RAMBLE OVER DERBYSHIRE HILLS AND DALES. 5 ig 
detail. We wandered up the Dale as far as the Upper Cupola,* 
where we used our last plate for the day. The sun had set to 
us. though the upper portion of the view was still illuminated by 
his beams, and as it was too late to get any more work done, we 
retraced our steps to the ‘‘ Golden Ball,” and overtook Tillet half. 
way up Eyam Dale, tugging away at the cart, It was a stiff bit of 
work to finish off with. 
Eyam, standing on a rocky platform of considerable elevation, 
is approached by the steep winding road which runs up the rocky 
chasm of Eyam Dale, some half-mile in length ; and glad were 
we when the top was reached. It was seven o'clock before we 
arrived at Mrs, Fox’s, where we had arranged to stay during our 
sojourn at Eyam ; and after despatching a hearty tea, which 
included some genuine Derbyshire oat cake, we set out for an 
evening stroll, under the guidance of Mr. Wood. Passing along 
the western portion of the village, we visited the tomb of 
Humphrey Merril, which stands in a field about half-a-mile to 
the north-west of the church. The sun had set, and a gentle 
breeze, laden with the scent of new-made hay, stirred the grass 
‘that waved round this lone tomb. While contemplating the fate 
of Humphrey Merril, and listening to the quiet, but clear and 
interesting account ot the plague from our, friend, a pensive 
feeling came over us, and we-could’not but admire the heroic 
spirit and the self sacrificing principle which had induced him, - 
through all the horrors of the pestilence, calmly to await his own 
doom sooner than be the means of spreading the contagion to 
other parts of the country. All honour be to the memory of this 
brave man and his compatriots ; peace to their ashes and rest to 
their souls! By the twilight gleam, on the end of his tomb we 
could discern the initials “H.M., 1666.” He died on the ninth ' 
of September, one of the latest victims. 
Retracing our steps till we came nearly to the Hall, we turned 
off to Cucklett Dell, or the Delf as it is commonly called, the 
* Derived from the Saxon cupel-lowe, or wind-furnace, and still so pronounced 
by the natives of this locality. 
