MATLOCK MAUCHLINE. 



645 



lute, that, the days of chivalry were over; and it 

 was now a proof of patriotism to submit, to yield 

 to an unconquerable fortune, and wait for better 

 days. 



On the 20th of March, at break of day, a thick, 

 close column of eight hundred Austrian infantry 

 tppeared at the eastern, and six thousand at the 

 western gate. The most obstinate champions had 

 been dragged by main force, by their parents and 

 friends, from the gates where they had sworn to 

 fight to the last, and the Austrians entered undis- 

 turbed. 



Maria Louisa returned to her metropolis, to her 

 silent and sullen metropolis. Shops and windows 

 were shut up; at the theatre some of her courtiers 

 raised the cry, " Long live Maria Louisa;" but the 

 theatre was still as death. She confined herself 

 to her palace, surrounded by Austrians, and pro- 

 ceeded against the rebels. None could be arrested 

 but those who refused to fly. They were dragged 

 before a regular tribunal, and judged according to 

 the laws of the country. They underwent a long 

 inquisition, but no crime could be proved against 

 them. No witness could be found to testify, no 

 judge to pronounce a conviction ; the witnesses and 

 judges were Italians. Maria Louisa proclaimed an 

 amnesty, in which she excepted only twenty-one 

 individuals, against whom she entertained a perso- 

 nal antipathy. Rome and Modena proscribed their 

 subjects by thousands. 



Meanwhile, schooled by misfortune, the duchess 

 limited the number of her servants, gave up tra- 

 velling and building, and sold part of her jewels. 

 Private and public chagrins preyed upon her mind. 

 One of her favourite ministers was stabbed in 

 l.'/oad daylight in one of the most populous squares. 

 Her Austrians had daily quarrels with her Italians. 

 Earthquake, famine, and cholera, successively 

 ravaged her states. The people murmured, as if 

 she had been guilty of all public calamities. She 

 was called to Vienna, after a short lapse of time, 

 to see her first-born pine slowly, and die in her 

 arms. A few years afterwards, she received the 

 last breath of the emperor, her father. Her health, 

 undermined by the long indulgence of a disorderly 

 life, was now shaken by the repeated strokes of 

 adversity. She had lived too fast ; she had soon 

 reached her end. We know but little of the par- 

 ticulars of her death. It took place in 1837. 

 According to the statement of the newspapers in 

 which the event was announced she appeared to 

 have died at peace with heaven, and pardoned by 

 her subjects. 



MATLOCK ; a village and parish in Derbyshire, 

 with a population in 1841 of 3782. The village 

 is finely situated on the eastern bank of the river 

 Derwent, 144 miles from London, and 42 from 

 Manchester. The church, an ancient building, 

 dedicated to St Giles, is romantically situated on the 

 verge of a rock; living, a rectory ; patron, the dean 

 of Lincoln. The inhabitants are chiefly employed 

 in the cotton manufactories and leadmines in the 

 neighbourhood. Matlock Bath, about a mile and 

 a half S.S.W. from the village, may be considered 

 a* a distinct village of modern date, it having 

 originated since the discovery of the tepid mineral 

 springs here, or rather since the period when they 

 acquired reputation, which was about 1698, soon 

 after which they were enclosed, and buildings were 

 erected near them for the accommodation of visitors. 

 There are three bathing establishments, namely, 

 the Old Bath, the Ne\v Bath, and the hotel. Hot, 



cold, vapour, and shower baths have also been fitted 

 up for public use at the base of the rock, called the 

 Heights of Abraham, and these are termed the 

 Fountain Baths, from an ornamental fountain which 

 has been formed in the garden. . Many of the in- 

 habitants are employed in converting the spars or 

 calcareous incrustations found here into ornamental 

 articles. 



MAUCHLINE ; a town and parish in the county 

 of Ayr and district of Kyle. The parish is about 

 seven and a half miles iu length, and from two 

 to four in breadth. Formerly, it was of much 

 greater extent, embracing the whole of what now 

 forms the three parishes of Mauchline, Sorn, and 

 Muirkirk. Before the reformation, the lands of 

 Mauchline belonged to the monks of Melrose, but 

 in 1606, they were granted to Hugh, lord Loudon, 

 and the town of Mauchline was erected into a free 

 burgh of barony. In 1631, the district which now 

 forms the parish of Muirkirk was detached from 

 Mauchline, and in 1636, the district which now 

 forms the parish of Sorn was also detached, and 

 both made separate parishes, thus reducing the 

 parish of Mauchline to less than a fifth of its former 

 magnitude. The soil of Mauchline is in general 

 good, though, except in a few favoured spots, it is 

 more noted for the excellent quality, than the 

 abundance of its agricultural produce; there is 

 only one small patch of moss-ground in the parish, 

 that which still marks the place where, in 1648, 

 was fought the battle of Mauchline-muir. Coal 

 exists in the district, though from the manner in 

 which its strata are broken up by a ridge of hills, 

 its position is somewhat uncertain, and none is 

 wrought at present. Abundance of fine red sand- 

 stone is found in the parish, of which most of the 

 houses are built. The land is divided into farms 

 of a moderate size, averaging about 100 acres each. 

 This parish possesses much picturesque beauty. 

 From the top of Mauchline hill, which terminates 

 the long ridge of Kyle, a pleasing prospect may be 

 obtained on both sides ; more particularly towards 

 the west may be seen Mauchline village, beautifully 

 situated at the foot of the hill; the ground thence 

 finely sloping towards the Ayr, which, at the bot- 

 tom of the valley, winds it way through the woods 

 'on to the sea;" the mansions of Ballochmyle, 

 Kingencleugh, and Netherplace, with their sur- 

 rounding woods, adorn the more immediate prospect, 

 while beyond the Ayr, the scene, enriched with the 

 finest forests, stretches away towards the hills of 

 Carrick and Galloway. The water of Ayr forms 

 the boundary of the parish for several miles, only 

 a small district of it being situated beyond the Ayr, 

 at the influx of the Lugar. The Ayr pursues its 

 course between banks, now of high and precipitous 

 rocks of fantastic forms, now opening up into fine 

 haughs and valleys, ai|d being everywhere clad 

 with wood, which grows to its very margin, and 

 finds root among its time-worn rocks, it presents 

 alternately scenes of romantic grandeur and of 

 beauty. The "braes of Ballochmyle," and the 

 " hermit-fancied coves " of Barskimming, have ob- 

 tained an enduring place in the immortal verses of 

 the Ayrshire poet ; and though his genius had its 

 birth amidst other scenes, yet those in Mauchline, 

 it must be allowed, were a "meet nurse for a poetic 

 child." 



Among the antiquities existing in the parish may 

 be mentioned, n portion of the old castle of King- 

 encleugh, which John Knox is said to have visited, 

 and where he dispensed the sacrament, it being 



