The Expedition of Humphry Clinker

202 TOBIAS SMOLLETT
To Dr. LEWIS
DEAR DOCTOR,
I HAVE now reached the northern extremity of England, and see,
close to my chamber-window, the Tweed gliding through the
arches of that bridge which connects this suburb to the town of
Berwick.—Yorkshire you have seen, and therefore I shall say
nothing of that opulent province. The city of Durham appears like
a confused heap of stones and brick, accumulated so as to cover a
mountain, round which a river winds its brawling course. The
streets are generally narrow, dark, and unpleasant, and many of
them almost impassable in consequence of their declivity. The
cathedral is a huge gloomy pile; but the clergy are well lodged.—
The bishop lives in a princely manner—the golden prebends keep
plentiful tables—and, I am told, there is some good sociable com-
pany in the place; but the country, when viewed from the top of
Gateshead Fell, which extends to Newcastle, exhibits the highest
scene of cultivation that ever I beheld. As for Newcastle, it lies
mostly in a bottom, on the banks of the Tyne, and makes an
appearance still more disagreeable than that of Durham; but it is
rendered populous and rich by industry and commerce; and the
country lying on both sides the river, above the town, yields a
delightful prospect of agriculture and plantations. Morpeth and
Alnwick are neat, pretty towns, and this last is famous for the castle
which has belonged so many ages to the noble house of Piercy,
earls of Northumberland.—It is, doubtless, a large edifice, con-
taining a great number of apartments, and stands in a commanding
situation; but the strength of it seems to have consisted not so much
in its site, or the manner in which it is fortified, as in the valour of
its defendants.
Our adventures since we left Scarborough, are scarce worth
reciting; and yet I must make you acquainted with my sister
Tabby’s progress in husband-hunting, after her disappointments
at Bath and London. She had actually begun to practise upon a
certain adventurer, who was in fact a highwayman by profession;
but he had been used to snares much more dangerous than any
she could lay, and escaped accordingly.—Then she opened her
batteries upon an old weather-beaten Scotch lieutenant, called
Lismahago, who joined us at Durham, and is, I think, one of the