of domestic architecture, the chimney, we may, in of frequent use in the later practice of pointed archiour upward course of observation, select, as the sub-tecture. This is sometimes finished with a plain or jects of some general remarks, the Tower, spire, and with a perforated battlement; sometimes with the turret. In the former of these, when happily com- addition of a purfled pyramid or depressed spire, as posed, the peculiar characteristics of the perpendicular may be exemplified from Magdalen College, Oxford; pointed style are developed with wonderful effect. but most frequently with the ogee-cupola, as in Tall lines of regularly-graduated buttresses are here Henry VII.'s Chapel, or the yet more aspiringlydisplayed with great advantage, and can never indeed elegant turrets of that treasury of excellencies, King's be omitted without insipidity and vacancy of com- College Chapel. position. Long and deeply-sunk windows, with high The characteristics then of these masses should, labels, here produce conspicuous dignity of outline severally, seem to be those of dignity in the tower, and force of shadow,-effects further promoted by the lightness in the spire, and richness in the turret-crownuse of niches, or of high panels of tracery. Airy ing cupola; characteristics which, as supported by the battlements, light pinnacles, distinct purfling, and all-pervading genius of the style, will even render boldly-varied grotesques and knots of foliage unite in such features admirable; whatever deteriorating comfinishing the mass with dazzling but consistent ele-parisons may be made in respect to them by witlings gance. The towers of Gloucester and Wells Cathe- and self-constituted critics. drals; Magdalen College, Oxford; Taunton Church, Somersetshire; and Great Malvern Church, Worcestershire, will furnish a few out of numerous happy illustrations of these excellencies, in some or in all points; and will shew, at the same time, how greatly many other of our towers, that may be of an equally or more expensive character, might have been improved by an observance of similar principles, especially upon the points of abutment and termination. The lanterntower is an elegant variety, which, to be properly so called, should both contain more of window than usual, and also transmit light into the area of the building which it surmounts, as at York and Ely Cathedrals. The octagonal lantern, though destitute of the latter application, is frequently used with great advantage to terminate the square tower, as in the fine example of Boston Church, Lincolnshire, and many others. THE PRINCESS MARY YACHT; OR, THE BETSEY CAINS. E. T. TIE following account of the PRINCESS MARY Yacht, gathered from a variety of sources, will, we trust, prove acceptable to the reader. It must be acknowledged, however, that no satisfactory particulars can be gleaned as to the origin of this vessel; but the current tradition among seamen is, that she was Thames-built, and was purchased either by the Prince of Orange, or some of his adherents, to form part of the fleet destined to effect the Glorious Revolution of 1688. It is, also, said, that the Prince himself came over in this Yacht; and that he gave it the name of the Princess Mary in honour of his illustrious consort, the daughter of James II.* During the reigns of William and Mary, and Queen Anne, this vessel was one of the royal yachts; but during that period she underwent considerable repairs, which greatly interfered with her original build: she was, at length, called "one of Queen Anne's The Spire, ever characteristic and imposing, is a feature of which more is always to be seen than said. The same principles, however, which regulate a good pinnacle of the first order, are those which produce elegance in a spire. This member (of which it would be impossible to classify the many unimportant varieties of distinction) is one, it may be observed, most frequently found in the older productions of the pointed style, but which is yet by no means foreign to the practice, much less to the feeling, of the perpen-eight or thirty guns;" but this, from the date of the account, dicular mode. We have also some specimens of a kind of curtailed spire, (if such it may be called) wherein the ordinary figure is cut off at about one third of its height, and finished with a parapet and pinnacles: of this description, for one, is the interesting steeple of St. Nicholas' Church, Gloucester. The octagonal Turret is another terminating feature * In the "State Tracts," (vol. i. p. 56, fol. 1705,) it is said, that the Prince of Orange "embarked on a frigate of twenty Oct. 29th, evidently alludes to his first embarkation, and before yachts;" and was so known among nautical men. | tened the BETSEY CAINS, in honour of some lady conUpwards of fifty years ago, (and one account says as early as the reign of George I.) this vessel was sold by government to a merchant. However this may be, a venerable friend of the present writer, (and an excellent seaman,) remembers, that at the first mentioned period she was a royal yacht, much altered and modernized ;-yet the old sailor and the scientific shipwright could still discover the peculiarities of her particular build. Report affirms, that she was sold by government to the Messrs. Walters, of London, and was re-chris nected with the West Indies ;---in which trade she was long engaged. Another change took place, and this vessel having been purchased by the Messrs. Carlens, of London, was employed by them as a Collier. When thus situated, the Betsey Cains attracted the notice of all nautical men; and, wherever she lay, the sailors crowded to see her;---the more so, probably, from a memorable prophecy said to be connected with the fate of this venerable ship, viz. that "the Catholics would never get the better whilst the Betsey Cains was afloat." with one of the snuff-boxes: these boxes are, also, numerous in the coal trade, being kept in memory both of the various fortunes of this ship, and of the durability and inimitable qualities of the British oak. While the Betsey Cains was lying upon the rocks she was made the subject of a painting, (now in the possession of Henry Hewetson, Esq. of Seaton Burn,) by Mr. James Ferguson, of North Shields, from which In 1827, (February 18th) after a changeful service of nearly a century and a half, this vessel, in entering the Tyne, struck upon a reef of rocks, called the Black Middens, (near the Spanish battery, under Tynemouth Castle,) and for want of timely assistance, became a complete wreck. In this state, forlorn and melancholy as it was, she excited great public attention, every one being anxious to bear away a relic of a vessel that had remained afloat during such a long-a lithographic sketch was executed by Mr. William extended period;-and the sailors, as remarkable for their superstition as for their bravery, regarded the loss of the Betsey as a serious injury to the Protestant cause. After lying a short time on the rocks, she ultimately "broke up," and from her planks and timbers, a great number of snuff-boxes and other articles of memorial were made. Each of the members of the Corporation of Newcastle-upon-Tyne was presented * Vide "Mechanic's Magazine," No. 309; April 28, 1831 Davison, of Sunderland, so well known in the north of England as a marine and landscape painter. * For this account of the vessel, we are indebted to a respected friend; of whose MS. Collections on the Oak, it forms a brief portion. The annexed cut of the Betsey Cains was reduced from the lithographic sketch above mentioned, but the omitted from want of space. The sketch has been published contiguous scenery of the river and country was necessarily both in North Shields and London. SOUTH-EAST VIEW, FROM THE INCLOSED AREA. of Wight, admits of no dispute. In the later times of the Roman dominion, this castrum, like Richborough, (in Kent) was one of those important places, maintained, in a more particular manner than most others, for the defence of the coast against pirates, under the command of the great officer styled Comes Littoris Saxonici. The foundation of the outer walls and semicircular towers of this Castle, in their present extent and form, may unquestionably be assigned to the Romans; it in succeeding ages,-particularly by the Saxons but it has had great and important additions made to and the Normans, and again by the English in the reign of Edward III., and the various modes of build THIS strong and very interesting CASTLE is situated | however, when he achieved the conquest of the Isle on a neck of land, jutting out a considerable way towards the middle of Portsmouth harbour, at the head of which it stands. Its precise origin is unknown; but as this Port, from its situation on the southern coast of Hampshire, and from its extreme convenience and safety, must have been one of the earliest frequented in the island, there can be little doubt that there was a fortress on this spot in times equally remote. Stow, in his " Annals," (following Rouse) ascribes its foundation to Gurgunstus, a son of Beline, in the year 375, and states that its British name was Caer Peris. By the Romans, its next occupiers, this harbour was called Portus Magnus, and it has been affirmed, by some historians, that the Roman general Vespasian landed here on his first arrival in Britain, but this has been contradicted by other That it must have been in his possession, Vespasian certainly came into Britain, at the head of the second legion, surnamed Augusta, in the year 43, (as appears from Tacitus, "Hist." lib. iii. cap. 44.) but concerning the actual place of his first landing there are great differences of opinion; for some of the British historians speak positively of his having been previously repulsed and driven from Richborough, in Kent, and of his having then landed at Totnes, in Devonshire ;-and Holinshed adopts this idea. All agree, however, in speaking of his great actions in this country, which, with his being, on account of the expedition into Britain, brought forward by Claudius, were unquestionably (vide Tacitus, "Vita Agricolæ," sec. 11.) the foundation of all his future success and glory. Henry of Huntingdon ("Hist." lib. i. pp. 302, 303.) gives us an account of his adding the Isle of VOL. I. NOV. 3, 1832. writers.* Wight to the Roman dominion ;---and we are told (Suetonius, commanded all the Southern coast, and engaged the Britons in Vespasianus," cap. iv.---Eutropius, lib. vii. sec. 19.) that he thirty several battles. Let the fact then, as to his first landing, be how it will, yet, since he could neither command the coast, nor make himself master of the Isle of Wight, without being in possession of PORCHESTER, we may be assured that here he made his abode during a part of his stay in Britain; and that at Porchester were unquestionably planted his tremendous standards.-Titus, the son of Vespasian, must have been with his father, upon this very spot at Porchester :---and it is related of him, (Dion. Cassius, lib. lx. p. 685) that when Vespasian was, on one occasion, entirely surrounded by barbarian troops, and in extreme danger, Titus broke through the ring they formed, with incredible boldness, and rescued him; and putting the Britons to flight, slew many of them."--King's "Munimenta Antiqua," vol. ii. pp. 23, 25. S ing practised by these different nations are yet disco- | from eight to twelve feet: their general height is verable on a minute investigation of the different parts of this noble remain. about eighteen feet, and in many parts a rampart and parapet are still remaining. Independently of the This fortress, which is of a quadrangular form, great keep tower, at the north-western angle, there stands upon a level site, and includes an area of are eighteen towers, connected with the walls, yet nearly five acres, in superficial extent. On the north standing, of various forms and magnitudes, round, and south sides the walls, measuring on the outside, square, and semicircular. On the north, west, and (and exclusive of the projecting parts of the round south sides, at some distance from the walls, there corner towers) extend about 620 feet; and on the are also remains of a deep trench, or ditch, varying Their common in breadth; and on the east side are two ditches, east and west sides, about 610 feet. thickness is about eight feet, but in parts they vary which extend to the water. GROUND PLAN, AND EASTERN VIEW OF PORCHESTER CASTLE. now called the Land-port, and the Water-port, are, speaking collectively, of the Saxon, Norman, and subsequent ages. References to the plan. A. The Decuman Gate, now the Land-port. E. Inner court of the castle. F. The barbican gate and portcullis. G. The well. H. The great Saxon keep. I. Part of the outer ballium;-generally occupied by French prisoners in times of war. J. Part of the outer ballium ;---used as a market when so occupied. The white space between the walls shews the secret passage on the upper story of the keep; and the lines crossing the area shew the space left for a road-way for persons attending the prison, bringing provisions, &c. stituting a Saxon Keep tower, at the north-west corner of the Castrum, in lieu of the ancient round tower which had stood there, as in other Roman Castra; and as a place of residence for the chieftain, or prince, instead of the more ancient Roman Prætorium, which had originally been in the usual situation near the Prætorian gate, and adjoining to that sacellum for the Roman idolatrous ensigns, on whose foundations was afterwards reared a Christian church."* "This Keep tower," continues Mr. King, “though at first sight it may deceive an inattentive observer and be supposed Norman, and somewhat like Gundulph's towers; yet, on a scrutinizing examination, appears to be truly Saxon in every original part of its construction, much less than any of Gundulph's Norman keeps, and far differing from them,-though larger than many others of the early Saxon towers. "It stands not,-like most British keep towers, or like Gundulph's Norman keep towers, -in the clear open space of the castle area; but, like most of the early Saxon keeps, adjoining to, and even upon the very outward wall of the area itself;-where being at all times exposed to the attacks of an enemy, it was probably, on that very account, so contrived as not to have a single window on either of the two The round towers at the north-east, south-east, and south-west angles, and the twelve semi-circular towers, which are placed at unequal distances on the various sides, may be stated, generally, at from nineteen to twenty feet in diameter; including the thick-sides next the country. It also differs from other ness of the walls. In several of them, particularly on the south side, rows of Roman brick, dividing the stone-work, are still distinctly visible; and in various parts of the connecting walls, also, they may yet be traced, although from the alterations and repairs made in successive ages the regular courses have been mostly broken off, or otherwise entirely obliterated. The Decuman Gate, or Land-port, appears, from the irregular manner in which the work is inserted, to have been much wider than the present Norman tower-gateway, which now forms the principal entrance to the Castle, and which is nearly square, its width being about thirty-five feet, and its depth thirty the passage through the centre is about ten feet wide: this tower is much dilapidated. So, also, is the ancient Prætorian gate, or Water-port; or, rather, the rectangular Norman tower, which occupies its site. This, on the side next the sea, was defended by a portcullis; and at different distances within by folding gates, strongly barricadoed. Its dimensions are about forty-one feet, by twenty-seven feet and a half: the walls are from five to six feet in thickness. The first innovation upon the Roman works, in the opinion of the late Edmund King, esq. (from whose minute investigations we have certified our own remarks, made in September, 1832,) was that of "sub Norman towers, in that the entrance, though indeed carried through an additional building, is, in a manner, totally different from those in Norman keeps. There is also another remarkable difference ;---for high up on the inner sides of the end walls, east and west, just a little over the third story, are most strange stone mouldings, [rather projecting ridges] pointing downwards, in the form of a V fixed against the walls; and, in a manner resembling a support for the ridges of a roof to be let in. There is some reason to suppose that the original entrance was by a steep flight of steps from the ground,---about the middle of the east side, before the additional building was reared on that side;---and still it is, even now, by a portal, which has a fine circular arch," at its point of communication with the Norman work.--This keep is a lofty structure; and contains two vaults or dungeons, at bottom; with three double apartments above them, in so many several stories its walls are nearly eight feet in thickness; and its * Vide "Munumenta Antiqua," vol. ii. p. 28. In that work the description of the Castle extends from p. 22 to p. 36, and is illustrated by several ground plans and views. + Gundulph, Bishop of Rochester, and builder of the Cathedral and castle in that city, was also the original architect of the White Tower, in the Tower of London. |