HARRY MARTIN'S TOWER. The cliffs of Wye, near the castle of Chepstow, are uncommonly picturesque, especially the ridge which forms the left banks of the river below the bridge; this is extremely lofty, of a concave form, and tinted with a great variety of hues; red, white, grey, and yellow, are beautifully blended, while the sober green is afforded by the foliage of the oak that skirts the top of the crags, or shades their sides; the darker ivy is likewise apparent, starting at intervals from the crevices of the rocks, and twining its tenacious arms in all directions. The massive and imposing remains of the castle form the most grand and prominent feature in this almost endless assemblage of sublimity and beauty; they cover a large track of ground, and range along the brow of the perpendicular cliff which impends over the Wye. The area of the castle is divided into four courts. The grand entrance to the fortress which leads into the first court is by a circular arch between two round towers; here are seen the shells of the grand hall, kitchen, and numerous apartments, of considerable size, still attaining app aranees of baronial splendour. A few of these rocms re tena ted by the family, to whom the castle is let At the south-eastern angle of this court is a round now called Harry Martin's Tower, which was the k L. 37. 2. T citadel; the inside front presents a pointed entrance, over which are square windows; and the whole seems of a date posterior to the original structure, while the outside appears in its ancient state, is massive, and bears striking marks of its Norman origin. Martin was confined in this tower for the space of thirty years; but, instead of its being-as often represented a dark and miserable dungeon, it possesses apartments sufficiently airy, and of large dimensions. The first story of the tower contains a room which was occupied by himself and his wife; over it were lodgings for his domestics. The chamber in which he usually lived is not less than thirty-six feet in length, and twenty-three in breadth, the height being proportionate; it had two fireplaces and three windows, two of which seem to be the original apertures; the third was probably enlarged for his convenience. Here this dauntless republican breathed a determined hatred to royalty, to the day of his death. Martin was a native of Oxford, and was born in 1602; he received the rudiments of education in that city, and was admitted a gentleman commoner of the University College; at the age of fifteen he took his bachelor's degree, and, in 1619, repaired to London for the study of the law. He possessed great talents, which were improved by classical attainments; but his temper was extremely capricious and volatile, which indisposed him for the grave study of the law; he was soon relieved, however, from that necessity, by espousing a rich widow. He commenced his political career in 1640, by joining the party adverse to the court. For the last ten parlia ments of Charles the First, he represented the county of Berkshire, made a conspicuous figure in the Long Parliament, and was among the foremost to display anti-monarchical principles, of which fact Lord Clarendon gives a striking instance. Mr. Hyde, walking near the parliament-house at Westminster, in the church-yard, met with Henry Martin, with whom he was intimate, and, upon inquiry into the nature of the pretensions of his party, Martin declared that they did not think one man was wise enough to govern all; which was the first word that Mr. Hyde ever heard to that purpose. Martin added disdain and insult to his hatred of monarchy, and, at Longworth, tore to pieces the king's commission of array. About 1642 he forced open a great iron chest within the college of Westminster, and took out the crown, robes, sword, and sceptre, used at the inauguration of the kings; observing, that there would be no further use for such toys. He was one who signed the death-warrant of the king, and, on that occasion, his trifling temper was very apparent. It has often been related, that Cromwell and Martin, in passing the pen, bespattered each other's faces with the ink. On the west side of the court which contains Martin's prison, near a round tower called the old kitchen, a gate opens into the second court, now a garden, at the extremity of which another gateway leads into the third court, and to an elegant building, usually called the chapel. LEAR AND CORDELIA. A SKETCH OF ENGLISH HISTORY, BY JOHN GALT. Lear. Do not laugh at me; For, as I am a man, I think this lady The descendants of Brutus, in the line of primogeniture, ruled the country, with various fortune, for eight successive generations, when Lear, the son of Baldud, was admitted to the throne. He was contemporary with Joas, king of Judah, and a prince endowed with many virtues and great qualities; but his misfortunes arising out of an imprudent act in his dotage, has rendered him more famous throughout the world than all the other British princes of the Trojan line. He had no male issue, but only three daughters, Gonorilla, Regan, and Cordelia, whom he very tenderly loved, and especially Cordelia, who united, to extraordinary beauty, a fine and exalted spirit; and who, as he was much encumbered with corpulency, took great delight in ap peasing the little sallies of his temper, which the unwieldiness of age rendered often fretful and impatient. One day, rather in order to ascertain the disposition of his daughters, than, perhaps, at the time, with any serious intent of policy, he asked them how they loved him; weakly giving them, at the same time, to understand, that it was his design to resign his kingdom to the one in whose affections he could place the most reliance. Gonorilla, tempted by this inducement, made very strong declarations of the greatness of her affection; calling on the gods to bear witness that she loved him more than her own life, which, by right and reason, ought of all things to be most dear to her. The old man was much delighted with her protestations, and, turning to Regan, enquired what she had to say. Her declaration was even more explicit than her sister's, insomuch as she affected to say that she loved him more than tongue could tell, and, consequently, much more than she could love either herself or any other thing. The heart of poor Lear swelled with pleasure as he listened to these fervent assurances of his dutiful daughters, and he called Cordelia towards him, who beard in silence what her sisters had said, and enquired, in the fond expectation of receiving even some more impassioned answer, how she loved him. Cordelia paused some moments to consider well what she ought to say, and her father looked at her with a smile that betokened his confidence in the warmth of her affection. She then said, "I cannot answer you otherwise than as my conscience dictates; but, impressed with the zealous affection that you have ever shewn me, I protest that I have ever loved you as a daughter ought to love so kind a parent, and that to the end of my life I will endeavour to perform the part of a dutiful child." Lear, who was naturally of a quick and choleric humour, was mortified and provoked by the qualified prudence of her answer; and, while she was speaking, his countenance changed with passion. He ordered her to quit his presence, as if she had insulted him with some gross unfilial indignity; and bestowing all his fondness on Gonorilla and Regan, instantly divided his kingdom between them. The former he bestowed in marriage on the Duke of Cornwall, and the latter on the Duke of Albany; and abandoning the fair Cordelia to her fate, resolved, at the same time, to pass the remainder of his days between those daughters whose love so much surpassed that of every other child. But the prudence of Cordelia, which had produced such a strange effect on her doating father, obtained for her great renown, insomuch that Aganippus, one of the twelve kings who then reigned in Gaul, sought her hand in marriage. Her hand you may have," exclaimed the credulous old man : "take it, and you are welcome, but look not for any dower!" Aganippus was much displeased with this singular prejudice of Lear, and said, "I am content with the matchless dower of her beauty and wisdom ;I ask only herself;" and he immediately retired with her as his bride. Cordelia had not long left the island till her father began to receive painful proofs of the virtue of her dutiful reply, and the deceit that was hidden in the vehement protestations of Gonorilla and Regan. Having resigned to them his crown, he took up his abode with the eldest for some time; but his attendants soon perceiving themselves but coldly treated, complained to their master, who, with his characteristic rashness, instantly quitted the palace, and went to the castle of his daughter Regan, to whom he vented many reproaches against the ingratitude of her sister. But this lady heard his complaints with so much indifference, and proposed to him such a reduction of his train, that his reproaches were turned upon herself; and he declared, that bad as Gonorilla had proved herself to be, he would prefer remaining a thousand times rather with her. In this humour he returned to her residence, but he found the gates shut, and admittance denied. The shock of this was rendered the more severe, as it took place during a violent storin, when compassion might have taught the rudest hearts to give shelter to any wretch exposed to its inclemency. It overwhelmed the reason of the poor, weak, and infirm old man; and, while he chided the skies and the thunder that treated his grey hairs with so little reverence, he called down maledictions on his faithless and unfilial daughters. His attendants, seeing the cruel return that he had experienced for his ill-judged partiality, carried him over to Gaul, where he was so kindly and dutifully received by Cordelia and her husband, that his distemper abated; and Aganippus and Cordelia, having determined to avenge the |