serenest day I ever faw, being without all cloud, did to my thinking fee the place from whence it came. And now I fent my book to be printed at Paris at my own coft and charges *."

This blind and foolish conduct is warmly reproved by the late earl of Orford in his Royal and Noble Authors. "There is no ftronger characteristic of human nature, than its being open to the groffeft contradictions: one of lord Herbert's chief arguments against revealed religion is the improbability that Heaven should reveal its will to only a portion of the earth, which he terms particular religion. How could a man who doubted of partial, believe individual revelation? What vanity, to think his book of fuch importance to the cause of truth, that it could extort a declaration of the divine will, which the interests of half mankind could not!"

The fum of the character of lord Herbert has been thus drawn in few words. "He ftands in the first rank of the public minifters, historians, and philofophers of his age. It is hard to fay whether his person, his understanding, or his courage, was the most extraordinary, as the fair, the learned, and the brave, held him in equal admiration. But the fame man was wife and capricious; redreffed wrongs, and quarrelled for punâilios; hated bigotry in religion, and was himself a bigot in philofophy. He exposed himself to fuch dangers as other men of

*Life of lord Herbert, p. 172.

G 2

courage

courage would have carefully declined; and called in question the fundamentals of a religion which none had the hardiness to dispute but himself *."

*This account of the life and character of lord Herbert is compiled principally from his Life published by himself; Coxe's Hiftorical Tour in Monmouthshire; Pennant's Tour in Wales; Walpole's Royal and Noble Author's; and Granger's Biogra phical Dictionary.

CHAP. X.

MONTGOMERY TO WELSH POOL.

Welsh Pool.-Church.-Powis Cafle.-Hiflory of Powis Cafle, and Account of Powifland.

LEAVING Montgomery, I went over a rich champaign country, about ten miles, to Welsh Pool. I paffed on the left Powis caftle, fituated on the narrow ridge of a rock, about a mile from Pool. For three or four miles of the road this building is a ftriking object in the scene.

WELSH POOL

Is a large and populous place, and from its vicinity to England, it has affumed much the appearance of an English town. The houses are in general well built, and principally of brick. There is one long and handsome street, in which stands the county hall, an elegant ftructure, erected by fubfcription a few years ago. The manners of the inhabitants of this town are fo completely English, that even the language of the country seems scarcely known here. An air of opulence unufual in Wales may be obferved throughout the place, owing to the trade

in Welsh manufactures, which is carried on to a great extent. It is principally reforted to as a market for Welsh flannels, which are manufactured here, and in various adjacent parts of the country : from hence these are fent into England, and principally to Shrewsbury and Liverpool. The Severn is navigable to a place called Pool Stake, within a mile of Welsh Pool, although upwards of two hundred miles from its mouth in the Bristol channel.

The church, apparently a modern structure, is fingularly fituated at the bottom of a hill, and fo low, that the upper part of the church-yard is nearly on a level with its roof. This church has a chalice which was presented to it by Thomas Davies, fome time governor-general of the English colonies on the western coast of Africa. It is formed of pure gold brought from Guinea, and is valued at about a hundred and feventy pounds. Notwithstanding the evidence of its inscription to the contrary, the fexton informed me, with much affurance, that this chalice had been given to the church by a transported felon, who, from industry and application during his banish ment, had returned to his country the poffeffor of confiderable wealth.-I was fomewhat furprized in obferving in the choir a few branches of ivy that had penetrated the roof, and were permitted to hang entwined round each other in a cylindrical form, to a length of more than eighteen feet. The neatnefs of the place was not in the least injured by them,

them, and I prefume their fingularity was the caufe. of their prefervation.

POWIS CASTLE

Has been originally built of a reddish stone, but in order to keep the structure in repair, this has of late years been fo plaistered over with a coat of red lime, that at present very little of the ftone is vifible. This red coating gives to the building so much the appearance of brick, that it was not till I almost touched it, that I was undeceived in fuppofing it fuch. The antique grandeur of this castle is much injured by the great number of chimnies, and by the ftriking and harfh contraft betwixt the walls and the modern fash windows.

The ascent to the castle is up a long and laborious flight of steps, much out of repair when I was there; and the principal entrance is a gateway betwixt two large round towers. The edifice is kept in repair as an habitable manfion, but its owner very rarely vifits it. The apartments have a heavy and unplea- fant appearance, from the great thickness of the walls; and the furniture is chiefly in the ancient ftile of elegance. In fome of the chambers the old and faded tapeftry is yet left. There are, in different rooms, several portraits, chiefly of the family, the . beft of which are the work of Cornelius Janfon. Among them there is one of king Charles II. painted by fir Peter Lely, two of the earl of Strafford, one