If, traveller, you search for the footsteps of the ancient Romans, here you may behold them. For here their most celebrated ways, crossing one another, extend to the utmost boundaries of Britain; here the Vennones kept their quarters; and at the distance of one mile from hence, Claudius, a certain commander of a cohort, seems to have had a camp, towards the street, and towards the foss a tomb. The ground here is so high, and the surrounding country so low and flat, that it is said, fifty-seven churches may be seen from this spot by the help of a glass. The following judicious remarks on the customs, mariners, and dialects of the common people of this district by Mr. Macauley, who published a history of Claybrook, may be amusing to many readers.--The people here are much attached to _wakes_; and among the farmers and cottagers these annual festivals are celebrated with music, dancing, feasting, and much inoffensive sport; but in the neighbouring villages the return of the wake never fails to produce at least a week of idleness, intoxication, and riot. These and other abuses by which those festivals are grossly perverted, render it highly desirable to all the friends of order and decency that they were totally suppressed. On Plow Monday is annually displayed a set of _morice dancers_; and the custom of ringing the curfew is still continued here, as well as the pancake bell on Shrove Tuesday. The dialect of the common people is broad, and partakes of the Anglo-Saxon sounds and terms. The letter _h_ comes in almost on every occasion where it ought not, and it is frequently omitted where it ought to come in. The words _fire_, _mire_, and such like, are pronounced as if spelt _foire_, _moire_; and _place_, _face_, and other similar words, as if spelt _pleace_, _feace_; and in the plural you sometimes hear _pleacen_, _closen_, for closes, and many other words in the same style of Saxon termination. The words _there_, and _where_, are generally pronounced _theere_ and _wheere_; the words _mercy_, _deserve_, thus, _marcy_, _desarve_. The following peculiarities are also observable: _uz_, strongly aspirated for _us_; _war_ for _was_; _meed_ for _maid_; _faither_ for _father_; _e'ery_ for _every_; _brig_ for _bridge_; _thurrough_ for _furrow_; _hawf_ for _half_; _cart rit_ for _cart rut_; _malefactory_ for _manufactory_; _inactions_ for _anxious_. The words _mysen_ and _himsen_, are sometimes used for _myself_ and _himself_; the word _shoek_ is used to denote an idle worthless vagabond; and the word _ripe_ for one who is very profane. The following phrases are common, "a power of people," "a hantle of money," "I can't awhile as yet." The words _like_ and _such_ frequently occur as expletives in conversation, "I won't stay here haggling all day and _such_." "If you don't give me my price _like_." The monosyllable _as_ is generally substituted for _that_; "the last time _as_ I called," "I reckon _as_ I an't one," "I