affiftal, that he might affift, and be affisted in turn,

.that he might beg affillance ليسقس

Mary of Mr. D.'s obfervations on the rationalia of the letters appear ingenious, but are evidently tinctured with Hutchinfonian, or Rabbinical fubtleties The whole of the argument to a common reader is rendered confufed, from too great an affectation of metaphysical realowing, unneceffary fubdivifions, and logical precifeness.

ART. X. Two Succeffive Tours throughout the Whole of Wales, with Several of the adjacent Countries, fo as to form a Comprehenfive View of the picturefque Beauty, the peculiar Manners, and the fine Remains of Antiquity in that interefting Part of the British Island. By Henry Skrine, Efq. of Warley in Smerfetfaire, Author of Three fucceffive Tours in the North of England and Scotland in 1795. 8vo. 280 pp. 6s. Elmly. 1798.

THE author, as he tells us in his title-page, which is more circumftantial than feems neceffary, has already published an account of three fucceffive Tours in the North of England and Scotland; of which we spoke favourably in our fixth volume, p. 351. We shall now add to our notice of his work, that Mr. Skrine is a gentleman of highly refpectable character, who devotes a confiderable portion of every fummer, to a careful examination of fome part of his native country.

The prefent volume is introduced with this modeft apology.

"Emboldened by the perhaps too partial approbation bestowed by fome of his friends on his former performance, the author is induced to offer the following tours to their infpection, and that of the public. Like thofe in the north of England and Scotland, they were not written originally with the defign of being printed, and though now prefented in the fhape of an uniform cour'e of travels, they have really been purfued in diftinct parts, and at different periods of time, as the leifure of fucceffive fummers gave a favourable opportunity. This difference of years in which the feveral parts were written, muft anfwer for fuch irregularity of ftyle as may trike an obferver in the course of this work. Where the defcription is meant to be general, the present tenfe is commonly used, but the paft is often preferred where the appearance of things (as in the courfe of travel) is alluded to. In matters of obfervation and opinion, the fingular number is often adopted, but the plural is more commonly used in defcription, except where the author was actually alone; each of these, however,

is frequently changed, to give animation to fome particular scene, and to avoid the prolixity of an uniform narrative. Some apology may perhaps alfo be neceffary for various repetitions of epithets and other little inaccuracies, which have escaped the author's obfervation, who has not been much in the habit of correcting for the prefs." P. v.

The whole forms a very interefting and entertaining perform ance, and cannot fail of being highly acceptable, as well as very useful, to all who fhall happen to vifit the fcenes which are here well and ably defcribed. It is but reasonable to give fpecimens of the work; and the following extract defcribes a part of the country, of which Mr. Skrine is proprietor.

"Entering the gap through which the Ufke defcends into the plain of Monmouthshire, the mountains clefed upon us on each fide as we approached the confines of South Wales, and reached the little town of Crickhowell, in the county of Brecknock. Here I first viewed the fmall, but charming territory, of which I afterwards became the proprietor; and I muft rifque even the imputation of partiality, to bettow a well-merited degree of praife on the tranfcendant beauties of Dany Park, and its vicinage. The house, built by its last most worthy owner, ftands in a fpacious lawn, beneath a thick range of spreading woods, which defcending from a great height, form at laft an open grove, covering an abrupt knoll immediately over it. Above thefe, a fine mixture of paftures and cultivation ftretches upward to the very feet of the mountains, which rife here in all their native fublimity, and are crowned with a perpendicular rock called "Defgulfa," or The Profpect, from its almost unlimited command of view. Such is the polition of this place to the feuth; towards the north it looks across a charming variety of enamelled meadows, divided by the Ufke, to fome fertile and ornamented hills, behind which the valley of Llanbeder defcends with its train of woods, and the clustered cottages of Llangenny, from the wildeft diftricts of the country between the Black-mountain and the Sugar-loaf, whofe fhapes and fummits appear grandly contrafted. Towards the weft, the Uke emerging from the mountains which bound the vale of Brecknock, paffes round a high pyramidical hill, and dividing the village of Llangattock from the town and caftle of Crickhowell, flows rapidly through the ivied arches of their bridge while on the east, it glides more gently between the verdant meads of Dany Park and Court-y-gollen towards Abergavenny, which appears at the diftance of fix miles at the bottom of the vale, bene th the groves of Colebrooke, and the little pointed apex of the Schyrrydd Vach,

"Crickhowell has little to recommend it, except the beautiful eminence on which it is placed, and the fmall but picturesque remains of its caftle; the principal treet being both steep and rough, and the long bridge to which it defcends dangerously narrow. Its oppofite village of Llangattock, bears a more fmiling afpect, being decorated with feveral hand fome feats, and inhabited by many respectable families. Among these, the new-built houfe of Admiral Gell stands diftinguished for the beauty of its pofition, the fingularity of its firuc

ture, and the eccentric benevolence of its worthy owner, who retired with well-carved fame from the active duties of his profeffion, here gladdens the heart of the villager by his liberality, and is justly esteem. ed by the whole country." P. 36.

The account of St. David's next inferted, is highly honourable to the writer's fenfibility and talent for defcription.

"A fecond expedition led us by the ruins of Roche Castle, over a bleak and unpleasant country, on the edge of the dangerous bay of St. Bride, and across the deep hollow of the creek of Solfay, to the deferted city of St. David's.--Hardly a fingle tree decorated this wild extremity of the coaft of Pembrokeshire; a fcanty fhew of habitations, more like huts than cottages, were thinly interfperfed; and the city itfelf, when we approached it, bore the afpect of an infignificant village, fituated on a fmall eminence near that projecting head-land which terminates in the pile of rocks called St. David's head. In a deep hollow beneath the town, sheltered from thofe winds which ravage this ftormy coaft, we found a few good houfes appropriated to the ecclefiaftical establishment, in the midst of which the cathedral appeared rifing in renovated magnificence, like a phoenix amidst the fplendid afhes of the ruined grandeur of St. David's. This church is far fuperior to that of Llandaffe in its preservation, and has received ample juftice from the attention and expence bestowed on it by its modern proprietors, the whole being in good repair, and the weft front having lately been rebuilt in a tafte perfectly correfponding with the rest of the structure. Its tower is finely carved in fret-work, and, like many of our English cathedrals, the Gothic ornaments of the choir contraft the Saxon pillars and arches of the great aifle, which are themselves curioufly worked in wreaths. A ceiling of Irish oak alfo is much to be admired, together with a very perfect Mofaic pavement. Bishop Vaughan's chapel lies behind the choir, where we were much truck with a highly wrought ftone ceiling, fimilar to the finest fpecimens of Henry VII's reign, with which all the furrounding ornaments of the building correfpond. St. Mary's chapel must have been fill more elegant, from the curious remains of pillars and arches with which its space is ftrewed; various alfo and extraordinary are the devices in fculpture to be found there, including the heads of feven fifters who were faid to have contributed to the building. The chapter-house also has a fine coved ceiling, and St. Mary's Hall, now in ruins, exhibits the remains of much ancient grandeur. From the cathedral and these adjacent buildings, we vifited the ruins of the bishop's palace, which muft formerly have been a magnificent, and even a princely structure. Two parts of its quadrangle are yet nearly entire, and these are crowned with a light Gothic parapet, fimilar to thofe at Swanfea cattle and Llamphey court. The arch by which we entered the king's hall is fingularly fine, with the statues of king John and his queen over it; the hall itfelf is a grand room, 88 feet in length by 30, and at its eastern end is a curious circular window, like a wheel, with a rim, fpokes, and centre, wrought in the fineft Gothic, and ftill quite entire. This room was built after the rest of the palace, for the re

ception

ception of king John and queen Mary on their return from Ireland, being much larger than the bishop's hall, which is notwithstanding a fine building. The chapel contains the remains of a font, with fome pieces of fculpture, and the kitchen is nearly entire, with four chimneys and four arches, fupported by a folid pillar in the middle. After devoting feveral hours to thefe fine remnants of antiquity, we afcended to, the poor ftreet which bears the title of a city, and found very moderate accommodation at the houfe dignified with the name of an inn.

"Saint David's, faid to have been a Roman station, was the feat of the primacy of Wales, transferred here from Caerleon by St. David in the fixth century. Its modern ecclefiaftical establishment is highly refpectable, confifting of the bifhop, fix canon refidentiaries, four archdeacons, and feveral minor canons. The modern refidence of the bishop, thefe fplendid ruins being no longer habitable, has been transferred to Aberguilly near Caermarthen, a central part of his diocese, in a pleasant country. One of the canons is generally refident at St. David's in rotation, where a handfome houfe is appropriated for his habitation, and the rest of the inftitution appear to be well lodged. Much praife is due to the establishment for the excellent repair in which the cathedral and those buildings which are still in use, are preferved; and the service of the church in this remote corner of the kingdom, where there are few to witness it, is conducted with a degree of decorum and attention which would put fome of our proudest choirs in England to the blush." P. 87.

Many other portions of the work would well juftify our further extracts; fuch, for example, as the feveral accounts of Dinevawr Caftle; Llandrindod Wells; Havod, the beautiful feat of Mr. Johnes; Clyro, the property of Mr. Edwards; Hawkestone, &c. But we cannot deny ourfelves the pleasure of tranfcribing the following account of the Paris Mountain.

"Our next, as well as our principal object, was to vifit the Paris Mountain, by far the greatest curiofity Anglefea can boaft, and its most confiderable fource of wealth.The copper mines in this part of the island are fupposed to have been known to and worked by the Romans, and a lake on the mountain, which is now filled up, has been diftinguished, long before the prefent works were formed, by the title of the Mine Pool." Various are the modes of accounting for the modern name of this mountain, the most probable of which makes it derived from the old Welch word Praas, fignifying brass, which might eafily be corrupted into Paris. Whatever may be the foundation of this conjecture, the Paris Mountain cannot fail to excite the admiration of all strangers, both from its appearance, the extent of its works, and the regularity with which they are conducted. This mine is confiderably more than a mile in circumference, and on an average 1300 men are employed in it conftantly; it has alfo the fingular advantage of being worked in the open air, a circumftance which contributes much to expedite the feveral branches of labour and fuperintendance, as well as to fecure the health of the perfons employed. As a fpectacle, it is

not

not a little ftriking to behold a large arid mountain entirely ftripped of its herbage by the fteam of the fulphur works, and perforated with aumberlefs caverns, which opening under lofty arches one below the other, feem to difclofe the deepeft arcana of the earth. The various pofitions of the crowds of men employed, the afcent and descent of innumerable baskets to bring up the ore, and the perpetual echo of the blafts of gunpowder introduced to diflodge it from the rock, produce an effect on the mind which I have feldom known to arife from the complicated and difficult inveftigation of mines otherwife circumftanced. Abundance of vitriolic water is found in thefe works, and its ftrength is fo great as to turn in an inftant whatever steel or iron is dipped in it to the colour and appearance of copper. This water is expofed to the fun in large open troughs, and the copper quality is extracted from it by a very curious procefs; great quantities of fulphur alfo are produced, and its fublimation is carried on in various fpots upon the mountain, ill at last the whole is collected in fome large boiling houfes, and formed into rolls of brimstone. The copper ore is then carried down in carts or fledges to fome fmelting-houfes con ftructed in the valley below, near the fea-fide, where every remaining operation is performed with the utmost care and regularity.

"In confequence of the riches extracted from this mountain, the neigbouring village of Amlwch has rifen into eminence, which Lord Uxbridge and Mr. Hughes (the two great proprietors of the mines) have adorned with two elegant houses for their occafional refidence, calling one the Mona, and the other the Paris lodge. The little port of Amlwch is placed in a small cove among the cliffs about half a mile below the village, and admirably formed to receive and arrange the feveral veffels which are employed in the copper and brimstone trade. It often also affords a safe haven to thofe fhips which in their paffage from Ireland are driven to the north east round the point of Holyhead, and cannot make that harbour." P. 207.

We lament much to learn, that the curious piece of antiquity, mentioned by the author in p. 23, is no longer preferved from decay; the walls of the fhed only remain; and a moft admirable fpecimen of Roman teffellated pavement is now entirely expofed to the weather. In a future edition it may be worth Mr. Skrine's while to confider, whether it will not be a great improvement to his valuable work, to add an Index, with an account of the distance of places remote from the high road. Two or three flight maps, to point out their relative fituations, would alfo be highly acceptable to travellers.

ART.