very top of the hille, wher now is the paroche chyrche, and the archidiacon's house of Canterbury." Leland's estimation of the area at ten acres was tolerably correct; and it is also likely that a wall or walls of defence were continued to the top of the hill, affording a communication with a watch-tower, which probably was erected on it; as Gildas says that the Romans, under Theodosius the Younger, built five on the northern coast of Britain," ad prospectum maris," and for the espial of enemies; and as they had a port and a military station here, it is most likely that one of these five watch-towers was also erected at this place.

Another proof of Lymne being a Roman station is to be found in the ancient causeway or road by which it was connected with Canterbury; this was the Via Strata of the Romans, still visible for some miles, and called at the present time Stone Street. The Roman roads are distinguishable from those of the Britons by their straightness of direction, and the tolerably equal distances of the towns, ports, and stations situated upon them. As this people had a view to military operations in most of their public works, it is probable that the length of a day's march was the standard which regulated the distance between station and station; and we find this distance, accordingly, to be from sixteen to twenty miles, the former being the distance along the Via Strata from Durovernum (Canterbury) to the Portus Lemanus (Lynne). It must here be remarked that every station was situated on some one of the viæ; or was either a point at which two roads met, or at which several diverged in different directions; and as no Roman way is traceable at Romney, an additional fact is thereby furnished that it never was, at any period, a Roman station.

The page of history nowhere records the date when this ancient and celebrated haven was choked up with sand and shingle, and rendered useless for all maritime purposes; but as the Port of West Hythe became large and much frequented very soon after the Saxons established themselves in Britain, it may be concluded that the event was not very distant from that of the departure of the Romans. A determination to resign the power which they had so long wielded over this country had, perhaps, infused a spirit of carelessness in the Romans for the preservation of works which they were about to abandon; and the incompetency of the Britons to keep the harbour and the channel of the river clear of the vast masses of sand and beach which the sea rolls up continually on this coast, no doubt tended to hasten the destruction of a work which could only have been preserved through skill and an extensive knowledge of engineering. The catastrophe, to whatever cause it ought to be attributed, was so complete, that not only the haven, but the channel of the river Limne, even to its entrance into the sea, was annihilated, and both have been converted into rich pastures for many hundred years.

To the members of the United Service, to the antiquary, and, indeed, to all whose minds and feelings are harmonized into that delightful pleasure which the contemplation of the great works of antiquity afford, the total destruction of the numerous ports and stations in Kent, of this great and magnificent people, must be a subject of lasting regret. To the barbarous state of society among the earliest Anglo-Saxons, to their utter contempt of every thing Roman, to their eternal feuds and wars

among themselves, and to their ignorance of the real value of the noble works which they found ready formed for their use, must, in a great degree, be attributed that almost total obliteration of these once famous ports and stations of antiquity. A port is a work which requires unceasing attention-a more than ordinary care for its preservation. From the uncer

tainty and power of the element against the fury of which it is intended as an asylum, it is constantly exposed to deterioration; and when decay begins, it proceeds, if neglected, with such giant strides, that destruction soon becomes but the work of a few years, and its benefits are lost to the country for ever.

Close to Lymne is Shepway Cross, a place of great notoriety and importance as connected with the Cinque Ports. Here, in early times, the Limenarcha, or Lord Warden, was sworn on entering into the duties of his office; and here he used to hold pleas and great assemblies of the people, on matters relating to the Ports, or to the general service of the kingdom. It was at this place that Prince Edward, son of Henry III., then Lord Warden, received the oaths of fidelity to his father from the barons under his wardenship, in consequence of the rebellion of some powerful nobles against their sovereign. Such assemblies, in those days of chivalry, were grand and imposing spectacles, and stamp the places at which they were usually held as objects of curiosity and interest.

T. W.

A CRUISE ON THE COAST OF NAPLES DURING THE LATE WAR.

THE feast of St. Rosalia was about to take place at Palermo, in the year 1811, and the Sicilians, as usual on this occasion, were making preparations to do honour to their favourite saint. We had just arrived from the coast of Calabria, having destroyed a convoy at Amanthea, and fully expected to share in the general joy and gaiety of the capital at this interesting period. Sicily was in a most deplorable state; the people were ground down by taxation to support a dissolute court, and it was generally believed the queen was intriguing with Napoleon, and anxious to get rid of the army quartered at Messina. Palermo was the only capital abroad open to English travellers, and they flocked there in great numbers at that time. And it would have been well for many of the Sicilian nobles had they paid more attention to pleasure and less to politics, and not have excited them to express themselves too freely on the state of the government, which led to their banishment to the island of Maritimo. Palermo had been without a minister for some time, and Lord William Bentinck was every day expected to fill the double capacity of commander-in-chief of the army and minister at the court; and his arrival was looked forward to with great anxiety by those suffering, and a certain degree of dread by the queen's party; and I am not certain but the hope of soon seeing him tended, in a great degree, to render the fête of St. Rosalia more brilliant than it had been for several years before. We were most anxious to witness the sights, but were doomed to be disappointed. Our captain was appointed to a large

frigate, and Captain was waiting at Palermo to take command of the T. He had narrowly escaped being taken by a Neapolitan privateer a little distance from Palermo, when on board a merchant brig bound to that port, and was obliged to run her ashore to avoid capture; and we were all heartily sorry he had not been detained, at least till after the fête. He was an odd sort of a fellow, and cared very little about St. Rosalia, or, indeed, any other saint in the calendar; and he thought there was more amusement to be had on the coast of Calabria than in the port of Palermo. We had heard a good deal of our new captain from one of our messmates, who knew him in Scotland, and afterwards met him fox-hunting. He used to describe him mounted on a great long-legged bay mare, which had a particular objection to raise her legs to a wooden fence or gate; and it was nothing unusual to sce him sprawling on one side of the fence, and the mare on the other. Sometimes he was to be seen with yellow breeches, without boots, and at other times with blue trousers, stuffed inside of yellow-topped boots, and an old red coat, that probably belonged to some of his fox-hunting relations. He used to ride hard, and very near broke his neck more than once; and many is the time we wished he had, for he was a perfect devil to the middies when out of temper. Our messmate met him once at a ball at, dancing with all the old women in the room, who had been giving themselves great airs, and he took much delight in showing them off either in a Scotch reel or country dance: he, however, met his match in an old widow lady in search of a husband, who, sticking her hands in her sides, fairly danced him down, to the great amusement of the whole party, and his great annoyance, as he prided himself on being able to hold out longer in a Scotch reel than either the old or young. There was no getting him to dance again that night; he stuck to the supper table, and got so jolly, that instead of taking his place inside of the post-chaise to go to his lodging, he got outside of the off-posthorse, and managed to stick fast, to the astonishment of the party inside. Next morning he appeared in the hunting field, with white trousers, silk stockings, and a uniform coat,-the very dress, with the exception of epaulettes, he wore the night before. His servant had forgot to bring his hunting traps, but dress was of no great consequence to him. He used to go to cover in a curricle, take out one horse, and lash the pole to the other and send home the vehicle. He was so fond of dancing, that at all the Scotch meetings wherein the famous fiddler Gow was to be seen, he was sure to make his appearance. When the course of lectures began at the College of Edinburgh, he went there and studied chemistry, natural philosophy, took a knock at the moral philosophy, as he called it, studied French, Italian, Spanish, and German till ten o'clock, and then was sure to be seen at every ball till nearly daylight. When the classes rose, he went to Portugal, served a campaign with the army, was shot in the leg, and, on his return, was appointed to our ship. Such was our new captain, according to our messmate's account. I dare say all these stories were much exaggerated, but it can easily be supposed we were most anxious to behold him; and never shall I forget his first appearance when he came up the side a black ugly-looking fellow, with one leg shorter than the other, and the toe turned out like a dancing-master; he had been wounded in the West Indies, and haited considerably, but, nevertheless, seemed tolerably active on his pins'; his

clothes were good enough, but appeared as if they had been hove on with a pitchfork; and, to crown the whole, he wore a three-cornered cocked hat, right athwart-ships. Captain introduced the officers and midshipmen to him, read his commission, and resigned the command of the ship.

was well

Scarce was our old captain ashore before he poked his nose into every corner of the ship; nay, I believe he was at the mast-heads before dark. Orders were given to get ready for sea with all possible despatch. The C had arrived from Calabria, where the trade was brisk; and the captain thought a sight of the coast of Italy would be more agreeable than all the fooleries of Palermo. The Tmanned, in good order, and had excellent boats; she sailed badly, the crew was rather sickly; and the men had got into the habit of being somewhat partial to the doctor's list, the surgeon being a good man and easily weathered upon: take her, however, altogether, she was a capital command for a captain of two years' standing. Several of the mids went with the old captain; myself and others stayed behind, being rather attached to the ship and station. We sailed the evening before the fête as sulky as bears, the C in company, and made the coast of Rome about the mouth of the Tiber. We soon found the captain was a precious taut hand, and not very particular in rubbing up everybody, whether lieutenant, mid, or man who neglected his duty, or who he fancied did it, which was pretty nearly the same thing. Our first lieutenant was a good quiet man, but had not devil enough in him to please the captain; the second got his foot into a carronade slide and broke his leg; the third was an active fellow, and fond of boats, but cared little about keeping watch. The master a sulky dog, but without exception the best I ever saw; it was only necessary to say whereabouts the ship was to be in the morning, and there she was sure to be close in. After running down the coast of Rome, we crossed Naples Bay, and arrived in the Gulf of Salerno without meeting an enemy. The barge and pinnace were sent along the coast to gain information; the Cwent off Palinuro to protect the boats, and we remained off Cape Licosa. Next day a Sicilian privateer brought intelligence that a convoy of between 30 and 40 sail was endeavouring to get into the port of Palinuro, which the C was endeavouring to prevent. It was quite calm; the boats were got out, the only two sweeps worked, and several large oars were put into requisition, and we got the old ship along nearly a knot; the sea-breeze springing up brought us in a few hours up to the C, who had driven the convoy into the small port of Infrenhi, in the Gulf of Policastro; they consisted of 11 gun-boats and scampavias, conveying 22 sail of vessels, and a raft of spars for the arsenal at Naples. The brig led in in fine style; and after the gunboats were silenced, her captain pushed off in the boats, and took possession of the vessels. The marines of the T were landed at the same time; and I never shall forget the captain scrambling along from the gangway, under the main and mizen chains, and in the midst of abusing me for not shoving off fast enough, losing his hold and going overboard; he struck out for my boat, and as he had got a sufficient cooling, we rowed ashore without any further row, and I was particu larly well pleased that his mouth had been so completely stopped. He had, as I have before observed, been a campaign in Portugal, and was

rather fond of soldiering; and it really was a pretty sight to see our marines driving their sharp-shooters up the hills as we were towing off the prizes; a party were also thrown into a round tower to cover this operation and the re-embarkation of the marines and eighty-four prisoners they had captured. This little enterprise was completed, and the ships and prizes under weigh in less than two hours, highly delighted with our first essay, which was really accomplished in a very neat manner. The gun-boats were distributed in little creeks round the bay, and the hills lined with armed men and the crews of the vessels, but we came upon them rather unexpectedly. They never saw the frigate till she rounded the point, and they considered their position quite safe from any attack of the brig.

A few of the old stagers on the doctor's list were sent for a change of air and diet into the prizes; and it is quite astonishing how soon they recovered their health. When a sailor is ill, or fancies he is, he is monstrous fond of taking doctor's stuff, and the probability is that it does him more harm than good. A week and fine weather brought us to Palermo, where we were well received by the Admiral; and he, as well ourselves, thought we were fortunate in having resisted the pleasure of the fête of St. Rosalia, which he had good-humouredly allowed us to remain to witness if we liked.

Our captain had been terribly taken in by the prize agents in the West Indies, and hated the very sight of one; and in order to keep them as honest as possible, the purser, who was a fine liberal fellow, was made first agent, with a recommendation not to turn rogue. An advance of prize-money was paid the men, and leave for one watch at a time to go on shore and spend it. Our provisions and water completed, we again started. The C- was sent home with Lord William Bentinck: he found his powers too limited to do good, and he thought a personal interview with the ministry on the affairs of Sicily would do more good than volumes of correspondence; and in this he was right. He returned in three months, dethroned the king, banished the queen, and gave them a constitution, which we guaranteed, and then abandoned them after the dethronement of Napoleon. But to return to my story. We were all sorry to lose the brig; her commander was an old friend of our captain's, and a fine, dashing young man. This cruise we made the coast about Gaeta, and were fortunate in falling in with several feluccas between that place and the island of Ischia. We had fitted out a fine scampavia instead of the launch; she was sent with the barge and pinnace to cut them off from the passage between the island and the main, and keep them in play until the ship came up, and they succeeded in driving them under a one-gunned tower; the ship soon anchored, and under her cover they were all brought out without loss. They were fine vessels, but laden with iron ore, which is of little value. We kept the three best, and told the others we should look out for them in their return from the coast of Calabria, whither they were bound for silk and oil. We next proceeded to reconnoitre Naples Bay, which was rather a nervous operation,-there being a large fleet of gun-boats always ready to pounce upon a ship in a calm. We, however, got a fine breeze, and stood close into the mole; a line-of-battle ship and a frigate were fitting, and a small frigate seemed ready for sea.

Naples Bay has been so often described that I shall not here attempt it.