THE BRITISH CRITIC, For JULY, 1801. Pro captu lectoris habent fua fata libelli, Sed me judicii non pœnitet TER. MAUK. Good books, or bad, if readers choose, may fell, ART. I. An Historical Tour in Monmouthshire, illuftrated with Views, by Sir R. C. Hoare, Baronet; a new Map of the County, and other Engravings. By William Coxe, A. M. F. R. S. F. A. S. Rector of Bemerton and Stourton. One Volume, in Two Parts. 4to. 41. 4s. Cadell and Davies. 1801. MONMOUTHSHIRE, formerly part of Wales, but now an English county, may be confidered as the connecting link between the principality and England: it is rendered peculiarly interefting from its Roman, British, and Norman antiquities, and from the illuftrious perfonages to whom it has given birth, or afforded titles; it abounds alfo in picturesque fcenery. From the pen of Mr. Coxe, employed on fuch a fubject, a superior gratification must be expected: his Travels in Switzerland, and the northern kingdoms of Europe, and his high reputation in the republic of letters, justify hopes which, in the prefent publication, are not difappointed. Mr. Coxe gives the following account of his motives for undertaking to write this Tour, his means of acquiring information, and the scope of the publication. A BRIT. CRIT, VOL. XVIII, JULY, 1801. "The "The prefent work owes its origin to an accidental excurfion into Monmouthshire, in company with my friend Sir Richard Hoare, during the autumn of 1798. I was delighted with the beauties of the scenery; I was ftruck with the picturefque ruins of ancient caftles memorable in the annals of history, and I was animated with the view of manfions diftinguished by the refidence of illuftrious perfons; objects which the sketches of my friend's pencil rendered more impreffive. "On my return, I examined my notes, perufed the principal books relating to Monmouthshire, and convinced that fo interefting a country deferved particular notice, formed the plan of a tour, which should combine history and defcription, and illuftrate both with the efforts of the pencil. Sir Richard Hoare ftrongly encouraged me in my undertaking, offered to accompany me again into Monmouthshire, and to fupply me with additional views. Accordingly in the fpring of 1799, I explored the country in various directions, and received affittance from many gentlemen and men of letters; but as the materials were still defective, and as a want of time and unfavourable weather prevented me from visiting the fequeftered and mountainous districts, I made a third excurfion in the autumn of the fame year. "In the course of these three journeys, I employed five months, and traverfed 1500 miles, and now prefent to the public the refult of obfervations and researches. my In this work, the reader muft not expect to find a regular hiftory of Monmouthshire; but a defcription of the principal places, intermixed with hiftorical relations and biographical anecdotes, and embellished with the moft ftriking views, for which I am principally indebted to my friend Sir Richard Hoare, whofe perfevering zeal and activity claim my warmeft gratitude. "Lanfanfraed Houfe is fituated five miles and a half from Abergavenny, ten from Monmouth, four from Raglan, and feven from Usk; and its central pofition renders it extremely convenient for the purpose of exploring the country. Unacquainted with a fingle gentleman, when I first entered the country, I was introduced to Mr. Greene, by my friend Sir Richard Hoare; his hofpitable manfion was open to me at all times, and on all occafions, without form or ceremony; I was left at full liberty to make excurfions as my fancy or inclinations fuggefted; and on my return, after the fatigues of the day, I enjoyed the comforts of an agreeable fociety. In this delightful refidence, I firft conceived the plan of writing a Tour in Monmouthshire; Mr. Greene zealoufly encouraged and affitted me in the profecution of the work through his introduction, I became acquainted with the principal gentlemen and men of letters, and obtained access to various documents and interesting papers." It is pleafing to find, from the numerous lift of friends and benefactors, that the principal gentlemen and men of letters in the county vied in acts of hofpitality and attention to this traveller; and Mr. Coxe dwells with grateful fatisfaction on the benefits he derived from their affistance and communications. In perufing this Tour, the reader may eafily imagine himself travelling through the county with a companion of learning, talte, and experience, who fometimes relates his own imprefGons on former excurfions, fometimes gives the natural or local history of the scene, interfperfed with judicious and seasonable information refpecting the illuftrious individuals, whofe perfons are called to his recollection by the view of their man fons, the fame of their exploits, or the fight of their portraits. Even the minuter topics of converfation incident to fuch an excurfion find a place; the wonder-fraught tales of the peafantry; the whimsical mistakes of innocent credulity; and the accidents, perils, and escapes of individuals, are related with a taste and naiveté perfectly fuited to the scene and the actors. But biography, defcription, and anecdote, do not occupy the whole volume; the great interests of mankind are viewed with the eye of a politician and philofopher; the means and progrefs of improvement are faithfully deduced, and fagacioully investigated; and the information afforded respecting the commerce of the county is copious, and derived from the best sources. Mr. Coxe has fhewn great judgment in not modelling his work on the plan of a mere county hiftory, or uniformly adopting the dry detail of a journal; but while he avoids the tediousness of dates, or the minuteness of county divifions, he is not deficient in method and order. In his Introduction, he flightly touches on the pofition and prefent ftate of the county. It is furrounded by the counties of Somerfet, Glocefter, Hereford, Brecknock, and Glamorgan; from which it is principally feparated by the Severn, the Wy, the Monnow, and the Rumney. The principal rivers which traverse Monmouthshire are the Wy, the Ufk, and the Rumney. The Wy is navigable during its whole course through the country; the Ufk, by means of the tide, from New Bridge near Fredonnoc; and the Rumney only from the Bridge, not three miles from its mouth. The Trothy and the Monnow, joined by the Honddy at Attyrynnys, fall into the Wy near Monmouth; and the Ufk is fwelled by numerous mountain torrents, of which the principal are the Gavenny, the Kebby, the Olwy, the Berthin, the Torvaen or Avon Lwyd, and the Ebwy, which receives the Sorwy. The county fends two members to Parliament, and is divided into the fix hundreds of Abergavenny, Scenfreth, Wentloog, Ufk, Raglan, and Caldecot. The population may be conjectured from the number of men between fifteen and fixty, returned, in 1798, in the feveral hundreds, as capable of bearing arms, which amounted to 11,835. If the proportion of the males between A 2 fifteen fifteen and sixty may be estimated at one fourth of the whole population, including both fexes, the number of fouls in the county of Monmouth will be 47,340, or, in round numbers, 48.000. Monmouthfhire is comprifed in the diocefe of Landaff, except Dixon, Welfh Bicknor, and St. Mary's Church in Monmouth, which belong to the diocese of Hereford, as do Cwmyoy, Oldcastle, and Lanthony, to that of St. David. The Welsh language is more prevalent than is ufually fuppofed in the north-eastern, eastern, and fouth-eastern parts, the English tongue is in common ufe; but in the fouth-western, western, and north-western diftricts, the Welsh, excepting in the towns, is generally fpoken. The natives of the midland parts are accustomed to both languages: in feveral places divine fervice is performed wholly in Welth, in others in Englith, and in fome alternately in both, The natives of the weftern parts, which are fequestered and mountainous, unwil lingly hold intercourfe with the English, retain their ancient prejudices, and still brand them with the name of Saxons; this antipathy, however, is gradually decreafing, by means of the establishments of English fchools, and the introduction of English manners, customs, and manufactures. Their animal and vegetable productions are fimilar to thofe in the hilly counties of England; and the only fithes, not common in the Englifh rivers, are the fkerling and the fewin, the latter of which principally abounds in the Ebury. The mountainous districts are rich in mineral productions, pa cularly iron and coal, which have given rife to numerous iron manufactories, and confiderably increafed the population and riches of the county. Mr. Coxe then proceeds to give a general view of the county hiftory at different periods, and an interefting account of the Roman ftations and roads, as well in Monmouththire as in the adjacent parts, principally drawn from the communications of the Rev. Thomas Leman; and his Introduction, which is divided into three fections, concludes with fome remarks on the encampments, caftles, and churches. The author commenced his Tour at the new Paffage, and vifited Caerwent, Newport, Caerleon, Ufk, Raglan, Abergavenny, Pontypool, and Monmouth; from whence he proceeded to Rofs, and went down the Wye by Tintern to Chepstow; making from each place numerous excurfions. Of_these, perhaps, the moft interefting are the fummits of the Sugar Loaf and feared, to the magnificent remains of Lanthony Abby, to the beautiful vallies of the Ebwy and Sorwy, the navigation down the Wye, and the celebrated grounds of Piercefield. Among the biographical sketches, interfperfed through the work, the memoirs of Lord Herbert of Cherbury, Sir Charles Hanbury Hanbury Williams, and Harry Marten the Regicide, are the most remarkable. Much ingenious and tafteful difquifition is employed in treating of the legends of Geoffry of Monmouth, and in unravelling the contradictory and fallacious accounts of John of Kent. With respect to antiquities, Mr. Cox has accurately defcribed the Roman remains at Caerwent and Caerleon, the only known vestiges of the Roman power in Monmouthshire, and has unquestionably traced the line of the Roman walls, which are faithfully delineated in the annexed plans. We are happy to find that Mr. Coxe, in general, is more correct in the orthography of the Welsh languages than former writers, and we easily trace the masterly afliftance of Mr. Owen, the learned author of the British Dictionary, to whom Mr. Coxe pays his grateful acknowledgments, and his friend, Mr. Evans, Vicar of Newport St. Woolos, from whom he derived much local and important information. per The execution of this work is in the moft diftinguished ftyle of elegance, both in the letter-prefs and the graphic embellishments. The plates amount to ninety, exclufive of vignettes; comprising views and plans of Roman ftations, towers, caftles, and ancient encampments; portraits of celebrated fons, and a new and accurate map of the county. The views are principally from the pencil of Sir Richard Hoare; a few, of great beauty, are by Mifs Edith Palmer, of Bath; and the plans of ftations, towns, caftles, and encampments, are taken from actual furvey. We fhall now afford our readers a fpecimen of the flyle in which the Tour is written. "Excurfions to the Summits of the Sugar-Loaf and Great Skyrrid. "Having received repeated accounts of the different and contrasted views from the tops of the Sugar-Loaf and Skyrrid, I determined to vifit them on the fame day. I departed at feven in the morning from Abergavenny, rode about a mile along the Hereford road, mounted the eastern fide of the Derry, in the dry bed of a torrent, came to a heathy down, and gently afcended to the bottom, which below appears like a cone, and is called the Sugar- Loaf. "The fides of the mountain are covered with heath, wortle-berries, and mofs, to the height of a foot, which renders the afcent fo extremely eafy, that a light carriage might be driven to the base of the cone, not more than one hundred paces from the fummit. I dif mounted near a rock, which emerges from the fide of the ridge, forming a natural wall, and reached the top without the leaft difficulty. This elevated point, which crowns the fummit of the four hills, is an andulated ridge, about a quarter of a mile in length, and two hundred yards |