The edifice, in its present state, includes the remains of the conventual church, a portion of the cloisters, and part of the walls of the refectory and other buildings. The west end being used as the parish church, is preserved from dilapidation; but the tower, chancel, and cross aisles have long been roofless, and the beautiful Gothic work displayed on the walls is nearly hidden beneath a profusion of ivy. At the extremities of the cross aisles are several tombs, sculptured with the armorial bearings of the Dacres and the Howards. These memorials of departed greatness, now mutilated and overgrown with moss, refer to a period when the structure flourished under the auspices of papal authority, when

"The heavy knell, the choir's faint swell,

Came slowly down the wind,
And on the pilgrim's ear they fell,

As his wonted path he did find."

Hutchinson relates, on the testimony of an aged person living near the Abbey, “that, some years ago, one of the sepulchral vaults fell in, when several bodies were found entire ; one in particular with a white beard down to the waist, but a few days reduced them to dust." The cemetery-grounds have been converted into gardens; and many stone coffins and inscribed monuments may still be seen lying amongst the trees.

This Priory, with the adjacent lands, was granted by Henry VIII., in 1543, to Thomas Dacre, a descendant from the founder. He repaired the conventual mansion for his residence; and here his descendants remained, till, by a failure of male issue, the building and its demesnes reverted to the crown. It is now in the tenure of the Earl of Carlisle.

The Engraving exhibits the richly-ornamented gateway at the west end, consisting of a circular arch of many members, supported by pilasters. Three lofty Gothic windows confer dignity on this front of the edifice; and in a niche immediately above them, is a statue of Mary Magdalen, the tutelary saint of the Priory. The structure, both in itself and in its scenic accompaniments, is exceedingly picturesque; and of Lanercost Abbey, as of the far-famed Melrose, it may be said, in the glowing language of the Northern Minstrel :

:

"Wouldst thou view this fair Abbey aright,

Go visit it by the pale moon-light;

For the gay beams of lightsome day

Gild but to flout the ruins gray;

When the broken arches are black in night,

And each shafted oriel glimmers white;
When the cold light's uncertain shower

Gleams on the ruin'd central tower;

When buttress and buttress alternately,

Seem framed of ebon and ivory;

When silver edges the imagery,

And the scrolls that teach thee to live and die."

M

RABY CASTLE,-DURHAM.

Raby Castle, situated within the parish of Staindrop, on the east side of an extensive and beautiful park, is the magnificent seat of the Duke of Cleveland. This nobleman became Earl of Darlington on the decease of his father, in 1792; he was created Marquis in 1827, and has subsequently been elevated to a Dukedom. The site of this edifice is pastoral rather than romantic; being in the vicinity of a richly-cultivated country, which exhibits all the gratifying results of agricultural art. The prospect is bounded on the east and west by distant hills; and towards the north "the nearer parts of the horizon are beautifully verged by plantations, raised by the late Lord Darlington, who, in every part of his extensive property, gave the highest proof of his attention and taste."

This "noble pile of stately towers, retaining all the appearance of antiquity, and giving the most perfect idea of a great baron's palace in feudal ages," is supposed to occupy the site of "Canute's Mansion." Great part of the present Castle was built by John de Nevill, to whom, in 1379, license was granted to castellate and fortify the same. Its pristine appearance remains uninjured to this day; the recent repairs and additions having been made in strict conformity to the character and original design of the building. The possession continued in the Nevill family till the forfeiture by Charles, sixth Earl of Westmorland, in 1570, when it fell to the crown. In the reign of James I., the manor and castle of Raby, with their appendages, were purchased by an ancestor of the present noble proprietor.

The south front of the edifice is extremely beautiful, and the windows are truly elegant in their style and proportions. The great hall, or "rendezvous apartment," is 120 feet long by 36 feet broad; and is crossed at the west end by a gallery, which, in olden times, was appropriated to orchestral purposes, and those exhibitions of mimicry in which our ancestors took so great delight. To this room are attached historical recollections of the proudest character. Here were celebrated those baronial festivals, at which were assembled full seven hundred knights, who held their estates of the Nevill family: here, at intervals, when the laughter and loud merriment of the feast were suspended, the minstrel told his legendary tale, and aroused the lofty valour of the warriors, as he swept with aged hand over the sounding strings, and alternately sunk the chords to the ecstacies of love, or swelled them to the thunders of battle.

The different towers are said to derive their names from the various distinguished personages to whom, during the periods of civil war and Scottish incursions, their government was consigned. The dining-room in Clifford's tower is ornamented with a large music-piece, containing the group of figures placed by Rubens in the centre of "the Marriage-feast of Canaan," in which he introduces himself and his contemporaries as musical performers. In this room, also, and in other parts of the Castle, are many excellent portraits of personages connected with the present family.