1 6 DOVE DALE REVISITED 



" Dried is that fount, but long may this endure 

 To be a well of comfort to the poor. " 



Ham Hall is a handsome building in the 

 Tudor style, with a flag tower, and the grounds 

 surrounding it are charmingly laid out, bordered 

 as they are by the river, and above that a most 

 lovely background of woodland scenery just 

 now in full foliage, and only beginning to show 

 the autumnal tints ; it will be still more lovely 

 when the approaching Indian summer occurs, 

 if such a season should occur in this hitherto 

 gloomy autumn. 



There it is that the river Manifold oozes out 

 of the earth after a subterraneous journey of 

 about five miles, and a few yards above it 

 emerges another river, the Hamps. The latter 

 sinks into the earth a little above the bridge at 

 Leek, six miles west of Ham. The Manifold dis- 

 appears near Wetton Mill, five miles northward. 

 The waters of the two rivers differ in tempera- 

 ture at their emergence by about two degrees, 

 so that they do not anywhere intermingle. In 

 flood-time, I am told, the Manifold and Hamps 

 unite about four miles above Ham, and, despite 

 their underground courses, rush down the old 

 original bed, which at other times is quite dry. 



