He formed the

born at Ewithington, near Hereford. plan of compiling the history of his native county; and, according to all accounts, he was a man eminently qualified to do this laborious work, not only on account of his general learning, but also as being a good naturalist and antiquary. Having made considerable progress in this praiseworthy work, he gave up his project, and unhappily destroyed the materials he had collected.

At Hereford was born also the brave and fearless Captain Cornwall, who fell in the action before Toulon, in 1744. He was commander of the "Marlborough," of 90 guns, and at the commencement of the engagement had both his legs carried away by a chain-shot. Nothing daunted by this terrible casualty, he remained on deck, and continued his directions for the fight. Soon after his own accident, his nephew, who was First Lieutenant of the ship, lost his arm, and being desired to go below by the surgeon, he refused to do so, alleging that his uncle, who was much more dangerously wounded, still kept on deck. The Captain, hearing the reply of his noble nephew, said to him, "Fred, go down, and be dressed; you may live and be an honour to the Navy; as for me, I cannot exist for many hours, but while I live, must, and will, do my duty." The words had scarcely escaped from his lips, when he received a fatal shot through his breast, which killed him instantly. With such men in our Navies, and happily they are not extinct, what has England to fear?

Whatever Hereford may have been in past time, it is not by any means famous for its love of books now. There is not, as far as my observation goes, a single second-hand book-stall in the city; and there is a sad dearth of intellectual society.

Attempts have been made, on the part of some, to rouse the people to a sense of intellectual life, but without much success. An occasional concert, and a visit from Mr. and Mrs. Howard Paul, call the people together; but in this age of progress and intellectual activity Hereford

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Intellectual Dearth.

should not be left too much to past fame. I speak of the intellectual status of the city as a whole, as of course there are many happy exceptions to this general charge of want of mental culture.

I would only say, in conclusion, that I have spent many pleasant hours at Hereford, not only in admiring its many beauties, but also have enjoyed the society of not a few of its hospitable citizens.*

I have already lingered so long over these vacation rambles that I am afraid of having taxed the patience of my readers. I should like to have included some other places I have visited in my holidays, such as the Isle of Wight; Rochester, Chatham, and Stroud; Maidstone; Brighton and its splendid downs, &c; but I have said already too much, and will therefore resume the thread of my little history.

I am indebted to John Price's "Historical Account of the City of Hereford," published in 1796, for some interesting particulars relating to the city; and to Mr. J. R. King's very able account of the Cathedral in "Murray's Handbook to the Cathedrals of England."

REMOVAL TO HAMPSTEAD.

IN 1859 my health had assumed so serious an aspect as to induce my doctor to recommend my immediate removal from London, and also to require me to give up everything in the shape of work that I could, so as to reserve what little energy was left for my everyday duties at my place of business.

I had sometimes gone without sleep for nearly a fortnight; and as we then lived in a great thoroughfare (in a house built by Braithwaite, the engineer), now known as Euston-road, there was a continuous stream of cabs and carriages passing and repassing all through the weary night. Sometimes, when there was a lull for a few minutes, the silence was the more trying, as I began to listen for the noise again, so as to prevent entirely my getting any sleep. The house stood at the corner of a street which was the principal thoroughfare for Pickford's heavy vans from their Camden Town depôt. The passing of these vans would shake the house to its foundations; and that alone, to one of shattered nervous system, was of itself no small trial.

It was no easy matter for a man of my slender income to find a house a few miles out of London at a rent such as I could afford, and, at the same time, either within a reasonable walking distance from my office, or where a cheap omnibus would help me in case of bad weather, or increasingly failing health.

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Hampstead Heath.

I have always found a difficulty in obtaining a house such as one was obliged to live in to keep one's standing in society, at a rent that I could afford. There are plenty of "villa residences," and good substantial houses, in the suburbs for those who have four or five times my income. There are houses also in abundance for mechanics and the labouring classes; but a man holding the official position of a gentleman could not, if he would, avail himself of them. I am glad to find that a Christian lady of high rank, and possessed of ample means, has, near Highgate, erected some charmingly built villas for those who have worked hard as clerks in her employ, and who would prefer paying a rent from their income for a residence, than be voted into an almshouse. Those who are interested in these matters will probably have seen the houses referred to, in Swane's Lane, Highgate, erected at the expense of Miss Burdett Coutts, a lady who has done so much to benefit her less favoured countrymen and country

women.

After making many careful inquiries in the neighbourhood of Hampstead, Hornsey, Highgate, Colney Hatch, Finchley, Muswell-hill, and Pinner, I met with a little house at Holly-hill, Hampstead.

We removed there in the autumn of 1859, and I soon found the change most beneficial. The bracing air, a ramble over the heath, and the quiet nights, made a marked and visible improvement in my health, aided, doubtless, very much by deep and refreshful sleep, though it rarely or ever lasted beyond the usual hour of four in the morning.

At the time referred to I was honorary secretary to the church with which I was connected in London, as well as holding the office of an elder in the same church. The responsible duties connected with these offices pressed rather heavily upon my waning powers, and I was very reluctantly compelled to give them up. I was thoroughly persuaded not only by the doctor, but also by my own

Churches and Chapels.

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consciousness of failing health, and powers of endurance, that such a step was my bounden duty; and having once seen it to be so, I had no hesitation in at once carrying it

out.

Though most thoroughly enjoying the rest and healthful invigorating change at Hampstead, we all missed the services of the sanctuary on the Sabbath, and the earnest manly sermons of our reverend friend in London.

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One of the first things I did at my new home was to make myself acquainted with the religious aliment to be found at the churches and chapels of the neighbourhood: for this purpose I visited in succession all the places of worship there. As there was no Independent chapel in the place, it was not unnatural that I should seek out the places occupied by the Baptist denomination. We all, as a rule, go to our own place," as certainly as Judas Iscariot did to his, though up to this period I was not a Baptist in principle. I enjoyed an occasional visit to my old Episcopalian friends; but felt far more at home among my Congregational brethren. I found upon inquiry that there were two Baptist churches in the parish, one immediately under the shadow of the beautiful spire of Christ Church, and the other only a few doors from my own house, and known as Holly-bush Chapel, though the founder had called it "Ebenezer." The society meeting at Bethel," near the church, was what are termed "Particular Baptists" of the hyper-Calvinistic school, with close communion. For the information of my Episcopalian, and other uninitiated readers, I may say that "close communion" means that none but baptized believers are admitted as members of the church. These good people would not do for me at all, as I had never as yet seen it to be right and Scriptural to conform to their requirements. The other was a small society of Christian people, that met in a queer little building erected by the late Mr. Castleden, who used it for a residence, as well as for the more sacred purposes of divine worship. This

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