withdrew' himself from social life, and spent his years in melancholy seclusion within his moated castle. By his will he bequeathed all his goods and chattels for the good of the poor of the parish, among whom a sum of £80 is still annually divided. His spirit, it is said, haunts the moat in the guise of a hare, so that the tourist, if addicted to sporting pursuits, may possibly secure him. LAUNCELLS (population, 728), 2 miles south-east, has a pretty CHURCH, apparently of no great antiquity, and a pleasant manorial mansion, LAUNCELLS HOUSE (G. B. Kingdon, Esq.), whose surrounding demesne is agreeably picturesque. MORTON, a farm lying to the north, but included in the Launcells estate, takes its name from its ancient lord, Robert de Mortaigne, Earl of Cornwall, and halfbrother of William the Conqueror. STAMFORD HILL, mile north, was the scene on the 16th of May 1643, of the great defeat of the Earl of Stamford and the Parliamentarian forces (estimated at 5400 foot, and 1200 horse, and with 14 pieces of cannon), by the Royalists (2400 foot, and 500 horse), under Sir Ralph Hopton and Sir Bevil Grenville. The Roundheads occupied the hill, but were charged with such spirit by the Cavaliers, that they at length gave way, fell into a panic, and took to flight in great disorder. A memorial column, which perpetuated the fame of this signal victory, was destroyed towards the close of the last century, but the tablet formerly affixed to its base is now placed against the wall of the Tree Inn, and bears the following inscription : "In this Place, Ye army of ye Rebells under ye Command of Received a signal Overthrow by the Valor The remains of a tumulus are visible on the crest of the hill, and the bones of the brave dead are often turned up by the ploughshare.] MAIN ROUTE RESUMED-HATHERLEIGH TO OAKHAMPTON. Two roads are available for the tourist; the longest, but certainly the pleasantest, winds through the valley of the Ockment, and passes through the quiet little village of JACOBSTOW (population, 255). The other runs in nearly a direct line, by way of INWARDLEIGH (population, 693), whose simple old CHURCH stands on the right of the road. The village is small and scattered. Okehampton or Oakhampton, and its neighbourhood, have been fully described in pages 201-204. We have now to indicate to our readers two agreeable EXCURSIONS, for which it will afford a convenient starting-point. BRANCH ROUTE—OAKHAMPTON TO EXETER, 22 Miles. (See pp. 199-203). 1 mile, OAKHAMPTON CASTLE. 1 mile, BELSTONE (and Church). 1 mile, STICKLEPATH (and digress along the banks of the Taw). 1 mile, SOUTH ZEAL. 7 miles, CROCKERNWELL (and digress to DREWSTEIGNTON, FINGLE BRIDGE and the Moving Stone; or to DUNSFORD, and thence, by GREAT FULFORD, to ST. MARY TEDBURN). mile, CHERITON CROSS. mile, CHERITON BISHOPS (and Church). 24 miles, ST. MARY TEDBURN (and Church). 4 miles. [WHITSTONE (population, 624), 1 mile left.] 1 mile, EXETER-[pp. 174-191]. BRANCH ROUTE OAKHAMPTON TO LAUNCESTON, 17 Miles. BY THE GREAT WESTERN ROAD. Our route takes us for a mile or so along the north-west border of bleak and desolate Dartmoor. At 3 miles from Oakhampton a road branches off to TAVISTOCK, 14 miles, traversing a country of infinite variety and extraordinary interest (see ROUTE VII.), while, passing Sourton Down, our own less romantic highway continues to BRIDESTOW (population, 1049), 3 miles, where there is something to be seen in the half Norman half Early English CHURCH on the right, and in the delightful grounds of LEAWOOD HOUSE (S. C. Hamlyn, Esq.), on the left. At 8 miles from Oakhampton we cross a tributary of the Lyd, and at 9 miles pass through LEWTRENCHARD (population, 436), an utterly uninteresting collection of Devonshire cottages. 10 miles, NEW INN. Q 11 miles, HAINE CASTLE (Mrs. Harris), on the right, and just beyond, to the north-east, the CHURCH and village of STOWFORD (population, 576), on the river Tinhay. Crossing the Tinhay, at 15 miles from Oakhampton, we reach LIFTON (population, 1667), a village to be commended to the angler, as the numerous streams in its vicinity abound in trout. The manor anciently belonged to the Arundel family. The CHURCH is mainly Early English. 1 mile beyond we pass LIFTON PARK (H. Blagrove, Esq.), and cross the line of the Tamar Canal. We soon afterwards cross the Tamar itself, and at 17 miles from Oakhampton enter LAUNCESTON. ROUTE VII.—OAKHAMPTON to DEVONPORT. By the TAVISTOCK ROAD. [Sourton, 4 m.; Lydford, 44 m. : Brent Tor, 3 m.; Tavistock, 3 m.; or, ton, 4 m.; St. Mary Tavy, 8 m.; Tavistock, 24 m.] By TAVISTOCK and PLYMOUTH RAILWAY. Sour [To Horrabridge 4 m.; Brickleigh, 5 m.; New Bridge Junction, 3 m.; Plymouth, for Devonport, 3 m.] "With rapid steps he went Beneath the shade of trees, beside the flow SHELLEY. The road skirts the north-western portions of Dartmoor until it divides into two branches, one of which runs in a south-westerly direction to LAUNCESTON (see CORNWALL),—the other, and that which we are about to adopt, diverges to the south, leaving Yeo Tor on the left, and at Downton, 8 miles, turning aside (on the right) to LYDFORD, on the river Lyd, 8 miles from Oakhampton. LYDFORD (population, 1968. Inn: The Dartmoor Arms), though now a miserable collection of ragged cottages, was one of the principal towns of Saxon Devonshire, and possessed a mint in the reign of Ethelred II. Edward II. bestowed the castle and lordship on his minion, Piers Gaveston, and the town maintained some degree of respectability as late as the reigns of the Stuarts. Its CASTLE, now reduced to a hollow square tower mouldering upon an artificial mound, was founded soon after the Conquest, and converted by Edward I. into the Stannary Prison of Devonshire. Until about 100 years ago it was still made use of for this purpose, though much defaced and shattered in 1650. The edicts of the Stannary Court partook to a considerable extent of the distinguishing characteristics of Lynch Law, and "Lydford Law" became equally famous for a contemptuous disregard of justice. Browne, the Tavistock poet, exclaims,— "I've ofttimes heard of Lydford law, Sir Richard Grenville was castellan of Lydford during the reign of Charles I., and many tyrannical actions are ascribed to him. Judge Jeffreys held here one of his Black Assizes, and the legend runs that the court-room is still haunted by his spirit in the guise of a black pig. Near the castle stands the gray, old, Early English CHURCH, principally noticeable for the simplicity of its interior, its weatherworn aspect, and the noble prospects it commands. On a tombstone in the churchyard may be observed the following wellknown epitaph : : "Here lies, in Horizontal position, the outside Case of George Routleigh, Watchmaker, whose abilities in that line were an honour to his profession: Integrity was the Main-spring, and Prudence the Regulator of all the actions of his life: Humane, generous, and liberal, his hand never stopped till he had relieved distress; so nicely regulated were all his movements that he never went wrong except when set a-going by People who did not know his Key: Even then, he was easily set right again: He had the art of disposing his Time so well that his Hours glided away in one continued round of Pleasure and Delight, till an unlucky Moment put a Period to his Existence: He departed this life November 14, 1802, aged 57, Wound up in hopes of being taken in Hand by his Maker, and of being thoroughly cleaned, repaired, and set a-going in the World to come." From the church we may make our way to LYDFOrd Bridge, a single arch of gray stone flung across a narrow chasm or gulf, 80 feet in depth, which opens suddenly, as it were, in the earth, and receives the scanty waters of the Lyd. Descending the projecting crags which hang over the river, the tourist will be enabled to fully comprehend the character of this remarkable scene. At a few paces below the bridge the ravine widens, and, "instead of the dark precipices which have hitherto overhung and obscured the struggling river, it now emerges into day, and rolls its murmuring current through a winding valley, confined within magnificent banks, darkened with woods, which swell into bold promontories, or fall back into sweeping recesses, till they are lost to the eye in distance. Thickly shaded by trees which shoot out from the rent, the scene at Lydford Bridge is not so terrific as it would have been, had a little more light been let in upon the abyss, just sufficient to produce a 'darkness visible.' As it is, however, the chasm cannot be regarded without shuddering, nor will the stoutest heart meditate unappalled upon the dreadful anecdotes connected with the spot "-(Warner). It is said that a horseman arrived at Lydford from Tavistock at a late hour one night, much to the wonder of the inhabitants, who knew the Lydford Bridge had been broken, and could not understand how he had crossed the chasm. He remembered nothing more than that at a particular point his horse had made a sudden leap, as if frightened by some passing object. When the ravine which he had thus miraculously passed was shewn to him, it was with a shudder that he perceived the extremity of the peril he had escaped. The wild romantic dales of Lydford were formerly the favourite resort of Roger Rowle, the King of the Gubbins. "I have read of an England beyond Wales," says worthy Fuller, "but the Gubbings' land is a Scythia within England, and they pure heathens therein. It lieth nigh Brent. For in the edge of Dartmoor it is reported, that some 200 years since, two bad women being |