VI’s reign.t+
The river below Totness is very beautiful, winding in such
manner that it looks like a string of lakes, and the banks
echo again and again the voice of the traveller. Passing
Stoke Gabriel, with its enormous yew-tree, and Dittisham,
with its plum-trees, and in the middle of the water, the
anchor rock, on which Sir Walter Raleigh used to sit and
smoke,t it at length reaches the old town of Dartmouth.
The harbour, nearly surrounded by land, forms almost a
lake. It is, consequently, very safe for ships, which bring
coal, wine, and fruit, and take away cider, woollen goods,
and corn. The town is built on the side of a steep hill.
Look at the picture of the pretty old buildings. One street
is on a level with the roofs of the houses of another, and
steep flights of steps connect them.§ The old church of
St Saviour’s is noted for its very.rich and curious carvings.
There are the ruins of an old castle; whilst a more recent
one, of the time of Henry VII., stands beautifully on the
edge of a rock, which is washed by the deep blue waves.
* Page 92. t+ Page 292. + Page 407. § Page 43.
DEVONSHIRE. 421
Its tower used to contain a chain, stretched, for defence,
across the mouth of the harbour.
The shore westward forms a curve, Start Bay. The
cliffs look bright, and in some parts sparkling, They are
composed of slate. The bay ends in the Start Point,
where stands the lighthouse, whose revolving light is fre-
— => =
Old Houses at Dartmouth.
- quently the last sign of their native shore that our Indian
or Australian-bound voyagers see. On one side of Start
Point all is smooth and bright, and on the other dark and
rugged; for on the west the waves of the Atlantic beat
and fierce winds blow. It is the hardness of the slate and
gneiss rocks of which this promontory is composed, that
has withstood their force. Prawle Point is the most
southern cape of Devonshire, and the other two points of
422 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
the promontory are Bolt Head and Bolt Tail. From Start
Point to Bolt Tail the scenery is grand. A pretty inlet
lies between, running some distance inland. The shores
of this inlet are extremely warm, and lemon and orange
trees flourish in the open air; but the surrounding hills are
bleak, and inland the country is not pretty. Kingsbridge
and Salcombe are the two towns on the coast. Salcombe
is famous for its white ale, made of hops, flour, and spices.
Along the rough shore many crabs and lobsters are found,
Near Bolt Head is a cave, from which it is said that there
is an underground passage to another cave that opens out
in an adjoining bay. There is an absurd story of a bull
that went in at one end and came out at the other; but,
strange to say, it went in black and came out white. ~
Leaving again the coast and its curious crags, we
will find the source of the next river, another Avon.
Count up all the Avons.* Its source is in Dartmoor.
Near South Brent, a little town on its banks, Devonshire
sand is procured, which is used in sanding paper. The
bay into which the Avon falls is Bigbury, and at its mouth
is Burr Island, where fishermen employed in the pilchard
fishery reside.
The next river from Dartmoor is the Erme, also a wild,
lonely stream. In the midst of memorials of the past you
will now see spanning the river and its valley a beautiful
railway bridge, looking fragile among the massive wild-
ness around; and farther down is Ivy Bridge, which,
though but a few yards long, stands in four parishes. f
Farther on is Ermington, with a leaning spire;{ and near
it Old Modbury, with slate-fronted houses. West of the
mouth of the Erme the coast continues wild, and grand,
and lonely; and on a low slate crag, an old church stands,
a monument to Him whose power has set to that great
* Pages 121, 228, 384. + Page 155. t Page 132.
DEVONSHIRE. 423
swelling sea its bounds that it should not pass, The next
river is the Yealm, noted for the Yealm Bridge Cavern,
full of the bones of hyenas, elephants, rhinoceroses, and
strange large birds. Near its mouth, on a beautiful rocky
inlet, with heathery hills rising behind, are three little
villages, called Yealm. There is a sad tale of the ravages
of the plague in one of them, which left only seven of its
inhabitants alive.*
The coast now brings us to the most important, and,
perhaps, the most beautiful of all Devonshire bays, Ply-
mouth Sound. Three rivers fall into it, the Plym, the
Laira, and the Tamar; and three large towns stand on it,
Plymouth, Stonehouse, and Devonport, which united form
one whole—“ Plymouth being the business or city part,
Devonport the West End, and Stonehouse the part for
hospitals and manufactories.†There are manufactories of
soap, earthenware and ropes, sugar refineries, and various
mills; it is a port for ships from all parts of the world,
especially for emigrant ships from Australia; but it is chiefly
noted as a naval station, for, as at Portsmouth, the arms
of the Sound preserve their depth as they run inland, and
thus form excellent harbours for large men-of-war.f
Formerly the Sound was not a good anchorage; for
when a south-west gale blew, then the large Atlantic waves
rolled inwards, and the ships lay in great danger. «A
famous engineer, Mr Rennie, proposed, however, a plan of
raising a stone rampart across the part where the waves
rolled in most fiercely. It was to be nearly a mile long,
and of such strength that the waves should not destroy it,
This was a stupendous undertaking; but it has been, after
many years’ labour, accomplished; and now ships lie
quite safely within this great breakwater. The weight of
the stone is reckoned to be equal to that of the Great
* Pages 80, 108, 129. + Pages 821, 324, 332, 360,
424 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
Pyramid of Egypt. The citadel at Plymouth is very
strong, and well furnished with cannons. It is on the
eastern end of the Hoe, which is one of the most beautiful
walks conceivable. The view of land and water, of green
trees and white sails, of woods and cliffs, of chimneyed
cottages and masted ships, is most beautiful* From this
point the Spanish Armada was discovered; and at Mount
Edgeumbe, on the western shore, was lighted the beacon
fire that roused Old England’s lion.f
Night sank upon the dusky beach and on the purple sea,—
Such night in England ne’er had been, nor e’er again shall be.
From Eddystone to Berwick bounds, from Lynn to Milford Bay,
That time of slumber was as bright and busy as the day ;
For swift to east and swift to west the warning radiance spread,
High on St Michael's Mount it shone—it shone on Beachy ‘Head.â€
At Stonehouse is the victualling yard, where the Prince
of Wales landed, after his memorable visit to America, in
1860. Here provisions are prepared by steam, as they
are at Gosport. In the slaughter-house eighty large oxen
ean be killed at once. Here, too, is a large naval hos-'
pital. Devonport is very conveniently and pleasantly
built. Here is the dockyard, where steam machinery
makes ropes, hammers, nails, cuts wood, and performs
various other work, just as it does at Portsmouth. One
machine for plaiting a kind of rope, wheels about and
turns about so continually, that it is called a Jim Crow.
These towns are well supplied with water, brought from
Dartmoor by a channel made through the exertions of Sir
Francis Drake. What worthy citizen wrought a similar
work for London?+ To Plymouth this channel of ‘leet
brought the water thirty miles. When the water first ran
its course through the channel, cannons were fired, and
the mayor and aldermen, in grand dresses, went to meet it.
Now, for a very short time, we must follow the Plym,
* Page 226. + Pages 36, 347. t+ Page 262,
DEVONSHIRE, 425
hS
which rises near Sheep’s Tor, the chief home, according to
Devonshire story, of the pixies; and to this day the country
people who visit it drop a pin for them. They say that
the little fairies have stored in this Tor precious minerals ;
and particles of the gold have sometimes been found in
the streams below.
For a time, the Plym is called the Cad, and the arm of
Plymouth Sound which it enters is Cat Water. Its course
is wildly beautiful, dashing over blocks of granite, passing
by strangely-shaped rocks, and roaring under ivy-clad
bridges. A railway connecting Plymouth and Dartmoor
runs nearly parallel with the course of this river, its chief
use being the conveyance of huge blocks of granite.
We have had enough for to-day. The beautiful Tamar
and all the northern coast must be for to-morrow,
DEVONSHIRE —Parr IV.
Tue Tamar, like the Exe, rises very near the Bristol Chan-
nel. Its source is in Cornwall, but it receives many feeders
from Dartmoor. Almost throughout its course it divides
Devon from Cornwall; the character of its two banks being
very different. The eastern one generally consisting of
steep cragey rocks, and the western of gently swelling
meadows. Just above Lifton, where it is joined by the
Lyd, is a bridge, on which, an old tradition says, there
used to stand a man with a black bill in his hand, ready
to knock down all lawyers endeavouring to go into Corn-
wall. Why? I cannot tell. The Lyd is one of the beauti-
ful streams of Dartmoor. Onits banks stands Lidford, now
a straggling village, but once a very important place, where
the trials of the Stannary Courts were held,* and where
there was a mint.t Judge Jefferies, the Execrable, held a
* Page 419. t Page 298.
426 _ DEAR. OLD ENGLAND.
court here,* and the people who have stories about every-
thing, say, that he sometimes visits the courtyard, in the
shape of a black pig. Here a bridge spans the river,
reckoned one of the most remarkable things in Devonshire.
It is a single arch, over a ravine seventy feet deep, along
which the water rushes tumultuously.t Soon the river
hastens forward to meet a brook, which léaps a precipice
of thirty-seven yards, and throws itself into the Lyd’s deep
dell. The Tamar continues its beautiful course, and passes
Endleigh, a lovely cottage-mansion, belonging to the Duke
of Bedford.t{ The grounds are beautiful, particularly the
Dairy Dell. The next interesting place is the grand Morwell
Rocks, which appear towering high above the river; and
here are not only picturesque beauty, but also the signs of
busy life, as this place is the termination of a little canal
from the Tavy. The canal is on high ground, but the barges,
laden with granite or copper ore, are moved with their car-
goes to trucks, which slide down a steep railway to the
river-side. The river widens before it reaches the Tavy,
and then it expands so as to appear almost like a beautiful
lake. The Tavy is another Dartmoor stream; its clear
waters foaming over its stony bed. It runs through a dis-
trict famous for copper mines. One of these, Wheal
Friendship, is very large and deep, and entirely worked by
water, which is guided into all parts of the mine, turning
the immense wheels. In another part there are extensive
slate quarries, and many villages inhabited by miners.
Two of them are called Peter Tavy and Mary Tavy. There
is a story of a judge, a stranger to the county, making a
mistake about a trial, and ordering Peter and Mary Tavy
to appear in court. The largest town is Tavistock. Here
is a large old church, the tower of which rests on arches,
which span a thoroughfare for passengers. There are the
* Pages 237, 373, 397. + Pages 415, 419. t Page 411.
DEVONSHIRE. 427
ruins of a large abbey, where, in a stone coffin, were found
enormous human bones, supposed to be those of a giant,
Ordulph, who was so tall that he could stride across a river
ten feet wide, and so strong that he could chop off the
heads of wild beasts at a blow. Tavistock was once very
famous for its woollen manufactures, Tavistock Kersey
having been celebrated all over England.* At Double
Water, amidst crags and caves, with names such as the
Raven Rock, or the Virtuous Lady, the Walkham joins the
Tavy. Once more to Dartmoor. Near the early course
of the Walkham is Dartmoor prison, where many con-
victs are employed cultivating the ground. Here the
wilderness has been turned into fields of grain or of vege-
tables. The river winds round Great Mis Tor whose sur-
face is white in parts with granite rock. It passes many
hut circles. In one place, when the plague raged in
Tavistock, these were used as a market, the country people
bringing provisions thus far, which the townspeople carried
away, leaving money instead. Do you remember a similar
tale amongst the hills of Derbyshire? + Farther down the
Tavy, is Buckland Abbey, where there are still many
relics of the brave Sir Francis Drake, amongst others the
Bible which he carried with him all round the world.
Soon the Tavy joins the Tamar, near a very large silver-
lead mine,f and then the Tamar becomes very wide, and
farther down, in the part called the Hamaoze, the great
men-of-war lie at anchor.
Now look at the map for the north of Devonshire, and
we will follow its most beautiful coast. The first river at
the east side is the East Lyn, which runs through Lyndale,
a district of wild beauty. At Waters Meet, another little
rivulet joins, forming in the deep valley a scene of great
loveliness. Lynmouth is one of the most picturesquely
* Pages 175, 189, 237, 256, 305, + Page 124, Page 19,
428 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
situated villages possible. There the East and West Lyn
unite, the West Lyn turmoiling in a succession of cascades,
through a very deep dingle, clothed with trees and ferns
and moss. Lynmouth seems to be locked in with hills,
and all day long the sound of the wildly rushing rivers is
there heard to mingle with that of the ocean.
Lynton is built on a height above Lynmouth ; and is also
a charming village. Near it, is one of the wildest scenes
in England ;—the Valley of Rocks, where separate masses in
Ilfracombe.
very grotesque shapes rise, and seem ready to fall upon the
green grass, or into the blue sea beneath. Here many
human bones have been found, marking, it is said, the spot
where a large party of Danes were slaughtered.. Deep wild
glens succeed, and then Comb-Marten comes, where, for
more than 500 years, a silver lead mine has, at times, been
worked, and where a quantity of lime is burnt. The hills
DEVONSHIRE. 429
continue beautifully grouped, and the coast full of pretty
little caves, where the water looks clear, and where sea-
anemones abound, stretching out their tiny arms in their
rocky homes. Ilfracombe, with an excellent harbour, is
beautifully situated on this hilly coast. It-is a favourite
bathing-place; and, in the reign of Edward III., was com-
paratively a large seaport, which you will understand,
when I tell you that it sent six ships to Edward IIL’s
fleet, when the now important river Mersey contributed
only one.* Farther west is Bideford, or Barnstaple Bay.
At the north point of this bay is Morte Stone, or the Rock
of Death, so called from the number of shipwrecks that it
has occasioned.t The two principal rivers falling into
Bideford Bay are the Taw and the Torridge; one from
Dartmoor, and the other from Cornwall. The Taw, from
Dartmoor, pursues its early course in the same kind of
region as the Teign and the Tavy. Below Chudleigh, a
pleasant, little, old-fashioned town, the Taw is joined by
the Mole, from the south of Exmoor. In this neighbour-
hood is Fleton Oak, supposed to have been there since the
time of Alfred the Great. It measures eleven yards round.
At South Molton, Samuel Baldock—a learned dissenting
minister, once a butcher—was born. Do you observe how
many English people of humble origin have distinguished
themselves by bravery, or learning, or goodness? Near
the mouth of the river is Barnstaple, a small commer-
cial town, where ships arrive with coals, groceries, iron,
and. porter; and take away grain, wool, leather, and
earthenware. There are potteries in the town; and
many are employed in making lace. There is a large
fair every year; on the second day of which a stag is
hunted on Exmoor.t Triston Quay, a small bathing-place,
stands where the Torridge and Taw unite. Let us now
* Pages 97, 154, 337. + Pages 11, 409. + Pages 208, 315.
430 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
follow the Torridge. It rises in the same bog as the Tamar,
in the county of Cornwall; but their distance soon in-
creases, and the Torridge—after running nearly as far as
the Tamar, but in the shape of C—enters the sea, not mahy
miles from its source. Hatherleigh, with its thatched cob
cottages, and agricultural inhabitants, is the first town on
its course. The people have the strange custom of ringing
the church-bells merrily, as soon as a funeral is over, say-
ing, “That the dead person is removed from a world of
trouble to one of joy;†and such we know is true of those
who die in the Lord. Below Hatherleigh, the Okemont
joins the Torridge; and this is our last river from the bogs
of Dartmoor. Its western branch rises in Cranmere Pool,
the lake of Cranes; and its eastern, below Yes Tor, the
highest point of Dartmoor, and whence there is a very ex-
tensive view. The united streams pass Okehampton, where
the picturesque ruins of a fine old castle look down into
the dell of the river. -
The next town on the Torridge is Torrington. Here,
during a battle in Charles I.’s time, eighty barrels of gun-
powder exploded, blowing into the air the church, with two
hundred prisoners, and their guards. Near Torrington,
General Monk, who wasthe means of Charles II.’srestoration,
was born. In the town is a manufactory for gloves. Flow-
ing between pleasantly-wooded banks, the Torridge reaches
Bideford, a pretty and a healthy town, with a very finc
bridge. Here are potteries, and a good deal of commerce.
Near the town is a mine of cannel coal, of the same kind
as is found near Wigan,—where ? *
At the mouth of the Torridge is Appledore, a very old
little town, with a curious story of a Saxon victory over
the Danes, when the Raven banner was taken, which
clapped its wings before victory, but remained quiet before
* Page 85.
DEVONSHIRE. 431
defeat. At the mouth of the united Taw and Torridge is
the Pebble Ridge—a remarkable ridge of stones, two miles
long. On one side is short grass, on the other, sand; but
on neither is there a pebble to be found.* Westward,
after passing along steep, wooded cliffs, is the fishing town
of Clovelly, said to be “the most romantic in Devonshire,
and probably in the kingdom.†Near it is the park of
Clovelly Court, where strangely-bended rocks, rising above
the deep blue waters of the sea, are crowned with beau-
tiful old oak-trees. The west point of Bideford Bay is
Hartland. It is considered the boundary of the Bristol
Channel. The scenery is wild and desolate, with curious
rocks, and strange deep chasms, and bright leaping water-
falls. Formerly there stood near this an abbey of some
consequence; and now the Abbey Church is very interest-
ing, with its quaint inscriptions, fine carvings, and time
worn stones.
Now, excepting Lundy Island, about which I have an
interesting story to tell you, we have finished charming
Devonshire, Lundy Island lies north of Bideford Bay.
It is very wild and rocky, with only one landing-place,
and very many rocky islets around it.f In the days of
William and Mary, a ship-of-war with friendly Dutch
colours, anchored in the roadstead, and sent a little boat
ashore, asking milk for the captain, who was said to be
very ill. The kind people gave the sailors milk, who at
last told them that the captain was dead, and asked leave to
bury him in the little churchyard. “ Willingly,†said the
people, and the coffin was brought ashore. It felt very
heavy. Then the sailors said that they must be left alone
in the church during part of the ceremony. The islanders
waited, and soon Frenchmen, not Dutchmen, rushed out,
armed with weapons that had been in the coffin; they
* Pages 373, 400. + Pages 11, 18, 85.
432 DEAR OLD ENGLAND,
made the poor people prisoners, roamed over the island,
throwing the sheep and goats into the sea, laming the
horses and bullocks, and then, having stripped their help-
less prisoners of their clothes, finding that they could do no
more mischief they decamped. Were they not miserable
cowards to treat thus treacherously the kind islanders ?
Farewell to Devonshire. Cornwall to-morrow.
One exercise on Devonshire might be a skeleton map,
marking the rivers and mountains, When this has been
accurately drawn, let the towns and places of interest be
added.
CORNWALL—Part I.
WE have at length reached the last of England’s counties,
the one like the Wellington boot, with a very small toe,
‘and when we arrive at the Land’s End, the description of
our beloved fatherland must cease.
Now look at the map, and find out four circumstances
in the position of Cornwall, which are peculiar to this
county.
The sea-coast of Cornwall is very wild and beautiful. It
receives the Atlantic waves in all their fury, so that nothing
but the hardest kinds of rocks remain—granite, slate, and
serpentine* The latter receives its name from the streaks
upon it being thought to resemble those of a serpent’s
skin. It is a beautiful rock of green and various other
colours. In the interior of Cornwall there is a great deal
of dry moorland, and in the valleys extensive swamps.
On the wild moors huge masses of granite are piled, some
by nature, and others by the Druids, who there held their
strange gatherings.
* Pages 55, 380, 421.
CORNWALL. 433
Do you remember any parts of England where the prin-
cipal riches are underground ?* So it isin Cornwall. Al-
though the climate is much warmer than that of Durham,
and there are no volumes of smoke as in the Black Country,
yet the ground is so stony that there is little vegetation.
Potatoes are the most productive vegetables. Sometimes
the farmer gets two good crops in one year, one in June
and the other in October. The weather, though warm, is
generally rainy or foggy. Cornish people say, “There is a
shower of rain on every week day, and two on a Sunday.â€
It does not, however, rain long at atime, The fogs there
are not cold and gloomy, but have the reputation of put-
ting people into good spirits. The number of salt particles
blown from the surrounding sea prevents the luxuriant
growth of trees; but there is little frost, and myrtles and
geraniums grow in the open air. f
* Pages 26,109. + Pages 61, 85. $ Pages 349, 374, 394, oe 414,
E
434 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
The underground riches of Cornwall are in the lead,
tin, and copper mines. The copper mines, which are
much the most valuable, have only been worked about a
hundred and sixty years. They now supply one-third of
the copper used in Europe. At first the miners called it
dust, and when they found it they gave up their tin work-
ing, saying that the dust had come in and spoilt their tin.
The tin mines have been worked from a very distant
period of history. The inhabitants of Tyre planted a
colony at Carthage; these again planted one at Cadiz in
Spain, (supposed to be the Tarshish of the Bible,) and
the merchants of Cadiz traded with the Britons for tin;
their ships receiving the metal from an island on the
coast. Cornwall now furnishes nine-tenths of all the tin
used in Europe.
Grains of gold are sometimes found. These belong to
the miner, who sells them to the goldsmith. Lead is also
found near the north coast. Generally tin lies in granite,
lead in slate, and copper at the junction of these two kinds
of rocks. The veins of tin and copper run east and west,
those of lead north and south.
The only animal produce for which Cornwall is famed
is fish, especially the pilchard, which approaches no other
county but this and Devon. Pilchards are smaller than
herring, and visit the shores of Cornwall during August,
September, and October. They are caught by thousands,
or rather by millions, in enormously large nets, sometimes .
three-fourths of a mile long, and worth £170 apiece.
They have lead on one side and cork on the other. Can
you imagine why? These nets enclose a whole shoal, the
presence of the fish being known by the red tinge they
give the water. Though the fet is so enormous, it is let
down in a few minutes, and forms a circle, the ends being
brought together; then, if the nets reach the bottom, and
CORNWALL. 435
it is level, there is no possibility of the fish escaping.
Afterwards the tuck net, a smaller one, is let down inside
the large, or sieve net, and hauled to the surface with loud
shouts of “Yo-she-hoy! Pull away, boys! Huzza!†At
length it reaches the surface, and thousands of the silvery
fish are thrown into the boats waiting outside the large
net. Then comes the salting process, which is the work
of the women. When the fish number 4,000,000 or
5,000,000, it occupies nearly a week. Afterwards they
are packed in barrels, and sent chiefly to Italy and Spain.
The numbers are often enormous. There were enough
caught in 1847 to encompass the whole world in a band,
six fish deep.*
Many sea-birds live on the rocky coast of Cornwall.
Sometimes, amongst the cliffs, a rare kind of bird, called
the Cornish Chough, is seen. It has red legs and beak,
and like the magpie, it is a great thief, stealing all sorts of
things. There are also many cormorants, with sooty black
feathers, and shrill hoarse voices.t
Most of the Cornish people are employed in mining and
fishing. They are simple, honest, and sober. Whitfield’s
and Wesley’s preaching did much good about a hundred
years ago, and the benefit is still visible. There are very
few public-houses; but a washing-house is attached to all
the mines, supplied by the engine with hot water, where
the miner changes his dress before he goes home. Many ~
suffer from consumption, to which they seem particularly
subject. They are superstitious; believing that fairies
are real beings, they won’t whistle underground; and if a
person has been hurt by any instrument, they keep the
weapon clean and bright, thinking that by this means the
wound will heal. There is a well, in the water of which
they like to have their children baptized, because they
* Pages 10, 183, 347, 406, 419. + Pages 18, 85, 337, 850, 381.
436 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
then imagine that they can never be hanged.* The
people are generally strong, and are fond of gymnastic
games, particularly wrestling and hurling. In hurling two
parties try to catch a wooden ball thrown up into the air.
The wages are not high, but the people are careful and con-
tented. Those who dig the ore are paid according to the
value of what they bring to the surface; so, sometimes, if
they light suddenly upon a rich vein, they become suddenly
rich, They are very intelligent; and I have read stories
of noble actions that they have done. One tale I must
tell you. Two miners were at work at the bottom of a .
shaft, preparing the shot for blasting. Only one could
ascend at a time; so the one left below was to strike the
match after the other was up. By accident the match
kindled when they were both in the mine. Both shouted
loudly ; both sprang into the basket; but it was impos-
sible for both to ascend together. Then said Will, who
loved God, and believed that he would be with Jesus if
he died: “Go aloft, Jack, and sit down; away! In one
minute I shall be in heaven.†Soon Jack was drawn up.
Immediately afterwards the explosion came; and Will,—
where was he? God wonderfully preserved him; the
blasted rocks formed an arch over him, and he was very
slightly injured. Now, was not this true courage ?
In former days the people spoke Cornish, a language
quite different to English, more similar to Gaelic, Welsh,
and Irish.t So many of their names begin with the same
syllables, that it is said—
“By Tre, Pol, and Pen,
You may know the Cornish men.â€
Though people cannot now converse in Cornish, some of
5 2
the old words are still used. “Chealveen†answers to the
* Pages 247, 425. + Page 197.
CORNWALL. 437
“bairnie†of Northumberland,* and means little child;
and the miners often talk of being wet as a “quilquin,â€
which signifies a “frog.â€
Amongst great and good men born in Cornwall is the
devoted missionary, Henry Martyn. He reckoned neither
friends, nor home, nor fame, nor life dear, and, in the
midst of strangers, he died, trying to make Christ known
among the heathen and Mohammedans.f Howeis, who
preached and wrote of the love of Christ, was also born
here, as were two brothers, Richard and John Louder,
who explored the river Niger. Amongst scientific natives
of the county is Adams, the discoverer of the planet Nep-
tune, and Sir Humphrey Davy, whose greatest invention
was the safety-lamp, by means of which miners may work
in the deep mines without any fear of an explosion. This
has saved the lives of thousands. It is said, too, that
Cornwall is the birthplace of the famous King Arthur, of
whom you have heard so many legends since the time I
told you the story of him and his knights being asleep in
a mysterious vault at Richmond—in what county ?{—and
of whom Tennyson has written in beautiful poetry, Be-
fore I finish to-day’s chapter, you shall hear about a copper
mine, just as you have heard of coal and of salt mines.
THE DESCRIPTION OF A COPPER MINE.
Above ground appears the tall chimney of the immense
steam-engine that pumps the water from the mine; rough
sheds, where the ore is sorted; platforms, iron chains,
and other machinery. The work that the steam-engines
perform is immense. In one place, the pumping-rod is
the third of a mile long, and one thousand six hundred
gallons of water are sometimes pumped in a minute. This
water, which below would destroy the miners, when raised
above cleanses the copper, and becomes most useful, A
* Page 8. + Pages 122, 169. t Pages 40, 227, 236, 369.
438 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
deep shaft leads to the bottom of the pit. The shaft is
divided into two parts, one for bringing up the ore, and
the other for the ascent and descent of the miners, Who-
ever goes down the shaft, whether visitor or miner,
changes his dress. He puts on a suit of coarse flannel, a
white nightcap, and a round hat, hard as iron. Thena
lighted tallow candle is fastened against the hat with a
piece of clay ; and thus equipped, he begins the descent
of the ladder. This is very toilsome, especially in a deep
mine, and the ascent yet more so, for the men often take
an hour to come up the weary steps, and at length reach
the surface wholly exhausted. From the shaft, different
galleries branch off, and run underground a considerable
distance. Along these galleries or passages, the miners
are at work. Sometimes they work alone, and it seldom
happens that more than four or five work together. They
. do not use the Davy lamp, as there is no fire-damp, or
danger of explosion, as in coal-pits.* The heat is exces-
sive, especially in the lowest passages; and the miners
work half naked, the perspiration streaming from their
bodies. f When a light is held against the ceiling, the
ore looks very beautiful; sometimes it is bright green
veined with red streaks of iron. Often the miners are
below the sea, and then the sound of the breakers amongst
the rocks above is distinctly heard.
A gentleman, who descended a mine, near the “ Land’s
End,†describes it thus: “After listening for a few
moments, a distant unearthly noise becomes distinctly
audible; a long, low, mysterious moaning that never
changes, a sound so sublimely mournful and still, so ghostly
and impressive, when listened to from the subterranean
recesses of the earth, that we instinctively hold our peace,
as if enchanted.†This was when the sea was calm. When
* Pages 25, 51, 74. t Page 129.
CORNWALL. 439
storms rage, and the waves roll rocks along the ocean's
bed, and the breakers lash the cliffs in fury, then even
the miners fear, for the noise is exceedingly terrible, and,
leaving their work, they hasten to the mouth of the mine.
When the ore is raised to the surface, it is separated from
the waste matter by washings and crushings, and these are
principally done by women and children, who go through
their daily labour contentedly and happily. The working
hours are too severe to be lengthened, and, after eight
hours’ labour, the miners return, again put on the home
attire, and, joined by their wives and children, with washed
faces, they all go to their homes. The ore is sold, and
afterwards smelted, the tin ore in Cornwall, and the cop-
per at Swansea, in South Wales. One of the delicacies of
Cornwall is a beef-steak broiled on a block of tin fresh
from the furnace. 30,000 miners are supposed to be em
ployed in Cornwall and Devonshire. The Prince of Wales
is Duke of Cornwall, and receives a share of the profits of
the mines,
To-morrow we must traverse Cornwall from the east;
but try not to forget either the pilchard fisheries, or the
tin and copper mines.
CORNWALL—Part II.
Near the source of the Tamar is Kilkhampton, where
Harvey wrote his “ Meditations among the: Tombs.†The
first town of interest on the Cornwall side of the Tamar
is Launceston, where there are the ruins of an old castle,
of an old priory, and of old city walls, and where a very
fine church still stands. It was long reckoned the chief
town of the county; but now, Bodmin, of which you shall
soon hear, takes its place. The Tamar receives several
small rivers from the west; but they run through a wild,
440 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
bleak, barren country, where few people live and where
few objects of interest can be seen. As it flows south, it
passes, to the west, Kit’s Hill, a hill of granite, where
Cornish and Devon miners have met to discuss their rights,
and where battles between Danes and Saxons have been
fought.* Below it is Callington, an old town, where a
number of miners live. On the Tamar, amidst lovely
scenery, is Cothele, an ancient mansion, which, like Had-
don Hall, in Derbyshire, has all its old fittings of Queen
Elizabeth’s time.t Coats of mail still hang in the hall,
tapestry on the walls, and the old hearths for burning
wood are ornamented with the queerest figures. The
river Tamar below this becomes very broad, with pic-
turesque inlets on each side. Then it narrows, and there
stands Saltash, a pretty fishing village, with cottages hang-
ing one above another on the side of a steep hill. Sal-
tash is famous for its boatwomen. They have often gained
prizes at regattas, handling the ‘oars with the skill and
power of men. Near it is the ivy-grown, red-stone castle
of Trematon, where the Stannary Courts used to be held,
and farther up a pretty creek is St Germans, now a village,
once a cathedral town. The old tower of the cathedral,
covered with ivy, looks very pretty. It is partly in ruins,
and partly used for a parish church.
The extreme point, at the south-east corner of Cornwall, °
is Rame Head, surmounted with a ruined chapel, from
which you see, thirteen miles south, the far-famed Eddy-
stone Lighthouse. This is built on a rock most dangerous
to sailors, for it is covered with ‘water at every high tide.
The first lighthouse was erected bya braveand clever engineer
—Winstanley. He was, however, too confident of its strength,
and measuring his power against God’s, wished to be there
during the fiercest storm that ever blew. On November
* Pages 155, 211, 238, 255, 314, 430. + Pages 130, 329, 354.
CORNWALL. 441
26th, 1703, he with some workmen, went out to make
repairs, Then a terrible storm began to blow. A perfect
hurricane swept the ocean; and when the next morning
dawned, those who stood on the shore looked towards the
boasted lighthouse, and it was gone, not a vestige of it
remained. The second lighthouse was wooden; but it was
burnt. A third was erected nearly a hundred years ago;
it was built of granite, the model being the stem of an
oak-tree. No storm has shaken it, and it is so dovetailed
into the rock, that it seems as firm as the rock itself, and
appears to rise wonderfully from its ocean bed.
West of Rame Head the sands are so white that the bay
has the name of Whitesand Bay. The source of a little
river, the Seaton, will take us to St Cleer, where there is
a well whose waters were thought holy, and capable of
curing mad people. In this neighbourhood are several
curious stones. One, called the Trevethy Stone, is a large
slab laid on six pillars, supposed to be an ancient burial-
place. Another group of stones is called the Hurlers ; the
story about which is, that there was a party of men, who
went out to play at ball on Sunday morning, and, like
Lot’s wife, they were turned into stone. Probably, like
Long Meg and her daughters in Cumberland, they are the
remains of Druidical buildings.* Another extraordinary
rock ig the Cheesewring; the little stones are at the bot-
tom and the big ones above. Build a Cheesewring in like
manner, with little stones in the garden, and see if you can
keep them from falling. The one in Cornwall is eight
yards high. Not far distant are large copper mines,
South of these, connected with the sea by a canal, is Lis-
keard, which has, like most other towns in the south-west
of England, its story of a battle in Cl.arles I.’s time.t Near
it is a well, the water of which newly-married couples
* Pages 65, 330, 385, 339, 416. *t Pages 225, 398, 430.
442 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
hasten to drink; for the one who drinks first bears the
rule over the other. The poet Southey wrote a comic
ballad about this, of which the last verse is—
“ T hasten’d as soon as the wedding was o’er,
And left my good wife in the porch:
But, indeed, she had been wiser than I,
For she took a bottle to church.†*
At the mouth of the inlet to which the canal passes, are
East and West Looe, extremely pretty fishing villages, with
odd gables, outside staircases, and beautiful gardens. From
this place granite, copper, lead, and tin are exported.
The' next river, widening towards its mouth, is the
Fowey. It rises in hills nearer the north than the south
coast, and flows through extensive moors, strewn, like that
of Dartmoor, with blocks of granite. On one of its branches
is St Neot’s, with an old church and very curious windows,
representing the wildest legends of St George, St Neot, and
others. How thankful we should be, that in our churches
blessed Bible-truths are now heard, instead of foolish
fables! Farther down the river is Lostwithiel. Near this
town, with its pretty sounding name,.is the old castle of
Restormel, with its ivy-covered ruins, Horses were stabled
in its church during the civil wars. Near it is a very
extensive copper mine, which Queen Victoria visited a
few years ago. Many mines are wrought between the
Fowey and the next river westward. In one of them the
men are carried up and down by machinery, which saves
the labour of the ladders. The river Fowey is beautiful,
with its clear broad water and richly wooded banks. The
little town of Fowey, at its mouth, was once one of the
largest ports in England, presenting Edward III. with more
ships than any town, except Yarmouth.t Now it is in-
habited by fishers and miners ; and a few vessels trade for
* Pages 247, 435. + Pages 97, 154, 226, 387, 429.
CORNWALL. 443
copper-ore and china-clay. The next little river runs
through wild Cornish scenery, and passing St Blazey, in
the midst of mines, falls into the sea at Par, a busy little
town, with a harbour protected by a breakwater. This
breakwater, and many other great works in this part of
Cornwall, were made entirely at the expense of Mr Trefferry,
who spent his riches most wisely and usefully, for his
countrymen’s benefit.*
The next town and bay are those of St Austell, near
which are the celebrated tin mines of Carclase. It is said
to have been worked more than four hundred years. The
granite had become so soft, that the upper part was quarried
instead of mined. The lower part being more compact, the
miners can follow the vein of tin underground. The stone
is beautiful white granite, so that the mine is said to look
like a chasm in a mountain of silver. The granite is use-
ful in the manufacture of porcelain, and for bleaching
paper and calico. Its value was quite unknown a hundred
years ago. Now, it is worth nearly a quarter of ‘a million
of pounds yearly.
Following the rocky rugged coast, a broad inlet is reached
on which Falmouth stands. This receives the Fal,“the
Truro river, and other streams, each of which widens into a
beautiful broad river.f Truro is one of the principal towns
of Cornwall; there carpets are made and tin is smelted.
It has a valuable museum, with rare Cornish birds and
specimens of minerals, of the precious stones found in the
mining regions, and with old remains of man’s handiwork,
which were discovered in the neighbourhood.{ The old
town of Penryn, with its fine granite, of which Waterloo
Bridge is made,§ and its early vegetables, which supply
Covent Garden, before winter is over, is at the head of one
of the branches of the harbour. Falmouth has a splendid
* Pages 183, 262. + Page 423. t Page 352. § Page 301.
444 "DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
harbour, in which three hundred ships have together taken
shelter. Southampton has of late years taken its place as
a packet station for Spain and the West Indies.* Orange
and lemon trees are here trained against walls in the open
air, and bear beautiful fruit.
The heel of Cornwall now stretches southward ending
in the Lizard Point, the most southern part of England.
The rock is almost all of beautifully veined serpentine, on
which grows a lovely white heath, that only likes a ser-
pentine soil. Generally the country is very barren; but
in one or two places the soil changes, and then its fruitful-
ness is wonderful. There are beautiful coves and caverns
all along the coast. One is called the Lion’s Den, and
when the weather is stormy, and the sea dashes in through
an archway, it is like a “‘ huge boiling caldron.†Another
is Kinnace Cove; the rocks are green, veined with red and
purple. In the centre is a little island pierced by a chasm,
through which the waves rush tumultuously. The waves
seem blown through a monster bellows, and when they
have passed, the traveller holds a letter at the post-office
—the name of a little opening in the rock. The invisible
postman, a current of air, rushes through, and throws it
most rudely in his teeth. ‘There is also the Soap Rock, so
called because, when touched, it feels soft like soap. North
of the Lizard district is Helstone, with strange legends
and curious old customs. One custom obliges every one
in the little town to keep holiday on May 8th on pain of a
ducking in the river Looe.t The day begins with a merry
ringing of bells. Near Helstone is a little lake, Looepool, a
bar of pebbles separating it from the sea. In very wet
weather this requires to be opened, as the slow rate at
which it filters through the stones, causes too great a rise
in the waters. To do so, permission of the lord of the
* Page 370. + Pages 103, 155. _
CORNWALL. 445
manor is necessary, which is always asked with the pre-
sentation of a leather purse and three halfpence.* The
opening is a beautiful sight—the waters of the lake rushing
to meet those of the sea, which seem to repel the unex-
pected intruder.
The bay between the heel and toe of Cornwall is Mount’s
Bay. On the shore near Penzance, the sea has made great
encroachments, and it is believed that the bay was, eight
hundred years ago, covered with forests. Here is the village
of Marazion, where the Jews held tin markets in olden
days. They called it Mare-zion, or bitter Zion. Near it is
St Michael’s mount, a beautiful rocky island, with a good
harbour. Theisland is at low water joined to the main-
land, by an isthmus forty yards broad.f There used to be
here a monastery and.castle. A little westward is Pen-
zance, the western temination of English railways. It has
a good deal of trade, chiefly in tin and fish. One of the
dainties of the poor people is a conger-eel pie. The con-
ger-eel is very fierce, and sometimes does battle with the
fisherman who siezes it. There is an excellent collection
of minerals at Penzance. The winters are so mild that
summer flowers bloom at Christmas. One peculiar custom
is the lighting of tar barrels, in June, on the eves of St
John’s and St Peter’s days. From these, boys and girls
light torches, and whirling them round, run hand in hand
through the streets, shouting, “An eye, an eye, an eye!â€
Then they stop, and the last two raise their arms, forming
an eye, through which the long string passes, like the
game, which I dare say you know, of “ Thread the needle.â€
West of Penzance, a mine was actually sunk in the sea, a
kind of chimney rising from the shaft, eleven feet above the
water.{ The coast continues very wild, and is strewn with
blocks of granite. One of these blocks is the “Logan
* Page 395. + Pages 10, 400. t Pages 74, 438,
446 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
Stone,†weighing sixty tons. This was so balanced that
it moved with a touch.* A lieutenant in the navy, how-
ever, very foolishly dislodged it, with the help of his boat’s
crew—rather an expensive trick, as government ordered
him to have it replaced, which, with great difficulty, was
done, but not to balance as before. Now, to-morrow, we
hope to reach the Land’s End.
CORNWALL—Pant III.
THE bay which stretches along the coast on the north-west
of Cornwall is Bude Bay. The cliffs, with their various
forms and colours, are very fine. Here stand Moorwin-
stow, with its beautiful old church; and Bude, where lived
the inventor of the brilliant Bude light. From this place
thousands of horse-loads of sea-sand are taken yearly to
be used as manure for the land in the neighbourhood... A
little inland, is the old town of Stratton; near which is
Stanford Hill, memorable for a great victory the Royalists
gained over the Parliamentarians. Much blood was shed;
and on the top of the hill may still be observed the mound
which marks the soldier’s cemetery. South of this runs
the Bude Canal, which stretches from Bude into Devon-
shire, a branch being cut to Launceston. The canal is
across ground much higher than the sea. The barges are
raised, not in the usual way by locks, but by inclined tram-
ways, about three hundred yards long. Laden with sand or
mineral ores, they are put on wheels, and are moved up
by a chain. This chain is attached to an enormous bucket
filled with water, whose weight descending from the top
of the incline into a deep well, pulls the barge upwards,
till it reaches the level of the higher canal.t
Following the wild, grand, and desolate coast, the next
* Page 417. + Page 426.
CORNWALL. 447
place of interest is Boscastle, with its tiny harbour, where
two or three vessels can ride safely, when the sea beyond
is all fury. The fissures in the rocks here are very strange.
One is underground, the water rushes through, and then,
_ at a distance of nearly twenty yards from the shore, throws
up through a deep hole, a grand column of water, spark-
ling in the sunbeams.* Here a great many seals are
caught. The poor creatures lie on ledges in dark caverns,
which the boatmen, carrying torches, enter when the sea
is smooth, and the seals, startled with the light, are easily
made prisoners. Following the coast, a tiny stream is
passed, noted for its cascade, which is almost lost amid
thick ferns and brushwood. Near it is a ruined cottage,
concerning which the country people tell a strange: story.
Two sisters came to live there—their names, their histories
quite unknown. They were gentle but sorrowful, and they
never spoke an unnecessary word to any one. No servant
tended them, no visitor inquired for them. The people
wondered who they were; but every effort to discover
anything about them was vain. At last one died; the
villagers came to bury her, but the other sister spoke not
a word; she only wept and wept in long and dreary silence.
Days passed, and when the villagers looked into the room,
she was still sitting in the same chair, still weeping—her
fragile form wasting day by day. At last one morning
a little girl told the villagers that the lady’s hand hung
strangely; and that she seemed motionless. They went to
look, and she was dead, sitting in the same chair, her
handkerchief beside her still wet with tears. And thus
the sisters died in solitude, and no trace of their history
could ever be discovered.
A very little farther westward, and we see the peninsula
on which stands Tintagel Castle, a fine old ruin, built on
* Page 6.
448 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
the summit of grand towering rocks. Here it is said King
Arthur was born, and here he died. He left the castle
with his followers in the early morning to fight his wicked
nephew, Mordred. They returned at night victorious;
but they bore with them the dying body of their chieftain,
the beloved hero of ancient British story. The cliffs are
formed of slate, some of them hollowed into basin-like
holes, which are called by the country people King
.Arthur’s cups and saucers. The scenery is magnificent,
and has been often painted, especially by Creswick, a
famous artist.*
A bay extends from Tintagel to a point which bounds
the only inlet on the north of Cornwall. As a harbour of
refuge, it is much spoiled by a bar of sand at its mouth.f
This, however, I hope, will soon be removed; and, instead
of being hurtful, will become most valuable, for there is
so much lime amongst it, that the farmers find it improves
their land exceedingly, and so it is carted away in enor-
mous quantities.t| The sand has, however, nearly buried
two ancient churches.§ This inlet receives the Camel.
Near the source of the Camel are slate quarries, which
have been worked for some hundreds of years, and are
said to produce the best slate in the kingdom. The slate
is loosened by gunpowder, then separated by wedges, then
placed on trucks and raised by chains; then emptied on
movable tables, which, when laden, are drawn away by
horses. The best slate feels hard and rough, and is of a
light blue colour. || Near Camelford, a little farther down
the river, was fought the battle in which King Arthur was
wounded to death. The place where he is said to have
received his wound is still known as Slaughter Bridge.
Below Camelford, the Camel receives a little stream through
* Page 304. t+ Page 4 + Pages ae 189, 379.
§ Page 184, | Pages a 97, 88, 140, 406
CORNWALL. 449
the wild and beautiful Hannow valley. In it there stands
one solitary tree. A thunder storm broke over the district
in the summer of 1847; the rain descended in torrents,
and the streams swelled fearfully. A farmer was travelling
to Camelford,-and was just going to cross a foot-bridge,
when the torrent beneath rose so much that he could
not proceed, and the plain behind was so flooded that he
could not go back. Two trees stood near him; he climbed
one, thought it weak, passed to the other, and there he
remained, whilst the flood bore down the first tree, and
desolated the valley. I hope the farmer felt thankful to
God, who had so mercifully preserved him. The Camel
next receives the Lank from Brown Willy, the highest
hill in Cornwall. It flows through the Hanter Gantick,
a valley of rocks, covered with huge square pieces of
granite, thrown one over another in the wildest confusion.
Not far from the Camel, nearly in the centre of Cornwall,
stands Bodmin, a well-built town, where Cornish prisoners
are taken to be tried by judges at the assizes. It has a
very ancient church. At Wadebridge, the Camel used to
be crossed by a fine old bridge of seventeen arches, above
one of which a flourishing fig-tree grew.* Here there is
some trade, sea-sand being taken inland by the railway, and
metallic ores brought down seaward to be shipped. Be-
low this is Padstow, with a very old church and harbour
of refuge. The cape beyond the Camel river is Trevose
Head with a lighthouse.
The little stream that enters the sea through Mawgan
Vale, comes from the wild moors of Tregoss, now bleak
and bald, but said to have been once covered with trees,
the hunting grounds of King Arthur.t It passes a little
market town, St Columb Major, called after one of the»
missionary bishops sent by St Patrick amongst the ancient
* Page 353. ¢ Pages 74, 118, 136, 140, 157, 165, 208, 342, 346.
£ op
450 ' DEAR OLD ENGLAND,
Britons, and then through the wooded valley to Mawgan,
in whose churchyard a boat’s stern, painted white, marks
the burial place of ten frozen fishermen, who were drifted
ashore one cold wintry night. Here there is a Roman
Catholic convent, for twenty Carmelite nuns. When they
have once taken the vow, they can never see a friend again.
They are even hidden from the priest when in the chapel;
the very maid-servants must not speak to them; the only
person that, under any circumstance, approaches them, is
the doctor, and even then the patient’s face is, if possible,
concealed. How closely guarded a prison in our own free
England! And how mistaken a way of serving that God,"
who said, “ Let your light so shine before men that they
may see your good works, and glorify your Father which
is in heaven.â€
Farther south, on the coast, is New Quay, a charming
little bathing-place, where sand is now hardening into
sandstone rock, hard enough to be used in building. In-
land from Perran Bay is Perranzabuloe, or Perran-in-the-
Sand. Here, covered with sand for a thousand years, have
lain the remains of an ancient British church.* It was
accidentally discovered a few years since, and is a most
interesting monument of the religion of our British fore-
fathers, before the Saxons overran the country. It is a
very small and very simple building. The stones are
of the rudest kind, and the Britons not then knowing
how to make lime, have mixed china-clay and sand to-
gether. West of Perranzabuloe is St Agnes’ Beacon, a
fine hill, where the clay is found with which the miners
fasten the candle in front of their hats. Off St Agnes’
Head are two rocky islets, called “The Man and his
Man.†+ South and farther inland, in the very centre of
the mining district, is Redruth; the surface of the country
* Pages 10, 57, 154, 200, 236, 835. + Page 402,
CORNWALL. 451
is bleak and desolate, but the underground riches are very
considerable. About a mile from this town Wesley used
to preach to the miners, reasoning with them as the apostle
Paul reasoned with Felix, of “temperance, righteousness,
and judgment to come.†On Whit-Monday the Wesleyans
still meet there, and sometimes number more than twenty
thousand.* The copper ore from this district is chiefly
shipped to South Wales from Portreath, a pretty little sea-
port on the northern coast. Another populous mining
town is Cambourne, which has very recently grown to be
of consequence. The coast continues very desolate; the
sand threatening to bury many cottages. A little flower
which grows in thick masses and flourishes in sand has,
however, been planted, and this humble instrument stays
the danger. Remember how great may be the power
of htile things.t Here, too, a small chapel, buried like
that at Perranzabuloe, has been found.
The next inlet is from St Ives Bay. Here there stands
the busy little seaport of Hayle, where there are great
iron foundries, in which immense cylinders have been
cast, and sent to different countries. Amongst the mines
in its neighbourhood is one where a great deal of silver
has been found.{ At the head of the inlet is an old house,
where is shown the first coach ever made in Cornwall.
Drawn to church by four beautiful horses, it astonished
the people. On the other side of the bay, most beautifully
situated, is St Ives, the chief place for pilchard fishing
It is thought to be like a Greek town. The chief business
of the place is fishing, boat-making, boat-mending, sieve-
making, and pickling the pilchards.
The wild desolation of the country seems to increase,
and near the little mining town of St Just, on the cliffs
overhanging the sea, is the famous Botallick copper mine,
* Page 152, + Pages 21, 47. t Page 19.
452 . DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
which I have already described. Not far from the Land’s
End is a house, on one wall of which, in large letters, the
words are written, “This is the last inn in England,†and
on the other, “This is the first inn in England.’ The
ridge becomes more and more narrow; the cliffs descend,
and then the traveller may advance and stand on the
farthest point, with the wide ocean washing on either side.
As he stands on that narrow promontory, thoughts of
time’s narrow space and eternity’s unfathomable depths
may well come into his mind; thoughts like those which
Wesley expressed when he wrote—
“Lo! on a narrow rock of land,
*Twixt two unbounded seas I stand
Secure, insensible ;
A point of time, a moment’s space
Removes me to that heavenly place,
Or shuts me up in hell.
“O God, mine inmost soul convert !
And deeply on my thoughtful heart
Eternal things impress :
Give me to feel their solemn weight,
And tremble on the brink of fate,
And wake to righteousness.â€
Thirty miles from the Land’s End, and composed of
granite, like that promontory and so much of Cornwall,
are the Scilly Islands, forty of which bear grass of some
kind; but six only are inhabited. They were discovered
by a Greek navigator, called Pythias, and the Greeks
called them by a name which meant “tin islands.†It is
said that they were once connected with the mainland by
a tract of country called the Sionope, over which the sea
swept. The three largest are St Mary’s, Treno, and St
Martin’s. I will tell you first of St Martin’s, as it is the
nearest to Cornwall. It contains little more than a hun-
dred people. There are old Druidical remains, and near
CORNWALL. 453
to it is a cluster of rocky islets of various shapes and
colours, which look like beautiful gems set in the dark
blue ocean. On Treno Island lives the lord proprietor,
his house built on the ground where the ancient abbey
once stood. Here, too, is the ruin of Charles’s castle, and
the round tower of Oliver Cromwell’s castle, still crowned
with cannon. At the time of the civil wars the Royalists
Land's ind.
took here a strong position, and when Cromwell was Pro-
tector, they sent out their armed boats to seize the mer-
chant ships entering the Bristol Channel. A strong force,
under Admiral Blake, at length obliged them to yield.*
On a neighbouring little islet-is the favourite home of the
puffins, three hundred of which used, in former days, to
be the rental paid for the islands to the king by the monks
* Page 238.
454 DEAR OLD ENGLAND,
of Tavistock. Where is Tavistock?* The largest island
is St Mary’s. Most of the inhabitants are fishermen.
They are often in danger of being drowned in the stormy
seas that lash the shores; and it igs said that for one that
dies a natural death nine perish by water. Here early
potatoes are grown, and sent in great quantities to Covent
Garden Market.t| Hugh Town is the capital, where Star
Castle stands, built in Queen Elizabeth’s time, the walls
of which, like a star, project from the centre in eight
points. There are many stories of shipwreck connected
with these islands. The saddest is that of the fleet under
Sir Cloudesley Shovel, which was returning from the siege
of Toulon, in October 1707. Several of the large men-of-
war struck the Gilstone, one of the most western rocks, and
were dashed to pieces. Two thousand people are said to
have been drowned during that dark and stormy night. Sir
Cloudesley had been a poor boy, a shoemaker's apprentice.t
Then he joined a ship as cabin-boy. In the midst of a
fight he bravely swam from one ship to another with a
letter from the admiral, for which he was promoted, Be-
ing very good and brave, he at last became admiral of the
fleet. After the wreck his body was found on the shore,
stripped by the islanders; but long afterwards, an old
woman, on her death-bed, told the fearful story of his
murder, He had escaped the waves, and, wearied and
exhausted, came to her cottage for shelter, and fell asleep
upon her bed. He wore valuable jewels, and she, tempted
by their worth, murdered the excellent man, and took the
rings from off his fingers. The Bible has said, ‘Be sure
your sin will find you out;†and truly it did so in the
wretchedness of this miserable woman.§ The last story
must not, however, be one so very painful, so I will tell
you now of an escape from shipwreck, which the merciful
* Page 426. + Pages 433, 448. t+ Page 381. § Page 44.
CORNWALL. 455
providence of God permitted. On an autumnal day, in
the year 1840, a wreck was observed drifting into a bay
on the south-west of the island. The keel was uppermost.
All thought of living passengers was, of course, given over.
Think, therefore, of the surprise of the islanders to find
within four men and a boy. The ship had been over-
turned in the Atlantic two days before. These men, in
some way, clung to the bottom, and I suppose the ship
acted like a diving-bell, the air which filled the hole pre-
venting the water from entering. There the men remained,
their heads above the water, which reached to their
waists. They tried to make a hole for more air to enter,
but fortunately their knife broke; for had they succeeded,
the air would have escaped, the water would have risen,
and they must have been drowned. Yet, what likelihood
was there of reaching land in the midst of the wide ocean,
and quite unable to guide their ship? Two pilot-boats
fell in with it, and towed it for an hour. They could not
bring it to land, for the sea was high; but their course
brought it into the current, which drifted it into the bay.
Was it not the protecting hand of Him who never sleepeth
that directed all these varied circumstances ?
And now, from Berwick-upon-Tweed to the Scilly
Islands, you have heard about our beloved land. What
do you think of the dear old country? I love it very
much, and I think you must too. Do you know that they
who love their native land are called patriots? And true
patriots are not only those who love their fatherland, but
who work for it, and pray for it.
When a church is lighted, each little taper has its share
in causing the general illumination; when a rainbow spans
the sky, each little drop of water helps to form the beau-
tiful arch; when the heavens look glorious on a frosty
night, each little star increases its splendour. Even s0,
456 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
dear children, if our land and homes are to be beautiful,
do not let the little portion that is yours be neglected ; and
if our people are to be honourable and honoured, let no
English boy or girl tell a falsehood, or do an unjust or
ungenerous action. Yet more,—let English children never
forget their God, and their fathers’ God—let them honour
Him who has cast their lot in so loved an island home;
and let them never cease to ask that He will always be
the defence of their “ Dear Old England.â€
The. counties touching on the English Channel might,
with older children, be historically reviewed. The times
of the different lines of kings—Saxons, Normans, Planta-
genets, Tudors, &c., being arranged in different columns,
in which the places distinguished under each should be
inserted. A voyage along the coast would much interest
the younger ones; and an hour might be .passed, in the
evening in finding out a place by questioning thus :—
Willie thinks of Plymouth,
Q. 1. Land or water? A. Land.
. Natural or artificial? A. Artificial.
. Ancient or modern? A. Modern.
Inland or maritime? A. Maritime.
Important or Unimportant? A. Important.
Commercial or Picturesque? A. Both.
. Manufacturing or military? 4. Both.
. Mercantile or naval? A. Both.
. Is its harbour naturally or artificially protected? A. Artificially.
PonNraaropr
This leaves no doubt concerning Plymouth, and whoever
guesses, must, in his turn, think of a town, mountain,
river, bay, cavern, or whatever place he likes.
GAMES FOR ALL ENGLAND. 457
GAMES FOR ALL ENGLAND.
THE COMMERCIAL TRAVELLER.
Each child having thought of the seat of some manufac-
ture or commerce, the teacher or parent enters the room
with a basket of small prizes—pencils, needles, pins,
marbles, or ginger-nuts.
Arthur has thought of Sheffield; Ethel of Honiton ;
Harold of Derby; Rose of Harwich.
Addressing Arthur, the teacher inquires—
T, What kind of town am I EEEroahnet t
A. A smoky and grimy one.
T. In what county ?
A. Yorkshire. |
T. On what river?
A. The Don.
T. With what will Sheffield furnish me ?
A. Knives, scissors, tools, plated goods, &c., &e.
The teacher orders various articles, and Arthur receives
payment in marbles from the basket.
In answer to similar questions, Ethel tells that the town
is clean, and prettily situated in one of the warmest and
most beautiful of English counties; that the manufacture
‘with which she will supply her is elegant and costly ;
and that, if she wants provender, she can show her butter
equal to any in England. The teacher purchases lace and
butter at Honiton, and pays in pins or needles.
THE GAME OF THE POST-OFFICE.
Each child selects a friend, to whom he writes, dating
his letter from any town or village in England, describing
its peculiarities. This is put into a large box, called the
Post-office. The teacher, or parent, keeps the key, and
opens it once a week. Thus a letter is found from Horace,
2G
458 DEAR OLD ENGLAND.
dated Yarmouth, directed to his. friend Cave, at Ryde,
Isle of Wight. Cave must, the following week, answer
the letter, and describe Ryde. Laura writes from Berwick-
upon-Tweed to her sister Marion, at St Ives, in Cornwall;
and Algernon writes a letter from Richmond, in Surrey, to
Evelyn at Richmond, in Yorkshire. This will be found to
excite general interest ; and the opening of the post-office
will be very pleasant on a winter’s evening.
THE LORD MAYOR'S TABLE.
The children are all seated in a circle. The teacher
commences. The Lord Mayor is providing a very great
dinner, with what will you supply him?
Alfred.— With salmon from the Tweed.
Harriet—Bloaters from Yarmouth.
Alethea.—Oysters from Harwich.
Charlotte. —A conger-eel pie from Penzance.
Lionel. —Whitebait from Greenwich.
Edith.—Mackerel from Shoreham,
George.—Lobsters from Dorsetshire.
Amy.—Pilchards from St Ives,
Kate.—Cockles from the Solway Frith.
Cave.—And a seal from Boscastle !
Meat, vegetables, fowl, game, fruit, and beverages might ©
follow, those paying forfeits who could not supply the
Lord Mayor's requirements.
THE END.
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