title of queen. When sailing along the Dee, we saw Edgar the peaceable, reclining in his barge rowed by the king of Cumberland, the lord of the Isles, and six Cambrian princes. At Rising, we read the history of the mother of Edward the Third. For eight and twenty years this queen mourned the loss of du gentile Mortimer; who, after a worthless life, being hanged ignominously at Tyburn, his being condemned unheard was the cause of his descendants, by the male line, mounting the throne of England.

At Chelmsford we remembered the noble struggle of Boadicea. In the night, however, we were fated to witness a scene, more horrible, than we had ever yet beheld. A fire broke out in the dead of night, and two young women perished in it. We saw them, and we heard their shrieks and cries:-the blood ran cold from the head to our feet; a sublime. stillness pervaded the crowd; all seemed petrified; no tongue, no pencil, no pen, can describe the horror of the scene!

VI.

With what melancholy interest did we survey the walls of Berkeley castle; where the shrieks of Edward the Second echoed through the woods; while his execrable assassins were thrusting a red hot pipe into his body, burning his bowels, and terminating his life. The contemptible John! At Lynn we beheld his sword; at Kidwelly, in the county of Carmarthen, we entered the castle, in which he sought refuge from his barons; and at Runnymede we almost kissed the field, in which he signed his celebrated charter.

VOL. IV.

With what pleasure did Burns visit the scites of Scottish battles. We too, my Lelius, have stood upon the theatres of national renown. We have examined the field near Glendowry in the county of Denbigh, which, becoming a subject of dispute between the Lord Grey de Ruthin, and Owen Glendower, was the origin of the war between the Welch and the English in the reign of Henry the Fourth.

Glendower, after many vicissitudes, retired to a remote spot, where he lived unknown, and died unrecorded.

After beholding the hills, raised by Canute, as monuments of those killed in the battle of Ashdown, in which the flower of the English nobility fell with swords in their hands, interesting was it to trace the retreat of Edward Ironside to the small island of Alney, near Gloucester; now presenting a plain frequently covered with sheep, horses, and oxen. There the two contending monarchs signed a treaty of partition, dividing the realm between them.

On Caer Caradoc, we almost fancied, that we heard Caractacus exhorting his troops to signalize, by a victory, a day and a spot, on which they were to give liberty to themselves and countrymen, or to be led into perpetual slavery. In the Isle of Wight, we meditated on the beautiful Claudia Ruffina, the British lady, so celebrated in the reign of Claudius, born in that island; and in the illustrious circles of Rome acknowledged to have been the most accomplished of women; uniting, in her own person, the honesty and simplicity of her country to the elegance of Rome, and the soul of Greece.

VII.

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At Bangor, in the county of Flint, we recalled the massacre of the thousand monks by Adelfrid, king of Northumberland. At Conway, we beheld the walls, built by Llewellyn, the last monarch of Wales; and the precarious retreat of Richard the Second, previous to his surrendering himself to the Duke of Lancaster. When Richard arrived at Flint to meet the duke, afterwards Henry the Fourth,-he said, "cousin of Lancaster, you are welcome." My lord, the king," returned the duke, bowing three times to the ground, "I am arrived sooner, than you appointed me; because the common report of your people reached me, that you have, for one and twenty years, governed them rigorously, and with which they are by no means satisfied. It is my desire, if God be willing, to assist you to govern them better for the future." "Fair cousin," returned the wounded monarch, assuming an air of cheerfulness! "Fair cousin, since it pleases you, it pleases me also." The king and the duke soon after made their entry into London, which Shakspeare has described so beautifully. Richard resigned his crown; and, as a recompense, was soon after murdered in Pontefract castle.

In the vale of the White Horse we recognized one of the most beautiful objects of antiquity, that any nation can boast :-Near Barnet we perused the inscription on a pillar, commemorating the victory, which Edward the Fourth obtained over Warwick the king maker on the fields, adjoining, were buried the remains of more than ten thousand men; it being

a battle fought with the most determined fury; no quarter being given on either side. Then we stood upon the fields of Tewkesbury, where, eighteen days after the battle of Barnet, Edward obtained another victory over the army of Margaret. She was taken prisoner, with her son, who was murdered the next day. These two battles were the eleventh, and twelfth, that had been fought in the quarrel between the houses of York and Lancaster.

At Edington, in the county of Somerset, we stood upon the spot where Alfred surprised the Danes, and obtained his memorable victory over them; and where by a single blow, he entirely ruined his enemies, and sent all those, he had reason to fear, out of the country. With what admiration did Helvidius stand on the very ground, in which this illustrious hero sought refuge in the cottage of his neatherd!-One path only led to the cottage, which was hid in briars and bushes :-there the monarch made bows and arrows, and other warlike instruments. His actions!-more splendid were they, than those, described in the basso relievos of Trajan's column.

VIII.

This feeling was much encouraged by the military statesmen of ancient Rome: and many intances are recorded of heroes travelling to view the most celebrated scites of battles :-the field of Marathon; the plain of Platæa, and the glen of Thermopylæ : Pharsalia, and Philippi. What Swiss but delights to behold the heights of Morgarten? who would not wish to pause upon the fields of Cressy, of Agincourt,

of Blenheim, and of Waterloo? Nor is there a Frenchman, who would not contemplate, with enthusiasm, Gemappe, Lodi, Hohenlinden, Marengo, Austerlitz and Jena. The imagination loves to repose among the heroes and patriots of our country; and sighs with regret, that, among a multitude of annalists, we in vain look for a Thucydides, a Livy, or a Tacitus.

At Blenheim we call to mind the fortunes and engagements of the most celebrated of our generals. Sent into Flanders to prepare for the arrival of King William,-CHURCHILL was soon after disgraced; turned out of all his posts, and committed to the tower. Restored to favor, he was constituted general of the forces;-sent ambassador extraordinary to Holland; and declared generalissimo of the allied army against France. Then we see him taken prisoner by a party of French; but, being unknown, he escapes; is raised to a dukedom; and, after many engagements, wins the battle of Blenheim. He is then presented with the manor of Woodstock, and a palace, built by Vanburgh; and, resuming the command, gains the battle of Ramillies. Then the battles, treaties, and honours that followed, melt, as it were, before a charge of corruption exhibited against him: he is dismissed from all his employments: while libels and a prosecution harass him on every side. He is acquitted. Then ensues his challenge to the Earl of Paulet ;-setting the first example of party duels. Then we see him quitting his country in disgust, on the death of Lord Godolphin; and returning to it again at the invitation of Lord Bolingbroke,