42 



"Gone are those days of chivalry and hive, 

 When in these courts the mail-clad Knight was seen, 

 Eager with sjiear and burnished shield to prove 

 His arm redoubted in the niiniic scene 

 Of warlike tournament ; while forms I ween 

 Of fairy loveliness were smiling round, 

 Enhancing with their beauty, grace, and mien, 

 The sight romantic ; and each varied sound 

 That rose from that fair throng, made it enchanted ground." 



Raglan Castle has been admirably built, and its contour indicates that it 

 was designed by a mind educated in the principles of fortification and defence. 

 The stone employed is " Old Red Sandstone " for although the colour is grey, 

 nevertheless it is the best or upper lying portion of the " Old Red Sandstone " of 

 Geologists. It has in all but a few places, withstood the vicissitudes of climates 

 for centuries, being in many places remarkably well preserved, and exhibiting 

 traceries and angles finely cut : — such as the Machiacoulis parapets, over the 

 Towers, at the entrance — But when we are informed that there is no trace of any 

 large quarry in the neighbourhood ; when the nearest navigable river — the Wye — 

 is eight miles distant at Monmouth and twelve miles at Chepstow — and when we 

 consider the fact that one century after the demolition of the Castle the bark was 

 stripped off the forest trees, and the trees allowed to decay, because the owners 

 could not for want of roads, bring the timber into any market ; and that travellers 

 prayed for a speedy deliverance from the perils of the roads, we cannot help 

 asking in our surprise — Where did the mass of stone building material come from, 

 and how was it transported ? 



Upon the signal of the horn to muster and retrace our steps towards the 

 Railway Station, it was not without reluctance that our party assembled. They 

 took their departure gratified with the care and attention bestowed upon the 

 noble pile of ruins by the agents of its owner, and gratified at having been 

 allowed to look upon Raglan Castle. The journey homewards was by Usk — 

 which also possesses a ruined castle. The position of Usk was such as to have 

 been a station selected by the Roman Intelligence officer for the " Second Legion 

 of Augustus." At Usk Railway station a botanist observed in the station-master's 

 garden a Tamarisk tree in blossom — the same tree so well known on our sea coast. 

 The journey through the county of Monmouth — famous for its forest trees- 

 terminating with the scenery of the Blorenge, Little and Great Skirrid (Iscareth, 

 separation). The Sugarloaf, and the Black Mountains (upon whose northern 

 summit runs the boundary line between Herefordshire and Breconshire, that 

 between Herefordshire and Monmouthshire being upon their southern extremity 

 under the name of the Hatteral Hills), all viewed in the evening, formed a 

 subject for quiet contemplation, and when the party reached Hereford, they had 

 added another happy day to the history of the excursions of the Woolhope 

 Naturalists' Field Club. 



The following is a list of the members and visitors who attended : — The 

 President, Mr. G. H. Piper, F.G.S. ; Vice-President, Rev. D. Price. Ladies : 

 Mrs. Arthur and Miss Eleonora Armitage, Mrs. G., and Miss C, and Miss L. 

 Bainbridge, Mrs. and Miss Baker, Mrs., Miss Rhoda, and Miss Ruth Barker, 



