$02 
BATH. 
ward, adorned with vafes and other ornaments,' in (tone- 
work ; and the afflux of water is fo great, that it is recei¬ 
ved at three different places, after many little agreeable 
falls, at the head of one of which there is a ftatue of Mo- 
fes down to the knees, in an attitude expreflive of the ad¬ 
miration he muff have felt after ftriking the rock, and fee¬ 
ing the water guilt out of it. The winding walks were 
made with great tafte, and in fome places they appear with 
little cliff's on one fide, and fmall precipices on the other. 
Lanfdown, near Bath, is one of the molt confpicnous 
and happily-fituated hills in the weft of England, and fa¬ 
mous for the number of ftieep fattened by its delicate her¬ 
bage. From hence we have a fine view of the Briftol 
Channel, city of Briftol, part of Wales, and great part of 
Gloucefferlhire, Worcefterlhire, and Wiltthire ; and there 
Is one point of view where the cities of Bath and Briftol 
are both feen at the fame time. 
Farley Callle, fix miles from Bath, is a curious piece 
of antiquity. If we may judge from the extent of its ru¬ 
ins, it feems ftirprifing fo little (hould be faid of it in hif- 
tory. The firft account we find is no farther back than 
the 16t‘h of Edward III. at which time Farley appears to 
have been the property of Lord Bergherlh; it was fold by 
his grand-daughter, the foie heirefs, with other eftates, to 
Kobert lord Hungerford, whofe coffin now lies, with four 
others, in the dormitory. 
At Stanton-Drew, eight miles from Bath, is another 
piece of antiquity, fuppofed to be the remains of a druid 
temple, much in the form of that at Stonehenge; confift- 
■ing of a circle of large pillars, about fix feet high, each 
of which feems to have made a diameter of ninety paces, 
though there is no appearance of a ditch. The remains of 
this monument, among the common people, bears the 
name of a Wedding , from a tradition, that, as a bride was 
going to be married, (lie and the reft of the company were 
chariged into pillars of ftone. 
Bath is nineteen miles north-eaft of Wells, twelve eaft 
of Briftol, thirty-nine north-weft of Salifbury, forty-one 
nearly foil th-w eft of Gloucefter, fixty-feven fouth-weft of 
Oxford, and 107 weft of London. Lat.51.23.N- Ion. 
a. 22. W. Greenwich. 
Bath Waters, [Bathonice aqua ; called alfo folis aqua, 
and badiza aqua .] The celebrated mineral waters of Bath. 
Dr. Cheyne accounts for the heat of this water by the fol¬ 
lowing experiment: firft mixing filings of iron, and the 
powder of fulphur, then working them into a pafte with 
water, and putting them into a cellar, under a cock which 
drops water gradually and (lowly, the pafte will ferment 
fo, that the water running from it (hall be of the fame 
heat and virtue with thofe of Bath, though not fo plea- 
fant, nor fo well fitted for medicinal ufes. Tournefort 
obferves, “ that the filings of iron will grow warm by 
fteeping in common water, but much more fo in fea-wa- 
ter; and, if powdered fulphur is added thereto, the mix¬ 
ture will burn.” Dr. Cheyne farther obferves, that the 
heat of Bath water is owing to a principle in itfelf, as is 
evident from its retaining its heat longer than any other 
water heated to the fame degree: that the fulphur in the 
Bath water is evident to the fenfes, for it is collected from 
she furfaces of the bath; and iron is manifeftly in it, as 
appears from the blue tindture which it (trikes when mix¬ 
ed with an infufion of galls; and by analyfis fea-falt is 
found in it. Mod hot mineral waters feem chiefly to con- 
lift of fulphur and iron, and to differ only as the fulphur 
or the iron predominates; where the fulphur moil abounds, 
they are hotter, more naufeous, and purgative. Accord¬ 
ing to the experiments of Dr. Bryan Higgins, a Winchef- 
ter gallon of Bath water contains, 
Of calcareous earth, combined with vitriolic dwt. gr. 
acid in the form of felenite - - 3 19^-5 
Of calcareous earth combined with acidulous gas o 22-5-5 
Of marine fait of magnefia O 22-J5 
Of fea fait 1 1475 
■Of iron combined with acidulous gas - o 0^5 
Acidulous gas, befides vvhat is contained in the above earth 
and iron, twelve ounces meafure ; and atmofpheric air two 
ounces. 
The four principal waters in England that poffefs any 
remarkable heat, are thofe of Bath, Buxton, Briftol, and 
Matlock. The firft of which raifes Fahrenheit’s thermo¬ 
meter from about 100 to 1 j 2; the fecond to about 8<5 ; the 
third to 76; and the laft to 66 or 68. Dr. Monro, in 
fpeaking of thefe waters, lhews the higheft degreeof heat 
attributed to them by the following phyficians, viz. 
Dr. Howard. Charleton. Lucas. 
The king’s bath, 
The hot bath. 
The crofs bath, 
113 
ii 6 
mol 
I Of Fahren- 
114 
116 
ii 9 
j> heit’s ther- 
10S 
no 
114J 
! mometer. 
And that, on evaporation, a gallon of them has been 
found to contain, of iron ^ or ^ parts of a grain; of 
calcareous earth, 22^ grains ; felemtes, 3grains; Glau¬ 
ber’s fait, 25! grains; fea-falt, 513 grains; which were 
mixed with an oily matter, but not more fo than is com¬ 
mon to all waters. From this and other accounts it ap¬ 
pears that the Bath waters are chalybeates, in which iron 
and earth are kept fulpended by means of aerial acid; 
and that they are impregnated with a fmall portion of fe- 
lenites, fea-falt, and either Glauber fait or vitriolated mag¬ 
nefia. It is from the combination of fulphureous gas, fea-. 
fait, See. that the Bath water is fo ufeful wherever the 
vital heat requires an increafe; nothing but iron can make 
fuch a fpeedy improvement as this water does in decayed 
conftitutions; and it is the foapinefs of it, from the union 
of its fulphur and iron, that relaxes fo as to give vent to 
gouty and other matters, by perfpiration. It is fafe and 
beneficial only when the vigour of the conftitution is re¬ 
duced, and when the vis vita: is to be reftored. Indeed, 
in all internal diforders, where iron and fulphur are pre- 
feribed, the internal life of this water is effedfual. But 
fuch is the tenuity of the fulphur and iron in thefe waters, 
from their perfedt folvend, the fixed air therein, that the 
niceft fealed cork cannot long retain the medical parts ; 
they are therefore moft powerful when drunk on the fpot. 
They operate by urine, and promote perfpiration ; and if 
drunk quickly, and in large draughts, they fometimes 
purge: but, if taken (lowly and in fmall quantities, they 
rather incline one to coftivenefs ; caufe a fenfe of heat; 
and oftentimes a heavinefs of the head; with a propenlity 
to deep, particularly on firft drinking them. Thefe wa¬ 
ters have been much recommended in diforders of the fto- 
mach and bowels; in the gout, nephritic complaints, rheu- 
matifm, palfy, particularly that fpecies which attacks 
plumbers, painters, manufacturers in lead, and variety of 
other complaints. They are likewife beneficial for ba¬ 
thing in; and for pumping on difeafed limbs. For from 
hence much relief is obtained from wandering or fixed 
pains, ftiffnefs of the joints, contractions of the tendons, 
wafting of the limbs, palfies, rheumatifms, &c. When 
taken internally, as they often heat on the firft ufing them, 
it is right to cool the body by taking a dofe or two of fome 
mild aperient medicine, and to live on a cooling regimen, 
before entering into a courfe of them, and for the pletho¬ 
ric, to lofe a few ounces of blood; and during thefe cour- 
fes to live regular, and, if inclined to be too coftive, to 
take occafionally a dofe of fome cooling phyfic. The fea- 
fon for drinking the Bath waters is whenever they are 
wanted ; for there is little or no fenfible difference in them 
at any one time compared with another. Many who have 
drank them for fome time, leave them off for a month in 
the hotteft weather, but cold conftitutions need not, for 
they find them rather better at that time. With fome 
perfons cold weather fuits the beft with their drinking it, 
efpecially when the feafon is dry, and in clear froft it is 
the beft of all. More than two pints in a day can never 
be required, which may be taken at three or four times, a 
few hou/s intervening betwixt each portion ; and in fuch 
chronical difeafes as require preparations of iron, the ar- 
* ’ tificial. 
