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A vein of fpar runs for feveral miles on this range of hills, and forms the bottom and lower fides of the wells. It is a greyish fpar, having polished and shining furfaces of regular figures, interfperfed with glittering parti cles of a golden colour, which are very copious and large.

There are two medicinal fprings or wells, which are separated from one another by a Small rock: the higher well lies with its mouth fouth eaft. "Tis of an irregular fquare figure, and is about a foot and a half deep. The lower well is furrounded with naked rocks: it forms a fmall arch of a circle. Its depth is four foot and a half, and by a moderate computation, the two fprings yield 40 loads of water in 24 hours, each load containing 64 or 68 Scotch pints; a Scotch pint is two English quarts. The higher fhallow well is used for bathing, as it is not capable of being kept fo clean as the lower well, on account of the fhallowness and the loofenefs of its parts.

Thefe waters are strongly fulphureous, and resemble the scourings of a foul gun, or rotten eggs, or a weak folution of fal polychrestum, or bepar fulphuris. The colour of the water fomewhat milky or bluish.

N. B. The foil on every fide of the wells is thin, and the hills rocky, only just below the wells there is a fmall mofs, caused by the falling of water from the hill above it.

Great

Great is the medicinal virtue of these waters, in relieving, inwardly, cholics, pains in the ftomach, griping of the guts, bilious and nephritic colics; nervous and hyfteric colics; the gravel, by carrying off the quantities of fand, (but does not diffolve the flimy gravel) clearing the uri nary paffages in a wonderful manner; in curing ifchuries, and ulcerated kidneys; the gout, the palfy, obftructions of the menfes, old gleets, and barrennefs: it is a fovereign remedy in rheumatic and scorbutic pains, even when the limbs are monftroufly fwelled, ufelefs, and covered with fcales.Outwardly, 'ulcers, tumors, itch, St. Anthony's fire, and king's evil.

The waters are used by bathing and drinking to drink in the morning three chopins, fix pints or a Scotch quart, four English quarts,

at moft: between the hours of fix and eleven. After dinner to drink gradually.

Medicines commonly used during the drinking of the waters are, an emetic or two at first, and a few cathartic dofes. The dofes fal Glauberi and polychreftum: fyrup of buckthorn, and fulphur, is used along with the

water.

But the cathartic prescription most in use, which was given by an eminent physician, for a general recipe, to be taken by all who fhould at any time ufe the water, is, pills that are a composition of gambozia, refin of

2

jalop,

5

jalop, aloes, and fcammony: these to all intents are a strong hydragogue.

The large vein of fpar three feet thick, runs in one direction for fix miles to the wells, and croffes obliquely the rivulet at the bottom of the precipice, and afcends the hill on the oppofite fide. Small veins of the fame fpar which appears on the precipices, are on the fide of the rivulet, and fix finall gushes of water of the mineral kind proceed from them. The rocks and ftones about the tops of the wells, and in other parts of the hill and precipices, differ not from common stones, no more than the water of the small springs in the neighbourhood with the common

water.

The virtue of this water was discovered by Mils Whiteford, daughter of Bishop Whiteford, in 1632. She was married in 1633. She had been abroad, and all over England, drinking mineral waters for the recovery of her health, but found little benefit, till by accident she tasted these waters in her neighbourhood, and finding they refembled those the had ufed elsewhere, made a trial of them, and was cured of all her diforders.

Upon this the recommended the use of them to others, and employed workmen to clear the ground about the fprings, (their overflowing having made a fmall morals) that the poor and the rich might come, N

and

The au

Oldfield

fets out for

arrives at

another

place, May

and make ufe of a medicine, which nature. had fo bounteously offered to them.

§. 12. The 19th of May, at that hour, thor leaves when a fine day-break offers the most magniSpaw, and ficent fight to the eyes of men, (though few Knarcho- who have eyes will deign to view it,) I rough, but mounted my horfe again, and intended to breakfast at Knaresborough, in order to my 19, 1731. being at Harrogate by dinner time, with my friends again; but the land I went over was fo inchantingly romantic, and the morning fo extremely beautiful, that I had a mind to fee more of the country, and let my horfe trot on where he pleafed. For a couple of hours, he went flowly over the hills as his inclination directed him, and I was delightfully entertained with the various fine fcenes, till I arrived at a sweet pretty country feat.

A morning thought

on the rifing fun.

The rifing fun, which I had directly before me, ftruck me very ftrongly, in the fine fituation I was in for obferving it, with the power and wisdom of the author of nature, and gave me fuch a charming degree of evidence for the deity, that I could not but offer up, in filence, on the altar of my heart, praise and adoration to that fovereign and univerfal mind, who produced this glorious creature, as the bright image of his benignity, and makes it travel unweariedly round; not only to illuftrate fucceffively the oppofite fides

of

of this globe, and thereby enliven the animal world, fupport the vegetable, and ripen and prepare matter for all the purposes of life and vegetation; but, to enlighten and cheer furrounding worlds, by a perpetual diffusion of bounties, to difpel darknefs and forrow, and like the prefence of the deity, infuse secret ravishment into the heart. This cannot be the production of chance. It must be the work of an infinitely wife and good Being. The nature, fituation, and motion of this fun, bring the Deity even within the reach of the methods of fenfe affifted by reason, and fhews fuch conftant operations of his power and goodness, that it is impoffible to confider the prefent difpofition of the system, without being full of a fenfe of love and gratitude to the almighty creator; the Parent of Being and of Beauty! By this returning minifter of his beneficence, all things are recalled into life, from corruption and decay; and by its, and all the other heavenly motions, the whole frame of nature is ftill kept in repair. His name then alone is excellent, and his glory above the earth and heaven. It becomes the whole fyftem of rationals to fay, Hallelujah.