ST. WINIFRED'S WELL.
This sacred well is the object of many pilgrimages, even in the present day, and several modern miracles are related of the influence of its waters. Pope Martin V. especially enjoined such pilgrimages, and the monks of Basingwerk were furnished with pardons and indulgences to sell to the devotees. James the 2nd visited the well in 1686, and Leopold, King of the Belgians, in 1819. Apart from all superstitious notions, its waters doubtless possess many curative properties.
Over the well, Queen Margaret, the mother of Henry VII., erected a beautiful chapel, whose elegantly fretted roof, and graceful columns and arches, are generally admired as examples of good architecture. Our engraving is a correct representation of the interior.
INSTANCE OF ASSIDUITY AND PERSEVERANCE.
The Rev. Wm. Davy, a Devonshire curate, in the year 1795, begun a most desperate undertaking, viz., that of printing himself twenty-six volumes of sermons, which he actually did, working off page by page, for fourteen copies; and continuing this almost hopeless task for twelve years, in the midst of poverty! Such wonderful perseverance almost amounts to a ruling passion.
PHENOMENON AT THE POWERSCOURT FALL.
The Powerscourt Fall, of which the annexed is an engraving, is formed by the river Dargle, and is situated in the county of Wicklow. When the river is full, it presents a very grand appearance. The stream precipitates itself over a nearly perpendicular cliff, 300 feet in height, and falls into a natural basin or reservoir, encircled by rocky masses of considerable magnitude, whilst the whole scene is backed by mountains. This fall exhibits rather a singular phenomenon, in the different degrees of velocity with which the water descends in different parts of the cascade. Thus, on one side, the water may be observed to pour down with considerable velocity; while, on the other side, the fall, in the upper part, presents the appearance of a continued stream of frothy foam, gliding slowly down the face of the cliff, though the lower part moves with greater velocity. This circumstance is, however, readily accounted for; being, in fact, mainly attributable to the comparatively small body of water which forms the cascade. The water, on the one side, that which descends with the greater velocity (and this forms by far the larger portion of the cascade) meets with no interruption in its descent, but falls, almost from the top, to the bottom in an unbroken sheet. On the other side, however, the cliff in the upper part deviates from the perpendicular, and the consequence is, that, owing to the slope or inclination of the rock over which it flows, the progress of the water is checked in that particular part, though lower down, where the cliff is again perpendicular, it regains its velocity. If the body of water in this cascade were greater, this phenomenon would not occur.
HOW CHESS ORIGINATED IN INDIA.