COTTAGE OF CONTENTMENT AND DIAMOND HILL.

In August last the author was determined to visit this far-famed spot. His time being limited, he engaged with a friend to proceed to it as early as half-past five on the morning following his arrival in Buxton. We were therefore up with the lark, and a more beautiful morning could not be witnessed. The dew fell heavily during the night, and the countless dew drops on the tender blade, shrub, and lovely flower greeted the approach of the God of day, by reflecting back his image from their beautiful orbs; and the vegetable kingdom seemed gemmed over and robed in loveliness and beauty. How fair and fragrant is creation at such an hour! How calculated to draw out the best feelings of the heart! "The breath of morn" fans the cheek with refreshing coolness. The buoyant lark is up on joyous wing, singing its matin song and fills the spirit with its gladness, and nature wears her most winning mantle. What a sweet and impressive picture of the morning of "youth" does such a scene exhibit!-all the springs of life, moral and physical, is then fresh and vigorous, as yet unaffected by the moral "pestilence that walketh in darkness," and unimpaired by intercourse with a truantworld; and how often is its fair beauty-its virgin vigour as fleeting as those crystal drops which are speedily exhaled under the influence of that rising sun. Too often is their "goodness as the early dew and the morning cloud." But to proceed,—our point of meeting was the Crescent, and our first object St. Ann's Well, to quaff a glass of its healing waters, but the gates were locked! This difficulty gave way to the ingenuity of my friend, to whom bolts and bars seemed as nothing. From thence, proceeding up through the Market-place, and taking the London road for about a mile, we took a lane to the right and over two fields, to the Cottage situated under Grin-low. This belongs to a singular old man (Bagshaw Brandreth) who has followed the occupation of a gardener many years, and chiefly inhabited this lone cottage,

190 COTTAGE OF CONTENTMENT AND DIAMOND HILL.

where, as time and opportunity permitted, he has laid out and ornamented his little garden: building rustic and fanciful summer houses, making tables, chairs and seats, in unison,-all painted in Harlequin colours. The diminutive, but elegant parterres, decked with the daisy and many indigenous flowers, have a pretty effect, and altogether it presents an air of clean, quiet beauty. In fact, all the externals of its significant name, "The Cottage of Contentment." What's in a name," observes the great dramatic bard of our country. Names are often as illusory as the midnight dream, or the moving shadow, which perish with the light. We shall not, however, attempt to lift the filmy veil which often covers a name, or adorns a favourite haunt. Here the Buxtonian or the stranger at times agreeably whiles his hourdrinks his tea, or sips the sparkling glass, attended by the obliging host or his maidenly sister.

From hence we followed the narrow field path up to Fern House and Needham, Counters Cliffs, passing through the farm yard and turning to the right, under some low crags, we found Diamond Hill, in the hollow or ravine, formed between Grin-low and Landman's Low. On descending the hill and examining this spot, we observed that it was traversed by the vein of the Grin-end mine, the principal shaft of which is about a mile to the northeastward, now worked for Sulphate of Barytes, or "Cawk,”—and as it exhibits every appearance of having been worked throughout the course of this hollow, it may be presumed that the greater part of the loose matter, here accumulated, is the refuse of the workings, and may have been brought from considerable depths, and as I am informed, a mass of these quartz crystals, aggregated was found in this mine,t it is probable that these detached and beautiful crystals belong to the limestone measures, which is often productive of fine quartz crystals. But I am also inclined to think many of them are produced from the destruction of the gritstone, which is disintegrated and washed down by

*Parties take their own provisions.

This specimen is now in the Manchester Museum.

violent rains and torrents into this hollow. The crystals are sometimes perfect hexagons terminated by six-sided pyramids, sometimes perfectly clear, and in other cases "cankered" as the provincial phrase is, or reddish brown, being coloured with oxyde of iron. The clear or transparent are found in the black soil, formed by the decay of vegetable matter, and the washing down of the peat from the moors, and the other in the red clay. They are found from an eighth of an inch long to one inch one the author obtained was of a beautiful amethystine colour, and most perfect; but parties are not now allowed to look for them as formerly, owing to the damage done to the pastures. These, like all quartz or silicious crystals, scratch glass. Abundance of them are to be had in the shops of Buxton and Matlock.

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Having satisfied our curiosity in searching (what should be called) Diamond Valley, we proceeded to the Tower lately built by order of the Duke of Devonshire on the hill above, and which forms a conspicuous and interesting object from Buxton. On attaining which we had a splendid view of Buxton, and the surrounding country -of hill and dale-of the lofty distant Peaks of Kinderscout, the Lord's Seat, and Taddington Pastures-and nearer home, to the northwest, the towering point of AxeEdge.* Almost the entire of Grinlow is covered with limekilns. They gave to this hill originally a strange and uncouth appearance, but the plantations, now rapidly getting up, hide the greater part of them. The hill is composed of a bluish limestone, admirably adapted for making lime of the very best quality, which is transported to great distances.

In many of the old hillocks, composed of the dross and slag from the kiln, and which are of great extent, some of the peasantry have formed themselves houses, called Lime Houses,-breaking through the outer crust, which becomes exceedingly hard and waterproof, the

From this eminence issues four Rivers, which flow in opposite directions, the Dove, the Wye, the Dane, and the Goyte.

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parties excavate all the interior-wall it up inside, and divide it, make windows and perforate a hole through the top for the chimney, and by these means obtain a cheap and tolerable dwelling,* but, it is said, not healthy. Several of these we passed on descending through the plantation. At the foot of this hill, and within a short mile of Buxton, is Poole's Hole, an object of interest to the visitor, we passed close by this, but as time did not permit, we did not explore its hidden recesses, and therefore shall introduce the following account from those who have.

POOLE'S HOLE is supposed to derive its name from an outlaw, called Poole, who secreted himself in its gloomy caverns. Others suppose he was a Hermit who chose this dismal cell for his place of abode. "The entrance to this cavern, which is considered as one of the seven wonders of the Peak, is so low and narrow that the visitant is obliged to proceed with great caution, and in a stooping posture, for nearly 80 feet, when the passage widens to a considerable vacuity; from the roof of which,' says Mr. Warner, depends a quantity of stalactite, produced by the droppings of water laden with calcareous matter. Part of this substance adheres to the roof, and forms gradually those pendant spiral masses called stalactites, or (locally) water-icicles; another portion drops with the water to the ground, and, attaching itself to the floor, is there deposited, and becomes the stalagmite, a lumpy mass of the same matter. One of the former, of immense size, called the Flitch of Bacon, occurs about the middle of the cavern, which here becomes very narrow; but, after a short space, spreads again to a greater width, and continues large and lofty, till we meet with another surprisingly large mass of stalactite, to which the name of Mary Queen of Scot's Pillar is attached, from the tradition of that queen having made a visit to the cavern, and advanced thus far into its recesses,' during her residence at Buxton. Few people venture beyond this pillar, as it cannot be passed with

* Sometimes the cattle may be seen grazing on the top of these.

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out great difficulty; neither does the remaining part of the cavern offer any objects sufficient to repay the fatigue of exploring it: for it is necessary to descend by very slippery and craggy steps, through a narrow passage, when an almost perpendicular ascent commences, which leads to the extremity of the fissure, through a narrow strait, called the Eye of St. Anthony's Needle. Near the termination of the cavern, which is about 290 feet from the Queen of Scot's Pillar, is an aperture, through a projection of the rock, behind which a candle is generally placed by one of the guides, when any person has ventured to the extremity, and which, when seen from the bottom of the cavern, appears like a dim star. returning the stranger is conducted by a different way from which he entered, where he passes several small currents of fine transparent water. The several hollows in this cavern go by the names of Poole's Chamber, Cellar, &c., and the different masses of stalactite are distinguished by the names of the objects which they are fancied to resemble, Poole's Saddle, his Turtle, and his Woolsack, the Lion, the Lady's Toilet, Pillion, and Curtain, and a variety of other appellations are bestowed by the guides, from a supposed likeness to the things themselves; though these forms are continually varying from the depositions left by the water constantly issuing from the roof and the sides of the rock." Guides are

always in attendance to shew the visitor over the cavern. -The charge is 1s. We now soon reached Buxton, and were admirably prepared for a good breakfast by a morning ramble of more than two hours and a half.

On our return the Hall Bank, the Crescent, and St. Ann's Cliff presented a very different, animating, and even splendid appearance to what it did when we quitted it in the morning. Then all was still as if Buxton had been wholly untenanted, but now all was life, activity, energy, and beauty. The walks on the Cliff were thronged with the gay and the light hearted of all ages in the higher and middle walks of life, brought together from different parts of the three kingdoms and the great world. The rapid movements of the young and the healthy con