(they are since removed to Sidmouth) which, for the softness of its air and the richness of its prospect, cannot be exceeded. Their mansion was neat and commodious; their view on the left extended towards the sea, and on the right was terminated by a rising hill; whilst the declivity of the opposite mountain, intersected by inclosures, and spotted with sheep, imparted a picturesque scene to the eye of the beholder. Near the foot of the door ran a rivulet; which by its murmurs soothed the ear, and by its transparency gratified imagination. About the distance of two fields above the mansion, the sea beautifully unfolded itself to view between the hills, and vessels were appearing and disappearing, not wholly unlike the objects passing through a magic lantern; though certainly the scene had no connexion with the ludicrous, nor were the objects transmitted with equal rapidity. At the top of the hill was an ancient encampment; but whether of Roman or Danish origin cannot be ascertained with certainty. There is no doubt, however, that these coasts were infested by the enemy in the earlier periods of British history. From this eminence we looked down on the other side into the little village of Sidbury, and its clustered cottages suggested to the mind those flattering images of felicity, which we usually connect with rusticity.

My abode was at the house of my friend. Thence we often sallied forth to survey the adjacent prospects; but the weather was by no means favourable to our excursions. One fine day, how

52

PROSPECT FROM BEACON HILL.

ever, we ascended the opposite eminence, Beacon Hill, clambering up its side with difficulty. But its. summit recompensed the toil which we had endured. Though unaccustomed to the art of drawing, yet seating myself upon a hillock, I was tempted to take a rough sketch of the cottage we had left, and of the hills with which it was surrounded. The whole scene before me might be likened to the representation of a camera obscura, where the reflected images of objects are exhibited with neatness and accuracy. In our wandering onward, we stooped down and plucked many a ripe whortle-berry from amidst the prickly furze which covered the ground, and the gathering of which affords to many poor persons the means of maintenance. We at length came to the brow of the hill, and stopping at the beacon, we, for some time, surveyed with astonishment the divine prospect which burst upon us from every quarter of the horizon! Nor could it be pronounced altogether unlike the eminence whither Adam was led by the archangel Michael, to shew him what lay hid in the womb of futurity:

A hill,

Of Paradise the highest, from whose top
The hemisphere of earth, in clearest ken

Stretch'd out to th' amplest reach of prospect, lay!

Before us the wide ocean extended itself, where, could our vision have been invigorated, we should have spied the islands of Guernsey, Jersey, and Alderney, together with the opposite coast of

France. On the left lay Sidmouth, whose venerable tower alone was visible to us, and beyond projected the Portland Isle, reminding me of the unfortunate Haleswell East Indiaman, whose fate is fresh in every mind. Behind, was seen a fine extent of country, from the centre of which the smoke of Exeter ascended, thus enabling me to ascertain the spot in which the western metropolis was situated. Beneath us was a wood, whose embrowned appearance imparted a solemnity; and it seemed, indeed, fitted for our Druidical ancestors, who were attached to these sylvan recesses. On the right, at the extremity of our prespect, TORBAY presented itself; and we could descry the little rock by which its entrance is characterised.

This group of objects, which, from this eminence, filled the eye and exhilarated the heart, I was unwilling to relinquish; it was the finest sight that I had ever beheld, combining the sublime and beautiful in perfection! Descending from this point, therefore, with lingering step, I stole many a farewell look, feeling the reproach suggested in the words of the poet:

O! how canst thou renounce the boundless store
Of charms, which nature to her vot❜ry yields!
The warbling woodland, the resounding shore,
The pomp of groves and garniture of fields!
All that the genial ray of morning gilds,
And all that echoes to the song of even!
All that the mountain's shelt'ring bosom shields,
And all the dread magnificence of heav'n,

✪! how canst thou renounce, and hope to be forgiv'n ?

BEATTIE.

54

THE REVOLUTION.

The view of Torbay called up to my mind the glorious revolution of 1688; for there the hero WILLIAM, with his followers, landed November the 5th, a day to be revered in the annals of British history! The arrival of our illustrious deliverer chased away the shades of popery and arbitary power, which were thickening fast around the inhabitants of this island. James was a brutal bigot, and had forfeited the love and esteem of his subjects. But this great event is fully detailed in all our histories. With its critical commencement, its pacific progress, and its happy termination, you are well acquainted. The improvements introduced at that time into the British Constitution, rendered it the object of admiration to the surrounding nations. Indeed the emendations which it then received, cannot be sufficiently estimated: and the memory of those individuals who hazarded their lives and fortunes in that grand patriotic undertaking, stands endeared to posterity.

The late intelligent Dr. Kippis, in his Centenary Discourse on the Revolution, preached at the Old Jewry, Nov. 5, 1788, states with clearness, the civil and religious advantages which were then acquired and secured to the inhabitants of Britain. But, my young friend, though I would refer you for a circumstantial account of the revolution to the page of British history; yet I beg leave to introduce to your notice an epitome of the leading benefits which the IMMORTAL WILLIAM was the means of procuring to our beloved country. By Protestants, and especially by Protestant Dissenters,

BENEFITS OF THE REVOLUTION.

55

they ought never to be forgotten. How far it may be proper that civil events should be recorded in a style imitative of the simplicity and solemnity of sacred history I do not pretend to say; but certain it is that this eastern mode of writing does, in some cases, produce an impression on the youthful,

memory.

"And WILLIAM was called the Deliverer, in as much as by him the land was delivered from popery and arbitrary power, and the liberties of the people, both civil and religious, were settled and established upon a new foundation. The prerogatives of the crown were limited, and the rights of the subject were ascertained.

"For the Lords and Commons of England, on the day that they offered him the crown, explained also the conditions on which he must accept it, saying,

"Thou shalt not suspend or dispense with laws, or the execution of laws, by royal authority, with out consent of Parliament; it is illegal.

"Thou shalt not levy money for the use of the crown by pretence of prerogative; it is illegal.

"Thou shalt not infringe the right of the subjects to petition the King, neither shalt thou persecutè nor commit any one for such petition; it is illegal.

"Thou shalt not keep a standing army within. the kingdom, in time of peace, unless it be with consent of Parliament; it is illegal.

"The election of Members of Parliament shall be free, and no freedom of speech and debate in