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chester to Lord Portarlington, and from the Lord Portarlington to Baron Hambro. The mansion was built by Sir William Chambers for the first Earl of Dorchester, who, at the same time, swept away the market-town of Milton, that he might turn its site into pleasure grounds, and planted the evicted inhabitants in his newlyerected village of Milton Abbas. It is a stately quadrangular building, with a central court; and embodies the old monastic REFECTORY- -a grand antique hall of noble proportions, whose walls are enriched with the scutcheons of the various patrons of the abbey, and whose roof, of Irish oak, is venerable with age. On the cornice, and on an oaken screen, now abominably bedaubed with paint and gold, may be observed the figures 1498. Remark the recess where the prior feasted in solitary state, and the sideboard gloriously carved with an animated picture of a stag hunt.

The ABBEY CHURCH, now used as a family chapel, stands south of the house. It is a cruciform building, dating from the reign of Edward II., but was despoiled of its nave at the epoch of the Dissolution. The REREDOS, built by T. Wilkin, vicar, in 1492-and long walled up to preserve it from iconoclastic rage —is divided into several richly canopied niches, and ornamented with some admirable carving. The three SEDILIA, on the south side of the choir, are of exquisite workmanship, and the carved stalls should be carefully examined. Beneath the organ gallery two ancient paintings of Athelstan and his Queen—the former exhibiting a model of the church to the abbot, and the latter holding a hawk which is destroying a small bird (is this a satirical allusion on the part of the artist ?)—will attract the visitor's attention. In the north transept a fine marble monument, by Carlini, commemorates Lord and Lady Milton, d. 1775; and a Purbeck marble tomb and brass, in the north aisle, are dedicated to Henry VIII.'s proctor, Sir John Tregonwell, d. 1565. The south window was designed by Pugin in 1849, and represents the tree of Jesse. On the south wall is pictured the rebus of the name Milton (a mill and a tun), and the date 1218. The font, of artificial stone, and of little artistic merit, was constructed in 1791.

[The excursion from this point may be extended to Bulbarrow, Rawlsbury, and Nettlecombe Tout,-descending into Melcombe Bingham, and thence returning, by way of Milton Abbas, into the high road.

BULBARROW, 24 miles north-west, is a lofty elevation of the chalk, 927 feet above the sea. On the eastward ridge hangs the circular British camp of RAWLSBURY,

defended by a double vallum and fosse. Keeping south-west, we next ascend the camp-crowned hill of NETTLECOMB TOUT-named, perhaps, in honour of the Celtic God of Death-THEUT AIT, Synonymous with THEUT, the great Egyptian divinity. 1 mile south-east is MELCOMBE BINGHAM-i. e., the mill-valley belonging to the Binghams-the birth-place of Sir Richard Bingham, a soldier of the Tudor days, whom Fuller eulogizes as fortis et felix in all his undertakings-and now the patrimonial seat of Colonel Bingham. There are some curious memorials in the old Church.]

After quitting Milton Abbas, and regaining the main road, we pass, on our left, the grounds of WHATCOMB HOUSE (Mrs. Michel), and, between two conical grassy barrows, cross an ancient fosse or dyke upon Charlton Down. A mile and a half further and we enter BLANDFORD (see p. 53).

BRANCH ROUTE-DORCHESTER to LYME REGIS,
18 Miles.

We leave Dorchester by the elm-bordered avenue of the Roman road, the Via Iceniana; the crested hill of POUNDBURY rising on our right, and, on our left, across the open area of Fordington Field, MAIDEN CASTLE. We soon commence a gradual ascent, and in due time arrive at an elevation which overlooks a wide and remarkable prospect-the tumuli of our Celtic ancestors crowning every commanding eminence, and even dotting the surrounding plains. Leaving the Roman road on our right, and BLACK DOWN, 817 feet, with its memorial-column to Admiral Sir Thomas Hardy*-Nelson's Hardy on our left, we penetrate into the pretty quiet village of WINTERBOURN ABBAS (population, 195. Inn: The Coach and Horses), deriving its name from a spring which rises only in the winter, that is, when a heavy descent of rain has overfilled the reservoirs concealed in the chalk, and compelled them to throw off their superabundant waters. A few paces to the left will conduct the tourist to the interesting Druidic memorial of the NINE, or rather EIGHT STONES, a circle, 28 feet in diameter, which is surely blighted by some potent spell, as no verdure will bloom within its limits. The largest of these cromlech-stones is 7 feet high, and 4 feet wide. The well-wooded grounds beyond enclose the commodious mansion of BRIDEHEAD (R. Williams, Esq.)

The road still keeps the crest of the chalk-hills, passing * He was born at PORTISHAM, a village at the foot of the hill.

sundry villages perched up on the bleak breezy heights, and overlooking others which nestle away in sheltered coombes and leafy hollows. At LONG BREDY GATE (near "The Hut" Inn) a road crosses the downs through a romantic defile, and descends into the lowlands on either side. The path to the left leads through a romantic country to ABBOTSBURY (pp. 30, 31), whose earthworks are conspicuous enough from our present station, as well as the beacon upon Puncknoll Down.

[At SHIPTON BEACON (an ancient camp, protected by a low vallum and shallow fosse), the traveller will pause to survey the glorious panorama unrolled beneath him. Far away to the north-west tower the sister-hills of LEWESDON and PILLESDON, 934 feet (in nautical parlance, the "Cow and Calf"); to the south rises the curious elevation of HAMMERDON HILL, probably, from its name, associated with the ceremonies of the mystic worship of the Hammer-God, the Norseland THOR; EGGARDON HILL, with its extensive fortifications, starts up immediately at our right hand; and before us, fertile valleys and smiling plains extend into the heart of Somersetshire.

The camp upon EGGARDON HILL is one of great extent. Its area extends 20 acres. On the west side the vallum and fosse are tripled; on the other sides doubled, though on the south they are now almost indistinguishable. is dotted with barrows.]

The hill

We now descend a long and gradual slope into BRIDPORT (p. 32); pass through the town, and climb up COLMER'S HILL; again descend to the village of CHIDIOCK (population, 884), long the manorial estate of a family of the same name; again we rise; again we descend, catching glimpses ever and anon of the gleaming waters of the distant sea, of the rolling lights and shadows of the inland pastures. MORCOMBE-LAKE and its gray old church, are perched upon a hill, like a watch-tower, while a range of heights-Golden Cap, Haddon Hill, Catherston, Coneygore, Conie Castle, and Lambert Castle-stretch in a bold and undulating sweep from left to right. Crossing this noble elevation we plunge, somewhat abruptly, into the Vale of Marshwood, watered by many streams, and diverging to the right, terminate our romantic ramble on the pleasant shore, at LYME REGIS (p. 35)——

"Where thou shalt see and hear
The lovely shapes and sounds intelligible
Of that eternal language which thy God
Utters, who from eternity doth teach
Himself in all, and all things in himself.”

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ROUTE III-DORCHESTER to YEOVIL:

BY GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY.

[From Dorchester to Grimstone, 4 m.; Maiden Newton, 3 m.; Evershot, 41 m.; Yetminster, 44 m.; Yeovil, 4 m.—122 m. from London.]

The route from Dorchester to Yeovil, by rail, does not exceed 20 miles, but comprehends a remarkable variety of landscapes; while the hilly nature of the country, through which the line is carried, presents a succession of engineering difficulties triumphantly vanquished.

A tunnel passes through the entrenched hill of POUNDBURY, and shortly afterwards a longer tunnel carries us under the elevation of the RIDGEWAY. We then sweep over a broad stretch of meadowland, enlivened by the Frome-WOLVETON HALL (J. Henning, Esq.), lying among its ancestral trees, on the right; and PENN HILL towering against the western sky, on the left. Wolveton Hall is a quaint Tudor mansion, built, temp. Henry VII., by Sir Thomas Trenchard. It stands on a gentle ascent against a background of wooded uplands. Philip, King of Castile, and Queen Joanna were entertained here (says the country-legend) by Sir Thomas, when driven by stress of weather into Weymouth harbour (January 1506). As an interpreter between himself and his royal guests Sir Thomas selected young John Russell, of Kingston Russell, who had travelled much in foreign lands, and resided for some months in Spain. So much

to the satisfaction of the Castilian king did young Russell acquit himself that he took him in his train to London, and warmly commended him, as an able and zealous servant, to Henry VII. He was accordingly placed about the royal person, and gradually rose in favour with the crafty Tudor and his "burly son." Created Lord Russell, he shared in the vast plunder of the religious houses, and died in 1554, immensely rich, and the founder of a powerful English ducal-house. Thus the fortunes of the Dukes of Bedford may be indirectly traced to the gale of wind which drove a Spanish sovereign into Weymouth.

Approaching the GRIMSTONE STATION we notice, on our left, the village of FRAMPTON (population, 392), and the stately

front of FRAMPTON COURT, the pleasant seat of R. B. Sheridan, Esq., M. P. for Dorchester. We then pass through a tunnel, 600 yards long, excavated in the chalk, and after a run of 3 miles, arrive at MAIDEN NEWTON (population, 821), a quiet little town, with an ancient CHURCH, which lies in the heart of the chalk-hills,

"Where simple nature reigns, and every view
Diffusive spreads the pure Dorsetian downs

In boundless prospect,-yonder shagged with wood,
Here rich with harvest, and there white with flocks."

Through a narrow valley meanders one of the tributaries of the Frome; cottages and farmsteads nestling on the grassy slopes which the bright river fertilizes and gladdens. Here, indeed, is Old England-the silent, tranquil, conservative rural life of the England of a century ago-for though the shrill whistle of the locomotive echoes among the reverberating downs, and its trail of fleecy vapour hovers above the valley, little influence has yet been exercised upon the simple manners and rude existence of the peasants. The farms here are few in number, and there is scant employment for the inhabitants but as shepherds on the neighbouring hills, whose sides are dotted with grazing sheep. A pilgrim might wander along their cloudy ridge, hour after hour, without any companion save the oppressive and almost palpable silence which reigns eternally on these lonesome heights.

BRANCH ROUTE-MAIDEN NEWTON TO BRIDPORT, 91 Miles.

On

A short branch line connects Maiden Newton with Bridport, and, by thus uniting Yeovil and Bridport, completes the chain of railway communication between the Bristol and English channels. It passes through a country of comparatively little interest. the left, about two miles south-west of Maiden Newton, and nearly 10 miles north-west of Bridport, lies WYNFORD EAGLE (population, 163), of some consideration as the birth-place of a great English physician, Dr. John Sydenham, temp. Charles II. WYNFORD PARK is the seat of Baron Wynford (created 1829). A small tributary of the Frome here meanders through the open leas.

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