Shakespearian, with early printed books and manuscripts. The marbles and minerals of Derbyshire have been largely employed for decorative purposes in various parts of the house, and there are also some magnificent tables and ornaments of foreign marble, especially of malachite. The wood carvings, with which several of the rooms are adorned, are also of wonderful delicacy and beauty. They are executed in limewood, and are commonly attributed to Grinling Gibbons; but it appears to be more than doubtful whether any of them are really from his chisel. A great part of the wood carving is unquestionably the work of a local artist, named Samuel Watson, who is buried at Heanor, and whose epitaph refers to "his wondrous works in Chatsworth Hall." The fame of the gardens is hardly less than that of the Hall; they are of great extent, and contain, among other "attractions," a manufactured cascade and (of yet more dubious taste) an artificial weeping willow: viz., a metal tree, contrived so as to discharge jets of water from its metallic twigs and leaves when a secret tap is touched. There is also a fine fountain, bearing the name of the Emperor of Russia. This was given in honour of the Czar Nicholas, who visited Chatsworth in the year 1844. His predecessor was also entertained here in 1816; and the Queen came in 1832 (as Princess Victoria), and in 1843 with Prince Albert. Trees are shown in the garden which were planted by these and other illustrious guests. A small walled island in a pool is called Mary Queen of Scots' Bower, tradition relating that she was accustomed to take the air in this place.

But the great glory of Chatsworth Gardens is the conservatory, a magnificent glass and iron structure, which covers nearly an acre of ground, the arched roof in the centre rising to a height of sixty-seven feet from the ground. It was designed by Sir Joseph Paxton, at that time plain Mr. Paxton and head gardener to the Duke of Devonshire. This structure may be regarded as a kind of Crystal Palace in embryo, for when the project for the Great Exhibition in 1851 seemed likely to be a failure, owing to the impracticability of the plans proposed for a building, Mr. Paxton submitted a design, founded on that of the Chatsworth conservatory, which was adopted almost by acclamation (except of professional architects), and was one of the most complete successes that this age has seen.

Besides the illustrious guests mentioned above, Chatsworth has been visited by, or been the residence of, many notable persons, as well as its owners, most of whom have been men of mark apart from their titles. The celebrated Henry Cavendish, the physicist, resided here; also Thomas Hobbes, the philosopher, died at Chatsworth, after many years passed there as tutor to the family. Marshal Tallard, when a prisoner in England after Blenheim, was also entertained here, and on leaving paid this compliment to his host"My Lord Duke, when I come hereafter to compute the time of my captivity in England, I shall leave out the days of my visit at Chatsworth."

Returning now along the Derwent to Rowsley, we pass for about five miles through a rather open valley, immediately surrounded by shelving hills with wooded and grassy slopes, the river winding through level green meadows. Then, on approaching Matlock Bridge, the scene suddenly changes: a mass of limestone, stretching across the valley, appears to forbid all egress; the river plunges into a narrow glen-a mere fissure, as

it seems by contrast; the meadows vanish at once. On the left hand the grey crags of the High Tor rise high above the trees which fringe their base; on the right the hills ascend only a little less steeply, covered with dense wood. Here and there a house, with its terraced gardens, nestles against the slope, looking down upon the road. Through this narrow dell, river, road, and railway wind for about a mile, until the last disappears for a space into a tunnel beneath the High Tor; thence it emerges into a slight enlargement of the valley at one end of the village of Matlock Bath. Here the Derwent bends sharply to the right. As before, on that bank the hills slope less abruptly, while on the other limestone crags surmount a wooded slope which rises from the water's edge. The village of Matlock Bath, as this is called, to distinguish it from Matlock Bridge and Old Matlock, forms one long street parallel with the course of the river, and then mounts in a series of terraces high up the right bank, not a few of the houses being almost inaccessible to vehicles. The bold bluff nearly opposite to the High Tor bears the name of Masson, and the adjacent part of the hill is designated the Heights of Abraham; the slope on the left bank is called the Lovers' Walks. The situation of Matlock is far more beautiful than that of Buxton, but its springs are much less in repute. The water, though tepid, has a lower temperature, and is less strongly impregnated with mineral substances; but it has similar curative properties. It was not discovered, so far as is known, before the year 1698. Besides this, Matlock and its neighbourhood, as is common in limestone districts, possess several "petrifying wells"-springs holding carbonate of lime in solution, which is deposited by the evaporation of the water. These often form masses of tufa-as may be seen by the riverside in walking through the main street of Matlock-which is sometimes in sufficient quantities to be quarried as a building-stone. Enterprising natives utilise the water in petrifying, or rather encrusting various articles, such as birds' nests, plants, and various odds and ends, among which—at any rate in former days-wigs were included.

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The caves also attract many visitors. Some of these are in Masson, or the Heights of Abraham. They consist of the usual series of passages, sometimes narrow, sometimes opening out into large halls, and occasionally enriched by stalactites. One also is at the back of the High Tor. This, however, is rather a narrow and deep fissure than a true cave, and has probably been produced by a settlement of the rock between it and the glen of the Derwent. The same cause has originated the "Romantic Rocks" on the other side of the valley, at the back of the village. These are formed by a portion of the limestone cliff, which has slipped forward so as to make a little wilderness of isolated crags, overgrown with brushwood and creepers-all on a small scale, but very picturesque.

The district round about Matlock, like many other parts of the Derbyshire hills, abounds in lead mines, some of which were worked by the Romans. Pigs of lead left by their miners have been occasionally discovered. The ore is galena, or the sulphide of lead, which is found together with blende, or zinc sulphide, cale and fluor spar, and cawk, or sulphate of baryta, often called heavy spar. Many persons are employed in Matlock, as in Bakewell and Buxton, in working up certain of the mineral products of the district for decorative purposes. Some varieties of the limestone will

INDUSTRIES OF THE MATLOCK DISTRICT.

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take a very high polish and are remarkably beautiful. The "Derbyshire marbles" are quarried at various places in the county, some of the best being found in the neighbourhood of Bakewell. The more celebrated varieties are the black, the entrochal, and the red marble. The second of these is a grey stone, full of the stems and joints of crinoids, or "sea-lilies," which are converted into a white sparry substance; the last, sometimes called Rosso moderno, is a variety of a rich blood-red colour (owing to the presence of peroxide of iron) of remarkable beauty. Besides these marbles, the fluor spar, locally called "Blue John," is found in masses sufficiently large to be worked into vases and other ornaments; and "alabaster" and "satin spar," varieties of gypsum obtained among the red marls of the adjoining lowlands, are largely employed for similar purposes. A considerable number of persons are also occupied on mosaic-work. The Derbyshire mosaic, which was introduced into the county nearly half a century since, resembles the Florentine, the ornamental stones (not restricted to those found in the county) being inlaid in small pieces in slabs of black marble. Tables and minor ornaments, often of great beauty, are thus made, which may be seen in the shops or museums-as it is often the fashion to call them in Derbyshire-in all the principal towns and villages.

Another industry, that of cotton-spinning, is also located in the district round Matlock, where the mills using Arkwright's patent machine were first set up in Derbyshire. The inventor, afterwards Sir Richard Arkwright, was a poor man's son, born at Preston, in Lancashire, and brought up as a barber. He became gradually engrossed in mechanical pursuits-one of the earliest of these being an attempt to produce perpetual motion, which wild goose chase was fortunately soon abandoned. About the year 1767 he concentrated his attention on the subject of cotton-spinning, which was then carried on simply by the ordinary one-wheel process. The demand for thread for weaving was then far in advance of the supply, which of course was limited both by the difficulties of manufacture and of collection. Arkwright devised a machine, and removing to Nottingham, entered into partnership with a Mr. Need, of that town, and Mr. Strutt, of Derby (founder of the Belper family), stocking weavers, who suggested improvements and supplied the required capital. A mill was opened in Nottingham and another at Cromford, an old-fashioned village at the opening of a lateral valley about a mile below Matlock. This was built in 1771, and worked by water-power, for which reason the thread was called "water-twist." Space does not allow of entering into the details of the many difficulties with which Arkwright had to struggle. Notwithstanding these, he ultimately triumphed, accumulated great wealth, and became the founder of the family which bears his name. Sir Richard fixed his residence at Willersley Castle-a house which he built on the left bank of the Derwent amidst beautiful scenery, just where the valley begins to open out at the confluence of that river with the stream from the glens behind Cromford.

We may add that the views illustrating this article are taken for the most part from photographs by Mr. R. Keene, of Derby.

The Menai Straits-Character of their Scenery Roman Invasion of Anglesea -Beaumaris Castle and Town-Bangor, and its Cathedral-Penrhyn Castle-Bethesda Slate Quarries-The Menai Bridge--The Britannia Bridge-Plas NewyddSegontium and Carnarvon-Its Castle and History.

T is the most marked peculiarity of the Menai Straits that the scenery for a considerable distance does not in any way suggest that we are in reality looking upon an arm of the sea. Of course the rise and fall of the tide, the variable nature of the current, the fringes of yellow-brown sea-weed on the rocks by the water's edge, show us plainly enough, if we look narrowly at details, that it is a strait, not a river, by which we are standing; still, for some miles, the general uniformity of breadth, the winding course of the narrow channel, the steeply sloping banks on either hand, often wooded to the water's edge, are all strongly suggestive of river scenery; and as we stand at either entrance and watch the shores gradually approach, we can hardly persuade ourselves that before many miles they will again open out in like manner, and that the current which flows between shore and shore is of salt water, not of fresh.

ON THE STRAITS.

Between the scenery of the mainland and Anglesea there is a very marked contrast.