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Saxon; 4. Danish; 5. Saxon; 6. Norman ;-and that we are, in consequence, descendants of them all. That is the abbey which Offa erected, in atonement for his sins, and which was exempted from all episcopal jurisdiction by Adrian, the only Englishman that ever sat in the chair of St. Peter: and who, when sitting there, declared, that all the misfortunes of his former life were mere amusements, in comparison with the Popedom. A little farther, stands the cross, built by Edward the First, in honour of Eleonora ;on the hills, not far distant, stood the camp of Ostorius; and in the plain below, Cassibelan' was defeated by the irresistible Cæsar!

IV.

What sensation moves us, when we walk in the fields of the small village of KENCHESTER, in the county of Hereford? When we visit the foundations of what is supposed to have been a Roman temple; and survey the spot, on which were found a tesselated pavement, and a Roman bath; our ideas diverge from the mere circumstance of property and the nature of soil, to contrast its present comparative insignificance, with the more splendid era, when it far exceeded the city of Hereford, in the magnitude of its buildings, and in the number of its inhabitants.

When we visited the city of Ely, and had surveyed its cathedral, what could recompense us for the sight of fens, rivers, and dykes, which surrounded us on

1 Cæsar, de Bell. Gallic., lib. v. c. 17.

all sides? We reverted to its history, and acknowledged its importance, in the annals of our country. We paused, with melancholy, too, on the fate of Alfred, son of the Pearl of Normandy. He was deprived of his eyes; and, being shut in this monastery, died within a few days. His attendants were tortured in a horrible manner.' Their bodies were ript up; and one end of their bowels being tied to a post, they were wound round it with the strings of their own intestines !

In surveying the estuary of Milford Haven,expanding into one of the finest harbours in all Europe, and wearing the appearance of an immense lake, sufficiently large to contain the entire navy of the British Crown, secure from winds and tempests, and where a large fleet might manœuvre with the greatest safety,-what ideas of power and magnificence are awakened in the mind! Then, by a magic glance, we traverse the tempestuous Channel to the Irish Coast, and call to mind the various crimes and injuries, which that ill-fated country has committed and received. Returning to the spot, whence we had travelled, beholding the creeks and bays, the woods, and various agreeable accompaniments, which embellish this majestic estuary, who is there, that does not derive the highest satisfaction, in recalling to memory the beautiful scene in Cymbeline, where Imogen, in the character of Fidele, has flowers sprinkled over her grave, and a solemn dirge performed in honour of her memory!

Brompton, 935. Rushworth's Histor. Collect., vol. iv. p. 411.

V.

When we have listened to the organs in the naves of Bath, Bristol, Gloucester, Bangor, Winchester, Oxford, Ely or Norwich, have we forgot to associate with the music the good deeds of the bishops, deans, and prebendaries, who repose within the walls? And when we have visited the mansions, palaces, or castles of our nobility, seldom have we neglected to investigate the causes of their elevation, and recount the deeds of their ancestors.

When we arrive at the miserable village of CerigDruidian, in the county of Denbigh, standing in the midst of naked and barren mountains, without one object of an agreeable character, on which the eye may repose, what a shivering idea of poverty and desolation presents itself! An idea heightened by a recollection of the magnificent scenery of Pont-y-Glyn ; where an arch, of considerable span, bestrides a vast and horrific chasm, through which the Glyn rushes with unceasing roar. After taking a survey of the wide heaths, on every side, turn to a neighbouring farm, and view with attention the various fragments, which lie scattered around. Vaens and cromlechs are before you! From age to age, those sacred relics have remained, in this wretched village, monuments of the superstition of our druidical ancestors. This spot was once the rendezvous of the British druids! Here they sacrificed;—to this village the sacred misle, toe was brought;-from this mountain the barbarous pontiff delivered his anathemas! A little way farther

on, upon the top of a hill, which commands a view of the surrounding country, bleak, extensive and barren, are a few remains of walls and ramparts. The scene is altogether wild and desolate. In the midst of summer, the veins of youth are chilled; in the midst of winter, the nerves of age warm with pity, and burn with indignation, when it is recollected, that those walls and ramparts once contained the patriot king, Caractacus:-here he made his last stand, after the fatal battle of Caer-Caradoc;-from these walls he was betrayed;-from this spot, ceasing to be a king, he was conveyed prisoner to Rome!

VI.

Does the traveller stand at the foot of Mount Stella, near Angora?This was the spot, in which Pompey conquered Mithridates; and in which Tamerlane afterwards vanquished Bajazet, Emperor of the Turks. Is he in the village of Soguta in Bithynia? He traces the origin of the Ottoman empire on the birth-place of Othman. Near the ancient Sestos, he meditates upon the enterprise, which introduced the first Turk upon the soil of Europe. Orcan having made himself master of the shore skirting the sea, that separated Asia from Europe, his son Solyman resolved, if possible, to gain the castle of Hanni (Sestos), the "key of Europe:" but the Turks had neither pilots, ships, nor boats. Solyman stood meditating on the beach, one fine moonlight night, for some time. He had come thither with about eighty followers on a hunting expedition. Beholding the towers of Hanni rising over the

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opposite shore, he resolved to secure them for his father and himself. He communicated his thoughts to his followers. Wondering at his resolution, they regarded him as frantic. He persisted;-and they made three rafts, fastened on corks, and bladders of oxen.When the party had finished their task, they committed themselves to the waters; and, with poles instead of oars, succeeded in gaining the opposite shore :—the moon shining brilliantly, as they stepped off the rafts, almost immediately under the walls of Hanni. they marched along the beach, they met a peasant going to his work; it being now morning. This man hated his prince; and being bribed with a sum money, he told Solyman of a subterraneous passage, leading into the castle. The little band availed themselves of this information; and quietly entered the walls. There was no regular garrison; and the few inhabitants were still asleep. They fell an easy prey, therefore, to the adventurers.

Having thus gained the first object of their enterprize, they assembled the pilots and vesselowners of the town; and, offering them considerable sums of money, induced them to steer their vessels to the opposite shore. Four thousand men were then embarked; and in a few hours they were wafted under the castle walls. This was the first landing of the Turks in Europe: they ever after kept possession of this castle: ninety-six years afterwards they sacked the city of Constantinople: they now reign in the eastern metropolis of the Cæsars; and tyrannize over Athens and Corinth; the country of Philip

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