to Hamildown; it has been named "the equator of the moorland region, all above it being reckoned North, and all below it South of the country. This rude causeway is formed of pebbly stones, irregularly placed together; its mean breadth is from five to six feet."*

Beyond Merrivale-bridge are a number of circles, supposed by antiquarians, to mark the site of a British village.

"Let me pause

Around these roofless huts, these feeble vaults,

Thus solitary, thus decayed, amid

The silent flight of ages. In these, once,

The fierce Danmonii dwelt."

“These huts, or dwellings, are to be found on every part of Dartmoor, in a state generally very imperfect; the foundation stones, and those forming the door jambs, being all that remains with few exceptions. The huts are circular on the plain; the stones are set on their edge, and placed closely together, so as to form a secure foundation for the superstructure, whether they were wattleturf, stone, or other material. These vestiges strikingly illustrate the descriptions which Diodorus Siculus, and Strabo give of the habitations of their times." The most perfect specimen of the foundation stones of a British hut, we discovered near the Cheese-Wring in Cornwall. At the village near Merrivale-bridge, are two avenues of great length, apparently leading to the circles. Here is also a prostrate cromlech, and a rock pillar, or monumental column, formed of a granite shaft, twelve feet high, "presenting a rude type of an obelisk." Leaving Merrivale-bridge and its British village behind us, we pass two rocky eminences, denominated, Kingtor

* From a Paper on the antiquities of Dartmoor, in the Transactions of the Plymouth Literary Society.

+ Plymouth Transactions.

and Rundlestone, on the right, and proceed over a wild track, and by habitations as wild, towards Two-bridges. In one of these moss-covered huts, springing up like mounds from the earth, once lived an aged moor-man, surnamed Carter, who claimed to be the patriarch of the moor, as the ancestor of a tribe of herdsmen, as wild and independent as the Arabs of the desert. He and his sons contracted about seventy years since, for the making of the first turnpike road, leading over the moor, towards Moretonhampstead. Previously to its formation, it was actually necessary to have an experienced guide, to conduct the traveller with any chance of security over the trackless waste. The course was steered by observing the relative position of the tors; here and there arose a stone cross, to save the traveller from the perils of the morass. In the charter of Isabella de Fortibus, Countess of Devon, to Buckland Abbey, I observed the names of Syward's Cross, (still remaining) Smalacumba Cross, Panebone Cross, Maynestone Cross, and Capris Cross. Near Two-bridges is the small wooded valley which rises like an oasis in the desert below Barddown. The good feeling and taste of a former proprietor, (Edward Bray, Esq.) induced him to plant by the mountain stream, a number of trees, which even now spread their branches fearlessly, though scathed by the storms, that desolate the moor. The little river Cowsick dashes onward, over vast masses of granite, on which the present owner, (the Rev. E. A. Bray) has placed various inscriptions. A question arises, as to whether from the numerous little valleys which intersect the moor, similar plantations might not be made to rise, and that thus our bleak desert, by the wand of industry, might be transformed into a cultivated track. The specimen of stunted vegetation on Wistman's wood, is certainly unfavorable to the speculation. A number of oaks, of no more than two or three feet in height, rear their

T

tortuous forms above the moss-grown rocks, throwing twisted and ungainly branches as far as their dogged perseverance will permit. There is an uncomfortable sensation in beholding these thwarted efforts of nature; it is like being thrown into an assemblage of human dwarfs amidst the halt, the maimed, and the blind, who boldly grin at the spectator, as if boasting of their own deformity. "Tradition reports, that Wistman's, otherwise Wiseman's wood, was planted by the beforementioned Isabella de Fortibus, Countess of Devon." It is on the eastern side of the West Dart, about two miles northward of Two-bridges.

At no great distance, is Longford Tor, of a conical form, presenting a bold front to a spectator on the road to Moreton.

Thence at the distance of four miles, is situated PostBridge, on the East Dart, built of upright stones, overcapped with others horizontally, placed so as to admit of passengers on foot, or on horseback, after the manner of crossing rivers in ancient times. It was probably reared in a primitive age, by the British inhabitants.

Following the road which conducts by Two-bridges to the Prisons, we pass the railroad, which connects the moor with Plymouth; and observe at a distance, the estate of Tor-Royal, planted by the late Sir Thomas Tyrwhitt. The house at Tor-Royal, which for the sake of security from the storms, is but one story in height, contains a handsome suite of apartments, with cornices representing a small railroad train, Sir Thomas Tyrwhitt having been the original projector of the Plymouth and Dartmoor railway. "The length of this railway from Prince-town, to Sutton-Pool, where it ends, is about twenty-five miles. It is used in conveying lime, coals, timber, &c. and taking back granite, and other articles. The tunnel on the twentieth mile from Prince town, is six hundred and twenty yards in length. It was opened

for public use, with a procession, September 26th, 1823.* "What has been done, can be done again :" we do not despair of seeing railroads connecting the town of Tavistock with Plymouth and Exeter, by their expeditious mode of travelling. Already various lines have been projected and marked out: Nothing is required but corage and perseverance ; our monied men will surely not be backward in their contributions; the government must countenance the labors of its subjects; and thus every obstacle will in time be cleared, which lies in the way! The Plymouth and Dartmoor railway, belongs to Messrs. Johnson; we shall have occasion to mention it again, when we visit the granite quarries. We must now, after leaving our equipage at the Duchy Hotel, at Prince town, proceed to visit the gloomy prisons.

In our way a handsome granite church, built by the French prisoners for the use of the inhabitants of Princetown, attracts our attention. The scattered graves around, show how few desire even in death, to be placed in this desolate and exposed spot. Opposite the churchyard gate, is the entrance to some barracks, used in the time of the last French war. At a quarter of a mile beyond, we come upon the strong portal, which for so many years, inclosed the unfortunate victims of human dissension.

"Silent now,

How silent that proud pile where England held

Within her victor-gripe, the vanquish'd foe!"

On the granite archway, is carved an inscription from

*The total cost of the undertaking, including the purchase of land, the expense of three acts of parliament, the construction of the works, and other contingencies, amounted to about sixty-six thousand pounds; twenty-eight thousand of which, were borrowed from the commissioners for granting the loan of exchequer bills, in aid of public works.- -South Devon Museum.

Virgil. "Parcere subjectis; debellare superbos." The houses for the officers and agents on duty, occupy the outer court of the prison. In one of these, is a number of inscriptions in French, intimating the feelings of the poor captives, who waited to be confined, or released, by order of the recording officer. An inner court contains a covered piazza, furnished with gratings, through which the prisoners, on certain days, were permitted to traffic with such small articles, as their ingenuity led them to produce, from the apparently incompetent materials, afforded by old bones, waste paper, and slips of straw. By apt contrivance they constructed from these, boxes, dinner mats, and various ornaments, suited to the taste of the fair inhabitants of the nearest towns, who crowded

to make purchases of the prisoner's wares. The guide at the prisons, who is an Irishman, as original as his habitation, points out some bullet holes in the strong oak door, and in the wall, near the market-place, which denotes the spot at which the prisoners once made an attempt to escape. The establishment forms an inclosure of thirty acres, surrounded by three lofty walls, on one of which were sentry-boxes, at distinct distances, gained by flights of steps still remaining. There are also three guard-houses, at the east, west, and south. Within the walls is another barrier, formed of iron palisades. Such precautions were deemed eminently essential; as at one period of the war, ten thousand prisoners were here confined. The prisons are seven in number, each three hundred feet long, and fifty wide, and of similar construction; containing two long dormitories, with gangways between the iron poles, from which were suspended the hammocks. Above these two rooms, is a third, which was devoted to the exercise, or employment of the prisoners. Beneath some of the prisons, are covered ways, where the inmates might breathe the fresh air, without suffering from the inclemencies of the storm.