ss for height
or quantity;" and so delighted was he at the discovery of what he terms
"The most stupendous work in the whole world," that he returned thanks
to God for having vouchsafed him an insight into so great a secret of
nature. He died in 1667, and his remains were conveyed with mournful
solemnity to the cemetery of the Beaufort family in Ragland Church.

The town of Caerleon on the Usk, abounds with Roman remains, and is
supposed to have been built on the site of a British town. Giraldus
Cambrensis writes that "very eminent men were brought up and taught
here," which countenances the supposition that its real name may have
been Cathain Leigean, "the city of learning."

About two miles to the east of the mouth of the Usk rises Goldcliff,
a solitary hill amidst the moors on the banks of the Severn. It derives
its name from its glittering appearance when the sun beams on it.
"I cannot be persuaded," says Camden, that "there is a flower here
without fruit, were any man to search into the veins, and using the
direction of art enter into the inmost and most secret bowels of the
earth."

Caerwent, the Venta Silurum of the Romans, is now an inconsiderable
village; it was once a seaport, but at present is two miles distant
from the Severn; it occupies a gently inclining plain. Mr. Coxe, in his
"Tour through Monmouthshire," has given a plan of the Roman town, which
was defended on all sides except the southern, by a deep fosse. The
walls are from twelve to twenty-four feet in height, and from nine to
twelve in thickness. Many curious figures which have been discovered in
the pavements, have been destroyed through the ignorance of the country
people. The mounds and mouldering walls in the adjacent fields, present
melancholy memorials of the former grandeur of this place.

The village of Trelech is remarkable for three Druidical stones,
which give name to it. Harold here defeated the Britons, and from an
inscription on a pedestal in the village, we may suppose that a large
tumulus near this spot, contains the bones of the slain.

At the mansion of Courtfield, at Welsh Bicknor, the seat of the Roman
Catholic family of Vaughan, Henry V. is traditionally reported to have
been nursed, under the care of the Countess of Salisbury; a monumental
effigy of a lady in accordance with the style of that age, is in the
church.

The celebrated ruins of Tintern Abbey, on the banks of the Wye, which
are kept in high preservation by t