OF LITERATURE, AMUSEMENT, AND INSTRUCTION. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 1827. Rottingham Castle. [PRICE 2d. No. 241.J THIS edifice stands upon the summit o. an almost perpendicular rock, at the south-western extremity of the town of Nottingham. The beauty of the building adds less to its majestic appearance than the commanding rock it surmounts, which rises on the south and west sides, 133 feet above the level of the Leen, which runs at its foot. When the Danes came to Nottingham, in the year 852, they possessed themselves of a tower on this rock, where they resisted all the efforts of Ethelred, king of the West Saxons, and Alfred his brother, to dislodge them; and it was only by a blockade that they could be compelled to make terms and retire. The present mansion is modern, and occupies little more than one-third of the site of the old castle, which extended northward, over the now extensive area, to the verge of the moat, which may yet be traced, and was built, according to Holinshed and Camden, by William the Conqueror, while others contend that his natural son Peveril caused it to be done; but all agree that it was erected immediately after the conquest; and William of Newborough says, "This castle, when VOL. IX. L in its glory, was made so strong by nature and art, that it was esteemed impregnable, except by famine." It was never taken by storm, and but once by surprise. It was not, however, erected all at once. "The most beautiful and gallant part for lodging," observes Leland, is on the north side, where Edward IV. began a right sumptuous piece of stone-work, which was finished by Richard III. The dungeon stood where now the flight of steps leads up to the terrace and front of the house. The castle of Nottingham was given by James I. to Francis, Earl of Rutland, who pulled down many of the buildings, and sold the materials. But at the com. mencement of the Parliamentary war it was still considered a place of strength; and here Charles I. erected his standard. No efforts, however, being made to defend it, it became a garrison to the Parliamnent; and when Colonel Hutchinson, its last governor, became jealous of Crom. well's intention to make himself king, he employed Captain Paulton to demolish it, for which it is said Cromwell never forgave the colonel. There now remains little more of this 241 ancient structure than a bastion, and the main gateway, which consists of a Gothic arch, supported by two ancient bastions; but recently a stone staircase, below the present wall, on the north side, has been discovered, to which the name King Richard's steps" has been appropriated. The present castle, of which our engraving presents a north view, belongs to the Newcastle family; and the building of it, which was commenced by William, Duke of Newcastle, in 1680, and finished in 1683, cost 14,0027. 17s. 9d. It is about 72 yards by 30; and the front presents a rustic appearance, intermingled with the majestic grandeur of the Corinthian order. An equestrian statue of the founder, cut out of one block of stone, brought from Castle Donnington, in Leicestershire, is placed in front, over which the duke's arms are carved in stone. In 1808, the castle underwent a complete repair; but the all-subduing hand of time has made very free with this beautiful fabric. Mortimer's Hole is still to be seen; it is a subterraneous passage, leading from the castle terrace through the rock, on the south side, and took its name from the following circumstance :-In the minority of Edward III., after the murder of his deposed father, his mother, Isabella, lived in an adulterous intercourse with Mortimer, Earl of March, in this castle. The young king, however, being ashamed of his mother's conduct, determined, in council with some of his friends, to seize Mortimer; but the question was, in what mar.ner could it be effected, the gates of the castle being always locked at sun-set, and the keys taken to the queen, who put them under her pillow? William Eland, constable of the fortress, was at length trought over to the party, and engaged to introduce young Edward and his friends through this secret passage into the castle during the night. This was accordingly done, and Mortimer was seized amidst the cries and prayers of the queen; was taken to Westminster, and there condemned and executed as a traitor. A Parliament was subsequently held at Nottingham, which deprived the queen of her dowry, and granted her 1,000l. a year for life. Thus ended the royal amours and life of Mortimer; and hence this celebrated vault received its present name. VELOCITY OF SOUND. (For the Mirror.) THE experiments are numerous by which it has been found, that sound has been audible to the distance of fifty, sixty, or eighty miles; but Dr. Hearn, physician to the king of Sweden, tells us, that at the bombardment of Holmia, 1658, the sound was heard to the distance of thirty Swedish miles, which make 180 of ours. And in the fight between England and Holland, 1672, the noise of the guns was heard even in Wales, which cannot be less than 200 miles. The real velocity of sound, as investigated from the nature of elastic air by the eminent Newton, is found to be at the rate of 1,142 feet per second. The truth and accuracy of this noble theory have been sufficiently confirmed by experiments, particularly those made by the late Rev. Dr. Derham, of which we shall give some account; but in the first place take a view of the different estimates made of the velocity of sound by several celebrated philosophers, as in the following table:Feet per second. Roberts Boyle Walker Mersennus The Academy at Florence..... Derham 1,300 1,200 1,338 1,474 1,148 1,172 1,142 As no man had a better opportunity, so none could improve it with greater diligence, assiduity, and accuracy, in determining and settling the various phænomena of sounds, than the celebrated philosopher last mentioned. He proved by experiments made with the strokes of a hammer, and the explosion of a gun at the same time, at the distance of a mile, that the velocity of sounds produced from different bodies was the same, or came to his ear in the same time. That the motion of sound was equable and uniform, or that it passed through spaces proportional to the times, he found by various experiments made by the explosion of guns, at different distances as appears by the following table which he has given us, where the first column shows the places at which the guns were fired; the second, the number of vibra tions of a half-second pendulum; the third, the distance of places in miles and decimal parts, as measured by trigonometry; the fourth, the distances measured by the velocity of sound, admitting it to be at the rate of one mile every 94 halfseconds: At Hornchurch 9 0.9875 2,004 2,000 2,4 331 33 3,58 3,57 The great exactness of measuring distances by sounds appears from the above table, as well as the equability of the motion; but to render this matter still more certain and indisputable, Dr. Derham took a journey to Foulness-sands, on the coast of Essex, which form a smooth large plain for miles. On this plain he measured six miles in a right line, and, causing a gun to be fired at the end of each mile, he found that his former observations were very just and true, and that sound passed the first mile in 9 half-seconds, two miles in 18, three miles in 27, and so on to the end of the six. The Academia del Cimento made experiments of this sort, from which they concluded, that the velocity of sounds was so far equable, as not to be accelerated or retarded by conspiring or adverse winds; but in this they led themselves and many others into a very great mistake, which was owing to their firing of guns at too near a distance, for in great distances the difference is sensible. F. R. Y. MARQUES. The Marques Montague, at Barnet. EARLES. Of Northumberland, at St. Alban's. VISCOUNTE. Viscounte Beaumont, at Northampton. BARONS. The Lo. St. John, at Tewkesburye. Retrospective Gleanings Lo. Egremont, at Northampton. (To the Editor of the Mirror.) SIR,-The following articles are copied from MSS. now in the British Museum, and are entirely at your service. Yours, &c. W. H. D. THE names of the kinges, princes, dukes, marques, earles, and barones, slaine in the tyme of the variance betweene the houses of Lancaster and Yorke for the crowne of Englande, duringe the space of fiftiefower yeares : KINGES. Henrye 6, slaine in the Tower. DUKES. Of Gloucester, at Burye. * Exeter. † Norfolk. Lo. Lovell, at Stoke-field. Lo. Dacres, at Taunton-fries. Lo. Fferrys, at Bosworth-field. Total 3 kings, 12 dukes, I marques, 17 earles, 1 viscounte, and 24 barons. CHATTERTON'S LAST LETTER, (For the Mirror ) SIR,-Upon recollection, I don't know how Mr. Clayfield could come by his letter, as I intended to have given him a letter, but did not. In regard to my motives for the supposed rashness, I shall observe, that I No; keep no worse company than myself. I I am, your much obliged, Mr. Lambert, Chatterton's master, found a letter on Chatterton's desk to Mr. Clayfield, telling his wants and distress, and that, "on Clayfield's receiving that, "This he (Chatterton) should be no more.' letter Mr. Lambert sent to Mr. Barrett, on which he sent for Chatterton, questioned him on the occasion in a very friendly manner, showed the horrible crime of suicide, and the cursed principles he had adopted; and Chatterton sent Mr. B. the above letter. My Common-Place Book, No. XVII. A SCENE IN THE ISLE OF (For the Mirror.) AT four o'clock in the morning our little boat is ready to receive us. We leave the inn at Yarmouth, and in a short time find ourselves gliding down the harbour. A dense mist obscures all the surrounding objects not a breeze is stirring, and the rippling of the waves against the sides of the boat is the only sound we hear. As the mist begins to clear away, we distinguish the little town of Yarmouth with its quay and vessels-then the white sails of a sloop, reflecting the rays of the sun, and glistening with the dew-drops of the dispersing vapours, appear in the channel close to us. At last the whole inferior atmosphere becomes clear, and no traces of the mist are seen, except some light fleecy clouds floating above. We look around us-behind lies the town of Yarmouth-on our right the distant coast of Hampshire on our left, a part of the island-on all sides in the channel, far as the eye can reach, appear vessels, sloops, and boats. It is now five o'clock. A breeze has sprung up, and we are bounding over the waves. Our boatman points out to our view the different bays and promontories which successively present themselves as we pass along. At length the Needles appear running far into the sea their rocks have been so magnified to us in description, that we are disappointed with them they are quite insignificant. We reach Alum Bay-our boat cuts through the surf-we leap from it on the beach. We spend some time in viewing the "variegated wonders" of this bay. There is a hill before us which we must ascendwe commence, and wherever a grassy knoll invites, sit down and view the sea below. The sun is intolerably powerful, and we long for the mountain breeze. A colony of rabbits, into whose warren we have intruded, accompany us in our ascent. As we approach the summit, we gain a view of the inland part of the island a wild and desolate scene presents itself, and at nearly the extreme point the rock, impending over the Needles, stands a light-house. It is not far out of our way we will go to it. We turn to the right, cross a ravine, and approach this light-house-a little curly dog comes out to meet us, and then retires growling to announce our arrival. A young girl inquires if we desire to see the lamps, and requests us to enter. We ascend the steps, and soon find ourselves in the centre of the room containing the Argand lamps. We have from this lighthouse a most extensive prospect. Having satisfied our curiosity, we quit the light-house, and ask the distance to Freshwater, where we look forward to the enjoyment of a refreshing breakfast by the sea-side. "It is only four miles, and you can keep along here on the top of the cliffs, and when you get to that great black hill before you, you are close to it." On looking in the direction the girl pointed, we see a towering dark hill, appa rently about three miles before us. now proceed on our journey, and as we walk along, the sea-breeze comes freshly blowing on us, and produces a delightful buoyancy of feeling. "Oh, there is pleasure in the mountain air, We Which bloated ease can never hope to share." Sometimes we sit down and view the magnificent expanse beneath us. Sometimes we read the descriptions in the "Seasons" most applicable to what we behold. The heat of the sun oppresses us. Suddenly a noise, as of distant musketry, is heard. We look around, and not a cloud is visible. Before us lie the high Freshwater cliffs on our right is the sea and on our left a widely-extended At the most remote part of the horizon, and rising froin the sea, a small moor. black spot is just discernible. It must be an approaching thunder-storm, but it is so far off, that we shall certainly reach Freshwater long before it reaches us. We walk leisurely along, occasionally stopping to view the clouds as they gradually, as it were, come into existence from the bosom of the sea. On the turf road we observe a variety of curious shells. We stop to examine them, and while we are selecting the most beautiful of them, a clap of thunder makes us jump on our feet and look around-how great a change! Instead of the beautifully clear sky, from which we had recently anticipated a delightful day, dark masses of clouds are seen brewing up in all parts of the heavens, while vivid gleams of lightning mark the progress and fury of the storm. We walk faster, beginning to doubt whether we shall be able to reach Freshwater before the storm. By the time we have gained the summit of the cliff, the heavens have become entirely obscured, clouds are piled on clouds, and every thing threatens a furious storm. The breeze becomes stronger, and at every flash the lightning approaches nearer to the cliff on which we are standing. Hundreds of gulls and other sea-birds rise shrieking into the air. The small rippling waves begin to swell into billows, and break into foamy spray. We stop at the extreme summit of the cliff-we look at the foaming sea beneath us at the wild masses of the clouds; but for a moment, for a flash of lightning, followed instantaneously by the loudest thunder, convinces us that the electric cloud has reached the rock on which we stand. We leave our lofty situation, and hasten down into the valley. I do not think we pause once until we reach a small dell below. We then turn round and behold a scene of all others the most calculated to strike us with awe and terror. The Freshwater cliff is nearly in a blaze of lightning, flash succeeding flash with fearful rapidity. Alarmed at the tremendous fury of the storm, and dreading that it will next descend to the valley, we strive to find some road that may lead us to the inn at Freshwater, from which we know that we are not far distant. The rain begins now to descend in torrents, while the fury of the storm is increased. Just at this moment, when in the greatest danger, we discover a road, and turning round a corner of the hill, we discover before us, instead of the high eliffs we had just descended, which here abruptly terminated, an open and level shore, with the sea rolling up with beautiful freshness, close to the Freshwater inn-the object of our journey. VIATOR. INVITED by the balmy breeze, As onward I delighted rov'd (O heaven! what joy was mine!) The beauteous stranger play'd; Extends its friendly shade. A thousand flow'rs of various hues And hail her as their queen. Scarce on the lovely stranger's cheek That with the lily's hue combin'd The blushing rose's tint. For bare her breast of purest snow, |