[B] BATH. This ancient and far-famed city is the chief ornament of the west of England; that it is indebted to its medicinal springs for its origin as well as importance, there can be little doubt, but the period of its foundation is altogether unknown. The discovery of its springs, or rather, of their virtues, was for a long time ascribed to King Bladud, traditionally recorded "as the son of Lud Hudibras, King of Britain, about 2,500 years ago. In his youth he became infected with the leprosy, and, at the petition of the courtiers, who feared the contagion, was banished by his father from the palace. The Queen, on his departure, gave him a ring, as a token by which he should make himself known to her if ever he recovered. The young prince, when he reached Keynsham, met with a swineherd, by whom he was retained as an assistant. In a short time, he perceived that he had tainted the pigs with his leprosy. To conceal this misfortune, he sought permission to drive the herd to the opposite side of the Avon, under pretext that the acorns there were finer, and more abundant. Passing the river at a ford, since denominated Swineford, he led his herd to the hills on the north-side of Bath. While he was addressing his prayers to the rising sun, the pigs, impelled by a sudden phrenzy, ran up the valley to the spot where the hot-springs, boiling up, mixed their waters with the decayed weeds and foliage, and formed a bog. In this warm oozy-bed they began to roll, and wallow with delight; nor could their keeper allure them away, until extreme hunger pressed them to follow him. On washing them, he perceived that some had shed their white scurf; and he had not been many days longer in these parts, here he perceived that one of his best sows, which had been long wandering in the mire about the waters, was perfectly cured. Bladud, judging that the remedy which had succeeded in a particular instance, would prove generally efficacious, stripped himself naked, alternately rolled in the mud, and washed in the waters; and, after a few repetitions of this discipline, came out perfectly sound. Elated by this good fortune, he drove home his pigs, returned to court, and, shewing his ring, was recognized with rapture, and restored to his former rank and dignity. His father afterwards determined on sending him to Athens, to improve his natural genius. A splendid retinue was ordered to attend him; but Bladud preferred to travel as a private person, considering the parade of grandeur as an impediment to the acquisition of knowledge. After devoting eleven years to the study of literature, mathematics, and necromancy, he returned to Britain, was appointed Regent during his father's old age, and succeeded to the throne after his death. One of his first public works was the erection of a city near the springs, which thenceforward became the capital of the British monarchs. In his old age he devoted himself to the formation