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1831.]

Literary and Scientific Intelligence.

volume will be inserted the triumphal song of the battle of Brunanburh, and the other metrical pieces in the Saxon Chronicle; and also the funeral dirge over Brithnoth, who fell gloriously at the battle of Meldun.The fifth, sixth, and seventh volumes will contain the Rhythmical Chronicle of Britain, supposed to have been written by a priest named Layamon, at the close of the 13th century. The eighth, ninth, and tenth volumes are intended to make up an Anglo-Saxon Homilarium, or mirror of the divinity of our Anglo-Saxon preachers, who were the great instructors of the new Christian world.—The work is to be printed by subscription, in 8vo volumes of about 30 sheets, and a volume to be published about every six months.

LITERARY FUND SOCIETY.

May 11. The forty-second anniversary of this Institution was celebrated at Freemason's Hall, where upwards of 200 gentlemen of the first respectability sat down to dinner. The Lord Chancellor was in the chair, and was supported amongst others by the following noble and distinguished persons. His Grace the Duke of Somerset ; Lords Mahon, Selkirk, and Portmore; the Attorney General, Right Hon. Robert Grant, Judge Haliburton (Nova Scotia); Sirs John Malcolm, J. E. Swinburne, and W. Clayton; the President of the Royal Academy; Sir Jeffry Wyatville, Sir William Beechey, Henry Ellis, Esq. M.P., H. L. Bulwer, Esq. M.P.; Mr. Gurney the King's Counsel; Drs. Conolly, Arnot, Ainslie, and A. T. Thompson; Professors Milman, M'Culloch, and Nott; Poets Croly, Sotheby, Montgomery, &c. &c. The body of the hall, we observed, was graced by the presence of almost every literary man in London. The spectacle was most gratifying, and it would be difficult to assemble a more enlightened and intellectual meeting than that which did honour to this festival. Here was the neutral ground on which men of all parties had gathered in amicable parley-every distinction which separates men of talent into sects and little communities was unknown-every feeling of selfish exclusiveness was banished-the voice of faction or of political enmity was hushed. One sentiment animated the whole, and it was a sentiment than which nothing tends to elevate, to ennoble, and dignify our nature more for it was connected with the amenities of literature, the exercise of charity, and the gratification of taste.

In proposing the toast of " Prosperity to the Literary Fund," the Lord Chancellor very eloquently advocated the objects of the Society, and whilst he vindicated the independence of the literary character, he did not conceal the vicissitudes of the literary career. His speech was listened to throughout with deep attention, interrupted only by vehement applause; for independently of

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the tact and talent by which the chair was filled, there existed a very grateful feeling of respect for the noble Lord, who, himself a literary man of the first eminence, and ex officio the guardian of literary rights, had made time amidst the almost endless engagements of his high station to preside at the festival of a society the most congenial perhaps with his present tastes and early association, of any charitable institution that could be proposed to him. Nor should the kindness of His Grace the Duke of Somerset, the President of the Institution, be forgotten on this occasion-with a feeling that does honour to his rank and character, he not only readily forewent his claim to the chair, but assisted in supporting the Lord Chancellor in it; thus evincing, that the first object of his regard was the welfare of the Society over which he has so long presided.

Its

It is almost needless to recommend this Society to the notice of every man who values the importance of Literature, and can appreciate its moral, civil, and religious effect upon the national character. purpose is simply to afford pecuniary assistance to authors of merit in times of unforeseen distress; "to stand," as one of its Registrars emphatically asserted in the language of Holy Writ, between the living and the dead, that the plague may be stayed;" to speak the language of hope and consolation, at the same moment that it

administers substantial relief; and to do this without offending the delicacy, or wounding the instinctive jealousy of the person relieved. Objects thus benevolently intended have been amply realized; and although more than forty years' experience of the value of this Society could attest its usefulness, the pathetic statement made by the, Rev. Mr. Croly, on this last anniversary meeting, would alone vindicate the claims of the Literary Fund upon public patronage, and place it in the very highest rank of national institutions.

ROYAL SOCIETY.

April 28. The Duke of Sussex, President. A paper was read, On the Anatomy and Physiology of the minute and capillary ves sels, by Marshal Hall, M.D. F.R.S.E. The list of the Council was filled up with the names of George Dollond, esq., John Fred. Daniell, esq., and Charles König, esq.

May 5. H. R. H. the President in the chair. Three papers were read: "On the effects of Hot Water on the Batrachia," by Dr. M. Hall; an account of a new method of propelling Vessels, by Mr. W. Hale; and "Additional thoughts on the use of the Ganglions in furnishing Electricity for the production of animal secretions," by Sir Everard Home, Bart. F.R.S.

May 12. H.R.H. the President in the chair.-Capt. Geo. Wm. Manby of Yar

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Literary Intelligence.-Antiquarian Researches.

mouth, was elected Fellow. A paper was read, "On a peculiar class of Acoustic Figures, and on certain forms assumed by groups of particles upon vibrating elastic substances," by Michael Faraday, Esq.F.R.S.

May 19. J. W. Lubbock, Esq. V P. and Treasurer in the Chair.-The following papers were read: An Experimental Examination of the Blood found in the Veni Portæ, by- -Thackeray, esq., communicated by Sir A. Cooper, Bart. V.P.R.S.; a Table, facilitating the Computations relative to Suspension Bridges, by Davies Gilbert, esq. V.P.R.S.; Researches on Physical Astronomy, relating to the Theory of the Moon, by J. W. Lubbock, esq. V. P. and Treas. R.S.; au Account of the Construction and Verification of the Imperial Standard Yard, for the Royal Society, by Capt. Kater, F.R.S. AFRICAN EXPEDITION, AND DISCOVERY

OF THE NIGER.

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[May,

the British government, took place in Jan.

1830.

The Landers, after having reached Youri, embarked in a cance on the Niger, or, as it is called there, the Quarra, and came down the stream until they reached the sea, in the Bight of Biafra. The branch by which they came to the coast is called the Nun, or Brasse River, being the first river to the eastward of Cape Formosa. On their way down the river, they were attacked by the Hibboos, (a fierce nation that inhabit its banks), and made prisoners, or rather captives; but the King of Brasse happening to be in that country buying slaves, got them released, by giving the price of six slaves for each of them. In the scuffle that ensued at the time they were taken, one of them lost his journal.

Whilst at Youri they got the Prayer-book that belonged to Mr. Anderson, the brotherin-law and fellow-traveller of the celebrated Mungo Park. They were upwards of a month at Fernando Po, whence they embarked, about ten days ago, in an English merchant vessel bound to Rio Janeiro, on their way to England.—Literary Gazette.

ANTIQUARIAN RESEARCHES. SOCIETY OF ANTIQUARIES. April 28. H. Gurney, esq. V.P. Some observations on the definite article The, by Richard Duppa, Esq. F.S.A. were read. He remarked that the Latin language has no article; the hic, hæc, hoc of the grammar being clearly a pronominal adjective, signifying this. "The," whenever fully uttered, has a similar import. Dr. Johnson has censured the practice of sinking the final e in poetical versification; but, as maintained by Mr. Duppa, it is only when that letter is so dropped in pronunciation, that th' is really an article,--in which respect the modern English agrees with its Saxon original. It was added, that it is evident, from a comparison of several languages, that genders have been generally adopted from euphony; and that it is not a philosophical opinion to suppose them connected with any presumed natural analogy.

slung at his back. His head is covered with a Phrygian bonnet, and his buskins remarkably pointed. At his side sits a greyhound, turning round his head to look in his master's face. At the back, is slightly carved in outline what is supposed to be a harp, and the two sides are ornamented with long slips of laurel. See P. 390.

Mr. Grover's dissertation on Classical Chronology was afterwards continued.

May 5. H. Hallam, Esq. V.P.-John Amery, of Birmingham, esq.; and William Watkin Edward Wynne, Esq. of Peniorth, co. Merioneth, and of Old Cavendish-street, were elected Fellows.

Mr. Hardwick, the architect, exhibited a Roman altar, found about fifteen feet below the surface, in digging the foundations of the new Goldsmiths' Hall, in Foster-lane. It is about 2 feet high; on its front is carved a very graceful figure of a huntsman, standing erect, holding in his left hand a bow, and his right hand raised over his right shoulder to draw an arrow from the quiver

Henry Ellis, Esq. Sec. communicated a Declaration of all such fees and allowances as were lawfully allowed in the Court of Exchequer in the time of Elizabeth.

A further portion was also read of the Rev. John Skinner's letters on Camelodunum.

May 12. Mr. Gurney, V. P. in the chair. Andrew Fountaine, Esq. exhibited a female bust in bronze, from the collection of his ancestor Sir A. Fountaine.

Mr. Ellis, by permission of the Bishop of Llandaff, laid before the Society three letters, addressed to Sir William Morice, Secretary of State to King Charles the Second, and M.P. for Cornwall.-1. From Mr. Quin, Knight of the Shire for Devon, in Cromwell's Parliament of 1654; relative to an interview with the Protector. Mr. Quin, after having consulted with a learned and conscientious divine, had come to the determination that to take an unlawful oath was not sinful, inasmuch as the sin must lie at the door of the imposer-the miserable cant epitomised in those lines of Butler,

""Tis he that gives an oath that breaks it,

Not he who by compulsion takes it."
Mr. Quin concludes by persuading his friend

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to take the said oath, having scriptural authority for enforcing his example, in the text When thou art converted thyself, strengthen thy brother!' 2. From Dr. Du Moulin, after the restoration, laying on the Jesuits the blame of Charles the First's decapitation, and tracing it to secret machinanations for the restoration of Popery. The doctor, it was observed, was forbidden by Charles II. to write more, on the understanding that as English was not his native language, he might mar the cause he meant to aid by writing what he would not." The doctor had already written a book defending Protestantism from a charge of disaffection to monarchy. 3. From James, Duke of Courland, in Livonia, offering Sir William Morice ten thousand florins, by way of a bribe for his services in the Privy Council, in the management of a West India matter affecting the interest of the Duke. May 19. H. Gurney, esq. V. P. in the chair.

A curious paper, on the ancient history of Hats, communicated by J. A. Repton, esq. was read. It was accompanied by eight sheets of drawings of hats and caps, in an infinity of shapes and fashions, from the time of Richard II. up to 1784. He observed, the name hat was derived from a Saxon word meaning a covering for the head, in which general sense it had been used by early authors, and applied to helmets of steel. Hats and caps were anciently made of felt, woollen, silk, straw, and various other materials, and were as diversified in their colours. In the time of Elizabeth the common people generally wore woollen caps; and some acts were passed in her reign to encourage the manufacture of them. The broad brims were introduced by the cardinals to their scarlet hats, and followed by the clergy. The inconvenience of the broad brim all round caused the turning of one side up; then two sides were turned up; and at last turning up three sides introduced the cocked hat. The high-crowned hat was first worn in the time of Elizabeth, and declined in the reign of Charles II. Mr. Repton then noticed the ornaments of hats, such as feathers, broaches, and bands. Henry VIII. is described on his entry into Calais as wearing feathers from India, four feet long; and men wore feathers in their bats as late as the reign of Queen Anne. Yew is mentioned as placed in the hat to denote mourning for a deceased relative or friend. The paper contained numerous curious and amusing quotations on the subject from a great variety of authors.

On account of Whitsun week, the meetings were adjourned to the 2d of June.

In the West of England, in dressing the houses with holly and other evergreens at Christmas, we have observed the picture of a deceased relative adorned with the yew alone.

OFFERTORY DISHES.

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At the meeting of the Hul! Literary and Philosophical Society, April 22, Mr. Wm. Bell read a paper on "Offertory Dishes," illustrative of three in Hull, one presented to the society by Mr. Joseph Eglin, another belonging to Mr. Cobb, curator of the Exchange, and a third from the museum of Mr. Wallis-which, in deference to Dr. Nash and other English antiquaries, who have accidentally met with them, he called Offertory Dishes, though amongst the continental literati they are more generally named Taufbecken, or Baptismal Dishes. Mr. B. then read the opinions of Dr. Nash in his History of Worcestershire, of Thos. Hearne in his preface to Leland's Collectanea, and of sundry anonymous contributors to the Gentleman's Magazine, respecting the meaning of the inscriptions which surround the dishes, as well as the conjectures of various German literati concerning them: of the latter, Von Hammer, the famed Orientalist of Vienna, and formerly secretary to the Austrian Internuncio at Constantinople, was the most important, both from the weight due to his opinion and the peculiarity of his views; having considered them as deeply connected with the gnosticism and ophitism which he fancied to have discovered in the tenets and doctrines of the Knights Templars before the forced subversion of their order. Mr. Bell, too, was enabled, by his researches abroad, to exhibit drawings of similar dishes found in Iceland, in various parts of Germany, France, and Italy. He also read a letter from Mr. Holmes, F.S.A. of Retford, describing one exactly similar to that in possession of Mr. Wallis, and which again was identical with one fixed to the door-post of a very old church at Valle or Valte in Iceland. Mr. Bell differed in his reading of the various inscriptions from all the authorities adduced, and found in them either simple invocations to Christ and Maria, as the immaculate virgin, either in old German or Latin of a very early age-or in other instances short pithy sentences of morality. The age of them could not be traced by any appearance of a date, but the style of letters (which were evidently sunk by a die), on a comparison with the great seal of the Realm, seemed to be fixed at, or some time succeeding, the accession of Edw. III. 1327, to which they most approximate. One was noticed as existing at Aldborough near Boroughbridge, differing in the inscription from any other, of which a copy exists in Gough's Camden's Britannia, vol. iii. but too imperfect to ascertain its meaning.

WILLIAM CANYNGES.

April 28. A very interesting paper was read at the Bristol Institution, on the 28th April, on " the Life and Times of William Canynges, founder of St. Mary Redcliff church." It was written by the Rev. James Dallaway, F.S.A., and very amply illustrated.

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HISTORICAL CHRONICLE.

FOREIGN NEW S.

FRANCE.

The King of France has undertaken a tour through the Provinces, and appears to be every where enthusiastically received. At St. Germain, Poissy, Nantes, Dieppe, &c., his Majesty reviewed different bodies of the National Guards, amid the acclamatious of the populace, who, it is added, from St. Cloud to the limits of the department of the Seine and Oize, formed a line on each side of the high road, with banners, tri-coloured flags, and branches of trees. A medal was lately decreed to be struck and given to those who most distinguished themselves in July last. In carrying this decree into execution, the present Ministry designated it as given by the King," instead of the Nation," and required an oath to King Philip and the Charter. Out of 1528 persons to whom the medal was assigned, upwards of 1000 refused to accept it on these terms.

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PORTUGAL.

A British squadron, consisting of a 74-gun ship, two frigates, four corvettes, and three brigs, lately arrived in the Tagus, and, on the 25th of April, demanded a categorical answer to the demands of the British Government, all negociations on the subject being expressly prohibited. The demands were compensation for English vessels captured at Terceira, with demurrage and all expences up to the date of such compensation; the dismissal of the captain of the Portuguese frigate Diana, by whom these captures were made; the dismissal of three judges who had sentenced to imprisonment the clerks of English merchants; and compensation to such clerks for the injuries by them sustained, and an ample apology for the insult offered their employers. These demands to be published in the Lisbon Gazette; and if no redress were given within three days, the English consul to go on board the squadron, and the capture of all Portuguese vessels immediately to take place. The Portuguese Government, terrified by the appearance of the squadron, promptly acceeded to every demand. A French fleet had proceeded to the Tagus for the bombardment of Lisbon, and three American frigates had also arrived, the latter to demand satisfaction for the insults offered to the United States; several American citizens having been sent from St. Michael's and the adjacent islands in irons. The demand made on Don Miguel by the French Government was the revocation of the sentence pronounced against Sauvinet and Bonhomine, two French subjects, who had been sentenced to corporal punishment

[May,

and imprisonment for alleged political offences; the destitution of the judges who condemned them; and damages of 500,000 francs to be paid to the two prisoners; the satisfaction to be inserted in the Lisbon Gazelle.

RUSSIA AND POLAND.

In our last we detailed the successes of

the Poles over the corps of Generals Geismar and Rosen, and the consequent retreat of the Russian forces. On the 10th of

April General Diebitsch transferred his head-quarters to Siedlec, fifty-five miles east of Warsaw, where he was some time held in check by the Polish troops. The Russian commander at length determined on coming to an engagement; but Skrzyuecki thought it most prudent to decline it. As soon as the first movement from Siedlec denoted an intention on the part of the Russians to advance, he dispatched couriers to Warsaw, to prepare them for a retreat of the army, and to desire that the place might be put in a condition to sustain a siege, in case the fortune of war should be against the cause in a general engagement. The retreat, in the mean time, continued, the Poles every where carrying with them the inhabitants of the country, and every description of provision which could serve as subsistence for the enemy. Upon the 27th, Skrzynecki had reached the capital, and fixed his head-quarters there; the bulk of his army was at Milosna, a dozen miles distant. In their retreat they appear to have been greatly harassed by the Russians, and at Minsk an action took place. Arrived at Dembe-Wielki, the Russians found that they could not procure "even a little straw for their horses," and the Fieid-Marshal had, therefore, no alternative but again to sound a retreat, in which he has been pursued by the Poles beyond Siedlec. On the 29th of April, the whole Polish army had again advanced, and resumed its former positions at Kostrzyn, and beyond Siennica. On the 30th, the Polish army advanced, and the vanguard was in the morning at Kaluszyn.

The Polish General has published a Proclamation, wherein he states that the Polish army, which did not at the first amount to more than 30,000, had taken 16,000 prisoners, caused the Russians a loss of 50,000 men in all, captured 11 standards, 15 or 16,000 stand of arms, 30 cannon, &c.

In other respects the Poles have suffered materially. On the 21st of April Skrzynecki sent a report to the Government of Warsaw, stating that a corps of 6,000 men,

3

1831.]

Foreign News.-Domestic Occurrences.

under General Sierawski, had been defeated by the Russians under General Kreutz, consisting of 24,000 men, whom he had imprudently attacked. The Poles were compelled to cross the Vistula precipitately, with a loss of 2,000 men, and two Lieutenant-Colonels, one of whom was drowned. -The gallant Dwernicki who, with all the boldness though without the fortune of a Scipio, had carried war into Volhynia, the invader's own territory, found himself, after a series of successful exploits, overwhelmed by the accumulated masses brought to bear against him. General Roth, after the defeat of Sierawski, was enabled to effect a junction with General Rudiger, while on the other side a formidable Russian force was brought up from Moldavia to the scene of action. Thus assailed from all quarters, Dwernicki retreated across the Galician frontier near Zlarasz. The Russians having pursued, and a conflict having commenced, the Austrian troops interposed between the combatants, and demanded that respect should be had to the neutrality of their territory. The Russians consequently drew off, and the whole of Dwernicki's corps, diminished by repeated contests to about 5,000 men, surrendered their arms to the Austrians, and have been sent across Transylvania into Hungary.

The Russian Autocrat has fulminated an angry denunciation against the revolted nobles and people of Lithuania. All those who offer any armed resistance to the Russian authorities are to be tried by a courtmartial according to military laws, and to be instantly shot. Persons of inferior rank, taken with arms in their hands, are to be draughted into the Siberian regiments, and to suffer all the evils of exile. The Polish

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Government, with a view to counteract the effect of this severe edict, in pursuance of which several Polish prisoners had been shot at Wilna, had sent a notification to the Russian Government, that reprisals would be made by the Poles upon any prisoners who might fall into their hands." TURKEY.

The accounts from Turkey present a very menacing aspect, as respects the public tranquillity in the East. An extended insurrection had broken out, fomented, as it would appear, by agents from Russia. It is stated that the insurgents were masters of Sophia, and it is supposed that they would shortly reach Constantinople. The Divan were active in endeavouring to resist the rebels. The grand objection taken by the revolters, is to the measures of the Grand Signior, who, in introducing the military innovatious of Europe, has offended the Mussulmans.

The Pacha of Scutari, whose army amounts to 40,000 men, has issued a proclamation in which he announces his plan to restore the ancient order of things, and the occasion of it-exhorts those under him to observe the strictest order and good conduct towards those who take no part in the affairs of the war, and especially recommends them to respect property.

The revolt is daily spreading. Farasciscade Ali Bey, one of the principal Albanese Chiefs, entered Sophia with 8,000 men on the 20th April, and established his headquarters there.

Letters from Belgrade, of May 1, say that the Grand Vizier, who was invested in Bitoglia by the insurgents, had been obliged to surrender for want of provisions.

DOMESTIC OCCURRENCES.

IRELAND.

The Irish papers present, in a long catalogue of outrages, a frightful picture of the state of society in the counties of Clare and Limerick; and we are sorry to find that the Committee which had been formed at Ennis for the purpose of endeavouring to restore tranquillity, have, in the utter hopelessness of being able to effect that object, dissolved themselves. This Committee, of which all the Roman Catholic Priests were members, have published Resolutions, declaring that no effort within the power of the well-disposed part of the inhabitants can restrain or put an end to the continual system of outrage and insurbordination which disgraces the county of Clare.

The Lord Lieutenant's Proclamation to the people of Clare, calling upon them to to resign their arms by the 10th April, not

having been complied with, a proclamation has been issued laying the entire county of Clare under the Insurrection Act.

In a speech delivered at a recent reform meeting in the county of Roscommon, by Sir John Lillie, he expressed his surprise that in that county, and in other parts of Ireland, lands were let to the poor at 91. and 107. per acre, which was a higher rent than what was exacted during the war! added, "the poor cannot pay it, and is it to be wondered at that, sooner than starve, they have recourse to violence in opposing the exaction?"

He

INTELLIGENCE FROM VARIOUS

PARTS OF THE COUNTRY. By the Act of last Session it is directed that the census of the population should be taken throughout England on the 30th of

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