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of the windows rude inscriptions have been cut or scratched by 
prisoners, and the following is one :— 
“My glas is roon, tis time twas gone, 
“ For I have lived a gret space, 
“ And I am weary of the place.” 
The prison is mentioned by Howard, in his work on The 
Lazarettos of Europe. 
He relates that a man had been imprisoned here a year 
for a debt of only 3/-, which had been heavily increased by 
costs. At the beginning of the present century the Court and 
Jury Rooms were used for the parochial school. 
On the way to Newland a circular Camp leading to 
Bigsweir was inspected. It is described by Mr G. F. Playne in 
Vol. 6, page 236, of our Proceedings, as follows :— 
“The position is well suited for defence, the headland 
having a steep back round it, but the plateau is under 
cultivation, and there are no traces of entrenchments 
left.” 
It was from the summit of this hill that Wordsworth com- 
posed his beautiful poem, “On revisiting the Banks of the 
Wye a few miles above Tintern Abbey in 1798,” and as the 
first few lines describe so accurately the appearance of the 
country, I am sure you will pardon my giving them :— 
“Five years have passed ; five summers with the length 
Of five long winters! and again I hear 
These waters, rolling from their mountain springs 
With a sweet inland murmur. Once again 
Do I behold these steep and lofty cliffs, 
Which on a wild secluded scene impress 
Thoughts of more deep seclusion ; and connect 
The landscape with the quiet of the sky. 
The day is come when [ again repose 
Here, under this dark sycamore, and view 
These plots of cottage ground, these orchard-tufts, 
Which, at this season, with their unripe fruits, 
Are clad in one green hue, and lose themselves 
Among the woods and copses, nor disturb 
The wild green landscape. Once again I see 
These hedge-rows, hardly hedge-rows, little lines 
