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Stay in England. – Portsmouth. – Plymouth. – Devonport. – Falmouth

As the corvette was to remain, for the instruction of the midshipmen, until all the naval establishments had been accurately examined, I resolved to go on shore and travel from Portsmouth to Plymouth and Falmouth, and then rejoin the corvette. On the 1st of May I went in the boat, accompanied by Captain Ryk and Lieutenant Lejeune, to Portsmouth. The sea ran very high, and the eight oarsmen made very little way against the swell. As we entered the harbour where the waves were exceedingly high, we turned so quickly that two seas struck our boat in the side, and made us more than once fear that she would be foundered. Nevertheless we arrived safely, though thoroughly wet.

I remained in Portsmouth three days, and as its situation and relations were already known to me, I spent the time in reading, writing, paying and receiving visits, and in strolling about in interesting society. For a similar reason I allowed myself to make desultory observations.

According to the navy list, there are at Portsmouth sixteen ships in actual service, mounting five hundred and eighteen guns; sixty-five dismantled, with four thousand one hundred and forty-three guns, and eighteen building, which are to carry seven hundred and fifty-six guns; making a total of five thousand four hundred and seventeen guns.

Some of the lowest class of people were masquerading in honour of the 1st of May. Most of them were dressed as Jack-puddings; others were ornamented with bladders: they marched through the streets to the sound of music, stopped and danced before some of the houses, and collected money. They also had a boxing match between two boys, which was conducted as a regular combat. As soon as one boy was down, his antagonist ceased to strike, and his second helped him up. One, however, did strike a blow while the other was down, whereupon several of the bystanders rushed upon the offender, held him fast, and gave him so many punches in the ribs that he was completely discomfited; and this terminated the fray. In the harbour about one hundred and fifty men were shipped as recruits for the 89th regiment, stationed in the East Indies. They came from the depôt at the Isle of Wight, and appeared to be very weak and miserable.

The Marquis Palmella, who resided in the same hotel with me, set out on the 3d of May with his family, a wife, eight children, and a numerous suite, for London. I paid him a visit, and was introduced to his lady, a very beautiful woman. The marquis, who is very generally esteemed, suffered considerably during the last Portuguese counter-revolution, and was kept prisoner for several days. During his stay at this place he has constantly had two honorary sentries, and an hour before his departure, a company of fifty marines, with three officers, and the band in full uniform, marched in front of the hotel, and remained as a guard of honour until he left Portsmouth. It was with real pleasure that I remarked the excellent condition of this corps.

The royal marines, whose barracks I visited, and saw the men defile, have an exceedingly fine appearance, and are highly esteemed. The officers are promoted according to seniority; but since the peace, the corps has been much reduced, and the officers are old in their grades. The officers also are mostly persons without influence, and enter the royal marines because unable to purchase rank in the army. The barracks for the soldiers did not altogether please me: they are better regulated and kept more cleanly in the Netherlands. It is a good regulation that the bedsteads are iron, and that every man lies alone; but it is very bad on the other hand, that they cook in the same room.

I visited, in company with Captain Ryk, the Ganges, a ship of the line of eighty-four guns, built a few years since by Indian workmen, entirely of Teak-wood. This hard and heavy timber is not only very lasting, but has also the great excellence of not cracking in a warm climate. We were received on board the ship with great attention, in the absence of Captain Campbell, by Lieutenant Wright, who did the honours in a very friendly manner. I cannot sufficiently admire the neatness observed in this ship. They have an excellent mode of taking care of the rings, bolts, weapons, and other iron, brass, and copper utensils, on board of English ships of war. The forepart of the gun-deck is an extraordinary apartment, the iron implements are varnished, and the others polished and arranged along the whitewashed sides, so as to form figures and inscriptions. When strangers visit the ship a sort of chandelier is lighted, which produces a very beautiful effect. When we left the ship, Lieutenant Wright had the politeness to take us in his barge to the inner harbour, where the ships are laid up in ordinary. As we left the Ganges, she saluted us with nineteen guns.

Ships in commission are painted black and white; when they go into ordinary this paint is scraped off, and they are then painted brownish yellow; if not again to be employed in active service they are painted entirely black. We went on board of the Nelson, of one hundred and twenty guns, in the harbour. She is a new ship, but lay in ordinary, having been already affected with the destructive dry-rot. The injured planks had been removed, and at present she is entirely sound. The Nelson, Ganges, and all the recently built ships of the line have round sterns. All of them have the wood work necessary for their equipment, as for gun-carriages, &c. on board. In order to preserve this and the deck from the influence of the weather, a large roof is built over them. From the Nelson we went on board the royal yacht, the Royal George, which I had already seen, but which I willingly examined once more, on account of her elegant construction and great luxury. The magnificence of the royal apartments, and those for the suite, are very strongly contrasted with the birth-deck for the crew, which is both dark and confined. We remarked here a patent iron camboose, which cooked all the food by means of steam.

Having purchased the necessary provisions, especially Gamble’s preserved meats, which keep fresh for a year, I went on the 4th of May, at 4 P. M. on board the steam ship, Sir Francis Drake, to go to Plymouth, distant one hundred and fifty miles. The engine is of seventy horse-power. The ship was not very comfortably arranged; the main cabin was so near the boiler that the heat was intolerable. Our passengers amounted to thirty persons, only eight of whom were cabin passengers. About five o’clock a gun was fired as a signal for sailing, and we stood out to sea. Spithead road with the shipping lay to the left, and our course was between the land and the Isle of Wight. Cowes with its beautiful gardens presented an agreeable sight, about a mile to the westward of which stands a castle called Egypt. It began to grow dark. We saw on the right hand the extremely bright lights of Hurst-castle, and on the left the light-house of the Needles, on the western extremity of the Isle of Wight, which I visited two years ago. The white rocks of the Needles were visible in the dark, and from the effects of frequent storms have an entirely peculiar appearance. As we passed this dangerous place, the wind increased, and the motion of the little ship, with the continual jarring of the steam-engine, became exceedingly disagreeable. As the birth allotted to me was too short, I was obliged to place my mattrass upon the floor. The heat and strokes of the adjacent steam-engine, the coughing of a catarrhous Irishman, and the squalling of a child in the next cabin, long prevented me from sleeping. It was not until near morning that I began to slumber, but was soon waked again by the insupportable heat. I sought refuge upon deck, where nearly all the company, without excepting the captain, were unwell.

The rocky English coast was in view in almost every direction; the town of Dartmouth appears to be very finely situated. After a rather long and unpleasant passage, we arrived in Plymouth Bay at 1 o’clock, P. M. We passed a little to the left of the breakwater, a dam intended to protect Plymouth road from the south-west storms, begun thirteen years ago, but not yet completed: we were gratified with the view of Mount Edgecumbe Park and Drake’s Island, on which is a small fort that forms a very beautiful view from the three towns, Plymouth, with the citadel; Stonehouse and Plymouth Dock, now called Devonport. This dock, with all the ships building and repairing there, furnishes a beautiful and imposing prospect.

After my arrival I paid a visit to the authorities of this place. The admiral in chief, Sir James Saumarez, a worthy man, seventy years of age, excited in me an extraordinary degree of interest. He has served England for fifty-six years, and during the last war commanded for five years in the Eastern Ocean. His actions are known to all the world, and caused him to be distinguished with the grand cross of the order of the Bath, which he has worn for twenty-four years.

Among the remarkable things of this place, is the court-house, which is a new, oblong building, having on one of its small sides a broad staircase leading to a portico, with four Ionic columns. The hall is large and very conveniently arranged with galleries for spectators. Beneath the dock for the prisoners is a trap-door, by which persons are brought from the prison on the ground floor, for trial, and carried back again, without being brought into contact with the public. The six cells for prisoners in the lower part of the house are all arched with stone, and furnished with iron bedsteads. The doors are of stout oak plank, studded with iron; a small opening allows air and light to enter, though very sparingly. The prisoners can walk daily for exercise in a corridor, twelve paces in length, by three in breadth: they have a miserable existence. We left this granite and marble abode of sorrow with very unpleasant impressions. Scarcely had we left it, when our eyes fell upon a monument, building upon a rock, which is to be a column one hundred and one feet high, commemorating the change of the name of the town, from Plymouth Dock to Devonport. This work did not dispel the disagreeable feeling caused by the prison. Not far distant from this monument stands a Gothic church, and near this a school-house, in the Egyptian style. The crowding together within so narrow a space of such various styles of architecture, exhibits a singular, I cannot say an agreeable sight. We also examined the market, which is furnished with numerous covered galleries, in which provisions, fish for instance, are displayed upon marble tables. But marble is so common here, that the foot-walks are paved with it: houses are also built therewith. The houses in Devonport are not handsome: some of the old ones are entirely covered with slate, which produces a disagreeable impression. In the court-house there is a fire-place made of slate.

On the 7th of May we examined the dock-yard; there are eight ships here in actual service, mounting three hundred and sixty-six guns; sixty-five in ordinary, with three thousand five hundred and twenty guns, and twenty-two building, which will mount upwards of seven hundred and twenty; making in all, four thousand six hundred and six guns.

The dock-yard, with its admirable regulation, is perfectly described by Dupin in his excellent travels in Great Britain. The work is known to most readers, and for an accurate description of the dock I refer them thereto. The entrance is really beautiful; you behold the greater part of the dock-yard, which is terrace-shaped, beneath you; on the right hand is the church and some offices, opposite to which are two cannon employed more for show than defence. The houses are built of the gray marble-like lime-stone, which is so common here. A new magazine is rendered entirely fire-proof by this stone and iron; the different store-rooms being separated by iron doors, so that in case of fire it can be insulated. The rope-walk is a building two stories high, with walks two hundred yards long. All the ships, as in other English docks, are built under roofs, which are sometimes covered with slate, though mostly with copper. To my surprise, the water is pumped out of the dry docks by a horse-mill instead of a steam-engine. In one of the dry docks we saw the unfortunate ship Fortitudo2 repairing. All her timbers were decayed; her copper destroyed, and she required three new masts; her repairs cost the house of Roelands of Antwerp eight thousand pounds. There is at this dock a huge iron kettle, in which ship timber is boiled in sea water in order to protect it from the dry rot. About two thousand two hundred men are daily employed in this yard, and some earn thirty-six shillings a week.

After a stay of about two hours at the dock-yard, I went in company with the admiral to Hamoaze, where the fleets in service and dismantled lay at anchor. We went on board the flag ship Britannia, and were received in a very friendly manner by Captain Pipon, who showed us the ship throughout: every thing was as admirable as in the ships at Portsmouth. From the Britannia, which saluted us with twenty-one guns, we went on board the St. Vincent, which in every respect resembled the Nelson at Portsmouth.

On the 6th of May, which was Sunday, and the town consequently very quiet, I went first to visit the marine barracks, and thence to Plymouth, which I had not yet seen. It is about a mile distant from Stonehouse. The entrance is agreeable, exhibiting several new houses, and a large quadrangular building, ornamented with columns, which contains the theatre and Royal Hotel. But as soon as one advances a little farther into the town the scene changes, the streets are all narrow and precipitous, badly paved, and without side-walks; the houses are badly built, and angular, and the sun cannot shine into the streets. The harbour that is forming at Catwater appears to be visited, and the bay presents a noble prospect. We passed by a road cut in the rock to the citadel, to visit the vice-governor, Major General Sir John Cameron; but he was sick. We walked round the ramparts of the citadel, and enjoyed at every point an admirable view, to which the fine weather contributed its full proportion. At noon we walked to Stoke, a village in which the inhabitants of Plymouth have country seats. At this place it is customary, as far as practicable, to bury the dead on Sunday; we therefore met funeral processions in most of the streets, which did not particularly raise our spirits.

On Monday I went with Sir James Saumarez in the Britannia’s barge to examine the breakwater. We first visited the stone quarries at Catwater, whence the stone for the breakwater is procured. The land where this quarry is situated was purchased from various proprietors. The rock, which is lime-stone, is blasted with gunpowder. Many of the blocks of stone weigh five tons and upwards. They are lifted by iron cranes, by which one workman is able to raise a ton and a half, and placed upon small four wheeled iron cars, which run on rail-roads to the quay where the vessels lay which are to convey them to the breakwater. These vessels, which are built expressly for this service, can carry eighteen of the heaviest of these blocks; the lighter stones are carried in hired vessels. At the quarry we were received by the secretary of Mr. Whitby, who planned the breakwater, and at present superintends the work. A cave was discovered in the rock containing rhinoceros bones in good preservation, and some time after, another cavern was found containing the bones and teeth of bears. From the mount above the quarry, there is an extensive and exceedingly beautiful prospect. From this place we went to Bovisand-bay, where, under the direction of Mr. Whitby, a quay and reservoir of fresh water is building for the navy. The water is collected from two springs into a reservoir twenty feet deep, situated between the hills. Thence it is to be conducted through iron pipes for nearly an English mile to the quay. These seventeen cocks will each deliver two and a half tuns of water a minute. The watering boats will land at the quay, and in a very short time return with their lading to the ships. In the valley near the reservoir is Mr. Whitby’s handsome dwelling, from which he can survey the whole work, and consequently may from his own chamber control the workmen.

The breakwater suffered exceedingly by the terrible storm of the 22d and 23d of November, 1824. It is now to be rendered more permanent in the following manner: – The stones most exposed to the waves are to be hewed and clamped together with iron. I fear, however, that this work will also be destroyed, unless a couple of perpendicular dams be built touching the principal dam, to break the force of the waves before they reach the latter. The old works are in so ruinous a condition that we were nearly wrecked upon them. On this account we stood farther off, and went on board of the Thetis frigate to pay a visit to Sir John Phillimore. Sir John, in honour of our presence, displayed all his flags. The marines, with their officers, stood near the mizen-mast, and with the crew marched round the deck; some of the latter were armed with pikes, some with sabres, and others with battle-axes. I was delighted with the perfect order and neatness which universally appeared. Both cabins were very elegantly arranged and ornamented with mahogany. As we took leave, the yards were manned, and a salute given. It was now high water, and we passed between Drake’s Island and Mount Edgecumbe through a passage called the Bridge, which is dangerous on account of rocks. We touched twice upon them without injury, as fortunately the wind was slight: we landed at the beautiful stone stairs of Mount Wise.

On the day following, I visited the Marine Hospital, in company with Sir John Phillimore. This is an admirably managed and richly endowed institution.3 The building was begun during the seven years war. It can accommodate two thousand sick or wounded: we found but about seventy persons in the hospital, and among these some officers and midshipmen. It appeared to me that the plan of having eight separate buildings, each three stories high, was a very good one, as the spreading of contagious diseases, or of a conflagration, can be so much more easily prevented. Each ward contains sixteen bedsteads, all of iron; the bedsteads for the officers are of wood, and furnished with curtains. There are also beds in the wards for the nurses, which, in all the English marine hospitals, are females, whose attendance is preferred for its greater gentleness to that of male assistants. The sick are brought from the ships to the hospital by water, and go, or are carried up a wide stone stair to the receiving office. They are then stripped and bathed in the hospital to which they are sent, and their clothes are marked, and kept in a particular magazine. An iron crane is employed to land those who are badly wounded. In all the wards, as well as in the different store-rooms, and the apothecary room, the greatest order and cleanliness is observable.

The church does not appear to me to be arranged in correspondence with the rest of the establishment. It is small, and has a store-room on the first floor, so that the patients find it occasionally very troublesome to attend upon worship. A covered colonnade surrounds the quadrangular court-yard which encloses the building, under which the patients, in bad or hot weather, can exercise. The middle of the court-yard is a well-kept grass-plot.

For maniac patients there is a proper house, built remote from the others. The wash-house stands also aloof. In bad weather, the wash is dried by steam. The wash is hung upon frames, which fold together, and may be run in and out for the convenience of taking off the dried pieces and adding the wet. Eight of such frames may be folded together and occupy a very small space. There is also a very appropriately managed bathing-house for the use of the patients, in which they may not only have all sorts of baths, but with the greatest convenience. The superintendents, physicians, and officers, have their dwellings in front of the hospital, in a spacious place planted with trees. The commissioner at the head of the institution, is Captain Creyke, a pensioner, eighty years old, who first served at sea in 1759, and accompanied Commodore Wallis in his first voyage round the world. Before we left the hospital we took a glance at his beautifully situated and tastefully arranged house. We then visited the Plymouth Library, established by subscription about twenty years ago, which does not yet appear to be very rich. The establishment consists of three apartments, the book-room, the reading-room, and the director’s meeting-room. The library serves properly for a reading club, like our literary society at Ghent. On the 10th, I dined in company with Admiral Saumarez and Sir John Phillimore, with the officer’s mess of the twenty-fourth regiment of infantry, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Fleming.

On the ensuing day, the admiral accompanied us to Mount Edgecumbe Park; this is a truly noble situation, yet, in time of war, as this position is indispensable to the defence of the dock-yard, it is necessary to convert it into a fortification. The ground is very advantageously employed in the disposition and embellishment of the park: it is not encumbered with buildings; the green and bath-house are the principal, and in the construction of these the marble of the vicinity has been very happily used. The trees are chiefly beech, some of them apparently very old, sickly, and injured by the sea-air. There are also three great cedars of Lebanon, which do not thrive well in an English park. The Castle of Mount Edgecumbe is ancient, and externally resembles a state prison; we did not examine it internally. We saw the monument of Lady Mount Edgecumbe, who died in 1806, to whom the park is indebted for most of its improvements. It is told of her that she was twice buried; the first time she remained three days in a vault, lying in her coffin, and was aroused by a thief cutting off her finger to steal a ring: she left the grave, took refuge in a neighbouring house, made herself known, and was reconveyed to her castle, where she subsequently lived several years and gave birth to children. Relata refero. On the sea-shore, near the bridge that we passed two days since, Lord Mount Edgecumbe has erected a battery of twenty-one iron six pounders, which he fires upon all festival occasions. We embarked at this battery to visit the rock lying in front of Stonehouse, called Devil’s Point, which is to be partly levelled to make room for a new victualling office. The work is scarcely begun. A cellar was dug out of the rock and a wall built in the sea to support the foundation. This was effected by means of a diving-bell. The bell containing the workmen, remained while we were present, nearly four hours under water. Government intends to construct a new water-reservoir at this place, which will probably render that of Bovisand unnecessary. Drinking water is brought to Plymouth in iron pipes from Dartmouth, which is eighteen miles distant, so that in time of war the supply might readily be cut off.

Next day I went by land to visit the Castle of Saltroun, situated six English miles from Plymouth at the end of Catwater, and belonging to Lord Morlay, who resides in London. The road passes through a delightful valley; on the right is Catwater, to the left the ruins of castles on the heights: there are also here numerous terrace-shaped strawberry beds, the fruit of which is exceedingly good. Close to the entrance of the park we crossed the Catwater upon an old, very narrow, stone bridge of five arches. Through the park, a beautiful road leads from the valley to the loftily situated castle. It rained excessively, and as we could see nothing from the park, we restricted ourselves to the castle, which was built probably about sixty years ago, and has a very large apartment in the basement. A very spacious vestibule leads to the library, in which are a number of splendid family portraits and pictures of some once celebrated actresses. The best picture is a portrait of Sir Joshua Reynolds, painted by himself. Four plaster columns resembling verd-antique are excellent imitations. From the library a small apartment opens into the picture gallery. In both rooms are several paintings by Carlo Dolce, Andrea Del Sarto, Teniers, Wouvermans, Ostade, Kuyp, Vandermeulen, &c. I cannot assert that all these are original paintings. In the parlour, ball-room, and dining-hall, there are also numerous pictures. Some of these are attributed to Angelica Kauffman, others to Reubens, Van Dyke, Sassoferrato, Guido Rheni, Titian, Ruysdael, Parmegiano, &c. However, I have seen the originals of many of them at Antwerp and Ghent, and of one of the Parmegianos in Windsor Castle. Among the statues and busts, I especially remarked a copy of the Florentine Venus, by Canova, and a copy of Hebe by the same master. The staircase of the castle is fine, and adorned with pictures by Angelica Kauffman. The mantel-pieces, all of Italian marble, ornamented with bas-reliefs, are also very remarkable. The bad weather accompanied us throughout our return to Plymouth. On this occasion I remarked that the pavement was taken up in several streets, and Macadamized, which is much better for the horses and houses.

[Several succeeding days were spent in excursions to different places in the vicinity, in company with the Admiral and Sir John Phillimore; and one day on a water party accompanied by ladies.]

On the 19th of May, in a small boat belonging to the Fortitudo, I made, with great pleasure, an excursion to Trematon Castle, which I had formerly understood was once the residence of the ancient Princes of Cornwall. Sir John Phillimore had been so polite as to inform the proprietor, Mr. Tucker, chief director of the neighbouring mines, whose son is an officer on board the Thetis, of our coming. On landing, we found a carriage sent by Mr. Tucker to meet and convey us to the castle. I observed here a water-mill, behind which was a large walled basin that is filled by the flood tide, and closed by a gate. During the ebb tide the gate is opened and the mill set to work. It reminded me of the bassins de chasse, in some of our harbours.

Trematon Castle is situated upon a height. Besides the walls furnished with loop-holes which form a quadrangle, the castle consists of but two towers, one quadrangular, which forms the entrance, and the other a round one, somewhat higher. As Mr. Tucker holds this castle of the king, the royal arms are over the portal. In the court-yard of the castle, Mr. Tucker has built a tasteful house, and, by removing part of the adjacent wall, has obtained a beautiful prospect from his dwelling, comprising a view of most of the Hamoaze with the shipping, Anthony’s Park, Devonport, and part of Plymouth Sound. Mr. Tucker holds several important posts in the navy, and during Fox’s ministry he was secretary to the admiralty. At the overthrow of that administration, he retired to his native place with a pension of two thousand pounds per annum, and the office of secretary to the duchy of Cornwall; here he is highly esteemed, enjoys great influence, and has his property principally vested in the mines. After receiving us in a very friendly manner, and introducing his family, he took a seat in the carriage.

We went eight miles further to a silver mine, the only one in England. It belongs to a company of five stockholders, of which Mr. Tucker is the principal. The country is very hilly, the road sometimes narrow and steep, so that it was frequently necessary to lock the wheels. A part of the way was over the good road from Saltash to Callington; we also passed near to Pentilhe castle. The land is generally good, with the exception of a heath, of which England contains a number under the name of “commons.” The silver mine is situated in a deep valley of Fulliford common. The mine is named St. Vincent, in honour of the deceased admiral, who was a great patron of Mr. Tucker. The mine has been but five years in progress, and produces so little that it sinks two hundred pounds per month for the stockholders. The vein of silver, whose presence is judged of certainly by iron-stone, is cut at right angles by a vein of copper. This copper they are breaking through in hopes of greater success. The mine has five shafts; the deepest is rather more than three hundred feet deep, and serves as a working-shaft: two others are used for pumping out the water. One pump is worked by a steam-engine of seventy horse-power, the other is worked by a compound lever, which is about a quarter of a mile long, moved by a water-wheel of forty feet in diameter. The wheel is overshot, and the water for working it is obtained from a small brook, aided by the water pumped up by the steam machine, and conducted to it by a small canal. The lever is composed of long wooden beams, bound together with iron straps, and hangs by tripods placed at determinate distances.

The ore raised from the mine, is pounded, washed, and roasted in the usual manner. In order to separate the silver from the ore, the following mixture is added to an ounce of the powder; red lead, two ounces; red tartar, five pennyweights; nitre, nine pennyweights; borax, four pennyweights; lime, one-quarter of an ounce; common salt, two ounces; pounded fluor spar, one-quarter of an ounce. The whole is thrown into a red hot iron crucible, which is placed on a glowing coke fire for five minutes. The crucible is then taken off and the melted mass poured into a ladle, allowed to cool and the dross removed. Some copper still remains in the mass, so that the silver is again smelted with some lead, and poured into a small vessel made of bone ashes: the lead is oxydated and the silver remains pure. An ounce of ore produces one-fourth of an ounce of silver.

The mine is extremely damp, and as I had not felt entirely well for some days, I did not descend, neither did any of the company. We returned to Trematon, and in order to examine the noble spot to which we were going more thoroughly, I mounted the box, and enjoyed a great treat. To the left I looked down a deep valley upon the Tamer; farther off, upon the Hamoaze, and to the right, far over Cornwall. Falmouth is said also to be in sight. In his tastefully arranged house, Mr. Tucker has a very interesting collection of minerals and metals of the vicinity. He possesses a valuable library, and his wife has a remarkable collection of shells. In the quadrangular tower of the castle, he has fitted up a billiard room, and arranged on the walls numerous curiosities: ancient weapons, and implements from the South Sea Islands, the tatoed and dried head of a New Zealand chief, with his dress; pieces of worm-eaten ship-timber from the Indian Ocean, with one of the worms in spirits; Indian weapons; an American tomahawk; a human skull, found thirty feet under ground in Cornwall; a marble bullet, with which an English ship was struck in the Dardanelles, in 1807; articles from the field of Waterloo; and a weeping willow leaf from over Napoleon’s tomb! Above the clock in this tower, is placed the bell of the Spanish ship Salvador del Mundo, taken and burnt by Lord St. Vincent. The round tower, of which only the outward wall is standing, formerly served for a prison. The walls of this tower, as well as all the rest of the castle, are overgrown with ivy. A wooden staircase within, leads to a circular gallery, which affords a beautiful prospect. A narrow passage cut through the walls, leads to the garden, which contains numerous hot houses and a very fine orangery. From this spot Mr. Tucker accompanied us, by a very shady foot-path, back to our boat. I remarked near the Castle of Trematon, as about other English castles, and public walks, a vast flock of rooks, which roost there, making a great filth and noise. The rook is much esteemed, and I hear that the people foster them, and have their eggs hatched under pigeons, as they are thought to destroy vast numbers of injurious insects.

Amid all this friendly, agreeable, and learned society, these entertainments and excursions, my impatience became great, and augmented from day to day, from hour to hour. My time was precious, yet the greater part of it was lost here. I waited with increasing anxiety for the arrival of the Pallas, which still did not appear. More than once I resolved to leave behind all I had on board of the corvette, and go to the United States in a common packet. In the meanwhile various considerations deferred my departure from day to day, until finally on the 30th of May the Pallas arrived.

While waiting for the ship, I derived much pleasure from a visit made with Sir John Phillimore to the country seat of Colonel Ginnis, formerly of the army. He lives in a beautiful park, a charming situation, five miles from Plymouth, not far from the left bank of the Tamer, with five lovely and handsome daughters. His house is very tastefully arranged, and ornamented with paintings by himself. He has a peculiar talent for landscape painting, both in oil and water colours. He has thus preserved representations of the most beautiful situations visited in the course of his numerous journeys. He passed nine years in North America, and showed us views of wonders of nature, which I hope soon to admire myself. His view of the cataract of Niagara, and Falls of Montmorenci, gave me great pleasure.

Sir John Phillimore also accompanied me to see Mr. Harris, a surgeon, who has invented a new lightning conductor for ships. He has, for the sake of experiment, had the model of a frigate built, which he floats in a tub of water. There is a conductor to each mast, from which copper rods, secured close to each other, run down the mast to the keel, through which they pass into the water. Mr. Harris asserts, that the lightning passes down these rods without affecting any thing in the vicinity. To prove this, he wound around the mast a paper filled with fine gunpowder, through which the lightning was sent without exploding it. To prove farther, that the electricity can produce combustion after passing through water, he connected the conductor below the keel by a copper wire, with the touch-hole of a small cannon, which was floated in the tub. When the electricity strikes the conductor on the mast, the cannon is instantaneously fired. The cloud is represented by a frame stuffed with cotton, which hangs by a silk thread, and is connected with an electrical machine. Mr. Harris has a fine collection of philosophical apparatus; the lightning rod of his house communicates by conductors with a chime of bells, which are set to ringing whenever an electric cloud passes over the house; this happened during our visit. Mr. Harris has published a small pamphlet relative to his ship-conductor, of which he presented me with a copy. We were very much gratified with his experiments, and were grateful to him for his politeness.

The delay of the Pallas also afforded me an opportunity of seeing an East India ship launched. She was called the City of Rochester; was built in London, and had sailed on her first voyage last autumn, for Bengal, but off the heights of Plymouth was struck by a tremendous hurricane with so much power as to wreck her to a degree that required rebuilding. I had an opportunity of examining her while on the stocks, and was pleased with her construction. She is intended to carry passengers. On the quarter-deck she has a parlour and two state-rooms, like the captain’s quarters in a ship of the line, and below, the rooms are distributed, as in the wardroom of a ship of the line, with this difference, that in a transport ship the chambers are larger and neater than in a ship of war. In each state-room there is a toilette, with a water-closet, which is exceedingly good and comfortable. As I had never seen a ship launched before, I was much interested. She rested upon two ways, and was retained by two wedges; at a given signal these were knocked away, and then by her own weight she was slowly and majestically launched into the water, amid the acclamations of a great crowd of people.

The celebrated General Mina, a victim of the troubles which existed in unfortunate Spain, met with a hearty welcome in England. But the humid climate of this island did not agree with him, and he was afflicted with rheumatism. Plymouth has the reputation of enjoying a very fine climate, and together with the great medical skill of Dr. Hammick, who has charge of the Marine hospital, is very much praised. For both these reasons, General Mina had selected Plymouth as his residence. I cultivated his acquaintance, and was witness of a very interesting ceremony in honour of him. The Spanish committee in London had voted him a sword, and a member of this society, Mr. Bowring, the same person who in 1824 was arrested in France, on account of a pretended treasonable correspondence, and soon after liberated again, was commissioned to present this sword to the general in a solemn manner. It was on the 2d of June, when a numerous and selected company met at the Royal Hotel of Plymouth, to attend this ceremony. As the general was introduced to the company, Mr. Bowring informed the public of the object of the meeting, and praised the merits of the brave general. He then addressed the general in Spanish, informed him of the decision of the committee, and finally displayed the diploma which accompanied the sword: this was drawn up in English and Spanish with great calligraphic splendour. The diploma and sabre were then presented to the general. The sword has a gold hilt, with the general’s arms on it, and a richly gilt sheath, the sides of which were beautifully embossed with emblems of the general’s services. Mina returned an answer in Spanish, and gave it to Mr. Bowring. One of the company quickly translated it into English, for the benefit of the public, whose long-continued applauses expressed their admiration of the brave general. Mr. Bowring invited me to a friendly entertainment that was to be given to Mina; unfortunately I was obliged to decline it, as I had already made another engagement.

[The 5th of June was fixed upon for the sailing of the Pallas for Falmouth, but bad weather and high head winds detained her until the 7th. On the 9th, at 6 A. M. she arrived at Falmouth.]

This tolerably long town lay at the foot of a hill, on our left, and contains seven thousand inhabitants. It has by no means a brilliant appearance, as it is, like Devonport, built of grey limestone, and the roofs are slated. It is not visible from the sea, as a hill intervenes, upon which the citadel stands. On the right side of the bay there is an old castle, called St. Mawes, with about five houses, tenanted by poor fishermen; this castle is one of the often-mentioned rotten boroughs: it formerly was a town, and still sends two members to parliament.

The hills are mostly cultivated; some are employed as pastures. Trees are very rare, and few ships lay in the harbour. We anchored not far from the frigate Astrea, a guard-ship, and saluted her with eleven guns, which she returned. When we fired a salute on our arrival at Spithead, the oil was spilled from the sympisometer, and Captain Ryk was obliged to obtain a new one from London. To avoid a similar catastrophe, the sympisometer and chronometer were both kept in hands during this salute. The frigate Astrea, commanded by Captain King, serves as a depôt for all the packets, which sail hence to all parts of the world lying south and west of England, and are collectively under command of Captain King. The packets were formerly private property; the conveyance of the mail to foreign parts, was consequently not only very irregular, but a wide door was opened for smuggling. – On this account, the government, after having contracted with the former proprietors of the packets, assumed the sole direction. When a packet is no longer retained in service, a corvette or brig, commanded by a lieutenant of the navy, is substituted. At this time thirty-four packets were in service, of which fifteen were vessels of war, commanded by navy officers, the others were the old packets in charge of their former captains.

Soon after our arrival we were visited by the consul of the Netherlands, Mr. Lake, who brought me several letters. We afterwards received a visit from Captain King, a very entertaining old gentleman. At eleven o’clock, Captain Ryk and I went on shore, where we found a crowd assembled to witness our landing. We took lodgings in the Royal Hotel, a large, tastefully-arranged building, though in a very filthy street. We were much annoyed by the fish-market, which was immediately opposite to us; in this we saw very large and fine fish, as well as enormous shrimps, which are here very cheap. We repaired to the Custom House, where I made the necessary arrangements relative to the landing of my baggage, after which we visited Mr. Lake and Captain King. The latter lived without the limits of the city, near the bay, in a house, which, though old and small, is very handsomely situated in a garden, and commands a very fine prospect of the bay. The house is also historically remarkable: it was once inhabited by Oliver Cromwell.

The citadel, named Pendennis Castle, stands, as has been already remarked, on an eminence near the entrance of the bay, which it defends. It occupies the entire height, and is not overlooked by any other fortress. The soil consists of slate, and many of the works are cut out of the rock. It has six bastions, and on the water side, two batteries, each of about twenty pieces. A furnace for heating shot stands near the upper battery, and the lower, which lies close to the shore, is attached by its left wing to an old tower erected during the reign of Henry VIII. The fortress was built in Cromwell’s time. At the southern point stands an old tower, built of granite and surrounded by a ditch, which was erected in the reign of Henry VIII. This tower, the original fortress, serves at present as the dwelling of the commander. It may be compared with the French tours modelés. From the pinnacle, a tolerably extensive prospect of the surrounding country may be obtained. The day on which I visited the fortress with several officers from the Pallas, was very favourable, and yet a fog on the hills, descended into the vale between the fortress and the city of Falmouth, so that some time elapsed before we could see the rocky shore of the sea. These fogs are said to appear very frequently, even on the finest summer days. The fortress, which is capable of containing a garrison of two thousand men, was merely occupied by a detachment of veterans. There is an arsenal in it, where we saw nearly four thousand stands of arms for infantry and marines, besides a number of sabres, &c. all very handsomely arranged. I observed in this, as in other English fortresses, that even during peace, nearly all the cannon are suffered to remain mounted on the walls, and the fortresses are enclosed with palisades. Truly! many persons find the business of keeping the carriages in good order very profitable, and the palisades also serve instead of hedges!

The Dalcoath mines are about fourteen miles from Falmouth. The stockholders of these mines, held a meeting on the 13th of June, to settle their accounts. I rode thither with Mr. Lake, Captain Ryk, and some officers of the Pallas. But having already visited many mines, and learnt from experience that nothing is generally seen but small and low passages, that much inconvenience is experienced from dampness and filth, and my object being to visit America, I thought it by no means necessary to enter these subterraneous regions. Coals are not found in the province of Cornwall. The ore is therefore sold in heaps, at about seven pounds and a half sterling per ton, and conveyed by water to Wales, where, as is well known, stone-coal is found in abundance; it is there smelted. The Dalcoath mines occupy a large extent of ground, and have seven shafts, one of which is three hundred and forty fathoms deep. The pumps are worked by means of steam-engines, the cylinder of one of which is seventy-six inches in diameter. We were told of an engine in the neighbourhood, whose cylinder was one hundred inches in diameter. Nearly eight hundred people work daily in the Dalcoath mines, whose wages are proportioned to the product of their labour. The ridge consists of granite and schist. The metals are copper and tin. The veins of these metals lie close together, frequently cross each other, and are so rich, that in general it yields a third of its weight in pure metal. The stone is broken and washed, and the copper separated from the tin, after which the ore is collected into heaps for sale. The breaking of the stone into small pieces is performed by women, some of whom were very handsome. I remarked also, that the stone was drawn up the shaft in iron, and not in wooden buckets, as is customary in other countries. The company to which these mines belong is said to realize great sums; however a deficit occasionally occurs. This was the case at the present settlement of accounts, and for this reason the gentlemen, about twenty in number, with a permanent director, Mr. Rennel at their head, were not in the best humour. At the dinner, which naturally closed the transaction, many local concerns, which did not particularly interest us, were discussed. Many toasts, which all referred to localities, were drank. At last, it occurred to the gentlemen to drink the health of the king of the Netherlands, which I returned by drinking the health of the royal family of England. The dinner consisted, according to the English fashion, of very solid food – roast-beef, plumb-pudding, &c.

Our course led us through Penryn, a small place, about two miles from Falmouth, containing about three thousand inhabitants, and but poorly built. It has a harbour, and lies at one extremity of Falmouth Bay. Coal ships from Wales, and vessels with grain from Ireland, principally visit this port. Cornwall is too hilly to allow the necessary grain to be raised, and the mines occupy so much space, and withdraw so many poor people from farming, that by far the largest portion of grain must be brought from other quarters. The road, which, though hilly, was in a good state, led through many pastures which were enclosed with hedges.

The few trees which are seen, have not attained a great height. In the new plantations I observed some larches. The houses are built of stone, many of granite, here very common and cheap, and roofed with slate. Many new houses are erected on speculation, because the population rapidly increases. We also passed through Redruth, a hilly and angular town, of about three thousand inhabitants, who are principally miners. The town is surrounded by mines, whose general aspect is by no means pleasing. On an eminence not far from Redruth, we saw some ruins which are said to be the remains of a Druid temple. In the mines I observed a superstitious practice, which I find to prevail also in ships and farm houses; a horse-shoe is nailed over the door to keep off witches. When at Dalcoath, we found ourselves only a mile and a half distant from Bristol Channel, and saw St. Agnes’ Beacon, a high mountain in the neighbourhood. We at last arrived at Tehidy Park, belonging to Lord Dunstanville; this is principally a new settlement, which appears to great advantage in a region like this, which is not rich. We stopped at the dwelling house to view it. It is a tolerably large, square building with four porches, and contains several paintings by Van Dyk, Lely, Kneller, Hudson, and Sir Joshua Reynolds; however, I doubt whether the former be genuine. I was particularly pleased with a very good portrait of the celebrated Fox. We saw also several statues, copies of the best antiques and cameos of verd and jaune antique.

I had frequently seen sketches of St. Michael’s Mount in Cornwall, and had long wished to see the mount itself. I accordingly took advantage of my present leisure to visit it. The mount lies in Mountbay, opposite Marazion, twenty-three miles distant from Falmouth. I left this place June 14th, at noon, the weather being very warm. The road leads through Penryn, and then inclines to the left towards the ridges, constantly up and down hill, through heaths, where few traces of culture were observed; the houses stand detached, and have a miserable appearance. On the heights, however, we had occasionally a prospect towards the western ridges of Cornwall. Trees are few in number; we observed mines here and there. Thirteen miles from Falmouth lies Helstone, a little mining town of two thousand five hundred inhabitants, containing some neat houses, but miserable pavements. The court-house stands in the middle of the town, under which is the market. On the other side of Helstone we came to a beautiful valley, where we saw trees again, and by means of a stone bridge we passed over Looe, a small stream, which at a short distance empties into the sea. As far as Marazion the region is agreeable; hilly indeed, but better cultivated. We approached the sea on the left; on the right we had the ridges, among which we discovered some neat farms. As we approached Marazion, which lies on a descent towards the sea, we enjoyed the really fine view of Mountbay and of St. Michael’s Mount. In Marazion we stopped at the Star Inn, and immediately took a boat to reach the mountain, which is a short distance from the shore. The rock, which at low water joins the shore, consists of granite, is a mile in circumference at its base, and is two hundred and fifty feet high. At its foot there is a small fishing village of about thirty houses, with a harbour formed by two new piers. By means of very inconvenient steps which are cut out of the rock, we reached an old castle, standing at the highest point, and belonging to the family St. Aubyn. This is the same family, whose chief, Sir John St. Aubyn, owns almost all the houses in Devonport, and a large portion of the ground of the dock-yard. In former times, St. Michael’s Mount was a cloister. Adapted by its isolated situation for a fortress, art has contributed but little to its strength, and added merely a pair of bastions, and platforms, on which a few small cannon belonging to the owner of the mount, are at present standing. It sustained several sieges in former times. We were conducted to a Gothic chapel with ancient, painted window-glasses, after which we examined the castle. In this, however, we found nothing remarkable, except the old refectory of the cloister, called the chevy-chace-room, with strange bas-reliefs, representing ancient hunting scenes. In this hall are very old pieces of furniture; one chair is said to be three hundred, another five hundred years old.

The windows of the castle command a very fine prospect towards Mountbay and its shores, in which Marazion and Penzance, which are three miles distant from each other, appear to very great advantage. Not far from the latter place, the Thetis lay at anchor. I regretted extremely that my time would not allow me to visit my gallant friend, Sir John Phillimore. A steeple rises above the church of the castle, which I, however, did not ascend, being fatigued, and the steps in a neglected state. We rode back to Marazion, which was formerly called Marketzew, and has eleven hundred inhabitants, and passing by Helstone, we arrived about one o’clock at night, much fatigued, at Falmouth. Penryn, to which I made several excursions, contains a row of newly-built, elegant houses, with handsome gardens and a catholic church. The beautiful terrace on which the new houses stand with their gardens, is called the Green Bank, and is a very agreeable promenade.