nacle in the Winnats, but I could scarcely imagine the appearance real. The dark outline of a human form was alone distinguishable, and standing as the figure did against the sky, with no familiar and well-understood object near by which dimensions might be measured, it seemed gigantic. The illusion was momentary, but as soon as I was satisfied that a human creature was thus fearfully placed, an apprehension of danger immediately succeeded, and the whole scene became sublimely terrible. These impressions were evidently transient, yet the rapidity with which they succeeded each other and passed away was a source of interest.

The Winnats is not without a tale of horror. About sixty years ago a gentleman and lady, mounted on single horses and unattended with servants, are said to have been murdered in this dreary pass. They were strangers in the country, and some circumstances induced the supposition that they were on a matrimonial excursion to the north. They were both young, and one of the men concerned in the murder stated the lady to be extremely handsome. The morning after the commission of this atrocious act, the horses belonging to these unfortunate persons were found in the neighbourhood of Castleton, without riders, but properly caparisoned for travel. Suspicion pointed to the crime that had been committed, and an enquiry took place, when, after a few days' search, the dead bodies were found in one of the holes in the craggy sides of the Winnats. All attempts to trace out the perpetrators of this horrid deed were for a long time fruitless: they escaped the punishment of an earthly tribunal, but a singularly-calamitous fate attended them. They were five in number: one only died in his bed, who confessed to have participated in the crime, and as he was the last survivor, he told who were the companions of his guilt; two of them, working near where the murder was committed, were killed by the sudden falling of a part of the rock above them; the other two were the victims of different accidents, and the inhabitants of this district regard their premature deaths as awful instances of divine vengeance. Such is the tale of blood connected with the local history of the Winnats, and it is so circumstantially related, that the names of the men who were concerned in the commission of the crime are mentioned, and the manner of their death particularly detailed. This story I have told as it exists in the vicinity of the place, but the enquiries I have made into the accuracy of the narrative induce me to suppose it fabulous.

SPEEDWELL MINE.

195

At the entrance into the Winnats, within a mile of Castleton, is SPEEDWELL MINE an artificial excavacation, that leads to a natural cavern, much visited by travellers, and esteemed one of the greatest curiosities in the Peak of Derbyshire. A descent of upwards of one hundred steps leads to a narrow canal, along which the visitor is ferried through a channel hewn in the heart of the rock, when he enters a terrific void, vast as Milton's palace of Pandemonium, and filled with impenetrable darkness. The light of the torch, overpowered by impervious gloom, seems feeble in such a place, and glimmers like a little star surrounded by a world of night and blackness. Leaving the boat, we ascended a stage or platform, erected above the level of the canal. The nerves of that man must be firm and well-strung who in this situation can contemplate the space around him without shuddering. Standing in the midst of a gulph, where all below is a dark vacuity of immeasurable depth, above a mighty cavern, whose loftiest recesses no light can reach, and all around uncertain and obscure an awful feeling takes possession of every faculty, and breath, and thought, and motion, are nearly suspended.

The lights that have been hitherto used to discover the capacity of this subterraneous cavern have only illumined a portion of its vastness, and rendered more fearful and sublime the impressions made upon the mind of the spectator in beholding them. While we listened to the dashing of the water which is precipitated with a tremendous noise into the abyss that yawned beneath us, our guide clambered up a rocky projec tion with lights, that gave a partial glimpse of the horrors of Speedwell Mine, but they only served to make "darkness still more visible." Two gentlemen who visited this place since the materials for this excursion were collected, took with them some powerful rockets: these they threw up in the midst of the cavern, when they rose uninterrupted to their greatest height, exploded, and spread out their brilliant scintillations as freely as if they had ascended under the canopy of heaven. The grandeur of a part of this magnificent vault was thus exhibited, and some of its boldest projections briefly illumined, but its utmost altitude and expansion remained unexplored.

We now returned to Castleton, and as we emerged from Speedwell Mine, the clear light of a beautiful evening gleamed on the side of the mountains, and played along the valley. I never saw the fair face of nature look half so lovely felt the invigorating influence of so sweet a breeze.

never

196

CURIOSITIES OF THE PEAK.

As evening advanced, Mam Tor became a more imposing object; the whole dale indeed seemed to contract, and the hills that environ it to increase in bulk and altitude as night and darkness approached, and the detail of the intervening space was less distinct. It is difficult at any time, and under any light, to form an accurate opinion of the distance of large and lofty mountains; the eye, unaccustomed to contemplate such objects, is but little aware of the illusion to which it is subjected. On my first visit to this part of Derbyshire, when totally unacquainted with the distance between Mam Tor and Castleton, I supposed it a loitering walk of ten minutes only; the mountain, however, appeared to recede as I approached, and I was surprised to find it nearly two miles off.

Castleton furnishes a great variety of what are termed the curiosities of the Peak. Brilliant spars, petrifactions, crystals, ores, and stalactites in abundance. One of the spar shops is kept by a very intelligent man, who has long made mineralogy his study, and it contains many beautiful specimens of the fossils of Derbyshire, some of which are in their native state, others are formed into elegant ornaments, from ladies' necklaces to urns, vases, and obelisks. In these shops information and amusement may be obtained; few travellers, therefore, omit to visit them, as they are alike open to those who purchase and those who do not.

Mr. Mawe, in the preface to his "Mineralogy of Derbyshire," observes, "that for the purpose of obtaining mineralogical information, Castleton seems to be the best situation, where such a variety of strata, mines, and minerals occur, as The vaperhaps no situation in this kingdom can boast." rious mines and veins of ore," he adds, "are of the first consequence, while the mountains around present a variety of strata worthy the attention of the geologist."

Castleton is in this respect of the first importance; it is an epitome of all that the Peak of Derbyshire contains: hills, rocks, caverns, mines, fossils, and minerals are here congregated together, presenting a rich variety of materials for study and contemplation. Among the most extraordinary productions of this district, the mineral Caoutchou, or elastic bitumen, may be classed: Mr. Mawe ranks it amongst inflammable ores: it is of a dark brownish colour, and it is easily compressed; but the same piece is not always equally elastic: when lighted, it emits a beautiful white flame, similar to gaslight. Hitherto, this curious mineral has not been discovered

in any other part of Derbyshire, and a more singular product of nature is but rarely found.

About a mile east of Castleton is Dirtlow-Mine, a place that was visited by Faujas de St. Fond, for the purpose of investigating the stratum of toadstone there, in which lead ore is said to exist. It was his particlar object to disprove the theory of Whitehurst, and, as he observes, "to establish, by indisputable fact, where any doubt remained on the subject, that the toadstone of Derbyshire is not a product of volcanic fire;" and he concludes his observations by triumphantly remarking, "that the existence of lead ore in the trapp is a certain proof that it is not the product of fire." Supposing, however, the material in which lead ore has been found in Dirtlow Mine to be actually toadstone, Whitehurst's theory is but little affected by it, metallic veins, as I have before observed, on the authority of Bakewell, having been worked even in the crater of an extinct volcano. St. Fond's conclusion, therefore, appears to have been hastily drawn. Mr. Mawe indeed intimates his regret, that this scientific and intelligent foreigner did not examine the substance in question more minutely; and he seems to be of opinion, that the stratum of reputed toadstone is in fact"a limestone strongly impregnated with pyrites, which are in a decomposing state. The green earthy matter," he adds, "I suspect to be chlorite." Mr. Mawe's opinions and suspicions are as little satisfactory as St. Fond's. The substance which they admit to be toadstone, and that which is disputed by them, are not distinguishable from each other by any difference that can be perceived and understood by common observers; but geologists and mineralogists are sometimes inclined to make appearances bend to their peculiar theories.

A little distance from the castle, at the upper end of the deep ravine called Cave Dale, the toadstone appears in a regular basaltic column.

SECTION IV.

Mid-day View of Castleton Vale. - Ebbing and Flowing Well. Approach to Chapel-en-le-Frith.- Chinley. The Apos tle of the Peak.-Kinderscout. - Evening at Glossop. Catholic Chapel at Glossop Hall. - Glossop Church. Rush-Bearing. Monument to the Memory of Joseph Hague, Esq.- Brief Memoir of kim.

My last visit to Castleton was in the summer of 1820. I was then on my way to Glossop, a part of Derbyshire which I had not originally intended to include in my excursions, but I gladly extended my journey to that remote part of the county, where I expected to find much less of picturesque beauty than wildness and sterility; I was, however, pleasantly disappointed, and I felt myself indebted to my companion for the opportunity afforded me of visiting so interesting a portion of the PEAK.

We left Castleton soon after mid-day, when the sun was high in the heavens, and took the road that had been lately made along the base of Tray Cliff, and the side of Mam Tor, for the purpose of avoiding the steep path through the Winnats. As we ascended the hills, we had a fine view of the valley below; but the landscape wanted shadow. The sky was cloudless, and the whole horizon was filled with a blaze of light, that rendered every object, even in distance, clearly discernible; yet the scene was less lovely than when beheld at the close of the day, when every inequality is marked by the shadows of a declining sun, and the forms of objects are either thrown in lengthened lines, or lie in masses along the ground.

From this place to Chapel-en-le-Frith, a distance of about five miles, the road has but little interest; even the ebbing and flowing well at Bar Moor Clough may be passed without notice, unless a fellow-traveller, previously acquainted with the existence of this singular phenomenon, points it out to ob