James Bisset

“ It's hoary sage, withdrawn from toil and care,
Both ease and solitude possesses there;
The moss-clad turrets, ivy-clasp'd, o'er grown,
Look as if Peace had mark'd the spot her own.
On Yonder gentle slope, which shrubs adorn,
Where grew, of late, "rank weeds," gorse, ling, and thorn,
Now pendant woods, and shady groves are seen,
And nature there assumes a nobler mien.
There verdant lawns, cool grots, and peaceful bow'rs,
Luxuriant, now, are strew'd with sweetest flow'rs,
Reflected by the lake, which spreads below,
All Nature smiles around—there stands Soho! ”

“ Woos thousands to Vauxhall, to pass their hours.
Next Ashted [28] view—the Chapel's plainly seen,
The Barracks for the troops, lie just between.
Bartholomew's [29] you'll see about due east,
Small Heath extends beyond, two miles at least.
Where curling eddies of black smoke ascends,
Steam-Engines [30] wond'rous force and pow'r portends,
A Watt and Boulton's Fame they sure must raise,
Far, far beyond, my Muse's feeble praise;
Tho' on a theme so grand she'd wish to shew,
Respect to Talents and to Genius due. ”

“ It is allowed to be one of the greatest curiosities of the kind in Great Britain , and redounds highly to the honour of that eminent engineer Cartwright. This tunnel is so extensive in the centre, where Barges pass and repass, that the Royal Arch Masons of Birmingham held a regular Chapter there in August 1795. ”