The famous cavern called the Devil's A-e is at Castleton. Elden hole, a terrible perpendicular chasm or gulph. Pools Hole, a cavern, a mile West of Buxton, where are mineral waters, and perfect crystals called Buxton diamonds. Matlock baths, and petrifying (incrusting) waters, and mines. Chatsworth, the Duke of Devonshire's seat. Stoney Middleton caverns, called Bossen's hole, Bamforth hole, &c. Mines, mostly lead, at Winster, Bakewell, Ashborne, Wirksworth, Wensley, Eyam, Snetterton, Crumford, &c. Some copper mines. Iron works at Godnor, Chesterfield, Barton fields, New Mills, Plesley, and Staveley, &c. Coal-pits at Swanwich near Alfreton, Chesterfield, Hayner, Shipley, &c. All the limestone of Derbyshire abounds with petrifactions, as coralJoids, anomiæ, entrochi, &c. The Derbyshire marble is a mass of entrochi and other marine remains; the best of it is got at Moneyash and Rigley dale. The collieries have vegetable impressions. The mines abound with stalactites and spars, called stone icicles, drop-stone, dogtooth, spur, &c. with cubic and other fluors, called blue John stone, cauk, croyl stone, &c. and also called spars. Marcasites called Brazils. Mineræ

Bir

nearly the centre of England. mingham, and its several manufactories. Abounds with coal-pits, as at Sutton Coldfield, &c. Copper at Nuncaton; quarries at Long Compton, Shipston, &c. Iron works at Bromford, and Clifford.

Worcestershire. Worcester and its mauufactories. Iron works at Shelsley, Wildon, Pennyhole, Loverittiton, Woolversley, Cookley, Cradely, Lye, and Powick. Salt works at Droitwich. Many coal-pits in this county.

Oxfordshire. A stone county, every spot of it being full of stone quarries, and abounds with petrifactions. Ochre pits at Shotover hill. Quarries of Reddington yield fine selenitæ. Quarries of flag-stone, famous for its curious and elegant petrifactions at Stunsfield. Witney blanket manufac tory. The University. Blenheim House.

Buckinghamshire has many quarries that abound with petrifactions, as at the Brill, Ailesbury, Dinton Mill, &c. Chalk hills at Beaconsfield, &c. Lace manufactory at Newport Pagnel.

Middlesex. Return to London.
(To be continued.)

other ores, also various limestones, dun-stone, toad stone, black-stone, and cherts, i. e. petrosilices. Shale is another large stratum. Fine vases and urns are turned from the stalactites, and from a fine amethystine and crystalline fluor, which, with specimens of the black, the entrochus, and other marbles of this county, are sold to curious travellers by Mr. Watson at Bakewell. At Derby are famous silk mills.

Staffordshire. Dudley lime-stone pits abound with elegant petrifactions of coralloids, crustacea, and sheils. The Stourbridge clay, famous for its use in metallurgical operations, as lutings and bricks for furnaces. Iron works and ores at Walsal, Willenhall, Bilston, Wednesbury, Cannock, Brom wich, Little Aston, &c. a plating mill at Consal, and iron manufactories at Wolverhampton. A copper nine at Ecton. Coal-pits at Wednesbury, and in many other places. The navigable canals now making through this county deserve attention.

Warwickshire. This county is

view my late publication very favourably in your Mag. for Septem ber last, p.244, and at the same time to suggest to me the propriety of writ ing a novel, delineating Welsh peculiaries; I beg leave to inform you that I have nearly completed a Tale, tending to illustrate that object, and similar in principle to the "Tales of my Landlord."

A Correspondent, in a former Number, requested you to “ stir up” another Jedidiah Čleishbotham for the composition of "Welsh Tales,” a task replete with almost insurmountable difficulties. The Welsh of the present day possess not that marked nationality so peculiar to the Scotch, and which, united with their simple and expressive dialect, forms the principal beauties of the Scottish Tales. Now to introduce the Welsh language to the English reader would be absurd, as not one in ten thousand understand it; and to exhibit the English language as spoken by a native of Wales, would be too broad a caricature, and consequently unpleasant to a gene

rous

rous mind.

Another chief source of the delight which these fascinating Novels give to the mind is, that they are connected with important historical events. The History of Wales (if we except the civil war between Charles I. and the Parliament) presents no extraordinary revolution subsequent to the rebellion of Owen Glendower, which æra is too remote to be generally interesting as the theatre of a Novel.

Although, Mr. Urban, you may not have stirred up another Jedidiah Cleishbotham; yet, as the publick have long felt anxious for the appearance of Welsh National Tales, I have endeavoured to gratify their wishes; and if should honour first

tempt with their approbation, I shall continue a regular series of "Cambrian Tales." W. S. WICKENDEN.

Mr. URBAN,

THERE

Enfield, Feb. 9.

HERE is a great inconvenience which requires a remedy, and I know no channel so likely to convey one as the Gentleman's Magazine ;I mean the mischief that arises from the difference in which we write our sentiments, and the construction that is frequently put upon them. There are very few, I conceive, but must have experienced this in the course of their epistolary communications; and as for myself, I am now acting as umpire between two of the bestmeaning souls alive, arising from the misconceptions of each other's style. The one reads in an ill humour, but writes in a good one; whilst the other party is directly the reverse. I recommend an exchange of their tempers pro tempore, but would be most happy to find some permanent cure, or, perhaps, I should say, a preventa tive of this too frequent occurrence. With all due submission, I will suggest, that each Letter-scribbler should be furnished with a set of seals, with mottos or good sentiments upon them that shall always answer as a sort of preface to the matter within, and thus, without much trouble, we should attune the mind like any other instrument to the key we would wish; thus Love might indulge in the old game of flying Cupids, bleeding hearts, and the like; soldiers might preface a long petition to the commander in chief with an elegant trophy; or an old navy lieutenant might adorn his with

a pair of wooden legs as supporters; a judge, with an owl in spectacles; a merchant writing under succeeding impressions, might have a ship heavy laden coming into port; or a letter conveying a case of bankruptcy might communicate its unpleasant tidings by a broken pitcher. The mottos are numerous, and might serve to show the wit of the writer by the judgment of the selection; the engraver would find his account, the reader his, and the writer would be saved many unpleasantries, and run much less risk of having his letter read in a wrong

mood.

GOOD Mr. URBAN,

HE

ALPHABETICUS.

great heaviness in my head with which I am oftentimes visited, caused, as I formerlie intimated, by an unluckie horse belonging to Thos. Edgerly the Universitie carrier, is somewhat abated. I am becoming daily more lightsome, and the slowness with which during my late sad visitation I apprehended things that I read or heard, is gradually departing.

I therefore speed me in fulfilling my promise, aud forward to you, as below, a copie of a Letter sent by my worthie old friend Sir William Dugdale, sometimes Norroy King at Arms, but long since departed this life, to a gentleman of note in the Northern parts of England, touching the pedigree and pious acts of my Ladie Dutchesse Dudlie, who gave way to fate a'o d'ni 1668, at her house near the Church of St. Giles in Holburue. This said Letter, with manie mo'e much at your service, I bave fairlie transcribed from the MS volumes of Epistles Clarorum Virorum, heretofore mentioned to you. These volumes I carefully keepe in my withdrawing roome, and frequently peruse them at my leisure. Notwithstanding my old age, I often indulge myself with a romancy walke in the shady recesses near my place of habitation. Heraldry, music, and painting, still so crowd upon me that I cannot avoid them, and methinks I am carried on with a kind of strum, for nobody else hereabout hardlie cares for these vertuous studies, but rather makes a scorn of them. Saving my worthie friend R. S. who hath written a goodly tome (with the reading of which my tender affections and insatiable desire of knowledge were as

much

much ravished and melted downe as when the Antiquities of Warwickshire by Will. Dugdale first came to Oxon. a'o D'ni 1656), there is no one here to foster my genie, or encourage me in these my generous pursuits.

I am, worthie Mr. Urban, your yerie true friend, ANTH. à WOOD. Post-sc'ptum. My com'unications with Oxon. have long ceased on account of my infirmities, and I long much to know in what year Badger the Scholemaster, who married Pointer's daughter, marched off this stage. Vide my Life, p. 397.

"Honoured Sir,

Though I know very well that you do not want intelligence of such newes here, as is of most moment; yet, presuming that you will hardly have such an exact account of what I shall here tell you, I have adventured upon the relation, being very sure that it will not be unacceptable to you, and those other worthy persons with whom you are.

"It is of the exemplary piety and charity of a worthy Lady that died at her house, near the church of St. Giles in Holburne, upon the xxiith of January last, being then fourescore and ten years of age; and whose funerall is to be solemnized in very great state, about ten days hence, whereat I my selfe with three or foure more of my fellow-beraulds are to attend.

"She was second daughter to Sir Thomas Leigh of Stoneley in Warwickshire, Kat. and Baronet, and aunt to the now Lord Leigh: she was wife to the famous Sir Robert Dudley, sou to that great Earle of Leicester in Queene Elizabeth's time; which Sir Robert, for his extraordi nary parts was advanced to the title of Duke by Ferdinand ye second late Emperour of Germany, and resided in Florence many yeares after his departure out of England, about the beginning of K. James his reigue, having high respect from the Greate Duke of Tuscany, whilst he lived.

"She had divers daughters by this her husband, but all are dead, except ing the widdow of Sir Richard Leveson of Staffordshire (who was a Knt. of the Bathe of a great estate), she being now sole executrix to her mo ther.

"Sir Robert Holburne, the greate and learned lawyer, was husband to another of them; who prevailed so farr with the last King, when he was at Oxford in the late troublesome times, that, partly in consideration of the greate losses which Sir Robert Dudley had, by his departure out of England (for he sold Kennill worthCastle and other great possessions to Prince Henry, and never received any thing of moment for it), and partly for the services done by Sir Robert

Holburne and Sir Ric. Leveson to the

King in his great distresses; for these respects, I say, did the late King by his letters patent at Oxford, grant that this lady should enjoy the title of a Dutchesse, and be called Dutchesse Dudley during her life, and her daughters to have place as ye daughters of a Duke.

"Haveing thus related to you her parentage and marriage, I now come to tell you of her pious and charitable workes (I meane the most observable; for many other she hath in her lifetime done, which I here passe by.)

"About thirty yeares since, she gave to the Church of Stonely in Warwickshire (that being the place of her birth), and to the Courches of Mancetter, Leke-wotton, Ashow, Kenilworth, and Monk-kirby, in the same county, twenty pounds per annum apiece, for an augmentation to the poore vicaridges of these respective churches. Moreover she bestowed on each of the said churches, and likewise upon the Churches of Bidford in the same shire, Acton in Middlesex, St. Alban's in Hertfordshire, Patshull in Northamptonshire, and St. Giles in the Suburbs of London, diverse pieces of faire and costly plate, to be used at the celebration of the holy Com'union in each of them.

And having contributed very largely towards the late new building of the said church of St. Giles, she thereunto gave ye greatest bell, there to be tolled upon such daies of execution which should be at Tiburne, to ye end that good people might be the better put in minde to pray for those prisoners who were then to suffer death. And besides all this, she purchased and new built a faire house, neare the same church (worth at least thirty pounds per annum), and gave it for a perpetuall mansion to the incumbent thereof.

"Having