223. 
the fleepeft emirnences. A clear little 
fiream often appeared winding between 
high banks, fringed with willows and af- 
pins which dipped their hght branches in 
the waves. ‘The fides of the hills were 
enlivened with cottages of a moft comfort- 
able appearance, ftanding amid a profufion 
of flowers,and their fummits were crowned 
with the houfes of gentlemen and fubftan- 
tial farmers. Above thefe towered the 
blue, diftant, mountains, mingling with 
the clouds which fwept over their tops. 
The fky was mottled im fuch a manner as 
to prefent every beautiful variety of light 
and fhade, tranfient gloom and bright 
funny gleams, and the windings of the 
road gave us every moment a different 
profpect. In this delightful trag&t ftands 
the little town of Tenbury, with its yel- 
Jowifh walls and flated rocts peeping out 
among the wood. Its piéturefque rural- 
looking church rifes from the upper part 
of a little flope ; lower down are the 
houfes; the Teme winds by, and a mill- 
dam makes a little murmuring fall; a 
green mount crowned with wood backs 
the piciure—it would be impoftible to 
fancy a {pot more peaceful and lovely. 
The next objeét of attention is the town 
of Ludlow, which is built on the flope of 
a little hill, furrounded by much higher 
ones, forming two’ rings, one green and 
woody, the other blue and mingling with 
the clouds. ‘The Teme, {welled by the 
waters of the Corve and other rivulets to 
a confiderable fize, flows by the outfide 
of the walls, crofled by two handfome 
bridges, and fcaming over weirs of rude 
ftone which have all the appearance of 
ledges of natural rock. We climbed a 
fteep eminence on its farther fhore juft in 
time to fee the whole lovely view, the 
ftream, the town and caftle, the rich 
wooded plain, and diftant hills, tinged 
with the vivid hnes cf-a glorious fun-fet ; 
and lingered till the lat glimmer of twi- 
light in a fine grove of limes, winding 
round the venerable walls of the caftle 
down to the river’s brink, 
19fh, Being detained at Ludlow by 
the Hereford election which employed ail 
the chaifes, we Getermined to devote this 
day to a thorough examination of the 
caftle. After croffing an extenfive outer 
court, with half-ruined walls, we entered 
an inner one, in the midé# of which ftands 
a round tower, of beautiful Saxon archi- 
teéture, formerly part of a chapel. We 
then vifited a large {quare apartment, 
which muft have been that in which 
Comus was aéted. The roof is totally 
gone, as well 2s the floor which divided 
it from the cellar below; the wall is 
Fournal of a Welfh Tour. 
— [O@obert, 
broken in many places and overgrown with 
the moft luxuriant vegetation, and twa- 
elder trees, of great fize, ftand in the cen- 
tre of the hall. ~ : 
The apartment whence the fons of Ed- 
ward II1. were taken to be murdered, is in 
the fame ftate of decay. The towers of 
the caftle can only be fcaled with ladders, 
but a ftone ftaircate fill remains, by which 
we afcended the battlements, through 
whofe loop-holes we admired the fine 
profpect around us, and viewed the whole 
extent of the caftle, which is very large 
and muft formerly have been a place of 
great ftrength. There is a dreary dun- 
geon into which prifoners were let down 
from a hole many feet above, which we 
fhuddered to look at. Ludlow cafile, 
ruined as it now is, was alinoft in a habi- 
table condition in the memory of our 
guide; but about two years ago it was fet 
on fire by fome perfens for the purpofe of 
ftealing the lead, and thus the furniture 
and timbers were totally defiroyed. ‘The 
lower apartments are continually filling 
up with the ruins of the walls, and as the 
mortar is very bad, and the ftone of a 
crumbling argillaceous nature, it will not 
probably be many years before this noble 
and venerable ftruéture becomes an un- 
- diftinguifhed mafs of rubbifh. 
From the cafile we proceeded to the 
church, a large old building, the ftone of 
which have a purple hue, harmonizing ad- | 
mirably with the mofg and lichens by = 
which it is in many parts encrufted. It 
contains a great deal of painted glafs, and 
fome curious monuments, with figuresico- 
loured after the life, which have much the 
appearance of wax. There are feveral 
tombs of Earls Marchers and one of a Re- 
publican General. 
1oth. We leave Ludlow and proceed 
to Bifnop’s Caftle, feventeen miles. Our 
road thcn hes through the beautiful vale 
of Montgomery, crowned with the town 
and ruins of a large old caftle, and acrofs 
the Severn and its fertile plain, whence 
we had a fine view of the Breiddin hills, 
and Powis caftle, a large building of red 
ftone, ftarting up from its woods, on the 
fummit of a commanding eminence—to 
Welfh Pocl, a confiderable trading town, 
of a neat appearance, but exhibiting many 
of the charateriflic features of Wales~ 
The houfes are built of unhewn ftone; and 
the women univerfally adopt the long, 
heavy, blue cloak, and the round beaver 
hat, with a mcb-cap under it, the lappets 
of which are fuffered, in full drefs, to fall 
Joofely on the fhoulders. We purfued 
our journey through a wild country, with 
ftony roads and poor ftone cottages, to 
the 
