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In the park were immense herds of cattle and of deer. The park is fourteen miles round; besides which the Duke of Devonshire has large possessions in this neighbourhood. As I turned away from the fine range of buildings, the smooth-shaven grounds, the gay flower beds on the terraces, fenced round with chiselled stone, the noble groves with the water of two or three fountains, rising and falling in spray amid them, the vast range of the park, with the Derwent flowing through it, and above all, the rich and magnificent view southward, I thought that nothing could be more beautiful. But I had soon to correct my impression; for Haddon

Madagascar. Leurs feuilles se terminent à leur sommet par un long filament qui porte une sorte d'urne creuse, d'une forme variable dans les diverses espèces, et recouverte à son sommet par un opercule qui s'ouvre et se ferme naturallement. Ces urnes ont toujours causé l'admiration des voyageurs, par le phénomène singulier qu'elles présentent. En effet, on les trouve presque constamment rempliés d'une eau pure, claire, limpide, et tres bonne a boire. Pendant quelque temps, on a cru que cet eau provenait de la rosée qui s'y accumulait; mais comme leur ouverture est assez étroite et souvent fermée par l'opercule, on a reconnu que le liquide avait sa source dans une veritable transpiration, dont la surface interne de l'urne est le siege. C'est ordinairement pendant la nuit que l'urne se remplit, et dans cet état, l'opercule est genéralement fermé. Pendant le jour, l'opercule se souléve, et l'eau diminue de moitiê, soit qu'elle s'evapore, soit qu'elle soit résorbée."

Hall is more beautifully situated, and Wellesley Castle, Mr. Arkwright's seat, near Matlock, leaves it, in natural scenery, almost out of comparison.

Haddon Hall, two miles from Bakewell on the way to Matlock, is a very ancient seat, on a somewhat precipitous bank of the Wye. It has been built in successive periods by different familiesthe Peverils, the Avenels, the Vernons, and lastly the family of Manners. There are two hollow squares and some towers. The whole is in great preservation, and especially the tapestry. In the dress of some of the figures wrought into the tapestry, are seen the fashion, and several of the varieties, too, of the modern ladies' sleeve. I had thought before that it was entirely a modern monster. But it seems that there is nothing new under the There is a large dancing hall, with a finely carved oaken wainscoting and cornice-in which Queen Elizabeth lead down the first measure. This hall was to-day put to a use which, amid desolation and ruin, startled me at first, almost as much as if the ghosts of her own royal train had risen before me. While I was wandering about the deserted walls and chambers, from that very hall the sound of a viol reached my ear: "I heard music and dancing!" I inquired what these things meant;" and was told by the old guide, that he

sun.

HADDON HALL, AND MATLOCK.

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occasionally gave liberty to the young people of Bakewell to come and dance here. He seemed vexed, however, to have them come, as if he personated the genius of the place: (his family indeed had lived here three hundred years, he told me :) but for my part, I could not at all sympathize with him; for I was glad to feel this strange mingling together of death and life, of the past and present, of ruins and revels, of hoary decay and ever flourishing and happy youth, which reminds us at once of the ever passing fashion of this world, and the ever present beneficence of Heaven. A full length portrait of Queen Elizabeth, in gorgeous costume, looked down from the head of the hall upon the passing show of this world's pleasures-passing, but not more transient than the joys and splendours of her own life.

The view southward from Haddon Hall, the bold wooded bank on the left, the windings of the Wye, the lovely valley, the hills rising in the distance, make altogether one of the most romantic and beautiful scenes in the world.

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But Matlock-sweet Matlock! dare I talk of beauty when approaching thee? It certainly is a spot of rare, if not unsurpassed loveliness. I shall not undertake to describe it-only in general as a sweet little valley, watered by the Derwent, sur

rounded by cliffs the most romantic, of every form and position. But it is to be remembered that cliffs and precipices in this country are very differ ent things from what they are with us. The mois ture of the climate causes ivy, laurel, and every shrub and tree, to grow up their sides and to spring out from their very summits. The cliffs here, too, are of every shape; some of them rising perpendicularly like battlements or towers, bare in some places, covered with ivy in others, and waving out from their tops, green banners of luxuriant foliage; while between and through them you see the soft, deep, blue sky-softer, deeper, bluer, than it ap pears elsewhere; and would that it oftener had this aspect in this country of clouds, and rain, and smoke--for in this respect it is not to be compared with ours. I suppose this is the reason why Englishmen rave so much about the Italian sky. And I do not doubt that when cultivation and good roads have gone up among the wild and craggy places of our own country, as many beauties will be unveiled as are found here. And even here let it be remembered, for the comfort of you who stay at home, that all special beauty is but a small addition to the general beauty of nature. In another respect, you have the advantage. For sightseeing, travelling to see spectacles, is not favourable to

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that calmness of mind, so in unison with nature, and that leisure, that revery mood of mind, which is necessary to "drink in the spectacle." This quotation from Wordsworth calls to mind what I heard a celebrated poet remark a few days ago, about some fine scenery he had lately been to visit. He was asked what he thought of it. He replied that he hardly knew what to say, for he doubted whether he felt the scene: there was company; and there were ladies to be assisted; there was not time enough, and there was not silence and contemplation; and one of the party wanted him to sit down in a certain place, in order to feel the effect.

Sometimes, too, the guides vex one sadly. At the Giants' Causeway, I thought, at first, that they would have torn us to pieces, literally stripped us naked like robbers, with their kind offers of assistance; and when we had selected one to get rid of the rest, he stood up in the boat, and with loud vociferation attempted to direct our admiration, first to one, and then to another of the wonders of nature; till I was obliged peremptorily to silence him, that we might have leisure and liberty to admire for ourselves.

I wish I could give you a sketch in pencil, of the woman at the falls of Stone Biers on the Clyde. As

VOL. I.-K

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