57 



there, strewn upon the grassy slope, with a glorious prospect 

 around and beneath, the sun tempered by a pleasant breeze, 

 and all nature glowing with life and warmth, a delightful half- 

 hour was spent ; after which, with recruited energies, the party 

 started for the final ascent to the summit of the mountain. Only 

 those who have stood on similar isolated altitudes, under con- 

 ditions equally favourable, can form an idea of the magnificent 

 panorama which such an elevation commands. At their feet 

 lay the fertile plain of Cheshii-e, diversified with 



" "Woods and com-fields, and the abodes of men 

 Scattered at intervals " : — 



bounded by the hills of Grinshill, the Breidden, Long Mountain, 

 the Longmynd, Caer Caradoc, and the hills about Church 

 Stretton ; the long ridge of Wenlock Edge, extending 16 miles 

 in length, with the parallel escarpment of Aymestry Limestone, 

 on which Burton stands. In the blue distance might be dis- 

 tinguished the Arran Hills in ,Wales, those of Radnor Forest 

 and the Black Mountain on the borders of Hereford and Eadnor, 

 and even the remote Cader Idris is within the range of vision, 

 though the haze concealed it on the present occasion. The 

 height, taken by aneroid, was made to be 1320 feet. The 

 Wrekin is a great centre of igneous action, similar to that of 

 the Malvems, and, Hke that, has been the means of bringing 

 up the Coal, and rendering that important mineral available 

 for the use of man. The line of disturbance is traceable from 

 Lilleshall to the hills of Eadnor Forest. Standing on the 

 Bladder-stone, (explained as originally Balder-stone, in honour 

 of Balder, the Scandinavian deity) the highest point of the hill, 

 Mr. CooPEK, the Secretary of the " Severn VaUey Field Club," 

 pointed out the Geological featm'es of the surrounding district, 

 the Long Mountain of "Upper Silurian," capped with "Old 

 Red," the " Lingula Flags " of the Stiperstones, the so-called 

 *'Bottom Rock," or "Cambrians " of the Longmynd, the Breidden 

 Hills of " Lower Llandovery," with interbedded Trap, the Trap 

 of Caer Caradoc, and the "Wenlock beds," and "Aymestry 

 Limestones " of Wenlock Edge, and View Edge. A humerous 



