at all events, it is the earliest Norman. The chapel is also old, except the roof, which was renewed in the year 1659. In the year 1607, Thomas Brougham, then Lord of the Manor of Brougham, died without issue male, and the estate was sold to one Bird, who was steward of the Clifford family; the heir male of the Brougham family then residing at Scales Hall, in Cumberland. About 1680, John Brougham, of Scales, repurchased the estate and manor of Brougham from Bird's grandson and entailed it on his nephew, from whom it passed by succession to the Lord Chancellor. Brougham Castle descended from the Veteriponts to the Cliffords, and from them to the Thanet family. I have the honour to be your obedient, faithful servant, Lin: Inn, Tuesday, 30th. Returning to the Beauties of England and Wales memoir, we find that the "mansion " now called Brougham Hall, is often styled Birdnest, from its having belonged to the family of Bird. "It stands upon a woody eminence on the east side of the Lowther; and from the richness, variety, and extent of the prospect from its fine terraces, is often styled The Windsor of the North. Its hall is lofty, and lighted by five Gothic windows, "each completely fitted up with painted glass, some of which is of the old stain, and has been anciently there, particularly the arms of the family over the door some of it is of modern painters, and placed there by the late Mr. Brougham. The subjects are of various kinds, scripture pieces, Dutch figures, landscapes, fruit, and flowers, and the tout ensemble produces an admirable effect." Nearly adjoining to it is the chapel of Brougham, dedicated to St. Wilfred, as appears by the rector of Brougham agreeing, in 1393, to find in it "two seargies afore St. Wilfrey, at his own proper costs;" at which time it was endowed with lands adjoining to it; but these have since been exchanged for others contiguous to the glebe of the church. In 1658 and 1659, the Countess of Pembroke rebuilt it; and the rector of the parish performs evening service in it when the family are resident." As we have not sought permission to subit to say, the above Letter is from a near rela. tive of the Chancellor, whose obliging zeal in furnishing this information will always be gratefully remembered by the Proprietor, as well as by the Editor of the present work. scribe the writer's name, it is withheld. Suffice + Hutch. Cunib. Vol. 1. p. 305. A few more recent particulars of Lord Brougham's family, from the Spectator memoir, already alluded to, will not be out of place here : "Henry Lord Brougham, is the eldest son of a gentleman of small fortune but ancient family (the Chancellor had, we believe, a latent claim as heir-general to the barony of Vaux, and hence his creation by that title,) in Cumberland. His mother was the daughter of a Scotch clergyman; in the mansion of whose widow, on the Castle Hill of Edinburgh, the father of Lord Brougham lodged when prosecuting his studies at the University there. Chambers, the laborious topographical historian of Edinburgh, says that Lord Brougham was born in St. Andrew's Square, in that city, though we have heard this disputed. Lord Brougham first sat for Camelford, afterwards for Winchelsea, then for Knaresborough, and lastly for Yorkshire. In 1812, he contested Liverpool with Mr. Canning, and failed; in the same year he was nominated for the Inverkeithing district of boroughs, and failed there also. In 1818 he contested Westmoreland, with the Lowthers; and again in 1826, but unsuccessfully in both instances. Lord Brougham was originally a Scotch barrister, and practised for some time in the Supreme Court there. It was while at the Scotch bar that, in conjunction with the late Mr. Francis Horner and Mr. Jeffery he planned and established the celebrated Edinburgh Review, of which he was for many years a most able and constant supporter. Lord Brougham married, in 1816, Mary Anne, relict of John Spalding, Esq. of Holme, in Gallowayshire; by whom we believe he has had two children, a boy and a girl. Lady Brougham's maiden name is Eden; she is a near kinswoman of the Auckland and Hendley families. At her marriage with Mr. Spalding, in 1808, she was accounted an extremely beautiful young woman, and she was still possessed of great personal charms at the period of her second union. Lady Brougham had by her former marriage a son, who inherits his father's estate, and is an officer in the army, and a daughter." By the way, a lithographic portrait of the Lord Chancellor, in his robes of office, appeared the day after his lordship had taken his seat. The resemblance is striking. It is, we learn, by a promising young artist, named O'Connor, and its entire production occupied him but six hours. AUTUMN. (For the Mirror.) "Lov'st thou thro' Autumn's fading realms to stray, To see the heath-flower wither on the hill, Sir Walter Scott. Hoary Time is gliding by, "In heaven's blest home of peace!" Kirton-Lindsey. ANNE R. THY DAYS ARE GONE! A FRAGMENT. (For the Mirror.) THY days are gone-thy battlemented walls The night owl shrieks where once the mighty fell; Spirit of Discovery. Triumph of Science. THE month of October was distinguished above all others, in the annals of this or any other country, by the final subjugation of steam, and applying this most powerful agent to the last and most important use of man, in giving him a vehicle for all the common purposes of life. It has now become literally what the alchemysts boasted of their Currus triumphalis. Hitherto, the running of steam carriages was confined to experiment only; but on the 5th of October, 1830, they were used as public accommodations; and so commenced the era when vapour was substituted for horses, and a small barrel of water placed upon its side, moved forward itself, and a ponderous weight attached to it, with a force as great, and a velocity infinitely greater, than sixty of the strongest and fleetest horses could accomplish in the same distance. We had the curiosity to visit Liverpool for the purpose of witnessing this extraordinary sight, and we travelled thirty-three miles, from Liverpool to Manchester, on this wonderful road. Two sets of carriages leave their respective places every day, each containing one hundred and twenty persons, with all their luggage. The first class are covered in and curtained, and the fare to each person is seven shillings; the second are open, and the fare but four shillings. They depart at different hours, five times a day, from each place, and are always full, so that one thousand two hundred people are daily conveyed between these great commercial cities, at the average rate of twenty miles an hour. We entered one of the first class at two o'clock in Liverpool, with a vast crowd of fellow-travellers in five large carriages connected with each other, and all attached to a low machine like a sledge, having a barrel of water laid in it. On a signal given, the whole began to move. We first passed through a dark caverned tunnel, where the light of day was excluded, and the noise of the carriage wheels, rolling on their metal bars, was increased to a stunning effect by the echo of the vaulted roof; from this we emerged upon the viaduct, an elevated mound thrown across a valley, and we flew along in the air over the country and its inhabitants, a considerable way below us. Half way we stopped to have our water-barrel replenished, and after a delay of ten minutes we started again. At this time we went with the velocity of thirty miles an hour, so that passing objects dazzled and rendered giddy many of the company. Our attention was now called to the other coaches returning from Manchester to Liverpool. We were on the alert to salute them in passing, but we only heard a rushing sound, and saw a gush of smoke like a meteor, and the crowd and all their conveyances were gone: in fact, we passed each other with the sum of our velocities, and at the almost incredible rate of sixty miles an hour. We now entered upon the chat moss, over which it seemed impossible to form any thing like a firm road; but even this hopeless substance was subdued, and we were carried across the unstable quagmire with as much speed and levity as if we floated over it in a balloon. In one hour and forty minutes we found ourselves over the town of Manchester; and having dismounted from our wonderful vehicle, far more extraordinary than Pacolet's horse, we descended by a flight of steps into the streets of the city. The complete success of this noble enterprise has excited a spirit which will soon spread over the kingdom. A railroad on a more extensive scale is already marked out from Liverpool to Birmingham, to be immediately commenced, and continued from thence to London; already has the distance to Manchester been passed in half an hour, and it is no extravagant expectation to see all England traversed, in a few years, at the rate of a mile a minute, and for the fare of a penny a mile. A magnificent tunnel is nearly completed from the Mersey under the town of Liverpool, to meet the railroad, and it is expected that goods of all kinds will be transported and lodged in towns in the interior in less time than they can now be stored on one of the wharfs.-British Magazine. The Sketch-Book. RECOLLECTIONS OF A WANDERER, NO.IV. An Adventure on the Coast. (For the Mirror.) "There is a pleasure in the pathless woods, And I have loved thee ocean! and my joy I WISH I could describe the cove of Torwich-I can but give a faint outline of it. It was a scene of wild sequestered beauty, untamed character, and of romantic singularity, shut out as it were from the tumult and discord of the world. In the distance was the hamlet, a small part of which commanded a beautiful though confined view of the extensive and romantic scenery of Torwich bay. In the foreground was the cove, with a chain of mingled wood and precipice on the right; while the opposite side of the valley presented scenery of a totally different character. A wild and sterile range of sandhills, of unknown era and considerable altitude, clothed in part with bent (a species of reed) presented a succession of eminences occasionally broken by the abrupt intrusion of a rock, and terminating in the picturesque twin rocks (formerly alluded to in my description of the bay*) which formed a barrier to seaward. In the centre of the sandhills, overlooking the cove and valley, like a huge wave rising out of a broken sea-stood the aged and "time-worn" remains of P -th Castle. The peasantry averred that it was never erected by mortal hands, but raised by enchantment in one night; many a legend was afloat respecting it, and truly, though in reality it was situated on an inaccessible rock on the side of the valley, yet the sand had probably encroached, and concealed its real site, for it was to all appearance on three sides, founded on a sand. Whether it arose from its peculiarly desolate and mouldering appearance (for the principal portion of the exterior fortification and gatehouse alone remained,) or whether it was from the force of association or the extreme loneliness and singularity of its site, but I attach a deeper degree of interest to this ruin than to any other I have ever seen; though others may have been of a finer and more extensive nature. From a tower boldly situated at the S. W. angle of the castle, completely concealed by one large ivy-bush, which branched out of the wall, the eye could embrace the whole extent of ocean visible through both the headlands of Torwich bay, with the extensive and convulsed scenery of the eastern portion of it. It will be seen from the above rapid description that solitude formed a prominent characteristic of Torwich-but I am a student of Nature-there is society for me" in the pathless woods" a world on the lone sea-beach-I love no music better than the howling of the storm-the wild screaming of the eagle, or the crash of waters. These are the source of feelings of a thrilling and high-toned character, which he who dwells in towns can but ill comprehend. The schoolmaster,' according to modern parlance, had not visited Torwich, but in his room there was a full freight of honesty and good sense amongst her manly sailors. Of the society there was the "righte merrie " host of the anchor, a worthy old skipsomewhat the worse for wear, per, brimful of nautical adventure and anecdote, (no man could spin a yarn better) with a sly tongue and a slyer head. Then there was Harry Lovering, as true a British tar as ever existed, with his never-ending yarns of the "glorious first" his whole appearance a perfect study; the furrows of a hundred storms in his face, beaming with open-hearted * See Mirror, vol. xiii. p. 403. frankness and singleness of mind. It was a positive relief amidst the every'day characters of life, to meet with such a man, and the change of time, I regret to say, is fast sweeping away such characters, which can never be recalled. After leaving H. M. Service, he had been subsequently the captain of a coaster, and was now laid up for the remainder of his day in a snug berth in his native village, owner of the Three Brothers, coasting smack, of which his eldest son, Frank, was captain. There was Charley Swan too-but I must check the current of my recollections, or you will be carried to leeward; for it is time to begin my own story. Soon after the wreck of the Bonne Esperance, formerly detailed, what was termed the "coast blockade " at Torwich, consisting only of three persons, was reinforced, and a regular station and watch-tower appointed in conformity with the regulations of the service -a measure which had become more urgent not only on account of the outrages frequently committed by wreckers, but in consequence of several successful and rather extensive runs, and a considerable trade in salt, which had recently taken place on the coast: indeed more than one individual in the village was rumoured to have a hand in these affairs. "A fine night, Mr. Lovering," said I, meeting him casually on the seabeach," those are strange stories we hear about the castle and the old church. I hear the king's men have been to examine it to-day, in hopes, I suppose, of finding a keg or two of brandy under the tombstones," "Ay, ay, sir," he replied, replenishing his pigtail," they never throw a chance away. Those are queer noises though; and my old woman will have it as we hear the strange unearthly sounds as she calls 'em, in the fitful pauses of the night wind, that they come from a greater distance than the castle, and the church you know is half a mile to the nor' east of it." "It is making noise enough, heaven knows, in the village, and there are more at the bottom of it there, than you or I choose to say." "Yes, sir," he remarked, shaking his head, "that I don't doubt. You've heard likely, of the fright Tom Bra'byn and his partner got in passing the old church, last night-I was by when the leeftenant questioned him about it this morning, and he keeps to his story, that it was all on a sudden lighted up as bright as day when he passed the church, and that strange shouts and yells came from it and the tombstones. Yon sky looks very wild, sir, we shall have some rough work in a day or two, I fear." With this we parted. It was getting quite dark as I neared the ascent to the village, when sounds of a very peculiar and unpleasant description stole by, wafted by the breeze from the opposite heights like the murmuring echo of an Æolian harp. I have that degree of nerve, which often disposes me to run into adventure, and I suddenly came to the determination of keeping watch, a night or two at the castle, in order to detect or unravel the mystery for it was difficult to divine the object of such proceedings. On the following evening I prepared to proceed to my post, well armed against human and elemental foes. Half an hour found me pacing up and down under the S. W. angle of the castle, a favourite resort in daylight. I had not walked long before the wonted noises commenced. I smoked it off bravely. The moon was yet "young," as the Indians say, and through the fitful light it shed over the scenery, I strained my eyes in vain to discover anything. It was almost a profound calm, the wind had died into an echo. Nothing interrupted the booming of the bittern, and the distant roar of the ocean, unless the occasional wailing at the churchor at times a sudden though slight gust of wind stole through the ruined castle, and as suddenly sunk. I know nothing that raises emotion of so sublime and soul-thrilling a nature as the distant and lengthened voice of the ocean, rising above the other elemental commotions, and heard under similar circumstances to that which I am now relating. There is an elevation of mind-a lifting up of the spirit in even the very thought of ocean-boundless infinite and unknown "The image of eternity." The occasional union - the crash of sounds had sometimes quite a sublime effect; while the exquisite reflection on the sea was as it has been beautifully expressed "like moonlight sleeping on the grave." Wrapt occasionally in thoughts like these, the evening passed quietly away. I resolved, however, to watch for one night more, and should the noises be repeated, to visit the churchyard. The calm which had prevailed in the elements was, to the practised observer, the forerunner of no good, for the next evening set in with every token of a tempestuous character. I took a round by the beach to my intended post. The atmosphere, during the day, overcharged with moisture, had reflected distant objects with unusual distinctness—a sure forerunner of rain. The sun had just gone down under the edge of the level ocean, and cast a red and lurid glow on the summits of the dark and frowning masses of cliffs thrown partly into shadow on the other side of the bay. The feathery masses of waves breaking over the needles, contrasted finely with the sombre light reflected on the murky assemblage of vapours, which formed a heavy canopy over the horizon. The distant ocean stretched around, lay unusually still, while the few vessels in sight, were momentarily getting hulldown. On my left the dark line of convulsed and insurmountable precipices terminating in the eastern or Tor-head, loomed unusually large, and the eye rested with relief on a returning samphire gatherer. or perhaps a solitary sheep or goat browsing on the summit of the precipice, thrown out between earth and sky, and forming a fine study. The wind which blew with a wild and mournful song, began to exert some effect on the advancing flood; the needles were now under water and were only indicated by the increased eddying and deep snowy furrows of the breakers over them, and the sheets of foam and spray which were momentarily hurled against the base of the Tor-head. I thought as I turned from the beach and began to ascend a steep and broken path through hillocks of sand covered in patches with reeds and bent, towards the castle-that I had certainly no plea sant prospect before me; but I was resolved to go through with it manfully. It was not long before the moon rose; but she sailed amongst extensive masses of dark clouds which the increasing wind drove rapidly across her surface, imparting an endless variety of tints to the landscape. The old castle repeated every successive gust that wailed wildly through its ruins, with a fitful and pasheightened by the pallid and peculiar sing murmur, the effect of which was light, which now fell full on the ivied tower and aged battlements, flinging their dark masses boldly out, now streamed on the cove beneath, or distant sea and headlands, and all again was gloom. I increased my pace under the angle of the wall, and in order to dissipate the time, amused myself with singing snatches of the following little SONG. Sigh for the sailor, Whom ocean holds deeply; |