224 
remarkable is to be seen. Warwick stands on stony heights, on 
the banks of the river Avon, contains about nine thousand 
inhabitants, and though a very ancient city, has a tolerably 
agreeable appearance. The principal church has an ancient and 
venerable aspect, as also two gateways, the remains of the old 
city walls, now standing in the middle of the streets. The 
court-house is a new edifice, and as the town assizes were then 
holding, several splendid equipages were drawn up in front of it. 
I immediately afterwards proceeded to the castle close to the 
city. It is a very old building, the foundation of which, it is said, 
was laid before the conquest of England by the Normans; the 
walls and towers still standing, which environ the court-yard of 
the castle, are said to have been erected at that period. The castle 
stands upon a rock by the bank of the Avon, and commands a 
view of a surprisingly romantic country. At the foot of this an¬ 
cient castle, at the water’s edge, are the castle mills, which on ac¬ 
count of their venerable appearance, and the waterfall, caused by 
a dam in the river, greatly enhance the beauty of the scene. Be¬ 
hind the mill are to be seen the ruins of a bridge which led over 
the river, and is now overgrown with ivy. Quite in the back 
ground, one discovers the new bridge over which the road from 
Leamington runs. These groups produce an uncommonly pleas¬ 
ing prospect. 
On approaching the castle from the city, you see a gate with a 
Gothic tower, which serves as a habitation for the gate-keeper. 
Hence, after inscribing your name in a book, you continue on 
your way to the castle. This road leads through the park, and is 
mostly cut in the rock, the sides of w T hich are very picturesquely 
overgrown with ivy. 
On attaining an open space, the whole castle stands in view; 
it is approached over a stone bridge, through a gate furnished 
with a portcullis, and then you find yourself in a spacious court¬ 
yard, the castle standing to your left, in front, and to the right 
the lofty walls that surround the court-yard, studded with towers. 
Grated gates lead underneath the towers, to the park that sur¬ 
rounds the castle. I entered the castle up a handsome spacious 
staircase, and there I found the neat house-keeper, who for mo¬ 
ney and good words, shows strangers the interior of the castle. 
First you enter the great hall, the walls are lined with carved 
oak wood, and ornamented with scutcheons and ancient arms, and 
with three real colossal elk-horns, the largest of which was found 
in Ireland, and the other two in America. From this hall there 
is a fine view into a considerble suite of rooms, and from the win¬ 
dows the charming prospect of the Avon, and the before-men¬ 
tioned mills and bridges* 
From the hall you proceed into the ante-room; here I admir- 
