The walks round the grounds are extremely pleasing, and from many points excellent views are obtained of Plymouth Sound, the Hamoaze, Devonport, and the surrounding country. It seems, however, doubtful if the circumstance of a nobleman's seat commanding a view of a large town, at the distance of less than a mile, be an advantage to it. It is perhaps not altogether pleasant to have a _country_ seat overlooked by, and overlooking, a large town. Dr. Johnson, alluding to the view of Mount Edgecumbe, has observed, that "though there is the grandeur of a fleet, there is also the impression of there being a dock-yard, the circumstances of which are not agreeable." The house at Mount Edgecumbe was erected about the year 1550, by Sir Richard Edgecumbe, who was sheriff of Devonshire in the thirty-fifth year of the reign of Henry VIII., in the castellated style, with circular towers at the corners. About seventy years ago, those towers were pulled down, and rebuilt in their present octangular form. In the principal rooms is a collection of family portraits, including a few by Sir Joshua Reynolds. [Illustration: BRIXHAM.] BRIXHAM. "Here busy boats are seen: some overhaul Their loaded nets; some shoot the lightened trawl; And, while their drags the slimy bottom sweep, Stealthily o'er the face o' the waters creep; While some make sail, and singly or together Furrow the sea with merry wind and weather." W. STEWART ROSE. In the Engraving of Brixham Quay, from a painting by Edward Duncan, the view is taken from the eastward. To the right, from the end of the pier, several of the larger class of fishing vessels belonging to the place are perceived lying aground; while, further in the harbour, a merchant brig is seen discharging her cargo. In the foreground, to the left, the attention of a group appears to be engaged by a small ship which a young fisherman holds in his hands.