tion is the conjecture of fancy, for we find in the ad decimun of Richard of Cirencester, in his 15th Iter, that the Roman western road, called Stane Street, commenced at the east gate of Chichester, and taking a northern direction, pursued its course to Bignor Hill, within a few furlongs of the Roman pavements of a villa, discovered in 1811. After passing Bignor, the direction it took was through Hardham to Pulborough. It has been further traced to Woodcote, Dorking church-yard, to London, which is now distinguished by the name of West Ermine Street; it is therefore impossible to attribute its name to this Roman road. The fact is, before the late inroads of the sea, the Steyne was skirted, or edged on that side by chalk rocks, and from that circumstance received its name. Stein, or Steen, a rock, in the imported language of the Flemish emigrants, was then a proper denomination for this verdant margin of a chalky cliff. How it came to be called Steyne must be attributed to fashion: "The Steyne is confess'd by all, To abound with females fair; But more so since fam'd Russel has TUNBRIDGE. Tunbridge, or as it is frequently called, Tunbridge Town, to distinguish it from the well-known watering place in the same county, is situated in the south-western part of Kent, on the banks of the Medway, and derives its name from the number of bridges over the river, which here separates itself into five streams. The district round this town is called the "Lowy of Tunbridge," which, in Doomsday Book, is mentioned as Lenna Ricardi de Tonbriga; and in old Latin deeds is called Districtus Leuca de Tonbridge. The reason why it is so named, is this: Richard Fitz-Gilbert, afterwards earl of Clare, a descendant of the natural son of Richard, the first duke of Normandy, who came over to England with William the Conqueror, and distinguished himself at the battle of Hastings, obtained the manor of Tunbridge from Lanfranc, archbishop of Canterbury, in exchange for the castle of Brion, in Normandy, each estate being measured with the same line. At that time, I was the custom in Normandy, to term the district round an abbey, castle, or chief mansion, Leuca, or Leucata; in English, the Lowy, in which the possessor had generally a grant of several peculiar liberties, privileges, and exemptions; and Gilbert procured from the king similar grants to those he enjoyed in Normandy, to this, as well as to his adjoining manor of Hadlow, whence he called it the "Lowy of Tunbridge," by which name it has gone ever since. TUNBRIDGE WELLS. Tunbridge Wells is said to be the oldest watering-place in England, Bath excepted. The Wells are about five miles south of the town, and are situated in a sandy bottom, at the foot of three hills, called Mount Ephraim, Mount Sion, and Mount Pleasant. The air is particularly salubrious, which, with the well known virtues of the Wells, and their vicinity to town, being only thirty-six miles distant, makes them much frequented. The discovery of the medicinal * A celebrated physician once resident there. waters at Tunbridge Wells, in the year 1606, is generally attributed to young Dudley, lord North, who having injured his health by his dissipations at the court of Henry, prince of Wales, son of James 1st, by the advice of his physicians, took up his abode within two miles of the Wells, at a place called Edridge House. After a residence of several weeks, finding his disorder rather increased than diminished, and his spirits greatly lowered, he abruptly quitted this retired mansion, and began his journey to London. Fortunately, adds the narrator, his road lay directly through the wood, in which these useful springs were concealed from the knowledge of mankind; so that when his lordship came upon the spot, he could not pass by without taking notice of a water which seemed to claim his attention, on account of the shining mineral scum that swam on its surface, as well as the ochreous substance which subsided at the bottom. These uncommon appearances induced him to alight from his carriage, and to order one of his servants to borrow a little vessel from a neighbouring hovel, that he might taste it. The ferciginous flavour induced his lordship to think it was embued with some medicinal properties, which might be beneficial to mankind. Having submitted it therefore to chymical analysis, he determined to try its restorative powers upon himself; and after about two months continuance at Edridge, returned to town so perfectly free from all complaints, that he lived in the indulgence of every courtly enjoyment, till he attained the age of eighty-five. TARPEIAN ROCK. The Tarpeian Rock, off the coast of Sicily, derives its name from the following: Tarpeia, according to Heathen Mythology, was a vestal virgin, who agreed with the Albans, to deliver up the capitol for their bracelets; but they being entered, threw their shields upon her, and buried her under them. Hence is derived the name Tarpeian Rock. VIRGINIA. On the discovery of this portion of North America by Sir Walter Raleigh, in 1584, he called it Virginia, in compliment to his virgin mistress, queen Elizabeth. VENICE. The first inhabitants of this country were the Veneti; from whence the term Venice is derived. They were conquered by the Gauls, and made a kingdom about 356. The islands on which the city stands, began to be inhabited by Italians, about 421; the first house erected on the morass, was by Entinopus, who fled from the Goths; the people of Padua took refuge there also, and were assisted by Entinopus in building the eighty houses, which formed the first city, in 413. They were first governed by a doge in 697, but its republic was not independent till 803. The conspiracy on which Otway's play is founded, was in 1618. The Doge omitted the ceremony of wedding the Adriatic Sea from 1173. WEALD OF KENT. The Weald of Kent comprises a large district, containing several market towns, viz. Cranbrook, Smarden, Tenterden, Biddenden, &c. It is so called, from the growth of large timber, oak particularly; weald being a Saxon term, signifying a woody district. WOODSTOCK. Having already given an article on Blenheim, it will perhaps not prove unacceptable to say something of Woodstock; more especially as the public attention has been recently drawn to a work thus entitled, from the pen of the author of Waverley. The ancient manor house, or royal palace of Woodstock, was situate near the old town of that name, about eight miles from the city of Oxford, on the north bank of the valley, through which the little river Glyme has its course. It was erected, (according to Camden), by Henry 1st, who joined to it a large park, enclosed with a stone wall, which Rous affirms to have been the first park in England, and which, says Dr. Plott, was not only stocked with deer, but with all kinds of foreign wild beasts, which he procured abroad of other princes. Woodstock, however, seems to have been a royal seat, in the time of the Saxons, and was formerly called, locus sylvestris; it also appears from a MS. in the Cottonian Library, that king Alfred translated Boetius there. In the reign of Etheldred, an assembly of the states was held at Woodstock, and several laws enacted. The most remarkable event connected with the mansion itself, and from which it received its principal interest, was, its being the residence of the celebrated Rosamond Clifford, the favourite mistress of Henry 2nd. She was buried in the chapel of the nunnery at Godstow, with this curious inscription on her tomb: "Hic jacet in tumba, Rosamundi, non Rosa munda: Of which various translations have been made by different authors, we shall, however, select that given by Stowe : "The rose of the worlde, but not the cleane flowre, Is now here graven; to whom beauty was lent: In this grave full darke now is her bourne, That by her life was sweet and redolent. But now that she is from this life blent, Though she were sweete, now foully doth she stinke. In the fourth year of the reign of queen Anne, the honour and estates of Woodstock were bestowed by the queen, on John, duke of Marlborough, for the signal victory obtained by him, at Blenheim, in Germany; at which time, the old palace of Woodstock was razed to the ground, and the magnificent mansion of Blenheim erected in its stead. WESTMINSTER. So denominated, to distinguish it from East Minster, which formerly stood on Tower Hill. When Henry the Eighth took possession of York Palace, he left the new palace of Westminster: the former had been finished and fitted up in great magnificence by Cardinal Wolsey, on whose death, Henry made it his residence. To reconcile, however, the good people of Westminster to his leaving them, he made it a city, by act of parliament: he also built the Cockpit, and the Tennis-court; cock-fighting being only used in England at that period, but tennis was a diversion introduced from France about the time of Henry 5th. To beautify this palace of Whitehall (to which he now changed its name) still more, he built the gateway next the Banqueting House, to have the convenience of a gallery into the park, to see the sports of tilts and tournaments, which were performed on solemn days, for the accommodation of the ladies. YORK. "I like the neighbourhood too,-the ancient places Of monastic greatness, likewise, that lie Next to the city of London, in antiquity, (and at one period, in importance), stands the city of York. It was founded by the Romans as a barrier against the incursions of the northern hordes. They called it Eboracum; it was afterwards abbreviated to Ebor, which signifies a fortified town, station, or city. The archbishop, who is almoner to the king, signs "Edward Ebor." York, as it is now called, is famed as the birth-place of Constantine the Great, the first Christian emperor, and the founder of the eastern empire. Many important battles have been fought in its vicinity, and the Romans have left lasting mementos of one, called Severus's Hills. The battle of Towton, during the wars of York and Lancaster, was fought within a few miles of it, as well as that of Marston Moor, where the parliamentary forces, under Fairfax, beat the royalists, under Charles the First. York was the rallying post of the royalists, during the troubles of that period, and the unhappy monarch and his family resided here for some time. In the reigns of Henry 2nd, Richard 1st, and John, several bloody massacres of the Jews took place within its walls, one of which, was marked by a peculiar circumstance. Those that escaped the immediate rage of the citizens, fled to the castle, and sooner than surrender, when called upon so to do, destroyed one another. How reversed is the situation and treatment of the Jews of the present day. "Was ever Christian land so rich in Jews? Byron. The castle is now a modern building, (with the exception of a tower, called Clifford's Tower), and is the county prison. The cathedral, or minster, is the largest and most magnificent in Europe, and comprises the five orders of architecture. At some little distance from it, stand the ruins of a monastery, called St. Mary's, and which formerly had a communication underground with the cathedral. "This building, beautiful even in ruin, has, Shame to the owners, been suffered to fall to decay: To see those antique towers, and hallow'd walls, With hemlock, or rank fumitory, hides Together, with their perishable mould, The brave man's trophies, and the good man's praise; There are four principal gates, or bars, to this ancient town, but the walls, although standing, are in a very delapidated state. It is governed by a corporation, comprising a lord mayor, twelve aldermen, and common council; each ward (four) returning twenty-four. Although precluded, by its corporate rights, from being a commer cial town, it nevertheless possesses many requisites for constituting it such; among others, its two rivers, the Ouse and the Foss, which flow through the city. The immortal General Wolfe, was also born in this ancient city. THE ZUIDER SEA. The Zuider Sea, or as the Dutch have it, the Zuider Zee, was at one period a large tract of grazing land, belonging to an eminent grazer, of the name of Zuider, who, on one occasion, when walking over his pastures, discovered in a ditch, a herring! This omen made such an impression on his mind, that he hastened home, and disposed of the whole of his landed property in that district. His judgment was correct, as the result proved; for, within six months, the whole of the land, with a large tract adjacent to it, became an immense water, and has remained so to this day, well known under the appellation of the Zuider Sea, or Zuider Zee. BARROWS, OR CAIRNS. Dr. Armstrong's "Gaelic Dictionary" states, that Barrows, or Cairns, are very numerous in the Highlands of Scotland, in Ireland, and in Wales; they are likewise to be seen in Sweden, in Norway, and in other parts of the continent, as also in America. They were intended for monuments; and the probability is, that they were used as such from the earliest ages, by every people who could associate their ideas of duration with the properties of stone and rock. Cairns often measure 300 feet in circumference at the base, and twenty feet in height; they consist of stone, and the whole pile is shaped like a cone. Several opinions have been formed concerning the intention of them. In many instances they have been explored, and found to contain sepulchral urns; a circumstance which seems to be decisive in favour of the opinion, that they are monuments of the dead. 66 66 Many of these piles consist wholly of earth; and this gave rise to an opinion, that the coped heaps of stone were intended for malefactors, and those of earth for the virtuous and the brave. The doctor continues, I never could ascertain to what extent this distinction was observed. From ancient authors we learn, that malefactors were buried under heaps of stone; and we know, that it was a common practice among the Druids, to erect Cairns on the spot where a criminal had been burnt. Hence, a "man beneath a Cairn," means in Gaelic, an outlaw." 66 I'd rather be under a Cairn,” means, 'I'd rather be punished as an outlaw." Though the ceremony of Cairn-raising is still prevalent in the Highlands, the meaning of it is changed; for on whatever spot a person is found dead, a few stones are immediately huddled together, and every passenger pays his tribute of a stone; the larger it is, the greater the respect shewn to the deceased. Hence a saying among the Gael, which, translated, is, "I will add to thy Cairn," betokens a friendly intention, and means," I will keep the remembrance of thee alive." The ghost of the departed was supposed to haunt his Cairn; and few Highlanders would choose to pass it for the first time without adding to the heap, and thus keep on good terms with the spectre. * Tanner Row.-Ed. |