make a sortie from Monmouth, as if to fall on his rear, which might then drive him back, and in the pursuit enter the town with him. Massey, accordingly, gave out the necessity of a retreat; and having marched three miles, lodged his troops in the Forest of Dean. This was no sooner reported at Monmouth, than Kyrle drew out his men to follow in the rear of Massey. Accordingly, about a mile from Colford, he was surprised by Massey, and all his horsemen were led towards Monmouth. But the town having been alarmed by an officer who had escaped, the garrison were on the alert; yet, as Kyrle himself advanced to the drawbridge with a hundred horse, and pretended to be returning with many prisoners, the officers and soldiers were thrown off their guard; and with the consent of the governor, Colonel Holtby, the drawbridge was lowered, and the town was entered. "The governor and most of the garrison escaped, some prisoners were made, and the rest were put to the sword." The loss of Monmouth, so justly considered the key of South Wales, alarmed the garrison of Raglan Castle. The old Marquess called in the assistance of Prince Rupert's cavalry, which obtained some advantages over the flying parties of Massey, but could not disturb his possession of Monmouth, in which he was strongly fortified. Geoffrey of Monmouth, whose name gives additional lustre to the place, was also a native of this town. He is supposed to have been educated in the ancient Benedictine Priory, founded by Wihenoc de Monmouth, in the reign of Henry the First. A small chamber of the ancient monastery has long been shown to inquisitive tourists, as the library of Geoffrey. The apartment bears in the ceiling and windows certain traces of former magnificence; but the art is of a later period than the first Henry's reign, and probably contemporary with that of Tinterne. Geoffrey, whose fame as the historian of Britain takes precedence of all his contemporaries, was archdeacon of his native town, and subsequently, through the patronage of Robert, Earl of Gloucester, and Alexander, Bishop of Lincoln-both renowned as the friends of learning-promoted to the bishopric of St. Asaph. His history is considered to be a vitiated translation of the "Annals of the British Kings," written by St. Thalian, Bishop of St. Asaph, who flourished in the seventh century. It is very entertaining, and forms an epoch in the literature of this country, being almost the first production which introduced that species of composition called Romance. "Geoffrey of Monmouth's History," says Campbell in his elaborate Essay on English Poetry, "was not a forgery, but derived from an Armorican original, and with the pseudo-Turpin's Life of Charlemagne, was the grand historical magazine of the romancers. Popular songs," he adds, "about Arthur and Charlemagneor, as some will have it, Charles Martel-were probably the main sources of Turpin's forgeries, and of Geoffrey's Armorican book." PRIORY.] THE PRIORY-ST. THOMAS'S CHURCH. 241 In Geoffrey will be found the affecting history of Lear,* King of Britain, who divided his kingdom between Gonerilla and Regan, his two elder daughters, and disinherited his youngest daughter Cordelia. Hence Shakspeare drew his incomparable tragedy of "King Lear," but improved the pathos of the story by making the death of Cordelia precede that of Lear; while in the original, the aged father is restored to his kingdom, and Cordelia survives him. Milton also was indebted to Geoffrey of Monmouth for his beautiful fiction of Sabrina in the "Mask of Comus." But to return to the scene under notice : The Priory, of which little remains, was a cell belonging to the Benedictine Monastery of Saumur in Anjou; and in this, as we have said, the renowned Geoffrey is believed to have prosecuted his studies. By some writers he is called a monk of the Dominican order; but, according to Leland, the fact has never been established; nor have we any sure grounds for believing that, as others report, he attained the dignity of Cardinal under the Holy See. He has higher claims to the reverential remembrance of posterity, than either a monk's cowl or a cardinal's hat. But notwithstanding his reputed Treatise on the Holy Sacrament, and poetical Commentaries on Merlin, his fame must ever rest on the original, or translated, History† of Britain, to which we have already alluded. Queen Elizabeth, we are told, was fond of tracing her descent from the British line; and Spenser, in his "Faerie Queen," introduces his Chronicle of Briton Kings, from Brut to Arthur, with the following address : "Thy name, oh Soveraine Queene, thy realme and race, From this renowned Prince derived arre, Who mightily upheld that royal mace, Which now thou bear'st, to thee descended farre, From mighty Kings and Conquerors in warre. Thy fathers and thy grandfathers of old, Whose noble deeds above the northern starre, Immortal Fame for ever hath enrolled, As in that Old Man's book they were in order told." Near the bridge of the Monnow stands the ancient Church of St. Thomas. The simplicity of its form-to quote the historian In the "Shakspeare," edited by the late poet Campbell, it is thought that the parts of Gloucester and Edgar are taken from the story of the Paphlagonian King in Sir Philip Sydney's "Arcadia." There was also a play, entitled "The True Chronicle Historie of King Leare and his 3 Daughters," entered at Stationers' Hall in 1594, which kept possession of the stage several years, and must have been familiar to Shakspeare himself. Lytton, Bart., entitled "King Arthur," is one of the few poems of our own times that promises to descend to posterity. What Milton adınired, and Dryden projected, as the subject of a national poem, Sir Edward has accomplished with that felicitous taste and ability which have impressed his name on the popular and classic literature of the day. Pope himself had at one period of his life resolved to complete, what Milton and Dryden had only planned-a heroic poem on the samne The recent epic poem by Sir Edward Bulwer subject. VOL. II. 2 I of the place the circular shape of the door, the arch separating the nave from the chancel, the ornaments of which bear a Saxon character, seem to indicate that it was constructed before the Conquest. The western window and some of the other apertures-which are ornamented Gothic-have been evidently formed since the original foundation. Monmouth, the Blestium of Antoninus, is supposed to have been the site of a Roman station. We know, from historical records, that it was a fortress in early times, and one of the strongholds occupied by the Saxons to maintain their conquests between the Severn and the Wye, and check the incursions of the Welsh. The town appears to have been fortified with a wall and a moat, except where it was secured by the river. At the Leland's Survey, parts of the dilapidated walls were still remaining, the moat entire, the four gates standing, which he calls the Monk's Gate, to the north; the Eastern Gate; the Wyegate; and the Monnow or Western Gate. At present there are few or no distinct vestiges of the walls; and the only part of the moat which can be traced, was pointed out as that stretching from the back of Whitecross Street to the remains of an ancient gateway, and thence to the Wye. Of the four gates mentioned by Leland, that called the Monk's Gate, which stood near the Hereford road, is now demolished. Parts of two round towers which flanked the eastern gate are visible. Of the latter no traces are left. But that over the Monnow, as shown in the preceding cut, is nearly entire, and bears the marks of very great antiquity. It was the opinion of a celebrated historian of the place, that the circular arches, the massive solidity of the structure, and some minuter features, were sufficient to remove all doubts as to its Saxon origin; and that the alterations it underwent in the time of the first Edward, were only repairs executed in conformity with the original plan. But as this is not a field for antiquarian disquisitions—but only a record of opinions generally received-we are content to follow the popular belief, and assign to it a date somewhat anterior to that of the Conquest. Of Monmouth, Churchyard sings: "The Kinge here borne did prove a peerless Prince; He conquered France and reigned nine yeares in hap; There was not here so great a victor since, That had such chaunce and fortune in his lap. If Monmouth bring such princes forth as this, SCENERY.] KYMIN HILL-AUTHORITIES. A cittie sure, as free as is the best, Where 'Size is kept, and learned lawyers rest; Such auncient wise, in meete and wholesome ayre, Where the best sort of people do repayre." 243 Kymin Hill, on the south-east side of Monmouth, commands one of the finest views in the kingdom. To this enchanting prospect, the celebrated lines by Dyer may be applied with little alteration: "Now I gain the mountain's brow- "And see the rivers, how they run Through woods and meads, in shade and sun! Ever charming, ever new, When will the landscape tire the view ?” AUTHORITIES quoted or referred to in the preceding article on Raglan Castle and its vicinity :-DugdaleCamden-Collins' Peerage-Speed-Hollinshed-Williams' Monmouth-Grafton-Robert of GloucesterIllustrations of British History-Peck's Curiosa-Stow-Winwood-Manners and Customs of England— Pictorial History-Memoirs of the Court of James I.-Osborne's Memoirs-Evelyn's Diary-Strutt-Somers' Tracts-Howel's Letters-Barber's Tour-Bayly's Apophthegms of the Marquess of Worcester-Churchyard— Wood's Rivers of Wales-Thomas' Raglan-Carne-Archæological Journal-Clarendon's History-Certamen Religiosum-Ellis's Original Letters-Memoirs of Swift-Carlyle-Parliamentary Papers-Mercurius Ciricus -Edwards-The Family History-History of the Civil War-Chronicles-Rushworth's Papers-Lodge's Illustrations-County History and Local Descriptions-Sir R. Colt Hoare-Coxe-Notes of a Personal Visit to Raglan-Communications from Correspondents, etc.-See APPENDIX. LLANTHONY ABBEY, Monmouthshire. 'Mongst Hatteril's lofty hills, that with the clouds are crowned, The valley Ewias lies immured so steep and round, As they believe that see the mountains rise so high, Might think the straggling herds were grazing in the sky; In memory of whom, in the revolving year, The Welshmen on his day that sacred herb do wear!"—Drayton. AINT DAVID, uncle of the renowned King Arthur, and titular Saint of Wales, was the first who introduced the rites of Christian worship into these mountain solitudes. Selecting for his hermitage a spot which had all the characteristics of a rude and unfrequented wilderness, he built a chapel on the banks of the Honddy-the stream by which it was watered-and there spent many years of his life in the exercise of an austere devotion. The reputation of his sanctity having spread over the surrounding country brought many pilgrims to his cell; and when at length he was added to the list of canonized saints, it was still resorted to as a place long consecrated by the practice of a holy life. In the reign of William Rufus-as attested by the Abbey records-the hallowed retreat was thus discovered. Hugh de Laci, a great Norman baron, having on a hunting excursion followed the deer into this secluded valley, sat down at the conclusion of the chase to refresh himself and his attendants. The wildness and beauty of the scenery around them appeared to have affected their minds with unwonted impressions; and the accidental visit was thus prolonged for the sake of the rude but romantic valley which the morning's adventure had so unexpectedly thrown open. |