II. What prospects, from his watch-tower high, Down his deep woods the course of Tees,1 And each huge trunk that, from the side, 1 The view from Barnard Castle commands the rich and magnificent valley of Tees. Immediately adjacent to the river, the banks are very thickly wooded; at a little distance they are more open and cultivated; but, being interspersed with hedgerows, and with isolated trees of great size and age, they still retain the richness of woodland scenery. The river itself flows in a deep trench of solid rock, chiefly limestone and marble. The finest view of its romantic course is from a handsome modern built bridge over the Tees, by the late Mr. Morritt of Rokeby. In Leland's time, the marble quarries seem to have been of some value. "Hard under the cliff by Egleston, is found on eche side of Tese very fair marble, wont to be taken up booth by marbelers of Barnardes Castelle and of Egleston, and partly to have been wrought by them, and partly sold onwrought to others."—Itinerary. Oxford, 1768, 8vo. p. 88. 2 [MS.-" "Betwixt the gate and Baliol's tower."] [MS. Those deep-hewn banks of living stone."] Where Tees, full many a fathom low, III. Nor Tees alone, in dawning bright, Each from its own dark dell shall gleam : Who, wandering there, hath sought to change 1 [MS.-"Staindrop, who, on her sylvan way, Yet, Albin, yet the praise be thine, Thy scenes and story to combine ! 'Mid Cartland's Crags thou show'st the cave, The refuge of thy champion brave; 2 Giving each rock its storied tale, Pouring a lay for every dale, Knitting, as with a moral band, IV. Bertram awaited not the sight Which sunrise shows from Barnard's height, While misty dawn, and moonbeam pale, By Barnard's bridge of stately stone, 1 [See notes to the song of Fair Rosabelle, in the Lay of the Last Minstrel, vol. i. p. 199.] 2 [Cartland Crags, near Lanark, celebrated as among the favourite retreats of Sir William Wallace.] 3 The ruins of this abbey, or priory (for Tanner calls it the former, and Leland the latter,) are beautifully situated upon Each on his own deep visions bent, Well may you think that Bertram's mood,1 77 V. Stern Bertram shunn'd the nearer way, And, skirting high the valley's ridge, As, 'scaped from Brignall's dark-wood glen. the angle formed by a little dell called Thorsgill, at its junction with the Tees. A good part of the religious house is still in some degree habitable, but the church is in ruins. Eglistone was dedicated to St. Mary and St. John the Baptist, and is supposed to have been founded by Ralph de Multon about the end of Henry the Second's reign. There were formerly the tombs of the families of Rokeby, Bowes, and Fitz-Hugh. 1 [MS-"For brief the intercourse, I ween, Such uncongenial souls between; There, as his eye glanced o'er the mound, V1. Of different mood, a deeper sigh 1 Close behind the George Inn at Greta Bridge, there is a well preserved Roman encampment, surrounded with a triple ditch, lying between the River Greta and a brook called the Tutta. The four entrances are easily to be discerned. Very many Roman altars and monuments have been found in the vicinity, most of which are preserved at Rokeby by my friend Mr. Morritt. Among others is a small votive altar, with the inscription, LEG. VI. VIC. P. F. F., which has been rendered, Legio. Sexta. Victrix. Pia. Fortis. Fidelis. 2 This ancient manor long gave name to a family by whom it is said to have been possessed from the Conquest downward, and who are at different times distinguished in history. It was the Baron of Rokeby who finally defeated the insurrection of the Earl of Northumberland, tempore Hen. IV., of which Holinshed gives the following account. "The King, advertised hereof, caused a great armie to be assembled, and came forward with the same towards his enemies; but yer the King carne to Nottingham, Sir Thomas or (as other copies haue) Sir Rafe Rokesbie, Shiriffe of Yorkeshire, assembled |