"The Cheltenham water to which we refer is Thomson's strong chalybeate saline water, marked No 1. The analysis has been very recently performed by Messrs. Brande and Parke. That of Leamington was made by Dr. Middleton.

"It thus appears that the impregnations, on which the vir tues of saline chalybeate waters depend, are more abundant in the Gloucester water than in any hitherto observed in this country. Its medicinal effects have fully confirmed what the chemical analysis might have led us to expect. It has been administered in a great variety of obstinate diseases, which had resisted the influence of other agents with the most salutary effects. It has thereby secured the confidence and good opinion of all competent judges, and has drawn from them unequivocal testimonies in its favour.

“Like all other active remedies it has been abused, and some have suffered from employing it without ascertaining whether its use were suitable to their situation. We need scarcely add that occurrences of this kind are but proofs of its powers, and shew how subservient they may be rendered to the restoration of bealth, if administered with the care and knowledge that all such remedies require.

"Since the pump-room was first opened many strangers have resorted to Gloucester for the benefit of the water, and in every case where it was advisable to use it, or when it was used as it ought to be, we are well assured that it has never failed to afford the greatest benefit. Unfortunately, the number of such accommodations as strangers look for has not been equal to the demand, but this is an inconvenience which" has been materially "remedied. A commodious boarding-house, and a spacious billiard-room, for the comfort and amusement of visitors, are" now finished. Hot and cold baths have been erected, and are in great request; as the supply of water is abundant, invalids, whose cases may require the use of bathing, in any shape, will here find every convenience for the administration of this important remedy.

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"Two other wells have recently been opened. They afford an abundant supply of water both for drinking and for the baths. They have not yet been analysed, but in their general qualities they coincide very much with that already described.

"Medicinal waters of this class are certainly more beneficial than any others, and their increasing reputation is amply proved by the avidity with which they are sought for by ininvalids of almost every description. The advantages of these springs to those who reside in Gloucester and its neighbourhood, must be very considerable; and when we consider the beauty and convenience of the situation, together with the pleasant habitations which have already been erected, the arrangements which have been made for extending them, and the delightful walks and rides that have recently been made, we doubt not that it will become a place of residence to many individuals, who, while they enjoy the benefit of the waters and the pleasures of the country, can at the same time avail themselves of the society and accommodations afforded by the immediate vicinity of a large city; and we indulge a hope that Gloucester may, at no very distant period, arrive at that degree of importance which all who have duly estimated the advantages of its situation, have never ceased to believe it would attain."

The COUNTY HALL presents a specimen of architectural perfection highly honourable to the taste of Mr. Smirke; and will remain, to after ages, a monument of the enlightened liberality of the magistracy of the county and city of Gloucester. The building is construeted wholly with Bath and Leckhampton stone. It is 82 feet in front next the Westgate-street, and extends backwards 300 feet, having another entrance from Bare-land. On the principal front is a portico of four columns, of the Ionic order, 32 feet high; in the centre of which is the great entrance for the public, 100 feet long, 15 wide, and 18 high. On the west side of the por

tico is the entrance leading exclusively to the seats of the Judges. Both the courts are nearly of the same dimensions, and of semi-circular form-70 feet by 46, and 33 feet high. The public are accommodated in seats upon an elevated gallery surrounding the whole, and containing ample space for upwards of 400 persons in each.

The THOLSEY, where the public business is transacted, stands in the angle of the south and west streets. On the scite of the present building formerly stood the church of All Saints. By an Act of 23d Geo. II. the old building was taken down, and the present erection made. The city arms adorn the pediment in front. A beautiful full-length painting of the late Duke of Norfolk, who was Recorder, and one of the Aldermen of the city, ornaments the Council Chamber; and in the latter part of the summer of 1820, his Royal Highness the Duke of Gloucester, having presented the Corporation of this city with a spirited portrait of himself, by Sir Wm. Beachy, it is fixed on the opposite side of the fire-place to that of the Duke.

The THEATRE is under the management of Mr. C. Crisp. It is neatly and conveniently furnished and arranged for the purpose of public amusement; and the manager is not deficient in public spirit, a succession of London performers being engaged during the season, to gratify the lovers of the histrionic art.

[Having extended the historical part to a length of which we were not aware, from our attention being more particularly directed to the Commercial department, we are compelled to conclude with referring to the Gloucester Guide for an account of the various churches, and that universally admired structure, the Gloucester Cathedral, &c.]

CHELTENHAM.

TH HE early history of CHELTENHAM, like that of most other towns, is but dubious or uncertain. Before the discovery of the Spa it was an inconsiderable straggling town, which in some measure accounts for the difficulty we experience in tracing its real origin. The houses were then principally thatched, and their inhabitants, generally speaking, poor. A stream ran through the centre of the street, and it was only by the aid of stepping-stones that a communication was kept up between the different sides of it. Its convenient situation, however, between Coteswold and the Vale, always rendered it a considerable mart for sheep and corn; but the only articles of commerce manufactured in the place were worsted stockings. The etymology of the word Cheltenham is most probably derived from the Saxon words Chilt and Ham; the former signifying an elevated place, the latter a farm or village.

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The town, borough and hundred of Cheltenham appear, by Domesday-book, to have been, previous to the conquest, parcel of the possessions of King Edward the Confessor;" and which, upon the conquest, became "parcel of the possessions of King William."

It appears that Cheltenham enjoyed considerable privileges as an ancient demesne during the reign of William the Conqueror.

In the year 1465, and fourth of Edward IV. Sir Maurice Berkeley held this manor by lease of the Abbess of Sion, which nunnery remained possessed of it until the dissolution of religious houses by Henry VIII. 1540. At this period the annual revenue of the abbey amounted to 19447. 11s. 11 d. and the king was so much pleased with its situation, that he appropriated it to himself. Queen Mary also settled nuns here but they were expelled by her successor Elizabeth. From that time to the reign of James I. the manor of Cheltenham

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remained vested in the Crown; but in the 5th year of his reign it was granted to Wm. Dutton, Esq.; from whom it has regularly descended to the present lord of the manor, the Hon. John Dutton,

Cheltenham has now arrived at that degree of pre-eminence that its name is become as familiar in the British East and West Indies as in London. This celebrity has arisen partly from the salubrity of its climate, but chiefly from the reputation of its springs.

It is situated in 51 deg. 51 min. north latitude, and 2 deg. 5 min. west longitude; and has been usually described as being in the Vale of Evesham ;' but as there is no natural division between this valley and that part of Gloucestershire denominated The Vale,' the whole district might, with greater propriety, be included in the more comprehensive appellation of The Vale of Severn.' The Coteswold hills, rising almost immediately behind the town, kindly protect it from the chilling blasts of the north and east, while their elevated summits give spirit to the surrounding scenery, and produce a charming variety in the pleasant rides with which this neighbourhood abounds. The town is situated 94 miles, by the Uxbridge road, W.N.W. of London; and is 9 miles distant from Gloucester, 16 from Cirencester, 40 from Oxford, 9 from Tewkesbury, 40 from Hereford, 35 from Monmouth, 22 from Malvern, 25 from Worcester, 44; from Bristol, and 44 from Bath. The parish is ten miles in circumference, and consists of five hamlets, besides the town, viz. Alstone, Westall, Naunton, Arle, and Sandford, where lodgings have been fitted up for the reception of the superfluous company resorting to the Spa.

The town is built principally of brick, and the High-street, which runs nearly from east to west, is more than a mile in length, every where light and airy, and of considerable width: it possesses a spacious pavement, and usually forms the grand promenade, its situation affording to pedestrians, for most of the day, a barrier against the scorching rays of the sun.