The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction. Volume 19, No. 542, April 14, 1832 — John Shaqi
The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction. Volume 19, No. 542, April 14, 1832Various
General
The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction. Volume 19, No. 542, April 14, 1832
Various
Popular literature -- Great Britain -- Periodicals
valley which you enjoy more at leisure and at a _coup d'oeil_ in the Spa
grounds.
The Spring lies embowered in a wood of oaks, open to the south-west whose
dense foliage shelters and protects it. It is now the sole vestige of the
gipsy haunts, and comprises a space of more than twenty-five acres; the
gentle inclination of the ground keeping the foot-paths always dry.
We entered the grounds at an elegant rustic lodge (_see the Cut_,) where
commences a new carriage-road[3] to Croydon; which winds round the flank
of the hill, and is protected by hanging woods. The lodge is in the best
taste of ornate rusticity, with the characteristic varieties of gable,
dripstone, portico, bay-window, and embellished chimney: of the latter
there are some specimens in the best style of our olden architects. This
building, as well as the other rural edifices in the grounds, and the
whole disposal of the latter, have been planned by Mr. Decimus Burton, the
originator of the architectural embellishments of the Zoological Gardens
in the Regent's Park.
Passing the lodge, we descended by a winding path through the wood to a
small lawn or glade, at the highest point of which is a circular rustic
building, used as a confectionery and reading-room; near which is the Spa,
within a thatched apartment. The spring rises about 14 feet, within a
circular rockwork enclosure; the water is drawn by a contrivance, at once
ingenious and novel; a glass urn-shaped pail, terminating with a cock of
the same material, and having a stout rim and cross-handle of silver, is
attached to a thick worsted rope, and let down into the spring by a pulley,
when the vessel being taken up full, the water is drawn off by the cock.
We quote Dr. Weatherhead's analytical description of the water:
"The water drawn fresh from the well is beautifully transparent and
sparkling. Innumerable bubbles of fixed air are seen rising to the surface,
when allowed to stand. Its taste is distinctly bitter, without being at
all disagreeable, leaving on the palate the peculiar flavour of its
predominant saline ingredient, the sulphate of magnesia. The temperature
of the water, at the bottom of the well, is 52 deg. of Fahrenheit; its
specific gravity 1011; and, by an analysis of its composition by those
distinguished scientific chemists, Messrs. Faraday and Hume, the following
are the solid contents of a quart of the water:--
BEULAH SALINE.
Sulphate of magnesia ............ 123
Sulphate of soda and magnesia .... 32
Muriate of soda .................. 19
Muriate of magnesia .............. 18-1/2
Carbonate of lime ................ 15
Carbonate of soda ................. 3
---
Grains 210-1/2
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