[pg 225]

THE MIRROR
OF
LITERATURE, AMUSEMENT, AND INSTRUCTION.

THE BEULAH SALINE SPA, NORWOOD.

Our attention has been invited to the Beulah Spa by a brochure latelypublished, from the very competent pen of Dr. George Hume Weatherhead; thedetails of which will be read with interest by all who are in quest of"healing founts." "The Spa," observes Dr. Weatherhead, "has long beenresorted to by the country people of the neighbourhood, who, fromexperiencing its beneficial effects in a variety of diseases, havesustained its sanative character, and kept it from sinking into totalneglect." We trust, however, that its virtues may soon enjoy moreextensive celebrity, especially as the attractions of the scenery amidstwhich the spring is situate are of no common-place character, and thedistance from the metropolis both easy and inviting. The Spa has alreadyacquired some popularity; for, we learned on our visit a few days since,that, although it was only opened to the public towards the close of themonth of August, in the past year, it was visited during the autumn byseveral hundred persons weekly.

Dr. Weatherhead has described the local scenery with accuracy. Beulah, theestate upon which the spring is situate, is within the village of Norwood,seven miles south of London, upon one of those elevations known as theNorwood hills. "From trigonometrical observation," observes Dr.Weatherhead, "it has been computed that the height of these hills is about390 feet above the level of the sea at low water.¹ Thus placed above thefogs of the plain, and removed from the smoky and contaminated atmosphereof the metropolis, the air has long been celebrated for its pure andinvigorating qualities." Norwood was in the memory of several of theinhabitants still living, an entire forest of oaks, and the well-knownresort of tribes of gipsies.² The country from Camberwell thence is,therefore, in[pg 226]great part a newly-peopled district. Its outline is veryuneven, perhaps more so than any other portion of the environs of themetropolis. The road runs over or through many little crests or hills, andsinks into sheltered valleys, where you see newly-built habitationsnestling together, and almost reminding one of the aboriginal contrivancesfor warmth and comfort in less civilized countries. The road-side is setwith "suburban villas" which would make the spleen of Cowper blaze intomadness; though few of them exhibit any pretensions to elegance orsnugness. Neither would two newly-built churches in the prospect allay theanti-urban poet; their starved proportions contrasting but coldly with theprimitive simplicity of a village church. The country itself isnevertheless picturesque; the prospect is of enchanting beauty, and asyou approach Beulah, you obtain occasional glimpses of the subjacentvalley which you enjoy more at leisure and at a coup