40 



"perfect diurn;il " of that operation, and the original letters between Cronnvell's 

 Generals — Colonel Morgan and Sir Thomas Fairfax — are published. Those who 

 would further pursue the stirring events of this period are recommended to read 

 the works of our own historians — Webb's "Civil Wars in Herefordshire;" 

 "Memoirs of the Civil War in Wales and the Marches," 1G42-49, by J. R. 

 Phillips; "Life of the 2nd Marquis of Worcester," by Henry Dircks, C.E., 

 published in 1805, by Bernard Quaritch, 15, Piccadilly, in which is a reprint of the 

 " Century of Inventions," a quaint book, showing Lord Herbert, son of the first 

 Marquis, and better known in history as the Earl of Glamorgan, to have been a 

 man of singularly scientific labours and ingenuity ; he, undoubtedly, amongst 

 numerous other engineering works, made use of an instrument of propulsion, 

 termed quaintly by him his " fire water- work," the prototype of the steam-engine 

 (see sixty-eighth article in the "Century of Inventions.") There is a good 

 historical account of Raglan Castle, by Charles Heath, who lived in the neigh- 

 bourhood of Monmouth from the year 1791, and in 1S25 published the results of 

 his many years' historical investigations. Mr. Raglan Somerset exhibited an old 

 book, dated London, 1647, called "England's Recovery," an interesting monument 

 of the history of that period. 



Perhaps we have lost many scientific papers owing to the ruthless destruc- 

 tion of the Library (esteemed one of the finest in Euro[>e) of Raglan Castle, and 

 undoubtedly have lost valuable papers connected with the public history of the 

 county from the fact of its owner being a " Governor of all South Wales." But 

 " Coxe's Monmouthshire," and Williams's Monmouthshire" have nevertheless 

 records preserved of which their county may be justly proud. The following 

 anecdote is from a work of the period : — "At the beginning of the Long Parlia- 

 ment there were certain rusticks who came into Ragland Castle to search the 

 castle for arms, my Lord being a Papist ; the Marquiss met them at the Castle 

 gate, and desired to know whether they came to take away his money ? seeing 

 they intended to disarm him : they answered, No, but what they did was because 

 he was a Recusant : — he said, he was a Peer of the realm, and no convict recusant : 

 and therefore the law could not in reason take notice of any such things ; and 

 further some sharp and dubious vv'ords coming from the Marquiss, they were at 

 last willing to take his word, but the Marquiss was not willing to part with them 

 on such easie terms, having before resolved to return them one fright for another, 

 which he thus effected : having carried them up and down the castle, he at length 

 brought them over a high bridge, that arched over the moat that was between the 

 Castle and the Great Tower, wherein Lord Herbert had lately contrived certain 

 waterworks, which when the several engines and wheels were to be set a going, 

 much quantity of water through the hollow conveyances of acqueducts, were to 

 be let down from the top of the High Tower, which upon the first entrance of 

 these wonderful assinegoes,* the Marquiss had given order that these catarrhacts 

 should begin to fall, which made such a fearful and hideous noise, by reason of 

 the hollowness of the tower and the neighbouring echoes of the castle, and the 

 waters that were between, and round them both, that there was such a roaring, as 



* A Portuguese word, meaning a young ass. 



