these woods and hills seems to be deepened, when their comparatively few inhabitants are withdrawn to their places of repose. I have lately read a Sonnet to the Moon, which I think so simple and beautiful, that I shall close this letter with transcribing it for your perusal. It is the production of some early but unknown author. TO THE MOON, Thou silent Moon, that look'st so pale, Watching oft the kneeling saint- Yet I have often seen thee bring Thy beams o'er yon bare mountain's steep; Sure, that passing blush deceives; For thou, fair nymph, art chaste and cold; But thou art of a different mould. Hail, chaste queen, for ever hail ! Yet stay-perhaps thou'st travell'd far, Hath spread his charms before thy sight; And when he found his arts prevail, DEAR MADAM, LETTER X. Lea-wood, August 16, 1803. THERE is an event in our history of the highest importance, which, as almost the first step of it originated in this neighbourhood, I cannot refuse myself the pleasure of recalling to your recollection-and I do this the more readily, as I know your sentiments upon it perfectly correspond with my own. In my last letter, I had occasion to remark, that William, the first Duke of Devonshire, was one of the earliest, as well as the most active promoters of that REVOLUTION, which secured in so high a degree the civil and religious liberties of our country. Whittington, a small village about eight miles to the north-east of Chatsworth, has the honour of witnessing the beginning of that association which does so much credit to those who embarked their lives and fortunes in it, and the happy result of which we are feeling to the present hour. No longer able to bear the arbitrary measures of James II. nor the destruction of the Protestant religion, which he evidently meditated, a few worthies, whose names will ever be dear to the lovers of British freedom, in the year 1688, met each other on Whittington Moor, for the express purpose of devising some means of rescuing their country from the double slavery with which it was threatened. The only persons who are certainly known to have been at this meeting, were the Earls of Devonshire and Danby, Lord Delamere, and Mr. John D'Arcy, son and heir of Conyers Earl of Holderness. While they were deliberating, a shower of rain came on; they repaired to the village, and finished their consultation at a small farm-house, which, from this circumstance, has acquired the celebrated name of the REVOLUTION-HOUSE. The room in which they şat is still distinguished by the epithet of the Plotting Chamber. With the general outline of this great event you are well acquainted, I shall not enter into a detail of what is so well known--but, as the particulars of the Prince of Orange's reception at Exeter, immediately after his landing, are not so generally told, I am sure I shall gratify you by a short account of them. It is well known that, notwithstanding the ge neral invitation he had received, yet, when he actually arrived, a sort of pause seemed to take place. The recollection of the fatal issue of Monmouth's attempt was so strong in the West, that several days elapsed before any body of consequence joined William. He landed on the 5th of November, and it was not till the 21st of that month that, even in the North, the Earl of Devonshire, zealous as he was in the cause, ventured openly to avow his designs. On that day he came to Derby with a retinue of 500 men, invited a number of gentlemen to dinner, and, as soon as the repast was over, publicly declared his sentiments in favour of William. He read to the mayor of the town, and the commonalty, the Declaration of the Prince, and delivered another made by himself, and the nobility and gentry in concert with him, "That they would to their utmost defend the Protestant religion, the laws of the kingdom, and the rights and liberties of the subject." But to return to the West. On Monday, the 5th of November, 1688, William's fleet, consisting of fifty men of war, twenty-six smaller ones, twentyfive fire-ships, and three hundred fly-boats, came into Torbay. William was on board the Brill, a new ship, of 30 guns, whose flag was the English colours, with this motto, The Protestant Religion, and Liberties of England, and, underneath, the motto of his family, I WILL MAINTAIN. A red flag was hoisted, and a disposition was made to make good his landing with sixty boats, but there was no opposition. The people hailed their seeming invaders as their deliverers, and bid them heartily welcome. Plenty of provisions were brought in, and honestly paid for. By William's command, Tor-Abbey, and all Popish houses, were searched, and stripped of arms and horses. The priest who then resided at the Abbey, having discovered the fleet from the upper part of the house, and observed the white flags on some of the men of war, concluded it to be the French fleet coming to assist James against the Prince of Orange. Full of this idea, and transported with joy on its account, he ordered all the family to the chapel to sing Te Deum. It may easily be supposed that he was soon undeceived, and heartily laughed at for his mistake, Soon after the Prince's landing, he sent a quince to the Earl of Bath, which was supposed to be the signal of his arrival. The whole army consisted of 30,000 men, tall, stout, and well armed. The news of the Prince's landing was carried to Exeter by several expresses. All the army being on shore by Tuesday, three o'clock in the afternoon, their baggage, provisions, and ammunition were sent to Topsham by water, (there being two hundred ships in the river) from whence they were brought to the city. On Wednesday the 7th, the Prince went to Sir William Courtenay's, at Ford, where he was most kindly received and entertained. At Newton, a clergyman met the army, and went before them to the market-place, where he read the Prince's Declaration, which was received with loud acclamations, kind wishes, ringing of bells, and every demonstration of joy. The same day Captain Hicks came to Exeter, and very great numbers flocked to him, to enlist themselves in the service of the Prince of Orange. The mayor, hearing of |