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412

SANDGATE CASTLE.

Close to the town stands a Telegraph, the first of the twelve that connect the Downs with the Admiralty-office, Westminster, the distance being seventy-two miles. The period of communication up to London, at an average, is ten minutes; but the atmosphere being at one time very clear, the men employed there, assured us, that a message was sent up, and an answer returned, in fifteen minutes! The telegraph is by no means a modern invention. Something of this kind is supposed to have been in use even so far back as the Trojan war; for a Greek play begins with a scene, in which a watchman descending from the top of a tower in Greece, gives the information that Troy was taken-" I have been looking out these ten years (says he), to see when that would happen, and this night it is done!" Under different forms it certainly existed among the ancients. The Marquis of Worcester also mentions it in 1663, in his Century of Inventions; but it was never much used till the French revolution, when, being revived, it has undergone several alterations, and has been brought to great perfection. We next meet with Deal Castle, of a singular form, having walls of enormous thickness, with the naval hospital, the military hospital, and the royal barracks, each of which boasts of a healthy situation. Close to the town is also Sandgate Castle, where, on the restoration, the gallant Colonel Hutchinson was imprisoned, and here he died. His Memoirs, written by his wife, an admirable piece of biography, has been already noticed.

LANDING OF JULIUS CESAR.

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The high road from Deal to Dover passes through the village of Walmer, whose CASTLE was the occasional residence of the late Right Honourable William Pitt, then Warden of the Cinque Ports. His father, the late Earl of Chatham, was at once the ornament and boast of his country.

But this spot is remarkable for being the place where Julius Cæsar is supposed to have landed, fifty years before the commencement of the Christian Æra, and by which circumstance the Romans obtained their first footing in this country. The account which Cæsar himself gives of it in his Commentaries, is interesting, and shall be transcribed from Duncan's translation:

"The Barbarians (that is, the English), perceiving our design, sent their cavalry and chariots before, which they frequently made use of in battle, and, followed with the rest of their forces, endeavoured to oppose our landing. And, indeed, we found the difficulty very great on many accounts, for our ships, being large, required a great depth of water, and the soldiers were wholly unacquainted with the places, and had their hands embarrassed; and, loaded with the weight of armour, were at the same time to leap from the ships, stand breast-high amidst the waves, and encounter the enemy; while they, fighting upon dry ground, or advancing only a little way into the water, having the free use of their limbs, and in places which they perfectly knew, could boldly cast their darts, and spur on their horses, well inured to that kind of service. All these circum

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LANDING OF JULIUS CESAR.

stances serving to spread a terror among our men, who were wholly strangers to this way of fighting, they pushed not the enemy with the same vigour and spirit as was usual for them in combats on dry ground. CESAR observing this, ordered some galleys, a kind of shipping less common with the barbarians, and more easily governed and put in motion, to advance a little from the transports towards the shore, in order to set upon the enemy in flank, and by means of their engines, slings, and arrows, drive them to some distance. This proved of considerable service to our men, for what with the surprise occasioned by the make of our galleys, the motion of the oars, and the playing of the engines, the enemy were forced to halt, and in a little time began to give back. But our men still demurring to leap into the sea, chiefly because of the depth of the water in those parts, the standard-bearer of the tenth legion, having first invoked the Gods for success, cried out aloud,— "Follow me, fellow-soldiers, unless you betray the Roman eagle into the hands of the enemy; for my part, I am resolved to discharge my duty to Cæsar and the commonwealth." Upon this he jumped into the sea, and advanced with the eagle against the enemy, whereat our men, exhorting one another to prevent so signal a disgrace, all that were in the ship followed him, which being perceived by those in the nearest vessels, they also did the like, and boldly approached the enemy. The. battle was obstinate on both sides; but our men, as being neither able to keep their ranks, nor yet

LANDING OF JULIUS CÆSAR.

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firm footing, nor follow their respective standards, because, leaping promiscuously from their ships, every one joined the first ensign he met, were thereby thrown into great confusion. The enemy, on the other hand, being well acquainted with the shallows, when they saw our men advancing singly from the ships, spurred on their horses, and at tacked them in that perplexity. In one place great numbers would gather round a handful of Romans, others fall upon them in flank, and galled them mightily with their darts; which Cæsar observing, he ordered some boats to be manned, and ply about with recruits. By this means the foremost ranks of our men having got firm footing, were followed by all the rest, when falling on the enemy briskly, they were soon put to the route. But, as the cavalry were not yet arrived, we could not pursue our advantage far in the island, which was the only thing wanting to render the victory complete."

Such is the account of JULIUS CAESAR's first landing in Britain; according to his own acknowledgment, the natives opposed him with bravery:

They fought, but not as prodigal of blood,
Or thinking death itself was simply good;

But in their COUNTRY's weal they placed their pride,
And as that bade they either LIV'D or DIED!

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Nor can the above extract be uninteresting to you, my young friend, who are anxious, at all times, to acquaint yourself with the history of your country.

416

WALDERSHARE, SEAT OF LORD NORTH.

In company with a kind friend, the Rev. B. M-n, who attended me to Deal, I passed through Waldershare grounds, and saw the seat of the late Lord North, who distinguished himself for his attempt to subjugate the American colonies. The house is large and spacious; and the park full of picturesque views. Close to a beautiful spot called the Wilderness, is a monument of considerable height, from the top of which is a charming prospect of the country. Statues of heathen deities were interspersed at various avenues, whilst the hare and the rabbit, springing from their retreats, bounded along with rapidity! A Chinese temple, placed in a secluded situation, though verging to decay, attracted my attention. The mind might here resign itself to the charms of reflection:

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With reason, and enjoy th' harmonions voice
Of conscious rectitude, whose soothing strain
Can iift the soul beyond what vulgar thought
Can distantly imagine!

DOWNMAN.

Not far from Waldershare is Fredville, the seat of John Plumptree, Esq.-in the park belonging to which are oak-trees, the most extraordinary for height and size in the kingdom. They are distinguished by appropriate names; but the most remarkable of them are those called Majesty, Stately, and Beauty.-Beauty is sixty-three feet from the ground, whilst the uniformity of its branches, and the regularity of its bark, are beautiful beyond conception. The circumference of this tree, five feet

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