A809. ] 
ehasm, in our great national narrative, 
and of supplying the requisite colouring 
to many a character of which an outline 
only could there be given. . 
The subjects I shall have to notice are 
many and various; but my perambula- 
tions will be guided by some previous ac- 
guaintance with the objects of my pur- 
suit; and my remarks will be the result 
of personal observation, aided by some 
literary knowledge. The desolate gran- 
deur that marks the hills, and the pictu- 
resque beauties that distinguish the val- 
lies, the commercial activity of the towns, 
and the quiet gloom of the deserted fa- 
bric that is fast mouldering to dust, will 
each claim attention in its turn, 
_ Glocestershire appears, from the ear- 
liest times, to have been a conspicuous 
part of the kingdom, I will not take 
upon me to affirm, that the Aborigines 
inhabiting this tract, were-more civilized, 
or betterinformed, than their surrounding 
neighbours; but certain it is, that it made 
a more distinguished figure on the page 
of ancient, than it does on. that of mo- 
dern, history; and the estimation in 
which it was held by the Romans, is 
clearly indicated by the numerous enti- 
quities that have been discovered within 
its borders. On very many of the hills, 
traces of Roman encampments are still 
visible; nor is it improbable that the 
broken surface of some parts of the coun- 
ty, beautifully intersected with wood and 
water, induced many Romans of rank to 
-form settlements, in situations that bore 
some resemblance to the romantic irregu- 
larity of their native soil. The Britons, 
indeed, while under the Roman yoke, 
made some progress in civilization and 
the arts. Where, therefore, fragments 
of sepulchral memorials, baths, and tes- 
sellated pavements, have so frequently 
been excavated, many Romans, or Ro- 
manized Britons, must have dwelt. Ci-: 
rencester, we know, was their great 
metropolis, the resort of pleasure and 
amusement; while Glocester, and the bills 
above the Severn, were their strong mi- 
hitary positions. Several of their great 
Toads also crossed the county in many 
directions, and gave easy access to the 
different stations with which they com- 
municated. 
I need not here detail to you those 
causes that induced the Romans to quit 
Britain, after possessing it for near five 
centuries. Of the important changes that 
immediately succeeded this grand event, 
we have little knowledge. The empire 
of the emancipated Britons was soon en- 
Description of Cheltenham, and tts Vicinity. 367 
tirely abolished, and the reins of govern- 
ment’ seized, by the hardy and well-dis- 
ciplined Saxons. This province after- 
wards formed a part of the kingdom of 
Mercia, and it then became the seat of 
regal splendour ; for it 1s recorded to have 
contained no Jess than three royal habi- 
tations. These were situated at Winch- 
comb, Oxendon, and Kingstanly; the . 
first of which is now an inconsiderable 
town, and the two latter insignificant 
villages. I shall not, my good friend, 
trespass upon your patience, by tracing 
the regular history of the county dewn to 
the present period. It would, in truth, 
comprise but few circumstances of gene- 
ral interest. The various. castles that it 
once contained, evidence the power, opu- 
lence; and number, of its knights and 
barons; while the many religious institu- 
tions, of which it justly boasted, were a 
certain index of its fertility and wealth, 
The hand of Nature may, with justite, 
be said to have divided Glocestershire 
into four separate districts, that differ 
essentially, both in appearance, soil, and 
produce. The first of these is “ Cutes- 
wold,” or the hill part, which has been 
long celebrated for the number and ex- 
cellence of its sheep, The second is the 
“* Vale,” through which flows the Severn, 
whose banks are agreeably diversified 
with rich pastures, fruitful orchards, and 
extensive tracts of arable. land. The 
third division is commonly called the 
“ Bottoms;” and these, from the abun- 
dance of water with which they are sup- 
plied, have long been the seat of the 
woollen-manufactory. The fourth part 
isthe “Forest of Dean,” which is uni- 
versally known to be a royal domain, co- 
vered with valuable timber, and rich in 
mineral productiens. 
An extensive range of hills, clothed in 
many places with wood, stretches itself 
obliquely across the county, from the 
borders of Warwickshire and Worcester- 
shire to. the verge of Somersetshire. 
These are usually denominated froin the 
parishes in or-near which they are situ- 
ated; and as the high roads. frequently 
pass over them, the admiring traveller is 
presented witha rich variety of scenes, of 
great extent, and almost unequalled pic- 
turesque beauty. 
“Each district, however, possesses its 
appropriate characteristic features. ‘Those 
exhibited, by what is strictly termed 
-  Coteswold,” are dreary and wild in the 
extreme ; hence the traveller from the 
metropolis receives an unfavourable int 
pression from that part of the county 
which 
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Pate ae 
