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diff --git a/13935-0.txt b/13935-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..00ea1a1 --- /dev/null +++ b/13935-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,1506 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 13935 *** + +Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this + file which includes the original illustration. + See 13935-h.htm or 13935-h.zip: + (http://www.ibiblio.org/gutenberg/1/3/9/3/13935/13935-h/13935-h.htm) + or + (http://www.ibiblio.org/gutenberg/1/3/9/3/13935/13935-h.zip) + + + + +THE MIRROR OF LITERATURE, AMUSEMENT, AND INSTRUCTION. + +VOL. 17, No. 491.] SATURDAY, MAY 28, 1831. [PRICE 2d. + + + + * * * * * + + + + +AMPTHILL HOUSE, THE SEAT OF LORD HOLLAND. + + + +[Illustration] + + + + +This is a delightful retreat for the statesman and man of +letters--distinctions which its illustrious occupant enjoys with high +honour to his country and himself. + +Ampthill is throughout a never-tiring region of romantic beauties. These +were sung in some lines of great sweetness and poetical feeling, a few +years since by Mr. Luttrell, who appears to have taken his muse by the arm, +and "wandered up and down," describing the natural glories and olden +celebrity of Ampthill. We remember to have read his "Lines" with unmixed +pleasure. + +The Engraving is copied from one of a Series of "Select Illustrations of +Bedfordshire;" the letter-press accompaniments being neatly written by the +Rev. I. D. Parry, M. A. author of the "History of Woburn." Ampthill +follows. + +Ampthill House, now the seat of the Right Hon. Lord Holland, is a plain but +very neat edifice, built of good stone. It was erected by the first Lord +Ashburnham, then the possessor of the estate, in 1694. It is situated +rather below the summit of a hill, which rises at some little distance +behind, and much less elevated than the site of the old castle, but has +still a commanding situation in front, and is sufficiently elevated to +possess a great share of the fine view over the vale of Bedford. It is also +well sheltered by trees, though the passing traveller would have no idea of +the magnificent lime alley, which is concealed behind it. The house has a +long front, abundantly furnished with windows, and has two deep and +projecting wings. In the centre is a plain angular pediment, bearing the +late Lord Ossory's arms, and over the door is a small circular one, pierced +for an antique bust, and supported by two three-quarter Ionic pillars. In +this house is a small collection of paintings, &c., principally portraits. + +At the foot of the staircase is a large painting, formerly _in fresco_ at +Houghton House, which was taken off the wall, and put on canvass by an +ingenious process of the late Mr. Salmon. It represents a gamekeeper, or +woodman, taking aim with a cross-bow, full front, with some curious +perspective scenery, 6 feet by 9-1/2 feet. We have heard a tradition, that +it is some person of high rank in disguise; some say James I., who was once +on a visit at Houghton. From the propensities of "gentle King Jamie," this +is not unlikely. + +The pleasure ground at the back of the house, commands a pleasing, +extensive view; beyond this is the lime walk, which is certainly one of the +finest in England.--It is upwards of a quarter of a mile in length, the +trees in some parts, finely arching; and may be pronounced, upon the whole, +superior to any walk in Oxford or Cambridge. + +The park in which this house stands, is well known, from many descriptions, +to be a singularly picturesque and pleasing one. It is, at the same time, a +small one, but the dimensions are concealed by the numerous and beautiful +groups of trees with which it is studded. The oaks are particularly +celebrated for their great size and age, several of them are supposed to be +upwards of 500 years old, and some do not hesitate to say 1,000 years; the +girth of many of them is ten yards, or considerably more. A survey of this +park, by order of the Conventional Parliament, in 1653, pronounced 287 of +these oaks as being hollow, and too much decayed for the use of the navy. +The whole of these remain to this day, and may, perhaps, continue two or +three centuries longer; some few of them have been scathed by lightning. + +Behind the house, near the entrance of the park from the turnpike-road, are +some ponds, similar in appearance to those frequently seen adjoining +ancient mansions; above these, at the edge of a precipice, was the front of +the ancient castle. This building is doubtless that erected by Lord +Fanhope, at the beginning of the fifteenth century. It was used as a royal +resort by Henry VIII., who was often here, and by Queen Catherine, who +resided here some time previous, and during the time her divorce was in +process at Dunstable. There are, in the possession of Lord Holland, two +ground plans of this castle, which, by the late Lord Ossory, were supposed +to have been taken about the year 1616, at which time it was supposed the +castle was demolished. From these, the following particulars of this +building are collected:--The area was a square of about 220 feet; in front +was a large court, 115 feet by 120; behind this were two very small ones, +each 45 feet square; and between these was an oblong courtyard. Between the +front and back courts, the building had two small lateral projections, like +the transepts of a church. In front were two square projecting towers; and +round the building, at irregular distances, were nine others, projecting, +of different shapes, but principally five-sided segments of octagons--if +this description be intelligible. It was, probably, from the general +appearance of the plan, intended more as a residence for a nobleman or +prince, than a fortress, although the situation was favourable for defence. +The view in front is extremely beautiful for this part of the country. + +Lord Ossory planted a grove of firs at the back of this spot, and erected, +in 1773, in the centre, a monument, consisting of an octagonal shaft raised +on four steps, surmounted by a cross, bearing a shield with Queen +Catherine's arms, of Castile and Arragon. This was designed by Mr. Essex, +the improver of King's College, Chapel, and is very neat, but of small +dimensions. On a tablet inserted in the base of the cross, is the following +inscription, from the pen of Horace Walpole, Earl of Orford, which when +read on the spot, excites some degree of interest:-- + + In days of yore, here Ampthill's towers were seen, + The mournful refuge of an injured queen; + Here flowed her pure, but unavailing tears, + Here blinded zeal sustained her sinking years. + Yet Freedom hence her radiant banner wav'd, + And Love avenged a realm by priests enslav'd; + From Catherine's wrongs a nation's bliss was spread, + And Luther's light from lawless Henry's bed. + +The possessors of Ampthill are thus traced by Mr. Parry:-- + +The survey of Ampthill Park, made by order of Parliament, 1649, speaks of +the castle as being long ago totally demolished.[1] There was, however, +what was called the Great Lodge, or Capital Mansion. King James I. gave the +Honour of Ampthill to the Earl of Kelly. It soon reverted to the Crown. In +1612, Thomas, Lord Fenton, and Elizabeth his wife, resigned the office of +High Steward of the Honour of Ampthill to the King. The following year the +custody of the Great Park was granted to Lord Bruce, whose family became +lessees of the Honour, which they kept till 1738. In the 17th century, the +Nicholls's became lessees of the Great Park under the Bruces, who reserved +the office of Master of the Game. The Nicholls's resided at the Capital +Mansion. After the Restoration, Ampthill Great Park was granted by Charles +II. to Mr. John Ashburnham, as some reward for his distinguished services +to his father and himself (_vide_ Hist. Eng.) The first Lord Ashburnham +built the present house, in 1694. In 1720 it was purchased of this family +by Viscount Fitzwilliam, who sold it in 1736 to Lady Gowran, grandmother of +the late Lord Ossory, who in 1800, became possessed of the lease of the +Honour, by exchange with the Duke of Bedford. His family name, an ancient +one in Ireland, was Fitzpatrick; he was Earl of Upper Ossory in Ireland, +and Baron of the same in England. He died in 1818, and was succeeded by +Lord Holland, the present possessor, who has also a fine old mansion at +Kensington.[2] + + [1] In Peck's "Desiderata Curiosa," is a list of salaries paid + in Queen Elizabeth's time to the Keepers, &c. of all the Royal + Palaces and Castles. At Ampthill they were as follow: Keeper of + the Manor House, 2l. 13s. 4d., Great Park, 4l., with herbage and + pannage, 15l.; _Paler_ of the Park, 4l. 11s. 4d., herbage and + pannage, 15l. + + [2] For an Engraving of which see _the Mirror_, vol. xiii. p. + 385. + +The present Lord Holland, Henry Richard Vassal Fox, Baron Holland of +Holland Co. Lincoln, and Foxley, Co. Wilts, Recorder of Nottingham, +F.R.S.A.; was born November 23, 1773, succeeded to the title in 1774; +married, 1797, Elizabeth, a daughter of Richard Vassal, Esq. + + * * * * * + + +CHARACTER OF A GOOD ALBUM. + +(_For the Mirror._) + + --"Here's a gem of beauty! + It sparkles with a pure and virgin lustre, + And many prize it much." + +OLD POET. + + +There is something very interesting associated with a well-arranged and +elegant album, embodying passages of delicate taste and superior talent, +and containing the diversified, playful, pointed, eloquent, and original +papers, of a number of intellectual and distinguished contributors. + +I had, a short time ago, one of these beautiful albums placed in my hand, +which was characterized by marked and pre-eminent excellencies. In addition +to its being bound in the most splendid manner, and containing the most +tasteful embellishments, on paper exquisitely embossed, it was adorned with +appropriate contributions, from the vigorous mind of Mrs. Hannah +Moore--from the pure and classic taste of the eloquent Robert Hall--from +the fervid and poetic imagination of James Montgomery--and many an elegant +and beauteous production, communicated by our superior and ingenious +writers. It was deeply interesting to mark the specimens of penmanship +which the various contributors furnished: the bold hand of one--the neat +style of another--the careless and dashing strokes of another--and the +stiff, awkward, and almost illegible writing of another. I was much struck, +also, with the variety of mind which the album exhibited: on one page, +there was the comic strain of Hood; on another, the pure and exquisite +taste of Campbell; on another, the fire and vividness of Scott; on another, +the minute and graphic painting of Crabbe; and on another, the bold, +condensed, and impassioned style, in which Byron so peculiarly excelled. + +Now, if all albums could be of this character, their value would be +intrinsic and superior, and they would be permanently interesting, because +to them we could frequently recur with refreshing and peculiar enjoyment. I +regret, however, to say, that the majority of albums are comparatively +valueless: they are written with so much negligence; many of the pieces are +of so light and frivolous a character; there is so much childish and +mawkish sentimentality in numbers of the effusions poured forth; and there +is so great a destitution of solid, original, and striking thought, that, +in my unpretending, yet honest estimation, the majority of albums are worth +comparatively nothing. A good album should contain pieces of genuine +talent; should be marked by no frivolity or childishness; should be +concise, pointed, and powerful in its contributions; and should embody +valuable moral principle; and, to secure these excellencies, the possessor +of an elegant album should not place it in the hand of any, accompanied +with the request that a contribution be inserted, without ascertaining, in +the first instance, that the person solicited is of genuine taste and +talent, and real principle; because, if these qualifications be not +developed, an album will be merely filled with trifling, crude, +unconnected, and worthless pieces--marked by no beauty, exhibiting no +taste, characterized by no originality, and inculcating no valuable +sentiment. + +T. W. + + * * * * * + + +POPULAR SUPERSTITIONS. + +(_For the Mirror._) + + No man will be found in whose mind airy notions do not sometimes + tyrannize and force him to hope or fear beyond the limits of sober + probability.--JOHNSON. + + +The superstitions of nations must always be interesting, since they afford +a criterion of the progress that knowledge and reason have made. To trace +the origin of the belief that departed spirits revisit the earth, a belief +apparently so repugnant to reason and revelation, must ever attract the +attention of the curious. For it is a question of importance to religion, +even although the existence of apparitions would not in the slightest +degree invalidate those sacred writings on which the bases of religion are +founded; on the contrary, if the reality of apparitions (that is of the +existence of apparitions) could be ascertained, another proof would be +added to an immense weight of testimony of the ability possessed by the +Deity to arrest or alter what appears the ordinary course of nature. + +The existence of apparitions has been acknowledged by many, and a tendency +towards a belief of them is to be remarked in many more. Ardent, and what +is stranger still, since directly opposed to ardent, morbid minds are too +ready to embrace "the pleasing dreadful thought," and to this may be +attributed the prevalence of this kind of superstition among the poets, and +all indeed of an enthusiastic temperament.[3] Some of the tales urged in +defence of apparitions are upon a _primâ facié_ observation to be traced to +an exuberance[4] of imagination on the part of the ghost, others that are +plainly false, and others that as they cannot be authenticated, are not +worthy of notice. I shall here give what I consider an example of the +former. + + [3] Dr. Johnson, it is well known, was a firm believer in + ghosts, as the following extract will show:--"That the dead are + seen no more," said Imlac, "I will undertake to maintain, + against the concurrent and unvaried testimony of all ages, and + of all nations. * * * This opinion which, perhaps, prevails as + far as human nature is diffused, could become universal only by + its truth(!): those that never heard of one another would not + have agreed in a tale which nothing but experience could make + credible."--_Rasselas_, chap. xxx. + + [4] When the grammarians could not interpret some word in a + sentence, which they could make without it, they used to + attribute the unfortunate word to a natural redundancy in the + language, and in the same manner all ghost stories could be + solved by referring it to "an exuberance," &c. &c. + +During the celebrated Peninsular campaign, as a lady, whose son, a French +officer in Spain, was seated in her room, she was astonished to perceive +the folding doors at the bottom of the apartment slowly open, and disclose +to her eyes, _her son_. He begged her not to be alarmed, and informed her +that he had been just killed by a grape-shot, and even showed her the wound +in his side; the doors closed again and she saw no more. In a few days she +received a letter, which informed her that her son had fallen, after +distinguishing himself in a most gallant manner, and mentioning the time of +his death, which happened at precisely the same moment the apparition was +seen by her! And when I add that the lady was not _at all addicted to +superstition_, the strangeness of the occurrence is considerably increased. +What inference is to be drawn from this extraordinary tale? I confess I +cannot, and do not, believe that apparitions revisit the earth even at the +"glimpses o' the moon," nor does this story at all change my opinion, and +for one grand reason, which is this--That it is highly improbable that the +course of nature would be interrupted for the production of so +insignificant an effect, for it appears an unnecessary exertion of divine +power, when the good attained would be little or none. + +Let us, therefore, attribute it to a powerful imagination acting on a mind +already affected with anxiety, and I believe we shall have no occasion for +yielding to the idea of an apparition to explain the circumstance. I am +acquainted with another tale of the same kind, but I am debarred from +relating it, from my not being authorized to do so by the person, a +gentleman of large property in Scotland, to whom it occurred. Lord Byron +was much addicted to that species of superstition of which I am treating: +the gloomy idea of spirits revisiting the earth to gaze on those who they +loved, was congenial to his mind, and an overheated fancy indulged beyond +its due limits, converted the morbid visionary into the superstitious +ascetic. + +There is an account of a ghost related in the Notes to Moore's Life of the +Noble Poet (vol. i.) I have mentioned, which I shall detail here, as it may +have escaped the memory of some of your readers. A captain of a merchant +vessel was on a voyage to some port; having retired to rest, he was +disturbed in the night by a horrid dream, that his brother, an officer in +the navy was drowned. He awoke and perceived something dark lying at the +foot of the hammock, and on putting out his hand discovered it was a naval +uniform, wet. Some days after this his dream was confirmed by a letter +informing him of his brother's death by drowning. + +At Oakhampton, in Devonshire, there are the remains of a beautiful castle +dismantled by Henry VIII. on the attainder of Henry Courtenay, which is +situated in a park, concerning which many traditions exist, one of which I +will give here as it was told by a native. A great many years ago, there +lived a lady at Oakhampton Castle, who was famous for her love of cruelty +and for unbounded ostentation. This lady was killed, and her ghost haunted +some house in Oakhampton much to the discomfiture of all the inhabitants +thereof. A conclave of "most grave and reverend signiors" was convoked, who +ordained that the disturbed spirit should every night pluck a blade of +grass till all should be gathered. And now, every night at the chilly hour +of midnight, the lady in a splendid coach with four skeleton horses, a +skeleton coachman, and skeleton footmen, is to be seen in the park obeying +the dictum of the Oakhampton worthies. This legend will be found, I am +told, in "Fitz, of Fitzford," by Mrs. Bray. I shall not comment on this, as +it evidently appears a wild legend, on which we can found nothing. + +There is another tale which I shall recount here, since I can vouch for its +authenticity. + +During the Irish Rebellion of 1798, a gentleman went to take possession of +a house in a lone district of Ireland. The house had been uninhabited for +some time, and was out of repair. Between nine and twelve at night, when +the gentleman had retired to rest, he was alarmed by hearing a noise; he +listened, the noise increased till the house rung with the repeated shocks; +he hastily sprung out of bed, and imagining it was the Rebels, he rushed +into the room where his servant slept; "Patrick, get up, the Rebels are +breaking in," said he, "Don't you hear the noise?" "Lord bless yer honor's +worship and glory, it's only the Daunder." "Daunder, sir, you rebel, the +Daunder, what do you mean?" The servant explained that the knocking was +regularly heard every night at the same time, and such was the case. +Various parts of the wall were pulled down, and the house almost rebuilt, +but to no purpose. + +_Foley Place._ +AN ANTIQUARY. + + * * * * * + + +POEMS BY A KING OF PERSIA. + +(_To the Editor._) + + +It is rather an unusual thing in the present age to hear of monarchs being +authors, and much more so of being poets. It is true, there have been +instances of this kind in former times; but perhaps none deserved more +notice than Fath Ali Shah, the King of Persia. The author of a collection +of elegies and sonnets, Mr. Scott Waring, in his "Tour to Sheeraz," has +exhibited a specimen of the king's amatory productions. He also states that +the government of Kashan, one of the chief cities in Persia, was the reward +of the king to the person who excelled in poetical composition. + +The four subjoined poems are the production of this celebrated monarch. + +WILLIAM RUNTING. + + I. + + She who is the object of my love + Has just declared she will not grant me + Another kiss, but at the price of my existence: + Ah! why have I not a thousand lives, + That I might sacrifice them all on these conditions. + + The flame which she has enkindled in my heart + Is so bright, that it dazzles the universe: + It is a torch enclosed within crystal. + This heart is a Christian temple, + Wherein Beauty has established her sanctuary; + And the sighs which escape from it + Are like the loud ringing bells.[5] + + Ah! too fascinating object! how dangerous + Are thy looks!--they wound indifferently + The hearts of young and old: they are + More to be dreaded than the fatal arrows of the mighty Toos.[6] + Delight us with a glimpse of thy lovely form; + Charm our senses by the elegance of thy attitudes; + Our hearts are transported by thy glances. + The proud peacock, covered with confusion, + Dares not display before thee the rich + And pompous variety of his plumage. + Thy ebon ringlets are chains, which hold + Monarchs in captivity, and make + Them slaves to the power of thy charms. + + The dust on which thou treadest becomes an ornament, + Worthy of the imperial diadem of Caus.[7] + Haughty kings now prostrate themselves + Before Khacan,[8] since he has obtained + A favourable look from the object of his love. + + + II. + + That blessing which the fountain of life + Bestowed in former ages on Khezr[9] + Thy lips can communicate in a manner + Infinitely more efficacious. + Nature, confounded at the aspect of thy lovely mouth, + Conceals her rubies within a rock;-- + Our hearts, ensnared by those eyes which express + All the softness of amorous intoxication, + Are held captive in the dimples of thy chin. + + Love has excited in my soul a fire + Which cannot be extinguished;-- + My bosom is become red with flames, + Like a parterre of roses;-- + This heart is no longer mine: + It hangs suspended on the ringlets of thy hair-- + And thou, cruel fair! thou piercest it + With a glance of thy cold disdain. + Ah! inquire not into the wretched. Khacan's fate: + Thy waving locks have deprived him of reason; + But how many thousand lovers, before him, + Have fallen victims to the magic of thy beauty. + + + III. + + My soul, captivated by thy charms, + Wastes itself away in chains, and bends beneath + The weight of oppression. Thou hast said + "Love will bring thee to the tomb--arise, + And leave his dominions" But, alas! + I wish to expire at thy feet, rather than to abandon + Altogether my hopes of possessing thee. + I swear, by the two bows that send forth + Irresistible arrows from thine eyes, + That my days have lost their lustre: + They are dark as the jet of thy waving ringlets; + And the sweetness of thy lips far exceeds, + In the opinion of Khacan, all that + The richest sugar-cane has ever yielded. + + + IV. + + The humid clouds of spring float over the enamelled meads, + And, like my eyes, dissolve in tears. + My fancy seeks thee in all places; and the beauties + Of Nature retrace, at every moment, + Thy enchanting image. But thou, O cruel fair one! + Thou endeavourest to efface from thy memory + The recollection of my ardent love--my tender constancy. + + Thy charms eclipse the growing tulip-- + Thy graceful stature puts to shame the lofty cyprus. + Let every nymph, although equal in beauty to Shireen,[10] + Pay homage to thy superiority; and let all men + Become like Ferhad[11] of the mountain, + Distracted on beholding thy loveliness. + + How could the star of day have shone amidst the heavens, + If the moon of thy countenance had not concealed + Its splendour beneath the cloud of a veil? + Oh! banish me not from thy sight; + Command me--it will be charitable-- + Command me to die. + How long wilt thou reject the amorous solicitations + Of thy Khacan? Wilt thou drive him to madness + By thy unrelenting cruelty? The doomed + To endless tears and lamentations. + + [5] A person, called the Mawezn, summons the people to prayers + from the tower, at certain stated times, by ringing bells. + + [6] Toos, the son of Nouder, makes a conspicuous figure among + the princes and warriors, celebrated by Ferdoosi in his book of + Kings. + + [7] Caus supposed to have been Darius the Mede by some + historians. + + [8] This poetical surname Khacan, adopted by Fath Ali Shah, + signifies emperor or king. + + [9] The prophet Khezr (whom some mistake for Elias) is said to + have discovered and tasted the "waters of immortality," and + consequently to be exempt from death. + + [10] Shireen, the favourite of Khosroo, is no less celebrated + for her beauty than for the passion with which she inspired + Ferhad. + + [11] Of this unfortunate lover Ferhad, the romantic story has + been told by several distinguished writers. The mountain to + which our royal poet alludes is the Kooh Bisetoon (in the + province of Curdistan), where are still visible many figures + sculptured in the rock, which, by the romances of Persia, are + ascribed to the statuary Ferhad. Among these sculptures, + travellers have noticed the representation of a + female--according to local tradition, the fair Shireen, mistress + to King Khosroo, and the fascinating object of Ferhad's love. As + a recompense for clearing a passage over the mountain of + Bisetoon, by removing immense rocks, which obstructed the path + (a task of such labour as far exceeded the power of common + mortals, by Ferhad, however, executed with ease), the monarch + had promised to bestow Shireen on the enamoured statuary. But a + false report of the fair one's death having been communicated to + Ferhad in a sudden manner, he immediately destroyed himself; and + the scene of this catastrophe is still shown among the recesses + of Mount Bisetoon. + + * * * * * + + + +ANECDOTE GALLERY. + + + + +THE LATE PRINCESS CHARLOTTE. + +(_From the Life and Correspondence of Sir Thomas Lawrence._) + + +"In 1817, Sir Thomas Lawrence was commissioned to paint the portrait of the +princess a second time, and he staid at Claremont during nine days. He one +morning filled up a few vacant hours in writing to his friend, and his +description of the habits of the newly-married and juvenile offsprings and +heirs of royalty, forms a calm, unostentatious, and delightful picture of +domestic life. How ill such pleasures would have been exchanged for the +public splendour and costly amusements by which they were tempted. It is a +source of infinite gratification to lay before the country such a testimony +to the disposition and virtues of one, in whom centered so much of the +public hope and love." + + +"_Extracts from Letters of Sir Thomas Lawrence._" + + +"I am now returned from Claremont, my visit to which was agreeable to me in +every respect; both in what regarded myself, my reception, and the complete +success of my professional labours, and in the satisfaction of seeing the +perfect harmony in which this young couple now live, and of observing the +good qualities which promise to make it lasting." + +"The princess is, as you know, wanting in elegance of deportment, but has +nothing of the hoyden or of that boisterous hilarity which has been +ascribed to her: her manner is exceedingly frank and simple, but not rudely +abrupt nor coarse; and I have, in this little residence of nine days, +witnessed undeniable evidence of an honest, just, English nature, that +reminded me, from its immediate decision between the right and wrong of a +subject, and the downrightness of the feeling that governed it, of the good +king, her grandfather. If she does nothing gracefully, she does everything +kindly." + +"She already possesses a great deal of that knowledge of the past history +of this country, that ought to form a part of her peculiar education." + +"It is exceedingly gratifying to see that she both loves and respects +Prince Leopold, whose conduct, indeed, and character, seem justly to +deserve those feelings. From the report of the gentlemen of his household, +he is considerate, benevolent, and just, and of very amiable manners. My +own observation leads me to think, that, in his behaviour to her, he is +affectionate and attentive, rational and discreet; and, in the exercise of +that judgment which is sometimes brought in opposition to some little +thoughtlessness, he is so cheerful and slily humorous, that it is evident +(at least it appears to me so) that she is already more in dread of his +opinion than of his displeasure." + +"Their mode of life is very regular: they breakfast together alone about +eleven: at half-past twelve she came in to sit to me, accompanied by Prince +Leopold, who stayed great part of the time: about three she would leave the +painting-room, to take her airing round the grounds in a low phaeton with +her ponies, the prince always walking by her side; at five she would come +in and sit to me till seven; at six, or before it, he would go out with his +gun to shoot either hares or rabbits, and return about seven or half-past; +soon after which we went to dinner, the prince and princess appearing in +the drawing-room just as it was served up. Soon after the dessert appeared, +the prince and princess retired to the drawing-room, whence we soon heard +the piano accompanying their voices. At his own time, Colonel Addenbrooke, +the chamberlain, proposed our going in, always, as I thought, to disturb +them." + +"After coffee, the card-table was brought, and they sat down to whist, the +young couple being always partners, the others changing. You know _my +superiority_ at whist, and the unfairness of my sitting down with unskilful +players; I therefore did not obey command, and from ignorance of the +_delicacy_ of my motives, am recommended to study Hoyle before my second +visit there next week, which indeed must be a very short one." + +"The prince and princess retire at eleven o'clock." + +We leave out the link in the narrative that connects this pleasant +description with the melancholy scene described in the following (for it is +written in a sad taste) and only add, that the most amiable and beloved of +women died within a month from the date of the above letter. + +"Popular love and the enthusiasm of sorrow, never towards greatness, +perhaps so real, saw in her a promised Elizabeth, and while yet she lived +it was a character which I should sincerely have assigned to her, as that +which she would most nearly have approached: certain I am that she would +have been a true monarch--have loved her people: charity and justice, high +integrity (as I have stated), frankness and humanity, were essentials and +fixed in her character: her mind seemed to have nothing of subtlety or +littleness in it, and she had all the courage of her station." + +"She once said, 'I am a great coward, but I bluster it out like the best of +them till the danger's over.' I was told by one of the members of the +council awaiting her delivery, that Dr. Baillie came in, and said in answer +to some inquiries, 'She's doing very well: she'll not die of fear: she puts +a good Brunswick face upon the matter.' She had a surprisingly quick ear, +which I was pleasantly warned of: whilst playing whist, which being played +for shillings, was not the most silent game I ever witnessed, she would +suddenly reply to something that the baron or I would be talking of, in the +lowest tone, at the end of the room, whilst her companions at the table +were ignorant of the cause of her observations." + +"I have increased respect for the Bishop of Salisbury, because he appeared +to have fully performed his duty in her education. She had, as I have said, +great knowledge of the history of this country, and in the businesses of +life, and a readiness in anecdotes of political parties in former reigns." + +"How often I see her now entering the room (constantly on his arm) with +slow but firm step, always erect--and the small but elegant proportion of +her head to her figure, of course more striking from her situation. Her +features, as you see, were beautifully cut; her clear blue eye, so open, so +like the fearless purity of truth, that the most experienced parasite must +have turned from it when he dared to _lie_." + +"I was stunned by her death: it was an event in the great drama of life. +The return from Elba! Waterloo! St. Helena! Princess Charlotte dead!--I did +not grieve, I have not grieved half enough for her: yet I never think of +her, speak of her, write of her without tears, and have often, when alone, +addressed her in her bliss, as though she now saw me, heard me; and it is +because I respect her for her singleness of worth, and am grateful for her +past and meditated kindness." + +"Her manner of addressing Prince Leopold was always as affectionate as it +was simple--'My love;' and his always, 'Charlotte.' I told you that when we +went in from dinner they were generally sitting at the pianoforte, often on +the same chair. I never heard her play, but the music they had been playing +was always of the finest kind." + +"I was at Claremont, on a call of inquiry, the Saturday before her death. +Her last command to me was, that I should bring down the picture to give to +Prince Leopold upon his birthday, the 16th of the next month. * * *" + +"If I do not make reply to different parts of your letter (always +satisfactory in a correspondence), it is because I fear, having no long +time to write in, that I may lose something by delay, in narrating the +circumstances of my yesterday's visit to Claremont, when I was enabled +through the gracious kindness of my sovereign, to fulfil that promise so +solemnly given and now become so sacred a pledge." + +"It was my wish that Prince Leopold should see the picture on his first +entering the room to his breakfast, and accordingly at seven o'clock I set +off with it in a coach. I got to Claremont, uncovered and placed it in the +room in good time. Before I took it there, I carried it in to Colonel +Addenbrooke, Baron Hardenbroch, and Dr. Short, who had been her tutor. Sir +Robert Gardiner came in, and went out immediately. Dr. Short looked at it +for some time in silence, but I saw his lips trembling, and his eyes filled +to overflowing. He said nothing, but went out; and soon after him Colonel +Addenbrooke. The baron and I then placed the picture in the prince's room." + +"When I returned to take my breakfast, Colonel Addenbrooke came in; he +said, 'I don't know what to make of these fellows; there's Sir Robert +Gardiner swears he can't stay in the room with it: that if he sees it in +one room, he'll go into another.'--Then there's Dr. Short. I said, I +suppose by your going out and saying nothing, you don't like the picture. +'Like it,' he said, (and he was blubbering) ''tis so like her, and so +amiable, that I could not stay in the room.'--More passed on the subject, +not worth detailing. I learnt that the prince was very much overcome by the +sight of the picture, and the train of recollections that it brought with +it. Colonel Addenbrooke went in to the prince, and returning shortly, said, +'The prince desires me to say how much obliged to you he is for this +attention, that he shall always remember it. He said, 'Do you think Sir +Thomas Lawrence would wish to see me? If he would, I shall be very glad to +see him.'--I replied that I thought you would: so if you like, he will see +you whenever you choose, before your departure.' Soon after, I went in to +him. As I passed through the hall, Dr. Short came up to me, (he had +evidently been, and was crying,) and thanked me for having painted such a +picture. 'No one is a better judge than I am, sir,' and he turned away." + +"The prince was looking exceedingly pale; but he received me with calm +firmness, and that low, subdued voice that you know to be the _effort_ at +composure. He spoke at once about the picture and of its value to him more +than to all the world besides. From the beginning to the close of the +interview, he was greatly affected. He checked his first burst of +affection, by adverting to the public loss, and that of the royal family. +'Two generations gone!--gone in a moment! I have felt for myself, but I +have felt for the Prince Regent. My Charlotte is gone from this country--it +has lost her. She was a good, she was an admirable woman. None could know +my Charlotte as I did know her! It was my happiness, my duty to know her +character, but it was my delight.' During a short pause I spoke of the +impression it had made on me. 'Yes, she had a clear, fine understanding, +and very quick--she was candid, she was open, and not suspecting, but she +saw characters at the glance--she read them so true. You saw her; you saw +something of us--you saw us for some _days_--you saw our _year!_ Oh! what +happiness--and it was solid--it could not change, for we knew each +other--except when I went out to shoot, we were together always, and we +_could_ be together--we did not tire.'" + +"I tried to check this current of recollection, that was evidently +overpowering him (as it was me) by a remark on a part of the picture, and +then on its likeness to the youth of the old king. 'Ah! and my child was +like her, for one so young, (as if it had really lived in childhood.) For +one so young it was surprisingly like--the nose, it was higher than +children's are--the mouth, so like hers; so cut (trying to describe its +mouth on his own.) My grief did not think of it, but if I could have had a +drawing of it! She was always thinking of others, not of herself--no one so +little selfish--always looking out for comfort for others. She had been for +hours, for many hours, in great pain--she was in that situation where +selfishness must act if it exists--when _good_ people will be selfish, +because pain makes them so--and my Charlotte was not--any grief could not +make her so! She thought our child was alive; I knew it was not, and I +could not support her mistake. I left the room, for a short time: in my +absence they took courage, and informed her. When she recovered from it, +she said, 'Call in Prince Leopold--there is none can comfort him but me! My +Charlotte, my dear Charlotte! And now, looking at the picture, he said, +Those beautiful hands, that at the last, when she was talking to others +were always looking out for mine!'" + +"I need not tell you my part in this interview; he appeared to rely on my +sharing his thoughts." + + * * * * * + +"Towards the close of our interview, I asked him, 'if the princess at the +_last_ felt her danger?' He said, 'No; my Charlotte thought herself very +ill, but not in danger. And she was so well but an hour and a half after +the delivery!--And she said I should not leave her again--and I should +sleep in that room--and she should have in the sofa bed--and she should +have it where she liked--she herself would have it fixed. She was strong, +and had so much courage, yet once she seemed to fear. You remember she was +affected when you told her that you could not paint my picture just at that +time; but she was much more affected when we were alone--and I told her I +should sit when we went to Marlborough House after her confinement, 'Then,' +she said, 'if you are to sit when you go to town, and after my +confinement--then I may never see that picture.' My Charlotte felt she +never should." + +"More passed in our interview, but not much more--chiefly, my part in it. +At parting he pressed my hand firmly--held it long, I could almost say +affectionately, I had been, by all this conversation, so impressed with +esteem for him, that an attempt to kiss his hand that grasped mine was +resistless, but it was checked on both sides. _I_ but bowed--and he drew my +hand towards him: he then bade me good by, and on leaving the room turned +back to give me a slow parting nod,--and though half blinded myself, I was +struck with the exceeding paleness of his look across the room. His bodily +health, its youthfulness cannot sink under this heaviest affliction! And +his mind is rational; but when _thus_ leaving the room, his tall dark +figure, pale lace, and solemn manner, for the moment, looked a melancholy +presage." + +"I know that your good-nature will forgive my not answering your letter in +detail, since I have refrained from it but to give you this narration of +beings so estimable, so happy, and so parted." + +"Prince Leopold's voice is of very fine tone, and gentle; and its +articulation exceedingly clear, accurate, and impressive, without the +slightest affectation. You know that sort of reasoning emphasis of manner +with which the tongue conveys whatever deeply interests the mind. His 'My +Charlotte!' is affecting; he does not pronounce it as 'Me Charlotte,' but +very simply and evenly, '_My_ Charlotte.'" + + * * * * * + + + +NOTES OF A READER. + + + + +KNOWLEDGE FOR THE PEOPLE. + +Part VII.--_Mechanics._ + + +We quote a few articles from the Introductory portion, illustrating the +general principles of Mechanical agencies. + +Why are we said to know of nothing which is absolutely at rest? + +Because the earth is whirling round its axis, and round the sun; the sun is +moving round his axis, and round the centre of gravity of the solar system; +and, doubtless, round some more remote centre in the great universe, +carrying all his planets and comets about his path. One of the grand laws +of nature is, that all bodies persevere in their present state, whether of +motion or rest, unless disturbed by some foreign power. Motion, therefore, +once began, would be continued for ever, were it to meet with no +interruption from external causes, such as the power of gravity, the +resistance of the medium, &c. Dr. Arnott adduces several familiar +illustrations of motions and forces. Thus, all falling and pressing bodies +exhibit _attraction_ in its simplest form. _Repulsion_ is instanced in +explosion, steam, the action of springs, &c. Explosion of gunpowder is +repulsion among the particles when assuming the form of air. Steam, by the +repulsion among its particles, moves the piston of the steam-engine. All +elasticity, as seen in springs, collision, &c. belongs chiefly to +repulsion. A spring is often, as it were, a reservoir of force, kept ready +charged for a purpose; as when a gun-lock is cocked, a watch wound up, &c. + +Why does a billiard ball stop when it strikes directly another ball of +equal size, and the second ball proceed with the whole velocity which the +first had? + +Because the action which imparts the new motion is equal to the re-action +which destroys the old. Although the transference of motion, in such a +case, seems to be instantaneous, the change is really progressive, and is +as follows:--The approaching ball, at a certain point of time, has just +given half of its motion to the other equal ball; and if both were of soft +clay, they would then proceed together with half the original velocity; +but, as they are elastic, the touching parts at the moment supposed, are +compressed like a spring between the balls; and by their expanding, and +exerting force equally both ways, they double the velocity of the foremost +ball, and destroy altogether the motion in the other. + +Why does a walking stick help a man on a journey? + +Because he pushes against the ground with the stick, which may be +considered as compressing a spring between the earth and the end of his +stick, which spring is therefore pushing up as much as he pushes down; and +if, at the time, he were balanced in the scales of a weighing beam, he +would find that he weighed just as much less as he were pressing with his +stick. + +Why is sea-sickness produced on shipboard? + +Because man, strictly to maintain his perpendicularity, that is, to keep +the centre of gravity always over the support of his body, requires +standards of comparison, which he obtains chiefly by the perpendicularity +or known position of things about him, as on land; but on shipboard, where +the lines of the masts, windows, furniture, &c. are constantly changing, +his standards of comparison are soon lost or disturbed. Hence, also, the +reason why persons unaccustomed to the motion of a ship, often find relief +by keeping their eyes directed to the fixed shore, where it is visible, or +by lying on their backs, and shutting their eyes; and, on the other hand, +the ill-effects of looking over the side of the vessel at the restless +waves of the sea. + +Why is the pendulum a time-keeper? + +Because the times of the vibrations are very nearly equal, whether it be +moving much or little; that is to say, whether the arc described by it be +large or small. A common clock is merely a pendulum, with wheel-work +attached to it, to record the number of the vibrations; and with a weight +or spring, having force enough to counteract the retarding effects of +friction and the resistance of the air. The wheels show how many swings or +beats of the pendulum have taken place, because at every beat, a tooth of +the last wheel is allowed to pass. Now, if this wheel has sixty teeth, as +is common, it will just turn round once for sixty beats of the pendulum, or +seconds; and a hand fixed on its axis, projecting through the dial-plate, +will be the second hand of the clock. The other wheels are so connected +with this first, and the numbers of the teeth on them so proportioned, that +one turns sixty times slower than the first, to fit its axis to carry a +minute hand; and another, by moving twelve times slower still, is fitted to +carry an hour-hand.--_Arnott._ + +Why do clocks denote the progress of time? + +Because they count the oscillations of a pendulum; and by that peculiar +property of the pendulum, that one vibration commences exactly where the +last terminates, no part of time is lost or gained in the juxtaposition (or +putting together) of the units so counted, so that the precise fractional +part of a day can be ascertained, which each such unit measures. The origin +of the pendulum is traced to Galileo's observation of a hanging lamp in a +church at Pisa continuing to vibrate long and with singular uniformity, +after any accidental cause of disturbance. Hence he was led to investigate +the laws of the phenomenon, and out of what, in some shape or other, had +been before men's eyes from the beginning of the world, his powerful genius +extracted the most important results. The invention of pendulum clocks took +place about the middle of the seventeenth century; and the honour of the +discovery is disputed between Galileo and Huygens. Becher contends for +Galileo, and states that one Trifler made the first pendulum clock at +Florence, under the direction of Galileo Galilei, and that a model of it +was sent to Holland. The Accademia del Cimento also expressly declared, +that the application of the pendulum to the movement of a clock, was first +proposed by Galileo, and put in practice by his son, Vincenzo Galileo, in +1649. Huygens, however, contests the priority, and made a pendulum clock +before 1658; and he insists, that if ever Galileo had entertained such an +idea, he never brought it to perfection. Beckmann says the first pendulum +clock made in England, was constructed in the year 1662, by one Tromantil, +a Dutchman; but Grignon affirms that the first pendulum clock was made in +England, by Robert Harris, in 1641, and erected in Inigo Jones's church of +St. Paul, Covent-garden. + +Why does the pendulum move faster in proportion as its journey is longer? + +Because, in proportion as the arc described is more extended, the steeper +are its beginning and ending; and the more rapidly, therefore, the pendulum +falls down at first, sweeps along the intermediate space, and stops at +last.--_Arnott._ + +Why is it extremely difficult to ascertain the exact length of the +pendulum? + +Because of the various expansion of metals, respecting which no two +pyrometers agree; the changeable nature of the atmosphere; the uncertainty +as to the true level of the sea; the extreme difficulty of measuring +accurately the distance between the point of suspension and the centre of +oscillation, and even of finding that centre; also the variety of +terrestrial attraction, from which cause the motions of the pendulum are +also liable to variation, even in the same latitude. In pursuing his +researches, Capt. Kater discovered that the motions of the pendulum are +affected by the nature of the strata over which it vibrates. + +Why is the iron rim of a coach wheel heated before putting on? + +Because the expansion of the metal occasioned by the heat, facilitates the +operation of putting on the iron, while the contraction which follows, +brings the joints of the wooden part together; and thus, binding the whole, +gives great strength to the wheel. + +Why does a bottle of fresh water, corked and let down 30 or 40 feet into +the sea, often come up again with the water saltish, although the cork be +still in its place? + +Because the cork, when far down, is so squeezed as to allow the water to +pass in or out by its sides, but on rising, it resumes its former size. + +Why do bubbles rise on a cup of tea when a lump of sugar is dropped into +it? + +Because the sugar is porous, and the air which filled its pores then +escapes to the surface of the tea, and the liquid takes its place. + +Why is there an opening in the centre of the upper stone of a corn mill? + +Because through this opening the grain is admitted and kept turning round +between the stones, and is always tending and travelling outwards, until it +escapes as flour from the circumference. + +Why does water remain in a vessel which is placed in a sling and made to +describe a circle? + +Because the water, by its inertia of straightness, or centrifugal (or +centre-flying) force, tends more away from the centre of motion towards the +bottom of the vessel, than towards the earth by gravity. + +Why does a young quadruped walk much sooner than a child? + +Because a body is tottering in proportion to its great altitude and narrow +base. Now, the child has this latter, and learns to walk but slowly, +because of the difficulty, perhaps in ten or twelve months, while the young +of quadrupeds, having a broad supporting base, are able to stand, and even +to move about almost immediately; but it is the noble prerogative of man to +be able to support his towering figure with great firmness, on a very +narrow base, and under constant change of attitude.--_Arnott._ + + * * * * * + + + +FINE ARTS. + + + + +THE ROYAL ACADEMY. + +(_From a Correspondent._) + + +The exhibition of works of art in the Royal Academy this year is equal to +any preceding, except in the department of portraiture; nor is this +deficiency by any means extraordinary, when we consider the severe loss the +arts have sustained by the death of Sir Thomas Lawrence. We much regret +that, out of one thousand two hundred and thirty-four productions, we can +only enumerate a very small number for want of space: + +No. 11. _Dutch Coast_--very fine and transparent in the colouring; painted +by A. W. Callcott, R. A. + +16. _A Subject from the Winter's Tale_--good. W. H. Worthington. + +55. _Progress of Civilization_--painted for the Mechanics' Institute at +Hull. This work is admirably conceived, and reflects great credit on the +talents of Mr. H. P. Briggs. + +56. _Mary Queen of Scots meeting the Earl of Bothwell between Stirling and +Edinburgh._ Mr. Cooper has treated this subject with his usual care, and +appears to have delineated the costume very accurately. The horses are +spirited, and finely executed. + +62. _Portrait of Lady Lyndhurst_--painted very much in the manner of +Rembrandt, by D. Wilkie, R. A. + +65 and 66. _Portraits of their Majesties_--painted for the Corporation of +the Trinity House, by Sir William Beechy. + +78. _An Italian Family_, by C. L. Eastlake, is an interesting picture, and +extremely rich in colour. + +79. _The Maid of Judith waiting outside the tent of Holofernes, till her +Mistress had consummated the deed that delivered her country from its +invaders:_ a wonderful production, by Etty. + +84. _Scene near Hastings._ Rev. T. J. Judkin. + +86. _Interior of a Highlander's House_--very fine. Edwin Landseer. + +105. _Portrait of Miss Eliza Cooper_--a chaste and highly-finished +production, by Sir M. A. Shee. + +Messrs. Pickersgill, Turner, Reinagle, Hilton, Newton, Constable, Good, +Daniell, Clint, Kidd, Howard, Phillips, and Elford, have also some +excellent pictures in the exhibition. + +_May_ 14, 1831. + +G. W. N. + + * * * * * + + + +SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS + + + + +BILLINGTON. + + +(Print her name in grand capitals, Mr. Compositor)--Billington returned +from Italy! My father, who remembered, I suspect, the beautiful woman more +than the accomplished singer, determined to hear again her _Mandane_; and +sorely against my will, I rather think to prevent the chance of my doing +mischief at home, forced me to go along with him. With listless and +unwilling ears I listened to her and Mrs. Mountain, that second best of +English singers throughout "Fair Aurora." Gradually, however, and +involuntarily, I became pleased, interested, delighted; and when the +encored "Soldier tired" was ended, had I but possessed so much Italian, +"Sono anch'io Cantatore" would have burst from my lips with as much fervour +and devotedness of resolution as the "Sono anch'io Pittore" of the artist. +From this moment never had I three shillings and sixpence in my pocket, and +either Billington's or Braham's name in the bills of the night, that I was +not to be seen planted in the front row of the pit, looking over the +leader's book, and taking the only lessons I ever received in music. The +opera over, no farce, however laughable, not even the "Turnpike Gate" with +Joe Munden's _Crack_, had the power to detain me in the house.--My time of +_imitation_ was arrived, and I sallied forth to alarm watchmen with the +last division of the "Soldier tired," affront my friends by saluting them +with "Adieu thou dreary pile," or annoy my father with shouting "The +Austrian trumpet's loud alarms" at a moment when, with all the fervour of +true John Bull anti-gallicanism, he was lamenting over Ulm and Austerlitz; +execrating Mack, pitying Francis and Alexander, and cursing the victorious +Napoleon by all his gods.--_Harmonicon_, No. 41. + + * * * * * + + +SUFFICING REASONS FOR SHAKING. + + +At a charity concert, given some time since in the sister island, one of +the reverend directors, or stewards, was shocked at a long shake made by a +juvenile chorister in the passage "and they were sore afraid" in the +_Messiah_, and remonstrated with the boy's instructor on the impropriety of +such an ornament to such words. + +"And is it in regard to the shake you'd be spaking, sir?" replied the +master. "Sure and if ye were sore afraid yourself, would not ye be shaking? +Ay, I'll be your bail that you would, and shaking in your shoes too! Plase +to leave me and my pupil alone: many a one will be coming to-morrow twenty +and thirty miles, every inch of it, to hear Master ---- sing, that would +not step out twenty yards to hear you prache."--_Ibid._ + + * * * * * + + +CALCULATING NOTES.--PAGANINI. + + +Stephen Storace had a remarkably good head for figures. When a boy, his +passion for calculation was beyond all belief. Michael Kelly says, he has +been known to multiply four figures by four figures, by memory, in three +minutes. When young, Kelly tells us, Storace was so astonished that fifty +guineas should be paid for _singing a song_, that he counted the notes in +it, and calculated the amount of each at 4s. 10d. + +This passion for calculating the value of notes (musical ones) has seized a +Parisian dilettante, who, according to the _Furet de Londres_, has been +fixing the price of every note and rest in certain pieces played by +Paganini recently, at a concert given at the Opera at Paris, which produced +him 16,500 francs. The following is the result:--He performed, during the +evening, three pieces, each occupying five pages of music, of about 91 bars +to the page. The fifteen pages thus contained 1,365 bars, by which the +16,500 francs are to be divided. The quotient will be 12 francs for each +bar, or the proportions will be as follows:--For a semibreve, 12f.; a minim +6f.; a crotchet, 3f.; a quaver, 1f. 50c.; a semiquaver, 15 sous; a +demisemiquaver, 7-1/2 sous. And, on the other hand, for a minim rest, 6f.; +a crotchet rest, 3f.; &c. There would still remain out of the 16,500 +francs, 420, which is exactly the price of such a violin as the +Conservatory awards as a prize to its most distinguished pupils. + +All this may be play to Paganini, but destruction to less fortunate +musicians, for he swallows up all that would otherwise be distributed among +many. An English violinist must work many long laborious days and nights +before he can _scrape_ together six hundred and eighty-seven pounds +sterling--the sum, it seems, which the lucky Italian gets by a single +concert!--_Ibid._ + + * * * * * + + + +THE SELECTOR AND LITERARY NOTICES OF _NEW WORKS_. + + + + +FREEMASONRY. + + +In a neat volume, called _The Freemasons' Pocket Companion_, of size to fit +the waistcoat pocket, we find the following brief sketch of the History of +Freemasonry in England. This little Manual is "By a Brother of the Apollo +Lodge, 711, Oxford," who acknowledges his obligation to Oliver and Preston, +an article on Masonry, in the Encyclopædia Britannica, &c.:-- + +In Britain, we are informed that St. Alban, the first martyr for +Christianity in this country, was a great patron of the masons, and +procured leave from the King or Emperor Carausius for a general meeting or +assembly to be held by them, and higher wages to be given them. But we have +no good reason, I think, to believe that these masons had much connexion +with our fraternity, nor that freemasonry was introduced into Britain +before the time of St. Austin, who, with forty more monks, among whom the +sciences were preserved, was commissioned by Pope Gregory to baptize +Ethelbert, King of Kent. About this time appeared those trading +associations of architects who travelled over Europe, patronised by the See +of Rome. The difficulty of obtaining expert workmen for the many pious +works raised at that time in honour of religion, made it prudent to +encourage, by peculiar privileges, those bodies of men, who had devoted +themselves to the study and practice of architecture. Accordingly they were +allowed to have their own government without opposition, and no others were +permitted to work on any building with which they were concerned. They were +under regular command, divided into lodges, with a master and wardens in +each, and dwelt in an encampment near the building they were employed to +erect. + +It is not in my power to trace the progress of these lodges of masons in +any connected history, but I will proceed with the accounts we have of the +masons in England from the time of St. Austin. By them the old cathedral of +Canterbury was built, in 600; St. Paul's, London, 604; and St. Peter's, +Westminster, 605; with many others. In the year 680 some more expert +brethren from France were formed into a lodge, under the direction of +Bennet, Abbot of Wirral, who was appointed superintendent of the masons by +Kinred, King of Mercia. From this time, however, little is known of the +fraternity, until the year 856, when St. Swithin was the superintendent, +appointed by Ethelwolf; from which time it gradually improved till the year +872, when King Alfred took the command of it. Upon his death, in 900, when +Edward succeeded to the throne, and Ethred, Prince of Mercia, patronised +the society, Edward was succeeded, in 924, by his son, Athelstan, whose +brother, Edwin, procured from the king a charter for the masons, by which +they were empowered to meet annually in a general assembly, and to have +power to regulate their own order. And, according to this charter, the +first grand lodge of England met at York, in 926. But here it is to be +remarked that the grand lodge is not to be understood as the same in those +times that it is now; it was not then restricted to the masters and wardens +of private lodges, but was open to as many of the fraternity as could +attend: for, until late years, the grand lodge as now constituted did not +exist, but there was but one family of masons; and any sufficient number of +masons met together, with the consent of the civil magistrate, to practise +the rites of masonry, without warrant of constitution as a lodge. + +On the death of Prince Edwin, Athelstan himself presided over the lodges; +but after his decease, we know little of the state of the masons in +Britain, except that they were governed by Dunstan, Archbishop of +Canterbury, in 960, and Edward the Confessor in 1041. But in 1066, William +the Conqueror appointed Gondulph, Bishop of Rochester, to preside over the +society. In 1100, Henry the First patronised them; and in 1135, during the +reign of Stephen, the society was under the command of Gilbert de Clare, +Marquess of Pembroke. + +From the year 1155 to 1199, the fraternity was under the command of the +grand master of the knights templars. + +In 1199, Peter de Colechurch was appointed grand master; and the society +continued to increase and flourish in the successive reigns of Henry III., +Edward I., Edward II., and Edward III. This last prince revised the +constitutions of the order, and appointed deputies to superintend the +fraternity, one of whom was William à Wykeham, afterwards Bishop of +Winchester. He continued grand master under the reign of Richard II.; was +succeeded by Thomas Fitz Allen, Earl of Surrey, in Henry IV.'s reign; and +on Henry V.'s accession, Chichely, Archbishop of Canterbury, presided over +the society. We have records of a lodge held at Canterbury, under his +patronage, where Thos. Stapylton was master, and the names of the wardens +and other brethren are given. This was in 1429, four years after an act of +parliament, passed early in the reign of Henry VI., against the meetings of +the society, which was caused by the enmity of Cardinal Beaufort, Bishop of +Winchester, towards Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, the king's uncle, a great +patron of the craft. But this act was never enforced, and in 1442 the king +was himself initiated, and he patronised the society. + +In the meantime, under the auspices of James I. of Scotland, masonry +flourished in that country. It had been nursed, during the wars which +ravaged Europe, in the humble village of Kilwinning, in the west of the +country; from whence it at length burst forth, and communicated its light +to the lodges in the south. The records of this lodge actually go back to +the beginning of the fifteenth century, as also do those of a lodge in or +near Edinburgh. And about this time the Scottish king appointed a fee to be +paid by every master to the grand master, who was chosen by the grand +lodge. James II. of Scotland made the grand mastership hereditary, and +conferred it on the St. Clairs of Roslin, in which family it continued till +1736, when the then representative of the family, being old and childless, +resigned it into the hands of the grand lodge, then first established on +its present footing, by whom he was re-elected grand master for life. + +During the civil wars in England masonry declined; but on the accession of +Henry VII., in 1485, it revived again, under the patronage of the grand +master of the order of St. John, at Rhodes, who, in 1500, chose King Henry +their protector. In 1502 this king presided in person in a lodge of master +masons, and proceeded in ample form to lay the foundation of the chapel, at +the east end of Westminster Abbey, which bears his name. + +The fraternity continued to flourish in the next reigns; and in the reign +of Elizabeth, about 1550, Sir Thos. Sackville, then grand master, assembled +the general lodge at York, which is said to have roused the jealousy of the +queen; and she intended to break up the meeting, but being informed that +they did not meddle with politics, she withdrew her orders, and permitted +them to meet unmolested. Sackville was succeeded by Sir Thomas Gresham, in +the south, who built the Royal Exchange, and by Francis Russell, Earl of +Bedford, in the north. + +Masonry continued to flourish in the next reign, under Inigo Jones, as +grand master, till 1618, when the Earl of Pembroke succeeded him; and after +some more changes, Jones again was elected, and continued to preside till +his death, in 1646. But the civil war again obstructed the progress of the +order, until the Restoration, when it revived under the auspices of Charles +II. + +In 1663, the Earl of St. Alban's was elected grand master, who appointed +Mr. (afterwards Sir Christopher) Wren his deputy; which office he held +until 1685, when he was himself appointed to the grand chair. During his +deputy-ship he erected many noble buildings, particularly the cathedral of +St. Paul's. + +The short reign of James II. was not favourable to the order of masons; nor +did it begin again to revive for many years. King William III. was +initiated privately in 1695, and approved the choice of Sir Christopher +Wren as grand master; but shortly after, and during the whole reign of +Queen Anne, the society decreased gradually, for the grand master's age +prevented his attending regularly, and the annual feasts were neglected. + +On the accession, therefore, of Geo. I. the masons in London determined to +revive, if possible, the grand lodge and the communications of the society +under a new grand master, Sir Christopher Wren being dead. In February, +1717, accordingly, the only four lodges then existing in London met, and +voting the oldest master mason, constituted themselves a grand lodge; and +on St. John Baptist's day, meeting again, they elected Anthony Sayer, Esq., +grand master, and he was regularly installed by the grand master who had +before been voted into the chair. + +Mr. Sayer was succeeded by George Payne, Esq., in 1718, who collected all +the records of the society--by which means some copies of the old Gothic +constitutions were produced and arranged. In 1719, Dr. Desaguliers was +grand master, and by his activity the order made great progress; and at the +feast of his installation, the custom of drinking healths was first +introduced. In the next, year, under Mr. Payne again, the fraternity +sustained a great loss by the burning of some valuable manuscripts, by some +too scrupulous brethren; and next year, the Duke of Montague was proposed +for, and accepted the chair of grand master. + + * * * * * + +In 1726, the masons of Wales attached themselves to the grand lodge of +England, and the office of provincial master was instituted soon after. The +Society was introduced into India in 1728, and the grand lodge of America +constituted, by warrant from London, in 1735; and that of Holland, at +Hamburgh, in the same year. In 1738, the Book of Constitutions was +published; the grand lodge of Prussia constituted under the Scotch +constitution, and has ever since flourished in that country; and in 1774, +the grand lodge of Antigua was established, by warrant from the grand lodge +of England. + +Correspondence was opened with the grand lodge of France in 1768; with that +of Holland in 1770; and that of Berlin in 1776. On the 1st of May, 1775, +the foundation-stone of the Freemasons' Hall was laid; and the building was +opened and dedicated in solemn form on the 23rd of May, 1776, Lord Petre +being then grand master. + +In 1779, a correspondence was established with the grand lodge of Germany; +and in 1782 an attempt was made to open one with those of Scotland and +Ireland. This was not then effected; but in 1803 explanations were made to +the grand lodge of Scotland regarding the schism in England; in consequence +of which, two years after, the wished for union was accomplished; and in +1808 the same gratifying proposals were made from Ireland, and accepted +with cordiality. Meantime, the same brotherly communication had been +instituted with Sweden in 1799, and Prussia in 1805. + +While these friendly communications with foreign brethren were going on, +masonic benevolence, ever privately exercised, had made a public exertion +in favour of the children of deceased brethren at home, in the +establishment of the charity for female children, in 1788; of the masonic +society for the relief of sick, lame, or distressed brethren, and their +widows, children, or orphans, in 1799. In the year 1816 freemasonry was +revived in Russia, under the patronage of the emperor, and communications +forwarded from the grand lodge at St. Petersburgh to that in London. + + * * * * * + + + +MANNERS & CUSTOMS OF ALL NATIONS. + + + + +WATER AT SHAFTESBURY. + + +Motcomb, half a mile north from Shaftesbury, is noted for containing the +wells from which the inhabitants of Shaftesbury are supplied with water. +Great numbers of the inhabitants get their living by carrying water, for +which they have three halfpence or twopence the horse load. On this account +there is a particular custom yearly observed, according to ancient +agreement, dated 1662, between the Lord of the Manor of Gillingham, and the +Mayor and Burgesses of Shaftesbury. The Mayor is obliged, the Monday before +Holy Thursday, to dress up a prize bezon, or bizant, somewhat like a May +garland in form, with gold and peacocks' feathers, and carry to Enmori +Green, half a mile below the town in Motcomb, as an acknowledgment for the +water, together with a raw calf's head, a pair of gloves, a gallon of beer +or ale, and two penny loaves of white wheaten bread, which the steward +receives and carries away for his own use. The ceremony being over, the +bizant is restored to the Mayor, and brought back by one of his officers +with great solemnity. This bizant is generally so richly adorned with plate +and jewels, borrowed from the neighbouring gentry, as to be worth not less +than £1,500. + +C. D. + + * * * * * + + +TRINITY TERM ENDS 11th JUNE. + +(_For the Mirror._) + + +"On this day," says Brady, in his _Calendaria_, "Trinity Term ends; and +immediately on the rising of the Court, commences that cessation from legal +business emphatically denominated the 'long vacation,' or that space which +our ancestors have wisely left undisturbed by law concerns, that the people +may be the better able to attend to the different harvests throughout the +kingdom. Thus the activity and bustle of the Inns of Court suddenly subside +into a want of occupation, not unaptly displayed in the following anonymous +parody:--" + + "My lord now quits his venerable seat, + The six clerk on his padlock turns the key, + From business hurries to his snug retreat, + And leaves vacation and the town to me." + + "Now all is hush'd--asleep the eye of care-- + And Lincoln's Inn a solemn stillness holds, + Save where the porter whistles o'er the square, + Or our dog barks, or basket-woman scolds:" + + "Save that from yonder pump and dusty stair + The moping shoe-black and the laundrymaid + Complain of such as from the town repair, + And leave their little quarterage unpaid." + +H. B. A. + + * * * * * + + + +SPIRIT OF DISCOVERY. + + + + +THE RIVER NIGER. + + +A Second Edition of the _Literary Gazette_ of Saturday last enables us to +lay before our readers the following important discovery:-- + +"We have the gratification to state, that the great question respecting the +course of the Niger, which has puzzled geography and literature for many +centuries, has at last been determined by British courage and perseverance. +We have just received the annexed letter from our esteemed and intelligent +friend, Mr. Fisher, surgeon of the Atholl, well known to the world for his +own interesting voyages and travels; and we lose no time in communicating +the important information to the public, through the pages of the _Literary +Gazette_." + + "His Majesty's Ship Atholl, at Sea, Bight of Biafra, Feb. 2, 1831." + +"Dear Sir,--I take the opportunity of writing you a few lines, by a vessel +that we have just now met on her way to England. My object in writing in +this hasty manner is to acquaint you that the grand geographical problem +respecting the termination of the Niger is at length solved." + +"The Landers, after having reached Youri, embarked in a canoe on the Niger, +or, as it is called there, the Quarra, and came down the stream until they +reached the sea, in the Bight of Biafra. The branch by which they came to +the coast is called the Nun, or Brasse River, being the first river to the +eastward of Cape Formosa. On their way down the river they were attacked by +the Hibboos (a fierce nation that inhabit its banks), and made prisoners, +or rather captives; but the King of Brasse happening to be in that country +buying slaves, got them released, by giving the price of six slaves for +each of them. In the scuffle that ensued at the time they were taken, one +of them lost his journal." + +"Whilst at Youri they got the Prayerbook that belonged to Mr. Anderson, the +brother-in-law and fellow-traveller of the celebrated Mungo Park. They were +upwards of a month at Fernando Po, whence they embarked, about ten days +ago, in an English merchant-vessel bound to Rio Janeiro, on their way to +England. From their taking that circuitous route, I am in hopes that this +will reach you before they arrive, by which you will probably have it in +your power to give the first news of this important discovery." + +"I do not recollect of any thing else to acquaint you with that is worthy +of notice; and even if I did, I have no time to mention it, as the boat by +which I send this (to the vessel) is just this moment ordered away." + +"I must therefore bid you adieu for the present; and believe me, dear sir, +yours very sincerely." + +"ALEXANDER FISHER." + + * * * * * + + + +THE GATHERER. + + A snapper up of unconsidered trifles. + +SHAKSPEARE. + + * * * * * + + +EPITAPH + + _On a Porter who died suddenly under a load._ + + + Pack'd up within these dark abodes, + Lies one, in life inur'd to loads, + Which oft he carried 'tis well known, + Till Death pass'd by and threw him down; + When he that carried loads before, + Became a load which others bore + To this his inn--where, as they say, + They leave him till another day. + + * * * * * + + +ROYAL OATHS. + + +In former times sovereign princes had their favourite oaths, which they +made use of on all occasions when their feelings or passions were excited. +The oaths of the English monarchs are on record, and a list of them might +easily be made, by having recourse to the ancient writers of our history, +from the conquest to the reign of Elizabeth, who did not scruple, _pia +regina, et bona mater_, of the Church of England as she was, to swear by +"_God's wounds_," an oath issuing at this time frequently from vulgar +mouths, but softened down to "_zounds_." + +Brantome, who lived in the court of Francis the First, contemporary with +Henry the Eighth of England, has recorded the oaths of four succeeding +monarchs immediately preceding his time. He tells us that Louis the +Eleventh swore by "_God's Easter;_" Charles the Eighth, by "_God's light;_" +Louis the Twelfth used an oath, still common among the French rabble, "_The +Devil take me;_" but the oath of Francis the First was polished enough for +the present day: it was, "_On the word of a gentleman_." + +K----ll, Norfolk. + +C. H. B. + + * * * * * + +Printed and Published by J. LIMBIRD, 143, Strand, (near Somerset House,) +London; sold by ERNEST FLEISCHER, 626, New Market, Leipsic; G. G. BENNIS, +55, Rue Neuve, St. Augustin. Paris; and by all Newsmen and Booksellers. + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 13935 *** |