342

MIRACULOUS ESCAPE OF A MINER.

he shall lose his debt, and pay the charges in law." In a subsequent clause it is enacted, "that no officer, for trespass or debt, shall execute or serve any writ, warrant, or precept, upon any miner, being at work in the mine, nor when the miners come and go to the Barmote Court, but the barmaster or his deputy only." These extracts are sufficient to shew how extensive and various the authority of the barmaster is; they likewise exemplify the peculiar nature of those provisions which govern and regulate the practice of the miners of Derbyshire.

From Wirksworth we proceeded along the old Derby road to Cromford, and passed near the mine called Godbeheres Founder, which has been rendered memorable from an occurrence that took place there about five-and-twenty years ago. Two men, named Boden and Pearson, were working in the mine at different depths, when the earth and water suddenly rushed in upon them, and in one moment buried them alive in the deep recess below. On the third day after the accident happened Pearson was found dead amongst the rubbish, and the men who were employed in clearing away the earth that had choaked up the entrance into the mine, had now so little hope of finding Boden alive that they were scarcely at all disposed to persevere in their exertions. They were, however, prevailed upon to proceed, until on the eighth day of their labours they distinctly heard Boden's signal, and ascertained that he was living. They now worked with greater energy, but more care, for a few hours longer, when they found the object of their search, weak and almost exhausted, but still in existence, and fully sensible of the miraculous nature of his escape. His recovery from the effects of this premature entombment was slow but effectual, and he returned to his usual employment in about fourteen weeks, and lived many years afterwards. When this accident took place Boden was in the lower part of the mine; Pearson was at a windlass in the drift above, when the earth rushed suddenly upon him, and he was found dead amongst the mass, Boden's situation was

equally perilous, but the earth was stopped in its fall by a projection that considerably narrowed the shaft where he was. Thus circumstanced, with no prospect before him but death, this poor man passed eight days in this narrow cell, without light or food, or wherewithal to quench his thirst, which he felt more severely than any other deprivation. Hunger he bore with fortitude; thirst was intolerable; and during the

UNEXPECTED RENCONTRE.

343

whole of his confinement he was sufficiently sensible to feel all the horrors of his situation. He likewise suffered greatly from cold, but having a few yards to move in, he found a windlass, and exercised himself in turning it, but by some mishap the handle fell into the deep vacuity beneath, and he could not recover it again. Deprived of this means of employment, he still found something to do. In the shaft where he was imprisoned a rope was suspended over his head; he clambered up it, and working at the earth above him, he loosened a portion of it from its lodgements, which fell into the chasm at his feet. While thus engaged he imagined he heard the noise of men labouring for his release: he listened, and was almost breathless with anxiety. The sound, for a time, instead of invigorating, only paralized his exertions; but while in this situation he yet contrived to make the signal that he was alive distinctly heard and understood. Shortly afterwards, he once more saw the light of heaven, and human faces gazing upon him, as if they had actually beheld a dead man rising from the grave, and not a living body. He was, indeed, little better than the apparition of a man: eight days of mental and bodily suffering had reduced him to a mere skeleton, when compared with what he had been; and the pallid hue and altered expression of his countenance had nearly obliterated his personal identity. In this state he was restored to his family, who felt as if a being from the grave had burst" its cerements," and the dead had returned to life.

We now passed over Cromford Moor, leaving the rocks of Stonnis and the Gang Mine on our right; and after another mile of descending ground, came upon the new road from Matlock to Belper. The last time I saw this valley was in October 1822. I was on my way to Derby, and from thence to London, and the author of the Wanderer of Switzerland was one of my companions. Near the woods that cover the hills opposite to Crich, while he was bidding me adieu, and requesting me to be the bearer of his friendly remembrances to the celebrated artist whose illustrations of the Peak Scenery of Derbyshire adorn these pages, we observed a person by the road-side hammering amongst the rocks for geological specimens and vegetable impressions, with which they abound. We approached him more nearly; when, on lifting up his head, we gazed upon him with surprise: - the man of whom we were conversing stood before us. We were mutually pleased with this unexpected rencontre, and after spending a short time to

344

AUTUMNAL FOLIAGE.

The

gether, we separated at the place where we had met. poet, accompanied by the sculptor, returned to Matlock; I proceeded to Belper, where he met me a few hours afterwards: we then travelled in the same carriage to within one mile of Derby, when I left him at Darley Abbey, the temporary residence of Watts Russel, Esq.

The road from Cromford to within four miles of Derby is carried along the side of the Derwent, through a succession of the most beautiful dales in the country. The scenery is every where marked with the same general character: high sloping hills, luxuriantly wooded, form the two sides of the dale; well cultivated meadows lie between, and in the deepest hollow of the valley, the Derwent, which throughout the whole of its windings is a noble stream, rushes rapidly over its bed, amongst trees of as stately a growth as ever adorned the margin of a river. My readers will call to recollection the date of my excursion through those delightful vales that separate Matlock from Belper, and the bright Italian summer which preceded the autumn of 1822. It was October, but I never saw the trees more beautiful: in some places, the alders, by the side of the Derwent, formed a dark green margin of wood; beyond these, and occasionally mingled with them, every variety of tint that leaves can possibly assume was displayed, and blended together in that harmonious manner which nature invariably observes in the management of all her colouring. The ash had lost none of its leaves; some of them, indeed, were yet of a deep green; others had put on a livery of pale and beauteous yellow: the elms were richly varied; every hue, from a lively green to the deepest orange, marked the foliage, all sliding into each other by the nicest gradations, as beautifully as the colours of the rainbow.

I had parted with one artist amongst the woods of Alderwesley, and was proceeding on foot to Belper, accompanied by another. Near Hot Stanwell Bridge we were overtaken by a shower of rain. A high hill, covered with majestic wood, was immediately before us: the sun shone brightly through an opening amongst the clouds, and strongly illuminating the falling shower, converted the watery particles, as they descended, into drops of light. The leaves of the trees were freshly wet, and glowed with the richest colouring, which the filmy but transparent veil thrown over them had softened and subdued, but not obscured. A screen of lofty trees, in deep shadow, lay between us and this vivid picture, and we looked

through the intervening spaces upon the brilliant scene beyond. The effect was transient, but full of beauty, and we loitered about this picturesque spot until the rich sunny gleam, which had just "lighted up the storm," had passed

away.

After a walk of another four or five miles, by the side of the Derwent, amongst high hills and overhanging woods, we reached Belper, a place that, within less than half a century, from a little village has become a populous and thriving

town.

SECTION IX.

Recurrence to a former Visit to Belper.— Bridge Hill.-View of Belper from the Road to Heage. - Pentrich. - Revolutionists of 1817. Roman Station on Pentrich Common. Alfreton. Hardwick Park. Hardwick Hall and Picture Gallery.

I

HAD been at Belper on a former occasion: it was the most southern point of my excursions, and the last place I visited within the mountainous districts of Derbyshire. I shall, therefore, in my present detail, follow the route I then pursued, and bring my various rambles in this interesting county to a speedy termination. My remaining observations will therefore be brief. Belper is one of the most flourishing towns in Derbyshire; the old part of it, although not actually hidden amongst better and more modern erections, is but a very insignificant portion of the whole place. New buildings, with neat exteriors, flower gardens, orchards, and plantations, are fast spreading along the rising grounds on one side of the Derwent; on the other is Bridge Hill, the residence of G. B. Strutt, Esq. most delightfully situated on an eminence that swells gracefully from the margin of the river, and commands an uninterrupted view of the many lovely spots and comfortable habitations that are scattered around his dwelling. When he arises in the morning, looks across the vale before him, contemplates the moral improvement, the rapid increase, and the present consequence of Belper, he may with fervent and honest exultation say, "Blessed be the memory of my father; he has brought order and beauty out of rude and chaotic materials, and given richness and fertility to a once-neglected and barren waste."

From Belper, my companion and myself had a long tract of country to traverse before we reached Alfreton, the next place where we intended to make a pause. We ascended the