1820.]

8

and invisible from the road. There are several dead yellow leaves on the vines, probably from the drought. We dined at the table d'hôte with the diligence company. There was Priest at table with a cross of honour round his neck, suspended by a blue ribbon. He is a Chaplain to the King. He carries his own wine with him when he travels, had his wickercased bottle of Burgundy in a cooler of water, and courteously pressed us to partake. We find the same for malities as to passports are required from the French as from foreigners. The Priest was obliged to produce his passports to the gens d'armes, who came to inspect them during dinner; he was only travelling between Amiens and Paris, to prepare for a confirmation. On entering and leaving a mixed company like that of the table d'hôte, every one bows and pays his salutations to the company. At breakfast dinner, and supper, every one spreads a large napkin before him; it is thought barbarous not to use it.-I was laughed at this morning for saying bon matin (good morning). In England, we say, good morning, good afternoon, &c. ; but the French, only good day, or good night. In asking for any thing at table, we say commonly in England, I will trouble you to help me, &c. An English gentle. man, last year, at a table d'hôte, wishing to partake of a dish which he saw placed next to a Frenchman, began to address the Frenchman, very gravely, "Je vous troublerai, Monsieur;" the Frenchman stared at his apparent rudeness, in proposing to trouble him; but very politely assisted him the moment he understood the nature of his request.-The French complain greatly of the heat, and inquire if it be the same in England. The women in the towns and villages sit in the streets at their work, in small parties, on the shady side. The young women every where have coloured pocket handkerchiefs tied round their heads. At Creil we crossed the River Oise, and proceeded to Chantilly through a beautifully wooded and hilly country. The sight of green trees is very refreshing, after the arid sameness of corn fields and stubbles. At Chantilly we stopped to see the seat of the Bourbons; which belonged to the Prince of Condé. It is surrounded by woods; the country GENT. MAG. May, 1820.

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417

rather flat. The Palace itself was totally destroyed at the Revolution; but there remain the Stables, the principal of which is a noble lofty arched hall, 600 feet long, and 45 wide, in which the Prussians had 400 horses in the year 1815. The Chateau of the Duke d’Enghien (a son of the Prince who was murdered by Buonaparte) also remains. It is a handsome uniform pile of building, but greatly inferior in size and splendour to what was the palace. At Chantilly, at four in the afternoon, in the shade, in a North aspect, and in a current, the thermometer was at 88; and it was under this power of heat that we walked above half a mile to see the Stables. The trees in this country are loftier than in England, the poplars in particular. We proceeded on the road to St. Dennis, through a wooded country intermixed with corn-fields and vineyards, Saw on the road a man and woman lighting a fire on the back of a large dead pig. Our postillion's explanation was, that it was done in order to burn the fat. At St. Dennis, a large town, only four miles short of Paris, we determined to stop all night, that we might have an opportunity of seeing the Chapel Royal, which is the burial-place of the Kings of France. But this is too long a story to be begun at the bottom of a sheet.

August 7th. We left St. Dennis at ten this morning. At entering Paris there was nothing to impress the notion of a Metropolis; no preparatory towns or villages after leaving St. Dennis; and on entering, a remark able quietness and thinness of popu lation, nor any thing in the streets or shops better than in Amiens and Cambrai, and other towns. But in the neighbourhood where we are quartered, viz. that of the Thuilleries, there is considerable splendour. I have as yet seen nothing except in driving through the streets; and the thermometer being now (one o'clock) at 82, I am in no haste to explore. Here is, however, no such smoke as in London, and our hotel is very quiet and airy. X.

I

(To be continued.)

T is among the noblest distinctions of our enviable country, that there is scarcely a misfortune incident to

human

human nature, for which some bene volent institution is not amply provided; these, of course, are chiefly applicable to the relief of persons in humble stations: but an Association has lately been formed to afford the comforts of life, and the advantages of refined society, to Females of respectability, who, though born to higher expectations, have by various circumstances, been reduced from a state of affluence to comparative indigence, or the possession of very limited incomes only..

Your Readers will have anticipated that I allude to the Establishment at Bailbrook House, near Bath, which commenced in the year 1815, under the auspices of the Dowager Duchess of Buccleugh, Lady Willoughby, and other Ladies of distinction, was sanctioned by her late Majesty and the Princesses, and in 1816 was methodized and matured by the unwearied zeal of Lady Isabella King, who has in a peculiar manner devoted her time, her influence, and her fortune, to its foundation and support.

It is not necessary here to enter into a detail of the plan. This may be seen in a short Pamphlet published at Bath in 1819, and in an article in the Quarterly Review, No. XLIII. p. 96.

This Institution has hitherto auswered every expectation that was formed of its utility; but it is to be feared, that unless some further and more general exertions are made in its behalf, its permanence is rather problematical; an appeal is therefore made to the Publick for its assistance to enable the Guardian Committee to purchase the house hitherto occupied by the Society, and to endow it with sufficient funds to ensure its continuance. Surely, Mr. Urban, this appeal will not be made in vain; the British Publick will not suffer an Institution which has for its end the relief and solace of so interesting a portion of its members, to languish for want of encouragement;-the fate of the or phan daughter of the man who has enlarged the boundaries of human knowledge by his science, who has enriched his country by his comInerce, or shed his best blood in her service, can never be an object of indifference. Besides, Sir, I contend we are all concerned in supporting establishments of this description;

for who shall say, that in an extended circle of friends and relatives, some untoward fate, some sudden death, may not deprive a family of its main support, and make them fly with joy to a Society where a trifling income, which under other circumstances, would scarcely give the means of subsistence, may enable them to enjoy the comforts of life, and all the advantages of social intercourse.

As this Institution is not so generally known as it deserves to be, i trust that the insertion of this Letter.

in your widely-circulating Publication may induce the Rich and Bene volent to lend their support to this excellent and well-conducted Establishment. A FRIEND.

Mr. URBAN, April 5. YOUR YOUR impartiality having inclined you to publish in p. 195 some observations on your Reviewer's Account of Mr. Wix's “Letter to the Bishop of St. David's;" let me request you to publish also an observation or two relating to Mr. Wix's important Proposal.

Mr. Wix's Proposal plainly was not, in the first instance, for union with the Roman Church: the Proposal was to consider the expediency of a Council to ascertain whether means could be devised to prevail with that Church to renounce her corruptions and delusious as the way to union. This was repeatedly stated by Mr. Wix in his "Reflections," and in his "Letter to the Bishop of Saint David's," subsequently published.

Could the Roman Church be happily prevailed with to reform herself from her corruptions, and to renounce her delusions, Christian union with her, as with any other branch of the Church of Christ, pure and free from unscriptural additions and errors, would be meritorious, and consistent with the spirit of the Gospel of our blessed Redeemer.

But S. T. P. having alluded to your Reviewer's Account of Mr. Wix's "Letter to the Bishop of St. David's," expects that "the Reviewer will, perhaps, form a correcter view of the impracticability of the projected Union, as well as of some of the pernicious tendencies of its proposal." Here S. T. P. adverts simply to a ' projected Union," omitting to state the care which was taken to show

that

the cultivation of Teazles, here employed for the purpose of dressing woollen cloth, the staple manufacture of this part of Yorkshire. To wards the East the country is so well wooded, that it has the appearance of a forest, but in various directions are pleasing views, interspersed with villages, corn-fields, and beautiful meadows.

About six miles from Sherburn, passed two very pleasant lodges, conrrected by handsome iron gates, the approach to a seat of Sir John Ramsden, Bart. near the village of Brotherton, remarkable in history for its Castle, to which Queen Eleanor retired, on being taken in labour whilst she was enjoying the diversion of hunting; and where was born Thomas, thence denominated, de Brotherton, afterwards created by his father, King Edward I. Marshal of England; so says Camden. But Hume mentions Thomas, who was Earl of Norfolk and Mareschal of England, as the son of Edward's second Queen, Margaret of France, and not of Elea nor: and yet, especially, in another place, says, that Edward having compelled the Constable and Mareschal, Humphrey Bohun, Earl of Hereford, and Roger Bigod, Earl of Norfolk, who held these high offices by hereditary right, to resign them into his hands, bestowed the office of Mareschal upon Thomas de Brotherton, his second son; and it is generally admitted, that he had four sons, besides eleven daughters, by his first Queen.

At Ferry Bridge, the river Ayr, which having received the waters of the Calder, higher up, is a considerable stream, makes a remarkable flexure in its course, and affords a very pleasing addition to the scenery around, being covered with vessels, where white sails enliven the prospect most agreeably.

One mile beyond Ferrybridge, on a hill, and close to the turnpike road, is a very large square stone, appa rently the foundation of an antient cross: and at the descent to Pontefract, a deep ravine has been cut through the solid rock, and has acquired the denomination of Nevison's Leap from the following remarkable tradition:

Nevison, a highwayman, noted about the middle of the last century for the number and audacity of his

depredations, and famous for having ridden from London to York on one horse, a distance of 200 miles, in twenty hours, having committed a robbery near Pontefract, was closely pursued; and in order to effect his escape, desperately leaped across this road where the rock is cut through to the greatest depth, and thus eluding his followers, for that time made his escape; but afterwards was apprehended, convicted, and executed at York.

Not far from Nevison's Leap, are the remains of a mansion house, the property of the Earl of Harewood, who inherited a considerable estate, in the neighbourhood of which the "New Hall," as it is still called, forms a part.

An old gateway, upon which is a coat of arms, reputed to have been borne by an Earl of Kingston, and having for supporters two talbots, leads into a court; and on the opposite side is the principal entrance to the house, which bas also the figure of a talbot over the door, and the date 1591.

The apartments are lofty and spacious. In the upper story, one of them seems to be near ninety feet long, and the roof of the building is covered with lead, and commands an extensive prospect over the neighbouring country.

The approach to Pontefract, or, as. it is more commonly pronounced, Pomfret, is very striking. On an eminence are still visible the ponderous fragments of its old Castle. Pieces of massive walls and broken arches are here and there interspersed amongst shrubs and briars: and ou the opposite side of the road are the remains of the antient parish church, with its beautiful tower, fast falling to decay. The attention of the traveller thus powerfully arrested, his imagination takes its flight from these nodding ruins to those early ages when the fierce conflicts of rival princes or of haughty chieftains levelled alike the proud fortress and the sacred fane.

Pontefract was antiently, that is, by the Saxons, called Kirby, but acquired its more modern name from the Normans. Hildebert Lacy hav ing been presented by the Conqueror with the possessions here formerly holden by Alric, a Saxon, is said to: