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ADVERTISEMENT.
ADVERTISEMENT.
The following pages have been compiled from various sources, and from an extensive course of reading. The Editor has in some instances placed his authorities in the notes at the bottom of the page; and, where he has copied from former writers, he has inserted the names of those from whom he has borrowed his materials. His chief object has been to confine himself to facts; he has therefore carefully avoided giving opinions upon, or drawing conclusions from, the various subjects of which he has tr
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Dr. KENNICOTT.
Dr. KENNICOTT.
Dr. Kennicott was the son of the parish clerk of Totness, once master of a charity school in that town. At an early age young Kennicott took the care of the school, and in that situation wrote some verses, addressed to the Hon. Mrs. Courtenay, which recommended him to her notice, and to that of many neighbouring gentlemen, who laudably opened a subscription to send him to Oxford. The following inscription, written by Dr. Kennicott, is engraven on the tomb of his parents : It is said that when Dr
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REMARKABLE HISTORICAL COINCIDENCES.
REMARKABLE HISTORICAL COINCIDENCES.
Among the curiosities in the British Museum are shewn two helmets; the one Roman, found in the ground on which the battle of Cannæ was fought, 216 years before Christ, and the other made of feathers, brought from one of the South Sea Islands, by Captain Cook. On comparing these helmets, the shape will be found exactly similar, though the latter was made by an uncivilized people living at the distance of more than 2000 years since the battle of Cannæ was fought, and who had never even heard of th
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CHARLES XII. OF SWEDEN.
CHARLES XII. OF SWEDEN.
That Charles the twelfth did not fall by a shot from the walls of Fredericshall, as is commonly supposed, but met his death from a nearer and more secret hand, has been fully ascertained; and M. Megret, a French Engineer, who accompanied him, was, no doubt, concerned in the murder. Many years afterwards, one Cronsted, an officer, on his death bed, confessed that he had himself, at the instigation of the Prince of Hesse, brother-in-law of Charles, and whose wife was declared Queen of Sweden, fire
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BRITISH PEARLS.
BRITISH PEARLS.
The River Conway in North Wales was of considerable importance, even before the Roman invasion, for the Pearl muscle, (the Mya Margaritifera of Linnæus) and Suetonius acknowledged, that one of his inducements for undertaking the subjugation of Wales, was the Pearl Fishery carried forwards in that river. According to Pliny, the muscles, called by the natives Kregindilin , were sought for with avidity by the Romans, and the pearls found within them were highly valued; in proof of which it is asser
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PILLARS OF COMMEMORATION.
PILLARS OF COMMEMORATION.
The erection of a column or pillar, on the highest point of that ridge of hills, called Blackdown, which separates the county of Somerset from that of Devon, in commemoration of the great victories obtained by the Duke of Wellington, is an inducement to look into history, to see how the nations of antiquity, particularly those of Greece and Rome, rewarded their heroes who signalized themselves by the performance of feats of military courage, valour, and skill. Among the Grecians it was usual to
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MASON THE POET.
MASON THE POET.
The merit of this gentleman as a poet is well known. However he was not satisfied with the applause he received in that character; he was desirous also of being esteemed a good musician and a good painter. In music he succeeded better than in painting. He performed decently on the harpsichord, and by desire, I undertook, says Dr. Miller, in the History of Doncaster, to teach him the principles of composition; but that I never could effect. Indeed, others before me had failed in the attempt, neve
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BISHOPS OF SODOR AND MAN.
BISHOPS OF SODOR AND MAN.
The Bishopric of Sodor and Man was first erected by Pope Gregory IV , about the year 840, and had for its diocese the Isle of Man and all the Hebrides or Western Islands of Scotland; but when the Isle of Man became dependent upon the kingdom of England, the Western Islands withdrew themselves from the obedience of their Bishop, and had Bishops of their own, whom they entitled Episcopi Sodorenses , but commonly Bishops of the Isles. The Prelates of the diocese of the Isles had three places of res
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THE TABLE.
THE TABLE.
The form of a half-moon for a table is of very ancient date; the Romans called it the Sigma , from its resemblance to the Greek letter so called, which was in the time of the Roman Emperors like the letter C. Martial tells us this sort of table admitted but of seven persons, septem sigma capit . And Lampridius, in his life of Heliogabalus, mentions it very frequently, and says it was for seven only; he tells us the Emperor once invited eight, on purpose to raise a laugh against the person for wh
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CLOCKS.
CLOCKS.
The first Clock we know of in this Country was put up in an old tower of Westminster Hall, in the year 1288, and in 1292, there was one in the Cathedral of Canterbury. These were probably of foreign workmanship; and it may be doubted, if there was at that time any person who followed the business of making clocks. There was, however, one very ingenious artist, Richard of Wallingford, Abbot of St. Albans, who constructed a clock which represented the motions of the sun, moon, and stars, and the e
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ALDUS MANUTIUS. [DIED 1516.]
ALDUS MANUTIUS. [DIED 1516.]
It would be difficult to say whether the exertions of any individual, however splendid his talents, or even the labours of any particular association, or academy, however celebrated, ever shed so much lustre on the place of their residence as that which Venice derives from the reputation of a stranger, who voluntarily selected it for his abode. I allude to Aldus Manutius . This extraordinary person combined the lights of the scholar, with the industry of the mechanic; and to his labours, carried
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BOTTLES OF SKIN.
BOTTLES OF SKIN.
The Ancients made use of bottles of skin to hold their wine, as is usual in many countries to this day. Thus Homer mentions wine being brought in a goat’s skin . ( Il. II. iii. line 247. Odys. VI. line 78, IX. line 196, 212) Herodotus ( ii. 121,) mentions skins being filled with wine. And Maundrell in his Travels to Jerusalem, speaking of the Greek Convent at Bellmount, near Tripoli, in Syria, says, “The same person whom we saw officiating at the altar in his embroidered sacerdotal robe, brought
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ENGLISH SLAVE TRADE.
ENGLISH SLAVE TRADE.
A great article of exportation among the Anglo-Saxons was Slaves, in which kind of traffic, the Northumbrians in particular, were very famous, amongst whom this trade continued, according to William of Malmesbury, for some time after the conquest. The people of Bristol were also very much employed in the Slave Trade, which they pursued with such eagerness, that they frequently spared not their nearest relations; but at length they were prevailed upon by the preaching and exhortation of Wulstan,
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OLIVER CROMWELL’S WIFE.
OLIVER CROMWELL’S WIFE.
The two following notable instances of this Lady’s niggardliness are taken from a very scarce little book intitled “The Court and Kitchen of Elizabeth Cromwell,” &c. printed in 1664. “The first, was the very next summer after Oliver’s coming to the Protectorate in 1654. In June, at the very first season of green pease, where a poor country woman living some where about London, having a very early but small quantity in her garden, was advised to gather them and carry them to the Lady Prot
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SHAKESPEARE.
SHAKESPEARE.
The following ingenious reasons are assigned by Mr. Charles Butler, in his “Memoirs of the English Catholics,” as grounds for a belief that Shakespeare was a Roman Catholic. “May the Writer premise a suspicion, which from internal evidence, he has long entertained, that Shakespeare was a Roman Catholic. Not one of his works contains the slightest reflections on Popery, or any of its practices; or any eulogy of the Reformation. His panegyric on Queen Elizabeth is cautiously expressed; whilst Quee
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UNIVERSITY DEGREES.
UNIVERSITY DEGREES.
It does not appear that there were any degrees in either the Greek or Roman academies; the only distinction was that of masters and scholars. The first seminaries of learning among christians were the cathedral churches and monasteries, but in process of time the schools belonging to them were regulated, and men of learning opened others in places where they could find protection and encouragement. Hence the origin of universities, which at first were merely a collection of those schools, to whi
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GUY CARLETON, LORD DORCHESTER.
GUY CARLETON, LORD DORCHESTER.
When General Wolfe was appointed to the Command of the Land Forces destined to act against Canada, in 1759, Mr. Pitt, then Secretary of State, told him, that as he could not give him so many troops as he wanted for the Expedition, he would make it up to him in the best manner he could, by allowing him the appointment of all his Officers. Accordingly the General sent in a list, in which was the name of Lieutenant-Colonel Carleton, whom he had put down as Quarter-Master-General. This Officer, who
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FIGS.
FIGS.
Figs have from the earliest times been reckoned among the delights of the palate. Moses, in the Pentateuch, enumerates among the praises of the promised land, ( Deut. viii. 8.) that it was a “Land of Fig Trees”. The Athenians valued figs at least as highly as the Jews. Alexis (in the Deipnosophists) calls figs “Food for the Gods.” Pausanias says that the Athenian, Phytalus, was rewarded by Ceres for his hospitality, with the gift of the first fig-tree. Some foreign guest, no doubt, transmitted t
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FRUITS, CULTIVATED AT ROME IN THE TIME OF PLINY, THAT ARE NOW GROWN IN OUR ENGLISH GARDENS.
FRUITS, CULTIVATED AT ROME IN THE TIME OF PLINY, THAT ARE NOW GROWN IN OUR ENGLISH GARDENS.
Apples. —The Romans had twenty-two sorts of Apples. Sweet Apples ( melimala ) for eating, and others for cookery. They had one sort without kernels. [Eugene Aram, in his collections for a dictionary of the Celtic language, says that the name of the Apple Tree is a corruption of “Apollo’s Tree.”—“And that this is its original, will be easily deducible from a little reflection on the proofs in support of it. The prizes in the sacred games were the Olive Crown, Apples, Parsleys and the Pine. Lucian
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PEACOCKS.
PEACOCKS.
India, says Mr. Pennant, gave us Peacocks, and we are assured by Knox, in his History of Ceylon, that they are still found in the wild state, in vast flocks, in that island and in Java. So beautiful a bird could not be permitted to be a stranger in the more distant parts; for so early as the days of Solomon (1 Kings, x. 22.) we find among the articles imported in his Tarshish navies, Apes and Peacocks. A monarch so conversant in all branches of natural history, would certainly not neglect furnis
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ANCIENT LIBRARIES.
ANCIENT LIBRARIES.
Many events have contributed to deprive us of a great part of the literary treasures of antiquity. A very fatal blow was given to literature by the destruction of the Phœnician temples and the Egyptian colleges, when those kingdoms and the countries adjacent, were conquered by the Persians, about 350 years before Christ. The Persians had a great dislike to the religion of the Phœnicians and the Egyptians, and this was one reason for destroying their books, of which Eusebius says they had a great
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KING CHARLES THE FIRST.
KING CHARLES THE FIRST.
The Journey of Prince Charles (afterwards Charles the First) and the Duke of Buckingham to Spain, was considered at the time to be such a piece of knight-errantry as scarcely any age could parallel. Spanheim in his history of Louisa-Juliana, Electress Palatine, mother of the king of Bohemia, says “that never Prince was more obliged to a sister, than king Charles I. was to the queen of Bohemia; since it was only the consideration of her and her children , who were then the next heirs after him to
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THE FAIR GERALDINE AND THE EARL OF SURREY.
THE FAIR GERALDINE AND THE EARL OF SURREY.
The “Fair Geraldine” the general object of Lord Surrey’s empassioned sonnets, is commonly said to have lived at Florence, and to have been of the family of the Geraldi , of that city. This is however, a misapprehension of an expression in one of our poet’s Odes, and of a passage in Drayton’s Heroic Epistles. This lady was Elizabeth, third daughter of Gerald Fitzgerald, ninth Earl of Kildare. She appears to have received her education at Hunsdon House, with the Princesses Mary and Elizabeth. It w
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JEWS IN ENGLAND.
JEWS IN ENGLAND.
William the Conqueror permitted great numbers of Jews to come over from Rouen, and to settle in England in the last year of his reign. Their number soon increased, and they spread themselves throughout most of the cities and capital towns in England where they built synagogues. There were fifteen hundred at York about the year 1189. At Bury, in Suffolk, is a very complete remain of a Jewish synagogue of stone in the Norman style, large and magnificent. Hence it was that many of the learned Engli
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THE ENGLISH BIBLE.
THE ENGLISH BIBLE.
The first translation of any part of the Holy Scriptures into English that was committed to the press, was The New Testament , translated from the Greek, by William Tyndale, with the assistance of John Foye and William Roye, and printed first in 1526, in octavo. Tyndale published afterwards, in 1530, a translation of the Five Books of Moses , and of Jonah , in 1531, in octavo. An English translation of the Psalter , done from the Latin of Martin Bucer, was also published at Strasburgh in 1530, b
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LUXURY OF ANCIENT ROME.
LUXURY OF ANCIENT ROME.
The most remote countries of the ancient world were ransacked to supply the pomp and delicacy of Rome. The forests of Scythia afforded some valuable furs. Amber was brought overland from the shores of the Baltic to the Danube; and the Barbarians were astonished at the price which they received in exchange for so useless a commodity. Pliny has observed with some humour that even fashion had not found out the use of amber. Nero sent a Roman knight to purchase great quantities on the spot where it
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RHYME.
RHYME.
Every language has powers, and graces, and music peculiar to itself; and what is becoming in one, would be ridiculous in another. Rhyme was barbarous in Latin and Greek verse, because these languages by the sonorousness of their words, by their liberty of transposition and inversion, by their fixed quantities and musical pronunciation, could carry on the melody of verse without its aid; and an attempt to construct English verses after the form of hexameters, and pentameters, and sapphics, is as
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M. COQUEBERT DE MONTBRET.
M. COQUEBERT DE MONTBRET.
This gentleman was one of the commercial commissioners from France to England during the short peace which took place after the treaty of Amiens. In March, 1803, I was in company with M. de Montbret, who expressed his dissatisfaction in very angry terms, because he was not able to procure specimens of the different clays made use of by Mr. Wedgwood in his manufacture of earthen ware in Staffordshire. He urged with much vehemence the politeness and attention that were shewn to Mr. Thomas Wedgwood
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Dr. THOMAS PIERCE.
Dr. THOMAS PIERCE.
Dr. Pierce, Dean of Sarum, a perpetual controversialist, and to whom it was dangerous to refuse a request, lest it might raise a controversy, asked Dr. Ward, bishop of Salisbury, for a Prebend for his son. He was refused; and studying revenge, he opened a controversy with the bishop, maintaining that the king had the right of bestowing every dignity in all the Cathedral Churches of the kingdom, and not the bishops. This required a reply from the bishop, who had formerly been an active controvers
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WRITING AMONG THE GREEKS.
WRITING AMONG THE GREEKS.
As a proof of the simplicity of the times described by Homer, it is a great doubt if his kings and heroes could write or read; at least when the Grecian leaders cast lots who should engage Hector in single combat, in the seventh Iliad, they only made their marks, for when the lot signed by Ajax fell out of the helmet, and was carried round by the herald, none of the chiefs knew to whom it belonged till it was brought to Ajax himself. The learned Mr. Wood in his Essay on the original genius and w
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ACCOUNT OF THE SCRIPTORIA, OR WRITING ROOMS IN THE MONASTERIES OF ENGLAND.
ACCOUNT OF THE SCRIPTORIA, OR WRITING ROOMS IN THE MONASTERIES OF ENGLAND.
It would be in vain to attempt to trace the state of learning among the Anglo-Saxons before their conversion to Christianity, sometime after which event, schools and seminaries of learning were established in the kingdom of Kent, and soon after the year 635, in that of the East Angles. Previously to this period of our history, the two principal scholars of the Britons were Gildas and Nennius, the first of whom flourished towards the latter end of the sixth century, and the latter in the beginnin
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TORTURE IN ENGLAND.[17]
TORTURE IN ENGLAND.[17]
In the reign of King Henry the Sixth, the Rack or Brake , was placed in the Tower of London, by the Duke of Exeter, when he and the Earl of Suffolk had formed the design of introducing the Civil Law into England. It was called “Exeter’s daughter,” and remained afterwards in the Tower, “where it was occasionally used as an Engine of State , more than once in the reign of Elizabeth .” Though the use of the Rack does not appear to have been known in this country until the 26th year of Henry the Six
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Dr. JOHNSON’S CONVERSATION WITH THE LATE KING.
Dr. JOHNSON’S CONVERSATION WITH THE LATE KING.
In February, 1767, there happened one of the most remarkable incidents of Johnson’s life, which gratified his monarchical enthusiasm, and which he loved to relate with all its circumstances, when requested by his friends. This was his being honoured by a private conversation with his late Majesty, in the Library at the Queen’s house. He had frequently visited those splendid rooms, and noble collection of books, which he used to say was more numerous and curious than he supposed any person could
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Dr. BEATTIE’S CONVERSATION WITH THE LATE KING AND QUEEN.
Dr. BEATTIE’S CONVERSATION WITH THE LATE KING AND QUEEN.
Dr. Beattie had been informed by Dr. Majendie, who lived at Kew, and was often at the palace, that the king having asked some questions of the doctor respecting him, and being told that he sometimes visited Dr. Majendie there, his Majesty had desired to be informed the next time Dr. Beattie was to be at Kew. What his Majesty’s intentions were, Dr. Majendie said he did not know; but supposed the king intended to admit him to a private audience. A day was therefore fixed, on which Dr. Beattie was
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SACRED GARDENS.
SACRED GARDENS.
The origin of sacred gardens among the heathen nations may be traced up to the garden of Eden. The gardens of the Hesperides, of Adonis, of Flora, were famous among the Greeks and Romans. “The garden of Flora,” says Mr. Spence, (Polymetis, p. 251) “I take to have been the Paradise in the Roman Mythology. The traditions and traces of Paradise among the ancients must be expected to have grown fainter and fainter in every transfusion from one people to another. The Romans probably derived their not
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SIR THOMAS WYAT. [DIED 1541.]
SIR THOMAS WYAT. [DIED 1541.]
The story of this eminent person, probably one of the principal ornaments of an age unable to discern his merits, or unwilling to record them, has been very imperfectly related. He was born at Allington Castle, in Kent, the ancient seat of his family, in 1503, and was the son of Sir Henry Wyat. He may be said to have finished his education in the society of that eminent character Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, with whom he travelled abroad, and with whom he “tasted in Italy,” says Wood, “the swee
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THE HAND A SYMBOL OF POWER.
THE HAND A SYMBOL OF POWER.
In Parkhurst’s Hebrew Lexicon we have the following remarks on the Hand as an emblem of strength and power. “The hand was used by the Jews, as a trophy or monument of victory, and placed on the top of a pillar. Thus Saul, after smiting the Amalekites, in the pride of his heart erected to or for himself (not for Jehovah) a hand, 1 Samuel xv. 12. And David smote Hadadezer, king of Zobah, when he was going to erect his hand or trophy, by the river Euphrates, 2 Sam. viii. 3, and 1 Chronicles, xviii.
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HENRIETTA MARIA, QUEEN OF CHARLES THE FIRST.
HENRIETTA MARIA, QUEEN OF CHARLES THE FIRST.
“Our royal martyr,” says Dr. Kennet, “by taking a consort from the Bourbon family, did apparently bring over some evils and mischiefs that disturbed his whole reign. For within less than one year, the French servants of that queen grew so imperious and insolent, that the king was forced to discharge them, and to humble them by a return into their own country.” “A very sad doom it was certainly to the French,” says L’Estrange in his annals of king Charles, “but as the animadversion was extremely
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LAST MOMENTS OF PHILIP MELANCTHON.[34]
LAST MOMENTS OF PHILIP MELANCTHON.[34]
The nineteenth of April, 1560, was the last day of the mortal existence of this great reformer and pious christian. After the usual medical inquiries of the morning, he adverted to the calamitous state of the church of Christ, but intimated his hope that the genuine doctrine of the gospel would ultimately prevail, exclaiming, “If God be for us who can be against us.” After this he presented fervent supplications to heaven for the welfare of the church, and in the intervals of sleep conversed pri
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HOUSE OF COMMONS.
HOUSE OF COMMONS.
A considerable number of treatises were written in the middle and latter end of the seventeenth century, and a few in the beginning of the eighteenth, respecting the period at which the House of Commons asserted that independence which it is so material to the security and happiness of the country it should possess, and obtained that share in the legislature it now enjoys; but the writers on both sides, [35] eager in the maintenance of the cause they espoused, and taking advantage of the scanty
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MOSAIC PAINTING.
MOSAIC PAINTING.
Mosaic is a representation of painting by means of small pebbles, or shells of sundry colours, and, of late years, with pieces of glass coloured at pleasure; it is an ornament of much beauty, and lasts for ages, and is mostly used in pavements and floors. The term Mosaic is derived from the latin musivum , and ought to be pronounced musaic . It is odd enough that many persons have really fancied they could trace the etymology of this word to the name of the great Jewish legislator. It is well ob
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KING EGBERT.
KING EGBERT.
It is a generally received opinion, sanctioned by nearly every modern historian, that Egbert king of the West Saxons, having dissolved the Heptarchy, about the year 828, became the first sole monarch of England. This is, however, one of those historical points which it is more easy to assert than to confirm. There were undoubtedly many chief monarchs of the heptarchy, both before and after the time of Egbert, that sovereign himself having been one of those chief monarchs, but some of those petty
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THE LATIN LANGUAGE.
THE LATIN LANGUAGE.
So sensible were the Romans of the influence of language over national manners, that it was their most serious care to extend, with the progress of their arms, the use of the latin tongue. The ancient dialects of Italy, the Sabine, the Etruscan, and the Venetian, sunk into oblivion; but the eastern were less docile than the western provinces to the voice of its victorious preceptors. This obvious difference marked the two portions of the empire with a distinction of character, which, though it w
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Dr. HERSCHEL.
Dr. HERSCHEL.
In the History of Doncaster, written by Dr. Miller, we find the following account of the early years of this eminent astronomer:— “It will ever be a gratifying reflection to me,” says Dr. Miller, “that I was the first person by whose means this extraordinary genius was drawn from a state of obscurity. About the year 1760, as I was dining with the officers of the Durham militia, at Pontefract, one of them informed me, that they had a young German in their band, as a performer on the hautboy, who
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PARODIES.
PARODIES.
The present use of this word is strictly consonant with that of the ancients, who applied it to the giving a ridiculous turn to passages in Homer and the tragic Poets. There are many in Aristophanes. One of the happiest modern instances is the parody of the speech of Sarpedon to Glaucus in the Rape of the Lock. The genealogy of Agamemnon’s sceptre is also parodied in the same poem, canto 5, v. 87....
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MOURNING FOR THE DEAD.
MOURNING FOR THE DEAD.
In the Mosaic law the Israelites were commanded not to cut themselves for the dead . The original Hebrew has, however a more extensive meaning than cutting, and includes all assaults on their own persons, arising from immoderate grief, such as beating the breasts, tearing the hair, &c. which were commonly practised by the heathen, who had no hope of a resurrection, particularly by the Egyptians, which might afford a particular reason for the Mosaic prohibition. We may also observe, that
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GARRICK.
GARRICK.
The genius of Garrick seems to have been particularly calculated to introduce Shakespeare on the stage. He knew how to alter him so as to fit him for the audience of the present day, without divesting him of any of his excellencies, and the few additions he has ventured are in the spirit of the original. These Plays, so altered, are likely to keep possession of the theatre, while every other attempt at change or improvement are forgotten, except Cibber’s Richard the Third, and Tate’s Lear, which
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LEMONS.
LEMONS.
Theophrastus, who studied under Plato and Aristotle, says of lemons, that they were cultivated for their fragrance, not for their taste; that the peel was laid up with garments, to preserve them from moths; and that the juice was administered by physicians medicinally. Virgil in his second Georgic, describes agreeably the Lemon-tree. Pliny mentions the lemon-juice as an antidote; but says that the fruit, from its austere taste, was not eaten. Plutarch, who nourished within a generation of Pliny,
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ORIGIN OF THE POINT OF HONOUR.
ORIGIN OF THE POINT OF HONOUR.
We meet with inexplicable enigmas in the codes of the laws of the barbarians. The law of the Frisians allowed only about the value of a farthing, by way of compensation, to a person who had been beaten with a stick; and yet for ever such a small wound it allows more. By the Salic law, if a freeman gave three blows with a stick to another freeman, he paid about three halfpence; if he drew blood, he was punished as if he had wounded him with steel, and he paid about seven-pence halfpenny; thus the
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GEOFFREY OF MONMOUTH.
GEOFFREY OF MONMOUTH.
Geoffrey of Monmouth was the first person, after the conquest, who attempted to write any thing concerning the ancient history of Britain. Although the century, in which he lived, is known, yet neither his family, the time of his birth, nor the place of his education has been ascertained. We are only informed that he was born at Monmouth, and became archdeacon of that place, and that he was consecrated bishop of St. Asaph, in 1152, which he resigned to live in the monastery of Abingdon. By some
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LIFTING UP THE HAND IN SWEARING.
LIFTING UP THE HAND IN SWEARING.
We find this significant ceremony of lifting up the hand in swearing, practised by the Greeks and Trojans. Thus Agamemnon swears in Homer, (Iliad, 7, 412) And Dolon requiring an oath of Hector, (Iliad, 10, 321) So in Virgil, (Æn. 12, 196) we find Latinus, when swearing, looking up to heaven, and stretching his right hand to the stars. And we even meet with traditionary traces of their gods swearing in like manner. Thus Apollo, in Pindar, orders Lachesis, one of the Fates, to lift up her hands an
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VILLIERS, DUKE OF BUCKINGHAM.
VILLIERS, DUKE OF BUCKINGHAM.
A treaty of marriage between Charles, prince of Wales, (afterwards Charles I. ) and the Infanta of Spain, having been a long time in agitation, Buckingham, in 1623, persuaded Prince Charles to make a journey into Spain, and to fetch home his mistress, the Infanta, by representing to him, how brave and gallant an action it would be, and how soon it would put an end to those formalities, which, though all substantial matters were already agreed upon, might yet retard her voyage to England many mon
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KING ARTHUR.
KING ARTHUR.
In a century ( A.D. 400 to A.D. 500) of perpetual, or at least implacable war, much courage, and some skill, must have been exerted for the defence of Britain, on the departure of the Roman legions, against the Saxon invaders. Yet if the memory of its champions is almost buried in oblivion, we need not repine; since every age, however destitute of science or virtue, sufficiently abounds with acts of blood and military renown. The tomb of Vortimer, the son of Vortigern, was erected on the margin
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ALCHEMY.
ALCHEMY.
About the year 296, the Emperor Diocletian published a very remarkable edict which instead of being condemned as the effect of jealous tyranny, deserves to be applauded as an act of prudence and humanity. He caused a diligent enquiry to be made for all the ancient books which treated of the art of making gold and silver, and without pity committed them to the flames; apprehensive, it is remarked, lest the opulence of the Egyptians should inspire them with confidence to rebel against the empire.
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ACCOUNT OF SEVERAL NOBLE FAMILIES IN ENGLAND WHO OWE THEIR ELEVATION TO THE PEERAGE TO THEIR ANCESTORS HAVING BEEN ENGAGED IN TRADE.
ACCOUNT OF SEVERAL NOBLE FAMILIES IN ENGLAND WHO OWE THEIR ELEVATION TO THE PEERAGE TO THEIR ANCESTORS HAVING BEEN ENGAGED IN TRADE.
It is a striking and peculiar feature in the constitution of England, that men who render themselves eminent in the liberal sciences, in the arts, or in commerce, frequently find their pursuits conduct them to a high degree of rank and estimation in the state; and the sovereign has, in numerous instances, conferred the honour of the Peerage on certain individuals, who have contributed by their abilities to enlarge and promote the manufactures and commerce of the nation. Among the families whose
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LAST MOMENTS OF QUEEN CAROLINE.
LAST MOMENTS OF QUEEN CAROLINE.
A little before the Queen died she asked the physician who was in attendance, “How long can this last?” And on his answering “Your majesty will soon be eased of your pains;” she replied “The sooner the better!” The queen then repeated a prayer of her own composing, in which there was such a flow of natural eloquence, as demonstrated the vigour of a great and good mind. When her speech began to falter, and she seemed expiring, she desired to be raised up in her bed, and fearing that nature would
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THE BRITONS, ACCORDING TO THE GREEK AND LATIN CLASSICS.
THE BRITONS, ACCORDING TO THE GREEK AND LATIN CLASSICS.
Strabo observes in his Geography, that “the woods are their towns; for having fenced round a wide circular space with trees hewn down, they there place their huts, and fix stalls for their cattle; but not of long duration. They have dwellings of a round form, constructed of poles and wattled work, with very high pointed coverings of beams united at a point.” Diodorus Siculus asserts, that “they inhabit very wretched dwellings, composed for the most part of reeds (or straw) and wood.” Cæsar thus
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THE SEVEN SLEEPERS.
THE SEVEN SLEEPERS.
Among the insipid legends of ecclesiastical history, one of the most memorable is that of the Seven Sleepers, whose imaginary date corresponds with the reign of the younger Theodosius and the conquest of Africa by the Vandals, or sometime about the year 440. When the Emperor Decius persecuted the Christians, seven noble youths of Ephesus concealed themselves in a spacious cavern in the side of an adjacent mountain; where they were doomed to perish by the tyrant, who gave orders that the entrance
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JOHN RAY, THE NATURALIST.
JOHN RAY, THE NATURALIST.
Ray was the son of a blacksmith, at Black Notley, in Essex, where he was born in 1628. He received his education at Braintree school, at Catharine Hall, and afterwards at Trinity College, Cambridge. His intense studies, requiring country air and exercise, occasioned his predilection for botany; his first rambles in search of plants were confined in extent, but subsequently diverged throughout England and Wales; and at length passing the channel he visited many parts of Europe. His books of instr
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LONDON BANKERS, AND THEIR ORIGIN.
LONDON BANKERS, AND THEIR ORIGIN.
The company of Goldsmiths, in London, appeared as a fraternity, as early as 1180, but it was in the reign of Edward the third, that they were first incorporated. They became, in time, the bankers of the capital. The Lombards were the first and greatest, and most of the money contracts, in old times, passed through their hands. Many of our monarchs were obliged to them for money.—The three blue balls, now used by pawnbrokers, but converted by them into golden ones, are, in reality, the arms of th
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THE DIADEM.
THE DIADEM.
The chief of these ornaments is the diadem, or vitta, which was a ribband worn about the head, and tied in a floating knot behind. This was anciently the simple, but superlative badge of kingly power. It is observable upon the Greek monarchical medals, from the earliest ages, to the last, without any other ornament, and is almost an infallible sign of kingly power, and that the portrait, if there be no other characteristic, is that of a prince. In the Roman coins it is seen on the Consular ones
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THE RADIATED CROWN.
THE RADIATED CROWN.
The radiated crown was, at first, as on the posthumous coins of Augustus, a mark of deification, and in little more than a century after, was put upon most of the emperors’ heads on their several medals....
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THE CROWN OF LAUREL.
THE CROWN OF LAUREL.
The crown of laurel was at first the honorary prize of conquerors, but was afterwards commonly worn, at least on their medals, by all the Roman emperors, from Julius Cæsar , who was permitted by the senate to wear it always, to hide the baldness of his forehead. This perhaps gave rise to the first emperors always appearing with it on their coins, a circumstance continued even to our times, and looking at its origin is now a little laughable. The laurel employed by the ancients in forming their c
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THE ROSTRAL CROWN.
THE ROSTRAL CROWN.
Agrippa appears on his coins with the rostral crown, a sign of naval victory or command, being made of gold, in resemblance of prows of ships, tied together....
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THE MURAL CROWN.
THE MURAL CROWN.
Agrippa is likewise seen with the mural or turretted crown, the prize of first ascending the walls of an enemy’s city....
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THE CIVIC CROWN.
THE CIVIC CROWN.
The oaken or civic crown is frequent on reverses, as of Galba and others; and was the badge of having saved the life of a citizen, or of many citizens....
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THE HELMET.
THE HELMET.
The helmet appears on coins; as in those of Macedon under the Romans, which have a head of Alexander, sometimes covered with a helmet. Probus also has often the helmet on his coins; and Constantine the first, has helmets of different forms curiously ornamented....
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THE NIMBUS OR GLORY.
THE NIMBUS OR GLORY.
The nimbus or glory, now peculiar to the saints, was formerly applied to emperors. A nimbus appears round the head of Constantine the second, in a gold coin of that prince; and of Flavia Maxima Fausta, in a gold medallion; and of Justinian in another. But the idea is as ancient as the reign of Augustus, and is found in Roman authors, before it appeared on coins. Oiselius gives a coin of Antoninus Pius, with the nimbus , but this however is doubtful, and may have been some flaw in the coin from w
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OTHER ORNAMENTS OF THE HEAD.
OTHER ORNAMENTS OF THE HEAD.
Besides the diadem, the Greek princes sometimes appear with the laurel crown. The Arsacidæ, or kings of Parthia, wear a kind of sash round the head, with their hair in rows of curls like a wig. Tigranes and the kings of Armenia, wear the tiara , a singular kind of cap, but the well known badge of imperial power in the ancient eastern world. Xerxes, a petty prince of Armenia, appears in a coin extant of him in a conical cap, with a diadem around it. Juba, the father, has a singular crown, like a
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THE TRADESCANTS.
THE TRADESCANTS.
The Tradescants, father and son, were among the first eminent gardeners, and were the very first collectors of natural history in this kingdom. John Tradescant the elder was, according to Anthony Wood, a Fleming, or a Dutchman. We are informed by Parkinson, that he had travelled into most parts of Europe, and into Barbary, and from some emblems remaining upon his monument in Lambeth church-yard, it appears that he had visited Greece, Egypt, and other Eastern countries. In his travels, he is supp
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ORANGE TREES.
ORANGE TREES.
The first orange trees seen in England, are said to have been planted by Sir Francis Carew, at Beddington, in Surrey. Sir Francis died in 1607, aged 81. Aubrey says they were brought from Italy by Sir Francis, but the editors of the Biographia Britannica speaking from a tradition preserved in the family, tell us that they were raised by him from the seeds of the first oranges which were imported into England by Sir Walter Raleigh, who had married his niece. The trees were planted in the open gro
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ARTICLES OF USE AND LUXURY INTRODUCED INTO EUROPE BY THE ROMANS.
ARTICLES OF USE AND LUXURY INTRODUCED INTO EUROPE BY THE ROMANS.
Whatever evils either reason or declamation have imputed to extensive empire, the power of Rome was attended with some beneficial consequences to mankind; and the same freedom of intercourse which extended the vices, diffused likewise the improvements of social life. In the more remote ages of antiquity, the world was unequally divided. The east was in the immemorial possession of arts and luxury; whilst the west was inhabited by rude and warlike barbarians, who either disdained agriculture, or
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ACCOUNT OF THE ESCAPE OF THE EARL OF NITHSDALE, FROM THE TOWER, IN THE YEAR, 1716.
ACCOUNT OF THE ESCAPE OF THE EARL OF NITHSDALE, FROM THE TOWER, IN THE YEAR, 1716.
Lord Nithsdale was one of the Scottish noblemen who were concerned in the rebellion headed by the Earl of Mar, in the year 1715. The House of Commons preferred articles of impeachment against him, and several others, who all, except the Earl of Wintoun, pleaded guilty, and on the 9th of February, 1716, received judgment of death. The countess of Nithsdale and lady Nairne threw themselves at the king’s feet as he passed through the apartments of the palace, and implored his mercy in behalf of the
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ACCOUNT OF THE FIRST RISE OF FAIRS IN ENGLAND, AND THE MANNER OF LIVING IN THE SIXTEENTH AND SEVENTEENTH CENTURIES.
ACCOUNT OF THE FIRST RISE OF FAIRS IN ENGLAND, AND THE MANNER OF LIVING IN THE SIXTEENTH AND SEVENTEENTH CENTURIES.
Before the necessaries or ornaments of life from the convenience of communication and the increase of provincial intercourse could be procured in towns, through the medium of shops, goods and commodities of every kind were chiefly sold at fairs, to which, as to one universal mart, the people resorted periodically, and supplied most of their wants for the ensuing year. Fairs and markets were at first held near the castles of the great barons, and near the cathedrals and principal churches in the
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SIR RICHARD CLOUGH.
SIR RICHARD CLOUGH.
Sir Richard Clough was a man of distinguished character, who raised himself by his merit, from a poor boy at Denbigh to be one of the greatest merchants of his time. He was first a chorister at Chester, then had the good fortune to become apprentice to the famous Sir Thomas Gresham, and afterwards his partner, with whom he may be considered as joint founder of the Royal Exchange, having contributed several thousand pounds towards that noble design. His residence was chiefly at Antwerp, where aft
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ROYAL CLEMENCY.
ROYAL CLEMENCY.
Lewis the thirteenth of France being desirous to sit as judge at the trial of the Duke de la Vallette, assembled, in his cabinet, some members of the Parliament, together with some counsellors of state, to consult on the propriety of such a step. Upon their being compelled by the king to give their opinions concerning the decree for his arrest, the president, De Believre, said, “That he found it very strange that a prince should pass sentence upon one of his subjects; that kings had reserved to
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LOTTERIES.
LOTTERIES.
As a source of revenue, this is only a modern invention; and it is evident, were it not for the monopoly of this species of gambling, which the government insists on enjoying, that it could not possibly prove of any material advantage; for individuals would soon set up private lotteries, could afford to carry them on with less profit, and would soon draw all the benefit of such speculations to themselves. The Romans had lotteries, particularly whilst they were under the government of the emperor
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HERCULANEUM MANUSCRIPTS.
HERCULANEUM MANUSCRIPTS.
The following account of the ancient rolls of Papyrus, discovered at Herculaneum, and the method employed to unroll them, is extracted from a letter written in 1802, by the Hon. Henry Grey Bennett, addressed to the late Rev. Samuel Henley, D. D. “The papyrus of the Greeks and Romans was the inside coating of a plant of the same name; which was formerly common in various parts of Sicily; a small river now choaked up near Palermo was called the Papyrus , probably from the number of that species of
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WOLVES IN ENGLAND.
WOLVES IN ENGLAND.
King Edward the first commissioned Peter Corbet to destroy the wolves in the counties of Gloucester, Worcester, Hereford, Salop, and Stafford, and ordered John Gilford to hunt them in all the forests of England. The forest of Chiltern was infested by wolves and wild bulls in the time of Edward the Confessor. William the Conqueror granted the lordship of Riddesdale, in Northumberland, to Robert de Umfraville, on condition of defending that part of the country against enemies and wolves. King John
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PROFESSOR PORSON.
PROFESSOR PORSON.
This eminent scholar and acute critic was born at East Ruston, in the county of Norfolk, on the 25th of December, 1759. At a very early period he displayed talents which gave promise of future excellence, and some gentlemen who admired his acquirements in learning, sent him to Eton, from whence he was afterwards entered of Trinity College, Cambridge. The following account of Mr. Porson, when an Eton boy, is extracted from the evidence of Dr. Goodall, the present Provost of Eton, given before the
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CROSS-LEGGED MONUMENTS.
CROSS-LEGGED MONUMENTS.
The first species of monument, of which I propose to give the history, is that denominated cross-legged , from its having the recumbent effigy of the deceased upon it, represented in armour, with the legs crossed. During the Norman period of our history, the holy war, and vows of pilgrimage to Palestine, were esteemed highly meritorious. The religious order of laymen, the knights templars, were received, cherished, and enriched throughout Europe, and the individuals of that community, after deat
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THE FOLLOWING RULES WERE OBSERVED BY ANCIENT SCULPTORS IN ERECTING SEPULCHRAL MONUMENTS.[62]
THE FOLLOWING RULES WERE OBSERVED BY ANCIENT SCULPTORS IN ERECTING SEPULCHRAL MONUMENTS.[62]
Kings and princes, in what part, or by what means soever, they died, were represented upon their tombs clothed with their coats of arms, their shield, bourlet or pad, crown, crest, supporters, lambrequins or mantlings , orders, and devices, upon their effigies, and round about their tombs. Knights and gentlemen might not be represented with their coats of arms, unless they had lost their lives in some battle, single combat or rencontre with the prince himself, or in his service, unless they died
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CROSS-LEGGED MONUMENTS IN THE TEMPLE CHURCH.[63]
CROSS-LEGGED MONUMENTS IN THE TEMPLE CHURCH.[63]
Geoffrey de Magnaville, first Earl of Essex. (1148.) He is represented in mail with a surcoat, and round helmet flatted on the top, with a nose piece, which was of iron to defend the nose from swords. His head rests on a cushion placed lozenge fashion, his right hand on his breast, a long sword at his right side, and on his left arm a long pointed shield, charged with an escarbuncle on a diapered field. This is the first instance in England of arms on a sepulchral figure. This Earl, driven to de
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TABLE TOMB.
TABLE TOMB.
To the cross-legged monument it is highly probable, says Mr. Lethieullier, succeeded the table tomb, with figures recumbent upon it, with their hands joined in a praying posture, sometimes with a rich canopy of stone over them, sometimes without such canopy, and again, some very plain without any figures. Round the edge of these for the most part were inscriptions on brass plates, which are now too frequently destroyed. The table monument, however, came in more early than Mr. L. supposes. The mo
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GRAVE STONES.
GRAVE STONES.
At the same time came in common use the humble grave stone laid flat with the pavement, sometimes with an inscription cut round the border of the stone, sometimes enriched with costly plates of brass, as every person who has examined our cathedral and parish churches cannot fail to have observed. But either avarice, or an over zealous aversion to some words in the inscription, has robbed most of these stones of the brass which adorned them, and left the less room for certainty when this fashion
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HERALDIC SYMBOLS.
HERALDIC SYMBOLS.
Some knowledge of heraldry is very necessary in monumental researches, a coat of arms, device, or rebus, very often remains where not the least word of an inscription appears, and where indeed very probably there never was any. Armorial bearings seem to have taken their rise in this kingdom in the reign of king Richard the first, and by little and little to have become hereditary; it was accounted most honourable to carry those arms which the bearers had displayed in the Holy Land, against the p
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MONUMENTS FOR ECCLESIASTICS.
MONUMENTS FOR ECCLESIASTICS.
As to monuments for the several degrees of churchmen, as bishops, abbots, priors, monks, &c. or of religious women, they are easily to be distinguished from other persons, but equally difficult to assign to their true owners. Among these, as among the before-mentioned monuments, for the most part the stone effigies are the oldest, with the mitre, crosier, and other proper insignia, and very often wider at the head than feet, having, indeed, been the cover to the stone coffins in which th
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THE SKELETON MONUMENT.
THE SKELETON MONUMENT.
One sort of monument more may be mentioned, which is somewhat peculiar; this is the representation of a skeleton in a shroud, lying either under or upon, but generally under a table tomb. A monument of this kind is to be met with in almost all the cathedral and conventual churches throughout England, and scarcely ever more than one, but to what age the unknown ones are to be attributed, we have no clue to guide us, since there is one in York cathedral for Robert Claget, treasurer of that church,
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