of the choir stood the high altar, whose situation is marked by the remaining Mosaic pavement, on which it was placed. Taking a view of the interior from the extremity of the Lady's chapel, the vista is beautiful; a range of dilapidated building of the chastest Gothic, three hundred and sixty feet long, finely relieved with wood. At the termination of this, stands one of the towers, two of which formerly graced the western end. The northern one only remains, lifting its venerable head to the height of one hundred and seventy-four feet. This is divided into three parts by two bands or little projections of stone from its face, each inscribed with sentences that are now easily made out. They are as follow.-On the east side: Soli Deo Jhu. Xto. honor. et glia. in secla. sclor. On the west side: Agno Dei Jhu. Xto. honor. et glia. scla. sclor. On the upper band at the north side: Et virtus et fortitudo Deo nostro in secula seculorum. Amen. On the lower band same side: Soli Deo honor. et glia. secula seculorum. On the south side: Soli Deo honor. et glia. in secula seculorum. Amen.A door leading out of the southern aile conducted us into the cloister-garden; the abbot's-garden; the magnificent chapter-house, originally divided by two ranges of pillars into a nave and side ailes; the extensive cloisters, three hundred feet long;

and various other buildings in this noble abbey, which was founded in 1132 for Cistertian monks, and enjoyed a yearly revenue at the Dissolution of 10731. os. 7 d.

Quitting this ruin by the abbey-walk, we returned into the artificial grounds on the opposite side of the river Shell, with a fine mass of wood to the right, and a wall of shrubby rock on the left; presently ascending a rugged pathway to the higher walk, where a pleasing back view is afforded of the upper part of the abbey tower, its roots hidden by trees. We now enter upon the upper sandywalk, and soon get another peep at our old acquaintance, Hercules and Antaus, the parallellogrammic canal, and the opposite bank of wood, with its buildings, the rotunda and Gothic tower; a picture again presented to us under a different combination, from the alcove above the sweep, with the addition of the Temple of Piety, prettily

seen above the trees.

The ladies' hill walk re

receives us from the alcove, appropriately ornamented with little plats of grass, and parterres of flowers; but not so delicately terminated by the walk of Priapus, a figure of which god occurs in the point where the two paths unite. The latter affords a peep at a very pleasing feature of country, a deep glen, called Kendal walk; dark and solemn,

agreeably contrasting with the airy and fantastic scenes we have been wandering through; where (to use Hamlet's expression) we have all along "been "too much the sun." From the opposite i' wooded terrace the god Pan just discloses his sylvan form. Descending to the banqueting-house, we find ourselves in an elegant stone building with emblematical sculptures on its face, and a pretty carpet of lawn before us. From hence the object has been to unite all the artificial ornaments of the place into one view; the Gothic tower, the pantheon, the temple, and the seat; which, crouding upon the eye all together, satiate and disgust, instead of affording pleasure. Here was the favourite retreat of the late Mr. Aislabie, who during the summer almost constantly ate his meals at the banquetinghouse. A good figure of Venus de Medici stands within the grand apartment, but we were distressed at seeing so modest a lady cast in bronze. From hence, dropping down the well-walk, where no new features occur, we shortly perceived the point from which we had set out two hours before, having threaded all the principal mazes of these very elaborate pleasure-grounds.

We had the pleasure of refreshing our eyes with some agreeable natural scenery, after all this ornamental gardening, in the picturesque village of

Goffa, with its little roaring stream, and humble mill; which lies about two miles from Studley, in the way to Hackfall; and is, indeed, a direct and passable road both for horse or carriage to that place, notwithstanding the assertions of the Ripon innkeepers and post-boys, who (in order to employ their chaises) terrify the traveller with stories of ruts "unfathomably deep, beyond the "reach of frost," Sorbonian bogs, and other unconquerable difficulties. Notwithstanding these representations, we ventured to take the shorter road to Hackfall, by which six miles were saved out of twelve; and were rewarded for our hardihood by a ride full of very agreeable scenery, which continued to spread itself before us till we reached this other celebrated place of Mr. Aislabie, where he seems to have followed the hints of his own taste, as much as he complied with the dictates of fashion in Studley-park. There is no house at Hackfall; but when the owner visited this spot, he occupied an apartment in the gardener's dwelling, a neat little cottage at the entrance of the grounds. Here, providing ourselves with a cicerone, we were conducted through a small wicket, into a wild woodland dell, the bottom of which to the right is watered by a limpid brook, feasting the ear with its agreeable murmur, as it rolls over its pebbly

bed. The very entrance into these grounds is marked by the finest touches of natural scenery, which instantly flashed upon the mind the superiority of these wild and artless features over elaborate and formal decoration. The path, following the brook that forms innumerable little falls in its course, which is almost impervious to the sun, conducted us to the summer-house, a seat erected opposite to a beautiful series of cascades, called the alum springs. These are three in number, tumling down the rough face of a rock, which struggles to make itself visible through a thick skreen of wood, into a brook sixty feet below the falls. From this point the dell grows still more wild, and the hills to the right more abrupt, the cascades more frequent, and the rocks more grotesque; forming a scene of abstraction perfectly answering the description of the poet's "Mansion of Con"templation:"

"Hère may she imp

"Her eagle plumes; the poet here may hold
"Sweet converse with his muse; the curious sage,
"Who comments on great nature's ample tome,

May find that volume here. For here are caves "Where rise those gurgling rills, that sing the song "Which Contemplation loves; here shadowy glades, "Where through the trem'lous foliage darts the ray "That gilds the poet's day-dream."