Page:A tour through the northern counties of England, and the borders of Scotland - Volume II.djvu/171

 happily stept into the pit as he ran forwards, and been precipitated down a perpendicular descent of one hundred and eighty feet. Gladly quitting these gloomy shades, which only gave rise to the painful idea, how much the promotion of our onw comfort substracted from that of others, we returned to our vehicle, and drove towards Altringham, to Northwich, through a flat rich country, looking on one way into the park of Dunham-Massey, the seat of the Earl of Stamford, remarkable for some of the finest timber in the kingdom. Many of the oaks are of very unusual magnitude, and most characteristical grandeur. We were shewn some worth fifty guineas each. They are cut into avenues, and afford views of the old brick mansion; a building of more comfort than beauty. Four miles before we reached Northwich, the elegant proportions of Sir John Fleming Leicester's house, to the left, caught our attention, whose Doric portico, supported by stupendous pillars, is justly reckoned a most honourable testimony of Cave's architectural skill. The picturesque ruin of the old mansion-house in the park is as interesting to the antiquary as the painter; being the fabric in which Sir Peter Leycester, one of our first English topographers, penned the Antiquities of Cheshire. Our object at Northwich was the