captives, and confined the most important prisoner in entrance to a passage under the bed of the Swale to Richmond Castle, "in a very narrow dungeon." He St. Martin's Priory, through which the ladies of the was conveyed from thence to Falaise, a town in Nor-Castle might retire for protection in cases of emergency. mandy, and obtained his liberation by taking an oath In Speed's plan of Richmond, there is an opening shown of allegiance to England. The signal discomfiture of in the Earl's orchard opposite the Castle, described as William is stated to have taken place on a Sunday, at a "vault that goeth under the river, and ascendeth up the time Henry was hypocritically kissing the shrine of into the Castle;" but all traces of this exit have long "the blessed and glorious martyr," Thomas à Becket, in Canterbury Cathedral; and one of Merlin's prophecies, which not long before had been applied to Henry himself, when hard pressed by the Breton auxiliaries of his rebel sons, was soon transferred to the capacious shoulders of the Scottish King, the Armorican (or Breton) Gulf being defined to mean the Castle of Richmond, from the Breton princes who held its heritage. The oracle ran:-"In his mouth shall be placed a bit forged in the Armorican Gulf."

In 1317, Richmond Castle was the residence of the Earl, called Schyr Thomas, the Governor of the Marches, the great rival of the Douglas. The English noble said, that if he once saw the Scottish chieftain's banner displayed "upon war, he would assemble upon it." He heard that Douglas intended to make a sumptuous feast at Lyntailey, and that the country generally was clear; he therefore advanced with a very large force, which he furnished with axes to hew Iedworth Forest, the haunt of Douglas, completely down. But the spies of that noble warrior saw them. Douglas took fifty men, who lay in ambush at a narrow point, and shot down upon the unsuspecting foe, with the dreaded shout of "Douglas! Douglas!" and the banner of that chief triumphant in the breeze. Richmond was borne down, and the Douglas, with a knife, dispatched him, without, however, knowing who his victim was. He took only with him, in token of the exploit, "an hat upon hys helm," which was furryt." The Earl's men bore the dead body away, and Douglas afterwards fell in with another detachment, a prisoner taken from which gave him the joyful intelligence that Schyr Thomas was the fallen man.

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since vanished. Adjoining this tower is the Hall of
Scotland, which acted as the great banqueting-room
of the Castle. At the end of the hall, where the wall
breaks off even with the surface, is a seat which
George IV., while Prince of Wales, visited, and declared
to command the noblest prospect he had ever beheld.
The Keep is about a hundred feet high; and the walls
are eleven feet thick; the lower story is supported by
a vast column of stone in the middle, from which spring
circular arches closing the top; the staircase goes only
to the first chamber, the rest of it being dilapidated, as
the floors of the two upper rooms have fallen in. In
this part of the old fortress is a well of excellent
water.

The walks round this interesting ruin of ancient
days present a succession of the most varied and ro-
mantic scenery. Swaledale is in many parts skirted
with bold rocks, almost covered with trees and shrubs.
"The cliffs, that rear the haughty head
High o'er the river's darksome bed,
Were now all naked, wild, and gray,
Now waving all with greenwood spray;
Here trees to every crevice clung,
And o'er the dell their branches hung;
And there, all splinter'd and uneven,
The shiver'd rocks ascend to heaven;
Oft, too, the ivy swathed their breast,
And wreathed its garland round their crest,
Or from the spires bade loosely flare
Its tendrils in the middle air."

In the career of Prince Arthur, the celebrated British chief, as transmitted to us by later romancers, truth is so thickly overlaid by fiction, that many writers-Milton among them-have denied that such a person ever existed. Of this, however, there seems no more reason to doubt than of the existence of Hengist, Cerdic, or any other man of note of that remote period. The most ancient specimens of Welsh poetry—the Triads, the poems of Llwarch Hen, and of Taliesinspeak of him, not as the fabulous prodigy described by later writers, but as a prince and captain of eminence. But whether he be a real or imaginary person, certain it is that the island both north and south abounds in memorials of his fame.

Several parts of this grand baronial residence demand a few words of description. Robin Hood's Tower is interesting. The ground-floor forms a vaulted chapelthat of St. Nicholas-which is of very minute dimensions, being only about thirteen feet long by ten wide, and twelve feet high. It is arcaded round, and has been ornamented with sketches of figures designed with red paint. The east window is a long loop-hole, the sill of which formed the altar. The next tower is the Golden Tower, or Gold Hole, being so denominated from a story of treasure having been found in it. Some Not satisfied in depicting him as more than mortal years ago an excavation was made to discover either an in his daring feats of arms, the romancists assert that entrance to it from the court, or more gold (professedly, he owed his birth to a magical device, and that instead of course, the former); but it is remarkable that no of dying in battle, as represented in his early biograsuch doorway could be discovered, though the hole was phers, he was only conveyed away by the fairies into about six yards deep. A small archway opens at the some secret place, where he should remain for a time, foot into a long subterraneous passage, which is choked and then return again and reign in as great authority, up by fallen masses of stone. Tradition equally de- and with as much splendour, as ever. One of the lights to giving the character of a dungeon, or a place places chosen by tradition for the abiding-place of of concealment, to this tower, and in making it the Prince Arthur and his court, during the enchanted

sleep, is Richmond Castle. One day, the year uncertain, a person was walking round the old fortress, when he was accosted by a mysterious stranger, who took him into a huge subterranean vault beneath the castle, where a great multitude of people of both sexes were lying on the ground in all sorts of attitudes, as if in deep slumber. In this chamber a horn and a sword were presented to him by his companion, for the purpose of releasing the sleepers from their long listlessness; but when he drew the sword half out of its sheath, a stir among them all so affrighted him, that he let the blade slip back to its place. This act of pusillanimity called forth a burst of indignation from the mysterious stranger, who, after uttering the following rhyme, suddenly disappeared :

"Potter, Potter Thomson!

If thou had either drawn
The sword, or blown that horn,
Thou'd been the luckiest man
That ever (yet) was born."

the enchantment will again be afforded before a definite time has elapsed.

The dissolution of the numerous and potent religious houses in Richmondshire, roused the people to a state of frenzy. During Captain Aske's rebellion, the Duke of Norfolk writes to court on February 3rd, 1536-7, "that there was to be a great assembly in Richmond of the men about Middleham, Richmond, and the dales; and that he had sent such a sharp message to them, that if it did not break their intention, it should not be long ere he looked upon them." In fact, martial law being proclaimed in all the northern counties, Henry VIII. wrote minute instructions to the Duke of Norfolk, fearing that nobleman might be too lenient. "Our pleasure is," saith the sanguinary king," that before you shall close up our banner again, you shall in any wise cause such dreadful execution to be done upon a good number of the inhabitants of every town, village, and hamlet as have offended in this rebellion, as well as by the hanging them up in trees as by the quartering of them, and the setting of their heads and

The tradition adds, that no opportunity of breaking quarters in every town, great and small; and in all

such other places, as they may be a fearful spectacle to all other hereafter that would practise any like matter, which we require you to do, without pity or respect, according to our former letters."

Leaving Richmond on its right bank, the Swale enters the Vale of York, and flows through that level country till it reaches the Wiske, a small river which rises near Osmotherley, at the foot of the moors on the western edge of Cleveland, and takes first a northerly and then a westerly direction. Afterwards running to the south, the Wiske passes Northallerton and Thirsk on the west, and falls into the Swale below Topcliff. Having received this addition to its waters, the Swale pursues its course till it unites its waters with the Ure, a few miles below Boroughbridge.

The Ure takes its rise in the mountain range which divides Yorkshire on the west from Westmoreland, a few miles to the north of the source of the Swale. This river has been sometimes termed the Eure and the Jore, as the dale through which it flows has been termed Wensleydale, otherwise Yorevale or Jorevalle, a beautiful and extensive valley, commencing at Kilgram Bridge, and extending westward, almost to the confines of Westmoreland. In this district a variety of scenery is found, unsurpassed in beauty by any in England. Mountains, clothed at their summits with purple heather, interspersed with huge crags, and at their bases with luxuriant herbage, bound the view on either hand. Down the valley flows the winding Ure, one of the most serpentine of our rivers; now boiling and foaming in its narrow channel, over its bed of limestone-now forming cascades of great beauty, and anon spreading out into a broad smooth stream, as calm and placid as a lowland lake. On the banks lie rich pastures, occasionally relieved, on the eastern extremity of the dale, by rich corn-fields. Other streams, mere mountain torrents, increase the waters of the Ure during their course.

Leyburn Shawl, the last a lofty terrace from which the eye may range from the Cleveland Hills at the mouth of the Tees, to the borders of Westmoreland. Rich in bistoric associations, Wensleydale contains the royal Castle of Middleham, Richard the Third's favourite residence ; Bolton Castle, where Mary, Queen of Scots, spent a portion of her captivity; Jorevalle or Jerveaux, a rich and mitred abbey, now a pile of ruins; and in Coverdale are the remains of Coverham Abbey. Wensleydale is a royal forest, of which the Duke of Leeds, hereditary constable and Lord of Middleham, through descent from the family of Conyers, is her Majesty's ranger.

About three miles below Masham the Ure becomes the boundary between the North and West Riding, till it reaches Ripon, from whence it makes a circuit into the West Riding for a few miles. In its further course its waters are increased by those of the Nidd and of the picturesque valley of Netherdale. The Ouse, thus augmented, flows gently on to York, where it is joined by the Foss, a small stream rising in the Howardian Hills. From York, the Ouse takes a southerly winding direction, and becomes the boundary of the East and West Ridings. About eight miles below York, the Ouse and the Wharf mingle their waters. This river, rising at the foot of the Craven Hills, waters the beautiful vale of Wharfdale, having crossed the West Riding for more than fifty miles, and passed in its course through Otley, Netherby, and Tadcaster. About four miles below Selby the Ouse, now a smooth and broad stream, receives the Derwent into its bosom.

This river rises in the eastern moorlands of the North Riding, within a few miles of the sea, and eight miles from Scarborough, takes a southerly course through the romantic village of Hackness, and nearly parallel with the coast, till it comes to the foot of the Wolds. Here it takes a westerly and south-west direction, receives the Rye from Helmsley, passes the town of Malton, up to which it is navigable from the We have mentioned the dalesmen as well as the Ouse for vessels of twenty-four tons. The Derwent is dales as being peculiar to Yorkshire. Their native the boundary between the North and East Ridings, dale forms the pride of the dalesman, and the Yore from its junction with the Hertford, till it approaches has found its historian in Mr. Jones Barker, from Stamford Bridge, where it enters the East Riding. At whose interesting volume the above is an abstract: the village of Barmby it enters the Ouse, which now "The Yore, differently named the Ure, Eure, and the continues its course nearly south-east towards BorthJore," he proceeds, "losing its name below Borough-ferry, where it is joined by the Calder and Aire. bridge, where it receives the insignificant Ouse, and This junction brings a great accession of waters to when afterwards augmented by the Derwent it becomes the Ouse. The Aire issues from the Craven Hills, the mighty Humber, is a circumstance that provokes and glides with a smooth, slow, and serpentine course the poet's ire. At what time the change took place is nearly in a south-east direction along the winding valley uncertain; but there is a strong presumption that the of Airdale-a valley scarcely a mile in breadth, but river which now washes the walls of York was an- about thirty-five miles in length-to Leeds, affording ciently called Eure or Yore, whence the city seems to navigation to that important manufacturing town. The have derived its name, as also did the county." Aire flows on to Castleford, near to which place it receives the Calder, a river which rises on the edge of Lancashire, takes its direction easterly, leaving Halifax about two miles to the north, and passing by Dewsbury to Wakefield, from whence, running nearly north-east, it reaches Castleford, where, joining the Aire, their united currents flow in an easterly course towards Snaith, where they join the Ouse. One more river the

There are several smaller dales branching out of Wensleydale, of which they may be accounted a part. These are Bishopdale, Roedale, which last also contains Lake Semer-water, a sheet of water covering upwards of a hundred acres, in many places forty-five feet deep. It also contains natural objects of great interest in Aysgarth Force, Hardraw Scaur, Mill Gillforce, and

Ouse receives, The Don, rising in the western moors Saxon, Streonshalh, a name which he interprets in

beyond Pennystone, flows in a south-easterly direction to Sheffield; then turning to the north-east, and passing by Rotherham, glides along a narrow but picturesque vale by Coninbrough and Doncaster. Continuing its course through the flat country in a north-east and northerly direction it enters the Ouse at the village of Goole.

The Ouse having now received all its Yorkshire waters is as wide as the Thames at London. It makes a circuit to the south, near Swinefleet, and then takes a north-easterly direction to its confluence with the Trent from Lincolnshire. Here it takes the name of the Humber, whose waters we have already described.

Latin by the words Sinus Fari-that is, "Lighthouse Bay." Subsequently, it received from the Danes its present name` of Whitby-a word which is probably derived from huit or whit, white; and by, a dwelling.

The Abbey of Streonshalh was founded in 658, by St. Hilda, a lady of royal descent, who had previously exercised the office of Prioress of Hartlepool. The new monastery-which, like Tynemouth, was originally intended for monks as well as nuns-in a short time became so famous that a synod for settling certain religious disputes was held here in 664, only six years from the date of its foundation.

Of the number of those who were educated for the ministry at Streonshalh, or Whitby, no less than six were accounted worthy of Episcopal dignity-amongst them, John of Beverley was particularly celebrated as one of the most holy and celebrated personages of his age. The monastery had also the honour of producing Cadmon, who may be considered the father of English poetry. This celebrated Anglo-Saxon poet accustomed himself to the study of religious poetry, which he began late in life.

This brief sketch of the Yorkshire water courses will convey some idea of this important county. Along the coast from Scarborough to Cleveland the face of the country is bold and hilly, the cliffs being generally from sixty and seventy to one hundred and fifty feet high. From the cliff the country rises abruptly to the height of three or four hundred feet; and a little further inland successive hills, rising one above the other, form the elevated tract of moorlands. Stoupe Brow, which is on the coast, at the distance of fourteen Cædmon was an unlettered peasant, who knew miles from Scarborough, and about seven from Whitby, nothing of poetry or verse until he was stricken in rises to the height of eight hundred and ninety-three years-when the gift was communicated to him one feet. The soil along the coast is everywhere a strong clay; and the sloping position of the moors towards the sea renders the climate bleak, cold, and stormy. The country between York and the coast is now intersected by various lines of railway. The Pickering and Whitby line is open from York to Whitby; leaving Malton on the left hand, this line opens up some of the most picturesque of the scenes we have been describing; a branch of the same line, having a junction at Billington, a little beyond Malton, goes on to Scarborough, which is also reached by a line running from Hull to Scarborough, through Beverley, Driffield, and Bridlington.

WHITBY.

On this coast the ruins of Whitby Abbey stand out in bold relief; and no more imposing view can present itself to the eye of the traveller than this, as seen from the sea in the bright moonlight.

Viewed from the entrance of the harbour, from the northward, and also from other points, the ancient abbey and town of Whitby present a most picturesque and animated scene. The town is chiefly built on the sloping banks of the river Esk, by which it is divided into two parts that on the west side being the most populous. The opposite parts of the town are connected by means of a drawbridge, so constructed as to allow ships to pass through. At high-water, the river above the bridge expands into a spacious harbour, where ships can lie in perfect security; but at ebb-tide, except in the mid-channel, the harbour is nearly dry.

The first authentic account we have of Whitby is contained in Bede's "Ecclesiastical History." In the time of that historian, it was called, in the Anglo

night as he lay asleep in an ox-stall, to which he had retired from a jovial meeting because he could not sing a song when it came to his turn. In his sleep, Cædmon composed a hymn; and the gift of verse-making being continued to him when awake, he became an object of attention. St. Hilda, hearing of his wonderful talent, sent for him to the monastery over which she presided, and prevailed on him to abandon the dress and toil of a labourer for a monk's habit and retired leisure at Streonshalh, where he is supposed to have died about the beginning of 680. St. Hilda herself died on the 17th November in the same year, aged sixty-six. For many ages after her death, the memory of St. Hilda was cherished with veneration by the inhabitants of the eastern coast of England-from the Humber to the Tweed; nor was superstition slow in ascribing to her many deeds of marvellous power.

Amongst the curiosities of this part of the coast are the ammonitæ, or snake-stones, found in almost every place where the alum rock exists, and particularly at Whitby Scar, between high-water and low-water mark. This scar, or rock, is formed by a stratum of alumine, nearly on a level with the surface of the ocean, and the snakes (as they are called) are all inclosed in hard elliptical stones, which seem to have been stuck therein, being coiled up in spiral volutes, and every way resembling that animal in their form and shape, save only in the head, which always is wanting. These fossil shells were long supposed to have been real snakes, and the want of heads was no valid objection to the hypothesis, since the monkish tradition alleged that the whole race of serpents, by which the territory of Lady Hilda had been infested, were at once decapitated and petrified through that good saint's prayers.