and covered, as well as the bottom, with turf. It is called by the natives Arthur's Round Table; but is undoubtedly the site of a Roman amphitheatre. According to the prevailing opinion, it was merely a campestrian amphitheatre, hollowed in the ground, and surrounded with banks of earth, in the sides of which turf seats were formed for the spectators. This opinion is however disproved by the express assertions of Giraldus, who describes the walls as standing in his time. The author of the Secret Memoirs of Monmouthshire also observes," in 1706 a figure of Diana, with her tresses and crescent, moulded in alabaster, was found near a prodigious foundation wall of freestone, on the south side of King Arthur's Round Table, which was very wide, and supposed to be one side of a Roman amphitheatre." Within the memory likewise of many persons now living, stone seats were discovered on opening the sides of the concavity.

That part of Caerleon inclosed by the walls, was the site of the ancient camp or fortress; but the suburbs extended to a considerable distance. As I walked along the banks of the Usk, beyond the Bear-house field, near half a mile to the west of the town, I observed great quantities of Roman bricks and hollow tiles. These suburbs are said to have occupied both sides of the river. According to tradition, they comprised a circumference of not less than nine miles, and reached as far as Christchurch and St. Julian's; and the village on the southern side of the bridge, still bears the old Roman name of Ultra Pontem. Large foundations have likewise been discovered in the elevated grounds to the north and north-west of the walls, particularly beyond the skirts of Golderoft common.'

Caerleon is equally pre-eminent in the annals of the church: here St. Julius and St. Aaron are said to have suffered martyrdom, and two chapels were erected to their honour; one near the present site of St. Julian's, to which it communicated the name, and the other at Penros, in the vicinity of the town. A third chapel was dedicated to St. Alban, another martyr, which was constructed on an eminence to the East of Caerleon, overlooking the Usk. A yew tree marks the site; an adjoining piece of land is still called the chapel yard, and in 1785 several stone coffins were discovered in digging for the foundations of a new house.

In its splendid days, Caerleon enjoyed the honour of being the metropolitan see of Wales. According to the annals of the church, Dubricius, the great opponent of the Pelagian heresy, was the first archbishop.'

To these details of former strength and magnificence, the melancholy remark is subjoined, that the town of Caerleon is now reduced from its antient extent and grandeur to an inconsiderable place. An interesting anecdote of the singular escape of a Mrs. Williams from being drowned, on the bridge giving way under her and precipitating her into the rapid flood,is related at p. 101: but we have not room to extract the account.

St. Julian's, in the vicinity of Caerleon, the residence of the celebrated Lord Herbert of Cherbury, could not escape Mr. Coxe; whose account of it introduces memoirs of that nobleman, with a sketch of his character.-Usk is the next town at which the traveller arrives; and in progressing towards it he pays his respects to several family mansions: but for these, with the particulars concerning Úsk, the antient Burrium, we must refer to the work.-Raglan castle, a principal object in the tour of Monmouthshire, is then explored. It is situated nearly in the center of the lowland part of the county, and stands on a gentle eminence near the village. At some distance, the ruins appeared only a heavy shapeless mass, half hid (hidden) by the intervening trees; on a nearer approach, they assumed a more distinct form, and presented an assemblage highly beautiful and grand. These majestic ruins, including the citadel, occupy a tract of ground, not less than one third of a mile in circumference. A more ample description follows than our scanty pages will admit; to which are subjoined anecdotes of its former proprietors, of William Herbert Earl of Pembroke, of Charles Somerset first Earl, and of Henry first Marquis, of Worcester, &c.

From Raglan, Mr. Coxe passed through a rich and undulating country by Landsanfraed-house, Clytha castle, &c. to Abergavenny. This town was once noted for the cheapness as well as the excellence of its market: but, if the following bon mot may be credited, the case is now altered:

A stranger, expatiating with rapture on the beauty of the views, said to a native who accompanied him, "Really, Mr. Davies, this spot of your's is quite enchanting! you cannot move a step without discovering new beauties; fine prospects are actually cheap here." "True, Sir," replied Mr. Davies," and you will find spects to be the only cheap things in the country."

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The ruins of Abergavenny-castle lead the author to history, and to anecdotes of proprietors: but we must leave these particulars, in order to attend him in his excursions to the summits of the Sugar Loaf and Great Skyrrid; by inserting the details of which, we are confident of obtaining the thanks of our readers:

I departed at seven in the morning from Abergavenny, rode about a mile along the Hereford road, mounted the eastern side of the Derry, in the dry bed of a torrent, came to a heathy down, and gently ascended to the bottom of the ridge, which below appears like a cone, and is called the Sugar Loaf.

The sides of the mountain are covered with heath, whortle-berries, and moss, to the height of a foot, which renders the ascent so extremely easy, that a light carriage might be driven to the base of

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the cone, not more than one hundred paces from the summit. I dismounted near a rock, which emerges from the side of the ridge, forming a natural wall, and reached the top without the smallest difficulty. This elevated point, which crowns the summit of the four hills, is an insulated ridge, about a quarter of a mile in length, and two hundred yards in breadth, with broken crags starting up amid the moss and heath with which it is covered.

The view from this point is magnificent, extensive and diversified. It commands the counties of Radnor, Salop, Brecknock, Monmouth, Glamorgan, Hereford, Worcester, Glocester, Somerset, and Wilts. To the west extends the long and beautiful Vale of the Usk, winding in the recesses of the mountains, and expanding to the south into the fertile plain, which is terminated by the Clytha hills. Above it towers the magnificent Blorenge, almost equal in height to the point on which I stood; and in the midst rises the undulating swell of the Little Skyrrid, appearing like a gentle eminence feathered with wood. To the north a bleak, dreary, sublime mass of mountains, stretches in a circular range from the extremity of the Black mountains above Lanthony to the Table Rock near Crickhowel; the commencement of the great chain which extends from these confines of Monmouthshire, across North Wales, to the Irish Sea. To the east I looked down on the broken crags of the Great Skyrrid, which starts up in the midst of a rich and cultivated region. Beyond, the Malvern hills, the Graig, the Garway, and the eminences above Monmouth, bound the horizon. Above, and

on the side of Brecknockshire, all was clear and bright; but below, and to the south, there was much vapour and mist, which obscured the prospect, and prevented my seeing the distant Severn, and the hills in Somersetshire and Glocestershire.

This elevated point rises 1852 feet perpendicular from the mouth of the Gavenny, and is seen from Bitcomb Hill, near Longleat, in the county of Wilts, and from the Stiper Stones in the county of Salop, near the borders of Montgomeryshire.

During my continuance on the summit, I felt that extreme satisfaction which I always experience, when elevated on the highest point of the circumjacent country. The air is more pure, the body more active, and the mind more serene; lifted up above the dwellings of man, we discard all groveling and earthly passions; the thoughts assume a character of sublimity, proportionate to the grandeur of the surrounding objects, and as the body approaches nearer to the ethereal regions, the soul imbibes a portion of their unalterable purity.

Reluctantly quitting the summit, I walked down the side of the Derry, facing the precipitous crags of the dark Skyrrid, and in an hour entered the Hereford road, two miles from Abergavenny, where I arrived at half past eleven.

After taking some refreshment and repose, I departed at two for the summit of the Skyrrid, on horseback, and accompanied with the same guide who had conducted me to the top of the Sugar Loaf. Having rode (ridden) two miles along the road leading to White Castle, we attempted to ascend towards the south-western part of the mountain,

which is distinguished with three small fissures. I soon discovered that the guide was unacquainted with the way, and on enquiring of a farmer, was informed that the usual route led by Landewi Skyrrid; by his direction, however, we continued at the foot of the mountain, through fields of corn and pasture, and then proceeded along a narrow path, overspread with high broom, which in many places quite covered my horse. Forcing our way with some difficulty through this heathy wood, we rode over a moor, by the side of the stone wall and hedge which stretch at the base, reached the path leading from Landewi Skyrrid, and ascended, on foot, the grassy slope of the mountain,

The heat was so intense, the fatigue I had undergone in the day so considerable, and the effort I impatiently made to reach the summit so violent, that when I looked down from the narrow and desolated ridge, the boundless expanse around and beneath, which suddenly burst upon my sight, overcame me. I felt a mixed sensation of animation and lassitude, horror and delight, such as I scarcely ever before experienced even in the Alps of Switzerland; my spirits almost failed, even curiosity was suspended, and I threw myself exhausted on the ground. These sensations increased during my continuance on the summit I several times attempted to walk along the ridge, but my head became so giddy, as I looked down the precipitous sides, and particularly towards the great fissure, that I could not remain standing.'

The following page, however, informs us that our inquisitive traveller afterward visited this lofty summit with, less inconvenience, and with more satisfaction:

In a subsequent tour, I made a second expedition to the top of the Skyrrid. I rode along the Ross road, as far as Landewi Skyrrid, where there is an old gothic mansion, now a farm house; it formerly belonged to the family of Greville, was sold by the late earl of Warwick to Henry Wilmot, esq. secretary to the lord chancellor, and is now in the possession of his son. From this place I followed a narrow stony bridle-way till I reached the extremity of the Skyrrid, and walked up the same grassy path which I had ascended in my first excursion.

Í attained the summit without making those violent exertions, or experiencing the fatigue which I had before undergone, aad admired the prospect without the smallest sensation of uneasiness or lassitude. I ascended to the highest point of the mountain at its north-eastern extremity, where a small circular cavity is formed near the verge of the precipice; it is supposed to be the site of a Roman catholic chapel, dedicated to St. Michael, from which the Skyrrid has derived one of its appellations of St. Michael's mount. I could. observe no traces either of walls or foundations; the entrance, which is to the south-west, is marked by two upright stones, two feet in height, on one of which are rudely carved several letters, amongst which I could only distinguish "TURNER 1671." To this place many Roman catholics in the vicinity, are said to repair annually on Michaelmas eve, and perform their devotions. The

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earth of this spot is likewise considered as sacred, and was formerly carried away to cure diseases, and to sprinkle the coffins of those who were interred; but whether this superstitious practice still continues I was not able to ascertain.

I seated myself on the brow of the cliff, overhanging the rich groves of Lanvihangel house, and surveyed at my leisure the diversified expanse of country which stretched beneath and arcund. Although the summit of the Skyrrid is less elevated than that of the Sugar Loaf, yet its insulated situation, abrupt declivity, and craggy fissures, produce an effect more sublime and striking than the smooth and undulating surface of the Sugar Loaf and Derry.'

Part II. or Vol. II. commences with an account of various excursions to the beautiful ruins of Lanthony Abbey, and into the mountainous region which lies to the north-west of Abergavenny. Here the iron works of Blaenevon are particularly worthy of observation :

At some distance (says Mr. Coxe) the works have the appearance of a small town, surrounded with heaps of ore, coal, and limestone, and enlivened with all the bustle and activity of an opulent and increasing establishment. The view of the buildings, which are constructed in the excavations of the rocks, is extremely picturesque, and heightened by the volumes of black smoke emitted by the furnaces. While my friend Sir Richard Hoare was engaged in sketching a view of this singular scene, of which an engraving is annexed, I employed myself in examining the mines and works.

This spot and its vicinity produce abundance of iron, with coal and limestone, and every article necessary for smelting the ore the veins lie in the adjacent rocks, under strata of coal, and are from three and a half to seven or eight inches in thickness; they differ in richness, but yield, upon an average, not less than forty-four pounds of pig iron to one hundred weight of ore. The principal part of the iron, after being formed into pigs, is conveyed by means of the rail road and canal to Newport, from whence it is exported.

The shafts of the mines are horizontal, penetrating one below the other, and under the coal shafts; iron rail roads are constructed to conyey the coal and ore; which are pushed as far as the shafts are worked, and gradually carried on as the excavations are extended; the longest of these subterraneous passages penetrates not less than three quar ters of a mile. The coal is so abundant as not only to supply the fuel necessary for the works, but large quantities are sent to Abergavenny, Pont y Pool, and Usk.

Although these works were only finished in 1789, three hundred. and fifty men are employed, and the population of the district exceeds a thousand souls. The hollows of the rocks and sides of the hills are strewed with numerous habitations, and the heathy grounds converted into fields of corn and pasture. Such are the wonderworking powers of industry when directed by judgment !

The want of habitations for the increasing number of families, has occasioned an ingenious contrivance: a bridge being thrown across a deep dingle for the support of a rail road leading into a mine,

the