SECTION XII.

Willersley House.-The late Sir Richard Arkwright.- Mouse Hole Mine.-Side Mine-Riber Top.-Moonlight in Matlock Dale.- Winter Excursion to Matlock. -Canova's Statue of the Mother of Buonaparte,-His bust of Laura.-Snow Scenery at Matlock.

THE gardens, the grounds, and the walks about Willersley House, once the residence of Sir Richard Arkwright, and now of his eldest son, are only open to the public two days in the week, namely, Monday and Thursday; they are, however, always attractive, and they add to the pleasures, and vary the amusements of the company, that resort to Matlock Bath. The house is not shown, but I understand it contains several good pictures, particularly a lake scene, by Wright of Derby. The exclusion of promiscuous visitors from the interior of Willersley House is no doubt a necessary and proper arrangement; the comfort of a domestic family, at a place so crowded with strangers as Matlock often is, could not otherwise be provided for. The walks about this delightful residence are carried along steep acclivities, amongst woods and plantations, that occasionally admit some fine distant views of the surrounding country. In their progress from the river's brink to the craggy summit of Wild Cat Tor, some new and unexpected beauty is exhibited at every turn, and from that romantic and fearful eminence the sublime scenery of Matlock Dale is revealed in all its glory.

The late Sir Richard Arkwright, the builder of Willersley House, was a man of great mechanical talent, industry, and perseverance: he may indeed be regarded as the parent of those improvements in the spinning of cotton which have converted machines into men, and almost superseded the necessity of manual labour. This extraordinary man was the

258 SIR RICHARD ARKWRIGHT.

MOUSE HOLE MINE.

youngest son of thirteen children, and a native of Preston in Lancashire. His parents were poor, and in early life he was apprenticed to a barber, a trade which he for some time followed at Wirksworth, in Derbyshire. About the time that he first turned his attention to mechanics, he formed an acquaintance with a clock-maker at Warrington, of the name of Kay : in conjunction with this man, the machine for which he first obtained a patent was made: other improvements succeeded; and, as he penetrated more deeply into the arcana of mechanism, and became familiarised to its powers, he found himself in the situation of one who, having attained a distant horizon, beholds another still more remote, but equally accessible, before him. The exclusive use of his inventions he secured by letters patent, which did not always prove invulnerable. An inadequate specification annulled his right in one instance; and in another, the Court of King's Bench cancelled the patent which he had obtained, on the ground of his not being the original inventor. Yet, notwithstanding the opposition his success excited, and the litigation in which he was involved, he amassed a princely fortune; and, on presenting an address to his late Majesty, in the year 1786, when he served the office of Sheriff of the county of Derby, the honour of knighthood was conferred upon him. At this time his health was fast declining, and the close of his existence was embittered with infirmity and disease. He died at Cromford, on the third of August, 1792, in the 60th year of his age.

From Willersley House, we rambled over the hills to Matlock; and on our way there, we passed a small lead mine, called Mouse Hole, where we found one poor solitary individual, apparently about eighty years of age, industriously pursuing his daily avocation. On enquiry, he told us that he worked the mine alone. He first let down a bucket, in which he put the ore,-descended the shaft in the usual way,-toiled until he had filled the measure, then clambering out again, he drew up the produce, and deposited it in his little hovel at the mouth of the mine. Thus he continued the same routine of operations day after day, and year after year, with no one to assist him in his labours. The dull unvarying monotony of this man's employment in no way affected his spirits; though old and poor he was naturally cheerful; his little mine afforded him but a scanty subsistence, yet, he observed, bad as it was, it was his best friend, for it had supplied all his wants, which

were now so very few, "that it was no' much matter whether the old mine turned out good or ill." I could go to buffets with myself, for having at any time indulged in a repining spirit, when I think of this poor miner, delving in his little mousehole den, through eighty years of existence, without a feeling of discontent.

Proceeding onward we came to a mine of more importance: its name is Side Mine, and we were told by the workmen, that the lead obtained here is dug out of a toadstone stratum, and that the vein they were then pursuing was rich in ore. We procured specimens, which we regarded as conclusive in favour of their statement; but we were afterwards informed, that Mr. Mawe, and other scientific individuals, contend, that the matrix of the ore in this mine is limestone, which, being in a state of decomposition, has so much the appearance of toadstone, as to deceive common observers. Mr. White Watson, of Bakewell, who has made the various strata of his native country his peculiar study, and the miners, who may be presumed to be well acquainted with a material that so frequently occurs, strenuously maintain the former hypothesis, in opposition to the opinion of Mr. Mawe. The Seven Rakes Mine, which is situated on the contrary side of the river, on the north-east slope of Masson, is worked in the same stratum, and is equally productive of lead ore.

In our walk to Matlock, we passed along the side of the hill to Riber Top, where there is a singular assemblage of stones, supposed to have been originally a druidical altar; some antiquaries say, a cromlech, which appears more probable: they are called Hirst Stones, and are not unworthy of a visit; since those who feel no interest in these ancient reliques will be amply repaid for the toil and trouble of ascending this eminence by the prospect it commands.

Evening was now far advanced; and we returned by the village of Matlock, and thence through its romantic dale to our hotel at the baths, where, on our arrival, we found the promenades deserted; the lights were glimmering through the trees, and the musicians at the Old Bath were tuning their instruments for the evening's assembly.

About half-past ten o'clock we anticipated the rising of the moon; and, as I had long wished to witness the effect of a fine moonlight night in Matlock Dale, my wishes were now likely to be soon gratified. The deep shadows of night lay upon the

260

MOONLIGHT SCENE.

dale, and the obscurity that prevailed was full of grandeur. Shortly the moon rose over the summit of Wild Cat Tor, and her softened light, thrown on the broad front of Masson, rendered the darkness below still more visible. We watched the progressive ascent of the chaste orb of eve, and felt a delightful interest in marking the western side of the dale, gradually losing its darkness, as she rose above the opposite hills; it was a beauteous picture, and I gladly resigned myself to the illusions it produced. A stillness and a silence, that were felt, pervaded the dale, save that, as we passed the New Bath, the rush of the water from the cascade, near the mills below, came upon the ear. It was impossible, at this particular time, not to feel delighted with a sound, that, during the day, when a multiplicity of busy objects were abroad, we had passed unnoticed.

Nature is full of beautiful sounds; the rush of a river, the lapse of a gentle current,-the hum of the bee amongst the flowers, the chirp of the grasshopper, -the low of cattle in the fields, —the neighing of the horse as he roams at large, -and, perhaps, more than all, the song of the robin, when in autumn he pours his sweetest strains from among the fading leaves of the season, -are sounds that, in connexion with the living pictures nature spreads before us with a lavish hand, have a powerful influence on the mind.

The following morning we bade adieu to Matlock, where we terminated a pleasant summer's excursion.

severe-

Anxious to behold the scenery of this romantic place, when the trees and rocks, and every object in the dale, were covered with snow, 1 visited it on the first day of the year 1820. The frost, during the preceding night, had been uncommonly the thermometer, at nine o'clock in the morning, stood at 26° below freezing; a day of clearest sunshine, and a scene of beauty and splendour not often paralleled, succeeded. On my way to Matlock, I passed through Abbey Dale and Chatsworth Park: the trees and hedges were covered with brilliant incrustations, their verdant clothing had disappeared, and a white foliage, light and elegant as the down on the cygnet's breast, lay on every stem and branch; and, when the rays of the sun glanced through the trees, they seemed hung with leaves of transparent crystal, which, in beauty and splendour rivalled the skill of the lapidary.

I stopped at Chatsworth House on my way through the

WINTER VISIT TO MATLOCK DALE.

261

park, and had the gratification of seing CANOVA's celebrated figure of the Mother of Buonaparte. It is an exquisitelyfinished statue, and powerfully suggests a recollection of some of the most beautiful works of art: the natural ease and grace of the figure, and the taste and disposition of the drapery, are inimitably fine; the hands and arms, particularly the left, might form studies for future sculptors, but the face and head did not altogether please me: this remark is not applicable to the features, but to the sculptural expression of the countenance, which has less of nature about it than marble, inflexible as it is, is capable of expressing, when touched by the chisel of such a man as Canova. A pedestal, in the same apartment with this fine specimen of modern art, is surmounted with a bust of Petrarch's Laura, by the same sculptor, which is full of excellence, and has a most touching expression of countenance, where loveliness, purity, tenderness, and affection, are divinely blended together. This little work (for so it may be termed, in reference to the space it occupies,) gave me a more exalted idea of the genius and talent of Canova than any of his more elaborate productions had previously done.

.

In my short stay at Chatsworth, I saw the antique columns of porphyry and granite, the vases, marbles, and fossils, which the Duke of Devonshire had collected during his late visit to the Continent. I had likewise the gratification of hearing him express his intention of erecting a spacious museum for sculpture, &c., at this noble mansion, which he proposes making the receptacle of some of the finest works of art, and the most valuable productions of antiquity."

After spending a few hours at Chatsworth, and thanking the Duke for a sight of his Canova, and the many valuable acquisitions he had recently made in Italy, and transplanted to the Palace of the Peak, I proceeded through Darley Dale to Matlock. Crossing the bridge, the scenery at the entrance into the dale was eminently beautiful; light elegant trees,

This important addition to the "Palace of the Peak" is now in progress, and the whole of Chatsworth House is undergoing a complete renovation. Jeffery Wyatt, Esq. is the architect. His fine taste and professional skill are here employed on a difficult and magnificent work. The new part is not designed to render the whole an uniform edifice, but the style of architecture has a general correspondence. Some years will elapse before the whole is finished, but the new erections even now abundantly evince how grand and imposing this noble structure is intended to be.