of the west of England. It still possesses considerable | these it is intimately connected by means of the river, trade, and has further of late years become the seat of some active and thriving manufactures. In 1837, 386 ships, of 76,957 tons burthen, entered the harbour from foreign ports, besides 632 from Ireland; and in the same year, the customs duties collected were £1,153,109. Sugar, rum, and tea, are the chief foreign imports; while the chief exports are the native manufactures, and cotton, woollen, and linen goods. The chief native manufactures are soap, glass bottles, various metallic wares, drugs, dyes, and soda. It is honourable to Bristol that, as in its ancient days of supereminency as a port, it sent out the first English vessel across the Atlantic (that of Cabot, which discovered North America), so in these days it was the first to establish a communication by steam with the same continent. This was done in 1838, when the Great Western performed its first voyage. The population of Bristol in 1831 was 117,016; in 1841, 123,188. Bristol is a well-built town, containing many spacious streets and squares, and extending into several beautiful suburban villages, as Clifton, Kingsdown, and St Michael's, where the residences of the wealthiest citizens are placed. The city contains many public structures of an interesting character. The cathedral is a fine old specimen of the Gothic architecture, and the church of St Mary Redcliffe is considered one of the most beautiful in England. The floating harbour,' formed out of the ancient beds of the two rivers, and surrounded by an immense extent of quay, is a most impressive object: the cost of its construction was not much less than £700,000. The Guildhall, Jail, Commercial Rooms, and Institution (which contains a library, hall for lectures, &c.), are other public buildings of an elegant appearance. Clifton, well known for its hot springs, contains a suite of baths and pump-rooms. Newcastle-on-Tyne.—This ancient and prosperous seat of commerce occupies a somewhat incommodious situation on the left or north bank of the Tyne, at the distance of about ten miles from the sea. It is locally in the county of Northumberland, and by means of a bridge across the Tyne, is connected with the populous borough of Gateshead, in the county of Durham. It owes the origin of its name to Robert, the eldest son of William the Conqueror, who erected a fortress on the high bluff which here overhangs the river, and gave it the name of Newcastle. For ages the town was surrounded by strong walls, as a protection against invading Scottish armies: these, however, have disappeared, and in modern times the town has spread over the irregular acclivities and upland which border the river. The old fort or castle still exists, also the ancient Gothic church of St Nicholas, whose elegant turret is conspicuous at a considerable distance. The main cause of the increasing importance of Newcastle is its fortunate situation in the midst of the great coal-field of Northumberland and Durham, the produce of which finds a ready outlet by the Tyne. The plentifulness of coal has led to the establishment of numerous manufactures, among which are numbered cast and wrought iron, machinery, lead, glass, chemical productions, pottery, soap, and glue. The gross receipts at the customhouse, which includes also the port of Shields, for the year 1848, was £456,956. The older parts of the town near the river exhibit a busy scene of industry; here are crowded together ship and boat-building yards, wharfs for vessels, iron foundries and machine manufactories, and all the usual works connected with a great seaport. The streets in this quarter are dirty and smoky, but other parts of the town are of great elegance. Since 1834, by the extraordinary energy and taste of Mr Richard Grainger, a speculating architect, a large portion of the town has been taken down and rebuilt with handsome stone houses, amidst which are various public buildings, including a theatre, an Exchange, extensive markets, &c. Newcastle must be considered the metropolis of a rich and populous district, including Tynemouth, North and South Shields (all at the mouth of the Tyne), Sunderland, Durham, and Gateshead; and with railways, or otherwise. At Shields and Sunderland are the great depôts of shipping in the coal and other trades. Besides its remarkable manufacturing and commercial industry, Newcastle is distinguished for its philosophical and literary institutions, no other town of its kind possessing so many inhabitants of cultivated taste. In 1831, including the population of Gateshead, which was 15,177, Newcastle and its suburbs had a population of 68,790; in 1841, the population of Gateshead was 19,843; of Newcastle, 69,430-total, 89,273. Hull (properly Kingston-upon-Hull) is situated at the confluence of the River Hull with the estuary of the Humber, in the East Riding of Yorkshire, of which district it is the principal town. It commands an extraordinary amount of inland navigation, not only by means of the Trent, Ouse, Derwent, and other branches of the Humber, but by means of canals connecting with those streams, and penetrating to the very heart of England. It is the principal outlet for the manufactures of York and Lancashire towards the continent of Europe, the chief seat of the northern whale-fishery, and one of the most important stations for steam-navigation in the island, having packets of that kind voyaging not only to London, Newcastle, Leith, and Aberdeen, besides many inland places in its own district, but to Rotterdam, Hamburg, and occasionally to some of the ports in what is more particularly called the north of Europe. Hull was a noted port so early as the reign of Edward I.; and in the seventeenth century it was a great state depôt for arms, on which account the possession of it in the time of the civil war became an object of much importance. The refusal of its governor, Sir John Hotham, to give it up at that time to Charles I., or even to admit his majesty within the gates, is a conspicuous incident in English history. For some years, owing to various circumstances, some branches of the commerce of the port have experienced a decline rather than an advance; but it is still a town of large trade. In 1829, 579 vessels, of 72,248 aggregate tonnage, belonged to Hull. For the accommodation of the shipping there is a splendid range of docks, with all the accommodations suitable for storing a vast quantity of merchandise. The population of the town in 1841 was 65,670. Chester is one of the less important and less populous of the commercial towns of England. Such importance, however, as it possesses as a commercial town, is enhanced by its being a county town and cathedral city, and the residence of a considerable number of persons in independent circumstances. It is also remarkable for its antiquity and its historical associations, as well as for some local features of an unusual kind. It is situated within a bend of the Dee, a few miles from the point where that river joins an estuary branching from the Irish Channel. The two principal streets cross each other at right angles, and the town is still surrounded by the massive walls which were originally designed to protect it from warlike aggression, but are now only useful as an agreeable promenade, from which some pleasant views of the surrounding country may be obtained. The streets are formed in hollows dug out of rock, so that the lowest floor of each house is under the level of the ground behind, though looking out upon the carriage-way in front. The paths for passengers are not here, as is usually the case, formed in lateral lines along the streets, but in a piazza running along the front of what in England is called the first, and in Scotland more correctly the second floor, of the houses. These piazzas, called in Chester the Roos, are accessible from the street by stairs at convenient distances. There are numerous shops entered from them, and they in some places still retain the massive wooden balustrades with which all were originally furnished, but for which, in other places, light iron railings have been substituted. Where the houses and balustrades are old, the effect is very curious and striking, and apt to awaken ideas of ancient usages and habits long passed away. The cathedral of Chester contains some curious ancient architecture. The castle is a splendid modern | mean, Oxford appears to a stranger as beautiful exterbuilding, on the site of the powerful fortress which was once of such importance as a check upon the Welsh: it contains the county court-house, jail, &c. The principal other buildings are the Halls built by the merchants to serve as marts, of which there are three, besides the Exchange. The bridge across the Dee is a remarkable object, being of one arch, with a span of 200 feet; it cost £40,000. nally as its historic character renders it venerable. The High Street, in which several colleges are situated, is generally acknowledged to be one of the finest streets in the world. The origin of the university is usually attributed, but upon no certain authority, to King Alfred. Oxford has certainly, however, been a famed seat of learning since the twelfth century. Each college and hall has its own students and teachers, revenues and regulations; yet they are all united under the government of one university. The officers by whom the university is immediately governed, are the tors. In addition to the private officers in each college and hall, who see that due order and discipline are preserved, and all the liberal sciences taught, there are twenty-three public professors of the several arts and sciences. In 1844, there were 5026 members on the books, one-third of whom, in their capacities as fellows, &c. were maintained by the revenues. students wear a peculiar dress, varied according to their status in the college. They all live within the precincts of their respective colleges. The Chester was an important station of the Romans, from whom it derived the cross form of its two principal streets, and of whom many relics have from time to time been dug up. It retained its importance dur-chancellor, high steward, vice-chancellor, and two procing Saxon and Norman times, and in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries was a flourishing city, with a large maritime trade. It then declined, in consequence of natural obstructions to the navigation of the river. From the year 1328 downwards, it was remarkable for the annual performance of a peculiar class of theatrical representations, similar to those performed at Coventry, and termed Mysteries. To modern taste these would seem the most gross burlesque of sacred subjects; but so convinced were the clergy of those days of their edifying qualities, that a thousand days of pardon from the pope, and forty from the bishop of Chester, were granted to all who attended them. After a long period of declension, the trade of Chester was revived by the cutting of a new channel for the river, whereby vessels of 600 tons burthen were enabled to come to the quays near the town. The commerce, with the exception of a few ships which visit Spain, Portugal, the Mediterranean, and the Baltic, is chiefly confined to Ireland, whence an immense quantity of linen, hemp, flax, skins, and provisions, is imported. The exports of Chester are cheese (the staple production of the county), lead, coal, calamine, copper-plates, and cast-iron. Shipbuilding is carried on to a considerable extent, and there are some manufactures of inferior consequence. The population in 1831 was 21,363; in 1841, 22,961. Cambridge is the chief town in Cambridgeshire, and is situated on the Cam, at the distance of 50 miles from London. It is also an elegant city, though less so than Oxford. The university has no certain date before 1229: it comprehends seventeen colleges, which in most respects are similar to those of Oxford. King's College Chapel, built in the reign of Henry VI., is considered the most beautiful structure in either of the two university towns. Naval Stations. Portsmouth on the narrow inlet by which it communicates with the English Channel. It is also to be observed that the strait between the mouth of this har Portsmouth, the principal rendezvous of the British navy, is situated on the west side of the Isle of Portsea in Hampshire. To the west of the island is the bay called Portsmouth Harbour, excelling every other on the coast of England for its spaciousness, depth, and Southampton is an ancient, but considerably modern- security. The obvious utility of this harbour in such ised town, the capital of Hampshire, and, next to Ports- a situation caused it to be used at an early period as a mouth and Plymouth, may be considered the chief out-station for shipping, and hence the rise of the town of port on the south coast. It enjoys a situation at once pleasant and convenient, in a vale adjoining to the bay bearing its own name. In modern times, the town. has been greatly improved and increased by the erec-bour and the Isle of Wight, forms the celebrated roadtion of lines of handsome streets in the environs, the residence of a respectable and leisurely population. Among the attractions of the neighbourhood are those of the New Forest, which almost adjoins the town, and a beach forming a pleasant bathing-place in summer: few sea-side towns are more salubrious or agreeable. With the Isle of Wight, at a few miles' distance, there is a constant communication by steamboats. The SouthWestern Railway, which terminates near the shore of the bay, has greatly advanced the interests of the town, by making it a depôt of traffic in connection with the metropolis; and there are now constructing, at a great cost, large wet-docks and wharfs for shipping. A considerable trade is already carried on with foreign countries, and the port is a main point of communication between England and Guernsey, Jersey, and Havre, in which, and some other respects, it is a rising rival of the neighbouring town of Portsmouth. The population in 1831 was 19,324; in 1841, 27,490. University Cities. Oxford, the chief of this limited class of cities, is the principal town in Oxfordshire, and is situated in a valley at the confluence of the Isis and Cherwell, at the distance of 58 miles from London. Besides being the seat of the celebrated university named from it, it is the seat of an episcopal see. Containing twenty colleges and five halls,' a cathedral, and thirteen elegant parish churches, besides the Radcliffe Library, the University Theatre, and several other elegant public buildings, all condensed into a small space, amidst streets some of which are straight and elegant, while none, except a few of an obscure character, are stead of Spithead, which is capable of containing a thousand sail at anchor in the greatest security. The original or old town of Portsmouth, surrounded by ancient walls; the modern suburban towns of Portsea and Southsea, respectively situated to the north and south of the original town; and the town of Gosport, on the opposite side of the inlet to the harbour, may all be said to form one cluster of population, probably numbering not less than 70,000. The beach opposite Southsea being well adapted for sea-bathing, has been the cause of that suburb or village becoming a wateringplace of considerable note. The docks, arsenal, building-yards, and all the various establishments concerned in the fitting-out and safe keeping of the national shipping, render Portsmouth an object of wonder to all who see it for the first time. The Dockyard includes the great area of 100 acres. The Smithery is a vast building, where anchors are wrought, weighing from 70 to 90 hundredweight each. On the Anchor-Wharf hundreds of these useful implements are piled up, ready for immediate service. The Ropery, where the cordage for the vessels is prepared, is three storeys high, 54 feet broad, and 1094 feet long. The Gun-Wharf is an immense arsenal, consisting of various ranges of buildings for the reception of naval and military stores, artillery, &c. The Small Armoury is capable of containing 25,000 stand of arms. There is a naval college, where a hundred scholars in time of war, and seventy in time of peace, are taught; thirty, who are the children of officers, being maintained and educated at the public expense. During war, the number of persons employed in the various establishments connected with the public service at Portsmouth has amounted to 5000. The principal Mechanics' Institute, &c. Of the two parish churches, buildings connected with the arsenal and dockyards, are the commissioner's house, the government house, the victualling office, the port-admiral's house, and the naval and military barracks. The promenade along the fortifications forms one of the most agreeable features of the town. Amongst objects of curiosity we may specify the Victory, Nelson's flag-ship at Trafalgar; the Semaphore Telegraph; and the house (No. 110 High Street) in which the Duke of Buckingham was temporarily residing, when in front of it he was stabbed to death by Lieutenant Felton in 1628. The church of Portsmouth is a spacious Gothic structure, with a comparatively modern tower, useful as a landmark to seamen. There are various charitable, literary, and scientific institutions connected with the town. the most ancient is that of St Andrew, built previously to 1291, a handsome building of the Gothic order; Charles's Church is also a Gothic structure. Among the charitable institutions, which are about 30, are a workhouse, a public dispensary, an eye-infirmary, a lying-in charity, a public subscription school, almshouses, Bible societies, &c. Plymouth is another important naval station, besides being a thriving commercial town. It is situated at the head of the capacious haven of Plymouth Sound in Devonshire, on the east side of a tongue of land formed by the estuaries of the rivers Plym and Tamar, which here empty themselves into the sea. Essentially connected with Plymouth is Devonport, situated in the immediate neighbourhood, and properly an appendage of Plymouth, though of late years distinguished by a separate name. The united population in 1841 was 75,599. Plymouth having gradually risen from the condition of a small fishing-town to its present size, most of the streets are irregular, and by no means elegant or commodious; but the new parts of the town are handsome, and are spreading rapidly. Plymouth carries on a considerable trade in timber with North America and the Baltic, and an intercourse has been established with the West Indies. The coasting-trade is chiefly with London, Newcastle, Newport (in Wales), and Bristol. The chief imports are coal, culm, corn, wine, and timber. It is as a naval and military station that the town is chiefly distinguished. Situated upon a capacious and secure natural harbour, near the mouth of the English Channel, it is well adapted for this purpose, fleets having a ready exit from it upon any expedition towards the Mediterranean, the Indies, or America. The dock, which is situated at Devonport (formerly on that account called Plymouth Dock), extends along the bank of the Tamar, in a curve 3500 feet in length, with a width at the middle, where it is greatest, of 1600 feet, and at each extremity 1000, thus including an area of 96 acres. Of the fortifications connected with Plymouth, the most remarkable is the citadel, which was erected in the reign of Charles II. It is placed in a most commanding situation on the east end of the height called the Hoe, which shelters the town from the sea. It is exceedingly well fortified, and is constantly garrisoned. It contains the residence of the governor of Plymouth, and barracks for 500 or 600 troops. The Victualling Office, an important establishment, containing storehouses, granaries, baking-houses, and cellars for supplying the meat, bread, and liquors required to provision the vessels of the Royal Navy, occupies a splendid building in the adjacent township of East Stonehouse. The port of Plymouth is distinguished for its capacity, and the security which it affords in its several parts. It is capable of containing 2000 sail, and is one of the finest harbours in the world. It consists of three divisions or harbours-Sutton Pool, immediately adjoining the town; Catwater, an extensive sheet, formed by the estuary of the Plym; and the harbour or bay of Hamoaze. At the mouth of these harbours, the great bay of Plymouth Sound forms an excellent roadstead, which is now completely secure by the erection of the breakwater across its entrance. [For an account of this immense structure, see Breakwaters, p. 432, Vol. I.] The Eddystone Lighthouse is also an important appendage to the harbour, the entrance of which would, without this beacon, be extremely dangerous. The public buildings of Plymouth are the Customhouse, the Exchange, the Athenæum, the Public Library, the Theatre, the Classical and Mathematical School, the Towns of Residence and Recreation. Bath. This is reckoned the best-built town in England, and is a favourite residence of the higher classes, either for recreation or in pursuit of health. It is situated in Somersetshire, at the distance of about 108 miles west from London, and lies in a valley divided by the River Avon. Though of great antiquity, the place came into notice and rose to importance in comparatively modern times, in consequence of possessing certain hot mineral springs, considered to be efficacious in the cure of different complaints. The water issues from the ground at a temperature of from 109° to 117° of Fahrenheit, and the quantity discharged daily from the various outlets is 184,320 gallons. The water has been analysed, and is found to contain sulphate of lime, with considerably lesser proportions of muriate of soda, sulphate of soda, carbonic acid, and carbonate of lime, also a minute portion of silica and oxide of iron. It is stimulating in its properties, and is said to be most successful in cases of palsy, rheumatism, gout, and cutaneous diseases. Over the springs there are elegant pump-rooms and baths. The modern parts of the town are built as streets, crescents, and squares, the houses being of polished sandstone, and in some instances constructed with much taste. Living is expensive in the town during the fashionable season. The population in 1831 was 38,063; in 1841, 52,346. Cheltenham competes with Bath as a fashionable resort for valetudinarians, real or imaginary. It is situated in Gloucestershire, 88 miles west from London, and 39 north-east of Bath. The situation is exceedingly delightful, being remarkably well sheltered by the range of Coteswold Hills on the north-east, and having an exposure to the south and west; it is on this account preferred to all other towns in England by persons from India and other hot climates. Besides being attractive from the salubrity and mildness of its climate, Cheltenham, like Bath, possesses mineral springs reckoned of value for medical purposes, but particularly for invalids with diseased livers. There are several springs, some of which are chalybeate, but their properties and strength are liable to variation. Cheltenham is laid out, in a very ornamental manner, with walks and pleasure-grounds, and may be described as perhaps the prettiest town of a small size in England. As in Bath, the expense of living is very great. The population of the parish in 1831 was 22,942, about one-half of whom belonged to the town; in 1841, it was 31,207. Brighton, on the coast of Sussex, has risen into importance within the last sixty years, partly in consequence of a beach remarkably well adapted for seabathing, and partly from its attracting the regard of George Prince of Wales, who reared a marine palace here in a Chinese style. The population in 1831 was 40,634; in 1841, 48,567. Brighton is an elegant and airy town, with much to render it agreeable as a place of residence for persons in affluent circumstances. The Steyne, a spacious and beautiful lawn, nearly surrounded by houses, the Marine Parade, and several terraces overlooking the sea, furnish delightful walks; while the Baths, Theatre, Assembly Rooms, &c. form additional attractions. There is a regular intercourse with Dieppe by steam-vessels. The Chain-Pier is a remarkable object: it was erected in 1823 at an expense of £30,000, is 1134 feet long, 13 feet in breadth, and is supported on four clusters of piles. Amongst other towns of this class, we can only notice Herne Bay, Margate, and Ramsgate, situated on the coast of Kent, and which may be considered as the chief places of summer recreation for the inhabitants of be, was a city of the Romans, and occupied by Roman citizens as a colony. It was successively the seat of Adrian, Severus, and other emperors: Severus died here in the year 210. At the time of the Norman Conquest, it was a city of considerable consequence and size. This eminence it retained for several centuries, but latterly it has sunk into a mere county and cathedral town; that is to say, a place where a considerable number of legal and ecclesiastical functionaries reside, and from which articles of necessity and luxury are diffused over a neighbouring rural district. London, to and from which steamers ply daily. Herne | in 1841, 30,152. York, whatever its first rise might Bay is a place of recent date, rising into notice, and possessing a pleasant open beach, with space for promenading. Margate is a town of a much earlier date, situated in an open part of a bold line of chalky cliffs, and consists of a confused cluster of streets, with some lines of building of a more airy description in the environs. The town is well supplied with shops, bazaars, and places of amusement during the bathing-season; it also possesses numerous respectable boarding-houses, where, on moderate terms, a person may reside for a short time in a very agreeable manner. At these houses, parties of pleasure are made up for the day, the expense of cars and refreshments during the excursion being defrayed by general contribution. Within a mile or two along the coast is another summer retreat called Broadstairs; and beyond it, at an equal distance, is Ramsgate. The chalk cliffs here, which are bold and precipitous, afford a high and salubrious position for the chief part of the town, and beneath there is a fine tract of sandy beach for the use of bathers. The harbour at Ramsgate is one of the best in England, and affords shelter to all kinds of vessels in the Downs. Cathedral Towns. It is entered by four principal gates or bars, has six bridges, a cathedral, twenty-three churches, besides places of worship for various dissenting bodies; a guildhall, county-hall, and other public buildings. The most remarkable object by many degrees is the Cathedral, or Minster, a most superb specimen of the Gothic architecture, measuring in length 5244 feet; in breadth across the transepts, 222 feet; the nave being in height 99, and the grand tower 213 feet. The various parts were built at different times between 1227 and 1377. The parts most admired are the east window, and the screen dividing the choir from the body of the church. This window consists of upwards of 200 compartments of stained glass, containing representations of the Supreme Being, saints, and events recorded in Scripture. The screen is a piece of carved wood-work in a highly-ornamental style. The chapter-house is also much admired: it is a magnificent structure, of an octagonal form, 63 feet in diameter, and 68 feet in height. York Minster has within the last ten years twice suffered severely from fire. The damage produced on the first occasion choir was completely and successfully repaired; that which took place on the second occasion, and which consisted of the destruction of the interior of one of the smaller towers and the roof of the nave, has also been repaired. York was at one time a commercial town of some importance, conducting trade by means of the river Ouse, which is navigable for vessels of 120 tons burthen. It still possesses a few small manufactures. Of this class of towns, besides those which have been already noticed under other heads, we can here only advert to three of more than usual importance:Canterbury, the capital of Kent, is a city of great antiquity, having formed the seat of an ecclesiastical establishment to St Augustine, the apostle of Christianity to Britain in the sixth century. In the tenth and eleventh centuries, the town derived great importanee from the erection or extension of a cathedral, on a most-namely, the destruction of the wooden work in the extensive scale, and of the purest Gothic architecture. In 1162, the archiepiscopal see was bestowed on the famous Becket, who enjoyed it eight years, till the period of his murder in 1170, when his shrine became an object of extraordinary reverence, and brought pilgrins in thousands from all parts of the kingdom. The cathedral, which thus became celebrated, still exists, in a slightly-altered and improved condition. Its form is that of a cross, with a central tower of unrivalled workmanship, reaching to a height of 236 feet. The size of the building is immense: the length inside, from east to west, being 514 feet; height of the vaulted roof, 80 feet; breadth of the nave and side aisles, 71 feet; and breadth of the cross aisles, from north to south, 124 feet. The interior exhibits a number of interesting monuments of distinguished individuals. Altogether, the cathedral is a work of exceeding grandeur, and, with exquisite beauty of form, possesses a profound historical interest. The town of Canterbury is old, and, like most cathedral towns, is a dull and formal place of residence, with a proportion of genteel inhabitants. It is, however, neat and clean, and is surrounded by a fertile and pleasant tract of country. It has a number of large hotels and posting-houses, to accommodate the numerous travellers passing between the metropolis and Dover, the chief out-port for France. The distance from London is fifty-six miles, and from Dover sixteen. The only object of attraction in the town besides the cathedral, is a pleasure-ground called the Danejohn, a corruption of the word donjon, such a building having once occupied the spot in connection with the city walls. The area of the field is laid out with an avenue of trees, and is principally otherwise a grassy esplanade, open freely to all the inhabitants. In 1790, the field was presented by Mr Alderman James Simmonds for the use and recreation of the inhabitants in all time coming an act of generosity deserving the highest commendation. The population of Canterbury in 1831 was 14,463; in 1841, 15,422. Winchester, a town of great antiquity in Hampshire, at the distance of 62 miles from London, is situated in the bottom of a rich grassy vale, through which flows the Itchin, a small river which issues into the sea at Southampton. There was a town here before the Christian era, and it afterwards became the principal city of the Danish, Saxon, and Norman dynasties. It was the scene of Alfred and Canute's glories; and here, with innumerable princes, bishops, and abbots, they lie interred. Till the revolution, it continued a chief place of residence of the royal family; a palace built by the Stuarts is now used as a barrack for soldiers. In the reign of Edward III. (1366), Winchester became the episcopal see of the celebrated William of Wykeham, who greatly improved the cathedral, and instituted a college for the education of youth. The cathedral has undergone various mutations; but being lately repaired and cleaned, is now one of the finest structures of the kind in Britain. The splendid mausoleum of William of Wykeham, in one of its aisles, is an object of great interest. At a short distance from the cathedral are placed the venerable buildings composing the College of Wykeham, at which a number of young gentlemen are educated and prepared for the university. Another highly-interesting object of antiquity is the Hospital of St Cross, situated about a mile down the Itchin. Founded by Henry de Blois, bishop of Winchester, and brother of King Stephen, in 1136, St Cross is the most perfect specimen remaining in England of the conventual establishments of the middle ages, and affords a residence and means of subsistence to thirteen York is considered as the second city in the kingdom indigent old men. Winchester is composed of a variety in point of dignity—the chief town of the county, and of old streets, and seems among the least improved the cathedral city of the archiepiscopal diocese bearing towns in England. Latterly it has been inspired with its name is situated at the confluence of the rivers a little animation, by becoming a station on the line Foss and Ouse, in one of the richest and most extensive of the London and Southampton Railway. Population plains in England. Its population in 1831 was 25,359;| in 1831, 9212; in 1841, 9370. SCOTLAND. Ben More, Ben Wyvis, and Ben Attow-the last 4000 feet. 2. The Grampians, a well-defined, but branching range running across the country-the highest peaks of which are Ben Cruachan, Ben Nevis, Ben Avon, Cairngorum, Cairntoul, and Ben Macdhui-the last 4390 feet. 3. The Central or Lowland Group, the component chains of which are the Ochil, Sidlaw, Campsie, Lomond, Pentland, and Lammermuir Hills-the highest point being Ben Clach in Clackmannan, 2359 feet. 4. The Cheviots, with their continuation the Lowthers, &c. that form the great water-shed of Southern Scotland, none of which exceed 2700 feet. All these chains or groups cross the country, and preserve a wonderful degree of parallelism: indeed, taking the Forth as the central depression of a vast trough, the edges of which are formed respectively by the Grampians and Cheviots, all the other hill-ranges, both geologically and in point of altitude, may be looked upon as so many descending steps to the centre. There are no great plains in Scotland, a feature not to be expected from the limited extent and peculiar configuration of the country. There are, however, a number of considerable valleys, known as carses, straths, haughs, and dales, intermediate between the mountainranges; and these form, as it were, the granaries of the country. The principal of these are, Strathmore-that. is, Great Valley'-lying between the Grampians and Ochils, and extending through part of Perth, Forfar, and Kincardine; the Carse of Gowrie on the north of the Tay; Strathearn, lying along the course of the Earn to where it joins the Tay; the Carse of Stirling and Falkirk, in the valley of the Forth; the Howe of Fife, lying along the Eden; Clydesdale; and the Merse of Berwick. The cultivated grounds, which form scarcely a third of the whole surface, chiefly lie in tracts sloping to the sea-coast, and in the lower parts of these vales. The less precipitous hilly districts are chiefly occupied as pastoral ground for sheep and cattle. Wood, which once covered a large portion of the surface, is now chiefly confined to the neighbourhood of gentlemen's seats, and to plantations which have been raised within the last sixty years for the protection of arable lands from the cold easterly and north-easterly winds. Superficially, the country may be described as mountainous and rugged-its central and southern districts, however, exhibit less of this character; hence the common distinction of Highlands and Lowlands. A line drawn from Aberdeen to Glasgow may be regarded as the boundary between the two regions-the former a country full of romantic scenery, savage precipitous mountains, lakes, dreary moorlands, rushing streams, deep glens, and wild hanging woods; the latter being less elevated and irregular, but still presenting several considerable mountain-ranges. A more correct division, perhaps, would be into northern, central, and southern regions: the first comprising the Highlands proper; the second that triangular space enclosed by the line drawn from Aberdeen to Glasgow, and another line formed by the courses of the Clyde and Tweed; and the third region all the counties to the south-west of these rivers. The principal mountain-ranges and groups are:-1. Those north of the Caledonian Canal, an irregular and rugged conformation, of which the highest points are No, 65, GEOLOGICAL STRUCTURE. The rock formations of the country commence with the earliest primaries, and if we except a few insignificant and dubious patches, terminate with the coalmeasures, or the immediately overlying new red sandstone. The Highlands constitute one of the best examples of a primary country, whose strata are contorted and disrupted into a thousand irregularities by effusions of granite, greenstone, and other early igneous rocks; and with the exception of a small secondary basin in the plain of the Tweed and along the Solway Firth, the same remark is applicable to all the southern mountainous part of the country. The secondary formations-old red sandstone, carboniferous limestone, and coal-measures, with their associated traps and basalts-occupy the central portions of the country, forming a broad band, which is bounded on the north by a line drawn from Stonehaven to the mouth of the Clyde, and on the south by one drawn from Dunbar to Girvan in Ayrshire. In this band or trough, which slopes from both sides to the Forth and Clyde, occur the coal, limestone, and ironstone, which, within the last thirty years, have so much contributed to the commercial advancement of Scotland. The chief mineral produce of the country consists of excellent granite, as that of Aberdeen and Kirkcudbright; marble, as that from Assynt; slate from Ballahulish, &c.; limestone in almost every county; building 225 |