AN EXCURSION TO THE SUBMARINE FOREST, CHESHIRE. 11 



and had we not been wet through with the rain, and half frozen by the cold, 

 we might have at once fallen into a reverie among the ruins of fallen greatness 

 around us. There extended the roots of a mighty tree, that might once have 

 been the monarch of the forest, and all around were the remains of trees of smaller 

 growth, once the haunts of happy choristers, but now how changed the scene ! 

 There was, however, no time either to moralize or poetize. Our party scattered 

 itself in various directions upon this forlorn beach, which was covered with the 

 stumps and roots of trees, and the remains of their branches scattered in all 

 directions, buried and kept in their situations by a deposition of mud. The 

 shore in this situation inclines very gradually, so that an immense tract of ground 

 is exposed at low tide. The remains of the forest extend for several hundred 

 acres along the shore between the Dee and Mersey. I picked up several speci- 

 mens of wood in a tolerable stale of preservation. One of our party found the 

 lower jaw of a fossil Elk. Some teeth and small bones were picked up by others, 

 but such was the pitiless beating of the storm that it discouraged the energies of 

 the most undaunted, and we accordingly made the best of our way to Leasowes 

 Castle, which, though the residence of a private gentleman, is for the accommo- 

 dation of the public opened as a public-house. In the Castle there are some fine 

 rooms, and from its battlements an extensive view of the surrounding country is 

 obtained, commanding the Irish Sea, the distant mountains of Wales, and the 

 counties of Cheshire and Lancashire. In the hall were some shells, animals, and 

 other objects of Natural History ; hanging upon the wall were three fossil heads 

 belonging to the Ruminant/ a. They were an Ox, an Antelope, and a Sheep, as 

 near as I could make out ; the head of the Ox and Antelope were of very large 

 size. The antlers of the latter were large and entire. Underneath these heads 

 there was an inscription stating that the heads were obtained from the submarine 

 forest, corroborating the truth of an old distich that states — 



From Burkinly even unto Fulnee 



A Squirrel might leap from tree to tree. 



This district is now entirely under water. 



In one of the rooms of the Castle is the carved roof of the old star-chamber 

 from Westminster Hall, being a gift to the family possessing this mansion, 

 some branches of which have held offices in the Exchequer. In another room 

 was a full length painting of William the Third, and underneath the following 

 inscription : — " William III. embarked from these Leasowes on the expedition 

 to the Battle of the Boyne." 



Having looked over the house, and dried our clothes, we were summoned to a 

 very welcome repast, which the liberality of our Liverpool friends had provided. 

 Our party had by this time become mutually acquainted, and I think I may 

 venture to say that no party brought together in an accidental manner could 



2c 



