THE JOURNEY-BOOK OF ENGLAND—BERKSHIRE.

This volume is the first of a series intended to describe in succes- sion the counties of England. It is constructed upon the plan of the road-books and the topographical histories of shires combined; discarding from its descriptions of places the commonplace or tedious minuteness of the old topographies, and avoiding the technical form and the brief dryness of a mere itinerary. Like

most of the speculations of Mr. KNIGHT, its leading characteristics are cheapness of letterpress, with profuse illustration thrown into the bargain ; a great accumulation of facts, especially of tabular

facts, collected and arranged with laborious pains, and probably as correct as such aggregates of single particulars well can be ; to- gether with a respectable degree of literary workmanship. But

the principle of mannfactare awl its consequent division of labour produces its necessary fruits. The plan of different hands furnish- ing different parts, which are consigned to a finisher to put together

and polish, and probably submitted to some intermediate inspector, is productive of dryness though it conduces to correctness. Much of the freslues6 ori2inal observation and of the raciness which peculiarity of individual character imparts to a work is smoothed away, if their growth be not checked altogether, whilst the excel- ence attained is only a mechanical excellence. Like a tune on a tirst-rate barrel-organ, all is correct so far as it goes, and better than the effirts of a t ro or itinerant musician ; but the impress of the performer's t:elitig, the tone which emanates from living

power, the: variations itslueed by individual taste, and the "snatch'd graces- ••beyOtid the reaell of art," are all wanting. In intelleetual productions, ability will tra suffice to procure high excellence without the free play of' indik Neal will. Ikrkshir: seems to h,a.o bt:,:ft chosen to begin the work, from the interest it jut D‘11; pt),scs in consequence of the Great Western Itaikay rumling through the county, and cony:ying Loudon tourists near " the prowl keep of Windsor," situated on the verge of the: ,,hire. But Windsor is not the only point of attraction in lfsrk ISeoides the neat little town of Maiden-

head ; the coustry town of fteselirig, with its ecclesiastical anti- quitiea and its modern gsr.len grounds ; and Abingdon, Newbury,

Hunerfrd, arid th,re ;Are Natural and artificial features to attract the tburi,t. The ebst.t) i still intersected ill varion-i parts by the breezy dowris, which, hoaecer distasteful to the laudlord and econou,61, for their trifling profit, arc ISO delightful to the rambler ; whilst the agriculturist who, with the Frenchman, thinks that country the most beautiful which is the most productive, may feast his eyes on the fertile Vale of Whitehorse or the rich meadows on the banks of the Thames. In Berkshire are some ascertained an. tiquities of' the Romans, and several whose origin is in turn attri- buted to Britons, Romans, and Danes. Less than a mile front the Maidenhead Station is Bray, so celebrated for its Vicar ; and about the same distance front Bray is Ockwells, at which there is one of the most interesting specimens of the Old English manor-house yet re- tnaining. Binfield, where Pupa's youth was passed, and in whose grove of beech-trees he " lisp'd in numbers," is within a good walk of Maidenhead; and Cumnor Hall may be reached within seven miles of a railway station. The Southern and South-western parts of the county are not indeed accessible by this flying mode of convey. once, but luckily the railroad traverses those parts which are most attractive to a person who wishes a day or two's recreation. " Within three or four hours," says the volume, " the traveller may have left the busy and crowded haunts of the Metropolis, and be rambling on the most elevated hills of Berkshire, in a district rendered interesting from the remains which it possesses of a remote antiquity—tbr here are found monuments belonging succes- sively to the ancient Britons, and to the Romans, Saxons, and Danes." The plan of the journey-Book is comprehensive and well-ar.. ranged. It commences with a general view of the county, under the various heads of geographical boundaries, physical features, the antiquities it contains, its political and economical statistics, the means of communication by land, water, and railway, and its agricultural and rural economy. Windsor, as the lion of excursion- ists from London, is described at considerable length ; in fact, the Journey-Book of Berkshire will serve as a guide-book to the palace. Leaving the glories of regality, the compilers then take Windsor, Maidenhead, Reading, Oxford, and a few other places as starting. points ; travel along the turnpike-roads from one town to another, diverging right and left to every place or point of attraction. By this means each part of the county is visited, and in that succes. sion which the generality of tourists will pursue.

As an example of the execution, we will take a few extracts from different sections of the book ; but it should be borne in mind, that the merit of this class of works is not shown by isolated pas- sages, but is dependent upon their completeness as books of re- ference, or for particular use.

DRILLING AMONGST THE YEOMEN.

Drilling-machines on the most improved principle, and on Cook's plan, are made at Hoek in Hampshire, and pretty generally dispersed through Berkshire. The introduction of these and other improved instruments has been much en- couraged by the example of King George the Third and the late Duke of Gloucester, whose farming establishment at llitpleys, near Bagshot Park, was on the most improved principles. Drilling, the seed is becoming more general than it used to he and several professional drill-men find it a profitable em- ployment of a small capital to purchase the most improved machines, with which they. drill the se,n1 for the smaller farmers, who cannot afford such ex- pensive implements. The farmer finds the horses and a man to drive them, nod sends the drill to its next destination when his corn is drilled. The price paid for the use of the drilling,-machine is from Is. fid. to 2s. per acre, with food for the drill-man, who is the proprietor of the drill, or his servant. They drill about ten or twelve acres in a day, with two horses and two men. This division labour, which is a certain sign of improvement, is chiefly founi its the hest-cultivated districts,—as in Essex, Suffolk, and Norfolk, where there are still many small farms.

ST. GEORGE'S CHAPEL.

ThiS is the object at Windsor which is most deserving the lingering gaze of the stranger, and which loses none of its charms after the acquaintance of years. The exquisite proportions, and the rich yet solemn ornaments of the interior of this unrivalled edifice, leave ant effect upon the mind which cannot be described. Tlie broad glare of' day displays the admirable finishing of its various parts, as elaborate as the joinery work of a cabinet, and yet harmonizing in one massive and simple whole. The calm twilight does not abate the splen- dour of this building, while it adds to its solemnity ; for them "The sternal window, richly dight," catches the last rays of the setting sun ; and as the cathedral chant steals over the senses, the genius of the place compels the coldest heart to be devout int a temple of such perfect beauty. The richly-decorated roof, supported on clustered columns, which spread on each side like the branches of a grove—the painted windows, representing in glowing colours sonic remarkable subjec.ts of Christian history—the banners and escutcheons of the l tights of the Garter, glittering in the choir above their carved stalls, within which are affixed the armorial bearings of each Knight Companion from the time of' the thunder, Edward the Third—all these objects are full of interest, and powerfully seize upon the imagination. Though this building and its decorations are pre. eminently beautiful, it is perfectly of a devotional character.

I:INFIELD AND ITS BEECH GROVE.

Henry Earl of Sterling, Secretary of State for Scotland, who died in 1739, Admiral Sir Edward Vernam, who took Pondicherry, end Mrs. Cut ten Ma- cauley Graham, authoress of a history of England, are I,,■ erred at lhiimfield. It is, however, most celebrated as having been the re,i,!: ma. of Pope from the early age of six nolil lie mooved to Thiele:droll. fialler Of the poet having accumulmeil a etiaiderahle flaunt: by business in London retired to this elace during the hilithey of his Non, and here purchased a house and estate. Speaking of' this house, Pope calls it My paternal cell, A little Iritt,,e, with trees it•row, A ,el ,ts ina,ter. verr low." About half.a-tnile from the 11./11,11., /111 interesting memorial of the poet still remaina, or at least tlid ot a few ye:,r; 1%11,:11 tit, %%11110' last vinited the stiot. Them is here a line grove of ple.,,atitly sit oared 011 the gentle 1,10: of a hill, which commands an agreeable thod;■11 not exivaive view of the surrounding country. Thi, grove WM IL 141/0101t1.1 resort 1,1 l'ope, who is Said to have composed many ot his earlier Meet,' sit ti hg Ii ii,!. the minute of one of the trees, below which a seat WOK t111:11 pkeeil. The recollection if this dr- eamed:thee was proprved hy Lady Gower, an admirer of dm poet, who caused the words " IIP;RE to he cut in large let ter , it, ti, irk, it some height from the griutitiul; and an this inscription, at he time we mention, was distinctly legible, it it as no doubt, at one pet it'd, occasionally renewed. About seventeen yearn ago, first neen by the writer, he tree W■01 m a sound mate, anti apparently little injured by time, ithliongla the hark, to thE height. of' seven or eight feet, was nearly covered with the moues of visitors, many of which, with the dates, were cut deeply into it. 'When the writer last saw this interesting relic of the poet, a year or two after his first visit, it pre- sented a sad appearance of dilapidation; the upper part of the tree having been entirely broken off by a violent storm which had happened a short time previous, and lying prostrate on the ground, stripped of its branches, as shown in a drawing which was made at the time, of which the engraving is a copy. It is somewhat remarkable, that none of the neighbouring trees were injured by the storm which thus destroyed the object which, for near a century, had con- secrated the spot.

The volume is accompanied by an illuminated map, in which dis- tinctoess is given to the different features of the country by the use of various colours ; a novelty that conduces to clearness, when the eye has got accustomed to its use, as it soon does. There are also upwards of twenty wood-cuts, which strike us as being generally inferior to those that are wont to illustrate the publications of Mr. KNIGHT. A good table of contents precedes the work, to direct the referrer, and a sufficient index is added.