28i THE BKITISH ISLES. 



days is liinitecl to u few blocks of masoury, some of them 10 feet in height. In 

 its eastern portion, where the country, owing to the incessant wars of the Middle 

 Ages, no less than because of its natural sterility, has only recently been peopled, 

 the wall can still be traced ; but not so in the west, where the ploughshare has 

 almost obliterated it, so that it was not even easy to ascertain the sites of the 

 Roman stations.* In certain locahties, however, the ancient ditch, now over- 

 grown with grass upon which sheep browse, may still be seen. Two piers of a 

 bridge over the Northern Tyne are the principal ruins remaining of this ancient 

 work. Excavations have furnished antiquaries with medals and numerous inscrip- 

 tions, which have thrown much light upon the history of Great Britain whilst 

 under the dominion of the Romans.f Hadrian's wall was from 6 to 10 feet thick, 

 and averaged 18 feet in height. A ditch, 36 feet wide and over 12 feet in depth, 

 extended along its northern side, whilst a narrower ditch, with entrenchments, 

 accompanied it on the south. Fortresses, stations, and posts succeeded each other 

 at short intervals. The wall terminates in the east close to the town of Wallsend, 

 in the centre of the coal basin of the Tyne. 



The inhabitants of Northumberland, whose country has so frequently been a 

 bone of contention between Scotch and English, resemble their northern neighbours 

 in customs and language, and in the people, no less than in the aspect of the 

 country, do we perceive the transition between south and north. In the west, on 

 the other hand, the contrast is very great. The Cumbrians remained independent 

 for a considerable period, and, sheltered by their mountains, were able to maintain 

 their ancient customs. Even after the Norman conquest they talked a Celtic 

 tonn-ue differin? but little from that of the Welsh. Some of the noble families 

 of the country boast of their pure Saxon descent, and look down upon the less 

 ancient nobility of Norman creation. Amongst the peasants there were, and are 

 still, a considerable number of freeholders, or "statesmen," who have cultivated 

 the land they hold for generations past.+ These men were distinguished, above all 

 others, by their noble bearing, the dignity of their language, and the proud inde- 

 pendence of their conduct. Their number, however, has greatly diminished, for 

 the large proprietors are gradually absorbing the smaller estates. 



TorOGRAPHY. 



TTestmokei, AND, the smallest of these northern counties, is divided by the valley 

 of the Eden into two mountain districts, of which the eastern embraces some of 

 the most forbidding moors of the Pennine chain, whilst the western includes the 

 high peaks and deep ravines of a portion of the Cumbrian group. Within this 

 latter rises Helvellyn ('3,118 feet), the second highest of the English mountains, 

 and two large lakes, the UUeswater and the Windermere, add to its attractions. A 

 range of lower moorlands binds together these mountain districts. To the south of 

 this range, which is crossed by the Pass of Shap Fell, the rivers Kent and Lune 



* Thomas "Wriglit, " The Celt, the Roman, and the Saxon." 



t C-^'Uingwood Bruce, "The Roman Wall, Barrier of the Lower Isthmus." 



Î Wordsworth; Emerson, "English Traits." 



