will foon appear, and fill the eye with wanton variety: but the evening clofing upon us unawares, every gay anticipated object is gradually veiled in the fhades of night. RUBEN D'MOUNDT. To the Author of the Obfervations on WARTON, and of the Remarks on the laft Edition of SHAKSPEARE. (Concluded from p. 589.) nutely relates the confiderable events HE very beautiful remark which both contemporary with the facts they Griffith, Men's ill deeds live in brafs, their good We write on water, has, I believe, obtained univerfal ad. miration but I fufpect the thought to be borrowed. The Latin proverb, • Scribit in marmore læfus,' which you quote from the margin of Sir John Harrington's verfion of Ariofto, in part fupplics the idea. The following little poem of Catullus, which I do not remember to have feen compared with the above paffage of Shakspeare, or the fimilarity of the thought remarked, will, I think, fupply the other: De inconftantiâ feminei amoris. Nulli fe dicit mulier mea nubere malle, Quam mihi: non fi fe Juppiter ipfe petat. Dicit: fed mulier cupido quæ dicit amanti, In vento, et rapidâ feribere oportet aquâ. I do not however fufpect that Shakfpeare borrowed the beautiful thought from either of thefe fources; for 1 well remember to have read (and I think it was in fome ancient English hiftorian) a paffage from which I then thought, and still believe, the beautiful remark of the poet to be an exact copy. 1 perfectly agree with you, that the embally of Warwick to the court of France to demand the Lady Bona, and the confequent breach between him and Edward the Fourth, though they have been long received as hiftorical facts, are of doubtful authority. I think that if fuch a remarkable event as the first had happened, fome traces of it might have been found in "honcft" Philip, de Comines, as Mr. Walpole calls him, an epithet which muft, I fear, be reftricted to the fidelity of his writings. Warwick's embaffy is faid to have been in 1464; the King s marriage with the Lady Grey was in February 1465. Now I am aware that De Comincs does not commence his memoirs till the close of 1464; yet as the King's marriage did not take place till the beginning of the following year, and as De Comines mi no traces of this event are to be found, In the Obfervations, p. 17, you re- Now let me feriously ak you, Whether fuch a mistake could proceed from any thing but accident? And does that deferve the illiberal language, and the-difhoneft infinuations, you beftow upon it? In the hafte of compofition, and in the languor of tranferibing, many ftrange inaccuracies may fall from the pen of the ableft writer; and fome of the beft works which this nation has produced have, in their first the cafual errors of the pen or the prefs. appearance, been much deformed by In enumerating the battles that were fought between the Houfes of York and Lancaster, after telling us that the battle of Wakefield was on Dec 30, 1460, you fay, that the two fubfequent battles were alfo fought in the fame year; and that the last of them (the 2d battle of St. Alban's) was on Feb. 17, 1460. In cafting my eye over the paffage, I plainly faw that the date of there two laft battles thould have been writen 1461 (or rather 1466-61); and I corrected the trivial error with my pen. Would it not have been more libera you to have done thus with the paffage refpecting Francis the Fift, who ca ture by the army of the Emperor before the walls of Pavia is an event not unknown to the commoneft clafs of read. ers? There was no moral turpitude, or evil tendency, in the error, fo that your manner of noticing it manifefts not a defire to correct, but a luft of calumny. r Mr. Warton has remarked, thas "Leo the Xth, whilft he was pouring his anathemas against the huctical doctrines of Martin Luthe, pub lished Lifhed a bull of excommunication against all thofe who fhould dare to cenfure the Poems of Ariofo." Upon this pallage, you fay, that every body would be glad to learn where he picked up this curious piece of fecret history," and, addreffing Mr. W. with fome grofs and contemptuous expreffions, add, "What will the world think of you, if this famous bull fhould appear to be (as it certainly is) no more than a common licence to Ariofto or his book feller, to print and publish the Furiofo within the papal dominions for a certain number of years, prohibiting every o ther perfon from printing or publifhing it within that term?" And you then elegantly add, this difcovery will, I doubt not, Mr. W. go near to turn your bull into a calf." I by no means pretend to decide on this queftion with the certainty that you do; it is a fubject on which much may be faid on both fides: my only intention is, to vindicate Mr. Warton from having adopted this information on flight and queftionable authority. You feem to think he ftole it from Voltaire, in whofe "Queftions fur l'Encyclopedie" it may be found. I believe, however, you are mistaken; for I am of opinion, that I can direct you to the very place whence he took it. Bayle (Art. Leo X) relates this circumftance, and quotes the following paffage from David Blondel's "Liberty of Confcience," a little book which he oppofed to the bull of Innocent X. "Almoft at the fame time he (Leo X.) thundered out his anathenas agama Martin Luther, he was not afhan.ed to publish a bull in favour of the prophane poems of Lewis Ariofto, threatening them with excommunication who found fault with them, or hindered the profit of the printer." It has been the common argument of those who do not admit the truth of this ftory, that it was invented by the Proreftants to difgrace the Popedom: this reflection cannot be caft on David Blondel by those who are acquainted with his character and writings. He was indeed a Proteftant; but his mind was fuperior to thofe narrow prejudices which too often difgraced the caily reformers: and it is not very probable, that he, who wrote the able refutation of the ftory of Pope Joan, would relate circumfiance of doubtful authority to difcredit the Holy See. In p. 43 of the Obfervations on Warton, you speak of Beatrice's allufion to the "Hundred merry tales." I am jaclined to believe that Mr. Steevens "does confound them with another work," for I apprehend that the tales alluded to are, Cent Nouvelles Nouvelles," which were compofed (not I think by any of the royal family of France) for the amufement of the Dauphin, afterwards Lewis XI. during his refidence at Genep, in the dominions of the Duke of Burgundy. When you again invite the attention of the public, let me perfuade you to remark with candour, and to correct with temper; for if you continue to launch your criticifm with that vindictive rancour which you have hitherto done, it will still continue to be "Telum imbelle, fine ictu." In your laft publication, fpeaking of Dr. Johnfon's Dictionary, that noble and excellent work, which merits the praife and gratitude of every Englishman, you obferve, "that there are fcarce ten words rightly deduced in the whole work." This is not criticifin, it is malice. As you are about to undertake a confiderable work, I would fuggest to you a method fomewhat fimilar to Dryden's of preparing himself for writing. Endeavour to purify your mind from grofs humours and offending matter, and I am well affured, that the falutary effects of my prefcription will appear in your promited edition of Shakspeare. I will add one word more on your religious opinions. In your future publication of our admirable poet, let me exhort you to forbear any mention of Chriftianity, for, to ufe an expreffion of your own," it is not germane to the object of thofe fheets." If you are de termined to make an attack on it, let it be the fubject of a feparate work; and there will not be wanting men of ability to meet you on that ground, and to confute your errors with that honeft candour which becomes the defenders of Christianity. W. J. P. S. An annotator on my former letter fays, that I am mistaken in afferting that Charles the Bald left but one daughter; for which however I had the authority of P. Daniel, Mezeray, and Henault. Velley and Anderfon, he fays, reprefent the matter differently. I grant it, yet with fubmiffion to him, my affcrtion was not a mistake. Yet if it were certainly true that Charles the Bald left three daughters, two of whom were married and had ifuc, there is, I think, more probability in my fuppofi tion. If Velley does fay that the family of Charlemagne ended in Lewis V. he muft not be believed, for St. Lewis was maternally defcended from it. I have fhewn the defcent of his grandmother Queen Ifabell from Lewis the Tranfmarine, who was the lineal defcendant of Charlemagne. The male line did indeed end with Lewis V. MR. URBAN, Berks, Sept. 10. SHOULD efteem it a particular favour if any Oedipus would unriddle a claufe in the ftamp act upon registers, which all perfons having authority are bound to keep under a certain penalty. I humbly apprehend that this power was limited by three injunctions of H. VIII. Edw. VI. and Q. Elizabeth, to the clergy of the established church, till the prefent act extended it to the Quakers. But if Papifts and Jews, and the numerous fwarms of fectaries, are not registered, pray how is the increafe or decrease of population, which is faid to be the object of the bill, and which has fo long and fo ridiculously been canvaffed by fcribblers, to be afcertained? By an act 6 and 7 of Wm. III. which expired in 1705, every birth of a child was taxed in proportion to the parent's flation in life. Four billings were affeffed upon the burial of a mean fubject, and fifty pounds when a duke was laid in the duft; and a proportionable abatement of the tax was made according to the refpective degrees of the nobility, and for the baronet, the knight, and the efquire. But now Churchmen and Quakers are all taxed alike, the majefty of the mob with the highest peer, an honour which, though conferred upon them by the patriotic band, their Majefties, I prefume, will not be very proud of. DAVUS. CU MR. URBAN, Bridgnorth, Sept. 13. NURIOSITY, and a fondness for antiquities, prompted me on a late excurfion to Envil, to make enquiry after the tomb-ftone of Ragems de Morfe. He was readily pointed out to me in the principal arfe of the church, and I found that it had been moft faithfully delineated by your correfpondent, See p. 481. The friend who was my conductor informed me, that in taking down the west end of the church, in the year 1762, in order to repair it, this tomb-ftone was found confiderably below the old foundation; confequently it must have been placed there before that end of the church was originally built. It is probable that at thefe times the Morfe extended as far as Envil, fince a fmall village in that parifk ftill retains the name of Morfe Town; and of this place it is evident Ragems must have been the poffeffor. The fleurde-lis at the top of the cross, together with the title of De Morfe, announce him of French extraction; and the antiquity of the church gives room for conjecture to place his exiftence about the time of the Norman Conqueror. I obferved another flone of the fame proportion, with a fleur-de-lis and cross almoft obliterated by the fteps of the heedlefs paffenger, at the entrance of the porch; and fear that a few years may render that of Ragems equally illegible, unless the hand which refcued it from oblivion, by placing it in your excellent Repofitory, or fome other admirer of fuch venerable remains of antiquity, will remove it from its prefent fituation. H. R. MR. URBAN, DIODORUS Siculus (III. p. 184. account of meteorous appearances in the African defarts. "In the country bordering on Cyrene and the dry defert, and the tract of Libya over against the Syrtis, an extraordinary circumftance happens. At certain times, efpecially in calm weather, are feen in the air fubftances (ources) or appearances in the fhape of various animals; fome of which are ftill, others affume motion, and fometimes flee, fometimes purfue. All of them are of a monftrous fize, and ftrike the ignorant with aftonishment and terror., Some of them cold and tremulous purfue menf, and when they overtake them embrace their bodies, fo that ftrangers who are unacquainted with thefe things are ready to die with fear, while the natives, who are frequently accustomed to them, treat them with difregard. "This fingular appearance, which borders on the fabulous, fome naturalifts have thus endeavoured to account for. They fay that there is very little wind in that country, and what there is is very weak and faint: the air is fometimes wonderfully calm and ftill. There being no tracts of woodland, fhady valleys, or rifing hills, in the neighbourhood, no confiderable rivers interperfed, and the whole country thereabouts producing no vegetation, there is of courfe no evaporation, which is the general cause of winds. When therefore the foil is oppreffed by a dry air, the fame appear. an c oak, it would probably throw more light upon this fubject. Give me leave now to correct a mil. take, which the Hon. Daines Barrington has made in his attack on the Linnæan Syftem, and which your correfpondent P. B. C. in your Magazine for February laft, p. 132, in his defence of Linnæus, confirms. Mr. Barrington in his Mifcellanies, p. 268, fays, " The celebrated "Mr. Gray therefore thus fpeaks of "the Linnæan Syftem, not much to my edification; for though he is pretty "well acquainted with their perfons, he is not fo with their manners." Now the whole paffage in Mr. Gray's Letters published by Mafon, 4to edit. pp. 323, 324, runs thus: "Buffon's first collec ance happens in Libya that we fee in Weffelingius, in his note on this relation, thus explains the phænomenon of the Ignes Fatui. Not having met with any travels or travellers into this part of Africa, I with fome of your correfpondents would exert their ingenuity in illuftreing this piece of ancient natural hiftory. QUERIST. of your laft Magazine) that Linnæus only mentions the Quercus Robur longo pediculo," I fuppofe he only confulted his Specics Plantarum, for had he turned to his Mantifla altera Plantarum, p. 496, he would have found, Quercus Robur B-Quercus latifolia fæmina; Bauh. pin. 419" (it is printed 418, but that is an error of the prefs). "It. Weftrogoth 214." Fructus omnes feffiles funt; facie "magis quam charactere diftinguenda." "Varietas hec adco conftans, ut qui "diftinguere velit, videtur argumentis "inniti Ger." Linnaeus's Iter Weftrogothicum being printed in the Swedish language, and not, I believe, tranflated, if any of your correfpondents, who underftand that lan guage, would favour the public with a translation of the paffage concerning the tion of Monkeys is come out (it makes "the 14th volume); fomething, but not "much, to my edification, for he is pretty "well acquainted with their perfons, but "not with their manners." Thus what Mr. Barrington quotes, as faid of the Linnæan Syftem by Mr. Gray, is unfor tunately faid of one of thofe zoologifts whom Mr. Barrington rather blames Linnæus for not referring to.-See Note (a), p. 263, of Mr. Barrington's Mifcellanies. STAFFORDIENSIS. EXTRACTS from HARL. MS. 744. AFTER the funeral of K. Henry III. Nov. 20, 1272, his Queen Eleanor was allowed only 10 marks a day for the expences of her household. Fol. 418. 14th Edw. III. an order was made for cutting down 20 oaks in the park of Havering at Boure, and bringing them to repair the Tower. Query, Do the oaks in that park belong at this time to the crown? Fol. 434. 19 Hen. III. granted to Richard, fon of William de Havering, 120 acres of land in Havering, on condition of his finding litter litteram] for the king's chamber. Fol. 434. Hen. III. granted 80,000 florins de Scuto to Thomas Holland, for giving up the Earl of Eue, conftable of France, whom he had taken in the war as a pri foner to the king. Fol. 436. It was refolved in the time of Edw. III. that the perfons of old time calling themfelves Hermites, were no other than common vagrants and beggars. Fol. 438. See the prefent Emperor's Edit, p. 703. Barnard's-Inn in Holborn, forméily called Mackworth's-Inn. Fol, 560. Richard II. gave 500 oaks from his foreft of Inglewood, towards rebuilding the city of Carlisle, then lately burned. Fol, 746. 123. “Vox Oculis Subjecta;" A Dissertation on the most curious and important Art of importing Speech, and the Knowledge of Language, to the naturally Deaf, and (confequently) Dromb. With a particular Account of the Academy of Meffieurs Braidwood, of Edinburgh; and a Propofal to perpetuate and extend the Benefits thereof. Written by a Parent. fm, 8vo. AFTER a Introduction on the natural converfible difpofition and capacities of mankind, and alfo on their acquired faculties, of which language is one, on its ufe and value, and on the reafon and focial affection interwoven in our nature, both which are fully apparent in the dumb, our author, who writes with the feelings of a parent who has reaped the benefits of the method which he recommends, in his Ift Part draws a picture of the melancholy ftate of fuch as are born deaf, and are confequently dumb, or have left their hearing in infancy; fuggefts a relief that Providence has pointed out, the means of which are known to a few only, and which were invented, and partially practifed in the last century; fummarily defcribes the ear, and reviews the powers of the human mind, the voice, and organs of fpeech. The founds, as well as the form, of words are arbitrary: he infifts, therefore, on the practicability of imparting fpeech by alteration of perception from the auditory to the optic nerve, as form is difcernible by the eye, and utterance may be learned by feeling and fecing. No univerfal fyftem. Obviates a plaufible objection. Defcribes the probable original state of human nature. Exemplines the firft fubftitutes for language in feveral nations or favage tribes. Natural language nothing more than the vocal tones, with figns and expreffions of the countenance. Affirms that this only natural language may be methodifed into a practicable fyftem by all perfons poffeffed of understanding, and the inftruments of voice and articulation (which is curforily defcribed); confequently by the deaf. Hints at the mode, and adds extracts from authors who have formerly treated of the theory and practice of this art. Part II. contains a particular account of the Academy of Meffrs. Braidwood, of Edinburgh, a great philofophical * They have fince removed their academy to Hackney, near London. EDIT. GENT. MAG. Sept. 1783. curiofity; a relation of the progrefs of a fon at that academy; reflections on the contraft between the cultivated state of the deaf and their former state; and the author's tribute of gratitude and applaufe. In Part III. is a propofal to extend, as well as to perpetuate, the benefits of this important art, to which the ftate, capacity, and numbers of the objects *, are ftrong inducements; but that a charitable fund is neceflary, under the directions of proper governors; and that fuch an inftitution is likely to meet with encouragement, particularly from his Majefty t; that the importance to individuals, and to fociety (both of a temporal and fpiritual nature) are great, as are alfo the obligations of humanity, to promote fuch an establishment for the benefit of the indigent. That the Royal Society, who have always encou raged the theory of this art, the opulent clergy, and others, would probably fawould be a fource of fatisfaction to all vour fuch a plan, well directed; which the good, and to which benevolence and charity univerfally oblige. In an Appendix are extracts, on the fubject of Meffrs. Braidwood's Acade-' my, from Mr. Arnot's Hiftory of Edin burgh, Dr. Johnson's Journey to the Hebrides, Loid Monboddo's Origin and Progres of Language, and Mr. Pennant's Tour through Scotland; with a fpecimen of the degree of perfection in language to which fome of Mr. Braidwood's pupils have attained, and the fketch of a propofed plan. We cannot deny ourfelves the pleafure of inferting (as a moft ftriking cafe in point) the relation which the author gives of his own fon. tender concern of an on'y parent for an ong "Those who know, experimentally, the fun, even under the happiell circumftances of natural advantage, may imagine with what avidity the information of this academy was first received. Although the authority was unquestionable, I, like many others, (1 acknowledge) had doubts of the practicability of the bufinefs to any very great degree. thought it my doty, however, to fend my for across the Atlantic, upon Mr. Braidwood's agreeing to undertake the tuition of him, "Dr. Bulwar in his day' (1648) mentions thirty-one inftances within his own knowledge." + His Majefty has been pleafed, condi tionally, to give col. per annum for that purpose." who |