hours, quite crosse this equitable sea or navigable land, fourten miles in length: where being arrived in very good time, wee found our selves but three miles from Boston, and so wee might the better ride easily both to refresh our horses, and entertaine one another with some discourse of our that day's journy, till wee came to our inn, the White Hart, where having rested us very well for that night, wee went in the morning to view more accurately that famous steeple which wee had seen the day before, and had been indeed our landmarke over most part of the washes. Wee found it to bee a 4 square steeple allmost up to the top, but there for a little way it is an octagon. We counted 336 staires up to the top of the lanthorne, upon which, in a cleare day, may bee seen a vast compasse of sea and land. Lincolne minster, six and twenty mile distant, is visible. To say wee saw into Holland from hence, though true, would bee but small commendation for this lofty companion of the clouds.

There is unto this steeple a very noble church adioyned, besides a large neat chancell; the font was newly built of black and white marble, with a cover in the fashion of a crowne, which might bee lift up higher or lower as you please by a cord, which was fastned to it and the top of the church; and so have fully seen both the inside and out side of this church. Wee left its celsitude, and the sea-town of Boston, to travell upon a plaine even fenne, further in to the land; and, having baited at Sleeford, wee soone got into Lincolne heath, where wee had the sight of the minster at eleven miles distance, which gave such encouragement that wee travailed more pleasantly that afternoon, and got into the city in good time. Having entred the gate, wee went through a street halfe a mile long, in which the houses though low did shew themselves to be built upon very antient peeces of walls and foundations: afterward, climing up a steep hill, wee came under two arches built after such a manner, with such vast stones, that wee guess'd them to bee no lesse then Roman. Upon this hill stands the kathedrall, much to bee admired, but especially for its front or west end which is very broad: the church there abouts containing four iles, besides the middle alley, and beautified with two fair steeples, in one of which

is a good ring of 5 very well tuned bells, in the other hanges the great bell, very remarkable by the name of Tom of Lincoln. There is also besides these' another bigger steeple over the crosse isle, a very large square steeple with six bells. Over the west door stande the statues of the kings of England from Will: Conq: to Edward the third; over these, allmost at the top were four or five fine pictures, but broken downe in the late troubles, but with small dextery, and by as bad a handicraft, for besides the quite ruining of the picture hee lost his right fist in the action. The tombs in this church, as in most other, are very much defac'd, yet there was one which pleasd us very well, upon which laied the statue of a starved body, very fine carv'd; upon the wall in the north isle are painted the pictures of divers ancient bishops of this see. The cloisters are large, the windows neat, long and slender, not very big, except two great round ones, at both ends of the crosse isle; the quire very long with a very large space behind it; the pillers not exceeding bigge, unlesse it bee those that support the steeples, but very handsome; the whole fabrick highly remarkable for its vast neatnesse, or its curious vastness, and gave such satisfaction to us as wee accounted our journy more then fully recompenc'd with the sight of so noble a structure. Of the charter house wee had onely a view of the out side, and made haste to our inne, where, having either din'd very soone or breakfasted very late, wee tooke our leave of this city; but the minster would not bid us farewell so soone, but after many miles riding, when soever wee turned our backs would again salute us with its goodly prospect. That afternoon wee cross'd the Trent and went into Nottinghamshiere, but before we were ferried over, upon the side of the hill, as wee walked downe our horses, wee found a fine veine of talkum out of which plaister of Paris is made; wee were no sooner entred this countrey but wee tooke some notice of the civility of the people towards us; amongst whom very few let us passe without a "good e'en," and were very ready to instruct us in our way. One told us our wy lig'd by youn nooke of oakes and another that wee mun goe strit forth, which maner of speeches not only directed us, but much pleas'd us with the novelty of its dia

lect; here wee came to see horned sheep again, for in Lincolneshire they have none. They burne a great kind of cole called pit or Scotch coale, which flames more and burneth sooner then the Newcastle. Wee lodged at night at Tuckesford, a markettowne, whither wee came, not the day after, but before, the faire, and so wee were called up betimes by some of the faire folkes, that used very foule play to one another, beginning to quarrell, fight, and pull down, before they had scarse built up their stalls. This day broke very rudely upon us, and our entertainte till night was answerable to this our morning's salutation; for I never traveld before in such a lamentable day both for weather and way, but wee made shift to ride sixteen mile that morning, to Chesterfield, in Darbishiere, passing by Bolsower castle belonging to the earl of Newcastle, very finely seated upon a high hill; and missing our way once or twice, wee rode up mountain, downe dale, till wee came to our inn, where wee were glad to goe to bed at noon. One of our companions came no better armd against the weather then with an open'd sleev'd doublet, whose misfortune, though wee could doe no otherwise then much pity, as being the greatest of us all, yet it made us some sport to see what pretty waterworkes the rain had made about him; the spouting of his doublet sleeves did so resemble him to a whale, that wee that could think our selfe no other then fishes at that time, swimming through the ocean of water that fell, dare never come nigh him. This gentleman indeed was in a lamentable pickle, but wee had no great reason to laugh at him, for wee were pretty well sous'd our selves; and the way, being so good as 'twas impossible to ride above two mile an hour in this stormy weather, did administer an excellent remedy for our madnesse, to see our selves thus drencht,patience per force; and made us in spite of our teeth march an alderman's pace some seven houres together in this fine morning: but coming to our inne, by the ostler's helpe having lifted our cramp'd legs off our horses, wee crawl'd up staires to a fire, where in two houres time wee had so well dried our selves without and liquor'd our selves within, that wee began to bee so valiant as to thinke upon a second march; but, inquiring after the businesse, wee received great discourage

5

ment with some storys of a moor, which they told us wee must goe over. Wee had by chance lighted on a house that was noted for good drinke and a shovel borde table, which had invited some Darbishier blades that liv'd at Bakewell, but were then at Chesterfield, about some businesse, to take a strengthning cup before they would incounter with their journey home that night. Wee, hearing of them, were desirous to ride in company with them so as wee might bee conducted in this strange mountainous, misty, moorish, rocky, wild, country; but they, having dranke freely of their ale, which inclined them something to their countrie's naturel rudeness, and the distaste they tooke at our swords and pistols with which wee rid, made them loth to bee troubled with our companies; till I, being more loth to loose this opportunity then the other, (one of which had voted to ly in bed the rest of the day,) went into the roome and perswaded them so well as they were willing, not onely to afford us their company, but staid for us till wee accoutred ourselves. And so, wee most couragiously set forward again, the weather being not one whit better, and the way far worse; for the great quantity of rain that fell, came down in floods from the tops of the hills, washing downe mud and so making a bog in every valley, the craggy ascents, the rocky unevenness of the roade, the high peaks and the almost perpendicular descents, that we were to ride down; but, what was worse then all this, the furious speed that our conductors, mounted upon good horses, used to those hills, led us on with, put us into such an amazement, as we knew not what to doe, for our pace wee rode would neither give us opportunity either to speak to them, or to consult with one another, till at length a friendly bough that had sprouted out beyond his fellows over the rode, gave our file leader such a brush of the jacket as it swept him off his horse, and the poor jade, not caring for his master's company, ran away without him; by this means while some went to get his courser for him, others had time to come up to a generall rendevouz; and concluded to ride more soberly: but I think that was very hard for some of these to doe. Whilst

5 A game in very general repute, in former times, even among the nobility; superseded more recently by billiards. See Strutt's Sports and Pastimes, p. 263.

we were helping this dismounted knight to recover his saddle again, for indeed he had need of some attendance, I perceived in one of my fellow squires visages, for all his disgise, some likeness to a face I had formerly been acquainted withall, and tooke the boldnesse presently to tell him both his and my name: but yet nether that nor some other circumstances at presente could worke a right understanding betwixt us. But wee, being all up again, our light hors'd companions thundred away and our poore jades I think being afraid, as well as their masters, to bee left alone in this desolate vast wide country, made so much hast as they could after them; and this pace wee rid, till wee lost sight of one another, the best horses getting formost, very loath wee were to loose our guides, but more unwilling to part with one another; in this case every one shifted as well as wee could for our selfe, yet at last our leaders were so civill when it was almost too late, to make another halt at the top of one of the highest hills thereabout: just before wee were to goe on to the moare; and I was the last that got up to them, where missing one of my companions who was not able to keep up with us, I was in the greatest perplexity imaginable, and desiring them to stay awhile, I rid back again, hooping and hallowing out to my lost friend, but no creature could I see or hear of, till at last being afraid I had run myselfe into the same inconvenience, I turned back again towards the mountaineers, whom when I had recovered, they told me twas no staying there, and twere better to kill our horses than to bee left in those thick mists, the day now drawing to an end; and so setting spurs to their horses they ran down a precipice, and in a short time wee had the favour to be rain'd on again, for at the top of this hill wee were drencht in the clouds themselves, which came not upon us drop by drop, but cloud after cloud come puffing over the hill as if they themselves had been out of breath with climing it. Here all our tackling faild, and hee that fared best was wet to the skin, these rains soking through the thickest lin'd cloake; and now wee were encountering with the wild more, which by the story's wee had been told of it, we might have imagined a wild bore. I am sure it made us all grunt before we could get over it, it was such an uneven rocky track of road,