She followed the fiend to the church door,
There stood a black horse there,
His breath was red like furnace smoke,
His eyes like a meteor's glare.

The fiendish force flung her on the horse,
And he leapt up before,

And away like the lightning's speed they went,
And the was feen no more.

They faw her no more, but her cries and fhrieks
For four miles round they could hear,

And children at reft at their mother's breast,
Started and fcreamed with fear."

This difmal ditty is accompanied with a wooden plate of The Devil and the Old Woman, on horfe-back, neither of which forms poffefs any great beauty.

A Second Walk through Wales, by the Reverend Richard Warner of Bath, in August and September 1798. 8s. Dilly.

THE firft Walk through Wales was duly noticed in our mifcellany, and a variety of pleasing extracts were tranfcribed for the entertainment of our readers. On the present occafion we have a fimilar treat prepared for them, and we shall be happy in contributing to their gratification.

Mr. Warner is a refpectable clergyman of Bath, and has delineated the antiquities of that famous city with accuracy. These Walks are evidently the produce of a cultivated mind, and of an amiable difpofition. We have read both of them with peculiar fatisfaction. With part of the scenes here defcribed we are acquainted, and can bear our teftimony to the faithfulness of the Tourist. It is no fmall pleasure when we perufe an author on whofe accuracy and communications the greateft dependance can be placed.

The

The present Walk embraces an extent of 763 miles; he took his departure from Bath, and went as far as Anglefea, then coming back to Swansea, he took water, and reached the city of Bristol. In the courfe of fuch a route many pleasing scenes must have occurred, and in many inftances we wished that we had been in his company.

Though we have many pleafing paffages to tranfcribe, we muft, at prefent, confine ourfelves to the account given us of Caerleon, in Monmouthshire. This town exhibits a memorable proof of human inftability! At one period Caerleon, York, and London, were the three principal places in the kingdom. CAERLEON, therefore, cannot fail of being an object of fervent curiofity to every mind that is acquainted with British history.

"As we approached Caerleon our profpect became more extenfive, and objects of curiofity multiplied upon us. Near the eighth mile-ftone from Newport, the fign of the Rock and Fountain

"Invites to fhort refreshment, and to tafte

What grateful beverage the house may yield
After fatigue, or dusty heat,”-

We availed ourselves of its invitation; and having taken a flight repaft, afcended the hill which rifes immediately oppofite to it. It is lofty and abrupt, and was formerly strengthened by a caftle, called Penhaugh Caftle, one of the fortified refidences of the St. Maurs, ancestors of the Seymour family. The view from this elevation is extremely fine, but few other advantages feem to have attended the fituation of the ruined manfion, fince it was completely commanded by a still higher hill to the fouth.

"The road, which for several miles has been rifing, though gradually and infenfibly, affords at every ftep profpects rich and diverfified. They now, indeed, begin to partake of the grand, retaining at the fame time their character of the beautiful. To the north, the vale of Usk still displays itself smiling with cultivation, watered by its finuous ftreami, and bounded by a line of mountains, amongst which the ragged head of the

I 2

Skirid

Skirid Vawr, near Abergavenny, makes a confpicuous figure. On the fouth, the Bristol Channel prefents a magnificent sheet of water, ftudded with islands, the greater and leffer Holmes, and Barry ifland; the diftant hills of Somerfetfhire and De vonshire finishing the view towards that point.

"Being defirous of vifiting the loftily fituated village of Christ Church, we left the new road to Caerleon on our right (which has of late years been formed for the convenience of carriages, in order that they may avoid the fteep defcent from Christ Church into the valley) and took the old way through the village. The elevation in the country, occafioned by an imperceptible rife for a confiderable distance, here terminates in a fudden and abrupt manner, and on the brow of this defcent the village of Christ Church is feated. It has little to boast, save the beauty of its prospect, which a very lofty fitua tion enables it to command. An old and curious flat fepulchral stone occurs in the church, rudely indented with the figures of a man and woman, separated by a crofs; the infcription running round the margin of it is cut in barbarous letters, and baffled all our attempts to give a complete tranf cription of it; you have as much as we are able to make

out:

et

"Hic jacent Johannes uxor ejus qui obierunt anno Domini M CCC LXXVI quorum animabus [[270pitietur, probably] Deus. Amen.

"Defcending_flowly from the village of Christ Church, we approached Caerleon, a town famed in Roman, British, and Norman story for its former ftrength and splendour. None of its ancient magnificence now remains; though fomne memorials of it may be discovered in ruined walls and fragments of antique mafonry, fcattered through the town and its immediate vicinity. Time, however, could not rob it of its natural beauties; and the happy fituation in which it stands will never ceafe to afford pleasure to the eye of tafte. entered the town at the east end, by crothing a bridge thrown over the Ufk, a paffage that had been formerly well defended, as is evident from the ruins of a bastion, or round tower, on the left hand, probably of Norman architecture. The bridge is formed of wood on a fimilar construction, and for the fame reafon as that of Chepstow, the tide at each place rifing occafionally to the incredible height of fifty or fixty fect. The

We

boards

boards which compofe the flooring of this bridge being defignedly loofe, (in order to float with the tide when it exceeds a certain height) and prevented from escaping only by little pegs at the ends of them, do not afford a very safe footing for the traveller; and fome aukward accidents have been known to arife from this caufe. A fingular adventure occurred about 20 years ago, to a female, as she was paffing it at night, which tells fo much to the credit of the ladies, that it would be unpardonable in a tourist, who is lefs an admirer of the sex than myself, not to detail the particulars.

"The heroine in question was a Mrs. Williams, well known in the town, and living there till within these few years; she had been to spend a cheerful evening at a neighbour's house on the eastern fide of the river, and was returning home, (I preíume) at a decent hour, and in a decorous ftate. The night being extremely dark, fhe had provided herself with a lantern and candle, by the affiftance of which the found her way towards the bridge, and had already paffed part of the dangerous ftructure. When about half feas over, however, (don't miftake my meaning) the unfortunately trod on a plank that had by fome accident loft the tennons originally fixed to the ends of it, and had flipped from its proper fituation; the faithless board inftantly yielded to the weight of the good lady, who, I understand, was rather corpulent, and carried her through the flooring, candle and lantern, into the river. For❤ tunately, at the moment of falling fhe was ftanding in fuch a pofition as gave her a feat on the plank, fimilar to that of a horfeman on his nag. It may be easily imagined that Mrs. Williams must have been somewhat furprized by this change of fituation, as well as alteration of climate. Bleffed, however, with a large fhare of that prefence of mind, or patient endurance of evil, which exalts the female character fo far above our own, the good lady was not overwhelmed (except with the water) by her fall; and steadily maintained her feat on the board, taking care at the same time to preserve the candle lighted, rightly fuppofing it would ferve as an index to any one who might be able or willing to affist her. Thus, beftriding the plank, our heroine was hurried down by the river towards Newport, the bridge of which the trufted would flop her progrefs, or its inhabitants be alarmed with her cries. In both her hopes, however, the was disappointed; the rapidity of a

13

(pring

fpring-tide fent her through the arch with the velocity of an arrow difcharged from the bow, and the good people of the town had long been wrapt in flumber. Thus fituated, her profpect became each moment more defperate, her candle was nearly extinguished, and every limb fo benumbed with cold, that he had the greatest difficulty in keeping her faddle; already had she reached the mouth of the Ufk, and was on the point of encountering the turbulent waves of the Bristol Channel, when the mafter of a fishing-boat, who was returning from his nightly toils, difcovered the gleaming of her taper and heard her calls for affiftance, and, after a confiderable ftruggle between his humanity and fuperftition, ventured at length to approach this floating wonder, and brought Mrs. Williams fafely to the fhore in his boat!

"To the antiquary, Caerleon is a place of much curiofity; you would, therefore, confider us as unpardonable, had we not half blinded ourselves amongst the rubbish of its ruins, and torn our clothes with the thorns and brambles that conceal thefe venerable remains. Our researches indeed were conducted with all proper fpirit and perfeverance; but, I am forry to say, they were not rewarded by any discovery that could throw new light on the hiftory of the place, or make a material addition to what is already written on the fubject. Time has been affifted, in his tardy but ceafelefs operations of destruction on the antiquities of Caerleon, by the active industry of its own inhabitants; fome of whom, ftimulated by a principle of avarice, have destroyed or removed many of the finest monuments of its ancient splendour. Within these three years the town has been defpoiled of two gate-ways, probably Norman, and the lofty keep which stood on the mound to the north-caft of the town has alfo, fince the memory of man, been levelled with the ground. Facts like thefe certainly detract confiderably from the claffical character of the Caerleonites, but you will be ftill more indignant at their want of common curiofity, when I mention an anecdote equally

true.

"About eighteen months or two years back, on digging a cavity to receive the foundation of a large warehouse, near the church, the workmen ftruck upon a mass of fragments of ancient mafonry; confifting of capitals, fhafts, and pedestals of pillars; entablatures, friezes, architraves, &c. The circumftance