in a duel at Lea Hall, by Ashton-uponRibble, by Langton, baron of Newton and Walton, on the 21st of Nov. 1589. This Langton forfeited his estate in consequence of this. Sir Richard Hoghton was knighted by Queen Elizabeth, and made Sheriff of Lancaster, the 41st year of her reign, and created Baronet by James I. May 22d, 1611. He served in many parliaments as knight of the shire for the county of Lancaster. Sir Gilbert Hoghton entertained King James for several days with great pomp, at Hoghton Tower, when his majesty was proceeding on his way to Scotland, A. D. August 1617. The ancient regalia belonging the corporation of Walton, are in a good state of preservation, and are in the possession of H. Hoghton, Esq.* All along the banks of the Ribble, from Walton to Samlesbury, and from thence to Ashton, and so onwards to Ribchester. This tract of land was originally possessed by Knightly families, all resident on their own estates; viz.Talbots', Southwards', Duttons, Osbaldestones', Hoghtons', Walmsleys', Clederhows', Molyneuxs', Kuerdales', Plessingtons', Butlers', Asshotons', Waltons', Langtons', Starkeys', Sherbourns', Fleetwoods', Sidgreaves', Fullwoods', Brockholes', Athertons', Heatherstones', and Rigbys', allied by perpetual intermarriages, and forming a society of equals among themselves. In this tract of Ribblesdale, were four parks, as many manor houses, (of the first rank,) three of them were furnished with domestic chapels, and the vale was shaded and enriched by extensive and umbrageous woods of hoary oak. All these families are nearly extinct, and only one remaining of ancient rank. The houses are fast decaying; the vast parks are divided, or obliterated; and the woods totally destroyed; so that one of the fairest portions of Ribblesdale is now abandoned, and almost unknown. Thus has fled away what was deemed an ornament, to make room for modern improvements. once With respect, I am your's, &c. MARM. TULKET, O. S. B. *For further particulars Vide Topog. Hist. Preston, 12mo. 10s. 6d. BIBLICAL LITERATURE. The Ninth Century. CHARLEMAGNE,at the end ofthe preceeding and beginning of this Century, magnificently patronized learning, though he was not taught to write in his youth, and was 45 years of age when he began to study the sciences under Alcuin. He established schools in the Cathedrals and principal Abbeys for teaching writing, arithmetic, grammar, and church music; what would be a parish school education in our times, but was of greater importance when even dignified ecclesiastics could not sign their own names. He was earnest in promoting a knowledge of the Scriptures, both among the clergy and laity; and, among other acts, employed Paul Warnefrid, or Paulus Diaconus, who wrote a history of the Lombard Nation, to reform the Church service. He also discovered ajust discrimination of merit in the ecclesiastics of his kingdom, and a disposition to reward it, as is demonstrated by the following anecdote: Having received intelligence of the death of a bishop, he inquired how much of his property he had bequeathed to the poor; the answer was, two pounds of silver; upon which a young clerk exclaimed, "That is but a very small provision for so great a voyage." Charlemagne, pleased with the observation, instantly said to him, "Be thou his successor; but never forget that expression." He died 28th January, A. D. 814, and in his tomb, besides other relics and treasures, was deposited a book of the Gospels written on pure vellum, in characters of gold; this was removed when the sepulchre was stripped by Otho III. in the 11th century, and is still preserved at Aix-la-Chapelle. There are many other copies of the Scriptures of the same age. Rabanus Maurus, Abbot of Fulda, and afterwards Bishop of Mentz, was a distinguished biblical writer of this pe riod. His Commentaries, and Latin and Franco-Theotisc Glossary of the Bible, were important works. He also wrote Larin verses accordingto the barbarous taste of the times, in the shapes of men, angels, birds, beasts, trees, crosses, rings, &c. &c. He died in 856, with the opinion, as Trithemius asserts, "That Italy had not seen his like, nor Germany produced his equal." The Libri Evangeliorum of Otfrid, in in Teutonic and Latin metre, a disciple of Rabanus, was also a celebrated production about this period, to communicate a knowledge of the principal facts aud doctrines of the Gospels to the rude people of Germany. There were other authors of note, but as Mr. Townley states, Photius, patriarch of Constantinople, who flourished about A. D. 870, was the most celebrated of his contemporaries; he wrote a Catena on the Book of Psalms, compiled from the writings of Athanasius, Basil, Chrysostom, &c. and a commentary upon the Prophets, both of which are yet extant in MS. He also composed a book of Questions, relating to various passages of Scripture, entitled Amphilochia, from its having been addressed to Amphilochius, bishop of Cyzicum. These questions on the Bible are, however, interspersed with others of a philosophical and literary kind; they are also extant in MS. in different public libraries. But his most celebrated works are his Nomocanon, and Myrobiblion, or Bibliotheca. The Nomocanon is a collection which includes, under fourteen titles, all the canons acknowledged in the church, from the times of the Apostles to the seventh Ecumenic council. The My. robiblion, or Library, is a Review of the works of two hundred and eighty authors, theologians, commentators, philosophers, historians, orators, physicians, and grammarians. It was un. dertaken at the request of his brother Tarasias, and composed whilst he was a layman, and, as it seems, during an embassy at the court of Bagdat. It is one of the most precious remains of antiquity; and is the model on which the critical journals have been formed, which, in modern times, have so much engaged the learned of different nations, and contributed to the advancement of literature. An interesting account of this most learned and accomplished scholar, is given in Berington's Literary History of the Middle Ages, App. I. pp. 554-562. His Myrobiblion, or Library, has been several times printed; the best edition is that of And. Schottus, Bothom. fol. 1653. (To be continued.) ON THE MARRIAGE STATE. (For the Babbler.) Il y a dans un mariage malheureux une force de douleur qui depasse toutes les autres peines de ce monde. L'ame entiere d'une femme repose sur l'attachement conjugal: lutter seule contre le sort, s'avancer vers le cercueil sans qu'un ami vour soutienne, sans qu'un ami vous regrette, c'est un isolement, dont les deserts de l'Arabie ne donnent qu'une foible idee Mad. de Stael. Oh that the desert were my dwelling-place, "THE most complete happiness of matrimony" says a certain eloquent writer, "depends upon so many concurring circumstances, that it is folly to expect them all to be united."- Yet of those who enter into "that state which the best men have been the first to enter and to commend," how few look for less than the most unruffled happiness! Consequently, how many see their hopes blasted and meet with nothing but sorrow-the more bitter as it is the result of their own indiscretion! Life to these becomes wearying: there is nothing to soothe its langour and vary its monotony: the routine becomes first tiresome and soon unbearable: the victim of self-delusion sometimes summons up a detail of past enjoyment, and sees them with regret; and if a transcient gleam should pierce the accumulated cloud that hovers over his path, how vain, though how vigorous, his endeavour to prolong-to retain it! But, the stream of life rolls on, though for a moment its smooth surface reflects the serenity of heaven; yet the wave is incessantly ruffled by storms, and agitated by the tempest; its progress is delayed by its rocky channel, the delusion is at an end, and the peaceful calm thus broken, we rush on in dispair to meet the ocean of eternity. Our only refuge is death--our only asylum is the grave. This disappointment is not seldom the effect of a false calculation. In the warmth of affection we look forward with ardency of soul to the hour when we shall be indissolubly joined to the object of our love; we cast up in anticipation, the bliss that will be the result of that union; we look only at the bright side of the picture of futurity, and the darker shades are reserved, for the moment when the discovery of them will fill us with dismay, and prove how shortsighted we are, and how miserably we are duped, when we look for "complete happiness" on this side the grave. The extravagance of our expectations is another cause of disappointment: we decorate and embellish the idol of our souls in all the perfection, which a partial fondness, and lively imagination can create; we contemplate with rapture this unearthly image, we fancy it impossible not to be happy when possessed of it; but are we so, when it is marked as our own?-Does possession enhance our felicity? Time dissipates the fond dream of bliss, and we mourn the loss of a treasure which never existed, save in the day-dreams of our foolish fancies. It is not enough to bestow upon this creation of our brain, a faultless form and angelic features, but we must go still farther, and endue it with that intellectual purity and excellence which no art can gain--a gift of Heaven never entrusted to the care of one human being, since the days of Solomon. spirits are not finely touch'd Thus unbounded in our desires, we grasp at felicity, we think to possess it, but human happiness is the fugitive of a moment-like the bubble blown into the air, it displays a thousand different hues, and reflects in brilliant colours the surrounding landscape, and the fleecy clounds wafted through this azure vault, but how fleeting are its beauties, how short its duration-the instant we believe it in our possession, it vanishes in "air-thin air." It may be asked-Is perfect happiness attainable in the marriage state? If two human beings exist whose hearts and minds are in perfect unison-the chords of whose affections vibrate in delightful harmony together-whose selflove is lost in their love for each otherwhose souls are so knit together that even death itself cannot divide themwho feel for each other that "perfect love," without which there is no " fect happiness"-I say, if two such beings exist, and have been joined together in the holiest of bonds, what an affecting picture of true bliss would such an union display. Where is the writer eloquent enough to describe such a scene, surpassing fable, and yet true Scene of accomplished bliss per a scene in which man would return to his long lost earthly Paradise, and experience an exquisite foretaste of that blessedness which is without measure, and shall be without end." They who were thus united would be indifferent to all the objects around them, except those which claimed their pity or their love: having nothing to reproach themselves with - having never been led astray by the illusions of pride or self-conceit, which add "tenfold bitterness" to the cup of life-their conscience would be alive to every tender feeling; they would approach with fervent devotion the throne of Deity; they would thank the giver of all good gifts for those he has bestowed upon them, with a hand so unsparing-and in this rapturous moment, absorbed in the idea of their nearness to God, they would be lost in his immensity-every earthly object would vanish before them, and they would feel the same unmingled joy, as those who worship in his immediate presence: nor would the next hour destroy this vision of extacy, for their whole life would be passed in that peace the world cannot destroy. The vain pleasures it pursues with so much eagerness would be unworthy their slightest attachment: those objects which lead so many from the path of virtue and probity, would appear to them, not through a false medium, but in their true light; as deceptions, which can only lead those astray who are blinded by false prejudice, or misguided by false happiness; their hearts mutually beloved, would open to each other their most secret recesses, their most hidden thoughts; equally strangers to mistrust and suspicion they would unbosom themselves without constraint, and as life is a scene of changes from which none are exempt: in their grief they would find consolation, in their sorrow they would find sympathy, and in their joy they would find a still higher joy in that intimate connection of soul, the virtuous alone can experience. They would be still closer united by the fruits of their love; the adored image of themselves would claim a part of their affection, still that for each other would be undivided, would be undiminished: by the addition of a new object, their existence would be confounded together, and their hearts and their souls, would be mingled as it were into one. Can such a state of happiness be any thing more than a chimera;-can earth produce such a blissful scene; does the sun in his course through the heavens shine upon a family like this? Is there one who has been "a stranger on the earth," who has wandered far in pursuit of this chimera, and can say, "I am no longer a solitary; I have found a companion; I have found her, I so long have sought; I am happy ?" Alas! they find not one the other; they Who for each other and for love were made; Now in far distant climes their lot is cast, And now long ages roll their course between. The misanthropic view taken of the infilicities by F. J. of the marriage state, is such as could not have been formed from either extensive observation, or close attention. They have much the air of a rambling imagination, and, what is infinitely worse, a rambling heart; yet, far be it from me to judge harshly of my fellow creatures. I hope on the contrary, that F. J. is not really serious in his resolves to live a life of celibacy. There are enjoyments to which he can never arrive, without a thorough change of sentiment and of conduct. There are, let me assure him, women who are neither "insincere, changeable, nor volatile;" and, such a one, notwithstanding his aspersions, I wish it may be his lot to find, as soon as he becomes capable of estimating a woman's worth. I remain Your's &c. Wakefield, Jan. 28th, 1822. To obtain notoriety in the world is no difficult matter. However heterogeneous may be our situation, there is yet left sufficient room for becoming conspicuous in the scale of beings. But in gaining this prominent post, and when it is attained, for the holding of the same, divers purposes are resorted to, and much ingenuity and talent are often required in the engagement. Lord Wellington has secured an immortality among the records of warriors in consequence of his numerous and transcendent victories; but has not Crib and Molyneux, from the weight of their fists and in the brutal exercise of them, also secured a never-dying name in the annals of Milling, the Fine Arts, &c. &c.? How opposite are their glories! yet each one for a season has excited the most surprising ferment in our nation; and the same individuals who felt enraptured at the superior successes of the former personage, have also at another time exhibited feelings of admiration and delight at the work of the latter Knights of the Fancy. To gain a name seems to be the pursuit of thousands; and indeed there are many who gather notoriety when they could well dispense with it: every town can enumerate its well known fop, belle, gamester, wit, scold or blackguard. Thus runs on our system of existence, and broils and tumults and worthy and laudable actions are ever to be found commingled in recounting the most striking events of the day, We hear one moment of a donation being awarded to some charitable institution, whilst our ears are immediately astounded by listening to a sacrilege or robbery. Out of all these opposite occurences we choose a sufficiency to answer the purposes of comment colloquy amongst our friends; but frequently our interest and attention are excited at one time more than at another. I confess that I have been lately much surprised at the conduct of two certain literary characters of our period. What the struggle between them which at present is at issue, is intended to produce, I really cannot define. That it is supposed by either as likely to accumulate upon the brow of the victor, any fame in addition to that which he wears, I cannot possibly admit. Each of them are poets of the first order; but we must look to them also as men. They have attained to a pitch of celebrity at once honourable to themselves and to their country; but if they imagine that dealing with rancour, and endeavouring to traduce the reputation of one another, is calculated to serve their interests or to enhance the number of their garlands, I can safely aver, that they will be eventually disappointed. They may for awhile be the objects of that notoriety of which I have spoken, but to persist in holding it will be to provoke the censure and to call down the disgust of society. After a little while of turmoil and bustle they will fall into obscurity, attended by the detestation ofthe world, and, if possible, shorn of some of their well merited glories. Our actions and conduct should be judged by the standard of good and evil, ere we pronounce a judgment upon either one or the other. Now, I say, a first rate pugilist would excite as great an interest, if he were going to make a public exhibition of his talents, as would an account of a victory (were we at war) gained by our troops. If, however, we look for a moment at the character of the two subjects which have this sway over our feelings, we shall discover much dis parity; and we cannot be surprised that the beings who rejoice at the one could do so at the other. They are both bloody it is true; but their ends may be the reverse of each other. We may have great and manifold causes for gladness over the one; but we should rather treat the other with the weightiest contempt. Any act of private and unostentatious beneficence, however extended and excellent, will escape the notice and be unobserved by those who prefer noise without sense or the deed of vice to the act of virtue. If we would estimate justly the character of those events which daily transpire in public, and which summon the attention of the community, it will be necessary that we consider well the effect it will produce in the common scale of things. In looking, therefore, at the conduct and quarrel of Lord Byron and Mr. Sonthey, I am unable to form any other notion on the subject, than that their strictures upon eachother are grounded in spleen, and incapable of yielding any benefit either to themselves or to the society in which they move. They at present attract a good deal of attention in the literary world, arising from the contest which is supported between them, or I should not have lifted my pen in the matter. I cannot hope to pacify them by any words of mine, yet I suppose I have a right to submit my thoughts upon this as well as any other interesting point for the public consideration. The ill-nature of private individuals cannot possibly be very interesting to a public; but it is offensive to see so much of this imposed upon our notice as there is at present is. We hear the words of rancour falling around, and are doomed to read the tirade of malice and invective without knowing the real cause which bas called it forth. If it concerns not the world, why then is not the world kept in the dark. Why are we to have whole pages of a book, for which we pay the most exorbitant sum, filled up with coarse ebullitions of anger, and why is the volume that professes to be only of poetry, made the vehicle for venting a quantum of prose scurrillity? Yet, this is the case; and Lord Byron, I dare say, imagines that all his admirers and readers will feel as much pleasure and interest in the breach between him and the Poet Laureate as he himself does. How miserably mistaken his Lordship is; for though any thing which is the production of his pen finds acceptance in the notice of our country, it is certain that his effusions do not always call forth the admiration and applause of the community. His Lordship has much talent as a poet, and has displayed a strong mind and highly gifted powers throughout most of his works; but with this eulogium I must stop and am necessitated to exhibit a contrasted picture. Has he not perverted those abilities which nature and education have bestowed; and instead of rendering them serviceable in the dessemination of religious and moral principles, bas he not used them in scoffing at the one, and in openly avowing a contempt for the other? Has he not ridiculed the first characters |