936 YORKS

Aire, which in many places afford 'views the mostdelightful that can be imagined.

We have been thus far particular in noticing thevarious peculiarities of the different ridings; but indescribing the rivers it will be necessary to takethe whole county, as some of the principal of thembound, though few of them intersect, those provincialdivisions. The Tees rises in the mountains of West-morland, and, taking an easterly direction, dividesthe North Riding of Yorkshire from the county ofDurham, through its whole extent. It is navigablefor ships of sixty tons burden up to Stockton ; butthe channel is serpentine and intricate, and the cur-rent rapid.

Next in geographical position is the Swale, which,rising in the western extremity of the same riding,waters the romantic tract called Swaledale ; andpassing by Richmond and Catterick, enters the Valeof York, and flows in that level country till it receivesthe Wisk, a small river, which, rising near Osmother-ley, at the foot of the moors, on the western edge ofCleveland, takes, first a northerly, then a westerlydirection; and afterwards, turning its course to thesouth, runs a little to the west of Northallerton andThirsk, and falls into the Swale below Topcliff.

The Ure, rising in the same mountainous region,at Lady’s Pillar, ;between Yorkshire and Westmor-land, and within five miles of the source of the Swale,after collecting many tributary streams in its coursethrough the romantic vale of Wensley, becomes aboundary between the North and West Ridings,three miles below Masham, till it reaches the vicinityof Ripon ; and having received the Swale at Myton,continues its course to] about six miles below Bo-roughbridge, where the united rivers take the nameof the Ouse, from an insignificant rivulet with whichthey there form a junction. Then passing on to thevillage of Nun-Monkton, its waters are farther in-creased by those of the Nid, which, rising about thenorth-western extremity of the picturesque valley ofNetherdale, through which it directs its course,passes by Paitley Bridge, Ripley, and Knaresborough.The Ouse thus augmented flows gently on to York,where it is joined by the Foss, a small stream whichtakes its rise near Craike Castle, and not far fromthe western extremity of the tract of country calledby Mr. Young the Howardian Hills. From York,the Ouse, with some considerable windings, takes analmost direct southerly course, and becomes theboundary between the East and West Ridings.

About eight miles below York, the Wharf whichrises at the foot of Craven Hills, and waters the beau-tiful district of Wharfdale, having passed by Otley,Wetherby, and Tadcaster, and crossed the WestRiding in a course of more than fifty miles, dis-charges itself into the Ouse at the village of Nun-Appleton. After this new accession to its waters,the Ouse flows south-east, with a smooth and broadstream, by Selby, and about four or five miles belowthat town directs its course nearly east, till it receivesthe Derwent. This river, rising in the eastern moor-lands in the North Riding, within about four miles ofthe sea, and eight or nine miles from Scarborough, atfirst takes a southerly direction through the romanticvillage of Hackness, and along a most picturesquevalley to Ayton, running in a line almost parallel tothe coast, till it comes to the foot of the Wolds. It isthe boundary between the North and East Ridings,from its junction with the small river Hertford, till it

HIRE.

approaches near Stamford Bridge, where it entersthe East Riding, within which it runs till it falls intothe Ouse, near the village of Barnsley, about threemiles and a half above Howden. After receivin'*the Derwent, the Ouse continues nearly south-east,and within less than a quarter of a mile of Booth-ferry is joined by the united Calder and Aire. Thisjunction brings to the Ouse a great accession ofwaters.

The Aire is one of the most considerable rivers inYorkshire ; it issues from the mountains of Craven,and glides with a smooth, slow, and serpentine course,nearly in a south-east direction, along the windingvalley of Airedale, which is scarcely above a mile inbreadth, but extends about thirty-five miles in lengthto Leeds. After affording the benefit of its navigationto that large manufacturing town, the Aire flows onto Castleford, near which place it receives the Calder.This stream, rising on the edge of Lancashire, takesan easterly direction, but makes an extremely tortuouscourse, leaving Halifax at the distance of no less thantwo miles to the north, and passing by Dewsbury toWakefield, from whence it runs nearly north-east toCastleford. From that place the Aire, augmentedby the influx of the Calder, holds an easterly course,without any great deviation, till, after passing withina very short distance of Snaith, it runs nearly north-east to its confluence with the Ouse, a little belowArmin. After this junction the Ouse, running abouttwo or three miles farther towards the south-east,receives the Don, which rising in the western moors,beyond Pennistone, flows in a south-easterly directionto Sheffield, where it turns to the north-east, andpasses by Rotherham, glides along a narrow butpicturesque valley by Conisburgh and Doncaster; andthen entering a flat country, continues its course byThorne, where, turning to the north, it runs in thatdirection to Rawcliff bridge, and then north-east tillit falls into the Ouse at the village of Goole. TheOuse, having now received all its Yorkshire waters,becomes as wide as the Thames at London; and,after making a circuit to the south, near Swinefleet,takes a north-easterly direction to its confluence withthe Trent, from Lincolnshire. Here it takes thename of Humber, the Abers of Ptolemy, and becomesmore than a mile in width ; at Bromfleet it receivesthe little river Foulness, which has its source at Good-manham, and passing by Market Weighton, makes acircuitous tour to the west, but answers no purposeof navigation.

The Humber, rolling eastward its vast collectionof waters in a stream, enlarged to between two andthree miles in breadth, washes the large and commer-cial town of Hull, where it receives the river of thatname, which, rising near the foot of the Wolds, takesa southerly direction at Duffield, and passing withinabout half a mile of Beverley, continues its course toHull, where its mouth forms a secure but contractedhaven. A few miles below Hull, and opposite toHedon and Paul, the Humber takes a direction south-east, and widening into a vast estuary of about six orseven miles in breadth, disembogues itself into theGerman Ocean. From this sketch it will be readilyperceived that with the exception of the little riverEske, which rises in the centre of the eastern moor-lands, the upper part of the Ribble, which runs intoLancashire, and some inconsiderable brooks that flowinto the Tees, all of which taken together form anexception scarcely worth notice, all the waters of