Quitting the Retreat you pass by THE CANOPY AND INDIAN ROCK, both of which are deeply tinged with copper, and where solemn and romantic scenery still present themselves to the spectator. You mount up a curiously hewn pathway along a rock, and arrive at a well-designed little cottage, which is a Hermit's summer residence you pull a bell, and gain admittance. : THE HERMIT is generally in a sitting posture, with a table before him, on which are a skull, an hourglass, a book, and a pair of spectacles. The venerable bare-footed Father, whose name is Francis, always rises up at the approach of strangers. He seems about ninety years of age, yet has all his senses to admiration! he is tolerably conversant, and far from being unpolite; and if requested, will repeat the following lines, which are fixed up within his habitation : MEMENTO MORI. Far from the busy scenes of life, Leaving this solitary sire, you pass to THE FOX's KNOB, a lofty insulated mass of rock, which derives its name from the circumstance of a Fox, which some years ago jumped from the top of it to the valley beneath, when pushed hard by a pack of fox-hounds: the fall cost Reynard his life, as well as some of the dogs which followed him. This detached piece of rock is of a pyramidal form, and finely clothed with trees and ivy, the roots of which are wreathed in a thousand fantastic forms. The Guide will then conduct you to a subterraneous passage, usually called ST. FRANCIS's CAVE, into which you enter under the curiously twisted root of a most venerable Yew-tree. After having groped for some yards in total darkness, you suddenly emerge into cheering light; and whichever way you turn yourself, the most enchanting prospects of woods, and hills, and lawn, and water, enlivened by the busy scenes of Agriculture, are stretched out to your view. Thence, turning a little to the left, you gradually ascend the summit of THE TERRACE, where you are invited by the pleasantness of the walk, having a fine green turf under your feet, and on each side all sorts of forest trees, the varied foliage of which reaches down to the ground, with openings here and there, through which distant prospects are viewed; while, perchance, a disturbed pheasant startles you with his " whirring wings," or hundreds of the smaller feathered tribe charm the ears with wild melody. Passing beyond the limits of this cultivated Alps, you arrive at THE GRAND OBELISK, erected at the highest spot on the Terrace; it is built of free-stone, and is about one hundred and twelve feet high.* From the top of this column, in the inside of which is a stone staircase, almost boundless prospects present themselves around; England and Wales vie with each other for the preeminent loftiness of their mountains and the richness of their plains. The capital of this Obelisk was illuminated in a most splendid manner when the news arrived of Lord Nelson's victory over the French fleet at the mouth of the Nile. It was also lighted up on account of the preliminary articles of the Peace of Amiens being signed, amidst a tremendous roar of cannon (which here find innumerable echoes), and a grand display of fire-works. It was also illuminated in commemoration of several victories during the late war; and lastly, on the arrival of General Lord Hill at Hawkstone, at the termination of hostilities in 1814. The gallery of the Obelisk forms a useful observatory for an astronomer, either by day or by night. The inscription on the base transmits to posterity the piety and noble acts of a venerable ancestor; a handsome statue of whom, in his Lord Mayor's gown, copied from an ancient monument which stood in the church at St. Stephen's, Walbrook, before the fire of London, is placed on the top, holding Magna Charta in his hand.—The inscription on the base is as follows: THE RIGHTEOUS SHALL BE HAD IN EVERLASTING REMEMBRANCE.-Psalm cxi. 6. The first stone of this Pillar was laid by Sir Richard Hill, Bart. Member in several Parliaments for this County, on the 1st day of October, in the year 1795; who caused it to be erected, not only for the various uses of an Observatory, and to feast the eye, by presenting to it at one view, a most luxuriant and extensive prospect, which takes in not less than twelve (or, as some assert, fifteen) counties; but from motives of justice, respect, and gratitude to the memory of a truly great and good man, viz. Sir Rowland Hill, Knt. who was born at the family mansion of Hawkstone, in the reign of King Henry the Seventh, and being bred to trade, and free of the city of London, became one of the most considerable and opulent merchants of his time, and was Lord Mayor of the same, in the second and third years of Edward the Sixth, anno 1549 and 1550, and was the first Protestant who filled that high office. Having embraced the principles of the Reformation, he zealously exerted himself in behalf of the Protestant cause, and having been diligent in the use of all religious exercises, prayerful, conscientious, and watchful (as a writer of his character expresses it), yet trusting only in the merits of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, he exchanged his life for a better, a short while after the death of that pious young monarch, being aged nearly seventy years. For a considerable time previous to his decease, he gave up his mercantile occupations, that he might with more devotedness of heart attend to the great concerns of another world. His lands, possessions, and church patronage, were immense; particularly in the counties of Salop and Chester; the number of his tenants (none of whom he ever raised or fined) amounting to one thousand one hundred and eighty-one, as appears from his own hand writing. But his private virtues, good deeds, and munificent spirit, were quite unlimited, and extended-like the prospect before us, East, West, North, and South, far sur passing all bounds. "Being sensible," saith Fuller (speaking of him in his "Worthies of England"), "that "his great estate was given him of God," it was his desire to devote it to his glory. He built a spacious church in his own parish of Hodnet, and likewise the neighbouring church of Stoke, at his own expense. He built Tern and Atcham Bridges in this county, both of hewn stone, and containing several arches each. He also built other large bridges of timber. He built and endowed several Free Schools, particularly that of Drayton. He made and paved divers highways for the public utility. He founded exhibitions, and educated many students at both Universities, and supported at the Inns of Court others who were brought up to the Law. He was the unwearied friend of the widow and the fatherless. He clothed annually three hundred poor people in his own neighbourhood, both with shirts and coats; and in the city of London he gave £500 (an immense sum in those days) to St. Bartholomew's hospital, besides (saith Fuller) £600 to Christ Church hospital. He also gave most liberally to all other hospitals, and at his death bequeathed £150 to the poor of all the Wards in London. He had no children, but his relations and kinsfolk were numerous, who all partook largely of his bounty, both |