ula at my feet; it is called Llanicut. Such a farm! such
elms! all forming a landscape unrivalled. But look beyond the Wye, and,
just away there, is the noble Severn. Ay, that is a river. There it
rolls and foams down through the rich county of Gloucestershire, and
empties into the Bristol Channel. Then away, beyond to the right are the
bold, swelling hills of Somersetshire. I cannot but wish that Claude had
seen the Wye and Severn; the noblest of his pictures would have been
illustrative of this region.

When we had sufficiently delighted ourselves with the far-spread scene,
we descended by a winding path through the woods and down the almost
perpendicular rock. The road was a very zigzag. We came down three
hundred and sixty steps, and, passing a rustic bridge, entered a moss
cottage, the small windows of painted glass, the table the base of a
mighty oak, sawn off and polished. The walls are lined with moss. Here
we got refreshments, and talked of those who had been here with us on
former visits--some in America, others farther off; and yet perhaps
not; for we know not how, or where, some of our best friends exist; but
we know and feel that they do greatly live.

In approaching Tintern, we passed the iron works, which at night throw a
solemn glow over the entire village. The cottages around are very humble
residences. The inn is a small but cosy affair, and is not destitute of
much real comfort. There is the abbey at the water side, and opposite
the rocky hill bank and hanging wood. The access to the abbey is poor,
but this is quite forgotten as you enter this glorious sanctuary of
other days. There are few ancient edifices in Great Britain, now in
ruins, which attract so much attention from the curious traveller as
Tintern Abbey, on the Wye.

The beauty of the river is proverbial, yet has never been adequately
described; but the best idea of its diversified charms may be gathered
from "Gilpin's Picturesque Scenery and Observations upon the Wye."

Tintern was a Cistercian abbey, and was founded in 1131, by Walter de
Clare, and dedicated to St. Mary on its completion in 1287. The dress of
the Cistercians was a white cassock, with a narrow scapulary, and over
that a black gown, when they went abroad, but a white one when they went
to church. They were called white monks, from the color of their habit.

The dimensions of this church are as follows: length, two hundred and
twenty-eight feet, and the transept one hundr