house. The Church is of no special interest. There is some attractive scenery here.

NEWNHAM is pleasantly situated on the western bank of the Severn near the station bearing its name. It was a place of importance in Norman times, there being repeated mention of a castle here, though no remains of such a building can now be traced. There are, however, some lines of fortification still to be seen, some portion of which may be Norman, which probably belongs to the time of the Civil Wars, when this place was held for the king by Sir John Wyntour. The Church is prominently situated. It has a fine Norman arch leading into the chancel-manifestly part of an earlier building.

LYDNEY, a short distance from Lydney Station, has in its neighbourhood two Roman forts or camps, on eminences overlooking the Severn. Near the larger of the two have been discovered the remains of a Roman bath. Coins, statues, urns, fragments of pavements, etc., have also been turned up.

WOOLASTON, Some 3 miles farther by rail, is situated on the western bank of the Severn, and consists of only a few poor cottages. The church is a Norman building of very curious construction, and contains some ancient monuments. His Grace the Duke of Beaufort is patron of the living and lord of the manor.

TIDENHAM, 4 miles farther by road, has an interest

ing church dedicated to St. Peter. It is in the Early English style of architecture, and contains a curious Norman font, which is a great attraction. There are two Dissenting places of worship. The population is 1652. The village is delightfully situated between the rivers Severn and Wye, the latter of which abounds with scenery of the richest description.

The tourist is here on the borders of Monmouthshire, and within 2 miles of Chepstow.

GLOUCESTER.

HOTELS: Albion, Bell, King's Head, Spread Eagle, Ram, Lower George.

From London, 114 miles; Bristol, 37; Birmingham, 56; Cheltenham, 7; Cirencester, 27.

GLOUCESTER, the Caer Gloew, or Fair City, of the old Dobuni, the Glevum of the Romans, and the Glow Ceaster of the Saxons, is beautifully situated on a gentle eminence on the east bank of the Severn, in the centre of an extensive valley. Its ancient names show that Gloucester has a history. When the Romans had carried their arms thus far, they saw the necessity of a settlement, which might act as a check on the warlike inhabitants of South Wales. So Caer Gloew became Glevum Colonia; and, as may be judged from the Itineraries of Antoninus, it was a place of considerable importance during the Roman occupation of Britain. On the evacuation of the country by the Romans in the 5th century, internal dissensions, and the incursions of the Picts and Scots, reduced the inhabitants to such extremities that they applied for assistance to the Saxons, who now became masters of the city. Under these people it increased in importance, and was, with fourteen others, included in the Saxon kingdom of the Mid-Angles, or Mercia. Several Saxon kings resided here, whence Gloucester received the

honourable appellation of a royal city. It is so named in some ancient deeds. In 681 Osric of Mercia founded a nunnery here. The establishment was changed into a monastery by Beowulph, king of Mercia, and formed the origin of the present cathedral. A treaty was concluded here in 1016 between Canute and Edmund Ironside, by which a division of the whole kingdom of England between the two rivals was arranged. That the Normans were alive to the beauty and importance of this place is evident from the fact that the Conqueror often held his court, and always spent the festive seasons here, attended by the clergy and principal nobility of the land. About the middle. of the 12th century the inhabitants, who were exceedingly zealous in the cause of the Empress Maude, used their utmost endeavours to wrest the crown from King Stephen. Henry III., at the tender age of ten years, was crowned in the Abbey Church here, A.D. 1216. Parliaments were summoned in this city at various periods-viz., one by Richard II., A.D. 1378; one by Henry IV., A.D. 1407; and one by Henry V., A.D. 1420. Richard III. in 1483, immediately after his coronation, visited Gloucester on a progress through the kingdom. During the civil wars of the 17th century Gloucester was firm in its adherence to the Parliamentary cause; and so great was the interest excited that even women and children were to be seen assisting in fortifying the gates and approaches to the city. Although summoned to surrender, on the 10th of August 1643, to a royal army under the command

of the king in person, the citizens steadily resisted every argument which was employed to induce them to yield, and every effort of the royal party to take the city was met with the most determined opposition. On account of the decided part which the inhabitants had taken against the king, the fortifications of the city were entirely destroyed shortly after the Restoration. · The later incidents connected with this city are neither numerous nor remarkable. It was visited by James II. in 1687; by George III. in 1788; by George IV., when Prince of Wales, in 1807; and by her present Majesty when Princess Victoria.

Gloucester was the birthplace of Robert of Gloucester, the old chronicler, who flourished in the time of Edward IV.; John Taylor, the Water Poet, born 1580, died 1654; George Whitfield, founder of the Calvinistic Methodists, born 1714, died 1770; and Robert Raikes, the founder of Sunday schools in England, born 1735, died 1811.

The trade and commerce of Gloucester are tolerably extensive, as the passing tourist may learn from a glance at its busy docks and streets. The manufactures are in iron, nails, engines, and machines, soap, etc.; but these and kindred industries are only carried on to a slight extent. Timber, corn, wine, spirits, etc., are imported in large quantities; and the exports chiefly consist of iron, coals, malt, salt, bricks, and pottery.

The local government of Gloucester is vested in a mayor, six aldermen, and eighteen councillors. The city returns two members to Parliament. At last census the