An Account of some antient Trumpets, dug up in a Bog near Armagh. By Arthur Browne Esq Senior Fellow of Trinity College, Dublin.-Four trumpets had been dug up by a Mr. Pooler, one of the Primate's tenants; and their antiquity, it is stated, appears from the peculiarity of the metallic composition, which is different from any of modern times, and from the parts being joined entirely by rivets. The form of these instruments. resembles that of the cornu rather than the tuba. One of them, after having been made wind-tight, produced a tremendous sound, which might be heard at the distance of several miles. A plate is given, representing one of the trumpers, which measures four feet in diameter; and which is conjectured to be the Dudag or Skeh trumpet of brass, mentioned by General Vallancey.

With this paper the volume closes; and our readers will form their estimate of its merit from the account which we have now presented to them.

ART. X. Excursions from Bath. By the Rev. Richard Warner. 8vo. pp. 346. 8s. Boards. Robinsons.

2 Vols.

ART. XI. A Tour through the Northern Counties of England, and the Borders of Scotland. By the Rev. Richard Warner. 8vo. 18s. Boards. Robinsons.

ΤΗ

HOUGH these works made their appearance at different times, yet, being of the same nature, we present them together to the notice of the reader. Our guide in these wanderings is not a stranger to us, for we have already had frequent occasion to pronounce on his labours; and they afforded much promise, which has been substantiated in the volumes now lying before us. The circuit of his excursions takes us through parts of the country which are thickly strewed with objects of curiosity, natural and artificial; rich in beautiful scenery; and abounding with magnificent edifices, which disclose vast treasures to the man of science and of taste. survey made of them, and the account of it here given, are highly creditable to Mr. Warner's judgment, discrimination, and powers of description; and much praise is due to him for the great pains which he seems to have taken, to qualify himself for the difficult task on which he entered. In order to execute it properly, it was necessary that the author should be acquainted with the outlines and principles of many branches

The

*For Mr. W.'s former tours, see Rev. N. S. vols. xxvi. p. 9. xxxi. p. 183. and xxxiv. p. 156; and for his History of Bath, see our last volume, p. 225.

of.

of knowlege, with those of natural history, mineralogy, chemistry, the various styles of architecture, landscape-gardening, sculpture, and painting; as well as with those of our ecclesiastical, civil, and military antiquities. We thank Mr. W. for the brevity which characterizes his descriptions of rural scenes, for not descending into too great minuteness, for being contented to sketch only general outlines, and to exhibit lead ing features. We shoul', indeed, hold up his conduct to the imitation of others, were we not apprehensive that it may be deemed a still farther improvement to introduce descriptions of this nature yet more rarely. Had he done so, and had he been more particular in establishing the relative positions of his scenes of rural beauty, we should have considered his vo lumes as not the less valuable.-His style, though generally correct, wants somewhat of that ease and simplicity which so peculiarly suit this species of composition.

Mr. Warner observes, in his Excursions from Bath*, that, in the high season, there is a resort to this city not generally known, that of beggars; of whose habits and proceedings he gives an interesting account. Holloway, a village near to the city, is their head-quarters; as well as those of some poor quadrupeds whose sufferings thus call forth the amiable sentiments of the author:

Together with shelter for the beggar, it affords a nocturnal retreat for a much more useful class of beings, the animals employed in the conveyance of coals from the pits to Bath. Wearied and panting with the labour of the day, here the wretched beasts are driven by crouds, as the evening closes, into yards hired for the purpose, not so much for the sake of rewarding their services with rest, as to prevent their escape from the toil of the morrow. As they pick a scanty pittance from the ditches and hedges during the day, the inhuman master thinks himself exempted from the necessity of giving them food at night; and what is still more barbarous, never removes from their backs the heavy and incumbering wooden saddle on which the coals are packed, but suffers it to continue girded on for weeks together, inflaming and increasing those galls which its pressure originally occasioned. The meek and unresisting are the objects on which cruelty and cowardice most delight to exercise their tyranny, for reasons sufficiently obvious; and the unfortunate ass is chiefly employed in the business of transporting the coals from the pits to the city. Full oft has my heart bled for this little, wasted, panting wretch, staggering under its unconscionable burthen, and labouring up the steep streets of Bath; now dropping

Mr. W.'s routes were from BATH to Hindon, Frome, Stourhead, Salisbury, Warminster, Trowbridge, &c.-BATH to Chippenham, Malmsbury, Badminton, &c. -BATH to Bristol, Frocester, Stroud, Cirencester, Wooton-under-Edge, &c.

with fatigue, and again urged to exertion by reiterated blows. Inhumanity in every shape is odious to the feeling bosom, but it never assumes so much deformity as when exercised against the helpless and the patient; nor is honest indignation ever more praise-worthy, than when it is levelled at the tyrant in the little way."

On the subject of canals, Mr. W. introduces an observation which the lovers of fine scenery may find it worth while to notice: General as these means of communication between distant parts are now become throughout England, it has often struck me, that a great part of the natural beauties of our country might be seen to advantage by pursuing their banks; as the canals must necessarily follow the involutions of the vallies, the traveller would of course be led through all their romantic scenery, and be gratified with pictures, which a bird'seye view from a hill must rob of half their effect, and which a turnpike-road will seldom afford him.'

Every reader will approve the author's neat and forcible vindication of a favourite pursuit :

Lightly as the antiquarian taste is esteemed, and much as it is ridiculed, it notwithstanding opens no mean sources of gratification to the man who cultivates it rationally, and leads to consequences interesting to society, and beneficial to the individual. Did the enjoyment of the antiquary consist in the unmeaning contemplation of unintelligible fragments, and time-eaten stones, it would be fair to consider him as senseless as the objects to which he directs it but when the remains of ancient days awaken curiosity, and excite research; when they induce inquiries into the manners and customs, opinions and practices, of former times; when they lead to a comparison between the state of the arts amongst our fore-fathers, and with us their descendants; when they are brought to the illustration of historical difficulties, or distant events; above all, when they entice the mind to sober reflection, and to a fair estimate of our present state, the evanescence of all human labours, and the vanity of all human schemes, the pursuit then assumes a more dignified aspect; it asserts the praise of contributing not. only to the entertainment, but to the information, of the community; it strengthens the religious principle, and makes the man better and wiser than he would be without it.'

Frome, a town of no great name, furnishes Mr. W. with an account which is honourable to British industry:

Here an agreeable appearance of bustle and business catches the eye, every thing indicates the presence of manufactories and trade; and the labouring men, women, and children, as deeply tinged as ancient Britons with a dark blue, discover the nature of the employment by which they get their bread-the dying and scribbling of the wool, and the weaving and shearing of the cloth of that colour. Frome has for many years been famous for working Spanish and

English

English wool into broad-cloths and kerseymeres; in the year 1789, three hundred and forty-eight thousand pounds weight of wool were wrought here into one hundred and sixty thousand yards of broadcloth and kerseymere, of which quantity the former article composed about four fifths; a business that employed two hundred and thirtythree scribblers, and two hundred and twenty-three shearmen. The quantity of wool manufactured here is since considerably increased; but the number of people employed is diminished, the introduction of machines having lessened, in a prodigious proportion, the call for manual labour. At present there are in the town of Frome twenty-seven manufacturers of cloth, who make, of broad, narrow, and kerseymere, about two hundred pieces weekly, of twenty eight yards each; or, calculating by a different measure, about one hundred and sixty miles of cloth, in length, every year.

The following slight sketch will shew you the process pursued in this branch of British manufactories, and, at the same time, give you an idea of the number of people, to whom we are obliged for every coat we wear:-The English fleece is sorted, according to its different qualities, by the woolstapler, and the Spanish has all its pitch marks clipped off. It is then carried to the dye-house, and when cleansed from its impurities, (by scouring it in a furnace of hot water) dyed, and returned to the manufacturer; afterwards scribbled; carded, and spun into yarn by machinery; twisted; woven in the loom; burled, by nipping off its knots and burs; milled by the fuller; dubbed with cards of teazle; stretched on the tenter hooks; dressed; sheared; pressed between heated planks and press paper; and packed for the markets.'

Speaking of Maiden Bradley, the seat of the Duke of Somerset, the author

says;

I need not tell you, that I entered this pile with particular veneration, when you know that it holds the sacred dust of a patriot, to whose exertions my countrymen owe, in a great degree, that palladium of British freedom, the Habeas Corpus Act; which precludes the rigours of arbitrary imprisonment, by obliging the judge, under severe penalties, to grant a writ at the request of every pri soner, directing the jailor to produce him in court, and to certify the causes for which he was committed. This character was Sir Edward Seymour, a senator who made a conspicuous figure in the reigns of Charles II. William, and Anne. It is true, indeed, that in other respects he inclined to Toryism; but the rigid integrity of his political conduct entitles him to our respect, though we cannot admire his creed; and he at least claims a merit that every statesman cannot boast, of having preserved an unvarying consistency during his whole career, in those sentiments which he avowed on his entrance into public life, and of never having sacrificed his principles for the sake of retaining his place, or extending his influence. The monument of Sir Edward Seymour is of marble, and contains the figure of the senator in a reclining attitude, and resting upon his arm. Above him are two Cupids, the one holding an inverted torch, as an emblem of extinguished life; the other, the figure of a serpent, as

the emblem of immortality. A long inscription commemorates his virtues, and the obligations which he conferred on posterity. He was born in 1663, and died in 1707.'

Mr. Warner here traces an outline of his political sentiments, which we cannot but approve; while we equally applaud the candour and moderation with which they are accompanied.

After having enumerated the valuable paintings at Berkeley castle, the author passes to the church, and mentions a memorial of Dickey Pearce, who, half a century ago, held an office then not uncommon in great families, that of the lord's buffoon or fool; and respecting whom this anecdote is told :

• Dickey sometimes availed himself of the practice of the seers of old, of imparting instruction by the means of sensible types instead of verbal communication. An ancestor of the present Lord B. having considerably diminished his property by expensive pursuits, Dickey began to fear that the whole of the noble patrimony would be dissipated, and the venerable castle, with its princely demesnes, be transferred from the family to strange purchasers. High as his privilege of speech was with my Lord, he could not, however, venture to expostulate with him on so delicate a subject; he therefore determined to bint to him the fatal consequences of his imprudences by a visible sign. Procuring a rope, therefore, he placed himself at the great gate of the castle at a time when he knew his Lordship would pass through it, and as he approached, began to apply the cord to the wall, as if he intended to surround the whole with it." What art thou doing, Dick?" said my Lord. Only tying a rope round the castle, your honour, to prevent its running away after — and

(estates which his Lordship had sold) to the top of Stinchcomb-hill.' His Lordship felt the force of the observation, and rewarded the droll with a piece of money for his foresight and wit.'

We must now turn from Mr. W.'s account of the beauties of Wiltshire, to the two volumes which lead us through the northern part of the island †; and here we have the same occasion to acknowlege the author's merits in describing natural scenery, and his judgment in the selection of objects. No spot which witnessed any great deed, or which bears relation to any illustrious character, is allowed to escape his notice; and a spirit of liberty, truly British, of the old stamp, such as cha

Objections may perhaps be made to the length of some of the author's catalogues of paintings and statues in the different seats here described but they are often accompanied by interesting his torical particulars and sensible reflections.

+ On this occasion, Mr. W.'s extensive line of march included parts of Glostershire, Worcestershire, Warwickshire, Derbyshire, Yorkshire, Durham, Northumberland, the Borders, the Lakes, Lancashire, Staffordshire, and Warwickshire and Glostershire again.

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