Obrázky na stránke
PDF
ePub

tain the names of the places they have ruined or overwhelmed; one for inftance is called the avalanche de la Coudre, or des Noifetiers, and another the avalanche des Ingolerons; the former of which is near a quarter of a league in diameter."

The danger our relater and his companions were in, from the fall of one of thefe volumes of fnow and ice is told in the following words:

"Cafting our eyes at one confiderable member of the pile above us, which was unaccountably fupported; it seemed to hold by almost nothing; our imprudence was too evident, and we haftened to retreat yet fcarcely had we stepped back thirty paces, before it broke off all at once, with a prodigious noife, and tumbled, rolling to the very spot where we were ftanding just before. It was a molt fortu. nate efcape; fince had we ftaid an inftant longer, it would certainly have crushed us by its fall."

Of the flight hold of thefe impending maffes of congelation, the reader may form an idea, from being told that they fometimes are fhaken down by the smalleft motion communicated to the atmosphere, in fo much, that the Muleteers in paffing through the defiles of the vallies, either fire off piftols to bring down those which are loofe, or take off the bells from the mules, leaft their tinkling fhould produce the formidable downfall of these projecting incruftations.-It must not be denied, however, that the luxuriance of the Relater's fancy, and the fertility of his imagination, may have coloured his defcriptions in fome places beyond the outlines of truth.

ART. XIII. The History of Manchester. By the Rev. Mr. Whitaker, Vol. II. Continued from page 496, and concluded.

Among other fuperftitions, that mixed with the laws and cuftoms of the Saxons on the introduction of Chriftianity, our Author mentions the celebrated mode of criminal purgation, called the ordeal. As there is a little inaccuracy in his relation, which is not peculiar, however, to Mr. Whitaker, we shall take notice of it.

"Founded upon that fpirit of fanaticifm which always actuates the body of fuperftition, one of the tefts expected the perpetual interpofition of Divinity, and the regular fufpenfion of the ftrongest powers of nature, in protection of impeached truth and in vindication of challenged innocence. The accufed being previously carried through all the rites of religion, that could give folemnity to the action and infpire the foul with horror, he grafped the glowing iron in his naked hand, or plunged his naked arm into the boiling caldron. And, if the iron had burnt or the water fcalded him, he was inftantly pronounced guilty of the charge, and punished according to the crime. "But there was another kind of ordeal, which was formed upon the fame principle of fanaticifm, and yet determined difputes in a VOL. II. different

R

different manner; as impertinently expecting God to fuper-add miraculous effects to merely phytical caufes in detection of guilt, as the former did to counteract the ordinary principles of nature in juftification of innocence. This is mentioned in a French capitulary of 828, a law of Athelitan, and the Textus Roffenfis. And by it the culprit, having a rope tied about him, was plunged two ells and a half deep in a river or a pond, after folemn adjuration of him and the water; of him, not to undergo the trial if he was confcious of his guilt, and of the water, not to receive him into it unless he was innocent. If he funk, as naturally he would, he was acquitted. And he was condemned only if he floated, being then confidered as wanting in weight of goodnels. This strange practice was derived to the Saxons from their Celtick ancestors. The Gauls, when they fufpected their wives of infidelity and their infants of baftardy, even in the days of Julian the apoftate, made the former throw the latter into the ftream of the Rhine; and the mother was put to death on their finking, and reftored to favour only on their fwimming. And this is well known to have lately continued the popular test of witchcraft among ourselves; and almoft fubjected the poor wretches, as it had done the culprits before, to be either drowned in the trial or put to death for the crime." Our Author here tells us that the culprit, having a rope tieda bout him, was plunged two ells and a half deep in a river or pond. After which, he fays, if he funk ás naturally he would.-What, lower than the two ells and a half deep?-We will venture to say that there are few, if any, human bodies that, having a rope tied about them, and being plunged two ells and a half deep in water, would not rife up again to the furface, from their fpecific levity. We apprehend Mr. Whitaker means if the body did not fink, on being thrown into the water with a force defigned to plunge it two ells and a half deep. But even then, how this force was to be estimated, we do not readily conceive, nor indeed rightly understand what is meant by the specified depth, unless it thould be fuppofed to fignify the depth of the river or pond, into which the culprit was thrown. Mr. Whitaker adds, that he was condemned only if he floated, yet feems to think, that the experiment was unfavourable to innocence; as it almoft fubjected the poor wretch to be either drowned in the trial or put to death for the crime. - De Fleury, in his ecclefiaftical history, fays, it was a fure method of not finding any perfon criminal. Mr. De Voltaire, on the other hand, fays, "I dare believe it was a method by which many innocent perfons perished. There are men, whofe chefts are fo large, and whofe lungs are fo light, that they will not fink to the bottom, efpecially if bound round with a thick rope; which, together with the body, forms a volume fpecifically lighter than water *."

* We cannot here forbear mentioning a ludicrous blunder of the note-writer, to the English tranflation of Voltaire's works, on this paffage. The tranflator, having rendered garotie [bound with cords] by the word fettered, the Scholiaft, withort enquiring farther into the matter, mag ferially tells the reader that Voltaire's Demark is extremely childith, and fhews him to be little acquainted with natural philofophy

In our Author's fecond book, he gives us a pretty copious fpecimen of an English-British dictionary; of which our readers. will accept of the following fhort extract; containing the root and fuppofed derivatives of the word Agog.

[ocr errors]

"AGOG adj, in a state of longing defire [a word of uncertain etymology; the French have the term a gogo in low language, as ils vivent a gogo, they live to their with: from this phrafe our word may be perhaps derived]-This word, thus obfcured by the attempt to il luftrate it, may be fet in its proper light by the following arrangement. And the genius of our language, in the progreffive formation and the mutual relation of its terms, will be laid open at the fame time.

JOG n. f. a flight push or shake [from the verb]

Joe v. a. a push or thake lightly [hocken, Dutch]-
JoG v. n. to be flightly fhaken-

Joe v. n. to trot flowly, which flightly shakes the body
JOGGER 7. f. one who trots flowly [from jog]-

SHOG v. n. to jog, to go on uneafily, Manchester

SHOG v. a. to shake any thing: fee next word for Dr. Johnson's etymon

SHOG . . a violent shake [from fock]

SHOCK . . a fhake [choc, French, bocken, Dutch]

SHOCK v. a. to fhake violently [fhocken, Dutch]

SHAKE v. a. to put into a vibrating motion [rceacan, Saxon;

foecken, Dutch]

SHAKE . n. to have fuch a motion

SHAKE . f. the motion itfelf [from the verb]

QUAKE v. n. to fhake [cpacan, Saxon]

QUAKE . . a fhake [from the verb]

QUAG MIRE .. a fhaking marth [that is, quake-mire]

QUAG n. f. the fame: unnoticed by Dr. Johnfon

WAG v. a. to move or fhake any thing flightly [pagian, Saxon; waggen, Dutch]

WAG v. 7. to be in quick or ludicrous motion

WAG n. J. properly a man of ludicrous geftures, or an acting droll: now a jester in general [poegan, Saxon, to cheat]

WAGGLE v. n. to move from fide to fide [wagghelen, German]WACKER v. n. to move quickly or shake tremulously, as the teeth do on a very cold day, Manchester

JOGGLE v. n. to fhake: no etymon in Dr. Johnson-
GOGGLE v. n. to move about: no etymon-

COCKLE v. n. to move hastily about in little broken waves, a failor's term, applied to the fea

COCKLE .. a tremulous weed [coccel, Saxon]

GOGGLE-EYED adj. one whofe eyes are continually moving about, and looking out at every corner of their fockets; and fo fquint-eyed reegl-egen, Saxon]

Philofophy. For, fays he, fagaciously, a man loaded with von fetters must neceffarily fink, as being fpecifically heavier than an equally voluminous quantity of water. And here he is most certainly right, iron fetters tending to make the body fink, and bempen cords to make it fwim: but Voltaire faid nothing about IRON fetters. GIG

R 2

GIG .. any thing that is whirled round in play, as a top, a fmalf notched board with a ftring, &c. [etymology uncertain]

JIG . . a light defultory dance or tune [giga, Ital. geige, Teu tonick, a fiddle]

JIGGUM-BOB n.. any pretty piece of moving mechanifm [a cant word]

GIG .. a moving machine afed in dreffing cloth, LancashireTO SET UPON THE GIG, a proverb, Lancashire, to put a man upon an enterprize, to fet him in motion to any thing

AGOG adj. in its firft fenfe a perfon fet upon a gig, and, fecondarily, one whofe will is all in motion to an object

Thefe words, we fee, are so many ftreams from the fame fountain. And that is a British one. Gogail (Welsh and Armorick) Gogail (Howel Dha A. D. 942) Gigal, Queiguel, Kigel (Cornish) Queiquel (Armorick) and Cuigeal (Irish) fignify a diftaff or fpindle; fo called from the swiftness of its revolutions in fpinning, and therefore a fit emblem of any thing lightly moving about. Gwgun (W) alfo is a whirl, a gig, or a little top, and Ciogal (I) is a little top likewife. Gogham (1) is to make gesticulation, Gogach (I) is either wavering or reeling, and Cogal (I) the weed cockle or the beards of a barleyear, fo called from the tremulous motion of both in the smallest wind. Guag (1) is a light, giddy, fantaftical fellow, a whimfical, unfettled and capricious perfon; and Guag Eilyn, Guag Yfprid (W) a phantom or ghoft. And Y-Sgogi (W) fignifies to wag or to move from a place, and Siglo (W) to shake or be fhaken, Sigl (W) a shaking,. and Siglen (W) a quagmire."

In the Appendix, Mr. Whitaker has expofed a number of errours and mistakes, into which Meffrs. Carte and Hume have occasionally fallen in their respective histories: but we must here take leave of this learned and elaborate performance.

ART. XIV. The Trifler: or a Ramble among the Wilds of Fancy, the Works of Nature and the Manners of Men. 12mo. 2 vol. 5s.

Baldwin *.

We are glad to find, from the information which a select number of gentlemen have given us from a diftant part of the kingdom, that the author of these two puny volumes acquired fome reputation by a former production; as we cannot confcientiously fympathize with the motives of benevolence, that actuate them to defire we will be inftrumental in renewing his laurels, on account of the prefent performance. We hope the felett number of gentlemen, do not centre in the individual author himself. If they do, we cannot help heartily coinciding with him in the excellent remark, with which he commences his third chapter, "It is a very unfortunate circumftance, for a man to take it into his head that he is clever ;" especially, as the Trifler farther

Announced in our April Review.<

obferves

obferves, "when he gratifies an inordinate defire to discover extaordinary abilities, at the expence of more rational pursuits, to which he may be urged by nature or neceflity." To what more rational purfuits, than writing, nature or neceflity may urge the author of the Trifler we know not; but we cannot help thinking there may be fome much better fuited to his talents. It must be allowed, however, that he does not want fenfe, or a turn for moral obfervation; but, after having contemplated fuch models of writing as he feems moft difpofed to copy, we are aftonished that he fhould want fo much tafte and judgment, as would induce him to throw down his pen in defpair. As not the worft fpecimen of his performance, we shall quote the remainder of his third chapter.

"Manifold are the inconveniences which individuals have experienced in their attempts to rife above the sphere allotted them by fortune or their fate.-How many hopeful youths have been ruined, by quitting the counter for the ftage!How many reputable fhopkeepers have turned poets and philofophers, and gained nothing but bankruptcy and difgrace !-and what a number of good mechanicks have made miferable projectors, and fpent the prime of their days in Jcheming, to no other purpofe, than to draw on a thousand difappointments; to fee themfelves laughed at and defpifed; and to terminate a wretched life in poverty and defpair, attended with the bitter re proaches of mankind!

"There is no creature upon earth commands our pity more than an UNFORTUNATE PROJECTOR; and yet there is not a being in the world fo obnoxious to ridicule and contempt. He carries a peculiar mark of diftrefs upon his countenance, which is too apt to excite laughter; and fuch a perverfe forwardnefs, to difcover his vaft defigns and defeats, dwells upon his tongue, that we are led to confider him as a maniac, while he is totally abforbed in the divinity of his nature, and the abfurdity of all human affairs, when held in competition with his folly.

"The unaccountable extravagance of this fort of people affords a melancholy view of the human mind, actuated by falfe principles, and urged by zeal without reafon.-In fpite of the advice of friends, the cries of his wife and children, the fad experience of feveral years, and poverty flaring him in the face, your projector will be forming fresh defigns, and expect fuccefs, with as much avidity and delight, in the laft fcheme of his life, as he did in the firft.

The mechanick poffeffed of this phrenzy of the brain, will be twenty years in endeavouring to fire a gun without powder;-the afionomer will never be able to reft in his bed for the perpetual motion;-and-it is notorious of the alchymift, that he will drive with infinite fury after eternity, in fearch of the philofopher's ftone.

"Thefe are your fteady and phlegmatic projectors; but there are others of a very inconftant temper, who have no fooner thought of one fcheme than they fet about another; and will have as many de. figns, at once, upon their hands, as would puzzle half the men in the kingdom to place them in their proper order, or, even, diftinguish

[blocks in formation]
« PredošláPokračovať »