Through every department of this establishment we were politely conducted by one of the partners, and the numerous processes, from the picking of the wool to the finish of the cloth, were patiently shown to us. The examination occu

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pied two or three hours; and I am sure that none of our readers would listen to me, if the same length of time were taken up in the description, which would be necessary, in giving a detailed account of the several operations. sides, the art of making good cloth is now so well understood in our own country, that it is doubtful whether my letter would disclose any thing new, should it attempt to reveal all the secrets of a work-shop at Leeds. The day has gone by, when an American, like the Czar of Muscovy, can bear away the arts to improve and enrich his nation. As an evidence of this, it may be stated, that in this very manufactory, we witnessed an American invention for shearing cloth, in full operation. In short, I saw very few instances of skill, which are not equally possessed by our countrymen. So far as my observation has extended, most of the useful arts have arrived to as great perfection in the United States as in Great-Britain, while in manipulation and activity, our workmen may claim a decided superiority. There is an energy in the American character, which is not to be found in the work-shops of Europe.

The kindness of our hospitable friend, extended beyond an exhibition of his own manufactory. As we were anxious to witness the operation of steam-carriages upon rail-roads, he walked with us a mile from town, exposed to the oppressive heat of a mid-day sun, where our curiosity was fully gratified. After waiting an hour, we had the satisfaction to see twenty-five wagons, containing three tons of coals each, impelled or rather drawn along a horizontal rail-road, by a steam-engine possessing a six-horse power. It was a most novel and interesting spectacle. The steam-carriage is placed in front, and the whole apparatus is not much larger than an ordinary Jersey wagon. To this the twenty-five four-wheeled cars are appended by chains, and follow in obedience to the self-moving power. One man, whose services are required to regulate the machinery, is the sole navigator, and even he has little to do. When the boiler is exhausted, he has only to throw the engine out of gear, stop by the side of the road, and pump in a supply. Impelled by curiosity, we mounted one of the carts and rode a considerable

distance. The ordinary progress is four miles the hour, but of course may be greatly accelerated if necessary.

There are several engines upon this rail-way, which ply regularly between extensive collieries and the town, a distance of three or four miles. It is odd enough to see the smoke arising, like that of a steam-boat, and the carts moving about at a distance, with no visible agent to move or govern them. The experiment has here been fairly and successfully tried, and I see no reason why transportation by steam is not as practicable upon land as upon water. The great desideratum seems to have been a guiding power, and that is effectually provided by the construction of the railway, which confines the carriage to a given track. I should feel the same degree of security in one of these vehicles, as in a steam-boat, since the carriage is at a distance from the boiler.

On our return from this novel and interesting exhibition, which evinces in a striking manner, to what extent the control of mind over matter may be carried, producing new combinations of the elements, and giving motion to the inert mass by an invisible power, we accompanied our friend to his delightful residence, and dined very pleasantly in the little circle of his family, in a style of attic simplicity, and free from that cold formality, which etiquette imposes. The walls of his apartments were hung with the likenesses of some of our distinguished men, and much of the conversation at table turned upon the institutions of our own country. Such was the hospitality of this warm-hearted Irishman, that he gave three of us, who were strangers to him in the morning, a general invitation to dine with him every day, as long as we remained in town. It will readily be supposed, that we took leave of him and his family with a regret, that an acquaintance, which had in all respects been so agreeable, could not be protracted.

After dinner we rode three miles from Leeds, up the banks of the Aire, for the purpose of visiting the ruins of Kirkstall Abbey, which have justly acquired celebrity for their picturesque beauty. It was a bright, placid evening, sufficiently cool to be refreshing after the fervours of the day. The smoke of the town was soon left behind, and we arrived in season to see the setting sun throw his radiance upon the grey and broken arches of the Abbey. It was indeed a quiet and lovely scene, producing the finest tones of feeling.

The situation of the ruin is highly romantic, being in a deep, verdant vale, upon the immediate banks of the Aire, which steals by with a smooth and silent current, as if unwilling to break the repose of the valley. On the other side, is a lofty eminence, with its brow covered with hanging woods. The prospect in all directions is rich in rural objects. Seen with such accompaniments, the ruin, in itself extremely beautiful, possesses a double charm. It is deeply mantled with ivy, which sometimes climbs to the very top of the shattered battlements, and at others, descends in graceful festoons, concealing the silent dilapidations of time. Some parts of the Abbey are yet in a tolerable state of preservation, while others have already crumbled into dust. Notwithstanding the efforts of the proprietor to stay the progress of dissolution, stone after stone is dropping from the walls, yielding to the pressure of years, and some of the turrets are so crazy, that the owl or rook could scarcely perch upon the ruin without starting a fragment from its bed. One of the towers is peculiarly picturesque. Half of it has crumbled away longitudinally, while the remainder, serrated and ragged, is tottering to its fall. Some years since, the principal arch, too heavily laden by the incumbent masses, and weakened by silent decay, suddenly gave way, drawing after it two sides of the above mentioned tower, and forming an im mense heap of rubbish.

We walked round and over every part of the Abbey, climbing as high as the dilapidated flights of steps would permit, groping our way under mouldering arcades, or reposing beneath the aged elms and among the tangled shrubbery, which shade the ancient courts. The best view is from the west end, looking through a lofty arch forming the principal entrance, surmounted by three knotted pinnacles, round which the ivy has wreathed its folds. A vista here opens upon the spectator, composed at first of ranges of pillars, the remnant of the tower already mentioned, the large window in the eastern end crowned with turrets and curtained with ivy, and terminating in the green valley below, where the eye rests upon a rich landscape. The hour occupied by our visit afforded a great variety of light and shade, which constantly varied, the aspect of the ruin. the moment of our arrival, the beams of a golden sunset were glancing through the clefts and windows, throwing iremulous gleams upon the foliage and the grey walls. Then

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came the reflected tinge of the crimson west, and afterwards, the glimmering, dim, and sober shades of twilight, better suited to such a scene than the garish splendours of day, and leading the mind back, by an easy train of thought, to the period when the vesper bell summoned the inmates of these cloisters to their evening devotions. There is something fascinating in the seclusion and tranquillity of a monastic life; and I am not surprised, that in an age when a mistaken piety was superadded to secular considerations, these refuges from the cares, disappointments, and disquietudes of the world were thronged with tenants.

Kirkstall Abbey is a favourite resort with the inhabitants of Leeds, who frequently walk thither on a pleasant evening, to emerge from the smoke of the town, and breathe the invigorating air of the country. Two well-dressed ladies were seen tripping it arm-in-arm on the banks of the Aire, to whom the charms of this romantic vale and ruin seemed to present as strong an attraction as to ourselves. They would often stand like spectres in their white robes, or sit motionless on a fallen fragment, to gaze on the picturesque objects around them. A sketch or a sonnet was perhaps the result of their evening rambles. Having lingered till twilight had faded, and after refreshing ourselves with a basket of fruit growing in the ancient court, and served up to us in one of the cells of the refectory, which is furnished with a rustic table and seats, we bade a reluctant good night to the ruins of Kirkstall, walking on till the outline had vanished from sight, and then hastening our ride back to town.

The streets presented a scene in perfect contrast with the retirement and rural quiet of the valley, which had just been left. A company of strolling players and showmen were on a visit to Leeds, to amuse its inhabitants with the double attractions of fireworks and dramatic representations. The glare of rockets, and the anticipated ascent of a balloon had assembled a throng of both sexes, pouring forth from the manufactories in multitudes which no man could number, and participating from the street in pleasures, which poverty would not permit them to share in the garden. At the explosion of every rocket, the shout of the crowd was like the sound of many waters; and we were obliged to close the windows of our chambers, to shut out the confusion and riot, which continued till midnight.

LETTER XVI.

RIDE TO YORK-DESCRIPTION OF THE CITY-MINSTER-HARROWGATE.

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September, 1825.-On the 2d our ride was continued to York. The environs of Leeds are rich and beautiful. deep verdure clothes the hills which surround it, and a number of handsome country seats enliven the landscape. Every acre of the ground is neatly tilled to supply the market of a great manufacturing town.

The coachman and guard were unusually intelligent, and attentive, taking pains to designate whatever was worthy of observation, in language too, so free from the broad provincialisms of Yorkshire, as to be intelligible, which is far from being uniformly the case with the common people of this county. English tourists have ridiculed the peculiarities of the Yankee dialect, which is nevertheless pure and classical, in comparison with the local and drawling jargon of a portion of their own countrymen. The whole volume of Americanisms would not comprise so many corruptions of the English language, as a single county in great Britain, even if that in which the metropolis is situated were selected. The reasons are obvious. In our country, all classes of the community enjoy the advantages of early education. Our school-books and standards of pronunciation are nearly the same in every state, producing of course a uniformity in language. Another cause may be found in the enterprising and emigrating spirit of our people, by which the whole mass is kept in agitation, and local peculiarities prevented. An inhabitant of Massachusetts this year, may the next year be a resident upon the banks of the Ohio or Missouri; while the succession of the Yorkshire farmer is much more regular and uninterrupted, than the line of his kings, never quitting his paternal acres from the cradle to the grave, and transmitting his dialect from generation to generation, becoming broader and more strongly marked as it descends.

Not far from Tadcaster, a large town upon the river Wharfe, is an extensive quarry, called Peter's Post, whence