other parts of the military science; and where an army consisted of the greatest part not Romans, they might easily fall into that method of fortifying their camps which was most usual to the country where those troops were chiefly levied."*

This encampment consisted of a circular mound in the centre, and high embankments below at some distance, with deep trenches and ditches, altogether occupying an area of at least 20 acres, and was considered by those competent to form an opinion, to have been one of the finest Roman encampments in this country. The name of Castle Hill does not imply (as some suppose) that the castle formerly stood there, as this name is very commonly applied to spots where no such building ever stood, but from its vicinity to the castle. It has been the opinion of some antiquaries, that the Romans had here a castellum exploratorium, or watch-tower, whence they might look out and observe any hostile foe from the surrounding country.

Numerous relics have been found at these hills, not only Roman, but Danish and Saxon. The duke of Leeds sent to the exhibition of works of art at Ripon, in 1840, a pair of spurs in good preservation, such as the Saxons wore, with rowels almost the size of a crown piece, dug up at these hills. The late Francis Smyth, esq., F.A.S., of New Building, near Thirsk, frequently paid these remains a visit, and possessed Roman coins, which had been dug up on the summit, in perfect. preservation. The Rev. John Balguy, vicar, wrote the following lines "From the ashes of a Roman urn dug up at the Castle Hills, near North Allerton, A.D. 1743.

Trifling mortal, tell me why

Thou hast disturbed my urn;
Want'st thou to find out who am I?
Vain man, attend and learn!

To know what letters spelt my name,

Is useless quite to thee:

An heap of dust is all I am,
And all that thou shalt be.

Bib. Top. Brit. No. 2. pt. 2.

R

Go now, that heap of dust explore,
Measure its grains or weigh;
Can'st thou the title which I bore,
Distinguish in the clay?

What glitt'ring honors or high trust
Once dignified me here,

Were characters imprest on dust,
Which quickly disappear.

Nor will the sparkling atoms show

A Claudius or a Guelph:

Vain search! if here the source thou'dst know
Of nobles or thyself.

The mould will yield no evidence,

By which thou may'st divine,
If lords or beggars issued thence
And fill'd the ancient line.

Learn then the vanity of birth,
Condition, honors, name:

All are but made of common earth,
The substance just the same.

Bid av'rice and ambition view,
The extent of all their gains,

Themselves and their possessions too,
An earthen pot contains.

Haste, lift thy thoughts from earthly things
To more substantial bliss,

And leave that grovelling pride to kings,
Which ends in dirt like this.

Let virtue be thy radiant guide
"Twill dignify thy clay;
And raise thy ashes glorify'd,
When suns shall fade away.

1758. During the German war, colonel Ainslie and major sir Wm. Erskine raised the regiment called Elliot's light dragoons, (now the 15th hussars,) at North Allerton; William Squire, esq., was their banker-all the horses were contracted for by Mr. John Carter, of North Allerton, and Mr. Harry Turner, of London. Leave was given to the officers by the then tenant of the Castle Hills, to have the horses and men trained on those grounds, previous to being sent to head quarters.*

Col. Ainslie and sir William Erskine seldom passed through this town without taking a walk to these hills; on one occasion sir William had a draughtsman with

*Todd's MSS.

him, who took a plan of those grounds, and the high mound and entrenchments. George William, duke of Argyll, always either in going to or returning from London, used to go and see the "Roman encampment", as he used to call it.

The late Miss Lambton, of Biddick, then owner of the Castle Hills, had in her possession many coins that had been dug up in the time of her grandfather, William Metcalfe, esq., some of which were found at the time of levelling and making the ground ready on the south-east side of the hill, for the purpose of planting that beautiful clump

"Of old trees, with trunks all hoar,

But light leaves young as joy,"

which were cut down in 1838, during the construction of the Great North of England railway.

1788. In a field close to these hills, a large urn was dug up by one Lawrence Leadley, containing an innumerable quantity of Roman coins, chiefly of the latter emperors; a few were corroded, but the greatest -part were in good preservation; the urn was of coarse blue clay and porous. So numerous were the coins, which amounted to several hundreds, that they soon got into circulation as farthings, and went by the name of "Lawrie's farthings."

Curiosity is naturally excited at the cause of the great number of coins of the Romans, which are found in such abundance. In regard to such coins as are discovered enclosed in urns and buried in the earth, it has been supposed that it was a usual practice with the Romans to hoard their money in such a situation; and the following two lines of Horace are adduced in support of the proposition.

"Quid juvat immensum te argenti pondus et auri
Furtim de fossa timidum deponere terra ?"
Sat. Lib. I. Sat. I.

Among the military it seems likely that the method of burying money would be pursued in general, for as the Roman forces were paid in copper money, called