his many inquiries respecting the institutions of our country, and the circle of his acquaintances, compelled me sometimes to talk. This gentleman, who is now at an advanced age, and has been conspicuous for the last forty years, manifests the same zeal and enthusiasm in the cause of science and literature, freedom and humanity, that have characterized his whole life. He showed us the four first numbers of a most splendid botanical work, with plates, in which he is now engaged, and which is publishing in London, in royal folio. It contains a full and accurate description, with coloured drawings as large as life, of all the plants in the Botanical Garden at Liverpool. The four first numbers are chiefly occupied with the class Monandria, Monogynia, and are particularly rich in plants from the East Indies, where he has several correspondents, eminent for their botanical attainments. The whole work will be comprised in twelve or thirteen numbers. God grant him health and strength to complete an undertaking, which will form such a splendid acquisition to science and to his own reputation. He also showed us some elegant specimens of a catalogue of a manuscript library, which he is making out for his distinguished friend, Mr. Coke, of Holkham. The catalogue is designed to contain fac-similes of the various illuminations; and the imitations which have been completed are exact and perfect. There are about eight hundred manuscripts in the library, some of which are of the rarest and most valuable kind, comprising, among other things early transcripts of the Gospels.

Only two members of the family were at home, a son and a daughter, both of whom have imbibed the spirit of the father. My readers have had the pleasure of perusing some of the poetical effusions of the two sisters, the youngest of whom formed one of the circle on the evening of our visit. Her unaffected manners and polished conversation are in strict accordance with the productions of her pen. The residence of this literary family is in a retired and quiet situation at Toxteth Park, two miles from town. The house is surrounded with trees, and with a spacious garden, in which the proprietor amuses himself with his favourite pursuits in botany. He gave us a number of pamphlets on subjects of interest at the present day. The enjoyments of that evening, and the image of that great and good man, as he took my hand and uttered a parting benediction, are too deeply impressed upon my mind

and my heart ever to be effaced, and a visit which was so instructive, and in all respects so agreeable, will form one of the eras in my life.

On Monday we dined with a gentleman, with whom I was made acquainted, and whose hospitality was procured, by a letter from one of my brother editors in New-York. The party consisted of a circle of American gentlemen, whose homes and hearts, however distant in the United States, a foreign shore soon brought together, and produced a community of feeling. A fine turbot, which a Roman epicure would have extolled and a Roman poet might have sung, bathed as it was in the true Falernian, formed but a small item in the pleasures of the evening. Sentiment and good cheer, with many a kind remembrance of our country, and many a panegyric upon its institutions, circulated briskly at the convivial board. The laws which govern physical attraction appear to be reversed in morals; and I have thus far found, that American hearts are only the more warmly attached to the land of their nativity, the farther they are from home. It occasioned not a little surprise, that these gentlemen, some of whom have been residents here for years, should be so minutely acquainted with the politics of the United States. Not an event has transpired, not an election has taken place, from the President downward, but they are familiar with all the particulars. Plied pretty freely by the generous hospitality of the table, and backed by the high authority of a member of congress, our session was protracted till 11 o'clock, when this little convention of republicans, assembled by accident, and not for treasonable purposes in the King's dominions, adjourned sine die. Some of its members are now climbing the mountains of Wales, and others are bending their course towards the lakes of Scotland.

It will be perceived by the foregoing sketch, that we have not been inactive since our arrival at Liverpool, and that we have had every reason to be pleased with the place. There is a frankness and a cordiality in the manners of those whom we have seen, peculiarly prepossessing and pleasing. Both sexes when introduced, instead of a formal bow, or retreating courtesy, advance and take the hand of a stranger with a welcome which appears to come warm from the heart. If it does not, it is an agreeable illusion, which at once removes all restraint, and renders the guest easy in his feelings. Our

letters, coming as they did, from gentlemen who are known and respected, have been every thing to us, insuring the utmost attention and kindness from those to whom they were addressed. He alone who has found himself among strangers, upon a foreign shore, can know how to appreciate duly such civilities; and if our tour shall have no other good effect, it will at least more deeply impress the virtues of hospitality.

LETTER VI.

CHESTER-EATON HALL.

July, 1825.-ON the afternoon of the 21st, we took leave of Liverpool and crossed the Mersey in a steam-boat at Birkenhead Ferry to the Cheshire shore. The estuary of the river is about a mile and a half wide, and in both directions, as far as the eye can reach, it is covered with vessels of every description. So great is the number of steamboats hourly crossing at three or four different ferries, and plying up and down the river, that a cloud of black smoke constantly hangs over the water, and adds to the obscurity in which the town is enveloped. Its spires were scarcely discernible from the opposite side. The banks of the Mersey, so far as they could be traced through a dense atmosphere, appeared high and romantic; and the bustle of commerce in the harbour, added to the verdure and beauty of the surrounding country, presented a scene extremely picturesque. Its effect was heightened by the serenity of the day, and a band of music on board.

At Birkenhead a post-chaise was chartered to take us to Chester. The distance is sixteen miles. It was accomplished in about two hours. The road, which is perfectly smooth and most of the way level, pursues the left bank of the Mersey and presents a full view of the river and opposite shore. For the whole distance, it leads through the rich, agricultural county of Cheshire, so celebrated for its extensive dairies. The land is in a very highly cultivated state. Every rood maintains its man. In point of populousness, however, it cannot be compared with Ireland. The fences,

consisting of embankments crowned with hedge-rows of hawthorn, pruned with exactness, are at once substantial and beautiful.

Hay-makers of both sexes were busily at work in the fields. In several instances, females were observed pitching hay from the cart, with their cheeks flushed by the heat of the afternoon and the severity of the toil. The crop of hay is abundant. It is uniformly put into stacks, exposed to the weather. Not a barn was seen the whole distance. The wheat fields appear to be luxuriant, and are fast whitening to the harvest. As evening approached, large herds of cows were driven up, and the milk-maid commenced her task. The rural quiet of the country and its pure fragrant air, were peculiarly grateful to us, after having breathed for eight or ten days the hot and smoky atmosphere of the town.

We reached Chester at 7 o'clock, and passing under the antique gate, on the north, took lodgings at the Royal Hotel, which is owned by the Earl Grosvenor, and is from that circumstance generally preferred by strangers, as it is said they are more readily permitted to visit his lordship's seat and grounds in the vicinity. So eager was our curiosity to take a view of this ancient city, the aspect of which was totally unlike any thing we had seen, that we at once scaled the wall by a flight of steps, and commenced a walk round the parapet. It is a most curious and interesting piece of antiquity. Its origin, both as it regards the period of its construction and the nation by whom it was erected, is involved in obscurity. Some say it was built as early as the 73d year of the Christian era. Authentic records, however, reach no farther back than the 9th century, when it is spoken of indirectly, and as a matter of course. There is little doubt, that the work originated with the Romans, since it is certain that the XXth Legion made this place for some time their head-quarters. The site of the prætorium is still pointed out to the traveller. It formed the termination of their conquests and marches to the west. The wall has undergone some modifications at different periods; but the great outlines of it have been preserved. It is of various heights, according to the ground over which it passes, being in some places forty or fifty, and in others not more than ten or twelve feet. The top is nearly upon a level, wide enough for two or three persons to walk abreast, paved with smooth flags, and the sides guarded by railings. It is about two

miles in circumference, extending among the buildings of the town, which have been erected on both sides since it was completed. It is constructed of red sand-stone, which is weather-beaten, crumbling with age, and exhibiting all the marks of great antiquity. The remains of battlements, niches and towers, along the parapet, now nodding to their fall, are sculptured with antique figures and black-letter inscriptions, most of which are illegible.

The first object which attracted our attention in making the circuit, was the Cathedral on the left within the town. It is a large Gothic pile, the age of which is involved in the same obscurity as the other antiquities at Chester. It is extremely rude and grotesque in its architecture, with stained glass windows, and every thing about it bearing the marks of decay. The stone has been discoloured by time; and exposed as it has been for ages to the weather, it has assumed a sombre hue, as if scathed by fire. Some years since its spire was taken down, from an apprehension it was about to fall. The building is connected with the old Abbey of St. Waburg, (whose purity and sanctity were such that miracles are said to have been wrought at her tomb,) and surrounded with sepulchres and monuments of the dead. Among these is a sarcophagus of Henry IV. of Germany.

A few rods from the Cathedral, on the ramparts, stands a shattered tower, twenty or thirty feet high, and apparently just ready to tumble into ruins. It is thought to be so dangerous, that it has been shut up, and visitants are not allowed to climb it. Many bas-reliefs and half-effaced images are carved in the stone; and on one side is an inscription, which states, that in 1645, Charles I. stood upon the top of it, and witnessed the defeat of his army upon Rawton Moor, whence he retired to the summit of the Cathedral, where one of his officers was shot dead at his side. From this point, the view of the country to the north-east, in the vicinity of Delamere forest is picturesque and beautiful. Under the wall passes the Nantwick canal, cut through solid rock, in some places to the depth of 30 feet. Beyond the northern gate, there is a high platform, mounted by a flight of steps, whence the mouth of the Dee and St. George's Channel, together with the mountains of Wales are seen in the distance, forming a charming back-ground to the landscape which intervenes, watered by the windings of the river, and embracing a variety of rural objects. At the south-western