of all their woe, so uselessly buried beneath the crumbling ruins. Here she must continue to wander until some one possessed of sufficient courage shall follow her to the vault, and by removing the treasure, lay her spirit to rest.

A few years ago, the vaults of the keep of the castle was ordered by the occupier of the neighbouring farm to be cleared out for the purpose of wintering cattle. On removing the rubbish, a small door-way was discovered on a level with the bottom of the keep. On clearing out the entrance, the workmen were surprised by the appearance of a large swarm of meat flies, and the place itself smelt damp and noisome. The news soon spread abroad that the entrance to the "Lady's Vault" had been discovered, and people flocked in great numbers to see it. Of the whole number assembled, however, but one man was found willing to enter. He described the passage as narrow and not sufficiently high to admit of a man walking upright. He walked in a straightforward direction for a few yards, then descended a flight of steps, after which he again proceeded in a straightforward course until he came to a doorway: the door itself had fallen to pieces, the bolt was rusting in its fastening, and the hinges clung to the post with palsied grasp. At this juncture the passage took a sudden turn, and a lengthened flight of precipitous steps presented themselves. Opening his lantern, and turning the light, he peered down the stairs into the thick darkness, but encountering thick noxious vapours his candle was extinguished, and he was obliged to grope his way back to his companions. He made another attempt but never descended the second flight of stairs, and so little curiosity had their employer about the matter, that he ordered it to be closed up, and the contents of the vault remain undiscovered to this day. When I saw the place some time after this adventure, the hole had been partially opened by some boys, who were amusing themselves with tossing stones therein, and listening to the hollow echoes as they rolled in the depths of the mysterious cavern.

The vale of Blenkinsopp-bleak and wild, but alive with the hum of men, the noise of machinery, and the cheerful cry of the industrious artizan, has succeeded the clash of arms, and the warlike deeds of the old borderers. No lengthened train of steel-clad warriors are now to be seen winding down the steep hills to the old fortress-the voice of warder, or clang of portcullis breaks not on the stillness of night, and peace and security are now found, where battle and siege, feud and fight, watch and ward, once reigned paramount. The old castle tself looks sullenly from its knoll, upon the mighty changes which

i

time and the enterprising hand of man have wrought its crumbling walls have long been untenanted by the descendants of its founder, but the chivalrous and honourable spirit of the old warriors of the iron age may still be recognized in another form, in one whose greatest pride is the happiness of his dependants.

Bishopwearmouth, July, 1845.

W. PATTISON.

Cross Roads.

T was usual to erect crosses at the conjunction of four cross roads, as a place self-consecrated, according to the piety of the age; and it was not, probably, with a notion of indignity, but in a spirit of charity, that those excluded from holy rites were buried at the crossing roads, next in sanctity to consecrated ground. M. A. Denham's MS.

Langley Dale.

BY ROBERT SURTEES, ESQ.

ANGLEY dale is a beautiful vale, (and ancient chace) belonging to Raby Castle, in the county of Durham. An old tower close by the brook is said to have been the residence of a mistress of the last earl of Westmoreland; a nobleman who, from more than one authority, appears to have been of a very amorous disposition.Taylor's Memoir of Robert Surtees.

SI down Raby Park did pass,

I heard a fair maid weep and wail;
The chiefest of her song it was,
Farewell the sweets of Langley Dale.

The bonny mavis cheers her love,
The thristlecock sings in the glen;
But I must never hope to rove
Within sweet Langley Dale again!

The wild rose blushes in the brae,
The primrose shows its blossom pale;
But I must bid adieu for aye,
To all the joys of Langley Dale!

The days of mirth and peace are fled!
[Youth's golden locks to silver turn,]
Each northern floweret droops its head,

By Marwood Chase and Langley Burn.

False Southrons crop each lovely flower,
And throw their blossoms on the gale;
Our foes have spoilt the sweetest bower-
Alas! for bonny Langley Dale.

Deeds of Humanity.

T has been well observed by the pious bishop Fortin, that "instances are not wanting of constancy, fidelity, gratitude, compassion, integrity, which escape the notice of the public, and are only observed of God, and good angels; being seldom transacted in high life or under splendid roofs and palaces." In the higher ranks, or with great men; public honour, posts of importance, public rewards, posthumous fame and the like are understandable enough as incentives to the earning of the worlds smiles; but, according to another writer, "in the private and humbler walks of life no such motives prevail, and the man who bravely risks his own existence to rescue a fellowcreature from imminent peril, can seldom have any other reward in view than the conscious approbation of his own honest heart" for his meritorious act, "achieved in obscurity, almost instantly sinks into unrewarded and unmerited oblivion." Of this and of a similar class are the following:

At five o'clock on the afternoon of Friday the 2nd of June, 1815, a cloud of dust and smoke was seen to issue from the mouth of one of the three shafts of Newbottle colliery* on the Wear, 108 fathoms in depth, at a time when there were seventy-two persons and several horses in the mine. In a few minutes one of the trappers, not above six years of age, cried out to be drawn up; he was quickly followed by fourteen men and boys, most of whom were shockingly scorched, four only having escaped the effect of the inflammable gas. The state of the air in a mine after an explosion makes descent a matter of the most serious danger, and, though the colliers are ever ready to risk their lives to save their companions, in this particular instance it was considered nearly certain death to make the attempt; and for some time no person could be found hardy enough to descend into the mine, to save any persons who might still possess vitality. At length, after a lapse of two hours THOMAS ROBSON of Houghton-le-Spring arrived, and volunteered his services. Few persons know how to appreciate such conduct; in all human probability, before he had

The property of Messrs. Nesham and Co. At that time the proprietors were working the Hutton seam; the deepest and best of five beds of coal within the royalty, the thickness being six feet two inches, and like most seams, subjected to carburetted hydrogen, nearly destitute of water.

gone twenty yards, the carbonic acid gas would have stupified him, and he would have fallen down never to rise. The air of the mine was in a dreadful state; yet he persevered, and in a short time came to a place where lay several horses miserably scorched. Proceeding, he found four men and a boy; these he examined, but they were all dead. The air was now bad to excess. Shortly he found eleven men all alive, but in a state of insensibility; he took one up, and carried him to the shaft. He returned immediately to the recesses of the mine, and carried out two more. He waited some little time to recover himself, and again ventured, when, unfortunately, his aid came too late; from the remaining eight life had fled. On this he visited other parts of the mine; and on examining the bodies of the other unfortunate sufferers, the vital spark seemed extinct. It will form a matter of astonishment and admiration when it is known, that this intrepid fellow was thus employed six hours, almost every minute of which his truly valuable life was in the most imminent danger. Several pitmen afterwards descended into the mine, and found the corpses of fifty-seven men stretched on the floor; some appeared to be burned to death, but the greater number to have been suffocated by the after-damp. A few still retained signs of life but expired on being brought to bank. It appeared the fire had passed down the ways, destroying all that encountered its fury, until it was impeded or broken, as it is termed, by a large waggon, which it dashed to pieces, and mangled the driver and horse in a most shocking manner. The blast, however, had been partial; for many of the men had quitted the boards where they had been at work, apparently unhurt, but met their fate on the waggon way, being suffocated before they could reach the shaft. Of nineteen horses in the mine, six only were killed; those in the stables having survived, for the air-courses were soon restored.

The Royal Humane Society in approbation of Robson's conduct, were pleased to present him with their silver medal on the twentieth of November following.*

HERE happened in the town of Alnwick, some sixty years. ago, a very severe frost, which set in on a Saturday evening, and next day, in the afternoon, several boys got upon the river while the ice was but weakly frozen, immediately opposite the castle. Under one of them, a cobler's son, fourteen years of age, the ice gave way, and he hung by his arms nearly in the middle. of the river.-The alarm given by the other boys soon brought a number of persons to the place, but no one durst venture near the

* Gent's. Mag.