tion, that Mr. Jeffe protests he never declared to the Proteftant Affociation, or to any other, that now, at York, the Roman Catholics give ten pounds to any man who will embrace their religion, &c.' And. I wish you to take care not to infert in your Review any thing to the prejudice of a gentleman's character, of which you have not ⚫ proof, or fomething better than the word' of the anonymous author of the firictures. W. JESSE.

Worcestershire, 10th. Jan. 1783.

This letter may be called the lie dire to the author of the Ari&ures on Mr. Berington's pamphlet. Let him look to it, if he hath any character to support.

+++ On account of the affertion of Mr. Chambers in his Dictionary, that a fyphon once fet a running will perfift in its motion, though removed into the moit perfect vacuum our air-pumps can make. (See our REVIEW for March faft, p. 180.] We wished fome gentleman, furnished with the proper apparatus, would try the experiment, and we have accordingly been favoured with the following account, from a correfpondent who made it to fatisfy himself.

3

I took (fays be) a thermometer tube of a pretty wide bore, and having bent it in form of a typhon, the legs being about five inches long, I inferted one into a vial full of mercury, and having fet it to run into a fmall cup, placed them all together on an air-pump, under a receiver. Having extracted the air, I found the mercury to feparate at top, and fall down into each leg, to about three inches above the surface of the stagnating mercury; and it continued to fall as I worked the pump, till it came to be about three quarters of an inch from the farface below, where it stood will the air was let into the receiver; when it began to rife in both legs, equally from the furface, till it run over through the leg in the vial, and having joined, con. tinued to run till I again extracted the air, and the effect was the fame as before. Had water been used, the air remaining in the receiver, which I found capable of fellaining a column of mercury about three quarters of an inch in height, would have been powerful enough to have fustained a column of water nine or ten inches high, confequently at that, or any lefs height of the fyphon, the water would have continued to run. The want of attention to a fimilar defect in the tightnets of the air-pump made ufe of, feems to be the only foundation for the affertion that water would continue to run through a fyphon the weight of the atmosphere being ren.oved, which, onleis the iyphon be capillary, or fome other preffure be iubilitated for that of the atmofphere, I believe to be phylically impothole.

Saifowy, Dec. 24.

R. D.

Such communications as the above, by iccreafing the common stock of knowledge, are of ufe to mankind; we hope therefore to be excufed for deviating fo far from our plan as to give it a place here; and are much obliged to R. D. for the pains he has taken to fet this matter in a clear light.

ERRATUM is this Mente's Pevisto.

Viz. Page 1, 1. 7-8 from the bettem, for collection, r. collation.

THE

MONTHLY REVIEW,

For FEBRUARY, 1783.

ART. I. A Journey from Cheffer to London. By Thomas Pennant, Efq. 4to. [With many Engravings.] 11. 5 s. in Boards. White.

.1782.

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T is always with pleature that we attend this very agreeable and intelligent Traveller, in his various excurfions and tours; as he never fails to entertain, and often inftructs us, by his remarks and descriptions; in which he conftantly approves himself the man of tafte-occafionally the antiquary and the scholar, and invariably the gentleman.

With respect to the prefent recital, Mr. Pennant obferves, in his previous Advertisement, that the ground here defcribed has been, for fome centuries, paffed over by the incurious traveller; and has had the hard fortune of being conftantly execrated for its dulnefs. To retort the charge, and clear it from the ca lumny (fays he), is my prefent bufinefs. To fhew that the road itfelf, or its vicinity, is replete with either ancient historic facts, or with matter worthy of prefent attention, is an affair of no great difficulty. Poffibly my readers may fubfcribe to the opinion, that the tract is not abfolutely devoid of entertainment, and that the blame refts on themselves, not the country.'

We, for ourselves, readily fubfcribe' to this opinion.' We have trod the fame ground, and this book hath convinced us that, whether from hafte, inadvertency, or the want of due information, we have not always made the best of our way.

Our Traveller began his annual journey to London in March 1780; and his obfervations commence with the metropolis of Cheshire; of which very ancient and remarkable city he had given fo ample a defcription, in his former tours, that VOL. LXVIII,

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he has left himfelf little to add on the prefent occafion. He briefly notices fome improvements, with respect to public buildings, erected fince his preceding account, and the discovery of fome Roman antiquities; and then he proceeds to Beefton Castle, once a ftrong fortrefs, of which fome magnificent remains ftill bear fufficient teftimony. A good engraving of the great rock, crowned with thefe noble relics, accompanies Mr. Pennant's defcription and hiftorical detail.

From Beefton we accompany our Author to Acton, Nantwich, &c. vifiting, in our way, the churches, monuments, feats of the nobility and gentry, canal navigations, &c. &c. Mr. P. does ample juftice to that unparrallel'd water-work, the GREAT TRUNK, as it is often styled ; and gives a particular account of the nature and public advantages, the dimenfions and extent, of this truly magnificent undertaking: which will, perhaps, ever remain as the FIRST in greatness, importance, and dignity, of our British inland navigations. Nor does he forget that aftonishing genius, BRINDLEY, the director of this amazing enterprize. But we have already given a more ample account of that wonderful man, in our extract from the 2d volume of the new edition of the Biographia Britannica. See Rev. for Aug. 1781.

Before we quit the eaftern confines of Chefhire, and the line of our Traveller's progrefs through part of Staffordshire, we cannot but remark a very unaccountable omiffion.-When Mr. P. was fo near as within a mile or two of the British Etruria, the scene of Mr. Wedgwood's highly improved and extended manufactory, how was it poffible for him to efcape the temptation of vifiting thofe celebrated works! Had he made a ftop there, and been fo lucky as to have found, at home, Mr. W. himself (the animating foul of this great body of whatever is useful or elegant in that multifarious branch of the arts) he would not have loft the opportunity of enriching his prefent work with-but we forbear: Mr. W. like other artists of real merit, is as modeft as he is ingenious; and therefore we leave his works, as he does, to speak for themselves.

Of Shugborough, the feat of Mr. Anfon, in Staffordshire, Mr. Pennant gives two elegant prints, with a juft defcription; and then he proceeds, through Tixal, and Ingftree, to Stafford: of which good town we have here a proper account. From hence we are conducted to Lichfield; ftopping, however, by the way, at feveral places worthy of obfervation, viz. Cauk Wood and Foreft, Wolfeley Bridge, Hermitage, Winchenour Manor, and Beaudefert, the princely feat of Lord Paget.

Lichfield is an old, ill-favoured city; but the venerable cathedral, the clofe, the hofpitals, and fome antiquities, find employment for our Author's defcriptive powers, and for thofe of his ingenious draughtfman and engraver.

From

From Lichfield we deviate a little from the great road, and pass through some villages, which are duly noticed, and proceed to Tamworth, a borough town, between the conflux of the Tame and the Ankor: the church particularly attracts our Traveller's attention.

Returning to Lichfield, we refume the London road, and enter Warwickshire; where the first place that appears to merit obfervation, is the town of Colefhill. Here is a handfome church, with a number of monuments, particularly of the Digby family for particulars we refer to the book.

In this neighbourhood are Maxtoke Caftle, and feveral gentlemen's feats, which afforded our curious Traveller an opportunity of viewing feveral pictures, particularly at Blithe-hall (Mr. Gueft's), the portraits of Lord Keeper Littleton, Sir William Dugdale, and the famous Elias Afhmole.

- At Packington, the feat of Lord Aylsford, were likewife feen fome portraits of eminent perfons; and the pleasant village of Mireden, commonly called Meridan, receives from our Author the ufual tribute of praife from travellers, especially for its mag

nificent inn.

And now we enter Coventry, another ancient but homely city, ftill more dark and dirty than Lichfield; but this we fay not from our Author, who takes no uncivil notice of either place.Of Coventry, however, he has a good deal to fay. He gives us the hiftory of the city, civil and military; he touches on the ftory of the long-hair'd Lady Godiva, and does not over-look Peeping Tom. He fpeaks of the Parlements which have been held here in remote times; and he enumerates the manufactures, among which is the great one of ribbons, which is carried on here, to an extent, of which those who are unacquainted with the place can have no conception; especially when it is confidered that this branch of the weaver's art is by no means confined to Coventry.

Our Author gives us likewife engravings, by Mazell, from the elegant drawings of Mr. M. Griffiths, of Sponne and Grey Friar's Gates, &c. The objects of his verbal defcriptions are the churches, halls, hofpital, priory, canal navigation, with other particulars which we have not room to enumerate.

Leaving Coventry, we come to Combe Abbey, now poffeffed by the Craven family; and where are many productions of the pencil, worthy the notice of the connoiffeur.

After defcribing the pictures at Combe, our Traveller proceeds, through feveral villages, to the county of Northamp

To thefe ingenious artists we are alfo obliged for a beautiful view of Eaft Gate, Chefter; which stands as an ornament in the titlepage of this book.

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ton; and, in the course of this branch of his excurfion, he gives us an account of Daventry, the camps of Borough-hill, the Caftle Dykes in the parish of Farthingtone, Tocefter, EaftonNefton, Whittlebury Foreft, &c.

At old Stratford we cross the Ouze into Buckinghamshire; of which county we foon take leave, after a flight view of the towns of Stoney and Fenny Stratford, and one or two other places.

We next enter the county of Bedford, arrive at Hocliffe (Vulg. Hockley in the Hole), Chalk-hill, Dunstable, &c. which being briefly defcribed, we come next to Hertfordshire.

Gorhambury, once the feat of the Great BACON †, now of Lord Grimfton, is rich in materials for our Traveller's liberal purpose. The productions of the pencils of the greatest masters are numerous, and the portraits are drawn from the most illuftrious perfonages. From this diftinguifhed collection Mr. Pennant has given us engravings of the Countess of Suffolk, wife to the Lord Treasurer; George Calvert, the firft Lord Baltimore; and Margaret Countefs of Cumberland, daughter of Francis Earl of Bedford: thefe are engraved by Caldwell.

Quitting Gorhambury, our Traveller presently enters the ceJebrated Verulamium. Of the veftigia of this once great municipal city he takes a proper furvey, and gives a very fatisfactory detail of its hiftory.

From the ruins of Verulam fprung the neighbouring town of St. Alban's; at which we are now arrived, under the guidance of our intelligent and curious Obferver.-Here we have abundant employment for the antiquary, who will with pleasure accompany our Author in examining the truly venerable abbey; of which we have here an ample account, illuftrated by three quarto copper-plates. Particular attention is paid to the tomb of the good Humphrey Duke of Glocefter.-The other churches of this refpectable town are alfo described, with the hiftory of the battles fought in and near this place, during the horrid ftruggles between the ambitious houfes of York and Lancaster.

Leaving, with regret, this attractive fpot, we foon reach the County of Middlefex; arrive at the great metropolis of the kingdom; and here terminates the FIRST PART of the prefent publication.

Part II. of the entertaining volume before us, contains the obfervations made by our Author in a preceding excurfion to London, in which he quitted the common road, near Daventry, and ftruck off for Northampton. This Journey is therefore entitled "From Northampton to London."

A good print of this noble old manfion is here given, drawn and engraved by Griffiths.

Badby